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Jake opened his eyes with a start and saw Xelzix smiling down at him. It took him only a moment to realize what had happened. He'd died and been resurrected.

"Welcome back, Jake."

"Thank you. A second ago I was about to hit a water slide and then everything went black. So I guess I died then?"

"Yes, you did, rather messily I might add. Srythryn's people have a saying, 'If you aren't dying then you aren't really living'. It seems you've been living quite well. I don't recall ever having anyone die just one day after I resurrected them, but you've managed it," Xelzix said with a smile.

Jake felt amazingly good considering just seconds ago he'd smeared himself against a big acrylic tube. He sat up on the table and swung his legs over and smiled at Xelzix.

"I'm really sorry to do this to you Xelzix. I don't mean to be a burden," Jake said.

"Please, do not worry yourself about it. This is what I do. If I did not need to do it on a regular basis I would be as your people put it, 'out of a job'. Luckily you had already agreed to the match and there is a contract in place to protect you against just such an eventuality. Chalk it up as your first death by misadventure. You will likely have many of them."

Jake laughed and said, "I have to say, Xelzix, it was actually quite unexpected and amazingly exciting and in hindsight a lot of fun. I don't think I've ever quite lived as intensely as I did the moment before I died."

"That is just as it should be. We want your life to be as exciting and unpredictable as possible," Xelzix said.

Jake smiled and said, "I'll do my best to keep it up then. What now? Can I go?"

Xelzix nodded, "Yes, you should go immediately. Srythryn is waiting for you outside."

Jake smiled and got up.

"Thanks, Xelzix. I'll try to make sure I don't see you again quite so soon, at least not under these circumstances."

The diminutive alien chuckled and said, "I have certainly heard that empty promise before from many other people from many other races. I will not hold you to it."

Jake headed to the door and it opened and Srythryn was standing across the hall with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He did not look pleased.

He stood up straight as Jake emerged from the room and he said, "This way."

Jake said, "Hi, honey. Sorry I died and stuff, but I'm back now. Shall we go eat? I'm hungry."

Srythryn just walked down the hall without saying a word and Jake ran to catch up to him. The croc stopped at the elevators and one of them opened up and he stepped in and turned to wait for Jake to join him. Jake saw that Srythryn had a very sullen look on his face as he followed him into the elevator and the doors closed and the box dropped into the floor to carry them to their destination.

"What's wrong, Srythryn? I'm really sorry about the accident. It was no one's fault. I hope you're not angry with Thriststris. He did his best to stop it. I just got disoriented in the water ball and then when I shot out the wrong side I wasn't able to stop my momentum and I dropped well outside of the ring pool. I'll be more careful from now on. Did Thriststris die too?"

"He did not. He is one of those fools who sometimes likes to dive off the edge of the ring pool to the ocean below. It was quite routine for him," Srythryn said.

"I hope you aren't angry with him. It wasn't his fault in any way, really," Jake said.

"I have no reason to be angry with him. He follows his nature."

"Then why are you acting so sullen? What's wrong? Can we just go back to your place and talk about it?"

"It is our place Jake, but there is no time," Srythryn grumped.

"We have lots of time, why are you so angry?" Jake asked.

"Do you not understand what is happening? I asked just one thing of you! One thing! I asked you to be careful! You died, Jake! You died and robbed me of my time with you! It has been three months since you splattered yourself against my ship! We have been orbiting the planet of your match for a month already and they are not pleased at the delay. You are to be taken down to the surface immediately. You have been gone from my life these three months and I do not know how much longer I will have to wait before I can be with you again!"

The reality of the situation suddenly smacked him in the face and Jake's stomach did a flip and his heart sank. To his mind it had felt like it was still the same day, and that he'd fallen to his death only moments ago. He'd completely forgotten the delay that happens in between. He'd lost the two months with Srythryn he'd been so looking forward to! He'd slept it away while waiting for his brain to connect to his new body's nervous system! Srythryn had been forced to wait for three months for him to come back, only to have to send him away!

The elevator stopped and rose to floor level and the doors opened and Jake saw that they had arrived at the large shuttle bay at the aft end of the cylinder.

"No! There has to be something we can do! Can't we delay just a bit? Just a few days? You're the captain. Tell them to wait!" Jake pleaded.

"I cannot. We are at the mercy of the Matchmakers and they are at the mercy of their client. It is because of their client that you were brought here from your home world in the first place and because of them that you live again after you died. We have them to thank that we were brought together in the first place. We must honor their wishes. They have their own pressing timetable and we have risked running it afoul."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Srythryn! I love you so much and I was so looking forward to our time together. Please, forgive me," Jake lamented.

"There is nothing to forgive, Jake. You were living well, foolishly perhaps, but well. I am not angry with you really but angry only at the circumstances. I love you too and I will always love you. There has been an endless stream of people of all races being resurrected here and then delivered by us to their matches. I have never had the least interest in any of them until you. I do not know the reason why exactly but I was immediately drawn to you, and from the moment I had you in my arms I knew that I had found someone I could happily live out the rest of eternity with. We will have a great deal of time together in the future. It simply won't happen all at once. One thing I have learned in my long life is patience. I will be waiting here for you when next you need this ship. Promise me that you will continue to live well and I will keep my spirits high knowing I will be seeing you soon."

Jake was devastated. Srythryn was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he'd messed it all up. If only he wasn't tied to this match.

"What if I cancel the contract? I wouldn't have to go down then. I could stay up here and we could be together," Jake suggested.

"No, I would not wish you to do that. You would be giving up the insurance of return. The next time you die would be the last and you would be gone from my life forever. I would not deny you the pleasure of the match either. It will be a wonderful experience for you, Jake, and you should not give it up so easily. The chance may never arise for you again. This is not the end of us but merely a hiatus."

They stepped off the elevator and a trolley pulled up and a croc in uniform got off and stood waiting. Jake suddenly realized Srythryn was not wearing his uniform but only his shorts.

"Srythryn, aren't you coming down with me?"

"No, I am sorry but I could not bear it. I will not be the one to deliver you into someone else's life and out of my own. I have never been the jealous type but I feel that it will be a bit difficult for me to stay that way with you. I want only your happiness but I want to be there to watch you enjoy it. I want you with me. I have never had this sort of difficulty before. I think it is simply because I feel cheated that we did not have enough time and I am envious of the one who will have as much time with you as he wishes."

"Please, won't you come down to the surface with me? I just want to be with you a bit longer," Jake asked.

"No, I'm sorry. Live well, my love, and know that I will be waiting for you."

Srythryn hugged Jake briefly and gave him a quick kiss and turned and got back on the elevator and Jake's heart broke as he watched the doors close.

He felt utterly defeated. He'd found the most happiness he'd ever felt in his life with Srythryn and through his own carelessness he'd thrown away the two terrific months they could have had together.

"Please, they are waiting for us below. We must go immediately," the uniformed croc said.

Jake turned and got on the trolley and sat down. The croc got on and the trolley began to make its way across to a waiting shuttle.

Jake was in a daze as they rode along and finally came to a stop and the uniformed croc stepped off and once again waited for Jake. Jake got off and walked in slow defeat onto the ship that waited with its boarding ramp lowered, and the croc followed him in.

There were already three crocs in the three front seats and Jake went to one of the two at the back and sat down. The other croc sat in the other back seat and reached over and tapped the arm of Jake's seat and then tapped his own and the two of them were strapped in as the loading ramp raised and the shuttle began to rise up toward the central axis of the cylinder.

As it rose the pilot tapped some controls and the inside surface of the sphere they sat in once again vanished to be replaced with a display of what was around them. Once again Jake had the sensation of sitting on a chair that was flying in formation with four others.

They continued to rise and Jake saw the slot at the center of the back wall of the cylinder open up to let them out. They began to accelerate towards the opening and within seconds they shot through it.

Jake was briefly disoriented as they emerged because not only was the entire star field before him spinning, but as they came out they came into view of a massive brown, blue and green planet to one side that was flying in a smooth curve around them like it was orbiting them. It took a moment for Jake to realize it was because they'd been spinning along with the cylinder all along and as they emerged they were still spinning.

In just moments the shuttle they were in stopped its spin and the star field settled down and the planet stopped moving and stayed stationary to their left.

They turned in towards it and then turned again to orient themselves along the axis of the cylinder with the planet now below them and they began to drop toward it. They quickly began to accelerate as the ship allowed the planet's gravity to pull it down at a steep angle.

Jake looked up and realized this finally gave him a vantage that allowed him to see the length of Srythryn's ship as they sped forward beneath it and dropped away from it. It was truly astounding. He'd been picturing in his mind a huge thick cylinder and hadn't really stopped to think about the ratios of sizes he'd been told about. Now that he could see it from the outside he saw that it was more like an incredibly long piece of dried spaghetti floating in space. The cylinder was at least a hundred times longer than it was wide.

He noticed as they sped along below it and dropped away from it that only the back section of the cylinder was visibly spinning from the outside. It looked like the back wall and a length that would be a bit more than the shipping bay was spinning but further forward there was an even wider cylinder that continued on to the front of the ship, and the outer cylinder was stationary. It was like there was a spinning cylinder slipped inside of another, larger cylinder that was not spinning. All along the length of the outer cylinder Jake could see a repeating pattern of small bumps with what from this distance looked like short, thick hairs poking out of them. He couldn't imagine what they would be for, but he forgot about them when his eyes moved toward the front of the ship. It was so far away that he probably wouldn't even be able to see it except that there was a ring of large faintly glowing blue disks around it. If he could see them this well from this distance then they had to be absolutely massive.

As the shuttle gained speed and came closer and closer to the front of the long cylindrical ship, he saw that each disk was wider than the cylinder by several times so each was at least three miles or more across and there looked to be a dozen of them in a ring spaced widely around the cylinder. Jake realized that what he was seeing must be the reaction ports of the plasma propulsion system Srythryn had said the ship used to push itself through space, or he supposed since they were at the front of the ship, to pull itself through space.

The disks were at the back ends of curved tubes that bloomed out like a spreading manifold from a huge sphere at the front of the cylinder. The sphere looked to be at least six or eight miles across and the twelve tubes emerged from the sphere and curved outward and then backwards along the cylinder where they widened to become the plasma exhaust ports. They would likely glow blindingly bright with long cone shaped tails of blue light that would stretch down the length of the cylinder when fired up. He wished he could see it. He couldn't even imagine how much energy it would take to drive that amount of mass through space.

He made a mental note to ask Srythryn to show him diagrams of the ship. He sort of thought of it as his home now and he wanted to know everything about it.

The thoughts of Srythryn tugged at his heart and reminded him of his depressing predicament. He had no idea how long it would be before he would see the wonderful crocodile and his amazing ship again. He almost wished something would go wrong and they would burn up entering the planet's atmosphere so he could die and be back aboard. He realized, though, that even that would do no good. He'd just wake up to a smiling Xelzix and go out the door to a sullen Srythryn who would deliver him once again to the shuttle bay to be taken back down to the planet again like some outer space version of the old movie Groundhog Day.

If he really wanted to spend time with Srythryn he would have to wait at least six months or so and then 'accidentally' fall off a cliff onto some jagged rocks or something. Then he would have a better chance to spend at least a couple of months with his lover. It would take Srythryn and his ship two months to get back out of this star's heliosphere and they needed to be somewhere far removed so that if Jake died they would not be able to get back here within the three months it would take for Jake to be resurrected again or once again Jake would wake up to be immediately hustled back down to the planet.

He hoped Srythryn would be in another galaxy the next time Jake died, and preferably deep inside the heliosphere of a very large star. According to what Jake remembered from what the croc had told him, that would mean they'd have a long trip out and Jake would likely wake up from his resurrection before they'd even cleared the heliopause. Then they'd have to do several jumps which each take time to charge up, execute, and then recharge from to get to and from the hub gates in each galaxy before a jump that would get them outside this heliosphere and then the two months to travel in to the planet again. Jake hoped that was the case anyhow. Xelzix had told him that it may even take him a year or more to get back to where he needed to be and that would mean three months to complete the resurrection and a fantastic nine months with his lovable crocodile.

He dreaded the thought that maybe that would only be an extreme and very lucky case and that most of the time it would take them only three months or less to get back here, and anytime Jake woke up from death he would be immediately going to a shuttle to come back down again.

It was just too depressing to think about.

He turned back to look at the planet that was now beginning to rotate faster below them as they began to build up speed under the pull of its gravity. Now that they were getting closer Jake could get a better look at it. There were large patches of blue here and there all over it but it was mostly green and brown. There did not appear to be any large contiguous ocean, at least on this side of the planet, but rather several smaller ones. He wondered why that would be. Jake didn't really know anything about geology but he thought that maybe it meant the planet's tectonic activity had ceased. Maybe it was a very old planet and its core had cooled enough that the landmasses weren't floating around on it anymore and everything had sort of spread out to occupy all the space equally.

Srythryn had said something about the planet being larger than Earth and thus had higher gravity. He wasn't sure how much larger it would be. For all he knew the largest of the blue patches he saw down there might already be almost the size of a major ocean back on Earth.

The whole thing looked sort of smoother than what he saw of the Earth when they'd been coming up away from it. In any of the areas that were exposed between the banks of white, puffy clouds, he didn't see the mountain ranges and canyons that he'd seen on Earth. It looked more like green forests or brown plains or grasslands. There were very few discerning features other than the different shades of green and brown and the oceans. Again he wondered if that was another sign that there were no plates pushing against each other so no mountains forming anymore. If plate tectonics had ceased a sufficiently long time ago then the mountain ranges would have eroded down to be low hills over time. That would in turn mean that there would probably be no major rivers which would mean no new canyons being made and the old ones would have filled in over time. This might be what Earth would look like in a couple of billion years or so. It gave him goose bumps when he realized that he might actually be able to live long enough to go back to Earth in a couple of billions years and find out for himself.

They had been coming down towards the planet fairly sharply and had been gaining speed, but as they approached they leveled off some and came in at a shallower angle. Jake assumed they were going to be using aerobraking to slow down as they were pulled in by the planet's gravity. It would be the most efficient way to bleed off the energy. The shallower angle would mean a slightly slower entry but less heat for the shield around them to have to disperse.

The ship rotated around to face the other way so they were flying backwards and the odd and almost inaudible hum that seemed to vibrate his teeth like he'd felt when they left Earth began to build up along with a strong sense of gravity pushing him back into his seat. They must also use a plasma drive to control their descent.

The ship was dropping very quickly now and the sphere around him began to glow dull orange and grew brighter and brighter as they went down until it actually went dark and he could see nothing but the dimly lit interior of the sphere. He assumed the display had shut down until the blindingly bright orange ball of the shield around them cooled sufficiently to be safe to look through again.

The acceleration Jake had begun to notice building was getting very strong now, pushing him into his seat as the ship slowed down. Again he marveled at how smooth the whole thing was. There was no shuddering or shaking or jolts of turbulence whatsoever and absolutely no sound from outside. It must all be absorbed and deflected by the force field around them.

They continued to drop for quite some time and then the acceleration suddenly began to subside and after a short time the display came back on and there was a dull red glow that was rapidly diminishing to full clarity again and Jake noticed they had been turning more upright as they descended until now they were facing straight up and slowly dropping down.

The ship then rotated so that they were sitting level again and turned and moved forward and downward toward what looked like a landing pad below and ahead of them in the middle of an area that was surrounded by trees.

Jake was suddenly curious about how the ship was able to balance this way given its plasma drive was at the back and he hadn't seen any sort of jets coming out the bottom of the ship even when he'd observed it coming towards him back on Earth.

He turned to the croc beside him and asked, "Does the ship have some sort of anti-gravity or something? Why does it need the plasma drive to slow itself down or accelerate out but then can just float around on its side like this?"

The croc smiled and said, "Srythryn warned me that you might have some odd questions on the way down because it was all new to you. I was surprised that you kept quiet the whole time we flew past the Slirkstrith earlier. To answer your question, we do not have any form of anti-gravity. If we did, we could likely also generate gravity and wouldn't need to spin the Slirkstrith to create it. What we use is a form of matter repulsion that acts very much like when you give two things the same static electric charge or have two magnets that are the same poles and try to push them together. They try to force each other apart. The force we employ was discovered by the First Ones long ago as an offshoot of the study of antimatter. If you have antimatter, you will have anti-forces. There likely is a form of anti-gravity that exists but it has not yet been discovered. It would be useless in any case as the only way to cancel out the gravity of the planet would be an equal and opposite anti-gravity. That would likely take an incredible amount of energy that would be far more than a ship this size could carry and it would be an incredibly inefficient means of staying afloat. What is needed is a much more localized force that acts on things around the ship and can be useful whether there is gravity or not.

"In this case we work with the anti-version of the weak nuclear force. The weak force is what holds matter together at the nuclei of atoms and its range generally is far less than the width of the neutrons it works on. The anti-version of it holds together antimatter and as such actually repels matter. The force is carried by anti-fermions in a process known as quantum anti-flavordynamics. I won't get too much into the theory. Suffice to say that the First Ones developed a way to generate and direct the anti-fermions in such a way that they can extend the range of the anti-weak force so that it extends well beyond its normal range, but it also causes it to become much weaker. It is still strong enough, though, to repel any matter that tries to encroach on the force's outer perimeter.

"There are small generators that produce directed beams of anti-fermions at various points around the ship such that the ship can be kept balanced and floating above the ground. Think of it like having four invisible legs down below us that can vary in length. The strength of each individual beam can be controlled to cause the ship to rise or fall. The beams can be directed more toward the back to push the ship forward or aimed more forward to push it back, and of course the beams can be directed to the sides to turn the ship as needed. The longest range of the beams we are able to produce is only a few hundred feet or so and beyond that they weaken too much to be effective any more. As such we still need some form of normal propulsion to move out of the gravity well or to control our descent, and of course to move around in space or high in the atmosphere where there is insufficient matter to push against to overcome the inertia of the ship."

"That's amazing, but I would think that the shuttle can't be very maneuverable if it's basically just bouncing around on some invisible springs, can it?" Jake asked.

"It is not very maneuverable at all, you are correct. This method of flight suffices for a slow moving shuttle to ferry people or cargo back and forth between the Slirkstrith and the planets we visit. We have a type of fighter craft that is used when speed and maneuverability is required. It uses aerodynamics to manipulate airflow over surfaces, coupled with a powerful propulsion system to move extremely nimbly and at incredible speed inside any atmosphere. It also has plasma retro nozzles to maneuver in the vacuum of space so it can be used anywhere. It takes great skill to pilot one. We have close to a thousand of those craft on the Slirkstrith."

"That sounds almost like the fighter jets we had back on Earth, except of course we couldn't take ours into space. I didn't see any of those in the shipping bay back on the main ship," Jake said.

"No, they are actually beneath the floor of the shuttle bay locked into launch devices facing outward. They are designed for rapid launch when needed. Within seconds of a pilot entering the craft, a doorway can be opened in the Slirkstrith's outer skin and the craft is literally thrown out by the launch device aided by the spin of the cylinder, and powers itself the rest of the way. We can launch nearly a thousand fighter craft within minutes that way if we are on high alert and the fighter pilots are all in their ships and ready to go. The exposed section of the spinning inner cylinder at the aft end of the Slirkstrith that you saw on our way down is where the fighter craft are stored and launched from."

"Amazing! Do the fighters have more than one seat? Would someone be able to take me out for a spin in one some day?" Jake asked excitedly.

"No, they have only one seat. I'd imagine that Srythryn would have no problem with you learning to fly one in our simulators though, and then you could take one out yourself. He is the best pilot we have and he loves to fly them. It takes skill and a great deal of practice but it's incredibly exciting to do. All members of the crew are required to be certified on the fighter craft in order to gain their resurrection contract. You should ask Srythryn to teach you some time."

"I will, but I don't see how I would ever get the chance to learn it. I would never be on the Slirkstrith for a long enough stretch of time," Jake said, "When we were passing by the ship earlier I noticed what looked like thousands of bumps with short hairs sticking out of them all along its length. What were those?"

"What you saw were defensive turrets that shoot focused pulses of plasma. They are spaced evenly along the length of the Slirkstrith and they can be devastating to any small craft threatening the ship. At the front of the ship at the end of the large sphere is a much larger cannon that can send a focused beam powerful enough to slice up larger capital ships. It would have made short work of the meteorite that destroyed your planet if we had arrived in time to get in front of it."

"Is the Slirkstrith some sort of war ship?" Jake asked.

"Not exactly, though it would indeed be formidable if put to the task. It was built to be our home at a time when the war was beginning to encroach into our galaxy and Srythryn wanted us to be able to defend ourselves against even a very significant force should the need arise."

"Srythryn mentioned a war with a race that was immune to the First Ones' technology. Is that the war you're referring to?" Jake asked.

The croc nodded but raised his hand and said, "I'm sorry, Jake, but we have no more time to talk. We've arrived."

The shuttle approached the landing pad and slowed to prepare to touch down. Not far beyond the pad was what looked like a large mansion with a series of outbuildings around it. There were several trees around the manor and a forest off to one side and a wide grassy field stretching out behind it.

The ship descended right on to the pad and the display winked out and the walkway immediately opened and lowered at the front of the sphere.

The seats released Jake and the croc next to him.

Jake's thoughts returned to the depressing situation he was in and the task at hand. He dreaded having to go out and meet these people but he knew he had to give it his best. They were the ones responsible for saving his life and giving him immortality and as Srythryn had told him, he had to keep them happy if he wanted to keep his contract and the insurance of return.

He steeled himself to the task and stood up. He noticed immediately that the gravity here was indeed a fair bit higher than Earth or Srythryn's ship but he didn't feel that it was going to be much of an issue. It felt a little odd but it shouldn't take too long to get acclimated. His muscles seemed well up to the task, though they had to work a lot harder now to move him around.

The croc next to him had already moved to the walkway and was waiting for him so Jake walked over and followed him down the ramp and out onto the pad.

Waiting for them at the bottom was one of the bull-like beings that looked a lot like the image of Komakwa that Jake had seen but was actually a bit smaller and much older. Jake assumed he must be Komakwa's father.

He was dressed sort of formally in what looked like a black suit with black pants and highly polished shoes, a white shirt and a sort of jacket with wide sleeves and short tails at the back. It looked a bit comical to Jake to see a bull dressed up in formal dinner attire. Jake was still only wearing the same snug fitting tan shorts as before and absolutely nothing else.

The bull was very thickly built but did not have the massively developed muscles Jake had seen on Komakwa's image. The short hair on his hide was much darker than Komakwa's and was almost black. This bull seemed considerably older than Komakwa had looked and he even had streaks of grey in the wiry beard under his chin and in the short hair on his head. He had several nicks and scars on his dark hide around his face and neck and his hands, and a large chip was missing at the tip of one his stubby horns on his left and the horn looked cracked along its length. His left eye was a duller color than the right one with almost the look of being covered in a caul and seemed not to be functioning. The bull looked as though he'd survived many battles in his lifetime.

The creature seemed to be looking disdainfully down his nose at Jake as though he found Jake to be distasteful in some way. That seemed odd since Xelzix had said the father had seen an image of Jake's new body and very much approved. Perhaps he was simply aggravated at the delay caused by Jake's unexpected demise and was showing it. He realized it was going to be an uphill battle to get things on the right track. If he wanted to keep the 'client' happy and keep his contract and the insurance of return he would need to smooth things over quickly.

Jake walked up to him and held out his hand and said, "Hello, I'm Jake Smith."

The bull looked down his nose with one eyebrow raised at the extended hand as though waiting for it to produce something.

Once again Jake realized that a handshake must not be a universal gesture of greeting so he pulled his hand back in embarrassment and said, "I'd like to start by apologizing for the delay in getting here. It was not the fault of the First Ones but completely my own. I assure you that I will do everything I can to get things on track with Komakwa as quickly as possible."

The large bull's eyes immediately narrowed and he harrumphed and said in a gravelly voice, "I don't know what any of this has to do with the young master, but I would prefer you stay well away from him. I have no interest in your apologies. Understand this, I am against your staying at this home. I do not care of the plight of your people or the loss of your world. You have no business here on mine. I will deal with you only as absolutely necessary given my position, and I would prefer if we not exchange any more words than is absolutely required. I am Troska. I serve Mogwo and his household and I will take you to your room so that you may get cleaned up, dressed more appropriately, and be ready to meet the master of the house for dinner."

Jake realized he'd been apologizing to what was essentially a butler with what appeared to be a very large chip on his shoulder about strangers. Jake really was off to a shaky start, even with the hired help. He shook his head and sighed.

"Lead the way then," he said.

The old bull stiffened his shoulders and turned and walked back toward the manor house and Jake followed.

Jake saw that the bull had a small hole in the back of his pants that allowed his tail to hang down. The slender tail hung limply like it had no muscles controlling it anymore and it had a few nicks and scars and the small tuft of hair at the end looked ragged.

He heard a humming sound and looked back over his shoulder and saw the shuttle lifting off the ground and slowly turning and tilting upward, then a blue cone of light emerged from the larger sphere at the back of the shuttle and steadily grew brighter and longer to the sound of crackling and hissing like it was burning the air around it as the ship began to accelerate. Jake was amazed at how quiet it was to have so much power. It did not take long for the shuttle to begin to shrink away in the distance as it started its climb back up out of the gravity well and into orbit to return to Srythryn's ship.

He wished with all his heart he could be on the shuttle and heading back to Srythryn. He missed the croc terribly already and was not looking forward to his stay on this unwelcoming planet. It felt to him as though he was being abandoned on a hostile world.

They walked through a gate on a paved stone path that led all the way up to a grand looking main entrance to the house. The house stretched out wide and low and was covered in a simple looking pale red colored clay surface. There were decorative water fountains on either side of the path and there were well maintained flowering shrubs and trimmed hedges and lush green grass all around the yard.

Instead of going up to the main entrance, Troska led Jake onto a smaller pathway that took them all the way around to the side of the house where there was an innocuous looking door that Jake assumed must be the servants' entrance.

Rather than holding the door open and offering a polite 'after you', Troska flung the door open and walked in and Jake simply followed and closed the door behind him.

The old bull led him down a long hallway toward the back of the house that led to another door that opened into a wider hallway that ran along the back of the large home. There were several doors along either side of the hall and Troska stopped at one of them.

"This will be your room while you stay here," the old bull said, "A set of clothes appropriate for dinner have been laid out on the bed for you to wear immediately and there are other more casual clothes in the drawers and closets. Should there be anything else you might need, please do not hesitate to bother someone else with it. I will give you ten minutes to prepare. Be ready when I return and I will take you to Mogwo."

Without waiting for any acknowledgment the bull turned and walked away down the hall.

Jake watched the retreating back of the butler and wondered how exactly he'd managed to secure his position in the household. His people skills most definitely left something to be desired.

He sighed in resignation again and opened the door and walked in.

The room looked nice and neat and very comfortable with a large bed and a small table with a chair on either side of it against the back wall next to a bay window. There was a comfortable looking reading chair in the corner and a door that opened into a private bathroom on one side of the room and a large closet on the other.

Jake looked at the clothes on the bed. They looked a lot like clothes from back on Earth. He saw sharply pressed black pants and a starched white shirt, a black jacket, and a pair of highly polished black shoes sat on the floor at the foot of the bed.

He went over and picked up the pants and under them he found a pair of white boxer shorts that looked to be made of cotton and a pair of black socks.

He pulled off his tan shorts and placed them on the bed and began to get dressed.

To his surprise everything fit as though it had been carefully and expertly tailored for him. He supposed he shouldn't really be surprised by it since precise dimensions of his body were likely given to Mogwo's staff long ago.

When he was done dressing he went over and looked at himself in a long mirror that was next to the door leading to the bathroom. He looked very sharp. The suit was made of a light linen material and hung on him perfectly. There was no tie and there was no top button on the bright white shirt so it hung open slightly at the neck. The jacket looked a lot like the ones worn on Earth except that it was somewhat longer and slightly narrower at the waist and there were no lapels. Instead of the usual wide collar, the shoulders of the jacket came to his neck and then abruptly went up it in a short ring around the back of his neck. The collar of the white shirt was the same but extended up slightly higher than the jacket and the white sleeves extended just slightly past the sleeves of the jacket. It looked quite good.

There was a loud knock at the door. Jake was about to say 'come in' but the door abruptly opened and there stood an impatient looking Troska.

"I see you managed to dress yourself correctly. How surprising. Follow me."

Without waiting he turned and started down the hall and Jake had to rush to catch up to him.

They came eventually to a set of double doors. Troska stopped and cleared his throat and stood up a bit straighter. He opened the doors and entered smoothly and stood aside.

"Your guest has arrived, sir," he said as he waited for Jake to enter.

Jake walked in to a formal looking dining room with a long table and several high-backed chairs around it. There were three places set, one at each end of the table and one in the middle on one side.

At the far end sat an impressive looking, dark brown bull dressed in the same sort of suit that Jake was wearing. He smiled and stood and came over to where Jake was standing.

He was massive. He stood over a foot taller than Jake and had much wider shoulders. He had neat, long hair on his head. His small, brown beard under his chin was braided and had a small gold ring at the end of the braid. His stubby horns were shiny almost to the point of looking like they'd been lacquered. His eyes had a piercing and measuring look to them. He had an air of grace, and practiced and easy authority. His muscles were huge and he seemed as though he were going to explode out of his suit at any moment. Jake actually felt the floor shaking a bit as the bull walked over to them.

"That will be all for now, Troska, thank you. Please give us thirty minutes to speak and then have Komakwa join us for dinner," the large bull said in a warm, rumbling, masculine voice.

Troska bowed slightly and walked backwards out of the room and closed the doors as he went out.

The bull turned to Jake and said, "Welcome, Jake. I am Mogwo. I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance."

Jake was about to extend his hand again out of habit but stopped himself.

"I'm pleased to meet you too, Mogwo. I must apologize for the delay in getting here. It was my own fault and in no way that of the Matchmakers. I will make it up to you as well as I can."

"Please, have a seat," Mogwo said while indicating one end of the table and the big bull walked back to his chair at the far end and sat, "The delay was unavoidable I'm sure, but unfortunate. I was hoping to install you in Komakwa's life with plenty of time for the two of you to get to know each other before his ascendance."

"Ascendance?"

"His right of passage into manhood. It is less than a month away now. I feel he is not ready for it. The trial is difficult and requires a clear head, confidence and strength of heart. Komakwa is moody and angry of late. He has not been practicing his skills and he has resisted any of my attempts to get him ready for the ordeal. I do not wish him to fail. He is my only child and is my whole world. Given his current emotional state I fear that even if he succeeds, I may lose him anyway."

"Is the trial dangerous? May I ask what it entails?"

"There is a second planet in our system that is at the outer edge of the habitable zone. It is, in fact, the planet of our birth as a race. We evolved on it and as we became advanced enough to study the moon and stars and other planets we realized that our own moon had at some point in its past been struck by a massive object that had imparted on it an erratic orbit that was becoming more and more eccentric over the years and would ultimately cause it to collide with our planet. Our scientists estimated we had no more than a few hundred years before the annihilation of our race. There was nothing we could do but push our technology as fast as we could to get off our world and begin to colonize this one. We were able to get a substantial number of our people off the planet but it was still only a fraction of its population before the moon struck. The impact caused a great upheaval and destroyed almost all life on the planet. That happened millions of years ago and it was those events that led us into space and to being invited into the cosmic collective by the First Ones.

"Over time our original home world began to heal but the enormous energy imparted to it by the collision has made it extremely active geologically and it is almost like a young planet again. Our people now treat it as the burial ground of our race and a sacred sanctuary. None are allowed to go there except as part of their ascendance. Many of the creatures that survived the cataclysm have evolved to become very dangerous and effective hunters. It is a harsh and unforgiving world. In a tradition that dates back millions of years now, when a boy reaches twenty four of our years he is dropped on the planet alone with nothing but the clothes on his back and a hunting knife and he is left there for a period of forty days to survive on his wits and skill alone. He must learn what he is capable of and his ability to stand on his own is tested to its limits. Should he survive he is retrieved from the planet and comes back to us as a man."

"I saw an image of Komakwa. He certainly looked strong and capable to me. He is a magnificent looking young man. You must be very proud," Jake said.

"I am indeed, and if I may say so, he has managed to attract a most magnificent looking match. You are quite an exquisite looking man, Jake. I have never seen your like before. I feel that even given the unexpected delay, I could not have asked for better than you and I am quite pleased with the Matchmakers. As for my boy, there is no doubt he has the strength of body to endure the trial but it takes wits and a clear head and a strength of character as well. The boy is normally quite sharp of mind, but lately has been distracted and his mood clouded over. He is being influenced by a group of people that I personally find distasteful."

"Yes, Xelzix, the Matchmaker assigned to me, explained some of it. He said that these people wanted to return to your more traditional ways."

"Not the best parts of our traditions. We rose from a tribal people who lived as one with the land. We are a proud race. We try to maintain those traditions as best we can but like many species who have emerged into the cosmic collective, we have become somewhat reliant on technology to make our lives easier. The people who have been influencing my son believe that it has made us weaker and that our race should return to its roots and shun the First Ones and all of their technologies. They feel the land belongs to our people and no one else. They will not tolerate the presence of strangers from other worlds. They follow a traditional religion that in my opinion goes against even our own evolution. The religion forbids the coupling of males with males, even though our bodies evolved such that sex between males is not only possible but very enjoyable for both parties. They allow only one male and as many females as he is able to win over and keep. They would see us cut ourselves off from the collective and order the removal of the favors from our bodies and our world."

"Would the First Ones do that sort of thing if asked to?"

"I do not know. There are individuals who have refused the favors and the First Ones oblige them but I know of no entire race that has refused them. To refuse the favors as a race would mean being banished from the collective and in order to protect the other races from dangerous technological advances and to protect us against diseases and infections that would destroy us without the favors to protect our bodies, we would likely even not be allowed to venture out into space any longer. It would be devastating to the future of our people. If a cataclysm of the type that destroyed our original world, or like the one that destroyed yours, were to come again we would be helpless and we would vanish from the universe."

"I hate to ask it as I don't wish to get anyone in trouble, but is it possible that Troska is a follower of this movement to the old traditions?" Jake asked.

Mogwo chuckled, "I see Troska made his usual impression. I'm sorry if he was abrasive with you. He is normally quite smoothly mannered and accommodating to our own people but he does have some difficulty with aliens. He is mostly harmless I assure you. He is an old comrade who served under me in combat many years ago who has chosen to remain in my service when I joined our government and became head of collective relations. I and many of the men who served under me owe Troska our lives several times over. He was a brave and effective soldier. He comes from a very poor family with no status and his prospects were not good. I keep him on out of a sense of obligation although he may not be the most effective person for this particular job. He does get it done, even if not always in the style I might prefer. He has attended to my son's needs for Komakwa's entire life and the boy is very attached to the old codger."

"The captain of the ship that carried me here mentioned something in passing about a war between the collective and a race that is immune to the favors. Is that where you saw combat?" asked Jake.

"Yes, the collective is at war with the zeths. They are a race of unusual creatures from a galaxy that the First Ones were not able to explore. The zeths' biology is based on silicon rather than carbon and is immune to the devices of the First Ones. They are dangerous and aggressive enemies and we are doing our best to keep them contained within their own galaxy. I was in the war for a few hundred years. Troska came along nearly a hundred years ago and served under me. I died a great many times but Troska did not die once. He is a great warrior. All who choose to fight against the zeths are given contracts for return by the First Ones. Troska is one of those who refused the favors because of his beliefs and so if he had died in the war he would have been gone forever. I grew tired of war and I met Komakwa's mother thirty years ago and decided to marry her and come back here to serve in our government. We are a very long lived race even without the favors and contracts for resurrection, but Troska was becoming too old for combat and I feared his luck would run out so I convinced him to come here to live with my family a few years after Komakwa was born. I know that he is not the best choice for a servant in this household since my position requires me to entertain foreign dignitaries quite often, but I have tremendous respect for the old curmudgeon and I cannot bring myself to let him go."

"You said that you were head of collective relations, do you mean the cosmic collective?"

"Yes, I am responsible for maintaining the relations between my race and the First Ones and the rest of the cosmic collective. It is a position of honor and is very gratifying to me but it happens to cause a lot of friction between myself and the movement that has been courting Komakwa. I suspect they are pushing hard to convert my son to their cause in an attempt to gain sway over me."

"Forgive me, but why won't you allow your son to make his own decisions about his life?"

"I will not only allow it but encourage it, but only when he becomes a man. As long as he remains a boy he will live as I see fit. Our race still holds to many of our ancient traditions and that is one of them. A boy has no real say in his own life until he proves himself a man. I do not wish to be controlling but simply wish to be sure that he gains the experiences and knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about his own future. He has not been himself these past years. Ever since the passing of his mother six years ago he has pulled inside himself and built a sort of hatred of the outside universe. He was much closer to his mother than he ever has been to me. He sees me as a failure for not keeping her with us, though there was nothing I could do to save her. She died of a blood infection that was a complication of a minor accident she had," Mogwo explained.

"Was she like Troska then? Did she refuse the favors? Surely they would have stopped her infection?" asked Jake.

"No, she was not like Troska that I knew of, though I can't help but wonder if she was also influenced by the group that is now inserting themselves into Komakwa's life. I was very busy with my position in the government and I did not have as much time for my family as I would have liked. As a person of high authority and means I had a contract in place for the insurance of return for her and she did have the favors, but to my own shock and dismay the infection overwhelmed her immune system and the Resurrectors did not bring her back. They informed us that she had contacted them herself and ordered them to cancel her contract and wipe the map of her mind from their computers and purge the favors from her body and they had obliged. The First Ones have no reason to lie but I have no idea why she would have done that. Komakwa seems to blame the First Ones for the loss of his mother. He sees some conspiracy there that simply can't exist. He insists that there is some reason why they didn't bring her back and it had nothing to do with her canceling her contract, but that the First Ones themselves did not want her to come back. I do not know where he would get these notions. I think he is aligning himself with the movement simply because they are against the First Ones' interference in our lives."

"Are you hoping I can somehow change his mind about it?"

"Not directly, I am hoping that he develops a reason to change it himself. I would prefer, in fact, that you not enter into any discussion directly on the subject with him. He would become very defensive about it and it would cause him to push you away. I simply want you to befriend him and listen to him and give him someone to talk to that has no other agenda with him other than to be his friend and perhaps his lover. I am hoping that he will not be able to ignore his attraction to you and will eventually succumb to it and allow himself to feel the pleasure of being alive and to understand that there is more to life than following some blind religion with arbitrary rules that were invented so long ago that they stopped being relevant millions of years ago. I am hoping he will come to trust you and confide in you and you might gain some insight into what is going on with him and maybe help him through it."

"Do you have reason to think there might be something else eating at him besides the loss of his mother?" Jake asked.

"I feel he may be struggling with his sexuality due to the beliefs that are being impressed upon him by the movement. He is close to becoming a man and yet has never experienced sex with anyone to my knowledge. Among our people it is normal for the young to begin to engage in sexual activity as soon as their puberty begins by the age of fourteen, which would be the equivalent of about eleven of your years. He is nearly twenty four of our years, nearly eighteen of yours, and has not yet pursued an intimate relationship with anyone. There are many females who have expressed an interest in him and they have tried everything in their power to lure him but he ignores them completely. I am quite certain it is simply because he has no interest in females but would prefer a male for company.

"I have watched him since he was a little one and I have seen the way he has looked at males. There is a hunger of sorts there when he looks at their bodies and a desire to get closer to them and gain approval from them. I have never once observed him looking at females the same way. I have openly encouraged him to follow his desires but he becomes angry and denies they exist. Since he is becoming a follower of the old religion I think he believes that intimacy with a male is something that would be sinful. I asked the Matchmakers to set your age such that your sexual development would put you just a couple of years ahead of Komakwa's so that you would be young and attractive to him while also being just old enough to be someone for him to look up to and perhaps ask advice of. My hope is that he would be so attracted to you that he would at least temporarily forget his religious strictures and let himself live a life of happiness and sexual freedom for a while."

Jake was suddenly struck by the thought that Komakwa was struggling with the same issue Jake had been. Allowing his religious beliefs to interfere with his own self discovery and living a life of denial of who he really was. He recalled part of the conversation with Srythryn when he was first picked up and shuttled to the main ship when Srythryn had said that there would likely be something about Jake's personality and his match's that would click in some way, something that would draw them together at an emotional level. Perhaps this was it.

Mogwo continued, "Komakwa is denying who he really is and I feel it is preventing him from fully knowing himself. He may not be ready for the trial and if he fails I will lose him forever, but even if he succeeds I will no longer be able to guide him. By our laws he is bound to obey me until he proves himself a man. Once he returns from his trial he will be a man and free to do as he wishes. I fear that he will disappear into the clutches of the movement and again, I will lose him forever. It is my hope that he will develop strong enough feelings for you that he will have someone to come back to who is living under this roof. He would not come back for me but he may do it for someone he loves."

"You think he no longer loves you?"

"I have no doubt that deep down inside he still loves his father, but that in his current state of mind, that love is far overshadowed by his anger and frustration which are heightened by the rebellious nature of a male of his age..."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of slightly raised voices approaching in the hallway.

An unfamiliar male voice said, "I don't get why I have to be at this dinner! I don't care about my father's guests and he's never forced me to pay any attention to them before! Why am I dressed like this? Why can't I just eat dinner with you and the staff in the kitchen like always? Why should I have to hang around with some stupid alien?"

Jake heard the gravelly voice of Troska reply, "I do not presume to know your father's mind. He wishes you to keep the creature company during its stay here. Perhaps it is an entertainment for you and he wants you to see what sort of tricks it can do. I don't know. I do not blame you for being angry at your lot. I would not wish to be forced to fraternize with an alien either. However, until your ascendance you must do as your father wishes. Now be silent and try to act like the man you will soon become."

There was a moment of silence while Mogwo cleared his throat uncomfortably and Jake tried to pretend he'd heard nothing, and then there was a knock and the doors opened and Troska swept in and waited while Komakwa followed him in.

Jake was immediately struck again by how attractive the young bull was and how familiar he seemed. It was like seeing a dearly loved, intimate old friend who'd disappeared from his life long ago, and Jake's heart immediately began beating a bit faster with a strange sort of joyful feeling. It had to be the effect of the images the Matchmakers had played in his head while he slept and whatever wonderful dreams had transpired from them.

Komakwa looked exactly like the image Xelzix had shown him but for the fact that he too had been dressed up in a sharp black dinner jacket and slacks. It just didn't look right to Jake. He would much prefer to see him in the brown suede leather shorts he'd seen in the image. It seemed unnatural for this race to be dressed up like a penguin when they had such beautiful patterns in the short hair on their hides.

As Komakwa entered, he shot a petulant look at his father and then he looked over towards Jake and his eyes widened with a sharp intake of breath and he seemed to momentarily lose his balance and bumped hard into Troska.

A sheepish look crossed his face as he distractedly apologized to the ornery and now grumbling butler while still occasionally glancing over at Jake. He then turned and walk around the end of the table behind his father and back to the middle where his place had been set. The whole while he'd been stealing glances back at Jake and then he sat at the table and blatantly stared at Jake as though he was trying to place him as someone he somehow knew.

Jake smiled at him and suddenly Komakwa was aware of his staring and looked away over toward his father in embarrassment.

Troska sighed heavily and rolled his eyes and said, "Dinner will be served shortly, sir."

The butler then backed out of the room while looking sternly at Komakwa and then he disappeared behind the closing doors.

"Son, I would like you to say hello to Jake. Jake, this is my son Komakwa," Mogwo said.

Jake smiled and said, "I'm happy to meet you, Komakwa."

Komakwa smiled back reflexively while staring into Jake's eyes but said nothing for a moment, then he realized everyone was waiting for him to speak and he said simply, "Hello."

Mogwo cleared his throat again and said, "Jake will be staying with us for an as yet undetermined period of time. He has suffered a terrible loss and his world has been destroyed by a meteorite before his people had fully emerged into the collective. Ours is the closest civilized world to his and I have invited him to stay with us until such time as he may reconnect with others of his race. You know how busy I get in my position and I was hoping that you would be able to keep Jake company during his stay here and help him feel at home."

Komakwa had been staring at Jake again during most of his father's speech and distractedly said, "Sure," while continuing to gaze into Jake's eyes.

Jake smiled again at Komakwa and the young bull once again smiled back.

The young bull's demeanor suddenly seemed to shift and his shoulders relaxed and he said, "I hope you like it here, Jake. It can be a bit stuffy in the house but maybe later on we could go outside and I could show you around. We have massive kwarren stables and we could maybe go for a ride or something."

Jake smiled again and said, "I have no idea what a kwarren is, but that sounds great."

Komakwa smiled back but said nothing more as he just sat and gazed into Jake's eyes.

"Kwarrens are huge flightless birds that are used as both a source of meat and leather and traditionally among our people a beast to be ridden, Jake," Mogwo explained, "Komakwa, I don't think you should be taking Jake on a ride outside the grounds since he's unfamiliar with the kwarrens, but it should be fine to put him on a calm one and lead him around until he becomes more familiar with their quirks."

Komakwa smiled at his father and nodded.

It suddenly seemed to Jake like this might not be quite as difficult as he'd feared. He should have had faith in the match just as Srythryn had told him to. If the chemistry is right and the Matchmakers had already verified that Jake and Komakwa would find each other attractive then there was no reason to think they wouldn't hit it off fairly easily. Jake simply needed to be careful not to push any of the wrong buttons and not rush anything and it should be fine.

There was a soft tapping at the doors and they opened once again and two females dressed in servants attire entered wheeling large carts loaded with plates of various meats and vegetables. They began moving about the table placing food on it and were followed in by Troska with a large container from which he poured what looked to be wine into their glasses. He then placed the container on a small table against the wall and then waited by the doors for the other servants to exit and then he backed out while closing the doors once again.

The three turned to the food in front of them and began to help themselves and proceeded to eat.

There was some light conversation in which they asked Jake a bit about Earth and he did his best to explain its history and what life was like there. Komakwa seemed drawn to Jake and was hanging on his words and Jake certainly found the young bull attractive and a pleasure to talk to. He was polite and attentive and not much like the petulant, angry and rebellious youth that his father had described.

Mogwo tried to limit his involvement in the conversation as he smiled at the immediately positive effect Jake was already having on his son. He did not want to interfere with the process of the two of them warming up to each other.

The meal proceeded smoothly and Mogwo decided when everyone was done to make excuses and leave the two of them to get to know each other.

He cleared his throat again and said, "Jake, I must apologize but I have pressing business I must attend to before the day ends. Komakwa, could you please show Jake back to his room so that he can change into something more comfortable then the two of you can go out and you can show him the stables?"

Komakwa grinned and said, "Yes, sure. Let's go, Jake."

He abruptly stood and walked around the table and opened the doors and turned to wait for Jake to follow.

Jake got up and started toward the doorway. He glanced over at Mogwo as he walked over to join Komakwa and he saw that the big bull was grinning from ear to ear and he nodded once at Jake. He was clearly pleased.

Jake smiled and then turned his attention to Komakwa and followed as the young bull led him back down and around the hallways toward his room.

As they approached the rooms Komakwa turned to Jake and said, "I don't know which one they put you in."

Jake smiled and indicated the correct door and Komakwa opened it up and walked in, followed by Jake.

Komakwa walked over to the bed and found the shorts Jake had removed earlier. He looked them over and ran the fabric through his fingers.

"These won't be any good for riding."

He went over to a dresser and opened a few drawers to look inside them. He placed the shorts in one of them and pulled out another pair. They were similar to what Jake had seen Komakwa wearing in the holographic image he'd seen of him back on the ship. He tossed the shorts on the bed for Jake and then added a thick pair of socks that he got from another drawer. He then went to a closet and opened it up and found several types of shoes. He took a large pair of boots that looked surprisingly like hiking boots from back on Earth. They were all leather with leather laces and a thick, hard sole with lots of traction. He placed the boots at the foot of the bed and then smiled at Jake.

"Just put your clothes anywhere and Troska will put them away for the favors to take care of. I'll go change and I'll come back to get you in a while."

"Hold on," Jake said, "It will only take me a minute to change. Could you just wait and then I'll come with you so you can change and we can go straight out?"

Komakwa smiled and nodded. He moved to go out the door and wait in the hall but he paused, and then impulsively closed the door but stayed on this side of it and turned to wait for Jake.

Clearly the bull was curious and wanted to get a good look. Jake smiled and slipped off his jacket and hung it in the closet and kicked off his shoes into the floor of the closet. He then pulled off his socks and put them in one of the drawers and then went to work unbuttoning his shirt. He made a point of facing Komakwa when he pulled it off and and he noticed the young bull's eyes running over his chest and following the treasure trail of Jake's body hair down to his waist where Jake's hands now went to unbutton his pants. He saw Komakwa shift a bit as though trying to get more comfortable and Jake saw that the crotch of the bull's pants was becoming a bit more crowded. Jake felt himself starting to get aroused too as he stepped out of his pants while the young bull watched. He didn't want to rush things too much too soon though, so he tried to think of other things to keep from getting too worked up.

"You must have ridden these kwarrens all your life if you grew up with your own stables," Jake remarked to try to distract himself while he neatly folded the pants and put them on a hanger and hung the shirt over it and hung them in the closet.

"Yes, I love riding. I'm pretty good," Komakwa said.

"I have a feeling you're probably a lot better than 'pretty good', Komakwa. You look to me like you would be the best at anything you apply yourself to. You don't need to be modest with me."

"Call me Mak."

"Sure, is that what your friends call you?" Jake asked.

"They did when I was little. I don't really have any friends anymore. They all grew up to like different things than me I guess," the young bull said.

Jake was put in mind of his own life when he was young. He'd had difficulty forming relationships too due to his denial of his own sexual identity and his need to keep it secret. He could never really open up to anyone so he couldn't form any real friendships and as he grew up the few friends he'd had had drifted away from him. He felt bad for Mak.

"Well, I hope you'll come to think of me as a friend, Mak," Jake said.

The bull smiled at him and nodded.

Jake was wearing nothing but his boxer shorts now and moved to pick up the leather shorts from the bed to put them on.

"Wait," Komakwa said, "We don't wear anything under the shorts. They're designed to be comfortable that way. Your underwear would just get in the way."

Jake looked down and saw that his boxer shorts were actually a bit longer then the leather shorts so they would definitely not work. He thought of going into the bathroom to pull them off but Komakwa was watching him intently with great interest and what looked like anticipation. Jake decided to just stay here and show him the full package. Once again he faced the bull and slipped his underwear down to his ankles and stepped out of them.

Komakwa's face went slightly slack and his eyes widened as he gazed at Jake's thickening, long cock and big, furry balls, but what seemed to fascinate him the most was the patch of dark pubic hair framing it all.

Jake made a point of moving slowly now to give the bull time to have a satisfactory look at him. He picked up the underwear and turned to walk to the dresser to show the bull his backside. He opened one of the drawers and placed the underwear in them. Jake then turned and walked slowly back toward the bed to pick up the leather shorts. He held them up and turned them this way and that under the pretense of trying to figure out which way they went while glancing over toward Komakwa.

The bull was almost in a trance as his gazed traveled up and down Jake's muscular body. His eyes seemed to pause at several things that interested him. He was fascinated by Jake's body hair and when Jake raised his arms to examine the shorts Mak's eyes went straight to his armpits to look at the dark, soft hair there then they went back to the hair on Jake's chest and then back to the pubic hair again. Then he just seemed to be gazing over all of Jake's body.

"Your skin looks so soft and supple," he quietly whispered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Jake asked.

Komakwa cleared his throat and stood a bit straighter as he snapped out of his reverie and said more loudly, "Uh, your skin looks soft. I wonder if we should get you some long leather pants instead. We normally only wear shorts because our legs are so muscled and shorts are much more comfortable when you need to bend your legs a lot. We have tougher hide though, so it doesn't bother us to have bare legs when we go through long grass and brush while we ride. In fact we prefer to stay bare all over for the most part. It's more comfortable that way when you have a hairy hide."

He smiled somewhat sheepishly at Jake and Jake smiled back.

"Well, if you're just going to be leading me around the grounds on the kwarren it shouldn't be a problem. I'll look for some pants next time. I've been mostly bare a lot lately and frankly I find I like it a lot better than having lots of clothes."

"Don't you get cold? Your skin looks so thin and you have such a small amount of fur that it really looks more decorative than anything else. It looks really nice but it can't do much to keep you warm," Komakwa said while returning his gaze to Jake's body hair and settling at his pubic patch again.

Jake smiled and said, "Yes, I suppose if it gets cold I might have issues. I would rather have a nice warm hide like yours to be honest. Yours looks better than my plain old skin anyhow."

Komakwa grinned but said, "No, it doesn't, not to me anyways."

Jake smiled and stepped into the shorts and pulled them up. They had a button at the top and then a short bit of leather lacing that crisscrossed up where a zipper would normally be that he snugged up and tied off. They were incredibly comfortable. They'd been built to his dimensions perfectly. It was as though the leather had been stretched and molded and worked over a model of his body or something. They held his private parts very comfortably and they hugged him well and did not rub or chafe anywhere. The leather was supple and soft and had obviously been worked well.

Jake sat on the bed and put the woolen socks on and then pulled on the big hiking boots and tied them up and he was ready to go.

Komakwa smiled at him and then opened the door and they went further down the hall to a larger door. It opened onto a wider and shorter hallway with a few larger doors and Komakwa walked to the closest one and opened it and waited for Jake to go through.

"This is my room," he said.

Jake walked in and took a quick look around. It looked very similar to his room but larger. He moved over next to the door and waited as Komakwa entered and closed the door behind him. The bull immediately took off his jacket and threw it on the bed. He then took off his shoes and socks and threw them in a corner. Jake could immediately catch a light whiff of the young bull's feet. They had clearly been sweating in the shoes. It smelled wonderful to Jake. He had always had a thing for the smell of a man's feet provided it was in moderation. It pushed some sort of button in his libido.

Jake went and picked up the big socks and shoes off the floor and the jacket off the bed and took them over to the closet.

"You don't need to bother with that, Jake. Troska does it for me," Komakwa said, as Jake put the shoes on the floor of the closet and hung up the jacket and then went to put the socks in a drawer.

"I'm not used to the idea of servants. I prefer to do things for myself when I can," Jake said.

"You didn't have servants where you came from? Were you poor?" asked Komakwa as he began to work the buttons on his shirt.

"No, I was actually quite well off. Servants just aren't really done for the most part by my people anymore. We like to be independent and it sort of fell out of style over time. It seems a bit strange to me to leave the stuff laying around for someone to have to come in and pick it up from here and put it over there when it takes just a second to do it myself."

"I never really thought of it that way," said Komakwa, "It's strange really. There are some of my people who are very much against the favors and all of the things they do for us. They think the favors make us weak and unable to take care of ourselves. Servants aren't really much different now that I think of it. They're worse in some ways. The favors wouldn't pick up my smelly socks and put them in the drawer. If I didn't have servants I'd have to do it myself."

"Well, if your servants ever abandon you I would be happy to pick up your smelly socks for you anytime. I might just keep them though. They smell great to me," Jake said, smiling.

Komakwa chuckled and said, "I sort of like the smell too. It's weird but I always have."

He grinned at Jake and winked like they were sharing some secret. It certainly made sense that they would like the same things since they came up as the best possible match but it still seemed surreal to Jake just how attracted he was to Komakwa and how comfortable he felt with him. He would never tell anyone that he liked the way their feet smelled, yet with Mak it just came out and he felt no embarrassment saying it.

Komakwa finished unbuttoning his shirt and slipped it off and then went over to the closet and put it on a hanger and hung it up and then he turned and grinned at Jake like it was a major accomplishment.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Jake asked.

"I don't know. I guess not, but I feel so crass and uncultured all of a sudden putting away my own clothing," he joked.

Jake laughed and the bull chuckled too.

Komakwa slipped his pants off and folded them and put them in a drawer and Jake saw that he was wearing boxer shorts too.

Jake found himself staring at the bull's body much like Komakwa had done to him. The young bull was immensely appealing to Jake. He stood nearly a foot taller than Jake and his muscles rippled and bulged under his thick hide. They were simply massive. His shoulders were huge and wide. His biceps were as big around as Jake's muscular thighs, and Komakwa's thighs were almost as large around as Jake's waist. Now that he was so close to Komakwa he could smell a slightly earthy scent. He thought he caught a light bit of the scent of sweat as well as the wonderful scent of the big bull's feet and it was starting to make his head spin a bit. Everything about Komakwa called out to Jake to reach out and touch it and see how it feels. He looked so firm and strong and warm and masculine. Jake could feel his cock beginning to rapidly inflate again as he drank in the view of this magnificent male.

"Are you alright, Jake? You look a little dazed," Komakwa said.

Jake said, "I'm sorry. I got sort of mesmerized there while shamelessly staring at you. I didn't know anyone besides my people even existed before my world was destroyed a short time ago, so even just the idea of people who look so different from us is all still new to me. You look so good to me that you might catch me staring a lot so I should just apologize for it all in advance."

Komakwa grinned and said, "You can stare at me all you want, I don't mind. I've never seen one like you before either. I was sort of staring too. You look different than any species I've ever seen."

Jake smiled and said, "You must get to see a lot of different races because of your father's position. It must be pretty wonderful to see so much variety."

Komakwa shrugged and said, "I've seen a lot of different people but most of them are sort of ugly or boring to be honest and I wasn't expecting any different this time. You're the first really attractive one I've seen and I wasn't really prepared for it."

"You find me attractive?" Jake asked.

Komakwa suddenly looked uncomfortable as though he realized he'd said more than he wanted to.

"It's alright, Mak. I'm really glad if you do. I don't mind telling you you're far more attractive than anyone I've ever seen in my life and I don't think I'd ever get tired of looking at you."

"Me? There's nothing special about me. I'm fairly average among my people. You're beautiful though. I love the way your skin looks and the contrast with the dark tufts of fur you have in some places and the light bit of fur over your arms and legs. It looks so nice. Most races have either no hair at all and have scales or full, thick fur that obliterates the skin, or they have hairy hides like us. Everyone has always been green or grey smooth skin or brown or black fur or something like that You're the first one I've seen with such thin skin of such a nice color and just a bit of fur for decoration. You're not overly huge like my people are but just the right size. You look strong and male and you move so well in your body. You must have been a little nervous too because I can sort of smell you a bit and it's really nice. Your hair is so fine and long and straight on your head and your skin is so smooth on your face. Your features are so fine and delicate looking too. You have a really nice face. Your hands and feet aren't thick and clumsy looking like ours. There's something familiar about you too, Jake. I wonder if I saw images of your race a long time ago and just forgot. I can't imagine why I'd forget though. You look so fantastic!"

Jake realized Komakwa must be having vague recollections of the dreams the Matchmakers had induced in him to gauge if he would be attracted to Jake.

"I like everything about the way you look too, Mak. For sort of the opposite reasons. You're so much bigger than me. I love the incredibly powerful look you have. Your muscles bulge and ripple with every move and to me you look like the ultimate in maleness. I think your hide looks amazing and I love the pattern of rich dark brown mottled with black at the back and lighter brown at the front. I highly doubt you're average among your people, but in any case to me you are the single most desirable person I've ever met. You're so masculine. I have to confess I have no interest in females. I love men, I always have, and you're the best example of what it is to be male that I've ever seen."

"Your people allow you to mate with other males?" Komakwa asked.

"I prefer the word 'accept'. 'Allow' suggests they had any real say in it, but yes, they came to accept it in time, though when I was younger it was not considered acceptable. It sort of ruined my life because I felt it was wrong to pursue my desires and instead I pushed them down and refused to acknowledge them. It really made me miserable and confused and it stifled any sense of enjoyment I might have got from life. It was only when I came to accept who I am and stopped hiding it from anyone that I suddenly felt truly alive and happy."

Jake realized he was embellishing a bit about his coming out. In fact he had never really done so until what to him seemed like just a couple of days ago with Srythryn, but the truth of it was that it really was the first time that he'd not only accepted his sexuality but acted on it. He really did suddenly feel truly and completely alive right at that moment and he'd never been happier.

Komakwa's voice dropped in volume a little as he said, "I'm glad it worked out for you. My people are sort of going the other way. For a long time it has been acceptable for males to be with males. It was even acceptable for more than two people to come together in matrimony even if they were all males. We are trying to return to our more traditional ways and those things are not really accepted by our religion. It can only be one male and however many females he wants to keep."

"I see. That must be hard for those males that really are attracted to only other males. It's just not fair to them. They are what they are and they shouldn't have to be ashamed of it nor should they have to try to change themselves or deny who they really are."

Komakwa got a sad look on his face and nodded, "I suppose you're right. It must be hard for them."

Mak had been speaking so openly and candidly about how Jake looked to him that Jake had been sure the young bull would finally come out and say what his own preference was, but it seemed he was still not quite ready. Perhaps he hadn't really admitted it to himself yet.

Mak went to the dresser and turned away from Jake as he opened a drawer to look inside. Jake saw that the back of the bull's boxers had a small hole that his tail came out through and the slender, hide-covered tail with the small brown tuft of hair at the end swished back and forth as Komakwa rummaged around for some shorts. It looked somehow adorable to see the white boxers with the cute tufted tail swishing around behind this massive and heavily muscled male.

Komakwa slipped off his boxer shorts giving Jake a fantastic view of his muscular glutes, and folded the underwear and put them in the drawer. He pulled out some leather shorts and stepped into them immediately and pulled them up. As he lifted his leg to step into the shorts Jake got a look at his massive balls from behind. He ached to touch them. He caught a bit of the scent of the bull's musk and it was even more intoxicating than Srythryn's had been.

Jake had to fight hard to resist the urge to make a move on the beautiful young bull. He wanted to let Mak be the one to make the first move, however long he would have to wait.

Komakwa reached around behind and tucked the end of his tail through a hole at the back of the leather shorts and pulled the rest of his tail through and then buttoned and tied up the shorts. He took some socks from the drawer and went over to grab some boots out of the closet and sat down on the bed to put the socks and boots on.

The young bull had a contemplative look on his face like he was thinking about what they'd discussed and was wrestling with it.

"Can I ask you something personal, Jake?"

"Sure, Mak, go ahead."

"Have you ever considered being intimate with someone not of your race?"

Jake smiled and said, "Oh yes, absolutely. Not only considered, but acted on it."

"Your people don't think that's wrong?"

"Well, honestly there's no straightforward answer to that but here's the thing that matters; I finally came to the point where I don't really care what people think about what I do any longer, whether they're my people or any one else's. I finally realized that what I do with my life is up to me and no one else has any right to tell me what's wrong or right for me. You should try that sometime, Mak. It's a wonderfully freeing sensation."

Komakwa chuckled and said, "I'm sure it is. It will be a few weeks yet before I can find out for sure."

"You're talking about your ascendance aren't you? Your father mentioned you were getting close."

"Yes, I haven't told anyone but I'm really nervous about it to be honest and I don't know if I'll make it or not. I'd rather not think about it right now if you don't mind."

"If it makes you uncomfortable then we won't talk about it. Just one thing I'd like to say though is the less you think about it from now until the big day arrives, the less prepared you're going to be. You should really sit down with your father and spend some time with him going over it all. I think if you talk to him about it and let him help you with any doubts you have about your abilities, you'll come away feeling ready and excited to take on the challenge. I won't say any more on the subject so don't worry," Jake smiled.

Komakwa smiled back at him and said, "You've said a lot already. I'll think about it, Jake, thanks."

Mak sat on the end of the bed just watching Jake for a few moments, looking as though he was wrestling with something else. It looked as though he had come to some decision and was about to say something to Jake when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Yes, what is it?" Komakwa shouted, irritated by the interruption.

The door opened and there stood Troska. He looked suspiciously at the two of them for a moment and saw that they had changed their clothes. He then looked around the room.

"I'm sorry, young master, I came to pick up your clothes. Where are they?" he asked.

"I put them away myself, Troska, thanks anyway," Komakwa said.

"You put them away?" Troska asked, seeming incredulous.

"Yes, I put them away. I know I've never done it before and I'll admit it was extremely difficult and complicated, but Jake managed to walk me through the process and showed me that I could do it for myself. I feel if I can handle that, my ascendance should be a cakewalk. Are you not proud of what I've accomplished?" Komakwa asked jokingly.

Jake chuckled but Troska got an angry look on his face and shot a glare at Jake as if to tell him to keep quiet and stay out of this.

Troska's voice became stern and even more gravelly than normal and he turned his hard stare back on Komakwa and said, "It is an accomplishment well below your station and not one to be crowing about. In future, I would prefer if you would allow me to do the job I was hired for to free you to attend to more pressing matters, such as preparing yourself for the ascendance which you seem to think will be so laughably easy. Also, it would be far more fitting if the alien were to wait outside the room while you changed rather than the two of you hiding together behind a closed door. It is completely inappropriate for you to be in any state of undress in a room alone with a stranger, and a male one no less. I would not want anyone to think there were anything unseemly happening in here."

Komakwa suddenly got an angry look on his face and stood up and snorted like a bull getting ready to charge and said in a firm, deep and steady voice that suddenly sounded surprisingly like his father's, "It seems to me, Troska, that you yourself told me just recently to try to act like the man I would soon become. Perhaps I should start by not allowing the hired help to order me around like I was one of their children. You would do well to remember who is the master here, and who the servant is. This is my room and I will do in it whatever I see fit. Jake and I have no need of your services at the moment. Leave us, now."

The old bull looked suddenly taken aback and was about to come out with some retort, but then thought better of it.

Jake smiled at the crusty old bull while Troska glared at him one last time and then straightened his shoulders and harrumphed again.

"As you wish," was all he said and he turned and walked away down the hall without closing the door.

Komakwa went over to the door and slammed it shut so hard it shuddered as if it was going to go right through the frame and into the hallway.

He looked over at Jake with chagrin and said, "I'm sorry about that. He's sort of a busy body and I guess it finally got to me. I've never been so harsh with him. I hope I didn't hurt his feelings."

"I'm not entirely sure he has any," Jake said.

Komakwa got a slightly annoyed look.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very kind of me," Jake said, "I guess it bothers me that he appears to hate me without having the slightest clue who I am or what I'm like."

The young bull shrugged his shoulders and nodded, "He shouldn't call you 'the alien' like you're some sort of lowly creature. Try not to hate him, Jake. It's just the way he is. He's old and set in his ways."

"I know you must be pretty close to Troska. He's been around and taking care of you all your life. He isn't your father though. You shouldn't let him push you around or tell you what's right. You could listen to what he says but then decide for yourself what really feels right to you. In a sense that's exactly what you just did a minute ago and you handled that perfectly. If you want my advice, the best person for you to talk to when you have any doubts about whether you should or shouldn't do anything would be your father. You sounded so much like him a moment ago when you laid things out for Troska that if I'd closed my eyes I would have been sure it was him speaking. Mogwo seems like quite a good man and I don't think you would go wrong to strive to model yourself after him," Jake said.

Komakwa smiled and said, "You're probably right. I've been sort of ignoring my father lately I guess. He's usually been too busy for me when I needed him in the past so I guess I was being a bit childish and trying to get back at him by snubbing him now that he suddenly wants to spend time with me. I've always spent most of my free time with Troska and some of the other servants. In a sense I know them better than I do my father and they know me better than he does. There's no need to get into this now though. Let's go riding, shall we?"

Jake smiled and nodded. He couldn't believe what an amazingly good start they were off to. He really felt comfortable with Komakwa and he already felt like they were kindred spirits. Everything Mak was going through was just what Jake had gone through at a younger age.

He was thrilled to be in a position to help Mak get through it in a much better fashion than Jake had done, and to learn to live a life of freedom and pride in himself rather than one of denial and misery.

Mak went out the door and Jake followed. It was time to learn to ride a kwarren, whatever the hell that is.