Sun of Zartha/17

In the morning, Shakita summoned Jay and Laura to her office. They walked down the long corridor, holding hands.

“What’s up?” Jay asked.

“I just got a briefing from MIB. A Level One briefing.”

“Let me see that,” Jay said, moving immediately over to Shakita and taking the familiar MIB letterhead from her.

“What’s going on?” Laura asked.

“Laura, we got some bad news," Jay said. "Serleena is back on the loose.”

“I thought you and Kay shot her down back in New York," Laura said.

"I thought so too, but just like Momma said, she must have left a seed somewhere and reconstituted," Jay replied. "Not the best case scenario if you ask me."

Laura rolled her eyes. “What does she want NOW?”

Jay looked up at Laura. His look was serious. “She wants you, baby. She released a statement. Here,” Jay handed the briefing to Laura. Laura read the sheet.

“It is my intention to travel to Zartha and take what is rightfully mine - the Light of Zartha. I will see to it that the wedding between Agent Jay and Laura Vasquez does not take place, and that New York be utterly destroyed, along with the Light of Zartha, once I have absorbed the great power resident within her. Then the people of Zartha, as well as Kylothia and the rest of Earth, will be my personal subjects for all eternity and I shall rule the entire universe.”

"Everybody's trying to take us out! Why would she do this to us?” Laura looked up at Jay with a puzzled look.

“Because she’s evil, Laura. Nothin’ but pure evil. Shakita,” Jay now turned to his cousin, “what’s our course of action?”

“Nothin’ right now, Jay. Serleena’s whereabouts are unknown and we can’t trace her. MIB can’t either.”

“MIB CAN trace her if they do a relay probe. We have satellites,” Jay shot back.

“I already asked Agent W in telemetry, Jay, she said no.”

“What? W said that? Give me that phone.” Jay got on the telephone. Zarthans use the same phones used on Earth. They get them at Home Depot and have them shipped.

“This is Agent Jay. I’m calling from Zartha. Put Zed on NOW. This is Level One Priority. We got a brief. Number 02-71987785. Yeah.” Jay looked up at his cousin and his girlfriend. Hold music was faintly coming out of the phone. “We just put new hold music in. Kinda cool. I picked it out, we got some Earth, Wind and Fire, some Shalimar, some Stevie - yeah, Zed! Yeah, it’s me, man. What the hell is up with not doing a relay probe? We gotta get Serleena and lock her up until after the wedding. Then I want to put her butt on trial for murder. And if we just so happen to destroy her vessel in the process that's fine with me too. You with me?”

“Good concept, but we got one problem with that. The relays are down, Jay,” Zed said.

“Again? I thought Telemetry had those fixed two weeks ago!”

“Kylothians took ‘em out,” Zed replied.

“Damn!” Jay knew pressuring the Kylothians again might trigger an interplanetary incident...but he had half a mind to launch a direct attack on them anyway. “What am I supposed to do, Zed? My fianceé is in DANGER. She’s looking at the brief right now.”

“I dunno, kid, first of all, I’m not your boss anymore, second of all, you’re damn near in charge up there now. Figure it out. Whatever you do, make sure you run it by your mom first. I gotta go, kid, I’ve got a 10:30 tee time at Winged Foot.” Then Zed hung up the phone.

Jay slammed down the phone with a frown. “Damn! Just LIKE him to do that! I tried to ask him for a raise last year and that’s the exact same thing he did!”

“What did YOU want a raise for?” Shakita said increduosly.

“Never mind,” Jay said. “I gotta think about how to protect Laura.”

Shakita gave Jay a weary look. “Jay, you don't have to worry, we got battle cruisers ready to scramble if she tries to enter our airspace. You two are safer here than you would be on Earth or out in deep space. I'm checkin' in with your mom...” Shakita dialed the hotline to Angelique’s cell in Louisiana.

“Angie? Jay and Laura saw the brief. Oh..." and here Shakita looked up at Jay and Laura with a slightly surprised look and went on,"OK, we're going on in there right now," and she hung up. "Angie wants a videoconference NOW. Let's go," she said, and the three walked briskly into the conference room about two doors down.

Jay led off the videoconference by saying, "Momma, MIB gave us a brief this morning. Level One. I’m a little concerned for Laura’s safety.”

“I saw the brief, baby," Angie said. "I know you're scared for Laura. Trust me, baby. As long as you guys don’t wander off into deep space, you will be safe. I promise, Jason. We have some good cruiser pilots on Zartha.”

Jay looked down for a second and continued. “I want to capture Serleena and put her on trial, Momma. I also want to launch preemptive strikes on the S'aa rebels, especially the ones like Senator T'L'oria'an kidnapping the C'ola'a to work the illegal mines in the Purple Valley. And I think he sent those rebel pilots to try and shoot us down, too.”

“NO, I DON'T want to do that, Jason," Angie said. "First off, Serleena's power is strong enough where she could do you and Laura some damage. If we act unilaterally against Serleena, that may provoke war with Kylothia, and if you strike against the rebels, that will most certainly start a civil war on Zartha. Be VERY glad you didn't kill one of those pilots yesterday! And who's to say Serleena and T'Loria'an aren't cooperating or coordinating efforts somehow? Did you think about that?"

Jay looked up to the ceiling with a pang of worry. Damn.

Momma continued. "Jason, what the rebel pilots did yesterday was very, very wrong. It was terrible. Shakita told me all about it. But the rebels have a lot of support among the S'aa right now and the whole tribe could turn against us if we strike. And I DON'T think you want your first official act as King of Zartha to be any war, especially one declared against your own people.”

Jay leaned back hard in the Aeron chair and sighed. His eyes were smoldering with an icy frustration. “Well, what the HELL you want me to do, Momma?"

“I WANT you to just relax and concentrate on preparing for the wedding, Jason. Everything will be OK. Trust me, baby.”

"Momma, I don't understand why you would even allow the rebels to kidnap the C'ola'a miners in the outlying villages in the first place? That don't make sense to me."

"Jason, the rebels think every Zarthan besides themselves is supposed to be their slave. That's part of the mindset of the S'aa - it started out right when they were created, but over hundreds and hundreds of years, the truth of it all got twisted, messed up and corrupted. But it's their belief system and they will defend it with force even if it means sacrificing the planet to do so.

"If I used force against the rebels, it would most surely start a civil war. If a civil war started, the Council would have to intervene - that is, if we didn't blow Zartha up first all by ourselves. You and Laura ain't the only ones who can make planets explode, you know.

"I had to act as carefully as possible to keep the peace and rescue our people when they did get taken. We always evacuated the miners from the illegal mines, Jay, each time. No casualties and no escalation of violence. And we increased security around the villages and that cut down on the raids."

Jay kept on pressing his point. "But Momma, I just think a preemptive strike is the right thing to do! The way I see it, we can take out Serleena and stop the rebels at the same time! Show them that they can't mess with us! Threat eliminated, Momma! Just like that! Come on!"

"I'm NOT gonna authorize any preemptive strike against Serleena or the S'aa rebels, Jason," Angie replied firmly. "That's IT. We take a defensive stand the way we have always done. Boy, you need to learn how I run the show! You might actually learn something! Looks like you done forgot what the hell chain of command means! You can't just pop off and run wild with a three-barrel blaster, Jason! Interplanetary politics is just a little bit different from that little blue book Zed gave you!"

At this, Jay got mad, rose hastily up from the table and began to storm out of the room.

Laura was shocked. "Jay! Wait up! Come back here! Your mom's not finished!"

Jay whipped himself around with a hard frown on his face. "NO, Laura! I'm SICK of this bullshit!" he yelled, and Laura was shocked again, since this was the first time Jay ever raised his voice to Laura in anger. He pointed to the plasma screen. "She can finish without me! SHE'S still queen, SHE's still setting policy, let HER deal with it!" And Jay left the room in a huff.

"Let him go, girls," Angie said.

"What do you mean let him go?" Shakita asked, as Jay's footsteps were rapidly clunking down the hallway.

Angie sighed and said, "I've got a little story to tell you girls.

"When Jason was five years old, I made broccoli and brussels sprouts for dinner one night. Well, he wouldn't eat them, and when I told him to, he started crying and pouting and got up and left the dinner table."

"Did you whoop his ass, Angie?" asked Shakita.

"I did no such thing," Angie replied. "I told him that if he didn't want his dinner, he could go straight to bed and not watch TV. So he did. He always watched 'Good Times' on Tuesday nights before he went to bed, but I wouldn't let him that night. He was so pissed that he cried himself to sleep. And he was hungry, but his pride and his anger kept him from coming out of his room all night. But a funny thing happened.

"The next morning, I got Jay up to go to school. He wanted to eat his Crunchberries for breakfast, but I told him he had to finish his vegetables. I sat him down and told him that I really wanted him to eat them and that I was disappointed that he wouldn't. I told him he let me down. And you know what he said to me?

"What was that?" Laura asked.

"He said, 'I know, Momma, I'm sorry,' and he ATE the vegetables. I put 'em in the microwave and he ate every last piece.

"What I'm trying to say is...Jason will do the right thing, if you let him realize how right the thing is for himself. He will obey authority only to the point where he agrees with it, and then he needs convincing. Let him reflect on all this. When he's ready, he'll act."

"If Serleena's on the loose, Angie, we don't have time to wait for Jay to be convinced," Shakita mused gravely.

Angie continued. "You have to remember, Shakita, all Jason knows is how to use deadly force to eliminate what he has been trained and taught to be direct threats to the existence of planet Earth. All you guys need to do is to stay on Zartha and don't wander off planet. The Zarthan defense forces will handle Serleena just fine - they have before, they've protected Zartha against everything she's ever been able to throw our way. You guys will be safe and Zartha will be safe."

Laura frowned a little. She wanted to say something in response, but she held back.

After the conference call, Laura walked outside to find Jay. He was in the hibiscus garden, sitting on the stone bench.

"What in God's name are you so mad about NOW?" Laura asked with a frown.

Jay looked up slowly at his intended. “To tell you the truth, I'm mad about the whole damn thing, Laura. I'm mad at my mom and I'm still mad about MIB. They took us and put us both in exile. For no reason. And Momma just let it happen!”

“Ummm, Jay, is this really productive?” Laura asked again, slightly puzzled.

“I’m sorry baby, but I’m still real upset about what happened. The Men In Black were people I trusted like family, Laura. And I come to find out that they deliberately ROBBED us BOTH - BOTH of us, baby - of our childhood and a chance to get to know each other.”

“But Jay, you know they had good intentions. Your mom was in a very difficult position. You know that. There wasn’t much she could have done, baby.”

“Sometimes I wish Momma would have declared war, Laura. She was well within her rights to do so. The MIB procedural code even says so. That would have put a stop to all the bullshit right there.”

“It could have also aggravated the internal unrest here on Zartha, baby,” Laura replied.

“Momma was well able to deal with any renegades here on Zartha, Laura. With one snap of her fingers.”

“You know, intergalactic war is so dangerous anyway, Jason. So destructive. Would YOU have started a war if you were in that same situation?”

Jay was silent for a moment. Laura’s deep gaze was sincere yet intense.

Jay sighed, remembering what Momma said in the vision he had back in his old apartment in Brooklyn that night Laura left, which seemed like years ago now. “Well, baby, I don’t think I would have launched an attack, but I think I would have posed a threat.”

“You’re thinking like an agent and not like a king, Jay. I keep telling you, baby, you’re not a cop any more.”

“But what am I supposed to do, Laura? I feel HELPLESS! I mean, come on, we lost 25 years of our lives.

“I know, baby.” Laura moved over close to Jay and sat down next to him. ”I know you’re mad and you wish things happened differently for us. But you can’t change the past. You can only take what we’re given to work with and do the best we can. And we've been given the energy of Light.”

“Well, since you're here, Laura, that’s another question I have for you. What is the point of our having all this energy, baby? Why are you the Light? Why am I the Sun?”

“We wanted to be, Jay,” said Laura.

“No, I didn’t. You don't understand. I didn’t ask to be a sun god, Laura. I didn't ask to be an angel. I didn’t ask to be an alien.”

“You’re sounding like a Man in Black again. You keep forgetting who you really are. You were born from the womb of a being of Light. You were born into a secret society. A secret society with a lot of power. Power that comes from the very depths of the universe. Remember what your mom always says to you.”

Jay leaned back and sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’m blood of her blood. I know all that, baby. But exactly what does that mean? I still do not really know what all this even MEANS. What is the point of sunlight? What is the point of light, Laura?”

“Well, you can ask, what is the point of existence? And you know what? We exist because we CAN, Jay. It feels good to exist.

“Listen up. Light carries information, Jay. Light carries knowledge. Carries it like wires carry electrical impulses.”

“OK, I can see that,” Jay said.

“The S’aa people know everything there is to know about the universe because it’s ALL coded in our DNA. We are the Light people and all the knowledge, all the information that is in cosmic light, is built into us, inside of us. Somehow I HAVE that knowledge, that energy. Shakita and your mom both told me that I am literally the power of creation itself, Jason. The power of creation itself in a female body! I can create whole planets, whole galaxies... just by feeling the LOVE and just being what I AM, by being the LIGHT!

“That is SO exciting to realize. Why else was it so important for YOU to discover me back in New York, Jay? Why was it so critical to keep Serleena from getting to me first? Think about it.”

“Well, being that you are the power of creation, you had the potential to blow up the Earth.”.

“And so did you. We still do, if we went back, the way the Knowing has grown in us. Right now it’s way too dangerous for us to go back to Earth in our present states.

“You are a Sun person. The sun is, by definition, a star, and all that information is built into your tribe, too, baby. And your mom is half S’aa herself! You have SO much knowledge in you. Your mom’s been trying all those years when you were a kid to ACTIVATE it. I keep telling you, baby, you're her son, so you have everything she has. That’s why you wear the necklace. Or do you NOT remember the love we just made last night?”

“Yeah, baby, I know all that. I feel the energy and I feel the potential inside me. What I felt last night was real, Laura. I KNOW I can do a lot of stuff, serious stuff, I KNOW it...but why do I NEED the knowledge? T’ola'an had the knowledge in him and we know he created planets himself, but why do I need it? I have no desire to create things.”

“But Jay, YOU are T’ola'an come back to life, baby. And we HAVE to come together to create a child. A super-child. Only WE can do it. You and me. Together. That is the destiny we were born to.”

“I like the concept...but...I’m not sure I can handle all this, baby, I mean, everyone’s all counting on me and stuff to make this happen... that’s a lot of responsibility -”

“Jason, trust me, dude, you can handle it. If you weren’t born to the family you were, that’s one thing, but you were born to a Zarthan queen. You are a child of the sun god and the son of the angel woman, and that woman is my fairy godmother. YOU are an actual piece of the sun itself. That sun, the one shining right there,” and Laura pointed up to the left of the twin suns blazing in the afternoon sky.

“And you also have the energy of the blue star in you as well, Jason. Through you and only through you can the sun god return and merge with the Light. Me.”

Jay sighed and looked off to his left with a quizzical frown.

Laura continued. “I’m here going through all this too, you know. I’m new at this divine ‘god and goddess’ stuff too, you know. Two weeks ago I was Employee of the Month at a pizzeria on Spring Street in SoHo. I was making $10.25 an hour plus tips and taking the bus home every night - and getting ready to go to CCNY to get my double major in English and Theater so I could go to NYU and be a graduate film major and maybe get into the Actors’ Studio...and I was gonna be in PICTURES, Jay. I was gonna go to Hollywood and be the next Halle Berry. Well, you came along baby, and all that changed.

“Now instead of learning how to be the toast of the Academy, I’m about to be responsible for the economic and social welfare of 3 1/2 million people and I will be one of their most looked-up-to political and spiritual figures. I’m a little nervous about all this too, Jason. Just like you are. But think about it, Jay. Isn’t this shit better than the way your life was going before all this happened? Huh? Now what if we hadn’t gotten together? You’d still be writing traffic tickets to cephaloids and eating chicken pot pies all by yourself in that apartment of yours.”

Jay sighed and his face was wrinkled up in a puzzled frown. “Sometimes I wish I WAS still writing tickets to cephaloids, Laura.

“I’m glad you’re in my life. I’m glad my mom’s back in my life. But when I was by myself, I had control. My life...was predictable. Damn, Laura. You women are always controlling me. Flashing light into my eyes and stuff. And I flash light into yours. My life was a LOT simpler before I became an alien!”

Laura laughed hard. “Dude, I happen to LIKE it when you shine your light into me! So don’t try and get cold feet and back out of this now. You are stuck with my ass.” Then Laura looked at Jay with a patient smile, which reflected the awakening wisdom growing inside of her. “Look, you have the curiosity, baby. You have the desire. You don’t THINK you have it now, but you’ll get it soon enough. Just stop trying to think about it so much, stop trying to understand the mechanics of it, and just FEEL it. Feel who you ARE.

“Stop hiding behind that black suit, baby. Let your REAL identity come out. Take your childhood memories - how good you felt around Angie - and build off of that! Just feel love. Feel it, Jason, just feel it. That makes it easier.”

Jay sighed in annoyance. “Laura, I don’t know, baby, I really thought I was the man before, but what’s happening to me is a massive undertaking...and a tremendous change from everything I’ve ever known since I was taken from my mom. You know how I was when we met. I’m a cop, Laura. I was trained to be objective, methodical and ready to fire my weapon at any time. How the hell can police skills be called upon to lead a NATION? I mean, like, three-and-a-half MILLION people are countin’ on me!” Jay scowled harder in frustration.

Laura felt a little hurt by Jay’s frustration, but deep down inside she knew he had it in him. She felt Angelique’s love every time she saw him. Angie was a strong, proud, determined woman, and Jay’s personality came from his mom. “Dude, you’re stuck in your own limbo. You’re so confused about this stuff that you let the limbo become your comfort zone.”

Jay looked at Laura with a cold stare. “That is NOT fair, Laura.”

Laura cringed slightly – she didn’t want to provoke an argument – but she had to make her point. This was critical.

“I’m serious, Jay. And I don’t care if you’re pissed at me, either. I mean it about your hiding behind the black suit. You’ve got to learn who you are and become it. You are NOT a cop, You are a sensitive, caring, EMOTIONAL man...and you are supposed to be a warrior. You are meant to be king of this place. That’s why you were born.

“Jay, your deepest hopes and dreams have come true. At the very least, you wanted a woman all your life to love you, love you unconditionally. Well, now that I’m here, I’m beginning to wonder whether or not you really want me.”

Jay cast his head down sheepishly. “Yes, I do want you, Laura, of course I want you.”

“Well, I guess I believe you,” she smirked, “you know, man, I can be queen all by myself. We can go into the lab, reduce your electromagnetic energy so it’s at a safe level and you can go back to Earth tomorrow...if you really want that.” Laura looked at Jay, not really knowing how he would respond.

Jay looked off to the side and sighed again. He was quiet for a few seconds.

Laura asked him again, a little more sharply this time. “Jay?”

Jay looked at Laura and hesitated for a minute, then spoke. “Damn, Laura, this sounds kind of bad, but a part of me - a big part of me, does want to go back.”

Laura quickly looked away and was visibly disappointed. “Jay, I don’t want you to go back to New York. If you go back, I will go back. I HAVE to be with you, Jay. Shakita can be queen of Zartha if Angie wants to retire. We’ll go back to New York and I'll just go to film school like I was planning to do anyway...”

“Naw...damn, come on...that’s NOT what I’m trying to say! Just listen to me for a minute, Laura, this is real, real hard for me to put into words. I mean...what I’m saying is, I wish I could go back to the way it was before I found out about my true identity - and not have to deal with Serleena or with rebel factions or with ruling a planet or being a cosmic sun god or any of that...but if going back...if that means I can’t be with you,” and here Jay shed a slight tear, “then...I guess, somehow, I have to really make it clear that I really want you. I have to make that clear to myself and clear to you. You could indeed send me back to New York and be up here all by yourself - if you wanted to. Or we could both go back to New York...but I would have to neuralyze you and - I’d quit MIB immediately and have myself neuralyzed. We’d just be another couple tryin’ to make it in New York.”

Laura reached out and took Jay’s hand. Tears were beginning to roll down her face. “I guess that would be nice, baby...and I’m happy you would go through all that so we could stay together...but you know what? I’m not going back to New York and I’m not plannin’ on sending you back anywhere. We’re going to stay here and go through this thing together, baby.

“Jay, listen, don’t get me wrong, I know you want me, I know you love me - but even wanting me ain’t enough. That’s not really the whole point of this...it’s not even the point of our whole relationship! The point of ALL this is that you need to want yourself. The new yourself. The self your mom is telling you about. The one you’re still bitter about having been hidden from you all your life.

“Baby,” Jay replied, “I’m tryin’ so damn hard to get my arms around all this. But so many years have gone by since New Orleans. So many years since they took me away. Momma’s plan was to teach me about being a sun-god gradually, over the course of my childhood and my teen years. That never happened. I’m learning how to be Jason all over again, baby, and this is some hard stuff.”

“Well, you’ll come around, baby,” Laura said, “even if your momma has to slap your ass around a little bit more.”

“She’ll have to do that a lot between now and the wedding,” Jay chuckled.

Then he sighed again, leaned over and kissed Laura. “I need to be alone for a bit, baby.”

Laura reached over and caressed his head. Then an idea flashed into her mind.

“What are you up to NOW?” Jay smirked.

“You just go off and be by yourself for a while. I’m gonna have a big surprise for you later on. I’m going out in the transport.”

Jay’s eyes shot open. He began yelling again. “Are you out of your MIND? Laura! What the HELL did we JUST get finished talkin' about? Serleena is on the LOOSE! She’s out to KIDNAP you! No, Laura, I’m NOT lettin’ you out of my sight!” Jay grabbed Laura by the wrist.

Laura now got tired of Jay's anger. She got indignant and her eyes flashed white with annoyance. “What the hell, Jay? You are NOT an agent anymore and I am NOT in your CUSTODY! You can’t tell me what I can and cannot do!” She jerkily snatched herself away from Jay’s grip. “Damn it! I keep tellin’ you! You need to TRUST me, man! Everything’s gonna be just FINE, all right? Trust me, Jason!”

Jay looked to his left with a scowl. He was pissed and his eyes showed it. “All I'm tryin' to do is protect you, Laura! If you want to go out, then I’m coming!”

“Fine, but you need to give me five seconds head start.”

“I thought we’d go TOGETHER, Laura.” Jay’s look was stern.

“No, Jay, I need to be in my own ship alone in order for my idea to WORK. You need to get in your ship and follow me. I’m trying to TEACH you something!”

“And what, exactly is this that you’re planning on teaching me? That might get your butt KIDNAPPED?”

At this question, suddenly, Laura’s whole attitude shifted. She smiled a sly smile and the most mischevious look crossed her face. Her eyes flashed a bright greenish-white.

Jay got embarrased, for he loved it when Laura took that attitude. “Aw, holy shit, damn, Laura, come on now, this is serious...”

“I KNOW, Jason. Follow the light, baby. That’s all you need to know. Follow the light. Come on!” Now Laura grabbed Jay by the wrist. She planted another quick, wild agressive kiss on his lips. Then she started rapidly walking through the palace gardens, tugging Jay along so fast he nearly tripped on the paving stones.

“Damn! Watch out! You know, I worry about you, Laura,” Jay exclaimed. “If anything happens to you I will be so damn pissed.”

“Well, I’m NOT worried about you, Jason,” Laura said, still walking rather fast and pulling Jay behind her. “So you need to STOP worrying and stop being pissed. Everything will work out, baby. Everything. Come on!”

At this point, all Laura wanted to do was to go out and express her deep, primal, cosmic love for Jay. She was now running, and still pulling Jay so hard he almost tripped again. The two ran out to the stables where all the silvery egg transports were kept. She had an idea and wanted to carry it out immediately. With Serleena on the loose, this was a risk, but she didn’t care. She had to do this.

There was no way in hell she would let this man leave her, not after everything that happened up to this point. Jay was her soulmate. When he was with her, she felt alive. When he was not with her, something was missing. Bottom line. And she would give all this up to be with him in New York, for the rest of her life. In a New York minute. But she was thankful she didn’t have to.

At this moment Jay was bewildered, annoyed and frightened, but Laura was the happiest she had ever felt in her life. She whirled around in front of the row of ships and faced Jay.

"My mom will kill me if anything happens to you," Jay said.

"Yeah, like you are really so damn worried about what Angie thinks!" Laura shot back.

Jay wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say. Laura grinned at him. They were now standing amongst all the spacecraft.

“Give me five seconds and then follow me, Jay. The ships can track each other, so you’ll always know where I am.” And with that, Laura hopped in her egg-shaped ship. The ship hovered out of the garage and shot upwards in a diagonal direction. In about ten seconds it was a mere speck in the greenish-blue sky.

Jay counted to five and jumped into another identical egg-shaped ship, and took off.

Laura sped off based on some coordinates she found in the egg’s database. This was a portion of deep, deep space - a pocket of nothingness the scientists call a supervoid - far from Zartha. She put the egg into hyperspace and arrived there in about 15 minutes. Jay was about 10 miles behind, but his radar tracked Laura’s every position.

When Laura arrived at the spot, there was little there save for a silent blackness. There were few stars. The galaxy Zartha was in could be seen about several hundred thousand light years or so in the distance.

“Jay, do you have a visual on me?”

“I can see you just fine, baby.”

“Good. Stay there and just watch me, baby.” Then she began filling her mind with images of Jay. Memories merged into feelings, feelings into emotions, emotions into desire. She put the transport into spin mode and let her happy excitedness come out. Greenish-white light was surrounding her as a halo again, but now a large portion of this light was also pouring out of her eyes like floodlights. She was in a state of absolute bliss.

Then, suddenly, without warning, Laura gave a terrific, loud, deep, groaning, wailing cry outward, and terrific, joyful magnesium-looking bluish-white, fiery, starry light exploded with nuclear ferocity, out from a point well below the center of Laura’s stomach and through the ship, and shot rapidly outward in a blinding shockwave-like flash in all directions.

From that intense, pure expanse of light - a brand new galactic core - exploded hundreds of thousands, no, millions of brilliant balls of light, a flaming showery mass that immediately coalescing into more solid forms - the beginnings of new planets.

Laura, who was completely intact, panting hard and sweating bullets by now - but somewhat back to normal, put the ship (which was also fully intact and operational) into neutral and let it get sucked out along one of the spiral arms in a big vortex of energy, propelling the little silvery egg out into deep space like a rock in a slingshot.

The ship shot past Jay’s, hurtling at incredible speed. When Jay saw Laura’s egg approach, he pressed a couple of buttons on the instrument panel and electromagnetically coupled his ship to Laura’s. With a tremendous jerk, he shot along behind Laura, hurtling at almost hyper speed.

After a couple of minutes, the ships came to a stop.

Laura was alone, with Jay in his egg electromagnetically hooked up about 1000 feet away now, the both of them several light years farther out, gazing with deep longing and happiness at the huge, luminous, still-expanding core of the massive galaxy she just gave birth to. Dozens of proto-planetary spheres were being generated at that very moment.

Laura stared happily, all around her, at this galaxy, and nodded with a deep smile. How could Jay not be pleased by this? How could he not be touched, moved to tears, made to see with his own eyes that the power of all creation - the same power that made the universe in the first place, that original, primal, ancient energy - was truly an integral, critical part of his new wife, and was also genetically inside of him, too...

Jay, of course, witnessed the whole thing.

“Holy mother of God...Laura...” Jay was mesmerized.

“You see, baby?” Laura responded on the secure radio line. “Do you see what I’m tryin’ to tell you? This is what I am? And it’s what you are, too! This is only a small piece of what we can become TOGETHER, Jay! This energy, this power, this LIFE! We can CREATE, Jay! Just like the ones who created US millions of years ago! And by creating we make the universe a better place...”

“Laura, that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s like you gave birth to a galaxy.”

“Yes, I guess that’s what I did, Jay.”

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