The Green Lantern Stories
Part Three: Shades of Green
by Michael F.
Laura lightly smooched Joseph's cheek before stepping out of the sleek black and silver helicopter. She half expected a pat on the butt from him as her feet touched ground; however, he maintained a level of professionalism most of the male employees of New Woman were hard pressed to meet.
Maybe he's gay, she thought wryly.
She turned and waved to him, then, to keep up appearances, kept her head down as she walked across the helipad.
Joseph waited until she was completely clear, then lifted the helicopter into the air with a roar.
Holding on to her hair, Laura watched as the craft flitted off to the Hawaiian branch of New Woman on Oahu. She hated to have to hide her genetic identity, but lately Chris had decided it was for the best. Something about confusing the Arions and, frankly, the U.S. Government. She thought it was easy for him to say. But Fairchild had agreed that, for now, she should avoid public exposure, and that included the lower-level New Woman agents. Sometimes being a spy sucked.
She shifted her canvas backpack onto her other shoulder and waited until the helicopter was out of sight before she lazily flew the last half-mile of her adventure.
Nearly a month ago, Chris had informed Laura of a suspected alien base that was discovered in the wilds of South Australia. She was to immediately rendezvous with two agents from their Melbourne branch and scout out the truth.
Laura, always the adventurous one, was intrigued by the assignment. She became downright excited, on the other hand, when Chris mentioned some new weapon technology the New Woman organization was testing. It seemed the Melbourne branch got a hold of and modified some captured Arion equipment. Ironically, the tech was not originally weapon related. It was part of a personal flight system the Arions were feverishly developing.
Terrans always have been downright talented weapons-makers, however. Using the compact magnetic propulsion system, they had created a short "rifle" that fired a very streamlined steel-jacketed core of depleted uranium at fantastic speeds. They had called it a "gauss gun".
It had one hell of a kick, and only someone with a strength comparable to Laura's could fire it without a tripod. But it was hoped that it could daze or even injure an Arion Alpha.
Frankly, Laura had doubted that. But she had to admit she got wet test firing that sucker! It was virtually a flat trajectory weapon; it was that powerful. The tests were performed by high-level New Woman admins, so she especially delighted in finally showing off her muscles and firing one of those puppies bare-handed.
After the brief but informative tests, Laura had been teamed with Marin Voss and Stella Muggli. Both were employees of New Woman: Marin was a feisty butch survivalist grrrl with a boyish figure and a mind like a razor; Stella was a secretary as her "day-job", but was quite educated in several sciences. This was well disguised by her giggly, flirtatious and rubinesque exterior.
Despite the interesting company (and the occasional bit of excitement), after all was said and done the conclusion of their expedition had been something of a letdown as far as Laura was concerned. It turned out an alien base did exist, or rather had existed. They had uncovered an abandoned Kintzi outpost long since picked clean when the owners had left the site for whatever reason.
The trio had constructed a cabin within sight of the derelict base and New Woman had sent another agent to staff it. Then Laura and her two cohorts had a long trek back followed by one wild night on the town.
After that Laura had left for home, a bit disappointed she never got to use the gauss gun in combat, even if she had to use a tripod.
While waiting for her connecting flight in San Francisco she had seen every television running the same puzzling clips over and over...and then she had recognized Fairchild! Her love had been seen with some green force of nature that had stopped a satellite from impacting the Earth!
Then Laura had watched far more closely when the news programs had run as much as they could of the conference Fairchild had given near Seattle.
Who the hell was the Guardian? What did he have to do with her lover? And why was Fairchild so obviously creaming in her seat??
Popping back to the present, Laura noticed that she was drifting over the gate designed to keep out news hounds and curiosity seekers. She landed by the front door of the house. Before she could use her key the door opened and the slightly bemused face of Chris looked upon her.
He appeared a shade haggard to her, but his expression was pleasant enough. He motioned her in silently, still smiling the Mona Lisa smile.
"Hiya...Chris," she said, catching herself from using one of her nicknames for him. It just did not seem appropriate right now, somehow, but usually she had a whole host of catchy names for the man. ÔBucko', Ôboyo', Ôgigolo', and others even more patronizing were tossed at him at some time or other. He even caught her one time referring to him as ÔThe Human Dildo' to Fairchild. If looks could kill..! Laura almost regretted that one. Still, she just could not help herself. They were coworkers, they shared a special lover, they even were lovers from time to time. But there was a rivalry there, especially as far as Chris was concerned. A rivalry that on occasion caused bad feelings and tension. A rivalry for the attentions of the Goddess, Fairchild!
And in that regard, Laura knew she had the upper hand. Fairchild liked Chris; perhaps, in a way, even loved him. But no one could give the Goddess what she needed so badly like Laura could. Not since David.
And Laura loved Fairchild. Chris said she was merely infatuated with the Veloran, but he was clearly just jealous.
Still, none of that jealousy was apparent on his face as Laura removed her backpack and sat down heavily on the light green sofa. In fact he looked peaceful, maybe just a little concerned. He closed and locked the door.
Laura watched him cross the living room with an expanding sense of apprehension. She was surprised to see him open a teakwood box on a shelf and remove his pipe and tobacco.
He rarely smoked, even now when it didn't hurt his nearly invulnerable lungs. Laura had only seen him smoke twice before: both times when he was in a strangely reflective mood.
The blue smoke from the pipe was very fragrant, nothing at all like cigarette smoke. Laura had briefly experimented with cigarettes when she was fifteen. They had done nothing for her, and she stopped after a week. She knew now it was because of her special genetic structure. She had a hard time believing the tobacco did anything for Chris, either.
The pressure of the suspense was beginning to hurt!
"Uh," she began intelligently, "where...where's Fairchild?"
Chris toked on his pipe, looking at her squarely.
She continued. "I saw all the reports at the airport. What was all that crap at the news conference about?"
He raised an eyebrow and looked away, nodding, as if to say "Indeed..." Instead of answering, he put his pipe carefully down on the glass coffee table and walked measured steps over to the sofa.
Laura, never patient for games, stood up and said, a trifle heatedly, "Damn it, boy, don't give me this Ômystery trip'. What's going on with Fair? Where is she? Who's that Guardian weirdo?"
She knew calling him Ôboy' would set him off! Instead, however, he calmly gazed into her eyes and said, "You know how I've always been...well, jealous of the relationship you and Fair have always had? How it always managed to get under my skin, even though I tried hard not to let it show most of the time?"
Laura felt a cold lump growing in her throat. He had never actually admitted this before!
"Yeah?" she croaked.
He put his hands carefully on her shoulders, patting her slightly.
"Welcome to the club."
* * *
Fairchild watched with awe as brilliant, beautiful green fractal patterns filled the space before her.
Both she and an armored Seth were hovering in the exact same area of space that used to be occupied by the pale orange dimensional rift...was it only yesterday? She did not know why it wouldn't be far out into space by now, as the Earth of course kept moving as it circled around the sun. But Seth said the Earth's gravity well would have kept the rift in place had it survived.
Admittedly, he did not sound very sure of himself. He had confessed early on to her that dimension hopping was fairly beyond him. Only a few Guardians were taught how to open up a rift from scratch with their rings...it was a Ôneed to know' sort of thing, apparently.
Currently, Seth was probing the space previously occupied by the Ôdoorway', testing the area for any weaknesses his limited knowledge could exploit. As Fairchild watched from about five feet away, another flash of green flew from his left hand and splashed onto the void before them.
Fairchild probed Seth, too, but not for weakness. She watched him work, wondering what was going on behind his armor. She learned only yesterday that her vision could not in fact pierce his covering. She could see through all matter less dense than lead, yet his ring screened out any energy he did not feel necessary to let in.
She imagined she saw his features, though, hidden as they were behind his somewhat intimidating full helm. She thought probably his expression registered nothing but passive calm, or perhaps mild concentration. She doubted he let his intense desire to go home reach his face. Or his intense desire to stay.
She had hoped that, after last night, their expression of their love for each other would have allowed her to center herself...maybe make the thought of losing him easier to accept. Instead, her emotions since she got out of bed continually raced from ecstatic joy to terrible anguish and back, with no sign of relenting.
Seth stopped his exercise. He shook his head and spread a green field around the two of them so they could talk. She knew it was bad news, but she couldn't contain the mad glory in her heart!
"There's a very slight flaw here, but not nearly enough for me to do anything with," announced Seth. "That satellite did a fine job of sealing everything back up."
Her heart full to overflowing, her mind spinning with joy, she tried desperately to appear stricken and concerned for him. Was she so selfish? What was wrong with her?
Seth was silent as he looked at her. She could feel the war her emotions were holding on the battlefield of her radiant face. He must be seeing this, she thought dismally. What he must he think of her!
She was startled by his chuckle.
"You should see yourself, love," he said. "You look like..." he broke off. He gave a ragged sigh. His body drifted, coming nearer to her. The next words seemed to come from far away, or deep within.
"You probably look a little like me..." he said, barely audibly.
She nodded, tears welling up, her full lips twisting within her emotional cyclone.
They held each other, their two bodies slowly rotating in the velvet black of space.
After a brief eternity, he whispered in her ear, "Well. Now that we have some time together, I want to show you something I discovered in my childhood. It's silly, but it's also beautiful in a way. I want to share it with you."
She pulled back, her smile still a little sad but recovering. She looked into his dark brown eyes, the only part of him she could see.
"But first, let's get something to eat at your place, " he continued firmly. "I'm starving!"
She let out a helpless, broken, but healing laugh. She wiped at her tears, nodded again, took him by the gauntlet and together they flew down to the blue orb below.
* * *
Yvonne Harmani stretched deliciously in the morning sun. She felt her spine crack satisfyingly in a couple of places. The dry brush and dust smelled pungent in the warming air. God, she was going to like this assignment!
She wore long blue jeans, lightweight boots, a broad hat and nothing else. She imagined she would put on some sunblock later in the day, but as there wasn't a soul for three hundred and fifty miles she didn't need anything else for modesty's sake.
She turned and faced the rising Australian sun with her eyes closed, letting the brassy rays warm her dark skin. She rubbed her hand over her exposed navel and simply enjoyed the sensation.
This was just what she needed. She relished solitude. She basked in it in much the same way as she was basking in the sun right now. Oh, sure, in three months she would probably be happy for some company other than the shortwave radio, but until then...
Which reminded her: the morning report to Melbourne was due. She walked languidly back to the prefab cabin the other agents had set up just a week before. She entered its cool dark interior and flipped on the power switch to the bulky broadcast unit.
"Catbox to base, Catbox to base..."
As she waited she picked up her leather utility belt and strapped it on.
The radio crackled. "Base here, go ahead, Catbox."
She smiled. She recognized the voice of Duane, a rather androgynous young man that she had joked with when she had been stationed back at Melbourne.
She depressed the transmission switch. "Back at'cha, base. Time is 0630. No sightings. All seems..."
She was interrupted rudely by a high squeal from the radio.
Startled, she fiddled with the analog tuner to try and clear the static that was threatening to drown the signal.
"...base (crackle)...please re...(squeal)" was all she received.
Sunspots? she thought.
The radio was spewing nothing but obnoxious static now. Frustrated, she held her hands at her hips, at something of a loss. Dimly, she gradually became aware of an oscillating hum. Turning her head to locate the source, she discovered it came from outside!
Removing her field glass from its buckle, she ran outdoors into the completely clear day. Running another fifty yards, she stopped in a small cloud of dust. Putting the monocular to her left eye, she scanned the horizon for the large sinkhole that sheltered the abandoned Kintzi base.
She spotted the few remaining buildings as they glittered in the sun like dusty diamonds.
Hmmm, she thought to herself. Nothing unusual at all.
Still, the unnerving hum continued. She now felt it vibrating her inner ear. She raised the glass upwards. Finally, she saw an airplane sparkling in the vivid blue sky.
Frowning, she zoomed in on the airplane with the field glass, trying to make out its markings. The image danced madly in her view. Gasping, she saw that the "airplane" had no wings of any sort! And yet it was obviously approaching in controlled flight!
A bitterly cold realization settled on her, chilling her skin and making her lower the glass.
"Oh," she said to no one. "Oh...my...God."
Arions.
She fought the paralysis that stiffened her legs and scrambled back to the cabin. She skidded on the smooth floor and knocked the microphone off of her desk in her haste. Picking it up, she pressed the transmit switch, hoping beyond hope.
"Catbox to base, Catbox to base, please come in, emergency...emergency!"
The empty voice of static mocked her.
"Catbox to base! Please come in! Code A! I repeat, Code A!"
She calmed herself before she wound up screaming. Her military training started her to thinking analytically. She could not afford to panic. She had to ready a weapon and pray they didn't notice her.
She grabbed her sidearm from its hook on the wall. Damn, she thought angrily, why didn't they leave her one of those gauss guns? She emptied the clip from her .45 American and inserted a special load of APDS ammunition. Because they weren't expecting trouble, she answered herself, and those God damn guns cost over half a mil each to make.
Raising her field glass to her eye again, she stood just inside the doorway of her hut. She saw that the saucer-like shuttle had landed and was vomiting forth a dozen men dressed like Arion Beta soldiers. They spread out over the terrain, dropping into the sinkhole and setting up equipment quickly and efficiently. Suddenly, a much larger shape caught her attention.
Zooming to the monocular's maximum power, she studied what appeared to be a monstrous humanoid stepping out of the craft. It was half again as tall as many of the Betas, and much broader. It seemed to survey its surroundings as if looking for something. Yvonne noticed a double glint as the sun caught the unusually shiny eyes of the creature! It was pointing in her direction!
She pulled herself back inside the shadow of the cabin as if that would erase their notice of her. Her damp breasts heaved with the panic that fought for control of her. She double checked the safety on her weapon and tried to swallow.
She couldn't stand her ground. She was completely outclassed and she knew it. But she didn't have a vehicle... she and most of her equipment had been airlifted here at great expense. Running away on foot would be just about as suicidal as staying!
A great, morbid calm filled her body and soul, stilling her. She walked to the rear of the cabin, crouched down behind a plastic water barrel, and waited for the first target.
She did not have to wait long. The silhouette of a man filled the doorway at the opposite end of the cabin. He stepped cautiously inside, and was soon followed by two more. Yvonne waited until she could feel the body heat from the closest one, then stood up and fired.
Her first shot caught the Arion in the chest, spraying blood and gore onto the two behind him. She rapidly squeezed off two more shots, striking each remaining enemy unerringly in the head. Never getting the chance to make a sound, the Arions fell violently onto the hard floor.
Yvonne squinted in the dim light. They weren't even carrying firearms, she thought in amazement. Just swords.
Her ears hadn't finished ringing from her shots when two more Arions rolled into the entrance way! She fired and missed, but hit one of them in the leg with her next shot, shattering it. The other one was very fast. He...no, she brought her sword down in a silver arc, cleaving the space where Yvonne had been a split second ago!
Dodging smoothly, Yvonne swept her foot under the Arion's, causing the Beta to fall flat. Rolling to her feet, Yvonne pulled the trigger nearly point blank into the alien woman's back.
The Arion gave a grunt and lay still.
Feeling a prickling heat on the back of her neck, the Terran warrior whirled to face the open doorway. Her eyes widened as she saw the frame of the doorway start to melt and twist. Only then did a grotesque figure, like some nightmare shadow, fill the entrance with its form. The door itself burst into flame instantly! Her personal possessions and equipment alike started to smolder or deform from the incredible heat radiating from the monster itself!
She backed away in sheer terror, holding the pistol almost like a crucifix against the evil before her. As the thing approached her slowly, Yvonne felt her skin start to blister and her body hair singe. She emptied the remains of her clip into the monster before in dawned on her that the bullets were actually vaporizing before they hit it!!
Her entire cabin was now an inferno, blazing around her and catching her hair on fire. Through all this, the horrid creature kept advancing on her, like Satan Himself come to claim her.
"Itmach re bashktok Aria, ne? " the thing belched, laughing hoarsely.
Yvonne didn't even have time to comprehend why she couldn't understand the monster now clutching her throat before her brain charred away into ash.
* * *
Laura paced back and forth in her room like a frantic tiger. Chris thought she'd come over all jealous at the news of a new lover for Fairchild, but what did he know! She stopped, flopping down on her back onto her firm bed. She remembered fondly the immense fun she had when David was alive! Absently, Laura reached under her blouse and roughly squeezed an enormous breast. Ohhh, David, she thought lustily. Now there was a man! The only man ever able to pin her down. The only male with enough balls, cock and muscle to satisfy her vastly increased desire!
Laura shivered in near ecstasy at the vivid memories. She tore her top off and pinched her rising nipples with thousands of pounds of force.
Laura had begun to imagine her raging libido as a vicious, demanding little animal deep inside her belly. Half of the time it was merely prowling around, sharpening its claws against her invulnerable but hungry womb. The other half of the time, however, it screamed at her to satisfy it, gnashing its teeth and causing her sensitive parts to swell and moisten with but a stray thought! Sometimes she believed it would drive her crazy with lust; she often wondered how Fairchild, who had a similar libido, handled the frustration when Laura and Chris were not around.
Laura had ripped her pants off now, too, and was frigging away at herself with reckless abandon. Thoughts of the hours and hours of continual climaxing under the salacious care of David and Fairchild were cascading upon her eager imagination, forcing her body to elevate her hips hungrily, burning needfully for Fair's smooth female fist or David's raging penis!
And now it looks as though her Goddess has found another super man! Oh, Lord, the very thought was driving Laura mad with wet desire! Her hand buzzed almost invisibly against her dripping cunt, her other hand reaching underneath her ass to pull open her clenching vagina. Sweet and sour steam rose from her overheated pussy, smelling of cherries, musk, and honey.
When David died so horribly, Fairchild was beside herself with grief. Laura had felt badly, too, but mostly because the loss hurt Fair so much. Actually, Laura thought guiltily, her major concern after the shock of David's death wore off was where she and Fairchild were going to find another real man!
At that very moment, the door to Laura's bedroom opened. Ashamed at her last thought, Laura's hands flew down to her sides just as if she were still twelve years old and her father had walked in on her!
"What??" snapped Laura guiltily, looking at the open doorway. She saw the form of her beloved Fairchild standing there, smiling!
Fairchild raised her eyebrows and grinned, looking down at Laura's crotch meaningfully.
Laura looked down then, too, and saw steam still rising from her very swollen and dark labia. Her clitoris was so large and hard it visibly pulsed just past her major lips! She imagined her little beast inside licking its chops.
Fairchild's grin nearly split her face in two. "Well, hello!" she giggled. "Can I, you know, do anything for you?"
Her silky voice alone caused Laura's inflamed pussy to spasm strongly. Gasping, her eyes becoming big as pie plates, Laura felt her insistent desires transmitted directly to her swollen clit through Fair's wonderful voice!
"Don't you want to finish the job, Laura?" Fair cooed, her own nipples hardening.
Laura gave a short series of gasps as each word that fell from her lover's lips seemed to land directly upon her sex! Oh, how she had missed her lover's touch!
Fairchild began to catch on. She sidled over to where Laura lay twitching, talking along the way in an even, sultry tone.
"Why, whatever is the matter, honey?" she said huskily.
"Unnggh..." Laura moaned, her hips rising again.
"Do you," Fairchild continued, watching the spasms her voice alone was creating, "do you want me to leave you with your talented fingers?"
Her hands still at her sides, Laura was panting in quick, mewing breaths. Her eyes were staring at her Goddess's full red lips, following their every move.
Fairchild slowly leaned in closer, bending over at her waist.
"Or, perhaps..."
"Ohhhh..." groaned Laura.
"...you would like..."
"...ohgodohgodohgod..."
"...to..."
"(PANT! PANT! PANT!)"
By now Fairchild's lips barely missed touching Laura's blushing ear.
"...come..!"
"AAAUUUGGHHHOHGODCOMINGGG," Laura screamed! Her hips convulsed over the bed, completely beyond her control. The mattress beneath her bunched up as her powerful hands followed blind passion.
Breathlessly, very excited herself, Fairchild continued whispering into her friend's ear, extending her orgasm into a long, slow burn.
"That's it girl, come for me, come for me, girl. Come for your Fairchild, that's it, let me see what you can do..."
"Oohhhh, Fairrrr..." Laura purred, her dancing hips finally resting on the nearly folded bed.
Fairchild struggled to contain her own sex drive. She very much wanted to hop into bed with her beautiful, busty femme right now, but she was afraid what would happen if Seth walked in on them!
She had yet to tell her beloved Guardian about her extended physical relationships. He seemed a tolerant man, but he was human, and humans were rarely immune to the pangs of jealousy.
Fortunately, he was not in the house right now. Since he had some special surprise to buy anyway, he parted from her to go to the big island and, incidentally, grab a burger. Luckily, he had worn his recently purchased street clothes underneath his armor.
Still, it was far preferable to break the news to him herself rather than have him step in just as Laura and she were pawing each other, so Fairchild somewhat shakily stood up straight and adjusted her skirt.
Laura, still a little high from her orgasmic rush, tried to focus on Fairchild.
"So," she slurred, "when do I get to meet him, huh?"
Fairchild beamed. She had hoped that Laura would be this accepting.
"Soon, lover, soon. He'll be here in a while."
Fairchild reached over and fondled the closest one of Laura's huge mammaries.
"Now go put something on top of these, and the rest of you, too," she teased.
"What?" leered Laura, sitting up. "You mean he should get to know me as a person before we jump him?"
A tremor of worry crossed Fairchild's mind. This wasn't quite the Laura she was used to. Maybe she really was concerned and just showed it differently than Chris.
"Don't go too heavy on him at first, dear," cautioned Fairchild with a smile. "He's not used to us super girls just yet," she half-joked.
This set off a little warning bell in Laura's head, but she pushed it down.
"Well, anyway, I hope he gets here soon. Remember, we agreed that I'd have to approve all of your lovers!" snickered Laura.
This was getting a bit too weird for Fairchild. She and Laura had no such agreement. She was beginning to recognize jealousy...or something...in this particular human, too.
"Fair," called Chris from the kitchen, "I just saw a green meteor outside. Hopefully, that's him!"
With a bizarre sense of foreboding, Fairchild left Laura to dress and strode out into the kitchen.
The Guardian ambled in from the back kitchen door in full armor, carrying a dark green sack. He set the sack down on the dining table. Chris walked over to it.
"Is it anything that needs to be refrigerated, sir?" he asked.
"No, thank you, Chris," the Guardian replied easily.
Laura heard this from her room as she was slipping on black jeans. Chris was calling him Ôsir'? Chris never even called David Ôsir'!
Back in the kitchen Chris watched as the two lovers, one barely dressed, the other fully armored, strenuously hugged the other. Chris felt an odd mixture of emotions he could only call Ôwistful envy'. It amazed him, though, how quickly he had accepted the Guardian...Seth...into his life.
"Sir, you know you don't have to go out to eat if you don't want to," Chris said after they separated. "We always have something here, and it would be a nice change to cook for somebody who needs to eat!"
All three laughed a little.
"Chris, his name's Seth. You don't have to call him Ôsir' all the time," chided Fairchild.
But Chris shook his head and looked at the armored figure before him. He lowered his voice, emphasizing his sincerity.
"After how I treated him yesterday, Fair, I think he deserves some formality from me," said Chris. After a short pause he held out his hand to the Guardian. "I would prefer it. If you don't mind," he finished.
The Guardian took his hand without hesitation. "I understand," was all he said.
They had just finished shaking hands when Laura walked into the room.
All heads turned in her direction, and there they stayed.
Her black jeans were so tight the seams of her crotch fell screaming into her gap and one could nearly read the date of the nickel in her pocket. Up top she wore a white nylon blouse so thin her casaba-sized breasts were clearly visible, as, naturally, she was braless. Both her socks and her lipstick were the same shade of vaginal pink. To top it off, while she had fastened the top button of her blouse, it seemed she had forgotten to do anything with the rest of them.
The turgid silence was broken when a stitch in Chris' pants popped.
Fairchild began to speak, cleared her throat, then started again. "Ummm...Laura, this is the Guardian. Guardian, this is the Laura I spoke so much about."
Knowing, therefore, that he could trust her, Seth let his armor dissolve before offering her his hand.
"Hello, Laura. My real name is Seth."
"Charmed," said Laura a little vacantly. She could hardly believe her eyes. This was the man who had the stamina to win her lover over? He was fairly short, scrawny, and not exactly Ôhandsome', closer to Ôdistinctive-looking'.
She took his hand. After pumping it a couple of times, she gave it a little squeeze. Not even enough to crush pumice...just enough to make his bones rub together a bit. She saw him wince.
And just at that moment a cold seed of contempt was planted in a rich bed of hurt and jealousy inside her.
He was weak, like any other man. Only his ring made him special. Without it, he was walking tissue paper. Laura could place her middle finger behind her thumb and crack his head open with a tweak.
Laura was not typically good at hiding her inner feelings. Anybody who knew her well could usually read her like a book.
Fairchild and Chris exchanged worried glances.
"Well," Seth began, rubbing his right hand gingerly, "I'm sure we'll work well together for as long as I'm here, Laura. I look forward to it."
"So do I," said Laura, smiling.
Fairchild went cold. Chris hastily interrupted.
"Uh, Fair, earlier today I received a sort of strange report from our Melbourne branch. It probably isn't anything other than equipment failure or something, but I'd like to be able to keep in contact with you wherever you're going. You, too, Laura," he added pointedly.
Laura didn't stop smiling sweetly at Seth. "Oh, I'm not going anywhere," she said.
"...um, good...okay...anyway, Fair, here's one of our Ôsatellite beepers'. So long as you stay on the Earth's surface we should have no problems sending you a Morse message should anything come up," said Chris, handing her both a fist-sized matte black device and an uncertain look.
"Where am I supposed to put this, Chris?" Fairchild asked.
Seth reached and removed it from Chris' hand.
"I'll carry it within my armor," said Seth.
"You understand Morse code, sir?" asked Chris, not really surprised.
"Fluently," assured Seth.
"Okay, then," said Chris, still watching Laura out of the corner of his eye. "You two have a good time, wherever you're going. Keep in touch," he added.
"Thanks," said Seth. A streamer extended out from his ring and latched onto the green bag on the table, drawing it speedily into his hand. He powered up his armor.
"Ready?" he asked Fairchild.
"Yes," she replied.
"Then we're off. Just follow me, love. ÔBye, Chris. Nice to finally meet you, Laura."
Hand in armored hand, the pair left the house via the front door.
Adjusting the air conditioning, Chris was startled to hear Laura reply one full minute after Seth and Fairchild had left.
"Nice to meet you,too..." she hissed very quietly.
* * *
Seth and Fairchild played their way across the sky. Just before leaving Hawaii's airspace they chased a bewildered flock of seagulls, soaring and diving, laughing when the birds scolded them. Later, they challenged each other to numerous tests of flying skill.
During these, Fairchild was pretty sure that she was the more graceful of the pair, and Seth agreed; her swoops and dives sparkled with heart-wrenching, natural beauty.
On the other hand, Seth was capable of positively mechanical precision; he could keep his body within one tenth of one inch from the surface of the ocean forever, whereas Fairchild tended to get her tits wet!
After a while, they both settled down to actually going somewhere. Seth had spread a green field over them both so they could converse.
"Where are we going, Seth, and what's in the bag?" asked Fairchild eagerly, flying so that her firm chest pressed into his back plate.
"North, and never you mind," he replied mock-sternly.
Fairchild giggled. "I know we're going north, my little verdant one. What are we going to do when we get...north?" she said.
His helm turned to look in her general direction as if to say, "...your little verdant one?!" but instead he turned back.
"To blow bubbles," he teased.
She giggled again and whopped him upside the head with enough force to dent in a car door.
"Just wait and you'll find out," he said, unfazed.
She sighed dramatically.
"I'll fly ahead of you and let you look up my skirt if you'll tell me," she said vampishly.
In reply a disturbingly solid-looking green hand flowed out of his lower back and reached under her skirt. Fairchild yelped in surprise as it unerringly found a tender spot and gave her a pinch.
"I can already see up your skirt, lover. But thanks," he said.
Blissfully amazed, Fairchild wondered just how he did that!
Some hours later found them both standing on a spectral plain of endless hard-packed snow. It was night, as it had been for months here deep in the Arctic. The stars flashed like millions of bright, frigid diamonds in the wide bowl of the sky above, illuminating the landscape with a unique white light in which both of the lovers could see perfectly well.
Despite standing on freezing snow in her bare feet Fairchild was, of course, quite comfortable. Her red skirt looked black as it waved gently in the stiff breeze running across the ice.
"It is so peaceful here," she said quietly.
"Yes...it's one of my favorite spots, back on Ômy' Earth," said Seth just as reverently.
"It's almost like an alien landscape," she added.
"Indeed. It reminds me well of Europa."
She was confused at the reference. "You mean Europe?" she asked.
"No, Europa."
She looked at him, shaking her head slightly without understanding.
"One of the moons of Jupiter," he explained, turning towards her.
Her eyes widened. That Europa?!
"You've been to Jupiter?" she asked, a little struck.
"Yes," he said, surprised himself. "You haven't, then?"
"No, it's a little far, I guess. I've been to the Moon..."
"How long does it take you to get there?" he asked.
She considered. "About twenty minutes, maybe less..."
He nodded. "That explains it, then. We...the Guardians I mean... have to be able to travel faster than light."
She gaped. "You can travel faster than light?"
"Yeah, it would take far too long to patrol the solar system, otherwise."
She simply stood there.
"You can travel faster than light??" she repeated.
Seth laughed. "Yes! Why, was there someplace you wanted to go?"
Her jaw nearly hit the snow.
"You could take me somewhere faster than..."
"Light."
"...light?!"
"Yes," he chuckled, barely able to contain himself.
Fairchild's head spun. Would it be possible? Would she dare? She could go back to Velor! She could still have a Veloran child!!
She could see her father...
"Wow," she breathed.
As she fantasized, however, reality came pouncing down upon her. They wouldn't want her back. Her father might be pleasantly surprised, but no one else would. Veloran Protectors are exiled heroes, for better or worse.
And to want natural childbirth on a planet that abhorred anything but vat grown embryos...she would be a pariah.
Of course, the Arions would like nothing better than to have the infamous Aurora out of commission for a while. Count on them to take advantage of that!
"Aurora."
She blinked, snapping out of her reverie.
"Seth, did you call me Aurora?" she asked, looking around her.
"No," he said gently. Fairchild found him pointing high up over her shoulder.
Turning and looking up, she sighed in wonder as the Northern Lights danced tremulously in the heavens above them. Cascading ribbons of red and yellow light burned coldly across the stars. Occasionally her super hearing could pick up a crackle as the solar winds crashed into the Earth's magnetic field, lighting up the sky.
Suddenly she saw a glassy orb pass in front of the colorful lights! Seemingly very close, the transparent ball floated impossibly without any means of support. Then, in surreal slow motion, the orb collapsed in upon itself, soundlessly crumpling without shattering until it was a floating half-shell.
Astounded and mystified, Fairchild turned her head toward Seth and asked, "Did you see that, Seth? What do..."
She stopped when she saw her armored love holding a pink and blue bottle in one hand, and a tiny plastic wand in the other.
"Sometimes they stay whole, almost forever," he said tenderly, as bubbles streamed out of the wand seemingly by themselves.
Too moved even to laugh, Fairchild watched with a rising joy in her heart as the soap bubbles froze instantly. Some of them remained whole; these were drifting off in the constant wind, carried further and further up until they became as the stars themselves.
Tears were in her eyes as she experienced the beauty both of the sparkling spheres catching the light of the Aurora Borealis and of the gift of sharing Seth was offering her. The stars blurred and she wiped at her face.
"You really were going to blow bubbles," she said, her voice rich with her feelings.
"Did I lie?" he chided.
His left gauntlet warming the bottle of solution so it would not freeze in the sub-zero temperatures, he dipped the wand into the liquid again. Raising it into the air, he let the wind create more of his small children. The bubbles pranced dizzily, swirling into the night.
Fairchild watched them start on their new life, following them with her eyes far longer than any normal human could.
She again turned to face him. He put the wand back into the bottle and closed the cap, placing the whole thing back into the bag he had created earlier and setting it onto the ground.
Walking towards each other, they simultaneously wrapped their arms around the other's waist or chest. Fairchild heard the wind softly crooning until she realized with a start that the sound was issuing from her own mouth. She also heard Seth breathing deeply behind his helmet.
"Ooh, lover," she almost sang, "I am a different woman when I'm around you. I almost don't recognize myself sometimes..."
"We are both part of each other now," Seth whispered. "Even if we should never see each other again, that will always be. I guess that's the scariest and most wonderful thing about love."
He looked up into her face, catching her vivid blue eyes.
"At least, it scares the hell outta me," he said, barely joking.
Fairchild gasped as she felt his armored hands touching her backside. He had heated his hands! They were hot enough to melt lead, yet the contrast between the fantastic heat and the bitter cold on her skin was magically stimulating.
Her nipples rose dramatically as he caressed her very firm glutes with his searing hands. He used his incredible strength to spread her tight cheeks and massage them. Then he ran a hand down between them, lightly stimulating her Ôbackdoor' with the glowing heat.
Fairchild euphorically heard the crackle of her lubrication freezing instantly as it left her body when suddenly she also heard an annoying chirping noise.
Both she and Seth slumped together with a frustrated groan when they realized the beeper was signaling them!
They paused as one to listen to the Morse code message.
E.M.E.R.G.E.N.C.Y. S.T.O.P. D.E.N.V.E.R. T.H.R.E.A.T.E.N.E.D. B.Y. N.U.C.L.E.A.R. B.O.M.B. S.T.O.P. L.I.S.T.E.N. T.O. S.H.O.R.T.W.A.V.E. 1.0.P.O.I.N.T.3.6.2.6. S.T.O.P. M.E.S.S.A.G.E. .R.E.P.E.A.T.S...
Instantly stepping back, Seth created a towering antenna out of nothing and planted it both into the snow and into his armor. He also created a speaker so Fairchild could hear what his ring received.
An eerie voice spoke underneath the hiss of the background noise as his antenna picked up the weak signal far better than any Earth technology could accomplish.
"People of the United States," spoke the even male voice. "This is the Russian Communist Liberation Front. In order to enforce what is right and necessary upon the peoples of this planet, we of the RCLF demand the immediate release of the sixteen political prisoners currently being unjustly held in the Leavenworth Federal Prison for having committed no crime other than espousing what is right. To insure our comrades their freedom, we have placed somewhere in Denver, Colorado a rather small nuclear device. If all of the prisoners are not released by April 5th,1400 hours Denver time, we will detonate the device in the name of Mother Russia, killing instantly five hundred thousand people and poisoning a million more. We are not bluffing. We will not fail. Demand of your government the release of our prisoners immediately, or their inaction will kill you and your children."
Then the message began to repeat.
Fairchild could hardly believe her ears!
"Seth," she said aghast, "that was an Arion! That's the kind of accent they have! I can't believe they'd actually do this!"
Seth thought it had sounded Russian, but after a moment's thought (and a quick consultation with his ring) understood that it did not match any accent spoken by humans.
"Well," he said firmly, "that makes it easy."
They looked into each other's eyes.
"Let's get them," growled Fairchild!
* * *
The Denver skyline came into view, almost nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Seth had enveloped Fairchild with a protective field so her clothes would not tear away in the Mach winds. With that slight concern out of the way they had made very good speed.
He dropped that field now but left on the one that allowed them to talk to each other over the rushing air.
"Will you be able to detect the bomb, Seth?" asked Fairchild, concerned.
"Probably not, unfortunately. Not unless it was very leaky and I was within a half-mile of it. Or maybe if it was out in the open," he guessed.
"Neither of those is very likely," she said.
"I didn't think so," he said.
But this whole situation wasn't very likely, she thought to herself. What would possess the Arions to take such an explosively direct hand in human affairs? Wouldn't that be seriously risking notice by The Powers That Be? What had changed?
Seth was still trying to work out how to spot a Ôrather small nuclear device' when his ring shouted inside his head!
"WARNING: TWO ALIEN INTERCEPTORS DISGUISED AS TERRAN FIGHTER JETS APPROACHING RAPIDLY AT 134 MARK 45 AND 140 MARK 33."
"Fair..." he began.
"I hear them," she replied, spinning around in mid-air. "I thought those didn't sound like real fighters..."
"TIME TO INTERCEPT: 36 SECONDS," volunteered his ring.
"I'll take the one on the right!" she shouted.
"Copy that," he replied.
Fairchild tightened her fabulous legs and blazed off in the direction of one of the alien craft. She knew the craft was probably armed with something nasty so instead of playing chicken with it she flew evasively toward it.
Something that looked a lot like an F-18 Hornet to the untrained eye roared past her, the wake buffeting her body. She turned herself around and pursued the Ôairplane'.
Even before it had turned to face her the craft launched two missiles no bigger than Fairchild's relaxed forearm. With alarming speed and dexterity both missiles started tracking her position! Weaving erratically at first the warheads settled down to level flight and made a beeline for her.
She accelerated mightily, heading almost directly towards the missiles. When she was within one hundred yards of them she pulled up sharply. Her skirt flapped madly in the wind as she again leveled out and headed for the alien craft. The two missiles doggedly pursued her but had trouble keeping up with the powerful Veloran.
Spotting the craft below her she fell into a power dive, almost meeting the missiles head on but flashing past them. She could see the Arion pilot checking above himself and start to panic as he saw the Veloran Protector knife straight at him!
Fairchild kept accelerating, her long blond hair streaming in the hurricane winds. She did not fly so fast as to lose the missiles, however. She heard them sizzle behind her, tracking her every move.
She knew she could destroy the fake airplane by herself, but she did not want missiles dropping onto a populated area. She focused on the weaving craft's port wing.
WHAM!
The wing sliced raggedly off the craft as Fairchild's body passed right through it! Less than a second later, the twin missiles impacted the damaged fighter with a terrific explosion!
The shockwave hit her with far more force than she would have guessed. Those really were anti-Veloran warheads! She started scanning the sky for Seth, worrying about him.
Seth's enemy had launched a missile right away as it had approached him. Instantly, a panel that had not existed before opened up on the front of his armor and a miniature Gatling gun peeked out. The gun tracked the missile and fired a barrage of green shots at it, creating a deadly screen of energy.
Even though the missile was still a quarter-mile away when it was hit, the resulting explosion engulfed Seth and hurtled him towards the ground far below.
After losing four thousand feet of altitude, Seth oriented himself and shook off the effects of the surprising explosion. He was startled to see that not only had the alien fighter survived the blast but it was in pristine condition and coming right for him!
Seth gritted his teeth. He couldn't use brute force without seriously endangering the pilot, so it was time to use his wits.
Extending his left hand in the craft's direction, he created a wing and tail assembly that fitted over the fighter's own set perfectly. The craft was now no longer touching the atmosphere on the surfaces that counted for flight; those controlling surfaces were now quite green!
Seth adjusted the new, slightly larger rudder and ailerons and caused the fighter to smoothly bank away from him. Seth flew to stand directly on the canopy of the vehicle now in his control. He saw the pilot, currently oblivious of his new proximity, trying desperately to determine what was wrong with her aircraft!
Seth bent down and knocked on the clear canopy.
Startled out of her wits, the pilot looked up at an alien form in high-tech armor!
He met her eyes, and held them.
He could not read minds per se , nor could he project thoughts, technically. Nevertheless, the pilot seemed to understand the gesture well enough when the Guardian merely jerked his thumb behind him several times.
With severely shaking hands she brought the throttle back on the craft. The Guardian's ring made all the necessary adjustments to keep the plane in level flight as it greatly lost velocity. She then released the safety catches on the canopy and slid the whole mechanism backwards until she could stand up in the wind.
Quaking both from cold and tremendous fear, the Betan woman avoided the piercing eyes of her enemy. Instead, she screwed up her courage and whipped out her combat knife!
"Hasa hask! " she screamed, finally meeting her foe's eyes as she thrust the blade at him!
She stopped instantly. The knife, short of connecting with its target, fell from her slack hand as the Guardian's eyes cut into her soul. Her shoulders sank with defeat as she realized she was dead. She really didn't want to die. In fact, dying scared her deeply. But when you are a Beta in the Arion Navy, you do as you are told or you find out what is worse than death. She wanted to close her eyes but found she didn't have the will to do even that.
"Please," she pleaded in heavily accented English, "with it get over...with me not play."
Seth was interested that she could understand English at all. This gave him an idea.
"Listen...listen to me!" he ordered. "Where is the bomb?" he asked slowly.
She thought of fighting his will, then could not get up the energy to do so. She let the answer slide unhindered out of her.
"Tabor Center," she sighed with relief and despair.
"What?" asked Seth.
"Tabor Center, park-ing," she elaborated, clearly not understanding the words herself.
Seth had not been to Denver more than once, so he did not recognize the location she gave. However, he firmly believed she thought it was the correct answer.
Seth concentrated, gradually stopping the fighter in mid-air using his ring. At that point Fairchild flew up, lightly landing on the opposite wing.
"Glad to see you, love," said Seth sincerely. "We've got to find someplace called the Tabor Center. The bomb is in the parking area."
He only then noticed that her blue top was completely missing, her beautiful firm breasts fully exposed.
"Do you want something to cover those?" he smiled, pointing casually.
Fairchild looked down and held her tits as if noticing them for the first time.
"Oh," she exclaimed lightly. "Well, if you're going to provide the Ôsomething', I'd love it!"
Instantly her shoulders, neck, and upper torso looked like they had been sprayed with green liquid latex. It hid virtually nothing, but it did press her breasts in against her ribs, somewhat.
While Fairchild massaged her bound tits and moaned slightly, Seth turned to the Arion.
"What should I do with you?" he asked, more to himself than to her.
Fear blossomed anew in the pilot's features.
"Do you want me to set you free? To hide on Earth?"
"I doubt you can trust her to stay out of trouble," called Fairchild.
Seth looked into the Arion's eyes. He saw what he needed to see inside.
"We can trust her, I think," he said.
He set the plane down on a fallow field. He and Fairchild stepped off. He held out his hand to the Arion woman.
She straightened and refused his help, stepping off the wing herself.
Seth smiled inside his armor.
"Go. Run," he said, motioning her away.
She stood stock still, facing him and Fairchild.
"You probably think I'm going to kill you as you run, don't you," said Seth quietly. He approached her carefully. She stood tall again but was trembling badly.
He reached for and took her hand.
"What's your name, pilot," he asked her.
"P-Penska," she stammered.
He nodded his thanks. "Penska...you can trust me. Trust me."
Magically, she visibly relaxed. Seth held her hand for another ten seconds, then let her go. Gratitude flooded her face. Turning, but reluctant to leave for a completely different reason now, she finally ran off towards the foothills.
Fairchild shook her head in amazement.
"You're not using the ring when you do that, are you," she asked.
"When you believe something completely, that belief is infectious," he replied cryptically. Seeing her skeptical expression, he added, "No, I'm not using the ring."
"Then how..."
"Later. Let's get ourselves a bomb, first."
* * *
All routes out of Denver were jammed with cars. The shortwave broadcast meant that many ham and shortwave radio operators knew of the threat the instant it was made, and word traveled quickly. Despite numerous government announcements about the unlikelihood of the danger being real, panic had set in severely.
Seth was at a loss as to finding the Tabor Center, but Fairchild knew exactly what to do. She swooped down cinematically in front of one of the remaining young males in the city, simply asked him, waited for him to stop jabbering, stroked his neck, said thank you, and flew off.
"It's an upscale shopping mall in the heart of downtown," she informed Seth.
Seth chortled. "See? You have your own very effective methods."
"I know I do," she winked.
Despite the scare, when they found the three story structure they noticed that most of the stores were still open. They found the underground parking garage, flabbergasting the attendant inside.
Fairchild asked him, "How many levels does this garage have?"
After finding his tongue, the man said "Uh, four...uh, plus valet," with a strong Pakistani accent.
Fairchild looked apprehensive. She scanned the area around and below her.
"I don't see anything that looks like a bomb. No big metal canisters, nothing. Even inside the few cars here," she said, worry creeping into her voice.
"It wouldn't have to be big, would it? The Arions are pretty advanced," said Seth.
"True..." said Fairchild, unconvinced.
They left the attendant to gape and went deeper into the musty garage.
As they crept cautiously Fairchild mentioned the things that had been bothering her.
"This just doesn't make sense. If the Arions felt they could plant a nuclear bomb and detonate it just to make countries suspicious of each other they would have done so long before this."
Seth said nothing, scanning their surroundings furiously.
"And why would a pilot know where the bomb was being held?" she continued.
"She believed she was telling the truth," reminded Seth.
"Okay, why would Command tell her where the bomb was being held?"
Seth had no logical answer for this. "What are you getting at?" he asked.
"Well, let's see," Fairchild said, arranging her thoughts. "The Arions told a pilot the location of a bomb it's unlikely they've planted. She's not lying about having been told a location, so while there's no bomb..."
Just then numerous flashes of light burst around them as many individual electronic cloaking devices deactivated at once!
"...there are Arions!" growled one of the bigger ones!
END CHAPTER #3
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