Beware the Swarm - Part 6
BY: Snakeman
Mae Carver awoke in a warm embrace. It had been two nights since T'nel rescued her from Lord Glattus' dungeon and after Lucas had picked them up and the ship not so mysteriously lost main power again as they tried to leave. It seemed as though Lunara wasn't done with them, even if Lucas couldn't identify the source of the interference.
As they huddled together on the floor in the small space between the front and rear seats Mae made a funny face as she wondered how Lucas did it. Using cushions from the seats as pillows they had fallen asleep packed like sardines with T'nel in the middle only to awaken in a spooning position. With T'nels right arm draped over her waist she couldn't help but wonder just how Lucas managed to get his hand under her pullover sweatshirt and have a hold of her modest sized right tit through her cotton bra.
They had awoken the same way the morning before and T'nel explained quietly as he lay still sleeping that his almost extinct race were basically all sex addicts. Jealousy wasn't a word in their vocabulary. One could fall in love and have a life mate, but both were free to pursue sex from any source. To them love and sex were two completely separate parts of life. Along with their mate they could have sex with other members of their mate's family or anyone else. As long as all were consenting adults anything was acceptable. That included a man having three way sex with his mate and her mother or daughter from a different mate. Or a woman could have sex with all her mate's brothers at the same time.
It was the morning after the two moons aligned and they were at the bottom of a lake not far from the capital as Mae rolled her eyes while she pulled the green man's green hand from her right boob and pulled away. As she stood up she quietly chuckled as just like the morning before Lucas' arm draped over T'nel. She shook her head as Lucas' right hand first came to a rest on T'nel's boob, then started to wander south. Mae grinned as she moved into the copilot's seat while watching as Lucas' hand moved across naked blue flesh. Down to her waist then over her right hip to her upper thigh. Mae wondered if he was faking being asleep as his hand moved to the front of her thigh, then his fingertips found their way between T'nel's toned blue legs. Then, just like the morning before, when his fingers started their northward climb her right hand quickly grabbed his wrist and brought his hand back to her right boob where her hand held his in place.
Maybe they were both faking Mae thought as she checked the sensor logs for any communications mentioning Princess Stara or her sisters. In the two days since her rescue and with not much else to do T'nel had showed the Earth teen a few of the controls. And with her eidetic memory she knew just which buttons to push to check the logs. T'nel had also explained that when men and women slept together on his world it was normal for their hands to wander in the night. And for them to awaken ready for another round of intense sex. Mae, not seeing anything listed in the log, chuckled again as she wondered again just how big the green man's cock was. T'nel had hinted they were similar to O'tean males in that regard and by the tent in his zip up jumpsuit the morning before Mae figured he had to be a good foot long.
With nothing much to do the day before she had spent a good amount of time wondering about him in that way. It also didn't help that he seemed to have several erections throughout the day. Seemed every time he saw T'nel bend over or move quickly, which would make her boobs wobble, he became excited. Mae found it amusing T'nel knew this and refused to put clothes on, insisting it was his problem if he couldn't control his bodily functions.
With Lucas' hand massaging T'nel's boob and the bulge in his jumpsuit pressed against her toned backside Mae shook her head and arched her eyebrows as she turned her attention back to the sensor logs. It wasn't unexpected not to find what she was looking for. Not finding a listing meant civilian organizations didn't know where she was, military transmissions would have been encoded. "UUUFFF." Mae chuckled as T'nel let out a disgusted grunt, just like the morning before when awakening with Lucas feeling her up. Mae chuckle with the knowledge T'nel wasn't so much upset as a little frustrated. It seemed it wasn't the first time the blue warrior woke up with Lucas fondling her and it most likely wouldn't be the last.
"In just a short time the clock will run out for all who would claim the crown.." Mae looked at the ship's control consol as the radio came to life and several of the circuits came to life once more.
Lord Glattus pulled up and buttoned his trousers under the watchful gaze of two of General Carpenters guards. With the intense storm lasting days Carpenter couldn't have him brought up to is ship and locked in the brig. So instead Glattus was moved to another bedroom after it had been thoroughly inspected for secret passages. There were also two guards at a time assigned to be with him at all times, even as he slept or used the head.
The windows were open and the wind was still blowing fairly hard, though it was diminishing by the hour. The prince hummed a nice happy tune as he dressed with the knowledge there was no way Princess Stara could have been trudging home through that storm and even if she had made it to this side of the mountains she was now too far away to make it here on foot. In a few hours the crown would be his and only an act of the Goddess could keep it from him now. Except maybe those damned revered ones, and if he got his hands on them they would suffer for what they did. Escaping was one thing, but to destroy priceless artifacts including the old scrolls was unforgivable.
Glattus checked himself in the mirror to make sure he looked his best. The crowd gathering outside would expect nothing less from their new king. Countless pictures of him would be taken and he would look his best in all of them.
Out of the corner of his eye he spied the young and pretty short haired brunette standing at ease near the door. Her hands clasped behind her back, her legs slightly apart and her nice C-cup chest thrust out. He was slightly annoyed she stood in the bathroom as he took his morning wiz, but as he showered he seemed to notice her constant gazes. It wasn't uncommon for young women to offer themselves to him for royal favors and if there was time, and the 6'6" muscle bound guard wasn't with her, he might explore her interest. But there was business to be settled.
The girl and his other shadow followed close behind as he stood proud and walked out of the bedroom. His first stop would be the dining room for a bite to eat. His next stop would be the library where he would watch the morning news shows. As the sun reached it's zenith he would the walk out into the courtyard and the cheering crowd. He would climb the steps to the podium and make his claim for the throne.
Business was good for a mid morning as Melody Paulson plied her trade in the blow booth working the biggest cock she'd ever seen, let alone sucked. Big manly hands roughly massaged her B-cup tits as she struggled just to get the pink tip into her mouth. The cock had to be a good 14 inches long and barely fit through the hole in the wall. The petite 5'1" 102 pound redhead pumped with both hands as the big man on the other side of the wall neared his climax.
In the lobby of the customer side, the very well known Alexander Gratis shook hands and exchanged pleasantries as he waited for his first officer to finish. Having already finished himself the smuggler captain passed the moments by having a few words with his fans. Women may love him, but men admired him. His life on the edge was a dream for many a bored husband. Fun, excitement and young women throwing themselves at you were the stories the men wanted to hear.
"AAAA..WHAT THE.." The giggling shrieks of a blow girl let Alexander know Titus was just about finished. Another honey glazed honey is how Titus would put it. "STOP.STOP.." the young girl laughingly screamed.
Melody wiped the cum out of her eyes and laughed as she looked herself over. Never in her life had she seen this much cum at one time, not even on the farm where her cousin gave the horse a hand job on a bet. Cum covered her face and chest and dripped from her nose, chin and tits. Melody had worked whole days in the blowbooth and not seen that much cum from all the men put together.
The clinking sound made the giggling 20 year old girl smile brightly. The big gold coin was the biggest tip she'd ever seen. She and her little brother would eat well for a few days, and maybe be able to get some new clothes as well. Being orphaned at 17 left the burden of raising her now 8 year old brother on her. She managed on what little money her parents left and she could earn until she was old enough for the blow booths. Life wasn't rich, but at least they had a roof over their heads each night.
Titas and Alexander exchanged knowing grins as the big man exited the booth, now came the game. They would wait a moment before leaving to give the girl a moment to clean up, then leave. They would walk around the corner towards where the girls entered and see which one could find the girl first, dinner at a fine restaurant was at stake. Being as big as he was and with the amount of cum he spewed along with a huge tip usually made the girl rush out onto the street and try and identify her customer.
The pair of pseudo celebrities exchanged as few more pleasantries on the way out and headed west, towards the palace. Finding the girl would be more difficult than usual with the streets packed. After the long storm and with the crown to be decided it seemed the whole city was out and about.
People moved out of the way as the two good looking and big men, Alexander was 6 feet tall and the big man Titus was 6'6" feet tall. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me what you're up to?" Titus asked in a worried tone. His friend had been acting strange for days now. Sure he was normally a bit secretive, but he was even more so now. And to Titus it didn't seem to be about Princess Sara's rescue and the fact that it was now known they were the ones that delivered her. Alexander wouldn't have taken the job if he didn't have that covered.
"Let's just say this is one of those cases where the less you and the crew know the better." the evasive captain replied as his eyes searched the sidewalks. "The blonde under the tavern sign."
"WHA!?" Titus shrieked as he now noticed the 40 year old severely overweight woman looking around. The thought made the big man cringe, then chuckle. "She was small with tits almost a handful."
"Just have the men in position just in case." The captain replied as another smile came to his face. "The dark haired girl near the subway."
"Too young." Titus replied as he eyed his prospect. What was Alexander up too? Why did he want men stationed around the palace courtyard ready to cause a diversion on his command? There would be soldiers everywhere. Soldiers looking for weapons. Soldiers looking for Princess Anara or Princess Stara. Soldiers looking for any sign of trouble and ready to quash it quickly. They were smugglers, not thieves.
"How about..?"
"The redhead behind the mailbox." Titus said as he stared at the girl wearing a cloak with the hood up looking back with her red wet tresses clinging to the sides of her freckled face. Titus laughed as when Alexander looked as well she gasped and raced for the subway.
"Seems you won again my big friend." Alexander was trying his hardest to sound like his normally fun loving self, but it was hard to do when your ready to crap your pants. He would give Titus the best dinner the big man could eat, if they were still alive come nightfall. Big payouts require taking big chances and if this one worked out they'd all be set for life.
Around mid morning Anara and her sister stood on the ledge looking out into the distance with tears streaking their cheeks. General Bowman keep insisting there was a way to get Princess Stara into the courtyard at the time, but both girls figured he was just trying to cheer them up. Glattus had won and the crown would soon be on his head and there was nothing they could do about it.
The winds had died down enough for them to start climbing down, but there just wasn't enough time for them to do that and make the trek on foot into the city. "Will Your Highnesses please follow me." the general called to them from 50 feet or so inside the cave.
With nothing to loose now the girls shrugged and reluctantly followed the general and a handful of his guards. As they headed down a tunnel the girls hadn't been down yet Anara was starting to wonder if she and Stara should join the resistance. They would still have influence with their father's closer friends and could sway more members of The House of Lords to cross the lines as well. The move would build the resistance and destroy the monarchy, and their uncle's power. Power he would no doubt use to destroy the sisters, fearing just such a move.
As they approached a large cavern the general stated "We have been developing an advanced weapon's system of our own. 23 years ago a stash of data like the one your ancestor found was located on Audra. This is one of six prototypes we've built for testing. Our plan was to dismantle them and have them taken to an outlying colony for testing, but we had one brought here just for this purpose."
"What the?" Anara gasped as she eyed the strangest chopper she'd ever seem Totally black, most likely for night flying.
"It's armed with air to air and air to ground missiles as well as machine guns. It's nearly invisible to radar and if the calculations a correct it will travel nearly twice the speed of sound." the general proudly boasted. With weapons like this in the rebel arsenal the rebel cause would no longer be committed to just a ground war. This project and the one developing some warp capable space craft were meant to defeat the royal forces. The irony wasn't lost on him that they were now going to use one of them to assure Princess Stara took the crown.
"Helicopters can't fly that fast." Stara replied as she looked wide eyed at the impressive looking aircraft wondering if he could be telling the truth.
"This one can. It carries three. Pilot, co-pilot and a weapons tech. Princess Stara will be sitting in the co-pilot's seat for the flight."
"They'd be shot down." Anara gasped. The air defenses around the capital and the palace would reduce this thing, and her sister, to a pile of junk.
"The shell is a composite material that scatters radar and is bulletproof."
"They have ground to air missiles." Princess Anara growled back. This plan was just too risky. To her letting her uncle get the crown was better than sending her sister off on another suicide mission. The test ship had her praying she hadn't killed her sister, she wasn't about to take that chance again. At least not with both of them relatively safe where they were.
"We have forces already in the capital ready to take out those missile on my command." Bowman replied with an air of confidence. They had been planning a move on the palace for years and just waiting for the right machinery to get the job done, now they had it. To him it seemed strange to use it to help the princesses, but those were his orders. To him it would be easier to just swoop in and kill Lord Glattus and anyone else on the podium trying to claim the throne. "We have a pilot and weapons tech on the way. Princess Stara will be home easily before noon."
Followed by Security Chief Sk'art and a dozen security officers Commander Z'lar marched down the hallway with a stern glare. They had rescued the remaining crew of a crippled human ship and she had confined them to the ship's gym until they could be returned to their own kind. But for some reason her science officer had removed three of them and Z'lar knowing something about her science officer's off duty activities had an idea why and it didn't stand well with her.
Crew members gave way as the angry looking captain marched towards the science lab. With the door locked Z'lar tapped her command pass code into the keypad next to the double sliding doors. As the doors slid open the first sounds were those Z'lar had heard before, human beasts groaning and grunting with animalistic lust.
The noises were coming from the next room, an enclosed area that could be atmospherically isolated from the rest of the ship for bio-molecular research. Three Swarm members in specially built holding containers watched with hunger and lust in their eyes as the group moved to the next door.
The foursome inside froze in place for a moment as the doors slid open. Having used her command pass code to open the doors the security footage would clearly show Sub-commander Gr'tart kneeling and straddling one of the human beasts, his hands gripping her DD tits and his small by O'tean standards cock in her twat. Another beast knelt behind her with his cock up the young scientist's ass while the third stood in front with his in her mouth. Purple hand prints on the sub-commanders butt cheeks showed she'd been slapped on the ass a few times and the one standing had two fistfuls of her white hair indicating she was allowing him to force feed her his member.
"Errr.Commander." Gr'tart squeaked as she pushed herself free of the human beasts and jumped to her feet to stand at attention. The worried looking men moved to stand together against the far wall looking at the numerous guns pointed at them and the ship's commander's angry face.
Z'lar stood with a angry glare for a moment before growling at the guards "Two of you stay and the rest of you take these animals back to the gym."
Z'lar stood glaring at Gr'tart as she stayed at attention while the men quickly gathered their clothes and were escorted away. Z'lar then stepped up close to her young science officer, who though standing at attention wasn't showing signs of concern as she should. Something like this could ruin her career. "And just what do you think you were doing?"
With just Commander Z'lar and to security guards left Gr'tart clenched her jaw in frustration at having her fun interrupted, then in a calm tone replied "Research into inter species sexual customs, Ma'am."
Z'lar gave cross looks at the two female security guards when they chuckled, making them quickly stop. Z'lar then in a move to show dominance over her borderline insubordinate junior officer, she stepped to within arms length of Gr'tart and stood tall with her shoulders back and her chest thrust forward. "I don't think you understand the severity of this situation. I am still considering a court marshal."
"That would be a big mistake..Ma'am." Gr'tart stated with venom to quickly cut her superior off. The junior officer stepped forward in a dominate posture of her own. On Earth to combative individuals would stand nose to nose or with foreheads pressed together. The O'tean equivalent had Z'lar standing tit to tit with her insubordinate junior officer.
Gr'tart's DDs pressed against the taller officer's J-cups as she squinted her eyes and growled "Just before Commander T'nel found you on that primitive human world I had located you on scanners. You and three human beasts on top of each other." She had been at the science station and as the ionization effects wore off she located something very interesting. At that time relaying that information would have gotten her nothing, but now she had a strong bargaining chip.
"Threatening a superior will get you executed."
"Call for a court marshal and I will show evidence in my defense that I did as my superior had done." Gr'tart quickly and curtly replied as she pressed her chest a little harder into Z'lar's.
Z'lar's anger grew as she now pushed her chest harder into Gr'tart's. But the commander knew she had to control herself. With two security persons watching for her to take the first strike would get her brought up on charges. The taller officer squinted her eyes as she growled back. "I wasn't doing research as you call it.In my case it was either do something to keep them from going to get more of their kind.. or kill them."
"And when you testify to that I will enter as evidence Commander T'nel's and your visits to a pleasure planet." Gr'tart answered quickly, then gave one firm press forward with her chest before leaving without being dismissed. And leaving her commander seething in her wake. It was a risky move, but one does not win without pushing. If Z'lar tried to ruin her career and name, she would return the favor.
Z'lar turned to the pair of security officers with a stern expression. "Neither of you is to repeat anything you heard here." Gr'tart might think she had gotten away with this, but Z'lar wasn't about to let the young scientist off that easy. As thoughts of how to handle the situation started forming in her head the alert sounded.
"Even if you can land this thing in the courtyard there will be bullets flying everywhere. She'll be cut to pieces before anyone knows who she is." Anara stated as she stepped in front of the cart holding the new secret weapon. This plan was just too risky in her opinion. It was better to let her uncle have the damned crown than to have Stara shot to pieces.
Tracks had been laid for the cart holding the chopper that now extended out onto a ledge where a big sharge now stood looking for prey down below. The bird would move once they got close, but Princess Stara had another idea. As the two dozen men moving the chopper groaned at having to stop again, Stara's eyes lit up. She looked at the general and speaking as if thinking aloud she asked "How hard would it be to knock out the transmitters that keep the sharges away?"
Princess Anara had a chill run up her spine as her sister asked her question. Sure her sister could talk to small birds and deer, but a sharge? A sharge could carry a human off for dinner. Anara's gaze turned to where everyone was looking, just outside the cave. About a hundred feet away stood a big male sharge, as indicated by his colorful tail feathers. Another chill ran up her spine upon seeing one of the planet's top predators. She turned to her sister thinking this was even a worse idea than the stupid chopper. "No..No way..I forbid it."
"We already have the men there.We could do it quickly.But you are not Lunara." the general replied as he thought aloud. Taking out a soft target like the transmitters would be easy enough. But how was the princess going to ride a sharge. Sure the stories about Lunara said she did it, but those were just stories and she was a goddess.
Ignoring rejections of her plan by the general and her sister, Stara began undressing right there in the cave with dozens of men around. There was no time to go back to the other sections of the cave and change and she couldn't show up wearing a rebel uniform either. "Are you crazy? What are you doing?" Anara gasped as first off was her sister's shirt. At least she had on a bra Anara thought. It was lacy and nearly see through, but it was something.
Ignoring her sister and the stunned looks from the men Stara turned to the general's aide, a young woman a little bigger than herself and wearing a wrap skirt and a button down sweater. "Give me your clothes." she stated more as a request than an order as she held out the uniform top.
"You can't be seriously thinking of letting her try this?" Anara pleaded to the general as the aide looked at him quizzically.
"Your sister's ability to control animals isn't widely known, but it is known to myself and other high ranking officials. If she thinks she can ride that thing I say give her a chance. I will have the men have their guns on the thing just in case." General Bowman replied. He then looked to his shocked aide and ordered "Give her your clothes." He too knew there was no time to go someplace else for them to change.
"What!?" Anara shrieked as the general ordered the men to take up positions up and down the cave while looking away to give the girls a little privacy.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." the aide grunted as she unbuttoned her sweater.
"I can't believe any of this." Anara shrieked as she stood in front of her sister.
"I tell you I can do this. I can feel him. He's waiting for me." Stara calmly replied as she quickly slipped off the uniform trousers. The goddess must have put him there just for her.
Anara threw her arms up and grunted in frustration. She then gave a stern hateful glare at one of the younger soldiers who turned his head to get a peek of the young princess in her lacy bra and panties. The younger lad's head was quickly and roughly turned by the hand of a much bigger and a little older soldier standing next to him.
Moments later Princess Stara slowly approached the big bird as her sister prayed and the men stood with their guns aimed at the huge bird. Her older sister had once again placed her Lunara's tear drop around her neck for luck. "It's okay..I just need a little favor from you." Stara said in a calm low voice as she took small steps toward the skittish bird.
The 10 foot tall bird stood outside the cave looking in with it's wings spread out their full 19 foot span. He eyed the princess and those inside as she moved closer and closer. Stara though had confidence this would work after having chased a wholl away. She could feel the bird's agitation wane as she neared.
Anara and the others watched in awe as the petite princess stepped up to the bird while speaking softly. She petted the birds feathers as he sniffed her and his wings retracted. Then doing what had only been done once in the old stories, she slowly walked around the predator while stroking him. The group stood in wide eyed amazement as the princess climbed up on the bird's back and clutched it around the neck. "The goddess help us all." Anara said softly as the bird turned and spread it's wings, then took flight. Anara prayed for the best as her sister started on her mission armed with the latest data. Data that showed more and more ships invading their territory.
Lord Mark Gratorus squinted as he looked up at the clock in the tower. He stood on the platform as was his duty as the oldest sitting member of The House of Lords. The frail bald 89 year old relied on his 6 foot wooden walking stick with a huge green crystal on top to keep him on his feet. Time was running out for a claimant to walk up the stairs and announce his or her claim.
Off to the left stood the High Priestesses of Lunara, all wearing their pendants. To the right stood a big tent under guards hand picked by the House of Lords that held three doctors also chosen by the Lords. Their job would be to testify to one of the princesses fitness to be queen should one of them arrive in time.
The only others on the stage at that time were General Carpenter standing in the rear with a half dozen of his best soldiers. It would be his job to make sure there was no funny business in these last few moments. And to arrest one of the princesses should she arrive. She would still be allowed to stake her claim just as her uncle. But he could hold up the crown until after several questions he had were answered to his satisfaction or the House overruled him.
Lord Gratorus nearly fell over as he turned towards the palace upon hearing the crowd murmur and cheer when Lord Glattus started his march towards destiny under the watchful care of 8 of general Carpenter's hand picked soldiers.
Glattus walked along the stone path with his head up and chest thrust out. His subjects would expect nothing less of their new king. The guards stayed at the bottom of the stairs as Glattus made his way to the podium.
Glattus gave a short bow of respect to Lord Gratorus, but just a short one. He would show respect, but he was also going to be the king and a king bows to no one. He then stepped up to the microphone and waited as the crowd fell silent. "I Prince Glattus William Elshire, brother of Richard, claim the throne vacated by my brother's murder."
There were cheers and some boos. His men would root out those that were rude later. After a short pause while the crowd numbering in the thousands inside the palace walls and 20 times as many outside reacted. He then looked at the clock to see time getting very short. As smile came to his face as he moved to a place behind Lord Gratorus, yet in front of General Carpenter to await his crown.
His smile didn't last long though. No sooner had he took his waiting spot did a cloaked individual approach the stairs. The guards at the bottom of the stairs looked at each other in confusion as the hooded person waited for them to give way.
"It is not your place to decide if one has a right to stake a claim. That right is reserved for myself and the House." Lord Gratorus barked at the soldiers.
Glattus looked on with hate in his eye as the man, it had to be a man. The figure climbing the stairs was too big to be a woman. At the moment he wasn't too concerned with getting the crown, but this idiot would be dealt with later.
"The hooded man walked up to the microphone and announced "I am a son of King Richard Elsire and as such my claim is stronger than Prince Glattus'. I was born from a former maid in the palace." The crowd stood silent as the man reached for his hood. "I Alexander Gratis, son of Richard Elshire stake claim to the crown."
Glattus saw blood as the crowd went nuts with the unexpected announcement and the hood came off. Titus out in the crowd stood wide eye wondering if his long time friend had gone insane. If Alex was kidding he would die a painful death for this outrage.
"You cannot prove such a claim and you are too old to be a son of my brother." Glattus growled with his eyes getting blood shot very quickly. "I have evidence it was your ship that sent the signal to the satellite that shot down the ship carrying my niece."
"It is my place to question." the old man angrily shot back at the prince.
Meanwhile Carpenter and some of his men quickly stepped forward. "You are under arrest until some matters are resolved." he growled at the smuggler.
"I expected nothing less general." Captain Gratus said in his normally charming way with a slight respectful bow. He then turned to Glattus with a big knowing grin that irritated the prince to no end. "As for my age I was on the Victory as a child." He could see the spark in his uncle's eyes at the ship's name. A ship that ran into a spatial anomaly. A ship documented to have left normal space for mere seconds yet everyone on the ship aged 10 years. Ten years in an alternate dimension in which the fight for survival included eating bugs and creatures that would make most people puke. A 5 year old boy went in and a 15 year old very tough man came out. "My mother was Veronica Gratis, a maid in the palace and as for proof." Alexander yanked several strands of hair from his head and held them out to Lord Gratorus.
One of the doctors came from the tent and took the hairs from the older lord. He placed them in a small device and looked at the readout. His eyes opened wide for a moment, then he nodded to the lord before going back to the tent.
"It's a trick." Glattus argued as he fought with his inner rage not to lash out.
"Again, it is I who will decide whose claim has merit. He may very well be engaged in some trick as you claim. But his DNA sample proves his claim.For the moment." Lord Gratorus stated, first with a stern glare for the prince and then for the smuggler.
Glattus looked up at the clock to see it was almost noon. There was no way he was going to let this scum cheat him out of the throne. As General Carpenter and his men returned to the back of the stage and the smiling bastard took position behind Lord Gratorus the prince formed a fist with both hands. He the took a deep breath as he quickly opened his hands.
There were gun shots, loud pings and three small flashes on the stage. Two flashes aimed at Alexander Gratis' chest and one near Lord Glattus' left leg. The crowd looked around in panic as two gunmen were tossed from towers and a short revered one appeared on the stage holding a glowing sword.
"STAY BACK." Mae shouted as the soldiers started to rush in. She held her blade at Prince Glattus' throat as she looked down everyone.
"I will decide what happens here." the old man insisted again. This time his words were meant for the masked black girl wearing a helmet and her full face shield. Her wearing just a black bra and panties mattered not. She was interrupting his sacred duty.
"This one is pure evil, and if he was truly the one who tried to kill us then I will settle with him as well." Mae stated back as her blade pressed a little harder against Prince Glattus' throat.
"He may very we'll be as you say. But The House will determine the truth. That is our function in this matter." The old man stated as he banged his walking stick on the stage for emphasis. The old lord was getting very agitated by what was going on. This was the forth time in his life the crown had changed hands and he had never heard of anything like this happening.
Mae took a deep breath, then noticed the crowd. They were all kneeling and praying. "HAIL THE REVERED ONE." Titus shouted from out in the crowd. He had to do something to save his friend.
"HAIL THE REVERED ONE." the crowd shouted together.
Titus was about to signal the men to make a diversion when a woman looked up in the sky and shouted "LOOK.SHE HAS RETURNED."
A loud murmur went through the crowd as the giant predator with a rider started dropping down. Mae like the others on the stage stood in amazement as a space was made in the courtyard and the bird landed.
Wide eyes and bowed heads greeted Princess Stara as she jumped off the bird. Her uncle looked on in horror as the angry looking teen started her walk with determination towards the stage and the big bird flew off.
Glattus trembled, but had sense to check the clock. "IT's after noon. Time has expired." he said as he looked to Lord Gratorus.
"Time is expired when I say it has expired." the old man snapped back. He may be old but he wasn't senile. If he announced time had expired after Princess Stara swooped in on a Sharge there would be a riot none of then would live through.
Stara climbed the stairs as General Carpenter moved to meet her. "I hope you understand Princess, but I have to place you under arrest as well."
"I understand." she calmly stated as she walked by him with her chin up and her chest out just like her sister had taught her.
The now very silent crowd stayed on their knees as she stepped up to the microphone. She pulled it down closer to her face and announced "I, Princess Stara Marie Elshire claim my father's crown."
Lord Glatorus banged his walking stick on the stage again and announced "Time has now expired for all claimants to the crown." Of course no one heard for as soon as her announcement was finished the crowd erupted with cheers.
Glattus fumed as he still had the blade at his throat. Lord Gratorus stepped up to Princess Stara and just loud enough to be heard over the crowd said "Sorry princess, but there is still one more matter."
Stara looked towards the tent knowing what he meant. The crowd once again fell silent as Stara started her walk to the last step in her claim, a step no man had to take. "I DEMAND THE RIGHT OF WITNESS." Glattus shouted
"I suggest you shut up." Mae growled as her blade drew the first droplets of blood form the man's neck.
"And that right would only be awarded to the next in line. And I have better manners than that." Captain Gratis answered loudly, getting a round of laughter from the crowd at the prince's expense.
"I WILL WITNESS." a woman's voice from nowhere announced. The crowd went nuts again as another revered one appeared. This one almost a foot taller than the first and totally naked except for the twin holsters on her hips and the rifle blaster strapped to her back.
"Will you question a revered one as witness?" Lord Gratorus asked Prince Glattus in almost a mocking tone. He had had enough of this whole situation and it was time everything was resolved.
Mae kept the blade at Glattus' throat as Stara and T'nel entered the tent. Everyone waited in silence as the would be queen was examined for purity. Moments later the three doctors emerged to the waiting crowd. They walked up to the microphone together where one announced "LONG LIVE QUEEN STARA."
"LONG LIVE QUEEN STARA." the crowd echoed.
Glattus was wondering how to get out of this alive as the crowd again cheered crazily. After everything he had done it was doubtful Stara would just let him go. She'd order his death and his daughters would be sold into slavery. But that would wait until after her coronation in a week. Until then he'd be held in a prison cell somewhere that men loyal to him might be able to rescue him from. That was if Mae didn't cut his head off first.
Only after the crowd calmed down did Stara emerge from the tent. She gave a quick smile as the crowd again cheered, then she became serious as she looked across the stage at her uncle. Now it was time for her first duty as ruler of her people.
Captain Gratis backed up a few steps slowly while looking for his escape route. He doubted Stara would be as ruthless with him as her uncle would have been, but that thing with the missiles could push her if Glattus was telling the truth about being able to prove it was him. The smuggler took one more short step as Queen Stara took the first few angry steps towards her uncle only to bump into some invisible force. "Try and flee and I'll snap your neck." a man's voice stated.
"IT'S THE PROPHECY." a woman screamed as the male shadow warrior appeared, actually wearing clothes. A black spandex type body suit from neck to ankle.
"Prophecy?" Mae whined as the crowd once again dropped to their knees and started praying.
"It is said Lunara would return. Her return would be preceded by the appearance of 3 revered ones." Glattus answered. That's when all hell broke loose.
"LOOK." a man in the crowd shouted as he pointed to the sky. Bright light flashed across the blue sky and behind the clouds.
"THE DEFENSE SATELLITES." Glattus shouted to General Carpenter.
On the view screen the image of a ship spewing smoke as pulse weapons shot at if from several directions. "The human weapons are having some effect ma'am." Sub-commander Gr'tart reported. The young officer was allowed to stay on duty, but Z'lar would still see the youngster was punished when this was all over. Their human guests had been dropped off at a space station a short time before. At least Gr'tart wouldn't be tempted again.
This latest Swarm ship had powered it's way through the last blockade at the edge of the Anteran system. This ship was the biggest, fastest and most powerful so far encountered. It blasted it's way past The Avenger and two other coalition ships. The Avenger came out relatively unscathed and the only one that could chase this ship down. It's port and front shields were down, but the Avenger wasn't in position to capitalize. But the numerous human weapons were blasting chunks of the hull off as it raced towards the planet, yet that wouldn't be enough.
"I WANT FULL POWER TO SHIEDS. THOSE HUMAN WEAPONS ARE GOING TO TARGET US AS WELL." Z'lar shouted. The crew wasn't going to like this, but she was about to do something drastic. The human ships might not fire on them, but the automated defense satellites would.
"Ma'am?..Are you considering taking this ship into the planet's atmosphere?...She's not built for that." Gr'tart squeaked in a very worried sounding tone.
"She'll hold together Gr'tart. It'll be a bumpy ride, but she can do it. The planet is of low gravity with a thin atmosphere." Z'lar answered along with a look that said not to question her again. Z'lar knew the risks, they all did. If stopping the Swarm ship meant they died, then they would die. And they would do it with honor in true O'tean fashion.
"Swarm ship has lost the rest of it's shields and is entering the atmosphere. Human weapons targeting us now Ma'am." the worried sounding science officer reported.
Z'lar shot the youngster another look. If the kid wanted to play with the big girls she was going to need to toughen up. Risking one's life was part of the job description. "Keep firing all weapons. And prepare for atmospheric impact." Hitting the atmosphere at a high angle and high speed would test the ship's shields and inertial dampening system. It would also break several of the ships main structural beams. But the risk needed to be taken. If the 50,000 Swarm inside got out there was no way the humans could stop them.
T'nel and everyone else watched as two big bright streaks arced across the sky. But out of everyone only two knew exactly what those red and blue streaks were, T'nel and Lucas. Two big ships without shields burning up. As the lights grew bigger and brighter T'nel's heart sank. The unknown ship in the front was being shot to pieces even as it's attacker was destroying itself. T'nel could identify the attacker as it passed over head. "The Great Mother be with you all." she prayed. The first ship erupted into a giant fire ball mere seconds before the Avenger.
The now panicked crowd screamed in horror as debris from the first ship fell upon the city as the main body of the craft headed for the ocean. The pursuing craft was scattered from the city to the mountains with the main part of the ship headed for the lake on the far side. T'nel felt some solace when she spotted a handful of escape pods from her old ship fly out of the fireball just before impact. "Please Great Mother. She is my one true friend."
"EVERYONE STAY CALM." In the chaos Stara had stepped up to the podium. If she was to be queen she needed to act like one now. The queen to be looked out upon the crowd, with all the horrified faces. "Lunara had said we should all be as one to defeat our greatest enemy. That enemy is here now. Others have been waging the war and now it is we that must do our part."
"Everyone that is not human is our enemy." Glattus argued even as Mae still held the blade to his throat.
"No uncle." the teen stated as she gave her uncle a stern glare. "No where in the Words of Lunara does it say who or what the great enemy will be. No where does it say we are to stand alone as humans. We must be united I believe means we should join with those already fighting the great enemy."
"But you still are not queen yet." General Carpenter stated as he stepped forward after sending runners off with his orders. Until the matter of the king's murder was resolved and the three claimants on the stage were questioned none of them would wear the crown.
"We don't have time for this Carpenter." Glattus snapped. Mae would have to hand it to the guy, he was no coward. "I am the only one fit to lead us into a war." he growled.
"There are still questions that need answering." Carpenter argued back. With the three claimants having staked a claim it was now up to him to rule out someone if they had a hand in the king's death, and that could take days. Until then he was still in charge.
"Ask your questions." Mae stated as she still held the blasé to Glattus' throat. "I will make sure you get your truth."
"Do you expect one of them would confess easily?" the general asked as he gave the obviously naïve child a half smile.
"He killed my father and brothers, then raped my sister. Then he had the ship carrying me shot down." Stara stated as she stared hatefully at her uncle.
"The rebels killed your father and he shot you down." Glattus stated calmly as he looked at Alexander Gratis.
Lucas grinned behind his full face shield. He held a firm grip on the smuggler's right arm. "I'm going to tell you this once. Men like us always have a way out. If you so much as arch your eyebrows the wrong way you'll be dead before you reach the edge of the stage."
Alexander nodded. The smuggler looked Glattus in the eye and of course denied everything. "Hey, I was just here to make sure a lying piece of shit like him didn't take the crown. And I know nothing about the missiles." He put on his best innocent face that had always worked for him.
"You still delivered my sister to Audra." Stara countered.
Alexander turned his head to address the strong man holding him. "Top jacket pocket." he said with an ear to ear grin. He knew this would come up and he had this one covered. He'd give them his evidence, then be gone. At least that was his plan.
With his free hand Lucas pulled a folded up piece of paper from the smuggler's pocket and held it out to Stara.
Stara unfolded the paper and started reading it aloud as Alexander stood with a smug grin. "To whom it my concern. For services to the crown, Alexander Gratis is hereby pardoned from all crimes against the empire up until the time this pardon is used, should it be before or after my death."
"That can't be real." Glattus barked.
"It's signed by my father and has the royal seal." Stara said in a very confused tone.
The smug smuggler put on his best I'm bored with this expression as he looked at the confused faces on the stage. "I told you I'm the son of the king. How else do you think a man like me could afford a ship like mine? And how do I always manage to find my way around military activity?"
"Services to the crown?" Stara squeaked.
Glattus rolled his eyes as he figured it out. In order to speed things up he explained while the smug asshole stood and grinned. "As a smuggler he comes and goes from rebel controlled sectors. He's been spying for the crown."
"I'd like to stand here and discuss this all day. But we have a city on fire and thousands of people that need help. You three will be escorted to a holding area until I can sort this out." General Carpenter interrupted.
"We will get to the bottom of this now." Mae countered. The smaller warrior then gestured to T'nel with her free hand. "Hold this bastard."
"What are you doing?" General Carpenter asked as T'nel stood behind Lord Glattus with a firm grip of his upper arms to hold him in place as Mae reached into her power suit's left thigh pocket.
"This was a gift from an Olympian named Zeus." Mae stated as she held up the ring of truth.
Everyone, including those in the crowd, looked at each other with confused looks. "We know some of the old stories. We have heard of the old gods." Carpenter said as he wondered what the ring with the big red stone would do to help.
Mae sheathed her sword and put the ring on her right hand, turning the stone towards her palm. "When I press this stone to someone's forehead they will be compelled to tell the truth."
"That's absurd." Glattus chuckled.
"And we're to take your word for this?" the skeptical general asked.
"No..You will take his." Mae said threateningly as she grinned behind her full face shield. As T'nel held Glattus firmly, Mae touched the stone to the prince's forehead and asked "Were you responsible for the deaths of your brother and nephews?"
The strain was evident on the man's face as he fought to control his tongue. Beads of sweat formed and his body trembled as he struggled with all his will, but within a few seconds the crowd gasped as he blurted out "Yes."
Mae looked at the shocked face of General Carpenter. Obviously the man didn't think getting the truth would be this easy.
With the stone still pressed to his forehead Glattus looked towards his niece with his gaze down. "Everything I have done I have done for the empire." he stated.
"We are under attack uncle. If we are too busy fighting each other we will fall. We must stand together. That means concessions on both sides. And we are not strong enough to fight this enemy alone. We will need help." Stara replied.
Carpenter nodded as the murder of the king was resolved to his satisfaction. He turned and bowed to Stara saying "Long live Queen Stara. This matter is now closed. I will serve you as I served your father and his before him."
"Thank-you general." Stara replied doing her best to look regal, holding her chin up and her shoulders back just like her sister taught her to do.
At that time a panicked looking young soldier ran up to General Carpenter and whispered something into the general's ear. As the expression on the older man's face changed to one of horror all knew it wasn't good news. "Have the ships prepare to leave orbit." he commanded afterwards. As the young soldier ran off General Carpenter bowed to Queen Stara and reported "Another ship has dropped out of warp near Haven and will be here before sundown. With no other ships to help this time we will need to stop it ourselves somehow."
"I will stop it." Glattus interrupted quickly. "Everything I have done is for the empire. Let me restore my honor Your Majesty." he implored.
Stara thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Take command of your fleet again and meet this threat. General Carpenter's ships will take up positions around the planet as a last line."
"Yes My Queen."
"What?" Mae squeaked when T'nel released him and Glattus quickly bowed and ran off with a look of determination.
"Mae." T'nel quickly interrupted. "He won't be coming back. He's taking on a suicide mission to regain his honor."
"And my cousins." Stara sadly added. "The laws are specific. As a traitor he would be executed and his daughters sold into slavery. He's not only doing this for the empire but to save them as well."
As Mae stood stunned Stara then turned her attention to the not so smug smuggler. "I will give you a chance as well." she stated sharply.
"I have a pardon. I have committed no crime." Alexander Gratis smugly replied.
"No crime against the empire, but attempted murder of myself and the others on that ship and damages to said ship." Stara replied with a hard stare that said not to argue again. This would be his only chance to walk away.
Alexander Gratis, cornered with no way out this time, bowed his head. Humbly he asked "What would my queen have me do?"
Stara looked crossly at the man who tried to kill her and gave her order. "The space around Audra is very dangerous now, as is the space here. With the military too busy with us under attack, you will go to Audra and bring Princess Sara back. And you will do so in time for my coronation or you will be arrested on sight."
As the smuggler trotted off the new queen then turned to general Carpenter. She gave the older man a slight bow then made her wishes clear. "It looked like escape pods were ejected from that ship. I want any survivors found and there needs attended to. They will then be brought here. And if any of those beasts should be found, they are to be eliminated on sight. I will also need a group of your best soldiers to protect myself until the Palace Guards can be reassembled."
"Yes my queen." the general replied with the customary deep bow. And an ear to ear smile.
"Oh..and general."
"Yes My Queen?"
Stara smiled and said hopefully "I believe you have an officer under your command by the name of Smith. Amanda Smith I do believe. I will want her in command of my guards for the time being." If this Amanda had been with one of her brothers and the boy was a relative Stara wanted a chance to meet both of them.
The general's face became very pale with that strange request. It was never a good idea to let one touched by the king to meet the king's daughters, or worse yet his wife if she was touched before they met. Stara saw the fear in the man's eyes as he stood stunned for a moment. "The boy is related, isn't he?" she asked.
"Yes Your Majesty. Your brother I do believe." the general replied in a hushed tone so only those close to them could hear.
Now it was Stara who looked slightly stunned. That wasn't the answer she was expecting, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. She took a deep breath and gave the general another nod. "More the reason for us to meet." she said. She now had two brothers she didn't know about just that morning. How many more were there she wondered.
"I will have her sent down shortly." the general said, then bowed as he backed away. He had his orders and would see they were fulfilled. And Amanda would be sent to the queen. He would give her the orders just after she helped him relax again. If he wasn't going to see her again he was going to make sure he got her into bed one more time first. He may be getting old, but he wasn't senile yet.
"And I believe it is time we left Your Majesty." T'nel then interjected. She would need to find her way home now and face the repercussions of everything that happened. She'd like to avoid it somehow, but her sense of duty wouldn't allow that.
"But you can't" Stara gasped. She then quickly regained he composure. It wasn't acceptable for the queen to be emotional in public. She then calmly stated "What I mean is that it would be my honor if you were guests at my coronation."
"How can we turn down."
"We must leave." T'nel quickly interrupted Mae. "We have done what we set forth to do and now we must let these people find their own way."
"I don't think attending a coronation can be construed as interfering." Mae argued.
"And there are other matters to discus." Z'lar stated as she and Nova appeared out of nowhere with a brilliant flash of white light. Z'lar in her full naked glory while Nova opted for a white gown with a golden sash as the Earth bound Olympians had worn centuries before.
Nova had gotten as many of the crew off the ship as she could before it was destroyed, along with what ever data the science department had obtained on the Swarm. The crew were safely deposited in a wooded area not far away. But for all her help and with those in the escape pods over 100 still died.
Nova felt a rush of energy flow through her body like she'd never felt before as the remaining crowd knelt and prayed thinking their goddess had returned as foretold. She could see why being prayed to was so desirable to the likes of Ares and some of the others. She then felt something very bad as well.
"What do you mean much to discus?" T'nel asked as her face showed a mixture of emotions. Her friend was alive, but what would there be to discuss with a primitive world?
"We don't have time. Some still live." the terrified young goddess blurted out.
"The empress wants talks opened with the Anterans." Z'lar replied as she and T'nel looked off to the east where Nova was looking.
Mae on the other hand noticed the stone around Stara's neck was glowing again, and so were the ones the priestesses were wearing. "HERE THEY COME." Nova shouted as the last four to five thousand of the Swarm from the ship appeared in the eastern sky, coming at them quickly.
Mae drew her sword as Lucas and T'nel drew their blaster rifles. T'nel then tossed Z'lar one of her pistols and a couple of spare energy clips. The priestesses gathered together, holding hands in a circle, as they started to chant. T'nel spoke to of the soldiers nearby, ordering "Get your queen someplace safe."
"No..I must fill my role." Stara stated as she trotted over to the priestesses.
The two O'treans and Lucas opened fire along with the palace's security turrets when the creatures came into range. Stara ducked under they arms of a pair of priestess and stood in the middle of the circle.
Nova threw fire balls at the attackers as the a white light started to envelope the chanting priestesses. Burning beasts started dropping from the sky, but not enough. As they grew nearer Nova's face showed concern. She could no longer teleport herself away. She was stuck here.
As the glow around the priestesses grew a strange looking black chopper flew in at them from the south, blasting away with machine guns. Mae grinned behind her full face shield when green bullets made from light shot at the creatures from atop the western tower. She had heard references about a Green Lantern, and now she saw the visual proof. Apparently the Lantern had come to oversee the proceedings as well.
But even with all that firepower more than half of the creatures would be on them in seconds. Mae held her sword at the ready as the light from the chanting priestesses became blinding. Those without protected eyes like herself had to look away and cover their faces. Mae watched as tendrils of light struck out from the priestesses like the energy that sent her flying across the medical bay on The Avenger a few days earlier.
The light lashed out at the creatures, killing dozens at a time. Nova stopped lobbing fireballs for the moment as she saw as well. She saw and felt more power than she could muster, much more. She also felt the entity she felt on T'nel's ship before she destroyed it. She felt an entity of immense power. More power than even Zeus and several others combined. Much more.
In moments the last of the creatures had been eliminated. Mae sheathed her sword and the glow around Stara and the priestesses faded. "What the hell was that?" the Earth girl asked as T'nel and Lucas put their weapons away as well.
"That I'm guessing was Lunara." T'nel replied with a look over at Lucas. With their full face shields neither could see the other's face, but to T'nel there was no denying just who that power came from.
"Either Lunara or someone just as interested in protecting these people. But whoever it is lets their protective powers be channeled somehow through those stones." Lucas answered. And for someone over 2000 years old to have no idea how bothered him a bit. He had seen a lot of things in his life and sometimes it took time to figure out how some things were done, but in this case he couldn't even start. The scans of the stone Stara wore showed it to be nothing but a normal rock.
A short time later Nova stood near a pile of rubble that had falling from a cliff side. Something felt very strange, yet very familiar about this world. Maybe because it was so much like Earth, the only world she had ever known in her short life. But there was also the power she was getting from subspace. To her it seemed odd she was getting tremendous power on a primitive planet and it seemed to be coming from several locations at once. "Very odd." the curious goddess muttered as she studied the pile of boulders.
Using her limited telekinetic abilities, Nova started moving the boulders aside one at a time. Then she paused when feeling a strange and powerful presence. She may have limited telekinetic powers, but she was highly empathic. She felt he same entity from the city earlier. After a moment Nova wore a bored expression. "I know you're here. Show yourself." she calmly stated.
"You were quite brave. You could have left when you first felt them, yet you stayed. Why?" a woman's voice asked while moving to a different location with each word making Nova look left, then right and even up.
"Are you the one they call Lunara?"
"Yes, but why did you stay?"
Nova looked back at the pile of rubble, and for something calling to her. And this place, this world seemed very familiar even though she'd never been away from Earth before. And to her it was much more than this place being made into Earth's twin. "Why is this place calling me? Why do I feel stronger here? Are you doing this?"
"Questions, but no answer. Why did you stay?"
Lunara seemed very interested in way she chose to fight. But why? What difference could it make to her? "I wasn't raised to be a coward?"
"No, but that is not way you stayed. You stayed out of a sense of duty. They would protect you and you them."
"Yes. But why do I find this world familiar? You guided me here, why?" Nova asked as she took the time to move a few more of the boulders away.
"What is the effect of many powerful beings drawing power from a gravitational well?" Lunara asked.
"You've been testing me. Why?" Nova asked. Her patience was starting to run thin, powerful being or not.
"Think."
Drawing immense power over time would infuse crystalline structures within the rocks with power. Nova moved another boulder then paused as she realized that this planet had a huge number of such crystals. "A powerful race once lived here."
"Yes." Lunara answered with a lilt in her voice as the young Olympian took the first steps towards understanding. "You are very powerful. Maybe even more powerful than Zeus. Yet he still rules."
"I'm growing tired of this game. Show yourself or leave. If you want to keep talking I will only comply if you show yourself."
"Fine."
Nova's win didn't last long as the entity appeared off to her right. Nova groaned as Lunara looked exactly like her. "You don't like this?" Lunara asked. "How about this one?" she asked as she changed into Z'lar. "Or this?" she asked in a booming male voice as she changed into Zeus. "Oh wait, I really like this one." Lunara then said as she turned into flames on a bush off to the side, the flames not burning a single leaf.
Nova rolled her eyes at being so stupid, and the biblical reference was a bit much. "I get it, you can be anyone or anything you wish."
"I haven't used my true form in over a billion years." a young looking waif of a girl said as she appeared next to Nova. A humanoid with dark hair and grayish skin, she stood barely five feet tall and wore a simple white dress. "Sometimes I miss her."
"But as pure energy you have no need for a body." Nova said. And if a being of pure energy took a form how was she to know if it was her true form? Nova moved a few more boulders to find what looked like the top of an arch.
"If a powerful race once lived here, where are they now?" Lunara asked.
Nova studied the stone structure she started to uncover for a moment. There was no mistaking that it was a portal, just like back on Earth. This was a gate to the subspace network of roads. Yet this was just one of several she had felt. "They were attacked by The Swarm."
"And you have your answer as to what you were feeling." Lunara stated, and with a wave of her right hand the boulders were put back where they were. "The humans are not ready for these yet."
"Why are you testing me?"
"I never said I was testing you." Lunara answered.
"Why are you here alone? Why aren't others like you here?" Nova as empathic and she could feel Lunara's presence, but with her being pure energy it was hard to sense what she was feeling. Lunara's face showed a hint of pain when those questions were asked. Nova saw more of something in Lunara's eyes than she saw in her own when looking in the mirror. "You're an outcast." Nova sometimes felt isolated. Without being able to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh she felt lonely, even when surrounded by others.
"Yes." the sad sounding goddess replied, and then was gone.
"WAIT.WHAT DID you do?" Nova sighed wondering what had happened so long ago. She doubted even Zeus or the other elder gods could answer. That was something that would have to come from Lunara herself. Nova actually felt a chill thinking of what Lunara could have done to make her shunned by others like herself.
Wearing her long blonde hair in her customary bun, Captain Talia Westhouse followed General Glattus towards the bridge carrying two folders. The 5'7" 29 year old had been hand picked by the prince's wife when she was 18 to be his birthday gift. After her year as his personal maid she was sent to the academy, then she was assigned to his command. For the past 11 years she had been by his side and in his bed with the blessing of his wife.
Everyone on the ship knew her status and no one would say a negative word about her. She might be the general's consort, but she was also well respected for her work. Her technical skills had helped eke another 10% of speed from the engines. The flag ship was now able to travel faster than it's design limits.
When arriving at the doors to the bridge the general stopped. He turned to face the sad looking eyes of his junior officer. Glattus faked a smile as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You will do great. The Searcher needs a new Chief Engineer and the job is yours." One of the folders she carried contained her transfer and her promotion to major. The other his last orders. He had no doubts in his mind he wouldn't be walking away from this. The empire and his sense of duty were calling on him to make the great sacrifice. His honor would be restored and his daughters safe.
"Will I see you again?" the young woman whined, hope peeking through the veil of her sadness. Though he wouldn't say she had the feeling something bad was about to happen. He had always been good to her. From being gentle when taking her virginity to making sure she got assignments that were both within her field of interest and would also challenge her.
As Talia made her way to her waiting shuttle, her things already packed and placed aboard, Glattus viewed her body in his mind. While he had enjoyed Talia for what could be the last time her roommates had been ordered to see that her things were packed for her. After returning to his ship he gave the orders to leave orbit and set a course towards The Swarm ship. That left him about an hour to relax. As the old Anteran saying went "It's better to go out with a bang."
"GENERAL ON THE BRIDGE." one of the security guards at the door shouted as the old man marched in with purpose and everyone snapped to attention.
"As you were." Glattus said as he walked to the center of the bridge to address the ship's captain, Colonel Mary Jacobs. The 52 year old was also one of Glattus' personal maids, but that was long ago. She was one of his first, and unlike Talia the general's wife hated her guts. Mary was once one of the most beautiful women Glattus had ever set eyes on and that threatened his wife even though Mary's service as maid ended years before he and his wife even met.
"The order to abandon ship will be given as soon as the shuttle has left. All controls have been routed to the central consol as you instructed sir." There was concern in Mary's eyes as well Glattus noted. And there should be. What he was about to do had only been theorized, never tested. When everyone was either in an escape pod or on a shuttle he would set a course directly at the on coming Swarm ship. The ship was now on the view screen getting closer and closer as they moved towards each other. Glattus would wait until they were just a few thousand miles away then inlay a course heading straight at the bigger, faster and more powerful ship. He would then engage the warp engines.
In theory there would be two results. His ship would emerge on the other side damaged, but intact. He though would more than likely not survive and the same effect would kill the Swarm on the ship. That would be too good to be true as it would leave a highly irradiated ship for his scientists to study. The second more probable outcome would be the two ships' shields along with their masses and anti-matter power plants would create a short lived singularity destroying both ships , crushing them under the force of what essentially would be a small black hole.
Moments later Lord Glattus sat alone on his flag ship. He watched on the view screen as the enemy ship raced towards him with little regard for him being in their way. And why would they bother to change course, the empire's ships had proven to be ineffective against them. That was what he was counting on. His engineering crew had energized the hull in an effort to block they enemy scanners. By the time The Swarm ship got close enough to see through the interference it would be too late.
With great resolve, the would be king arose from the comfortable captain's chair and moved to the main navigation station. He sat in the seat with a stoic expression and keyed in the command codes and override authorizations need for this desperate act.
He took a deep breath as he looked up as if to address God "For you my angels." Lord Glattus then pushed the activation button and closed his eyes to picture his wife and his three girls.
Talia Westhouse was furious as Colonel Jacobs stepped off the shuttle carrying her. The Prince's consort angrily handed the files she was carrying off to a nearby security guard and raced up to Mary. "WHAT'S HE DOING? WHY IS HE ABANDONING SHIP?" Fear and desperation were evident in her voice, and the tears streaking the colonel's cheeks wasn't reassuring.
Colonel Jacobs quickly reached out and pulled the panicked youngster to her in a tight hug. "He's doing what he has to." she whispered in Talia's ear. Where they shared a bond of sorts, Glattus had asked that she watch over the youngster.
"But." As Talia started to say they could have found another way the lights went out and the ship shook violently. Violently enough to knock everyone to the floor. Sparks erupted from lights and control panels while the shaking ship seemed like it would rip apart. Even millions of miles away the gravitational shockwave was intense.
Sara sat in the church's courtyard, terrified, as she heard the protesters outside. She was safe for the moment as no one would violate the sanctuary of a sacred place be it a temple or church. That was one of their oldest customs. But she could still hear them as they shouted.
"ROYAL SLUT."
"HANG HER."
"ALL OF THEM SHOULD DIE."
By now just about everyone in the empire knew of her rescue, though as to who carried out the deed was still in question. Markson had been on the news promising legal action against anyone involved and demanding her return. He had also already sent the required documents to Antera demanding they hand her over should she return home.
Tears streaked her cheeks as she sat on a stone bench listening to the crowd of thousands calling for her blood. Princess Sara wore a respectable white long sleeve dress that covered her from neck to mid calf given to her by the nuns as something more suitable for a holy site.
"WHIP HER."
"HANG THE ROYAL SLUT."
"THEY'RE ALL PERVERTS. I BET HER OWN FATHER HAD HER TOO."
Sara sat alone, crying. Somehow people learned where she was and Markson himself was in the house screaming bloody murder at the priests. Sara had to hand it to the priests though. Even with all of Markson's threats and the growing crowd outside the walls, they were standing firm. No one, or no millions would sway them to break the rights of sanctuary.
"SHE BELONGS IN A WHORE HOUSE, NOT A CHURCH."
"Lord Figus, Markson and his whole family, that damn pirate that brought me here."
"Going over your revenge list again a see." a disapproving, but friendly voice said from behind the princess, startling her.
"Wha? ..Oh good morning sister." Princess Sara turned to see the understanding face of Sister Mary Margret. The sister that looked to be in her early 30s had been helping Sara since she was dropped off at the church. Sara sighed as she put on an apologetic face.
The nun dressed in her white habit that covered everything but her face hands and feet sat down next to Sara on the bench as the crowd on the other side of the wall continued to shout insults and threats. The nun squinted as she looked at the 10 foot high stone wall no more than 10 feet away and gave an almost angry sigh. "It is not in our teachings to behave in such a way. Once Markson and his friends leave the fathers will go disperse the crowd." Sister Mary Margret then sighed again as she turned to look the sad princess in the eyes. "And why do you insist on sitting so close to them? The garden area near the fountain is away from the walls and the running water would hide their words from your ears."
Though the sister knew the answer the first steps to helping the young woman would require her to see the truth inside herself. Sara was blaming herself as much as the others for what happened. If she had gone with her sisters instead of rushing to face her uncle she wouldn't have been publicly raped and disgraced by her uncle. If she hadn't run off she wouldn't have ended up in Markson's clutches and humiliated more. And she wouldn't have been raped by Lord Figus or in the arena and have it broadcasted to every home in the Empire. And she wouldn't have been the entertainment for a group of school boys either.
A few tears streaked Sara's cheeks. "I can't go home. What do I do?" How could she ever face her sisters? Her friends? And any public appearance would turn into a circus.
"In time people will put aside what happened, but you can't let it consume you. You must learn to forgive. And you must forgive yourself. You did nothing wrong. Your family might have a long history of harming others, but you are not responsible for that. You are only responsible for your own actions." the nun stated.
Princess Sara fought to hold back the tears as she noticed the nun's hands clasped hers in a reassuring way. The two sat knee to knee as the crowd continued their protest. The nun clasped her hands tighter as her body stiffened and fear filled her eyes when Markson walked out of the rectory followed by two of his men. Sara's body trembled as the man gave her a cold stare. "Take a deep breath, your safe now." Sister Mary Margret said softly.
"What those men did to me no one should have to endure." Sara whimpered. Seemingly gone was her royal pride. Even as she shook in fear at the mere sight of the man, she knew she should be standing proud with an air that said the man should kiss the ground she walked on. And someday she might get there again, at least with that bastard and the others that put her through hell. But after her ordeal she just couldn't see herself treating anyone else like trash ever again.
"I think you found your purpose to go on."
"Huh?"
"Dedicate your efforts to abolishing slavery." the sister answered with a lilt as Markson walked out through the front gate looking very angry. Behind him and his men were three of the priests on their way to disperse the protesters who were still shouting insults and sexual innuendos.
When Sara didn't answer the nun smirked as she followed the princess' line of sight to the priests walking through the gate. She had seen the look in Sara's eyes before. Half the young women in the parish gazed at Father Michael in that same way. The slender dark haired young man stood 5'10" and was exceptionally handsome.
The nun being unable to resist being wicked once in a while leaned close to the princess and whispered "In some sects marriage is forbidden, not this one. We practice to old ways from the old world."
"Huh?" Sara asked as her daydream ended when the priests vanished from view.
"He's available." the nun giggled like a small school girl talking about sex while just out of her parents' ear shot.
Sara tried to act innocent and deny her desire. She knew something of the old religion, it was what most followed before Lunara. And where her father had arranged her marriage to a lord in rebel lands her education included religious training in the larger religions. And she knew enough to know a Catholic priest would never marry a follower of Lunara, and a disgraced one at that. "I'm not worthy."
"You did nothing wrong. You committed no sin."
"He's a priest and I follow Lunara." Sara groaned. "How come you don't."
"Nuns are married to god and god only. We live a celibate life. Besides, I've seen him look at you the same way." Mary Margret answered. She held back a chuckle as Sara flashed a quick smile with that news. Then it was gone and the look of total defeat returned.
"What do I do?" Sara whined, the sound of her heart breaking clear to the nun.
"Nothing for now, but if you ever wish to you'll have to convert." Sister Mary Margret answered. "But first we have to get you home."
"I can't go home."
"Your sister commands it and has sent a ship for you. It will be here in two days." the nun stated as she stood up. She needed to get back to her chores before the Mother Superior chastised her again for spending too much time with a heathen. Seemed it wasn't just the crowd outside the walls that didn't want Princess Sara there.
"Anara got home in time?" Sara smiled again. She had been avoiding watching the video finding the news too upsetting. The predictions her uncle would be king were making her sick to her stomach.
"No, seems Princess Stara will be queen. How could anyone not follow someone who flies in on a Sharge and has three revered ones there as well."
Sara became angry thinking the nun was making fun of her beliefs. Mary Margret had thought that would happen so before Sara could say anything she laughingly added "I'm serious. You should watch the news, a lot has happened including your uncle's death."
Princess Sara sat stunned as the nun walked away. Could it be true? Stara? The Queen? Little Stara who still needed to be told to take a bath and wash her filthy feet, the queen? And Glattus dead. How? Did Stara order it? She couldn't have, at least not until after the coronation. Did General Carpenter pin her father's death and the deaths of her brothers on him, the general could have ordered an execution if he did.
"THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO GET YOUR ANSWERS." the nun shouted to her before walking into the rectory. As a trained psychologist she'd like to spend more time with the princess. The girl needed help, but the mother superior for some reason thought the girl would be fine on her own.
Stara walked out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head and another around her body. A nice warm shower felt nice after a long day. A glance towards the window brought a half smile to her face, her mother loved watching the sun set.
T'nel and Mae left with Lucas while Commander Z'lar was in a guest room down the hall. Preliminary negotiations had started that afternoon and ended just before supper. The O'tean soldiers from the wrecked ship were still being brought in and one of the barracks the had housed the palace guards along with some guests quarters had been put into use to house them until a ship arrived to pick them up.
Stara stepped in front of the full length mirror standing in the corner and wondered what a world where no one wore clothes was like. She dropped the towel around her body and struck a pose. She studied her body. Where the O'tean females generally stood over six feet tall she wasn't even five and a half. And where the O'tean women mostly had big breasts hers were small in comparison, though on her petite frame they seemed bigger than they were. And as she noticed the patch of blonde hair between her legs she mused how not only didn't they wear clothes, they had no hair down there. Their pussies were visible for all to see.
Stara turned side to side checking out her boobs and tight little butt as her mind shifted toward the blue men. Their limp penises for the most part were bigger than the cocks of the human men she saw in the blow booth. As she continued to check out her body she wondered if the O'tean cocks would taste the same. She then wondered if she'd ever taste cock again. After all, as queen wouldn't be beneath her status to kneel before any man and suck his cock? And with armed guards outside her door ready to follow her anywhere a trip to the blow booths was out of the question.
Stara's shoulders slumped as she walked over to sit on the edge of her bed. She never wanted to be queen. She pulled the towel from around her head and started mindlessly drying her hair and wondered if Anara sucked off Gaius. And if she did, had she sucked him off before letting him take her virginity or had she given her virginity before starting to suck his cock.
The weight of ruling was already heavy on her shoulders. While part of her mind thought about cocks the other parts were thinking about the negotiations with the O'teans and how to make things better for her people. While on her trek she saw a lot of things she didn't like. A father should never have to sell his daughter and no one should be whipped or jailed for speaking their minds. Children should be learning to read and write instead of toiling away in the fields. How much further could her people advanced if more minds were given the chance to learn? And there should be laughter, joyous fun times. Everyone deserved some laughter.
Stara dropped the towel onto the floor and plopped back onto the bed. The side of her mind dreaming of cocks temporarily overriding the other as she wondered just who'd choose her king. As a princess choosing her husband would have been up to her mother and father, but now she was queen. Now it seemed it was up to her to pick the man she would marry. He'd have to have a bigger than average cock she mused. Not too big, but big enough to satisfy as Andromeda had put it. But was it within her rights as queen to have potential suitors measured first? If word of something like that hit the press it would cause a scandal. She had a quiet giggle at that thought.
Stara's hands found her breasts as she thought of men. She squeezed her tits as she remembered how nice it felt when the men in the blow booths squeezed them. Having a man cum in her mouth wasn't fun, but the rush she got from being naughty felt wonderful. To be a royal princess and let some faceless man fondle her royal assets as she sucked his cock was a rush like she'd never felt before. Riding a sharge was a rush, but it wasn't the same as the rush from the blow booth. And from what Andromeda had told her when she let a man between her legs it would be even more fun. And now as queen she had no one to tell her how to behave, though she was sure Anara would have strong suggestions.
Stara's right hand had just finished it's mindless journey south past her downy blonde patch when a loud knock on the door had her sitting bolt upright. "EERRRR AAHHHH WHO IS IT?" she yelled as she jumped up and grabbed her towels and looked for a robe or something to put on. A bit of the rush she felt in the blow booth came back along with a hint of shame as she realized she had started to masterbate for the first time.
"IT IS PRINCESS ANARA TO SEE THE QUEEN, YOUR MAGESTY." a male guard yelled.
Stara grabbed a bathrobe from the other side of the bathroom door and quickly put it on hoping her sister wouldn't see the shame in her eyes. She looked in the mirror and rolled her eyes when easily seeing her flushed face. "GIVE ME A MOMENT. I JUST TOOK A SHOWER."
Anara arched her eyes outside I the hallway. Stara showered and no body told her to? At least the seamstress wouldn't be measuring a stinky child Anara mused. With so much activity so far the seamstress hadn't been able to measure the new queen for her gowns. The new queen would need two to start with, one for the coronation and another for the ball afterwards.
Two days later T'nel, Mae and three of the Olympians stood at the bottom of the access ramp to the shuttle they had taken from New O'tea to the desolate remains of O'tea. The planet was now populated by just a few hundred thousand O'teans, mostly military. There were two big bases remaining along with a few small towns around them. Then there were the handful of families scattered around the world that just simply refused to leave.
Lucas by now was far from O'tean space and out of the empresses reach again. Zeus wasn't happy Nova had decided to stay behind for the time being on Antera, but he'd deal with her disobedience later. What had the King of the Gods more concerned with at the time was his lack of sensing other Olympians. There was a faint sensation, but if a group of gods were on this world he should be feeling their presence. And if they had migrated with the O'teans he would have felt them on New O'tea. He also wasn't feeling a strong power source through an open portal like he should making teleportation to this world's Olympus nearly impossible. It would be like shooting an arrow blindfolded after being spun around a few times and trying to hit the bulls eye.
T'nel looked back over her shoulder at what used to be rainforest and was now reduced to a barren desert. Ahead lay a path that spiraled up the mountain side to the ruins of an old temple that legends say was the home of the gods. Though Mae and T'nel were wearing their weapons the two shadow warriors had their power suits turned off as the biggest danger they could seemingly face on the nearly dead world was sunburn. Mae wore a cotton halter top, her denim Daisy Dukes, a red bandana tied around her head and a canteen hanging off her belt. She sighed as she glanced down thinking her choice in top over, the early summer heat had her sweating more than she thought possible. Her cotton top was already soaked and clinging to her breasts like a second skin as well as becoming nearly transparent. But according to T'nel the air would cool as they trekked up the mountain. Mae snarled then gave Mace a hard stare as she noticed him take a long look at her limited assets. "You mind?" she asked in a growl that said his interest wasn't wanted.
"I didn't choose that outfit. But I wouldn't change a thing." The young muscular god chuckled back as he gazed at the human with wolfish lust. His eyes even wandering from her tits to the tight fitting fabric between her legs.
"Pig!"
"Behave." Zeus snapped at his young subject. "Something is very wrong her and we must find out what. Your lust can wait until you find someone more open to your desires." The King of the Gods took the lead with Mace taking up the rear as the trek started.
Helen walked just behind and off to the right of her grandfather with Mae and T'nel walking side by side right behind. Mae looked over her shoulder at the grinning muscular god wearing very tight shorts that advertised his big package and an open button down shirt that showed off his muscled chest and his big toned arms. Even Adonis would have been jealous, but Mae wasn't interested. She stared at him again as he visibly ogled hers and T'nel's backsides.
"Just let it go. Ignore him and he will tire off the game." the more experienced woman whispered to her small friend. Going around the universe naked for most of her life she had run into countless rude men that couldn't control their eyes, or other parts of their anatomy for that matter. Her solution had simply been to ignore them, nothing bothers a man more than when a woman simply doesn't acknowledge his existence.
"How can you just let him do that?" Mae whined as they reached where the trail started it's climb and the sweat was dripping off her. She also noticed though her clothes were soaked she was the only one sweating. She felt as though she could wring a quart of moisture from her cotton panties alone and her top wasn't the only piece of clothing sticking to her like a second skin. Even her cotton ankle socks were soaked. Add that to the planet's higher gravity that made it feel like she was carrying an extra 30 pounds and she was simply miserable and Mace's ogling was irking her to no end.
"In time you learn how to handle men. Even Cartaches like him." T'nel answered with a wicked grin when using the O'tean name akin to the human pig reference.
Helen stopped walking for a moment and turned to face the trio behind. She had chosen to wear a white toga dress cinched at the waist by a golden rope sash and sandals. "Of course that only works if your totally not interested.. I still feel some of the heat you both felt when first seeing him." she said with a wicked grin of her own as both Mae and T'nel gasped before starting to deny it.
"KNOCK IT OFF ALL OF YOU." Zeus' angry voice boomed. Some loose rocks on the mountainside slid down, jostled free by his loud outburst. "Something is very wrong here and if you four can't behave I will go on alone."
Stara sat alone in the palace garden taking a break from the constant military updates and negotiations with both the O'teans and the rebels. The invasion of Anteran territory was continuing and more alien ships were arriving to join the fight. The O'teans were offering monetary payments, but wouldn't even discuss weapons technology or advanced engine designs, in exchange for crystals the Sky Demons had wanted centuries before. And the rebels were still pushing for a fully democratic government.
The soon to be crowned queen mindlessly petted a small furry critter that was resting on her lap while birds pecked the ground at her feet, all under the watchful eyes of a half dozen guards. Having no privacy at all was starting to get on her nerves. Before this all happened she was watched, but now it was even worse. The young queen was already missing her time away. She would give anything to have her family back, but except for the danger to her life and virtue being on her journey made her feel like a person rather than an object for the first time.
Stara spotted the gardener a few hundred feet away tending to a bed of Assalies. With her being named queen she noticed a lot more of her favorite flowers were being planted around the grounds. The purple and white flowers gave off an aroma she could only describe as pure heaven.
Then she spotted him, the gardener's son. Or more like one of his sons. Stara had seen one or more of the boys helping out over the years but this one was no longer a boy. This one was a few years older than Anara and this was the first time seeing him in a few years. With the changing of the crown there was a lot of work to be done and the aging gardener had seemingly called on his sons for help.
The young shirtless man brought a wheelbarrow full of flowers over to his father, his sweat covered skin glistening in the mid day sun. As Stara mindlessly petted her furry little friend she got feelings like she never felt before. Their last name was Handsome and with him it fit. The dark haired man was a little over six feet tall and was 195 pounds of hard as steel muscle, he had very toned arms and six pack abs. He also had a nice hairy masculine chest, enough hair for a girl to play with but not so much as to make him beastly. Stara's heart raced as her jaw dropped an inch when he bent over in his skin tight slacks to pick something up off the ground and hand it to his father. Stara found herself wondering what those well toned butt cheeks would feel like in her hands while his cock was stuffed in her mouth.
Stara quickly chased the images from her mind and took a nervous glance to her right and left hoping the guards couldn't read minds. When she saw they weren't paying that much attention to her she rolled her eyes and sighed. At least they couldn't take her imagination away.
Stara amused herself with thoughts of how to get the young man alone. It wouldn't get unnoticed if she ordered him to her bed, not that she was ready to give up her virginity without actually knowing him. Maybe passing him a note asking him to climb up to her balcony late at night. Then the images of the guards shooting him ruined that daydream.
Stara sighed again wondering how his hands would feel massaging her tits, his big strong hands. Stara had her dirty thoughts as watched them do what gardeners had done for centuries. Whenever the crown switched hands the gardener would work quietly and quickly for the week between the new monarch being named and their coronation, replanting the grounds to more reflect the new monarch's tastes. A dirty smile came to her face as she got an idea. She had been placed in a new bedroom that was grander than her childhood room, with a bigger bath and a much bigger closet. It also had a big balcony with a lot of planters, planters that needed new flowers.
"There you are..By the goddess, just look." Princess Anara said with a hint of disgust. The filthy creature on her sister's lap had left several dirty paw prints on Stara's clothing and of course her sister was barefoot again.
Stara pushed her daydreams from her mind when hearing her old mother hen of an older sister coming towards her. Break was over and it was time for more military updates followed by more negotiations with rebel leaders and then more talks with Commander Z'lar who was helping set up communications with the new O'tean home world. Very soon her talks would be with her O'tean counterpart, the empress herself. But of course, before any of that happened her sister would demand she wash and put on clean clothes. As her sister stepped near Stara shooed the critter from her lap and stood up "Now I know why dad was grumpy a lot. It's just meeting after meeting."
T'nel stood holding Mae in her arms. Halfway up the mountain Mae was completely exhausted and dehydrated. Mae's canteen was empty and T'nel finally convinced the young human to engage her power suit. However, Mae was too exhausted by that time to go on so T'nel engaged her power suit as well and carried her young stubborn friend. Mace had offered to carry Mae, but T'nel refused his offer while expressing her doubts he could carry her without his hands touching her in a way Mae wouldn't want.
T'nel set Mae , who had by now recovered enough to stand on her own, onto her feet. The group stood and stared at the old marble ruins of the Temple of the Gods. Mae and T'nel saw the look of fear in the eyes of the gods with them, but had no idea what had them shaken.
Zeus walked in first, followed by Mace who held out his right hand and a sword appeared in his had as a shield formed on his left arm. Helen too seemed ready for trouble as she followed her grandfather as well.
"What is it?" T'nel asked as, following the gods' lead, she drew her pulse rifle and readied herself for a fight.
Mae was feeling stronger by the minute. She drew her glowing Sword of Justice and followed the others into the ruins wondering what the heck was going on. She saw nothing but the ruins and the sensors in her suit detected nothing either.
"Something is very wrong indeed." the King of the Gods answered in a shaky voice. Knowing T'nel and Mae couldn't see the horrific sight he and the other gods were seeing he waved his right hand in front of him, making a big arc from left to right. "Make the unseen..seen." he sated as he did.
Mae and T'nel both gasped as the true vision of the temple came into focus. Two strange looking containers to the right in the old run down stone chamber. It had the fuzzy images of two seemingly humanoid bodies inside them.
An old woman appearing to be asleep and wearing an old and tattered toga with a golden sash sat on a stone throne. The woman wore a strange metal headband with wires running from it to the two containers. Faint white tendrils emanated from her body to an arch off to her tight that was bricked up so it couldn't be used. Even old and emaciated, T'nel could identify the woman from the paintings she'd seen. "Great Mother."
"Mintara..It is Zeus." the deeply worried cousin said softly as she stepped nearer to her.
"Finally." the old woman's eyes slowly opened. A slight smile formed on her leathered face. "Finally the time has come. It is too late for me." she glanced towards the arch and with her last breath she uttered "They feel me dying. Ready for a fight."
As the old goddess expired the tendrils faded. Zeus , Helen and Mace felt the danger as they turned to face the portal and the bricks vanished to be replaced by the roiling silver liquid like looking entrance to the subspace passage. Mae held her sword out in front of her as T'nel leveled her rifle. "NOOO!." Zeus shouted as Swarm members rushed out at them. Dozens of the swarm raced through the opening, charging them. T'nel fired her blaster at them, missing the fast moving creatures, and her shot went into the open portal. A brilliant white light shot out of the portal and back up T'nel's beam, engulfing her and Mae.
Mae, T'nel and a couple of the creatures were sent flying across the room and crashed into the stone wall. One creature was on top of Mae, using it's claws to slash. Two were attacking T'nel, she held one by the throat with her free hand while it's wings flapped and it's claws tried to slash her. The other had grabbed onto her body and had it'd jaws locked to her left tit, trying to rip it off. The suit was protecting her for the most part, but her power reserves were being drained quickly.
T'nel tossed the one in her hand a few feet and blasted it with her rifle. Mae knocked the one on her away and cut it in half with her sword, then slashed the one locked onto T'nel, cutting it also in half while stopping the blade before hitting T'nel. Using the enhanced strength of her power suit, T'nel then pried free the jaws of the creature that was still locked on her tot and tossed it away with a grunt of disgust.
As they stood up, a bit dazed but not hurt, it was evident something was very wrong indeed. Besides Mae's top and hot pants being ripped to shreds, the chamber was now gone along with the old woman on the throne, Zeus, Helen and Mace. As they quickly took in the surroundings they also noticed the temple was in pristine condition.
Mae looked down at her shredded outfit. After getting back to New O'tea she had done laundry. The people who wore no clothes had laundry facilities, but seeing as they wore no clothes those machines weren't suited for delicates. So Mae had to hand wash her bras and panties, then hung them to dry. As she looked at her halter top that was nothing more than a few pieces of shredded material and her shorts that no longer had a crotch she groaned realizing she only had the pair of panties she was wearing, which were being held together between her legs by a thin strip of material, and another bra and panties set in her power suit's pocket. Going on a trip where they shouldn't have run into any danger she only packed the bare essentials.
"NO ..NO ... NO!" T'nel shouted as she ran for the nearest window to look out. Mae was right behind her wondering what the heck was going on.
As they gazed out at the rain forest below Mae was very confused. "What happened?"
T'nel shook her head in disbelief watching a squadron of old style aircraft fly past and the smoke from hundreds of fires could be seen. The sounds of explosions filled the air along with almost constant gun fire. T'nel knew the theory, but it had never been proven. She held her pulse rifle out from her body and gazed at it with disbelief. "A strong energy pulse discharged into an open subspace conduit could result in a temporal displacement feedback wave." she mumbled.
"What?"
"We've been sent back in time. And from what I'm seeing we're in the time of the great war." T'nel answered.
Mae's jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide in shock as she turned around and looked at the temple. Gone was the ruble from when they came in. The marble floors and walls were in nearly pristine condition, as were the murals on the ceiling. Also gone were Zeus, Helen and Mace. And the old looking woman on the throne, which was gone too. The temple had and alter at one end and lit torches along the walls, seemingly staying lit without anyone to replace the fuel they should need to burn. "How do we get home?" Mae whined. Sooner or later her family would wonder what happened. And what of Bill? If they were meant to be together like Helen and Aphrodite said then how could that happen if she and T'nel were sent centuries into the past?
T'nel holstered her weapon as she too looked around. She had never even seen pictures of the temple like this, only a few old oil paintings still existed depicting the temple as it should be. T'nel looked to the sky and called out in a hopeful voice. "MINTARA..MINTARA OH GREAT MOTHER, YOUR CHILDREN NEED YOUR WISDOM."
Mae and T'nel looked at each other with fear in their eyes. "Suit off." T'nel said, hoping to look less threatening. Not that a being as strong as the gods should have anything to fear from them, but disarming was a sign they meant to act in peace. She looked at Mae and said "Turn your suit off and sheath the sword. Show them we want to talk, not fight."
Mae nodded her understanding, and it wasn't like Ares was there to cause trouble anyway. Moments later she and T'nel stood side by side after T'nel had called out again, and again. T'nel was clearly frustrated as all they got was silence as an answer.
T'nel was also wondering why she couldn't see the gods when her power suit was on. The scanners in her suit had detected Helen and Aphrodite on Earth when they were invisible, but when they arrived here she detected no one. She theorized that the temple was somehow phase shifted from normal space where the gods out on the planet would simply be invisible.
The frustrated O'tean returned to looking out the window. The glint of sunlight reflecting off metal deep in the rain forest caught her eye. There was no fighting in that zone, yet there was something there where there shouldn't be. "Suit on." The lands around Mount Olympus were considered sacred by all and no one would start a battle there, yet something metallic was in the forest below and it had T'nel's interest.
Soon to be crowned Queen Stara returned to her room late at night, and completely exhausted. She kicked off her shoes then walked out onto her large balcony and looked out at the garden where the gardener was still hard at work under the electric lights. Bugs danced around the lights as the gardener's hot son brought his father more plantings. A smile came to her face as dirty thoughts filled her mind. Anara had been with her most of the day and had just retired to her quarters to go to bed.
Stara walked over to her door and opened it, and the two fairly nice looking male guards outside snapped to attention. The queen giggled at first then laughingly stated "You don't have to do that." Why should they she asked herself. Heck, she still didn't want to be queen. There was just too much to do.
After the two soldiers composed themselves she looked at one and said "The gardener is still hard at work outside. Could one of you run down and ask his son to come up? I want new flowers for my balcony and wish to convey my choices in person."
The two soldiers glanced at each other questioningly. The request was highly unusual. It required one of them to leave his post. But then it was the queen herself asking one of them to do it. But as one of them shrugged and ran off Stara stepped back inside, closed the door and sighed at the events of the day.
Gaius had retuned to the city and was recovering in one of the palace guest rooms where Anara had him placed. Stara had her suspicions her sister might have a problem sleeping, but in that case she'd be too busy to check in on her. Gaius would resume his duties in the morning and start the business of reassembling the palace guards. Those that were still alive would be recalled while those that gave their lives days before protecting her and her sisters would need to be replaced.
Markson had sent lawyers with papers that would require her to hand over her sister, Sara, should she return home. Not that Stara would, but the court lawyers were still trying to find a loophole in the law that would let her not. If and when Sara was brought home she would need to be kept out of sight while the lawyers worked things out. As long as Sara was anywhere in the empire her status would remain in question which could take years to resolve.
Stara found she liked Andromeda's sister, Amanda, almost as much as Andromeda. Though she tried as hard as she could to redirect any conversation away from the topic of her son and his father, Stara still found a lot to talk about with the bright officer. And Stara wasn't ready to push for answers just yet in how the captain and her father had a child.
Stara should have gotten word that her sister had been picked up sometime during the day, but that hadn't happened. But with the space around Audra now restricted by the O'teans, Captain Gratis was probably finding it harder to sneak around. The O'teans after all had more sensitive scanning technology.
Data from the colony attacked by the Swarm showed disturbing conditions. Males, the young and old were being eaten while young fertile women were being impregnated. The images from remote control drones showed women on the ground out in the open already giving birth to more of the creatures. But not all the news was bad. The mutants had joined forces and were bringing the fight to the creatures. According to Z'lar, the fighting would slow their progress down until the a force could be assembled to land and root out the infestation. But no matter what, no ship would be allowed to land or leave until every one of those creatures was dead.
The cease fire declared by herself and the rebel leaders had taken effect around dinner time. At first there were a few incidents, but so far so good. Her people would need to be as one now more than ever and that could be the driving force to get the lords on board with a peace offering.
The troubles of the day faded from her mind when hearing the knock on her door. "Yes?" she called out, hoping too much hopefulness didn't show through. She had never done anything like this, but she had seen a few movies where the young girl seduced the older man.
"The gardener you requested Your Majesty."
After nearly running for the door, the young queen took a moment to compose herself. Her overly bright smile was replaced with a stoic expression as she opened the door and in a flat almost bored sounding tone said "Please come. I wish the balcony redone."
"Yes Your Majesty." the nervous young man stated as he bowed slightly before walking past her into the bedroom. To be summoned by the queen so late at night wasn't a good thing. His father growled at him when the guard came and got him. "Be polite. Bow a lot. And in the name of the Goddess, just agree to whatever she wants." That was his father's advice.
As a guard started to follow the young man in, Stara quickly placed a firm hand on his chest plate stating "I don't think a guard will be needed to discus flowers."
"Errr .Yes Your Majesty." the nervous guard responded as he stepped back. His face showed a bit of fear as this was an unusual situation. The soldier temporarily posted as a royal guard was a bit worried at leaving a man alone in the queen's chambers. And the 38 year old man with two teen daughters would never allow them to be alone in their rooms with boys. But one does not tell the queen right from wrong. At least he wasn't going too. He valued his career and family.
The gardener's son bowed again as the queen turned to face him. To him and most people it seemed odd the queen would see someone while barefoot, but he wasn't about to say anything. "Your Majesty wishes new flowers?" There was also a bit of awe and intimidation about her as people on the news talked about her being the second coming of the goddess.
This was going to be harder than she thought. The young man stood 6'1" and weighed nearly 200 pounds. Stara thought he was built like a god. His button down dress shirt had the sleeves ripped off and he had it wide open showing off his muscled chest. His slacks were tight giving her a nice look at his tight thrusting muscles as he came into her room and the bulge had her hoping she was right about him having a nice sized package. But if he kept bowing it was going to be really hard getting his cock into her mouth.
The young man found the barefoot queen very attractive, but with his station in life he had to be all business. Unlike her sisters she had always wore no or almost no make-up. She didn't bother calling on the palace hair stylist to do her hair and even now her long dark hair was in a simple ponytail tied with a red ribbon. She wore a very simple knee length short sleeve floral print dress that fit nicely, but not too tight.
Stara rolled her eyes as the man stayed bent over, looking at her feet, way too long. "Please stand. It's going to be hard to talk if your bent over looking at the floor the whole time." As the very handsome man stood up nervously Stara arched her eyebrows and asked "Do you have a name? I can't keep referring to you as the gardener's son."
"Oliver.Oliver Handsome Your Majesty." the man said in a shaky voice.
Stara bit her lip as the nervous man bowed again, his gaze again at the floor. This was going to be harder than she thought. In the movies she had seen girls throw themselves at men, but it always seemed easier than this. How was she to move in when this man wouldn't even stay standing? The young horny queen shook her head and whined "Would you please remain upright? We would prefer you to stand up." she said using the royal we as monarchs had done for centuries.
"Errr.Yes Your Majesty." Oliver nervously replied as he stood back up slowly with a quizzical expression. His father told him to bow, but the queen herself was telling him not to.
"And stop being scared. I don't bite.Unless you want me to." the young queen said sweetly with a dirty grin like she had seen a few times in the movies. With no experience to fall back on the young queen could only go by what she had seen on the video or in the movies. And they always cut away at the good parts leaving the rest up to the imagination, but now she knew what really happened after the young girl dropped to her knees and reached for the man's belt.
"Huh!?" Oliver gasped as Stara stepped closer to him and placed her right hand on his strong chest while eyeing his big strong arms. Big strong arms she wanted to pick her up and throw her on the bed and then he could have his way with her. But that couldn't happen for real. At least not until after the coronation. A high ranking official could demand her virginity be checked again before the crown was placed on her head, and if word of her lost innocence got out she knew one of her uncle's friends would do just that to avenge him. "What're you doin'?" he asked in a hushed tone so the guards outside wouldn't hear. His father would kill him if he got hanged for fooling around with the queen, even if she was the aggressive one.
Stara's right hand slid down from his chest and over his six pack abs to rest on his belt. She looked into the terrified young man's eyes and placed her left for finger over her lips "sshhhh." She then brought her left hand down to his belt and started undoing it. "You've signed a confidentiality agreement as all employees in the palace have, you will discus this with no one. Not even your father. Understand." she stated with a stern glare as she unbuckled his belt.
The stunned young man stood with his hands up as if a cop had his gun pointed at him while the tiny young woman unzipped his trousers. "You can't do this Your Majesty." he weakly protested in a near whisper, and another nervous look at the door.
"Why not?" Stara asked with a flirty giggle. The 5'4" brunette looked up at the confused face of the muscular 6'1" laborer as she gripped his pants and underwear at his hips and pushed them halfway down his very muscular thighs. "Oh my." Stara said delightfully as his semi-erect 6 inch penis popped free. Stara bit her lip and stared at it for a moment. It was already average size and he wasn't fully erect yet. He could be that nice size Andromeda commented about. He had bigger testicles than the guys she'd seen through the hole in the blow booth and his nut sack hung down a good 4 inches or so.
"I'm a dead man."
"If you don't shut up the guards will hear. Just relax. They won't come in unless I call for them or they hear something that makes them think I'm in danger." Stara scolded in a hushed tone. And if he didn't calm down this was going to be even harder. One of the things about the blow booths as Andie explained was that the guy had no need to be nervous, and nervous guys can have a hard time getting hard. And where time was money that wasn't a good thing.
The nervous man still kept looking towards the door as Stara stepped back a few feet to take in the view. He was even more muscular than she had first thought. He was even more good looking close up and she hoped that someday those powerful looking arms would be wrapped around her. She knew that she could never have anything serious, or more like public, with him. He was a gardener and she the queen, but if the men in her family could have personal maids why couldn't she have a personal gardener?
Stara pulled the ribbon from her hair and shook her hair free so it fell about her shoulders. She then stepped up close to him again and raised her arms up over her head. "Take off my dress." she said with a giggle. It was all she could do not to drop to her knees and attack his man sausage. Her mouth was watering just thinking about it and she was feeling damp between the legs.
Oliver's eyes opened wide in horror. "I...I...I."
"Am I that hideous?" Stara whispered. "Do I have to make this a royal decree? I just want to give you a blow job. But if your in here too long someone might wonder why. So take my dress off and just relax." she quietly scolded with a look towards the door herself.
"Bu..I..I."
"Just do it. Now." Stara interrupted in a harsh whisper and a stern look.
"Thank-you." she grunted as his big strong hands took hold of her dress at her hips and he pulled it upwards. The dress hid her smirk as the naughty red lace panties were first to be exposed, quickly followed by the matching bra that barely hid her B-cup breasts. The brand new naughty under garments were picked up for her months before by a trusted maid, but she hadn't dared to wear them yet. They and half a dozen other sets were buried in her closet where not even her bossy sister, Anara, would find them. And now that she was queen there was nobody that could tell her she was too young for them.
Oliver had bedded a few girls, but they were all of lower castes like himself. As he lifted the dress he thought again he was going to die for this. The pretty lace undies clung to her like a second skin, her pussy was almost visible. They also revealed the queen trimmed her bush as was the trend according to women's magazines. "I'm a dead man." he commented again as her lace covered breasts were uncovered, her little pink areolas easily visible.
As her dress was discarded with a toss to the side she shook her hair out again. A grin came to her face as his gaze was no longer at the door. She smiled brightly as she also looked at her breasts. "They're not as big as either of my sisters, but I've seen pictures in magazines I found in my brother's old room and they seem to be shaped just as nice." she commented as she turned around and used her right hand to move her hair out of the way. "Unhook it." She said as she was sure his gaze was going lower. The back side of her lacy panties was a strip no more than an inch wide leaving her toned pearly white royal butt cheeks exposed. Those panties would be staying on this day, but Stara was letting him know that by what she saw in her brother's old magazines is that she had a very desirable body.
That's better, she thought as this time there was not much hesitation and no verbal utterance. In a few heartbeats her bra fell to the floor. The young queen then smiled brightly as she turned to face him again, her hands at her sides and her chest thrust out.
"Touch them." she stated
Oliver stood awed and stared down at two nearly perfect semi-spheres topped with tiny pink areolas. Only one other time in his life had he come close to anything like this. That was about 4 years before when Princess Anara cornered him in the garden and wanted to practice kissing with him, as a few grinning guards watched on. The queen smiled up at him as she took his hands in hers and guided them to her tits. "I'm dead." he moaned.
"hummmm" Stara whimpered as his calloused hands touched her perfectly shaped assets. She was in heaven as his strong hands gave a gentile squeeze. At least she didn't have to order him to do that she said to herself. And a glance down filled her with hope as his one and a half inch thick cock was now sticking 8 to 9 inches straight out from his body, his veins looking as if they were ready to burst from the pressure..
Stara licked her lips as she knelt down on the stone floor. She felt a shiver run up her spine as Oliver's hands found a home on either side of her head. "mmmmm." she moaned delightfully as she slipped his cock into her mouth.
It didn't take long for her to realize she wasn't the first to suck him off as his hands gripped her head gently and pulled her towards him. That didn't bother her though, after all he was a few years older than Anara and probably had a few girlfriends by now. And it wasn't like she had delusions of marrying him. They would only be able to have a secret relationship. A few stolen moments here and there. And an older man with some experience could teach her what Andie didn't have time to teach her.
Oliver rocked on his heels, his head tilted back and his eyes clenched shut, as the young queen bobbed her head. Stara choked a few times as Oliver pulled her towards him a little too hard, forcing more cock into her mouth than she was ready to take. She wouldn't complain though, she was determined to someday be able to take his whole cock down her throat. And given his size his cock would be a good one for her to practice with.
Stara stroked his shaft with her right hand as her left rested on his hip. The young queen's drool ran down his rod and started to drip off his balls as her left hand slid down between his legs. A sense of satisfaction filled her mind as she cupped his nut sack and gently manipulated his balls with her fingers. In the blow booth Andromeda had told her not to stick her hand through the hole and touch a man like this, but there was no wall now. And the only danger was them being too loud and a guard coming in and catching them. Not that she could get in trouble now that she was queen, but her sister could still scold her if she got word of this.
"By the goddess that feels good." the young man softly moaned as Stara used her tongue to playfully lick around the base of his throbbing pink tip. Between the danger and excitement Oliver was almost ready to blow his load already. He had gotten blow jobs from girls behind there father's back, but getting one from the queen with armed soldiers just outside the door was something he never even dreamed of. And the fact she seemed to know what she was doing had him wondering how, but then again one doesn't question something like this too much.
"YOUR HIGHNESS." Stara sat back on her heels quickly as she and Oliver both stared at the door with terror etched on their faces at a guard's loud utterance outside. In seconds several thoughts ran through Stara's mind, like it had to be Anara out there with Sara still on Audra. And why did the guard speak so loudly? Did they know what she was doing?
"Quick.get dressed." Stara gasped as she jumped to her feet in a panic. As Oliver quickly pulled up his shorts and trousers Stara grabbed her bra and ribbon off the floor, then used the bra to quickly wipe the saliva off her chin before running over and tossing them under the bed.
"I am so dead." Oliver groaned as he fumbled with his zipper.
As Stara bent over to pick up her dress there came the knock on the door. "YES?" she called out as she pulled her dress on over her head.
"Princess Anara to see the Queen." came the reply as she shook her hair out again.
"Just a moment please." She answered as she rolled her eyes seeing the big noticeable bulge in Oliver's even tighter trousers. She sighed as she stepped over to him and quickly did the bottom two buttons on his shirt. Under close inspection it wouldn't fool anyone, but if he moved by them quickly it should work she told herself.
Anara stood outside wondering just what the heck was going on. Why had the guard addressed her so loudly when she come down the hall? Sure he was a soldier and not a trained royal guard, but it still seemed odd. And why the wait?
"And I will have you summoned when I am done with my duties tomorrow. Have the first two flats of Assalies ready to be planted." Stara stated as the door opened and the older guard with two teen daughters forced himself not to even crack a smile at the two guilty faces.
"Yes Your Highness." Oliver said with a bow. He then quickly bowed to Princess Anara saying "Your Highness." before hurrying off.
Anara arched her eyebrows as her first kiss raced away, he was even better looking and better built now than he was back then. She also saw the guilt etched on their faces. She followed Stara back into her room and closed the door.
She followed Stara towards the balcony, something she had done herself to hide her guilty face when her stepmother questioned her after the first time she had sex with Gaius. The darkness did a poor job of hiding her guilt then just as it was doing a poor job of hiding Stara's now, though she had managed not to give the secret away. "Are you crazy?" the older sister whined in a hushed and somewhat angry tone. "You're the queen, but not crowned yet. Uncle Glattus' friends could still find a way to ruin you before your coronation, then everything would have been for nothing." Anara scolded. Her sister could have the hot gardener as a boy toy if she really wanted, but after the coronation.
Nova stood in the middle of some buried ruins of an ancient temple. The mountain of rock above her blocked out any trace of sunlight, but by making her body glow it was possible to see. Nova turned her head from side to side while looking up and down. "Your back. I know who you are, why do you bother hiding?" she called out to Lunara.
The powerful goddess appeared in human form wearing a long white gown and a sad face. Her long blonde hair draped over her slumped shoulders as she too looked at the ruins. "Have you figured out my crime yet young one?" Her youthful 5'4" body looked strong but her cobalt blue eyes showed a deep pain.
Nova had found a few things, but nothing that would point a finger at Lunara. Bronze statues of hairy humanoids seemed to point to the powerful civilization having been the ancestors of the wholls. And another buried arch indicated they traveled the stars. There was no way of dating the ruins, but Nova felt they had to be at least tens of thousands of years old. "The Swarm destroyed their world."
"And countless others." the mournful ancient goddess replied as she walked up to one of the statues and with her head hung and placed a hand on it. To her the bronze felt a cold as her soul, if she still had one.
"But the stored information isn't from them?"
"The Anunnaki would bring slaves. The best way to run a slave colony to them was to let them run things themselves. But over time they would develop a civilization. Their knowledge would grow."
"They would fight amongst themselves to payoff their overlords." Nova said.
Lunara cracked a fleeting smile. "After a time they would become a threat to the Anunnaki and they would start anew."
"They'd kill them off and bring new slaves. But that's not your fault. "
"Yes it is. It is all my fault." Lunara turned away from Nova to hide her shame. The deep pain from within her was getting too much to bare. Ending her own existence was the only way to alleviate that pain.
"But.."
"I built them. I was an engineer instructed to build a weapon. The Swarm is my design. Even my own people shunned me for making something so evil and vile. I was not one who was to ascend, but those who did pulled me over. For countless years I have had to bare the guilt for the trillions upon trillions of lives lost."
"Why are you telling all this to me? Why can I sense you and not the other Olympians?" Nova asked. This powerful being had an ulterior motive and Nova sensed it. But what? "You have been testing me for something, what?"
"I am not testing you. I have been simply guiding peoples towards certain purposes. Just pointing them in the direction they need to go." Lunara replied. The sad goddess stayed facing away as she continued. "You are very powerful, more so than even you know. And because of this world's structure you are even more powerful here. You are probably the most powerful mortal I have encountered in my travels."
"There are others more."
"No..You hold yourself back. Something in your own being holds you back. Zeus is your king, but you have more power if you chose to use it. You are closer to ascending than any other of your kind. And that is why you and not the others know when I am near."
"Ascending?" Nova had never even given that a thought. Olympians though powerful were still tethered to the mortal realm by the need for a physical body. To ascend one must shed that final bond as a mortal, even those that live as long as Olympians.
"You still have a long road to travel, but in time you may reach that destination. But not on Earth."
"You want me to stay here. That's why you talk to me. That's why you watched me. That's why you steered me here."
A small smile came to Lunara's face, but it was fleeting. Buried under a mountain of rock it would be hard for the others to find her, but in time they would. And if they discovered her plan they would stop it. "I wish you to take my place and watch over these people. Not rule them, but watch over and guide them."
"These are your people to protect."
"This is my first time back in over 500 years. They need more guidance than protection. They need to be pushed into the right track and become members of the greater community. Only together can the Swarm be defeated."
Nova folded her arms across her chest wondering why Lunara just couldn't say exactly what she wanted. And if these people knew of her why couldn't she just tell them? "If you built them why don't you stop them?" Nova asked. If she did build them there should be an off switch and she should know where it was.
"The others would stop me. They evolved. When they turned on my people the ascended ones considered them a viable species. They were artificially created, but now self sustaining. And like other created species populating the universe they forbid ascended interference of that kind." Lunara turned to face Nova with great pain in her eyes. This was her pain, her torture. She could destroy them with a thought, but she was blocked from doing so. Her punishment was to witness the destruction her creations cause.
"But you helped kill those here?"
"I let the priestesses channel some of my power. They had been able to do so since before I freed them, thus the others wouldn't interfere. But if I openly attack The Swarm I will be stopped."
"Why were they searching for you on the ship? If your so powerful they should fear you?" Nova questioned. Even as they saw her the creatures were instead more interested in Lunara.
"Like a moth to a flame. The creatures are looking for the brightest and strongest flame. When they attacked the ship it was because I was with you. You and the other three Olympians didn't have enough power to draw their attention from so far, but my fire burns that much brighter. They came for me even though they have as much chance of killing me as a moth does of defeating the flame."
"I would be alone?" Nova whined. She doubted Zeus or the others would stay. And it was doubtful Zeus would let her stay.
"You are alone even when in the crowd. Your inability to get physical without loosing control has left you isolated even with others. If you stay I will fix that for you. And as for being alone. . That Mace looks you over with lust in his eyes. And you do the same to him, but your control keeps you apart. You and he could start a whole new colony here."
Nova blushed as Lunara hit a nerve. Mace was more than just attractive, but he also had the roaming eye of Zeus.
Mae led the way using her sword to cut a path through the vines that criss crossed in front of them as they made their way through the jungle. "More toward Mount O'talla." T'nel said as she pointed a little to the left. T'nel kept checking their position by looking back at Olympus and then at Mount O'talla. She was also listening and watching for danger as Mae cut them a path.
The two Shadow Warriors turned to the right as a bright light brighter than the sun suddenly shown from behind the Munara Mountain Range. "By the gods!" T'nel gasped as the tell tale sign of a nuclear warhead going off could be seen. T'nel stopped walking for a moment and hung her head. They were safe from that bomb and there full face shields were protecting their eyes, but this was the war that almost destroyed her people. Yet what was concerning her the most was that what she had been taught was that her people hadn't split the atom at the time of the great war.
Mae stopped too for a moment, then her eyes caught something off to their left and a little in front of them. "T'nel. Look." Mae pointed to where the tree tops were sheared off, starting high in the trees and getting lower further away.
"Something crashed here." T'nel stated. Something big and resent by the looks of the trees. It could be nothing, but T'nel had a feeling it wasn't. Her history classes in school were coming to mind. Four Shadow Warriors killed a god. She and Mae were two. Whether they were meant to be part of history was still to be determined, but them being there in that time was too much of a coincidence.
Mae cut a path to the broken trees then they followed the trail created by whatever crashed. A half mile away the two warriors heard voices through the trees. "Get that last emitter set up so we can activate the shield. Then we can start the repairs. I don't want to be here longer than needed."
"Father?"
Contact my email address.