Men and Angels (Seraphs book 1)

Chapter eleven

Sitting down near Ricky, Loran watched him scraped the last bit of food out of his bowl. "So you like my cooking now, do you Ricky?" he asked smiling down at him.
"Yes I do," Ricky said putting his eating sticks in the bowl and putting the bowl back on his table. "Before I didn't dare try spicy food because I'd never had it and my Mum said I wouldn't like it. Now I don't feel the same. As soon as I tried this sort of food I knew I liked it."
"Yes, you've changed a lot since you learnt how to communicate telepathically," Loran said. "I don't mean just in what you eat. I have a feeling you used to feel like an outsider, now you don't."
"No I don't feel like that any more," Ricky admitted. "Now I feel as if I belong here with you and the others."
Loran picked up Ricky's bowl. Putting it on top of the pile of bowls, he took it out to the galley. Although it was great that Ricky felt a part of the group, he wondered what would happen when they returned to Earth. Starting to do the washing up, Loran wondered if Ricky would be able to cope with going back to living an ordinary life with his parents. Not that this was a question any of them could answer right away. All they could do was wait and hope things turned out alright.
Loran put away the pile of bowls and checked the galley was clean and tidy. Then he returned to the main cabin to see what everyone else was doing. It had been more than a month since they left the Goma planet. Although he knew Stewart and Hazel knew where they were going, all he knew was the name of their present destination. Perhaps while nothing much was happening, he should ask one of them about Smalto. Sitting down next to Debbie, he realised he couldn't do that right away. Neither Stewart or Hazel were in the main cabin. Although he knew where they were, he knew he shouldn't disturb them. So instead he looked around to see what everyone els was doing. As they often were, Simon and Maria were sitting very close together, probably communicating telepathically. Moth, Deedee and Angela were sitting together playing one of the board games they'd brought with them. Ricky was sitting in the copilot's seat, listening intently while Frances explained some of the controls to him. A typical evening aboard the craft, Loran thought, leaning over and kissing Debbie.
"What is that, Frances?" Ricky silently asked pointing to a small dot on one of the screens.
Frances stared at it for a moment. What ever it was it wasn't just moving towards them, it was also moving very fast. He thought he ought perhaps to tell Stewart about it. Although not straight away. Stewart wouldn't thank him if he disturbed him for no good reason. Frances tapped the key pad in front of him. Before he did that he ought to find out more about it. Frances sat staring at the information on the computer screen. According to this, what was rushing towards them was a small space craft of some kind. But it wasn't this that was making him shake with fear. What he found most worrying was that it seemed to be on a collision course. If they didn't do anything, it would hit them in approximately five minutes time. Not knowing what else he should do, he called Stewart and told him what was happening.
As soon as Stewart and Hazel arrived in the cabin, Frances stood up quickly and told Ricky to do the same. Sitting down in one of the passenger seats and doing up his harness, he watched Stewart and Hazel take their places at the control desk.
Wondering what was going on, Maria fastened her seat harness and stared over at Hazel and Stewart. Although she had no idea what it was, she thought it must be some kind of emergency. That was the only reason she could think of for the sudden course change. It was also the only thing that would have made Stewart and hazel leave the sleeping cabin so hurriedly. Maria wrinkled her nose. She had a very good sense of smell. Even though she wasn't sitting very near them, she could tell that Stewart and Hazel hadn't just not had time to put on any clothes, they had also not had time to clean themselves before they came in. From the smell coming from them, she could tell exactly what they'd been doing before Frances called them in here.
Sitting back in his seat, Stewart pushed a lock of hair off his face. Although they'd got past the craft, they'd come so close to it that for a time its passage had made it hard to keep control of their craft. Stewart looked at the relevant screen. They were back on course and the other craft was well behind them. "What are we going to do now?" Simon asked, resting his hands on the back of Stewart's seat. "That craft was out of control. Surely we're not going to let it fly off who knows where, are we, Stewart?"
"No, we're not going to do that, Simon," Stewart said. "Although I think the first thing we should do is try and get in touch with who ever is aboard that craft."
"As he 's our interpreter,, I suggest you let Frances do that" Simon said. "Then if I take over the controls, you and Hazel can get yourselves showered and dressed. Sitting around in the state you two are in is upsetting Frances and embarrassing Maria."
Stewart glanced over at Hazel and apologised to Maria and Frances. Although as Stewart and Hazel stood up and left the cabin, Maria didn't think either of them looked put out by the situation.
Stewart was the first to return to the cabin. Sitting down on one of the seats just behind Frances, he asked if he'd managed to make contact with anyone aboard the run away craft.
"Yes, I have," Frances silently replied. "I've found out quite a lot about him. He's from the planet Smalto. He says he's running away because he doesn't like the partner his parents have chosen for him. That's why he took the craft he is in. The trouble is although he managed to get it away from the orbiter it was on, he has no idea how to control the craft."
Stewart sat thinking about this. "Although I don't want to leave him there, I don't know what we can do for him," Stewart said. "Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"I've been discussing it with Ricky. He and I think that with some extra energy from two or so of you here, we could teleport him back here. Although if we are going to have any hope of succeeding we need to do it fairly soon. Although we have a mental fix on him at the moment, it is getting weaker as our two craft move further apart. All we'll need, Stewart, will be you, Hazel and Loran. As long as we do it pretty soon, I'm sure that will give us enough energy to bring him here."
Stewart didn't hesitate. "I suggest you get on with it," he said taking hold of Simon and Hazel's hands.
Frances thought the being that appeared at the side of the cabin a moment later looked like a young man in his early twenties. Although noticing his yellow skin, slanted eyes and short jet black hair, he thought he looked more oriental than European. Frances thought he was also looking extremely worried. Although he didn't think that was very surprising. He had just been teleported out of his own craft and on to one full of strangers. Frances was sure that had never happened to him before. Going over to him and speaking in his own language, he asked if there was anything he could do for him. "It must be a bit of a shock, suddenly finding yourself here," Frances said, "but it was the only way we could help you." Frances paused. Leading the youth over to a vacant seat, he sat him down in it. Sitting down next to him, he went on. "My name's Frances. I was the one who was speaking to you when you were still on your craft, but I'm afraid I forgot to ask you your name, so may I ask you now?"
"Yes of course you can," the youth said, "my name is Star Fish." Then after looking around at all the others there, he said, "I should like to thank those who brought me here. Before they did that, I was beginning to think I'd go on travelling till the craft hit something or all the fuel for the life support was gone. I was terrified when I saw your craft coming towards me, I thought I was going to hit it. I'm very glad I didn't. I'm also very pleased to see you, Frances," he said, smiling at Frances." Star Fish paused again. "May I ask where you and your companions are going, Frances?"
"We are going to your home planet," Frances said. "Will that be a problem for you, Star Fish?"
"Yes it will," Star Fish said. "I've only just got away from there and I don't want to go back. Why are you and your companions going there? Are you thinking about settling there or are their people there you want to visit?"
Frances thought about this, and silently asked Stewart what he should tell Star Fish about the reason for their going to his planet. "We don't know anyone on your planet, Star Fish," he admitted, "nor are we intending to settle there." Pointing to Angela he explained she was the reason for their journey. "Angela is a Seraph. Although she is still quite young, she will soon become fully mature. Before that happens we must find her a mate. Although Seraphs don't live in large groups and often move around from one planet to another, we heard there was a group of them living on your planet. That's why we're going there."
Star fish looked over at Angela. "I have heard of Seraphs," he said. "Although I've never met one of them, I saw them occasionally when I was a child. A group of them lived just outside the town where I grew up."
Frances silently told Stewart what Star Fish had told him. "If I showed you some maps of the countries on your world, Star Fish, do you think you could show us the place where you grew up?"
"Yes, I could," Star Fish admitted after a little hesitation. "Although if you're looking for Seraphs, doing that won't really be much help to you. I suppose there may be groups of Seraphs living in other parts of the planet, but I know that particular group doesn't live there any more."
Frances sat thinking. "I don't suppose you know where they went, do you, Star Fish?" Frances asked. "If you did, going to find them might be easier than searching a whole planet looking for a group of beings that might not be there."
"Yes, I know where they went," Star Fish said. "About Three years ago a colony ship set out for Beesdon and they went on it."
"Do you know anything about this planet? Where is it and what is it like?" Frances asked.
"I know which star it orbits," Star Fish said, "I also know that it is a very long way from my home planet. It takes the colony ships more than a year to get there. I learnt about it when I was at school. But apart from knowing my people have had a colony on it for some time, I know very little about the planet Beesdon."
"Perhaps I should show you some star maps Star Fish," Frances said standing up. "Then you can show me where you think Beesdon is."
Star Fish followed Frances over to the control desk and at his suggestion sat down in the copilots seat. With Frances crouching down beside him Star Fish watched Frances summon up the star maps from the computers memory. At first, although he recognised the stars shown on the map, Star Fish couldn't see the one he wanted. Then he saw it. Pointing a finger at it, he said, "that's the one."
Frances centred the image on the star and increased the magnification of the picture. "Let's take a closer look at the system around that star," he said.
Although there were eight planets orbiting around this particular star, looking at the information the computer had about them, it appeared only one was inhabited. Frances pointed to it. "Assuming we have the right star, that must be Beesdon," he said. "Now all we have to do is find out how to get there and how long the journey will take. But I don't think I'll try and sort that out. I'll leave it to Hazel, he is a lot better at doing that than I am."
Star Fish looked over at Hazel. Realising he wanted to sit where he was, he stood up and followed Frances back to the seats they had been sitting in earlier. "Would you like something to eat or drink, Star Fish?" Frances asked when they were both sitting down again. "If you can tell me what sort of thing you like, I will do my best to get it for you."
Star Fish thought about this. He'd been in so much hurry to get away, he hadn't checked what supplies there were aboard the craft. It was only when he'd been travelling some time and was beginning to feel hungry that he took a look around the craft. It was then he discovered there was very little food on board. After a lot of searching, all he found were a few emergency rations. That had been two days ago. Although he'd tried to make them last as long as he could, he had finished the last of them just before his last sleep period. So although he wasn't sure what sort of food Frances would give him, he said he'd like something to eat and drink. But mainly because Frances didn't seem to know any of the food and drink he mentioned, he found it very hard to tel Frances about the sort of things he liked,. In the end he told Frances "not to worry. "Just give me what ever you like. I shouldn't have expected you to know about the food I am used to eating, let alone have any of it. I expect you and your companions come from a long way from here," he said.
Frances thought for a while and stood up. "Although I don't think I can give you precisely what you would like, Star Fish, I think I can find you something similar to what you are used to."
Frances got a bowl and spoon and a beaker from the galley and took them over to the food machine at the back of the main cabin. Putting the bowl and beaker in to the hatch of the machine, he keyed in what he wanted and waited. The food in the bowl looked and smelt good to him. Carrying it and the beaker of drink over to him, he hoped Star Fish would like it.
Star Fish looked down at the bowl of food. It didn't look or smell like anything he'd ever eaten. But it smelt quite nice and he was feeling very hungry. Picking up the spoon, he took a little of the food and put it in his mouth. For a moment he sat savouring the strange flavours, then he swallowed the food. Eating another spoonful of the food, he decided he'd be able to eat that. Star Fish ate some more of the food. Then putting the spoon down, he picked up the beaker. "What is this, Frances?" he asked.
"it's water," Frances said, "although you may find it tastes a little different from the water you are used to."
Star Fish tried some. Although it tasted a little odd, the taste wasn't unpleasant.. So he drank some more before putting the beaker down and going back to the food. When he'd finished the food he drained the beaker. Putting the beaker down on the table, he looked around at the others in the cabin.
"All I know about you is your name, Frances," he said, looking over at him. "Would you tell me about you and your companions and where you came from?"
Frances told him the names of those there. "Then there is Ricky and Deedee. They are children, although they were here when you first came, they have now gone to bed." Frances paused. Wondering what Star Fish would make of it, he told him a bit about life on Earth. Stewart found Angela during a previous voyage," he explained. "But as he saw no other Seraphs during that trip she's been living with us for some time. But as we knew sooner or later we'd have to come looking for more of her kind, that's what we are doing."
For some time Star Fish sat thinking about what Frances had told him. Although life there wasn't like life on his planet, Earth seemed to be very similar to his home planet. If they let him go back with them, he was sure he would soon get used to the way they did things there. But looking around at the others, there was one thing he really felt he had to ask Frances. Pointing to Maria he said, "he and Debbie are different to the rest of you, are they a different species?"
Frances looked over at Maria. "No, they aren't," he said. "They are the same species as the rest of us."
"Why are their bodies a different shape to yours?" Star Fish asked.
Frances thought about this. The problem was he wasn't sure how to explain to Star Fish what Maria and Debbie were. The inhabitants of Star Fish's planet didn't have a word for female. They didn't even have a word like she. So explaining things to Star Fish was going to be very difficult. May be if he found out a bit more about how they did things on Star Fish's planet, he would then find it easier to tell him about Maria and Debbie. So turning to Star Fish he said, "I know it must seem a strange thing to ask you, Star Fish, but it might help me to explain about Maria and Debbie if you told me a bit about how your species procreate. When we first spoke you said you were running away because you disapproved of the mate your parents had found for you. I have a feeling you do things differently on your planet. So if you don't mind doing it, would you tell me about your experiences of such things."
Wondering where he should start, Star Fish thought about this. If Frances knew nothing about the mating rituals he'd have to tell him quite a lot. "Like all those on my world, I became sexually mature in my twentieth year," he said. "but before I did, my parents spent quite a long time finding a suitable mate for me. This is something that all parents spend a lot of time over. Mainly because, as we mate for life, our parents want to make sure they get the right one. But it is also because it is quite a complex process. The one they choose must be a member of the same class as I and my parents. They also have to be both physically and mentally fit. Of course, I had no say in the matter. All I knew was the one they chose wouldn't be one of those I'd associated with as I grew up. My parents were looking further a field for a mate for me. But this didn't worry me. That's how these things are normally done. It was only when I saw his picture and read about him that I decided I didn't want to go on with the mating ceremonies and decided to run away." Star Fish paused and sat thinking. "I don't know exactly what put me off him," he said. "I think it was partly because he didn't look like a very kind person. I also didn't like the work he did. Although I know as we eat meat we have to have people to slaughter the beasts, I'm not sure I want to spend the rest of my life with someone who does that for a living." Star Fish paused and frowned when he noticed Frances' reaction to his words.
"I'm sorry," Frances said, "I really have no right to condemn what you do. But although there are those on my planet that eat meat, none of us here do,. I find even the idea of killing animals for food abhorrent."
Star Fish apologised. "I didn't mean to upset you. I suppose I assumed that, as you look so similar to me, you would eat the same kind of things as me."
Frances sat thinking about this. Although he'd found out quite a lot about Star Fish, what he'd said so far hadn't helped him to answer Star Fish's question. He decided he'd have to ask him more questions. "Although you haven't met him, you must know what he looks like. Would you tell me what the physical differences are between you and your mate. I mean the fundamental differences," he said feeling a little embarrassed. "I presume you're not physically identical. One of you, I presume, bares the young, so which of you is it that does that?"
Star Fish looked down at himself. "outwardly we look the same," he said, "we certainly wear the same kind of clothes. But although there aren't many, there are some differences between him and me." Forming a ring with the finger and thumb of one hand he pushed a finger from the other hand through it to demonstrate what he meant. "I'm the one who'd have borne any children we had. Instead of having a probe I have an orifice for it to go in to. Isn't that how your species does it?"
Frances reddened with embarrassment. "Yes it is," he said after a long pause. "Although the ones that bare the children in our species, the ones we call females, do have a few more differences. Maria and Debbie are two of them. As you see, they do look quite different from the others of us."
"So they're females, are they," Star Fish said, savouring the strange new word. And so, she thought, am i. "Do they have mates?" Star Fish asked.
"Yes, they do," Frances said, "Loran is Debbie's mate, and Simon is Maria's.
Star Fish looked around at the others sitting around the cabin. "Does that mean the rest of you don't have mates, or have you left them behind on your home planet?"
Frances looked over at Stewart and Hazel. He wondered if he should tell Star Fish about them? He decided not right now. Trying to do that would be very complicated and would probably confuse Star Fish. He would leave talking about that until Star Fish understood their language a bit. Instead he said neither he or any of the others had a mate."
Hazel stood up. Coming over to where Star Fish and Frances were sitting, he sat down near them. "Could you pass on a couple of messages to Star Fish, Frances?" he asked. When Frances said he would, Hazel went on. "Can you tell him we've plotted a course for Beesdon and should be able to get there in about six months. Also, as I don't know what time his craft was set on, perhaps you could explain it's now the hour we normally start our sleep period.
"Of course I will, Hazel," Frances said as Hazel stood up and followed Stewart out of the cabin.
Star Fish sat and listened as Frances translated what Hazel had told her. "So this craft can move a lot faster than the colony ships," she said. Star fish looked over at the now very dim lights. Now she understood why they had been getting gradually dimmer since her arrival here. "Where do you all sleep?" Star Fish asked, looking around and wondering if any of them slept in there.
"We have a sleeping cabin," Frances said, "it is just through the door way over there. But before I show you that, I will take you along to the wash room and explain how things in there work. Although I'm afraid I will also have to ask you not to spend too long in there. It's our only wash room and the others will need to use it before they go to bed."
Frances took Star Fish along to the wash room and showed her everything in there. "Do you want me to leave you alone while you do what you need to do?" he asked.
"No, I don't think so," Star Fish said pulling down her trousers and sitting herself on the toilet. "that is, as long as you don't mind. On my planet we don't mind others watching us doing such things."
Frances looked at Star fish. Then turning away, he began to clean his teeth. He didn't object to Star Fish using the toilet while he was there. With so many on this craft there had often been times when he'd had to share the wash room with others. So it wasn't the first time he'd been in there while someone else was using the toilet.
Frances flushed the toilet and washed his hands. "Now, Star Fish, I will take you to the sleeping cabin and show you where you can sleep," he said, opening the door and leading the way back in to the corridor.
Star fish stood staring at the sleeping cubicals. "Is this where you all sleep?" Star Fish asked. "I've never seen anything like this." Pointing to one of the cubicals she asked, "do you each have one of those? I notice some are larger than others. Is this because of the status of those they belong to?"
As we all have about the same size sleeping place, the larger cubicals have nothing to do with status," Frances said. "They are used by those with partners, like Maria and Simon," Frances went on when Star Fish seemed a little confused.
"So why are there three of those double ones, then?" Star Fish asked.
Because Stewart and Hazel are also a couple," Frances admitted after a long pause.
"So which of them is female?" Star Fish asked. "Neither of them look at all like Maria or Debbie."
"That's because neither of them are female," Frances said. "Now I think it's time we were going to bed, Star Fish. You can sleep in the cubical next to mine, it isn't being used by anyone else."
Star Fish stood looking at Frances for a moment. Although she would have liked to have found out more about Stewart and Hazel, perhaps Frances was not the one to ask. She decided she should wait till she understood some of these peoples language. Then she could ask Stewart or Hazel about their relationship. Noticing Frances had started getting undressed, she decided she should go to bed. Although
Frances pulled the covers over himself and lay still, he didn't go to sleep. Not because he wasn't tired, but because he had too much on his mind. Frances gave a small shiver. Although he hadn't been conscious of doing it, he'd built up a mental image of what Star Fish would look like when naked. For reasons he couldn't now understand, he'd presumed Star Fish would look a bit like a human woman under the loose clothes she wore. But he now knew she didn't. Although Star Fish had nipples, she had no breasts. Nor did she have large hips or a waist. Her trunk was the same width from her shoulders to her hips. She also possessed something Frances hadn't expected her to have. Star Fish had a Penis. Although it wasn't very large, it was definitely there. She also had a really great bum, Frances thought, hugging himself and thinking longingly about Star Fish. He wondered if she'd let him be her mate.