Fan Fic and More

Great job! is there more?????

These are great!

Thanks, Bookwork, Buffyrosfan, Tracie, LovinMaxnLiz, and PiperPheobePaige! I'm really delighted that you like them! And I appreciate the feedback very much! I'll keep them coming as long as I can find chapters that can be revised to stand alone like these, LovinMaxnLiz. And by the way, glad to have you and PiperPheobePaige here! I always love new readers! Here's the next story.

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)



>((((*>.·´¯`·.Story #8 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated G


“The Amazing Planet of Frebel-Ish”


The universe can be fascinating… it can also be dangerous; but most of all, it can be unpredictable and devastatingly capricious. Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, and the others had learned this many times over since leaving Roswell (and before), but nothing could have prepared them for the time their children were kidnapped.

In the conference room of the palace on the allied planet, Xarius, Max, Michael, and friends planned and coordinated rescue missions, determined to get every single child back safely. Two of the tools at their disposal were a sphere that allowed them to see things in other places, the “Sphere of Visions,” and a sphere that allowed them to reappear in other places, the “Sphere of the Portal.”

They had just located one of Alex and Isabel’s girls, Mareeya Whitman, and had called on the Sphere of Visions to see if she was alright.

In the mist that gathered, they saw a young girl sitting on a rock by the sea. She was looking longingly at the sky. It appeared to be Mareeya …except for one detail. In the room, not a word was spoken… probably, because no one knew what to say. It was several minutes before Zorel Guerin broke the stunned silence…

“Chanad dro Agorna Sta!” Zorel exclaimed quietly, using an Antarian exclamation that has no equivalent in most other languages, but roughly means ‘Safekeep all the living auras’ or ‘Bless every living aura.’

“Oh, wow! …if that’s for real…”

Mareeya’s younger sister, Ceelya, sat with her mouth open and a look on her face that defied description as she stared at her older sister through the mist. Diane Casey reached her hand out toward the image, for a moment forgetting that it wasn’t really there. She couldn’t resist the urge to try to touch it to see if it was for real. Even Shag and Maya, the Zasharn and Zashayn of Xarius, were stunned. Despite all that they had experienced in 12,000 years of living, nothing had prepared them for this.

“Portal!” Shag said after a few more moments. “Take us to where Mareeya Whitman, daughter of Alex and Isabel, is right now…” Then he added, “But do not put us in the water.”

Shag stepped through the portal. Zorel quickly stepped through behind him, followed by Dan, Diane, Jim, Kathleen, and Ceelya. They found themselves on a beach beside the rocks. Due most likely to the roar of the surf, Mareeya did not hear them coming and had not yet seen them. Another wave broke over the rocks, spraying a mist of salty seawater over Mareeya and the newly arrived individuals fifteen or twenty feet behind her on the beach. Mareeya looked longingly up at the sky and smiled. Suddenly, a movement by Zorel caught her eye. In a flash, Mareeya was in the water. Within seconds, her head popped back to the surface a hundred yards away. She looked at the new arrivals momentarily… then dove under the water again.

“Great, now what do we do?” Jim started to say, but before he could finish, Mareeya suddenly popped back out of the water, sliding gently and gracefully onto the rocks she had been on before. She smiled at her younger sister, Ceelya, then at the others but said nothing.

“Mareeya?” Ceelya half asked and half stated with awe in her voice. Reaching out her own hand hesitantly, she touched Mareeya on the arm then ran her hand down Mareeya’s side past her waist and gently, hesitantly, over the tail.

“Oh, Mareeya!” Ceelya shook her head and gasped slightly… “It is real!”

Diane reached out and touched the tail gently, convincing herself that it was real, too.

Ceelya hugged Mareeya, and Mareeya smiled but said nothing.

“Do you know me,” Ceelya asked. Mareeya nodded.

“Do you remember Kathleen and Jim and… and Shag… and Zorel?”

Mareeya nodded and smiled at them.

“Can you talk?” Ceelya asked her sister.

Mareeya looked up at the sky momentarily then strained visibly, making an effort to remember how to speak. She opened her mouth and then, after a moment, seemed to find her voice…

“Yes,” she replied softly.

Ceelya almost fell into the water with delight. She had been so afraid that Mareeya could not speak at all. She stopped and looked at Shaqor as a thought occurred to her…

“How are we going to take her back? Maybe she can’t survive out of the water here. Can she be changed back?”

Without giving Shag a chance to answer any of her questions, she turned back to Mareeya…

“How did this happen, Mareeya?”

Mareeya strained then answered softly, “After Alyendis… I found myself back on Gadyslar. Hosk sold me to an old man who calls himself Frebel-Ish.”

“Like Frebel-Ish, the mythical storyteller,” Ceelya offered. Mareeya nodded.

“Frebel-Ish, or whoever he really is, brought us here… to this planet.”

“Us? You mean Taz? And Jiba and Drel, too?” Ceelya asked. Mareeya nodded again.

“After we got here, he brought me to this beach. Then he waved his hand over me and changed me into this. Then he just walked away.”

“Oh, Mareeya! What did you do?”

“I waited for a wave to carry me into the water and swam away from the beach. Then… I just did what seemed to come naturally.”

“Do you know what he did with Taz or Jiba and Drel?”

Mareeya shook her head sadly.

“What are we going to do, Shag?” Ceelya asked.

Probably for the first time in at least a thousand years, Shag didn’t have a ready answer.

“I… I don’t know, Ceelya. We can’t take her back like this… We need to find this ‘Frebel-Ish.’ He should be able to change her back. Will you be okay here, Mareeya?”

Mareeya smiled and nodded. “I’m fine. This is where I belong… for now…”

Then she added sadly, “But I look up at the sky and at the stars every day, and I wonder which one of them is Antar and if I will ever get to return home… I mean really home! I miss you all… and Mom and Dad… It’s been seven years…”

Mareeya’s eyes seemed to fill with tears as she spoke. “Find him if you can, Shaqor… please.”

Shag nodded and swallowed hard. “I will, Mareeya,” he promised. “I will.” Then he turned and called for the Sphere of Visions.

“Ask!” The voice said.

“Show us Taz Valenti, son of Kyle and Jeliya of Antar.”

A mist appeared on the beach, and in the mist they saw Taz. He appeared to be carrying a bucket of some kind filled with water down a hill. Shag turned to Mareeya again. “We’ll find them all, Mareeya… and Frebel-Ish, too! I swear it!”

Mareeya smiled. Ceelya thought the smile looked somehow different now. Before, it had been a sad smile. Now, there was the twinkle of real happiness in it.

“Portal!” Shag called. “Take us to Taz Valenti, son of Kyle and Jeliya of Antar.”

The portal appeared and Shag stepped through, followed by the others. They met Taz coming down the hill, carrying a bucket of water.

“Taz!” Jim said, stopping Taz where he was. “What in the World and Antar are you doing?”

“Can’t ye see he’s carrying a pail of water? That’s what he’s doing!” a voice said from behind the group. Jim spun around. A young girl was standing there.

“Don’t tell me…” Jim said. “You would be Jill, I suppose.”

“That’s right, and who would ye be?”

“I’m… nobody that matters to you. I suppose you think he’s Jack?” Jim said, pointing at Taz.

“My goodness, no! You are a most odd man! Jack fell down…”

“…and broke his crown,” Jim said. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard the story.”

“Then why did ye ask? I had to get him to take Jack’s place while Jack’s head is mending from the fall.”

Jim stood there for a few seconds. He wasn’t quite sure whether he should strangle the smart-alek little girl or have his head examined. He felt totally ridiculous even talking to her.

“Taz, come with us,” Jim said, turning to Taz and ignoring the girl.

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t? Just put the bucket down…”

“Tis a pail,” the girl corrected sassily. Jim ignored the comment.

“Come with us, Taz. We’re going home… to Antar.”

“I have to carry this water down the hill,” Taz said.

“And then what?” Jim asked.

“I go back up and do it again.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s what I do,” Taz answered simply.

Jim didn’t have much patience for this. He grabbed Taz under his arm, set the bucket on the ground, and told Shag to call the portal.

“We can’t take him back like this,” Shag said. Whatever this Frebel-Ish did to him, he needs to undo it.”

“Then let’s find this Frebel-Ish,” Jim said.

“Let’s find Jiba and Drel first,” Shag said.

Jim knew he was right. Wherever Jiba and Drel were, Frebel-Ish had probably done something to them, too. The reasonable thing to do would be to find them first then find this Frebel-Ish and make him change them all back as they belonged at once. If Frebel-Ish knew they were onto him, he might make himself harder to find or disappear completely.

“Okay,” Jim agreed, “But I’m taking Taz with me.”

Shag looked at Taz and nodded, then he called the portal.

“Take us to Jiba, daughter of Tess and Rayylar of Antar.”

The portal appeared, and Shag stepped through. Jim followed him with Taz in tow. The others followed behind them.

Stepping out of the portal, they found themselves inside a large, dark cave.

“What the!” Dan Klein exclaimed. Everyone looked around. At the back of the cave there was something… it was difficult to see what in the dark. Dan lit the cave with a lighter he carried. Though he never smoked, he always carried the lighter, which was a memento from one of his special ops missions. After the mission had concluded successfully, everyone had been given one, engraved with their names and the code name of the mission. Dan held the small flame up to see what was in the large coffin-like box at the back of the cave. It appeared to be made of glass. As he raised the light over the lid, Kathleen gasped. Then the others looked and gasped, too. The glass coffin contained a body… it was Jiba’s.

Kathleen, Jim, Dan, Diane, Shag, Ceelya, Zorel, and Taz all gazed at the figure in the glass coffin. Jiba was only fifteen. Lying there in the glass coffin, she appeared perfect, beautiful, flawless in every way… in every exquisite detail.

“Is she… you know…” Zorel tried to ask.

Shag lifted the glass lid and placed the palm of his hand near her nose for several moments then removed his hand slowly and nodded.

“Yes, Zorel.”

Kathleen took Jim’s hand and held it.

“You’re sure, Shag?” Diane asked.

Shag nodded.

“Yes, she’s alive.”

Everyone relaxed. Jim let his breath out. He had been holding it but hadn’t realized it.

“She appears to be in some kind of deep sleep,” Shag said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. If I had to guess, of course, I’d say that Frebel-Ish had something to do with it.”

“I’d say that Frebel-Ish had everything to do with it,” Jim interjected.

Shag nodded. “You’re probably right, Jim.”

“What do we do now,” Ceelya asked. Can we take her back like this?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Shag said. “But I also don’t know how we can take her with us to find Frebel-Ish. We’ll have to leave her here till we find that troll and bring him back here to wake her up.”

Diane nodded somberly. Kathleen agreed. Finally, the others reluctantly added their agreement.

“Is this what Jiba is ‘supposed’ to do, Taz,” Jim asked, somewhat more gruffly than he intended to.

“Yes,” Taz said… “I think so…”

Taz winced slightly and seemed uncomfortable with his answer, but the answer remained in his mind all the same, probably due to the ‘changes’ brought about by Frebel-Ish.

“Why is Jiba supposed to sleep? Why are you supposed to carry water down the hill all day long day after day?”

Taz couldn’t answer. He shook his head. “I… I don’t know… we just are. It is what we were made for.”

Jim didn’t know how to answer that. He shook his head. “No, Taz, it’s not. You are Antarian. You were made to be free.”

“I am Jack… and she is YarilyaXan,” Taz replied.

Shag turned slightly pale. The others looked at him questioningly.

“YarilyaXan,” Shag said, is a very important children’s storybook character on Xarius. YarilyaXan is a young girl who is very beautiful. But the vain wife of the king gives a large treasure to a wicked old woman who lives in a cave to kill YarilyaXan, because YarilyaXan is more beautiful and more popular in the village than she is. The wicked old crone uses her powers to put a spell on YarilyaXan and make YarilyaXan sleep forever. No one but the old crone can take the curse off, but she dies and never does, and the beautiful young girl lies sleeping hidden away deep inside the old crone’s cave. Eventually, a young hero comes along and finds a way to save her. He turns out to be the king’s son. The vain queen turns out to be an impostor who had paid the old woman years before to use the same spell on the real queen and change her to look like the real queen so that she could take her place. The hero finds this out and proves it. Then he finds his real mother, the real queen, wakes her, and marries YarilyaXan, who eventually becomes the new queen, one whom everyone loves.”

“Okay…” Dan said. Both he and Diane were somewhere between being seriously amused and starting to get seriously concerned.

“YarilyaXan sounds an awful lot like ‘Sleeping Beauty’ …kind of,” Diane said. “There must be some universal themes anywhere you go! What is this planet? Land of the fairy tale characters?”

As they spoke, in the flicker of the light, Jim caught a glimpse of another presence in the cave with them… The others saw it, too.

Jim spun around quickly to face the newcomer. It turned out to be a very old and very small man. He looked a lot like a troll… or perhaps one of the seven dwarfs.

“Great!” Jim exclaimed. “Now Rumpelstiltskin’s here!”

The little man burst out laughing. “Rumpelstiltskin? I’m not Rumpelstiltskin! I’m Frebel-Ish!”

Shag put both his hands in front of himself with the palms out in a gesture fully intended to indicate threat to the little man. The little man laughed.

“You can put your hands down. I am not going to hurt you.”

“Like you didn’t hurt her?” Jim asked, indicating Jiba.

“Her?” She’s not hurt.”

“You placed her in a deep sleep for… who knows how long,” Jim said. “That’s ‘hurt!’”

Frebel-Ish seemed perplexed then laughed again. He walked across the floor eyeing the group in the cave. “What do you care about her?”

“She’s Antarian," Jim said… "She’s one of ours. And even if she weren’t…”

“AN-Tarian! What’s this AN-Tarian again?” Frebel-Ish asked seeming to lose his patience.

“It’s what we are,” Zorel said… and what she is.” He indicated Jiba.

The little man seemed confused. “You are biomass replications… all of you? Did Hosk release you on your own with no owner? …No! No! I don’t believe it! Biomass replications do not respond the way you do. They… they are compliant! They are happy and satisfied in my world.”

“Biomass… what?” Jim said, looking at Shag.

Shag thought for a moment… “Frebel-Ish… or whatever your real name is… I am guessing that Hosk sold you these children and told you that they were biomass replications.”

“They are biomass replications,” the little man said. I saw them created. He made them at my request, and I watched as they were made.”

“Hosk must have run them back through his machine,” Kathleen said.

Jim nodded.

“That would make sense for a lot of reasons,” Shag agreed. “Hosk would want them to not have memories of their past, and this… whatever Mr. Frebel-Ish is, wanted something newly-created from scratch with no past…”

“Biomass replications,” the little man repeated. “Very compliant, very happy to conform.”

“Conform to what?” Dan asked. “What is this crazy world?”

The little man laughed again. “Not crazy! Happy! This is MY world! You see this planet? It doesn’t exist.”

“He’s certifiable!” Jim whispered to Kathleen.

“I have good ears, too,” the little man said. “Go ahead! Try to find this world when you are not here! You will not!”

“We did,” Dan said smiling.

“Mmm… yes…” the little man’s smile disappeared. “How did you find this planet? It lies outside the plane of reality. A space ship would fly right through it but would never see it. It reflects no light in the real universe…”

“And yet we did find it,” Shag said.

The little man seemed agitated. He did not enjoy riddles that he did not initiate or to which he did not know the answers.

“This planet is the planet of the Hjity.”

“What are the Hjity?” Kathleen asked.

“Not are… is!” Frebel-Ish said. I am the Hjity!”

“You? Zorel questioned. “You can’t be a whole race all by yourself.”

“Oh, but I am!” said the little man. I am the Hjity. This is my planet. Just me. I travel throughout the universe cataloguing stories… what you call fairytales,” he said to Jim… “and you call Scostya-Voya,” he said to Shaqor… “and you call Djictyyae Frebel-Ish… Tales of Frebel-Ish,” he said to Zorel… “Yes, I know what you call them! I can pull them out of your minds! Then I obtain biomass replications and change them into the characters from your stories. I live among them. I enjoy their antics… their beauty… Everywhere I go my world is… what you would call a fairytale. I created it to be so!”

“Amazing,” Jim said, beginning to feel somewhat impressed in spite of himself.

“Why is your planet called ‘Merschenskazky if you are Hjity,” Jim asked.

The little man began to laugh. “Oh… oh… ho… ho… ho… ho…” He shook his head. “That is the name I gave Hosk. My planet is whatever I call it! But you should recognize that name! It's from your home planet,” he said looking Jim directly in the eyes.

“I’m afraid I don’t,” Jim said.

“Wait a minute,” Diane said… “Marchen… that’s German for fairytales. And Skazky is Russian for fairytales.”

“Yes! Yes!” The little man laughed. Sometimes I call my planet ‘Scostyadjictyyae’ or ‘Mothergooseskazky’ or some other such nonsense. It doesn’t matter. My planet will be here whatever I choose to call it. And I can call myself Frebel-Ish if I wish to, because he is the teller of all fairytales.”

“Well, there is one little problem,” Ceelya said, stepping forward to face the little man. The little man became silent. He was unaccustomed to anyone stepping forward into his space so boldly.

“What would that be?”

“You bought Antarians from Hosk… slaves! Not biomass replications!”

The little man shook his head. “No! No! That is impossible! I saw them created!”

“No,” Shag said, stepping forward, too. “You saw a trick. Hosk used the machine to steal the memories of these young people and sell them to you as replications.”

Frebel-Ish shook his head, but more slowly this time. He was beginning to understand what had happened.

"Can you prove that they are AN-Tarian, Xarian? If you can…"

Shag nodded. "Wake her up."

The little man gazed at Jiba lying in her glass coffin… "I enjoy watching YarilyaXan as she sleeps. She is so beautiful. I can look at her beautiful face… I can touch her…"

"Don't," Jim said threateningly as the little troll began to reach a hand into the glass box. The little man stopped for a moment, then, with a sigh, removed his hand. He waved his hand over the coffin, and Jiba began to stir. She yawned, then her eyes fluttered momentarily and opened. She looked around then sat up…

“Where am I?”

“You are in your cave, my dear YarilyaXan,” the little man said. “You are waiting for the prince to come and discover the secret to awaken you.”

Kathleen stepped forward and took Jiba’s hand in hers… “Jiba, do you remember me? Do you remember Ceelya or Zorel?”

Jiba seemed confused. She put her face into her hands momentarily. Then she lifted her head… “Aunt Kathleen? Jim? Ceelya?” She looked at each of them then smiled. “What am I doing here… dressed in this long gown?”

“It’s a long story,” Jim said with a chuckle. “We’ll help you remember, though.” He turned to the man calling himself Frebel-Ish… “Satisfied?”

The little man looked crestfallen.

Jim pulled Taz to him. “You need to undo whatever you did to this one, too.”

The little troll looked at Taz… “My replacement Jack! …Ohhhh… Alright…” He waved a hand, and Taz felt his head clear.

“Do you know who you are now,” Jim asked him.

Taz nodded.

“Who are you?”

“Taz Valenti.”

“What are your parents’ names?”

“Kyle… and Jeliya. I have a brother, Rayyn.”

“Okay,” Jim said, letting him go. “I was getting tired of holding onto you to keep you from going back and climbing up that hill for another pail of water.”

Kathleen snickered.

“What?” Jim questioned.

“You’ve been insisting on calling it a bucket. But you just said ‘pail’ like Jill.”

Jim reddened slightly… “Fairytales are never gonna be the same again,” he said.

“There are two more,” Shag said to Frebel-Ish.

“Which ones?”

“A young mermaid girl…”

“Ohhhh… Not my little mermaid!”

“…and a boy, Drel, who is with Doctor Aybolit.”

The little man nodded.

“Portal!” Shag called. “Take us to Mareeya Whitman, daughter of Alex and Isabel of Antar.”

They stepped through the portal… and, one by one, fell directly into the sea. Shag was the first to pop back up. Mareeya was sitting on her rock and laughing with her hand over her mouth. She reached her hand out to try to help them onto the rock with her.

“Shornyatscha sphere!” Shag exclaimed.

“What’s that, Shag?” Jim asked, pushing his wet hair back and climbing onto the rocks. Jim turned and helped Kathleen and the others onto the rock with him.

Shag shook his head… “The sphere of the portal… sometimes you have to be very specific with it. It has a sort of twisted sense of humor. Somewhere in there, it’s laughing at us swimming out here.”

“Would it hurt us, Shag?” Dan asked.

“Naw… it would never do anything that would hurt me. Its favorite joke is to dunk me in the water. I can practically hear it chuckling to itself.”

“It likes you, Shag! Twelve thousand years of service! I guess it feels comfortable with that little joke. Ceelya can dry us all off… if she will.” Ceelya nodded and smiled.

Jim pulled the little man out of the water.

“Well, here she is,” Jim said. “Turn her back.”

The little man hesitated. “I want to hear her sing one more time,” he said… “She’s the best singer of all the mermaids I’ve ever had.”

Jim was about to insist, but the sound of a hauntingly beautiful melody stopped him. Mareeya was singing. It did not sound like a human voice at all. It was lovely, beautiful, almost angelic. The air all around them seemed to suddenly ring with the sound; and everything, even the surf, seemed to become quiet and listen.

When she was finished, Ceelya hugged her sister…

“That was so beautiful,” she said over and over and over again.

“Yes, it was,” Zorel said with genuine awe and absolute honesty in his voice. “Could you put that on a music ring?”

Kathleen hugged Mareeya. “Mareeya, if I had a voice like that…”

Mareeya smiled widely… “I’ll remember it… but I just want to go home… as me.”

Kathleen nodded. Jim motioned to the little man. He waved a hand, and Mareeya’s legs returned. The little man apparently had the forethought to give her clothing, but it was a simple dress, too short, and tattered. Somehow, it seemed appropriate for a former mermaid.

Mareeya ran onto the beach, jumped up and down, wriggled her toes in the warm sand, and spun around and around, looking like a pixie as she spun in her tattered little dress. The others watched for a few minutes, as Mareeya celebrated the return of her legs and feet with a ballet in the sand. Then Shag called the portal.

“Take us to Drel, son of Tess and Rayylar of Antar… And sphere… Don’t put us out in the water if he’s anywhere near water!”

Jim and Dan both chuckled… then everyone stepped through the portal.

“Well, at least it’s dry land,” Shag said, as he stepped through the portal.

He may have spoken somewhat hastily; no sooner had they stepped out of the portal than a misty spray blew over the group.

“Are there geysers around here?” Jim asked.

Shag looked around. They appeared to be on a very small island in the middle of the sea. There was water all around them.

“I think this island’s sprung a leak,” Diane said, as another spray of water shot up into the air.

Shag pursed his lips tightly realizing the reality of their situation.

“Sphere! I don’t call this ‘dry land!’” he exclaimed, addressing his comment to nowhere in particular. Indeed, the group found itself on the back of a large whale that lay sunning on the surface of the sea. It only took a few moments for the others to realize this fact as well.

Diane sat down. “Oh…! My…! God! What do we do if he decides to dive?”

Mareeya smiled and patted the behemoth on the head. “I don’t think she’s going to do that. This old girl’s a friend of mine.”

“Oh, yeah…” Kathleen said. “You were a mermaid! I guess you would know her.”

“Well, I think it’s pretty cool,” Zorel exclaimed looking around him… “as long as she stays on the surface.”

“So where is Drel… and where is Doktor Ayboleet?” Jim asked.

-Jim had asked the million-dollar questions-

Shag nodded. “Yes, I would like to know that, too, SPHERE,” he said, emphasizing that last word. At that moment, the whale opened its mouth, which was gigantic. As they watched, a white-haired, elderly gentleman carrying an umbrella climbed out of the whale’s mouth and onto its back. He reached back and helped a much younger individual to climb up, too. The second individual appeared to be no more than ten to twelve years old.

“Drel! Are you alright?” Kathleen exclaimed at the sight of the boy.

Drel looked at Kathleen and smiled. “I’m fine. Who are you?”

“Da! That would be the question I would ask, too,” said the older man… “Kto vi… fcye?”

“What the blazes were you doing in a whale’s mouth,” Jim asked.

“Zoobnaya bol,” said Doktor Ayboleet. My assistant and I were taking care of our patient.”

“What? Soup bowl? What did he say?”

“I think he’s saying the whale had a toothache, Jim,” Diane said. "Zoob is Russian for tooth."

Jim bristled. “You’ve got to be kidding! What kind of crazy world…”

He was interrupted by the little man who called himself Frebel-Ish…

“My world!” The little man said with a very big smile.

“Yes, of course… I forgot! …Your world,” Jim said nodding.

Shag and Kathleen both laughed. Then Dan and the others began to laugh, too.

“My life is never going to be the same!” Jim exclaimed. Then, unable to help himself, he began to laugh, too.

With both himself and the boy safely on top of the whale’s back, Doktor Ayboleet turned his attention to the newcomers…

“Privyet! Ca’dyela?”

“Private cadillac…? huh?” Jim scratched his head.

Diane snickered. "No, Jim. He said, ‘Hello, How’s it going?’”

Jim winced. “Oh! Cadillac’s… uh, just fine… I guess…”

“What am I saying; I’m losing my freakin’ mind!”

Diane laughed. “You’ll get used to it, Jim!”

"Losing my mind?"

"No… Russian! And this fairytale planet that Mister Frebel-Ish has created. Doktor Ayboleet is from a Russian fairytale, Jim. Doktor Ayboleet is like our Doctor Doolittle. He talks to all the animals and heals all their ails. ‘Ay, Boleet’ means, ‘Ow, It hurts.’ ”

"I don't know, Diane! I'm sort of a reality based guy."

"Oh yeah! The guy who drives around with a pawgor hanging out the window of his car?"

Jim looked at Diane and started to smile again in spite of himself. "Okay, okay… so I've got my little eccentricities, too."

Jim turned to Drel… “Drel, do you remember who you are?”

“I’m Doktor Ayboleet’s assistant,” Drel answered. “We travel around making all the animals well…”

“But do you remember… No, I guess you don’t,” Jim said. “Frebel!”

The little man waved his hand over Drel, and Drel looked around him at his surroundings and at those present.

“Oh, wow!”

He smiled at his sister, Jiba, then looked at Zorel…

“Zorel! You’re here, too? Cool! You won’t believe what I’ve got to tell you about all the things we’ve done!”

“Yeah! Pretty cool!” Zorel agreed. “I want to hear all about it!”

“Did you guys come to take me home?”

Kathleen smiled and nodded. “That we did, Drel!

Drel grinned.

“Well, now I shall need a new assistant,” Doktor Ayboleet said to Frebel-Ish.

The little man nodded. “I will have to find someone new to provide biomass replications. And as for Hosk…” The little man didn’t finish this sentence.

“Can we send you somewhere through the portal?” Shag asked the little man.

Frebel-Ish sat down and put his arms around his knees.

“No, thank you. I will enjoy sitting here and thinking while Missy takes me home.” He rubbed his hand gently over the whale’s back and smiled.

Shag nodded. “Well, it has been… interesting! Thank you for your cooperation and… for showing us some of your wonderful and fantastic planet.”

Frebel-Ish smiled very broadly. The compliment seemed to strike a chord in him that he was unaccustomed to feeling, living alone as he did with only his biomass replications.

“Come back and visit! You must come back! You have not seen even the smallest part of what I have created here! I guarantee that you will enjoy it!”

“I have no doubt of that at all,” Shag said smiling.

Diane, Kathleen, and all the others nodded in agreement. Zorel was particularly enthusiastic.

Jim turned to Doktor Ayboleet… “How are you getting back? Do you intend to ride this whale, too?”

“Oh, no! I am traveling by air, as usual,” Doktor Ayboleet said.

Just then, a very large eagle flew over. Doktor Ayboleet called to it, and it settled on the back of the whale. Doktor Ayboleet climbed on…

“Da Svidanya, amigos!”

Jim grinned. “Amigos, now, is it?”

“I’m off to the Caribbean,” Doktor Ayboleet said. Someone has a problem with ze cucarachas in hees beard.”

Dan shook his head… “Don’t ask. I'm not.”




This story was adapted and revised from the chapters titled


-------------------------Chapter 31
“Wha”
-------------------------Chapter 32
“Merschenskazky”
-------------------------Chapter 33
“YarilyaXan and Frebel-Ish”
-------------------------Chapter 34
“Doktor Ayboleet”


which can be found in the Roswell fic, “Children of the Universe” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)



>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #9 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated PG-13


“A Time for Dreamin', Candy, and Stargazing”



When traveling on the new granolith, Max’s immense mothership, everyone had a job to do, but life was not all work. Those onboard found time now and then for… shall we say… other diversions.

Today, like any other day, the children were occupying themselves playing in various parts of the ship, and the adults were occupied with various individual pursuits. Jim and Kyle Valenti were watching videotaped football games with Jeff Parker. Amy and Varec were enjoying a walk in the gardens. Max and Liz were together in the control room, and Michael and Maria… well, no one was sure where Michael and Maria had gone, but wherever it was, they had gone together and didn’t leave a “here’s-where-we-can-be-found note.”

The new granolith was truly a small city in space. It had 7 different levels. The bottom level, Level 1, was the cargo and storage bay level. This level was also where the off-ship vehicles were kept and where the “pod room” was located, a special, watertight room that housed a small submarine, which Michael had christened the “Maria Mia.” Level 2 was the galley and dining area. Level 3 was the living quarters. At the end of the corridor on level 3, there was a lounge with video games, a TV, and other types of entertainment. Level 4 was the control level, which housed the control room with the pilots’ consoles and seats and other critical flight control equipment and engines. Level 5 was the gardens, where many of the vegetables eaten onboard were grown. Besides vegetables, the gardens sported beautiful flowers and walking paths, one of which led to a small waterfall and pond. Level 6 was the arboretum, a small arboreal park. The trees in the arboretum supplied all the oxygen needed for interplanetary travel.

The arboretum was a great place to take a walk. It had a long path through the trees with several interesting stops along the way. The path through the arboretum began and ended at the same place, so there was no need to turn around and return the way one had come. The path had been designed to meander back and forth through the trees, giving the stroller the maximum possible walking distance, about a mile and a half. At a point that lay in the actual center of the arboretum, there was a gazebo, with a porch-type swing; but further along on the trail, there was a small clearing where one could lie down by a clear little brook that provided water to the trees, have a picnic, or swing on a two-person swing suspended by vines from high up in one of the trees.

Level 7, the top level, was the observatory, a bubble-domed level with a 360-degree view of space. Among other things, the observatory boasted a couple of sofas for relaxing and watching the stars zip by and two special seats for remote viewing with RV goggles. Maria liked to escape to the observatory with Michael when no one else was there. It was her favorite place on the ship. She loved lying on the sofa with her head on Michael’s chest, listening to his heartbeat and watching the stars zip by in their celestial brilliance through the dome of the new granolith as it sped along on its journey through the cosmos.

This is where Michael and Maria were right now. Michael was lying on the oversized Antarian sofa along the back wall of the observatory, his arms around Maria, who was lying in front of him, her head against his bare chest. Michael loved the feel of Maria’s hair on his face and the smell of her skin against him. When he had been living on Antar, before he and Max had gone back in time to rescue Liz and Maria (and wound up rescuing everyone), these were the things Michael dreamt of at night, the things that drove him wild with sadness over his loss of Maria. He would never take them for granted. Michael, more than anyone except Max, who shared his pain because of his own loss of Liz, knew the importance of the “little things.”

Michael breathed deep, inhaling Maria’s essence, the perfume of her existence… and he nestled his face against hers, letting her hair cover him, losing himself in her… in everything that was “Maria.”

Maria moved her hand slowly over Michael’s well-muscled arm, removing the rest of his shirt and pressing herself even closer against him as Michael slowly but deliberately, one piece at a time, reduced Maria to her natural state as they lay there watching the stars.
At the end of the corridor leading from the ascension chamber to the domed observatory, the ascension chamber opened again, and Amy and Varec stepped out. They were met by 8-year-old Zorel Guerin as they stepped out of the chamber.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Amy, Uncle Varec… but no one can visit the observatory right now.”

“Why not, Zorel?”

“Dad said there was going to be a heat wave in the observatory for a while and no one could go in there. He paid me to stand guard here and let anybody know if they came up in the chamber.”

“Heat wave?” asked Amy. “Oh my! That sounds unpleasant! I guess we can go back to the gardens for awhile.” She looked at Varec. Varec nodded.

Varec looked at Zorel, sizing up the situation. Varec had helped build the new granolith. He knew better than anyone what was likely to be a problem and what was not on his ship… he knew…

“Okay Zorel. I suppose your Dad’s working on it right now, right?”

“Yeah.”

Varec smiled, “I know how hot it can get in there. You’re doing a great job, Zorel. Be sure you don’t let anyone get past here till your Dad says it’s okay! It must be getting really hot in there! But I’m sure he knows how to handle it. We’ll come back when it’s… uh, fixed.”

“Thanks, Uncle Varec!”

The next day, Michael and Maria, Max and Liz, and Alex and Isabel all managed to get away for a couple of private hours together.

It was déjà vu for Max, but this was one déjà vu Max hoped he would be lucky enough to have to deal with for many, many years to come. Liz put her arms seductively around Max’s neck as the two of them reached the little clearing beside the brook in the arboretum. The two-person swing suspended from high up in the trees swung above them as Liz pulled Max down to the ground with her and pressed her lips to his passionately, at the same time unbuttoning his shirt and belt. It was pleasant here, with just the sounds of the brook and the rustle of the trees’ leaves. They would not be interrupted today. The children were all in Kathleen’s class for the next hour, and all of the adults were involved in other activities… Max had checked.

Max returned Liz’s kiss with every bit of the passion she had put into hers… and added a bit for interest… his own interest, as he ran his strong hands gently over her body, somehow -seemingly effortlessly- removing some piece of clothing with each sensual pass. He kissed her lips then her neck, slowly working his way down her body as though he were a sculptor crafting a masterpiece… and his kisses were the chisel. He looked into Liz’s eyes, his eyes conveying the immense love that he felt for her… and the great fortune that he had always felt he had been granted when he had found her.

Liz smiled and looked into Max’s eyes. She was beautiful. She found Max irresistible, handsome beyond what seemed right for any one man… and something more, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She was sometimes tempted to think that such perfect love must be a mind warp… or that maybe Max had had Madame Viviane slip her a love potion back on earth… but she knew that wasn’t it. She knew! What it really was… was love!

The sounds of the cool, clear water running through the little brook beside them were pleasant… the abundance of oxygen from the trees filled them with energy… and their love filled them with joy.


In the gardens, one floor down, another couple had the same idea, with the kids and everyone else occupied for at least the next two hours. Did I say two hours? Well… it was supposed to be one hour, but Michael had cut a little deal with Kathleen… keep the kids in class for an extra hour today and he and Maria would return the favor for her and Jim sometime.

Had one walked by the pond and waterfall in the gardens at this moment, one would have seen clothes strewn on the rocks… a shirt, a blouse, a skirt, pants, shoes… yep! It was all there! And in the pond one might have found a female and male of a new species, “Cosmovoyagius sirena.” Michael and Maria, swimming along the sandy bottom together, fifteen feet below, rose to the surface locked in a passionate kiss and embrace.

Maria giggled and looked into Michael’s eyes. Michael smiled, overwhelmed by his feelings for Maria, the love of his life whom he had once thought lost forever… the love he would never, ever take for granted again. Michael released Maria and dived under the water, pushing her toward the waterfall.

“Wha…! Michael!” Maria giggled again, as the water of the falls poured down over her head, then his. Michael locked his lips to hers and pulled her soft skin against his, and Maria wrapped her arms around Michael’s neck with one hand on the back of his head, pulling herself closer still to Michael, feeling the warmth of his body against hers.

“You wouldn’t let me drown under here, would you?” Maria giggled.

Michael grinned, “Uh, uh… I know how to give mouth to mouth resuscitation.”

“Oh, I’ll vouch for that!” Maria said, giggling as though she had had a few drinks.

But it wasn’t drink that made Maria giddy around Michael, especially when he was all wet and in his natural glory! It was love… and wild animal passion.

As Michael pulled Maria further and further under the falls, he discovered something that no one had ever told him about. Behind the falls, there was a shallow “lagoon” and a small beach… a small, rather dark and private beach! Just the kind of place Michael might have dreamt about for a time like… right now.

Maria tossed herself down on the beach behind the falls and pulled Michael down on top of her.

“Maybe they’ll never find us here,” said Maria.

Michael’s eyes gleamed. He rather liked that thought.

Yes! At the moment, he was very much liking that thought!


Alex and Isabel had always enjoyed watching the stars together, so it was no surprise that, like Michael and Maria, Alex and Isabel enjoyed spending time together in the observatory. It was an amazing experience in the observatory, lying there on the oversized Antarian sofa, watching the stars zip by in their celestial splendor, with a 360-degree view of nothing but space around you. It gave Isabel the feeling of being as one with Alex, hurtling through space. It was as though only the two of them existed and they needed nothing more than each other’s love to survive… to thrive on.

Alex kissed Isabel passionately under the stars… their stars! Whenever they were together, every star was theirs and theirs alone! The stars smiled on their kisses. The stars witnessed their love… their passion. The stars! Yes, the stars belonged to Alex and Isabel… especially today… especially now!

Alex pulled Isabel down onto the sofa with him, never once breaking the contact that he had with her lips. He pulled her close. What happened then was witnessed only by the stars, and the stars have yet to tell the secret.




This story was adapted and revised from the chapters titled,

-------------------------------------Chapter 13

“Just Another Day on the Granolith”

-------------------------------------Chapter 15

“A Time for Dreamin’, Candy, and Stargazing”


which can be found in the Roswell fic, “Life in the Stars” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

As always, quite awesome Gerry!

<p><center><font size=2><font color=red><script language="javascript" src="http://members.cox.net/laurensnape/coun ... <center><a href="http://pub129.ezboard.com/fmajiklmoonsr ... ID=1.topic" target="_new">The Departure Debacle - A Roswell Fanfic contest/challenge</a></center><I><center>Margo is a Super ORB!</i></center><b><center><center><font color=#FFFFCC>It all started with a boy, a girl and a silver handprint.<font color =#CCCCCC><center><i>Countess Majiklmoon Mistress and keeper of the tunes</i></center></color~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br><a href=http://pub84.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsrealm><img src=http://members.aol.com/majiklmoon/image ... 2a.gif></a> </p><i></i>

welcome back...you were gone for a while!

I what you are doing with these stories!

Thanks, Tracie, Bookwork, and Buffyrosfan! Your feedback is , as always, much appreciated!

Well, here's number 10! Enjoy!

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)



>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #10 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated PG


“The Child Army Of Huji Bwi”


As I’ve said before, the universe can be fascinating… it can also be dangerous; but most of all, it can be unpredictable and devastatingly capricious. Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, and the others had learned this lesson many times over since leaving Roswell. Quite frankly, they hadn’t even had to leave Roswell to learn it. The Special Unit had seen to that! For Max and the others, life had always been a challenge. Now, several years later, living on Antar and with children of their own, they were encountering new challenges. One of these involved a most interesting alien by the name of Huji Bwi. Huji Bwi bought 400 Antarian children from a slave trader named Hosk, who had kidnapped them (Read “Children of the Universe”), erased their memories of who they were or where they had come from, and sold them throughout the universe. Max, Michael, and the others were devastated, but eventually they learned what happened to their children, and there was Hell to pay! This story begins as they locate 400 of the missing Antarian children, the ones purchased by Huji Bwi.

Stepping onto the planet Qravitor in sector H19 of the known universe, Max, Michael, Liz, Maria, Shag, Jim, and Kyle stared in momentary disbelief.

“Well,” Michael said after a few moments, “Let’s get ‘em!”

That seemed simplistic given the difficulties they appeared to face; but then again, one has to start somewhere. Everyone fell in behind Michael. No one knew what his plan was, but they knew that no one had a better one… no one else had any plan at all.

From the top of the small hill they were on, the group could see a small army in the meadow below. Michael knew, he wasn’t really sure how, that this was the 400 missing children from Antar. The others knew it, too.

The army of Antarian children -mostly teens- stood its ground and watched, as Max, Michael, and the others made their way down the hill, which took about ten minutes. Finally, Michael stood face to face with one teen who placed himself in front of the others. For a moment, they stared at each other. The teen looked confused…

“You’re not from here… from Qravitor.”

Michael shook his head. “No. We’re from Antar.”

For a moment, a light seemed to flicker in the teen’s eyes, as though he remembered something. Then it disappeared.

“Who are you?” the teen asked Michael, while holding some kind of weapon in front of himself. Michael wasn’t sure what the weapon was.

“I am Michael… General of the Armies of Antar.”

The teen winced as though he had suffered a sudden pang in his temples.

“Michael? General Michael… and… Zan…”

“Yes!” Michael said. “You remember Zan?”

“I… I think so… I… Antar?” The teen seemed to suffer another pang then collapsed forward. Michael caught him before he could hit the ground and laid him gently down on the ground. A couple of other teens ran forward to check on their “leader.”

“What did you do to him?” asked a girl who could not have been more than fourteen.

Several others approached with the same question obviously on their minds.

“I didn’t do anything to him,” Michael said. “He just collapsed. Zan!”

Max was already at his side and checking the boy out. He placed his hands over the boy’s temples, and a greenish light glowed for a few moments.

The boy opened his eyes and looked at the two newcomers and their companions…

“I know you! I saw you on the VideoView!”

Max wasn’t sure whether the youth was referring to him or to Michael. The boy pointed at Jim. “You’re one of the Eluymerians who lives on Antar. You’re a friend of King Zan.”

Suddenly, everything that Michael had told him seemed to register. The boy sat up quickly. “You’re King Zan! And you’re General Michael Guerin!”

“I think he’s got his memory back,” Michael said smiling. Max nodded.

The boy turned and looked at his ragtag army of Antarian children.

“Soldiers, we have new leaders! General Guerin and King Zan of Antar!”

The children looked around. Though obviously confused, they did not question their appointed leader’s authority regarding the sudden switch. The boy turned back to Michael…

“What would you like us to do?”

“Well,” Michael grinned… “We’re going to march back to Antar.”

The boy looked confused again.

Michael smiled. “What is your name?”

“I am Sarnys of the Aluzian region.”

“Ah! Where Aluzian golden eggs come from!”

The boy smiled. “The golden eggs are our specialty. No one else knows how they’re produced.”

“Yes, I know,” Michael said. “And they’re quite good, too! Well, Sarnys, what I want to know is, why are you and these other… young Antarians… out here in this meadow outfitted as a ragtag army?”

“Yes! That’s what I’m waiting to hear, too” Liz interjected.

The boy, who appeared to be perhaps seventeen, looked around for a moment.

“We… We belong to Huji Bwi.”

Now it was Michael’s turn to look confused.

“Who is Huji Bwi?”

Sarnys looked around again, as though he expected an unwelcome visitor at any moment.

“Huji Bwi is… well, more of a what than a who.”

Michael looked all the more confused.

“Huji Bwi is… I guess you could say, a tyrant… a wannabe usurper. He wants to rule all of Qravitor. He already rules the western quadrant.”

“I take it not everyone on Qravitor would welcome his rule,” Michael said.

“No one welcomes his rule,” Sarnys replied. “He’s a tyrant… a lot like Kivar was on our planet before you defeated him. He turned us into his army. We’re supposed to march on the northern quadrant tomorrow and capture it for him.”

“You?” Michael asked, incredulous. “A ragtag army of 400 youths? Some of these kids I see are barely ten!”

“You haven’t seen the Qravitorians,” Sarnys said plainly.

“What do you mean?”

“They are… well, small.”

“How small,” Max asked.

Sarnys used his thumb and first finger to indicate something about one inch in size. Michael and Max both gasped.

“How… How did this Huji Bwi buy slaves?” Michael asked. “If he’s that little how could he even carry the money?”

“He’s very rich,” Sarnys quickly assured them. He doesn’t carry money, He pays with universal credits, and he has lots of them.”

“Oh, he has his own platinum card,” Kyle interjected drolly.

Sarnys looked confused.

“Never mind him,” Michael said, turning Sarnys back toward him again. “I take it that these Qravitorians that you were supposed to defeat are the same size as this Huji Bwi then?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t that sort of unsporting,” Max asked. “I mean… It would be like stepping on bugs.”

Sarnys shook his head. “No. Huji Bwi expects many of us to die in this attack.”

Michael and Max were stunned; Liz and Maria gasped.

“Die? What do you mean, ‘die?’ How?”

Sarnys turned suddenly pale. “I… I think you’re about to find out. Protect yourselves!”

Everyone ducked instinctively and spun around, looking for the danger. They saw nothing. Suddenly Jim yelled and collapsed onto the ground. Max ran to his side.

“What happened,” Michael asked, his voice showing some emotion.

Max shook his head. “I don’t know. His neck is swelling. I think it’s cutting off his breathing!”

Max placed his hands over Jim’s neck. For several moments, a greenish glow appeared. Soon Jim began to stir; then he groaned…

“Ooooh… That hurts! What the Hell happened!”

“I don’t know,” Max said.

Sarnys pointed to Jim’s shirt. There was something on it that looked like a big bee.

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed in everyone’s head, as though someone had turned on a loudspeaker. The message wasn’t coming through their ears; it was being delivered directly to the brain…

“I am Huji Bwi.”

Max looked closely at the bee-like creature. “Some kind of hornet. Must be extremely venomous.”

“All Qravitorians are,” said Sarnys. “That is why Huji Bwi expected a lot of casualties among our group, but he expected that we would win in the end.”

“And you will!” The voice boomed in their heads again. “Any creature that tries to stop my army will be dealt with like this one.”

Huji Bwi plunged his stinger again into Jim’s neck, and again, Jim lapsed almost immediately into unconsciousness, unable to breathe. Max ran to help Jim before it was too late, but Huji Bwi flew at Max. Max raised his hand. He didn’t have time to get off a power blast, but he was able to deflect Huji Bwi and swat him several feet away. When Huji Bwi regained control, he flew straight at Michael. Michael “swatted” him away, too. Next he flew at Liz, but at the last moment, as Liz raised her hand to swat him, he turned and landed on Maria’s neck. Maria gasped. She didn’t have time to prepare for an unexpected attack on her.

As Huji Bwi’s stinger arched over to plunge into Maria’s neck, a large hand smacked down on top of him. It was Kyle’s hand. Kyle removed his hand slowly, and everyone looked at Maria. She was okay. Max ran to Jim and placed his hands on Jim’s neck again. For a few moments, it glowed green. Jim gasped and coughed then opened his eyes.

“This is getting to be a habit, Jim,” Max said. “I’m afraid your neck’s going to be silver for awhile.” Jim just groaned. Kyle turned his hand over and looked at it then scrunched up his nose in a gesture of disgust.

“Guys, I really need something to wipe this mess off with.”

Liz began to laugh. She covered her mouth and tried not to, but she just couldn’t help it. Perhaps it was the relief.

Max and Michael laughed, too.

“I guess that’s the end of Huji Bee,” Michael said, making a pun on Huji Bwi’s name.

“You mean Huji Was, Maria said. Everyone laughed, even Kyle, for a moment. Then he turned more serious…

“Guys! Guys! Common!” Kyle said, “I don’t think we should be laughing… I mean… I just killed a sentient being or something…”

“Yeah, one that tried to kill us,” Max reminded him.

“And one that intended to sacrifice 400 Antarian children for his own vain glory and tyranny,” Michael added. “I wouldn’t forget that. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have a little trouble feeling sorry for Huji Bwi… or Bee… or Was… or whatever…”

The others all nodded. Michael was right. Whatever else Huji Bwi might have been, he was a cruel, despotic tyrant, every bit as murderous as Kivar ever was despite his small size. It seemed unlikely that any sleep would be lost this night over his demise.

“What do we do now,” Sarnys asked Michael.

Michael looked around for Liz.

“Liz, would you call the portal, please?”

“With pleasure!”

“Soldiers!” Michael harfed authoritatively… “Fall in line! Abooout face! March! Hup… Two… Three… Move it out!”

Michael smiled for the next ten minutes, as he watched 400 Antarian children march single-file to their freedom through the portal created by the sphere belonging to his Xarian friend, King Shaqor (“Shag”) and Shaqor’s wife, MayaSabriena (and passed on to their descendant, Liz, in “Life in the Stars”).




This story was adapted and revised from the chapter titled, “The Army Of Huji Bwi” (Chapter 41), which can be found in the Roswell fic, “Children of the Universe” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

Excellent - I this so much

Thanks, LovinMaxnLiz! Here's one more for tonight, number 11. Always appreciate the feedback!

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)



>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #11 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated G


“The Golden Sea”


It was the morning of their third day on Antar. Phillip and Diane Evans had gone for a walk in a nearby park and were enjoying the Antarian nature trails. Jeff Parker had been invited by Varec to go with him and look at several places that might serve as a new site for the Crashdown Café. Max and Liz were in the palace living room when Michael and Maria walked in.

“Michael… Maria! Just the two people I was thinking of!” said Max. “Liz and I were thinking of going diving today. Why don’t you two come with us?”

“I never went diving before,” said Maria. “I don’t know if I would know how.”

“Well, it’s not so hard,” said Max. “Just stay with me and Liz. She’s never dived before either, but you’re both good swimmers, so you shouldn’t have any trouble learning to dive! We use rebreathers… they never run out of air, and they don’t make bubbles.”

“Well…”

“Come on, Maria! It’ll be a lot of fun!” said Michael. “Let’s go with them!”

“Well… okay.”

“Get your bikinis on,” said Max “-not you, Michael!”

“Aw, shucks, Maxwell! You’re no fun at all!” said Michael, joking.

“Ew!” exclaimed Maria, giving Michael a playful slap on the arm. “I’d rather you didn’t wear anything.”

Liz turned and looked at her, smiled, and raised her eyebrows. Maria’s face reddened slightly.

“I… I mean… Well, you know what I mean!”

Liz snickered and the guys both smiled a knowing smile,

“Yeah, we know, Maria!”

“Oooh… you two!”

“I’ll get a car to take us down to the j’koozzeen,” said Max.

Now Maria looked at Liz quizzically.

“Uh, Liz… is this like Texas or something where you fall in a swimming pool and people yell, ‘Don’t anyone flush?’ ‘Cause if these guys are expecting me to go scuba diving in a Jacuzzi…”

Everyone was laughing.

“No, no!” said Michael. “J’koozzeen means beach or shore, you know, in Antarian.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, well, I kind of wondered about that myself,” said Liz. “I didn’t want to ask!”

“I told Kyle to take the day off, so he and Sheriff Valenti went down to the j’koozzeen a little earlier,” Max said. “They wanted to get a sailboat and go sailing on the Golden Sea. Liz and Maria’s Moms went with them to see if they could get a suntan on the beach. Mom and Dad went to the park over by the west end to walk on the nature trails. I think Isabel went to the j’koozzeen with the others. That leaves the four of us… so… let’s go diving!”

“Let’s go!” seconded Michael.

“Well, alright!” Maria agreed. Liz smiled and nodded.


At the shore of the Golden Sea, the palace staff car let the four companions out, and they walked down to a little shop on the beach that rented dive equipment. Max rented a wrap-around mask, a pair of fins, a rebreather, a buoyancy control vest, a weight belt, and a depth guage for each one. Liz also rented a small underwater image device, like a camera, to capture some memories of her adventure. An assistant from the shop carried the equipment into the water for the four divers and handed it to them as they sat on the edge of a submerged platform in chest-deep water. The platform was there for the benefit of divers. Max and Michael showed Liz and Maria how to put on the rebreathers and other equipment and how to use it then rolled off the platform into the water. Liz and Maria put their mouthpieces into their mouths and followed the guys in.

As they turned over and leveled out into a swimming position beneath the water, the girls noticed that the Golden Sea was quite clear beneath the surface, not very different than the clearest waters back on Earth. The visibility was fantastic, though. They could easily see for two hundred feet or more all around them.

Max and Michael were waiting for them and motioned for them to come. Both Max and Michael had waterproof watches with built-in compasses and directional transponders. The transponders free the divers from having to pull a buoy and flag behind them as they dive. All motorized boats and most sailboats on Antar are equipped with a device that picks up dive transponder signals and notifies the boaters to watch out for surfacing divers or avoid the immediate area because divers may be present.

Max and Michael looked at their compasses and watched the direction of the sand ripples on the bottom, which told them that they were headed away from the shore. Liz and Maria were right beside them. The water, which had been ten feet deep at the end of the submerged platform, was now just over twenty feet deep and getting deeper as they swam further away from the shore.

After about ten minutes, they arrived at a reef in 65 feet of water. They found that the reef rose 30 feet off the bottom, to a depth of 35 feet on the top; but on the outside edge, the side farthest from shore, there was a drop-off that went down to 150 feet. The reef was about 300 feet across the top; its length was unknown to the four and went on for probably several miles parallel to the coast.

Liz spotted a cute lobster-like crustacean sitting below a coral outcrop. It had unusually long antennae and a pink, ringed body with a series of long, forward pointing spines in a single ridge along the center of its back. It was larger than a shrimp but smaller than a grown lobster. She took a picture of it. Maria gave her an “OK” sign; she had seen it, too.

The four companions swam over the top of the reef, following the valleys and peaks, checking out everything they saw. They heard Max making a noise to get their attention. Looking up, Liz and Maria found themselves face to face with a couple of playful bottlenose dolphins. Both Liz and Maria were surprised to see anything so much like an earth species on Antar; in fact, it seemed highly doubtful that anyone just looking at them could tell them from earth dolphins.

The dolphins came right up to the girls and put their noses playfully against them, prodding them to play. Maria ran her hand over one of the dolphins, caressing it on the head and back. Liz took a picture. Then Maria held onto its dorsal fin and the dolphin gave her a ride around the top of the reef. Liz held onto the other dolphin and followed, trying to get a picture of Maria and Maria’s new friend as she held onto hers at the same time. Max and Michael were swimming furiously trying unsuccessfully to keep up. Fortunately, the dolphins simply circled around and brought Liz and Maria back together with Max and Michael.

Max ran his hand over the head of Liz’s newfound friend and smiled. Michael held onto the other side of Maria’s dolphin, and he and Maria got a ride around the reef top together. Liz was wondering how many pictures she could get on this camera without reloading or downloading or whatever one had to do with it when it was full, because she was taking pictures of Michael and Maria, of Max, of the dolphins… She hoped it would not run out! There were so many memories to record.

After a while, the dolphins nudged the girls as if to say, “goodbye, we’ve had fun!” Maria removed her mouthpiece from her mouth and kissed her new friend on the nose. Liz took a picture, then handed the camera to Maria and kissed her newfound friend on the nose, too. Maria snapped the picture for Liz. Then the dolphins turned and sped toward the surface, leaping out of the water and doing several somersaults each before falling back into the water nose first and speeding off in the direction from which they had first appeared, leaving the girls -and the guys- in awe.

After the dolphins, everyone felt that everything else would be rather anticlimactic; but in fact, they had many other enjoyable experiences while on the reef.

Michael wanted to go over the far side of the reef to the bottom, which was 150 feet deep. The others followed. They didn’t go all the way to the bottom. At a depth of 110 feet, they found a large cave opening and swam into it. It angled upward and got narrower, eventually coming out on the other side of the reef, the side nearest to the shore, in 50 feet of water.

Max looked at his watch and decided that they had been down long enough. He motioned for the others to follow and headed back toward the shore, using his compass to get a bearing then watching the direction that the ripples in the sand took and swimming perpendicular to them. About half way back to the shore, in 25 feet of water, the group was engulfed by a large school of small, shiny, silvery fish and a few larger fish that the girls did not recognize. Michael reached out with his hand and made a swishing motion through the dense school of little fish all around them; the school parted as the fish swam around his hand and continued on their endless journey. All too soon, it seemed, they were at the shore again, climbing back onto the platform from which they had departed, removing their gear and handing it back to the helpful attendant, who had waded out to help them in. He also took Liz’s camera and opened it then gave her a disc, which he removed from a slot in the bottom.

Liz and Maria walked up the beach with Max and Michael by the hand, picking up seashells along the way. They found Isabel with Nancy Parker and Amy DeLuca sunning themselves on the beach. Liz and Maria sat down beside them, pulling Max and Michael down with them.

“We have just had the most amazing… awesome… incredible… unbelievable dive!” Liz said to her mother and the others.

“You wouldn’t believe it!” seconded Maria. “It was the coolest, most amazing thing that ever happened to me! …well, almost…” She looked at Michael and smiled. Michael smiled back.

“Have you ‘girls’ had fun up here on the beach?” Liz asked.

Their Moms and Isabel all indicated that it had been very relaxing and enjoyable. Isabel pointed toward the water… A sailboat was cruising along the coast about a mile out.

“Jim and Kyle seem to be having a pretty good time, too!” said Isabel. “I think I’d like to go sailing, too, next time we come. Looks like they’re having a lot of fun out there!”

Liz and Maria told the girls they would see them back at the palace, and they asked Max and Michael to take them to the café across from the j’koozzeen for a drink. The guys agreed; everyone was thirsty after the dive. It seems that the Golden Sea was as salty as the seas back on Earth.

The little shop across the street had drinks that tasted a little like root beer… and a place to sit. The four sat at a table and downed a couple of drinks apiece. Unfortunately, this shop didn’t sell snacks or food and only had the one root beer-like beverage to drink. It mainly sold beachwear, towels, and souvenirs. Max suggested that they go to a restaurant together on the other side of town. Liz and Maria agreed. They all went back to the palace, bathed and changed. Max left instructions with his staff to feed anyone who returned who hadn’t eaten, but he expected that most of the guests would be gone for the rest of the day. No one had seemed ready to return too soon.

Max and Liz enjoyed a nice candlelight dinner with Michael and Maria at one of Antar’s premier restaurants on the west side of town. It was almost impossible to believe that just a few hours earlier, they had been swimming 60 feet down underneath the Golden Sea… and riding and playing with dolphins! Liz couldn’t wait to see the pictures she had taken… indeed, it had been a wonderful and most amazing day!




This story was adapted and revised from the chapter titled, “The Golden Sea” (Chapter 27), which can be found in the Roswell fic, “Altered Time – Destiny in the Stars” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

Oh, that was a good one....awesome job. I it big time

Thanks, Bookwork! Appreciate the feedback! Here's number 12 and maybe 13...

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)



>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #12 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated PG


“Slaves and Pets”


They were still five days from Antar, and most of those onboard the Antarian mothership, the “new granolith,” were going about everyday routines… well, as much as anything could be an “everyday routine” in space. Max, Michael, and Varec were in the control room watching the stars zip by, as the ship cruised smoothly through space. Then, inexplicably, the ship began to slow. Without warning, a larger ship dropped down in front of the new granolith. Opening two huge doors at the rear, the larger ship tractored the Antarian ship inside with a magnetic beam before anyone had time to react.

Max and Michael rushed to find out who or what was responsible. Their first thought was of the Xarian king, Shaqor-Niseel, but they both knew deep inside that it wasn't… “Shag” would have given them some kind of warning, they felt pretty sure. He was, after all, their friend.

Suddenly, four men with weapons appeared on the control deck with Max and Michael… though calling them "men" might be somewhat of a stretch. They stood nine feet tall and had bony ridges running down their backs. Their faces were long and reminded Michael of pictures he had seen of what a yeti or bigfoot was supposed to look like, except that these creatures weren't hairy. In fact, they were mostly hairless and sort of scaly. Their skin color -if indeed it was skin- was silvery-grayish and splotchy reddish. It reminded Max of a bloody cadaver more than anything. The creatures had long, pointed teeth that seemed to stick into their lower lips, and their upper lips were pulled back in a kind of permanent snarl. They spoke with a lisping sound, but apparently, they were able to make themselves understood in broken Antarian.

"You die," the first one said simply as he fired his weapon at Max. Max dived to one side. Rolling over quickly, he threw a power bolt of his own at the creature, and Michael blasted one of the others with a power bolt at the same time. Neither creature so much as twitched. They seemed impervious to these blasts. Max and Michael rushed the first creature, but a swing of the creature's massive hand sent them both sprawling.

At that moment, several other creatures appeared at the door of the control room, brandishing their weapons and taking more of the crew hostage. They had gone through the ship searching for everyone they could find.

One of the creatures shoved Tracie and April, two of the guests from earth who had been found to have Antarian DNA, into the room, placing his massive hands over their faces. Tracie bit him on the hand between the thumb and first finger, which seemed to evoke a response from the creatures greater than the power bolts Max and Michael had thrown at them, so April bit him on the other hand.

"You better go back to ship… to medroom,” cautioned one of the invaders to the one who had been bitten. “Have them look at that… Such creatures as these are sometimes venomous." The affected invader frowned with a sort of snarl. Tracie smiled. The bitten invader grimaced slightly and left reluctantly.

"Is your species venomous?" the first creature asked. Tracie and April just smiled.

"I have 22 five-year-old kindergarteners who think I am," said Nina.

The creature looked at Nina then said to the creature standing beside him, "Make note. This species is very prolific… and probably venomous."

In the classroom, Kathleen had seen one of the creatures walking through the halls and had closed the door quietly to avoid getting its attention. For a while, she and the children seemed to be safe, but then one of the creatures opened the door. Kathleen rushed the invader and yelled for the children to run. They did, though 8-year-old Zorel Guerin paused for a few moments to throw several power bolts. The power bolts didn't seem to affect the creature, and reluctantly, Zorel ran to get help. He found Jim Valenti in the reading room and told him what was happening. Jim rushed down to the classroom to rescue Kathleen; but seeing what he was up against, he wisely decided to find something to give him an advantage before just rushing in. He saw his advantage coming down the hall. It was Danyy, who had gone to get his pawgor and was rushing back with the pawgor beside him. The pawgor wasn't waiting for Danyy or Jim. It rushed into the room, and immediately a shrill scream was heard.

Jim and Danyy rushed in to find the invader hanging from the ceiling by some kind of suction pods on his fingertips and knees. The pawgor had ripped his clothes off and was taking swipes at his bare bottom. Eventually, the prey fell to the floor and the pawgor pounced on the invader, sinking its teeth into his grayish-reddish skin. Apparently, the creature's taste repelled the pawgor, which spit out the chunk it had bitten off. The invader had turned from grayish-reddish to almost white, all the color going out of his body, as the pawgor stood over him, threatening to take another bite. Jim and Kathleen left Danyy and the pawgor to watch this creature, which did not appear to be much of a threat any more, and ran to see if they could help elsewhere. They didn't make it very far. Three invaders caught them, and they were taken to the control room with the others.

Rushing into the control room to find out what was going on, Liz and Maria rushed straight into the arms of danger. Both turned to run. As one of the invaders stepped in front of them, Liz dropped to the ground and slid under its legs, at the same time yelling, "Portal." The portal opened, and Liz literally slid through it. The creature ran after her, but the portal closed back. (Author’s note: The “portal” is a function of a special sphere originally owned by King Shaqor of Xarius and passed on to Liz in “Life in the Stars”).

Except for their unfortunate companion in the classroom with the pawgor and the fact that the children mostly remained uncaught… and except for Liz, who had escaped through the portal, the invaders seemed to have complete control of the ship now.


Several galaxies away, Liz stood in front of Shag and Maya describing the invaders…

“Yes,” Shag said, nodding, “I know of them. They’re from Ghorbidfael, a planet only about twelve galaxies from Antar. The inhabitants of their planet travel the galaxies finding and collecting victims to make slaves of, or in some cases, pets.

“Pets?” Liz asked surprised.

“Well,” Shag said, “There are all kinds of beings in the universe. Many are like us, but some are grotesque like the Ghors and some are small and cute…”

Liz stood with her mouth open.

“You mean a creature intelligent enough to build a space ship and travel through space might be turned into a… pet?”

“If it is small and cute… yes,” said Shag. “Or if it is merely smaller and cuter than the beings to which it is being sold. I dare say, there are those who would find you to be a delightful pet… but more often it is as slaves that they are sold.”

Liz was incredulous… “Pets?”

“Would slaves be better?” asked Shag.

“No… No, of course not,” Liz agreed. “But I’m not sure being kept as a ‘pet’ is much better… I mean… for an intelligent, civilized being.”

“I quite agree,” said Shag. “The Ghors don’t mess with Xarian ships. The only thing they understand is power… That’s why they live by it.”

Shag looked into the air in front of him and said, “Sphere of Searches.”

From somewhere, Liz could not be sure where, a voice replied, “Ask.”

“Where is my ship, the 'Xarius Voyager,' at this moment?”

“It is in the eighth galaxy,” said the voice.

“That’s not far from Antar,” said Shag. “Sphere of the Portal.”

“Ask,” another voice said.

“Take us to the control room of my ship.”

Shag took Liz by the hand, and the two of them and Maya stepped through the portal. They found themselves on the control deck of the “Xarius Voyager.” Shag spoke briefly with the Captain in charge, and the “Xarius Voyager” headed toward Antar.”

“Sphere of Searches,” Shag called again.

“Ask,” said the voice.

“Where is the new granolith of King Zan of Antar at this moment?”

“It is here,” said the voice, and in front of them appeared a map of the Antarian galaxy with a flashing red dot indicating the new granolith. Shag and his captain both looked at the map.

“Ten minutes,” said the captain. Shag nodded.

Ten minutes later, almost to the second, they spotted the Ghors' ship from the control room of the “Xarius Voyager.” Shag positioned his ship over the Ghors’ ship and opened the bottom bay doors. Then the “Xarius Voyager” settled over the top of the Ghors’ ship like a mother hen settling on top of her eggs, and the bay doors closed back.

On the Ghor ship, the crew was running about every which way, barking commands, yelling for information, generally lost in chaos. The crew of the Ghor ship tried to contact the invasion force onboard the Antarian ship but got no answer.

Onboard the new granolith, which was inside the bay of the Ghor ship, which in turn floated inside the mammoth bay of the "Xarius Voyager," the invaders were unable to answer the calls from their ship. They were all in Kathleen’s classroom being terrorized by Danyy’s pawgor. Most of them were missing a few pieces. A couple of them still clung to the ceiling with their suction pads, but most lay on the ground as the pawgor circled, every now and then taking another raking swipe at the already shredded rumps hanging from the ceiling or snarling at the white figures lying on the floor.

Shag and Liz stepped through the portal into the control room of the new granolith. Max, Michael, and Varec were there, and they were smiling.

“Want to tell us about it?” asked Liz.

Max grinned… Danyy and the other children brought the pawgor up here… You can imagine the rest.”

Shag laughed, “I knew that beast was special! But, of course, I know it’s because of its relationship with Danyy.”

“They’re all down in the classroom,” said Max.

Michael escorted them to the classroom. Outside the classroom, they found Jim, Kathleen and the children keeping watch, as the pawgor kept the Ghors in the room under control. Shag smiled broadly.

“Sphere of the Portal,” Shag called.

“Ask.”

“Take us to the control deck of the Ghors’ ship.”

Shag took Liz by the hand, and the two of them stepped through the portal and onto the bridge of the Ghors’ vessel.

“Shaqor-Niseel!” the surprised captain of the Ghor ship lisped. “You are with these creatures?”

“These ‘creatures,’ Hosk, are Antarians and Eluymerians. My wife is Antarian, and many of our descendants are Eluymerian or Antarian. I take it rather personally when you try to make slaves or pets out of my descendants.”

“Shaqor… Ni-Niseel… We have not forgotten the last time we crossed paths with you. You sent us to Galaxy 12H. It took us three years to get back.”

“And you will not forget this time, either,” said Shag… “Sphere of the Portal.”

“Ask.”

“I would like the Ghor ship and all the Ghors of this vessel that are on this ship or on the new granolith transported on the Ghors’ ship to Galaxy 41X.”

“But…” said the Ghor Captain, “It will take us twelve years to get back from that far away at our best speed.”

“Yes, that’s what I figure,” said Shag. “Our galaxies will be safe from your ‘enterprise’ for that long. The next time you cross paths with me or any of my descendants, I will send you to Galaxy 73Z.”

The Ghor Captain turned pale, then the Ghor ship and all the Ghors disappeared, as the portal enlarged and swallowed them and their ship up. Liz and Shag found themselves back on the "Xarius Voyager."

Shag smiled… then he and Maya, who had been waiting there for their return, both hugged Liz.

“Thank you… Thank you so very much!” Liz said.

“Not at all,” Shag replied. “If there’s one thing I enjoy, it’s cleaning up the universe of the Ghors and their sort. The pleasure was all mine, believe me!”

Liz kissed them both then said, “Sphere of the Portal.”

“Ask.”

“The control deck of the new granolith.”


As the group enjoyed dinner the next day, they all talked about their experiences with the Ghors and the things they had learned. Liz told them about some beings buying smaller, cuter beings as pets. She still had not gotten over this.

"Well," said Max, "They can't have you… You're my pet."

Liz just scrunched up her nose then smiled at him.

"Can I have another glass of jubish?" Tracie asked. "I still haven't got the taste of Ghor sweat out of my mouth… My teeth feel scummy, and I've almost brushed all the enamel off already!"

April laughed and nodded vigorously… "I know! I'll have some more jubish, too! Hey, even the pawgor spit the Ghors out!"

Everybody laughed. They were becoming more than they had been. No longer did anyone there feel that he or she was merely an earthling… or even merely Antarian… They realized that they were now all seasoned residents of the universe.




This story was adapted and revised from the chapters titled,

-------------------------Chapter 50
"The Invaders”
-------------------------Chapter 51
"Slaves and Pets”


which can be found in the Roswell fic, “Life in the Stars” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)



>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #13 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated G


“The Affair at the Valenti Ranch”


On their sixth day on Antar, the “Antarians Too,” a group of “earthlings” who had been found to have Antarian DNA left from their ancient past, had been invited to spend the day visiting with Jim and Kathleen at their ranch estate in the countryside. Everyone was enjoying the streams, the nearby river, the woods, and yorith riding in the Antarian open countryside near the ranch. Yoriths are horses for all intents and purposes, though they are not exactly like earth horses. Most noticeably, they have bright green eyes. Some are solid colored, others have faint zebra-like stripes. They are beautiful animals, but in basic appearance and behavior, they are essentially horses.

Danyy was playing with the pawgor. Jim, Kathleen, and Danyy had taken the pawgor back to the Nan-torel after the new granilith returned from earth, but every now and then the pawgor would pop up at the ranch and sit there waiting for Danyy to come out and play. It was almost full-grown now, but it was still young and still enjoyed playing. Danyy and the pawgor were running around the yard. The pawgor would pounce on Danyy, pinning him down with its huge paws. At first, this had made Kathleen very uneasy, but she had become used to it, and Danyy seemed to enjoy this unusual game of “tag” that they played. Danyy, in turn, would then chase the pawgor and pounce on it, rolling over with it in the grass. It seemed like the pawgor would surely crush Danyy or hurt him, but it never did. It always knew just how much Danyy could take, maybe because it was communicating with him.

Krys was talking with Tracie, April, Denise, Trude, and a couple of others in the front yard. Kathleen had served everyone drinks, and they were watching Danyy and the pawgor play when the pawgor suddenly decided to run straight through the middle of the group as Danny ran around them. Several drinks were dropped as everyone rushed to get out of the way. Krys did not see it coming in time. The next thing she knew, she and her drink were flying in the air then she was lying on the pawgor’s back with her hands around its neck. Danyy stopped the huge cat and apologized…

“Sorry… He thinks that was funny. He’s laughing.”

Krys moved her head to the side carefully and looked the pawgor in the face, all the time holding on with her arms around its neck to keep from falling off… It did almost appear to be grinning. She shook her head and laid it back down on the pawgor’s back momentarily. Then she slid off onto the ground.

“Next time he does that, I’m putting a saddle on him,” she said to Danyy grinning!”

“I’m sorry,” Danyy repeated… “He says he won’t do it again.”

Krys ran her hand over Danyy’s head… “Oh, that’s alright, Danyy… What was I thinking trying to block a pawgor!” She smiled and winked at him then took another drink from Kathleen, who also apologized…

“Welcome to our crazy world!” Kathleen said. Jim was standing in the shade on the porch, leaning against a pillar, with a big smile on his face.

Kyle and Jeliya were out at the side preparing the barbecue grill. Jim joined them, and pretty soon, the air was filled with the smell of steaks, burgers and hotdogs on the grill, as well as a variety of Antarian vegetables… well, at least, it looked kind of like steaks, hamburgers, and hotdogs… The steaks were Yegg steaks. The “hamburger” was actually the inside meaty part of grelliats, which are a vegetable. Kyle liked them for that reason. Jim called them veggie-burgers, but they tasted like real meat. The hotdogs were something Kathleen and Jeliya had invented together from a combination of grelliat cores, yegg meat, Antarian blue hen eggs, pashita bread pulp, and detoxified guma fungi with just a touch of Tabasco, all blended into a purée and stuffed back into the green grelliat shells then roasted. The surprising thing is, they actually tasted like premium hotdogs… if you could get past their green color.

"Come and get it!" Jim called as he and Kyle and Jeliya began to place platters of food onto a long picnic table. Everyone sat down and Jim passed the food around. Nina and Lisa watched as Jeliya made herself a “grelliat hotdog” and soaked it with lots of Tabasco sauce…

"Must be an Antarian thing!" Lisa said to Nina… I thought it was only Michael and Max!"

Nina shrugged. “That’s gonna be one HOT hotdog. That’s all I can say,” she replied with a grin.

Jeliya took a bite and smiled, noticing she was being watched. “Mmmm! This is good! Can I pass anyone the Tabasco?”

Lisa and Nina shook their heads. Jeliya looked around. The others shook their heads, too. Jeliya shrugged. “You guys don’t know what you’re missing,” she said, smiling.

“How about ketchup or mustard?” asked Lisa.

Kathleen passed a couple of bowls over to Lisa. One had a yellowish purée in it, the other a purplish purée… “We’re working on it,” Jim said with a wide grin. “We’ll get the color right eventually. Tastes pretty good, though!”

“Too mild,” Jeliya commented. “I’ll stick with the Tabasco. Tabasco’s great!” She proceeded to take something that looked like an ear of corn and pour Tabasco sauce all over it.

“Okay,” Denise whispered to Lisa, “Now I know what happened to their taste buds!” Both of them smiled. “I just hope she doesn’t put it on ice cream.”

“Believe it or not…” said Kathleen, “I’ve seen Michael do that! He mixes it in Cherry Coke, too.”

This was a little more than anyone wanted to know. Lisa and Nina both involuntarily said, “Ewwww” at the same time. Jeliya smiled.

“You don’t do that, do you, Jeliya?” asked Roselle.

“Do what?”

“…put Tabasco sauce in Cherry Coke.”

Jeliya shook her head.

“That’s good to know,” said Roselle.

“I never had Cherry Coke before,” said Jeliya, as she poured some Tabasco sauce into an empty glass and took a drink.

Jim had not forgotten the pawgor. He had taken several yegg steaks and part of a yegg carcass that he had picked up from a rancher and placed them in the back yard for the pawgor out of sight of the guests. Yegg was a favorite of the pawgor, though the pawgor was not a very finicky eater. Jim had never seen it turn its nose up at anything except Ghor meat.

As the night arrived, Jim and Kyle built a bonfire, and everyone sat around the fire and talked about their adventures, sang songs, and enjoyed some jubish, iced tea, and Snapples along with Antarian cookies and an Antarian dessert called japo-mevanish, which is a sort of flaming flan. Krys and Tracie were using the pawgor as a backrest to lean against, as the pawgor lay stretched out enjoying the warmth of the fire and the companionship of its unusual friends.

“Krys is going to teach me how to ride a pawgor,” April laughed.

“What I want her to teach me is that cool mount she did,” Denise snickered.

Jim started laughing. “I’ve been riding horses for a long time, and that was the first time I ever saw that mount! I must say, it’s pretty spectacular!”

“Yeah, well, you guys laugh if you want,” said Krys. “You’re just jealous ‘cause he let me ride him, and we’re pals now.” She patted her grinning “pillow” and laid her head back against its side again.

After the fire was out, the guests all retired to the guest house Jim had built. It wasn’t the palace, but it was cozy. They were able to leave the windows open for the pleasant cool air that was coming in. The bedrooms were all upstairs on the second floor, and there was a wonderful view of Antar’s moons, which were all full this night, as well as of the nearby river and the Antarian countryside.

The next day, Kathleen took everyone shopping at Antar’s largest and oldest department store, Kyyk’s. They took Jayyd along to do color alterations, which absolutely delighted Jayyd, who loved nothing more than using her power and being praised for it. She also usually picked up some spare spending change from other customers who would ask her to change the color of a blouse or some pants or a hat for them and would offer her some change for her help…

Tracie noticed the signs on all the walls.

“What does that sign say, Kathleen? I’ve seen the same sign several times.”

Kathleen laughed. “Yeah, they pointed that out to us the last time I was here and they saw Jayyd change the color of something. It says,

“Molecular alterations and color changing of clothes not allowed unless the items are returned to exactly as they were before. Remember that your abilities and ours may not be the same and we may not be able to undo what you have done satisfactorily. So if you change it and don’t change it back, you buy it. We hope this will not inconvenience you too much. Thank you for shopping at Kyyk’s.”

Tracie laughed.

“At least they’re polite about it,” Nina said, laughing, too. Lisa and April nodded.

Everyone was enjoying the time spent on Antar so much that they hardly realized that it would soon be time to go back to earth. But they would all be going back with lots of new clothes and souvenirs, and the memories made during this trip would last forever. Unfortunately, there were probably few people they would ever be able to share them with… at least, who would actually believe them!




This story was adapted and revised from the chapter titled

--------------------------------Chapter 54

"The Affair at the Valenti Ranch”


which can be found in the Roswell fic, “Life in the Stars” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

Excellent - as always!


<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p><center><font size=2><font color=red><script language="javascript" src="http://members.cox.net/laurensnape/coun ... nter>Margo is a Super ORB!</i></center><b><center><center><font color=#FFFFCC>It all started with a boy, a girl and a silver handprint.<font color =#CCCCCC><center><i>Countess Majiklmoon Mistress and keeper of the tunes</i></center></color~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br><a href=http://pub84.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsrealm><img src=http://members.aol.com/majiklmoon/image ... 2a.gif></a> </p><i></i>