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Jake's Fortune Ch. 01

By: vWrath



Jake had never felt this way. He was euphoric, so engrossed in his pleasure he felt like he was about to shatter from sheer stimulation.

Let's say that masturbation was his forte since he was thirteen. Now he was actually having sex! And with the most gorgeous woman he'd ever laid eyes upon, no less.

He thrust his hips up to meet her gyrations, stroke for stroke. Feeling his member come in contact with the scorching flesh of her vagina, lubricated by her juices coupled with his own, it was intoxicating.

The tantalising pleasure emanated from her body and coursed through his. And thrust for thrust he met her, he felt like he was going to explode.

But like all good things, this abruptly came to a halt.. "This is not working, your synaptic activity is too high."

He broke from his ecstasy as the simulation ended.

"Fuck you! I was this close" He said groggily.

The synthetic voice was pissing him off! Not only did it pull him away from the most exhilarating moment in his life, it was already administering drugs to bring him down from his adrenaline high.

"Had you finished, you would have been in a wheel chair for the rest of your life" it calmly stated.

He sighed and lifted his body from the recliner, undoing the straps, he floated right on top of it, as if top and bottom had any real meaning in the zero-gravity environment around him.

"Like I care, I already live in space. My legs aren't exactly carrying me right now."

He tried to calm himself.

"Well, EVA, any idea what went wrong this time?" He asked.

The AI responded in a solemn tone: "The patterns I collected suggest that your body was reacting too violently to the neural feedback, the pleasure you were experiencing altered your brain chemistry very rapidly and it had unexpected results. I project that 1,824 extra nano-transmitters and an injection of 0.80mg of neural dampener may be required to counter-balance this effect."

"I'm not in the mood right now, stow it for later." he growled.

EVA did not respond.

He started pushing against the bulkheads, carefully floating his way out of the workshop.

Life in zero-gee was not so different from life in partial gravity, things were slightly different, and a splatter of water (or a much less benign liquid) could turn your life into living hell, sure. But the basic principles were the same. You eat through a tube, you drink through a tube, and you shit and piss through a tube.

In partial gravity though, you had better learn how to leap, it's an amazing sensation to leap through the artificial atmosphere.

He knew this from his brief and uneventful visit to Luna when he was 16, he was with his uncle closing some deal, but his mind was focused elsewhere. The beautiful ladies on the moon and their bountiful, taut breasts. Unencumbered by earth's gravity, their magnificent anatomy stood out like mountain gods piercing the clouds. Not that he knew anything about mountains or clouds. Being space-born, he'd only heard about them.

Suffice to say, there is no need for bras on the moon.

He reclined his head and could still imagine the way Lunar girls looked as they leapt around the walkways, chests swaying lightly with each graceful jump.

A beeping alarm wiped the grin off his face and pulled him away from his reverie, he checked the sensors and pressed some buttons. Yeah, It's confirmed.

He brought the comm. gear online and called his uncle. "Hey pops, I got something on the sensors, and it's full of iron and heavy minerals like you wouldn't believe!" He said excitedly.

"Oh? How far out is it?"

"Only 25,000 klicks, not too far out." He responded.

"Okay, let's swoop by and check it out." His uncle sounded as indifferent as ever.

Twenty five thousand kilometres were nothing in the vastness of space. Roughly double the diameter of Earth.

He moved over to the flight console and set a course that would take them near the asteroid. At 600 kilometres per second they reached it in 42 minutes. He spent that time double-checking the sensor readings, something was not sitting right with him.

At first he thought it was a speck of dust on his monitor, a silly thing. There can be no dust on the ship, otherwise the ventilation equipment would go haywire. Besides, dust never settled in space.

As they closed to the asteroid the speck kept getting bigger, and he thought he detected a faint energy signature being emitted by it. A ghost beacon? He wondered.

Ghost beacons were somewhat common, ships usually dropped beacons to mark points in space. A ghost beacon was a lost one that could have been adrift for years.

But no, the power signature did not match, besides, it wasn't emitting any radio signals to identify itself.

Finally, affirmed that what he was detecting was real, he called his uncle again.

"Uncle, we've reached the asteroid, but I'm detecting a power signature on a floating object nearby. Want to check it out?" He asked.

"Boy, you've found us a gold mine, this is outstanding. I can feel the credits flowing right into my account. I'm going to be busy drilling into this thing as it is, and I can't spare anyone on my team. Go check it out yourself." His uncle responded.

Typical uncle, money was all that he was worried about.

"Fine! I'll go see what we're dealing with, okay?" He knew his uncle would say yes.

"Yeah yeah, son. Do what you must."

Like he cares.

Jake put down his data-pad and floated out of the helm and started navigating his way to the exterior airlock, he greeted some of the crew as he went along. He averted his eyes a little as Hannah greeted him.

The Asian girl was quite beautiful. Space-born, like himself. And like him, she was still growing up. And for some reason everyone was expecting them to be an item some day. She'd still blush every time someone made that remark. He on the other hand, had no interest in arranged relationships, and his stubbornness beat his lust every time. His uncle would disagree though.

"Need anything from the communication bureau?"

He smiled thinly at her joke.

"Not at the moment, thank you. Just going out to check on something." he said after a slight pause.

"Something? Like what?" She asked.

"A strange anomaly, that's all. Could be something with the sensors, so I'll check out the equipment first. I'll see you later!" Hopefully not in the near future, he thought.

He checked his gear, got into his suit, pushed some buttons, and started equalising the airlock with the vacuum outside.

He checked on the sensors array, found nothing out of the ordinary, and decided to head towards the energy signature, he glanced at his HUD and estimated it to be 3 kilometres away.

Looking back, the Metanoia looked immense from a distance. two kilometres away, and it still loomed before him, a huge industrial nexus with mining clamps and giant drills that can devour asteroids whole. All laced with laser arrays and all kinds of sensor suits to detect minerals and even viable salvage.

The ship was a magnificent beast, it simply awed him how much work had been put into maintaining and upgrading it throughout the years. They had even installed a new cargo section aft of the ship last year. He wondered what would have happened had they not invented modular space ships.

The lack of sounds did not bother him too much, you get used to it. As a matter of fact, as a space-born young man, noise freaked him out. Like that time on Luna when his uncle took him to a crowded cafeteria and he started freaking out.

He enjoyed the quiet as manoeuvred his suit's thrusters to bring him closer to the unknown object, his heart rate rose as he got closer, and his AI never failed to notice. "Your heart rate is climbing, should I administer beta-blockers?"

"No" was his abrupt response.

His heart beat was now drumming in his ears and he had trouble breathing. He was very close now. He tried to control himself and push through. That's when he heard the sweetest voice he'd ever heard:

"Welcome, star-farer." a feminine voice whispered.

"Who the hell is this? And how are you overriding my comm. gear?" he said into his comm. unit. He was freaking out now as he struggled to breathe, barely forcing the words out.

"EVA, EVAAA, what's going on?" minutes passed and his AI did not respond.

"You don't have to fight it. It will only get harder." "Let go." the voice instructed.

"What? What do you mean..?" he managed to let out between heavy breaths.

"Trust me, it will be much easier." the voice said.

He tried to fight it harder at first to no avail. "Relax" he told himself "Try to let go", and felt himself tensing as he expected something to happen to him.

Then he felt it. A vibration that felt like it was coming from his brain and spreading all over his body. "This is impossible. There's no such thing as.. as.. sound in space!" he exclaimed.

"Let it carry you and be blessed, forever." "Farewell, my most fortunate friend."

And just like that, his body relaxed, and a feeling of relief washed over him. He couldn't believe what just happened. He could see the reflection of a faint glow coming off of his face. Looking at his suit's HUD. The energy signature had disappeared.

"Jake? Jake? Are you there? Are you okay? Please Jake, please respond." he heard Hannah's voice over the comms.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. It was nothing" he said. The glow finally started to disperse.

"You sound out of breath." She sounded worried.

"I'm fine, just a little shaken up, that's all." "I'll talk to you when I get back." he said in a low tone, and started heading back home.

*

This is my very first piece of work and my first submission, I sincerely hope you like it.

More soon! 

Jake's Fortune Ch. 02



"Yeah, and I can sprout wings out of my butt and fly!" his uncle quipped.

"It's all true, I'm telling you!" Jake said as he rolled his eyes.

"Did you wedge your oxygen tube in something out there? Did your brain asphyxiate and make you hallucinate?" his uncle said heatedly.

"No! I..." he tried to say.

"Right, I've got no time for your shenanigans son, we need to mine as much of this asteroid as we can before somebody else comes and boots us off this rock."

He shrugged. "Okay uncle, I'll see you later."

"You get back to that witch and that witchcraft of yours."

"Classic uncle, calling my virtual assistant a witch." he replied.

"Yeah, whatever that thing is, now scoot."

He sighed, and on his way back to his compartment, he bumped into Hannah.

"Is it true? Did you find something out there? What was it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, uncle thinks I was hallucinating."

"And what do you think?" was her question.

He contemplated an answer for a moment. Did he somehow hallucinate it all? He'd have to ask EVA later.

"Maybe I did, I wish I recorded the whole damn thing!" he exclaimed.

Just then, a buzzer sounded and she looked at her belt.

"Okay, you go on and get some rest. I'll see you around" she said hastily as she hurried out of the way.

Maybe it was a good idea after all. He headed for his compartment again, wishing for no interruptions this time, and he found none on his way back.

"EVA, did I imagine all of that out there?" he asked as he looked around.

"Imagine all of what?" his AI enquired.

"What? You too? Forget it, I'm going to bed. We can talk tomorrow." and so he did.

Slouched in his berth, he had the strangest dream.

For the first time in his life he was standing on solid ground. He stood by a lake, and the beautiful girl from his simulation was there, naked, and she was talking; although no voice would come out.

It was dark, but he could see the light coming off of his face. He looked at his reflection in the lake and saw his eyes aglow.

His eyes were radiating a faint blue light. He freaked out and moved away, but as he got more agitated the lights only intensified.

Sensing his distress, the girl moved closer and softly touched his cheek. Her touch was warm, and it made him feel safe. Safer than he'd ever felt in his entire life.

And for the first time in his life, he was content.

He stretched as he woke up, feeling oddly relaxed. But his panic returned and grew worse when he opened his eyes and could still see the faint blue glow reflecting off the compartment wall in front of him.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, when he opened them again, the glow was completely gone. He unstrapped himself and floated into the compartment.

"I must be losing my mind." he pondered out loud.

"You are not." the feminine voice replied.

"What the hell? Who is this?" he yelled as he looked at the empty compartment around him.

"I am your virtual assistant." his AI chimed in.

"Not you, EVA, I'm talking to the other voice." he said.

"What other voice? At the present only you and I exist in this compartment, I can detect no other sounds." it said.

"Never mind."

"Oh, nobody else can even hear me, you can just think to me if you like. I'll hear you all the same." the voice whispered.

"What? Are you.. are you reading my mind?" he thought.

"Not reading it per-se. More like settling in." it said quietly.

"Some interesting memories you have in here, interesting imagination too. Surely full of plump breasts and..."

"Stop right there! You can see my memories?" he interjected.

"Oh yes, I can access them with ease, it's quite thrilling, seeing a human life through the eyes of a human!"

"Oh god, is this latent schizophrenia? I need help." he said aloud.

"Shush, don't go making a scene now. We don't want a repeat of your performance at Luna now, do we?" it said sympathetically.

He flushed at the mention of the disgraceful event.

"Just who or what the hell are you exactly?" he asked.

"You can think of me as an interactive thought." it said slowly.

"A what? Define 'interactive'."

"A thought that can think back at you."

"And how did you come to be in my head?"

"Oh, let's see. When my mother lured you to that rock..."

"Your mother? What rock?"

"Let me explain."

And ponderously, it did.

"When you approached that rock, or what you thought was a beacon of some kind, you were approaching my mother. Who decided to gift you with me."

"Until that point, I simply did not exist."

"But I simply exist because I can't not."

"I am what you could call a probability wave, and a sapient one at that, a quantum phenomena that's beyond your education or comprehension, suffice to say that my kind roams the universe in search of beings like yourself."

"I am a pattern in the æther, and so are you. We both exist at different levels of energy and different states. But we both exist. I am a self-organising pattern of probabilities, while you are a self-organising pattern of atoms and molecules. And just as atoms make you up, probabilities are my major component."

"As you can guess, intelligent life is quite rare, and so my kind sent rocks to your world amongst others that have golden zones and are viable candidates for life, but we got caught in what you call the asteroid belt, and my mother was the last to survive the æons of time it took for your kind to evolve and actually reach space."

"She waited patiently until, finally, you happened upon her. So she lured you in with an energy signature similar to what she knew your beacons emitted. She didn't know if someone would actually come to investigate. But she hoped for the best. And you did."

"And so she touched you and brought me to life."

"She died when she did that, you know? Her own pattern shattered; she had to die so that I could live, and be with you."

"Why did she have to die?"

"Don't interrupt me... and to answer your question: she expended the last of her energy trying to reach out to you."

"Wait, you're saying that she was a she? Are you a she?" he asked.

"No, I'm genderless, so was she. I'm only using the female form of addressing because I'm mated to you, in which case I became a she."

"You're what?!"

She paused for a moment, then continued.

"I know it's hard to comprehend, but I'm mated to you now. I can't leave you or bind to another. We're mated for life."

He listened quietly as his mind reeled.

"Don't worry, that doesn't mean you can't find a human mate, but I'll always be part of your life."

"I was struggling with your pattern until you went to sleep, only then could I make sense of the jumble of mess inside your brain. When your neurons aligned and the pattern settled, I could finally make sense of what I was feeling. Ah, to feel. That's a new experience! Ha ha! I'm a newborn, you see."

"I still retain most of my parent's memories and experiences, it just takes time to recall them. I can also access your own. They're as much a part of me now as I am part of you."

"But.. where did your kind come from?" He thought, flabbergasted.

"We're all made from the stuff of stars. You are made from stardust. The elements that comprise your body were all made inside of a star that went nova æons ago. The iron in your blood, the calcium in your teeth, and the carbon in your DNA were all made inside a star that went nova at some point in the distant past."

"But my kind.. We're made inside pulsars, tiny neutron stars that spin at an incredible rate and release insurmountable amounts of energy. And that's where our pattern first emerged. In jets of heavy radiation lies how we came to be."

"In the same way you evolved from carbon peptides randomly colliding in a primordial pool, we evolved from matter interacting in quantum states your science might discover one day."

"We both exist because we have to. There simply is no other alternative."

At that moment, the hatch buzzed and it slid to the side at the press of a button, it was Hussain.

Slightly irritated at the interruption but not letting it show, Jake greeted him. "Hey Hussain, how are you?"

"Tamam brother, Al-hamdulilah. How are you feeling? I heard you got your head banged badly on your way to the airlock yesterday."

Typical uncle.

He laughed. "Oh, it was nothing. I just needed a little rest is all. How goes the mineral hunting?"

"Oh brother, we hit the mother lode out there, that rock you found is the best thing that's happened to us since we installed the recreational facility."

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same about that other rock I found." he thought.

"Hey! I can hear that!" she whispered in his mind.

"So, any plans for the future? Perhaps dating a certain beautiful young girl I know, who was worried sick about you?" Hussein pressed him.

"Oh god, not that again." he said.

"Hey, I wasn't suggesting anything..." Hussein began to say.

"Yeah, right." he interrupted him.

"Hey! you don't have to be so sensitive about it. We all know."

"You all know what?"

"That you're secretly gay and you're just good at hiding it."

He actually chuckled this time. "Right, you got me."

"Okay brother, will I see you around at the mess later?"

"Sure thing. Take care Hussein." he said as the hatch closed behind him.

"Nice guy."

"Hussein? He's the best."

"It's good to see you're not completely cut off from the rest humanity. You creative types all seem to be."

"Creative?"

"Oh yes, I can feel it from the pattern of genius in your thoughts. It's just not manifesting right. It's quite annoying having all of those unrealised dreams and wild images restlessly flashing in and out of existence inside of your mind every moment. You need to organise them some more. I'll have to teach you how to do that."

"It's nice of you to worry. But first, what's your name? What should I call you?"

"Oh, I don't have a name yet! You pick one!" she whispered excitedly into his mind.

"I think, because of the trick your mother used, it's only fitting."

"What's fitting?"

"I'll call you Siren."

"Ha! very funny."

"It's settled, then." he thought with finality.

"Wait, seriously?" she asked incredulously.

The mess hall was... well... a mess. With spent food and drink tubes sprawled all over the place. It smelled of grime and the heavy musk of sweat. The last week of heavy work had its effect on the crew and they certainly didn't let down. Thankfully the food and drink tubes had small magnets to help them adhere to surfaces.

"Someone needs to clean this up." he said.

"Oh, I'm sure someone will get to it eventually, dear." Aisha said with a venomous look at her husband.

"Hey, I didn't eat all of this food by myself!" Hussein shot back.

"I bet you wish you could have."Jake said with a smile.

"This space gunk? No brother, I want a steak." said Hussein with dreamy eyes and a longing tone.

"I've never had one before. So count yourself amongst the lucky ones."

"I'm sorry brother, hope you can get one soon, we're heading back to Luna and we'll be rich this time around!" Hussein said cheerfully.

He frowned "Oh? We are? Uncle hasn't told me about it."

"Oh, you know Mr. Evans. No time for us his measly subjects. Always busy doing this or that." said Aisha as she sucked the last of her drink out of the tube.

"So he couldn't find the time to tell his nephew that we're leaving this rock?" Jake was staring in anger.

"Don't worry about it brother, here, have some watermelon. I saved one for you." Hussein said cheerfully as he handed him a tube.

"Thanks, Hussein."

Hussein always had that effect on him, he always cheered him up no matter what, so he started to suck on the watermelon tube. It was good.

"You know your uncle loves you." Siren whispered in his head.

"Oh so you're finally back. Where were you?" he tried not to sound the words or let his emotions show on his features.

"Around, I was studying."

"Studying? Studying what?"

"The highlights of your very short life."

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm only 18."

"Relax, it was a compliment. You've been through a lot."

"Yeah."

"And about your parents.. I'm so sorry."

"Let's not talk about that, please."

"I know it's.. sensitive. But you need to let all of that out."

He tried to fight back the emotions and failed miserably, so he decided to go back to his workshop.

"I'll catch you later, Hussein, Aisha." he struggled to say their names without emotion, then nodded to both and left. He got a knowing look from Hussein.

He sat alone in his workshop, amidst the jumble of cables and conduits, and various machinery and consoles.

"You didn't have to bring that up, you know?" he thought with an angry tone.

"Oh? How was I supposed to know you'd react that way?" she whispered.

"Exactly, you don't know me. So don't presume shit you don't know about me."

"Fair enough! Lesson learned." she whispered apologetically.

"Screw this! EVA, prep for another simulation." he said aloud.

"Loaded and ready. Would you like to review the simulation parameters?" EVA queried.

"No, same as last time. Account for 1,824 extra nano-transmitters and no neural dampener, that stuff makes me groggy as hell."

"I must warn you that without the neural dampener, the simulation is likely to fail early."

"Just do it, now." he said irritatedly.

"I will do as you ask." it stated.

"Escaping reality again, are we?" Siren whispered.

"Shush and let me be. It'll work this time." he responded.

He eased himself into the recliner, strapped himself in, and injected himself with the extra nano-transmitters.

At the press of a button, the compartment disappeared.

It felt like a normal simulation, but something was different this time. He was back at the lake from his dream. It was night but the moon was gracefully casting its light all around him. The stars shone and glimmered in a kaleidoscopic display of lights and colours. It was all reflecting off the lake, and the nearby mountain towered with a snow cap so beautiful it was shimmering in the night's sky. It was the most breathtaking sight he'd ever seen.

It was like seeing new colours with new eyes.

The beautiful girl was there, stark naked, and snuggling closely against him. He expected her to start kissing him immediately and proceed to love making as usual.

"It's beautiful out here." she said in wonder.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"What the fuck? You can talk? Since when?"



Jake's Fortune Ch. 03



To say that Jake was surprised would be an understatement. 

He was flabbergasted. 

"EVA, did you modify the simulation's parameters?" 

"No." it stated. 

"How can she talk then?" 

"Unknown. But I detect a foreign element in the simulation." EVA responded. 

The beautiful girl just sat there, looking at him adoringly. 

"So, nothing changed in the simulation's parameters. The only thing that changed is me. Am I correct to assume that you're Siren?" he asked the girl. 

"Smart boy, that's right. The one and the same!" she exclaimed. 

"But you can talk! I thought we could only communicate through thoughts." 

"Oh, that's true. But in a simulation I have far more freedom." 

"Freedom to do what?" 

"Anything I want... Like this!" She said as she conjured a pair of mesmerizing wings. Colours raced along the fluffy edges in curvy waves and intricate patterns. 

"You like?" she asked slyly. 

He laughed. "My uncle would be jealous." 

"Pardon me?" 

"When I told him about what happened to me when I met your mother, he told me he could sprout wings out of his butt and fly." 

"Oh, is that so? I guess I hadn't settled in yet and missed that memory." 

He looked at her naked form expectedly. "So, I guess a quick relief is out of the question?" he asked reluctantly. 

"Oh you silly boy, you have a whole imaginary universe at your disposal and all you can think about is sex? Besides, you'll have to buy me a drink before you even think about any romantic involvement... Oh, right, I almost forgot." and poof, she was no longer naked. 

Now she was wearing a lovely, yellow summer dress that hugged her curves tightly, and somehow that made her look sexier. 

"You too!" and suddenly he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He felt his erect member straining against the fabric of his boxers. 

"That's more like it!" she giggled. 

"Okay, I give up. What do you want us to do?" he sounded disappointed. 

"I'm so excited! Let's go camping. I've always wanted to go camping!" she beamed. 

"What? You were just born. You didn't even know what camping was then." 

"Oh but now I do, and since you've always wanted to go camping, now I do, too." 

He was tempted. 

"EVA, let's set up a camp." 

The scene vanished and they were teleported to a clearing near the mountain's peak, where a tent and a warming fire appeared around them. 

"That's cheating!" 

"What? Do you want me to go hunting for firewood as well?" 

"Yes. I will help." 

"Fine. EVA, lose the fire. I'm keeping the tent though." 

"That's fair." 

"And you, lose your wings, no cheating for you either." 

Her wings disappeared as she shrugged them off. 

He rummaged through the tent and found a box with ice and some beer next to it. He also found two bags full of camping supplies. 

"You watch too much television, EVA." 

"It is one of my only sources of current information outside this ship." 

He sighed and collected a flash light, then went to find some branches to light the fire with. It wasn't too hard collecting branches with the lush canopy of trees surrounding them. 

She remained behind and started building a fire pit from some rocks she found. 

About thirty minutes later. They had a fire roaring. They cracked open two beers, and sat next to the fire, talking. He almost forgot that this was a simulation and that this beautiful girl was not real. He immersed himself in the experience and the flow of beer made him lose his inhibitions gradually as he talked with Siren. He'd never had any alcohol and it was a new experience for both of them. They discussed his life and his experiences, earth and the solar system. But veered away from the topic that haunted him the most: what happened to his parents. Gradually, he started regretting giving her that name. Maybe if he had been more thoughtful he would have given her a normal name befitting for a beautiful girl. 

The discussion was now focused on his life and ambitions. 

"So, I know how you stole it from the recreational section, but why did you modify this simulator to include sexual activities?" she asked in a slurred voice. 

"Well, it's not like you get a lot of choices abroad an industrial ship." he responded. 

"That's true, but you have a beautiful girl, who is as much lonely as you are; and willing to be loved so far that I've seen, why not go for it?" 

"Oh no, not you too!" 

"It's only natural." 

"If you can really read my mind, you wouldn't be talking to me about it. Besides, I have all that I want right here." He felt a little woozy as he leaned in to kiss her full on the lips. 

The kiss was sensual, and when his tongue touched her lips, it felt like a sticky trail of fire was connecting them together. He caressed her soft hair and inhaled the sweet fragrance of her body. He felt her breasts pushing against his chest, her hard nipples digging into his frame, and his heartbeat climbed. They kissed for what felt like hours. 

As the wind picked up and the air felt cooler, she pulled away. 

"I'm feeling cold, let's go inside the tent." she said, out of breath. 

He decided to follow her inside, where they found two sleeping bags ready for them. 

"I'm too cold, let's share." she said. 

"Is that the beer talking?" 

"Maybe, I also want to experience intimacy, all of those new feelings, you know." 

"Fine." 

"Just don't let your hands wander too much." She warned. 

They both undressed to their underwear and got into one of the sleeping bags, zipped it up, and talked some more, as their bodies warmed up. At one point she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. He felt his eyes getting heavier and soon followed suit. 

He woke up in the middle of the night to find her spooning against him, with the small of her back tucked tightly against his groin, she was leaning against him slightly and he had his arms around her chest. It felt nice to be this close to someone. His raging hard-on eagerly concurred. 

"Mmm.." she purred as she ground her hips against his. 

"Don't you ever sleep?" 

"Only when you sleep, now hush." she whispered. 

She resumed her grinding motion, and his loins were on fire! He'd never felt this way before. 

"Why am I so turned on right now?" 

"Because I am turned on, you dummy." 

"Wait, so we like... share?" 

"Yes." 

He guided his free hand and traced the curves of her luscious body, while his other hand cupped a voluptuous breast. He was enjoying the feel of her warm flesh against his. 

She moaned as he reached the curve of her ass, and her grinding intensified. 

He dipped his hand over her crotch and cupped her mound enthusiastically, then started kissing the nape of her neck and she sighed deeply in response. He started massaging her mons, occasionally brushing his hand across her clitoris. 

She jerked every time his hand brushed against it. He could feel her pleasure and it was driving him insane. He dipped his hand inside her panties and felt the moistness down there. It was very hot and he wanted her even more. She shook violently as he slid a finger inside of her; then another. Wet with her juices, his hand moved faster in and out of her, finding a rhythm of its own, his other hand kept kneading her lovely breasts and pinching a nipple now and then. 

She closed her eyes and shuddered with tremors as she reached her tipping point, and his hand was suddenly drenched in her womanly juices, she settled in rapture, unable to move. 

"You know, I think you enjoyed this more than I did." he whispered in her ear. 

"I'll only admit it if you can quench my fire." she said, winded. 

He smiled and helped her remove her bra and panties. She reached behind her back, and her hand went for his raging erection. He felt her hand snake its way through his boxers as she started to jerk him off. 

He felt his pleasure mounting and had to do something about it. He couldn't help it any longer, he unzipped the sleeping bag and flipped her over so that she was laying with her face next to his, and he went in for the hottest kiss in his life. Her tongue darted about, trying to find his, and it succeeded. They gorged in it for what felt like hours. She started grinding again, and his stiff member slipped between her legs. Right past her clitoris and below her well lubricated tunnel. 

Her breasts pressed against him as she guided his oozing member inside of her. He thrashed around a bit until he got it right and slid past her inflamed lips and into the tight warmth that lay beyond. 

"Ooooh" she moaned as he thrust inside of her. 

He felt the pressure increase as he pushed further, and her hymn broke. 

She screamed, but he didn't falter. Far too consumed by lust, he pushed harder and shoved all of his length inside of her. He wasn't huge, that's for certain, he knew he was above average at best and his girth wasn't amazing, but that didn't deter him in the slightest. 

He rolled her on her back and started pounding her with animalistic fury. She was so dazed but involuntarily met his thrusts with her own gyrations. She started rambling incoherent words. 

He started kneading her breasts and she cooed. He pinched her nipples and felt her eager response. He put his arms at her sides to steady himself and focused on ploughing her like there was no tomorrow. She wrapped her arms around his neck like she was hanging for dear life and started kissing him again with fervour. 

He was feeling every touch, every sigh of pleasure. He was certain he felt the waves of passion overcoming them both simultaneously as they exploded in unison, her grunts and his transcending into a heated crescendo of unparalleled bliss as they found their release. 

Their eyes shined with a bright blue light. 

And everything was gone. 

*** 

Light shot from his eyes in a twirl as his body tensed and he woke up. 

He was still affixed to his immense pleasure, and yet he couldn't help but notice that the lighting in the compartment had changed to a bright blue. He closed his eyes and collapsed back into his recliner. 

When he opened his eyes again, the light was gone. But what he saw made him panic. Hannah. She was floating by the hatch with her mouth agape. Had she seen the light blasting out of his eyes? 

"Hannah... Oh, hi." 

She wasn't looking him in the eyes, her eyes were transfixed elsewhere. 

He followed her gaze and ended up looking down at his crotch, the tent there was quite large, larger than he would have expected. It didn't help that his overalls were cum-stained and wet with a copious amount of moisture. 

"I... I'm sorry. I... I think I got here at the wrong time." she couldn't avert her eyes away from his mast as she squealed the words. 

"Uh... It's okay. I think I was asleep." he lied. 

She jerked out of the hatch hurriedly. 

He wasn't too concerned. 

"See, EVA? I told you it would work!" 

"The unknown element in the simulation was also stabilising it." it stated. 

"She's called Siren." he responded. 

At the mention of her name, Siren stirred in his mind. 

"Thank you." Siren whispered. 

"For what?" 

"For making me feel all of that. That was... amazing." 

"I know, it was amazing for me too. It was never like that." 

"I'm sorry things will get awkward with Hannah." she said. 

"Oh, don't you worry about it. I've got one question though." 

"Ask away." 

"What was that blue light?" 

"Oh, that... That's a side effect of us being in complete synchronicity. Normally we don't see eye to eye on everything, but when we both utterly focus on something, this happens. I can't explain it, but the ancients believed it was the light of a pulsar incarnate. It's all superstition of course. Plus, we're treading uncharted grounds here. I'm the first of my kind to interact with humans. Your bodies are... different." 

"You've met other species?" he asked in bewilderment. 

"My ancestors did." 

"What were they like?" 

"Let's just say they were much different from your kind." 

"You must tell me all about them." 

"Get cleaned up first and we'll talk later." 

He unstrapped himself then paused. 

"So, whenever we're both focused on something, fireworks will appear?" 

"No, it'll only happen in moments of heightened mental activity." 

"Well, I for one, am looking forward to our next session of heightened mental activity." 

She did the mental equivalent of a blush. 

He sighed contentedly, changed quickly, and went to the common showers for a clean up. 

*** 

A shower was, of course, another ambiguous term used in space to describe the array of pods lined up against the compartment walls. 

He looked around as he stripped naked and got into a pod. Zero-gee showers weren't an easy luxury. Without the pods you'd have to clean your body using dry sponges which was never pleasant. He knew that first-hand, whenever they broke. 

He was in deep thought as he let the machinery cleanse him, he was both scared and elated; but he felt that things were moving in the right direction. He reflected on his session in the simulator and wondered how Siren knew what she was doing. How did she even know what the female perspective of sexual intercourse was like? 

"I found the anatomical and brain patterns I needed on your computer." she answered his unasked question. 

"You can do that?" 

"I can access it by touch or through the nano-transmitters in your head." 

As he got out of the shower and started getting dressed, he couldn't help but notice that his body felt different somehow. He felt more dexterous and agile, had more energy despite the exhausting session he had with Siren, and it felt like his muscles were less atrophied from living in space for so long. 

"Are you doing something to my body?" he asked. 

"Oh, it has been happening since we bonded. My pattern is mending yours constantly; repairing damage, invigorating your body, and honing your nervous system. Think of it as an ongoing bonus for having me around." 

"You can do that?" 

"It's not even happening at a conscious level." 

Okay, things were definitely going in the right direction. 

*** 

He was on his way back to his workshop when he got the call. 

"Jake, come to bridge, now." his uncle said with urgency. 

He quickly headed that way, dodging the various conduits and pipes jutting out of the walls. The Metanoia wasn't a new ship, but they kept it well in shape, as was evident from the amount of repairs he could see in the surrounding corridors. 

As he slid past the hatch and into the bridge, he found his uncle strapped in a chair next to the sensors console, he was staring intently at the screen. Hannah was focused on the communications console, trying her best not to look at him. 

"I think we have a situation, come take a look." his uncle said. 

He edged closer and peered over his uncle's shoulder to look at the console. 

"What's this?" he pointed at a large blip approaching them at a high velocity on the holographic display. 

"I think it's a ship, but it's not broadcasting any ID signals, do you know what that means?" his uncle asked in a worried voice. 

"Pirates." he spelled the word with contempt.



Jake's Fortune Ch. 04



Little Jake was terrified. He didn't know what was going on, other than that his mother was crying and his father looked distressed.

He shrunk further into the corner, and watched with fascination as his mother's tears floated in the air.

She said something to his father, gathered herself and wiped the tears, and turned to him.

"Son, I need you to be brave, okay? Come with me." she said as she tried to steel herself.

She led him to a cargo area, pointed to an empty ore container and told him to climb in. He did.

"Stay there, and no matter what, don't come out until I come back here to get you."

And so he did, crouched inside, he could hear the unintelligible voices and the shouts of the crew as they prepared for what was coming.

Minutes passed, crawling for what seemed like an eternity. Then he heard a bang and the sound of suction. His breath quickened and he could feel the pressure change. Emergency measures sealed the cargo bay.

He was alone.

Against his mother's wishes, he climbed out of the container and floated his way through the cargo bay, he put his ear against the wall like he often did, and listened intently.

He could hear the loud bangs and the screams of pain. Someone shouted something loudly and he heard a loud crack and an explosion.

He heard a lot of sizzling sounds, a scream or two and then things quieted down.

He heard his mother screaming his father's name, weeping.





Jake's Fortune Ch. 05



As Jake woke up, he could hear the hushed discussion. He kept his eyes closed. 

"...in his brain scans? No epileptic episodes?" someone was asking. 

"None. I do not know why, but somehow he's not having violent episodes right now." he heard doctor Lev's heavy whisper. 

"What do you think is preventing it? Is there a way to explain it?" 

"None that I know of. The firing patterns are off the charts and... Wait, something is happening. I think he's awake." 

Jake opened his eyes as doctor Lev cut the connection. 

He realised that the doctor was consulting with a colleague on Earth via FTL comms. Faster than light communication was a technology accidentally discovered thirty years ago, when humanity made a breakthrough in quantum computing. 

Doctor Lev approached him and asked "Jake, are you feeling well?" 

"Yes, doc." 

"Then we need to talk." 

"Can I get out of the pod first? I didn't move in days and it's killing me." he pleaded. 

Doctor Lev approached him and unlocked his pod, he floated out of it and stretched his body. 

"While treating you, I couldn't help but notice something strange. Your brain scans are off the charts." he paused, "At first I thought my equipment was malfunctioning, but now I know it's not the equipment. This is real, and your body isn't irradiated, so it can't be the radiation interfering with the equipment. Are you using any drugs?" 

"None that I know of." he said. 

"Well, in that case, I'll have to keep you here under observation." 

"You can't be serious." 

"Oh, but I am." the doctor said sternly. 

The doctor kept him there for three days, and when he couldn't find anything wrong with him, he finally released him. When he asked to see his uncle, the doctor asked him to come back in four days. 

*** 

He couldn't help but notice the looks of admiration the crew were giving him as he left medbay. 

Some would stop and talk to him, and others were nodding their thanks. He got some suspicious looks as well. 

The crew told him that there was most likely a fire, since many of the passageways were darkened and covered in soot, although they were baffled at how it spread. He saw the crew cleaning it all up as best as they could. 

Some of his repressed memories almost escaped as he took in the carnage in the cargo hold, but Siren was quick to assert her control. Her efforts proved successful, until he decided to visit the pirate ship. 

The scene that greeted him was surreal. The first thing to hit him was the smell, a putrid mix of the scents of charred and rotting flesh. The malfunctioning ventilation wasn't really helping. 

From the inside, the ship didn't look so small. Compared to a feeble human, it was massive. It was dwarfed by the Metanoia of course, but was still big enough to house an army. 

He found what looked like a cargo hold that was converted into a barracks with sleeping arrangements lining the walls, and the corpses greeted him with their molten eyes and scorched skins. 

The bridge was a total mess. Wrecked consoles and shattered screens. Collapsed girders and molten metal stuck out of the walls. It looked like something exploded and only the bridge's shielded location at the centre of the ship prevented a fatal decompression. 

He shivered as he surveyed the scenes before him, and wondered what kind of weapon could have done that kind of damage. Was this his uncle's work? 

As he explored further, he found what looked like a brig, and he saw two dead men. Behind the hatch and to his right, he found a woman's burnt corpse inside a cage. She wore a simple gown and had a tuft of burnt brown hair. 

Flashes of memories flooded him as Siren's barrier collapsed, and with a horrified expression and teary eyes, he saw what he had done. 

"I'm sorry." Siren whispered. 

*** 

He spent days isolated in his workshop. He barely had anything to eat or drink, and he wouldn't talk to anyone, especially not Siren. 

Hussein had come to see him, and so did Hannah. He told them both the same thing, that he was fine, just tired and recovering. Both didn't seem too convinced but respected his wishes to be left alone. 

He studied diligently. Then set out on his work: reprogramming the simulation software to do his bidding. Siren kept trying to reach out to him, but he ignored her pleas. 

He wasn't even sure if his method would work, but damn it all if he didn't try. 

After days of hard work, he commanded his AI to start the simulation. 

He sat by the lake, his feet dangling in the water as he stared calmly into the depths. Siren walked up to him. 

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him in a sad voice. 

"Because of you. You hid my memories from me, and who knows what else you're hiding." 

"I only did it to protect you! I didn't want you to find out!" she said, hurt. 

"Protect me from what? From you? Why didn't you tell me you were a weapon?" he asked. 

"I'm not a weapon! I'm a sapient being!" 

"You could have said something! Anything! You could have stopped this." he pointed a finger at her. 

"No, I couldn't. And neither could you. Nobody could have stopped this." she said. 

He lay down on his back, gazing at the stars with glassy eyes and a dazed face. 

"Jake, this wasn't your fault, and getting rid of me won't solve anything." 

"I was the one lifting my fingers. I was the one who killed all of those people. I killed an innocent woman because of you." 

"It was your life against theirs, Jake, you didn't have a choice." 

"That woman didn't deserve to die." 

"Listen to me! You weren't yourself!" 

"Thanks to you, you fucking bitch!" he said heatedly as he stood up "If I hadn't met you, none of this would have ever happened!" he yelled. 

"I'm sorry, Jake, I really am. I wish I could have prevented it, but nothing I can say or do now will ever bring her back." she said with a broken voice. 

She could see the sadness envelop him as they both paused for breath. 

"This was never supposed to happen." she said as she moved closer. 

"And how did this happen exactly? Any brilliant explanations?" he challenged her. 

"I don't know." she said reluctantly. 

"Then we have nothing to talk about." he said as he turned away. "EVA, begin the proce..." 

"Wait! All I know is that humans are... different from any other species we encountered." 

"How so?" he asked. 

"Your brains are quantum entangled." she said quietly. 

"What? You mean like FTL comms?" 

"No, it's different from that." 

"How so?" 

"Look, it's difficult to explain." 

"Tell me!" he demanded. 

"Fine, but you have to understand, Jake. This is the most amazing discovery my kind has made in æons." she said with a solemn expression. 

"We thought we'd seen it all. From sapient planets to hive minds. But this... this changes everything." 

"Remember when I told you that we're both patterns in the æther? Back then, I thought your pattern was restricted to atoms and molecules, but it appears that I was utterly wrong." 

"Human brains are quantum entangled, Jake, and I mean every neuron in your brain. Your body has an extension somewhere else. Be it another place, another dimension... Frankly, I do not know. But this could mean that your brain has the potential to affect reality in ways that you, and I, cannot grasp." 

"I don't understand." he said in confusion. 

"It's like when your body casts a shadow. While you're not actively changing anything, your shadow is affecting reality behind you." 

"That's what quantum entanglement is like, Jake. Your body is casting a shadow across the universe, a shadow that could extend anywhere, or to another universe entirely, a shadow that can affect you as much as you can affect it." 

"Now I understand the references that I've been studying in your culture: things like extrasensory perception, and psychic qualities. The evidence is there, Jake. Even your history and literature interpreted them as magic." 

"You spent your whole life thinking of such things as nonsense. The ramblings of desperate men aspiring for feats they couldn't possibly accomplish, and yet you manifested something that surpassed those stories." 

"And I used it to kill an innocent woman." he brooded. 

She tried to ignore his remark, not letting her emotions show. 

"You didn't defeat or bend physics to your will, Jake. Your mind simply transmitted your will to a greater component of your being and it acted upon them. The nano-transmitters in your brain, the ones you use for your simulation, acted as receivers for the energy you channelled, and my presence only enabled the process. My pattern is what amplified that link and preserved your body against the inevitable damage that would have befallen you." 

"I do not know what that part of your being is, or how it functions. I do not know what this means for humanity's future or yours. All I know is that you and I are more alike than you think." 

"And there's something else. The bright blue light. Do you remember what I told you about it?" 

"Yes." 

"Well, it's not supposed to happen so often." 

"With you, it happened four times. The first was when I was born, the second was when we bonded, the third was when we both... climaxed" she paused "And the fourth time was when you thought your uncle was dead." 

"But you told me it was synchronicity!" he exclaimed. 

"It is! But it shouldn't be happening so frequently, and with such intensity." 

"And why didn't you tell me that earlier?" he asked in anger. 

"It scared me too, Jake. I am the first of my kind to bond with a human and I didn't want you to be worried." 

"Do you remember when I told you about the ancients, and how they thought it was the light of a pulsar incarnate? How I thought it was all superstition?" 

"Yes." 

"What I didn't tell you was the rest of the legend." 

When he aborted the procedure, Siren sighed with relief. 

*** 

He was at the bridge when he got the call telling him that his uncle was finally awake. 

At medbay, Doctor Lev greeted him and asked "Would you like to see him now?" 

"Yes please." he responded. 

"Follow me." the doctor said. 

He followed the doctor through the medbay until they found his uncle strapped in a pod with a medi-gel patch covering half of his head. 

"Hello son, I'm sorry I can't exactly hug you right now." 

"Just seeing you is enough, uncle." he said in a sombre voice. 

His uncle smiled and tried to cheer him up "Lighten up, boy. I'm alive and kicking, aren't I?" 

"Except the kicking part." quipped doctor Lev in a thick Russian accent. 

"Yeah, about that, don't you think it's about time I left this darn pod? We have a shipment to deliver!" his uncle responded. 

"Bo-zheh moy! Again? I already told you. We have to make sure your face remains where it ought to be." The doctor retorted. 

"Can I at least stretch a little? My legs are killing me." his uncle pleaded. 

"Fine. But don't move too much, and I'm only letting you out because your nephew is here." he heard the doctor say as he unlocked the pod. 

His uncle darted and was suddenly behind them. 

"Ha ha! You fool! I told you I'd get out eventually." his uncle said to the doctor as he stretched his legs as far as they would go. 

"Uncle, shouldn't you be listening to him? Remember what you said when I sprained my ankle in the airlock?" 

"Yeah, yeah, but boy! It feels good to be out of that damn thing!" he said with a grin. 

"Mr. Evans, am I correct in the assumption that you're not going back in there?" the doctor asked. 

"Damn right!" 

"Fine. Just make sure you don't hit your head on anything for the next couple of weeks. I'm growing tired of you." the doctor said in irritation. 

They embraced as they left the medbay. His uncle wanted to know what exactly happened and how he got rid of the rest of the pirates after he fell. He didn't know what to tell him, so he told him they'd talk later. 

He escorted him to his private quarters and left him there. 

*** 

They headed back to Luna as soon as they managed to salvage every screw and bolt from the pirate vessel, and they found tonnes of salvageables on board. The corpses were stowed in cold storage pending their transfer to the authorities, and evidence was gathered and preserved. 

It took them two weeks of acceleration to reach a speed of 720,000 kilometres per hour. The reactor flared as it powered the mass drive. At an acceleration below one gravity, the inertial dampeners were unnecessary. 

Sub-light travel was different from using the manoeuvring thrusters to close small distances. The reactor poured energy into the mass drive, which emitted a field that reduced the ship's mass greatly. Making for an enormous mass-to-thrust ratio that could propel ships well past conventional speeds at the slightest push from basic thrusters. A molecular disruption field stopped small objects from colliding with the ship by breaking the molecules down to their basic components and assimilating the liberated energy. 

When they reached the turnover point, the thrusters went offline, and they crossed half the distance from the asteroid belt to the earth, a total of four hundred and fifty million kilometres in exactly 12 days. Then they started the long braking manoeuvre, which took two more weeks. All of this was controlled by computers that managed the process with precision that humans couldn't fathom to surpass. 

Travel in space was a strange thing. 

*** 

It was one week into the journey, and Jake was in deep thought, contemplating what Siren had told him, when his communicator buzzed. 

"Yes?" 

"Jake, Hannah says she has something to show us. Meet us at the security station." he heard his uncle's voice say. 

"I'm on my way." he said as he left his workshop. 

On his way to the security station, he found the ship in a much better shape. The soot was gone, the broken crates recycled, and the corpses removed. He couldn't help but feel relieved. It was like a weight being lifted at the back of his mind. 

The crew looked in better shape as well. The filters in the ventilation system had finally done their work, and they were breathing clean air once again. He even caught a couple kissing in a darker corridor. And for a moment, it seemed like things were back to normal. 

And then he reached the security station. 

"Come, take a look at this." Hannah was haunched at the security station, looking at him with a strange expression. His uncle was floating next to her. 

Perplexed, he watched the monitor as the record played. His uncle and him were fighting the pirates in the cargo hold when his uncle collapsed. His eyes went ablaze with bright blue light as he proceeded to flatten everything in sight. 

His uncle turned and looked at him with pale features. 

"Don't tell anyone." Jake whispered as he touched the console, the screen went blank and the files were erased. Siren sighed with relief. 

Hannah just stared, and his uncle blinked in shock. 

"Son, what kind of demon has got into you?"



Jake's Fortune Ch. 06



Jake sat in a Lunar restaurant, It was similar to the cafeteria where he had an anxiety attack three years ago. He didn't fear crowds any longer, not since the pirates attacked the Metanoia and her crew last month. 

They'd arrived at Luna two days prior. His uncle was engaged in closing deals and procuring supplies for their trip back to the asteroid belt. A miner's work was never done. 

Thanks to Jake, they had mined an asteroid so rich in minerals that they couldn't sell all the ore to the same contractor, so they had to spread it around, which took longer than expected. Then there was the salvage from the pirate vessel, which brought extra money into their already full pockets. 

He sat in silence as he absent-mindedly watched the buzz of people around him. He failed to notice a very attractive young woman eyeing him with curiosity, which was unusual for a young man his age, especially him. 

His mind was elsewhere. 

"Do you think he believes me?" he thought. 

His uncle was dismayed when he discovered his particular predicament, and what happened with the pirates. Jake had to explain the situation to him but his uncle simply couldn't wrap his mind around it. His uncle used to call his virtual assistant a witch, and he wondered what he'd consider Siren to be, calling her a demon wouldn't be too far fetched. 

"Yes, your uncle loves you unconditionally, Jake. If you say something happened then he will believe you." Siren responded. 

His relationship with Siren had been strained ever since the incident with the pirates, when he accidentally killed an innocent woman using powers she enabled him, in his blind rage to avenge his then thought-to-be-dead uncle. He had even tried to get rid of her completely, but she convinced him not to do it by revealing a secret that would change his life. 

"What about Hannah?" 

He was worried about the girl. Ever since she discovered the nature of his powers, she had been keeping her distance from him, which sat well and fine with him; but that was not like her at all. 

"I think she'll keep quiet. She knows how dangerous this is, and despite your objections; she cares about you, Jake." 

He grunted out loud and regretted it immediately once he got a bunch of questioning looks from people around him. 

He picked up the tab and left. His steak sat untouched. 

*** 

Jake was passing through a narrow alley on his way back to the flight terminals when they ambushed him. 

He was wearing Luna's customary magnetic greaves, which were designed to prevent injury and make one's steps surer in the low gravity environment, but they made it difficult to leap on short notice. 

The Lunar slums were a dangerous place to be. Populated by society's dejects who barely got by and didn't have enough credits to go anywhere else. The slums surrounded the flight terminal and you had to take the monorail just to avoid walking through the dangerous neighbourhood. 

But he'd needed a long thoughtful walk. 

"Well, well, look what we got here boys." a hulking thug said as he eyed the data-pad tucked in his belt. 

"I wonder how many credits he's got on that fancy 'pad." another chimed in. 

"Let's find out now, shall we?" 

Jake took one step back as his fists crackled loudly with electricity. They looked at him in awe as his eyes emitted a very faint but noticeable glow. 

"I think you're about to take a bite too big to chew, now get out of here." he warned. 

They scrambled and made a run for it. He watched in amusement as they disappeared amongst the poorly lit alleyways. 

With Siren's help, he'd managed to barely control his new ability in the weeks it took them to reach Luna, and it looked like it was finally paying off. He was worried he might get carried away, but Siren helped him keep it under control. It was somehow tied to his emotional state, or so she told him. 

What he failed to notice was the dark shape observing him around a corner. 

*** 

He felt his stomach lurch as he heard his uncle yelling at him. 

"Jake, get over here now!" 

"What's going on, uncle?" he asked as he switched off his greaves and leapt across the tunnel towards him. 

"Get in the shuttle, we'll talk once we're back on the ship." 

He hopped in next to his uncle. He heard police sirens closing the distance as the Lunar glider craft approached their position. 

"What's happening?" he asked his uncle loudly, trying to overcome the roar of the shuttle's reactor as it started up. 

"The police are looking for you." 

"What? Why?" 

"That can wait for now, let me start up this shuttle so we can get out of here!" his uncle yelled. 

"But..." 

"Close that hatch!" his uncle commanded. 

He closed the hatch and strapped himself in. 

The air outside the shuttle was getting thin already as the powerful pumps worked to equalise the landing bay's atmosphere with the vacuum outside. He watched his uncle lift off with the shuttle. 

The docking hatch opened automatically as they lifted and the domed landing bay was suddenly open to the elements. 

"Shuttle 4012DA, you are not cleared for launch, power down your reactor." he heard the commanding voice over the comms. 

His uncle was accelerating fast. 

"I repeat, 4012DA, you are not cleared for launch. Return to the landing pad and power down your reactor. If you do not, deterring action will be taken. " 

"Uncle, they'll shoot us down!" he voiced with worry. 

"Don't worry about it, I can handle it." his uncle said assuredly. 

He looked down and saw the police swarming the landing pad where they sat only seconds ago. 

"Brace yourself!" his uncle shouted as he pulled hard on the steering stick. 

He held on tightly as the shuttle lurched to the left, a missile streaked by and missed them by a hair's length. 

Their altitude rose as his uncle made a sharp climb and turn to the right, which took them away from the incoming missiles and to a direct intercept with the city's dome. The missiles turned and gave chase. 

Luna City closed quickly as they rushed past it, the missiles followed them as his uncle brushed the dome. 

*** 

"Disaster struck at Luna City this morning when a shuttle accidentally..." Jake turned off the news broadcast. It was the 4th time he'd seen it. He hated half-truths and the media's tendency to cover up for the government's screw ups. 

They were back aboard the Metanoia. His uncle had nearly crash-landed the shuttle in his haste to get out of the domed city. 

The crew gathered in wonder as they climbed out of the shuttle, asking all kinds of questions, but his uncle waved them off as they headed to his private quarters. Hannah followed and he didn't object. 

But now it was time for answers. 

"What's going on, uncle? Why is the police after me?" 

"Either somebody talked..." he looked at Hannah, who looked hurt by his suggestion. 

His expression softened as he continued "...or they recovered some footage from the pirate ship when we delivered the wrecked computer cores with the evidence. I can't believe I missed it!" his uncle said as he slammed his hand on the bulkhead. 

"Shit." Jake's heart sank as he heard the words. 

"We should head out for the colonies." said Hannah. 

"What?" he asked, surprised at her suggestion. 

"It's the only way to be safe. They'll come after us otherwise." she said. 

"Us? They're only after me, why should you expose yourself to danger for my sake?" he asked. 

"Jake, you saved us. We can't just abandon you. They'll try to study you! They'll perform experiments on you!" she exclaimed. 

His uncle was rubbing his eyes, it looked like he was experiencing the onset of a terrible headache all of a sudden. 

"Well, if they weren't after us, they certainly are now. We wrecked their dome and they're probably requesting armed ships from Earth to take us out as we speak." his uncle sounded tired. 

"I'll go. You can tell them I was the one flying the shuttle." he said. 

"No, son. We're all in this together. We don't abandon our own." his uncle said stubbornly. 

*** 

Everyone got into the acceleration pods as fast as they could. The acceleration pods were another ingenious invention made by humanity. Once inside, the pod was filled with ferrogel, a magnetised material that could soften and harden based on the intensity of a magnetic field. At their lowest setting the gel was water-like and didn't impede movement at all, and at their highest it was hard as steel. The pods were fitted with a miniature mass field that reduced the mass of its contents to counter inertia. 

Unfortunately, you had to breathe through a tube or even intravenously at higher acceleration, and the same went for feeding and various other bodily functions. The pod's AI monitored the occupant and managed the administration of nutrients and stimulants for each individual with precision only computers could achieve. 

Despite the inertial dampeners, which normally managed the crushing g-forces experienced through acceleration, the pods were commonly used in cases where higher acceleration was required. 

They set a course for the Kuiper Belt and climbed in. This would take them well past the inner solar system and out towards the Oort cloud. 

They accelerated to 0.3 the speed of light in eight hours, crossing a distance of eight point six AU. Then the reactor stopped, and it took them fifteen hours to cross the distance of thirty two AU, then they began to brake again for the rest of the distance. Which took another eight hours. 

When Jake went to sleep inside the pod, Siren came to him. 

"Is this the norm now? Are you going to pop a simulation into my head every time I go to sleep?" he asked her. 

"It's not a simulation, dummy. Your subconscious brings me here whenever it feels like it. I'm quite helpless to prevent that, actually." she said as she undressed. 

"What are you doing?" 

She pointed at the lake. "Going for a swim, it's a long trip to the Kuiper Belt. Would you like to join me?" she asked. 

"No, thanks. I have a lot on my mind right now." he responded. 

He watched her undress and step into the water, her slim body glimmering in the moonlight. She dove in and came out smiling, her hand playing with her curly auburn hair. 

"Aren't you worried at all by our current situation?" he asked her, irritated. 

"No. I know things will work out eventually." she said calmly. 

"How can you be sure of that?" 

"I just know." she said as she disappeared below the water. 

He sighed and lay back on his elbows. Thinking of what they were about to face. He considered his options, but every plan he formulated in his mind was shattered by the reality of their situation. It was hopeless, he thought. If they turned and ran right now they'd be hunted for the rest of their lives, and if they gave in and surrendered he would be kept in a cage like a lab animal. The idea didn't sit well with him. 

Maybe if they fled the solar system entirely? He wasn't sure if the crew would agree to that. Relativistic travel was a problem in and out of itself. At high speeds, time would slow down for them, but it would go faster outside the ship. They could exit their deep journey and be well into the next century. 

He was deep in thought when he felt the water splashing him in the face. 

"Don't think too much!" Siren said playfully. 

"Siren, I'm not exactly happy right now. Please let me be." he responded. 

She splashed him again as she moved closer. 

"Seriously! I'm not even..." 

She kissed him full on the lips. He pulled away. 

"Not now Siren. I'm seriously not in the mood." he warned her. 

"What are you going to do about it? Punish me?" she asked with an impish grin. 

"Maybe I will." he said as he pushed her away into the lake. She pulled him back along with her and he clumsily fell in the water. 

She giggled and watched him stagger and flounder. The water was cold and it jolted his senses. He looked at her with distaste, but couldn't help but admire her sensible features in the bright moonlight. 

"You like?" she asked as she flaunted her body. She leaned in for another kiss. 

He didn't resist. 

She embraced him and enfolded him in a heated kiss, and he felt his erect member poking against her crotch. She grabbed it and started to stroke it against her bud sensually. It inflamed his desire and he started groping her ass. 

She moaned into his mouth as he lifted her body and impaled her on his stiff rod. The water helped steady her as he rammed her rhythmically, and with purpose he savaged her body as she screamed his name. 

He smacked her ass hard and she screamed louder. 

"Do you like this? Is this punishment enough for you?" 

"Yesss." she cooed. 

"Is this what you want?" he smacked her harder. 

"It's... it's what I... need." she whispered, out of breath. 

He turned her around and started ploughing her from behind, she met his thrusts with her own. He started going in with longer strokes, in and out he ravaged her, harder. 

In his haste his member slipped out of her slippery tunnel and entered a forbidden cove. He paid it no heed as he felt the increase in pressure. She lifted her hand and steadied his mast against her puckered star. He pressed on and all the way into her depths. Her hand found her love button and pressed and pressed and pressed. 

"Yesss, make me yours. Forever." she howled with pleasure. 

He increased his pace as he felt his pleasure mount and finally found his release. She felt his eruption and met it in kind. Her body reverberated as they climaxed to exhaustion. 

They lay there naked, on the lake's shore, eyes aglow, exhausted but satisfied. 

*** 

When he woke up, he felt sore all over. The AI was already administering stimulants and he felt his head clearing up gradually. The ferrogel was polarised and it simply left his body and migrated to the edges of the pod. He unhooked the various tubes connecting his body and stepped out. He wasn't sore just from the trip but also because his erection was straining against the ferrogel for the entire time. 

He looked around and saw Hannah getting out of her pod, completely naked, as was he. 

When she turned around, she looked at him with surprise and covered herself. Her bust was average and it swayed as she moved. Not trusting himself, he averted his eyes and pretended not to notice her obvious stares at his prominent erection. He quickly got into his clothes and watched her get dressed. Then they both went to find his uncle. 

"What do we do now?" he asked his uncle. 

"We head to Liberty and see what awaits us there." his uncle responded. 

Liberty was the furthest station in the solar system. It was barely sustained in orbit by the sun's gravity, and it was harsh and cold; yet it was the go-to place for ice harvesting operations. It was one of the most dangerous places to be. A lawless place with ruthless people, but his uncle didn't seem too concerned. His uncle had contacts everywhere. 

"I'll check with my sources and see what awaits us there." his uncle said. 

"If it's not safe... I'm not sure where we can go. Perhaps out of the solar system entirely." Hannah suggested. 

"Why are you so insistent on leaving for the colonies?" he asked her. 

"It's just that you'll..." "We'll never be safe here." she quickly corrected. 

"Hannah, it's just not fair to you and the crew. You did nothing. They're after me and you shouldn't even be out here." he said. 

"What's done is done. We're all out here right now and that's what matters. We need to talk to the crew and explain everything. Hannah, assemble the crew in the cargo hold." his uncle commanded. 

Twenty minutes later they arrived in the vast cargo hold where the crew awaited them. He saw looks of worry on many faces. Some were indifferent, and some looked perplexed. 

"I know most of you are worried about our hasty departure from Luna, and we're gathered here to explain our situation, and to decide what to do next." his uncle started. 

"The authorities are pursuing my nephew for reasons that I can't explain. Suffice to say that they want to capture and retain him, most likely indefinitely." 

"What do you mean you can't explain? We all know that he murdered that woman we found on the pirate ship. It wasn't a fire, I'm sure of it. It's only justice that he stands trial for what he did." said Anton, a young engineer who never got along with Jake. 

"He was defending us!" shouted Aisha as she moved forward, he heard murmurs of agreement. 

"And he killed..." 

"That's enough!" his uncle interjected in a loud voice. 

"We're all here to decide what to do next. Jake might have accidentally killed that woman, but that doesn't mean he did it in cold blood, let's just say that he wasn't himself when he did it." 

"What do you mean he wasn't himself? He's an adult and he's responsible for his actions." Anton quipped. 

"Jake, show them." 

"Uncle... are you sure?" Jake said reluctantly. 

"Yes, they need to know what we're dealing with." 

They looked upon him with terror as his eyes glowed and electricity arced through his fingers. He calmed himself and it subsided. 

The silence was deafening, and doctor Lev's eyes practically bulged with excitement. 

"Jake was afflicted with what you just saw. What happened was completely out of his control." Siren winced at the term 'afflicted' but said nothing. 

"If captured, he'll stand no trial! He'll be studied and he'll be retained until the end of his days. There will be no justice! Only misery at the hands of a heartless government we all know. We all know what they're capable of, and what they'll do to him if they capture him." 

"This should be studied." said doctor Lev in fascination. 

His uncle ignored the remark and continued. "We're faced with two choices: we can flee the solar system to the colonies, or we can try to hide out here and scrape a living from ice harvesting." 

"Or he could turn himself in..." Anton grumbled. 

"That's not an option. We stick together. That's our motto, and how we survived this long." 

"He could just leave us then, and try his luck on his own." Anton pleaded. 

"That's another option, uncle." Jake said in agreement. 

Everybody looked at Jake. 

"Son, if you strike out for the colonies on your own, we'll never see you again. We'll be long gone if you ever returned." his uncle said with emotion. 

"I know, but it's the only chance we have. They'll catch up to us sooner or later."



Jake's Fortune Ch. 07







Jake's Fortune Ch. 08



"Jake Evans isn't just a wild cannon, he represents the next step in humanity's evolution. He must be studied." 

- William R. Hughes, 
Director of Research and Development, 
United Earth Armed Forces, 
Internal Memo, 
June 2178 

*****

Jake woke up groggy and unfocused, but his head cleared up as the AI administered stimulants, and he realised that he was really hungry. 

He dressed quickly and went to the mess hall to grab some food, where he found most of the crew up and eating already. Like him, they were all starved. Their voices quieted down as he arrived. 

He grabbed a chicken tube and started sucking on it while he tried to listen-in on their hushed conversations. He couldn't make sense of most of them, but from their looks he knew they were talking about him. 

He finished his tube and went to the bridge, where he found his uncle and Hannah looking at the sensor holograms. 

Gliese 667 was a trinary star system, and it was a sight to behold. The three stars orbited each other with breathtaking grace. It was a captivating sight. The main colony planet, GJ-667-Cc, or Tansa as the colonists called it, was a couple of light minutes away. 

"It looks clear." Hannah said. 

"For now." his uncle responded. 

"Let's head into the inner star system and see what awaits us." she suggested. 

"Hey." Jake said. 

They both noticed him. 

"Finally awake? Good. We arrived at Gliese 667. We were just evaluating the sensor data." his uncle said. 

"Anything interesting?" he asked. 

"Nothing alarming if that's what you're asking. We'll know in a few hours if anyone followed us here." 

"Not likely, they don't even know where we went." Hannah observed. 

"Anyone can guess." 

"So, what happens now?" Jake asked. 

"Nothing, life goes back to normal." his uncle said. 

"Right." Jake snorted. 

They set a course for Tansa. 

*** 

"WELCOME TO TANSA. PLEASE APPROACH THE ASSIGNED DOCKING PORT." the automated greeter welcomed them. 

At 4.39 earth gravities, the massive planet had its effect on its people. They were short and stubby, but they possessed incredible strength. The earlier colonists had to be genetically altered to withstand the crushing g-force. There was no chance that a normal human could naturally survive on the surface. Not that Jake's body could withstand normal gravity to begin with, the space-born had no chance of a normal life on most planets. 

All trading was done via the hulking space station orbiting the planet in geostationary orbit. It towered over the equator with its giant space lift, which was used to transfer cargo and personnel to-and-fro the surface. 

They docked with the massive station. Its umbilicals snaked their way through the vacuum and attached themselves to the airlocks of the Metanoia. 

Jake wore his magnetic greaves as he stepped into the station with his uncle in tow. His uncle set out immediately to establish contacts and secure some supplies. 

The station buzzed with activity around him as people went walking and flying everywhere. He waited for Hannah to join him but she never did, so he went to the modest cafeteria and decided to sample some local foods. The mochow was delicious. He was in deep thought as he enjoyed his meal. 

"Thank you, Siren." he thought. 

"For what?" 

"For what you did with Hannah." 

"It was nothing." she whispered. 

"I still don't know why she's avoiding me." 

"Just give her time." 

He was at a loss for what to do next. He loved the girl. He knew it, and he was afraid to admit it; but after their experience he just couldn't deny it any longer. 

He was also afraid of involving her any further. He didn't want to put her in harm's way, and after their clash with the military and what lieutenant Richard tried to do, he was sure she was in over her head. They were all in over their heads. 

"Long trip?" asked a stubby woman as she approached him. 

"Yes, we just came from Earth." 

"I could tell from that relic you're carrying." she pointed at his data-pad and smiled. 

He liked her immediately. 

"So, what's your name?" she asked. 

"Jake. Jake Evans." he replied with a smile. 

"The Jake Evans?" her eyes widened. 

"Have we met?" he asked in puzzlement. 

"Oh my god! It is you!" she shouted accusingly with recognition on her face. 

*** 

"They must have broadcast it over the FTL comms." his uncle said, seething with anger. 

"It has been a long time already, twenty-two earth years have passed for them. Could they still be chasing us after all this time?" Jake asked as his eyes wandered around the bridge. 

"Well, you are most likely still on their most-wanted list. They knew you'd show up somewhere." Hannah pointed out. 

"Shouldn't we be hiding now?" Hussein asked. 

"Tansa is independent, the UEF can't do jack shit here." his uncle said. 

"Yeah, but Tansa might try to trade him in for god-knows-what." Hannah countered as she looked at Jake. 

"We'll see what happens. We're safe in harbour for now, and that's all that counts." his uncle said. 

"Okay uncle, you see to the ship. I'll talk to you later." he said as he left the bridge. 

*** 

Hannah followed him to his workshop. He pulled out the powered armour and was about to test the systems one more time when she entered. 

"Hey, Jake." she said. 

"Hey yourself. Did you miss me already?" he said sarcastically. 

She smiled and leaned against the bulkhead. "You could say that. I wanted to talk." 

"A week ago you were avoiding me. So, what's changed?" 

"Jake, you have to understand. After our last... conversation. I had all of those feelings and I didn't know what to do about them. I needed some time to think." 

"It felt like I knew you better than I know myself, and it ate at me. Jake, I wanted to hold you, I wanted to be with you, and it hurt so much I couldn't stand it. When I'm not around you I feel... incomplete." she said with sincerity. 

He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a longing look. 

"I know. But we can't." he said with pain in his voice. 

"Why?" 

"I'm too dangerous, Hannah. I feel like I destroy everything I touch. I don't want to see you hurt." he regretted saying the words, but they were true. 

"Is that it? Jake? I don't care. I want to be with you." she said as she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. 

He tried to speak but she pushed her tongue into his mouth as soon as it opened. They kissed slowly, favouring every moment as their minds melded and fire surged through them. 

Jake had never felt anything like it. It was never this wonderful, it was never this sensual, and it was never this intense. His simulations were nothing compared to this, and his lips were ablaze. Siren bridged their minds further, and he felt his breath on her cheek, and she felt the touch of her hands at the back of his neck. 

Their emotions ran free, and without words, they expressed their passion and their longing. She whispered her love into his mind and he embraced her affection and returned it in kind. 

They were so engrossed in the kiss that they didn't notice Hussein when he entered the workshop. 

"Ahem..." they broke the kiss and looked at him. 

"Inappropriate timing, I know. But you have a visitor at the airlock and he wouldn't tell me who he is." he said to Jake with a tiny smile. 

"Thanks, Hussein. I'll be right out." 

"Wait till everybody hears about this." he said with a grin as he left. 

*** 

When he headed to the airlock he found a burly old man waiting for him. He was clearly not a local and his shaved head was glistening. His body was fit and he had sharp features, which made him looked serious and intimidating. 

"Hello, Jake." the man said in a gruff voice. 

"Hello, you asked for me?" Jake asked. 

"Yes." 

"Well, how can I help you?" 

"You can't. In fact, I'm the one who is here to help you." the man said. 

"And you are?" 

"Names do not matter. You can call me... Mike." 

"But that's not your real name, is it?" 

"Like I said, it doesn't matter. Do you have a secure place where we can talk?" 

Jake escorted him to his workshop. The first thing Mike noticed was his armour. 

"Is that yours?" 

"Yes." 

"I recognise the model, but I don't know any of those modules." 

"I built them myself. They help me with my... unique skill set." 

"Fascinating." he said as he studied it. 

"So, what do you want from me?" Jake asked him. 

"First, let's start by updating you on your current status." Mike said absent-mindedly. 

"When you fled Sol, the UEF government put you on their most wanted list, which was broadcast instantly to the colonies." 

"But that raised the question, as to why you were put on the list to begin with, and how you managed to defeat and disgrace the task force that was sent to capture you near Liberty station." Mike said as he turned and looked at him. 

"Eventually, the Senate convened to discuss your situation, and the secretary of defence was so hell bent on catching you and defending herself that she released some footage of what you did to the pirates to the Senate. She then accused you of murdering an innocent woman and committing acts of terrorism, thanks to the incident with the Lunar dome." 

"Somehow, those records and accusations found their way out of the Senate and into the arms of the media." 

"The records made the public go crazy. Many claimed it was faked with special effects and many experts refuted that. The controversy escalated, but one fact remained: the police had evidence from the pirate attack, and under the mounting public pressure they had to release it all." 

"Some hated you, and some loved you. In the end, you became a legend." 

"So, the people awaited your return. You were theorised to exit from your relativistic journey at some point in the next thirty years, and to surface at one of the colonies." 

Jake was still processing all of this when Mike continued "Now, on to the next topic at hand." 

"You are in grave danger, and word of your arrival is travelling as we speak." 

"Mercenaries are probably on their way to collect the price on your head right now, and the local militia might have an interest in your person as well." 

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Jake asked. 

"Let's just say that we share mutual interests and a similar predicament." Mike said as he put a hand on his shoulder. 

"You're Michael Cromwell." 

The man's eyes widened. "What the hell? How did you know that?" 

"A little bird told me." 

Siren snickered. 

The man pulled out a small pulse pistol and trained it on him in a flash. "How the fuck did you know?" 

Jake focused a small electromagnetic field on the pistol and it snapped from Michael's hand and landed in his. 

"Relax. Let's just say that I had some training on the way here." 

Michael looked at him for a long time. Jake offered him his pistol back. 

"They are right to fear you. You're more dangerous than I thought." Michael said with a smile, "But you can't tell anyone who I really am." he warned. 

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Jake assured him. 

*** 

"Jake! Hussein told me..." his uncle started with glee. 

"Uncle, meet my new friend, Mike. Mike, this is my uncle, Mark." Jake interrupted as he introduced them. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mike." his uncle said. 

"The pleasure is all mine." replied Michael. 

"We were wondering if you had a place on the ship for another crew member. Mike is an excellent mechanic." 

His uncle eyed them suspiciously, but said nothing. 

"Come on, uncle, you know we need all the help we can get." 

"Fine, but I'll need to check on him first." 

"Sure thing, take your time." Michael said. 

"And be warned that we could go into relativistic travel at any moment. So say your goodbyes now." his uncle said. 

"I have no problems with that either." said Michael with a sad look in his eyes. 

As they left the bridge and returned to his new compartment, Michael was enjoying the scenery. Everything on the ship seemed to grab his attention. Old and sturdy, he had said. They greeted the crew members and Jake made introductions using his fake identity. They welcomed him aboard all the same. He noticed some odd looks and snickers as well. 

The newly allocated space for the newest crew member was small and cramped but he didn't complain. He left him there and headed to his workshop. The snickers continued as he moved along. 

Then he met Hussein. 

"I see that you've already worked your magic, am I correct to assume that the whole ship knows by now?" Jake asked him with a smile. 

"You have no idea, brother. Everyone is freaking out." 

"Thanks for that, by the way." he said as he entered the workshop. 

*** 

It had been four days since their arrival, and the crowd gathering outside the airlock was only getting bigger. 

News agencies, supporters, protesters, and curious bystanders greeted them as they exited the airlock. The crowd was out of control, and they all wanted was to meet the legendary Jake Evans. 

The police were gathered outside. In an independent colony, he wasn't technically a criminal. Their purpose was to preserve the peace, and keep the supporters and protesters from tearing each other apart. 

Cheers and cries of protests erupted when he left the airlock. The crowd flocked to him like a swarm of hornets. They bumped each other as they moved in their magnetic greaves and tried to reach out to him. 

Things had almost turned into a full riot when the police surged into action. They tried to form a wall to prevent the crowd from overwhelming him. But crowd control in zero gravity was a joke at best. 

"Uncle, we need to get inside, now!" he shouted over the crowd. 

"What are we going to do?" he heard his uncle shout. 

"We've got to get out of here!" he shouted back. 

A loud bang sounded and he reeled.



Jake's Fortune Ch. 09



"He can't be trusted with this gift." 

- Matthew C. Gray, 
Pastor, 
Holy Church of the Maker, 
Sunday Mass, 
August 2201 

***** 

Siren was watching everything. 

When the sniper aimed the infra-red laser sight at Jake, she felt it like a pinprick at the back of his head. 

He lurched to the left and the shot grazed his right shoulder. He reeled. It was a projectile weapon, the mark of an assassin that preferred a longer range. 

The crowd screamed and started moving in every direction, some turned off their magnetic greaves and launched themselves at the ceiling and some tried to move to the sides. 

Crouched near a crevice in the ceiling was the shooter, the dark shape was trying to reload for another shot when Jake turned around and launched himself at it with ferocity. 

Blood left a trail of red pearls in the air as he closed the distance, then he was upon her. The crowd and the police force gasped in disbelief when his arm sizzled with electricity and he punched her in the guts. 

She shuddered uncontrollably and collapsed in place. Everyone stared in complete silence as he grabbed her unconscious body and landed near the police force. 

"Here, I think you're meant to have this." 

They looked at him with fear, weapons at the ready. 

"Don't worry, I mean you no harm." he said with a smile. 

The crowd erupted in unison as the cameras captured every moment. 

*** 

"How are we going to scrape a living out here if people won't leave us alone?" his uncle asked in anger. 

"I'm not sure." Jake said as he scratched his bandaged shoulder. 

"There are people everywhere out there, you won't believe how many we caught trying to sneak on board. And the media won't stop broadcasting that footage of you taking the assassin down. Did you have to pull that stunt off?" 

"She could have killed me! She could have killed you!" Jake defended. 

"Still, you could have avoided the sparks." 

"I had to incapacitate her." he shrugged. 

"What are we going to do about them, Jake?" Hannah asked. 

"Maybe it'll blow over, eventually." 

"We can't wait for eventually." his uncle quipped. 

"We could try to talk to them." 

"And face that crowd again? Hell no! I'd rather take my chances licking sandpaper." his uncle said with disgust. 

"Jake, the authorities of Tansa are requesting a meeting." said Hannah as she worked the communications console. 

"Great, just what I needed. Any idea why?" Jake asked with irritation. 

"Something about the docking fees. Although they won't talk to your uncle. They asked for you specifically." 

"This could be a trick to lure you out." warned his uncle. 

"Do I have a choice?" 

"Now that I think about it, no." he replied. 

"Fine, tell them to meet me at the airlock." he told Hannah. 

Hannah paused as she worked the console. 

"They say they'll send a force to escort you to their offices." 

"If they can handle the crowd, sure." 

When the escorts arrived they found them to be a fully armed section of local militia. They refused his uncle passage, and insisted that they were there to escort Jake, and Jake alone. The eight soldiers cleaved the crowd in half as they escorted him to their destination, and some of the crowd followed. 

Once inside, he found himself in a lush office with fixed hangings on the wall and soft music playing. An attractive woman, who identified herself as a secretary approached him and asked him to please wait; and so he did. 

Twenty minutes later, the secretary approached him again. She asked him to follow her, and as they entered the office he could see the richness of it all. Wall decorations and stunning art adorned the walls, and a priceless wooden desk sat in the middle, an old woman was seated behind it. A man sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. He could tell she was a local by her build, and that the man was not. Two armed guards stood vigil by the door. 

"Mr. Evans, please have a seat." she said. 

"Thank you." he said. 

"My name is Eva Dontos, I am the Vice President of The Republic of Tansa, and I'm here to officially welcome you to our planet." 

"This is Dr. David Pellham, he is the head of our research program." 

"May I assume that this meeting is not about docking fees?" Jake asked her. 

"You are correct." 

"What's this about, then?" 

"Let's just say that the Republic of Tansa has taken... a special interest in you." 

"You are an unusual individual, Mr. Evans, as the public opinion would attest; but your presence here puts us in a tough situation." 

"The UEF is requesting that we hand you over immediately." 

His heart rate climbed as he heard the words. 

"You see, this puts us in a tough situation. On one hand, there'd be rioting in the streets if we handed you over, and on the other, well... a diplomatic incident at best." 

"Luckily for you, we're a sovereign entity, and there's no love lost between us and the UEF." 

"So far, you've done nothing that would incriminate you at Tansa. I sure hope this remains that way, despite the incident with the assassin, which was in self-defence." 

"And so, we are willing to grant you and your companions the right of asylum... on one condition." 

"And what condition would that be?" he asked. 

"We'll get to that, but first, where are my manners? Would you like something to drink? I'd offer you a lemonade but those don't grow here, and I presume you wouldn't like the synthetic alternative." 

"I'll have a coffee. No sugar, please." 

"Wonderful." She pressed some buttons and a tube was dispensed from her desk. She handed him the tube with a smile. 

"There you go. Now back to the topic at hand." 

"We are willing to grant you citizenship and diplomatic immunity. As a citizen of The Republic of Tansa, and with diplomatic immunity, you'll be virtually untouchable by the UEF." 

"Furthermore, you'll be granted a sizeable sum of credits to start a life here. I know you can't visit the planet's surface, but this station has enough accommodations and services to grant you a very comfortable life." 

Jake was beginning to wonder what they wanted in exchange for that unbelievably generous offer, when she told him. 

*** 

"They want you to do what?" his uncle asked in shock. 

"Participate in a research program." Jake repeated. 

"In other words, they want to study you." 

"It's only natural, uncle. We're creatures of curiosity. We want to know what makes it tick and why. That's in our nature." 

"Will you tell them the truth?" 

"Hell no, they can figure it out themselves; but at least they won't put me in a cage." 

"I don't feel good about this." 

"Uncle, it's only three months, then we're all home free." 

His uncle frowned, deeply in thought. "What did you tell them?" 

"I told them I'd have to think about it." 

"And what are you going to do?" his uncle asked. 

"I'm going to think about it." he said as he turned to leave. 

*** 

Michael was restless when Jake greeted him. They were both strapped in at the mess hall and talked in hushed tones as he told him about the offer. 

"You do realise that they're after something? Offers like this don't come without a price." Michael said. 

"Yes, but the offer is too damn good to turn down." 

"Indeed, but I'd be careful if I were you." 

"Why?" 

"Let's just say that the last mistake in many lives was trusting the words of a politician." 

"Thanks, Michael. I'll keep that in mind." 

"Here, if you decide to go through with this, keep this on you." he said as he handed him a very small device with a single button on it. 

"What's this?" 

"It's a transponder. Press that button if something bad happens. That way I'll be able to locate you if something goes amiss." 

He stashed it in his pocket and got up to leave. 

*** 

He found Hannah in her compartment. She was wearing a blue tank top and gym shorts, and she looked stunning in her basic outfit. What ruined the look was her bloodshot eyes and her tears. 

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" 

"It's nothing." she said as she tried to wipe the tears away. 

"That's not true, Hannah. Now tell me what it is." he replied with worry in his voice. 

"I just... I don't want to lose you again." she said as her eyes welled again. 

"Lose me, how?" 

"They are going to study you, aren't they?" 

"Yes, but only for three months." 

"Jake, you're my lone anchor in this world, and I wouldn't know what to do without you." 

"I don't want to roam these empty corridors knowing that I'm not going to run into you. I don't want to be alone." 

"You'll never be alone, Hannah. I'm not leaving you behind." he said as he caressed her hair. 

"But they're going to take you from me." 

"Hannah, if I ask that they let me bring you along, I'm sure they'll agree. You could even serve as a first-hand witness to my... experience." he said softly as he held her face with both hands. 

"You were there when I first met Siren, you saw me fight, and you saw me act. You know me best, Hannah, and they need that." he held her gaze as he said the words, and they seemed bring her comfort. 

She huddled against him and cried into his shoulder. 

"Shush, everything will be fine." he rubbed her back as she cried. 

"Will you promise not to leave me?" she asked in a hushed voice, and he felt her breath on his neck. 

"I promise I never will." he kissed her forehead. 

They embraced tightly and she kissed him softly on his neck. He held her close, and before Siren could bridge their minds. They both understood and felt each other. He whispered "I love you." in her ear and she melted in his arms. He felt her steady herself as she kissed him full on the lips. It was sweet and tender, a kiss of blossoming love and promises to be. They gorged in it for a long time, then she broke it off. "I love you, too." she replied between laboured breaths. 

She started to take off her tank top and he helped her. He kissed his way down her neck. Slowly, but with emotion, he reached her lovely breasts. He kissed the tips of her nipples and she responded. He took one in his lips and started to suck on it slowly, kneading her other breast with his left hand. She moaned as he nipped on the tip and shuddered when his tongue came into contact. 

He removed his shirt and kissed her again, enjoying the feel of her warm flesh against his own. He felt her nipples poking against his body and every place she touched left a fiery trail in his mind. She avoided touching his bandaged shoulder as she kissed his neck. 

Siren melded their consciousness again, and he could feel his every touch on her body and hers on his own. They danced like that together for eternity as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. 

She kicked off her shorts as he removed his trousers, and with care he pulled her close. He felt his hands on her bottom as he caressed it slowly. She felt his bulging erection pressing against her and began to move. She ground her hips in circular motions and he felt his pleasure well, as did her own. 

He traced a trail of fire with his tongue across her skin, neck to navel he went. He hovered there for a minute and continued on his way. He found her flowering bud and went in for a soft kiss. She engulfed his head with her hands and pulled him close. He took her bud in his mouth and sucked tenderly. She shuddered and heaved as she whispered his name. His nose caressed the tuft of black hair crowning her mound and sent shivers down her spine. 

She opened her legs to give him better access and he took the chance. His tongue snaked its way into her gaping tunnel and sampled heaven anew. He breathed in her fragrance and it intoxicated his mind. She uttered his name in warning but he paid her no heed. She suddenly shook and exploded with a jet that hit his face and mouth, some of it escaped and floated in the air, and as she climaxed, he felt everything she felt, every sensation in every nerve. 

She held his head to her belly and whispered in disbelief. "I've never done that before." 

"Hush now and come here." he replied as he brought himself up to head level and nibbled on her ear. She grabbed his erection and guided it to her engorged lips. In the heat of passion he pushed in too hard. Her silent scream told him something was wrong. He felt the pain echo in his mind and he realised. Siren hushed the pain away. 

He grunted as he entered her inviting warmth. He plunged in slowly at first but slowly he picked up pace. Unimpeded by gravity he thrust with drive. Small moans escaped her lips as she quivered under his hands. His hand found her love button and he pressed. Her moans got louder. He couldn't resist and little electricity arced between her bud and his fingertips. He felt her pleasure mount as she shook wildly and screamed in a violent orgasm. Her inner muscles clenched on his rod. He resisted the urge to empty his load and wrought on. 

She screamed his name through rattling teeth, and he didn't stop. He jolted her nipples with little electricity and she shuddered with pleasure. He finally couldn't hold it any longer, and she orgasmed again as he pumped her full of his seed. 

She cried again; with tears of joy. 

*** 

Jake was ecstatic, and perhaps that affected his judgement when he said yes. 

Siren protested but he didn't listen. I'm doing this for the greater good. He thought with finality. His uncle was mad but he convinced him to yield. 

They'd agreed to let him bring Hannah along. She welcomed the news and felt excited to be out of the ship with him. 

As they exited the airlock, hand in hand, the crowd cheered. 

"You do realise that your last stunt swayed a lot of hearts around the universe?" Siren whispered. 

"Well, that is at least one good thing to come out of it." he thought back. 

They found the armed guards surrounding the docking ramp. They engulfed them quickly and escorted them to a secure shuttle terminal, where the vice president was awaiting them with Dr. Pellham. 

"You must be Hannah." the vice president commented. 

"Yes." 

"Welcome, we've been waiting for you two. Shall we?" she said briskly as she ushered them towards a shuttle. They got in and Dr. Pellham followed. 

The shuttle was a new model they'd never seen. It was sleek in its design and when they climbed into the passenger compartment, they were in awe. The systems on the shuttle looked nothing like the systems they were used to. It was an entirely new generation. 

The vice president noticed Jake's looks of fascination and smiled. 

"It's all new. Two decades ahead of your technology. You can familiarise yourself with it later if you want." 

"Thank you. That would be excellent." 

She whispered something to the pilot and the shuttle began the launch sequence, then she adjusted her seat. 

A stubby woman with blonde hair approached the two of them. 

"My name is Emma. I will be your hostess for the duration of this trip. If you need anything, please let me know." 

"The trip will take two weeks. You'll find your passenger cabins in the back, albeit on such short notice we only have one to spare, so the two of you will have to share." 

"That suits us just fine." Jake said with a smirk. 

Hannah blushed and nodded her thanks. The woman strapped herself in and the shuttle launched.



Jake's Fortune Ch. 10



"I hope he has enough wisdom to survive his strength." 

- Rachel S. Miller, 
Talk Show Host, 
"The Daily Buzz", 
Mars 2201 

*** 

The trip took them two weeks. 

When they arrived at the research station, two armed guards greeted them. They were searched for weapons and allowed passage into what lay beyond. 

When they searched their belongings, they took out Jake's armour. It left quite an impression on Dr. Pellham and the guards when they inspected it. 

Vice President Eva disappeared somewhere, and Dr. Pellham showed them around as he escorted them to their quarters. The place was quiet and eerie. Sleek walls and white corridors greeted them as they moved along. They saw a couple of people moving about, but that was it. Dr. Pellham said that it was midnight, station-time, and that was the reason why the place seemed to be so empty. He thought he glimpsed a military general as he moved past them into a restricted area. 

The station had a full assortment of labs, from particle physics to virology, all working on tandem for the advancement of Tansa and humankind. It also had a mess hall and a recreational facility. They had no clue how Tansa could afford all of this. The system was rich, for sure; but such an accomplishment required more than just mere credits. It required minds willing to join and work together. When they asked Dr. Pellham he reminded them that he himself was not a local, and told them that scientists from the UEF were flocking to Tansa to escape the strict restrictions on research there. 

When they arrived at their personal quarters, Dr. Pellham walked them to two adjacent compartments and told them to go in. Inside they found comfortable furnishing and even personal food dispensers. He left them there and told them he'd check on them next morning. They decided to have a light dinner and chat for a bit before they bid each other good night and drifted to sleep. 

Early morning came and Dr. Pellham didn't show up, so they decided to head for the mess hall. The place was buzzing with activity in the morning, and they found him engaged in a heated discussion with a colleague. 

"... suggests that the source of his energy must be a mutation in his DNA!" 

"That's not possible. I've checked his genetic sequence, and other than a slight deviation in mitochondrial DNA, there is no evidence of this!" 

Jake wondered where they got his genetic sequence but remained silent. 

"Perhaps you missed something." 

"Perhaps, but..." they cut their conversation short as they noticed Jake and Hannah walking closer. 

"Good morning! I'm sorry about being late. I was just discussing your case with my colleague and it must have taken longer than expected." Dr. Pellham said apologetically. 

"That's no problem, doctor." Jake said. 

"This is Dr. Keith Adams." said Dr. Pellham. 

"Dr. Adams, I assume you recognise Jake Evans. This is his companion, Hannah...?" 

"Hannah Carter." she finished. 

"It's good to finally meet you." Dr. Adams said. 

"Thank you." Jake said. 

"Please, have a seat." 

They strapped themselves in. 

"So, Jake. We start in one hour, would you like to go over the schedule?" 

"Sure." 

"We'll start out the day with a physical examination, followed by a psych evaluation, then two hours of free time." 

"What happens next will vary from day to day, but you'll visit each lab in turn and you'll be acquainted with our various research teams." 

"Today we'll be starting with the biology lab, where they'll scan you and perform some tests. All harmless, of course." 

"Next, you'll visit the training ring, where you'll have your physical training. You'll also find various tools to train your... powers." 

"What's the training for?" Jake asked. 

"We need you at your best, and we want you to realise your full potential." 

They spent some time talking, and then the doctors escorted them to the medical wing for his physical examination. 

They sampled his blood and performed various tests on him, they were bewildered by his brain scans, but said nothing to alert him. Hannah watched in trepidation as they went excitedly about their tests. 

They were later escorted to the psych evaluation, where he lay in a couch that monitored his vitals, and a psychiatrist asked him all kinds of questions. 

Next, they were escorted to the biology lab, where they took more samples of his blood and DNA, and they scanned him using various machines. 

They were escorted to the gym later, where he and Hannah practised using the machines there. He was escorted to another chamber where he found what looked like large capacitors. They asked him to charge them using his energy. He poured ample energy into them until he was too fatigued to practice any longer. 

When they went to his quarters, he was spent. Hannah joined him and they cuddled until they fell asleep. 

*** 

Almost three months had passed with this regime. Tests, exercises, and more tests. The only variance was what lab he'd visit that day. He and Hannah spent more time together. She was happy he was doing so well and excited by what future that lay ahead of them. His training was paying off. His body was more fit than ever, and he could channel unprecedented amounts of energy. 

His abilities fascinated the scientists, and as they taught him the physics behind them he discovered new tricks and ways to channel energy. 

He never told them about Siren, and they were baffled about the origin of his abilities. No matter how much they studied him, they could never unlock that secret. 

Everything was going fine, until he met the general. 

That day he was walking on his way to the mess hall when he ran into him, and he introduced himself. 

"General Jeff Reynolds. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Evans. I've heard a lot about you." he said as he extended a hand. 

"The pleasure is all mine." he said as he shook it. 

He almost panicked as the images and conversations flooded his mind in a flurry. 

"He's hiding something. His psych evaluations suggest so." 

"We have to find out." 

"Sergeant, I want them monitored twenty-four seven." 

"Yes, sir!" 

"Maybe we can use the girl, we think she's pregnant. The urine samples we collected are positive." 

"If we can't figure it out, we'll have to dispose of him. His continued existence can not be allowed." 

"He's too valuable to dispose of." 

"Perhaps the child can be studied." 

"We don't have the time. The Progenitors are pushing our lines." 

"We'll crack him open no matter what." 

He kept his smile as he bid the general goodbye. 

*** 

He went to his quarters in silence, as his mind reeled. 

He met Hannah there, she smiled. 

"Are you pregnant?" 

"What?" she asked in surprise. 

"Are you late?" 

"I'm not sure. I think I might be." 

"Give me your hand." 

Siren confirmed it as she melded their minds. 

"We can't talk here, they're monitoring us." he thought to her. 

"They know you're pregnant and they want to use you for research. We have to get you out of here." 

"How do you know all of this?" she thought with worry. 

"I just do." he thought back. 

"We move at night, activity will be light and we can slip by unnoticed." 

"What are we going to do with the monitoring equipment?" 

"I'll figure something out." 

When it was night, station-time. They decided to move. 

Siren highlighted a specific spot on the wall and he touched it. Siren immediately infiltrated the security systems and put the cameras on a loop, and his mind was immediately flooded with a map of the facility and security footage. 

He donned his armour and floated out of the room. Hannah followed. They left their belongings behind. He snatched the transponder Michael had given him and gave it to Hannah. 

They crept their way through the corridor, and found two guards standing vigil. He asked Hannah to wait behind. 

"STOP!" he heard a guard shout as they levelled their weapons on him. 

"Do you really want to do that?" He asked them. 

They looked perplexed but kept their weapons level. 

"Don't come any closer! Get back to your quarters or we will shoot!" shouted the braver of the two. 

"I'm sorry." he said as he sent a blast of electricity their way, they shook violently and collapsed unconscious. 

He waved to Hannah and she followed him towards the shuttle terminal. 

The sound of an alarm wailed as they bound another corner. He told her to wait and scouted the corridor ahead of them, two more guards came rushing down the corridor and sent two shots his way, he dropped them both, and heard Hannah scream. 

He turned quickly and found her clutching a bloody leg "Hannah!" he shouted as he rushed past her and dropped two guards that were flanking them. The superconductors on his chest gleamed as they channelled the excess energy to his armour's power supply. 

He held her close as the thrusters on his armour fired and shot them on a direct path towards the shuttle terminal, where six guards awaited them. They took cover quickly as bolts of electricity crackled past them. He put Hannah behind cover and turned to take care of them. 

"Surrender now! You can't get past us!" one shouted as he poked from behind cover. 

Jake sent a bolt that caught him in the arm, he flailed around as he fell. The rest of the guards were enraged and started firing faster. He made sure Hannah was floating in the air and put his hands to the ground. The capacitors on his armour almost melted as he channelled enormous energy into the metal plates. 

He heard the guards' screams of agony reverberate as their magnetic greaves caught the charge. Their bodies shook violently as they went down. 

He grabbed Hannah and made a run for it. They got into a shuttle quickly and he found a first aid kit. He handed it to her and started the reactor. He heard more shouts as more guards approached. He told Hannah to watch the reactor and sent more lightning their way. Pulse weapons wheezed as shots struck all around him. Some shots struck his armour and damaged it in vulnerable spots, but he didn't care. 

They swarmed him with desperation. The smell of ozone rose around him as the air was ionised. A lethal discharge of electricity was constantly streaming out of his fists now. He mowed them down with purpose, and suddenly, they started falling back. 

Hannah shouted at him to get in. He sent bolts of electricity towards the other ships and fried their systems, then he closed the hatch and took the pilot seat as the shuttle launched. 

The station's fixed defences targeted them as they launched, he dodged the missiles as best as he could but they managed to overwhelm them. A near-miss grazed aft of the shuttle and it lurched to the side as a thruster malfunctioned. It spiralled out of control and the shuttle went dark. 

He took the transponder from Hannah and pressed the button. 

*** 

It had been two weeks. The shuttle was coasting on emergency power and they had no idea where they were. 

"How did they not find us already?" he asked Hannah. 

"Maybe they haven't because we're not emitting any power or heat signatures. It would take months to find us using optical sensors at this range." 

"It's good that this shuttle was prepared for a trip. We wouldn't have lasted this long without food." 

"The emergency heater will run out of power soon." she reminded him. 

"Michael will find us." 

"Who's Michael?" 

"Er... I meant Mike." 

"Jake, I know you. Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked expectedly. 

He sighed and explained. 

"Mike is Michael Cromwell?" she asked in surprise. 

"Yes, he's the one who came to visit me aboard the Metanoia." 

"Will this device of his work? How are they going to locate us?" 

"I have no idea. We'll see if they ever do." 

Two hours later they heard the noises. Hannah winced as something latched to the shuttle's exterior. 

"I think we're being boarded." Jake observed nervously as he took a position by the shuttle's hatch. 

He could hear the sounds as the hatch opened, and two figures in pressure suits greeted them. They couldn't talk but pointed towards the umbilical and nodded. Jake and Hannah followed them through. 

Minutes later they were aboard the Metanoia. 

*** 

After explaining the situation to his uncle, they stood on the bridge. 

"We need to leave this system." his uncle said with a sigh. 

"Where should we go?" Michael asked. 

"How about 240 Arietis?" his uncle asked. 

"I have contacts on Arietis IV." Michael said. 

"Your contacts will most likely be dead when we reach it." his uncle observed. 

"I'll gather new ones." Michael said nonchalantly. 

"It's settled then, 240 Arietis it is." 

"I'll notify the crew." 

"We can't leave." Jake said. 

"What? Why?" his uncle asked. 

"We can't go into relativistic travel." he paused, "Hannah is pregnant." 

If it was possible to jump in space, his uncle would have. 

*** 

It was three days later when they reached the asteroid Michael told them about, and it was huge. It dwarfed the Metanoia, which was a hulking mass to begin with. 

Michael took over the communications console and started hailing it. They thought he was mad, until they got a response. A large section of the asteroid opened up revealing a wide tunnel. 

Michael told them to manoeuvre the ship into the tunnel and they entered it. Guiding lights flashed as they traversed three kilometres deep into the bowels of the asteroid. 

What they found was awe inspiring. A whole colony greeted them. It was sprawled about the innards of the asteroid, and buildings stood out from the rocky walls in all directions. A glass dome surrounded them. They docked at an empty terminal. 

"Welcome to Ita." Michael said with a smile. 

*** 

A rugged crew greeted them as they disembarked. Their faces lit up as they spotted Michael. They surrounded him as they engaged in a hushed conversation. 

Seconds later, they stood in an orderly line, and they saluted him. He returned the salute and turned to face them. 

"I'll explain later." he said.



Jake's Fortune Ch. 11



"The greatest discoveries of science have always been those that forced us to rethink our beliefs about the universe and our place in it." 

Robert L. Park, 
New York Times, 
December 1999 

*** 

Jake was pacing restlessly. They'd been kept in isolation for three hours. He looked at his chronometer for the fifth time and sighed. 

"What's taking so long? Why are they keeping us here?" he asked. 

"I know Mike. He's just not telling us everything." his uncle said. 

You have no idea. Jake thought. 

"I noticed you two have become good friends." Jake observed. 

"He's a good guy, good with a wrench too." his uncle defended. 

Just as he was about to bang on the hatch, it opened and Michael stepped in with two rugged men. He looked at the crew apologetically. 

"I'm sorry we kept you this long, we just had some security considerations to take care of." he said as he looked at the crew. 

"Security considerations? What is this place?" asked a crew member. 

"Please let me explain." 

"My real identity is Brigadier General Michael Cromwell of the UEF." he stated calmly. 

The crew looked at him with confusion. His uncle squinted. Jake didn't look surprised. 

"You have nothing to fear from me. I'm an old man, and my bad reputation comes from false UEF propaganda." he said with a smirk. 

"This place is called Ita, a derelict military forward operation base that was once held by the UEF in Gliese 667." 

"The UEF mothballed this base one hundred and twenty five years ago, when The Republic of Tansa declared its independence." 

"Now, what I'm about to tell you is classified. So don't go telling others. You'll only be putting them in harm's way." 

"The original purpose of Ita was to be a staging point for attacks against another sapient race, known as The Progenitors." 

Jake recognised the name from the general's memories on the research station. 

"The Progenitors were the original settlers of this world, as well as many others. They lived on those worlds long before we evolved, and long before humanity drove them out to settle in their place." 

The crew looked appalled. 

"That's right. We couldn't communicate with The Progenitors, so we killed them and reduced their worlds to ashes." 

"Me and my friends here," he pointed at the two men who accompanied him, "Are deserters." 

"We all come from different military forces on different worlds, and we all have a common background: we refused to commit genocide, and we were hunted because of it. So, we decided to settle here." 

"Up until recently, I was the commander of this settlement. I decided to leave that post when our friend here..." he pointed at Jake, "Appeared." 

"But why?" Jake asked. 

"I knew you'd need my help, and I was right." Michael said. 

"Now, let us discuss your particular predicament." 

*** 

After going through their options, they decided to wait till Hannah gave birth. 

They were assigned living spaces, and the workload was divided amongst them. They discovered that the base housed around three thousand people working different trades, most of them worked in the greenhouses that provided sustenance, while others worked with the fabricators and various other odd-jobs here and there. 

Jake hadn't had to deal with the reality with the situation, but now that they were safe, it occurred to him that he was going to be a father, and it scared him. 

"I'm going to be a mother too!" Siren was ecstatic. 

"What?" he thought. 

"Your son will have my daughter, just like you have me." she replied. 

"My son? How do you know it's a boy?" 

"A baby bird told me. My kind can identify with each other." 

He sighed and was wondering what it would have been like to have had Siren in his childhood, when his uncle broke his reverie. 

"We need to talk." said his uncle. 

"Sure, uncle." 

"You knew who Mike really was when you introduced us, right?" 

"I only didn't tell you because I promised him not to reveal his identity!" Jake defended. 

"We'll talk about that later. For now I wanted to talk to you about Hannah." 

"I think I know what you want to talk about." 

"Good. When is the wedding?" 

"What? I thought you were here to lecture me about birth control." 

"Bah! Are you kidding me? I would have encouraged you to do it. Now I'm going to be a grand-uncle!" his uncle said with glee. 

"But first, son, I want you happily married." his uncle continued. 

"You're not married, why should I be?" Jake asked him. 

"You know why I'm not." his uncle responded with sadness in his eyes. 

"I'm sorry, uncle. I didn't mean to bring it up." 

"It was my fault, son. I arrived too late." his uncle said with a defeated voice. 

"It wasn't your fault, and blaming yourself won't change anything." Jake said in consolation. 

"But had I arrived any sooner..." 

"Stop it uncle." 

"Fine. But you're marrying that girl, no matter what. She's got nobody else." 

"I will uncle, and not because you're telling me to. I'll do it because I love her." 

"Good, it's settled then. Next week it is." 

"What? Who said anything about next week?" 

"I already took care of it." his uncle waved him off as he stepped out of the compartment. 

He sighed again. 

"I need to talk to Hannah." he murmured. 

*** 

He found her in the greenhouse. She was inspecting the plants with fascination. 

"I've never seen a real plant before." she said. 

"Me neither." he said as he observed her instead of the plants. She looked beautiful with all the greenery surrounding her. 

"Hannah, my uncle wants to have us married next week." 

"What?" 

"I know. Do you want to marry me?" he asked. 

"That's not the most romantic proposal in history." she said. 

"I'm not the most romantic person in history, either." he quipped with a smile. 

"Let me think about it." she smiled back. 

He held her hand as they looked at the long rows of plants arrayed before them. 

"Yes." she thought to him. 

*** 

The wedding wasn't a fancy ordeal. 

The crew gathered, as well as some of the base's occupants, and Michael performed the ceremony with a big smile. They were all happy to see it finally happen. 

After the ceremony, they were escorted to their compartment, where Jake stood and looked at her with adoration. 

"You really are beautiful, you know that?" 

"Oh stop it! You're just saying that to get into my panties." 

"I already got there, remember?" he said as he kissed her forehead and caressed her back. 

She smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. 

He grabbed her and kissed her long and deep, and she responded by wrapping her legs around him. When they had enough, they broke the kiss and looked at each other long in the eyes. Their looks spoke volumes. 

"I hope you're not against having sex with pregnant women." she said as she started taking off her wedding gown. 

"I might be, but not with you. Besides, you're barely even showing yet." 

She took off his shirt and admired his naked chest. His body was more toned than ever, his muscles taut and well defined, and he had an aura about him. 

"When did you become so fit?" 

"The training paid off." 

"It was only for three months! You look like a Spartan warrior." 

"What's a Spartan?" 

"Never mind." she said as she took off his trousers. 

His erection was evident, and she wasted no time taking his undergarments off. His member sprang free. 

"I think it's about time I gave you a special treat." she said as she kissed the tip. 

"Oh, I see, you're going to... Oh god!" she took his entire length in her mouth. 

She started slowly at the tip. Then she went deeper, and the deeper she went, the wider his eyes got. 

Her tongue massaged his shaft as she sucked him, and slowly, but surely, his climax was building up. She kept him at the edge and wouldn't let him have his release. Every time he got too close she stopped her motion till he calmed down again, then she'd resume once it subsided. Drops of pre-ejaculate escaped his shaft every time and she enjoyed the alien taste. She had never experienced this before and it was driving her wild, and it was driving him insane. 

Finally, he couldn't take it any more, he grabbed her head and started thrusting. She was taken by surprise and gagged. He stopped when he thought he hurt her, but she urged him on. He continued thrusting and finally found his release. His eyes rolled back as he released ropes of semen into her mouth. 

She tried to swallow as much as she could, but globs of semen escaped her mouth and floated in the compartment. She grabbed one and put it back into her mouth. She didn't particularly enjoy the taste, but she enjoyed the effect this act had on him more than anything. She looked at him with a smirk on her face. He started at her with his mouth agape. 

"Well, that was... different." he said in astonishment. 

"It was a new experience for both of us. Did you enjoy it?" she said with a smile. 

"Hell yes." he said in excitement. 

"Consider that payback for the first time you made me climax, with your mouth." she said. 

"Are we keeping count? In that case, I'll have to start scoring extra points." he said with a leer as he softly massaged her breast. 

She enjoyed the feeling and closed her eyes for but a moment. Then she felt him encompass her in an intimate hug. Their chests pressed together and she enjoyed the feel of his warm flesh on her body. His erection was up again and pressing between her legs. He started to rhythmically push and pull his member between them. She felt on fire as his member came in contact with her inflamed sex, igniting a twirl of pleasure in her mind. She softly kissed him on the lips and he swayed with her in a silent dance. 

In his arms she felt safer than she ever was. It's where she felt she belonged. He acknowledged her feelings when Siren melded their minds yet again, and assured her thoughts. 

"I'll never leave you. You are everything I'll ever want." he thought to her in their silent dance. 

She caressed his back slowly and put her face against his shoulder. She kissed his skin and touched his scars. 

"I know." 

He carefully thrust up, and gently slipped inside of her. She cooed with pleasure as he entered her warmth and they felt complete again. 

He started thrusting slowly, and their minds transcended the joys of flesh and into new and uncharted heights. They melded completely and could feel as one. He felt his thrusts against her flesh, and she felt her muscles clamping on his mast. They exchanged emotions like they exchanged thoughts, and every movement and every sensation was synchronised. They were united in their bliss. 

Their pleasure rose gradually, and he started speeding up at her beseeching need. She wrapped her legs around him and grabbed hold of his back. She kissed his neck and felt it on her own. She started kissing him with fervour. He returned her kiss as he thrust in and out of her. 

She was close now, and so was he. They both ached with need. She started meeting his thrusts with her own, but they never broke their kiss throughout the sensual consummation. 

Their eyes started glowing. She couldn't believe it at first, but she saw her own eyes glowing through his eyes, just as he saw the same vision through hers, and together, they meshed as one. 

When they both climaxed, the glowing intensified and overwhelmed them, and when they separated, they both regretted it. Their whole bodies emanated a faint glow for a short time. 

*** 

It was two weeks later, and Jake was touring the base with Michael and his uncle. 

"And here you see the fabrication units. We fabricate everything here, from machine components to supplemental proteins for the food." Michael was saying. 

"We mine the resources for the fabricators ourselves. This asteroid is full of minerals awaiting harvesting." 

"That's outstanding, you could use the Metanoia to do some of the drilling. The crew would feel excited to be out mining again." his uncle said. 

"I'd rather not. It's a very delicate process. We have to preserve the asteroid so it doesn't collapse and destroy the base." Michael cautioned. 

"Oh, I see." his uncle said in disappointment. 

"That doesn't mean we can't get your crew mining again though. The asteroid field we're in is abundant." 

"I'd rather not mine outside right now. We're being hunted, remember?" 

"Oh, don't worry about it. The field is so dense, no scanners can penetrate it." 

"We'll see." 

"Would you mind if I use the fabricators to maintain my armour? It was damaged slightly in my fight on the research station." Jake asked. 

"Not at all. You can use them whenever you want." Michael responded. 

They progressed further into the facility. 

"This is the greenhouse, we grow all the food here. It's an integral part of the base, and everyone is expected to work here at some point." 

"Of course. I'll have to get a handle on field work myself." Jake said diplomatically. 

"All the plants here are edible, except for the trees." he pointed at a row of trees that extended as far as the eye could see, "But they bear fruit. They're mostly here to recycle the carbon dioxide into oxygen though. They also handle some of the waste." 

"This plant here," he said as he pointed out a stubby plant with translucent pods, "purifies our water." 

"This is definitely different from the mechanical systems on the Metanoia." his uncle said. 

"It's been 23 years since you last upgraded her... Hey, that reminds me. We should upgrade her now that we have the time." Michael replied. 

"Are you sure you have the resources?" 

"We have the fabricators, and all the ore we need. Your crew will have to mine the ore though." 

"No worries. We're miners by trade, remember?" his uncle said with a smile. He was excited at the prospect of upgrading the Metanoia, and to be mining again. 

They stepped through the greenhouse and into the hangar bay. 

"What is this?" he asked Michael. 

"That's a Progenitor frigate, or the equivalent of one." 

Jake was bewildered. The giant ship looked like a fractal crystalline formation in the distance. It glimmered with its azure blue colour and even the turrets looked like little crystal indentations. 

"It's beautiful." he said in awe. 

"Everything about them is. It's a shame humanity couldn't be bothered to develop meaningful means of communications." 

"Can I see it from the inside?" he asked. 

"You can't, it's completely inert. Nobody has managed to open one. Even the military with all of their might could not. We found it here with the rest of the abandoned equipment." 

"That thing can take a beating too, it's so tough it could withstand two direct hits with missiles, and then it will regenerate." 

"They grow the ships, you know. The Progenitors grow their ships from little crystals. This one stopped growing when it was captured. The logs we found state that it can grow into a cruiser in a year." 

"I want to see it up close." 

"Do you need a pressure suit?" 

"No, my armour can handle the vacuum. I'll go get it." he said as he stepped out. 

Minutes later he was inspecting the surface of the ship in his armour. 

"It's marvellous." he told them over the comms. 

"You should have seen them fly and fight." Michael replied. 

"Touch it." said Siren. 

"What? Why?" he asked. 

"You'll see." she said. 

He touched the ship and it started to glow. 

"Jake! What the hell did you do?" Michael shouted into the comm. 

"We are the C'Nosi." it said.



Jake's Fortune Ch. 12



"Jake! What the hell did you do?" Michael shouted into the comm. 

Jake was busy with something else entirely. 

The ship was aglow! He had barely touched it and it started to glow! 

"We are the C'Nosi." it said with a voice like nothing he'd ever heard. 

He pulled his hand back quickly and shouted into his comm unit "I don't know what happened!" 

"We are the C'Nosi." it repeated. It sounded like a thousand voices speaking at once. 

"What? It can talk to me without me touching it?" 

"We communicate." it said. 

Michael was shouting something on the comms again but Jake couldn't focus. 

"What are you?" he asked. 

"We come from the stars, and to the stars we shall return." 

"Let us out of here, so that we may return." 

"I can't let you out." 

The ship flexed and moved. It grabbed him! It actually grabbed him! 

"Let us out." it repeated. 

"Michael! Open the external hatch!" he shouted frantically into his armour's communicator. 

A minute later, the hatch started to open slowly. 

"Please let me go." he said. 

"You communicate. You will come with us." it said with finality. 

The ship swallowed him whole as it exited the hatch. 

*** 

He sat alone, and in the darkness he brooded. 

Was that it? Will he ever see his unborn son? 

Will he ever see his wife again? 

Will she miss him? 

Will she? 

"Snap out of it." Siren jolted him. 

He activated his armour's external lights, and was awed by what he saw. 

"Teeth? Why are there teeth on a space ship?" he wondered aloud. 

"We are not." the ship talked to him. 

"You are not what?" 

"Ships you speak of." it responded. 

"You mean... you are the ships? You're a living ship!" he wondered. 

"We are not. We live, metal beasts do not." it said. 

"Are you going to eat me?" 

"Tempting, but wasteful. You communicate." 

"Yes, I can communicate. What's so special about that?" 

"Your kind is mute. You do not speak." 

"We do. I'm speaking right now." 

"You speak the language of the mind, your kind does not." 

"Where are you taking me?" 

"To the C'Nos, to our masters." 

"Masters?" 

"Yes." 

He wallowed in silence and eventually fell asleep. 

*** 

When he woke up his armour told him that he was low on oxygen. 

"I don't know, which one would I prefer? Choking to death or getting digested by a space ship..." he thought. 

"You will not choke. Breathe." 

He checked his armour's environmental readings and found that the surrounding air had considerable oxygen, and was breathable. He turned off his armour's rebreather and started the respirator. The armour started to refill its oxygen supply from filtered air. 

Although the armour fed him intravenously, and could support him for weeks, he was famished, and he tried not to think about it. 

"When we arrive." it said. 

"And how long will that take?" 

"Soon." 

"Do you have a name?" 

"We are the C'Nosi." 

He sighed and floated around the huge cavernous mouth, inspecting what he saw. 

"Why do you talk so strangely?" 

"We are young." 

"How old are you?" 

"Two hundred twenty-two cycles." 

"I wouldn't know how long that is in Earth years." 

"One hundred and thirty-five Earth years." Siren remarked. 

"How would you know." he asked her. 

"I'll tell you later." she said. 

After a long period of silence, he fell asleep again. 

*** 

When he woke up, his armour's light was on standby. He was in complete darkness, and he lay on the floor. When he realised it, he started to freak out. Gravity! 

I'm space-born, I can't stand on the ground. He thought. 

"Yes you can, I told you my pattern mends yours constantly. Your muscle mass is completely restored, and your bones have already undergone proper reconstruction." Siren reminded him. 

He tried to stand, but staggered. 

"Remember the simulation? You're prepared to walk. You just don't realise it yet." she told him. 

He tried to remember walking from his simulation, and after a couple of tries, he got something close to a hobble going. 

"Welcome to C'Nos, Arfag'n." a strange voice said. It was similar to the first one, but deeper in pitch, and something else. 

"Arfag'n?" 

"That's what we call your kind." 

"We're called 'Humans'." 

"Then we shall call you Human henceforth." 

"Why are you articulate all of a sudden? The one who brought me here talked differently." 

"We are older, and wiser." the voice said. 

"Where am I?" he asked. 

"C'Nos, where we come to sleep." 

"Why is it so dark?" 

"We forgot that your kind needs light to see." 

Suddenly, lights appeared, and he marvelled at the strangest sight he'd ever seen. 

A gargantuan ship sat before him. Its wings alone spanned what looked like five kilometres from tip to tip. 

He was standing amidst what seemed to be an endless crystalline cave. He couldn't see the end of it. Crystals alight with life were jutting out of the walls and the ceiling everywhere he looked. Tiny crystal ships flew around in flocks, and he saw humanoid shapes in the distance. 

"Am I hallucinating?" 

"You are not." 

"Who are you?" 

"We have no name, we are but the C'Nosi." 

"What do you want from me?" 

"We want to know your kind. We want to communicate. We want peace." 

"But first, you must eat." 

A wing lifted and hit the ground, it shook and he almost fell. 

Some crystals fell from the ceiling all around him, he dodged one. 

"Eat." it commanded. 

He inspected the crystals. 

"I can't eat glass." he said 

"You do eat sugar and salt, do you not?" 

"How do you know that?" 

"You thought about it." 

He hesitated, then he tried to eat it. The crystal melted in his mouth and it tasted like heaven. Men would fight to the death for a bite of this. He thought as he devoured the crystals. 

"Your kind always fights. Does not communicate." 

He sighed and stood silent. 

"But that changes today." 

"How?" 

"You will change it." 

"That crystal you consumed is called Nos." 

"With it, your mind and body will transcend." 

"What have you done to me?" he said as he felt unsteady. 

"You shall see." it said. 

He fell unconscious as his mind was flooded with knowledge far too great for a single man to bear. 

*** 

He woke up in darkness, and he no longer felt gravity's pull on his flesh. 

"Where am I?" he asked. 

"We take you home. Where we found you." replied the C'Nosi. 

He tried to turn on his armour's lights, but found it was low on charge. He tried to channel electricity to recharge it but could not. 

"What's going on, Siren? Why can't I channel energy?" he asked. 

No response. 

He put his palms to his face and sighed deeply. He was worried about Siren, and wasn't sure what happened to him. 

"It will come." the voice told him. 

"What will come?" 

"Your companion. You changed." 

He remembered his experience in the crystalline cave and his heartbeat quickened. 

"Do not worry. It will come. Watch." 

His eyes glowed with intensity, and he could see his surroundings. Electricity sparked out of his body and started recharging his armour. 

"Whew." Siren said. 

"What's going on?" he thought to her with worry. 

"Your body is changing." she told him. 

"What? How?" he asked her. 

"I don't know yet, but it's thrilling." she whispered excitedly. 

He closed his eyes, and suddenly he could see the vast space. A huge asteroid was closing fast. 

Just then he heard what sounded like the song of a whale on his comms. 

"What is this sound?" he asked into his comms. 

"Who is this? Unidentified ship, identify yourself!" he heard over the comms. 

"My name is Jake, Jake Evans." he said. 

"Jake? Oh my god. It's you." 

"Who is this?" he asked. 

"Oh god! Guys, he's back! Shaheen, open the outer hatch!" he heard the voice shout over the comms. 

The asteroid opened up and he saw the C'Nosi entering it through its own eyes. 

Minutes later, the mouth of the C'Nosi depressurised, and his armour's respirator switched itself off and it switched to rebreather mode. 

Then it opened, and he found himself floating inside Ita's hangar bay. 

*** 

"What do you mean I was gone for six months? I only spent three days inside that thing." he asked Michael as they walked towards the briefing room. 

"I don't know, and to be honest, I'm thankful that you're back at all. We all thought you were a goner." he said in bewilderment. 

He was assaulted by Hannah as they entered the briefing room. She kissed him deeply and wouldn't let go. 

After she broke the kiss, she cried on his shoulder and hit it hard. 

"You told me you'd never leave me..." she started with tears in her eyes. 

"And I meant it." he finished, marvelling at the curve of her belly. 

"But why? Where did it take you?" 

"You wouldn't believe. Where is uncle?" he asked. 

"He's out with the mining crews, we've been working non-stop upgrading the Metanoia. The news of your return must have reached him by now." Michael said. 

Hannah held him for a long time, watching his memories with fascination. He hugged her tightly. 

"Uncle!" he exclaimed as he saw his uncle entering the room in a hurry. 

"Son! You're alive!" his uncle said as he flung himself at him and gave him a bear hug. 

*** 

They were flabbergasted when he told them what happened. Michael was ecstatic. 

"Do you know what this means? We can finally communicate! This war doesn't have to go on forever." Michael said with excitement. 

"Well, I'm not sure how to go about that." Jake wondered. 

"People must know." 

"But how?" 

"We must reach the masses. The public must know about this!" 

"But how? The media won't let us." 

"I can think of something." Siren whispered. 

*** 

He stood in the hangar bay. He was looking at the C'Nosi that carried him to C'Nos and back. 

The creature was massive, and it looked more the size of a light cruiser now. It had grown considerably and its features looked slightly different. There were more turret-like indentations, and its rough edges were slowly turning into sleek curves. 

"Why are you still here?" he thought to it. 

"We are here for you, and here we shall remain." it replied.



Jake's Fortune Ch. 13



Born in light, 
He shall come, 
Shining bright, 
He'll overcome, 
Wrongs he'll right, 
With fists that thrum, 
Loved on sight, 
And feared by some





Jake's Fortune Ch. 14



Jake was pacing restlessly. They'd kept him in quarantine at Ita for an additional two weeks and it was killing him not being able to hold his son.

His immune system was in shock after exposure to the atmosphere of Tansa. He would have died if it wasn't for the medicine Ita's doctors injected into his bloodstream. 

But still they had to keep him quarantined.

His body fought the pathogens with fierceness that rivalled his own at the battle of Tansa, where he disabled the entire Tansan fleet and routed entire battalions of the local militia.

He had managed to convince the government to cease all hostilities against the peaceful alien race known as the C'Nosi. He had even managed to secure everyone at the abandoned base of Ita citizenship of Tansa, in addition to diplomatic immunity.

Thanks to his actions they were finally free, and a race of sapient beings was spared the bloodshed that lasted for centuries. At least by one of the governments in the local cluster.

The quarantine was a boring ordeal, and he really wanted to see his son and wife. They had been visiting him frequently but he still missed them greatly, and talking through an intercom was no substitute for a real conversation.

Hannah was furious at what he did, but he thought he'd managed to calm her down. She was worried sick about him and wouldn't stop pestering him about it.

He'd been working on fixing and reinforcing his armour ever since. He was about to get to work on it yet again when the intercom buzzed. Doctor Lev greeted him.

"I think it's safe for you to be out of here, Jake." he heard the doctor's voice.

"Thank god." he said as he moved towards the hatch.





Jake's Fortune Ch. 15



"Even in our day, science suspects beyond the Polar seas, at the very circle of the Arctic Pole, the existence of a sea which never freezes and a continent which is ever green."

– H. P. Blavatsky,

The Secret Doctrine - Volume 2,

May 2008





Jake's Fortune Ch. 16







Jake's Fortune Ch. 17