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blood on the kitchen counter. Going through the house, she tracked him down to the patio. He sat on a lounge chair, his right ear bandaged.

  “Now what happened?” she asked.

  “A fight, as usual.”

  “Who was it this time?”

  “Krodus, as usual,” he replied nonchalantly.

  She sat down next to him. “Is your ear okay?”

  “I dunno.”

  “May I?”

  Dar pulled his makeshift bandage off.

  “Oh, Dar!” She reached up and gently inspected the wound. “We should take you for stitches.”

  “Whatever,” he grumbled, trying to get his school work done.

  “You can’t leave it like that.”

  “Doesn’t hurt anymore.”

  “Yes, but it’s floppy.”

  He sat up. “So what.” Struggling slightly, he got up and went inside.

  Denrika followed him. “Well, at least there’s only a couple weeks left…Then you’ll be off with Gwog.”

  “Yeah,” he said softly.

  “Don’t you wanna go? All you talk about is the stars.”

  Dar stopped just short of his room. “I do, but I guess I’m a little afraid.”

  She put her arms around him. “You’ve lived all your life here with me on Erotis; you don’t know anything else…I can understand your fear.”

  “And the only friends I have are here—what few there are.”

  “Gwog said most of his crew are half breeds, I’m sure you’ll make new friends.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Hey, your born date is next week; did you wanna have a party?”

  “Party?” he scoffed. “I got like one friend who would actually come. That’s not much of a party.”

  “No females at school?”

  “None that would come.”

  She kissed him on the forehead. “I’m sorry.”

  Dar wiggled from her grasp. “I’ll be fine, mother.”

  “Seventeen is an important date, you know.”

  “Yes, yes, I know. But no one seems to care when it comes to a half breed.”

  “Dar,” she said lowly, reaching up to gently touch his chevron shaped brow ridges.

  He decided to change the subject. “Tell me about my father.”

  “I’ve told you a hundred times about him.”

  “Tell me again,” he pressed.

  “Oh, all right.” She motioned to him. “Come sit out here with me.”

  Dar tossed his things in his room and joined her in the living room. “Okay.”

  Denrika settled into her favorite chair. “Yes, about your father, again…He came here from the planet Earth, through a worm hole not too far from here.”

  “Earth is in the Milky Way galaxy, right?”

  “That’s what he told me.” She fiddled with her hair. “He said he was an astro-naut from a place called America.”

  “Did he speak Universal Ontarrin? Or Satiren?”

  “No, he spoke something he called ‘English’, and in the beginning we had a hard time understanding each other.”

  “Did you learn his language?” Dar asked.

  “Some, he was much better at learning ours…Although he was here maybe six months.”

  “What was his name?”

  “Dar, you know his name…It was Edward Meltom.”

  “Edward Meltom,” he said softly.

  Garnic glanced across at Dar. They were in class, watching a vidograph of a joining. All Satirens, when they reached the age of “awakening,” which was usually about fourteen, received four years of “love school.” Satirens were a unique race amongst many in the Ontarrin galaxy. In addition to the hormones and chemistry needed for normal bodily function; they possessed fifteen other hormones and chemicals exclusively for love. The species had a strong sex drive, designed for finding the right partner, or partners, and forming lasting relationships.

  “Psssssttt, Dar,” Garnic hissed.

  “What?”

  “Hey, look, Miratta.”

  Dar looked over his shoulder at the female two desks back. “So?”

  “She keeps looking at you.”

  “So?” He wasn’t impressed. Not a single female in the whole class would give him the time of day. He knew the purebreds probably had a joining or two, it was quite expected for them to experiment with what they were taught in school. But Dar didn’t have any females interested in him, he knew everyone knew, and it embarrassed him.

  “Maybe she wants you.”

  “Don’t be silly.”

  “A problem, Dar?” the male teacher asked.

  “No, sir.”

  “Is any of this sinking through that half breed brain of yours?”

  “Yes, sir.” Dar was absorbing every ounce of it; he just wasn’t sure when he’d ever get to put it to use. Maybe once he was out in space he’d find a partner to join with that wouldn’t judge him. It wasn’t fun to be the different one.

  “Psssssttt,” Garnic pestered.

  Dar did his best to ignore him. There was no way Miratta could be interested in him. He felt confident there wasn’t a single female in the Satiren colony of Aknarra that would join with him. A few minutes later, the buzzer sounded and class let out for the day. Dar collected his things and left. Garnic stayed behind to talk to a female, and he figured he’d catch up with Dar on the walk home. As Dar walked down the hall, he felt someone behind him. Please, not Krodus again, he thought with dread.

  “Uh, Dar?” a female voice said.

  He stopped and turned, surprised to see Miratta. “Hi.”

  “Umm, hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He wondered if his luck might be changing. “Wanna go outside?”

  “Okay,” she said, following him. They went out, and Dar found a table and bench under a scruffy Gummak tree.

  “So, uh, what did you wanna talk to me about?”

  “I have Master Franik for Physagraphy.”

  “Mmm, I hear he’s tough. Never had him for class. Master Strinin was my Physagraphy teacher”

  “Well, uh, he wants us to write a paper on Satiren chemistry.”

  “Oh.”

  She brushed her bangs off her face. “I was thinking of doing my paper on half Satiren chemistry.”

  “You can do that?” he asked, surprised.

  “I thought it would make for something different.”

  “Ah, I see…So, what do you need of me?”

  “Oh, I wanted to hear about your experiences with joinings.”

  Dar slumped toward the table, resting his chin on his hands. How embarrassing. Did he want to be truthful and tell her of his lack of experience? Or did he want to lie and use what he’d learned in class? Deep inside, he felt mostly Satiren, but he wondered if his Earthling side played into his chemical make-up. “Miratta?”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you doing this to be mean?”

  “What?!”

  “Are you trying to be mean?” he pressed.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Dar looked her straight in the eyes. “Don’t you think it’s a little mean to ask an unjoined half breed what it’s like?”

  She put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t know.”

  “Well, now you know. I’m a virgin, so go ahead and blab it all over school—although I’m sure they have a good idea anyways.”

  “Dar, I’m sorry, I really didn’t have any idea.”

  “Yeah, right,” he scoffed.

  She reached across and tried to take one of his hands. Dar resisted. Miratta gazed into his eyes. “I’m not trying to be mean, really.”

  “So, you’re not interested in me, just my chemistry.”

  “Well, I am writing it for school.”

  He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. In a few weeks, I’m leaving.” Deciding he’d had enough humiliation for the day, Dar got up and headed home. Along the way he ran into Garnic.

  “So, what’d Miratta want? I saw you s
itting with her on the bench and figured I’d leave you alone,” Garnic said as he strode along.

  “She was interested in me all right.”

  “Great!”

  Dar stopped. “She was interested in my half breed chemistry. She’s writing a paper for Master Franik’s class.”

  “That’s all she wanted? She didn’t wanna join with you or anything?”

  “No. She wanted to use me as her science project because I’m weird.”

  Garnic hated to see his best friend down. “Maybe if you worked the angle a little more, you coulda given her a demonstration of your half breed chemistry.”

  “No! I doubt she’d wanna have a relationship with someone who is going away soon.”

  “I envy you, Dar.”

  “Envy me? Yeah, right.”

  “I do, really. You’ll be going into space, and just think of all the exotic females you’ll get to join with…Damn, I wish I could come with you.”

  “Garnic, believe me, I don’t think it’s going to be that fantastic.”

  “My father told me that he’s heard freighter crews telling of wild joinings with other species on the pleasure barges.”

  “Maybe so, but I doubt I’ll be living a life like that. I’ll be the lowest man on the crew, so I’m sure I’ll be staying behind to watch the ship while they have a good time…Really, Garnic, that doesn’t matter to me. As much as I’d like to join, I’m not gonna make a big deal out of it if I don’t for a while. I think learning my job is more important.”

  3

  The school year couldn’t get over fast enough for Dar. As the last week came to a close, he realized there were less and less in his class he even considered acquaintances, and Garnic really was his only friend. The Cunik and the unfamiliar territory of space seemed more comforting than the harassment he suffered on a daily basis. At least Krodus left him alone after the stabbing. Dar decided to keep the knife; it might come in handy in space. And if Krodus ever came after him, he’d make sure he returned the knife—perhaps in the other arm.

  Walking down the hall, Dar noticed some