Jet Dixon
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Dawn Revere |
Chapter 21 - Escape Plans
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Jet Dixon
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Dawn Revere |
Inside of the royal throne room, Jet Dixon was faced with a dire situation, though it was one for which his comrades would have been very eager to trade. He was trapped in the room with the very amorous Queen Jara of Archaeopolis. Dr. Harkov was a prisoner inside of the Science Laboratory with the enslaved native Archaeopolitians. Dawn had the worst situation of the trio, being forced to labor within the energy plants that kept the sky city alive. Still, Jet was rather uncomfortable with the advances of the Archaeopolitan monarch.
He pressed his hands against Jara's shoulders as she leaned forward for a kiss. "Now look here, Your Majesty. I'm a newcomer to this world. I don't know how things are done around here."
Jara's eyes fluttered, showing the multitude of colors that adorned her eyelids. "You do have such a thing as kissing on your world, do you not?"
Jet's face was beginning to flush, both from embarrassment and arousal. There certainly was something exotic about her. Despite the testosterone that was flowing through his veins, he knew that his heart belonged to Dawn. He hoped that he would not have to do something he would later regret in order to get out of the queen's clutches.
In the Science Laboratory, Dr. Harkov was questioning his now-fellow researchers about the order of things here. "What do you mean they don't let you out?" he demanded.
"Exactly what we said, stranger," one of the Archaeopolitan technicians responded. "Oh, they treat us well here. Food, drink, entertainment. All are provided with first class quality. But we will never soar in the air of Archaeopolis. Not once one has been admitted to the ranks of the Queen's Royal Scientists."
"Why is that?" Dr. Harkov asked. The thoughts of forced servitude wracked his brain. His great-grandfather had told him many tales of what life had been like working as a slave on a South Carolina plantation. To be forced to work, even in scientific splendor, burned every fiber of this being.
"Because of the Shield Generator, crafted by the hands of the Starfather," a scientist answered as he pointed to a massive device. It was the same apparatus that Harkov had noted when he first entered the Laboratory – the one that he thought might be the source of the mysterious energy field that surrounded Atla and endangered Earth.
"Even after generations of study, we know very little of it," another continued. "If the people of Archaeopolis were to know that the safety of our sky city was entrusted to a machine that we did not fully understand, their could be chaos. All the peoples of Atla know that the aura that the Great Machine produces is what gives Atla life. That is why the Kallusians do not seek to conquer us. They know that we could destroy Atla by destroying the machine."
"So if we were to uncover the secrets of the Shield Generator," Dr. Harkov mused aloud, "we might be released."
"The alien is mad," an Archaeopolitan called out. Others concurred.
"If we uncover its secrets," Harkov repeated. "It could mean great power for Archaeopolis. The city would have leverage with all of the other peoples, including the Kallusians. But for the Queen to have that kind of power, she would have to get it from you. You would have leverage over her."
"Generations of Archaeopolitians have studied the machine. What makes you think that you can unveil its mysteries?"
"Because I come from a different set of scientific disciplines," Harkov smiled. "Plus, I'm a genius, and I love a challenge." If he could get the rest of the team working with him on the Shield Generator, as opposed to the other equipment scattered about the facility, they might help him uncover a way to stop Atla's threat to Earth.
The all-too-short rest period was over and Dawn Revere was back working in the energy plant. Archaeopolis needed its constant supply of refined "energy rocks", and it was the task of Dawn and the other slaves to perform the refinement processes. After exhibiting early defiance, Dawn had settled into the role of being the dutiful slave. That had caused the guards to relax their watch over her. She had an opening, and she would take it.
As the "energy rocks" came her way, Dawn made a point of not completing the refinement process. She would leave out one step or another, leaving the fuel that powered all of Archaeopolis impure. As the day went on, as more and more of her impure fuel was placed into the reactors, she could see the results of her "mistakes." The reactors began to vary in their energy output. The effect was felt throughout the entire city.
In the Science Laboratory, sensitive equipment began to fail from the inconsistent power. With Harkov's new ways of looking at the Shield Generator, the scientists had already begun to make a great deal of progress toward unraveling the secrets of the machine. More progress had been made in this one day than in centuries.
Harkov was already convinced that this machine generated Atla's dangerous aura. Though he did not confide in his colleagues, he was certain that he could adjust the field so that it would maintain the life on Atla while not endangering the life on Earth.
When the lights went down completely, Harkov looked up into the darkness. "Uh-oh!"
The extinguishing of light came much to the delight of Queen Jara. Already, she and Jet were lying on a plush couch, her hands and lips roving all over him. Jet was fighting off her advances as best that he could but he could not deny the power of her amorous skills.
With the lights out, Jet seized the opportunity. With a subtle turn, he was able to dump Jara from the couch. As she thudded upon the floor, he leapt from the couch towards where he remembered the throne to be. More specifically, he went to the crossed swords that were displayed above the throne. He felt around and pulled one of the swords loose. The lights began to flicker, providing some illumination to the throne room.
"Jet!" Jara called out repeatedly as she searched for him. She turned and her voice fell silent as her eyes came to rest upon Jet.
"Sorry, Your Majesty." Jet held a sword out at Queen Jara. "But all's fair in love and war."
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Bob Gansler
10-Oct-00