Vicky smiled back. “Well, as you said, I’ll be mostly there to sight-see and provide legitimacy for Chain while he does the deal. But I swear we’ll do our best to bring back the artifact.”
“You’ll do it,” Kat said briskly. “Nobody gets things done like a teacher! Now, come on, doll—I have to fix your hair and make-up too.”
Thirteen
“Well, we’re off.” Chain threw her that charming, crooked grin of his as he piloted his little spacecraft out of the vast Docking Bay of the Mother Ship. “On our way to Priima Belle. Are you excited to go to an alien planet for the first time?”
“Excited and nervous both,” Vicky admitted. “I just don’t want to mess up your mission.”
“Don’t worry, beautiful Victoria.” He reached out and grabbed her hand for a brief squeeze. “With your dramatic skills and your flair for languages, you’re going to be fine. And you’ll be happy to know that the Priima Bellans are willing to sell us the other half of the T’lix-Kruthe, which should make this trip a lot more, shall we say boring than my trip to the Varian home world.”
Vicky shivered.
“I’m glad we’re not going someplace filled with lizard people. Wait—are we?” She turned towards him anxiously. “I never asked but what do the Priima Bellans look like?”
“Never fear, they’re humanoid,” Chain assured her. “Though my understanding is that the women wear very elaborate make-up—which I see you must already know,” he added, nodding at the thick, curving lines of kohl that Kat had drawn around her eyes.
“Yes, in this dress and make-up I feel like Cleopatra,” Vicky said, laughing.
“Who?” Chain asked, frowning.
“Oh—an ancient queen from Earth’s past,” Vicky explained. “She ruled Egypt, which was a major world power in her time. And she did it in a male-dominated society, so she was pretty bad-ass, all things considered.”
His frown deepened.
“’Bad-ass?’ What was wrong with her behind?” He shot Vicky a grin. “I’m sure if it looked half as good as yours does in that gown, it was perfect.”
Vicky slapped at his muscular arm.
“Stop. I know I look kind of weird in this outfit—it’s like I’m dressed up for Halloween or for a part in a play.”
“That’s exactly what it’s like,” Chain said earnestly. “We’re going to be playing our parts. You’re a renowned scholar from Earth and I’m a humble student accompanying you and coming to Priima Belle to learn. Those are the identities the Lady Kat set up for us when she made the arrangements.”
“But what am I a scholar of?” Vicky protested. “I mean, I teach French and Spanish back on Earth but it won’t be like anyone on Priima Belle will know anything about those languages.”
“But don’t you see, that’s perfect!” Chain exclaimed. “You can be a professor of lost languages that no one else knows. In academia, the more obscure your subject, the more respected you are. The Priima Bellans are going to love you.”
“Well, I certainly hope you’re right.” Vicky gave him a nervous smile. “Otherwise I got all dressed up for nothing.”
“Not for nothing.” Chain’s eyes went half-lidded as he looked at her. “It gives me a chance to admire your beautiful body, which I assure you, Victoria, I very much enjoy.”
Vicky felt herself blushing again. She might have felt offended or harassed if they didn’t already have such a strong mutual attraction to each other. But honestly, the big Kindred’s teasing, flattering comments made her feel good—sexy and attractive in a way she hadn’t felt in years. Still she couldn’t completely let it pass.
“You’re sweet and I’m sure when this is all over and we go our separate ways you’re going to make some nice girl your own age very happy,” she told Chain.
He frowned.
“That would be assuming I wanted a female my own age or that she would want me in return. And anyway, why would I choose to be with someone based solely on age?”
“Well, not solely on age,” Vicky said. “But you can’t be more than thirty-one or two. You ought to be with someone my daughters’ ages—they’re in their twenties,” she added for clarification.
“I’m sure they’re lovely girls but they’re not you, Victoria and you’re the female I want to be with now,” Chain said firmly. He flashed her a grin. “And I’m thirty cycles exactly—which is plenty old enough to know what—and who—I want.”
Only thirty years old. He’s practically a baby! whispered a little voice in Vicky’s head. You’re way too old for him, Vicky. They have names for women your age who go after much younger guys—they call them cougars. You’re a cougar.
She winced at the thought but just then, Chain announced that they would be folding space. Before she knew it, the little spaceship was flying through a red gash in the fabric of space-time and then they found themselves in orbit around Priima Belle.
Fourteen
Priima Belle was a small, pearly gray and moss green planet—about half the size of Earth. Its habitable zone has a temperate climate all year long thanks to the nearly-non-existent tilt of its axis and its perfect distance from the blue giant star it orbited. Above the zone—which was a broad band just north of the equator, about two hundred miles wide—it was all frozen tundra. And below the habitable zone was a hellish desert. But the zone itself was perfect—balmy and mild—exactly suited for the clothing they had to wear.
For Chain had an outfit for his “character” too. As soon as they were in orbit, he excused himself and went to the back of the ship. When he came back, he looked like a cross between a Roman gladiator and a Greek god, Vicky thought.
The bottom part of the outfit was a kind of short leather kilt, made of many different strips of brown and black leather stitched together. There was a slit on one side that went all the way up to the waist, showing the big Kindred’s muscular thigh. The top part consisted of a pair of leather shoulder pads sculpted into the snarling faces of fierce beasts.
The pads made Chain’s already broad shoulders look positively massive and were held in place by two thick leather straps which crisscrossed over his bare, muscular chest.
The look was completed by his knee-high black boots and leather vambraces that strapped to the backs of his forearms. He was also wearing his red scatterlight cloak fastened at the neck and it went nicely with the rest of the outfit.
The big Kindred looked positively mouthwatering, Vicky couldn’t help thinking as she stared at him. In those clothes and with his wild, dark hair and piercing midnight-blue eyes he reminded her of a celebrity filming an epic about ancient Rome or Greece.
“Well? What do you think—will I pass for a scholar?” he asked, twirling slowly in front of Vicky so she could get the full effect.
“Not in any school I ever attended or taught at,” she said dryly. “But there’s no denying you look spectacular. I didn’t know you had an outfit to wear too, though. I wonder why Kat didn’t tell me?”
“She said I should keep it a surprise and show you before we went down to the planet’s surface,” Chain said. “And she also said to tell you, ‘you’re welcome’ whatever that means.” He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling with the gesture.
Vicky knew well enough what it meant. She had only just met Kat but it appeared that the other woman had a sense of humor. She had probably known good and well what effect seeing her Kindred dressed like this would have on Vicky.
But he’s not my Kindred, she reminded herself sharply. We’re only here to play a part and get the T’lix-Kruthe—that’s all.
Still, she couldn’t help feeling proud to be on Chain’s arm when they got permission to land and stepped out onto the surface of Priima Belle for the first time.
Fifteen
“Oh my dear—here you are. I’ve been expecting you!”
The voice surprised Vicky and she looked up to see a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties coming towards them, over the interlocking gray stones of the neatly paved landi
ng and parking area.
The place they found themselves in looked very like a university campus to Vicky. There were broad expanses of rolling pearly gray-green lawns, neatly manicured and clipped short and dotted with slim, willowy trees that had silvery-purple flowers instead of leaves. These were interspersed with tall, distinguished looking gray buildings which might have been lecture halls from any old and eminent college back on Earth.
The woman who was calling to her had on the same kind of fluttery “goddess gown” Vicky was wearing herself, only hers was in shades of blue and silver. Her hair was in an elaborate up-do and her eyes were heavily made-up with kohl, just as Vicky’s were.
Vicky was pleased to see that Kat had been absolutely right about the fashion here. Although, she noticed, that the woman who was greeting her didn’t have any way to close the “teaching slits” in her gown. From time to time her small breasts flashed through the openings in the fabric, though she didn’t seem to think anything of it.
Kat had hit the nail on the head with Chain’s outfit too—though he certainly filled out the leather kilt and shoulder pads look much better than the rather scrawny young man who looked to be in his early twenties scrambling along behind the woman who had come to greet them.
“I’m Professor Lornah from the Cake and Dish University,” she said, coming up to Vicky and grasping her hand with a smile. “And you must be Professor Victoria from the Mother Ship.” She kissed Vicky warmly on both cheeks.
Vicky felt a little strange about being called “professor,” but she reminded herself she was playing a part and decided to just go with it.
“Oh yes, I am. It’s so nice to meet you—thank you for coming to greet us,” she said, smiling and kissing Professor Lornah back. At least the people here seemed friendly so far.
“We’re so pleased to have an instructor from such a far-distant place,” Professor Lornah told her. “This is Lorn, my student.” She nodded to the scrawny young man who bobbed his head respectfully at Vicky. “And this person must be your student?” Professor Lornah asked her, nodding at Chain.
“Oh, uh, yes. He’s a student, anyway. This is Chainor,” Vicky said, indicating Chain, who smiled and nodded in a friendly way.
However, his response didn’t appear to satisfy Professor Lornah.
“So…you don’t name your students after their professors on the Mother Ship?” she asked doubtfully. “Or is this, er, Chainor not properly your student? For I’m afraid you won’t be welcome in any of the lecture halls without a proper student.”
“Oh, he is my student—of course he is,” Vicky said quickly. “And no, we don’t name our students after us on the Mother Ship. We believe they deserve to have their own academic autonomy,” she added, hoping that sounded snobbish enough to satisfy the other woman.
“Well…” Professor Lornah gave Chain another once over and then sniffed. Leaning closer to Vicky, she murmured, “He’s a handsome specimen, no doubt of that, my dear. But, well, don’t you think he’s a bit old for you?”
“I’m sorry?” Vicky wasn’t certain she’d heard her correctly. “Did you ask if Chain was too old for me?”
“Well, yes!” Professor Lornah exclaimed. “Why, he must be past his second decade my dear. How do you expect to train a student properly when you take one on so late in life?”
“Late in life? You mean Chain’s life?” Vicky said blankly. “But I’m sixteen years older than him. I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Well, maybe it’s a cultural difference.” Professor Lornah sniffed again. “It’s just that here on Priima Belle, we believe a student ought to be taken and trained in the second decade of life. Only then can the professor achieve satisfactory results.”
Vicky wanted to ask what results she was talking about. Did these people believe that you couldn’t learn something new once you got into your thirties? That was a strange idea. She looked at Chain who shrugged.
“Well, I find my results with Chain to be very satisfactory,” she said firmly. “He’s an excellent student.”
“Oh, well—as you say, then. I hope you’re right because I’m afraid you’ll be expected to prove it before anyone will deal with you.” Professor Lornah said.
“Prove it? How?” Vicky was bewildered.
“You know—in the usual way, of course.” The other woman fluttered her hands expressively, though she didn’t give any further explanation, much to Vicky’s irritation. “We must go—they’ll be expecting you at the Lecture Hall in the Insect and Arachnid University—that’s where the meet and greet for new professors is always held, you know.”
Vicky wondered if it was a university dedicated to the study of insects and arachnids…or run by then. Was she going to be meeting huge anthropomorphic alien bugs? The thought made her shudder. But even if she was, what could she do about it? She would just have to play along.
“That sounds fine,” she said as Professor Lornah and her student led them across a rolling lawn of neatly clipped silvery-green grass. “But I’m actually here not only to study but to buy an ancient artifact that’s here on your planet. It’s called the T’lix-Kruthe—have you heard of it?”
“Oh, an ancient artifact, is it? That will be held in one of the antiquities collections. Professor Torella of the Vessels of Antiquity University will be the one to speak to about that.” She frowned. “But I’m afraid she won’t deal with you until you’ve proven your worth as a professor.”
“But…how can I do that?” Vicky asked, dismayed. “Do you want me to present my credentials? Because I would have to go and get them.” She wondered if she could contact the Mother Ship and ask them to whip up a batch of fake doctoral diplomas or something like that. She certainly hoped so!
But Professor Lornah was shaking her head.
“Oh no, my dear—you just have to prove you can teach. I tell you what—we’re headed to a symposium right now where Professor Torella will be in attendance. I have the last lecture slot but you can lecture right after me. No one will mind staying to hear such a renowned professor who has come from so far away.”
“Oh, well thank you,” Vicky said blankly. “But I didn’t really bring any of my, uh, lecture materials with me. You know—visual aids and such.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Professor Lornah said, making a shooing gesture. “We have a fully integrated sensory auditorium. You’ll be given everything you need to make an impressive showing.”
“Oh, um, okay.” Inside her head, Vicky was madly scrambling. She hadn’t expected to have to make a presentation on this alien world—especially not as soon as she landed! Then she took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. Despite the strange circumstances, this wasn’t her first rodeo—she’d been teaching high school for years.
And I don’t believe lecturing to a roomful of stuffy alien academics can be worse than trying to teach a bunch of bored, hormonal teenagers, she told herself firmly. I’ll figure it out.
Just as she had that thought, they came up to an even larger and more impressive building than the ones they’d been passing. It looked like a Medieval church to Vicky, with gray stone sides, soaring architecture, and stained glass in the many windows that seemed to shimmer and shift as she looked at it.
The colored glass pieces in the two vast windows on either side of the main entrance were in the shapes of enormous insects, she realized as she took a closer look. One looked like a giant orange praying mantis with pink and purple butterfly wings and the other looked disturbingly like a large cockroach—a turquoise one—with candy-apple red legs and wings.
As she watched, she realized the insects in the floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows were moving—flexing their wings and curling and uncurling their antennae very slowly but noticeably.
Vicky stared in astonishment. It must be some kind of alien tech in the window glass, making it look like the huge insects were moving, but it was amazing all the same.
“This is the University of Insects and Arachnids,�
�� Professor Lornah explained, waving at the windows. As you can see.”
“Yes,” Vicky said. “I certainly can.”
“Your craftsmanship is very impressive,” Chain said, speaking for the first time. “I would love to learn the technology behind the shifting patterns in the glass—unless it’s a trade secret of some kind which cannot be shared.”
“Oh, you’d have to ask Professor Dunna of the Architecture and Adornments University,” Professor Lornah explained. “Though I don’t know if she would speak to you. And, being only a student, I doubt you’d understand anything she said anyway.”
She gave him a once-over, as though he must be stupid as they ascended the gray steps of the Insect University.
“I find my student to be an extremely good judge of mechanical matters and architectural structures,” Vicky said indignantly, defending the big Kindred. “In fact, Chain has innovative ideas on many subjects.”
“Is that right?” Professor Lornah arched an eyebrow at her. “Then maybe you’re teaching him the wrong things. Come along now, we must hurry,” she continued as they mounted the steps and entered the grand double doors which guarded the main entrance. “Oh, and this is a dinner lecture,” she added to Vicky as they passed through the arching double doors which rose twenty feet above their heads. “So I hope your remarks will be tasty.”
And with that cryptic remark, she led them into the vast building.
Sixteen
“Tasty remarks? What does that mean?” Victoria hissed under her breath to Chain as they walked through the high, echoing stone corridors of the University of Insects and Arachnids.
Inside, the building was as impressive as it had been on the outside with cathedral ceilings of gray stone arching up towards the sky. All of them had the same moving stained-glass windows which threw ever-changing, colored patterns down on the gray flagstones below. They looked like jewel-colored puddles spilling across the floor every few feet.
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