"The Woman Who Fell From the Sky", April 2011
The timeline maiden voyages were a cause for great fanfare and public celebrations. The complex calculations of personal status, and family rank owed much to the event. Even a mentor's reputation was susceptible to the whims of a public performance. Matsuka, Siobhan's mentor was recognized as a talented newcomer. Powerful families supported her ascendancy, and vied for the chance to have their child come under her tutelage. Siobhan's family had once been a name to reckon with, but ill fortune and changing political winds stranded them on the margins of influence. Why Masuka chose a relative "nobody" to be her apprentice signaled to many an ego out of control, and the death knell of a stellar career. Bound by the honor debt Siobhan was determined to perform with distinction, and vindicate Matsuka's gamble.
But as the days wound down to their final hours, Siobhan's confidence began to falter. The sense of well being she wore like a new skin peeled away layer by layer. She continued to be plagued by the same set of dreams that badgered her thoughts and forestalled sleep. They drove her from bed to seek refuge in a chilly stream near the edge of the Compound. "I must not fail!" But Matsuka counseled her to take risks! Stretch her imagination during practice! Forget about the dreams and apparitions of recent days. Bending space/time was the ultimate experience of power and pleasure. Be a goddess! Be invincible! Matsuka also assigned one of her personal security drones to accompany Siobhan until the ceremony. It would be foolhardy to underestimate the lengths to which some families worked to assure their children's success.
But as the days wound down to their final hours, Siobhan's confidence began to falter. The sense of well being she wore like a new skin peeled away layer by layer. She continued to be plagued by the same set of dreams that badgered her thoughts and forestalled sleep. They drove her from bed to seek refuge in a chilly stream near the edge of the Compound. "I must not fail!" But Matsuka counseled her to take risks! Stretch her imagination during practice! Forget about the dreams and apparitions of recent days. Bending space/time was the ultimate experience of power and pleasure. Be a goddess! Be invincible! Matsuka also assigned one of her personal security drones to accompany Siobhan until the ceremony. It would be foolhardy to underestimate the lengths to which some families worked to assure their children's success.
Siobhan cleared her mind and felt herself sink into the soft clay of the stream bed. She raised her hands waist high, palms inward, and exhaled. A burst of white light materialized midway between her hands followed by filaments like liquid glass that spun and coalesced into a containment orb. The orb expanded and lost its rigidity. It began to wobble and liquefy like a soap bubble transforming itself first into a sparkling parabola and then into a glistening ellipse. Siobhan willed the ball of white energy at the center of the field to snake out into the changing patterns to create concentric ripples of space/time.
Suddenly, a few hundred feet above them a flash of light broke the night sky and a woman appeared. Only this time, it was not an apparition! She was real and her physicality had but precious seconds before it splattered on the ground. The drone saw her too, but it was helpless to intervene. With a small part of her mind, Siobhan touched the falling mass of the woman; and arrested her descent. The unconscious alien female gently bobbed in the air.
The fabric of space/time continued to expand and contract, a servant to her will. There were no bounds to Siobhan's ability! She could levitate the drone, spin the floating female like a top! She could flex the flow of Time itself, and use it as a play thing. Then there was the sense of pleasure! It radiated caressing fingers across her breasts and sex. She closed her eyes, and arched her back. "Now, complete your pleasure! Step into the timeline, and bring everything with you!" The sting of a sharp slap broke her concentration, and snapped her eyes wide open. Breathing rapidly she carefully dissolved the portal, and collapsed the containment orb into a tiny ball of light that twinkled for a few seconds, and winked out of sight. The warmth of her pleasure lingered over her like a clinging lover reluctant to separate. She guided the floating alien body into the arms of the drone, and without a moment's hesitation dove into the cold waters of the stream.
Siobhan emerged clear headed and alert. She ordered the drone to transport his charge to Matsuka where she would follow directly.
Of course, it was her mentor who pulled Siobhan back from certain calamity. She shuddered to think of the destructive consequences had she gone through with her actions. How could she have been so stupid? Who else sensed her foolish revelry? Many of her competitors would openly exalt at any hint of a personal misstep. Had she inadvertently aided Matsuka's downfall?
And how could the humanoid be real? How could an apprentice by mere thought command the power of creation?
Suddenly, a few hundred feet above them a flash of light broke the night sky and a woman appeared. Only this time, it was not an apparition! She was real and her physicality had but precious seconds before it splattered on the ground. The drone saw her too, but it was helpless to intervene. With a small part of her mind, Siobhan touched the falling mass of the woman; and arrested her descent. The unconscious alien female gently bobbed in the air.
The fabric of space/time continued to expand and contract, a servant to her will. There were no bounds to Siobhan's ability! She could levitate the drone, spin the floating female like a top! She could flex the flow of Time itself, and use it as a play thing. Then there was the sense of pleasure! It radiated caressing fingers across her breasts and sex. She closed her eyes, and arched her back. "Now, complete your pleasure! Step into the timeline, and bring everything with you!" The sting of a sharp slap broke her concentration, and snapped her eyes wide open. Breathing rapidly she carefully dissolved the portal, and collapsed the containment orb into a tiny ball of light that twinkled for a few seconds, and winked out of sight. The warmth of her pleasure lingered over her like a clinging lover reluctant to separate. She guided the floating alien body into the arms of the drone, and without a moment's hesitation dove into the cold waters of the stream.
Siobhan emerged clear headed and alert. She ordered the drone to transport his charge to Matsuka where she would follow directly.
Of course, it was her mentor who pulled Siobhan back from certain calamity. She shuddered to think of the destructive consequences had she gone through with her actions. How could she have been so stupid? Who else sensed her foolish revelry? Many of her competitors would openly exalt at any hint of a personal misstep. Had she inadvertently aided Matsuka's downfall?
And how could the humanoid be real? How could an apprentice by mere thought command the power of creation?
