From: cquinn@wincom.net
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories
Subject: :-) :-) }}}>>>***REPOST: "Exchange Program", by Clint Quinn***<<<{{{ (-: (-:  (m/f, sexual discovery, sci-fi setting)
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 12:20:52 GMT
Organization: Zippo
Message-ID: <DLMvt9.G0x@news.zippo.com>

       "Exchange Program", by Clint Quinn (cquinn@wincom.net)



I finally figured out how to post right! Seems I had some kind of

mental block about really esoteric concepts like "cutting and pasting"

(Duhhh...!). Anyway, here it is in plain text, so enjoy! As usual,

comments and constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. Oh,

and Happy New Year!  :-)



                     EXCHANGE PROGRAM, by Clint Quinn.



     The offer to become a colonist on New Ontario was too good

to resist, coming on the heels of a disgustingly political battle

I'd recently lost about funding for my research project. My

colleagues commiserated with me, urging me to move on to the next

battle, but I knew that I'd had enough. My chosen career was

becoming more and more about salesmanship than about

neurochemistry; I was tired of it, and I wanted out.

     New Ontario was an agricultural planet, settled about thirty

years ago. It was idyllic, a world of forests, grasslands, plenty

of freshwater lakes, and an infinite number of sandy beaches. The

only trouble was that anyone who wanted to be a colonist there

had to be willing to work bloody hard. That was no problem with

me; physical labour that produced results that you could actually

hold in your hands and even eat sounded wonderfully attractive.

My sister, Claudine, lived there, and it would be fun to see her

again.

     So I handed in my resignation at the University, and signed

up for the next outbound shuttle.

     Three weeks afterwards, I stepped off the landing craft into

the bright sunshine of the Municipality of Kente. The community's

small spaceport was on the shores of Prince Edward Lake, and the

sparkling blue waters were a sight for sore eyes. After three

weeks of space travel, everything else was sore, too, so I

gingerly trekked over to the Immigration Centre with the rest of

my group.

     After having my papers processed, I was given a package that

contained rules, regulations, maps, the location of my living

quarters, and my work schedule. I looked at it, and noted that I

had two days off before my first sixteen day rotation started.

Then I'd get three days off before another sixteen days of work.

     I was walking along, not paying any attention to where I was

going, when someone grabbed me and almost crushed my bones with a

bear hug.

     "Alain! I was wondering when you'd get out here!" Claudine

released me, aware of my feeble attempts to return the embrace.

     "It's good to see you, too, Claudine."

     She took my arm and began walking with me. I felt a little

funny, because although my sister is somewhat Amazonian in

proportions, I am a little taller and a bit heavier; yet I was, I

found as we walked along, grateful for her assistance.

     "It won't take you long to build up your strength again, you

know.", she told me cheerfully. "You always did have good muscle

tone."

     She was right; somehow I'd always managed to stay in

reasonable shape, and I guess that's part of the reason I was

accepted as a colonist. Claudine was never one to put on excess

weight, either, and that served her quite well, not only as a

worker, but in her recreational pursuits as well; Claudine's

libido was the stuff that legends are made of.

     We walked to the end of the gravel-covered street that led

from the spaceport, and turned left along another street, lined

with wood frame, three story buildings that had a slightly

Victorian appearance. I knew they were basically just

dormitories, but they were quite attractive buildings

nonetheless.

     We reached the last building on the street, and Claudine

spoke up, sounding quite pleased with herself. "I had to pull a

few strings, but I got you a room right by the beach." She

grinned at me. "Not that you'll have time to enjoy it, mind you!"

She patted me on the arm, and started to walk away.

     "Hey, where are you going?"

     She turned back to me. "Back to the spaceport. I'm going to

Welnaria, on an exchange program!"

     It didn't surprise me, really. My sister has always been in

perpetual motion. So I just looked to the sky for a second, and

sighed. "So when do we get to talk?"

     She came back to me, and patted my arm. "I'll be back in a

month, then we can talk like old times, okay? Oh, by the way. My

exchange partner -- from Welnaria? Her name is Kera, and she's

already here. She's in the same residence, just downstairs from

your room. And I've already told you what a nice, non-threatening,

caring human male you are."

     I blushed. She always has teased me like that, I guess

because of my somewhat unenthusiastic attitude towards dating.

Because social dating on Earth always seemed to have more than a

whiff of economic and political gamesmanship to it, I rarely

found it worth the bother to ask anyone out. It was too much like

my job.

     "Bye, Claudine. Enjoy yourself." I gave her as much of a hug

as I could, and I felt surprised that my strength seemed to be

coming back already.

     She turned around, and waved, her back to me as she walked

quickly off down the road.

     I went in the front door, up the stairs to my assigned room.

It was in a corner of the building, with two windows, one looking

over a broad, expansive beach. The room itself was a little

fancier than I'd expected, with intricately carved furniture and

drapes made of some coarse, reed-like material that had been

woven into an intricate design. The room smelled like freshly cut

wood.

     I tossed the one thing I'd brought from Earth, a blue

eiderdown that I'd bought in the duty-free shop at Toronto, onto

the bed and spread it out, then I lay down, listening to the

sounds from outside, the wind whispering through the trees, the

waves on the beach, and voices of the "day-off-ers" who were

enjoying their rare time off work. Before long, I fell asleep.

     The next day I met my co-workers at the communal breakfast

table, and was greeted warmly. Everyone was eager to talk with

me, and I found out that many of the colonists were like me,

tired of the political gamesmanship that seemed to have seeped

into most occupations back on Earth. Grigory, a huge but genial

tractor mechanic from St. Petersburg, told me that he'd left Russia

when

he'd been told that there was no commercial applications for his

original field, quantum physics.

     "How can they say that!", he said, his voice ringing through

the large dining room. "If everything had to have an immediate

commercial application, then there would be no one here, or on

all the other colonies. The bureaucracy," he pronounced as he set

down his coffee mug on the table with a thump, "has fallen in

love with money. There are no more dreamers there!"

     I also met Kera for the first time at the breakfast table.

It would have been impossible to not pick her out immediately, as

she was the only one who looked like a child.

     Actually, not quite a child -- she looked to be around

fourteen or fifteen years of age. She had fine blonde hair, done

up in a French braid, and sparkling blue eyes that looked

intently at whoever was speaking. When she spoke, her voice was

quiet but precise -- she did not come across as being shy, but as

someone who had learned English as a second language and was just

the slightest bit unsure of whether she was speaking properly.

     After I'd eaten, I walked out the building with her, then

introduced myself. "Hi, my name's Alain. You must be Kera!" I

extended my hand, and she took it solemnly, then ran her fingers

over it, as though to investigate the texture.

     "Yes. I am Kera." She looked directly at me, her blue eyes

unblinking. I felt a little unsettled at her direct gaze.

     "Uh -- I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you

seem -- a little young?"

     She gave me a hint of a smile. "That is a common -- mistake.

"Our people do not show signs of aging until well into late

middle age. I, in fact, am the equivalent of about -- forty of

your Earth years old. Otherwise, we are anatomically -- the

same."

     "Oh. Well -- I'll try not to be condescending to you, then."

I smiled, hoping to get myself off the hook.

     A ghost of a smile crossed her freckled, rounded face. "Your

sibling told me that you were very kind. I am glad that she was

correct."

     I looked down, remembering what Claudine had said before

she'd left. I felt Kera's hand touch me softly on the arm. I

blushed some more.

     "You are embarrassed? I do not understand why, but I

apologize."

     "No. No, it's not you're fault." I smiled wryly. "Claudine

has a way of teasing me, and you just reminded me of that."

     "Is it what she said to me about you?" Kera looked at me

with her head cocked at an angle "I do not think I understand.

You are embarrassed by her compliment?"

     I sighed. "No, Kera. It was what she said she'd told you

about me. She went a little overboard."

     "Overboard? You mean she exaggerated!" She nodded with

understanding. "I believe I understand, somewhat."

     "Yes, that's it. Exaggeration. That's how we make jokes,

sometimes."

     The small woman nodded. "I am afraid that I must work now.

Perhaps we will speak later?" She looked at me expectantly.

     I paused a little, intrigued by her gaze. Apparently, she

would have waited all day, as he made no move to break the eye

contact. "Of course. I'd love to talk to you again." 

     As soon as the words were out of my mouth, she turned and

left, my eyes on her as she walked quickly down the road. I found

myself quite intrigued by her subtle movements, then quickly

looked away. I went back into the residence, found a book in the

well-stocked library, then went to the beach to read.

     The next sixteen days went by very quickly. We were digging

an irrigation system for one of the newly opened up ranges, and

the work was quite strenuous. I surprised myself how quickly I

was able to work, and, after the first few days, the agonizingly

aching muscles that bothered me after each eight-hour shift were

no longer a problem.

     What really surprised me, however, was Kera; her strength

was breathtaking. She worked quickly and efficiently, tossing

shovelful after shovelful of the native soil out of the

irrigation trenches, without missing a beat. I wouldn't say that

she was superhumanly strong, but she was certainly unusually

powerful for someone of her size. I admired her, and I suppose

that everyone saw that.

     On our first day off, after lunch, Grigor came over to me

and gave me a big grin as he laid a paw on my shoulders. "You

like her, don't you?" He nodded in Kera's direction.

     "Oh. Well, I suppose. She's a pleasant enough person."

     "All the other men are afraid of her. Of her strength. Yet I

don't see the same fear in you, my friend!"

     "Why should I be afraid of her?", I asked, genuinely

puzzled. "Why is anyone afraid of her? She's here to help us

build an irrigation ditch, she's not some kind of -- alien

monster!"

     The big Russian laughed. "No, she is not a monster. She is a

woman, but I think only you feel that she is such."

     "Look, Grigor. I know you mean well, but I'm not the type of

man who chases women around, especially when there's a lot of

people around that have to get along together. Besides, look at

her. She looks like a kid!"

     Grigor was no longer smiling; he looked more pensive now.

"They are afraid of that too. But, my friend Alain; you know

better; she is no child, and what's more, she has been asking

about you. 'Grigor, where is Alain from?', she asks. 'Does he

have a female partner?', she asks.' And, although she is

courteous to us all, she is more than that to you."

     I stood still, thinking about it. I wasn't embarrassed

because Grigor and I had become fast friends over the past

sixteen days. Over the odd bottle of vodka, we'd told each other

more embarrassing things than either of us knew we'd done.

     It was difficult to sort out; her ways seemed abrupt, no

matter who she was speaking to; yet I'd never seen her give even

the tiniest crack of a smile to anyone else. And, until now I'd

thought it was my imagination (or was it wishful thinking, a

mischievous voice within me piped up), but she seemed somehow --

less hard-edged, less formal around me. "What are you asking of

me, Grigor? What are you suggesting?"

     Grigor's voice was soft, but persuasive. "My friend, all I

suggest is that you not close yourself to her. Her people express

their feelings in such subtle ways; the slightest smile is like a

roar of delight would be to us. Be aware of her; she is not here

on an exchange program to dig ditches; she is here to find out

about our people. Let her find out about you, Alain. You are very

modest, I know, but you are a shining example of what our

planet's people should be like. And", said the big man, "you need

more company than a half-drunk cossack mechanic like myself can

provide!" Then he slapped me, somewhat gently for him, on the

back, and walked away.

     The work group went to the beach later, and Grigor's words

would not leave me as I swam in the chest-deep surf. Perhaps I

was not as aware of things as I thought I was. 

     I saw a large wave approaching, and crouched down, ready to

body-surf. The wave crested perfectly as it reached me, and I

flung myself forward, feeling the wave accelerate me even faster

towards the shore. Finally, I grounded just before the beach, and

I stood up.

     Kera was standing in front of me, wearing a dark blue, one-piece

bathing suit. She looked at me with those piercing blue

eyes, and I admit I looked lower, admiring the swelling curve of

her hips, her thighs, and belly. I quickly looked up at her sweet

face, and said "Oh. Hi!", trying to sound assured.

     Again, the corners of her mouth bent just the slightest bit,

as she spoke. "Hello, Alain. You are very good at that."

     For a split second, I thought she meant that I was good at

ogling her. Then I realized that she'd been watching me body

surf. "Thank you, Kera. It's a lot of fun."

     "You will teach me some time?"

     "Of course."

     "If you are done swimming, would you walk with me back to

the residence?", she asked.

     "Uh -- sure. Are you done swimming?"

     "Yes. I should change now."

     We walked back up the beach to the grassy lawn in front of

the  house, and we went in the side door. Kera walked ahead of

me, and I couldn't help but watch the teenaged swing of her

buttocks as she walked.      

     So, by extension, I couldn't help but feeling ashamed of

myself after I left her at her room. Embarrassed at my --

suddenly prominent display of interest, I went quickly upstairs,

took a long shower (one of the luxuries on New Ontario, due to

the plenitude of water), and went into my own room to dry off and

get some clothes on.

     I don't know what made my door slightly ajar, and I don't

know how long Kera had been watching me; but I was still naked

and brushing my hair as I began to sense a presence. I turned

around, and there she was, leaning against the side of my

doorway. She didn't flinch, or avert her gaze, and I quickly

grabbed my wet swimsuit and held it, balled up in front of me.

     "What are you looking at?" I tried to sound belligerent.

     "You." 

     Her freckled face and braided blonde hair gave her a look of

such wholesome innocence that I couldn't be harsh to her and

order her out of my room. I should have, but couldn't.

     She shifted her position, folding her arms in front of her

chest and pushing her hip out. "I think you're very interesting.

Why are you holding your bathing suit in front of you?"

     I rolled my eyes. I kept forgetting that her people were

unaware of many of our taboos, and had very little concept of

modesty.

     "It's just -- just that I'm a little shy, that's all." I

felt myself blush with embarrassment, and, though I hated to

admit it, I felt more than a little complimented.

     To my surprise, she moved into the room and shut the door.

     "No one will disturb you now. Does this make you less --

shy?"

     Kera looked directly at me with her wide open, little girl

like blue eyes. I felt myself becoming aroused by her presence,

and I had to remind myself again that, despite looking as though

she were fourteen or fifteen, her age was actually equivalent to

around forty or so.

     "Do you think that I am -- interesting?"

     I simply nodded. My bathing suit dropped to the floor, and I

made no move to pick it up.

     "Ah. That is your reproductive organ. Your -- penis?"

     "Uh - huh."

     "It is very large." I had to stifle a laugh.

     "Well, thank you Kera. It's not really that big. Just your

average -- reproductive organ."

     She smiled. "The male Welnarian's is only about three

centimetres in length. It is -- functional."

     "Gee, that's too bad." I suddenly felt sorry for my sister.

     She cocked her head curiously. "I have heard that humans

perform the sexual function as a form of -- recreation. Is this

true?"

     "Well -- yeah, a lot of people do. Although there are some

exceptions. Some people feel that sex is only for reproduction."

     "Like Welnarians."

     "I guess."

     She glanced down towards my abdomen. "And your -- penis can

provide feelings of pleasure?"

     I felt a twinge of excitement. "Y-yes, it can."

     Kera came and stood in front of me, and I began to breathe

heavily. "How?"

     "Uh -- th-there are a number of n-nerve endings within the

male and female..."

     "No." She looked into me with her liquid eyes.

     "Wh-what?"

     "Show me."

     I stood stock still, looking at her short, stocky overall-clad

body. I realized that there was nothing I would rather do

more at that moment than show her. She smelled faintly of shampoo

and -- something else. You couldn't consciously smell pheremones,

could you?

     "I -- can't just.... Well, it doesn't work just like that,

you know. There are -- feelings that have to be aroused first."

     I felt her hand brush gently against me, and I flinched.

     There was a glint of amusement on her face when she said,

"That condition appears to have been met."

     "Uh -- yeah, but -- but you have to be -- aroused, too."

     "Then show me how you do that."

     I paused for a moment, then raised my hand to her hair, and

stroked it softly. "We usually start at the top, and -- work

down."

     As I undid her hair, I heard her breath shorten. "Is this

the usual procedure?"

     "Yes." I finished undoing her braids, and untangled her

fine, golden hair. "Tell me what you're feeling as I go on." I

kissed her on the neck, and she straightened.

     "Oh -- That felt like -- a shock of some kind. My

respiration is -- changing."

     I slid the shoulder straps of her overalls down her arms,

and the bib flopped over to her waist. She wore a plain white T-shirt

underneath, covering her smallish breasts. Her dishevelled

appearance excited me.

     "Do you feel uncomfortable? We can stop if you are." I ran

my hands down Kera's sides and brought them up her front, to just

below her breasts.

     "N-no. Oh, no. I feel -- interesting. Please keep touching

me."

     I put my arms around her back and hugged her tightly. For a

moment, she just leaned against me, then apparently got the idea

and wrapped her arms around me, pressing herself against me.

     "Mmm -- this feels like -- warmth? Like I--I'm inside you."

     "Would you like me to kiss you?", I whispered.

     Kera raised her head, a somewhat confused expression on her

face. "I -- I am not familiar with kissing."

     I bent my head down and lightly touched her lips with mine.

Her mouth opened as she gasped in surprise, and I quickly ran the

tip of my tongue around her soft lips. A shuddering breath ran

through her, and I felt her small body tremble.

     She copied my kiss exactly, and my own breath came out in a

sudden explosion. I placed my hand behind her head, and drew her

face close to mine. Kissing her harder this time, I probed her

mouth with my tongue, and her lips opened for me.

     We kissed like that for several moments, my hands running

through her hair, the only sounds the hissing of our ragged

breathing.

     "I -- I want to -- I want to feel my skin against yours.",

Kera stammered. I had a sudden insight into her; if Grigor's

words were correct, if Welnarian emotional expressions were as

subtle as he'd told me, Kera's evident state of arousal must have

been devastating to her psyche, an overload of sensation that

could harm her.

     "We should stop now.", I gasped, still holding her in my

arms. Those four words were the most difficult I'd ever said in

my life.

     She stabbed me with her piercing eyes, her message unclear

until she placed her hands on either side of my face.

     So we broke our embrace, and I undressed her. She stood

softly swaying, as I pulled her T-shirt off over her head. Then,

after I rolled her overalls slowly down each tapered leg, she

stepped out of them, clad only in a pair of trim black panties

that were a little small on her flaring hips.

     I stood up and hugged her again, my hand falling to the

small of her back. "Is this what you want?"

     "Oh. Yes. I -- think I -- I am sufficiently aroused."

     "Describe it to me. What does it feel like?"

     Kera's eyes were half closed, as though she were in a

trance. She spoke with haltingly, as though she were having

difficulty concentrating. "I-I am having difficulty -- tr-translating.

I cannot find -- find the words..." She put her hand

down to her belly. "It feels like -- like there is hot -- liquid

inside me." She moved her hand down. "Oh. Alain, please. I am

ready now."

     "Later. Not yet!", I whispered. "Tell me what it feels like.

In your own language." I was hungry to hear her native tongue,

the anticipation heightening my passion.

     "Tell me how it feels!", I repeated urgently, aware of the

tremendous pressure building in my groin.

     "A -- ahslava! N-nekrita. Ohh - Oss novit capetla! Mmm..."

     The words. The words meant nothing to me, but the way she

spoke them, the certainty of her meaning cut through me. There

was nothing I could do to stop myself.

     I picked her up and kissed her softly, then carried her to

my bed, laying her down on the soft, blue eiderdown. Her hair

splayed around her head as she lay there, eyes closed, chanting

rhythmically, quietly in Welnarian. I pulled her underwear off,

and she lifted her legs as I did so. Her hand moved down to the

dark mound between her legs. The sight drove me crazy with

desire, and I moved on top of her, my penis sandwiched between

Kera's belly and my own.

     "Can you talk to me, Kera? Please tell me how it feels!", I

whispered into her ear. She rolled her head back and forth,

whispering her mantra as we clung together on the bed. She was so

small that I was terrified of hurting her, so I moved ever so

slowly and carefully as we coupled, shuddering with the energies

dammed up inside; but the small, subtle movements we made

together  produced the most astonishingly arousing sensations. To

an outside observer, it probably would have seemed as though we

were hardly moving, yet the sensations, the sounds of the

squeaking bed, the feeling of her wrapped around me, the exotic

smell of our lovemaking were as profound as an asteroid impact.

     Finally, as I felt I was about to explode, Kera stiffened,

her breathing stopped, and she grasped me tighter than I have

ever been held in my life. Before I could think, she began

gasping in short little pants, that increased in frequency and

volume until she screamed one long torrent of ecstasy, and she

clutched me, inside and out, with one, huge contraction that drew

my orgasm out for what seemed like an hour.

     After a few moments, our breathing finally slowed down to

the point where we could speak.

     Kera looked up at me, her eyes piercing into me as usual as

I held her. "I -- I was not aware that -- that this could happen

to me. To any Welnarian. This -- this was called -- an orgasm?"

     "This was more than any ordinary orgasm. At least for me. I

think they're going to have to come up with a different name for

it!" I rolled off her and watched her, breasts still heaving with

effort. "Haven't you ever -- as a species -- had any kind of

sexual enjoyment?"

     She looked away from me, up at the ceiling. "Long ago, we

were as you. But modifications were done -- to our nervous

systems. To make impregnation a voluntary process. The female can

control ovulation with a thought. The male can ejaculate when he

chooses to."

     "Sounds great for birth control."

     For the first time, I saw sadness on Kera's face. "Yes. That

was the purpose. But there were costs. The nerve pathways that

conduct pleasure impulses were isolated. When we decide to have

children, the -- sexual process takes place, but it is more of a

ritual than an a necessity. It is not even necessary for the male

to have an erection."

     I didn't speak for a moment, then, "So, what happened? I

mean, lots of guys would like to claim this kind of a thing as a

personal triumph. But we both know that's not the case, don't

we?"

     Kera looked at me again, an unfamiliar softness in her eyes.

She touched me on the cheek, a human gesture that touched me more

than I could describe. "I am not sure -- but there have been

legends, of some of our people who have been able to open

different -- neural pathways, through several types of physical

and emotional stimulation." She sighed. "It was assumed to be was

a myth, that there was no truth to it. But no one had ever tried

-- we all just assumed that we were -- numbed."

     I reached around Kera's bare back and drew her to me, and

she did not resist as I held her to me.

     "It will be -- difficult -- for my culture to accept this. I

am afraid that -- when I go back to my world, I will no longer be

acceptable."

     "Can't you -- just -- leave this part out of it? I mean, I'm

going to miss you, I'm going to miss you a hell of a lot, Kera.

Because I've never felt as close to anybody than I feel to you.

But life continues, we have our different spheres of

influence..."

     Kera touched my face again. "I cannot lie, Alain. Or even

commit a lie of omission. I am honour bound to report on what

I've learned, including with you, especially with you, regardless

of personal consequences; it is why I am here. I will miss you

too. But I must face what I must face."

     And then, snuggled together on my small bed, we fell asleep.

     Over the next sixteen days, Kera and I were companions, on

the job and off, and spent much time together, although we never

made love again. I even learned how to do a French braid for her

hair. I could sense her apprehension, and I felt sad for her, as

well as guilty that I'd contributed to her coming ostracism.

Grigor occasionally tried to cheer us up with bizarre tales of

his Russian ancestors, but it was a well intentioned failure.

     Finally, the landing craft from the shuttle arrived, to

return Claudine, and bring Kera back to her home. We walked

together to the spaceport, holding hands (an affectation that

Kera picked up very quickly). We arrived at the spaceport just as

the outer airlock doors opened. I felt a slight thrill, despite

the bittersweet circumstances; it was going to be good to see

Claudine again.

     I bent down to kiss Kera, but just before I did I saw, out

of the corner of my eye, I saw my sister step flamboyantly down

from the craft.  

     She was grinning hugely, a look I had only seen on her after

she'd -- shall I say -- appeased her appetites completely.

     "Hi there, little brother!" She strode over to me and

grasped me around the waist. I returned the embrace with vigour,

surprising the hell out of her.

     "Hey, Claudine. How are you?"

     She stood back and looked at me, an impressed look on her

face. "All that farm work's been good to you, Mr. Muscle." Then

she looked at Kera, who was standing patiently by my side.

     "Well. Kera. Has my brother been treating you well? I hope

he hasn't corrupted you!" Claudine winked at me.

     "No, Claudine. Alain has been extremely kind to me." She

again grasped my fingers in hers. "Just as you said."

     "That's what I thought. Listen, I think you should know

something..." She put her arms around the small Welnarian and

they spoke in a low tones that I couldn't quite hear. Then they

embraced quickly, and Kera faced me again, her expression subtly

changed. She took my hand, running her fingers absently over the

textured skin.

     "Alain -- I do not think you should worry about me very

much. Your sister has -- reassured me that things will not be --

as I had been concerned they would be. I will see you again." She

reached up and kissed me gently on the cheek, then turned and

entered the shuttle.

     As we watched the craft disappear into the sky, I turned to

Claudine. "What did you tell Kera?"

     She smiled secretively and waited for a moment. "Let's just

say I -- laid the groundwork for her return. It didn't take long

to wake those guys up, you know."

     I didn't press her. I knew that I'd hear the stories

someday, either from her own lips, or as legends told around a

campfire. The important thing was, thanks to Claudine, I wasn't

going to have to worry about Kera.

     



                            THE END

                          1 May, 1995