Alien Pets, Trisha McNary [free novel 24 .txt] 📗

during both of her encounters with her aggressive human trainers.

His gigantic Verdante teacher had tried to take advantage of his distraction when Eegor was holding Antaska’s leg, but this time, M. Hoyvil’s guard was up. He swerved and evaded his teacher’s kick by a hair’s breath.

He was less successful during Tilde’s attack on Antaska, which proved to be too distracting. Master Mytaar struck without warning, kicking M. Hoyvil’s legs out from under him and dropping him once again to the floor. The large green man had looked down at him with upward smirking eyes.

“I guess I’ve proved my point. Your concern for your companion’s well being has become your weakness. But you can’t protect her if you can’t protect yourself. Once you become emotionally attached to another being, your effectiveness in battle is compromised. You must learn to control your emotional response to a threat to her and also trust her to defend herself,” said Master Mytaar.

M. Hoyvil looked up at the master. He listened politely, but his thoughts about him were less than polite.

“There will be times when you should act on her behalf, and there will be times when you should not,” Master Mytaar continued. “Knowing the difference is critical. Learn this well, or I predict that you will both suffer.”

M. Hoyvil had pulled himself back up to his feet during this telepathic communication. He suppressed the urge to reply with anger to what he felt was undeserved criticism from Master Mytaar. Surely, the two fitness trainers and Master Mytaar as their responsible owner were more at fault than he was. He took a deep calming breath before speaking.

“You’re telling me that letting my emotions control my actions is a weakness, but the actions of your two pets are motivated by their emotions. Doesn’t this mean that they’re not fit for their important role as trainers? Doesn’t this mean they’re more likely to harm their students than to help them?”

“The first part of your argument is correct,” Master Mytaar answered. “Their behavior toward your companion is motivated by their uncontrolled, inappropriate emotions. Do you believe that all the alien life forms you’ll encounter in space will behave with their emotions fully under control? These instructors, ‘unfit’ as you call them, will provide the best training your companion could have in how to protect herself from the unexpected behavior of unknown species.”

M. Hoyvil doubted that Antaska would ever be in that kind of danger, but he kept quiet and listened with the appropriate deference.

“Yes, they’re emotionally unstable, but they know the limits I’ve set for them. They won’t not hurt her beyond some bruising,” Master Mytaar said. “Only a very few of the human pets they’ve taught have ever needed to see Dr. Daji for the mending of a broken bone.”

That’s comforting, M. Hoyvil thought with sarcasm.

The master kept talking.

“You, on the other hand, will be less fortunate than your companion in your learning opportunities on this voyage. Because we Verdantes are self-controlled, especially by adulthood, you won’t be able to experience the benefit of learning to defend yourself from a larger, out-of-control aggressor. But I’ll do the best I can to constantly exploit your weaknesses and, perhaps, even turn them into strengths if that’s possible. Your lesson will be to master the ability to stay calm and effective when your companion is in danger and to then make intelligent decisions with a clear head. Whether you are successful will be up to you. It will depend on your attitude as well as your resourcefulness.”

M. Hoyvil was not surprised by this answer. Never a straight answer to a plain question, he thought.

Then he quickly stopped thinking and made his mind blank in case Master Mytaar was truly able to read his thoughts as he had implied earlier. M. Hoyvil waited for his irritation to pass and then politely asked for more clarification.

“I really don’t understand why you keep insisting that Antaska will need to defend herself against violent aliens. We train our companions to defend themselves as a routine safety precaution, but I’ll be there to protect her. And an entire shipload of Verdantes will be there. In almost 10,000 years of our space travel with Earthling companions, I’ve never heard of any of them having to use that training to defend themselves.”

Master Mytaar spoke in the mysterious manner that usually signaled that the end of a conversation was near.

“There’s always a first time for everything, and the trees have been whispering of changes to come. However, I’m a compassionate man. I’ll offer you and your companion a choice in this matter. If at any time during this trip either of you decide that my pets’ class is too difficult for her, she won’t have to stay in their class. I’ll transfer her into the easier class given to the pets of females.”

M. Hoyvil was not sure whether to be appeased or somewhat insulted by this offer, but he bowed to indicate his thanks and thought about it while he continued his workout. His emotions urged him to remove Antaska from her class. But perhaps Master Mytaar’s offer was also a lesson for him in controlling those emotions.

Putting emotions aside, M. Hoyvil realized that he would like to protect Antaska, but this was a choice she would have to make for herself. If he made the decision for her, he would be treating her like a pet, and she would know it and resent it.

After Tilde knocked Antaska down, M. Hoyvil had seen her stand up and continue with her workout.

She must be OK, but I bet she’s in pain, M. Hoyvil thought.

He continued to keep an eye on Antaska. The second half of her class passed without another visit from either instructor, and to his relief, the class was finally over. After the usual stretching, M. Hoyvil was at her side to take her back to their quarters.

The concern in M. Hoyvil’s eyes was clear to Antaska, but all he asked was, “How are you?” when he reached her side after the stretch period ended. Thinking that a display of weakness would only further encourage Tilde, Antaska just answered, “I’m fine,” and they left the gym together.

Antaska passed through the blue-lit doorway, and they paused to wait for that day’s prognosis.

“This human’s shoulder is bruised but not broken,” said the robotic voice. “There are no internal injuries. Apply a cold pack for twenty minutes and rest as necessary.”

The small compartment in the wall to the side of the door opened again, and Antaska reached in to take the waiting cold pack and place it against her shoulder.

They didn’t talk much until they were back in their quarters. M. Hoyvil sat on the large couch, and Antaska climbed up to sit there too. She folded her legs underneath her instead of dangling them.

Their entrance to the room had woke up Potat. She came out of Antaska’s room and walked with slow, stretchy steps over to the couch. Then she sprang up and sat in between them, looking ready to participate as an active listener in their conversation.

“I saw that your instructors are still being rough on you,” M. Hoyvil said to Antaska. “I know the door scanner said you aren’t badly injured, but are you sure you’re OK? I’m starting to get worried about you, actually.”

Antaska felt confused by her conflicting emotions about Eegor. She definitely wasn’t happy about the situation with Tilde. Physically, however, she was feeling better than the day before.

“I’ll probably have another bruise on my shoulder, but I’m fine,” she told M. Hoyvil. “She didn’t hit me as hard today as she did yesterday.”

“I saw what happened, and I talked to my instructor about your trainers again today,” M. Hoyvil said. “He still claims that you’ll learn some important lesson from this hardship. And he said you might get into some danger when we’re out in deep space, and this class will teach you how to defend yourself from it. That might be possible, but it’s hard for me to believe. No Earthling who has ever traveled with us has been harmed by contact with any of the new life forms we discovered.”

Antaska heard a low growl down by her side. She looked down, and Potat blinked up at her. Antaska gave her a quick pat on the head.

“It’s OK,” she told the tiny cat. “I won’t be in danger.”

“That’s right,” said M. Hoyvil. “Anyway, Master Mytaar said that if you want to leave your class, you can switch to the class for the humans who’ll be staying on the Verdante planet. They aren’t taught much self-defense or fighting moves—just dancing, yoga, light weightlifting, and cardio. It looks like a more fun class, and the instructors won’t bother you.”

M. Hoyvil made the easier class sound appealing, but Antaska wasn’t sure she wanted to change.

And Eegor won’t be teaching that class, she thought.

The small cat voice spoke again in her mind. “Would you just forget about him? He’s not for you.”

Potat climbed up on Antaska’s lap and purred. Antaska scratched her dark gray ears and under her white chin while she thought for a moment. That voice was probably right about Eegor, but that wasn’t the only consideration. Then she looked up at M. Hoyvil and answered him.

“My class has been difficult and painful, and it’s true that I would probably enjoy the other class a lot more. But what if Master Mytaar is right? Maybe I do need to learn to be super-tough to face something that I’ll need to deal with out there.”

She pointed toward the roof to mean outer space.

“Those trainers are being hard on me, and I’m starting to wonder if they’re both mentally unbalanced. But if I make it through this class, I’ll be stronger and ready to fight back if I ever need to,” Antaska said.

“Your trainers have hurt people with more than just bruises,” M. Hoyvil warned her. “They’ve broken students’ bones too. Master Mytaar says they know their limits, but I think they’re ruled by their emotions. I think that in a moment of passion, which they seem to have many of, they could do harm beyond what is supposed to be their limits.”

“I agree with you about that, but I still want to stay in the class for now,” said Antaska.

“OK, but if you change your mind at any time, you can switch. Just let me know,” M. Hoyvil said. “Do you feel up to going to astronomy and political science classes with me today?”