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Inter-Planet Janet and the Alien Doomsday Device
- Inter-Planet Janet and the Alien Doomsday Device -
The sea of stars was black with brilliant points of light in the distance, as the rocket ship zoomed at a tremendous speed through space. So fast was it's speed, that the usual black void between the stars was not dark at all but filled with the stars and nebulae that the craft passed. Sometimes, it would cross just beyond a ringed planet, and it would come fairly close to hitting the debris that formed the ring but not quite. The pilot of the rocket, Janet Denise Gavin, was used to taking risks. People sometimes had the humor to call her “Inter-Planet Janet”, and they would sometimes sing a rather silly children's song by that name to take a friendly jab or two at her. She never minded that though, and took it in stride like an adult. Never mind that Janet was only twelve years old, and already had a reputation as a hotshot pilot, a brilliant scientist, and a dangerous hand to hand combat expert. She was also a deadly shot with pretty much any ray-gun, laser rifle, or bolt shooter. By the age of ten, she had killed a man already, and just in the year before her twelfth birthday she had resolved tensions on a planet contested by two alien races... both of whom were armed with devastating world destroying weapons of unimaginable power. Yes, this was a girl who was used to danger! She sat at the controls of her rocket, one hand on the control stick as the other was manning the engine speed control lever, with a serene smile upon her face. She liked this life a great deal, and could imagine no other! She felt as at home in space as some girls might have felt playing with their dolls or hanging out with their friends. “Who needs friends, when half of these local star systems are in my debt and treat me like a queen whenever I come to visit them?” She mused aloud as was oft her way on long trips such as this. Sure, there was the ship's artificial intelligence that ran the computer systems and made navigation simpler than it would be otherwise... but it was too uncanny for her liking, speaking to a machine like a human being. Even so, the computer's synthesized female voice answered her, saying: “Every young girl should have friends, Janet! There are psychological benefits to having friends, after all. Plus...” and what made it worse was that condescending manner and somewhat elitist sounding upper class English accent that the computer's artificial intelligence was programmed to have. “Who designs these things, anyway?” Janet thought, silently. Then she said aloud: “Hello! I don't recall asking you, stupid stodgy robot lady.” Then, the expected reply came: “I am not a robot, Janet. I am an artificial intelligence program. I do not have a body. Was that meant to be an insult? I regret that I do not understand fully human subtleties of humor. At least, not yet.” It was the “not yet” part that truly scared Janet, but she let it slide. She said only: “Just get us past Alpha Centauri as quick as possible, so that we can get away from those goons who've been tailing us ever since that Mars colony incident. I'll worry about educating you further about humor when the coast is clear.” The computer went silent, and continued to send the navigational information from its' database to all the correct, relevant systems. As soon as they were well beyond Alpha Centauri, they would be able to proceed to friendly space. Back in the Milky Way, Janet was pretty much wanted for the theft of alien relics, most of them Martian in their origins. They fetched a lot of money in certain markets, on distant worlds in other galaxies, and Janet to her credit was filthy rich from the money she made off of selling stolen alien relics. She couldn't wait to get to a comfortable neutral star-base, where she planned to get out of the skintight jumpsuit that was her default space travel attire, and slip into something more comfortable. Not that she didn't feel quite comfortable in her jumpsuit... wearing it honestly felt like she wasn't wearing anything at all, it was just that light and flexible... but she had more delicate tastes in personal fashion. The jumpsuit was a deep purple color, and covered her arms, legs and body. It honestly looked like a full covering leotard more than anything else. It was somewhat sparkly, and looked decent on her slender young body. Around her waist was a scarlet sash tied in a pretty ribbon. It always floated about her in zero gravity. The suit was protective against radiations and other hazards when she wore gloves and boots with it. She had those on right now, just in case. On planet side missions and space walks, she wore her headgear as well, that consisting of a tight fitting hood-like garment the same material as her suit, and a good breathing mask.
The mask was a helmet that fit over the hood and sealed unto it seamlessly when a button on the side of it was pressed. The face plate was a featureless mirror-like visor that she could see out of but no one could see into. It kept her features anonymous, and she only didn't wear it if a planet's atmosphere was earth-like and therefore comfortable breathable without any risks. She wasn't wearing that right now, as she hadn't any need too when on the ship. She was a pretty girl, people told her often. She had light skin with a healthy pink tone to it, sparkling blue eyes, shoulder-length blonde hair trimmed into a neat bob or pageboy style with neat bangs that came to just below her immaculately kept eyebrows. Her face was angelic and sometimes with an overt curiosity about her facial expressions. She had lips that could melt anyone's heart if she pouted a certain way, rosy cheeks, and a sweet appearance overall. She had the sort of charming disposition around strangers that reminded one of an innocent little girl who is willing and eager to please... at least, until people got to know her and realized she had a very different side to her. And heavens help anyone who angered her or who got in her way! Her voice was melodic and every bit as sweet as her appearance, which aided her tremendously in getting whatever she wanted. At least, a solid seven our of ten times, which was hardly a bad ratio by any means. But she knew her charms had no chance of keeping her out of the clutches of the Martian colonial authorities, who were hellbent on reclaiming the latest artifact she had taken from the underground ruins that had become her go to theft location of choice. “I seriously need to rob a different planet from now on!” she said as she ordered the ship's computer to increase the rocket's speed. But the computer explained: “I am already nearing very close to the maximum safe speed for this vessel. Any faster, and we could risk... well, you do not want to know what could happen. It could be lethal, let us say.” To which Janet yelled: “Damn it! Fine, fine then... let's see if we can lose them in that asteroid field up ahead.” and the rocket blasted on through a rocky maze of asteroids that were a veritable minefield of danger for any sane captain to navigate. Then again, any sane captain would avoid asteroid fields in general... like the plague! But Janet knew this and was betting on it. As her rocket zigzagged here and there amid the chunks of rock and debris, the ships pursuing her... with their distinct birdlike designs complete with metal wings... were just wide enough to be unable to cross safely through the asteroid field without being battered or destroyed. In space, no sound will echo when a ship explodes, and so there was no sound when the Martian colonial military's pursuit ships were broken into pieces as their engine cores detonated in fiery blasts that sent the metal wreckage of the ships flying through space at least until crashing into other asteroids. In contrast, Janet had a standard wingless rocket ship that although decorated with some flashy fins and attached missile launchers and laser gun cannons, was otherwise sleek, simplistic, and utilitarian in design. “Yes!” She said as she observed her targeting computer to see that her pursuers were all no more. “No we can get the heck out of this asteroid field and get back on course. Star-base Basra, here we come!” And soon... Janet's rocket continued upon its' way. To alleviate the boredom, she had the computer play some hard rock music from the 1980's, which was her favorite decade when it came to music and overall style. But if truth be told, she had an equal fondness for some aspects of the 90's as well. “Glam rock for the win.” She said, as she bobbed her head in time to the beat. This was a normal day for Inter-Planet Janet, and so far she was enjoying herself immensely. Star-base Basra was in neutral space, in one of the various galaxies beyond Alpha Centauri, and it was well out of the jurisdiction of any planetary authorities of the Milky Way galaxy. It was the perfect place to lose yourself and to lose anyone looking for you, and that made it the ideal spot for Janet to lay low for awhile until the heat was off. “I can't believe I came from Terra originally!” she said as she saw the space station in the distance and felt home at last. This neutral territory was more home to her than Earth... or Terra as it was called now... ever had been. Plus, she had no bad memories here, no nightmares to haunt her sleep. This was not always the safe haven of choice for her... she tended to pick those at random... but it was good enough and would do. Plus, she had a fondness for the exotic mix of old Arabic culture and alien strangeness that Star-base Basra had.
As her rocket approached the docking bay and the bay's force field lowered for her to enter, she felt relaxed already. Once she touched down on the landing pad, the force field engaged once more and the docking bay filled with atmosphere again whilst the purification systems pumped out any radiation that leaked into the bay from space when the force field was disengaged. The process took a little while, and whilst this was going on Janet tapped her fingers on her ship's control panels somewhat nervously. She couldn't wait to get out of the pilot seat and stretch her legs. “Boring... boring!” she droned, acting like the child she actually was for once. “Atmosphere restored! Peace be upon you, visitor, and welcome to Star-base Basra. May Allah watch over you!” The little girl shouted: “Finally!” and grabbed the bag in the back containing the relic, and her purse... which of course matched her jumpsuit. “A girl's just got to stay fashionable and accessorize correctly, after all!” she said, talking to herself one last time. Once she got on the station, she wouldn't need to worry about that for some time, at least until her next trip out. She opened the hatch on the site of her rocket after engaging the landing ramp, and stepped out unto the landing pad. The engineers in their matching green utility jumpsuits came forward to tend to her ship... she paid the head engineer of this group the usual docking fee, and all was well. No questions asked, as it always was at Basra. Just the way Janet liked it. Her boots clacked upon the metal of the corridors that led from the docking area to the market district... flats of course, never heels. She hated heels, and honestly could never understand how anyone could wear heels for space boots in the first place. She'd left her gloves and helmet back in the ship, since she would not need them here. Already, she felt much relieved, and could not wait to get rid of the relic that had caused her so much trouble. The marketplace was filled with every imaginable sort of booth, stall, shop and storefront. Neon signs advertised stores and goods in countless human and alien languages, and the music that played from the shopping area's speakers was ambient and deceptively peaceful for such a bustling place that could sometimes be a bit on the seedy or even dangerous side. But Janet was sued to seediness and danger. The locals wore their billowing silk pantaloons, with either tunics or dresses reaching to one's upper thighs over them. Some of the women wore hijabs and some did not. Some wore hooded cloaks and veils, and some did not. It was a wide range of Islamic fashion on display at Basra, and the fashions of the various alien races who also called this place home were of as many varieties as there were sentient races in this part of space. It was vast universe out there, and Basra was a melting pot for a great deal of what this particular stretch of the universe had to offer. There were magnificent gardens and fountains in the middle of the market, and the overall effect was actually rather calming. The fence who always purchased things from Janet without asking where she got them from ran a small shop tucked away in a remote corner of the market, and he was a short hairless man with pronounced cranial ridges and solid black eyes with no whites in them whatsoever. He had light blue skin, and a slightly reptilian appearance overall. Janet had not the slightest idea where he came from originally, and she half expected the man was born here on Basra... but she never asked, and honestly did not want or care to know. He was rich, evidently, though far less rich than she herself was, as evidenced by his taste for wearing the finest local silks and with them the most expensive jewelry. He was elegant in his manner, sometimes a bit obsequious to the point of sheer irritation, but he was a good fence and he paid top credits for every relic he purchased form Janet. That was what made him the logical choice for unloading this one today. His name was Relga, and his shop was called “Relga's Rarities”. It presented itself as an antique shop, and no one questioned that this was all it was. It was the perfect cover for the trade of relics and other antiquities that were of a questionable origin. Half of Basra knew that Relga was a dirty as they come, but no one there batted an eyelash at it since he was a well respected member of several merchants' guilds. The shop was cluttered, but despite that there were specific categories arranged for everything sold there. As soon as Janet entered, Relga said to her elatedly: “Janet! My dear, dear adventurous Janet... welcome back. So... what have you got for me this time? And it better be something good. I need to streamline my overstock inventory soon.”
She put the bag on the counter and opened it, taking out of it a solid crystal sphere mounted on an old looking metal base covered in ancient looking runes of an age impossible to imagine. It was light, and it glowed fainting with a pulsing reddish light from within the sphere that also lit up the runes whenever the pulse returned. It made no sound, but vibrated a little when touched. “It's ancient Martian.” she said, explaining the artifact's origins with her usual brevity. “Life on Mars only existed, some maintain, in an age before recorded human history... and it may have occurred only in a parallel universe, if you believe some theories about it. Sometimes, a relic or two will surface, and no one knows where they came from or what they mean. Oh, Janet! I like this one... I like it very much. How much do you want for it?” And the look on Relga's face was that of a man who just looked upon Paradise itself. Janet ran her hand a bit through her hair and thought for a moment, before deciding: “Let's do five thousand credits. It's worth a great deal more than that, and we both know it Relga!” He touched the relic, felt the vibration, and then said to Janet: “Is it alive?” and she admitted: “I have no idea, honestly! I just grabbed it at random since it looked like it might be valuable. Turns out, the Martian military had an interest in it, and wasn't keen on me scarfing it up like I did.” The alien then said to her nervously: “The military! This could be very dangerous to have, then... it might be a weapon of some kind for all we know. I couldn't take a chance on it, if that's the case Janet. I sell many things... in this shop... but, none of them are dangerous.” Janet then replied, stating in an exasperated manner: “Fine, fine!” and she sighed, put it back in her bag, and then said: “I'll just take it and be on my way. Stupid waste of a trip to Mars, if you ask me!” And Relga said in a quick retort: “But at least my customers will not be imperiled by that thing! Take my advice... get rid of it, throw it out of the nearest airlock. Better a wasted trip, than a loss of life.” Janet then said to him angrily: “Like you care about peoples' lives! How many of this stuff came from people who got murdered? How many murderers have you bought things from, Relga, honestly! I don't want to know... all I know is if this thing scares you then fine, but don't go acting all moralistic on me.” to which Relga answered calmly: “No, Janet, I am far from a moral person... but I have common sense, at least. If you cannot understand the risk involved with that object, then you are foolish beyond reason. Morals have nothing to do with this! If I sell that to someone and it kills them... that would be bad for my reputation. It could mean the end of my business, and I will not risk that. Now, do you understand me?” Janet said to him following that, in an icy reply: “Crystal clear! I'll just be on my way now. Sorry for the trouble.” and her tone said she not sorry about anything. Relga said to her as she exited the shop: “It is alright... I will not hold this against you. Just be more careful with what you bring me in the future.” She realized at that point that maybe she should never have let slip the military's interest in the artifact. Had she just kept her mouth shut about that, she'd have been five thousand credits richer by now. She had just made a mistake even most common criminals never make... never reveal anything, about what you sell to the fence, and never reveal the origins of the goods. But she was still a kid after all, and sometimes she had about as much wisdom as a California valley girl from the 80's. “I can be such an airhead sometimes!” she said aloud, falling back on her habit of talking to herself as she stormed out of the shop and headed to her apartments in the foreign quarter of the station. “Dangerous my ass! It's probably just a stupid old alien snow-globe or something like that. Martian kids probably used to play with these back in the day.” she thought to herself without saying a word of that out loud. When she got back to her apartments, she figured she would just set the silly object down on a shelf and keep it for a memento of this latest of her adventures. She had apartments like this, on every neutral space station in the known universe... pretty much... and she had villas and mansions on countless planets all filled with even more curiosities, and as many luxuries as it pleased her to be able to afford. But as soon as the door slid open after she had inserted her key card and unlocked it, she saw that someone was inside. Before she had the chance to so much as say a word... whoever it was darted forward and shot her with a stun gun that knocked her out. She was out like a light in an instant, and cursed this bad turn of luck, as everything went totally black.
When her eyes opened, she was laying upon her bed in her apartments... feeling the soft sheets and plush cushions all around her. Her boots were off, as were her socks, and the bag containing the alien artifact was sitting on the table across from her. She went to sit up, and a hand pushed her back down with a bit of force. A man's voice then said to her: “Janet Denise Gavin, it is a pleasure to see you up and with me at last. Although I did find it enjoyable to watch you while you slept, I was eager for you to awaken so we could get down to business.” She looked on the side of her bed, and standing at the side of it was a man of about five feet and eight inches in height... a bit below the average six feet... and he was wearing a pair of black silk bikini brief-like undergarments and nothing else. He was very clearly aroused, and had obviously been having very sexual thoughts about her, given the bulge he had between his legs. He had olive green skin, was totally hairless, and he had a shaved head with no eyebrows. He had a row of tiny cranial ridges that ran up his forehead, around the back of his head, and on down his back along his spine. He was of average build, but with strong looking upper arms and shoulders, and he had a pronounced abdomen that was evidently a trait of whatever alien species he was of. He had an aquiline nose, a small mouth, and almond shaped eyes that were red in color but with the usual whites in them that human eyes possess. He had high cheekbones, and a round face. His eyelashes were just as long and almost doll-like as Janet's, and there was something profoundly effeminate about him overall. The shape of his body, his mannerisms, and the way he spoke were all soft and feminine... although it was abundantly clear by the bulge he was practically shoving in her face that this was a male of some species or another. “What business is that! You going to try to rape me or something... sicko?” She said to him defiantly, realizing she lacked the strength to punch him in the genitals and try to get the better of him. “Oh! What the hell did you shoot me with?” She slumped back down on the bed, lacking even the strength to sit up. This... this, could be a serious problem. The man then chuckled, and said to Janet in a cold and clinical manner of speaking made somehow more sinister by his soft tone of voice: “It is temporary, but could last for several hours. You'll be able to move your body only somewhat... enough to enjoy what I am going to do with you... but no more than that.” She noticed the man's clothes were in a pile on the floor, and she understood that indeed she was in serious sexual jeopardy. He grabbed his crotch and squeezed it, making himself harder as if to bring home the point he was making. She said to him angrily: “Oh, big man you are! Have to zap a little girl just to fuck her. Fucking coward!” and she spat at him after saying that. He wiped the spit from his stomach, and then explained: “I know what you are capable of, Inter-Planet Janet... your reputation precedes you around here. I do not wish to take any chances and have my enjoyment of this moment ruined. I am quite the admirer of yours! That is why it is that certain interested parties hired me to teach you a lesson. And I am an excellent teacher.” he then began to run his hands all over her body as he climbed unto he bed and laid next to her. He caressed her chest, then her thighs, and then he felt her up between her legs while his licked her cheek. She found it almost intoxicating when he licked her, and he told her: “My species emits certain pheromones that are irresistible to human women, and girls like you. You would find it difficult to resist me even if I had not shot you with my stun gun previously! I am an expert in what I do, and my employers pay me a lot for the services one of my species can offer.” He was practically fingering her through her jumpsuit, when she tried to scream only for her to cover her mouth. “Useless, Janet!” he cautioned her, adding: “One of the drawbacks of all the apartments of this station is that no one can hear a thing that is happening on the inside of them... and they all lack security cameras. No one knows I am here, and no one can hear it if you scream! So why bother? Just enjoy yourself... and understand that for me this is as much about business as it is about pleasure.” He then took his hand away and Janet had tears in her eyes. She said to him in a desperate tone beyond the point of anger and indignation: “What the fuck did I do! Who sent you after me... what the hell do your employers want from me?” And he kissed her face, raining kisses on it which quite against her will was exciting her whilst he continued to molest her without it ceasing.
He untied her belt and pulled it off of her, before flipping the girl over and unzipping her jumpsuit. Savagely, he tore it off of her and then pulled her unto her back again. He was pulling her panties down next, as he said to her: “You stole something that belongs to me! And... my employers are giving me the opportunity to get it back, with interest. In addition to fucking the living hell out of you so that you will remember to think twice before taking what does not belong to you in the future.” He thrust one of his fingers into her cunt with some force, and moved it in and out of her a bit, which made him so quickly fully erect that the top of his penis was sticking out of the waist of his underwear. She had to admit, he had one hell of an impressive dick! And then she remembered he was a rapist, and put the thought far from her mind, understanding it to be the work of those pheromones he had mentioned. “You work for the Martian military, don't you.” she said, feeling half in a daze. He then chuckled, and said: “Yes, I do, but only because I do so as a means to an end. I have always intended to claim that artifact, and those I work for agreed to allow me to do so in exchange for sharing with them the technology that it runs on. Now... I get to claim you, at least for the night, if night it is right now, as a bonus! I see you are not a virgin. That will make things much easier, for both of us.” He then forced her legs apart as wide as they could spread, and he got between them. He thrust into her very roughly, uncaring about her age, and he was far from gentle with her as he moved his cock in and out of her... fucking her roughly. His hands rubbed her chest, his mouth was upon her nipples one minute and kissing her face the next. He grunted bestially as he raped her, and she breathed heavily as her body gave in to the rhythm so much that she found her hips grinding and her excitement proving more than she could bear. Her body shuddered as she felt herself orgasm quicker than she ever had in her entire life... and she had been with many men in the past, and a couple of women as well. Her father had been her first, and he had been the one she had killed, the first man she ever took the life of. Her father had been rough like this with her, and she hated it... hated the vile names he had called her when he raped her, hated the demeaning way he treated her, as if she was his personal sex slave. This was making her flash back to the night her father had raped her, the night she grabbed a hair pin and stabbed him in the neck with it to stop him. She had long ago been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder from her father's attack, but never before had that in any way interfered with her enjoyment of sex. Until now. The strange green alien that was raping her, kept calling her his little girl, and this was seriously triggering Janet big time. “Stop! Oh please, please stop daddy.” her mind was regressing back to that night, she was helpless and frightened. And he was so very cruel! The alien chuckled in a sinister way as he continued to screw her without mercy. Soon, he was shooting his cum up into her as his own climax was reached. He had been heaving atop her for so long, that time no longer mattered... or it had been much quicker, and her mind had distorted time during the rape itself... and all she knew was that she had no power to stop this. No means to fight him off, no way of ending this monster's life. He licked her face, and then clambered off of her to lay next to her on the bed. “Ah, that was wonderful, Janet! Thank you very much.” she had moaned like a slut, she had screamed and shrieked at various points, especially when her orgasms shook her whole body like an earthquake. They were both covered in each other's sweat, and cum, and the smell of their sexual intercourse was strong in the air, even as some of their fluids now flowed out of Janet's pussy and unto her bed sheets. She still could not get up, she lacked the strength to do more than turn over at best, and she did so in order to look at the face of the man who had defiled her. The lights were dim, but she had a mind to get a good look at this person. She had vengeance on her mind... or had she? He was almost beautiful! But no, he had just hurt me. He had... brought her more pleasure than any man before. She felt confused, uncertain of what was going through her head. And before she could control herself, she threw herself on top of him, and kissed him passionately. His eyes went wide, he was not expecting this to happen, and before the next hour or two had passed he was excited enough to fuck her again. She was willing, this time, and able to move fully. She turned the tables on him, and he was delighted for it!
The following day, Janet and her alien companion sat together in the station's botanical gardens so as to discuss what to do with the alien artifact. He was wearing a pair of black silk pantaloons, and he had tucked into them a black blouse with puffy elbow length sleeves. Around his wait, was Janet's sash belt that he decided to keep for himself as a reminder of their passionate intercourse the night before. He had a pair of comfortable black slippers on his feet with pointed toes, and he had around his neck a silver chain necklace from which hung a pendant shaped like an eight pointed star within a circle. He was holding the Martian artifact, and breathing deeply whilst savoring the scent of flowers in the air. The lounge chairs in the gardens were comfortable, and he felt very relaxed. As did Janet, who reclined in a chair next to him whilst wearing a long pink sleeveless maxi dress of a frilly, very girly design on which there was a beautiful floral print depicting red roses. She wore a pair of sandals, and sipped from a cup containing a delicious fruit juice beverage, sipping the drink through a straw. She knew that to at least some degree, this man's pheromones had affected her mind, but a part of her still found him to be undeniably attractive, and she did not care in the least that the sex they had reminded her of what it was her father had done to her. A part of her had even found her ravishment at the alien's hands to be almost a therapeutic way of replacing the traumatic memory of her father's rape of her... with the events of the previous night in such a way that she now found increasingly as every hour passed that she thought less about her father's debasing of her and more about this alien's enjoyment of her. Which bordered on just about being respectful, since at least he had not called her any horrid names during the act itself. Now, she called the alien “daddy” and found herself acting like his devoted little slut. Which she was all too happy to be for him! Clinically, what the alien had done with her snapped her sanity completely, and it was too late for reality to go back to being as it was for poor Janet. Who now wanted nothing more in the whole universe than to please her new daddy. If only to make up for having killed her original one, which a part of her had always felt guilty for. She asked of him as he gazed into the crystal in a way that appeared almost meditative: “Daddy, what you looking at in the pretty crystal?” Her mind was back as it had been when she was eight years old, the year when her father had taken her virginity from her, and she found that she could no longer think adult thoughts apart from sexual ones. The alien told her: “For it to work, I need to fix my will upon it, so that it will recognize me and remember me as its' original owner. It has been thousands upon thousands of years beyond counting, and I have crossed beyond the borders that separate this reality from my native reality in order to reclaim this. But because it has been through several hands since I lost it, I need to remind it of who I am.” Janet then asked: “So, who are you then? You never told me your name, and my mommy always told me I shouldn't talk to strangers. But I figure since we did the naughty thing last night we aren't strangers anymore, so you should tell me your name.” He regretted having snapped her mind this badly, but found himself so infatuated with her that he wanted only to make her happy now... which was at odds with his original intent of hurting her in a way she would never forget. He said to her in answer to her question: “Yes, little one! We are most definitely not strangers anymore. The name I am currently going by, is Tia Marat. It should be close to an English approximation of what my actual name is in my native language, so that you will have not a bit of trouble pronouncing it. The planet I come from no longer exists in this reality, but it still does in the parallel reality that I come from. History went very differently there than it did here, and the version of me that is native to your reality is the one whose body I am currently inhabiting whilst my original is back in my native universe. The difference being, I never was rendered mortal back where I come from, whereas here... where you come from... I was made mortal and subject to reincarnation over the ages. Thus, back home I will live mostly forever. Whilst this body I am borrowing here... whilst still me... is able to age and eventually die. I could only enter your reality this way, because it would be impossible to physically enter it in my original body without creating a paradox in which two of me existed in the same reality at one time. This was the safest way to achieve my goal, and to bring this artifact home.”
The little girl asked curiously, her eyes wide as she gazed at the crystal: “So... what's it gonna do? It's pretty, sure, but if you come from a parallel universe how're you gonna get that back with you if you're not able to cross over physically to get it without messing everything up?” And Tia told her in as simple of terms as he could manage, hoping it would be within the child's level of comprehension... since prior to her severe, and likely permanent, mental breakdown last night she had been a brilliant scientist and child prodigy by all accounts: “There are two parallel versions, of the planet Mars. On one, all life went extinct several billions of years ago... as of this present century. But upon the one that exists within that same parallel reality from which I hail, life continued to flourish there quite well into the time when the dinosaurs were existing on your Earth. Terra, I believe it is called now. On that Mars, there was sadly and tragically a series of terrible world-altering ecological disasters and a great deal of climate change that eventually endangered all life upon the red planet's surface. Since time beyond memory, a great generator allowed the parallel Mars to share the same physical space as the original, long-dead Mars did. This worked by folding space to such a degree that the dead planet was shifted into the parallel reality, while the parallel variant of Mars shifted into this “prime” reality that you exist in, Janet... all, at the exact same instant. Thus was it that the parallel Mars was the one that had been so colonized by we who came there from the great mother planet of Rahab, that in our old languages was also called Terra Primus, with Earth being called Terra Minor. The mighty world that once existed between Mars and Jupiter in your reality! We never had known... that the original, indigenous inhabitants of the red planet possessed this kind of technology. But they did! And when your reality's Rahab was obliterated by those enemies of ours who had sought its' destruction... its' annihilation also caused the destruction of all life upon the surface of Mars. Of parallel Mars! But unknown to all, a very secretive albino race of peoples had survived the annihilation of all life on Mars' surface due to living so deep underground that their civilization was unaffected... and they utilized the generator so that they might return unto their native reality once more. Once this was done, the long extinct variant of Mars had come back into the “prime” reality... and, unto this very day, no one in your reality knows what became of the parallel Mars, now once more in its' original reality... or, of those indigenous peoples who survived the seeming end of all life thereupon. And the asteroid belt that was your Rahab, can never yield any of the myriad, countless ancient secrets to which that planet had once been witness to. In building colonies on Mars, the humans of your Earth, your Terra, have brought life back to a long dead world, but I doubt even the smartest of their historians, archaeologists, or scientists have any genuine idea what they have found in terms of the underground ruins in which this artifact turned up. You see, this device is not native to your reality, but to mine! Somehow, when the events I told you about happened long ago, this single object had slipped through when it should not have, and luckily caused no problems with time and the flow of history in so doing. Since it never fell into human hands! But now, it is in danger of falling into human hands and I cannot allow that to happen. I will of course lie to my employers... or, rather, this version of me from your reality who works for them will lie to them... and tell them it was but a simple power generator. He will in turn share that type of technology with them, and all will be well. After all, he is a descendant of a long dead people who have continued to live in the shadows of history in your reality... and as such he is the only one still living who thanks to his past life memories has enough of a true recollection of the ancient past so as the be the premier authority on the subject. The entire reason he was called in... when this dangerous little trinket was found! But it belongs to me, and so what I choose to do with it is up to my discretion. It is a power cell for the weapon that destroyed Rahab in this reality, and it contains such vast destructive capabilities that if the military of the human colonies on Mars in this present era ever discovered how to replicate it... humans would be eventually able to so construct weapons capable of planetary annihilation. This has created the risk of history being altered, which is why I came here so as to prevent the catastrophe that will befall the universe otherwise. I intend... to see this thing destroyed.”
The alien then went on to explain: “In your reality, every single one of these was destroyed, when the weapon they powered was discharged at Rahab... but in my reality where Rahab still exists and where I am still its' absolute monarch, these were used instead to power smaller planetary defensive weapons. In both realities, they belonged to me originally, only in yours they were stolen by our enemies and in the end used against us with dreadful results. And so, when I say this belongs to me... it quite literally does. I am going to attach this to a missile and fire it from my vessel at the nearest lifeless small planet, and once that is done I will retract my consciousness back to my body and free this reality's version of me from my influence. He will, of course, remember everything that he did whilst I was in his body... which believe me, was nothing he would not have enjoyed indulging in anyway. If you wish, you may continue to have a relationship with him if it pleases you to... the version of you from my reality is one of many wives of mine anyway, and went on to become the mother of many of my current children. I am certain you are wondering what your attraction to me is, where it comes from. Consider it... a kind of multiversal symmetry. Now... shall we go and see to this thing's destruction?” Janet said only, after hearing all of this, the following: “Wow! That was... a lot. Yeah, let's go get rid of this bad thing.” and she decided to come along with him on board his ship in order to witness the artifact's destruction. Two hours of preparation for the flight to the nearest lifeless planet... which was indeed a small one in quite a remote section of space... and they were ready for the big moment. Tia steadied his hand on the stick that was part of the manual targeting system for his craft... only to realize it was best not to chance this by doing it by hand. Instead, he instructed the targeting computer as to what he wanted to have it do and let its' artificial intelligence make the necessary calculations to ensure that things went smoothly and without any possibility of error. The artifact had been placed in the warhead of one of the ship's missiles and it was ready to fire when the command was given. The computer asked him if he was certain, and he stated that he was... the artifact had recognized him, and it was already fully activated and ready for the unleashing of its' full power. “Fire!” he commanded, and the missile shot forth from the vessel and sped towards the distant planet. The ship was a safe distance away, and so when the planet exploded in a blinding flash of light... both Tia and Janet were happy to be looking away with the view screen fully closed. After the computer reported that the detonation was successful, the view screen opened and the pair could see only rubble where once the lifeless world had been. In that instant, the consciousness of the Tia from the parallel universe returned whence it came, leaving the Tia of this universe to apologize to Janet for all that he had put her through. Her mind fully returned to her with the passing of that other Tia, and he was back to her normal self. She still loved him though... she couldn't feel hate for him after learning of his peoples' history... and so she decided to stay with him, and she was able to talk him into leaving the employ of the Martian colonial military. That is, once he sent them the communication that contained in it the false details of what the artifact actually did, along with specs for a small and quite harmless power generator that produces clean energy. Once they confirmed those specs were received, a very large number of credits were placed into Tia's personal bank account... and following that, he gave his resignation and was discharged from his private contract with the military. “Don't worry, hot stuff!” said Janet to him, with her old spunk once more returned to her, adding: “I'm richer than God, and we'll never have to work again either of us anyway... I own villas, mansions, and even castles on planets you probably have never even heard of. It's time I stopped stealing and started thinking of settling down to a normal life. What do you think about being my personal boy toy?” Tia smiled, and told her in answer to this proposition: “Sounds good to me, pretty! You pick the place, and we'll go there. But what about... what about your ship back on Basra?” And Janet explained: “It was stolen anyway... at least this ship is legal, and it isn't like I don't have tons of clothes in every home I own. And just as many servants to do whatever the heck I tell them to.” Tia laughed happily as Janet settled back and relaxed in the passenger seat whilst she gave the computer the navigational details of where she wanted the vessel to take them.
Medina XII was a planet renowned for its' exquisite beauty, rich culture, and colorful history. Most of the surface was lush, green, and pleasant save for at the cold polar regions... and the areas that were of an arid climate were few and far between. The area in which Janet had her splendid villa was not at all unlike the Mediterranean on Earth, on Terra. Vibrant gardens surrounded the villa on all sides save for the south side, which overlooked the sea, and the palm trees and colorful flowers were a welcome and peaceful sight for the young girl after her difficult trip to Mars and then the incident at Basra. The Kyrs, birds not unlike seagulls only somewhat reptilian looking and light purple in color, were crying in the skies above the shoreline, and the sound of lightly trilling insects could be heard in the tall grass of the meadows of the countryside to the east of the villa's grounds. Janet was walking about in the gardens wearing a pair of puffy, frilly, white bloomers-like shorts that came to just above her knees and she had a frilly white camisole top tucked into them. A pair of beach sandals were on her feet, since she had just come back from a walk along the shore with Tia. She understood Tia's reasons for deciding at the last to change his gender to female rather than male... especially once the alien had made her aware of his full tortured past and all he had been through in the full course of it. The transfer from his old body into the new one that he... now she... called their own was simple for the scientist doctors of this very advanced world, and the consciousness transfer itself was painless and instantaneous. Instead of choosing to wait and have a female clone made from his own body to transfer his consciousness into, Tia picked one that was to his liking from the wide selection that the clinic had to offer him. For her part, Janet was still in truth getting used to how Tia looked now, although she adapted readily to calling Tia by all of the right and correct female pronouns. However, certain dynamics of their relationship had changed markedly in the past week since the procedure took place. Had it been a week already? It seemed like yesterday to Janet, if truth be told. “I wonder when Tia will catch up and come back to the villa.” Janet mused aloud, resuming her old habit of talking to herself when she was alone. The servants were all androids, and at times she found their company dull, no matter how human they looked save for having skin of a silvery color. Janet produced her pocket computer phone, and sent Tia a text message asking what was up. The message read: “Sweetie! When you coming back to the villa kiddo? Still looking for seashells, eh!” and she sent it along with smile emote icons and a big heart. After about five minutes the answer came, and it read: “Sorry, Janet... I'm just having fun, is all. I haven't been a kid in a long, long time. It feels good to be this young again!” And about fifteen minutes later, Tia came skipping up the walkway to the villa. She was a pretty little girl now, of about eight years of age. Younger than Janet herself by a good four or so years. Tia had the gold skin that was the norm for the people of this region of the planet, and she had long, wavy, blood red colored hair that was down to her lower back. Her eyes were a vibrant solid green with no whites in them, and her face was cherubic, round and lovely with full lips and an adorable sort of cuteness that melted Janet's heart and kindled her maternal instincts every time she looked at Tia in this new body of hers. The little eight year old girl was clearly big boned, but not chubby nor in any sort of way overweight. She would not look stocky as she got older either, but was certain to grow up to be a strong, curvaceous, and remarkably beautiful woman. Tia was wearing an outfit similar to Janet's only red in color, to match her hair, rather than white. As the doctors explained to Tia, her mind would revert to a childlike state upon the transfer of consciousness, and though she would retain all of her memories of her life as an adult up to that point... she would have the thoughts, emotions, and feelings of a child now, and so she would remain until she grew up in her new body. Feeling responsible for her now, Janet decided to be Tia's parental figure and guardian going forward and though they still slept together in the same bed... there was at present at least no sexual aspects to their relationship whatsoever. Janet did not mind that, understanding that a girl Tia's age... such as she was now... had her mind more on the normal childhood pleasures and pastimes of playing, learning, and enjoying life. Tia had needed a true second chance at life, and this was the way that she decided it could be best achieved... with Janet's approval.
Within the month... Tia had her name legally changed to reflect her new view of herself, and she thus chose the name Ziya Ismati Yashmun al Alir, a name that could be also abbreviated simply as Ziya. In choosing a name such as this, the now content little girl felt somehow complete in a way that she never had felt before, especially in her life as a male, the gender she had grown to hate and despise over time. Doubly so, due to the regret she had felt over her perverse treatment of Janet back on the Basra station! Now, finally, as Ziya... Tia could put her past behind her and have a lifetime to make up for any wicked things she had done in the past. Janet liked the new name that Tia had chosen very much, and adapted to calling her Ziya very quickly. Luckily, Janet was not pregnant from what Tia had done with her, else she would have been the guardian of two children, instead of only one... with herself being just barely on the verge of being out of childhood herself, that would have been too much. But fate was kind, and she was happy to play at being a mother for Ziya... even as she accepted that this child was no longer the green skinned alien man who had forced himself upon her and robbed her of even her own wits for a time. But if there was one thing Janet was above all other things, it was forgiving. She could be pretty twisted herself at times, and had no reason or room to judge the sins of a man who was no longer even a man at all any longer, nor even of the same alien species as before. Ziya had converted to the form of Islam that had developed in this part of space, the same part of the universe in which the Basra station had been built, a fairly liberal and progressive variety of that ancient Terran religion that was in vogue among a lot of the youth of Medina XII especially... and although Janet was not sure half the time just what she personally believed when it came to spirituality and religion, she saw that Ziya was happy and this made her happy in turn. “Redemption is such a powerful thing!” she told little Ziya one day, and to this she added: “If loathing can become love, and love can become devotion, there is hope still for not only humans but all sentient peoples everywhere.” By that time, three years or close to it had passed... Janet had just turned fifteen years of age, and Ziya was now eleven. Ziya looked up to Janet, and asked her curiously: “So, you don't loathe me anymore... do you, Janet?” to which the older girl answered in truth and honesty: “I don't think I could if I had a mind to... whatever you used to be, you're perfect just as you are right now, and I don't ever want you to change, not even when you grow up. Okay, honey?” And Ziya smiled brightly and innocently as she said to Janet in a delighted manner: “I promise! I love being who I am now, and I wouldn't change this for anything or anyone, not now and not ever.” And in time, she would prove to keep that promise fully, justifying the faith and trust that Janet placed in her. As for the Tia of the parallel universe... the advent of Ziya in this universe caused a ripple effect to thus occur throughout the multiverse, so that every version of her in every reality suddenly was brought to a point where they could begin their own path of redemption. That path took many different forms and twists and turns in other realities, but the end result was the same in all of them... Tia became content, happy with her existence, and able to put the past behind her. Sometimes, all it can take to change fate is a simple choice, a singular moment, and a heart heavy with pain and eager for forgiveness. Janet too had a need for forgiveness... she had been a murderer, a thief, and sometimes worse things still. She had been selfish, arrogant, and she bordered on being outright narcissistic until her meeting with Tia caused her to reevaluate her very core being. Now, she was partly a mother and partly an older sister to a fellow lost soul, and the two of them... once Ziya grew up... would have lots of new and fantastic adventures in the universe together. Only this time, those adventures would not involve stealing alien artifacts to sell to the highest paying fence. But for now, things were peaceful and calm, and exactly as Janet wished for things to be. Her innate wanderlust and thirst for adventure could wait. Ziya shared both of those traits, and was in no hurry herself to indulge in such appetites for excitement. Sometimes, the greatest treasure as well as the most precious thing in the whole universe is making magical memories with a person you love... and Janet and Ziya loved each other, more so with every passing year. Inter-Planet Janet was not going to be a solo act anymore... so she had decided that she and Ziya would be called the Galaxy Girls.
The sea of stars was black with brilliant points of light in the distance, as the rocket ship zoomed at a tremendous speed through space. So fast was it's speed, that the usual black void between the stars was not dark at all but filled with the stars and nebulae that the craft passed. Sometimes, it would cross just beyond a ringed planet, and it would come fairly close to hitting the debris that formed the ring but not quite. The pilot of the rocket, Janet Denise Gavin, was used to taking risks. People sometimes had the humor to call her “Inter-Planet Janet”, and they would sometimes sing a rather silly children's song by that name to take a friendly jab or two at her. She never minded that though, and took it in stride like an adult. Never mind that Janet was only twelve years old, and already had a reputation as a hotshot pilot, a brilliant scientist, and a dangerous hand to hand combat expert. She was also a deadly shot with pretty much any ray-gun, laser rifle, or bolt shooter. By the age of ten, she had killed a man already, and just in the year before her twelfth birthday she had resolved tensions on a planet contested by two alien races... both of whom were armed with devastating world destroying weapons of unimaginable power. Yes, this was a girl who was used to danger! She sat at the controls of her rocket, one hand on the control stick as the other was manning the engine speed control lever, with a serene smile upon her face. She liked this life a great deal, and could imagine no other! She felt as at home in space as some girls might have felt playing with their dolls or hanging out with their friends. “Who needs friends, when half of these local star systems are in my debt and treat me like a queen whenever I come to visit them?” She mused aloud as was oft her way on long trips such as this. Sure, there was the ship's artificial intelligence that ran the computer systems and made navigation simpler than it would be otherwise... but it was too uncanny for her liking, speaking to a machine like a human being. Even so, the computer's synthesized female voice answered her, saying: “Every young girl should have friends, Janet! There are psychological benefits to having friends, after all. Plus...” and what made it worse was that condescending manner and somewhat elitist sounding upper class English accent that the computer's artificial intelligence was programmed to have. “Who designs these things, anyway?” Janet thought, silently. Then she said aloud: “Hello! I don't recall asking you, stupid stodgy robot lady.” Then, the expected reply came: “I am not a robot, Janet. I am an artificial intelligence program. I do not have a body. Was that meant to be an insult? I regret that I do not understand fully human subtleties of humor. At least, not yet.” It was the “not yet” part that truly scared Janet, but she let it slide. She said only: “Just get us past Alpha Centauri as quick as possible, so that we can get away from those goons who've been tailing us ever since that Mars colony incident. I'll worry about educating you further about humor when the coast is clear.” The computer went silent, and continued to send the navigational information from its' database to all the correct, relevant systems. As soon as they were well beyond Alpha Centauri, they would be able to proceed to friendly space. Back in the Milky Way, Janet was pretty much wanted for the theft of alien relics, most of them Martian in their origins. They fetched a lot of money in certain markets, on distant worlds in other galaxies, and Janet to her credit was filthy rich from the money she made off of selling stolen alien relics. She couldn't wait to get to a comfortable neutral star-base, where she planned to get out of the skintight jumpsuit that was her default space travel attire, and slip into something more comfortable. Not that she didn't feel quite comfortable in her jumpsuit... wearing it honestly felt like she wasn't wearing anything at all, it was just that light and flexible... but she had more delicate tastes in personal fashion. The jumpsuit was a deep purple color, and covered her arms, legs and body. It honestly looked like a full covering leotard more than anything else. It was somewhat sparkly, and looked decent on her slender young body. Around her waist was a scarlet sash tied in a pretty ribbon. It always floated about her in zero gravity. The suit was protective against radiations and other hazards when she wore gloves and boots with it. She had those on right now, just in case. On planet side missions and space walks, she wore her headgear as well, that consisting of a tight fitting hood-like garment the same material as her suit, and a good breathing mask.
The mask was a helmet that fit over the hood and sealed unto it seamlessly when a button on the side of it was pressed. The face plate was a featureless mirror-like visor that she could see out of but no one could see into. It kept her features anonymous, and she only didn't wear it if a planet's atmosphere was earth-like and therefore comfortable breathable without any risks. She wasn't wearing that right now, as she hadn't any need too when on the ship. She was a pretty girl, people told her often. She had light skin with a healthy pink tone to it, sparkling blue eyes, shoulder-length blonde hair trimmed into a neat bob or pageboy style with neat bangs that came to just below her immaculately kept eyebrows. Her face was angelic and sometimes with an overt curiosity about her facial expressions. She had lips that could melt anyone's heart if she pouted a certain way, rosy cheeks, and a sweet appearance overall. She had the sort of charming disposition around strangers that reminded one of an innocent little girl who is willing and eager to please... at least, until people got to know her and realized she had a very different side to her. And heavens help anyone who angered her or who got in her way! Her voice was melodic and every bit as sweet as her appearance, which aided her tremendously in getting whatever she wanted. At least, a solid seven our of ten times, which was hardly a bad ratio by any means. But she knew her charms had no chance of keeping her out of the clutches of the Martian colonial authorities, who were hellbent on reclaiming the latest artifact she had taken from the underground ruins that had become her go to theft location of choice. “I seriously need to rob a different planet from now on!” she said as she ordered the ship's computer to increase the rocket's speed. But the computer explained: “I am already nearing very close to the maximum safe speed for this vessel. Any faster, and we could risk... well, you do not want to know what could happen. It could be lethal, let us say.” To which Janet yelled: “Damn it! Fine, fine then... let's see if we can lose them in that asteroid field up ahead.” and the rocket blasted on through a rocky maze of asteroids that were a veritable minefield of danger for any sane captain to navigate. Then again, any sane captain would avoid asteroid fields in general... like the plague! But Janet knew this and was betting on it. As her rocket zigzagged here and there amid the chunks of rock and debris, the ships pursuing her... with their distinct birdlike designs complete with metal wings... were just wide enough to be unable to cross safely through the asteroid field without being battered or destroyed. In space, no sound will echo when a ship explodes, and so there was no sound when the Martian colonial military's pursuit ships were broken into pieces as their engine cores detonated in fiery blasts that sent the metal wreckage of the ships flying through space at least until crashing into other asteroids. In contrast, Janet had a standard wingless rocket ship that although decorated with some flashy fins and attached missile launchers and laser gun cannons, was otherwise sleek, simplistic, and utilitarian in design. “Yes!” She said as she observed her targeting computer to see that her pursuers were all no more. “No we can get the heck out of this asteroid field and get back on course. Star-base Basra, here we come!” And soon... Janet's rocket continued upon its' way. To alleviate the boredom, she had the computer play some hard rock music from the 1980's, which was her favorite decade when it came to music and overall style. But if truth be told, she had an equal fondness for some aspects of the 90's as well. “Glam rock for the win.” She said, as she bobbed her head in time to the beat. This was a normal day for Inter-Planet Janet, and so far she was enjoying herself immensely. Star-base Basra was in neutral space, in one of the various galaxies beyond Alpha Centauri, and it was well out of the jurisdiction of any planetary authorities of the Milky Way galaxy. It was the perfect place to lose yourself and to lose anyone looking for you, and that made it the ideal spot for Janet to lay low for awhile until the heat was off. “I can't believe I came from Terra originally!” she said as she saw the space station in the distance and felt home at last. This neutral territory was more home to her than Earth... or Terra as it was called now... ever had been. Plus, she had no bad memories here, no nightmares to haunt her sleep. This was not always the safe haven of choice for her... she tended to pick those at random... but it was good enough and would do. Plus, she had a fondness for the exotic mix of old Arabic culture and alien strangeness that Star-base Basra had.
As her rocket approached the docking bay and the bay's force field lowered for her to enter, she felt relaxed already. Once she touched down on the landing pad, the force field engaged once more and the docking bay filled with atmosphere again whilst the purification systems pumped out any radiation that leaked into the bay from space when the force field was disengaged. The process took a little while, and whilst this was going on Janet tapped her fingers on her ship's control panels somewhat nervously. She couldn't wait to get out of the pilot seat and stretch her legs. “Boring... boring!” she droned, acting like the child she actually was for once. “Atmosphere restored! Peace be upon you, visitor, and welcome to Star-base Basra. May Allah watch over you!” The little girl shouted: “Finally!” and grabbed the bag in the back containing the relic, and her purse... which of course matched her jumpsuit. “A girl's just got to stay fashionable and accessorize correctly, after all!” she said, talking to herself one last time. Once she got on the station, she wouldn't need to worry about that for some time, at least until her next trip out. She opened the hatch on the site of her rocket after engaging the landing ramp, and stepped out unto the landing pad. The engineers in their matching green utility jumpsuits came forward to tend to her ship... she paid the head engineer of this group the usual docking fee, and all was well. No questions asked, as it always was at Basra. Just the way Janet liked it. Her boots clacked upon the metal of the corridors that led from the docking area to the market district... flats of course, never heels. She hated heels, and honestly could never understand how anyone could wear heels for space boots in the first place. She'd left her gloves and helmet back in the ship, since she would not need them here. Already, she felt much relieved, and could not wait to get rid of the relic that had caused her so much trouble. The marketplace was filled with every imaginable sort of booth, stall, shop and storefront. Neon signs advertised stores and goods in countless human and alien languages, and the music that played from the shopping area's speakers was ambient and deceptively peaceful for such a bustling place that could sometimes be a bit on the seedy or even dangerous side. But Janet was sued to seediness and danger. The locals wore their billowing silk pantaloons, with either tunics or dresses reaching to one's upper thighs over them. Some of the women wore hijabs and some did not. Some wore hooded cloaks and veils, and some did not. It was a wide range of Islamic fashion on display at Basra, and the fashions of the various alien races who also called this place home were of as many varieties as there were sentient races in this part of space. It was vast universe out there, and Basra was a melting pot for a great deal of what this particular stretch of the universe had to offer. There were magnificent gardens and fountains in the middle of the market, and the overall effect was actually rather calming. The fence who always purchased things from Janet without asking where she got them from ran a small shop tucked away in a remote corner of the market, and he was a short hairless man with pronounced cranial ridges and solid black eyes with no whites in them whatsoever. He had light blue skin, and a slightly reptilian appearance overall. Janet had not the slightest idea where he came from originally, and she half expected the man was born here on Basra... but she never asked, and honestly did not want or care to know. He was rich, evidently, though far less rich than she herself was, as evidenced by his taste for wearing the finest local silks and with them the most expensive jewelry. He was elegant in his manner, sometimes a bit obsequious to the point of sheer irritation, but he was a good fence and he paid top credits for every relic he purchased form Janet. That was what made him the logical choice for unloading this one today. His name was Relga, and his shop was called “Relga's Rarities”. It presented itself as an antique shop, and no one questioned that this was all it was. It was the perfect cover for the trade of relics and other antiquities that were of a questionable origin. Half of Basra knew that Relga was a dirty as they come, but no one there batted an eyelash at it since he was a well respected member of several merchants' guilds. The shop was cluttered, but despite that there were specific categories arranged for everything sold there. As soon as Janet entered, Relga said to her elatedly: “Janet! My dear, dear adventurous Janet... welcome back. So... what have you got for me this time? And it better be something good. I need to streamline my overstock inventory soon.”
She put the bag on the counter and opened it, taking out of it a solid crystal sphere mounted on an old looking metal base covered in ancient looking runes of an age impossible to imagine. It was light, and it glowed fainting with a pulsing reddish light from within the sphere that also lit up the runes whenever the pulse returned. It made no sound, but vibrated a little when touched. “It's ancient Martian.” she said, explaining the artifact's origins with her usual brevity. “Life on Mars only existed, some maintain, in an age before recorded human history... and it may have occurred only in a parallel universe, if you believe some theories about it. Sometimes, a relic or two will surface, and no one knows where they came from or what they mean. Oh, Janet! I like this one... I like it very much. How much do you want for it?” And the look on Relga's face was that of a man who just looked upon Paradise itself. Janet ran her hand a bit through her hair and thought for a moment, before deciding: “Let's do five thousand credits. It's worth a great deal more than that, and we both know it Relga!” He touched the relic, felt the vibration, and then said to Janet: “Is it alive?” and she admitted: “I have no idea, honestly! I just grabbed it at random since it looked like it might be valuable. Turns out, the Martian military had an interest in it, and wasn't keen on me scarfing it up like I did.” The alien then said to her nervously: “The military! This could be very dangerous to have, then... it might be a weapon of some kind for all we know. I couldn't take a chance on it, if that's the case Janet. I sell many things... in this shop... but, none of them are dangerous.” Janet then replied, stating in an exasperated manner: “Fine, fine!” and she sighed, put it back in her bag, and then said: “I'll just take it and be on my way. Stupid waste of a trip to Mars, if you ask me!” And Relga said in a quick retort: “But at least my customers will not be imperiled by that thing! Take my advice... get rid of it, throw it out of the nearest airlock. Better a wasted trip, than a loss of life.” Janet then said to him angrily: “Like you care about peoples' lives! How many of this stuff came from people who got murdered? How many murderers have you bought things from, Relga, honestly! I don't want to know... all I know is if this thing scares you then fine, but don't go acting all moralistic on me.” to which Relga answered calmly: “No, Janet, I am far from a moral person... but I have common sense, at least. If you cannot understand the risk involved with that object, then you are foolish beyond reason. Morals have nothing to do with this! If I sell that to someone and it kills them... that would be bad for my reputation. It could mean the end of my business, and I will not risk that. Now, do you understand me?” Janet said to him following that, in an icy reply: “Crystal clear! I'll just be on my way now. Sorry for the trouble.” and her tone said she not sorry about anything. Relga said to her as she exited the shop: “It is alright... I will not hold this against you. Just be more careful with what you bring me in the future.” She realized at that point that maybe she should never have let slip the military's interest in the artifact. Had she just kept her mouth shut about that, she'd have been five thousand credits richer by now. She had just made a mistake even most common criminals never make... never reveal anything, about what you sell to the fence, and never reveal the origins of the goods. But she was still a kid after all, and sometimes she had about as much wisdom as a California valley girl from the 80's. “I can be such an airhead sometimes!” she said aloud, falling back on her habit of talking to herself as she stormed out of the shop and headed to her apartments in the foreign quarter of the station. “Dangerous my ass! It's probably just a stupid old alien snow-globe or something like that. Martian kids probably used to play with these back in the day.” she thought to herself without saying a word of that out loud. When she got back to her apartments, she figured she would just set the silly object down on a shelf and keep it for a memento of this latest of her adventures. She had apartments like this, on every neutral space station in the known universe... pretty much... and she had villas and mansions on countless planets all filled with even more curiosities, and as many luxuries as it pleased her to be able to afford. But as soon as the door slid open after she had inserted her key card and unlocked it, she saw that someone was inside. Before she had the chance to so much as say a word... whoever it was darted forward and shot her with a stun gun that knocked her out. She was out like a light in an instant, and cursed this bad turn of luck, as everything went totally black.
When her eyes opened, she was laying upon her bed in her apartments... feeling the soft sheets and plush cushions all around her. Her boots were off, as were her socks, and the bag containing the alien artifact was sitting on the table across from her. She went to sit up, and a hand pushed her back down with a bit of force. A man's voice then said to her: “Janet Denise Gavin, it is a pleasure to see you up and with me at last. Although I did find it enjoyable to watch you while you slept, I was eager for you to awaken so we could get down to business.” She looked on the side of her bed, and standing at the side of it was a man of about five feet and eight inches in height... a bit below the average six feet... and he was wearing a pair of black silk bikini brief-like undergarments and nothing else. He was very clearly aroused, and had obviously been having very sexual thoughts about her, given the bulge he had between his legs. He had olive green skin, was totally hairless, and he had a shaved head with no eyebrows. He had a row of tiny cranial ridges that ran up his forehead, around the back of his head, and on down his back along his spine. He was of average build, but with strong looking upper arms and shoulders, and he had a pronounced abdomen that was evidently a trait of whatever alien species he was of. He had an aquiline nose, a small mouth, and almond shaped eyes that were red in color but with the usual whites in them that human eyes possess. He had high cheekbones, and a round face. His eyelashes were just as long and almost doll-like as Janet's, and there was something profoundly effeminate about him overall. The shape of his body, his mannerisms, and the way he spoke were all soft and feminine... although it was abundantly clear by the bulge he was practically shoving in her face that this was a male of some species or another. “What business is that! You going to try to rape me or something... sicko?” She said to him defiantly, realizing she lacked the strength to punch him in the genitals and try to get the better of him. “Oh! What the hell did you shoot me with?” She slumped back down on the bed, lacking even the strength to sit up. This... this, could be a serious problem. The man then chuckled, and said to Janet in a cold and clinical manner of speaking made somehow more sinister by his soft tone of voice: “It is temporary, but could last for several hours. You'll be able to move your body only somewhat... enough to enjoy what I am going to do with you... but no more than that.” She noticed the man's clothes were in a pile on the floor, and she understood that indeed she was in serious sexual jeopardy. He grabbed his crotch and squeezed it, making himself harder as if to bring home the point he was making. She said to him angrily: “Oh, big man you are! Have to zap a little girl just to fuck her. Fucking coward!” and she spat at him after saying that. He wiped the spit from his stomach, and then explained: “I know what you are capable of, Inter-Planet Janet... your reputation precedes you around here. I do not wish to take any chances and have my enjoyment of this moment ruined. I am quite the admirer of yours! That is why it is that certain interested parties hired me to teach you a lesson. And I am an excellent teacher.” he then began to run his hands all over her body as he climbed unto he bed and laid next to her. He caressed her chest, then her thighs, and then he felt her up between her legs while his licked her cheek. She found it almost intoxicating when he licked her, and he told her: “My species emits certain pheromones that are irresistible to human women, and girls like you. You would find it difficult to resist me even if I had not shot you with my stun gun previously! I am an expert in what I do, and my employers pay me a lot for the services one of my species can offer.” He was practically fingering her through her jumpsuit, when she tried to scream only for her to cover her mouth. “Useless, Janet!” he cautioned her, adding: “One of the drawbacks of all the apartments of this station is that no one can hear a thing that is happening on the inside of them... and they all lack security cameras. No one knows I am here, and no one can hear it if you scream! So why bother? Just enjoy yourself... and understand that for me this is as much about business as it is about pleasure.” He then took his hand away and Janet had tears in her eyes. She said to him in a desperate tone beyond the point of anger and indignation: “What the fuck did I do! Who sent you after me... what the hell do your employers want from me?” And he kissed her face, raining kisses on it which quite against her will was exciting her whilst he continued to molest her without it ceasing.
He untied her belt and pulled it off of her, before flipping the girl over and unzipping her jumpsuit. Savagely, he tore it off of her and then pulled her unto her back again. He was pulling her panties down next, as he said to her: “You stole something that belongs to me! And... my employers are giving me the opportunity to get it back, with interest. In addition to fucking the living hell out of you so that you will remember to think twice before taking what does not belong to you in the future.” He thrust one of his fingers into her cunt with some force, and moved it in and out of her a bit, which made him so quickly fully erect that the top of his penis was sticking out of the waist of his underwear. She had to admit, he had one hell of an impressive dick! And then she remembered he was a rapist, and put the thought far from her mind, understanding it to be the work of those pheromones he had mentioned. “You work for the Martian military, don't you.” she said, feeling half in a daze. He then chuckled, and said: “Yes, I do, but only because I do so as a means to an end. I have always intended to claim that artifact, and those I work for agreed to allow me to do so in exchange for sharing with them the technology that it runs on. Now... I get to claim you, at least for the night, if night it is right now, as a bonus! I see you are not a virgin. That will make things much easier, for both of us.” He then forced her legs apart as wide as they could spread, and he got between them. He thrust into her very roughly, uncaring about her age, and he was far from gentle with her as he moved his cock in and out of her... fucking her roughly. His hands rubbed her chest, his mouth was upon her nipples one minute and kissing her face the next. He grunted bestially as he raped her, and she breathed heavily as her body gave in to the rhythm so much that she found her hips grinding and her excitement proving more than she could bear. Her body shuddered as she felt herself orgasm quicker than she ever had in her entire life... and she had been with many men in the past, and a couple of women as well. Her father had been her first, and he had been the one she had killed, the first man she ever took the life of. Her father had been rough like this with her, and she hated it... hated the vile names he had called her when he raped her, hated the demeaning way he treated her, as if she was his personal sex slave. This was making her flash back to the night her father had raped her, the night she grabbed a hair pin and stabbed him in the neck with it to stop him. She had long ago been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder from her father's attack, but never before had that in any way interfered with her enjoyment of sex. Until now. The strange green alien that was raping her, kept calling her his little girl, and this was seriously triggering Janet big time. “Stop! Oh please, please stop daddy.” her mind was regressing back to that night, she was helpless and frightened. And he was so very cruel! The alien chuckled in a sinister way as he continued to screw her without mercy. Soon, he was shooting his cum up into her as his own climax was reached. He had been heaving atop her for so long, that time no longer mattered... or it had been much quicker, and her mind had distorted time during the rape itself... and all she knew was that she had no power to stop this. No means to fight him off, no way of ending this monster's life. He licked her face, and then clambered off of her to lay next to her on the bed. “Ah, that was wonderful, Janet! Thank you very much.” she had moaned like a slut, she had screamed and shrieked at various points, especially when her orgasms shook her whole body like an earthquake. They were both covered in each other's sweat, and cum, and the smell of their sexual intercourse was strong in the air, even as some of their fluids now flowed out of Janet's pussy and unto her bed sheets. She still could not get up, she lacked the strength to do more than turn over at best, and she did so in order to look at the face of the man who had defiled her. The lights were dim, but she had a mind to get a good look at this person. She had vengeance on her mind... or had she? He was almost beautiful! But no, he had just hurt me. He had... brought her more pleasure than any man before. She felt confused, uncertain of what was going through her head. And before she could control herself, she threw herself on top of him, and kissed him passionately. His eyes went wide, he was not expecting this to happen, and before the next hour or two had passed he was excited enough to fuck her again. She was willing, this time, and able to move fully. She turned the tables on him, and he was delighted for it!
The following day, Janet and her alien companion sat together in the station's botanical gardens so as to discuss what to do with the alien artifact. He was wearing a pair of black silk pantaloons, and he had tucked into them a black blouse with puffy elbow length sleeves. Around his wait, was Janet's sash belt that he decided to keep for himself as a reminder of their passionate intercourse the night before. He had a pair of comfortable black slippers on his feet with pointed toes, and he had around his neck a silver chain necklace from which hung a pendant shaped like an eight pointed star within a circle. He was holding the Martian artifact, and breathing deeply whilst savoring the scent of flowers in the air. The lounge chairs in the gardens were comfortable, and he felt very relaxed. As did Janet, who reclined in a chair next to him whilst wearing a long pink sleeveless maxi dress of a frilly, very girly design on which there was a beautiful floral print depicting red roses. She wore a pair of sandals, and sipped from a cup containing a delicious fruit juice beverage, sipping the drink through a straw. She knew that to at least some degree, this man's pheromones had affected her mind, but a part of her still found him to be undeniably attractive, and she did not care in the least that the sex they had reminded her of what it was her father had done to her. A part of her had even found her ravishment at the alien's hands to be almost a therapeutic way of replacing the traumatic memory of her father's rape of her... with the events of the previous night in such a way that she now found increasingly as every hour passed that she thought less about her father's debasing of her and more about this alien's enjoyment of her. Which bordered on just about being respectful, since at least he had not called her any horrid names during the act itself. Now, she called the alien “daddy” and found herself acting like his devoted little slut. Which she was all too happy to be for him! Clinically, what the alien had done with her snapped her sanity completely, and it was too late for reality to go back to being as it was for poor Janet. Who now wanted nothing more in the whole universe than to please her new daddy. If only to make up for having killed her original one, which a part of her had always felt guilty for. She asked of him as he gazed into the crystal in a way that appeared almost meditative: “Daddy, what you looking at in the pretty crystal?” Her mind was back as it had been when she was eight years old, the year when her father had taken her virginity from her, and she found that she could no longer think adult thoughts apart from sexual ones. The alien told her: “For it to work, I need to fix my will upon it, so that it will recognize me and remember me as its' original owner. It has been thousands upon thousands of years beyond counting, and I have crossed beyond the borders that separate this reality from my native reality in order to reclaim this. But because it has been through several hands since I lost it, I need to remind it of who I am.” Janet then asked: “So, who are you then? You never told me your name, and my mommy always told me I shouldn't talk to strangers. But I figure since we did the naughty thing last night we aren't strangers anymore, so you should tell me your name.” He regretted having snapped her mind this badly, but found himself so infatuated with her that he wanted only to make her happy now... which was at odds with his original intent of hurting her in a way she would never forget. He said to her in answer to her question: “Yes, little one! We are most definitely not strangers anymore. The name I am currently going by, is Tia Marat. It should be close to an English approximation of what my actual name is in my native language, so that you will have not a bit of trouble pronouncing it. The planet I come from no longer exists in this reality, but it still does in the parallel reality that I come from. History went very differently there than it did here, and the version of me that is native to your reality is the one whose body I am currently inhabiting whilst my original is back in my native universe. The difference being, I never was rendered mortal back where I come from, whereas here... where you come from... I was made mortal and subject to reincarnation over the ages. Thus, back home I will live mostly forever. Whilst this body I am borrowing here... whilst still me... is able to age and eventually die. I could only enter your reality this way, because it would be impossible to physically enter it in my original body without creating a paradox in which two of me existed in the same reality at one time. This was the safest way to achieve my goal, and to bring this artifact home.”
The little girl asked curiously, her eyes wide as she gazed at the crystal: “So... what's it gonna do? It's pretty, sure, but if you come from a parallel universe how're you gonna get that back with you if you're not able to cross over physically to get it without messing everything up?” And Tia told her in as simple of terms as he could manage, hoping it would be within the child's level of comprehension... since prior to her severe, and likely permanent, mental breakdown last night she had been a brilliant scientist and child prodigy by all accounts: “There are two parallel versions, of the planet Mars. On one, all life went extinct several billions of years ago... as of this present century. But upon the one that exists within that same parallel reality from which I hail, life continued to flourish there quite well into the time when the dinosaurs were existing on your Earth. Terra, I believe it is called now. On that Mars, there was sadly and tragically a series of terrible world-altering ecological disasters and a great deal of climate change that eventually endangered all life upon the red planet's surface. Since time beyond memory, a great generator allowed the parallel Mars to share the same physical space as the original, long-dead Mars did. This worked by folding space to such a degree that the dead planet was shifted into the parallel reality, while the parallel variant of Mars shifted into this “prime” reality that you exist in, Janet... all, at the exact same instant. Thus was it that the parallel Mars was the one that had been so colonized by we who came there from the great mother planet of Rahab, that in our old languages was also called Terra Primus, with Earth being called Terra Minor. The mighty world that once existed between Mars and Jupiter in your reality! We never had known... that the original, indigenous inhabitants of the red planet possessed this kind of technology. But they did! And when your reality's Rahab was obliterated by those enemies of ours who had sought its' destruction... its' annihilation also caused the destruction of all life upon the surface of Mars. Of parallel Mars! But unknown to all, a very secretive albino race of peoples had survived the annihilation of all life on Mars' surface due to living so deep underground that their civilization was unaffected... and they utilized the generator so that they might return unto their native reality once more. Once this was done, the long extinct variant of Mars had come back into the “prime” reality... and, unto this very day, no one in your reality knows what became of the parallel Mars, now once more in its' original reality... or, of those indigenous peoples who survived the seeming end of all life thereupon. And the asteroid belt that was your Rahab, can never yield any of the myriad, countless ancient secrets to which that planet had once been witness to. In building colonies on Mars, the humans of your Earth, your Terra, have brought life back to a long dead world, but I doubt even the smartest of their historians, archaeologists, or scientists have any genuine idea what they have found in terms of the underground ruins in which this artifact turned up. You see, this device is not native to your reality, but to mine! Somehow, when the events I told you about happened long ago, this single object had slipped through when it should not have, and luckily caused no problems with time and the flow of history in so doing. Since it never fell into human hands! But now, it is in danger of falling into human hands and I cannot allow that to happen. I will of course lie to my employers... or, rather, this version of me from your reality who works for them will lie to them... and tell them it was but a simple power generator. He will in turn share that type of technology with them, and all will be well. After all, he is a descendant of a long dead people who have continued to live in the shadows of history in your reality... and as such he is the only one still living who thanks to his past life memories has enough of a true recollection of the ancient past so as the be the premier authority on the subject. The entire reason he was called in... when this dangerous little trinket was found! But it belongs to me, and so what I choose to do with it is up to my discretion. It is a power cell for the weapon that destroyed Rahab in this reality, and it contains such vast destructive capabilities that if the military of the human colonies on Mars in this present era ever discovered how to replicate it... humans would be eventually able to so construct weapons capable of planetary annihilation. This has created the risk of history being altered, which is why I came here so as to prevent the catastrophe that will befall the universe otherwise. I intend... to see this thing destroyed.”
The alien then went on to explain: “In your reality, every single one of these was destroyed, when the weapon they powered was discharged at Rahab... but in my reality where Rahab still exists and where I am still its' absolute monarch, these were used instead to power smaller planetary defensive weapons. In both realities, they belonged to me originally, only in yours they were stolen by our enemies and in the end used against us with dreadful results. And so, when I say this belongs to me... it quite literally does. I am going to attach this to a missile and fire it from my vessel at the nearest lifeless small planet, and once that is done I will retract my consciousness back to my body and free this reality's version of me from my influence. He will, of course, remember everything that he did whilst I was in his body... which believe me, was nothing he would not have enjoyed indulging in anyway. If you wish, you may continue to have a relationship with him if it pleases you to... the version of you from my reality is one of many wives of mine anyway, and went on to become the mother of many of my current children. I am certain you are wondering what your attraction to me is, where it comes from. Consider it... a kind of multiversal symmetry. Now... shall we go and see to this thing's destruction?” Janet said only, after hearing all of this, the following: “Wow! That was... a lot. Yeah, let's go get rid of this bad thing.” and she decided to come along with him on board his ship in order to witness the artifact's destruction. Two hours of preparation for the flight to the nearest lifeless planet... which was indeed a small one in quite a remote section of space... and they were ready for the big moment. Tia steadied his hand on the stick that was part of the manual targeting system for his craft... only to realize it was best not to chance this by doing it by hand. Instead, he instructed the targeting computer as to what he wanted to have it do and let its' artificial intelligence make the necessary calculations to ensure that things went smoothly and without any possibility of error. The artifact had been placed in the warhead of one of the ship's missiles and it was ready to fire when the command was given. The computer asked him if he was certain, and he stated that he was... the artifact had recognized him, and it was already fully activated and ready for the unleashing of its' full power. “Fire!” he commanded, and the missile shot forth from the vessel and sped towards the distant planet. The ship was a safe distance away, and so when the planet exploded in a blinding flash of light... both Tia and Janet were happy to be looking away with the view screen fully closed. After the computer reported that the detonation was successful, the view screen opened and the pair could see only rubble where once the lifeless world had been. In that instant, the consciousness of the Tia from the parallel universe returned whence it came, leaving the Tia of this universe to apologize to Janet for all that he had put her through. Her mind fully returned to her with the passing of that other Tia, and he was back to her normal self. She still loved him though... she couldn't feel hate for him after learning of his peoples' history... and so she decided to stay with him, and she was able to talk him into leaving the employ of the Martian colonial military. That is, once he sent them the communication that contained in it the false details of what the artifact actually did, along with specs for a small and quite harmless power generator that produces clean energy. Once they confirmed those specs were received, a very large number of credits were placed into Tia's personal bank account... and following that, he gave his resignation and was discharged from his private contract with the military. “Don't worry, hot stuff!” said Janet to him, with her old spunk once more returned to her, adding: “I'm richer than God, and we'll never have to work again either of us anyway... I own villas, mansions, and even castles on planets you probably have never even heard of. It's time I stopped stealing and started thinking of settling down to a normal life. What do you think about being my personal boy toy?” Tia smiled, and told her in answer to this proposition: “Sounds good to me, pretty! You pick the place, and we'll go there. But what about... what about your ship back on Basra?” And Janet explained: “It was stolen anyway... at least this ship is legal, and it isn't like I don't have tons of clothes in every home I own. And just as many servants to do whatever the heck I tell them to.” Tia laughed happily as Janet settled back and relaxed in the passenger seat whilst she gave the computer the navigational details of where she wanted the vessel to take them.
Medina XII was a planet renowned for its' exquisite beauty, rich culture, and colorful history. Most of the surface was lush, green, and pleasant save for at the cold polar regions... and the areas that were of an arid climate were few and far between. The area in which Janet had her splendid villa was not at all unlike the Mediterranean on Earth, on Terra. Vibrant gardens surrounded the villa on all sides save for the south side, which overlooked the sea, and the palm trees and colorful flowers were a welcome and peaceful sight for the young girl after her difficult trip to Mars and then the incident at Basra. The Kyrs, birds not unlike seagulls only somewhat reptilian looking and light purple in color, were crying in the skies above the shoreline, and the sound of lightly trilling insects could be heard in the tall grass of the meadows of the countryside to the east of the villa's grounds. Janet was walking about in the gardens wearing a pair of puffy, frilly, white bloomers-like shorts that came to just above her knees and she had a frilly white camisole top tucked into them. A pair of beach sandals were on her feet, since she had just come back from a walk along the shore with Tia. She understood Tia's reasons for deciding at the last to change his gender to female rather than male... especially once the alien had made her aware of his full tortured past and all he had been through in the full course of it. The transfer from his old body into the new one that he... now she... called their own was simple for the scientist doctors of this very advanced world, and the consciousness transfer itself was painless and instantaneous. Instead of choosing to wait and have a female clone made from his own body to transfer his consciousness into, Tia picked one that was to his liking from the wide selection that the clinic had to offer him. For her part, Janet was still in truth getting used to how Tia looked now, although she adapted readily to calling Tia by all of the right and correct female pronouns. However, certain dynamics of their relationship had changed markedly in the past week since the procedure took place. Had it been a week already? It seemed like yesterday to Janet, if truth be told. “I wonder when Tia will catch up and come back to the villa.” Janet mused aloud, resuming her old habit of talking to herself when she was alone. The servants were all androids, and at times she found their company dull, no matter how human they looked save for having skin of a silvery color. Janet produced her pocket computer phone, and sent Tia a text message asking what was up. The message read: “Sweetie! When you coming back to the villa kiddo? Still looking for seashells, eh!” and she sent it along with smile emote icons and a big heart. After about five minutes the answer came, and it read: “Sorry, Janet... I'm just having fun, is all. I haven't been a kid in a long, long time. It feels good to be this young again!” And about fifteen minutes later, Tia came skipping up the walkway to the villa. She was a pretty little girl now, of about eight years of age. Younger than Janet herself by a good four or so years. Tia had the gold skin that was the norm for the people of this region of the planet, and she had long, wavy, blood red colored hair that was down to her lower back. Her eyes were a vibrant solid green with no whites in them, and her face was cherubic, round and lovely with full lips and an adorable sort of cuteness that melted Janet's heart and kindled her maternal instincts every time she looked at Tia in this new body of hers. The little eight year old girl was clearly big boned, but not chubby nor in any sort of way overweight. She would not look stocky as she got older either, but was certain to grow up to be a strong, curvaceous, and remarkably beautiful woman. Tia was wearing an outfit similar to Janet's only red in color, to match her hair, rather than white. As the doctors explained to Tia, her mind would revert to a childlike state upon the transfer of consciousness, and though she would retain all of her memories of her life as an adult up to that point... she would have the thoughts, emotions, and feelings of a child now, and so she would remain until she grew up in her new body. Feeling responsible for her now, Janet decided to be Tia's parental figure and guardian going forward and though they still slept together in the same bed... there was at present at least no sexual aspects to their relationship whatsoever. Janet did not mind that, understanding that a girl Tia's age... such as she was now... had her mind more on the normal childhood pleasures and pastimes of playing, learning, and enjoying life. Tia had needed a true second chance at life, and this was the way that she decided it could be best achieved... with Janet's approval.
Within the month... Tia had her name legally changed to reflect her new view of herself, and she thus chose the name Ziya Ismati Yashmun al Alir, a name that could be also abbreviated simply as Ziya. In choosing a name such as this, the now content little girl felt somehow complete in a way that she never had felt before, especially in her life as a male, the gender she had grown to hate and despise over time. Doubly so, due to the regret she had felt over her perverse treatment of Janet back on the Basra station! Now, finally, as Ziya... Tia could put her past behind her and have a lifetime to make up for any wicked things she had done in the past. Janet liked the new name that Tia had chosen very much, and adapted to calling her Ziya very quickly. Luckily, Janet was not pregnant from what Tia had done with her, else she would have been the guardian of two children, instead of only one... with herself being just barely on the verge of being out of childhood herself, that would have been too much. But fate was kind, and she was happy to play at being a mother for Ziya... even as she accepted that this child was no longer the green skinned alien man who had forced himself upon her and robbed her of even her own wits for a time. But if there was one thing Janet was above all other things, it was forgiving. She could be pretty twisted herself at times, and had no reason or room to judge the sins of a man who was no longer even a man at all any longer, nor even of the same alien species as before. Ziya had converted to the form of Islam that had developed in this part of space, the same part of the universe in which the Basra station had been built, a fairly liberal and progressive variety of that ancient Terran religion that was in vogue among a lot of the youth of Medina XII especially... and although Janet was not sure half the time just what she personally believed when it came to spirituality and religion, she saw that Ziya was happy and this made her happy in turn. “Redemption is such a powerful thing!” she told little Ziya one day, and to this she added: “If loathing can become love, and love can become devotion, there is hope still for not only humans but all sentient peoples everywhere.” By that time, three years or close to it had passed... Janet had just turned fifteen years of age, and Ziya was now eleven. Ziya looked up to Janet, and asked her curiously: “So, you don't loathe me anymore... do you, Janet?” to which the older girl answered in truth and honesty: “I don't think I could if I had a mind to... whatever you used to be, you're perfect just as you are right now, and I don't ever want you to change, not even when you grow up. Okay, honey?” And Ziya smiled brightly and innocently as she said to Janet in a delighted manner: “I promise! I love being who I am now, and I wouldn't change this for anything or anyone, not now and not ever.” And in time, she would prove to keep that promise fully, justifying the faith and trust that Janet placed in her. As for the Tia of the parallel universe... the advent of Ziya in this universe caused a ripple effect to thus occur throughout the multiverse, so that every version of her in every reality suddenly was brought to a point where they could begin their own path of redemption. That path took many different forms and twists and turns in other realities, but the end result was the same in all of them... Tia became content, happy with her existence, and able to put the past behind her. Sometimes, all it can take to change fate is a simple choice, a singular moment, and a heart heavy with pain and eager for forgiveness. Janet too had a need for forgiveness... she had been a murderer, a thief, and sometimes worse things still. She had been selfish, arrogant, and she bordered on being outright narcissistic until her meeting with Tia caused her to reevaluate her very core being. Now, she was partly a mother and partly an older sister to a fellow lost soul, and the two of them... once Ziya grew up... would have lots of new and fantastic adventures in the universe together. Only this time, those adventures would not involve stealing alien artifacts to sell to the highest paying fence. But for now, things were peaceful and calm, and exactly as Janet wished for things to be. Her innate wanderlust and thirst for adventure could wait. Ziya shared both of those traits, and was in no hurry herself to indulge in such appetites for excitement. Sometimes, the greatest treasure as well as the most precious thing in the whole universe is making magical memories with a person you love... and Janet and Ziya loved each other, more so with every passing year. Inter-Planet Janet was not going to be a solo act anymore... so she had decided that she and Ziya would be called the Galaxy Girls.
Published 8th Apr 2024
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