Earth Takes a Stand
Prologue
by Anonymous
Fairchild always liked to act, at least on the outside, as if she always
wanted to be in control of a situation. This was true, to a point. Here
among the weak and frail Terran men and women, she knew that she was
something very special, very powerful, of course very sexy, but above all
very necessary. She understood that she was really the only thing
standing in the way of the Arions, who wanted to conquer this and every
other planet just out of protest and spite of their very existence.
She remembered stories of the pitiful worlds that the Velorian Protectors
had not yet reached, or had for one or another reason abandoned, that the
Arions had easily taken control of. Usually to sake their blood lust
until they became board of the world, and disposed of it. This of course
would never happen as long as she, the most powerful Velorian Protector
who had ever lived, was guarding Earth.
At least this was how she showed everyone she felt. Deep inside, she
knew that a number of her battles had gone badly, and she barely escaped
with her life more than once. As powerful as she was, she never was much
of a fighter. Her awesome strength and unbelievable level of
invulnerability were all that saved her more often than not. And still
deeper, there was the knowledge that she, and every other Velorian and
those related races, were created simply for the pleasure of the gods.
Their super-strong bodies and amazing abilities intended for the carnal
pleasures of the master race that had created them, and all side-effects
merely that: side effects. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of
things whether she saved a million lives on Earth or even the world
itself, in the end she never was anything more than a toy as far as the
creators were concerned.
This meant that she was genetically hard-wired to respond sensually to a
being who was anywhere near her power level, and at times she even felt
aroused simply using her powers. She was out of control far too often
for her comfort, and she resented that, even if it did mean that she was
one of the most sensual creatures in the Galaxy!
Thinking too hard about this sort of thing always made Fairchild feel
sorry for herself. It was at times like this that she enjoyed going out
just flying, carefree and unrestrained. Flying was one of the few things
that Fairchild could do that wouldn't hurt anybody, no matter how
powerfully or freely she acted. Here, nearly 7,000 feet above the Earth,
she could look down and see the patchwork terrain she loved looking at,
so far from the ugly, blackened, and twisting cities. The world looked
so peaceful from up here, and it felt incredible to be using her powers
so freely, like a wheelchair-bound woman who could occasionally get up
and take a jog.
As she neared the California coastline, which didn't take long at a
comfortable cruising speed of Mach 3, she decided to lower herself to a
few feet above the ocean and watch the spray of water as the air she was
cutting through made a huge trough in the sea. Near the surface, waves
crashed into each other as the water rushed back to fill in the gap.
Higher up, she watched the finer spray reflect the sun's rays into
rainbows. It was beautiful. Why should she worry about anything out
here, where nothing was wrong and everything was perfect and she was
free?
*
Hours later, Fairchild was relaxing in the pool of molten lava deep
underneath the basement of her home. She was feeling so good after her
flight that Chris had a special surprise in store for him when she
finally returned. The perfect ending to the long, blissful, and
much-needed freedom she experienced on her many jaunts into the deep blue
sky. Chris was now sleeping soundly as she absorbed what energy she
could from the heat. Even her super-body needed to recharge every once
in a while.
Unfortunately, now that it was all over, her thoughts returned to the
present. She was a Protector, first and foremost, and the world needed
protecting. The Arions may take some time off like she did, but their
allies, the Kintzi, thought of their titanic battles as their time
off. She reflecting on the irony of the situation, that her job as a
Protector required that she take as little time off as possible, and yet
it was at the same time the most stressful and tiring job anyone could
imagine!
She returned to the cool night air a bit later. The contrast with the
bubbling magma felt so good against her skin. She looked up at the
stars, and felt a little sad. Terrans had a habit of making it clear
that it was peaceful to go stargazing, contemplating the enormous size of
the Universe, looking for patterns and constellations, putting everything
into perspective. Yet it was this last prospect that Fairchild found
most disturbing. A single halfhearted bound took her easily onto the
roof of her house and she laid back on the rough tiles. Watching the
stars certainly put everything into perspective for her. All those
worlds, all those civilizations, each one needing a Protector like
herself. And this world, the one she was assigned to protect, possibly
in its own way the most precious world. The origin of all human life,
including her Velorian ancestry.
*
Many, many months ago, there was a titanic battle near a ski resort in
Colorado. Five Arions were pitted against a single Velorian in a
struggle that cost the lives of hundreds of Terrans and four of the
Arions, and almost killed the Velorian and her lover. Hundreds of other
Terrans were injured in the fight that they had nothing to do with. Tens
of thousands of other Terrans mourned the losses they suffered. This is
the story of a woman who lost her arm and her hearing in that battle, and
a man who would no longer mourn.
While Steve Iwikos sat glued to his couch for nearly 72 hours waiting for
any information from his wife, she was in a vastly overcrowded
hospital. Every hospital in the area around the battlefield was being
utilized to its fullest and then some as the injured and dying came
pouring in. Jennifer received some rapid treatment to stop the
bleeding in her arm, enough to save her life, and the doctors had to
move on. Her arm might have been saved if there was enough time to
tend to her, and her hearing could most likely have been restored if
the surgeons could have spent the time they needed to on her. They
had to be content with saving her life, as hard as it was to do so.
Priority one was to save the lives of as many as they could, and tend
to the other injuries once there was time. Family members of
the injured were kept outside so the doctors could have the space they
needed. Ironic, that the two things that could have saved so many
more lives were the two that human beings could never control,
possibly never comprehend fully. Space and Time were the territory of
the gods, not men.
As Steve sat and waited for his phone to ring, he began to come to
grips with a horrible, previously unimaginable possibility. He had
seen on the news that the leader of the Arions had literally vaporized
a large group of people with her heat vision. She left nothing to
mourn over, nothing to bury. Even being crushed and mangled was a
better fate than that! At least there was a way to know who
had survived and who had not. This... this was pure evil. He jumped
as the phone rang, fumbled with the receiver, and nervously asked who
it was.
*
Jennifer's parents had been every bit as worried and nauseated as
Steve had been. They lived in Florida and had not heard anything of
Jennifer either. They were disappointed to learn that Steve knew just
as much as they did. They offered their prayers, and awkwardly hung
up.
*
By the middle of the third day, Jennifer's condition had stabilized.
Her injuries were relatively minor, but considering her right arm, her
dominant arm, was amputated and her hearing was lost forever, the
average injury suffered at the hands of these impossibly strong beings
was horrendous!
Ordinarily, she would be kept for observation and physical therapy,
but a hospital in her hometown could take care of that better than
they were able to at the moment considering their workload. She was
sent home that day. The major airlines that flew from that area
showed that they had hearts as they sent the survivors home for free
on what under booked flights they could find.
*
ring... ring... "Hello?" Steve had not given up hope that
his wife was still alive. He had not been in to work for the past
three days, taking sick leave. He had gotten a card from his
co-workers extending their sympathies and wishing for the best.
"Is Steve Eee... Eye... Iwikos? Steve Iwikos there?"
"Yes, yes this is Steve," he answered nervously. Strangers always
had trouble with his name. The fact that this was a stranger could
only mean that he had information to give him about his wife. This
was the moment of truth, but good news or bad, anything was better
than this horrible state of not knowing.
"Your wife is safe. She was hurt badly in the battle in Colorado, I'm
sorry, but she lost her arm and her hearing. But she is alive."
Steve was overjoyed at this news! She was alive! He almost didn't
even hear the part about her missing arm or her hearing loss. As that
fact slowly set in, he realized it didn't matter, as long as she was
alive! "Where is she? Is she coming home? Can I visit her?
Why couldn't I hear anything before this? Please, please let me hear
her voice!!"
"Your wife is right here next to me. I'm from American Airlines, and
she asked me to call you. She's having trouble speaking, but I can
make out what she's saying. I'm writing her notes, hold on a
second."
The pause at the other end of the phone seemed to last forever as
Steve's heart and mind both raced at 100 miles per hour, not sure what
to feel so they were trying to feel everything at once. Finally, the
pause ended as he heard the sweetest, most wonderful tones he knew of
as his wife's voice came over the lines and flushed over his entire
body. "Steve... Steve honey, I'm okay. And I love you. I'll be home
soon, just wait for me. I love you!"
Tears welled up in Steve's eyes and streamed down his face as his
wife's voice confirmed everything he could have hoped for.