Larsson turned those huge, dark red eyes up toward him, but they still had a glazed look and Tarrhoped he’d understood. It was imperative that he pretend to be submissive in front of these people and for Larsson, Tarr knew that would be a stretch, to say the least.
He followed Rabb through a small door they had to bend over to enter through, but when he straightened, the room inside was large with a great deal of light streaming in. Rabb led them up to a long table, the center position occupied by an older Tygerian male. He was tall and lean with a mane of white hair around his face. Rabb stopped in front of the man and bowed deeply. He motioned back toward Tarr.
“Father, we found this man in the forest, along with this Lycan, whom he says is his nobyo. He wouldn’t give us his name. ”
Tarr looked up in surprise. “I never refused to give my name. You never asked me properly. ”
Rabb turned to look at Tarr in surprise and the older man waved at him to stand back. “Then please pardon our manners, sir. My name is Julan Seneca, and I am the leader of this settlement. Would you be so kind as to give us your name and tell us how you came to be here on Ravnia?”
“Ravnia?”Tarr grinned. “Is that what you call it? I thought it was just some numbers and letters. ”
“Yes, but since we came, we decided to name our world. It helped us to feel more…at home. ”
“And just how did this come to be your home?”
“I’ll be glad to tell you, but would you first honor me with your name?”
Tarr gave a brief bow. If the man wanted formality, he’d get it. “Of course, Julan Seneca. I’m Tarr Bonnet, and this is my nobyo. Your men shot him with a dart containing, they said, a sedative. If he suffers any ill effects, I’ll be most unhappy. ”
Julan nodded gravely. “Certainly. But he should be fine. I can have one of our physicians check him if you like. ”
“Maybe later. Your son tells me you have my men as your prisoners. I need them to be released immediately. ”
Julan frowned. “Your men?”
Rabb leaned over next to his father’s ear and whispered something to him. He nodded again and smiled at Tarr. “I see. There has been a bit of a misunderstanding. Your men landed here on Ravnia several days ago, but of course we had no idea they belonged to a Tygerian. ”
“Well, now you do, and I’d like them to be released. Ineed their ship as well. ”
“Unfortunately, that willpose a problem. ”
Tarr took a deep breath. “What kind of problem?”
“We rarely get young men here on our world, and I’m afraid many of the young Tygerians have spoken for them to be their nobyos. So many, in fact, that we decided to have a bit of a competition to make it all more interesting. ”
“What in the fuck are you talking about? Theyaren’t love slaves! They’re all members of my crew!”
“Of course, I understand,” he said, with maddening patience. “But you have to understand our situation here as well. Once you know our history…You see, we originally came here from Tygeria many, many cycles ago. Back when Tygeria decided to separate the males and females into separate sectors. ” He smiled over at his son. “But I don’t want to keep you standing here without refreshment. Please allow my son to show you to your room and once you settle in, he can bring you back here for a nice talk. ”
“I prefer to talk now, if you don’t mind. Tellme about my men. ”
Though his lips tightened with disapproval, Julan inclined his head graciously. “As you wish then. Come and sit beside me, and I’ll tell you about us. ” He gestured to a bench next to him and Tarr moved over to it to sit down. He was still supporting a strangely quiet Larsson by an arm around his waist, but when he sat down, he pushed Larsson to a place by his feet. Larsson looked up at him in surprise and then in dawning outrage and scrambled to get up. Tarr pressed down hard on his shoulders and leaned over to whisper fiercely in his ear.
“Will you stop it and just be still? These people are Tygerian and seem to be pretty oldfashioned. You’re supposed to be my nobyo and nobyos sit by their master’s feet. Work with me. ”
Larsson shot him a killing glance, so Tarr bent his head near his ear. “Please, baby,” he whispered, and Larsson finally subsided a bit, settling in next to his legs.
Larssondidn’t seem to know what to do with his feet, so he stuck them straight out in front of him, making the other warriors step over him to take their own seats. Tarr smothered a smile and sighed before turning his attention back to Julan.
Tarr was offered tea, which he declined, and shifted impatiently in his seat. “Please, Julan Seneca, explain to me about my men and theirship. ”
“Of course. As I was saying, we first came to Ravnia when overpopulation became such a serious issue on Tygeria. We were told we had to give up our wives and take male lovers. Our wives would live in separate sectors. For some of us, this was intolerable. Of course, like all of our race at that time, we were poly-sexual, and liked both men and women. We loved our male nobyos, but some of us were quite attached to our female mates and children as well. We protested the new laws vociferously, but were overruled by the priests, who violently opposed birth control. Our religion, as I’m sure you know, forbids it. For the priests, abstinence was the only acceptable alternative. Inthe end, we weren’t left with any options. Those of us who still vehemently opposed the laws kept opposing and were finallybanished. ”
Tarr shook his head unbelievingly. “I never heard any of this. ”
“Because the government suppressed it. It’s one way to deal with dissension, you know…just sweep it away and bury it. We were sent to one of the sister planets of Tygeria. ” He motioned up vaguely in the sky.
“We were given supplies to last for a year or so. But we were caught in a meteor storm as we entered the planet’s atmosphere and our ship was badly damaged. We were entering the outer atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories with the storm, and we simply got caught up in it all. We sent out a distress call that was never answered, but we managed to pull out of it and land here on this moon. We considered ourselves very lucky indeed to find a moon that was so hospitable, and we’ve been here ever since. ”