Star Trails to Antar (A Collection of Short Stories)

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Sun Feb 02, 2003 5:34 pm

Thanks, guys! Your feedback is appreciated as always!

I am posting a special post because of recent events. I'm sure Max and the others would approve. Later, I'll replace it with another story and move it to the poet's forum or something.

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Sun Feb 02, 2003 5:36 pm

This is a song that I wrote on a previous anniversary of the Challenger disaster. It is about the Challenger crew, but the spirit and intent of the song applies equally to the crew of Columbia today. God bless them all!

Challenger
(Seven Lives that Touched the World)

The challenge was to reach up to the sky
Sailors on a sea of liquid fire…
And open up the door
To the future of the world
On a blazing rocket in the morning sky

Dick Scobee was commander of the ship
The pilot… Michael J. Smith
Judy Resnik, a pretty, young electric engineer
And mission specialist, Ronald E. McNair.
Ellison Onizuka was there, too
And Greg Jarvis, both payload specialists…
And the teacher from New Hampshire,
Lovely Christa McAuliffe,
Who taught us to reach for the stars.

Seven lives that touched the world
And gave wings to all our dreams
They will live in our hearts eternally!

Seven people shooting for the stars
For seven million reaching from afar
Not immortal gods… not the timid or the meek…
But the spirit of America: You and I…

Thinking of the paths that they would blaze
In spirit, riding with them from the Cape
When high up in the sky
As the shuttle aimed for space
The world and time stood still.

Seven lives that touched the world
And gave wings to all our dreams
They will live in my heart eternally!

Words were never made that could explain
The numbness of our hearts or the pain
But when we’re there, and someone says,
“I do not understand,”
We’ll say, “There’s seven good reasons, my friend.”

I want to hear a saxophone
Out in space, playing on,
I want to hear a piano play,
I want to be…
Near seven lives that touched the world
And gave wings to all our dreams
They will live in my heart eternally.

---------- copyright Gerry Carr

I wrote this as a song, and when I was recording it onto a tape, right at the end, my three-year-old son, looking at a picture that I had told him was the Big Dipper, spontaneously said, “Daddy, there’s seben stars in the Big Dibber.” I left it in the recording and merged it in with the song at the end. It just summed it all up perfectly. Gerry Carr

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:35 am

That was beautiful...you are very gifted

Post by **majiklmoon** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:47 am

Gerry, that was, well, incredible doesn't come close to what that song was. over on the orbs board, we were talking, and I was saying how Challenger was the first real world tragedy to effect me. Your song brought all those feelings back but in a good way. It was beautiful.

On a funny note....your a guy Gerry....!

I so never realized that. I just always assumed you were a girl Gerry!

color me d'uh.

<center><script language="javascript" src="http://members.cox.net/laurensnape/coun ... nter>Margo is a Super ORB!</center><center><center>It all started with a boy, a girl and a silver handprint.<center>Countess Majiklmoon Mistress and keeper of the tunes</center></color~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <a href=http://pub84.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsrealm><img src=http://members.aol.com/majiklmoon/image ... 2a.gif></a>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 1:46 am

Omigod! (pulls belt out and peeks) I think you're right! Oh well! That's really good news for my wife, I guess.

Thanks for the wonderful feedbacks, both of you!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 9:48 am

That was absolutely wonderful...you are very gifted

Post by **majiklmoon** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 9:50 am

Omigod! (pulls belt out and peeks) I think you're right! Oh well! That's really good news for my wife, I guess.

Yeah, I'm thinking that would make her pretty happy!

And I really did love the song. Any chance of you posting the audio, or sharing the music so I can get an idea of the melody?

<center><script language="javascript" src="http://members.cox.net/laurensnape/coun ... nter>Margo is a Super ORB!</center><center><center>It all started with a boy, a girl and a silver handprint.<center>Countess Majiklmoon Mistress and keeper of the tunes</center></color~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <a href=http://pub84.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsrealm><img src=http://members.aol.com/majiklmoon/image ... 2a.gif></a>

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 4:33 pm

That was beautiful. A wonderful memorial to those wonderful astronauts

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Wed Feb 12, 2003 11:31 pm

Thanks, Buffyrosfan, Tracie, and LovinMaxnLiz! I really appreciate the great feedback!

I guess it's about time for another episode in Star Tracks, so here it is.

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Wed Feb 12, 2003 11:35 pm

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)

>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #14 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated PG-13

“The Great Cable Heist”

Special Agent Dumas Zwolinski, of the FBI’s highly secret “Alien Task Force Special Unit 1,” had been a thorn in Max and Michael’s lives almost since the day Agent Pierce had “disappeared.” Unfortunately, Zwolinski, who had replaced Pierce, was Agent Pierce times ten, mostly because Zwolinski was unbalanced as well as highly single-minded.

Agent Zwolinski could have retired already… with full pay… a fact that he once told Max pointedly, as he planned to take him apart piece by piece in the white room, something he had already done to Liz (See “The White Room… Again” in “Altered Time – Destiny in the Stars”). Zwolinski was obsessed. He would never retire until he had rid the world of the alien “plague.” Max, who was strapped down with his hands covered in asbestos wrappings, escaped that fate due to Michael’s last minute help. A powerful blast of power from Michael’s hand reduced Zwolinski to a pile of ashes on the floor. He and Max then escaped to Antar but returned a few years later to change a past (the deaths of Liz and others) that just couldn’t be allowed to stand. Unfortunately, changing the past also meant that…

Zwolinski never died.

In Roswell, Zwolinski paced a frustrated circle around the floor then returned and pounded his fist down on the counter again.

“Somebody here has to know how to do something!”

Zwolinski had grown redder and redder until the veins in his neck stood out, and now one could actually see the veins throbbing as he screamed. The female clerk behind the counter seemed indifferent to it all. Zwolinski looked as though he might have a stroke.

“Sir, there is nothing I can do. My computer says that is what you owe for your service. You will just have to talk to a supervisor.”

“Then get me a supervisor!”

“I’m sorry, sir, there are no supervisors here right now.”

Zwolinski’s nostrils flared like those of an angry bull that has just been stuck by the picador in a bullfight.

“Get me a supervisor now or I will have you shut down! I mean right now,” Zwolinski threatened… but it was to no avail. The clerk acted as though all the advantage here was hers and any threats were irrelevant. She didn’t even bat an eye. The rampaging agent at her counter became ever more agitated, but the indifferent clerk replied as though she had lived this scene a thousand times before…

“Fill out a complaint form and send it to the address on the back.”

“Complaint form!”

“There…” said the clerk, looking up from the daily newspaper horoscope on her desk just long enough to point to a table in the corner.

Zwolinski grabbed the telephone off the counter and held the receiver up in front of him.

“You will get off your lazy ass now and call a supervisor. I want someone here in front of me in five minutes or there will be Hell to pay!”

The clerk continued to read her horoscope. Apparently, it said nothing about being violently murdered today, so she was completely unmoved by Zwolinski’s threats.

“Are you people out of your freaking minds! $14,283,569.98 for a month’s cable service! We don’t use cable service in the FBI! We have… we have other means!”

“Sir, my computer says that you are the person it is to be billed to… you personally… and the company that you head. That is all I know. You can call billing and talk to them on Monday if you would like.”

“Good Lord, woman! For that kind of money, you could be providing cable to another planet!”

“Sir, just fill out the form…”

“And send it in…” Zwolinski finished the sentence with her.

“I can’t believe they let you people do business!” Zwolinski ranted. “You’re the most incompetent… Oh, forget it!”

Zwolinski exited the cable service building, slamming the door behind him, then jumped into the car with his waiting companion and sped off, leaving deep ruts with his tires in the gravel parking lot. Back at the Special Unit’s headquarters, Zwolinski was greeted with more woes. The lights -in fact, all the electricity- had been cut off.

“What the Hell’s going on here?” yelled Zwolinski.

“Sir,” said one of his agents, a newer individual, who was obviously intimidated by Zwolinski, “We have been served with some kind of legal notice that we are being sued for illegally tapping cable services. They put a lien on our building and garnisheed our bank accounts.”

Zwolinski stared at the agent as though he had just said something sublimely ridiculous.

“We can do that, Agent Smith! That is our prerogative! We are the FBI! …but we didn’t. For God’s sake, get it fixed now! I’ve never dealt with such incompetence before! Dumas Zwolinski exited his office and drove to a nearby bar to calm his nerves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the upscale Berjalya division of Antar’s capitol city, CoruzAntar, Amy DeLuca was knocking on the door of Alex and Isabel’s house. Mareeya, Alex and Isabel’s 7-year-old daughter, came to the door.

“Mom! It’s Aunt Amy!”

“Well, tell her to come in!”

“You can come in, Aunt Amy.”

“Thank you, Mareeya! Hi Isabel! I see you’re watching your Buffy tapes again! How many times have you watched them now?” Amy laughed. She knew that she had watched them just as many times herself.

“Oh, no, Amy! These aren’t tapes,” said Isabel. “This is today’s episode.”

Amy was silent for a moment. “Today’s episode? You don’t really mean… ‘today’s episode… like today… right now? How…?”

“Alex got Michael to ask his friends at the lab to find a way to get it for me here on Antar. Didn’t Varec tell you?”

A light of sudden understanding came on in Amy’s eyes. “So that’s what he was talking about! Varec said that he was working on a project on the side to help Michael get a ‘buffing.’ I didn’t know what he was talking about!”

“Amy, that husband of yours is a doll! Look at this! Over four hundred channels! I can watch Buffy, Angel, Farscape, earth news from all these different cities… It’s great! When you see Varec, give him a big kiss from us!”

Amy smiled, “Well… I guess I will! …After he hooks it up for me, too! How did they do this?”

“I don’t know, exactly. They called it a ‘virtual link’ or something like that. As best I could understand, it involves a microns-thin, invisible light source being aimed at earth and feeding the transmissions directly through it from a cable source there.”

“You think they know someone is getting it?”

“I hope so! Michael said that he had Varec send a computer message to the cable company through the same light source to give them Agent Dumas Zwolinski’s name as the subscriber.”

Amy gasped… then laughed. “That’s the guy Michael vaporized in the previous timeline, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, the one that cut Liz up in the old timeline!”

“So… won’t the cable company just cut off the service?”

Isabel shook her head. “They can’t. They would never find how it is being linked. And Zwolinski can’t cancel it either! I hope the Alien Task Force’s ‘Special Unit’ will have some concerns other than finding innocent people to dissect for awhile!”

Mareeya and her younger sister, Ceelya, came back into the den.

“Mom, when you finish watching Buffy, can we watch more cartoons from Eluymer?”

“Sure you can, Mareeya! Both of you can!”

Isabel and Amy both smiled and giggled like two schoolgirls as they watched the rest of the latest episode of Buffy together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, in Roswell, New Mexico, Agent Smith strolled down the walk by the exhibits at the local zoo, stopping at a bench across from the monkeys' cage.

“Sir,” he said to the individual seated on the bench. “Two more of our agents have resigned."

Agent Dumas Zwolinski looked up from the bench and grimaced, the veins in his neck standing out more than usual.

“Smith, we’ve got to make sure this Unit doesn’t fold. Whatever it takes, you and I have to hold this Unit together… for the sake of the country.”

“Yes, sir!”

“They can take our offices from us… they can take all our money…”

“Uh, sir…”

“What, Smith?”

“That brings up a little matter of… my paycheck…”

“You weren’t listening, Smith! We’re doing this for the good of the country! My God, Smith, look at me! They took my offices… all because of this stupid cable thing! I’m keeping office at the zoo… across from some damn monkeys. And you’re worried about a paycheck?”

“Sorry, sir.”

“Yeah, well, you should be… At least there’s nothing else that could go wrong!”

Just then a pigeon sitting on the tree limb above Zwolinski relieved itself. The whitish gob smacked down on Zwolinski’s forehead, right between the eyes, and ran down the bridge of his nose. Zwolinski sat totally still, but the veins in his neck were pulsing and his face was reddening.

“Smith.”

“Sir.”

“Have all these birds killed.”

“Uh, I’m sorry, sir, but Roswell is a bird sanctuary. I don’t think I can…”

“Of course it’s a sanctuary! What else could ruin my day!”

At that moment, a well-dressed man with a briefcase walked up.

“Are you Dumas Zwolinski?”

“Who wants to know?”

“I’m Agent Bernstein with the IRS. Is there some place we can talk?"

"Yeah, right here!"

"Alright. There’s a little matter we need to discuss about some unpaid taxes.”

“What unpaid taxes?”

“Communications taxes... on $15 million of cable services. Plus interest and penalties…”

Zwolinski took out his pistol and looked at it then handed it to the IRS agent.

“Here… Just shoot me!”

-The End-

This story was adapted and revised from “Life in the Stars,” chapters

--------------------------------Chapter 1
"But It’s Buffy”
--------------------------------Chapter 3
“Child’s Play”

The further “adventures” of Agent Zwolinski, including his final revenge on the podsquad and their children, can be found in “Life in the Stars,” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

Post by **roswellkitkat** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 9:54 am

--><img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <div style="text-align:center">For one human being to love another human being: That is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task...." --Rainer Maria Rilke, poet</div>

Post by **majiklmoon** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 11:27 am

<center><a href="http://pub129.ezboard.com/fmajiklmoonsr ... ID=9.topic" target="_new">Majik's World of Fanfic Crossover Contest</a>. Mix your fics, come on, you know you want to!</center><center><a href=http://pub84.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsrealm><img src=http://members.aol.com/majiklmoon/image ... a></center>

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 11:54 am

THis is so great. I love reading your stories

Post by **majiklmoon** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 12:55 am

Ahem...waiting!!!!!

<center><a href="http://pub129.ezboard.com/fmajiklmoonsr ... ID=9.topic" target="_new">Majik's World of Fanfic Crossover Contest</a>. Mix your fics, come on, you know you want to!</center><center><a href=http://pub84.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsrealm><img src=http://members.aol.com/majiklmoon/image ... a></center>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 3:59 am

Thanks, guys! Well, finally, here's another adapted story. Enjoy!

<div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 4:01 am

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)

>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #15 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated PG

“Liz and Maria’s Weddings”

Maria was floating on a cloud… well, not really floating… and not really on a cloud. But considering all that the newcomers had been through since they left Earth, one could hardly blame any of them for taking that literally when they heard it.

Michael had just returned from the jeweler with Maria’s diamond… beautifully faceted and mounted in a ring that was absolutely and utterly breathtaking. Maria had no idea how many carats it was; on Antar, they didn’t use that measure. She only knew that it was beautiful… and big! Michael placed it on her finger… and again, he asked, “Maria, will you be my wife?”

Maria didn’t answer… she just threw her arms around Michael’s neck and kissed him as though she would never let him go.

“I take it, the answer is still yes, then,” Michael managed somehow to say after a couple of minutes.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! A million times, yes!” Maria said beaming… and again, she kissed Michael passionately. He reciprocated happily.

“We’ll have to set a date,” Michael said. I was thinking maybe next month… it’s the beginning of the summer in Antar, and well… you know you warm my heart…”

“Aw… Michael, sometimes you can be such a sweet puppy dog… so cute and lovable,” said Maria.

“Well, just do me a favor and let’s keep that to ourselves, okay, Maria? I wouldn’t want it getting out. Reputations, you know!”

Maria giggled, “Sure, Michael, just between me and my cute little puppy!”

Michael and Maria sat on the sofa, kissing and making plans, for the next 45 minutes. Okay, so not many plans got made.

Ten minutes after Michael had left, Maria found Liz in the palace living room. She walked by her several times, holding her hand slightly out from her body. Liz saw the ring, but at first pretended not to.

“Maria, you seem awfully wound up! Why don’t you sit down and stop pacing! Is something wrong with your hand?”

“Hmm! Hmm!” Said Maria, holding her finger and the amazing ring out where it could be appreciated.

“Mariiiiaaa…” said Liz, “That’s beautiful… it’s gorgeous! So Michael got it mounted… that’s the diamond from the little moon off Jupiter?”

“Yep.”

“You must be absolutely thrilled!”

“Well… maybe a little happy… Oh, of course I’m thrilled! What do you think! Liz, I can’t wait to show it to everybody! They’re gonna freak! Have you ever seen anything like it?”

“Well…” Liz held out her own hand. Her ring was about the same size as Maria’s, but Max had created it using his power to transmute inanimate objects by altering their molecular structures with his mind. When he had opened his hand, the lump of coal he had been holding had been molecularly changed into a perfectly faceted diamond. Max had made a passing reference to Superman, who reputedly was able to apply enough pressure to a lump of coal to turn it into a diamond; but actually Max had used the power of his mind to transmute and transform the coal into the object he desired. He could just as well have picked up a marble or a bottle cap and turned it into a perfect diamond, but he used the Superman mythos for its perceived romanticism.

For the rest of the day, Maria showed off her ring to everyone she could find at the palace; and it was the talk of the dinner table that evening. Everyone wanted to know if she and Michael had set a date.

“We decided to get married on the 4th day of Kelsvet, the first month of the Antarian summer,” Michael answered.

“…because I warm his heart!” Maria added.

“Aaaawwwww…” was heard from various parts of the table.

“Maria…” Michael urged, blushing slightly.

Maria smiled, “And because Michael is so hot and he warms my heart, too!”

“Aaaawwwwww…”

Michael shook his head. Well, at least she hadn’t said anything about the ‘cute puppy’ thing. That was something to be thankful for!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the 4th day of Kelsvet drew nearer, Maria and Liz, with help from Maria’s Mom, were preparing the invitations to be sent to the invited guests, which included the scientists from the Jantoo-Bandy lab and other labs around Antar, friends and social acquaintances of the royal family, and of course, all earthlings currently residing on Antar. Liz also helped Maria choose a wedding dress and make the plans for the ceremony and reception.

“Liz,” said Maria, “I’ve had this cool idea running around in my head, and I talked it over with Michael and he thinks it’s a great idea… We’d like you and Max to renew your vows… or have an Antarian wedding… with us.”

“Oh, no, Maria! This is your day! …and Michael’s day! I wouldn’t want to do anything to get in the way of that!”

“But you wouldn’t be getting in the way. Michael thinks the same thing I do. It would be so cool… just awesome… if you and Max were there with us to say your vows, too.”

“Aw, gee, Maria… I don’t know… I mean… if it’s really what you want, I could see how Max feels…”

“Please, please, please, Liz… with whipped cream and… and Max on top…”

“Well if you put it that way, Maria, how could I resist?”

Both Liz and Maria laughed.

“But seriously, Maria, I’ll have to run it by Max and see if he wants to do it… and I imagine he’ll want to talk to Michael and make sure it’s really what he wants, too…”

“Not just okay, Liz! He wants it! And so do I! Really…!”

“Okay, I’ll talk to Max today, Maria… I promise.”

“Well try real hard to convince him, Liz, pleeeease?”

“Okay, Maria! Okay!” Liz laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 4th day of Kelsvet had finally arrived, and the SyyKolyva, in CoruzAntar, was filled with guests anxious to see the wedding couples and the ceremony. It was expected to be the social event of all social events of recent Antarian history. The scientists whom Michael had befriended all sat together with their families on the left side near the front. Two hundred and thirty scientists and family members had come. That was every single one of Antar’s premier scientists, the ones who worked in all the linked science labs. The family - Amy DeLuca, Jeff and Nancy Parker, and Phillip and Diane Evans were assigned places in the front on the right side. Sheriff Jim Valenti had also been assigned a family spot and was to give Maria away, a tradition that seemed to be Antarian as well as of earth. Right behind the family, places were assigned for Isabel and Kyle, who were also to be in the wedding party. The rest of the SyyKolyva was filled with guests, not all of whom were specifically invited… many unassigned places were available on a first-come basis. The SyyKolyva was capable of seating 3,400 people, and no seat would be left unfilled on this day.

The crowd became hushed as music began to play, indicating the appearance of the groom and his escorts. Michael entered, looking more handsome and dapper than he had ever looked in his life. He wore a black Antarian dress suit with gold rings around the sleeves at the wrists, a golden waist sash similar to a cummerbund, and a wide gold lapel and white vest. Michael walked into the SyyKolyva, followed by six friends, Kyle, Xogar, Frev, Tendav, Garandev, and Varec. Xogar and Frev were the sons of two of his scientist friends, Tendav and Garandev were young generals, and Varec was a scientist friend. Michael assumed his position at the front of the SyyKolyva, and his six escorts assumed their places to his left, according to Antarian tradition.

Now the music changed, indicating the entrance of the bride.

Maria appeared, her hand on Jim Valenti’s arm. She was dressed in a long white and light blue gown that just reached the floor. She was too beautiful for words. Slowly, Jim led her down the aisle to the front. Maria’s face seemed to glow. Her Mom was wiping tears from her own eyes with a handkerchief and trying bravely but unsuccessfully not to cry… it was all so beautiful! This was far and away beyond anything she had ever imagined for her daughter even in her grandest dreams.

Behind Maria and Jim Valenti came the bridesmaids, Isabel, Jeliya, Zeenya, Welindee, VarCory, and Teshji. Jeliya, Zeenya, and Teshji were the daughters of three of Michael’s scientist friends. Welindee was the younger sister of one of the scientists, and VarCory was the daughter of a good and long-time family friend of the royal family from the Grelligo region.

As the bridesmaids reached the front, they assumed positions to the right of the bride, according to Antarian tradition.

Next, from the back of the SyyKolyva, a man entered wearing a long dark blue robe over a red vest. The robe had gold trim around the collar and around the wrists. The man had a gold sash trimmed in red hung loosely over his left shoulder. This was the Jalesek. He would be performing the ceremony.

The music stopped, and all eyes were on Maria and Michael. The Jalesek took a small book from his vest pocket and looked at it quietly for a moment.

“Michael Guerin (He spoke in Antarian), of the line of Varkor Sarvael, you have come here today to tell all those present and the world that you love and cherish this girl, Maria DeLuca, and that it is your wish and desire that she be your wife now and for as long as you both shall live. Do you profess to Maria your eternal undying love; and is this your wish, Michael?”

“It is!”

“Maria DeLuca, of the planet Eluymer, you have come here today to tell all those present and the world that you love and cherish Michael Guerin and that it is your wish and desire to take him as your husband now and for as long as you both shall live. Do you, Maria, profess to Michael your eternal undying love; and is this your wish, Maria?”

“It is!”

“And who gives this girl away?”

“I do,” said Jim Valenti. He took Maria’s hand from his arm and placed it on Michael’s arm and took Maria’s other hand and placed it in front of her with the palm up. Then he took Michael’s other hand and placed it on top of Maria’s.

“Then,” continued the Jalesek, “How shall you show this love that the two of you share?”

Michael and Maria closed their hands, intertwining their fingers together.

“Then I say for all to know that Michael and Maria are joined together as mates of the soul and of the body for the rest of their lives… May they know only happiness and joy forever!”

The entire SyyKolyva stood and applauded briefly but enthusiastically, in the Antarian tradition. Then they took their seats again.

The music resumed, and Michael and Maria walked arm in arm back down the aisle to the foyer as Michael and Maria Guerin.

Now, all eyes watched expectantly for the appearance of the second couple. The music began, indicating the groom was present. Zan -or Max- entered with his escorts. Like Michael, Max was naturally handsome, but today he appeared more elegant than he had ever looked… perhaps in his life. He wore a blue Antarian suit with dark gold trim around the wrists, wide, dark gold lapels and waist sash, and a white vest. On all the gold trim, there were small silver stars. The six escorts, Hyrec, Lyrcar, Vrobin, Sashev, Anderyoo, and Jontan, assumed their positions to Max’s left.

Then the music changed, announcing the bride.

Liz appeared, her hand on the arm of her father, Jeff Parker. She was fairly glowing, as though she, too, were getting married for the first time; and in a way, she was. Though she and Max had been married on Earth, her parents had not been able to be there. It had been while Liz and Max were on the run. Now, Liz was dressed in a long white and gold gown with small silver stars down the middle of each arm of the gown. Extending the length of the arms along each side of the silver stars was a series of small cut out squares, angled on their ends like double triangles. Like Maria’s gown, Liz’s gown just reached the floor. Her father led her down the aisle to the slow, haunting, beautiful cadence of the music.

Behind Liz and her father came the bridesmaids, Tredvya, Kwetee, Cathania, Jerilee, Yvee, and Letye. Liz’s bridesmaids were daughters of friends of the royal family.

As the bridesmaids reached the front, they assumed positions to the right of the bride.

The music stopped, and all eyes were on Liz and Max. The Jalesek took his small book and looked at it quietly for a moment.

“Zan of Antar, of the line of Zan Jaron, you have come here today to tell all those present and the world that you love and cherish this girl, Elizabeth Parker Evans, and that it is your wish and desire that she be your wife now and for as long as you both shall live. Do you profess to Elizabeth your eternal undying love; and is this your wish, Zan?”

“It is!”

“Elizabeth Parker Evans, of the planet Eluymer, you have come here today to tell all those present and the world that you love and cherish Zan and that it is your wish and desire to take him as your husband now and for as long as you both shall live. Do you, Elizabeth, profess to Zan your eternal undying love; and is this your wish, Elizabeth?”

“It is!”

“And who gives this girl away?”

“I do,” said Jeff Parker. He took Liz’s hand from his arm and placed it on Max’s arm, then he placed Liz’s other hand in front of her with her palm up and took Max’s other hand and placed it on top of Liz’s.

“Then,” continued the Jalesek, “How shall you show this love that the two of you share?”

Max and Liz closed their hands, intertwining their fingers together.

“Then I say for all to know that Zan and Elizabeth are joined together as mates of the soul and of the body for the rest of their lives… May they know only happiness and joy forever!”

The entire SyyKolyva stood and applauded enthusiastically as the music resumed, and Max and Liz walked arm in arm back down the aisle to the foyer as Zan of Antar and his bride, Liz, now also of Antar.

The guests all took their seats one more time as Max and Liz, with Michael and Maria, walked down the aisle to the front again, this time together. The four turned and faced the guests. Now the guests rose from their seats and, as one, shouted out their blessings and wishes for happiness to the couples joined today. Amy DeLuca, Diane Evans, and Nancy Parker were crying. Phillip and Jeff were misty-eyed, too.

The guests continued standing. As the couples walked back to the foyer for the last time, guests reached out to touch them as they passed. According to Antarian tradition, touching the newlyweds is supposed to confer their happiness on the one touching them… and possibly bring matrimony to them next.

The couples left the SyyKolyva only to discover a bit of a commotion outside. Beside the walkway and beside the doors of the SyyKolyva stood the Jah-ee… all five of the Jah-ee!

“Looks like your friends all came, Max!” said Liz. “Did you invite them?”

“Yep.”

Max had invited them, in a way … The Jah-ee knew his feelings… even from many miles away. They felt his emotions and knew that Max was doing something that made him immensely happy; they understood that it involved his mate. They knew that he would like for them to come. And they came.

Although by now some Antarians were getting used to seeing the Jah-ee on occasion, many others were not and never would be. A bird of prey that stands as high as a house and has a wingspan of 60 feet is an awesome sight. Though known in every Antarian culture’s mythology, the Jah-ee had always been thought to be a mere “fairytale” until Max –King Zan- had accidentally met one… almost tragically for him.

Max, Liz, Michael, and Maria walked together between the birds, which stood on each side of the walk, wings raised high, forming a sort of plumed arch for the couples to walk beneath and displaying the natural beauty of the multi-colored underside of their wings.

Most of the other guests gave the birds a wide berth, but a few braved coming near enough to touch them and the newlyweds as they departed and headed off to their reception.

Max thanked the Jah-ee for coming with mental images of gratitude, and the birds took flight, heading back in the direction of the Golden Sea and their island home.

The luxurious gold palace ground car carried the newlyweds to the site of the reception. Michael and Maria… and a beaming Max and Liz… were toasted throughout the evening and were happier than anyone had ever seen them.

After the reception, Michael and Maria went to Michael’s house. Like Kyle, Michael had a permanent room of his own in the royal palace, but he also had his own home in the countryside. And this is where he took Maria on this night. They planned to return to the palace in a week, maybe two. Michael’s house was in a wonderful area of Antar. There were lakes, streams, pleasant and safe woods to walk in, and much, much more to see and do. But it is doubtful that Michael and Maria would see much of it this time… this was, after all, to be Michael and Maria’s honeymoon.

-The End-

This story was adapted and revised from the chapter titled

"Mr. & Mrs. Michael Guerin”

--------------------------------Chapter 29

which can be found in the Roswell fic, “Altered Time - Destiny in the Stars” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

Post by **roswellkitkat** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 4:48 pm

Excellent as usual!

I'm with Tracie..color me duh too!

 <div style="text-align:center">One must talk. That's how it is. One must.</div><div style="text-align:center">Marguerite Duras, French novelist</div>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 7:23 pm

LOL! Thanks, Roswellkitkat! Here's another adapted story, possibly the last of these for now... I'm not sure. And Tracie, I may put the music to the Challenger song on line if I can figure out how to do it and find the time.

Enjoy!

--><img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/ufo.gif ALT=":ufo"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 7:27 pm

"Star Trails to Antar”

A collection of short stories
about our favorite Roswell aliens & their friends
by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze)

>((((º>.·´¯`·.Story #16 ·.¸.· >((((*>¸.·´`·. ·.¸.· Rated PG

“G. W. Bush Finds Out About Antar”

During their many adventures, Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, and the other members of the “pod squad” and their friends had been ruthlessly hunted and, at least twice, almost eliminated by obsessed or mentally disturbed federal agents. However, not all the agents they met ultimately turned out to be evil. One agent, Diane Casey, had joined the alien task force hoping to meet and learn about aliens… if they really existed. Diane felt that her place in the universe was “out there somewhere.” Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her at the time, she had hooked up with a sadistic bunch of mentally disturbed individuals whose only plan was to exterminate the “alien plague.” Diane became involved in one of the bloodiest and most life-threatening raids that was ever unleashed on the Antarians and their innocent children, but she switched sides to help our friends.

Another friendly agent was Dan Klein. Dan, in the beginning, seemed to be nothing special… an egotistical, self-absorbed, practical joke loving type with two big Dobermans that he liked to scare people with, but he surprised everyone when it turned out there was a lot more to him than anyone had ever suspected… perhaps more than even he had suspected.

The sadistic Agent Pierce had long ago been killed. He had been replaced by Director Zebulon Sikorski and his top (Read that as, “most obsessed and mentally unstable”) agent, Dumas Zwolinski. However, after a number of agency fiascos, financial disaster (thanks in large part to Isabel and an Antarian scientist named Varec), and the strange disappearances of both Sikorski and Zwolinski (Thanks to the podsquad children, who turned Sikorski and Zwolinski into “aliens” themselves, with polka dots and purple and green skin), President George W. Bush made Dan Klein the new director of the agency, and Dan Klein declared a new day and a new policy of welcoming and learning from alien life (“if any existed,” which Dan privately now knew it did).

Diane, who had never paid much attention to Klein in the beginning, had come to like him even before he had been made the new director. They had become officially engaged, and she was extremely proud of him when Bush made him the new director and he made his speech announcing the new direction of the agency. However, Diane had gone with the podsquad to live on Antar, while Dan had stayed on earth and become the new agency director. This would seem to have been the end of this relationship, but that was not to be the case.

Liz “inherited” four spheres with unusual powers from the king of another planet, Xarius. One of these spheres was the sphere of the portal. It provided a portal between any two places in the universe. Liz allowed Diane the use of this particular sphere to go back and forth between Antar and earth to see Dan, who was now her fiancé. It was probably only a matter of time before this arrangement had consequences.

On this day, Dan Klein was in his office in Washington, D.C., near the White House, doing what he seemed to always be doing when he was there… more paperwork. But today was not going to be just another day…

There was a knock on the door. At first, Dan didn’t notice. Then they knocked again. This time he looked up from his work.

“Come in,” he said, shuffling the papers around on his desk. “The door’s not locked.”

The door opened, and two men in suits stepped into the room. They were followed by another man… the President. Dan suddenly noticed and stood up to greet his visitor.

“Sir! Good morning! I wasn’t expecting your visit.”

The President motioned to the two men that they could wait outside.

“Good morning, Dan. I just thought I’d stop by and see how you were getting’ along over here since I appointed you to the new position. I got your reports, but I like to kind of face off with folks sometimes… just see for myself how it’s all movin’ along… if they’re happy… whatever. So, Dan! Anything I can do for you over here? Need any aliens rounded up?” The President chuckled.

Dan smiled. “No, Sir… Everything’s just fine, Sir! I haven’t found any aliens that needed roundin’ up yet. We’re goin’ ahead full steam with your project of gathering information about life out there in the universe… so we can make friends with them if we ever do meet them. You know… keep ‘em on our side.”

“Good! Good! I know a lot of folks think this alien stuff is a bunch of hooey, Dan, but we’ve gotta move forward into the future and be prepared for whatever may come along. It's a big universe out there. I like the idea of us being their friends and keeping them on our side if there is intelligent life out there… And there is some evidence, as you know, Dan, that there is. Maybe you should write up some kind of protocol… you know, how we would handle it if we met them again… how we would make them our friends… and…”

As the President spoke, a bright light suddenly appeared in the room. Something that looked like a mirror surrounded by white light appeared for an instant, and Diane stepped into the room with a book in her hands. Without looking up, she began talking while looking at the open book.

“Dan! I’ve got a book here with places we could go on our honeymoon! There’s this planet called Yxtiar with all these hot springs and…” Diane looked up. “Oops!” She immediately said “Portal;” and before one could blink an eye, she was gone again.

The President sat in stunned silence for a few moments. Dan didn’t speak either. Nothing he could think of right now seemed like it would get him out of this. He would just wait and see if the President had noticed.

“Dan,” the President said after a few moments.

“Yes, Sir?”

“What was that?”

“What was what, Sir?”

“Come on, Dan. I know what I saw! Well… maybe I don’t know what I saw, but… I know I saw something!”

“I don’t suppose I could convince you that you got a’hold of some bad pretzels, Sir, and…”

The President was shaking his head.

“No… I didn’t think so… Aw, come on, Mister President! You’re a Texan, Sir! You know a lady when you see one!”

“Yes, indeed, I do, Dan… and I’ll grant you, that was a lady… and a fine-lookin’ one, too! But what was THAT?”

“Oh… You mean THAT, Sir.”

“Yes, THAT!”

“That light… thing… and that…”

“Right.”

Dan nodded. “Well, Sir… That was a portal.”

“A portal? Like a door or something? To where?”

Dan just shrugged and pointed up.

The President sat for another few moments in silence.

“Dan, you’re movin’ ahead on this project pretty fast, aren’t you! I think you’ve been holdin’ out on me! I know I asked you to find life out there and make friends with 'em, but… you're taking this thing pretty seriously, aren't you?”

“Well, Sir… I’ll invite you to the wedding if you’d like!”

“You’d better! Now show me what that was that I saw!”

Dan breathed out. “Oh well, by now she’ll be checking the Sphere of Visions to see if I’m alone again yet, so…” Dan looked up… “Come on back, Diane. We’re busted!”

The portal appeared after a moment, and Diane stepped through.

“Dan, I’m sorry! I should have checked first. I didn’t know…”

“Mister President, meet my fiancée, Miss Diane Casey.”

“It’s a real pleasure, Miss Casey,” the President said, taking her hand and kissing it.

“Miss Casey, I don’t normally start off meeting someone and asking them right off where they’re from, but that seems to be the question on my mind right now.”

“Texas,” Diane said.

“Well, now, I don’t remember us havin’ anything like that… uh, whatever it was you came in here through… in Texas, and I was the governor of that great state!”

“Oh… well, I was born in Texas, Sir, but I live somewhere else now.”

“I gather that would not be around these parts, would it, Miss Casey?”

“No, Sir. It’s Antar, Sir. It's… another planet.”

The President nodded. “Maybe I should have those pretzels checked, after all, Dan!”

Dan laughed.

“So, Dan, you’re planning to marry this pretty gal, huh? I guess congratulations are in order then!”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“I gather that all those times when I couldn’t find you here you were up there?”

“Oh… I didn’t know you had been by to see me before, Sir! Yeah, well… you see, we had a little Ghor problem up there.”

The President raised an eyebrow. “Up there, too?”

“There was this Ghor named Hosk,” Diane interjected.

“Well, I know Al, of course… and his Daddy. But Hosk Gore? No… I never heard of him. Send ‘im to Florida,” the President said with a wry smile. That state's been known to be fatal to Gores."

“I’m gonna ignore that comment, Sir,” Dan said.

“Which one?”

“Both of them, Sir,” Dan said, keeping a straight face. He was biting down on his tongue and fighting a smile that was pulling at the corners of his mouth, but he refused to surrender to the urge or give the satisfaction of a grin.

"Miss Casey," the President said, "Just what is that… 'portal' thing that you came in here through? I never saw anything like it. What can it do?"

Diane glanced at Dan. Dan nodded that it was okay.

"Well, Sir… That's just what it is… a portal. It makes a doorway between two different places… like Earth and Antar."

"And it can take you anywhere?"

"As far as I know."

"You see, Sir," Dan said, "This is just the kind of technology we wouldn't want to fall into the enemy's hands."

The President nodded. "You're right, Dan! I don’t even want to think about what the Democrats could do with something like this!"

"I meant Iraq and North Korea, Sir, " Dan said, "…countries that are unfriendly to us… and terrorists!"

"Yeah… them, too!" the President said with a wry smile.

The President had a way of joking about things and a self-deprecating wit, but Dan knew him well enough to see through it… usually. And besides, Dan wasn't above making a little joke himself…

"Your old friend Senator Jeffors might join a party on another planet if he had the portal," Dan said.

"Hmmm…" The President nodded. "No, I still don't think that's enough reason to let them have it."

Dan gave in and chuckled slightly.

"Well, Sir," Diane said, "I'm afraid it wouldn’t do anyone any good if they did have it, even you. This portal doesn’t answer to anyone but Liz, not even to the President. Just Liz… and Maya and King Shaqor, of course. I'm only allowed to use it by Liz's special permission."

"Well, that's good to know, actually," the President said. "That means it couldn't fall into the wrong hands and be misused. And yes, Dan, I do mean Iraq and North Korea and terrorists and… Say, Miss Casey, didn't you or Dan say something awhile ago about a 'Sphere of Visions'?"

"I think I mentioned it," Dan said.

"What kind of ‘visions’?"

"Anything you ask it to ‘see’. Just like the Sphere of Searches can find anything or anyone."

"Anyone… even O s a m a b i n L a d e n?"

Dan looked at Diane, and Diane shrugged. "I guess."

"Do you have permission to use those spheres, too, Miss Casey?"

"Temporarily… yes."

"Can your sphere find O s a m a for me?"

Diane shrugged. "That… seems like a humanitarian request, I guess. I could try it."

Diane called for the Sphere of Searches. "Please locate O s a m a b i n L a d e n."

After a short wait, the sphere answered. "I regret that I cannot locate this person."

"Why not?" Diane asked.

"Millennia ago, most of the universe was mapped by systematic benthuric crystal quatrilation. This information is recreated in my memory so that I can locate anything I seek. This planet, however, was never mapped by systematic benthuric crystal quatrilation, so I cannot give you a location for the one you request."

"Maybe the Sphere of Visions can see him," Dan suggested.

Diane called for the Sphere of Visions. "Show us O s a m a b i n L a d e n?"

A misty apparition filled part of the room; and in it, they saw a tall, bearded man wearing a robe, sitting in a very comfortable, western-style chair, drinking Pepsi-Cola, watching TV, and reading Time magazines.

"Are you sure that's b i n L a d e n?" Dan asked.

"It looks like he's in a cave," Diane said. "It could be him."

The President opened the door and called his two secret service agents in. "Can either of you gentlemen tell where this is?"

They looked at the apparition intently.

"No, Sir," the first one said. "It's in a cave somewhere. And that's b i n L a d e n. What is this?" The agents walked around the apparition, touching the mist with their hands.

"The cave is deep, Sir," the second agent noted. "The walls are covered in places with a type of moss that grows only below 300 feet… and only in a few places in the Middle East. Afghanistan is one."

"That could be helpful. Okay. Miss Casey, could that portal take me to where O s a m a is even if earth hasn't been qua… qua… quatri… whatever that mapping was called?"

"I don't know. Portal!"

"Sir, Don't!" Dan warned. "It could… it would be dangerous."

"My boys can go with me. One Texan against a bearded pervert with a dress on and a few assassins… That sounds like pretty good odds to me."

"Sir," the second agent said. "I have to agree with Mister Klein. "It would be dangerous… even with us along."

Diane looked at Dan. "There is another sphere, Dan. We've never used it, but it activated itself once without being asked to and saved all our lives on the ship. It's the Sphere of Protection."

"And you can use it?" Dan asked.

"Liz gave me permission to use the spheres temporarily. She didn't specify which ones."

“…Sphere of Protection!"

"Ask."

"Can you protect these men if they go somewhere where there might be danger… on earth?"

"Yes. But their weapons will not work while they are protected."

"I guess the crystal quatrilation mapping isn't needed except for specifying location," Diane said. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked the President.

"Sure as rain!"

"Okay, then. Sphere of Protection, protect these men until they return. Portal, take these three men to the one they seek. And Liz! Please don't kill me!" Diane added.

The portal appeared.

"What do I do… just step through?"

Diane nodded. The first agent held his hand out in front of the President and stepped through before him. The second agent followed the first one. Then the President stepped through. O s a m a b i n L a d e n sat watching TV, looking the other way, and somehow didn't notice the new arrivals. The President walked up behind him and casually leaned over the back of his chair.

"BOO!"

B i n L a d e n jumped and spun around quickly then began calling excitedly. Within seconds, the room had filled with bearded terrorists carrying Soviet era AK-47's, all pointed at the three men. A look from their leader, and they began firing. Bullets came like rain from every part of the room toward the President and the two secret service agents; but as each bullet traveled through the air, it lost velocity, seemed to melt in mid-air, and dropped to the ground as a puddle of molten lead. The terrorists continued firing until their bullets ran out, but none reached the three intruders. O s a m a b i n L a d e n still sat in the chair, from which he had not moved since the intruders had first arrived.

After the bullets stopped flying, the President leaned over the chair again. "Did I say, 'BOO,' Sammy? I'm sorry! I misspoke. I do that a lot, it seems. I meant, 'BOOM!'" He smiled then stepped back through the portal into Dan's office with the two agents.

The terrorists were running every which way. Some of them decided it was a good time -as all times were- to lavish praise on their "leader."

"O s a m a, you have inspired us all! Songs will be written about how you faced down our enemy today and frightened them away. You never moved! You never ran! You are truly a leader of leaders!"

O s a m a smiled slightly then winced. "Okay! Bah-le, Bah-le, Bah-le! Get out now! I want to be left alone! …Not you, Ali. You stay."

The others all walked out, bowing and still lavishing their leader with praises.

"What do you need?" Ali asked. "Why didn't you stand up to face our enemy?"

O s a m a looked around. The others appeared to have gone. "Bring me a clean robe, and shut up."

Back in Dan’s office, the President was grinning like a cat that had just chewed the tail off of a mouse. The two secret service agents were a bit unnerved. The first agent leaned over to the other one and said in a hushed whisper…

“Are you going to report this, Jackson?”

“Report what?” Jackson asked. “They’ll think I was drinking on duty. Nothing happened… You going to file a report, Derrick?”

“About what? Nothing happened.”

Jackson looked back at him. “Right. That’s what I thought.”

“Dan,” the President said, “That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I better get these boys back over to the White House. I think they’ve been in the sun too long. Congratulations on your engagement! You couldn’t have chosen a more delightful lady! Miss Casey, it’s been a real pleasure! I hope I’ll be seein’ you around from time to time. I’ll put you and Dan on the White House social list. Well, it doesn’t look like you need my help over here, Dan. Looks like you’ve got everything in hand… uh… under control…”

The President turned and motioned to the secret service agents, who escorted him back over to the White House. Dan was alone again with Diane.

“Well, Dan… Do you?”

“Do I what?” Dan asked.

“Have everything in hand?”

Dan put his arms around Diane and pulled her up to him as their lips slowly came together. A couple of minutes later, he answered, “Yeah, I do now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max and Michael were out making the rounds, as they often did, keeping morale up in the kingdom, checking to see what might be needed, making sure that the kingdom ran smoothly and everyone was happy. Liz and Maria were preparing lunch for Kyle, Jeliya, Dan, Diane, their children, and themselves in the palace, and Diane began to relate the details of what had happened to her and Dan on earth. Liz stopped momentarily and put her hand over her mouth…

“Omigosh! You mean… you looked up and he was just right there… in front of you?”

“Yeah,” Diane said, her voice trembling. “The President! The President was in Dan’s office!”

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t have time to think. I made a hasty retreat. When I got back here, my legs were like jelly. You can imagine! I wasn’t sure I would be able to stand up. I thought, Omigod, Dan is just going to kill me when he sees me again… and how is he going to explain this to… you know, him?”

“Oh, Diane,” Liz said in a hushed tone. “What did he do? What did YOU do?”

“I used the Sphere of Visions to see what Dan would say.”

“Well don’t keep me in suspense!” Liz said.

“He handled it pretty well. He kind of tried to make a joke out of it, you know… then he just told the President that it was a portal, and when the President pushed for information about it, Dan told me to come on back. He knew I would be watching with the sphere.”

“You went back? Weren’t you scared?”

“I was jelly, Liz! I thought I would die! You can’t imagine. I didn’t know what was going to happen! But it was my own fault. I should have checked first. It’s just that nobody ever came to see Dan before when he was in his office.”

“Did he… Did he ask about the portal,” Liz wanted to know.

“Oh yeah! He was very persistent!”

“What did you tell him?”

“That it was like a doorway between two places… in this case, our planets.”

“Did he, like, freak? I mean… he didn’t call out the secret service or alien task force or something…?”

“No. Dan’s in charge of all that now. I thought Dan would kill me, though. Well, not literally, but I thought I would probably wish that he had after he finished with me. You know what he said?”

Liz shook her head, her eyes opening wider than usual.

“He just said, “Mister President, meet my fiancée, Diane Casey.”

Liz was prepared for something -she didn’t know what- more traumatic. She fumbled the spoon she was stirring with and dropped it into the Grelligo soup. As she tried to fish it back out, she asked…

“What did the President say?”

“He just said, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Casey…’ Then he told Dan that he was moving really fast on this project.”

“What project?”

“Something about seeking out other life in the universe and trying to make friends with them if they found any. He told Dan that he didn’t mean he had to marry them.”

Liz laughed. “What did Dan say?”

“He told the President he’d invite him to the wedding.”

“Ooh, well, Diane, maybe they’ll give you a nice wedding gift.”

“Yeah, well… I assure you that’s not what I had on my mind!”

Liz laughed again. “I’m sure it’s not.”

“Did the President ask how the portal worked or anything about Antar,” Maria wanted to know.

“No… Well, he asked a lot of questions, but mostly about what the spheres would do. And he asked me where I was from. I told him Texas.”

Maria and Liz both laughed. “Yeah, and he believed that?” Maria asked, “…after you came in through the portal? He probably thought you were an alien!”

“Oh, he did! He said they don’t have anything like that in Texas, and I told him I was born in Texas, but I don’t live there anymore… I live on Antar now.”

“And I suppose he knew where that was,” Kyle interjected with a laugh.

“No. And he didn’t ask me to point it out either… not that I could have… It’s too far away to be seen from earth. He wanted to know if the Sphere of Searches could locate O s a m a b i n L a d e n for him.”

Liz fumbled the spoon again and dropped it back into the Grelligo soup.

“What did you do?” all three seemed to want to know at the same time.

“I… I thought you might kill me for misusing the spheres, but it seemed like it was a humanitarian gesture, you know… not like a terrible request, so I gave it a try, but it didn’t work.”

Liz looked concerned. “What do you mean it didn’t work?”

“Well, the sphere said that a long time ago… millennia ago… the universe was mapped by… what was it called? Crystal… quadrangle… systematic… something or other…”

“Systematic Crystal Benthuric Quatrilation,” Liz said. “SCBQ.”

“You know about it?” Diane asked, amazed.

“I read about it in the history books somewhere… or maybe it was one of Varec’s science books in the lab.”

“I wish I had your memory, Liz! Anyway, yeah, that’s exactly what it was. But the sphere said that earth was never mapped that way, so it couldn’t pinpoint a location. Anyway, apparently, the other spheres don’t have that problem.”

“Oh?”

“We used the Sphere of Visions, and it showed us b i n L a d e n in a cave somewhere. Then the President wanted to use the portal to go there…”

For the third time, Liz found herself fishing the spoon out of the Grelligo soup, but she finally realized she had been stirring the soup the whole time they had been talking and it didn’t need to be stirred anymore. She rinsed the spoon and put it in a pot.

“My God, Diane, what did you do?”

“I sent him to b i n L a d e n .”

Fortunately, Liz had already put the spoon down.

“You didn’t!”

Diane nodded. “…him and his two secret service agents. And Liz, I hope you’ll forgive me, but… I used the Sphere of Protection to protect them.”

“Well, Diane… What else could you do? Why wouldn’t I want you to protect them?”

“Maybe you didn’t vote for him,” Kyle said wryly.

Liz threw a wet washcloth at Kyle, who didn’t duck quite fast enough in spite of his football-honed reflexes.

“Maybe I didn’t vote at all, Kyle. Maybe you didn’t either! We aren’t exactly registered to vote on earth! And if we were, I wouldn’t tell you who I voted for!”

“Yeah, yeah! Don’t get testy about it!” Kyle laughed. “I know… he’s the President and all. I wouldn’t want old Ben Lardo to get him whether I voted for him or the other guy.”

Seeing her chance, Liz grinned, “and who would the ‘other guy’ be, Kyle?”

Kyle sat for a moment, thinking. “I don’t know… Janet Reno?”

“Oh, Kyle!” Liz exclaimed exasperated, “You’re worse than I thought!”

“Well, like you said, Liz, I don’t vote there now. I don’t really keep up with earth politics. We’ve had our own problems.”

Liz nodded. “Okay… truce?”

Kyle tossed the washcloth back. “Truce.”

“So he actually went to where Ben Lardo was?” Kyle asked.

Diane nodded.

“I’ll bet you would have given anything to be a fly on the wall of that cave and see what happened,” Kyle said.

“Are you kidding! The first thing I did was call the Sphere of Visions back so I could watch! You don’t think I would miss it, do you?”

Kyle laughed. “I’ll give you points for thinking fast. What happened?”

“The President sneaked up on O s a m a sitting in an easy chair watching TV and said ‘BOO!’”

Kyle choked and began to laugh. “You’re kidding me! That’s what he said?”

“I swear it Kyle… on all that’s holy to me! He did!”

“I wish I could have seen that,” Kyle said between fits of laughter.

Diane continued, “As soon as he said it, all hell broke loose. O s a m a began screaming in Arabic or something, then all these bearded guys come running in shooting AK-47’s…”

“How do you know they were AK-47’s?” Kyle asked.

“I was in the FBI, remember Kyle? I know something about weapons!”

”Oh yeah, that’s right. You would.”

“How did they get away?” Liz asked.

“The Sphere of Protection,” Diane said. “The bullets the terrorists fired just slowed down, melted, and fell to the floor of the cave in little lead puddles… all over O s a m a ‘ s Persian rugs.”

“Oh, I’ll bet he loved that,” Kyle said.

“You could never imagine! Then the President leaned over his chair again and said, ‘You know what, Sammy?’ -He called him Sammy!- ‘I made a mistake when I said, BOO! I meant BOOM!”

Maria giggled. “Did the secret service agents arrest O s a m a ?”

Diane shook her head. “No, their weapons wouldn’t work either while they were under the sphere’s protection. After the President said BOOM, he and the secret service agents stepped back through the portal. I didn’t understand everything the terrorists said in Arabic after they left, but I caught enough to know that O s a m a said something about needing a clean robe.”

Kyle laughed until he had tears in his eyes.

“The President said that he was going to put Dan and me on the White House social list and he hoped to see me around again. And he said something about maybe coming here some time if he was invited.

“I’ll hide the pretzels,” Liz said.

Kyle looked at her and grinned. “Liz! You?”

Liz shook her head. “It… It was just a joke, Kyle! Forget I said it!” She turned somewhat red.

“I thought it was jellybeans he liked,” Kyle said.

“No, that was his father, the other George Bush,” Maria said.

“You mean there are two?” Kyle exclaimed. “I thought he got reelected.”

“Kyle, I’m gonna throw this washcloth at you again…” Liz threatened. “And Maria, that was Reagan who liked jellybeans.”

“Oh,” Maria said. “I knew it was someone. Well what did Clinton like?”

Kyle smiled. Liz passed the washcloth through the water and held it up while shooting a threatening look in Kyle’s direction. Kyle noticed…

“A good smoke, Maria. He liked a good smoke,” Kyle said, grinning.

“What’s a smoke?” JoLeesa asked, joining the conversation.

“You know,” Zorel said… “You remember when we were on earth and there were some people with little paper sticks in their mouths that were on fire?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I remember you pulling that big brown one out of some big guy’s mouth and stomping on it and telling him that his burrito was on fire.”

“Well, I thought it was,” Zorel said.

Kyle was laughing hysterically. “That was a cigar, Zorel… That’s what Clinton likes.”

“Kyle! Don’t make me hurt you!” Liz said. “I can see where you’re going!”

Kyle was grinning mischievously.

“Kids,” Liz said, “Why don’t you go over there and sit with your Uncle Kyle. If he says anything you need explained, he’ll be glad to explain it.”

Maya, Leesa, Andya, and the others all crowded around Kyle. Suddenly, he didn’t seem to have much to say. Liz smiled.

“Well, guys,” Maria said, “Lunch is ready! Anyone who wants to eat had better get to the table.

Everybody made their way to the dining room. Maria grinned and looked at Liz. “Sometimes you’re awesome, Liz!”

-The End-

This story was intended to be enjoyed as parody and humor and does not intentionally either endorse or disparage any person… well, except for one specific infamous cave-dwelling troglodyte. Except for that, all references to politics or political persons are intended to be neutral and enjoyable by persons of any political persuasion and should not be assumed to imply anything but good-natured humor. Smile!

This story was adapted and revised from the chapters titled,

------------- Chapter 46 “Oops”

------------- Chapter 47 “Boom”

------------- Chapter 48 “Don’t Make Me Hurt You”

which are found in the Roswell fic “Children of the Universe” by Gerry Carr (Island Breeze).

Post by **roswellkitkat** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 11:41 pm

This was great! Didn't appreciate the Florida joke

"Well, I know Al, of course… and his Daddy. But Hosk Gore? No… I never heard of him. Send ‘im to Florida,” the President said with a wry smile. That state's been known to be fatal to Gores."

But I'll let it pass this time!

<div style="text-align:center">One must talk. That's how it is. One must.</div><div style="text-align:center">Marguerite Duras, French novelist</div>

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