ROAN PLATEAU
Dysea's guards had cleaned out the small structure for her to use, washing down the blood stained floor and ventilating the smell of death from the home. Dysea now sat at the main table, her eyes focused on the small screen of her mobile data receiver. Plugged into the data slot was the pad the Holy One had given her just before they left. Dysea had spent the last two hours reading all the information on the pad, almost all of it relating to Martin. The last portion of the data chip was information on Queen Tarifa of the High Elves, and her rise to position of Queen. Dysea now had a small picture of both of them up on the screen side by side and she gazed at the photos as she sipped the steaming mug of tea.
Dysea had only seen pictures of Tarifa that were taken from a distance, but she was always able to recognize her due to the billowing raven black hair she had. Now, seeing the close up photo the Holy One had given her, she could put an actual face to the name. Dysea had to admit, Tarifa was exceptionally beautiful, even for an elf. Her face was exotic looking, and her sapphire colored eyes were large and bright. She had an almost identical figure to her, but Dysea estimated her breasts were slightly larger than Tarifa's. They both had the elegant and supple curves that human men and even elf men found nearly irresistible. Dysea suddenly found herself wondering what Tarifa looked like without clothes on, and that thought stunned her. Looking at Martin's photo caused Dysea to fidget in her seat. She could tell he was tall, and his bio said he was over six feet and over two hundred pounds. He looked heavily muscled, even wearing the dark uniform that he was wearing in the picture, yet it was his eyes that caught her. She had never seen such deep brown eyes before. They shimmered in the light of the picture as if they had a life all their own.
"Milady…?" The male voice broke her concentration and she turned to the doorway of the home to see Leland.
"What is it Leland?" She asked, casually shutting down the portable computer.
"Milady we have word from one of our agents in the Alliance capital." Leland told her coming forward into the room and holding out the datapad. "A messenger delivered it to us a few moments ago. He came directly here, per your orders that the Council not be informed of your whereabouts."
Dysea took the pad and activated it reading the report as the information came up on the small screen. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly and she looked up. "Send for the Holy One Leland." She ordered.
The male elf nodded and stepped out of the house as Dysea continued to read. Within three minutes Walter was entering the house and she turned to face him. Walter saw the look of confusion on her face.
"What is it Dysea?" He asked.
"I just received a report from one of our agents within New Richmond." She told him. "He is a high placed mole, and would not have risked this transmission without cause. What does it mean Holy One? EDEN discovered and active, Alliance has established contact with human named Graham. Intercepted coded transmission containing the phrase Genomes have escaped with Queen Tarifa. Will attempt to clarify and informed you of additional information."
Walter took the pad and read the contents quickly. "This is not good." He spoke. "EDEN was the name of the base on the moon that you saw in the cube I gave you. It appears the Alliance has discovered it exists and is active. Graham is the name of a Senator from my time that was on the station at the time of the Great Fire."
"And Genomes have escaped with Tarifa?" Dysea said. "That is what Martin and the others were called isn't it?"
"Yes."
"And it appears Tarifa is with them, whatever that means." Dysea spoke. "Escaped? Escaped to where?"
"Somehow Martin must have already contacted her, and she accompanied him back to EDEN." Walter spoke. "It would have been Martin's first plan, to come here and discover what they could once they returned to normal time."
"There were reports of Tarifa's forces clashing with Alliance units led by Marcus in the west." Dysea told him.
"That was us. She sent me on ahead and took a small force to lead Marcus and his animals away from our location." Walter spoke. "Somehow she must have come in contact with Martin and his team while they were on the surface."
"It would help to know what it is they were escaping from." Dysea spoke. "We will have to wait and see if my agent can obtain any further information." Dysea looked as Leland led the Tomea into the house. "Leland?"
Tomea stepped forward before Leland could speak. "Milady I have finished a preliminary investigation into the clearing we found." She spoke.
"And what have you discovered."
"I don't know who or what killed our people milady, but I can tell you one thing with the utmost certainly… this act was not committed by High Elves." Tomea told her confidently.
SALMON RIVER MOUNTAINS
IDAHO
300 MILES NORTHEAST OF BOISE
SIX HOURS AFTER LANDING
Martin knelt on the ground at the edge of the large clearing that held the two massive Mark Nine transports and seven of the nineteen Raptors that had escaped EDEN with them. The other twelve Raptors had landed in a similar clearing a quarter mile to their west near a fast moving stream. Tarifa stood respectfully behind him while kneeling or sitting on the ground in front of him in a semi-circle were three dozen human men and women who had held seniority while on EDEN. Tarifa and the elves with her party had assisted in offloading enough equipment for Anja to establish a small trauma center that was now being used to give medical check-ups to the civilians. The elves had been surprised at the reaction they received from the mostly human refuges. They were accepted almost without question, and it was not a feeling the elves were used too. There were the looks of desire from many of the men and even some of the women when they gazed upon the male and females elves, but from what Tarifa and the elves could determine, these men and women, even though they knew what the elves had been designed for, respected them enough to not act on any urges they might have had. It also helped that a female elf had shown the amazing reflexes and speed of her species when a mother was carrying her children down the tall stairs of the transport. While wrestling with several items, her three year old son had slipped from her grasp over the railing, and it was only the speed of the female elf that saved the boy's life. She had leaped from the stairway and got under the small child in time to catch him.
Hundreds of men and women had witnessed this act, and it only confirmed to the elves that these men and women were different. They were treated with respect and as equals before, but they were kept at arms length because most people were not curious enough to come forward and speak with them. When the female elf had saved the child's life, the floodgates opened, and greetings and handshakes were exchanged among hundreds of them.
"…don't know how long we are going to be here." Martin was explaining to the gathered men and women. "Some of you know me, many of you do not, and for those who don't my name it is Martin Hunter and I am a Genome." He saw the looks pass between some of the civilians, but nothing that was openly hostile. "Apparently we all felt the same way," Martin continued. "Or you would have stayed on EDEN and watched Senator Graham turn it into a dictatorship. We will work on finding permanent living quarters for everyone, but right now, this is going to be the safest place for us. This earth is not the same as we once knew it, and we all need to be extra careful. I have three points where everyone can be issued a weapon for protection." Martin saw the looks on some faces and held up his hand. "I know many of you are scientists and civilian techs, but as much as I would like to be able to protect all of you all of the time, I'm not superman." Martin looked at them and flashed a smile. "Ok… maybe just a little."
Tarifa noticed that his easy going manner and the small joke had the desired effect and many of the men and women began to relax. She stood behind Martin and simply watched him. He had confidence in what he said and he always conveyed a positive attitude even though he knew they were in a perilous situation. Tarifa could not help how her eyes followed the outline of his muscular arms and back, and she remembered how they made her feel when she was wrapped in those same arms.
"Commander Peterson has set up a small trauma center near Raptor Two. That's my bird." Martin was telling them. "I suggest you all get to see her within the next day or so just to be safe. This beautiful young lady here," Martin motioned to Tarifa behind him, "Is Tarifa. She is the Queen of the High Elves, and she will be leaving in a few hours to try and get us some better accommodations. It seems they weren't expecting guests."
This brought another round of soft chuckling and laughter. A hand went up in the back of the group and Martin looked at the nerdy scientist. "Yes?"
"So it is true what we heard on EDEN? There is a population of real live elves here on the surface? Just like in the books we all used to read as children." The young man asked.
Martin looked at Tarifa, who up until this point had allowed her flowing raven black hair to cover her ears. She now drew that hair back and pinned it behind her very elfin like ears, as she stepped up next to Martin. "It is true." She spoke. "We were created after the Great Fire, which is what you know as the comet passing between earth and the moon. The man who created us modeled us after the elves of his time and legend." Tarifa took a breath before looking at them. "Forgive me… I have only just discovered how we were truly created, and it does take some getting used too. Our… our purpose, as our creator meant us to be, was to assist the survivors of the Great Fire by doing things humans were not capable of. We were made with increased strength and endurance, allowing us to work harder and longer to ease the burden on humanity. Somewhere along the decades that followed, we became seen as possessions and slaves. When the existing government decided it was ok to enslave my people, we decided we would not let them. We have been fighting ever since."
"How many elves are there?" A woman asked.
"There are elves of all kinds across what remains of the planet. It just so happens the two largest factions are here in what was once the United States. I am Queen of those referred to as High Elves. The man who created us, we refer to him as the Holy One, he established our form of government to be similar to what the elves in your books and legends had. It is not exactly the same, but it is similar as I said. We make our homes and villages in the mountains and forests. It is mainly for our protection, as the ruling government does not often venture into the deep timber and mountains. It is here where we are strongest. The other faction lives mainly in the plains and uses caves as well as forests to live. They are referred to as Wood Elves. Our relationship with the Wood Elves is tenuous, as we do not see eye to eye on many things, but they fight the same battle we do. We do not want to be slaves. There are dozens of elfin breeds if you will, across the globe, and some have been brought here to this land as slaves."
"Are all elves as gorgeous as you baby?" A man called out.
Everyone noticed Tarifa's eyes darken just a little bit, but the smile remained on her face. Tarifa did see many of the men and women present roll their eyes and shake their heads at the comment from the man, which again showed her that there people were different. The men and women noticed that Martin had begun to rise from his kneeling position, but Tarifa's small hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Tarifa looked at the man from where she stood. "Female elves were created to be perfect in every way." Tarifa spoke looking at the man. "The Holy One had hoped that humans would take us as wives and we would have children. In his mind this would make our children stronger and better able to adapt to the world we now lived in." Tarifa bent over and picked up the small stone almost casually. She moved it around in her hand as she continued, looking directly at the man who had asked the question. "What he failed to account for was the seemingly inbred arrogance of some humans. Unfortunately, those in charge saw a way to gain the upper hand over others and decided they would make us slaves instead. They now force female elves to live in squalor in brothels and whore houses that are used and regulated by the government. Even those who are not part of the Alliance government regard elves as nothing more than property."
Tarifa's hand flashed out with elfin speed and the stone she had been holding whizzed through the air with deadly accuracy. The man who had called her baby staggered back as the stone impacted his jaw, snapping his head around and making him see stars.
"We are not however, the property of anyone!" Tarifa snapped. "All we want is what you want, and that is a chance to live in peace and raise our children. And we do not take kindly to disparaging remarks, as I'm sure you do not as well."
"Can you tell us numbers?" The nerdy young man asked.
Tarifa smiled and shook her head. "I'm sorry… that is not something I will reveal."
"You have children?" Another woman asked.
"Do I have children personally?" Tarifa smiled and shook her head. "No, but that will change someday, but to answer your question, yes there are many children among my people. And I imagine among the Wood Elves as well." Tarifa answered. "They have a Queen like the High Elves, but I have never met her."
"How old are you?" Another question was tossed out.
Tarifa blushed at the question. "I am considered very young by elf standards." She replied.
"You look like you are in your mid twenties." The woman who had asked about the children spoke from the front row.
"I am one hundred and twenty-seven years old." Tarifa told them, seeing the looks of astonishment on their faces. "The oldest among my people is nearing four hundred years old."
Martin got to his feet. "Ok… I'm sure you all have lots of questions, but Tarifa needs to return to her people soon. You are the senior men and women in the group, and I expect you to lead by example. My team member Julie is waiting to give all of you assignments that you can distribute and handle yourselves. Do not take it upon yourselves to suddenly become gods in a new land, because that is not something I will tolerate. We need to work together in this, or none of us are going to make it. That's it… let's get to work."
Martin turned to look at Tarifa as the men and women began to get to their feet and break up and he spoke softly into his implant. "Cody there is a Sweeper moving away from the gathering here; kind of nerdy looking with glasses and brown hair."
Martin heard his ear piece cackle. "I got him boss." Cody's voice responded.
"Mark him and take him out earliest." Martin spoke.
"I copy that Skipper."
Martin looked at Tarifa, her eyes full of questions. "Is there trouble?" She asked.
"Someone who would like to cause trouble I'm sure." Martin told her. "He won't be around long enough to do anything however."
Tarifa nodded her head in agreement. "Good."
"How far do you have to go?" Martin asked.
"Our city is in the next valley over." She answered stepping closer to him as they moved behind some stacked crates. "Technically, you are in our territory already and I'm sure our own scouts have no doubt reported back seeing the ships land. That is why I must go."
Martin reached up and caressed her face. "When will you be back?" He asked.
Tarifa looked up at him, her hands pressed to his chest and her eyes gazing at him with undisguised desire. "I will return as soon as I am able Martin. I wish to continue what we have discovered as well."
"So you want children uhu?" He said to her with a smile.
Tarifa looked at him shyly and kissed him. "There will come a day when I will have children, yes. But do not worry… one of the advantages the Holy One gave to female elves is the ability to regulate our systems very well. I will not become pregnant."
Martin took a small silver coin like object from his vest and gave it to her. It resembled a medallion and glittered in the sunlight. "It's a waterproof transmitter and receiver. It has a twenty kilometer range. If you need to talk to me, press the red button. It's already set to a channel in my implant and as long as I am in range I will pick it up."
Tarifa smiled and closed her fingers around it tightly, reaching up on her tip toes to kiss him again. Martin lifted her into his arms easily and Tarifa wrapped her arms around his shoulders as the kiss deepened.
"Ahem!" The voice interrupted their moment.
Martin lowered her back to the ground slowly and they saw the male elf smile gently and bow his head. "Forgive me milady, but we are ready."
Tarifa nodded and squeezed Martin's hand. "I will see you soon. I promise."
Martin nodded with a smile and watched as she turned to the male elf and they began sprinting into the forest with the other elves spread out around them. Martin felt a strange emptiness in his chest as he watched her disappear into the trees, but then he turned and saw the massive job ahead of him. He looked at the Master Chief who walked up next to him.
"Let's get busy Master Chief." Martin exclaimed.
Martin didn't noticed Anja standing by the ramp of the Raptor and watching him. She had seen everything, and had also felt the sliver of jealousy course through her.