The Bonding (21 page)

           
“I
remember that,” Jema said. “I used to ask mother when you’d be home, and she
would tell us how important it was for you to be gone, because you were
providing lots of wonderful things for us.”

           
“Yes!
I missed a lot of precious moments with all of you, but look at all of the good
times we share now because of those early sacrifices.”

           
“And
now, I have him with me anytime I want,” Vela said. Kuwal leaned down and
kissed her again.

           
“Those
sacrifices also made it possible for Janet and I to travel together now,” Tarku
said.

           
“Have
you and Janet discussed getting married and having a family?” Jema questioned.

           
Tarku
swallowed his drink. “Let’s take this one step at a time, Jema.”

           
“Well,
you’ve been together for over two years,” Jema remarked. “How much time do you
need? It’s not like no one knows that you two have been in love for a long
time.
All
of your friends know.”

           
“That
may be true,” Tarku said, “but we are just now becoming physically,
romantically involved. Does that make sense?”

           
“Perfectly!”
Jema said. They looked at Janet. She nodded. “Makes sense to me.”

“What do you think, Janet?” Jema asked.

           
“I
agree with Tarku. Even though we’ve been together a long time, we’ve only just
begun an actual physical relationship. We need to grow together a little more
before we make any long term commitments.”

           
Tarku
smiled at Jema. “Then it’s settled. Janet and I will let our relationship grow
and see what happens.”

           
“What
about you, Jema?” Janet asked. “When are you going to get serious over a guy?”

           
“I
don’t have time for a serious relationship,” she replied. “I’m too busy buzzing
all over the galaxy. Besides, I like it just the way it is. I’ve been dating a
few different guys, from different planets, and we all like the freedom of our
relationships.”

           
I
wish
one
of you would settle down,” Vela said. “I’d love to have some
grandchildren running around.”

           
“Don’t
count on that from me anytime soon,” Jema remarked. “I am
not
ready to
have children.”

           
“Actually,
neither am I,” Janet said. “I’m having the time of my life traveling with
Tarku. This is what I dreamed of doing since I was a child.”

           
Then,
all eyes shifted to Tarku. “Don’t look at me. I agree with Janet. I’m not ready
for kids either. We have many years before we need to think about that.”

           
Jema
patted Vela on the shoulder. “Don’t worry mother, you’ll have lots of time for
grandchildren later. You and father love traveling and being together alone.”

           
“Yes,
that’s true,” she agreed. “I do love doing things with Kuwal, when it’s just
the two of us.”

           
All
this time Kuwal had been quiet. “And I agree with the kids that I’m not ready
for grandkids either. I also love the time that you and I spend together,
alone.”

           
“Okay,”
Tarku said. “Enough on that subject. Father, have you seen the new light drive
systems…?”

Chapter
Thirteen

           
Tarku
and Janet continued traveling the galaxy together and their love grew very
strong. The weeks again turned into months, and soon became three years that
they had been together. They began visiting new planets and expanding their
business even deeper into the universe. Since they were together, the time away
from Zintandu didn’t matter much, except that they did miss the frequent visits
with Vela, Kuwal and Jema. And Janet missed her good friend Kora.

           
They
were returning home from the Wazti galaxy when Kuwal contacted them. Tarku
answered the call.

           
“Hello
father. How are things with you today?”

           
Kuwal
was on the forward monitor. “Everything is fine, Tarku.”

           
Janet
was beside Tarku and Kuwal looked over at her. “Hello, Janet. How is my
favorite future daughter-in-law?”

           
Janet
smiled. “I’m fine. You seem to be in a very jovial mood today, Kuwal.”

           
“Indeed
I am! Our scientists have just released another planet that we can begin
trading with immediately. This is the fourth one this year. Our business has
never been so good.”

           
“Do
you have the star charts and language disks?” Tarku asked.

           
“I’ve
already sent them to you,” Kuwal replied. “This planet has just conquered light
speed travel, and our scientists say that we can trade all technology with
them.”

           
“Where
is it?” Tarku asked.

           
“In
the Paktuan galaxy. Its name is Searce. You’ll have to travel through the Vostimine
and Kolozoy galaxies to get there. I would estimate three weeks of travel
time.”

           
“Good!
That should give us enough time to learn the language. We’ll probably stay for
a few weeks to make some good contacts and get to know the people,” Tarku said.

           
“Peace
be
with you, my son, and to you, Janet.”

           
“Thank
you, Kuwal. Tell Vela and Jema that I miss them.”

           
“I
will, and I’m sure that they miss you too.”

The monitor returned to a view of space
and Tarku was already pulling up the star charts for the journey. Janet watched
as the intended route appeared in a three dimensional format. The path through
the Vostimine and Kolozoy galaxies passed many planets and stars. As the
virtual route extended through the Kolozoy system, Tarku and Janet looked at
each other at the same time.

“Oh my God, Tarku! Do you think that what
we’re seeing is correct?”

Tarku nodded. “It is correct. Our
scientists are never wrong with the star charts.”

“Then… this means…”

“Yes!” Tarku interjected. “We will pass
next to the Earth.”

Tarku could already see the anticipation
in Janet’s face. “That’s my home,” she said, as she reached out and touched the
picture of the Earth in the holograph.

Tarku’s big eyes showed his emotion all
too well. “No, Janet. Zintandu is your home now. You know that we cannot go to
the Earth. It is forbidden, and will be long after we are gone.”

Janet’s brain was whirring a thousand
miles per hour, looking at different scenarios of how they could stop by the
Earth. “Tarku, this may be the last time I’ll ever see my home planet. Don’t
you understand how I feel?”

“I understand, but the law is the law.”

“Who would know?” she asked. “We are
trillions of miles from Zintandu, and everyone is expecting us to be gone for
several weeks. I could contact my parents, just to let them know that I’m still
alive and well. Don’t you think your parents would want to know?”

Tarku felt trapped between a rock and a
hard place. He loved Janet and wanted to make her happy, but he had to think of
the universal laws governing his space travels. He also felt guilty about the
thought that if Janet got to the Earth, she may not want to leave, and he
didn’t want that to happen.

“Yes, I’m sure that my parents would want
to know. This will require much thought. I’m going to get some rest and think about
it. You need to do the same.”

Tarku’s comment gave her hope. He said he
would think about it. That meant that a yes decision was possible. They went to
bed and Janet was extremely sensual with him, making love for nearly two hours.
They were exhausted and relaxed from the intense lovemaking, and she was lying
with her head on his shoulder.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she
quietly whispered in his ear. “You’re thinking that if I get to the Earth, that
I will want to stay and leave you behind.”

He looked over at her. “Oh, you think
that’s what I’m thinking?”

“I know that’s what you’re thinking,” she
said. “It sounds weird, but I can feel your thoughts. Does that make sense? It
isn’t like I’m reading your mind. It’s more like I’m feeling your mind. That’s
the best way that I can explain it.”

“This is very strange indeed,” he said.
“I have felt the same way about you for several days. My parents spoke of this
long ago. They called it ‘The Bonding’. It is when two people become as one,
each knowing the other’s feelings and thoughts.”

“Do your parents feel this?” Janet asked.

“Yes. They bonded many years ago, before
I was born.”

“Then you must know that I’ll never leave
you,” she said, looking up into his eyes. “This is where I belong now, here by
your side.”

Tarku kissed her forehead. “We will find
an answer,” he assured her. “Let us sleep now.”

She kissed him softly on the cheek and
they drifted off to sleep. As Janet slept her mind was active, and she began
dreaming about the Earth, and seeing her parents again. Tarku was restless and
kept turning from side to side. He was feeling her thoughts, and seeing her
dreams. Over and over the scenario played in his mind, and over and over he
told her that it was forbidden to go to the Earth. Yet her dreams were relentless
on his mind, and as vivid as though he were actually on the Earth with her. He
awakened and looked over at her sleeping. She seemed so peaceful, yet her
thoughts were driving him crazy. This was his first real experience with the
bonding.

“How can I see her thoughts so clearly?”
he whispered to himself. “I understand how you feel, my love. We will find a
way.”

The next morning they awakened with
enthusiasm. The night’s rest allowed their minds to relax and formulate a plan.
Tarku now thought that perhaps they could find Janet’s parents and let them
know that she is alive and well, without contacting anyone else on the Earth.
How, exactly was still to be decided.

“I’ve been looking at the communications
for your planet, and they are an ancient type that we have not used for
millenniums,” Tarku said. “My ship doesn’t have the capability to talk with
anyone directly on your planet, because there are no receivers that can pick up
my form of transmission.”

“So what do you suggest?” Janet asked.

“We would have to go to the surface and
use a form of communication that is already there. I believe they call it a
telephone.”

“We’re going to land on the Earth and
call my mom and dad on the phone?” she questioned.

“I see no other way,” Tarku said
shrugging. “The problem that I do see is that we may not be able to get to the
surface without being seen by your planet’s surveillance systems. Unlike our
scientific exploration ships, my ship does not have a concealment device to
essentially make it invisible. Only during light travel is my ship like a
ghost, but all I have around the ship at any other time is the defensive shield
to protect it from space debris and attacks.”

Janet was in deep thought. “I think that
if we go at night and get to the surface quickly, at a remote location, then
fly just above the terrain, we can go undetected.”

Tarku pulled up views of the United
States on the monitor. “Where do you think we should enter the atmosphere and
approach the surface?”

Janet viewed the displays for a moment.
“My parents live in Fort Worth, Texas. There are many remote areas of Texas
where we could descend. Even if the radar saw us coming into the atmosphere, we
are fast enough that we could get to the surface, then quickly move away from
that area before any military jets or helicopters arrived. When they did
arrive, we would already be gone.”

“This is one time that you must make all
of the decisions, Janet. You know where the military bases are located and how
your planet’s defense systems operate.”

Janet looked at the display. She changed
it to show only Texas, then only the northern half of the state. “Here,” she
said, pointing to an area northwest of Fort Worth. “We want to enter here and
then quickly move to here.” She slid her hand southeastward to a small town.

Tarku watched carefully, noting the
names. “You want us to come to the surface over Lake Bridgeport and then
quickly move to the town of Boyd?”

“Yes. And, if we do it at approximately
three or four o’clock in the morning, everyone will be sleeping. Those areas
are farming communities, and I can guarantee that the farmers will be in bed at
that hour. Even the rural police will be napping somewhere.”