An Outlander dressed in a long white sleeveless vestment with a black long-sleeved undershirt came forward to greet them and asked the two men to follow him to the front of the room. He told them to take a seat on a pew and mentioned that the two men should get to their feet when Stef arrived.
Zon had become quite intrigued with the whole of the situation by now and was beginning to feel quite exhilarated by the novelty of it all. He turned to his friend and smiled at his companion. Zenith just quizzically raised his eyebrows, but squeezed Zon's hand in acknowledgement just as the music being relayed through the building changed to a strong, vibrant, rousing march. Neither Zon nor Zenith recognized the Wedding March, but they both felt the mass of Outlander people rising from their seats and guessed that something special must be happening. The officiator, or priest, as Stef had previously called the long-gowned man, indicated politely to the two Zelites to rise.
Stef looked truly magnificent, dressed in a billowing white gown and lace headdress with a long flowing veil. Her wonderful red hair was shining brilliantly with health and plaited into thousands of braids wound around her head. She had six little maids following her, all dressed in pretty, mauve short dresses and holding tiny trailing bouquets of mixed flowers. Stef was holding on to the arm of a strong-looking man whom Zon immediately recognized as her father. The entourage advanced slowly, walking in time with the music, until they reached the side of Zon. Zon could not actually see Stef's face through all the lace covering it, but he knew it was her when she mind-transmitted to him, saying, “Hi, my sweetie, I just cannot wait to become your real wife. I love you.”
After the ceremony, Stef explained to Zon that there was to be a reception at her father's apartment, which had been rented in Santa Barbara especially for the wedding, where they would drink champagne and eat a wonderful cookie called a ‘wedding cake’.
Zenith discreetly followed the pair and entered Stef's father's apartment shortly after the groom and bride arrived. Zon was greatly relieved to see that his friend had turned up, as he was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by all these completely alien rituals. He motioned to Zenith to come and sit at his side and, although Stef protested slightly, she was much too happy to carry on objecting and asked for another seat to be brought for Zenith to be placed at the other side of Zon.
Many of the guests had been slightly intimidated by the presence of Zon, but after sipping the free-flowing champagne, the shyness disappeared and Zon soon found himself surrounded by Outlanders shaking his hand and patting him on the back, offering their congratulations. However, he was getting bored by the situation now and whispered to Zenith to get their Transporter Vehicle ready, as they would be leaving soon.
After Zenith disappeared, Zon managed to get Stef to himself for a few minutes and he told her that he had to return to the Zelite Command Center in Washington straight away as an emergency situation had arisen. Stef was pretty disconsolate, but knew she could not argue with Zon. He had already proved to her in the past that he was not to be reasoned with and she didn't fancy a repeat of the painful Taser Gun zapping, which she hadn't yet been able to forget!
Zon told her he had already made arrangements for her to be escorted to his apartment whenever she was ready, and when he arrived later, then they could really consummate their marriage. He assured her that he would definitely be back at his apartment by that evening and promised that even wild alien horses wouldn't stop him from making love to her as soon as he could get away from the current problem.
Zenith then appeared at their side and told Zon that the Transporter Vehicle was ready. He enquired whether Stef would be coming with them, as he would have to arrange for another Vehicle for himself in that case. Zon said that he would be joining Stef later at his pad, and after kissing Stef and bidding her father goodbye, the two buddies hastily left the reception. Zon mentioned to his friend that he felt he had acted like a fool going through all that palaver just to have sex with a female, but now he softly hinted to Zenith that he wanted to go and have some celebrations of their own by themselves. He put his arms around his pal and kissed him. “Come, my partner, let's celebrate and be together as one!”
Normally GM folk were located in their own sector of cities, but Zon had organized for Zenith to have his own pad situated within a few minutes from Zon's own apartment and the two men went to Zenith's rooms. After imbibing some tasty body-replenishing liquid and eating a few delicious snacks, they joined once more in a loving and satisfying session that left both men feeling tired and exhausted but thoroughly content.
Having fallen fast asleep after his session with Zenith, Zon awoke first and, shaking Zenith, told him that he ought to keep a promise he had made to Stef to be at his apartment by that evening. It was already 11 pm and by the time he had showered, eaten and regained his energy, it was 11.30 pm when Zon turned up at his own apartment.
He entered the sleeping quarters as quietly as he could, but was amazed to find Stef still awake and sitting in one of the reclining chairs watching a movie about the Yellow Dwarf Planet, a little known planet that was home to a race of midget men and women. She jumped up as he entered and moved over to greet him. “Can I get you something to eat or drink, or would you like me to wash your feet or massage your head?” she enquired.
For a moment Zon thought she might be being sarcastic, but then realized the woman was genuinely seeking to please him.
“No thank you, Stef, I am just so tired after the problems of today, I'm afraid all I want to do is get into my bed and sleep. I hope you won't take this as an insult, I must sleep alone tonight, but I promise you I will make up for it tomorrow morning. I will give you everything you want from a man's body!”
Stef's face dropped a mile, but she accepted the fact that he was not going to spend their first night together in the matrimonial room that she had so carefully prepared. However, she knew that she would have to be patient as she was sure the wait would be worth it. She was longing to feel that strong man holding her once more. Stef told Zon through thought transmission that she needed him and she promised he would be pleased when they were in bed together again, as she had been learning, through lessons demonstrated to her by various female GM women, the art of thrilling a man sexually and she was dying to try out her newly found prowess.
As she bade him goodnight, kissing him gently on the cheek, Zon got a slight whiff of an exotic perfume and catching a glimpse of that enticing, curved body, knew that on his awakening he was going to experience a great deal of enjoyment and pleasure.
Zon slept solidly for about three hours and then awoke with a start. His body told him that he needed a woman. He silently slid out of his bed and tiptoed into the adjoining room where Stef was peacefully slumbering. He climbed into the bed beside her and started to stroke her hair tenderly. Stef awoke almost immediately, delighted to find her man at her side obviously wanting her. She switched on the bedside light and, holding her arms out to him, said, “Take me my husband, I am yours”.
Luckily for Stef, Zon had worn out his passion for ardent sex during his time with Zenith, and he now wanted to take her gently and softly without hurting her. He knew that this woman was not actually a virgin, but still he had to contain his immediate carnal desire, as she was still relatively inexperienced.
He took his time to make sure she was really ready for him before he entered her and when he did, she was in such a state of ecstasy that she definitely felt no pain.
In the morning, Zon was pleased to see that Stef had got up before him and had ordered some coffee for them in their bedroom. It looked as though this was going to be a ritual he had to get used to, this coffee drinking. In fact, he had begun to quite like it as he found it quite a stimulating drink to wake up to in the mornings. He did not touch Stef again that morning as he was sure she was probably a little uncomfortable after their lovemaking, although he had been very thoughtful and gentle with her and, after a few pleasantries in chatting, he asked her if she was all right and
was she happy. The woman had a decidedly contented aura about her and she told him that she was over the moon with happiness and thanked him for being so tender and considerate with her.
After their initial ‘chit-chat’, Zon explained to Stef that he had to go away for a while on a mission to visit the South American Continent to see for himself the strange things that had happened in that land since the terrifying strike by the meteorites. Stef pleaded with him to allow her to accompany him, but there was no way that he would allow a woman to get in the way of science and such important matters as he knew were in hand for him. Finally she succumbed to the idea that she would have to be parted from her husband so soon after their marriage, but begged him to be careful in that strange land and to hurry back to her, as she would be waiting and longing for him.
“My dearest husband, please, please take extra special care of yourself. I could not bear it if something happened to you. You are my reason for living now. I love you so much.”
“Sweet woman, I always take care of myself, but I promise you I will come back to you safely. In the meantime promise me that you will also take care of yourself.”
CHAPTER 25
To occupy herself while Zon was away, Stef asked his permission to rearrange his apartment so that it would be more comfortable for both of them to live together properly when he returned. Zon acquiesced, but made her promise to leave his own private bedroom as it was. It was not to be touched or changed, he told her. He insisted that she could do what she liked with their double bedroom and the rest of the apartment, but she must leave his own private bedroom space alone.
Stef was a little put out and surprised to learn that he still wanted to keep his own sleeping space separate from her, but as it contained only a single bed she was sure he would not use it for bringing other women to her apartment and she made a promise to him not to invade his space. The entire apartment was quite sparse and very masculine and Stef called in a GM design expert to plan something a lot more luxurious and spacious. After the expert demonstrated the new plans, Stef added a few of her own ideas and then ordered the work to be started, pointing out that she wanted the place to be finished before the Planet Leader returned.
She had visited Zon's sisters’ apartments and had asked the design expert to base his design on a combination of both. She reminded the GM man to remember that Zon's own private space had to be left completely as it was and no one was to alter it in any way. Whilst the work was carried out, Stef returned to her parents’ home in the Outland area of Italy and went about her normal business as Leader of the Outlanders.
Stef was slightly concerned about Zon's future intentions for her as the Outlanders’ Leader. She knew he would want her to be at his beck and call whenever he was at home, which basically suited her, but, on the other hand, this would not fit in with her duties as the main Leader of the Outlanders. Stef discussed the situation with her father and he advised her to wait until Zon returned and then talk about it further with her husband. Stef was quite content being with her own people and very rarely spent much time with the Zelites, whom she found to be a little stuffy and in her opinion, egotistical.
Most of the Outlanders were now quite happy to live in their own community together with the added benefit of the protection of the Zelites. Their new territory had been constructed underground in accordance with the Zelite regulations, but they had been permitted to build a few parks above ground. It was stipulated that these had to have overhead coverings of a toughened plastic that was specially formulated to rebuff any gamma, infrared or other harmful rays that could possibly infiltrate into the parks.
The Zelites themselves had already arranged for the planting of huge expanses of open areas above ground with corn and other fresh grains and crops, and these ‘haciendas’, as they were called, were left completely exposed to the weather and the elements and had no protective overhead shields. These haciendas were operated entirely by robot staff and no human beings were actually involved in the dangerous crop harvesting.
Zon had arranged for some of the haciendas to be transferred to the Outlanders for their own use, and Stef often had a longing to take a horse and ride around some of these ranches, but she was acutely aware of the danger and just watched the Robot rancheros operating via the viewing screens.
They did have some beautiful open parklands, albeit with protective overhead coverings, to which Stef would often take her mother, who had become wheelchair-bound because of painful arthritis, to enjoy the sight of the sunlight filtering through the atmosphere onto the lovely flowers and bushes that had been carefully planted in the park. Her mother would often tell Stef stories about the difficult life she and her father had endured when they were still called the ‘Dropouts’. One of her favorite tales was the one about the fight Stef's father had with a massive bear that had tried to enter their cave.
It would seem that Stef's mother had been in labor, expecting Stef, and most of the female nurses had been called to assist as it was proving to be a particularly difficult birth. The bear had been attracted by the smell of blood and had tried to enter into the sanctuary of the cave where Stef was about to be born. The men of their family had gathered in an adjoining cave ready to celebrate the birth with some casks of home-brewed alcohol that they had been saving for such a special occasion. Such an event, if successful, was always well celebrated as so many of the babies born were either stillborn or died soon after birth, and the men were gathered anxiously hoping for good news.
Every so often Stef's father would leave the men to enter the females’ domain to see if the baby had been born yet. On this particular visit, Stef's father had encountered the huge bear walking on all fours and just about on the point of entering the internal cave. Fortunately Stef's father had been carrying his hunting knife in his hand.
On his previous visit he had come across a wild boar stealing the food that had been prepared ready for eating during the celebrations if the birth went well. This food had been left at the entrance of the birthing cave, and he had had to chase the boar off with his stick (as carried by all the so-called ‘Dropouts’ at all times when they were outside their caves). “This time,” he thought, “I'm not going to be caught out again by any animal marauding our food supplies” and took his knife so that he could kill such an animal and, if he was lucky enough to catch the wild boar, they could add that meat to their meager supplies. But it had not been a wild boar; it had been a wild bear this time!
Stef's father shouted out to the women to hide and lunged at the bear, luckily catching it in a crucial fatality spot that killed it instantly. Just at the moment that the bear died, letting out an almighty roar of anger and pain, Stef also let out a roar as she was born into the hostile environment. Her father had insisted on nicknaming her ‘Little Bear’ when she was a child and even now when he was feeling affectionate towards Stef, he would still use that term of endearment.
Stef's parents would often enthrall her with stories such as this, and Stef made up her mind that one day she would write a book recounting all these tales.
The time passed slowly and Stef was upset that she had received no news from Zon. He would not allow her to contact him by any modern means and assured her that she would know soon enough when he was back. Stef tried in vain to contact him via thought transmission, but the physical distance between them was too great for her to accomplish this. She eventually accepted that she would just have to wait and be patient.
One day Stef, feeling in a particularly dispirited state, decided in her headstrong way to saddle a palomino horse and go for a ride through one of their haciendas. She knew this was against the rules, but she thought to herself, “After all who makes these laws? Was it not Zon and was she not Zon's wife and therefore entitled to flout a law every now and then?”
Stef rode magnificently through the winding trails leading across the expanse of the hacienda, and the exhilaration of the speed and air rushing through her hair and face made Stef throw all caution
to the wind. Then, too late she saw the swooping shadow diving at her horse. The next few moments were all a blur for Stef: all she remembered was hitting the deck so hard when she fell off the horse's back that she was sure she must have broken every bone in her body. It was with horror and disbelief when on hearing her horse's neighing she looked up and saw the poor animal being carried away in the claws of a massive eagle owl. This bird must have had a wingspan of least three meters across. The horse was kicking its legs in terror in space, and Stef stared in disbelief at the sight of the bird carrying her poor horse away to the horizon.
The whole incident had been captured on the video-surveillance screen and a robot instigated the warning siren, indicating that something was wrong. The GM supervisor, on scrutinizing the screen, immediately sent out search parties to pick up Stef.
Stef knew that she would be in trouble. She had broken the rules! But she was confidently cocky that she was not to be judged. After all, was she not the Great Leader's wife and surely then was she not above the law? Stef was positive that she would not be charged.
The robots, on picking up Stef, placed a circle of gamma rays around her to prevent her from escaping. She felt humiliated that these machines had such a power over her, but she knew they had been programmed to do this to anyone who entered the prohibited zone. They lifted her on to a quick travel transporter and zoomed her back to the safety area. On her arrival at the security cubicle, a GM officer met Stef and cautioned her, advising her not to say anything until she was in proper custody. Stef protested loudly, telling the GM officer to mind his P's and Q's. Was he not aware who she was? The man ignored her protests and instead instructed the robots to handcuff her and take her to the Security Station for interrogation.
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