This has been designed to act as a standalone episode, but you might find it interesting to read this first
"But there's nowhere that I can go, Duscula. My mom is elderly, and I'm her only living family. The government will use that connection to force me to do what they want," the young scientist said sadly.
"Don't worry Paul, I will find a solution. But first, we need to get out of here," said the beautiful female alien.
"Alright... And I give you my word, if they try to use her to force me to come back, I'll destroy my work first," he replied, obviously worried.
Duscula didn't reply, she simply let the young man lead the way in silence. "Here it is," he said panting in front of a set of steel doors with a security panel beside them.
After he did the required scans, and entered the code, the doors slid open. Then the alarms stopped blaring.
"Did you stop them?" Duscula asked, when he looked up in surprise.
"No. By now, someone must have sent out a request for reinforcements. We have company," Paul announced.
"Right. Let's get going then," replied Duscula as she swept past him, and strode over to the sleek silver V shaped craft. Once Paul entered the room and closed the doors, she welded them shut with her purple lightning.
"How are we going to get back out?" Paul asked curiously.
We can't take the ship out that way. There are too many sudden turns. If I knew the way, or you could fly the ship - extremely well - we might be able to make it. But it would still be difficult. No, the easiest way is up," she replied as she began to examine carefully.
"Up?" Paul asked, looking at the ceiling.
"Yes. I sincerely hope the floors above us are unoccupied, because that's our route," Duscula said firmly, as she climbed into her ship.
Looking at the delicate craft, then at the solid cement construction, Paul shook his head. "Lightning doesn't melt cement," he thought worriedly.
"Good news, Paul. I was correct, it was the navigation fausillicitor that was burned out. That's what caused the motor to stall. And you know the rest..." Duscula said, as she popped a small, lightweight metallic panel back into place.
"It's fixed?" he asked, somehow thinking it would take longer.
"Yes, get strapped in, we are leaving," she announced.
Paul quickly complied, not voicing the question he'd had since she had proposed taking the shortcut.
Duscula worked the controls, and the craft came to life. Then it spun and tilted slightly, nose pointed towards a corner of the ceiling on the opposite side of the room.
She pressed a button, then entered a code in the touchscreen panel. Pressing the button a second time resulted in an explosion that seemed to shake the world.
When the dust and debris settled, there was an opening at least fifteen feet around, all the way to open sky. "Time to say goodbye to this place," she said as the ship streaked into the sky, then disappeared.
"Where are we going?" Paul asked, thoroughly enjoying the ride.
"I thought you might like to see your world from above, and perhaps tour my ship?" Duscula invited.
"Oh yes, thank you!" Paul exclaimed. Had he not been strapped in, he might have jumped for joy.
She smiled, and took the cruiser due north, all the way to the North Pole. Then she took him around the other side, due south - all the way to the South Pole.
"I had Sarran take the ship a ways out after I arrived at the base. Just in case things didn't go well. Don't worry though, it will be a short trip," she assured him.
After the quick trip around the world, Duscula took the cruiser into space - just on the edge of the solar system, in fact. She did a brief tour of each planet they passed, for Paul's benefit.
The young scientist was ecstatic, even before he saw the ship.
"This is where you live?" Paul asked in awe, as he looked with shock at the outside of the massive vessel.
"Yes. What do you think?" Duscula asked curiously.
"It's incredible. It's like a world all it's own," he replied.
"It is. We have an entire miniature ecosystem on board, capable of sustaining life forms such as you and I indefinitely," she replied proudly.
"Unbelievable..." Paul whispered, more to himself. Then his curiosity kicked in, and he asked "Duscula, what powers the ship? It must take a tremendous amount of energy?"
"Excess energy can be collected from the ecosystem on board in an emergency. Or we can recharge from stars, or what you call black holes. Or we can use any one of many methods to generate it ourselves from almost any form of matter" she replied.
Speechless, Paul simply nodded.
Soon he found himself aboard. It was a mixture of modern comfort, lush plants, none of which he recognized, and strategically placed portals, some wall sized and more like an oversized theater screen, others small and round. It all depended on the decor of the particular area.
Underfoot was a form of dark green moss. It was soft, dry, and spongy.
People bustled around, but nobody stopped to ask questions. A few gave curious glances, especially the younger children, but they were always accompanied by a quick smile. "I see you have families aboard," said Paul.
"Yes, we don't have a chance to visit home often. So it's encouraged to either bring family along, should they wish to come, or create a new family once aboard. Why are you so surprised?" Duscula asked.
"On our world, we are highly discouraged when it comes to bringing family along during scientific research. Even those who travel to Antarctica leave their family behind," he said.
"What a backwards way of doing things... no offense," she added quickly.
"None taken. I would have probably taken up a more traditional field of biology if I could have taken Mom along - safely of course, on expeditions..." Paul replied regretfully.
"What type of work did she do?" Duscula asked.
"She taught young children before her stroke," he replied.
"What is a stroke?" she asked.
After a brief description, she interrupted.
"After you tour the ship, perhaps we could invite her aboard too? I do believe that we could eliminate most, if not all, of her health issues. And if the two of you like it here, perhaps you could both stay while you do your research? I can take you both back to Earth once you are ready to release the information," suggested Duscula.
"I do want the tour before we go get her, but I already have my answer," he replied beaming.
"And?" she asked, smiling.
"Yes!!!"
The end - or is it the beginning?
Describe what you see:
I see a woman with one arm, who probably isn't completely human. Her dress is long and flowing. She doesn't appear to have ears as we know them, and her neck is unusually long. She also has purple and blue tones on her skin. Her eyes appear to be different too, but even zooming in it's difficult to tell.
Around her water is swirling in unnatural directions. Purple lightning is streaking through the sky. The landscape looks like meadows and woodland.
Describe what you feel:
I feel like this woman is very powerful. Maybe she can even control matter with her mind. Obviously she doesn't fear the lightning.
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