Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business RAINBOW GIRL BOOK 22: GRAND OPENING

CHAPTER ONE: FLYING LESSONS

“What’s the matter, Ennis?” asked Dori.

She had gotten up early this morning, but Ennis had gotten up earlier. Usually on such mornings, he prepared breakfast for them both, but today he was despondently sitting before the Wallscreen, staring into space.

“Oh, I intended it as a surprise, but there’s no point now. I had reserved an anti-grav platform; it was to be delivered tomorrow. I wanted to take you on a bird’s-eye tour of Jahnson’s Planet, after the move is complete. Let you see everything the way I’ve imagined it, before the Parks fill up; before the news media is around every corner the next day. But the rental agency called to tell me they won’t be able to ship one here; the one I reserved has had a technological breakdown, and the next nearest can’t be shipped before tomorrow.”

“Oh, that was a sweet thought,” said Dori. “Too bad it fell through, though. Flying above your new planet…”

“Our new planet,” Ennis reminded her.

Dori strode over to a chest of drawers, and pulled out a plain ring box. She opened it, revealing a plain yellow-gold ring with a stylized ‘A’ emblazoned on it.

“Why not use this?” she asked.

“My old Academy flight ring?” he asked. “I don’t think so…”

Dori went into the other room, and returned with a flight ring of her own on her finger, this one emblazoned with an ‘S’. “My Sub’s ring should be able to link with yours, keeping us both near enough to one another to keep up a conversation. Element 152 has a half-life of about a hundred years, I’m told, so there still should be plenty of juice left in both of them.”

Ennis scratched his head. “The fact is-- and it’s a little embarrassing-- I never really learned to use a flight ring properly. Everyone else just slipped them on, and away they went. They were just kids; I felt a little awkward not being able to keep up-- I looked for any excuse not to fly.”

“Oh, Ennis, it’s just that no one ever showed you how. Give me fifteen minutes outside, downstairs, and I can make you completely competent and confident in the use of the Flight Ring.”

On the plaza in front of the hotel, Ennis lifted right hand, and levitated slightly. Then he began to drift, slowly rotating until he was lying on his back, then followed a random, wobbling path around the courtyard.

“Do you know how to swim?” asked Dori, pulling him gently back to solid ground.

“Yes, I swim very well,” said Ennis.

“That’s part of the problem,” said Dori. “Flying is nothing like swimming. Put your feet together, and when you leave the ground, point your toes. Make a fist with your left hand, and tuck it up against your chest. Don’t try to move yourself, will the ring to move, and it will pull you along. When you get going fast enough, your body will naturally level out. You will have the urge to lean into turns, or lean forward or backward as you move up or down, or try to move faster or slower. Resist those urges. Try to keep your body as motionless as possible. Don’t look where you’re going-- think where you’re going, so that even if you turn your head, you won’t lose your direction. Let the ring do the work. Make it respond to your thoughts. Pretty soon it will be as natural as walking.”

Dori was right. It took less than fifteen minutes before Ennis had mastered the ring. He made a beautiful one-point landing right in front of her.

“Meet me here, right at this spot, just before sunrise tomorrow,” he said. “That would be 0715. I want you to see how we move twenty Forest Parks and a thousand employees in a single day! Now, shall we go have breakfast before I begin my official duties?”

CHAPTER TWO: A WHOLE NEW WORLD

Ennis was up all night. There was always some sudden crisis, some decision only he could make, in the last few hours before the transition to Jahnson’s Planet. Dori gave up a little after midnight, but was dressed and ready to go at dawn. Ennis was waiting for her in the courtyard.

“This way, Dori.” He led her to one of the hidden doors that led out from the Parks into the natural planet proper. They put on transuits in the airlock, and walked out into a suffusion of green under a dawning sky..

“Pseudochlorophyll, almost identical to Earth,” said Ennis. “This environment could almost be one of my Parks. Completely unique on Tesoro, of course.” He was already using the new name for Jahnson’s World. “A world of scattered islands, each with its own individual ecology. Part of what inspired me to create my own series of artificial ecologies.” He pointed to the sky. “That’s the planet Mr. Daggle and Brande Industries built for us,” he said. “Jahnson’s Planet, after today. Only a fraction of the size of Earth’s moon, but ten times closer, so it doesn’t really look so small.”

It seemed quite small to Dori: a tiny half-disk, almost directly overhead, illuminated by the rising sun.

“Jahnson’s Planet orbits Tesoro once every twenty-four hours, giving it a ‘day’ similar to Earth’s and allowing us to keep Earth-like time,” said Ennis. “There is a Bgzltr satellite orbiting Jahnson’s Planet, and as the two move above a section of Tesoro, the old Forest Parks are projected into the Bgztlr Buffer Zone, and transported to the appropriate sites on their new homeworld. There goes Schwarzwald now!” The small city they had just left vanished, revealing a strand of sand, and a great ocean beyond. “That’s twelve moved, eight more to go over the next eight hours or so. Let’s take a trip up to our new home.”

There was a small, two-seat shuttle parked among the alien trees. The upholstery was worn and poorly patched, but the engine seemed fine. “I’ve had this old thing for ages,” Ennis explained. “Although I seldom use it. But it’s just the thing to take us up to the Planet.”

Jahnson’s Planet was in plan like a soccer ball: the ocean surface divided up-- architecturally at least-- like a truncated icosahedron. In the center of each of the thirty faces, there was a small pentagonal or hexagonal island, each about one-hundred-fifty square miles in area. Of this, two-thirds would be occupied by one of the Forest Parks, the rest with the various hotels, hospitals, schools, the great parking garages, tourist shops, and other amenities.

“We have twelve new islands, two of which open tomorrow with the Grand Opening,” said Ennis. “And there is plenty of room for expansion. I am thinking we could place new islands at each of the sixty vertices, as we need them. Daggle inventoried our asteroid belt, and there are at least that many rocks a thousand cubic miles in size, or more. He says it would take about a week to cut and set one onto the surface.”

They flew into the Schwarzwald lot, and turned the little runabout over to a robot valet. Everything seemed to be continuing normally, as though the area had not just been transported twenty thousand miles through space.

Ennis displayed his flight ring, and made sure Dori had hers. “Shall we?” he asked, and taking her hand, the two rose into the air together. They circled the Schwarzwald Hotel, and then headed off across the sea.

Each island Park still retained the metamorphic polymer dome it had originally been constructed under. The shield rippled and parted for them as they flew through it. “It will do that for you and I, and most employees, but not guests without an escort. And certainly not the employee’s children,” Ennis explained. “And the polymer shield that surrounds the entire planet is controlled by the Central Spaceport.”

“Do we really need double-shield security?” asked Dori.

“It’s to keep the air in,” said Ennis. “Because the Planet’s so small. We have 1 g of gravity, thanks to the ultra-high-density core, but escape velocity is only a fraction of what would be necessary to hold an atmosphere is place. The ocean serves as a heat sink, and there are weather control towers out floating on the waves somewhere, so we are comfortable enough.” They approached another island. “Welcome to the Enchanted Forest Park,” said Ennis.

They landed in front of the Polamar Enchanted Forest Hotel. “Notice anything different?” Ennis asked.

It certainly was different. The hotel had been transformed into a massive fairy-tale palace. Innumerable soaring turrets, lofty towers, spires, crenellations and steeples melded together in a wild confusion. The pink and white marble sparkled. Tiny fairies flitted in the garden, and an alicorn soared in the air above.

“How did you do it?” asked Dori. “It’s incredible-- literally! Fantastic-- literally! I can hardly believe it’s real, but here it is!”

“It isn’t real,” said Ennis. “It’s a hologram. Juul Daggle suggested it; just one of the many upgrades Brande Industries provided us, gratis. At least, at no extra cost. It needs a micro-powersphere to run the whole thing. It’s in the basement-- I mean ‘dungeons’-- disguised as a larger-than-usual crystal ball. How do you like it?”

“Well, it may be a bit overdone,” said Dori.

“I’m thinking the same thing. I’ll have to see how the guests react,” said Ennis. “Of course, inside, it’s still the same hotel. The moat is real, though. I’m going to keep it the way it is-- although perhaps without the mythical creatures-- until after the wedding.”

“That’s right,” said Dori. “We’re getting married here in two weeks!”

“Would you like to take a look at the chapel while we’re here?” asked Ennis. “It seats three hundred or so. And we’ll use the same Grand Ballroom as at the Alben’s wedding, which can easily serve a thousand. I’m also reserving all the first and second floor suites for children’s rooms or overflow.”

“Ennis, you’re wonderful,” said Dori.

After their tour of the Enchanted Palace, Ennis led them off again to another nearby island.

“Now you’ll see something new,” he promised.

They flew above the polymer shield, a distance of about three kilometers above the ground. The park below was a riot of color. As they descended through the polymer shield, Dori saw that it was planted with miles and miles of flowers.

“Fuchsias, lavender, wild indigo, pinkwinkles, periwinkles, golden poppies, dwarf orangeblossom, buttercups, violets… every wildflower with a color name I could think of, and get my hands on,” said Ennis. “I’m calling it the Rainbow Meadows, in your honor.”

“But what about your signature forests?” said Dori. “You can’t be sure that every guest who chooses to come here will transform into bunnies or field mice.”

“Oh, it’s not finished yet,” said Ennis. “I can drop a hundred hundred-acre woods in among the flowers and not take up a quarter of these meadows. Probably when the bio-engineers come for their annual inspection in a few months. I’m in no hurry to open it; I made it mostly for you.”

“I love it,” said Dori. “What are those colored clouds, or bubble over there?” she pointed.

“Those are the Aurakles,” said Ennis. “Beings of pure energy. They live here now. A tremendously old race, older than the Guardians, older than the stars. Born of the first energies of creation. Sadly, they are on their way to extinction. There have been no new Aurakles born for millennia; about a thousand years ago they gave up trying to merge with other species to continue the race. They will live on after I’m gone, but not forever, and they know they have exhausted their race. Too bad, really. They are extraordinarily intelligent, although it a strange, alien sort of intelligence compared to we more corporeal beings. I gave them their choice of islands, even offered to set aside one for them alone, but they chose this one.”

“You are busy when I’m not around, aren’t you,” said Dori. They were passing something large. Dori did a double-take.

“Ennis, is that… it is!” she cried. “My Spanish Castle! You built the Rainbow Meadows around it!”

“I wanted you to have a place to come to, if you needed to,” said Ennis. “A place that was just yours. That’s why I’m in no hurry to open it to the public. In case you decide you want it all to yourself, unspoiled.”

“Ennis, you know perfectly well I could not survive in a hermitage,” said Dori. “Let me entertain my guests-- whatever animal form they may take! Here, in my Castle in Rainbow Meadows.”

“Dori, this is your world, too,” said Ennis. “I’ve taken some liberties during the construction with the Daggles, but in the future, I hope to counsel with you as we expand, and get your input, too.”

“Thank you, Ennis,” said Dori. “And I take your invitation seriously. And I will be your counselor, but Jahnson’s World is the realization of your vision, and I can’t guarantee to make it the whole focus of my life, as you have.”

“Dori,” said Ennis, “My focus is decidedly divided these day.”

Ennis took her in his arms right there in the air, which was less romantic than had he intended, as their lack of attention caused the flight rings to gently spin them out of control.

CHAPTER THREE: ASSETS

Jahnson’s Planet had an orbit tidally locked with Tesoro. That is, it always presented the same face to the planet. At the Schwarzwald Hotel, Tesoro was always just above the dawn horizon. At sunset, the planet loomed full, forty times the size of the full moon. It also delayed sunrise for about an hour and a half, compared to most of the rest of the planet, as the sun struggled past Tesoro’s bulk.

The sun was just peeking above Tesoro, outlining the world in a slender crescent of light, when the golden-skinned man arrived at Ennis Jahnson’s office.

“Michael Magnus,” he introduced himself, extending his hand. Dori took it in a firm grip. His hand was hard and cold.

“Mr. Magnus,” she said, “Are you a robot?”

“It is true, I am a mechanism,” said Michael Magnus. “Powered by human engrams embedded in an ancient device known as a ‘responsometer’. For the last several centuries, the Board of Directors of the Polamar Trust has been composed of constructed beings-- intelligent computers, robots, androids, and so forth. Our dual charge of maximizing long-term income for the Polamar Corporation, and maintaining regular, fixed income for the Polamar heirs, requires careful and dispassionate balancing.”

“An interesting solution to what I immediately perceive to be an inherent conflict,” said Ennis. “But why not have two boards of directors, one to manage the interests of the corporation, and another to manage the interests of the trusts?”

“So it was, centuries ago,” said Michael Magnus. “But it frequently chanced that the conflict was resolved not by what was best for the parties, but by which board had the strongest or most aggressive personalities. We have made unfortunate financial projections in the past, but there has been no malfeasance or egotistical errors from the mechanical boards. Of course, our members are well-vetted and carefully chosen, and the board members are regularly retired and rotated. Of course, the Computer-Machine of the Trylop Council of Mernl has permanent emeritus status.Not to be abrupt, but shall we get down to business? I have a meeting in a few hours with Stiletta, Styx, and Sigyn. They are requesting a partnership with Polamar Hotels in opening a resort on Epimethea.”

“Wait,” said Dori. “Stiletta and Styx, the daughters of Prince Evillo of Tartarus? How can you do business with such evil creatures?”

“Oh, Stiletta and Styx have renounced their father, and appear to be honest entrepreneurs. Sigyn is in the same position with her grandfather Sugyn. It is, of course, my responsibility to evaluate their claims. Polamar Hotels would not want to be involved in illegal-- or even morally questionable-- activities. We have a reputation to maintain. I provide this information because Jahnson’s Planet, and the Jahnson family is a franchisee of Polamar Hotels, and you are entitled to information regarding the activities of the parent company.”

“So I will continue to get the Polamar newsletter each month,” asked Dori. “after the wedding?”

“Yes, that is part of what we are here to discuss,” said Michael Magnus. “Your relationship with Polamar Hotels and the Polamar Trust will change, but a relationship will continue to exist. Certainly you will continue to receive all relevant communications. Your cash account with The Interplanetary Bank will still remain in your name, and will be under your complete control.”
“However, your status as regards other, more tangible assets is complicated. As you know, the conditions of the Trust are that any real property purchased by heirs is the property of the Trust, held by the heir as a steward. This includes spaceworthy vessels, which may themselves be considered residences.”
“Your Spanish Castle, now residing on this world, is naturally exempt. It was a gift to you before you became an heir of the trust. Similarly, your house in Seventh City on Xolnar, and your starcruiser, were an inheritance from your father, and the Trust can lay no claim to them. You also inherited a large tract of undeveloped land on Xolnar from you father, but as you paid the taxes with capital- that is, specie- from the Polamar Trust, we might reasonably place a lien upon it.” Dori gasped. “Also, you purchased another, more substantial home on Xolnar in Sixteeth City, as well as a suite of rooms now located in the Schwarzwald Polamar Hotel on Jahnson’s Planet. These two properties, as well as your personal flier, as well as Iridium House on Earth, are unquestionably the property of the Trust.”

“I am sure,” said Ennis Jahnson, “That these matters are up for negotiation, or you would not be here.”

“Actually, I am here to make you our best offer,” said Michael Magnus. “It will save us both the expense of litigation, and will expedite the entire settlement. I urge you to accept it, I believe we are being generous. Of course, you have reason to question my motives.”
“First, you will immediately-- within three days-- surrender title to the home in Sixteenth City, including all furnishings and appurtenances, as well as the Scharzwald Suite, your personal flier, and Iridium House, to the Trust. You will consider the last disbursement of your allowance-- made yesterday to your account at The Interplanetary Bank-- to be the final disbursement. As far as the Suite is concerned, you all may, of course continue to live there, or in any other location on Jahnson’s Planet, but you will forward the appropriate remittance for a rented room to Polamar, with your other ordinary remittances.”
“In consideration of these accommodations, The Polamar Trust will forfeit all claims against the undeveloped property on Xolnar. We will also allow the tenants of the house on Sixteenth City to remain there, as long as they keep their rent payments current-- that is, less than 90 days past due. We will continue to allow Seventh City Bank to administer this rental contract, until these tenants-- I believe they are an elderly couple-- either move out or move on. However, the rental account at Seventh City Bank-- whatever the balance is on this date-- with become the property of the Trust. You will, of course, retain control of the rental account for your father’s old house in Seventh City.
“We will also afford the staff at Iridium House a three-day vacation-- the entire staff-- to attend your wedding here on Jahnson’s Planet. I advise you to have this contract examined by your attorneys. If you do not object, I will have the contract sent to your respective Omnicoms. I apologize if my presentation seems somewhat mechanical-- I wanted to make sure you clearly understood our offer.”

Dori was stunned.

“This seems an entirely reasonable offer,” said Ennis. “However, could you also forward copies of this agreement to our attorneys, Alder Lokasenna of Xolnar, and Taryn Loy of Bismoll? I am sure we can consult with them and have an answer for you withing twenty-four hours.”

Dori stared at Ennis, mouth agape. “When did you change your attorney-of-record to Taryn Loy?” she asked. “Isn’t she a little pricey?”

“Perhaps,” said Ennis. “But I was so pleased with her services the last time we had dealings with the Polamar Trust, I put her on retainer.” Ennis stared calmly at Michael Magnus, who might have been sweating, if a robot could sweat.”

“Well, yes, of course,” said Michael Magnus. “I will send out four copies immediately… and there they are. I have sent a cover letter to the two attorneys as well, but you may want to talk to them as well.”

“Oh, we will,” said Dori.

“Domo Arigato, Kin-San,” said Ennis.

“[i]Tondemo Naidesu, Ennis-San[/u],” said Michael Magnus. “And your pronunciation is abominable.”

“I know,” said Ennis, “I never was much of a student of these ancient Earth languages.”

After the representative of the Polamar Trust had gone, Dori remarked, “Well, there is another phase of my life ended.”

“Ah, yes, but in my experience, every ending in life is the beginning of a beautiful future,” Ennis observed.

CHAPTER FOUR: FLIER

Two days after the meeting with the Polamar Trust, Ennis asked Dori to accompany him to the back of the Schwarzwald Hotel.

In the parking spot nearest the hotel was a small, two-seater, personal flier. It had a large paper bow on the roof.

“This is for you,” said Ennis. “To replace your old flier that the Trust repossessed.”

“Ennis Jahnson,” said Dori, “Before you go making large purchases for the family, I wish you would discuss them with me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Ennis. “Is it too late to ask-- do you want to replace your personal flier?”

“Ennis, we have Reges Questar on retainer as a personal teleporter. I have a perfectly serviceable starcruiser, even if it is over seventy-five years old. You have that rusty little planethopper if we want to take any excursions within the Tesoro systems,” said Dori. “On the other hand, we can certainly afford a little flier like this, am I right? I could easily pay cash for it out of one of my personal accounts. So, yes, thank you, it is perfectly adorable. Just discuss it with me next time.”

“Yes, dear,” said Ennis, and not for the first time in his life.

“Now, is there anywhere on the Planet I could go to have it painted?” asked Dori.

CHAPTER FIVE: MALTUS (1)

Reges Questar was flustered.

“I don’t understand,” said Dori. “This flier is much smaller than the starcruiser you teleported. Am I asking you to go beyond your range?”

“I don’t understand why you want to go to Maltus anyway,” said Reges Questar.

“They have a little spaceport with a mechanic’s bay that I am particularly partial to,” said Dori. “I want them to give my new flier a checkup and an overhaul.”

“But Maltus is myth,” said Reges Questar. “It’s not real.”

“I gave you the coordinates,” said Dori. “Just take me there, and come pick me up again in a few hours.”

“But there’s nothing there,” said Reges Questar. “Among my other powers is a kind of telescopic vision; I can open little portals in front of my eyes that allow me to see anywhere in the Galaxy. And I tell you, there is nothing at these coordinates. No planet, no star, just empty space.”

“Can’t you take me there anyway?” asked Dori.

“I really don’t like to teleport anywhere when I can’t see where I’m going,” he said. “What if there is a planet or an asteroid or a big rock near there, and we appear at some spot where it will hit us going a million miles an hour? I’m just not comfortable doing this.”

“Maybe I should put this off until after the wedding,” Dori said to Ennis. “If I have to travel there the long way, I would come back with only five days to spare before the wedding.”

“Everything is arranged,” said Ennis. “You have chosen your bridesmaids, I have a few Hotel Managers acting as groomsmen, the caterers are scheduled, the Enchanted Forest Chapel and Palace are prepared, everyone on Jahnson’s Planet is looking forward to a day off, and if there is anything we have forgotten, Bunny will think of it. Have a nice trip, de-stress, and come back ready to be a bride.”

“You’re sweet,” said Dori. “But I’ll have to think about it.”

“Can I go now?” said Reges Questar.

“Good-bye,” said Ennis to Reges. And to Dori he said, “and say hello to the Maltusians for me. Maybe someday I’ll get to meet one.”

CHAPTER SIX: MALTUS (2)

“Dori Aandraison,” said the little Maltusan. “I am Dona Dharma Damaris. I see that you are here to have the engine of your new flier replaced. We will gladly do this for you for one hundred U.P. credits. However, there is something which I must communicate to you urgently. We have requested that you aid us in arranging trade negotiations with the United Planets. It has been years since we made this request. We are patient, but you seem to have forgotten us. Please, we wish to establish diplomatic ties with your worlds. Please aid us in this matter.”

Rather than eating the tasteless Maltusan food while she was waiting for the work to be completed on her flier, Dori made a long-distance call.

“Hi, Ulu. Where’s Zel?” she asked.

“She’s off on a book tour,” said the former Color Kid. “But she’ll be back in time for the wedding.”

“Ulu, I’d like you and Zel to give me a very special wedding gift,” said Dori.

“What can I give a woman who owns an entire planet?” said Ulu.

“After the ceremony, at the dinner and reception, I want you to tell the story of how you and I and Zel went to Maltus, and what they did to your old cruiser, and how the Maltusans want to establish trade relations with the U.P. You remember we promised to help them, but somehow it keeps slipping my mind. There are sure to be a few well-connected individuals there who could spread the word.”

“I’ll brainstorm with Zel, see what she remembers of that trip. A lot of it was pretty weird. She might even write an epic poem about it, who knows? But we would be happy to, Dori. Is that all?”

“That’s all I want as a wedding gift,” said Dori. “But sometime, you and I and Zel and Ennis all need to get together.”

As usual, the Malthusan upgrades more than doubled the ship’s top speed, while halving the fuel consumption. It handled like a dream, and the upgrades were completely invisible. Even the interior of the engine looked the same.

She would be back with plenty of time to worry about final preparations for the wedding. The trip went without incident. Until...

CHAPTER SEVEN: POGLACHIANS

Suddenly, space got sticky. First it was like marmalade, then molasses, then concrete. The engines shut down from the strain. A massive vehicle loomed out of nowhere, looking as though it had been made of a mass of spare parts-- and some of those spare parts had come from old-fashioned iron pot-bellied stoves and ceramic toilet fixtures.

An electric golden beam shot from the ship, and Dori collapsed into dreamless unconsciousness.

She awoke in a singularly uncomfortable position. She was in a standing position, suspended about twenty feet above what looked like a factory floor, her hands and feet bound to immobility. She had been strapped into some sort of breathing mask, which straps were uncomfortably tight around her head. Numerous tubes were attached to her arms, legs, and torso. Some looked like they carried fluid, some looked like electrical cables.

“Mmmph?” she asked. She did not even have enough freedom of movement to speak. She rotated 180 degrees, and discovered a bald little blue man behind her, sitting at some sort of device that looked more than anything else like a great church organ.

He was wearing a red rubber false nose.

“Yes, you are awake,” said the Poglachian. “Good, good. We can soon begin. No doubt our Malthusan brothers have had harsh words about us. But we are serious in our attempts to understand the Humor of the Universe. Well, no, not literally serious.” He laughed. It was an empty, hollow sound. Ha... ha.

“I am King Nosmo,” he declared, “And I will be you host for this evening. You a about to aid us in a great experiment.” King Nosmo moved some dials and levers, and Dori rotated back to her original position.

Several Polachians milled about on the floor below. Here and there were painted bulls-eye symbols of different sizes and colors. There seemed to be no pattern to them. One Poglachian female entered a red bulls-eye, and stared up at Dori. Another, who seemed to be some sort of factory floor foreman, made a signal to the little Poglachian behind her.

“Now this should be interesting,” said King Nosmo. “We’ll try red first.”

There was a humming and vibrating from the machine. Lights around Dori lit, and suddenly…

Dori was fiercely angry. She had never felt such rage in her life. There was no focus for her wrath, it seemed to be directed against the Universe in general. Her aura flared brilliantly, then there was a *crack* and a bolt of red energy sped from Dori and the machine down to the Polachian in the red bulls-eye. The little blue woman collapsed, and Dori sagged, drained.

A crew of Poglachians ran to the fallen woman, laughing hysterically. The foreman lifted some sort of communications device to his ear.

“Good news, Dori! Success! We killed her!” King Nosmo announced. “No, no, she’s only comatose. Well, live and learn, they always say. Let’s try green.”

Dori saw her aura glow green first. Then, a tremendous sense power filled her. She could control this; there did not have to be another bolt of deadly energy fired. Another Poglachian had moved into a green bulls-eye. But Dori kept the power inside. She willed the green energy to stay within her. Her aura grew brighter, but there was not green bolt. Instead, there was crackling and sputtering from behind her. Green sparks flew past her head. There was a sound like a generator shutting down.

“Oh, well, that didn’t go well at all,” said King Nosmo. “You may even have damaged my machine! Well, let’s try something else.”

Dori saw another Poglachian subject move to the center of a yellow bulls-eye. Intense fear gripper her. The world turned red, then white. She felt as if she was going to faint. A yellow blast arced between her and the little bulls-eye. She was exhausted, crying from terror, but now filled with a real fear as she heard the Poglachians laughing again.

“A clean miss,” said King Nosmo. “Only knocked her off her feet. Maybe we should try red again?”

Dori was suddenly filled with hope. Ennis would have missed her, someone would come to rescue her. Then she saw the blue aura brightening around her. A discharge of blue lightning-- and all hope vanished. She was in the depths of despair. The Poglachians had no respect for life or death… even now she heard their insane laughter. They would keep her here until her powers were exhausted… weeks, months, years, centuries…

“Oh, that was a good one,” King Nosmo said behind her. “Almost got him; he’ll be out of commission for awhile. And two emotions for one! Hope, and Despair! You are the most wonderful toy anyone has ever given me! Hey! Wait!”

Out of the corner of her eyes, Dori saw two Green Lanterns swoop down from the ceiling above her. These were followed by a Red Lantern and Yellow Lantern. The four ring-bearers began dispersing the Poglachians, who ran from the factory floor. The Lanterns pursued them.

“Hey! What are you doing!?” cried King Nosmo. Dori rotated again, facing the control platform.

The man looked human. He was definitely not a Lantern, although the midnight-and-burgundy costume looked familiar. His face was young-looking, but his hair was pure white. He was in the process of tossing King Nosmo over a railing. He fell to the factory floor two stories below.

“That’s the thing about Poglachians,” the white-haired man said. “You don’t have to worry too much about killing them. With quick and sure movements, he moved back and forth from the platform to the pole to which Dori was tied, shutting down circuits, and disconnecting hoses and tubes.

“You’re acquainted with devices like this?” asked Dori, as the white-haired man took her over to the control platform.

“Never seen one before,” said the white-haired man. “And I hope to never see one again. Now there’s a hard vacuum between this station and your ship, so I’ll need to make something to carry you in.”

He began to tear apart the machine and other parts of the area, and quickly constructed a metal sphere from the debris.

“I have a Xolnaran warmsuit in the trunk of my flier,” Dori said helpfully. “Although you seem very adept at constructing… that.”

“I’ve been making them from scrap for nine centuries, I ought to be good at it,” said the white-haired man. The little sphere even had a padded seat, and a thick window. “Now if you will step inside, Ms. Aandraison, we will get you out of here.”

It was a quick trip, but when they reached her ship, the Poglachian station seemed only a the size of a marble. The airlock-field kicked in at their approach, and the white-haired man gallantly opened the door for her.

“As they say in the romance novels, you have the advantage of me,” said Dori. “You may know my name, but I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced.” She climbed into the cockpit of her flier.

“My name is Jonathan Elliot,” said the white-haired man. “But most people call me by my father’s name: SUPERMAN.” And he was lost in the stars.