Chapter 3

EARTH

2546

Northern Uinta Mountains

Utah

The man stood beside the huge tree staring into the night sky, the full moon illuminating the entire area all around him. He wore a dark gray jumpsuit on his six foot frame with a flowing cloak over his shoulders, his long white hair falling around his shoulders. He held the six foot length of polished oak in his hand for support, his wrinkled skin pale even in the moon light. His deep blue eyes though were extremely bright and very alert, and belied his age. The old man turned slowly when he heard the soft footsteps behind him.

"Holy One, it is I?" The soft feminine voice reached out from the darkness.

"Come forward Tarifa." The man spoke. "You need not ask my permission."

He watched as the two figures appeared from the darkness of the forest around them, walking as if they were ghosts. He watched as they stopped in front of him and slowly dropped to their knees. They were both female and both looked to be in their mid twenties. The one on the right was the one who had spoken and was the taller of the two. Her name was Tarifa, and she was among the tallest of her people at five foot nine. Her flowing, shiny black hair fell almost to the top of her buttocks, framing an absolutely perfect face with high cheekbones and soft pouty full lips. Her face was oval in shape, and her flawless skin was evenly tanned from years of living in the sun and it gave her a distinctly exotic look.

Each of them wore tight, coal black jumpsuit like uniforms that allowed them to blend seamlessly into the night. The jumpsuits were of a design that added flexible body armor to their uniforms in critical areas, but did not hinder physical movement in the least. The uniforms fastened around their slim necks but split open in a "V" shape, and as you looked further down their enticing torsos, the tanned skin of their cleavages and abdomens was exposed for all to see as the uniforms strained against their high full breasts. The "V" ended just below their navels, and became normal again. The fabric that encased their legs was also very much skin tight, almost as if painted on, and both wore elaborate combat boots that extended up almost to their knees. The uniforms had no sleeves, and their tanned arms were exposed to the elements, but both wore fingerless black gloves and armored gauntlets that covered their skin, the gauntlets ending just below the elbows with wicked looking edges to them that could slice flesh as easily as butter.

The old man stepped closer to them and reached out with a wrinkled hand to push aside the soft satiny black hair on the side of Tarifa's head to reveal the slightly larger and three inch long pointed ears. He smiled gently.

They were elfin ears.

"Never be ashamed of what you are child." He spoke softly.

Tarifa lifted her delicate face to look at him with her dazzling sapphire blue eyes and used her hand to pull her hair around her other matching ear. She could see her Lieutenant Endith doing the same. She settled her sapphire blue eyes on the old man.

The Holy One had designed the uniforms and all of the High Elf female warriors now wore them, and had for centuries. The males wore similar uniforms, but since Elf society was not as concerned with modesty, nearly every female had modified their uniforms and clothes to enhance their near perfect figures, and they did so shamelessly. Tarifa however had altered her uniform to be unique, and her personal guard had copied her alterations in honor of their positions. The uniform did nothing to hide the perfect shape of her hips and the fullness of her high firm 34C breasts. The flowing black cape around her shoulders hid the view of a muscular and exceptionally formed tight ass. The female who knelt next to Tarifa was her Senior Lieutenant, and matched Tarifa's beauty in almost every way, the only difference being the long shiny red hair that fell to her shoulders, and the absence of the strangely exotic aura that surrounded Tarifa.

Tarifa carried herself with an almost regal air, as well she should. Tarifa may have looked to be only in her mid twenties, but she was in fact over a hundred years old, and had been Queen of the High Elves for nearly half that time. As with all elves, she was blessed with exceptional reflexes and strength, as well as heightened senses. Though she was the product of a mother and father, as were her three younger siblings, she could trace her heritage back to great-grandparents that were created by the man she knelt before now.

A man all Elves referred to as the Holy One.

"It is almost time Holy One." She spoke softly. "Marcus's forces are getting closer."

The old man nodded and settled to the large stone beside the tree, resting his frail form before looking at her again. "I am sorry Tarifa, Endith. I'm sorry for so many things."

Tarifa looked at him oddly and stole a quick glance at her equally confused lieutenant. "Forgive me Holy One, but sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for bringing this upon you and the others." He told her. "As with so many of my creations, they have been misused and abused over the years. My only thoughts were to try and make things better."

"Holy One you created us all those years ago." Tarifa spoke. "If not for you, none of us would exist. It was you who allowed us to prosper and grow. Make homes for ourselves, and have families."

The old man nodded. "And look what it has wrought?" He continued softly, almost as if he was ignoring her. "My attempts at helping others has wrought endless war and fighting. I sought to create perfection in the elves by making all of you so desirable to man that they couldn't resist you. I sought to bury deep the century's old notions of hiding your sexuality by making the elves perhaps the most sexually free species to ever inhabit this planet. Now so many of your sisters and brothers are dead at the hands of those I wanted to help, and oppressed by those I thought long dead. So many more turned into slaves and pleasure toys for men and others. I meant for all of you to live free and be happy, not be slaves and toys to power hungry animals and beasts."

"The High Elves are free Holy One." Tarifa said. "We live free every day."

The old man smiled. "Events are coming to a close Tarifa my child." He spoke sadly. "You can not win this war you fight; not alone. You must seek help from those you shun."

"You have said this before Holy One." Tarifa spoke. "I know what you mean, and I agree with you, but the Council of Elders does not. They believe an alliance with the Wood Elves would be disastrous. The Wood Elves have betrayed us in the past."

"You are their Queen Tarifa." The old man spoke. "You must make them see that events are happening differently. The Wood Elves chose a new Queen over a century ago and the Elders still refuse to reach out to her."

"Holy One she has allowed her warriors to raid several of our camps and murder innocents." Tarifa spoke, her voice holding distrust and anger in it. "How can she be trusted? Rumor has it she is even working with Marcus and the Alliance to wipe us out."

"Do you believe this Tarifa?" The man asked.

"I do not want too Holy One, but the evidence is very nearly overwhelming." Tarifa replied. "Just yesterday I received word that one of our border towns was massacred by the Cadre's Sweeper Assassins. They struck like creatures from the night, slaughtering everything in their path. And it was said they were led to the town by a Wood Elf assassin."

The old man sighed heavily. "Yes I know." He reached out and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "I created the Elves in the image of myths and legends from my time Tarifa. I took from those legends and stories and gave you your strength and speed and your other abilities. I wanted to ease the burden of mankind by giving them a race of men and women that could help them to rebuild. They took my work and twisted it into darkness, creating all manner of monsters and beasts. They turned you into slaves and beasts of burden to satisfy their sadistic pleasures. I created all of you to be beautiful and nearly perfect female physical specimens, but in my desire to do good I did not realize they would take advantage of your beauty in the ways they have done. So many of your sisters have been lost to slavery, transformed into nothing but drug addicted pleasure slaves that serve the whims of those in power. Having that knowledge within me these past four hundred years has been the bane of my existence."

"You did not know that would happen Holy One." Tarifa spoke. "No one could have predicted the depths to which humanity would fall after the Great Fire. And there have been some humans who we regard as friends."

The man looked at her. "You speak of the ones in the mountains? You have not had contact with them in nearly three decades."

Tarifa nodded. "This is true, but we have maintained good relations with those humans who live in the mountains Holy One." Tarifa said. "But the Alliance has herded many of them to the cities now as they expand their empire. We can no longer rely on them for help."

The old man nodded. "Those humans that live in the mountains are exceptions Tarifa. All Elves, High Elves and Wood Elves alike, were unique. Even the minor clans of elves that have been established over the years are unique. And over the years you have made them even more unique. You are warriors of the finest caliber, never doubt that."

"Even still Holy One, we can not stand against the Alliance Cadre Assassins." Tarifa spoke. "They are stronger and faster and crueler than we could ever be."

The man nodded. "Yes that is true." He said. "Have faith though. Help is coming."

Tarifa looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean Holy One? Help from whom?"

The old man smiled. "I created your ancestors, yes. However they were not my first creations." He told her, seeing the look of surprise on her face. "Before the Great Fire that plunged us into darkness I created others. They were the absolute personification of terror." Tarifa watched with large eyes as he gazed into the stars for a moment and continued speaking. "They were bigger, stronger, faster and far more intelligent than the apes that exist now. They were human in a way, inhuman in others."

"They were human?" Tarifa blurted out with undisguised astonishment. "Holy One please, I ask you to forgive my ignorance, but no human alive could match our prowess and strength."

The old man smiled. "You are proud Tarifa." He spoke kindly. "But do not let your pride cloud your judgment or what your eyes will show you. Time has come full circle now, and soon you will see for yourself what I speak of when I speak of them. Their leader will bear the same mark as you do on your neck Tarifa."

Tarifa reached up slowly and traced the small tattoo on the side of her slim neck, the edges of it just poking above the collar of her uniform. She was given the tattoo at her birth and in the elfin language the symbol meant Arfanyarasse Cundo or High Guardian.

"Search them out. Search him out. I believe he is the one you are meant for."

Tarifa's sapphire eyes grew wide as she looked at him. "Meant for Holy One?" She spoke with a somewhat arrogant tone. "I am Queen of my people Holy One, and only I say who shares my bed."

The old man smiled at her. "He is the one that will open your eyes to new things Tarifa, open your very soul to what you can not now fathom." He told her softly. "You think I can't see that of all the partners that have shared your bed, none of them have stirred your true passion. He will open your eyes to what it is to love. And you will return to him what he has sought for so long, but neither of you will be complete. By coming together you will set each other free. Go to the sacred site Tarifa my child. He will come there first."

"Where will he come from Holy One?" Tarifa asked softly, this information stimulating her sense of curiosity a great deal.

Walter Carson got to his feet with a great deal of effort as an explosion in the distance announced that a battle had begun. Tarifa and Endith sprang quickly to their feet in response the echo of gunfire.

"They will come from the heavens. And he will be with them. It is almost time for the end game to begin." Walter said softly.

Tarifa looked at Endith. "Take the Holy One to the rendezvous! I will hold off Marcus's forces while you escape."

"My Queen you can't! If you are captured... !"

"Do as I instruct you Endith!" Tarifa snapped. "You must get the Holy One to safety!"

Endith nodded as she bowed her head. "I will do as you order my Queen."

"Go now! And move quickly!" Tarifa told her.

Endith moved forward and took Walter's arm. She turned back to her Queen. "I will wait for you at the entrance to the forest." She spoke.

Tarifa nodded. "I will join you there."

EDEN

WEST ARBORETUM

Martin leaned against the tree in the huge arboretum. There were two such places on EDEN, most of them used for getting away and trying to feel like you were back on Earth. Martin held the tall bottle of cold beer in his hand, his eyes on the data pad. He was going over the training schedule for the next week when he sensed the additional person moving up behind him. The Master Chief was not trying to sneak up on Martin as he carried a six pack and plopped down next to his boss.

Martin grinned. "What's up Chief?" He asked.

Master Chief Tony Brown held out the cold beer. "I figured you might like the company Skipper." He spoke.

Martin smiled and downed the partially warm beer he had before accepting the ice cold one. He cracked open the bottle and took a long pull. "You smuggled this back from earth didn't you?"

Tony's face took on a look of innocence. "Skipper I'm hurt. Me smuggle back illegal booze?"

Martin couldn't help but laugh as he took another pull of the beer. Almost all alcoholic beverages were banned on EDEN, but Martin knew many of his team smuggled back some stronger beverages from time to time. He and Tony had been together since the first day of their inception. Along with Dan and Julie, they were the very first genomes in their batch, and that fact alone made them very close friends.

"That the schedule for next week?" Tony asked.

Martin nodded. "I figure we'll have to pull some transport duty to fix quite a few satellites after this comet passes, so I'm factoring that into our work load."

Tony nodded and looked up to watch the huge comet that filled the clear plexisteel canopy over their heads. It was now almost all the way between the moon and earth, and its tail carried a myriad of colors and streaking lights to it. The actual comet didn't appear to be any larger than the moon itself.

"Did you and Commander Peterson make peace?" Tony asked turning back to his friend and commander.

Martin nodded as he set the pad aside. "We know where each other stand in the scheme of things." He said answered. "Admiral Wallace might be right. She could be a very good officer if only she wouldn't be so damn arrogant and uptight. We'll see if we can't change that while she's up here."

"I hear she's got a pretty wicked tongue. One of the med techs in the lab said she can cuss you in four languages if you piss her off." Tony spoke.

Martin chuckled. "Yeah ... well having a four inch tongue might give her a gift with languages."

Tony's eyes widened, "Four inches! Are you kidding me?"

Martin shook his head. "Not in the least Tony. I thought I was going to choke when she shoved that thing down my throat."

"So you have..."

Martin nodded. "It was a long time ago." He replied in a soft voice. "But it was definitely a very good night and one I would like to have again if the opportunity presents itself."

"So Yuri isn't the one then uhu?" Tony asked.

Martin looked at him and shook his head. "We enjoy each other's company and the sex is great but there is something about her that I can't place. Her scent is weird and she holds back what's in her head quite a bit."

"You could probe her you know?" Tony spoke.

Martin looked at him. "We agreed not to do that unless it was absolutely necessary Chief."

Martin, Danny and Julie had discovered at a young age that they were telepathic, and could communicate with their minds even over long distances. When they made the decision to save the rest of their team, a side effect of this action was that now the entire team could speak to one another telepathically. This was something that only they knew and they shared it with no one. It had taken many years for them to learn to control it and not abuse this skill, and Martin had beat down three team members for doing just that at one point. It was a skill that had saved their lives on more than one occasion, and as they got older and stronger with this skill they found themselves using it more and more.

"I was just kidding Skipper." Tony spoke.

Martin smiled. "Even if I wanted too ... she's got some really strong shields." He said, "Strong enough that I can detect them without trying to read her mind."

"That's odd." Tony spoke.

Martin looked at him. "Well we ain't exactly normal Master Chief Brown." He spoke with a grin.

Tony chuckled as he looked into the sky again. He lifted the beer to his lips and it stopped halfway up when his keen genome eyes detected something. He lowered the beer and focused his eyes more intently.

"Skipper I thought all RAPTOR's were grounded."

Martin looked at him. "They are, why?"

"Then I must be seeing things Skipper." Tony said getting to his feet. "Cause I see a RAPTOR heading directly for the east landing pad trailing smoke and flying like the pilot is drunk."

Martin got to his feet and stretched out with his enhanced eyesight until he too saw the RAPTOR off in the distance. The RAPTOR was being buffeted by powerful unseen gravitational forces being exerted by the comet, smoke pouring from its rear section.

"What the hell!" Martin gasped reaching up and tapping the transmitter under the skin of his jaw. "Control this is Commander Hunter! I'm seeing an unauthorized RAPTOR trying to make an emergency landing on the east pad! Can you identify it?"

"No RAPTOR's are currently up Commander." The reply was immediate.

"You think I'm busting your ass?" Martin exclaimed. "I'm watching the damn ship right now! It's ... oh shit it's going in! Sound General Quarters! Get damage control..."

Martin and Tony could only watch as the RAPTOR plowed into the east pad and skidded along the metal surface before smashing into the side of the control module. The resulting explosion sent huge gouts of flame rising into the air and Martin and Tony staggered from the shockwave that rippled through the station even from their distance a mile away.

"Holy shit!" Tony shouted as the floor they were standing on began to vibrate madly causing them to lose their footing.

"Command, what the hell is going on?" Martin screamed into the com unit.

The tech's voice was nearly drowned out by blaring alarms in the background. "Station integrity has been compromised! The explosion destroyed the inertia dampening field over that section of the compound! We're feeling the effects of the comet's gravity as it passes between the earth and moon!" The tech screamed. "The explosion weakened grid thirty-seven and its losing power rapidly!"

"Can you reroute power to the grid?" Martin barked.

"Negative! All controls east of section thirty-seven have been severed! Who the hell was that Command Pilot? All our RAPTOR's are accounted for!"

"Get damage control teams moving to their posts," Martin ordered. "I'm heading to section thirty-seven!"

"Shit! There it goes! Fuck!" The tech yelled just as Martin and Tony were flung to the floor once more, only this time considerably harder. "Commander, it's having a cascade effect! The next grid is losing power rapidly! It will fail completely in three minutes twenty seconds! We have to stop the cascade before it reaches the east power core or the whole station will go!"

"Talk to me!" Martin screamed, scrambling to his feet.

"Section thirty-four sir; we can stop it there if you can reach the power conduits and transfer power to the reactor core!"

"Section thirty-four," Martin yelled. "We can't stop it before that?"

"Negative sir; that last explosion took down all power to the next two sections! I'm activating emergency evacuation protocols for those two sections!" The tech replied. "Can you get there Commander?"

Martin looked at Tony. "We're on our way!"

The first explosion jarred the three lovers awake, Anja's eyes opening dreamily. Her head was still resting atop Julie's chest, and as her eyes focused she discovered she was staring directly at Julie's very firm ebony tit, her nipple very prominently standing erect. Anja's eyes sprang open wider than they had ever been as she pushed herself up. She glanced down as she realized she was totally and completely naked, the soft red hair of her still very moist pussy pressing against Julie's thigh, her exquisite body equally naked. Danny had rolled over to look at them, his own eyes bright, as Julie looked up at her and smiled seductively.

"Hi gorgeous," She said, reaching up to caress Anja's cheek.

Anja leaped from the bed as if shot from a gun, pulling the sheet with her as she saw that both Julie and Danny were just as totally naked as she was. Danny's thick cock was still flaccid, but even soft it was an impressive sight to see. The memories of the night before came flooding back to Anja as she remembered Danny fucking her brains out with that huge ebony cock, and then her torrid pussy to pussy love session with Julie. Her face turned three different shades of red and she began to back peddle out of the room.

"Oh ... oh my god, what ... what have I done." She gasped.

"Anja what's wrong?" Julie asked, getting to her feet a look of concern on her face. Anja saw Danny begin to rise off the bed as well, his face narrowed in a worried expression.

"No!" Anja snapped. "Stay away!"

The next explosion sent all of them hurtling to the floor, and snapped them out of their confusion.

"What the hell was that?" Danny snapped as Julie scrambled to her feet, her nakedness forgotten as she went to the com panel.

"Ghost Six to Ghost One!" Julie barked into the com panel.

Martin's voice came back almost immediately and they could all hear the screams and the sounds of flames in the background. "Julie we are moving for section thirty-four! An unidentified RAPTOR smashed into the east command module and triggered an integrity breach! Tony and I are moving to try and stop it! Tell Dan to mobilize the rest of the team and start moving to my location! I need you to monitor Team Coms and direct us! It's really fucking hard to see! We got smoke and fire from sections thirty-one to thirty-two! Many wounded! If you see Commander Peterson, have her get her medical clinic ready to receive seriously wounded!"

"I copy that boss!" Julie spoke, as she was pulling on her fatigue bottoms, not even bothering with panties.

"Tell Danny to bring the team in from the west! It seems to be pretty clear! I want him loaded down with engineering equipment and spot welders! We need to get the breaches sealed!" Martin's voice sounded again, "When you get set up contact me, Ghost One out!"

Danny reached for Anja but she batted his hand away. "Don't touch me!" She snapped, clutching the sheet around her body.

Danny looked at her with wide eyes. "Don't touch you?" He spoke confused. "I thought you..."

Julie took his arm. "Danny ... no," She said softly. "Anja ... you need to go to the medical clinic and get it ready!"

Anja looked at her and nodded slowly before moving into the living room and beginning to gather her clothes, which were torn and scattered all over. Dan turned to Julie as Anja left his quarters without another word.

"What the fuck was that?" He asked her.

"It's difficult to explain Danny." Julie replied pulling on her fatigue top.

"Julie ... she came in here and ... we..." Dan stopped, his voice trailing off.

Julie stepped close to him and kissed him softly. "I'll explain it all once we take care of this little problem." She said.

"Jules I'm really confused here." He spoke, his voice almost pleading. "I ... I thought what happen was very ... very cool."

Julie met his eyes. "So did I lover, but it may have been unintended for Anja. Remember what Doc Carson said about that aura thing you and the others can project?"

Dan nodded, "Yeah."

"I think that may have caused her to act in a way she didn't really want too." Julie spoke.

"Jules I didn't force her!" Danny exclaimed.

"I know that lover!" She answered. "C'mon we can't worry about this now; we have a lot of work to do!"

Admiral Wallace staggered into the Command Center just as another explosion rocked EDEN. He was only half dressed, his shirt still open and his boots untied, and he had to grab the door railing to keep from being flung to the deck.

"Give me a report!" He screamed as he staggered toward where his Command Duty Officer stood behind the Senior Chief's station. "What the fuck happened?" William's face took in the nasty gash his CDO had above his left eye.

The man waved it off. "It will heal sir!" He spoke. "Approximately sixteen minutes ago an unidentified RAPTOR appeared from the comet's tail sir. We tried to raise her on all COM channels but she didn't respond."

"Was it one of ours?" William asked.

"Negative sir, all our birds are accounted for." The CDO answered. "Thirty three seconds after she appeared the bird plowed into the East Control Module. The RAPTOR must have been carrying a full load of fuel Admiral because she went up like a torch. The explosion took out the entire power grid and the outer hull breach destroyed the inertia dampers protecting that section of the station. We were able to sever the control module from the rest of the grid but not before follow on explosions weakened the next section's grid. It's cascading now Admiral. Section thirty-six is gone as well. We've diverted as much power as we could to section thirty-five, but it won't hold unless Commander Hunter can get to the grid controls in section thirty-four and reroute power through the entire system."

"Where is he?" William barked.

"He's almost entirely through section thirty-three now sir. There are scores of injuries and fires and he's had to detour three times already, but he's almost there." The CDO reported.

"How long do we have before the grid fails in section thirty-five?" William asked.

"Forty-nine seconds Admiral," The CDO answered. "It was my call sir! I directed him to section thirty-four. I knew we wouldn't be able to save thirty-five or thirty six based on the rate of grid declination."

Bill nodded his head. "Did we get the crew out?"

The CDO nodded. "Team 12 just pulled the remaining wounded from the transport tube Admiral. They are taking it back into section thirty-four with heavy engineer equipment and welders."

William looked at him. "They are going to try and seal the breach?" He asked.

The CDO nodded. "It appears that way sir. Three senior Engineers are already moving directly behind Commander Hunter and should arrive about the same time."

"Wounded?"

"The closest clinic was Commander Peterson's sir. She called in four minutes ago and reported she is already receiving patients. She sounded kind of harried Admiral." The CDO told him.

"She can consider it on the job training." Bill said. "She's a doctor before she's a scientist. Dispatch all the medics we have not on duty to her location. They are to report directly to her for orders. She's on scene and will be in command."

The CDO nodded, "Understood sir."

"Admiral, Commander Hunter and Master Chief Brown have reached the grid controls for section thirty-four!" The female tech exclaimed.

"Put him on COMS!" Bill snapped.

Martin and Tony skidded to a stop in the circular control module for section thirty-four. The smoke had cleared enough for them to be able to see clearly, but the heat from nearby fires was very evident. Tony moved to a computer screen and punched in some commands.

"Integrity of the section is falling fast Skipper!" He yelled. "It's down to twenty-three percent!"

Martin moved to another console. "I'm reading three breaches in the power coupling! One is..."

The shooting sparks above Tony announced where one of the breaches was as Tony leaped out of the way cussing a blue streak as he slapped at the red hot sparks bouncing off his body. "Fuck!" Tony cussed loudly. "I found one!" He spoke.

"The other two are in the connection corridor!" Martin moved to the hatchway and peered through the door. He saw two large cracks in the connection tube, which had sealed when the next forward section was destroyed.

"Raptor One to Ghost One," Admiral Wallace's voice filled his surgically implanted ear receiver.

"I'm here Admiral!" Martin spoke, his voice carrying to the microscopic microphone implanted in the skin of his jaw.