Integration

CHAPTER I

There were eight of them in total, all teenaged Human females stretched out in the grass. They were hidden in the rocks, close to the summit of a foothill, watching the young, winged Tantalarian males play an aerial game with a ball far overhead. Not one girl was standing guard to make sure they weren’t about to get caught, and they were getting frustrated by the lack of technology at their disposal. The Tantalarian men were too far away to see clearly without a really good set of binoculars, or a telescope. They had neither; although one did have a weak set of binoculars that they took turns trying to focus to get a clearer view.

Jean, can’t you find something better to use than these binoculars? They are barely functional. Damn, this is frustrating.

If you aren’t satisfied with what we have, I know six others girls who will be more than happy to take your turn, Elyse. Jean retorted.

Elyse tossed Jean a frown at those words. She knew her friend wasn’t joking, because the six other girls who were in the lineup waiting their turn suddenly looked at her expectantly, awaiting her response. She knew they were itching to get their hands on those binoculars. She wasn’t about to hand them over, even if the glass wasn’t good enough to get a proper look at any of the warriors above. She was going to use up every second of her time, no matter how dissatisfied she was with the focus. They wouldn’t be any happier than she was when their turn came around, and then she would have to put up with their bitching. She realized there was nothing any of them could do to improve on the matter; no one present could come up with anything better, at least anyone that they knew. She placed the binoculars back over her eyes and tried harder to see what was going on overhead and wondered if the men knew that they were being spied on. She grinned at the thought. If they did, they were definitely not shy about showing off their bodies. They just weren’t close enough to the ground to give anyone a good look.

Time is up, Jean announced as she nabbed the binoculars out of Elyse’s grasp to pass it on to the next girl.

The girl clutched at the binoculars as she smiled and raised them to her eyes. She was more than interested to check out the scenery, despite the obvious disadvantages and Elyse’s complaints. She soon understood why her friend had been so vocal, and she wasn’t above speaking her displeasure, despite her excitement.

I wish they didn’t have to play their games so high.

As the teenage Human female spoke those words, one of the young winged men missed the ball they had been tossing around, while another dove to retrieve it before it hit the ground. Elyse grinned widely, as he tucked his wings close to his body and plummeted out of the sky, and into range, unfortunately he was moving too fast for her to get a good fix on his assets. Her comments caused the rest of the group watching him to break into fits of excited giggles.

Oh yes, baby, come closer to mama, just a little closer. Damn, he caught the ball.

What did you see, Felicia? Jean asked in a state of breathless anticipation.

Not nearly enough. Elyse commented in disappointment. He didn’t come close enough for these crummy binoculars to get a good focus on him, and he was moving too fast, but what I did see, Felicia grinned, as she passed on the binoculars to the next girl in line, was spectacular. She then fanned her face to emphasize her response.

The afternoon after they had first seen the young, winged male Tantalarians, the teenage Human girls had set up a fan club. The thought behind the group was that anything that looked that hot deserved extra appreciation, and study. They were curious to know more about these people. Well, maybe not so much the winged girls, but definitely the young men. It was Felicia who had noticed the young, winged warriors playing overhead in the afternoons a couple days later, and the club had moved their activities outdoors, where they could watch. Jean located a pair of her father’s old binoculars in one of his tool kits, and filched them for the club. It was no real secret that it wasn’t the game the girls were interested in; it was the warriors, and the fact that none of them were wearing clothing.

The Human population hadn’t taken long to notice certain differences between their cultures. Tantalarian males thought nothing of appearing naked in public, and the Human women appreciated every stitch that they didn’t wear. It was no secret the girls thought the indigenous men were drool-worthy. The winged men soon learned to ignore the fuss that people made about their state of undress, and continued to live their lives as they always had.

What are you girls up to?

A brisk sounding voice from behind the group of girls broke into the group’s preoccupation with the games above. It was Lieutenant Noble, and she was with the Tantalarian with the strange wings.

Eight red-faced girls turned simultaneously to face Lieutenant Noble, and the one holding the binoculars stashed it behind her back quickly as she stood up, so no one could see what she held. There wasn’t an innocent looking face amongst the lot, as they all blushed profusely, declaring their actions without saying a word. They sheepishly exchanged glances, until Jean got up the nerve to speak.

We were just watching the game. Honestly. We are trying to figure out the rules.

Lieutenant Noble choked, as she stifled a laugh. ‘Trying to figure out the rules’, was her first thought, and she was the Queen of England. She couldn’t blame any of them for trying to cover up their actions, even if they knew they were fooling no one. She knew what they were up to, just as she was sure that if she were in the same age bracket, she would have been in the lineup with them, if not at the head. Unfortunately, this kind of espionage wasn’t allowable, and she had to break up their party. She felt as guilty and disappointed about doing this as the girls were about being busted.

Girls, you know better than this. What would your parents say if they knew what you were up to?

I would be grounded for the next month. Jean admitted.

My mother would be jealous she wasn’t invited to watch. She might even have been able to get better binoculars. She has connections I can only dream of. Felicia stated bluntly.

The group of girls burst into giggles at Felicia’s statement, and Lieutenant Noble had to award her points for the guts it took her to state what was probably the truth. Felicia’s mother was well known for her open views on what she called naturalism, and most others called nudism. She was considered promiscuous by some, although most of her friends knew better. It wasn’t that Wendy, Felicia’s mother, was promiscuous; she just didn’t like wearing clothes much, and tended to walk about without any whenever she got the chance. Women did, however, tend to gossip about her, because she had a very shapely body that men appreciated. The attention she got from the men made a lot of the other women jealous, and that was never a good thing.

Felicia noted how the winged male, Synric, looked interested at specific points, and gave a sigh of resignation. Even in this alien’s world they would probably find her mother’s penchant for walking around in her natural state arousing, and for some reason she felt compelled to explain this to him.

My mother is seriously built, and she thinks nothing of wandering around our home with nothing on.

Is this considered a problem amongst your people? Synric asked.

Not really, just unusual. Lieutenant Noble admitted.

Should I tell our young warriors they should be covering themselves while playing their games? Synric wondered.

The chorus of objections from the young females explained everything to Synric. He suddenly had clarity about why the girls had been using the binoculars earlier; it wasn’t to study the game as they had claimed. They had been using them to check out the male bodies closer. He came close to laughing out loud. These young women didn’t realize they didn’t need to use glasses to examine those men. All they needed to say was that they wanted to meet them, and the girls would have been surrounded. None of the young men in question would have given their state of undress a second thought, nor would they have done anything to embarrass the young ladies purposefully. He decided he would have to tell the boys to play their games a little closer to the ground, and he was sure hearing about this incident would be a source of amusement for his friends. The Tantalarian females might watch the games, but he knew it was not because they were interested in any specific part of the male anatomy. A nude body was nothing special, in fact, more often than not, a person who was covered was considered more interesting than one who wasn’t.

Do your young males watch our women in the same way as you watch our men? Synric wondered.

I don’t know, Felicia admitted with a careless shrug. We never bothered to ask.

Adele walked up to Lieutenant Noble’s side and grinned as she noted the binoculars in Janie’s hands. She gave a chuckle as she asked.

Anyone who we know playing the game overhead?

Your favorite is in the game. I would like to say he is seriously hung, but they are flying too high for us to see anything important. The girl called Janie spouted off. She covered her mouth with her free hand, as she realized what she had said, and blushed a deep dark crimson.

Everyone laughed as Adele blushed as deeply as Janie. How did anyone know she had a favorite? She had only talked to the young, winged male a couple of times. To deflect the attention her blush would give her, she made a caustic remark.

I never realized I had a favorite, and I am surprised you recognized anyone, with what you are trying to see with those binoculars in your hand.

The girls giggled louder as they all blushed awkwardly. It was one thing to be caught spying by someone they considered their own, another to openly admit what they were doing in front of an alien. To be fair, he seemed to find the whole thing very amusing. That gave them the feeling things wouldn’t be changing any time soon. A part of them wondered if that meant things might even improve? They certainly hoped so. That would be a bonus.

CHAPTER II

Tantalus log – week one.

To be honest, I should have labeled this, week two, but I felt it didn’t matter how long it has been since we arrived. We were so busy settling the area we landed in, in order to make it distinctively ours, that no one has had time to do anything more than work. The only members of our expedition who seem to have any energy left to spare are the younger generations. This is the first chance I have gotten to sit for a prolonged period of time to write anything about our experience. I am going to put my thoughts onto paper quickly before the things that I want to say are lost, due to fatigue. My mind and muscles are both screaming their objections about the way they have been abused this last week. We have, however, reached a point where it is possible to rest, albeit in a temporary capacity.

We started our time here by deciding to keep the name the indigenous people have given the planet. Tantalus. There is a ring to it that sounds right for some reason. We also decided to wait for our sister ship to land before putting together a government to represent our faction of the planet. I have been in touch with the leader of those who settled here first and he seems to be a level headed person. He offered us help and ordered his people to labor next to ours, which I ended up policing, as we found members of our society prone to taking advantage of their good will.

The winged people who dwell on the planet are industrious, and very intelligent. They are also very strict about how their laws are kept, and we find their punishments tend to be very harsh. We have lost over a dozen citizens, due to infractions that we would have argued over for years on Earth. The crimes that were committed happened within the first week of our arrival and there has been no problem since. This tells me that either the ringleaders have been weeded out, or people have learned quickly not to test waters that are best left alone. The guilty parties knew what they were getting into; they knew they were in the wrong, and the Tantalarians were clear about what the punishment was for serious crimes. They ignored the warnings that were issued and paid the price.

Adele has reported that there are no signs of the Witch Hunters anywhere. I wonder if they have gone underground with their movements, or whether the problem with that sect has run its course? Somehow I doubt if we have heard the last of them and I will continue to watch for trouble. I am positive that the leader is still out there somewhere biding his time, before striking again.

I have watched the way the Tantalarians are interacting with our people and have noticed a few areas where their culture will undoubtedly clash with ours. The one that concerns me the most is their lack of concern about the use of clothing. I asked the Tribunal Elder about it and he just laughed the matter off. He believes our people will eventually get used to this practice and ignore it. I sincerely have my doubts.

Lieutenant Nobel has reported she caught some of the young girls with binoculars; they were watching the younger winged men, flying overhead. I understand it wasn’t the first time. When I asked Adele about the incident, she blushed. When I pressed the matter, she admitted that some of the girls were spying on the winged men as they played their aerial games. She didn’t need to explain what state of undress they were in; I have better binoculars than they have. I made a point of placing those under lock and key. I have a teenage girl to think about in my family now, not that I believe that Adele would indulge in something like that.

I do, however, remember Adele taking a pointed interest in one young Tantalarian when we arrived. Granted, she has never talked to him again to the best of my knowledge, but that doesn’t mean she has lost interest. She is a young woman and I would consider it strange if she wasn’t attracted to someone. It also doesn’t mean she hasn’t had reason to talk to him, and that I couldn’t blame her for. We are working with them to make this venture work. I am not quite sure what I think of the idea of my daughter becoming involved with one. Then again, I can’t say I would be all that happy about her being overly friendly with any man at her age, she is too young. I have to sigh about that thought. I have to admit I never believed I would be the type to become an over protective father. Maybe I should mention the matter to Cara and let her deal with the problem. Yes, I am a coward, but Adele is her daughter more than mine.

I believe the young males from Earth have noticed what the girls are doing and they are not very happy about it. Trevor and Frank were talking about some of the comments their friends made about the Tantalarians and it didn’t sound good. There is nothing that they can do about the winged men, but I fear they might take their frustration out on the girls over their actions. I tried to explain to our boys that the girls will soon get bored with the games, as the novelty wears off, but I doubt if it did much good. They merely frowned, as they gave me looks of disbelief.

I talked the matter over with Cara and she said she would handle the situation. If she took the subject up with them I doubt if it did any good, because, so far, I haven’t noticed anything different to suggest it worked. There are days I expect to walk into our home to find the floor littered with black feathers, not from the boys capturing one of the aliens and plucking their wings, but from them gathering fallen feathers to attempt to fashion them into wings to wear. It is hard not to empathize with them, especially when I clearly remember going through something much the same as a youth. The difference was that my competition didn’t have wings, just sexier accents. The girls think those wings are to die for; those are their words, not mine. To compound the problem, the male aliens have bodies that make them drool. Again, their words, not mine.

It is easier dealing with the Tantalarians who are older and already bonded, and yes, that isn’t any different with my own people. I am not sure if it is a matter of the older we get the less hormones we have to battle, or whether the experiences we paid for throughout our lives have finally paid off. Most of what I have written can be taken in a negative way, but it wouldn’t be fair to use them against our hosts. It isn’t their fault they were born with wings. They are trying very hard to make us feel welcome on their planet, and perhaps therein lay the problem, or not. I admit I believe it was much easier running a ship. Metal doesn’t have an easily bruised ego.

We have received an invitation to watch the Tantalarians hunt one of the huge Aquarians. That note came with a request to stay at least one hundred meters away from shore if we decide to accept. Some of the people are a little concerned about the event. We have all seen these animals and we know what they eat. If it weren’t for the fact that we have already tasted their meat, and agree with the Tantalarians about the flavor, I think some might forgo the pleasure out of principle. To be fair, we have predators living in our oceans that eat flesh also, and we have no problem eating them. I think the difference came in seeing the deed done, versus only knowing that these things happen. We will see how everyone adjusts to this idea at the hunt.

I asked Mitchel how they were going to conduct the capturing and slaughtering of the animal. He grinned as he confessed he wasn’t quite sure yet. They have a theory and they are going to experiment with it, which is why they want the beaches evacuated. I have a feeling we are in for quite a show. I am concerned about how dangerous this could be for his people, especially when he mentioned that there would be several creatures in the water. He says he hopes that over time they can thin the sea creatures out so people can use the beaches by the lakes and water safely.

The idea of having safe access to waterways for our children to enjoy would be a relief. Our people need some form of recreation and the lakes would be perfect. After being briefed about the characteristics of some of the sea creatures that dwell off our shores, we set up patrols to make sure no one gets carried away, literally. Perhaps I should phrase that differently, that no one will get carried away, throw caution to the wind and dare nature. It would be sad to see anyone die because they are trying to prove how brave and strong they are, and yes this is definitely a young male thing.

I have heard from Captain Fraser. They are expecting to land sometime in the middle of this upcoming week. Mitchel says their landing base will be ready by then, and the Tribunal Elder walks around with a look of expectation on his face. I have a suspicion that he is hoping to be asked to bring the other ship in as he did ours. I believe he really enjoyed the challenge. I mentioned the way he handled it to Captain Fraser, and although he seemed reluctant to relinquish control of his ship, he didn’t rule out the possibility.

While I was talking to Captain Fraser, I also mentioned how things had quieted down here after we landed. He said he had noticed the same thing on his ship. He seemed relieved, and tended to think the trouble was over. I told him I had my reservations and gave my reasons, and while he outwardly agreed, he was more willing to leave the matter drop than I am. I hope his instincts are better than mine.

It is time to close my journal for the day. I see Cara waiting for me and, as eventful as the short time we have spent on the planet has been, there isn’t much new to report yet. The fields have been planted, the trees are being planted, the orchards have been set up for development, which will happen next week. It seems to be too early for our labors to show signs of having any effect on the landscape, but it has. The world is beginning to turn green, and it is every bit as beautiful as we were told it would become. I am looking forward to living my life on this planet, and so is my family.

CHAPTER III

Are you going to the hunt? Trevor asked his brother, Frank.

Frank smiled. Of course he was going and no one would stop him. They had all worked like dogs since they got here and this was as close to entertainment as they were apt to get. Some of his friends had declared a reluctance to attend, but he knew better, no one was going to miss this event. They were all curious to see how the Tantalarians hunted. They had feasted on the flesh of the sea creatures that were being targeted, and, after seeing those monsters in action, they knew there would be nothing safe or tame about what they were about to see.

I wouldn’t miss this show for a free return trip back to Earth. Frank responded.

Captain Tremont says we are to stay well away from the shoreline. I don’t know why, or anything about the details of what will happen, but some of the guys are talking about doing something dangerous to impress the girls. They are tired of the infatuations our women have on the winged men. Trevor gossiped.

I disagree. I think we should bide our time. Mom says the fad will run its course, and I believe her. Things will return to normal, well, as close to normal as we can expect under the circumstances. It isn’t as if we are still living on Earth. We just need to be a little more patient. Trevor voiced his opinion.

As if those who are calling the shots care what we think or say. Keith is in charge of that group, and you know how his mind works; if anything goes wrong it is someone else who screwed up. Frank added sarcastically.

I know what you mean. I will try to sway some of those who run with him, but we both know how that will end. Trevor pointed out with a pained sigh.

Yah, I know, they aren’t thinking with their brains right now. Frank agreed.

When their mother had married Martin, Trevor and Frank thought life would get easier for them. Well, they had only been partly right. They weren’t starving anymore, but because they were close to the captain they were considered outsiders. No one trusted them not to rat them out to the big cheese. What was it about life that never seemed to give a guy a break?

Trevor checked what time it was on the clock and noted how late it was getting. If they wanted to see the beginning of the hunt, they were going to have to move fast. He looked at his brother and grinned as he shot out a challenge.

Last one to the beach is a rotten egg.

We are going to the beach? Why didn’t you say so, Frank called back as he scrambled to get to the door first. I would have put my trunks on and brought sunscreen.

Trevor knew Frank was teasing, he also knew that if he got out of the front door of their house first, he would never catch him. Frank was fast, and he always needed to have a head start to beat him. He got to the door first, threw it open and charged out into the crowded street. It was going to be a challenge to just get to the lake. The event was going to be packed with so many deciding to attend and running through the throng was going to take experience. It was worth the effort, to say he did it safely, and got there first. As he ran he yelled back at his brother.

You’ll never catch me, not on land and especially not in that lake. There are not only man eaters in the water, but it is colder than the oceans off the coast of Antarctica.

Frank put on a burst of speed as he answered. As if you would know.

Trevor and Frank laughed out loud as they rounded a sharp corner on the way to the outside exit of the dome. They were both feeling lighthearted and carefree, more so than they had felt in years. It was wonderful and the main trigger for their mood was that there had been no signs of Witch Hunters since Derek’s death. That gave them hope the practice would disappear especially since the