Jae's Fortune

"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.