“It’s all right if you don’t want to go back into the field. I know you’ve been wanting to go to school—”
“I want to stay here. I don’t think I’m cut out for teaching. I’m not like Danielle. I don’t think I ever will be.”
Melanie pats the girl’s back. “That’s all right. You’re your own person. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Thank you for clearing everything up with the higher-ups. I’m sure they’d have liked to put me in a cell with Outback and Moon.”
“It wasn’t your fault. They used a spell on you. There’s nothing you could have done.”
“Yeah. It was her who did something about it.” Diane nods towards Tonya. “Otherwise I’d still be that bad guy.”
Tonya takes Diane by the arm. “You guys saying shit about me?”
“We were saying how you like to butt into conversations,” Diane says, pretending to be angry.
“Come on, sweetie, eat some of that cake. We need to fatten you up. You look like a street urchin right now.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining last night.”
Melanie discreetly steps away, though there’s not far for her to go in the office. Mom pats her on the back. “That’s a nice thing you did for Diane. She’s far too sweet to end up in that awful prison.”
Melanie nods. The reason for Diane’s sweetness as a girl is pretty easy to see. She and Tonya kiss chastely on the lips and then go to fetch some cake. With a sigh Melanie wishes the government could see that; then they might understand why they had no reason to fear Diane backsliding.
***
A demonic creature complete with horns and a pointed tail nearly killed her. The demon brought its staff around to jam a trio of nasty-looking blades into her heart. Dr. Pierce did the only thing she could think to do: she dropped the staff and then fell to her knees in surrender.
The demon still looked ready to stab her, but a lavender hand stayed his. “We don’t kill unarmed humans,” an elf-looking girl with lavender skin and silver hair said. The elf turned to the demon and said, “See to the others. I will handle this one.”
The elf held out a hand for her to take. Dr. Pierce accepted it gratefully. She left the imitation Peacekeeper staff on the ground. “You are not one of them,” the elf said.
“How do you know that? Can you read my mind?”
“No. You’re not wearing their uniform. From the condition of your garments, I think you are a prisoner who escaped.”
“That’s very good.”
“It is my job.” The elf shook Dr. Pierce’s hand stiffly. “I am Lieutenant Kila of the Galactic Peacekeepers.”
“Dr. Khala Pierce. I’m afraid I’m not of any organization.”
“Not yet.”
“Pardon?”
“Pick up your staff.”
Dr. Pierce stared at Kila for a moment, wondering if it were a trick. She delicately bent down to retrieve it, careful not to make any sudden movements that might prompt someone to shoot her. The end of the staff glowed purple. To her surprise, Kila leveled her staff. Immediately the protective bubble formed around Dr. Pierce.
Kila raised her staff. “It is true. You are one of us.”
“No, I’m not. I’m just an ordinary GP from England.”
‘“GP?’”
“A doctor. I’m an ordinary woman.”
“No. An ordinary woman could not command a staff as you have.”
“I’m not commanding it to do anything.”
“It is linked to your mind, channeling your magical abilities.”
“I don’t have any magical—” Dr. Pierce stopped as she thought back. “You mean the telekinesis?”
“Yes. You are gifted, Dr. Khala Pierce. You might be the only such individual on Earth.”
“Now really, I don’t believe that. Surely there must be others.”
“There are pretenders like those recruited by Sunny Moon. We are rounding them up at this moment. Some of them showed some mastery of the staff, but not to this extent. Your abilities are extraordinary for your species.”
“I see. Be that as it may, I would like to check on the other women held prisoner. There was a baby especially. Then I’d like to go home to my grandchildren. I’m not suited to this sort of thing.”
“You may check on the others. Perhaps then we could discuss this more. To be a Galactic Peacekeeper, especially from a non-member world, is a unique opportunity.”
“That’s all well and good, Miss Kila, but I assure you I’m not interested.”
Two weeks later she’s in a black leotard, standing on the moon, gazing down on Earth. By all rights she should be dead, but the bubble around her allows her to fly through space. That’s what Kila says at any rate.
Since their first talk, Kila has become her teacher. Dr. Pierce resisted for the first week, until Kila came to visit her in England. After the formality of tea, the Peacekeeper said, “There are dark forces at work on this planet. You have seen some of them for yourself. I am afraid some of them are in my own organization.”
“You mean other Peacekeepers?”
“I am afraid so. There are those who are still loyal to the Elders despite their collusion with Omega. That is why it is so important for Earth to have a voice.”
“Me? I don’t have any experience with public speaking.”
“That does not matter. You have a good heart and you are extremely gifted. I would like to help you hone that gift. In exchange, Earth will have a Peacekeeper of its own.”
Ultimately Dr. Pierce had acquiesced, on the condition that she could quit if she so chose. Staring at Earth from the moon, defying all the laws of physics, she can see certain benefits to being a Peacekeeper. “I’m not sure about this uniform,” Dr. Pierce says. “It’s very tight. It feels like a second skin.”
“It is designed not to encumber you.”
“Oh, I see. It doesn’t help preserve my girlish modesty much.” In fact it seems when she puts the leotard on that her breasts actually get bigger.
“This is a joke?”
“In part.”
“I still have much to learn about your humor.”
“Yes, especially British humor. You’ll find we’re a bit more subtle than those boorish Americans.”
“Your nation-state structure is very interesting, though it promotes discord among your species.”
“I suppose it does, but discord is part of being human.”
“Yes, I am coming to see that. Now, let me show you how to maneuver in low gravity.”
Kila soon has Dr. Pierce doing loops and barrel rolls like a jet fighter. It is an amazing experience. Looking back at Earth, Dr. Pierce thinks of what the high priestess said so long ago. Dr. Pierce was never able to protect her own village, but perhaps she can protect the whole planet from the sort of violence that destroyed her home.
One can only hope.
***
Nigel Maurice is the liaison between GAIA and the United Nations. At one time Maurice was a colonel in the Canadian army who had served as a peacekeeper in Rwanda. He has the hard-bitten look of the former Colonel Max Storm, the Super Squad’s handler until he went rogue and ended up turned into a young radar operator in Greenland. Melanie hopes Maurice doesn’t suffer the same fate—or try to squash her team with clones and giant robots.
At the moment Maurice shifts through some papers on his desk and then shakes his head. “Not an auspicious beginning, my dear,” he says.
“We got the job done. And we exposed a major conspiracy.”
“After one of your agents turned on you and killed an important witness.”
“I know. I accept full responsibility for sending Diane there alone. I should have sent in a full team.”
“You mean you and the cavewoman?”
“Yes. Perhaps if you could obtain more funds, we could expand.”
“Expand? You’re lucky we didn’t shut you down completely after this fiasco.”
“This fiasco saved the world
from Sunny Moon and her would-be Peacekeepers.”
“We can largely thank the Peacekeepers for that. From your own report, they’re the ones who took down Moon’s army.”
“Yes, but my team led them there.”
“Along with Lieutenant Kila and Tonya Kinney, a civilian.”
“Tonya is still a member of the Super Squad Auxiliary.”
“But not your team.”
“No.”
Melanie is glad she’s wearing a suit, not her General Gaia catsuit with its belt loaded with poisoned shurikens. Otherwise she might be tempted to put him down with one. They had saved the world and he wanted to act as if they’d failed. She doesn’t know what she can do to please her critics within the United Nations. She reminds herself the United Nations and the Pentagon never trusted the Super Squad, culminating with Storm’s betrayal and Robin subsequently funding a new base in international waters.
Perhaps she should move GAIA’s operations there, where they too would have to answer to no one. She imagines having to spend months cooped up with Mom on an oil platform and laughs. Maurice raises an eyebrow. “You find this amusing?”
“Sorry, I was thinking of something else for a moment.”
“Perhaps you could dedicate your full attention to this matter.”
“Yes. Where were we?”
“From cross-checking those captured on the factory raid and comparing it to Moon’s records, there are still several of her would-be Peacekeepers missing. Is that correct?”
“Yes. Perhaps as many as a dozen. We’re working to identify them and track them down.”
“You’ll forgive me if that doesn’t give me much confidence.”
“That’s fine, Colonel Maurice. You don’t need to have confidence in my team. You just need to keep the money coming and stay out of our way.”
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t start GAIA to please bureaucrats. I did it to protect the world from threats like Sunny Moon. That’s what we’re going to keep doing as long as we can, even if I have to do it on my own.”
Maurice grinds his teeth together and then sets his jaw firmly. After a moment, he nods to her. “You’ve made your point, Miss Amis.”
“General Amis.”
He glares daggers at her. She knows she shouldn’t have said that, but she is tired of taking his abuse. Robin had told her often enough that if you don’t stand up for yourself people will walk all over you. That’s especially true as a young woman going up against a bureaucratic machine like the United Nations.
“Very well. General Amis. We will continue to monitor your team closely. If there’s another incident like this, we may have to disenfranchise you.”
“If there’s another incident like this and we aren’t as successful, you won’t have to disenfranchise us.”
He nods to her, which she takes as her cue to stomp out. Mom waits for her outside. “That didn’t sound pleasant.”
“It wasn’t. They don’t trust us. Maybe they never will.”
“I’m sorry, honey—”
“It’s all right. They don’t have to trust us. They just have to let us do our job.”
Mom rubs Melanie’s back. “Look at you. My little girl is so grown up now.”
“Mom, please. I was never your little girl.”
“I know. You were my big handsome boy who became my beautiful little girl. Either way, you’re my little miracle.”
“Thanks.” They hug, something they’ve done more often since what happened in Africa. Seeing Mom with a gun to her temple had emphasized how fleeting life could be. At any moment they could be separated from one another forever, thus making it more important to show their love in the time they had.
After the hug, Mom tousles her hair and says, “If you’re ready, Robin indicated she has a lead on one of Moon’s people in Tokyo.”
“Great. Have the jet ready—”
“Already done. And your costume is aboard, along with Garlak and Diane. All they need is you.”
“Thanks, Mom.” They hug again. Then it’s time for Melanie and her team to get to work.
About the Author
Patrick "P.T." Dilloway has been a writer for most of his life. He completed his first story in third grade and received an 'A' for the assignment. Around that time, he was also placed in a local writing contest for a television station, receiving an action figure in lieu of a trophy, thus securing his love with the written word. Since then, he's continued to spend most of his free time writing and editing. In the last twenty years, he's completed nearly forty novels of various genres. When not writing, P.T. enjoys reading and photographing Michigan's many lighthouses. In order to pay the bills, he earned an accounting degree from Saginaw Valley State University in 2000 and for twelve years worked as a payroll accountant in Detroit.
Also By the Author
Chances Are Series:
Chance of a Lifetime
Second Chance
Last Chance
Girl Power Series:
Girl Power
The Impostors
League of Evil
Stories, Volume 1
Tales of the Scarlet Knight Series:
Dark Origins
A Hero’s Journey
Time Enough to Say Goodbye
The Hazards of Love
Change of Heart
Betrayal Begets Blood
Future Shock
Living Sacrifice
The Heart of Emma Earl
Children of Eternity Series:
Forever Young
Young Family
Young Hearts
When You Were Young
Sisterhood
Awakening
The Night’s Legacy
Higher Power
The Best Light
The Naked World
Liberation Front
The Leading Men
The Changing Seasons
Chet Finley vs. the Machines of Fate
Another Chance (Faces of CHANCE #1)
GAIA: Rogue State
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
About the Author
Also By the Author
GAIA: Rogue State (A Girl Power Novella) Page 15
