Chapter 9:
Viva Tak Norath

	It was like Las Vegas. There were multi-colored lights everywhere. 
There was no sign of an end to it either. "This place is outrageous!" Tobias 
exclaimed. "It's so alive!"
	"Yeah," Kaitlyn added. "I wonder if the old hangout is still around."
	"I dunno," Samantha said. "What about some of our old friends?"
	Crash slapped Tobias on the back. "C'mon. Let's hit the bar or 
something."
	Tobias shook his head. "I'm not all for drinking."
	"Well, you deserve at least one drink. You earned it." He chuckled. 
"And besides, you look like your nerves were just rattled."
	"Oh, all right. If you insist!" He looked at Samantha and Kaitlyn. 
"Do you two wanna hit a bar or something?"
	"Sure," Kaitlyn said.
	"Sounds good," Samantha added.
	"And I know just the place," Crash finished.

	It appeared that the place he had in mind was in the run down sector 
of town. "Y-you're kidding, right Crash?!"
	Crash raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
	Tobias pointed at a dirty looking bar. "We're not drinking in there, 
are we?"
	"Of course not!" He took his hand and pointed it to a cleaner, nicer 
looking nightclub. "That's where we're drinking."
	"That? That's....the rich man's club! The cokocabana!"
	"The coko-what?!"
	"Human joke. Don't worry about it. All I wanna know is how the hell 
you're going to get a group of soldiers, scientists, and an oddity by the 
bouncer."
	"Oddity?"
	"I'm talking about me Crash!"
	He chuckled. "You've been hanging around us too long."
	"It's only been a month!"
	"Okay. Whatever. Now, let's go."

	The bouncer who stood at the door was a frightening sight. He stood 
about 6'5". His long mane and tannish fur lead Tobias to believe he was a 
relative of the lions back on Earth. He definately didn't wanna tangle with 
him. Crash, on the other hand, walked right up to him. "Hey man!" he said. 
"How's it going?"
	The bouncer looked at him, with a stern face. Tobias thought he was 
about to do his job. He nearly soiled himself when he heard the bouncer say 
"Hey Crash! Watcha doin' back so early?"
	"Eh, we had to evacuate the base. Raider invasion and all."
	"Oh, what a shame."
	"Don't worry. We took them out with one well placed bomb. They nothin' 
but vapors now!" The bouncer raised an eyebrow. "You think you can let me 
and my friends in?"
	"Sure!" He looked about before opening the door and letting them in. 
"Enjoy your stay," he said as he shut the door.

	The place was alive. There were people all about, from all walks of 
life, all different species, drinking, dancing, or just chatting with one 
another. He could make out many of the faces of the former base guards at 
the many tables and the bar. A soft melody played in the background; one 
that was easy to dance to. "Nice place," Tobias said. "And you come here 
all the time?"
	"Sure do," Crash replied. He pointed at a table. "There's our seats. 
Let's grab them before someone else does." They weaved through the various 
people and took the seats. It didn't take long for someone to come along and 
service them. They ordered their drinks and waited patiently. They didn't 
have to wait long; the service was fast that evening. Crash raised his glass 
into the air. "To Tobias," he toasted. "For his superb handling of those 
Raider scumbags." The others raised their glasses and drank up.
	"One," Psycho muttered.
	"One?" Tobias asked.
	"Number of drinks before he's had before we declair him officially 
drunk," Hack told him. "He counts them off until we stop him."
	"Oh. What's the highest you've gotten on him?"
	"Twenty-seven." They laughed.
	"I'll drink to that," Psycho said, tipping his head back with his 
second drink. "Two."

	Another group approached the table. The bigger of the three, a jaguar, 
looked them over. "Get up," he growled.
	Tobias raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
	"You're in our seats. Move."
	"Oh?" He got up and looked at his chair. "I don't see your name 
ingraved on it."
	"Smart ass. Move it or get hurt."
	"And such a mouth!" he taunted. "We got here first. Find another place 
to sit."
	The room quieted down. "You must be new. Otherwise you would've gotten 
up when we first said so."
	"I probably wouldn't have."
	"You don't know who we are, do you?"
	"No, and I personally don't care. Go away."
	The jaguar growled and flipped the table, sending the glasses and what 
not flying. "You don't wanna mess with us." Samantha moaned in pain. A glass 
had hit her face. Tobias looked to help her, but she motioned him away. He 
grew angry and turned to the panther.
	"You hurt my friend."
	"So? What are you going to do about it?" His response was a rail gun
barrel across the face. The jaguar fell to the ground.
	"I don't like it when people hurt my friends."
	The jaguar got back to his feet, ready to fight. "You don't know who 
you're messing with, do you?"
	"Obviously you have the same problem." Psycho got up and cracked his 
knuckles, ready to do some pounding.
	"We're from Regiment 8, toughest unit out there." Psycho winced.
	"Regiment 8? Nope, the sound of it certainly doesn't scare me."
	"Tobias," Psycho said. "Are you nuts? These guts have more problems 
with the high command than anyone else. They're more dangerous than I am."
	"So why haven't they been court-martialed?"
	"We've got more kills alone than all the other regiments put together. 
We're too much of a resource to the Pack."
	"You still don't scare me."
	"And why not?"
	He looked the jaguar dead in the eye. "You'd be messing with the fates 
if you mess with me." The jaguar chuckled. "My name is Tobias, but everyone 
knows me as Lone Wolf."
	The jaguar laughed. "You honestly don't believe that I think you're 
the chosen one, do you?" Again, the rail gun barrel kissed his cheek, 
sending him to the floor. He got back up. "You'll pay for that slug."
	"Well see about that." He pushed a button on his headset. The scanner 
lens popped out. He gave him a quick scan and chuckled. "You're weaker than 
my grandmother. And she, one, has M.S. and, two, is dead."
	"Die slug!" He threw a wild punch. Tobias stepped aside and let the 
jaguar go flying into the bar. He fell over it and smashed into the wall of 
drinks.
	"Psycho, to arms." Psycho got up and cracked his knuckles again. He 
knew that he couldn't handle the jaguar, but his comrads were meat. The two
guys who were watching this backed up.
	"You're pretty nimble," the jaguar said, rising from behind the bar. 
"But not to wise, are you?" He raised a pistol and fired. Tobias, who knew 
something like that was coming, raised his rail gun and fired it. It was set 
on a really, really low power setting, so it knocked the pistol shot away 
and hit the jaguar. The jaguar fell back into the wall again, holding his 
chest. "Fuck. Guys, let's go." He ran for the exit. His comrads followed 
him.
	Tobias shook his head and fixed their table. "Can we get a reload 
here?" There was silence. He looked around. "What? You people act like 
you've never seen someone get beaten like that. Have fun for christ's sake." 
The activity started up again.

	They arrived at their rendez-vous point around 2200, an hour before 
they were due. "We're going to go find the barracks," Crash muttered, drunk 
as hell. "Need to sleep this off, right?"
	"All right Crash. Have a nice night."
	"Sarcasm'll get you nowhere. Good night." He motioned to the others 
and they followed him. 
	Tobias turned to Samantha and Kaitlyn. "Wanna go see if Sven's in?"
	"Sure. Maybe we can find out if they've unpacked our quarters yet."
	"All right." He turned and bumped right into Sven. They both fell to 
the ground. "Oh, sorry about that."
	"It's okay," Sven said. "I wasn't watching. How was your night?"
	"Besides the fact I met some guy from Regiment 8, or something like 
that, and wiped the floor with him, it was nice."
	He raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm not even going to ask!"
	"It's better you didn't. Are the science quarters unpacked?"
	"Not yet. It'll be unpacked by tomorrow. You'll have to spend the 
night in a tent."
	"No," Samantha groaned. "It's supposed to be raining tomorrow 
morning!"
	"Well then, pitch your tent close to your building."
	"We'll do that," Tobias said. "Enjoy your night."
	"Heh, I'll try." He staggered off in one direction. They went off in 
another.

	They had pitched their tents as perscribed by Sven. They kept 
seperate, hoping to keep some privacy. They wished each other a good night 
and tried to get some sleep. A cold breeze swept through their campsite. 
Tobias shivered and curled up. There was a quick rapping on his tent wall. 
"Who's there?" he asked.
	"Samantha. Can I come in?"
	"Sure." She opened the flap and came in. "What do you need?"
	"It's cold. I don't mean to make you feel awkward or anything, but 
would you mind if we....ya know....."
	"Slept together?"
	"Eh, close enough. I'm just trying to stay warm here."
	He smiled. "Sure." 
	She smiled and cuddled up next to him. "Thank you," she said with a 
kiss.
	"Think nothing of it. Good night." Another wind gust swept through the 
area. Another sharp rapping on the tent wall drew their attention. "Who's 
there?"
	"Kaitlyn. I was wondering-"
	"You're cold and want to cuddle to try to keep warm."
	"How'd you guess?"
	"Samantha has the same problem."
	"Oh. So the answer's no then?"
	"Of course not. Come in and curl up."
	"Thank you!" She crawled in and curled up next to him. He put his arms 
around both girls and they fell asleep.

	The hard pattering of rain on the tent woke Tobias up from his 
slumber. The girls had nestled themselves snuggly in his arms. "This has 
always been a dream of mine," he muttered. "But it involved human women. Ah
well, time to put the dream to an end." He shook them gently. "Wake up 
girls."
	"Hmm?" Samantha said, sitting up. "Wha happened?"
	"Good morning beautiful."
	She looked about and moaned. "Oh man! I told you it was gonna rain!"
	"Stop moaning," Kaitlyn said, sitting up. "A little rain never hurt 
anyone."
	"I know. I'm just fearful that it's gonna be a-" There was a crack of 
thunder. Tobias soon found her clinging onto him. "T-storm."
	"You don't like thunder, do you?"
	She nodded. "Never have and never will. I always end up somewhere 
that's gives me a very comfortable feeling." She looked at him and blushed.
	He chuckled and poked his head out the tent. "They've finished 
unpacking. And the slimeballs moved it a short distance away. Wanna go in 
and get back into our quarters?" There was another crack of thunder. 
Samantha clung onto his arm. "I'll take it that's a yes." She nodded. "Then 
let's get into the safety of our quarters." They each grabbed a corner of 
the tent, lifted it up, and ran towards the building.

	They were greated by a technician. They presented her with their keys 
and she let them by. "Oh yeah," she said. "There was a small problem during 
transport."
	"What was that?" Kaitlyn asked.
	She pointed at Tobias. "The wall between your quarters and Samantha's 
was destroyed somehow. Probably during the explosion."
	"Okay. You can fix it, right?"
	"Yeah, we can, but we don't have the resources right now."
	"Then don't bother," Samantha said.
	"Why? You don't mind sharing a room with him?"
	"I don't."
	"Okay then. If he has no objections, we'll ditch any plans to repair 
it."
	"It's fine with me." The technician nodded and waived them along.

	There was a big, gaping hole between their quarters. Everything was in 
disarray. "Perhaps some redecoration is in order," Samantha said. Tobias 
chuckled and started to get to work. They cleaned everything up before 
deciding on what to do. Their decision was simple: create a kitchen area, a 
sitting area, and move their beds together. They took care of that in an 
hour. It all came out a lot better than they expected. They collapsed on her 
couch once they were finished. "I've never done that before," Samantha said.
	"Well I have," Tobias replied. "Up a flight of stairs yet."
	"Oh? You must've run a fun life."
	"Between the constant work, the beatings, and the mental torture, 
yeah, I guess I did."
	She sighed and curled up next to him. "I'm sorry you had to go through 
all that."
	"It doesn't matter now. I don't have to live through it anymore. It 
isn't your fault."
	She smiled. "Will you ever be going back to your home?"
	"Why would I?"
	"Why not?"
	"Because I wouldn't be able to see any of the friends I have here."
	"Oh."
	"And you know what else I would miss back on Earth?"
	"What?"
	"Your love." She smiled and kissed him. There was a crash of thunder. 
She didn't jump, however. She was where she wanted to be, so there was no 
fear.

	It was raining harder by the time night fell. Sleep was ready to claim 
them. They eagerly climbed under the covers of their beds. A crack of 
thunder knocked them out of their journey to the land of dreams. Samantha 
heard it and flew over to Tobias, clinging onto him. She looked at him and 
backed up. "Sorry," she said.
	Tobias sat up. "You're not comfortable about this, are you?"
	"Of course not! It doesn't feel right. I mean, not to insult you, but 
how do I know you won't try to make a move?"
	"I understand." He got out of bed.
	"You don't have to go anywhere." He grabbed his comforter and pulled 
it off the bed. He did the same for hers. "Tobias, what are you doing?!" 
Tobias smiled and, with a flick of his wrists, covered both beds with her 
comforter. He grabed his and, with another flick of his wrists, made a 
second layered. He sat down on the bed. "Tobias?" He grabbed the top sheet 
and crawled under. 
	"Is this any better?" he asked.
	She slid over to him. "Yes. Very." She hugged him. They fell asleep to 
the patter of the rain on their windows and the soft crash of the thunder, 
entwined in each others arms, content with being with each other.

	Tobias's eyes fluttered open early the next morning. He stretched a 
little before sitting up. He looked and saw Samantha laying there, a smile 
on her face. The mere sight of it put him into bliss. "For once I did 
something right," he muttered to himself as he stroked her cheek. "Perhaps, 
too right." He got out of bed and staggered over to the kitchen area. He 
took out what he was going to be using and started to cook breakfast. In no 
time, the room was filled with the aroma of fresh pancakes and Samantha was 
aroused from her sleep.
	"Mmm," she moaned as she stretched. "What's that delightful smell?"
	"Breakfast," Tobias replied. "I thought we could have something else 
for breakfast besides the stale food they serve in the mess hall."
	"Oh?" She was still half alseep. "Watcha makin'?"
	"Something special." He flipped a pancake into the air and caught it 
perfectly.
	Her eyes lit up. "Pancakes?!"
	"Yup."
	"I haven't had them since I left home! How did you know?!"
	"Um....dunno really. Lucky guess?"
	She giggled. "Probably." She got up and put on a bathrobe. "You 
wouldn't, by any chance, have some strawberry syrup on hand, would you?"
	"I dunno. Why?"
	"My grandmother always gave me strawberry syrup with my pancakes when 
I was young. You don't know what it would do for me if you had some."
	"I'll check once I finish this last one, okay?" He flipped the pancake
from the skillet onto a plate. "That's three stacks and...." He went into 
the cupboards. "Maple syrup, blueberry syrup....ah!" He pulled out two 
bottles. "You're in luck Samantha."
	"Oooh! Thank you Tobias!!!!" He grabbed the three plates, the two 
bottles of syrup, and made his way over to their sitting area. He set them 
on the table and motioned her to join him. She quickly obeyed and sat down 
next to him. She got what she wanted and started to eat. However, she 
noticed the third stack of pancakes. "Who are those for?"
	"Watch," he told her. There was a knock on the door. "Come in!"
	"What are you cooking?" Kaitlyn asked. "I could smell it from across 
the hall!" She saw the third stack and drooled.
	"Go ahead. I knew you'd be coming over anyway."
	"Thank you Tobias!" She sat down, doused the pancakes in syrup, and 
started to tear into them.
	"Or maybe that was a bad idea."
	Samantha smiled. "Nah. You did good."
	"Oh yeah," Kaitlyn said. "Vu and Shivana are looking for you. They say 
they need to discuss something with you."
	"All right. I go after I'm finished with the dishes."
	"No, you should go now. We'll take care of the dishes."
	"But-"
	"Tobias," Samantha said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You cooked, 
we'll clean."
	"But-" She kissed him. "Okay. You're the boss." He turned to Kaitlyn. 
"Where are they?"
	"Research facility. Ya can't miss it!" She shoveled another wad of 
pancakes into her mouth.

	The research facility wasn't easy to miss. Unfortunately, Tobias 
really REALLY wanted to be able to miss it. It looked like one of those 
structures out of the really bad b-movies from the fifties. Hoping some 
third rate, piece-of-crap made slime monster wouldn't jump out at him, he 
took the handle of the door and opened it. He heaved a sigh of relief seeing 
something like the front desk at a hospital there. He quickly entered and 
approached the main desk. "Um....I'm looking for Vu or Shivana," he told the 
clerk there.
	"Just a minute," she said. She checked something on her computer 
terminal. "Do you have an appointment?"
	"An appointment? I was told to come here looking for them."
	"Oh. What's your name?"
	He rolled his eyes. "Tobias."
	She typed on a keyboard. "Oh yes. You. Down that hall, third door on 
the right for Vu." She pointed down a hall. 
	"Thank you." He started down the hall.
	"One more thing." He turned and raised an eyebrow. "He's been tired 
lately. Try not to yell."
	"Thanks for the warning."

	He knocked on the door. "Go away!" Vu shouted back in a crabby way.
	"It's Tobias, Vu!"
	"Oh. Come in." The door creaked open, revealing Vu, face down in a 
pillow on a desk. "Sorry. I've been busy."
	"Oh? What have you been doing?"
	"I've....been a subject for these people. They're actually friednly 
once they stop jabbing you with the needles." He chuckled nervously. 
"Anyway, they discovered something rather interesting about us and this 
particular planet."
	"What would that be?" 
	He pulled the pillow off the desk and pushed a button. A small, 
holographic Earth appeared above a small generator that was sitting there. 
"This the Earth."
	"Gee, whatever gives you THAT idea?"
	He pushed the button again. The "Earth" rose high into the air and 
doubled in size. "This is the planet we're on right now."
	Tobias's jaw dropped. "Damn. So..."
	"Our bodies are designated to grow at the speed of Earth. This 
planet....is much slower."
	"That's a load. I've been here and I seen no difference."
	"Well then, were you ever aware back on Earth?"
	"No, can't say that I ever was."
	"Well, trust me on this one. Anywho, although it may not seem like 
long, we're aging a little faster."
	"How much faster?"
	"You'll be eighty in fourty years."
	"Oh."
	"Continuing, we've been helping the tech boys with something to 
adjust to the time difference. Shivana and I have already taken it. We're 
going to stay this age for as long as we're supposed to. You, on the other 
hand still need to take it."
	"Wait just a second!"
	"No, let's get this over. Shivana has the vaccine."
	"Vaccine? Vu, wait!" His words were in vain. Vu grabbed his arm and 
dragged him away.

	"Tobias!" She tacked him, sending him skidding across the lab floor. 
"You're okay!"
	"Was okay."
	"Oh, sorry." She got up and helped him to his feet. "I assume Vu told 
you the situation."
	"Yes."
	She took a BIG needle from the table. "Are you ready?"
	"Um..." He backed away. "That's the thing. He never let me say 
anything on the situation."
	"Oh? Afraid of needles?"
	"No. I mean yes.....but I was going to say that I'm not taking it 
now."
	She raised an eyebrow. "What?"
	"Put the needle away in storage. I am not taking the vaccine."
	"Why not?"
	"As of....the end of today, I'm gonna be 16. If what Vu said is right, 
in one more year, I'll be 18. That's all I ask."
	"Oh, okay." She put the needle in a box and closed it. "I hope you 
know what you're doing."
	He smiled. "Yeah. I'm making sure I can whoop everyone's asses once 
we get home."

	He returned to his quarters. "Samantha," he called out. There was no 
answer. "Samantha?" He looked about. Everything was either down, out, or 
off. "Guess she's out." He looked out the window. The rain had stopped a 
half an hour ago. "Shopping probably. Oh well, I can't blame her for doing 
that." He kicked off his shoes and layed down on the couch. "I'd go out if 
I were her too!" He closed his eyes.
	"Oh?" her soft voice said.
	"Yeah," he replied, playing along to the fullest extent.
	"Okay." She crawled over the back of the couch and sat on his chest. 
"So how'd you're meeting go?"
	"Okay." He smiled weakly. "If you get off my chest, I'll tell you 
more."
	She smiled. "You want me off?"
	"Well, no. But it is a bit uncomfortable. Painful at worst."
	"Oh, sorry." She got off. He sat up and she sat down right next to 
him, huddling up in his arms. "So what happened?"
	"They said I'm aging too fast on this planet. By this time next year, 
I'll be 18."
	"Oh?"
	"Yeah."
	She smiled and kissed him. "I turned 17 last month. We'll be 18 
together."
	Tobias smiled. "Oh?" She nodded. "That's nice." In one year, he told 
himself, in one year you.... "Should tell her."
	"Tell who what?"
	"Hmm?"
	"You just said 'should tell her.' Tell who what?"
	"Oh. I was just thinking. Don't worry about it."