A Sentinel orphaned in space Awaits his GuidePROLOGUE
"Are you sure that you are going to be okay at Rainier?" Grace Ellison hated the fact that her older son was not immigrating to New Vancouver with the rest of the family. But Stephen was so independent. He was attending Rainier University on Earth and studying Business. He was very much his father's son. So practical and level headed. Not like Jim. Jim was her little boy. The ten-year-old was an adventurer, an explorer, a rescuer of small animals, and was as curious as a cat.
"I will be fine. I have an apartment. My fees are paid. I have a generous allowance. Dad arranged everything. I even have prospects for employment." The blond, blue-eyed man smiled at her from the vid screen. "What does it take to push a parent out of the nest these days?"
Grace laughed through her tears.
"Good-bye, son."
It was the last conversation Stephen Ellison would ever have with his mother. The colony ship, Odyssey III, would never reach New Vancouver.
"Momma, what is wrong with the ship?" Jim asked Grace. William Ellison was puzzled at the boy's question. Jim had been nervous all morning. He kept listening to something that no one else could hear. He kept staring at the bulkheads and touching them. The normally active boy seemed frightened of something.
"Why do you think something is wrong, son?" William asked gently.
"The ship is screaming. It sounds like it's being pulled apart."
Jim put his hands over his ears in pain.
Grace stared at her husband. Both of them knew that Jim carried a latent gene for Sentinel characteristics. Had it somehow activated?
"Jim, can you see and hear much better than you could before we left home?" She asked in a very soothing voice.
"Yes, Momma. The lights are too bright and the sounds are so loud."
"Oh, sweetie. Your Sentinel gifts are active. Do you remember when we talked about them?"
"You told me I would need a Guide some day. Someone to be my partner to help me with bright lights and loud noises."
"We don't have anyone on the ship who is a Guide. But I'm going to try to help you. You need to imagine a control like on your games. Find the lever for your sight and adjust
the gain until the light dims.""Cool."
"Can you do that with your hearing?"
"It's better, too. I can tell where the noise is coming from now. There is something wrong with the engines. They aren't balanced correctly and they are pulling the ship apart."
"How do you know so much about engines?"
"I don't spend all my time chasing butterflies, Momma." Jim smiled.
William and Grace took Jim to visit the captain. Their worst fears were realized. The engines were pulling the ship apart. They had to find a planet to land on. Shutting the engines down and drifting would not save them as the damage was already extensive enough that the ship would soon begin to break up.
The arboreal planet was not on the Odyssey's star charts. It was sheer luck that the crew had found it on sensors. Despite the crew's valiant efforts, a crash landing was inevitable.
The Odyssey bore down on the green planet like a cannon shell. The damaged engines were little use in slowing the ship. There would be no way to land the ship. All of the colonists were ordered to evacuation pods. The Ellisons, having been with the captain, were immediately strapped into a life pod and launched toward the planet, only to watch the ship shudder and burst into a fireball behind them without launching another.
Grace Ellison wept silently for the 943 lost souls aboard the Odyssey III. William Ellison worried about the son he'd left behind on Earth. Jim Ellison was strangely silent as the little pod began its descent to the planet below.
"Is everyone all right?" William asked as the computerized life pod pronounced the air breathable and the door opened.
"We're fine. Let's see where we've landed." Grace Ellison maintained her poise even under the most difficult circumstances.
The pod had come to rest in a heavily wooded area that offered the shelter of trees and a small cave. There was a fresh water stream nearby that they would have to test before drinking.
"Dad! There are fish in the stream!" Jim yelled.
"Don't wander off, Jimmy. We have to make camp!"
The life pod wasn't designed to hold much more emergency rations and for three adults for ten days. It wouldn't provide for them any longer than that. The Ellisons would have to establish shelter and determine if the planet could sustain them until help could arrive. William Ellison set up the distress beacon according to the instructions and then began to consider options for shelter.
The life pod had a rudimentary toolkit with laser cutting tools which would allow him to cut wood if necessary. The pod could be adapted as part of a dwelling. The cave seemed to be their best option at the moment. Grace and William entered to assess its potential.
Jim watched the colorful fish in the stream losing himself in moments. He was unaware of the passage of time until the call of a bird brought him out of his zone. He turned back to the landing site to help with the shelter. He found himself face to face with the largest black cat he'd ever seen in his life.
He tilted his head to one side and looked up at the enormous feline. He closed his eyes and shook his head but the cat was still there when he opened his eyes again.
"Your name wouldn't happen to be Sylvester, would it?"
Blacker than Night, the great hunter, had found the little one at the edge of the stream. At first he'd thought the little thing dead, it was so still. But then the karanra bird's call had awakened it. He had been surprised to hear the strange creature's thoughts. This was a sentient being. It was so like the little primates that lived in the
primeval forests of this place. But it wore clothing and it had organized thought processes and the power of speech. It even seemed capable of humor. Though without a deeper telepathic scan, Blacker would be unable to determine the source of the humor in the little one's question.*Are you alone, Little One?* Blacker projected into the mind of the little creature.
"No, my mother and father are at the cave where our life pod landed. Our colony ship exploded in space. We were the only survivors. My name is Jim. What is yours?"
*I am Blacker than Night, Jim. You may call me Blacker. Please take me to your parents.*
"The cave is just over this little hill in this wooded area. The pod is there." Jim ran ahead. The large feline moved gracefully along behind. He stopped abruptly at the crest of the hill. There was danger here.
*Come back, Jim!* Blacker rushed forward to catch the boy. He now knew that the parents were dead. He couldn't let the boy go into that cave. It was the home of a deadly nest of giant vipers.
"No!" But the boy had already seen into the cave. Somehow this boy was able to see into that darkness. Blacker could sense his thoughts. He could sense that the boy knew the state of his parents' bodies. That he knew how they had died. And what was becoming of them.
*Come with me, Little One. I will protect you.* The great cat led Jim away from the cave and deep into the forest. Jim didn't notice the walk. He only noticed later that he was warm and dry and these great cats purred when you curled up in their fur.
And so Blacker than Night, the Great Hunter, became the protector of Jim, the Little One.
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER
Aboard the EllisonCorp expeditionary ship, Jimmy's Quest, the captain and the scientific leader of the expedition met in the conference room soon after launch. Stephen Ellison, the owner of EC, was also on board, but he was currently in his state room.
"The arboreal planet, Corelis, was discovered fifteen years ago when the Odyssey III was lost. There was only one life pod launched from the Odyssey before it exploded. We found the distress beacon and the pod on the surface. The remains of Grace and William Ellison were found in a cave nearby," Captain Simon Banks recounted. Banks had once been with the Space Forces and been a part of the team sent in response to the Odyssey III's distress call and subsequent disappearance. Banks was very tall, chocolate-skinned and had the
sort of trim good looks that really accentuated a uniform."Was their son ever found?" Dr. Blair Sandburg was reviewing the records of that mission. EllisonCorp was funding an expedition to Corelis. Blair was younger than many of the other members of the expedition, only thirty-five. His hair was curly about his ears as if he'd forgotten to have it cut and it had gotten out of hand. His eyes were a beautiful blue and his skin a translucent pale that would have made any of Banks' female friends envious if not for the obvious beginnings of five o'clock shadow.
"No. The planet is inhabited by a race of sentient felines. Our team was only allowed to recover the pod and the remains and search the immediate area."
Blair had been hired for his ability to deal with the new races man was meeting in space. Blair Sandburg was not only a leading anthropologist. He was also a Guide. Or so his geneticists claimed. Blair had his doubts. He had worked with many Sentinels during his studies for his several degrees and he had never "clicked" with any of them. At thirty-five, he sincerely doubted that he would ever bond. Five years ago, he turned his guide skills toward new contacts. The move had proved to be quite successful. Blair was in high demand when corporations wanted to establish relations with alien races.
Blair would be meeting a race that had previously refused to associate with humans. The Oncas of Corelis were enormous, almost two meters at the shoulder. They communicated telepathically, somehow scanning a newcomer and understanding its language almost instantaneously. It was impossible to lie to them. Perhaps that was why they didn't want to deal with humans.
Most humans couldn't refrain from lying to themselves much less to others.
"EC wants two things out of this expedition. First and foremost, Stephen Ellison is interested in the profit potential of Corelis.
Make no mistake about that. Second, he wants to make sure that Jim isn't still alone on that planet."
"Is this a rescue mission?" Simon asked.
"I doubt it. Stephen Ellison inherited a fortune when his parents died. If Jim Ellison is alive, he's entitled to half of the estate."
"That's a highly cynical thing to say."
"Ellison is a high-powered businessman. Very driven. He has been since I met him at Rainier."
"Did you know the Ellisons?"
"I met them once. They came to visit Stephen at Rainier. He did make time for his little brother. He was only nine. Cute kid. I stopped by to ask Stephen something and this little boy came forward and introduced himself. I was so impressed. He called me "Yachacheq." That's "Teacher" in Quechuan. I was only a Teaching Fellow at the time. Stephen told me later that Jim learned Quechuan from a Peruvian shaman."
"Wasn't Jim Ellison a Sentinel?" Banks asked.
"My brother was a latent full Sentinel," Stephen Ellison answered from the door of the conference room.
"I was just telling Captain Banks that I actually met your brother once."
"He never forgot you. I'm glad you remember him. Well gentlemen, are we ready to meet the Oncas?"
*The dreams are bothering you again, Little One?* Blacker than Night asked Jim as they stood looking out at the dawn from their deep forest den. Blacker could not see into Jim's mind when the dreams were bothering him. The young boy the Onca had found so many years ago had a complex mind and unusual senses that had developed rapidly after the death of his parents. It had taken extreme care to keep the young one sane. As it was, Jim's memories of his family were very vague. He sometimes had visions or dreams. Blacker was always
careful to talk them out with Jim.*I stand nearly as tall as your shoulders, Blacker, yet you still call me Little One.* Jim complained. He didn't think it unusual at all that he never spoke aloud. He had communicated completely telepathically since the day Blacker had brought him to his den. Not only had his full Sentinel abilities come on line the day of his parent's death, his extrasensory potential had exploded as well.
*It is hard to think of something that curls into your fur at night as anything but little, Jim.* Blacker returned. *But what of the dreams?*
*These dreams are different. I see a strange creature that does not live on Corelis. I think it is called a wolf. It is searching for me in forest. But it doesn't know me. And there is danger for me and the wolf.*
*Do you know where you might have heard of a wolf before?* Blacker asked gently.
Jim frowned painfully. The expression marred the strong features. The little boy Blacker had found mesmerized by colorful fish had grown into a muscular young man. His clothing from the Odyssey had long since been outgrown. The Oncas did not wear clothing and would have thought nothing of Jim going nude. But the growing boy had fashioned loincloths from the remnants of his old clothes. Several years later he'd learned to tan animal hides and had made his leather loincloth from the skin of a deer like creature he'd brought down in
a hunt.*I don't remember.* He hung his head allowing his long soft hair to fall in a curtain across his face. Blacker bumped his head and Jim looked up, a wry smile in his blue eyes.
Blacker did not try to force the memory despite the knowledge of the coming ship from Jim's home world. He merely sat beside Jim and watched his young charge survey the forest in the early morning light.
Corelis wasn't like anything Blair had ever experienced before in his missions for corporations. Most sentient races at least had villages. The Oncas lived in natural dens. They had no visible technology. They were, however, very powerful telepaths. One of the great cats had been enough to repel a Space Forces landing team.
Their telepathic abilities reached into space. Ships were contacted and told not to approach Corelis. Blair wondered what Stephen Ellison had that these creatures wanted.
The EC expedition had brought a prefabricated shelter as their base of operations. A crew wearing EllisonCorp uniforms were assembling the structure while Blair watched with anOnca called Snow Fire. The feline reminded Blair of Earth's white tiger, only on a larger scale.
*Strange den. What is the material called?* Snow Fire watched the workers lift the fake stone walls into their slots in the flooring.
"I think it is called *Plasticrete*. It is guaranteed not to bio degrade in less than 2000 years without the proper solvents."
*Why not use real stone?*
"This is easier to transport from place to place. It is easy to assemble. And it is made from materials humans would have disposed of anyway."
*You could have taken materials from our world to create your shelter.*
"This shelter will be ready in less than a day. Cutting stone and timber to create a shelter would have taken much time and would have been wasteful."
*Start as you mean to go. I see. Will your corporation be as thoughtful in all their operations?* Snow Fire asked.
Blair smiled. He had been set up.
"I can only hope so."
Blair was unaware of a third party watching the discussion from distant trees. Snow Fire had noted the Little One's arrival from the beginning but hadn't twitched a whisker.
Stephen Ellison prayed that he was doing the right thing. This expedition had been difficult to arrange even with the Oncas help, but he had arranged to get Blair Sandburg to Corelis. Ellison didn't care what his colleagues believed about him. In this case he wasn't driven by profit. He wanted what was best for his brother. If Jim could be made whole again by being reunited with the one guide he'd responded to as a child, Stephen would gladly welcome him back.
If Jim wanted to stay with the Oncas, they were more than willing to keep him. They had protected him for fifteen years. They would not hesitate to do so now.
Jim was puzzled by the strangers. These were not Onca. They looked more like him. They wore clothing with strange writing on it. He focused in on the logo. EllisonCorp?
He shook off the sudden pain in his head.
Who was the one beside Snow Fire? This one was familiar.
Jim watched closely. The stranger smiled.
Yachacheq.
Jim continued to watch the strangers as they built their den. His attention was never far from the one that he recognized as Yachacheq, the one his heart remembered. His mind, however, refused to tell him why he knew this stranger. He watched the man's excited gestures as he spoke to Snow Fire.
How could Jim get Yachacheq away from here?
*Perhaps, Yachacheq could be convinced to explore some of the Onca land while the den is being constructed?* Blacker suggested.
Jim was startled from his perch on a low hanging branch.
*You would lure him out to me like unsuspecting prey for me to hunt?*
*I taught you how to hunt other game. Should it be any different when it comes to a mate?* The great cat cuffed his charge with a huge paw. Had his claws not been sheathed, Jim could have easily lost an arm.
*This I get from an old tomcat who lets Dawn's Light twitch her tail at him?*
*Hummph. She's just waiting for me to marry you off. Something about getting the kids to push the parents out of the nest.*
Jim's face went very pale. He threw his arms around Blacker.
*Never. Promise me you'll never let me go.*
*Surely you won't want this old fur rug around when you bring your Yachacheq to your den.*
Jim sniffed and laughed a bit. He let the big cat go.
*Well maybe, I'll just have to get a den close by.*
*What if Yachacheq wants to take you to his den?*
*Why would I leave here?*
*Doesn't one follow one's mate? Yachacheq is not from here. Corelis is not his home.*
*He will stay with me. He is mine. I am his.*
*Are you so sure? You haven't even spoken to him.*
*I have spoken to him. Long ago. I claimed him long ago. He has to know he is mine.* Jim was fierce.
*Where did you claim him?* Blacker asked.
Jim turned and ran back into the forest.
"Does he remember anything?" Stephen asked.
*The Little One remembers things that are not personal easily. But he has forcibly repressed so much to forget what he saw the day your parents died. He refuses to remember Earth as more than an abstraction. He knows about the people and creatures there, but if questioned directly, he panics. The memories cause him physical pain. He does remember Dr. Sandburg as Yachacheq.* Dark Thunder, clan brother to Blacker, revealed to Ellison
"I cannot thank the Oncas enough for taking care of Jim. When the Space Forces told me that my parents were gone and Jim was lost, I nearly went berserk. I moved heaven and earth to come here. You told me then Jim would be safer here. You understood his senses and his mental abilities. You kept me informed of his progress. You knew how to contact me if he needed anything I could provide."
*You brought him what he needs.*
"Blair Sandburg."
*And you. The next time he is near the compound you should make sure he sees you. Hears your voice.*
"Do you think he will come to me?"
*I cannot say. But you might be able to answer a question. What significance would a wolf have to your brother?*
Stephen smiled.
"Blair was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a grey wolf on it the day Jim met him. Jim told me that Blair knew his spirit animal. I think I've read somewhere that wolves are associated with teachers and Jim calls Blair "teacher.""
*We must watch over Blair Sandburg. Jim has foreseen danger for the wolf.*
"Danger? What danger could Blair be in here?"
Ben Crilly was furious with Stephen Ellison for hiring Blair Sandburg for this project. The mining engineer was new to EllisonCorp. He didn't agree with the company's policy of strict eco- conservation. There were no people on this planet. There weren't even any ruins of any civilizations. Why the hell did they need an anthropologist to talk to some big cats?
The surveys indicated massive deposits of high grade ores that could be easily mined. The trees alone would revitalize the lumber markets. This was prime real estate for colonists. The sooner Sandburg was out of the picture the better. And if Ellison caused any problems he could be dealt with as well. And those cats? Well, Ben Crilly knew a thing or two about getting rid of cats.
Dawn's Light was an elegant spotted creature. She twitched her tail as she approached Blair. The anthropologist was reminded of a blonde woman he'd met once a long time ago, a sleek, deadly creature who could have chewed him up and spit him out. The woman, not the cat.
*Dr. Sandburg! I was hoping that you would have some time to talk to me about the various species of great cats on your world.*
"I'm not a biologist, Dawn's Light. Perhaps you would like to speak with Dr. Haven? She would have the information you wish."
*But Dr. Haven is not so cute.*
Blair could have sworn that the six-foot female cat had just pouted at him. He laughed.
"Well, if you put it that way, how can I refuse."
*Perhaps, we could walk along the stream and talk?*
"That would be nice."
And I will take you to the Little One, Dawn's Light thought.
*Where did you claim him?* Blacker's question finally drove Jim back toward the compound. He had to face the past. He had to remember. And the place to start was the man his
heart knew."Yes, we really did have cats larger than Oncas! They were called Sabertooth tigers. But they lived a long time ago. We only have fossils of them."
Jim stopped abruptly at sound of that voice. It was him! What was he doing in the forest with Dawn's Light?
*Come here, Little One and meet Dr. Blair Sandburg.* Dawn's Light projected so that both Blair and Jim could receive the thought.
"Who is this Little One? I've heard him mentioned by other Onca."
*Little One is someone very important Dr. Sandburg.*
Blair expected to see a new Onca cub.
Jim walked out of the cover of the trees.
Blair mentally picked up his jaw from the forest floor. When he stopped drooling over finding a forest god (in a leather loincloth, no less), he realized who he was looking at.
"You are Jim Ellison."
Jim nodded and walked up to Blair.
Neither man noticed Dawn's Light as she left them alone.
"You've grown up." Blair reached up to touch Jim's cheek.
*My Yachacheq.* Blair heard Jim's voice in his head.
"Teacher?"
*You were the one who was to teach me about my senses. To be my Guide. But they took me away.* Jim's face crumbled in pain as memories of his parents began to surface.
"Who took you away?"
*Don't want to remember. Hurts to remember. It is safe here.*
"Are you talking about your parents, Jim?" Blair pressed on.
"Yes!" The word was forced from a throat long unused for speech.
Jim sank to his knees and Blair followed, cradling the young man against him. *They took me away from Earth and they died here. If Blacker hadn't found me, I would have been all
alone.*"It's all right now, " Blair soothed, stroking the long strands of soft hair away from Jim's face. "I'm here. It won't hurt to remember anymore. You are not alone. You have me. And there is someone else here for you."
*Someone else?* Jim repeated in a small voice.
"Do you remember Stephen?"
*Stephen is here?* Blair could hear snatches of Jim's thoughts as his shields slipped. He was remembering his childhood on Earth. He was remembering his family.
"Yes."
*Can he wait?*
"Yes."
*Want to be with you for a while, yet.*
"Then we will wait a while. Rest. I will hold you."
Jim relaxed in the arms that held him safely.
*Mine?*
"Yours."
Crilly had figured that there were only a handful of the Oncas actually involved in this expedition. There was the great white tiger, two black jaguars, the spotted jaguar female and three other large males of indeterminate pedigree. No other Onca seemed to be approaching the compound. Six of the cats shouldn't be any problem for the shuttle's defenses. Crilly took delight in rigging the shuttle's automatic defenses for a lethal reaction to a feline's presence. With any luck the defenses would take out some of the scientists
working with those damned cats.As for the Dr. Sandburg and Ellison, old-fashioned methods would do. Crilly honed a rather wicked knife before stashing it on his person. Now all he had to do was find the
anthropologist and his employer.
Blacker found Jim sleeping curled against Blair while they lounged against a large tree on the banks of the stream.
*His memory has returned.* It wasn't a question.
"He remembers everything. I remember the day I met him as clearly as if it were yesterday. I never knew that he was a latent Sentinel. He was only nine years old. I was almost twenty. I didn't understand the significance of being called his Teacher. I was looking for a bond mate, not a student. But I was enchanted by him. It was like my heart had been placed in a box for safe keeping that day. When I was introduced to older Sentinels and I felt nothing, I began to think that maybe the doctors had been wrong. That I had no potential as a guide. I had tests again. It took a run in with a rogue Sentinel who tried to kill me when I wouldn't mate with her to convince me that I had any guide potential."
*That's when you began to work for men like Stephen Ellison?*
"Yes. Most guides work with their Sentinels in more "serve and protect" roles. Without a Sentinel, I had to find a way to tap into my skills. I was drawn to space."
*Perhaps because he was here?*
Blair looked down at the sleeping man.
"Perhaps."
*What do you plan to do now?*
"So much time has been lost. He doesn't need a teacher anymore. He had you and the other Oncas."
*Then maybe you should be "Sonqollay" to him.*
My beloved. Blair closed his eyes at the thought. He pressed a kiss to Jim's forehead.
"Bwair?" Jim's voice was still hoarse from years of disuse. Jim sat up and looked around for Blacker.
"Oh, Jim, I didn't mean to wake you."
*Have to wake up. There's danger at the compound. Can't let any of the Oncas go near the shuttle. Have to get Stephen away from the shuttle.*
*What is wrong, Little One?* Blacker demanded.
*A vision. The shuttle attacking Oncas. Blair's people caught in the same trap. Oncas coming from deep in the jungle to attack if not stopped quickly.*
"How can we stop this?"
*The shuttle won't hurt humans. Send the one you call Simon to disarm it. The one who did this - - Crilly?-- will come to us if Stephen is with us. He doesn't know about me. I can catch him.*
*I will find Simon and send Stephen to you. Watch yourselves.* Blacker bounded away.
"Visions?"
Jim shrugged.
*Sometimes.*
"Cool. You wouldn't happen to know the Universal Powerball numbers, would you?"
Jim gave him a blank look, then smiled when he suddenly got the joke.
Crilly obviously wasn't listening during the briefings about the telepathic powers of the Oncas. Within moments of Jim's warning, Blacker had informed all of the others. No Onca would go near the shuttle. Had Crilly crossed the path of one of them during his planning, the Onca would have learned what he was up to without Jim's vision. Blacker had plans for the engineer. Jim agreed with the plan.
Blacker contacted Stephen and Simon telepathically as well. Simon entered the shuttle and disabled the defenses. Stephen headed for the stream and his brother.
"Oooh, I like the way you guys think. That's positively evil." Blair laughed.
*You don't object?* Jim stood towering over Blair. Blair was finding that his heart rate was doing strange things. What did Blacker feed Jim to have him grow up so big and beautiful?
"Crilly was planning on killing at least six Onca and any member of the expedition that got in his way. He's on his way here to kill me. Of course I don't object." Blair's voice cracked.
*Are you okay?* Jim leaned into Blair and rubbed his head against the side of Blair's neck. The catlike move had Blair clutching the tree trunk he was leaning against. Wait a minute. Trees don't purr. Purr?
"Jimmmm," he moaned just before finding his mouth claimed, explored and thoroughly devoured.
If Blair had been the least bit coherent, he would have tried to tell himself that he'd just met this man. So what if they'd been introduced fifteen years ago and had some sort of mystical Sentinel/Guide bond. You don't just start having sex with a virtual stranger.
*We're not having sex.*
*It's impolite to listen in on your partner's private thoughts during a makeout session.*
*Sorry, I've never done this before.* There was laughter in Jim's mental communication. Blair was unaware that he was projecting to Jim instead of talking.
*If this isn't sex, what is it?*
*We're just fooling around until Stephen gets here.*
*You're getting me this hot and bothered and your brother will be here any minute??!!*
Jim stopped kissing Blair.
*Well, if you object --*
Blair pulled Jim's head back down to his.
The forest path opened up onto the small glade by the stream. Stephen Ellison slowed down as he came upon the place he was to meet Blair and Jim. He was suddenly very nervous.
*Stephen?*
The mental voice was older, deeper, but definitely Jim. Stephen rushed forward.
Standing in Blair Sandburg's arms was a very beautiful man with light brown hair that hung down his shoulders like a cloak. Blue eyes like his own smiled at Stephen. Stephen held
out his arms and Jim walked into them."Hey, squirt," was all Stephen could sob as he held his brother for the first time in fifteen years.
Ben Crilly hadn't gotten very far into the forest. A very large black cat and his clan brothers had found a mouse to play with.
"Stevie?" The rusty voice whispered.
Stephen pushed Jim back and looked up at him.
"I guess I can't really call you Squirt anymore, can I? You've grown so tall."
*Good hunting here.* Jim sniffed and smiled showing strong white teeth.
"Blacker's told me so much, but I wish I could have been here."
Jim could literally feel Stephen's sorrow at not having spent the last fifteen years with Jim.
*You knew I was here?*
"Yes. And you were safe with the most fierce protectors I'd ever seen. Blacker, Snow Fire and Dawn's Light were willing to fight the Space Forces for you. You had gone
completely on line and your mental abilities had manifested. You had also blocked out everything but them by the time I got here. You didn't know me."*I saw you then?*
"For a week, I tried to get you to recognize me. Only then did I agree to let the Oncas keep you. They were the only beings you responded to. You refused to even see a human.
The Oncas have always had the means to contact me."*What brought you here now?*
Stephen looked at Blair Sandburg and blushed.
"Blacker and I have been playing matchmaker."
"What!" Blair exclaimed.
"This whole expedition was a fake. Oh, the survey work of the planet was real. That was how I went wrong with Crilly. This planet is a virtual gold mine of natural resources. He didn't understand that I was abandoning all of my usual business practices. What he didn't know was that the only reason we were here was as an excuse for Blair to be here."
*You brought me my Guide.*
"When you started having dreams, Blacker knew that you needed to confront the past. He also knew that it was time for you to bond with a human Guide. Your dreams told him that there was someone you had a tentative bond with already. Blacker contacted me. I remembered Blair."
"You hired all of those scientists to conduct a planet survey. You hired me to play diplomat. You brought an expeditionary ship here." Blair shook his head. "Why didn't you just come to me and say, "Blair, remember my adorable little brother? He's all grown up now and is looking for a Guide. I think you two would be perfect for each other.""
Stephen and Jim looked at each other for a moment and then at Blair with remarkably similar expressions.
"Would have never have worked," Stephen asserted.
"Why?" Blair was truly exasperated with both Ellisons.
*Because Stephen didn't have any holovids of me in this loincloth to tempt you with.*
Dark Thunder dropped Crilly in front of Simon Banks. The engineer shivered but didn't move from the undignified heap he landed in. Dark Thunder put one paw on the engineer's back.
"Rather large mouse you have there, " Simon noted.
*This is just a small toy. I thought you might want to put it away?*
"I wouldn't want to take away your fun," Simon couldn't help taunting Crilly. The settings on the shuttle's weapons would have vaporized the Oncas.
*I'm afraid I might have broken it.*
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure that we can repair it. When we get around to it." Simon nearly laughed at Crilly's whimpering. The ship's medical bay would have him ready for formal charges in no time.
*Well then, I'll leave it with you. Stephen and Blair are bringing Little One back to the compound. There is to be a Gathering.*
"A Gathering?"
*Many Oncas are coming.*
Blair was still a bit miffed. He'd been manipulated. He'd been lied to. He'd been . . .
Chosen.
And these beings had trusted that he was the right person for the most precious thing in their lives. He stopped mentally bitching about Stephen's deception.
He slipped his arm around Jim's waist as they walked back to the compound.
"I have a holovid recorder back at the shuttle. I intend to take several vids of you to send back to my mother," He whispered.
*Your mother?* Jim caught the impression of a lovely red-haired woman of indeterminate age from Blair's memories.
"When I've got you all legally signed, sealed and delivered, I'll introduce you to Naomi. She's something else."
*Dawn's Light in human form?* Jim understood.
"Exactly."
Jim stopped in his tracks.
"What is wrong?"
*The Oncas are Gathering.*
"But we stopped Crilly."
*They are not angry. I've never felt anything like this from them. They are excited. It's as if there were millions of plans being made at once.*
Clans from the entire world were represented by someone. This Gathering was not hastily formed. It had been building from the moment Jim Ellison had been adopted by Blacker than Night. Some cats had been on the move for years. The natural amphitheater was filled with cats of all colors and sizes.
Jim made his way to his clan. Stephen was being taken to the center of the amphitheater.
Blair "listened" to the "voice" of a leonine male as he addressed Stephen.
*Brother of Little One, we thank you for bringing us Yachacheq. The Little One is now whole again.*
"I have my brother again."
*Your scientists have found something very special here, have they not? The energy source that the one called Crilly wanted to exploit, especially?*
"Nothing is more special than the Oncas home."
*But it would bring you great wealth.*
"I have great wealth." Stephen was puzzled.
*If you would consent to live among us, we would share our resources with you.*
"You want me to stay here?"
*We don't want the Little One to leave us. You don't want to leave him behind again. We find that we like some humans. Perhaps you could help us establish commerce with them. Protect us from those less savory than yourself.*
"No one is less savory than me."
A ripple of amusement went through the crowd.
*You will stay?*
"If Jim wishes to stay, I will stay as well."
Stephen looked out at Jim. Jim looked down at Blair.
"Why is everyone looking at me?" Blair panicked.
*I am Sentinel of Corelis. This is my home.*
Gone was the panicked child that had clung to Blair only a few hours ago. In his place stood a young warrior, ready to defend his territory with tooth and claw. A Sentinel in the wild. Was this the man the Oncas knew? Something in the tilt of Blacker's head as he turned his gaze toward Blair told Blair that it was.
"We stay."
Jim's steady gaze made Blair feel as if he was being stripped to the skin and displayed for Jim's dinner.
Blacker cuffed his young charge.
*Wait until you get him back to your den.*
Jim blushed.
"Speaking of dens," Stephen caught the attention of Snow Fire and Dark Thunder and began discussing finding a natural formation that could be incorporated into a den with a few human conveniences.
"So, where is this den of yours?" Blair asked Jim.
*Not far from here.* There wasn't anything shy in Jim's mental voice
"Oh, Blacker, what's the Onca equivalent of putting out a "Do Not Disturb" sign?" Blair asked just as they were about to leave.
The black cat just growled low and rubbed heads meaningfully with Dawn's Light who purred and twitched her tail.
Blacker went to speak with Simon about using the expeditionary ship's shuttles to return some of the Onca to their homes.
Whatever Blair was expecting of a den, Jim's home was a surprise.
This was almost an aerie. The den was high on a river bluff. The water pooled deep below the bluff before turning downstream. Rich forest land lined the river on either side. The trail up the bluff was concealed from all but the most discerning sight. The mouth of the den opened to the northeast, but was not easily seen except from the top of the trail.
Inside the den were soft furs, weapons, reminding Blair that Jim was a hunter, various objects that Jim had made and a curious globe. It glowed brightly enough to illuminate the den when Jim shook it. Blair frowned.
"What is this?"
*It is some of the ore that Crilly was so eager to mine. The nodules glow naturally when agitated. The energy applications Stephen will be able to adapt it to are quite extensive.*
"What do you know about this ore?" This didn't sound like a jungle man.
Jim smiled.
*My mother thought I spent my days chasing butterflies, too. She never noticed the engineering texts I took along on my nature walks.* Jim put the globe aside and pulled Blair into his arms.
"So my little Sentinel was a budding engineering genius."
*Whom are you calling little?* Jim scooped up the shorter man and took him over to a pile of furs.
"Oh, not you. Must have been some other Sentinel."
Jim growled low in his throat as he started stripping Blair's clothes.
*No other Sentinel. Mine.*
"Oh, yes. Yours."
While Blair wasn't exactly a virgin, he had never experienced being claimed. The notion of anyone taking total possession of him ought to have sent him running through the trees. But all Blair could think of was possessing Jim in turn.
Blair could tell that Jim was focusing his senses to catch every nuance of him. Blair had been catalogued down to the threads of grey that he knew were beginning to show in his short curls. A pang of insecurity was quickly eased as Jim pressed kisses to the temples where those grey strands lay.
Jim's earlier nuzzling had been a teaser compared to the direct assault on Blair erogenous zones. Blair hadn't even known that his body had that many sensitive spots, much less that a new lover would be able to locate them so effortlessly.
"Wait one minute." Blair pushed Jim over onto his back and tried desperately to hang onto a crumb of his mind. He kind of liked this dominate position.
"Huh?"
"Just whose mind did you raid for information on how to do this?"
*Jealous?* Jim smiled. He loved the possessive note in Blair's voice.
"You are mine. I don't want anyone else teaching you to make love. Not even with their stray thoughts."
*If you must know, the only mind I'm getting any lovemaking advice from is yours. That is, when I can hear anything over the screaming from your body.* Jim laughed.
"Oh?"
"Uh, huh"
Blair frowned.
"Jim, I know that your voice isn't very strong, but do you intend to speak aloud again?"
Jim swallowed and whispered.
"Can talk when I need to. Need to touch your mind more. But I won't if you don't want me to."
Blair kissed Jim hurriedly.
"No, I want to hear you in my mind. I wish you could hear me the same way."
*I can. Don't you remember?*
"What do you mean?"
*Kiss me and think what you want me to know.*
Blair lowered his head to Jim's.
*How does that loincloth unfasten?*
Jim guided Blair's hands to the leather thongs that held the garment on and the garment soon went flying.
*How is this possible?*
*Natural talent and our bond, I suppose. Now can we get back to that Claiming we were working on?*
Blair's hand stroked Jim's hardened cock while he bit gently on the muscled cords of his neck.
*Seems that the dynamics have changed a bit here.*
*Oh?*
*I seem to be the one doing the claiming.*
*Why, sir, I'll have you know, I'm exactly that kind of boy!"
Blair buckled over in laughter.
"I love you, Jim Ellison, " he gasped when he was able to speak.
Jim went completely still.
"What's wrong?"
"Love me?"
"Absolutely adore you. Not only is the sex between us going to be spectacular and we have this mental connection, but you make me laugh in bed."
Jim shook his head in fond exasperation. He pushed Blair back down into the furs taking back control. This claiming was going way too slow to suit him. Now what did he have that they could use for "lube?"
*I bet you like your in-laws, too.*
Blair's peal of laughter cut short as Jim's mouth closed on his.
"No, you are not dropping me in that river! I hate heights!"
*It's only a 30-foot dive and the pool is very deep.* Jim coaxed.
"Are you telling me that this is how you bathe? You go for a 30-foot cliff dive into the river?"
*Well you can take Blacker's path down to the pool. He doesn't like to dive with me either.* Jim shrugged and pointed out a concealed path that lead to steps down to the river pool.
"I want indoor plumbing. A hot shower in the morning." Blair grumbled as he made his way down the path.
Jim laughed and sprang from the edge of the bluff in a flawless dive that would have made Olympic platform divers green with envy. He entered the river below with barely a splash. He swam to the rocky shore to meet Blair. Blair slid into the water and they swam together for a while. Then they return to the shore where they basked in the sun.
"This looks like something from an ancient movie set."
*Thanks I put a lot of work into making everything perfect when I found the site. Blacker thought I was nuts. But he indulged the whim. The only thing that's missing is a waterfall. As for your "indoor plumbing" and "hot shower," I can incorporate human conveniences easily into our den. Stephen is bound to be bringing such things for his own home.*
"Jim, you don't have to change your home for me."
*It's our home. *
"What's for breakfast?"
*Since our bath scared away the fish, I guess we'll have to settle for fruit. There's a tehlow melon vine on the eastern face of the bluff. The fruit is sweet. Sort of like papaya. If you would prefer meat, I know where I can bring down a couple of cabalbunnies. They roast up tender.*
"The melon will be fine." Blair didn't think he could eat any kind of bunny for breakfast.
Jim smiled. Blair didn't know that cabalbunnies were not cute, furry creatures. They were good eating, but they were vicious, nasty beasts that bred indiscriminately and had to be strictly controlled.
"I guess we have to get back to the compound after breakfast." Blair sighed.
*The expeditionary ship is going back to Earth. The other scientists have to go home. Stephen has to make arrangements. The compound has to be broken down. I have to find out what happened with Blacker and Dawn's Light last night.*
"I suspect that they were up to the same sort of thing we were doing. I saw how she twitched her tail at him."
*He said that she's been waiting for me to push him out of the nest.* Jim sounded positively forlorn.
"He won't leave you alone, Jim. I'm willing to bet that you'll have litter mates before too long."
*Cubs?*
"This is what happens when boys get their sex education from direct mental feed instead of a good heart to heart talk from a stuttering father." Blair looked askance at the sky.
*Why don't I throw you off the bluff?*
"Why don't I take you back to bed and explain the facts of life?"
EPILOGUE
Blair stalked into Stephen's well-appointed office in his new "den." It was actually a cleverly designed house built into a cliff face using the cliff as a facade.
"This is obscene, Stephen!"
"EllisonCorp makes a lot of money from Onca stuffed toys and holovids of Jim in a loincloth. I told you not to send my staff vids of Blacker, Snow Fire, Dawn's Light and Jim along with the survey reports. What about your book on their history? It's on the best seller list, isn't it?"
"I don't mind the Adult Oncas and the vids of Jim. It's the baby Oncas that they're planning on shipping now that Blacker and Dawn's Light's cubs are weaned."
"They're marketing the cubs?!!" Stephen bellowed.
"What's all the bellowing about, Stevie?"
Jim sauntered into the office in his usual loincloth followed closely by three wobbly cubs -- two spotted like their mother, one as black as his father, all three larger than an adult earth jaguar.
"What did I do now?" Jim asked when his brother and his mate looked at him indulgently.
"You increased the EC bottom line by 5% last quarter."
Jim frowned.
"What did I have to do with company profits?"
Blair handed him a holovid crystal. Jim activated it and blushed to the roots of his still long hair.
"Exactly."
"EC is marketing my image?"
"You are the hottest thing since the boy bands of the 21st century. The only thing marketing is selling as fast, is Onca stuffed toys. I am trying to stop the release of the cubs."
*We are toys, Uncle Stevie?* Night Stalker asked as he crawled up next to Stephen to look at the vids of the proposed Onca cub toys.
"Not yet, kitten."
*Poppa is a toy. Momma has one. I think it's cool.*
"You want to be a toy?" Stephen looked over the large cub's head at Blair and Jim.
*Sure! Can I?*
*Can we be toys, too, Uncle Steve?* Misty Dawn and Light of Day pleaded.
Stephen threw up his hands.
"Face it, Stephen. We're going to be in a higher tax bracket this year."
"Blair, this is all your fault."
"My fault?"
"I'm not the one who took those vids."
*Let's let the adults talk about business, huh cubs?* Jim coaxed the Onca cubs out of Stephen's office and sneaked out himself.
*Business isn't much fun is it?* Night Stalker asked
*They are having their own kind of fun. I just think it would be more fun for us elsewhere.*
*Jim Ellison, don't think I don't know that you snuck out on this fight!* Jim heard Blair project.
Jim sighed. He'd just have to reduce Blair's tension with some old fashioned claiming techniques later. But right now he thought he'd just get out of the way.
*Lets go to the river, cubs!* He took off running with the cubs in pursuit.
August 23, 2001
Dedicated to Blacker, beloved feline, RIP
http://home.earthlink.net/~kyanoswolf/pics/Blacker3.jpg
