Slightly more than an hour's passed since David regained consciousness. Beginning to dose off, he's shocked into alertness by the sight of a bizarre looking alien walking through the wall in front of him. Intense fear rages through Dave's mind as his life flashes before his eyes. The new Arn feels completely helpless in his bindings as the 10-foot-tall being approaches to within a few feet of his location. With a few exceptions, the alien's body looks fairly human-like; the head's a very different story. David can't help but notice, the creature doesn't seem to have any eyes. The alien being begins to speak in a deep and tough sounding voice.

Taschin: Relax! I'm Taschin of the Vartaxian race. Trilan's sent me here to protect and train you. Fortunately, I made it to you before your well meaning, but naive leaders could do anything foolish.

David: How do I know what you're telling me's true? How do I know you're not one of the Tarx, if such a race even exists?

The alien begins to laugh with amusement.

Taschin: That's pretty good! If I were Tarx, you'd be in little pieces long ago. Believe me, they're very real, and incredibly dangerous.

David: Even if that's true, I have no guarantees you're being honest with me. Why have you left me alone for so long? I've been scarred out of my mind. And, why do you have me tied up like this? This is hardly a way to greet someone!

Taschin: Until you've dealt with the Tarx, you don't know the meaning of fear! I've kept you tied up, so you wouldn't hurt yourself trying to escape. If you're ever going to be able to use the Kivon and rise to the occasion, you're going to have to learn how to bury your emotions and not let your fears get the best of you. As for guarantees of trust, you don't have a choice. I'm telling you again, I've been sent here to protect and train you. That's all I can offer. There's a lot riding on your active participation in the revolution against the Tarx. I'm not about to see you fail to live up to your promise. The Colzin didn't pick you by accident. It's vital, you get it together, fast. Remember, the Tarx can show up at any time and do something completely unpredictable. Hopefully, we're well hidden inside this cave on Mars, and they won't be able to scan us, if they do show up. Unfortunately, your government's seen fit to send out a spaceship with the most primitive antimatter engines I've ever seen. I'm amazed it works, at all. Still, the ship'll be here in about a week. While I seriously doubt they'd find us, they could tip off a Tarx sentry ship that something of value's here, that is, if one just happened to be in the area. That's a big concern of mine. If a Tarx sentry ship was around, and scanned your Earth ship's computer, they'd realize an Arn's here, and it'd be all over. They'd tear this planet apart looking for you.

David: Alright. I'll humor you. I'll suppose, since no one, to my knowledge, has blown up the Earth yet, or attacked it, you mean no harm. Why wouldn't you, or the Colzin, have shown us what the Tarx look like, so we could know whom not to trust?

Taschin: Well. It's like this. Your race's already showing signs of intense panic. Some people are committing suicide. If your race saw what the Tarx look like, they'd be so demoralized they'd slip into a state of hopelessness. My race's far more technically advanced than yours is; still, my people, myself included, are having all kinds of anxiety problems from what we've seen. I won't even show you what they look like, for fear you'll be unable to concentrate on your future lessons. I guess the Tyrannosaurus was about the toughest creature to ever walk upon your world. Hypothetically, it would've taken far less than a second for an adult Tarx to have ripped one of them to shreds. Just one adult Tarx could take on the entire human race in hand to hand combat and probably come away without a scratch. In other words, you better be carrying some serious fire power, or you're in big trouble. It's bad enough, their technology's way over the top, but their fighting skills just makes the situation insidious. Fortunately, you can wear the Kivon, and should be able to start unlocking some of its powers soon. There's no one in my race that can wear one. From what Trilan tells me, you're a rare breed. He seems to think, you can grow into a great warrior over the course of time. That is, if time even allows that to happen. There are certainly no guarantees--no guarantees at all!

David: Wonderful! If you can't wear the Kivon, what makes you an expert on the subject?

Taschin: Trilan downloaded a tremendous amount of info on the subject into my ship's computer banks; pretty much everything, with the exception of technical specs, for security reasons. My vehicle can store far more information than your technology allows. Also, my race has ways of pushing the info into our minds very rapidly. The Vartaxian beings have a much greater memory capacity than is the case with humans. You should also know, we're the most advanced species within a spherical radius of a thousand or so light years of your world. Trilan and his Colzin fleet are off warning others, and it's more practical for them to dispatch one of my race to train you; especially, since I was exploring near your Oort Cloud, on the far reaches of this solar system. After spotting my ship from your world, Trilan decided it was convenient for me to pick you up, and help you out. He thought it best anyway, that just one ship was sent to you; this would keep a low profile, and not attract attention. Also, Trilan was afraid, if they took you with them, and ran into a Tarx fleet, you might be killed in battle. So, here I am.

David: Alright, alright. I guess that makes sense. Now what? Do I get out of these ridiculous binds? And, why can't I see them? How did you walk through the wall for that matter?

Taschin: You're being held in place by energy fields, which also comprises the walls and much of the ship. The walls are colored to my tastes; I've chosen not to color your bindings. Nanochip implants inside my head control these energy fields. I can will my way through the walls. Similarly, you can use the Kivon to control these fields, and you'll learn how to do that shortly. Coincidentally, freeing yourself from your binds will be one of your first lessons. Until then, I'm afraid you'll be stuck there.

David: I kind of have to go to the bathroom. What am I supposed to do about that?

Taschin: Don't worry about that. I'll teleport your urine out of your body.

David: Okay, that's pretty bizarre. Anyway, how can you see colors without any apparent eyes, or am I missing something?

Taschin: Actually, the eye on top of my head allows me to see in every direction. Not to brag, for clarification, my vision's extremely good in relation to yours. The outer eye shell's made of transparent bone that's extremely strong and durable. Unlike your eyes, mine's not very vulnerable.

David: Interesting.

Taschin: Alright, are you ready to begin training?

David: Definitely!