6 comments/ 37599 views/ 3 favorites Cold Phoenix By: ArthurianMorgaine The mugger grinned, grabbing the girl and dragging her into an alley, producing a vibro-shiv seemingly from nowhere and brandishing it menacingly. "Now, if you just be quiet, the only thing you'll lose is money, instead of money and a limb, girl." There isn’t much point in fleeing or resisting- a vibro-shiv can slice through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter. Yelling for help, however. She inhaled deeply and what erupted from her mouth was a loud scream of "HELLLLLLLLLPPPPP!!" The mugger muttered something and shoved Dana aside, grabbing her purse and running away. However, Dana had been heard. The droning whine of a plasma turbine engine filled the air as a LEO Officer descended from the skies above like an angry falcon, leaping from their PITSAT to the ground and giving chase in metal boots. "GET BACK HERE!! In seconds the officer- female, from her voice- had caught the mugger. A spin-kick had him on the ground and three swift punches had him immobilized. Stun-cuffed and dazed, she tossed him onto the back of the PITSAT- the vehicle looking like a short, fat turbojet engine from an airplane wing with a windscreen, handlebars, and a seat. The officer- tall, pale and smiling disarmingly, walked over. "You okay miss?" She smiled back softly, "Yes Officer, I am fine I guess but still a little shaken up. Thank you for catching him so swiftly," she said with the sweetest hint of an accent. She smiled and held out a card. "Here. Can you come by the local LEO station tomorrow, so I can get a statement from you?" "Sure Officer-, excuse me, what is your name Ma'am?" she said, trying to peer at her name badge She grinned, pointing at the card. "I'm a LEO Freelancer, Sarah Whitmore. See you tomorrow." She hopped onto the PITSAT and the plasma turbine roared to life, blue flame pouring out the rear of the small vehicle as the officer took to the sky, presumably to drop off the criminal. Dana went home, her mind full of thoughts about the encounter. Interesting. The next day she went to the LEO station. The entire place was done up in blue and gray, and everyone and everything seemed intimidating. The receptionist gave Dana a cold stare, and everyone seemed to be ignoring her. "Go sit over there on the bench. We'll be with you in a few minutes." She walked around, completely ignoring the rude receptionist. She looked at the traditional wall of wanted criminals and leaved through some pamphlets on the long counter. Eyeing a doorway that said "Officer Whitmore" in a black and white plaque above she went to go knock on the door when the receptionist looked up and yelled at her to get away from there. She moped back to the seating area but still didn’t sit down, choosing rather to stare out of the Plexiglas window The Glass doors slammed open and Sarah strode in. Dressed in a simple white shirt and unbuttoned black vest, as well as ice camouflage pants, she looked as good as ever. Steel metal boots clad her feet, black fingerless gloves on her hands and a pair of wire-rimmed glasses with slightly blue lenses perched on her nose. She completely ignored the receptionist and strode over to Dana. "Hey! Hi! You doing okay?" "Yeah I'm doing okay but it is quite 'cold' in here, if you know what I mean," Dana said, glaring at the receptionist. "So did you put that punk behind bars?" she asked, truly intrigued She nodded. "Yep! C'mon I got to take you to the recording room so we can get your statement. Bleah. Bureaucracy sucks." Now that Dana had time to actually see the officer, she realized, Sarah was quite attractive. Muscular, but not too excessive, what was visible was toned, sculpted, and beautiful. She also had a stunning, spectacular, HUGE pair of breasts. They were a bit bigger than basketballs, and they moved quite a bit, so they weren't fake. Almost big enough to be seen from behind even. And she was going to be in a room ALONE with that body! Whoa! She grinned and trotted behind the older woman, her own supple figure bobbing behind the bustier woman's Within a few minutes, Sarah had gotten a recorded statement from Dana and sent the girl on her way with a LEO pass card- a simple piece of paper that would keep Dana's employers from firing her due to LEO needs. She went to work- a bank teller at a local bank, nothing big, an average job with an average wage. The entire day, however, she thought about her OTHER job- she was a surrogate and two days ago she'd been fertilized and implanted with the fertilized egg she was to carry to term. She gently rubbed the lower part of her belly in between customers, knowing that the baby... hopefully babies... would find a nice home. It was her first surrogacy but she had wanted it for so long. As soon as she had come of age and gotten a clean bill of health, she signed up for the program and was implanted with a couple fertilized eggs shortly afterwards. She was told that she would probably only have one grow to maturity but she knew deep in her heart that they would find a warm place to rest and begin their time together. She stroked her tummy, subconsciously hoping that would coax them to settle in her safe womb Months go by. Dana's pregnancy progresses, and soon it's discovered she's pregnant with twins! Delighted with this she takes to wearing the best show-off outfits she can get away with. "Look at her, parading that gut around." "You think we can use her?" "She's the only pregnant one I've seen in months, I say we take her." The three hidden watchers left, waiting for Dana to get off work and start to walk the three-block trip to her apartment. She smiled and bobbed as she walked, in complete euphoria, loving the stares she got from strangers and the women who just loved to touch her fertile belly. She got to her apartment door and looked though her purse for her keys. "GET HER!" In half a second she'd been grabbed by at least two men and one of them slammed something heavy into the back of her head, knocking her out She was suspended naked, in a tube of liquid, with tubes and wires hooked up to her body. Pregnant with twins, she was due any day now, and she was scared. There'd been talk of gang activity in Jerhattan, but that could be anywhere- the city covered most of the east coast. She peered through the green-gray liquid and spotted people moving around outside the tube, along with hodgepodge computers and equipment. Then she spotted one guy with a jacket on; red sleeves, white body, and with a stylized DNA double helix made into a G. Genestealers. A gang devoted to genetic manipulation- they tended to do one of three things- cause damage, rob people who came to look at the damage... ... and abduct pregnant women to use them for their own ends. Crap. *** "Hey, Any officers out there in the Financial District in Jerhattan? We got reports of gang activity as well as muggings." "Whitmore here. Any addresses?” "Just a few- one's an apartment building just outside the financial district, another by the warehouse section on the other end." "Huh. I'll go check it out. ISAT Unit out and Investigating." "Just to scratch the pretty paint on that toy of yours, Whitmore." "I'll scratch it all I like, Radio! You know damn well I bought this thing with my own damnable cash! If I dent it, it comes out of my pocket. Go bother some other Freelancer." *** 'Hmm....The warehouse section seems the best place to go- There's a whole shitload of abandoned buildings a Gang could use and convert into a hideout and no one would know. Fecking bureaucracy.' The ISAT remained circling overhead, and Sarah detached the PITSAT and did a low run over the abandoned sections, the HUD in her glasses giving her readouts on activity. 'Empty, Empty, Empty, a few live wires, empty, two bodies, probably homeless bums, empty, empty... AHA! JACKPOT!' "Radio, this is Freelancer Whitmore. I'm in the Warehouse district. One of the old abandoned warehouses in Gamma Block is just loaded with activity. Three generators multiple heat readings, computer activity- I'll bet that this is the gang center for this area. I'm going to go in and scope the place out. If I don’t report back in five, make sure the patrol units know this is a danger zone." "Yeah, sure, Freelancer. Go play your hotshot games." "Ah, shut it Radio. Just make sure people know there’s a cop in the damn area." She hopped off the PITSAT, the vehicle going on autopilot back to the ISAT. The bigger, missile styled vehicle would find someplace nearby and wait for other commands, the base AI in it controlling it for the time being. She landed lightly on the roof, Phased/Plasma pistol drawn, and the heavier weaponry, Her Hammer and meteor-gun, strapped to her waist and back, respectively. She tiptoed through the halls of the warehouse, and then blinked in surprise when she looked around a corner. Thirty Genestealer gang members, a plethora of hodgepodge equipment, and a very pregnant woman- awake-in a stasis tube. Fuck. She took a deep breath, and pulled the meteor-gun off her back, sliding her arm into the opening set for it and feeling the familiar tingle of electricity through her body. She dove around the corner and fired three massive balls of plasma, and then a small phased plasma bolt. Two of the three shots atomized the various gang members. The third blew up the computers. The final shot, the one from her pistol, hit the bottom of the tank, blowing a hole for the fluid to drain. She ran across the room and smashed the glass with barrel, reaching in to remove the wires and tubes from the pregnant woman. She tossed the girl some clothing and then punched a command code into her comm.-bracelet. "Come on, there'll be more in here in seconds. Get yourself decent so I can get you out of here. Hey... have we met?" She nodded and got dressed VERY quickly, basically just tossing on a shirt and carrying the rest as she ran for cover behind Officer Whitmore. She held onto her precious stomach and whimpered softly as she feared for her life and the little lives inside her. She didn’t know if they Genestealers had done anything to her while she was sleeping; compromised her pregnancy, toyed with the children inside or what but she was scared. So scared that she began to shake She took the woman's arm, and ran towards the nearest doorway. The Hud on her glasses was already showing a real-time view of the blueprints, superimposed over the reality. She frowned: a blocked way. She bent her knees, bracing herself and charging up the meteor-gun. "Lady, stand back!" She fired a comet-like blast of blue-green plasma at the wall, the electric fire carving a hole through the wall, exposing them to the foul air outside. :"Come here, quick!" She obeyed quickly, practically jumping into the pale woman's arms, bracing herself for the worst She carefully lifted the pregnant woman in her arms- were she calmer, Dana would have noted that this was impossible or near impossible for a normal person- her pregnancy made her body too bulky and heavy to be carried easily or effectively, yet this tall pale woman managed both. She closed her eyes as they fell. Sarah looked down, and saw the girl's eyes closed and the ground coming up fast. The jets in her boots kicked in, slowing them down. The ISAT and PITSAT had been recalled to HQ- apparently a 'real' officer had needed it, and as such took precedence. A car, done up in tinted chrome, aluminum and glass (all three tinted) came to a halt in front of them. A car historian would note that the body was from an early 1980's-era car company, now defunct. The innards had been completely redone with modern technology- minicomputer, plasma turbine engine, pressure seats with web restraints, and a number of semi-illegal aftermarket modifications. The HUD on Sarah's glasses had a small box in the lower left corner for her AI's avatar, when the AI was 'awake' and active, driving the car for her was one such activity. "Hey bolts, nice to see you!" "Shut up, tin head." Sarah mumbled into the throat mike she had, and the AI got somber. "Yeesh, you look peeved. What happened?" "My air support got taken. Has Mercy finished the one we're making?" "Nope- she's waiting for you to get home." "Tell her to make the place civilian-safe now, and make sure anything suspect is under lock and key in the storage room. I have to take this girl to the hospital- the Genestealers may have gotten to her already." "Get a move on the ones in the building next to you are roaring around like pissed off hornets." "Get the Interceptor to the closest hospital, upload directions there into the car's minicomputer, and then leave me the hell alone, Mol./ I'm in a rotten mood." "So I gathered. AI offline." Sarah pulled open the passenger side door, gull wing-style door, rather than the traditional slide access of modern cars or the foldouts of past eras- and helped the pregnant girl get into the seat. "Get in and sit down." She pulled the racing-styled web restraints over the girl's body and shut the door, running around to the driver's side and slid behind the controls. Odd, most cars didn’t have pressure plate controls; especially not pressure plates as odd as the ones on this car- steering yokes were preferred, since they were less touchy. A veritable horde of motorcycle riding Genstealers came pouring out of the warehouse and headed for the car, which leapt away from the curb as the turbines, electrical whine went up in pitch. With close to fifty motorcycles following them, Sarah kept the pedal to the metal and took some very close corners, flipping the car up on it's side so the hover plates on the underside could meet walls and ramp off them to avoid losing speed. "You okay?" She whimpered and grabbed onto the door and the center console, bracing herself as a contraction wracked her body. She breathed in and out quickly, and her face contorted with pain. "Never better" she said, trying to put on a smile and ease the pale woman's fears. She calmed down and panted softly and then another one came, this time longer and more painful. She hadn’t broken her water but was going into active labor. She had no experience with pregnant women- hell, this was the first one she'd seen or met at all, and she wasn't sure if this was a reaction to something the Genestealers did, fear, or something else. The map pointed to the highway and she went up the onramp and 150 miles an hour, the inertial dampeners in the car starting to strain a little to keep the passengers within the car from getting moved around. The motorcyclists all followed, ten or so careening off the ramp and wrecking or thrown from their bikes, out of the pursuit. Peachy. The car was fast, but these were modern bikes, with energy boosters, which would be more than enough to help them catch up to the car on the highway. Off to the right was the Sumer district, an older area full of older buildings that were abandoned but too close to civilization to inhabited illegally. Sarah knew it like the back of her hand. "HANG ON!" She yelled, and the car veered right. She punched two of the many unlabeled buttons on the dash and the car 'hopped' into the air as the hover pads pulsed and a glide sail snapped open over the roof of the car, allowing it to come to a mostly-safe landing on the road below a moment later, the speedometer reading 230 miles an hour and still climbing. Everything was blurring now, and the HUG on the windshield, projecting a holographic display of the road and buildings around them in wire frame was just about the only way to keep from getting smashed into a wall. Up stairwells, across sloped roofs, and generally up onto places where ground traffic was not supposed to go, they went. Many of the motorcyclists crashed during the pursuit. There were thirty left when the car landed, wheels down and shocks bottoming out, in the emergency ambulance zone at the nearby hospital like a stealth fighter with an inferiority complex. Sarah got out and helped the badly shaken woman out and onto a gurney, flashed her police badge and hopped onto the motorcycle waiting a few meters away. The car drove off sedately and Sara fired a few plasma pistol rounds at the oncoming motorcyclists to get their attention. "HEY! You want me? Come and get me!" She was wheeled into the emergency room and then after a quick examination was lead to the maternity ward with nurses and doctors that were more equipped to handle labor and delivery. She was settled in a bed where nurses began fussing over her. When Dana finally got her senses back she began crying. "Where is Sarah? Where is she? I need her!" "Who is Sarah child? No one came in with you, not that we were told about," one of the nurses said as she applied a cool rag to her head. "The woman who saved me! Where is she?" she said, eyes full of tears. She wanted to call out some more but then another contraction hit and she grabbed hold of the side rails of the bed and whimpered as her knuckles went white from her grip. As it subsided she began panting and used this time to rest instead of calling out for Sarah who was nowhere to be found. At the next contraction her water broke and the pain became a bit worse. The nurse asked her if she needed an epidural and she shook her head. When the contraction subsided she collapsed and rested, breathing deeply, whimpering every now and then. As she stroked her tummy she prayed Sarah would come through those doors and come hold her hand. But she was alone right now She'd gone back to the highway, pursued by thirty bikers. Her eyes glowed with power, barely contained and rage she barely controlled. The phase-inversion turbine engine in the bike put out massive amounts of horsepower, and only the fact that the hammerhead had kinetic grips on the smart wheels kept this raw power from stripping the rubber from the tires completely. She had the engine as close to idle as possible- she had no intentions of outrunning the gangsters this time. As the first one pulled alongside her, her hand whipped back, connecting with his face hard enough to shatter his nose and crack all the bones in his face. The electrical jolt she gave him on top of the damage kept him from doing anything but watching in abject horror as his bike slammed into a light post at 200mph, because his body refused to move when ordered. One down. The next one stayed out of arm's reach, having seen what had happened to the first comer. Sarah grabbed the cheap composite rod that was strapped to the side of her bike and lashed out, slamming the gang member off the bike and sending his vehicle into a tumble that started a cascade among the grouped riders behind her. Twelve down. Another stayed a bit farther away, drawing a pistol. She pointed the rod and pressed the button. The spring-loaded telescoping section shot out and the rod caught in the front spokes of the gang member's bike, and he too tumbled, and took three more with him. Fifteen down, halfway there. The doctor came in and propped her feet in a pair or gynecological stirrups and began his exam. She tensed up and breathed in small pants. Despite over 1000 years of advancement in technology, the birthing situation was the same. The drugs were better for women in pain and the care for premature babies was excellent, but it was still a messy, embarrassing experience. She squirmed and whimpered and then another contraction started. "You are only dilated a few centimeters but these babies want out. If things don’t improve, I am going to have to give you some drugs to send you further into labor, Miss" She nodded slowly and grabbed on tightly to the metal side rails, panting and moaning through clenched teeth as her labor pains started anew She slowed down, and the pack converged on her, like a pride of lions on a crippled gazelle. She was finished. Cold Phoenix Gazelles, however, do not possess otherworldly powers. A blast of pure aura energy stunned the bikers for a moment and she lashed out on all sides, sending riders flying hither and yon. Done and done. She skidded to a stop, turned around, and blasted off at top speed, headed for the hospital. The doctor had come back and injected her IV with the medication to induce her labor even further, against her wishes nonetheless. She was worried about her babies, worried that the Genestealers had done something to her but of course did not tell the doctors this. A woman who had been subjected to Genestealers was like a person who got AIDS; you did not want to mess with them for fear of getting hurt yourself. She was scared that the Genestealers had induced this labor and was afraid her babies might be too early. She stroked her belly, whispering softly for the babies to stay in a little bit longer. But they didn’t hear and she felt another contraction, this time they came regularly as the drug triggered them and triggered her cervix to open wider. She moaned and tears flowed down her face The Genestealers had done something to her, indeed, but Sarah had informed the doctors of this. They'd found the problem almost immediately and corrected it, so there was no fear there. Sarah hurtled down the highway at an excessively dangerous and deadly speed of 480 miles an hour, ramping off cars and guardrails to keep from becoming a pavement stain or worse. A grapnel lashed out and grabbed a light posts she went by, and she used it to circle around the post, using a kinetic dampener to kill her speed enough to enter the hospital parking lot. The E-grapnel dissolved as the power to it faded and she coasted into the parking lot, left the bike to fall over, and dashed into the hospital, diving through the door to the delivery room, gasping for breath and leaning heavily against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. She'd made it in time. Dana's eyes lit up but then another contraction came. She smiled as she held onto the bars, her hands shaking as the medication forced her contractions to come longer and harder. Then she felt the first baby slip past her cervix and down her birth canal. As the contraction faded she felt the need to push but was censured by the nurses, telling her only to push with a contraction. She tried to calm down She finally managed to catch her breath and stood beside the girl she'd saved, one arm on the girls shoulder. With all the drugs they'd pumped into her, she figured that Dana would be too out of it to notice much. A wave of calm, peace and comfort washed through Dana. The contractions came closer together, though the pain became less intense. Sarah smiled a pained smile, and waited. There were too many people around, and the emotional, physical, and magical roller-coaster ride she'd just endured was straining her mental control a little. Every once in a while, out of the corner of their eyes, a doctor or nurse would see the pregnant girl and a LUNERIAN FLIER standing behind them- but then they'd look and see two people, though the one standing would be very tall and pale and muscular. Lunerian fliers weren't allowed on Terra without a special license from the World Government anyway, despite the fact that they were doing almost all the space construction and work for the people on Terra. So seeing a flier was rare on Terra- the humans there called it Earth- and rare enough that people often asked questions. Dana gripped Sarah's hands tightly, a grip that would cause a normal human much pains but if it did, Sarah didn’t show it. The doctor was in between her legs with a nurse ready to receive the child. Then after one strong contraction and one large push, she screamed and the baby’s cries filled the room. Relief washed over her until she remembered she was carrying twins and a contraction took over her body. This time the drugs helped and pushed this one out a little faster. In about 5 minutes time, she heard the cries of another child, one that she had brought into the world. She collapsed, still holding Sarah's hand tightly and she fell unconscious. The doctors came and shook her awake, and she looked around for Sarah who had been pushed aside for a moment. She smiled sweetly at her savior and sighed as she held her babies. The parents came in about an hour later after she had fed them their first milk and they doted on their new children. She signed the papers, releasing them into the parents’ custody and curled up on her gurney, watching Sarah with love and admiration Sarah was dead tired. She couldn't fall asleep here, so she discreetly reached into her pocket and took the hypo-stimulus there and pressed the injector to her arm. There was a soft hiss and then the synthetic caffeine flowed into her bloodstream. She pocketed the injector and managed to walk over to Dana without stumbling. "C'mon, you- you need rest. You want to stay here or go back to your apartment?" Sarah smiled at Dana, the tired girl going to sleep. She politely asked the doctor if it was all right to take Dana home. After a moment of reluctance, Sarah produced her LEO badge and the doctor told her it was fine. She smiled and carried the sleeping Dana out to the parking lot. The car was back, and she strapped Dana into the passenger seat, driving her home. The uneventful trip went quickly, and once she got out of the car, she took Dana into her arms again and went into the building. Sarah stood outside Dana's apartment door, and nudged the girl. "Wake up, Dana." She woke up, slightly groggy. Then looked around and saw the door to her apartment complex. She smiled sweetly and walked with Sarah to the main door, up the stairs and to her door. She had several locks on her door and each required a different key. She worked from the top to the bottom, each lock clicking. She jiggled the key in her doorknob and flung it open. Her surrogacy paid her well, covering all of her living expenses; therefore she could afford a small loft apartment with high vaulted ceilings and plush furniture. She stumbled towards the living room, passing the bathroom on the right and the kitchen on the left. The kitchen had a lot of modern amenities, including a large refrigerator and freezer, stocked with all the things a pregnant woman would crave. She set her keys on a table and curled up in a little ball on the couch. Her TV controls were set to her own voice and she said "TV on" and the screen clicked on. Then she said "Channel 1" and it turned to the channel but this was not a normal television broadcast... this was security linked to her apartment. She made sure the coast was clear and then said "Channel 819" and soothing music filled the air. It seemed as if she had always done the same thing; gone into her loft, put her keys on the table, checked the security and changed the channel to something more entertaining. Tonight she needed rest, more than anything. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable Ms. Whitmore. There's plenty to eat in the fridge." The whole house was painted very well with rich colors, the kitchen, using a palette of deep cobalt blues offsetting a bright sunny yellow. Her living room was a dark gray, but lit well enough to seem warm and inviting. The exposed pipes and ventilation ducts were painted a muted silver to contrast and make it seem kind of like a warehouse. Her couches and chairs were all very full and comfortable adding to the cozy feel of it all. Off to the side was the door leading to her bedroom, which was done in a rich, sexy dark red, almost the color of fine wine. Her bed was decked out in creamy colored blankets and deep red pillows. A classical French-styled chair sat in the corner, the cushions cream but the accents and beading red. She had a small wardrobe and an immaculate desk that housed her computer; top of the line machine with all the software imaginable. The screen flashed. A shot of the outside of her apartment where a man in business attire walked by, looking innocuous, as if he where going home as well. Then a shot of the back of the premises, all clear. Several more shots came across the screen all security cameras hooked up to her computer. Dana was paranoid about her safety. Her abduction had probably torn her up inside and left her questioning everything. Sleep beckoned, the stimulus was wearing off. "I'm sorry Dana, but I can’t stay. I've got to go write up a report on everything that happened tonight, and then I got to go take care of Mercy. I'll see you tomorrow okay? Drop by the station for the usual statement stuff." Dana sighed and whimpered as she got up and escorted Sarah out, locking every lock after the door was shut. She went into her room and pointed the computer screen towards her bed so that she might watch out for danger until she fell asleep from exhaustion Sarah went home, checked on mercy, and went to bed. Elsewhere.... "She's not human. It's confirmed." "You’re sure?" "Highway security picked up surveillance footage a few hours ago. Nothing but flier aura abilities could have done what she did." "Inform LEO?" "She's on LEO. They'll let her go." "You sure." "Yes. "All right. Consider it done." Sleep beckoned, the stimulus was wearing off. "I'm sorry Dana, but I can’t stay. I've got to go write up a report on everything that happened tonight, and then I got to go take care of Mercy. I'll see you tomorrow okay? Drop by the station for the usual statement stuff." Dana sighed and whimpered as she got up and escorted Sarah out, locking every lock after the door was shut. She went into her room and pointed the computer screen towards her bed so that she might watch out for danger until she fell asleep from exhaustion Sarah went home, checked on mercy, and went to bed. The next morning, Dana's alarm clock rang from her bedroom but the sound carried all throughout the apartment. She woke up, feeling groggy and curled into a tight ball, knowing that her protector was not there to look over her. She began to whimper. The loss of the babies, the loss of her security, the loss of the one woman she had trusted. But life goes on and she got up tentatively, stretched and took a hot shower. When she came out she remembered that she had told Sarah that she would be over to make a statement and began to feel a bit more lighthearted. Of course, finding an eviction notice on her door was quite enough to sour her mood. She arrived at the police station to find everything there in an uproar. Everyone was staring at Sarah, who was having a shouting match with another officer, and in general things were not good. Spotting Dana, she cut the argument short, said that she'd finish it later, and hurried over, walking silently with Dana to the recording room. "What was that about? Why were they shouting at you?" she said, still a little perturbed about her current living situation. "Do you know much about the law?" she asked, not waiting for an answer, "This morning I went out and found an eviction notice on my door and I paid my rent, didn’t bother anyone... what's the deal?!" "Dana, I'm a LEO officer. Of course I know about the law. Apparently the radio officer last night was ticked because I radioed for backup using something other than a standard LEO radio- because the goons chasing us _had_ LEO radios and were listening in." This was odd- Dana didn’t remember Sarah radioing at all while in the car- but then again, she could have radioed before breaking Dana out of the tube, or after she left Dana at the hospital- or she might not have noticed due to labor pains” "I'm not sure why they'd kick you out- I'll go with you back to your place and talk to your landlord, okay?" She nodded softly. "Now about this statement... What should I tell you? I don’t remember much, just being knocked unconscious outside my apartment building and then I woke up in the tube. I'm sorry I'm not a good witness but they had me out cold" She shrugged, and they talked about the previous night's events, and after ten minutes, Sarah shut the recorder off. "I'll sort through that and use what I can. Shall we go out to deal with your housing problem?" "Ohh, you don’t have to do it right now Officer. I don’t want to interrupt you any further. You seemed to be having loads of fun arguing with your fellow officers," she said sarcastically "Pfah. C'mon, let's blow this Popsicle stand." She walked to the exit, knowing Dana would follow. She strode behind the lovely officer as the older of the two led the way. She strode into the parking lot and Dana recognized the car they'd used last night. The grill had a DMC logo on the front, and classic car fanatics would note that it was a restored and heavily modified Delorean. Sarah pulled the driver's side door open. "Hop in!" Dana did as she was told and got comfortable in the seats easily. "Last time I was in here, I was much bigger," she said, reminiscing somewhat, "I miss them," she said downhearted. The gull wing doors closed and she strapped herself in. "So are we going to my apartment now?" Sarah nodded. The engine started with a low rumble and She drove to the apartment complex. A half hour of talking, confusion and general anger on Sarah's part later, the end result was the same- Dana had been kicked out due to some legal loophole for reasons unknown. The stress of everything had left her emotionally unstable and she was quick to tears when things were settled. She would not be living in her house any longer. Her landlord wanted all of her things out by tomorrow because he already had a perspective tenant. "Where am I supposed to find a place to live on such short notice? If given a week or two I could have made arrangements but I have to be out in a little over 24 hours! If I go to a hotel for a while, where will my things go?" She was obviously upset, and distraught and her whole life had come crashing down upon her. Had she still had the babies in her, the parents would be legally obligated to put up down payment and hire a moving service to get her things. She was basically shit out of luck and sat on the front stoop, weeping softly Sarah shrugged. "Well, I've got a spare room. How much stuff do you need to take? Can we sell any of it or put it in storage?" She looked up at the busty pale woman and spoke meekly, "I couldn’t ask you to do that... you have done enough already and you don’t even really know me" She chuckled. "Better than you think." She shrugged. "C'mon, It'll give Mercy someone to talk to when I'm at work." "Who is Mercy? I heard that name the other night also," she asked. "Mercy's my friend. She's cool. So, do you or do you not want to stay with me?" Well, Sarah WAS hot, even if she wasn't les or bi she was still damn good to look at, and in the ten months since Dana had seen her last, her breasts had gotten a bit bigger. She smiled, "How can I pass up such hospitality?" and she embraced the woman warmly, resting her head on the soft mounds of breast flesh for a brief moment. "I don’t have much, my laptop, cameras, clothes, and a ton of food in the fridge. The couches and other furniture go with the apartment. That was part of the lease agreement; I buy the furniture for a lower rent rate. Stupid landlord backed out of his deal, I should too!" she huffed. "But, I'm sure we could get it all in one trip, even in your little car." "Food? We can get you food at my place. Leave the food there to rot. The landlord's an ass." She walked upstairs, gathered Dana's things, and put them in the car. "To the Sarah-cave!" She shouted, and grinned ass she gunned the engine and drove away from the curb. She looked out the window and stared at all the blinking lights on the dashboard. "So, how did you get started enforcement?" "Ehh, I've always had a strong sense of justice. I did menial jobs for a while, took the aptitude test, and scored high enough to be a Freelancer." "No, how did you get all of this cool stuff? I've never seen ANY LEO with all of the cool gadgets you have" "I built what I needed if LEO wouldn’t supply it. Not exactly legal, but it's used for legal purposes, so..." She smiled and let out a small chuckle and then got serious. "I know I may be going on a touchy subject but I was wondering... how are you an albino when there are genetic labs now that remove such 'undesirable' traits? I'm not saying I don’t like it or think you are weird, you seem more alluring now that you are different... very special." She smiles. "Ehh, call it fate or an accident. Ah, here we are." She pulled into a driveway driving past trees- TREES! -and stopping in front of a house made of stone, masonry, and with vines creeping up one side. A short lighthouse was attached to the two-story building, and the bottom floor was almost all garage- and the area that wasn't had power generator vents in it/ A place with it's own power supply AND on the power grid? Very odd. Sarah parked and got out. "MERCY! I'm HOME! We've got a civvie guest, so clean out the spare room and lock up the classifieds!" The vice that came from the house was female, cute and sounded six years old. "OKAY!" She gently tugged on Sarah's police vest, "You said Mercy was your friend... do you have many children for friends?" she asked, and then realized that was really rude and apologized profusely. "I meant only that she sounds really young" She laughed. "Mercy's 18, looks ten, and acts and sounds six. She’s hyper enough for any three children and an absolute mechanical genius." She grinned. "She's been known to wear out ADHD kids at the daycare when she goes there to supervise." She giggled, picturing a little child watching after and being responsible for other children, "She sounds sweet Sarah. I can’t wait to get settled and get some much needed rest, and maybe some food," she said, rubbing her flattened tummy. She chuckles. "Food is one thing we have plenty of." She walks in, carrying Dana's stuff. The main area, the living room, is two stories tall, with a skylight at the roof. There was a projection TV on one wall, with a nice couch in front of it, and about ten video game consoles and three computers hooked up to the TV. A door off to the left gave a glimpse of a kitchen, and there was another door on the right, marked "Storage" with enough security gadgets to thwart Houdini, James Bond, and Garrett all put together. Ahead was a hallway with one door on either side, and a staircase at the end of it that had a gate with a palm & bio-sign reader attached to it. Sarah took her security seriously. "HEY MERCY! Where are you?" "I'm in the stooorage roooom! Moli will let me out when I'm done! What's for dinner, Sarrie?" "Not sure. Probably macaroni casserole and some veggies." "MACARONI CASSEROOOOLE! WOOOO!" "I'm guessing this macaroni casserole is a family favorite! What goes in it?" she asked quizzically "Onions, four kinds of cheese, penne pasta, a little olive oil, garlic, breadcrumbs..." She grins. "It's REALLY good." She rubbed her stomach and moaned softly, the combination sounding really good. She lifted her shirt just a bit, revealing a tummy that, even though had just held twins, was perfectly flawless. She had rubbed cocoa butter into it every day to keep the skin elastic, resilient and scar-free. Just then her tummy rumbled and she blushed, "I guess I'm really hungry” She chuckled. "Moli, make an extra three servings of the casserole, would you?" She said, speaking aloud to the empty living room. A warm female voice spoke from nowhere, her voice smiling. "Sure thing, Sarah. Who's your friend?" "Oh, this is Dana. Dana, meet, Molina- she's the Sheen AI construct we have here at the house- she's everywhere- if you need help with anything, just call out and she'll answer." Cold Phoenix "So Molina is a simulation?" she asked. (I know this one is small... you don’t have to write much She shook her head. "She's a Sheen construct- she's alive in every sense of the word- if need be, she can use her body, though she usually doesn’t" "Ohhh, I understand. Would you mind giving me a quick tour of the house? At least the rooms I will have access to? I know you are a private person and I am just a guest so I have no qualms being restricted to certain portions. I also noticed that you told Mercy to 'lock up the classifieds.' I assume you were joking but I never can tell" She points at the storage room. "Storage and workshop. That place is off limits to everyone on the face of the planet except for Moli, Mercy, and myself." She gestured at the living room. "The living room. Enough said." into the kitchen. "Just about everything in here is automated- ask for a dish and Moli will serve it up- she's an excellent cook." "Awe, you jest!" "No, I'm being nice so the chef keeps the sharp stabby objects away from my body and the poison away from my food, Moli." "Everybody's a comedian these days. Yeesh." Sarah smiled and walked back into the living room and down the hallway. The door on the left was blank, and opened into a simple bedroom. "This is the guest bedroom, feel free to move in here." The door on the other side of the hallway had "caution- crime scene, do not cross" tape on it, danger stickers, and the like. "That's mercy's room. You can go in if you like, but I wouldn’t recommend it." And finally, to the end of the hall with the blocked staircase, "And these stairs go up to my room. No one goes up there. Except me." She nodded, "I get this room, access to the kitchen, the living room and Mercy's room if I dare. You have been so kind to me. If dinner isn’t going to be ready, I would like to get dressed in something a bit more comfortable." She trotted off and grabbed her big suitcase of clothes, hauling it into her room. She smiled and closed the door, but not all the way. She unbuttoned her pants and slid them down her shapely legs. Then she took off her top and slipped into a pair of flannel pajamas. She inspected the room and sat on the bed, testing its firmness by bouncing on it, her milk-filled breasts wobbling. She lay down on her side for a moment and rubbed her hungry tummy. Closing her eyes she drifted off into a fantasy, feeling her belly and breasts. A warm smell, the smell of pasta, cheese, garlic and spices drifts into the room. Molina's voice, half laughter, filled the room. "Dana, if you're done enjoying your body, there's some food you can feed it with in the kitchen. If you don’t hurry, Mercy will eat the whole thing on her own." Dana blushed at the voyeur watching her fondle herself, "Thank you Molina," she said sarcastically, "I don’t know what I would have done without you!" She sighed and got up, rubbing her tummy one more time. She walked to the kitchen and sat at the table, being presented with a plate of casserole. She dug in and moaned as the flavor hit her tongue. "Mmmmmmmmmm, this is good!" she said with a mouth full of food. She finished off her first plate quickly, not having eaten all day. She took another plate and munched it a bit faster. Rubbing her tummy she continued eating. The bottom of her tummy became distended and she wiped her face before looking at her companions Sarah was standing, lounging against the fridge, plate in hand. "Still hungry?" Mercy was sitting at the small table, across from Dana. Short, red haired, gray eyed, and heavily tanned, she was the epitome of cuteness. She'd demolished half the massive dish of casserole (which was big enough to feed seven people) and was happily taking another serving. She nodded and whimpered, her body still eating for two and keeping most of the nutrients for her breast milk. She took another plate and demolished it in a few minutes. She moaned louder, her stomach achingly full. She drank a glass of water and stroked her stomach. Unbeknownst to herself, her breasts had started leaking, and made larger and larger circles of moisture in her shirt. She leaned back and let out a tiny burp, blushing softly. "Oh that was GOOD! Thank you so much Sarah, and Moline, you are a great chef!" Sarah smiled. "Well, I'm going to go to bed. Mercy, you should go to sleep too- you've got you job tomorrow." "Okay! ^_^ " "Night, all." And then she was gone. Dana took the plates and put them in the sink, feeling obliged to at least help clean up a bit. When she was satisfied, she walked to her room, a tiny waddle in her step. She got to her room and shut the door, completely undressing and curling up under her blankets. She smelled the sheets and they smelled faintly of Sarah. She nuzzled them and went to sleep as well, feeling safe. The next morning she awoke to an empty house. The only things making noise was the fridge compressor and the computer in the living room. As Dana awoke, she smelled eggs and bacon cooking in the kitchen. Molina spoke once Dana had opened her eyes. "Hey, there. I started breakfast once you dropped out of REM sleep, and so it'll be ready for easting as soon as you're ready to eat. How you feeling today?" She whimpered and looked down at her over-full breasts, but didn’t say anything to Molina. "I am fine Molina, I need a shower though. Could you tell me where the bathroom is?" Mol chuckled. "Well, there's a full service bathroom attached to the room you're in and Sarah's bathroom has a pair of breast pumps in it- once you're done showering, I'll get you in there so you can get the pumps- you look like you need it." She whimpered, her eyes filled with tears in the corners. "Why does Sarah have breast pumps, may I ask?" "I don’t know, she never mentioned why to me." The door slid open and the lock at the end of the hall beeped. "Come on, just go on in and get the pumps. You sound like you need it." She got up, sniffing softly and went through the door. The staircase went up, and there was an AIRLOCK styled door at the top, of all things. Molina keyed it open and.... Sweet goddess above. So many things came clear at that point in time. The entire walls and ceiling were all one-way glass- you could see out but not in. this allowed sunlight on. A dome in the middle of the floor was unmistakably a holographic projector, the glass was all airtight and reinforced, and there were air outlets that looked like they were hooked up to pumps used to SUCK the air out of the room, leaving it in vacuum. The metal plates in the floor looked like null-gravity field projectors, and when you put it all together... This room was the closest thing to being in space there was on the planet. And there was only one kind of creature that could survive in space. Fliers. Sarah was a flier, probably here legally, though barely so- as the few fliers on earth were. Molina's voice cut through Dana's reverie. "Hey, the bathroom's right below us." The floor hatch cycled open and within was a perfectly normal bathroom. A peek in the medicine cabinet revealed two breast pumps. She took the breast pumps and walked out into her room. Thinking hard about it all she began to question a few things, but then some things became clearer. She tucked the images into the back of her mind, knowing Sarah would be upset if she went into her room without her permission. She sat on the edge of her bed and looked down at the pumps, "Molina... how do I used these??" Molina chuckled. "Call me molly, dear. Lift your shirt, take off your bra, and press the cup to your nipple. It’ll switch on automatically." She lifted her shirt, her breasts very sensitive. As she took off her bra, the milk could be seen dripping from her nipples. She pressed the plastic cup to her nipple and it switched on. She arched her back and practically screamed as the pressure was lessened from her breast. "Molina! Ohhhhhhh, it hurts! Owwwwwwies!" she panted and whimpered, her face contorted with pain. She felt something press her arm, and the pain lessened significantly. "Relax and try again. Give it a moment and then it'll adjust to your body and it'll feel better." She closed her eyes and released the suction from her nipple. After composing herself she started again and this time the pain was much less. "Molina, will it always hurt this bad?" "Nah, eventually you'll get used to it. Personally it's easier when your nipples are metal and the pump is built in. But that’s experience talking." She giggled just a little and her breasts wobbled. She moved the pump from her slightly deflated nipple to the other, still distended one. She gasped through gritted teeth and arched her back as the milk came out from her nipple. The pain was not unbearable like the first time and eventually she pumped to comfortable levels "You can use both at the same time, if you like." She smiled a bit. "Should I tell Sarah you were in her room, and why? I can edit that part out, if you like." "I don’t know... I didn’t mean to! I don’t want her to be angry at me" "She won’t be- just don't let on that you've figured it out- feel free to ask her about the stuff in there though. I haven't seen Sarah at a loss for words in YEARS." "You can if you would like Molina, just as long as you are sure she wont get upset," she said, staring at her hands Molina chuckled. "The moment she realizes you've been in her room, she'll be VERY upset- like I said, you figured out what she is, right? She'll be nervous that you'll tell someone- anyone- what she is, and that'll be more than enough to have customs and immigration come by to kick her back to Luna." She looked horror struck, "I won’t tell anyone! I promise! I don’t want her sent back because of me. Oh, you cant tell her, I don’t want her to be mad at me and have to leave" Molina smiled a little. "I'll do my best to distract her, but she'll know you were in there sooner or later- probably the moment she palms her way through the front door- she's locked the door acess logs out of my control, so she can look at them and see that the door opened and someone went in- My body IS the house, so she'll figure it out soon enough." Dana began whimpering, "I'm going to be in trouble aren’t I?" "Naaah- I will, cause I let you in. Relax, okay, Dana? Get yourself calm, finish pumping yourself so I can put the pumps back, and then I'll see what might be enough to calm her down." The young girl nodded finished pumping in silence, the soft motor whirring and the bottles at the bottom filling. "What should I do with the milk Molina?" "I'll send one of the serve-bots in, and it'll take the bottles, and pumps and put them away." True to her word, a small robot rolled in on wheeled feet and waited patiently for Dana to finish and then took the pumps and bottles and left the room. Dana curled up on her bed, unsure of what to do, but feeling a bit hungry, remembering the breakfast Molina was making for her before she even woke up. She crawled out of bed and went down the hall and to the kitchen where the smells of eggs and bacon were the strongest. "Mmmmm, that smells so good Moline and I am starving" Molina's avatar smiled, as the kitchen equipment reheated what it could and cooked fresh what it couldn't. An omelet with peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham, and cheese was on a plate on the counter, still hot, as Dana walked into the kitchen. Crisp, lean bacon resided beside it, along with some lightly buttered toast and a glass of orange juice and a smaller glass of milk. "Eat up, dear." Molina's Avatar resided in a small box in the corner of every monitor in the house- as such, she was in every room to be seen and talked to. She sat down and ate her meal swiftly but with almost perfect manners. She sipped her juice, and mopped up some of the cheese grease from her omelet with her bit of toast. Smiling happily at the monitor she finished off the milk and brought her dishes to the sink. "As usual Molina, wonderful!" she said, rubbing her tummy. Molina chuckled. "Well, I AM that good- I had a few good teachers- by proxy, at least, but good teachers." "Molina... I mean Moli, what is the Sheen?" she said, wiping her face with a napkin "Ah, yes, my people." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Ever seen Star trek?" "That really old show with the bald guy and the fat one?" she asked She winced. "Yeeeees. Remember the Borg?" "Was his name Data or was that someone else?" "Someone else, but you're on the right track. Okay, new analogy." She paused to think again. "You know what the Network is, right?" "Yeah... it's the internet, just hooked up to EVERYTHING" "Yeah. The Sheen are like artificial intelligences, except, well... hell, the Sheen are the best historians there are- we're walking memory banks, right? - But even WE don't know how we got started. What we do know is this: Sheen AI's are real, living creatures- true intelligences- possibly even natural ones. We have emotions, feelings, etc. Sheen bodies feel pain and heal, though they're made of metal- and even though they're made of metal, most of them are only slightly more durable than you organics- lasers, bullets, knives- those can all do a number on a Sheen as well. However, we also have shared memory. Just like a computer network can share processing time with other computers across a network, so can we- many sheen can join hands over the Network and puzzle over the problem with the amount of brainpower equal to ten or fifteen of the greatest human minds ever- all at once." She nodded and listened on with true wonder. "So you have no clue how you came about but know just about everything else?" "We don't know how we came to be, but we also don't know EVERYTHING." She smiled, "I said just about everything else!" poking her tongue at the screen The avatar smirked and rasberried Dana. "Pah!" The time went by quickly as the two talked. 3pm rolled around and Mercy came home from teaching elderly men in lab coats about why their theories were wrong, and probably mentally scarring half of them in the process. "YYYYAaaaaaaayyy! Freedom!" She dumped her bag and other stuff at the door and almost dove into the supply room & lab. Dana shrugged, "You aren’t going to greet me, Mercy? I've been cooped up in here all day and I don’t even get a hug," she huffed Mercy poked her head out of the doorway. "Sarrie will be home soon!" She gave a happy smile and shut the door again. True to her prediction, Sarah came home a few minutes later, arguing over the police com-link. "...I don't CARE what Investigations, said, that was arson and that's final! I live with a psychotic nutcase, I know what arson, intentional or otherwise, looks like!" She mouthed 'Hi, Dana!' to Dana as she walked in, going to the stairs to her room and palming open the door, continuing to argue. Moli spoke up. "She says she'll be down in two minutes, Dana." Dana took her seat on the chair in the living room, preparing for the worst. 'Please don’t be angry Sarah; I didn’t know I was going into your room. The door was open and Molina technically told me to go in there, I just misinterpreted her. Please don’t be mad! Please! I don’t want to leave, I don’t want you to be taken away.' After a few more minutes, Sarah came downstairs, earpiece in hand, and sat down across from Dana in the living room. Various machine-shop/ laboratory noises came from behind the storage room door and faintly filled the silence for a moment. "Dana, did you go into my room?" Dana looked down at her hands nervously and spoke up in a meek voice, "Yes, Ma'am" she finally said, "But I didn’t mean to... I just really needed something and the door was unlocked," she added in, trying to save her skin. "Molina unlocked the door for you, and you needed my breast pumps, because the pumps weren’t I left them, and Moli has no reason to use them" Her voice is slightly cold- she's upset, but trying to control her anger. "This is actually my fault- I should have known you’d need the pumps and left them in your room before I went to work. But you could just as easily had Molina order a set for you and have them delivered in a few minutes. So why go into my room?" She stopped, and spoke, thinking aloud. "Now, you obviously needed the pumps. Molina probably didn't mention the buying part of this to you for some reason, but she knows I have a pair, and she's the only one who can get into my room. Ergo, this is her fault." She stood up. "MOLINA!!" Dana cowered; afraid she had gotten others in trouble. "Sarah, it is my fault! I asked her, please don’t yell," she whimpered. Sarah twitched, staring at the Avatar box on the screen in the living room. Sheen, being living creatures, need sleep just like the rest of us. Molina's avatar box had a sign hanging from the upper border that said "AI sleeping- leave a message" and behind hit, one could see Molina’s avatar, chibi style asleep on a bed. "Whosever fault it is, I need to know something. What do you know?" "Ermmmm..." her eyes darted from the avatar box, to Sarah and back to the box, "Do you want what I know or what I assume?" she asked nervously, trying to stall for time so Molina might wake up and bail her out. "Both." She sat down, waiting expectantly. Dana fidgeted and sighed, resolving that Molina probably wouldn’t be there to save her. She took a seat and stared at her hands, "I saw the big dome and the door that sealed tight, and I saw the air ducts and the holographic projector. I can only assume that you are not from this world, especially how you handled yourself the night you saved me "Not from this world covers a lot of ground. I could be a nekomimi, or a grey elf, or a flier, or even a Sheen." She leaned forwards. "So which do you think it is?" She composed some small bit of courage and looked the tall woman over, staring into her eyes before looking back down. "I believe you are a Flier" She nodded. "And you know that means that I can get exported for just about anything, since Customs and Immigration is more or less bigoted towards anyone who isn't human." She nodded. "But you've made it this far, what is to stop you now?" "Them finding out I'm a flier. As far as anyone governmental knows, I'm a gene correction failure. Not all that common, but not uncommon enough to draw attention, thank goodness. I'm guessing you'll tell no one, and not because of my intimidating personality or anything?" "Of course I wont tell and not because you scare me, because you don’t. I don’t want you to go!" she sniffed, "You are my savior and I don’t know where I'd be without you" She chuckled. "Aha." She smiled and got up, stretching and cracking a few joints because of doing so. Molina woke up, pulled down the sign and smiled happily at the two women. "So, things all sorted out?" Dana rolled her eyes slightly and pouted, "Just in time Molina" Moli smiled innocently. "Why, whatever do you mean?" Sarah just laughed. "Fine, Moli- you won't like the to-do list I’ve got for you, circuit head." "Like what?" "I've got a suspected arson case over in the Tichel district- look over the footage and LEO files and everything you can find- I want to prove Investigations wrong. Cheap asses." "I'm sorry I went into your room" Dana said, approaching Sarah and extending her arms, hoping for a hug. Sarah smiled at Dana, cutting off her conversation with Moli. The Sheen went to work, looking up information and such as Dana approached. Sarah got down on one knee, which would being their heights to about even, and held her arms open. Dana giggled and embraced the Flier, stroking her back softly. "Are you still mad at me?" "I wasn't really mad at you- I figured there was a mistake somewhere, and those are usually Moil’s doing." Cold Phoenix "HEY!" the sheen retorted. "I am not the one who causes every accident around here! Who saved your pale ass from the generator coolant leak that a certain FLIER caused with her relentless tinkering and energy drains, huh?" Dana laughed at the sheen and the flier fighting. "If you two don’t mind I am going to use the bathroom. Can I use those pumps again?" Sarah nodded. "But I'm getting you your own pair- I have mine set up the way I like them, and Moli messed with the settings getting them right for you." Sarah got up and walked to her room, descending down the stairs again a moment later, pumps in hand. She thanked the woman softly and stood on her toes, pulling Sarah down a bit to kiss her on her cheek. She trotted to the bathroom and sat on the toilet, removing her shirt. She pressed the pumps to her breasts and the suction took over. She was quickly emptied and felt quite satisfied. Sarah was in the kitchen when Dana came out. The smell of cooking pasta and stir-fried vegetables filled the air. Mercy had wore herself out in the workshop and gone to bed. "Hey Dana! You like pasta?" "Yeah I love pasta!" She held up her bottle of breast milk, "Molina took care of this last time, where should I put it?" Sarah held one hand over her shoulder, using the other to cook and seeming to pay total attention to cooking. "Pass it here, I'll take care of it." She shrugged and handed it to the pale woman, taking her seat at the table while Sarah cooked She placed the bottle onto a shelf, and the shelf closed around it, sealing it in. After a few minutes, Sarah took the vegetables, pasta, and homemade cheese sauce and combined them, placing some on Dana's plate, and some on her own. "A good meal after a long day. " she smiled. Dana took her fork and eagerly munched her pasta dish. "This is good Sarah, you should cook dinner more often!" She chuckled. "This is about the limits of my cooking skill." She smiled, taking another serving as she'd finished her first one. "Are you going to surrogate again, Dana?" "I want to do it again but it is kind of unnerving. Do you know if those Genestealers had done anything to me?" "They did, but the things they did were easily taken care of. The doctors fixed the damage they did about ten seconds after you were in the delivery room." "What damage... what did they do?" "The Genestealers are out to try and create basically, a perfect gangster type person, or something. Nobody's real sure WHY they do what they do, but they snatch pregnant women at or near their due date off the street and then inject the fetuses with genetic alteration compounds to help bend the newborns to their own desires." She shrugs. "I'll nail them eventually." "But the babies are fine and I am fine?" She sighed in relief and stroked her lower abdomen, wishing for more babies. "I want to do it again and I would, but I don’t want to be a victim of the Genestealers again. I don’t want to put anyone at risk" She started laughing. "Dana, love, the whole damn universe is dangerous- just about everyone puts just about everyone else at risk. Watch out for yourself and those you love. Anyone else is a lost cause." She nodded, "So you think I should do it again?" "Definitely. Besides, I can watch out for you if you want." She got excited; "You would do that for me?" "Of course I would! Why on Earth wouldn't I?" She smiled happily. Dana shrugged, "I didn’t think you would want to follow me around, keeping me safe" She grinned. "Pah, It's no problem. Right, circuit head?" The last part, obviously, was directed at Molina. "Sure, Bolts. Whatever you say." "See? Easy as pie." She grinned wolfishly. Dana sighed and curled up on the couch, "Sarah, I want to thank you for all you have done for me so far but I don’t know how. You don’t need a chef or a housekeeper and I can’t offer much more. What can I do?" "Well..." Sarah sat back in her armchair, one hand patting a tummy that was full of unknown helpings of pasta- but enough to make her stomach big enough to look as though she was pregnant with triplets, her entire belly exposed. "Let me think about this for a few..." Dana stared at Sarah's large tummy and practically drooled. She got up and approached the large chair, kneeling at the foot of the chair, "Sarah do you mind?" she said as she extended a hand to rub her gravid belly, "People used to ask me if they could touch mine and I now I know what was the big fuss" She purred, her eyes half closed and her head leaned back. "Mmmm… no, no I don't mind. Never had this done before, actually..." She rubbed Sarah's tummy in small soothing circles, cooing as she did so. "Oooohh Sarah, your belly is so big and sex-... never mind" "You can say it if you like. I won't have that tummy for long, though..." She sighed happily. Now that her hat was off and she was relaxing, the glamorie she used to make herself appear more human was fading as her concentration left the spell alone. Her eyes became the normal double-irised ones that all fliers, have, the peaks of her elflike ears were now seen through her hair, her body seemed more... alluring, vibrant, sexy, even. Dana watched the changes in awe. "Sarah, you are so beautiful when you are being yourself. It is a shame that you have to put on such a disguise when you are out in public." Dana rested her head on the sexy flier's belly as she continued her rubbing. "Mmmm... I guess..." She purred, relaxing, almost sleeping now. The smaller woman planted little kisses on the stretched flesh, "So soft, so sweet, so sexy" "Mmmm...." She managed to gather the smaller woman up into her arms before finally dozing off. Dana fell asleep in the flier's arms as well, purring softly and nuzzling her neck. "Sarah..." Molina's voice played in Sarah's ear. "Wake up, bolts. You need to go sleep in your room and recharge." "I was comfortable." "You'll feel like hell tomorrow if you stay where you are." "Screw you." Sarah mumbled and went back to sleep. Dana stirred for a moment and looked up at Sarah, speaking soothingly, "Sarah, Molina's right. You need to go to bed in your room. Please" "You can't come up to my room and we can't... ah... never mind..." She blushed, stretching, her stomach long since returned to normal. Sarah stifled a yawn and stood up. "I know we can’t spend the night together but it is better for you that you sleep in the airlock. Goodnight Sarah," she said, going to her own room, curling up under the covers and falling asleep Sarah stumbled up the stairs to her dome and the airlock cycled, the air draining from her chamber and the whole thing going to work. Dana heard a hum from within the house and whispered "Good night Sarah" The next morning, Moli awoke Dana. "Dana! Hey! There’s someone at the door." "Where's Sarah?" she asked kind of groggy "She's at work. The front camera was broke last week and we haven't gotten around to fixing it. Can you answer the door for me? There's no monitor out there." Dana grumbled, too sleepy to even move. She stood up and stretched, staggering to the door as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She unlocked it and said, "Yes, how may I help you?" She never got further than "yes-" because a cloth soaked in ether was held over her nose and mouth until she passed out. Molina registered Dana's vital signs dropping to unconscious levels, figured that Dana had been knocked out, and opened a 911 call while trying to close the door on the assailant’s arm or something, try and separate the person and Dana. She never got past dialing the first two digits because the house servers were shut down by remote override.