“We understand that as well. You see, they too kill us. So some of our race moved underground, like my people and we evolved with this appearance. Others turned to the sea, but eventually the beasts there killed most of them off and destroyed our domed cities. Now they live on islands free from the other deadly land creatures and are far enough away from main land so the fliers do not find them. Living with nature the survivors of Wheel 16 never understood…or at least practiced that concept, and died out in a few of your decades.” Lilra smiled and motioned to the doorway on the far side of the room.
“Now come, it appeared that our two races do have several food sources in common…” she chuckled “sorry we do not eat meat, but I think that you’ll find some of the fruits and vegetables we have, and that you haven’t discovered yet, will be quite enjoyable. It is recorded that those of 16 ate these all the time and liked them.” she laughed again “But then again, we already knew they were tasty.”
Down a long winding stairs they were led and into a large room with bins with doors. Lilra pointed to the rows of doors.
“Your stasis, is one of the few technology that our elders allowed us to use. You see we…my race, developed our technologies toward healing, farming, living within nature, and never outward toward the stars. Perhaps it is a race’s destiny to move on to the stars, to allow other species to evolve and someday find those that are left.” Lilra looked sadly down “Perhaps that is why our race is dying out. Even as old as our race is, we seem not to have found all of the answers.”
Tom nodded as Lilra filled wooden bowls with a variety of nuts, fruit, and odd looking vegetables and laid them on a long table that she called the elder table…and explained that the elders never traveled anymore.
“Sadly it is as if my people have given up to the inevitability of our fate.” she smiled warmly “Those of us that have studied what you called humanology, and have been watching you at your Wheel 7, have realized over the centuries that perhaps we might learn from you.” she held up a hand and chuckled “I remind you that we are a minority, but watching you struggle, survive, and live, has been taught to every class.” She stopped and turned to the rest.
“You see, there are some of us that would like to see our race survive.”
“Understandable,” Harry chuckled softly “we’ve apparently been doing that as a race since we left Earth.”
“Yes, your old world.” Lilra sighed “We’d love to hear of it because data of your world was mostly destroyed. Perhaps that’s why it took us so long to understand your core language and idiosyncrasies. Understanding one is to understand how one got to that point in time.” She looked back to Gina and smiled warmly as the guys turned.
“Ok, ok…geez, I know!” she shrugged and smiled “Just met a new race of beings and all I can think of is that beautiful gown.”
Lilra gently reached out and locked her arm through Gina’s and smiled that Gina did not seem repulsed at the thought of being touched by another creature much different than from herself…and felt a strange attraction to this human as they walked arm in arm toward a large table.
Chapter 17.
“You’ve been watching us? Gina asked as politely as she could without sounding how offended that she felt.
“Our people have,” Lilra noted “and your people have been amazing us for centuries. The way you’ve been determined to live within the ecosystem of this planet and with the gorntanza…excuse me, dinosaurs. Some of us have studied your ways, language, and other human oddities with hopes that someday your people would discover mine. However let me caution you that it is not widely thought to be a good idea of our peoples knowing about each other.” she sighed softly “It was even discussed that we should…stop you if you discovered this base.”
“You mean kill us?” Tom asked.
“Yes,” Lilra looked directly at Tom with her beautiful yellow eyes “but our people have not had war in over two thousand years. We only kill the fliers that attack our settlements and cities… we do not kill wantonly, I reminded them. Them of course, being the elders and those that mistrust your kind.”
She managed to smile once again “I am what you might call the head of human studies. In our society scientists are respected and honored, so our insights are respected. I was given permission to set up here and watch your development but not to contact your people.”
“But we’re here and alive.” Gina noted.
“Only because of Lilra.” Everyone swung around to see a large N’rog standing near one of the consoles and as he stepped out Tom noticed several round disks attached to his wide leather belt. On the other side were what appeared to be some sort of darts or throwing knives, but Tom didn’t care to check closer as this N’rog was nearly six and a half feet tall and as he moved next to the petite built Lilra and she barely came up to his muscular shoulders.
He too had the same skin and coloring and as impressive as his white down was, it was pulled back into a ponytail and adorned with what appeared to be small colored reptilian teeth. Other than being huge in stature and must have weighed closed to three hundred pounds, muscles bulged and a small silverish pair of pants drew Gina’s attention…there was something else that bulged and Gina swallowed so hard that everyone heard.
However at this point no one took their eyes away from this male that glared at them.
Lilra looked at the humans, frowned, and then looked at the male that had entered from the small passage behind the consoles. She turned to face him, put her hands on her hips…and stomped her foot.
“MURG, you stop that right now!” He stood there with his massive arms crossed and didn’t budge “Murg? …Now!”
The large male sighed and dropped the aggressive posture and in a deep voice replied “Lilra, I just wanted to make sure that you were safe. I understand that you want to trust these humans, but I do not…at least not until they prove to me they can be trusted.” he looked over to Tom “This one is their leader, I can see it in his eyes.”
Tom nodded “Of this expedition.”
Gina pushed past him and stood face to chest…and then stepped a few paces back so she could look at Murg’s face.
“Tom could have been our leader…of all our people, he’s our commander’s son.” She looked at Tom, smiled warmly, and then back to Murg “He gave it all up to go find some trace of his sister that went missing ten years ago. His father forbid it until now for fear of losing…”
Murg raised his huge hand and looked at Tom “That I can respect; a man that gives up power for someone he loves.” he looked at Lilra and then back to Tom “And as for your rather brash female,” he looked at her “telling what could be your enemy your leader is the son of someone important…” he actually smiled “is not a very good idea.”
Lilra stepped next to Murg and put her arm around his waist as she looked at him with a look that Gina knew only too well.
“Murg here is warrior caste and learned to speak human, because I asked him too,” She hugged him and Murg looked uneasy that she did so “he gave up his position as Rutant Guard Commander to accompany me here along with the others. All of us…whom you will get to meet soon, speak only in human once we leave human studies school. Each generation learns and only speaks English on the perchance that the day arrived our two races meet.” she sighed wistfully “We no longer travel all over our planet, most of our world is a mystery to our small numbers. However those of us that do leave our compounds and cities speak human.”
“Much to the chagrin of our leaders.” he added “But with leaders like Lilra, they begrudgingly cede to the fact.” Murg looked at Lilra and it was that look that gave away his feeling for her…at least to the humans.
Tom stepped forward and extended his hand to Murg “Gave up command for someone that you care about, I can respect that.” To his surprise the pause that he had expected never came as Murg grasped his hand instantly. Now close together and that fact that Tom had to look up a bit, he could see Murg’s teeth as he smiled�
��and they were nearly like ours; they must be omnivorous.
As Tom was a bit too obvious, Murg chuckled in his deep baritone voice “I’ve been listening from the other room and see you checking me out…it is Lilra that eats nuts and berries,” he chuckled “Me? I like a good steak of…” he looked at Lilra and then back to Tom “Of course we do not have cows like your data records reported.”
“Yeah, steak works for any four legged critter that one eats…” Harry stopped and looked at the impressive Murg “We did managed to activate all of the genetic banks that our ancestors brought with them. We have cows and sheep and…” Harry grinned “but then if you’ve been observing us, you know that.”
Lilra nodded “We haven’t been able to view your people inside of your wheel, just as you’ve toiled in your outer fields.”
Gina paused and then slowly muttered “Speaking of…uhhh…steaks…”
Murg broke out in boisterous laughter “No we do not eat humans.” to which all the humans quietly sighed and smiled as one of the many nagging questions had been answered. “As far as the…b’nar?” he looked at Lilra.
“Young.”
“Young, yes, the young lady is concerned.” he nodded downward we found some video recordings?” he looked at Lilra for proper diction and she nodded “They were in a locker of some of the crew, about your mating habits, and yes we mate similar to your people…” he looked down to Lilra “but some of the ways that your humans mating habits were strange and some of us had to try them centuries ago…and most of the humanologists kept up the practice. I have to admit I found them rather exciting when Lilra showwww…UHH…” an elbow in his ribs stopped his diatribe on sexual practices of the N’rog…and it appeared that N’rog had something else in common with humans, they blushed, and did so rather beautifully.
The humans managed to hold back the laughter, but Hans stepped forward and grasped Murg’s hand to shake it.
“Well Murg old boy, it appears that you and I have something in common.” he smiled warmly. “My late wife used to elbow me all the time because it seems that I never knew what not to say, nor do properly.” He looked wistfully at the others as he stepped back behind Tom “I do miss that woman…you make sure that you hang on to that lovely lady of yours Murg.” Murg gave Hans a single nod, he understood this man even though they’d just met.
Lilra stepped forward and embraced Gina as she too looked embarrassed.
“From the video we’ve watched we’ve learned not to be so secretive and…I can’t think of the word now, but the rest of our race looks down on us because we enjoy what you call sex…and openly admit it.”
Murg laughed “but we know many of our people, who are not humanologists, practice it behind closed doors…” he looked at Lilra, who nodded the phrase was correct. Again he looked downward to his moderately tight pants that stopped just above his knees.
“I noticed the female…uh, Gina?” Gina nodded and still couldn’t take her eyes off Murg’s crotch.
“You keep looking at my penis.” Lilra gripped his arm tightly and gave it a hard jerk to shut him up. He looked at her puzzled and at a loss to what he was doing wrong…and to her chagrin continued “No it does not get fully…uh…up? As do the humans in the recordings, but he can do this…”
Gina gasped as the bulge in his shorts began to undulate…and grow.
“My God you can make it grow at will…” she was blushing and it didn’t bother her “and do that?” she pointed at the movement in his pants.
“Of course, can’t humans? I mean what recording that we have seen the males already seem to be ‘up’, and then go down after the act.”
Gina looked at the other humans and actually giggled, and loudly to the chagrin of the men in her group.
“Oh my God no…and they sure as hell can’t do that!” Murg stopped the undulations and his member shrank back to what Gina still considered huge. She grasped onto Tom’s arm and stood next to him as she thought that she might faint. “Jesus…just, Jesus.” She pressed her breasts into Tom’s arm and didn’t care whether or not he noticed as she let out a slow sigh “I’m so…” she clamped her hands over her mouth.
That got strange looks from the N’rog as well as the guys. But Lilra smiled and stepped forward “It’s quite all right Gina, it does drive our females wild. You see the male has a gland that gives off a fluid that drives females insane with passion…as do we females that make the males have heightened orgasms. We also had the ability to…uhh…undulate the insides of our sexual organs so it gives the feeling of a sucking action, they find it quite pleasurable.”
Harry grabbed onto Tom’s arm and staggered “Holy shit a blow job and sex in one, big…” Tom grasped Harry’s arm so hard Harry thought he was going to lose it…and quickly shut his mouth.
“Look Lilra, Murg, those videos you saw are not…uh, well some do that…” he chuckled “Hell, most do that, behind closed doors, sort of like what you said about your people, but do not openly discuss it.
“I understand.” Lilra replied “Now come let us go meet the others and talk, I imagine there are questions that we all have running through our minds.” she laughed softly “I know I have a million…and nothing about this sex thing.”
She latched onto Gina’s arm and led her through the door at the other end of the room and Harry and Hans followed admiring Lilra’s body as it appeared that her gown was transparent with the light in front of her. The other thing the humans noticed was that Lilra seemed to give off sparkling light traces where she and Gina’s skin touched.
As Murg and Tom brought up the rear, Murg leaned down slightly and said in a low voice “She never got to describing what she can do with her throat and tongue.” Tom looked up toward Murg just as a gray hand shot past his face and grasped onto Murg’s cupped ear fold and pulled him along as he protested.
“You, my lover, have said enough!” Lilra frowned and towed the giant along like a little boy being scolded.
“What the hell was that all about?” Gina asked as the humans gathered around Tom.
“I’m assuming that N’rog have damned good hearing.” he chuckled as he began to follow the couple of N’rog along the corridor as Murg kept apologizing all the way…and apparently still didn’t get what he had done wrong. Harry kept tugging on Tom’s short sleeve. Tom bent down and whispered in his ear and Harry staggered against the wall and swallowed hard.
“Really?” Harry looked at Hans “Holy shit…that would be one hell of a blow jo…”
Gina grasped Tom’s ear and pulled him along as she snorted loudly “It looks like someone is going to have to keep you men in line…no matter the species!”
“Seems that you started it by gaping at Murg’s crotch.” Tom muttered as he pulled away from Gina’s grip. She blushed, sighed and nodded as Tom pointed toward the two N’rog. They hurried to catch up to the still puzzled Murg as he rubbed his aching ear.
Chapter 18.
The party was led into a large room with chairs and tables as Lilra explained that cushions were primarily used by the rest of their race. However over the centuries such furniture had been built, now used by most of the humanologist caste.
There were others in the room and they were introduced and Tom was amazed that they spoke better English, or at least more precise, than he and his people. Now and then they could hear one or two N’rog quickly sputter a word in their own language to have it quickly corrected back at them in English, they were new to the caste. Lilra explained that freshly graduated humanologists were sent straight to this complex for advanced training.
Eventually they were led to a table where they could eat away from the others, so a meal could be enjoyed without questions. They were served an assortment of food so it could be determined what they liked, or did not. As it turned out, the humans had eaten or sampled everything that had been brought to them, save a few delicious morsels that they had never seen before, and loved!
Tom swallowed and grinned at the rest “Funn
y how we meet a new race of people and the topic turns to sex.” He looked at Gina who slowly looked down to the table as she reddened. Before he could add more, Lilra and Murg noticed that they were done eating and joined them. Almost instantly the teasing stopped and Tom’s thoughts turned to N’rog technology…and the questions began to flow.
Lilra smiled warmly “Where to begin… Well, I saw you looking at the crystals on the control panels.”
“I was.”
“My people found them before we were civilized, they are energized by lightning…or at one time were. They gave off warmth, which of course we do not need on Terra, but the bright glow of the larger ones gave pause to the beasts that stalked us. History tells us that at first we put them high in trees or on tall hills as they seem to attract lightning.” she smiled again “Of course that eventually led to tall poles, eventually towers, and of course towers of a metal similar to your steel, where we could charge hundreds at a time. The light they gave off was not just for lighting the dark, but soothing to us as well. At some point one of the crystals came in contact with metal and electricity was discovered.
As technology advanced we found that by hooking wires to the crystals we could direct that power and eventually found that we could shape the crystals; different shapes, different sizes, different power. Scientists found a way to put one shaped crystal into another and by rotating it, could change power settings, direction, and from there we moved along in advancements…and then decided to live within nature.”
“But all this…” Gina waved her hands around the structure they were in.
“Old,” Murg nodded “Only humanologists use them now. You see most of our race is confined to the many offshore islands we mentioned. We used what you call fliers, large ones that are semi-intelligent, to fly to the mainlands.”
“Though we have ships that we use as well.” Murg added “We trade with others of our kind and still explore lands that we’ve long since left…all thanks to the teaching in human data records.”
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