STAR BLAZERS: Save the Last Dance for Me
ACT FOUR: Evening of Delight
I. DEPARTURE
December 26, 2201
1810 Hours
Wildstar, Nova, and the rest of the wedding
party drove straight to the Forrester residence in their cars. There, Wildstar
got rid of his white ascot and black peacoat, and was changing into flight
boots and a black leather flight jacket in the guest room. At the same time,
down the hall in Nova's old room in the rebuilt house, Nova removed her wedding
gown, veil, gloves, and sandals, carefully packing away the whole ensemble in
tissue-lined cedar boxes with the aid of Natalie and her mother. When she was
done, and was in only her lace undergarments, she asked her mother, "Why
all the boxes?"
"Well, Nova, we'll want to preserve the
outfit for YOUR daughter, won't we?" asked Teri.
"Mother! You know that's going to be way off in the
future," laughed Nova as she unzipped a garment bag that had been hanging
in her closet and began to pull out her standard blue duty uniform. Of course,
Nova did not know yet where her life would take her six years later. "You
know I'm still an officer in the Earth Defense Forces and I have my
duties," she said as she sat on her bed to pull on the skin-tight lower
portion of her uniform. She paused only to pull the stirrups around the soles
of her feet and secure them to the mag-seals on the cuffs of her slacks.
"Where's your socks?"
"Mother, they make the boots so you can
wear them with or without socks. I usually do without when I'm in a
hurry," said Nova as she pulled on and zipped up the bodice of her new-issue
uniform. The crotch flaps that formed the leg-seals flapped loose like shirt
tails until Nova joined them at the crotch and used the seal to close it.
"The old uniforms, some of which I still have, were one-piece uniforms. Natalie?"
sang Nova. "Toss me my boots, please?"
"Certainly," cried Natalie as she
tossed Nova's boots across the carpeted floor. Nova caught them and expertly
popped them on without a pause as Natalie put on her own boots, which looked
nice with her maroon-colored skirt and white sweater.
"Nova?" asked Teri as Nova pulled
her black flight jacket off a hanger in the closet.
"Yes?"
"Do you HAVE to wear that uniform? It
looks cute, but it's not the sort of thing I wore when I left on my
honeymoon."
"Mother, times have changed," said
Nova. "I'm sure you didn't fly to your getaway with Father in a military
spaceplane. I am, and I have to wear this for safety's sake."
"Why?"
"Procedure...in case something goes
wrong and I have to eject. With my helmet and gloves, this becomes a
combination pressure suit and space suit."
"You're going to be in space?"
"For just a few minutes when we're in
the upper part of our ballistic sub-orbital trajectory to the island,"
said Nova. "It's just like flying in a jumpjet, or a commercial flight to
the Moon once the damage on the surface is repaired. It won't take us
long," laughed Nova.
"Nova!" called out Derek from down
the hall. "Ready yet?"
"I will be...just a minute!" said
Nova.
"Mother, Natalie..could
you leave me alone for a minute?" asked Nova.
"Sure," said Natalie. "I'll
go find
"Nova," said her mother as her
eyes misted over. "Take care now....."
"Mother..," whispered Nova.
"Yes?"
"Well...I'm a little...nervous...but
excited."
"About what?"
"Everything. Being with Derek...our life together...uhh...the
wedding night," whispered Nova with a blush.
"Nova...you'll do fine...don't be
scared..."
"I'm not! Nervous...excited...yes. Scared, no. It'll be a great adventure," said Nova with
a soft smile on her face.
"But one you'll never come back
from..."
"Mother, don't talk
like that! You sound like I was going off to my death or something! Sure,
I won't be back...but everyone's got to move on with life some time. And you
know we'll be back to visit...someday with your grandchild in a porta-crib,
Mother!"
"I know. But...you'll always be my
baby...Nova."
"And you'll always be my Mama,"
said Nova softly as she hugged her mother. "Let me alone for a minute
before all of us leave for the air base...Derek's waiting."
"Okay," said Teri as she shut the
door and left Nova alone in the near-empty room holding her white flight scarf
in her hand.
Nova looked around, looking at her old white
and pink dresser, chest of drawers, and bed, all of which were now cleaned out
pending the conversion of her old room into a second guest room. For most of
her life, whether in this house or in the underground city of Denver, this
room, with its white carpet and oval wall mirror had represented home to Nova,
even when she had been in college and RTC and afterwards assigned to her post
at the military hospital in Great Island near the old Yamato's resting
place.
Time to say goodbye, I guess
, she thought as she looked
in the mirror to throw on her white silk scarf and tuck it into an ascot as she
zipped her flight jacket closed.
Well, everything I really need is in
these bags...or is downstairs with our wedding presents, or is already back in
the Megalopolis at...our new house thought
Nova as she reached down to look at the leatherette nametag on her flight
jacket. It still read "LT. NOVA D. Y. FORRESTER" below the gilt
representation of her wings on the patch.
Nova slowly peeled the nametag off the
mag-seal on her jacket and left it on the bureau. From her jacket pocket, she
pulled out a new nametag, wrapped in cellophane, and fresh from Supply in the
Megalopolis, where she had picked it up before leaving. She opened the
cellophane and pulled out a nametag just like the other one, save that it was
newer and it read "LT. NOVA D. Y. WILDSTAR."
With a happy, wistful smile, Nova picked up
her two bags.
"Nova, what was keeping you?"
asked Wildstar as he came down the hall carrying his bags in a similar fashion.
"Sorry...I was just getting ready. It
took a minute."
"Are you ready now?" asked Derek,
who paused when he looked down at his wife's flight jacket and noticed the
change.
"I'm ready now, Derek," said Nova.
"Let's go."
II. BEST WISHES FROM THE BEST MAN
December 26, 2201
Alameda Avenue
1845 Hours
Derek and Nova finally arrived at the
Officers' Club at Lowry Field Base at a little after 1845. They now looked more
relaxed as they went around the bar talking to the Honor Guard members who
would be acting as their fighter escort to
"Sorry we took so long," said
Wildstar. "We were pretty busy back there at the house."
"That's okay," said
Venture."It must've taken a while to get that gown of yours ready to take
back to The Megalopolis, Nova."
"No, Mark," said Nova with a
smile. "It's back at Mother's in the closet in a cedar box. According to
Mother, it has to be bagged and preserved for our daughter," said Nova
with a chuckle and a blush. "Derek...?"she
whispered.
"Uh..., Nova?" asked Derek with a
quizzical look on his face as his wife leaned back on the bar and basically
began to giggle her head off as a nice red blush colored her face. "Nova,
are you all right?"
"Derek," she whispered through
giggles, "I want you to promise me something...."
"Huh?" asked Derek, as Venture
turned his head, leaving them their privacy for a momennt as Nova whispered
into her husband's ear while stroking his hand. He didn't know what was said,
but the general tenor of the conversation was made somewhat clear when Derek
put his arm around his bride's waist and gave it a nice, tight squeeze.
"You got that right, Nova,"
replied Derek with a smile..and a wink. "You're
great."
"Thank you....," said Nova as she
laid her head against Derek's shoulder. "Oh, Mark, I'm sorry about all
that!"
"That's okay," chuckled
Venture. "You know..."
"I'm just too excited," gasped
Nova. "Derek and I are legal as of now, and, in a while, we're going to be
alone for five glorious days. We've both got a great deal of things to catch up
on. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate, Mark. You know how close we are."
"I know," said Mark in a soft
voice. He clasped both of their hands and put them on top of each other.
"I wish you two all the luck in the world. I'm glad you finally decided to
stop waiting!"
"Thanks, Mark," replied Wildstar.
"Nova..we'd better tell everyone else to get
ready to move. We'd better get flying before that storm hits."
"Just one last thing,....,"
said Venture.
"Uh..yeah?"
asked Derek.
"on your
honeymoon..have a great time. You deserve it."
"We will," said Nova, putting an
arm around Derek. "We sure will, Mark. Derek, let's get going, shall we?
Mark, if you wouldn't mind, please tell everyone we're leaving, and have them
meet us outside before they get into their planes?"
At that, they left.
III. THE HONOR GUARD'S FINAL ESCORT
December 26, 2201
Denver Megalopolis
Glendale District
Lowry Field Earth Defense Base
1900 Hours
A number of ships were lined up on the
tarmac at Lowry Field. They consisted of three Type 1 Cosmo
Tiger II's; which were the single-place fighter variant, two Type 2A Cosmo
Tiger II's; which were the three-seat Attack/Recon variant, one Type 100 Astro
Fox "Starseeker" recon plane, and one Type 14 Astro Mallard (also
known as a "Starvoyager") Jet Recon Boat.
Karl Forrester's
"Do you have everything, Nova?"
asked Teri as she followed the trio to the Jet Recon Boat.
"These are the last things from the
list, Mother," said Nova brightly.
"How did you get that box in there?
Isn't it dangerous to have something like that behind you in such a small
ship?" asked Teri.
"These boats have modular seats,"
explained Wildstar. "You can take the aft seats out, as the mechanics did,
and have one of these cargo compartments anchored down in place of the
seats."
"Since it's just the
two of us, we don't exactly miss the passenger seats, Mother," added Nova.
Not far away, Hardy came up to the group in
his blues and flight gear, followed by Rosstowski, Sam Josiah, Sandor, Venture,
Hartmann and Royster, and, finally, IQ-9.
"Wildstar, we're ready," said
Venture.
"Great. Everyone...to
your planes."
"You're getting quite an escort,"
said Karl as the others left.
"Well, because we're all heading east,
Venture and Sandor thought it would be a nice idea if they acted as an honor
guard right up until we break off course for the island; so we're making part
of the trip together," said Nova. "When we head in to land on the
island, they'll break off and head back north for the Megalopolis."
"Nova, I think we'd better commence our
pre-flight checkouts," said Derek.
"Mama...Papa..thanks
for all you've done for us today," said Nova as she hugged both of her
parents."
"Derek...take
good care of her," sobbed Teri.
"I will...I promise you," said
Wildstar as he hugged Nova and gave her a peck on the cheek. "She'll be as
safe as possible with me."
"Derek...let's go," whispered
Nova.
"See you in a couple of weeks, around
Easter," said Wildstar.
"You'll be getting leave then?"
asked Karl.
"We're planning it."
After a few final pleasantries, Derek and
Nova got into the Jet Recon Boat, sealed its canopy, and began their checkout.
As Karl and Teri walked away, the engines came up, and the boat began to taxi
away over the roar of the nearby Cosmo Tigers switching on their engines.
"We're ready," said Nova as
Wildstar finished the last of his checkout. Both of them nodded to each other
as the Jet Recon Boat taxied up towards the runway.
"Tower to
Foxtrot-Tango-Delta-four-eight-niner," came a
voice over their helmet earphones. "You're clear for takeoff on Seven-
One."
"This is
Foxtrot-Tango-Delta-four-eight-niner; acknowledged," said Wildstar. "Taking off."
As Karl and Teri watched, the Jet Recon Boat
gathered speed as it rolled down the runway, finally lifting off about midway
down the long runway. The boat roared up into the sky, followed a moment later
by one of the maroon-colored Cosmo Tigers. Over several minutes, plane after
plane launched until all of the Tigers, the Starseeker, and the Starvoyager
boat formed a nice V-shaped formation over the field. Then, with Karl and Teri
sobbing and yelling out goodbyes, the flight roared into the southeast, gaining
altitude with an imposing roar before disappearing into the winter clouds that
now covered the Denver Megalopolis.
The planes roared on, with Derek and Nova's
Starvoyager/Astro Mallard boat flanked on one side by Sandor and IQ-9 in a
Cosmo Tiger and flanked on the other side by Venture, flying alone in his
Starseeker/Fox recon plane. At the reception, Natalie had offered to accompany
him back to the Megalopolis, but Mark had refused, knowing that Natalie had
wanted to stay an extra day with her parents in
A moment later, they broke through the cloud
cover, revealing the dark night sky, which was only deepening as they climbed
higher and higher. Venture looked down for a moment, and thought he recognized
the lights of the Dallas Megalopolis far below.
"Wildstar,
isn't that
"My readouts say it is," said
Wildstar. "We're to the north right now."
"That's the Denton District,"
chimed in Nova over their earphones. "I was there as a little girl with my
father on a trip when he had to litigate a case there."
"What was it like?" asked Wildstar
over the intercom.
"Smallish. Suburban.
I think I vaguely remember Papa telling me it was like that since the twentieth
century," said Nova.
"Isn't that the
"You heard the Captain, you
tinwit," growled Sandor irritably. "Pipe down before we crash in the
Gulf!"
"Oh no...I hate swimming!" chirped
IQ-9 before he shut up.
In the Starvoyager, Nova giggled softly
behind one gloved hand.
A while later, the deep night turned into
the jet black of space for a while as the flight headed up and around in a
ballistic course that made everyone momentarily weightless in their harnesses.
A short time after that, the flight began to plunge back down towards the
Finally, the glow subsided as the flight
plunged on downwards in a cloudless, moonlit night.
"We've just picked up
"Two-Four-Oh, I copy," said
"I hope so...," he said
querulously, but with a hint of excitement.
"Nervous back thah?" asked Hardy
from his plane.
"You'd be, too, if it was your first
ride in a Cosmo Tiger, sir," said
"Did everyone's chronometers
auto-compensate?" asked Wildstar.
"Roger," called out the other
pilots as they glanced down and noticed that the local time, one hour ahead of
North American Eastern Standard Time, was now 2327, after about an hour and a
half in flight.
"We're over Guadeloupe and are now
approaching
"Roger," he said as he acclerated
so that he was abreast of Wildstar and Nova. He saluted and gave a thumbs-up,
which was returned by Derek and Nova right before Wildstar pulled back his
control sticks and caused the Mallard boat to drop down below the rest of the
formation, which tightened up around Venture as the flight leader.
"Wildstar, I've got the flight
now," said Venture.
"Okay," said Derek. "I think
you know what to do..."
"Sure do."
"Wildstah, do you know what ta
do?" asked Hardy.
"Of COURSE, Hardy!" yelled
Wildstar into his lip mike while Nova turned beet-red.
"I'm sure YOU know what to do,
cousin," chuckled Samuel.
"None of your BUSINESS, Sam!"
snipped Nova.
"Take care, you two," said
Sandor."
"You too," said Wildstar.
"Bon voyage!" called out
Rosstowski.
"Asta la
vista!" said Laurel.
"Uhh...have fun..," said Royster.
"Take good care of Nova!" chirped
IQ-9.
"I
will," said Wildstar as he approached the island, startled as a set of
landing lights came on beneath them. A chime rang in his headset and a readout appeared on one of his computer screens which
said:
"THIS
IS A RESTRICTED FEDERAL INSTALLATION.
ASTRO MALLARD FTD-489
IDENTITY CONFIRMED
YOU HAVE BEEN EXPECTED.
YOU HAVE BEEN CLEARED FOR LANDING BY THE
AUTOMATED DEFENSE SYSTEM
GREETINGS, CAPTAIN WILDSTAR AND MRS. WILDSTAR."
"Wildstar: by the way, I'm picking up
the greetings of the compter on my sensors," said IQ-9. "It informs
me that the R and R bungalow set aside for your use at
"Great!" said
Nova with a smile.
"I'll bet you can't wait to be alone
with Captain Wildstar, Nova," added IQ-9. "It doesn't take a genius
robot to figure THAT out!"
"Oh...YOU!" hissed Nova.
"Goodbye, you TINWIT!"
"You two...good luck..," said
Venture.
"Thanks," replied Wildstar.
"..And goodbye," cried Nova as the
recon boat flew in over a lovely brownish grey sand beach towards their
bungalow at the old site of the village of Portsmouth, which was long gone, and
now only lent its name to the small cleared R n' R reserve just to the
northeast of the Indian River on the island.
"Over and out," said Venture with
a smile. "Okay, everyone....our last manuever's coming up..."
The flight gained some altitude and began to
bank as Wildstar switched on the recon boat's landing jets, cushioning its
landing on a paved landing pad between the river and a lonely bungalow in the moonlight.
As Wildstar shut off the ship's engines and
cracked the canopy after pushing up his clear helmet visor, a combined scent of
fresh, exotic tropical flowers and salt air filled his nostrils. He smiled at
Nova as she doffed her helmet entirely, throwing her hair back in pleasure and
delight as she shut her eyes and took a nice, deep, breath.
They jumped out of the Starvoyager, and
looked north, towards the little bungalow that would be their home for the next
few days. They noticed that the lights were on; most probably activated by the
automatic systems that had sensed their approach. They smiled at each other
knowingly, looking up as a distant roar blasted over their heads. Above them,
six points of light roared overhead as Venture's plane flew just ahead of
Sandor's, which formed the point of the "V" formation the others were
flying in.
Derek and Nova watched the planes until
their exhausts were mere points of light no bigger than the distant stars, and
then were gone altogether as the sound of the breeze and the ocean waves became
the only sounds to be heard.
"Well...here we are," sighed Wildstar.
"Yes...alone at last," said Nova
with a shy smile.
IV. THE LAST DANCE
Earth Federal Preserve
Sunrise Island-Dominica
December 26, 2201
2345 Hours.
"You're sure we'll be alone?"
asked Wildstar impishly.
"Derek...there's not going to be anyone
around the installation for several hundred kilometers, at least. Very few
people ever moved back into those island chains after Earth was healed last
year, let alone after Zordar's defeat."
"Really?" said Wildstar with some
of the denseness that occasionally came out in moments like this.
"That's what they told me when we were
planning this, Derek! They said only Puerto Rico and Cuba were beginning to be
resettled, and they're several hundred kilometers off to the north!" said
Nova with a tiny bit of annoyance as she took off her flight gloves and quickly
unzipped her jacket, which was getting FAR too hot.
"I know, Nova. I was informed that the
only people here on this installation in the past few weeks were the
maintenance crews who came here after Zordar's attack and found the private Governmental
compounds pretty much untouched, and the logistics crew who came by and left
our things here at Portsmouth House. They both said it appeared that Zordar's
dreadnought didn't really fire on this portion of the
"So why were you asking me about the
place if you know so much?" teased Nova.
"Easy. I wanted to be sure we're going
to be alone for the next few days."
"Good," purred Nova.
"Why's that?" teased back
Wildstar, knowing perfectly well what she meant.
"Silly! Because...for quite a few of
the activities we have in mind...we'd better be alone!"
"Nova...we will be...I'm sure of it.
Remember when I said we didn't have much time together on the ship?"
"Yes..." she said with glistening
eyes as she shrugged off her flight jacket and threw it in the cockpit with her
helmet, gloves and scarf.
"Well....consider this the beginning of
the rest of our lives together."
"I certainly am," replied Nova.
"WHEW...It's warm here," said
Wildstar as he walked back towards his side of the boat's cockpit before
opening his flight jacket. "My readouts say twenty-four degrees
centigrade. I'm melting in this!"
"However hot it is...it feels
heavenly," sighed Nova as she loosened the collar
of her uniform and opened the cargo box behind her seat in the recon boat. She
began to pull out bags, pausing at the third bag to open it.
"What are you doing?" asked Derek
as Nova fumbled around with something that he couldn't see because the recon
boat's fuselage and the lid of his cargo box were in his way.
"Getting acclimated to the
climate," said Nova as she winced momentarily at something Wildstar
couldn't see as he heard something snap onto the pavement. "Ohhh...where
IS it?" murmured Nova. "Ouch! Ooch! There...that's better."
"Nova?"
"I'm okay now...never felt
better," said Nova as her head popped up again as she merrily threw
something into the cargo box in a blur before tossing something to Derek.
"Huuh?"
"Your beach sandals, Derek," said
Nova airily as she came around carrying another bag...and with her uniform top
about half- unzipped, which looked a little startling for the normally modest
young woman. "Like mine?" she said as Derek scanned her down to her
feet, now clad only in a pair of white, flat sandals that looked something like
her bridal shoes.
"Cute."
"C'mon...get your jacket OFF...you'll
melt in it...!" said Nova in a high voice as she rolled the jacket off his
shoulders, and then, without a second thought or even a by-your leave, she
unzipped his uniform top all the way and stripped it right off him, leaving him
in the white tank top he had been wearing since this morning in the Boulderado
Hotel.
"Uhh...you're not wasting ANY
time!" said Wildstar as he hugged his wife and gave her a quick kiss.
She returned his kiss, but gently turned her
cheek to him when he tried to follow it up with a second one. "Just a
LITTLE longer," she whispered. "I've got some plans for tonight.
Besides, as you'll see when you get those silly boots off and get barefoot for
a minute, this tarmac's a little too hot for that sort of thing...and not the
best place on the island...for...that...sort...of... thing," said Nova
slowly with a blush and careful emphasis.
"Hmm...what
did you have in mind?"
"Getting these bags in...getting ready...and then, taking a nice, long, slow
walk," said Nova with glittering eyes.
"Where?"
"Right to a place I spotted in the air
while we were coming in for our landing," whisepered Nova. "It looked
beautiful...and it'll be perfect..."Uh...you look hot,
" she added.
"Yeah. I am," he replied as he reached into the
container again for a rag.
"Derek...don't,"
cried Nova. "I can do that," she said as she ran over to him and
found a soft cloth in the container. She began to tenderly mop some of the
sweat off his brow and shoulders.
"Your hair's
in your eyes," said Wildstar softly as he brushed some of Nova's ash-blond
locks out of the way.
"Thanks. You're sweating your way right
THROUGH this, Derek," said Nova in a low, sweet voice as she pulled his
tank top off and threw it aside near a bag.
"Hey!" said Wildstar. "I
thought you didn't like throwing things around your billet or the house!"
"This isn't our house and we can get
those things in a few minutes, silly. No one'll take them, and it's just us
here on this island," she said as she cuddled up to his bare chest.
"Get your boots off...c'mon..."
"Just us," sighed
Wildstar as he began to remove a boot. "OUCH!" he yelped as the boot
and sock came off and his bare foot hit the tarmac. At that, Nova almost
giggled before she thought better of it and knelt to relieve his misery by
quickly sliding his foot into his brown thong sandal. Under Nova's guidance,
the other boot also quickly came off, replaced by the other leatherette thong.
"There? Feel better?"
"At long last," he said tenderly
as he stroked his young wife's soft side beneath her uniform, which, he
noticed, was getting quite sweaty. "Nova...you look so hot in that."
"Don't worry...I've got some other
attire planned for our little walk," said Nova as she picked up two bags
and began to head towards the bungalow, which was made up to look like a
tropical hut with a thatched roof. Wildstar, carrying three bags, followed her.
"And what might that be?" asked
Derek as the two of them went up three steps to a deck that surrounded the
entire bungalow on all four sides.
"You'll find out soon enough." she
replied in a soft voice with a wink as he gallantly opened the screen door and
inner entry door for her.
Together, they walked into what they guessed
was the bungalow's living room; it was a good-sized, open room with an
earth-tone carpet, some brown cushioned chairs and a brown love seat, with a
pair of simulated wicker chairs near a coffee table. The coffee table faced a
video unit and entertainment center. Wildstar set one bag on the coffee table
and looked around; he got a glimpse of a kitchen through a doorway closed off
with simulated bamboo beads, and he glimpsed another room...which, as he saw
through the open door, was the bedroom.
"Well...that looks comfortable,"
said Derek.
"We're not going in there until
later," said Nova primly. "Leave the bags out here until morning,
okay?"
"And, milady, what are you wearing to
bed tonight?" asked Derek after he set down the package and nuzzled Nova's
neck. She giggled, but snuggled up appreciatively against him.
"Well....hmmm..I'm
sure you can guess, Derek. You're old enough to do that yourself, aren't
you?"
"Yes, I am," he grinned.
"Should we get back to work?"
"I guess we should," said Nova
after a long, deliberate pause. "After all, we don't want the humidity
getting into some of our stuff outside in the boat."
Finally, they were finished at last as they
dragged in the last items they had packed; namely, the scuba rebreather units
they planned to use while skin-diving over the next week.
After Nova hauled in her rebreather unit,
leaving it in the living room, Derek spied her leaning against the entry door's
doorframe.
"You forgot something," she said.
"What?"
"Our portable
comm-set. It's in the bottom of
the cargo box on my side of the boat. Oh...come here."
"Yes?"
Wildstar began to walk over and then stopped
and stood puzzled for a moment as Nova stood there beckoning to him with one
finger with a "come-hither" look.
"Uh...Nova...I thought you said you
wanted to do that...well...outside?"
"You'll see," she said softly as
he came over. "But I've got to get you ready, first."
"How?"
Nova hugged him, gave him a kiss, and
abruptly stripped off his tank top. "Getting rid of that, for
starters," she purred as she rubbed his bare chest...with hands that he
noticed were trembling. "Could you take that beach towel out of that bag,
spread it out on the tarmac, and wait for me at the edge of the field with the
comm-set on?"
"Okay..," said Wildstar. "Then?"
"Then...we'll take our little
walk."
At that, Nova left.
Soon, Derek went to the plane and pulled out
their portable tachyon vid-comm set, which was now their emergency
communications link with the capital in case they were needed or in case they
needed to make a call for some reason. Derek flicked the set on, running
through the stations at random before sitting down on the beach towel to
listen. He paused for a moment to pull off his thongs, which he didn't need now
since he currently had no reason to walk on the hot landing pad. Then, he
played with the commset a while longer, finally getting a Megalopolis radio
station on the regular band-one of those that the unit was set to monitor.
After making sure that the unit was programmed to monitor the EDF frequency
they'd be called on if needed (the set would automatically switch to that band
if a message came in on it), Derek turned up the volume and listened as some
band played a contemporary rendition of the old Beatles' classic, "I
Saw Her Standing There".
He suddenly noticed that the bungalow door
was opening. However, Derek's mouth dropped open when he noticed Nova slinking
out in an outfit he hadn't known she had with her, much less expected to see
her in.
Nova was wearing a short little sarong that
was wrapped around her slender body like a second skin. It began below her bare
shoulders exposing a nice amount of cleavage, and it ended right above the
middle of her thighs, showing off her long coltish legs. The sarong was white,
decorated with a floral pattern in pink, blue and gold. In her hair, Nova wore
a little cluster of pink and white tropical flowers, and she was still shod in
her white sandals. However, Derek noticed that Nova had added an ankle
bracelet.
"Derek, like my outfit?" asked
Nova with a twinkle in her eye as she turned to face him, extending a long leg
and turning a little more so that the part of the sarong (below the knot) that
formed the natural slit showed. The slit opened far enough to expose more of
her long, gorgeous leg, straight up to her hip and lower stomach; enough of her
was showing for Derek to see one wonderfully enticing fact.
Namely, there was no hint whatsoever of
anything on her lower body under the sarong. Given the cleavage Nova was
showing, Derek guessed that even though the sarong covered her well enough for
the moment, she was most likely naked underneath.
"Uh-huh!" replied Derek with wide
eyes. "Like the music on the radio? I think it fits your entrance."
"Derek, the song's WRONG!"
"Huh?"
"I'm not seventeen any more! I'm six
years older than that!"
"Isn't it obvious, Nova? You
look...gorgeous."
"Thanks," she said, turning on her
toes to saunter towards Derek, with that sarong moving around her like a
native's second skin as she walked. Grrrrrr thought Derek.
"Now?" he asked.
"Now, Derek Wildstar, we are taking a little
walk. Put your thongs on and bring the beach towel but leave the comm-unit.
We're NOT going to need it."
"Right!" he said with a wolfish
grin as he picked up the beach towel and flung it over his arm after putting
his shoes back on.
Nova's walk took them along a path leading
through the greenery that led to the northeast near another small river a
little less than a kilometer away from the bungalow. Even though it was
evening, there was still a warm breeze whispering over the songs of the crickets
and frogs that lived in the underbrush off the path, and even the bit of sand
from the path that kicked up inside their sandals as they walked felt warm. It
didn't take long for Derek and Nova to slow down, hold hands, and exchange
longing glances as they slowly walked through a grove of palm trees, listening
as the roar of the
"Isn't it beautiful?" whispered
Nova as she finally stopped near the end of the path, near a grove of beach grass.
Below them, shining in the moonlight under a
full moon that was still glowing eeirely orange in places from Zordar's attack, was the beach. The gentle waves of the
"The path's nothing but sand now,"
said Wildstar as he shifted his foot around.
"Let's leave our shoes here," said
Nova softly. Derek smiled, agreeing that it was a good idea. He kicked off his
thongs while Nova simply stepped on the heel straps of her sandals, pausing to
remove her ankle bracelet, and then just stepped out of them into the soft,
delicious sand, which felt just as nice as it looked.
"This is a wonderful place to be alone,
Derek, isn't it?"
Wildstar began to answer. But, before he could
get the answer out of his mouth, Nova was drawing her lips close to his.
He took the cue, and began to return the
kiss. It was a long kiss, the sort that made even their long kiss at the altar
seem short and perfunctory by comparison. They drew their arms tight around
each other. Then, Derek's ability to think clearly began to blur as he picked
Nova up, holding her under the beach towel.
"Why are you doing that?" she
asked.
"Well...there's no threshold to carry
you over, because we're outside...so I thought I'd carry you right onto the
beach. Aren't those two big palm trees sort of like a threshold?"
Nova nodded softly while throwing her arms
around his neck and snuggling close to him.
"Can we go?"
"Derek, let's go now."
At that, he began to walk down to the beach
with his wife in his arms.
Wildstar smiled, recalling another time that
came to mind with the intonations of Nova's soft Midwestern voice. He
remembered that she had said the same thing in the same manner quite some time
ago, when they had been in space gear, in the cold, on Titan...looking at the
remains of the missile ship Paladin...at the ship that Derek had thought
was surely the tomb of his brother Alex.
There, he thought. It was cold. I was alone with my shipmate. And...with the way you talked to me then, maybe...just
maybe...that's when you stopped thinking of me as a mere shipmate...and began
to think of me as something more.
As he walked slowly down towards the surf
with Nova cradled in his arms in nothing but her new wedding band, she looked
up at him with shining, happy, eyes and a smile...but a smile that faded a
little as she noticed tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Memories," he said.
"Memories...of a time when I was carrying you...almost like this...and you
couldn't respond to me. It was that time after you turned on the
Cosmo-DNA...and I thought I had lost you forever when you were in that
coma...Doctor Sane said that the sleeping gas would certainly produce a lethal
effect...he..."
"But it turned out all right! I woke up
in your wonderful arms like this, Derek. That's what I remember best about that
time."
"What else...do you remember? They said
you were almost..."
"All I remember is the sensation of the
Cosmo-DNA being activated, the last few tendrils of that burning, choking gas
entering my lungs, staggering up for air...being knocked out when I couldn't
breathe anything at all...and then, waking up again in your arms, barely
remembering what had happened."
"You don't remember anything
else?"
"No. I don't. The time I was out...was
like a dreamless sleep...and not like...what I'd imagine crossing the eternal
river
"I just remember...you lying there...so
pale...so cold...I thought you were about to..."
"Shh...," said Nova softly as she
stroked his cheek. "You know I didn't. I'm fine, I'm alive, and I'm
well...and I'm not about to go anywhere." While lying in his arms, she
gently kissed his chest and held on even tighter as he stopped on the beach.
"You're trembling...Derek."
"I know...and so are you."
"Can I tell you something else?"
"yes...?"
At that, she whispered a gentle, soft plea
into his ear; one that Derek Wildstar barely needed to hear...but one which he
understood, for he knew it mirrored the concerns of a new, nervous bride.
"Of course...," he whispered.
"I love you...Nova...," he said tenderly as he nuzzled his cheek into
Nova's hair and kissed her ear before gently lowering down onto her feet. Derek
spread out the beach towel with a quick flip and smoothed it down.
When he turned his head, he noticed that
Nova was working on undoing her sarong. He stood and helped her, kissing her
again as it fell to the sand. His guess as to what Nova had on underneath her
garment was quite correct, and her nude form looked beautiful in the
orange-tinted moonlight.
Nova kissed him, and without a pause,
stripped him of the last of his garments. She stood there for a minute,
admiring every centimeter of him before she fell into his arms.
They embraced, and held each other for a
long time, caressing tenderly with their eyes closed.
Just before lying down on the beach towel,
Derek's eyes met Nova's, and they exchanged a wonderful thought...
...namely...the knowledge
that they were destined to have a wonderful honeymoon...where they could be all
alone, at long last.
END.
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