Faerie IV: Love Is Where You Find It, Part 2 free porn video

The trip of a lifetime. Dogwood was bored. She had discovered the wonders of the Internet, but that palled after a brief time. She brought up one of the news outlets. A man was standing before a sea of people in chairs. "The first International Space Exploration Symposium since the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 will be held in Kyoto on March 6 and 7.The symposium will discuss the future of space exploration and will invite domestic and international specialists to participate. The heads of JAXA (Japanese Aerospace exploration agency), NASA and ESA(European Space Agency) China's National Space Administration and the Federal Space agency of Russia will give keynote lectures on their current space exploration projects." Dandelion of Houston was walking through and the girl called to the older Fairy. "Sister, what means this?" The fairy walked over listened the man go on, then grinned. "They mean trips into space." Dogwood looked at her blankly. "Away from the world into the blackness beyond." "They are that desperate for somewhere to live?" The fairy laughed tousling her amber and green hair. "No my little moppet of a pixie. They do it for the thrill of exploration." Having never even been to the edge of their own lands, Dogwood couldn't comprehend it. To travel such a vast distance, just to explore? "But they have no wings!" Dandelion of Houston laughed. "Yes they do." The fairy pushed the pixie gently aside, and reached out. "They use something called a shuttle." She found a website, bringing it up. Before them a huge white thing suddenly billowed smoke. It lifted into the air with a thunder that shook the room. Then it went up and up, higher than any faerie had ever flown. Dogwood stared at it. Whether she knew it or not, her life had been irrevocably changed. ***** Tao Lin Wang brought up his home computer. Located just outside of Houston, he found himself in conversation with three different nests. Thanks to Yahoo, he'd had requests for his 'services' from as far away as Kokura Japan and Lyon France. He brought up his Messenger and there was an offline comment from Spearmint, the queen of one of his own local realms. TAO LIN, THERE IS ONE OF MY PEOPLE WHO WOULD WISH TO ASK A BOON OF YOU. He considered, went invisible, and sent a note to Myra Chambers. HELLO, LOVER. WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU? He blushed. Upon their return from Japan when they had first encountered the Faerie, Myra had seduced him so gently that they were in bed before he understood what was happening. At work she still acted like the nerdish super genius. But on line she became the coquette and flirt. He wouldn't have been surprised if she had groped him in this mood. To him, sex was almost a sacrament. But to her it was just good not even remotely clean fun. MYRA, SPEARMINT WANTS ME TO HELP ONE OF HER GIRLS. OH, THAT. He paused, confused. She had always assured she wasn't in the same city he was in when a Fairy used him to make her next child. IT DOESN'T BOTHER YOU? ROTFLMAO! HONEY, THE QUEEN WANTS YOU TO TRANSPORT A COUPLE OF HER PEEPS TO KENNEDY FOR THE SHUTTLE LAUNCH. He wiped his forehead. BY PLANE? NO WAY LOVER. I'M GOING WITH. ALREADY HAVE TRAIN TICKETS... THE CLICK OF THE RAILS AS WE SLOWLY MAKE LOVE... He blushed. YOU ARE MAKING ME TURN RED. He could picture her at home, in that slinky nightgown, looking up from her laptop, an eyelid dropping slowly before she leaned back to her keyboard. DON'T WORRY LOVER; I'LL MAKE SURE THE BLOOD LEAVES YOUR HEAD IN MY OWN SPECIAL WAY. WHAT ABOUT RETURNING? We're only supposed TO BE THERE FOR THREE DAYS, AND WE LEAVE BEFORE THE SHUTTLE TAKES OFF. I KNOW THAT, LOVER. A TEAM WILL BE COMING DOWN FROM MEMHPIS TO RECRUIT A NEW TEAM IN ATLANTA. THEY SHOULD CONTACT US BEFORE WE ARRIVE. IF THEY DO NOT, WE ALREADY HAVE PERMISSION FROM THE KENNEDY SANCTUARY CLAN FOR THEM TO STAY THERE UNTIL THEY CAN BE PICKED UP AND RETURNED. ***** Tao Ling carried the camera case as if it were filled with diamonds. Beside him, Myra was walking with that sinuous stride she had picked up since their Japanese adventure. He wondered how much of it was affectation and how much was what he just hadn't seen before. She looked at him, her glasses in her pocket instead of on her nose. Another gift from the Faerie. "What?" She asked, smiling impishly. "That walk of yours." He said. "I was just wondering. Did you always walk like that? Or did you learn a few things from the faerie?" "Well, how can I explain." She stopped, facing him, and looking down shyly. "Part of it is having someone love me so much that whenever he is faerie sized, he has my face and body." She looked into his eyes, smiling. "The other part is I see the way you look at the Faerie when they stroll past trying to seduce you." She threw her arms around him, her breasts pressing into his chest. "So I started wearing four inch heels." She leaned closer, whispering in his ear. "And the heels I'm wearing right now are on thigh high boots. Just like that Fairy you were with last weekend." He shivered, and she giggled in his ear. "Maybe if you're a really good boy on this trip, you'll get to feel them wrapped around your thighs, Hmn?" ***** Macy stretched, trying to reach the flour canister. Al was great around the house, always willing to help out, but he had a methodical mind, and that sometimes drove her crazy. Why would anyone assume a canister marked flour belonged on the shelf along with the pasta? She had drawn the chair over, and started to climb on it when the doorbell rang. She sighed, much put upon, and walked to the door. The man who was standing there was young, with tousled brown hair, and a gentle smile. The woman with him was statuesque, with long blond hair, and a pale olive complexion. The woman carried a camera hard case. "Mrs. Macy Washington?" "Yes?" "I am Matt Holmes. This is my associate Francesca Fanducci." He extended a card. THE INNERWORLD ASSOCIATES CHICAGO ILLINOIS MAIN OFFICE PHONE 773-555-4127 MATT HOLMES CONTACT; MONICA BRAZIANI; CEO On the back were e-mail addresses; E-MAIL; CHICAGO; [email protected] ROVING AGENT/REGIONAL DIRECTOR: MATT HOLMES; SHERLOCK34@ INNERWORLD.NET ROVING AGENT/REGIONAL DIRECTOR: FRANCESCA FANDUCCI [email protected] "Oh, you're..." She stared at them in shock. The pair just smiled gently at her. "May we come in, Mrs. Washington?" Francesca asked. "Oh yes, please." She stood aside, and they entered the foyer. She wasn't sure how to begin. So you talk to the faerie all the time? Immediately she knew how stupid that was. In the last two weeks she and Al had spent a long time talking with Bayberry. She seemed to know when they would be online, and was always there to speak with them. Their conversations were exhilarating. They told her about their own lives, she told them about hers. She regaled them with stories of arriving in the land when all that lived there were the native Cherokee. Of seeing Atlanta from when it was farms and huts of the first settlers. Of fleeing and huddling with her sisters as the Union troops burned the city to the ground. The city had become more than just a cluster of buildings. The faerie had witnessed so much of what had happened, and their phenomenal memories enriched that history. She suddenly realized that they had just stood there in the foyer like a set of statues. Matt was smiling gently. Francesca looked like she was struggling not to laugh. She nudged her partner, and he unsnapped the case, opening it. There was a burring sound of wings, and half a dozen faerie flew up out of it. They settled on Matt's shoulder, except for one, who flew to hover before Macy's face. "Bayberry?" "Hail and well met, Macy." The fairy said softly. "It is good to see you in the flesh." She gestured. "May I?" At Macy's nod, the fairy flew across, and landed on her shoulder. "Oh, please, would you rather sit in the kitchen or the living room?" She asked. "Until I started working for Innerworld my kitchen was three steps from my bed." Matt told her. "And I didn't know where the kitchen was in my house until I was eleven." Francesca said with a laugh. "Please, make yourself comfortable." "Kitchen?" Bayberry asked. "With machines to cook and keep things cold?" She bounced up and down. "I have heard of them but never seen them! May I, please?" Macy found herself laughing as she led them into the kitchen. The faerie gave cries of amazement; fluttering around the kitchen She began a pot of water for tea, and opened the refrigerator, allowing them to run around, touching the cold items in it. She was glad that it was the kind with solid glass shelves. Finally they all sat, and she searched until she could find a couple of thimbles to be used as cups, though they were large enough to be called gallon pitchers to the tiny guests. "But how do they heat and cool things?" Macy asked. Bayberry picked up one of the thimbles. "Fill this please." As the woman did so, the faerie circled around a stone trivet in the center of the table. They began to chant, touching the stone. Then stepped back as Bayberry said one word. The stone merely sat there, but suddenly Macy saw ripples in the air above it. Bayberry took the thimble, and dipped her hand in the water, flicking it toward the stone, which spat it back as steam. Then she set the thimble on the stone. "We do not know exactly how it works, but it does. Perhaps our forebears did, but they are just memories now, as so many others are." She hefted the warmed thimble, and handed it back to Macy. "If it were a square box, we could make it hot enough to bake bread, or cold enough to keep berries fresh. Just a different group of the ancient words." "But that doesn't make any sense!" Macy protested. "Oh no?" Matt chuckled, pointing at the electrical switch on the wall. "Maybe you can tell me how electricity flows through the wires and makes that light come on?" Macy had to admit she knew nothing about electricity beyond 'plug it in and it works'. She poured the water over the tea leaves then set the pot on the table. She bustled about, getting cups, pouring cream into a small pitcher, and setting a collection of cookies on the table. Three of the faerie took a saucer, and carried it to the center of the table, then came back, giggling as they grabbed a cookie and flew it over to land on the saucer. One of them began slicing off pieces and sharing them out as others brought thimbles brimming with tea. A lump of sugar was commandeered and yet another fairy began breaking off lumps of it to drop into the hot liquid. Macy found a swizzle stick in a drawer and two of them spun the stick to dissolve the sugar, then they all gathered around dipping the chunks of cookie into the liquid then into their mouths. "So you want to start a regional office here in Atlanta, and have us run it?" Macy asked after a time. "Yes." Matt agreed. A pair of faerie well stuffed on cookie and tea reclined against his neck, eyes on the woman. If they had been her own size, she would have thought them rude. But after considering decided it was more an intense interest in what was happening. "Would you all mind staying for dinner?" She asked. "I would agree in a minute, but I believe Al should be part of this." "May we invite a few more?" He motioned toward the small figures reclined like the aftermath of a battlefield around the partially consumed cookie. "Oh could you?" Macy asked. "Yes." Francesca told her. "Our fair told us there is another nest just to the east, and some of them would probably love to meet you." The arrangement Al pulled in behind Macy's Mazda, and climbed out. He had a bottle of champagne, and an urge to celebrate. Finally, he'd made partner. He'd taken the rest of the day off, intending to surprise Macy. He heard humming from the kitchen, and after slipping off his shoes padded toward the door. Suddenly he heard voices. "So you are without child?" A woman's voice asked. "Yes." Macy said. "We haven't had the time to have a child yet." "In three years?" Another voice said disparaging. "If I had a male, it would not take me three years to be with child!" There was a long pause. "We humans tend to have problems with fertility, sometimes." Macy replied softly. "We can't just make ourselves fertile by biting the man! And besides we needed the money for the house." Her tone was hurt. Al stopped. Suddenly he realized what Macy had been through in the last years. She had wanted a child more than anything. Motherhood had been the be all and end all of her existence. Yet she had accepted his strictures, gone to work, been his loving wife even as he denied her what she not only wanted, but also needed. Suddenly he felt like shit. He approached the swinging door to the kitchen. He opened the door. Two small figures were lounging on the table, and his breath caught. Faerie! The small heads spun about, and one of the figures leaped to her feet, then into the air, a blade jumping into her hand. "Persimmon!" the figure now less than a meter from his throat immediately went into a hover. The fairy that had been lounging on the table had stood, and lofted gently until she was even with her sister. "I think this is the man of the house." She said gently. Then she bowed, wings still humming. "Hail and well met, Al. I have but one question; is this short for Alvin Alfred or Albert?" "Alan." He replied. "I am Beautyberry, Queen of the Alpharetta Realm." She bowed again. "My impulsive friend is Persimmon, both defender and lover. And your wife is within." She flew aside. Al pushed the door farther. Macy stood at the oven, head down, and he ran across, spinning her around, and hugged her. "My god, honey, I'm so sorry." He whispered. "It's all right-" "No, Damn it, it is not all right!" He hugged her tighter. "I worried so much about money that I put you and any children we might have had in second place." He held her at arm's length. "Call Coke, tell them you quit. Then I'm going to fix it any way I can." "But Al, the house-" "I got the promotion. We have enough to have you home. We can have the children, be happy together. "And we can help them." Macy felt a chill. There was only one way humans could guarantee helping Faerie... The doorbell rang, and she opened it. Matt and Frankie came in, arms full of grocery bags. Since Macy had offered to help, the pair had gone to local outlets for the necessary ingredients for kits. Along with them came almost two dozen Faerie. Rob had nicknamed the human assistants the 'Fellow Travelers'. But it was Martin Runningfox who started calling the assorted goods they distributed 'Care' packages'. The original packages, just assorted goods from other Faerie realms had grown into something the size of a small camping first aid kit. Small to a human, but with everything measured by the Faerie size, the equivalent of several pallets of goods. They contained vials of medicines from headache powders to antibiotics even antibiotics in liquid form and paregoric for serious pain. Everything a group of people at the Stone Age or Bronze Age technology level could need but not supply for themselves. As the roast cooked, the humans and Faerie worked together. A dozen boxes sat in the center of the table as the humans measured and divided the chemicals and medicines down into tubes usually used for perfume samples. Using tiny quill pens, some of the faerie would mark the tubes with their contents and basic instructions for their use, then grab them two at a time, and set them in kits, flitting back for more. Others would arrange the goods so they took up the least space, and would not break during transit. "We have an entire assembly line up in Chicago for this." Matt grumbled. "After all, everything is readily available here, not like Southern Mexico or the Greek Islands. But no one considered we'd need to send those packs here in the States. So instead-" he motioned at the pair of faerie picking up the small metal box they had just completed. They staggered under the weight, but moved it without asking for help. I've already called Chicago, and from now on, they will have kits sent here. "Even there we worry. The doses they need are proportional. But like any medicines, they can be accidentally misused. One of the younger Faerie of a nest in Detroit had been injured, and the healer thought 'if this much laudanum would relieve that pain in ten minutes, twice as much would be better'." Matt looked at Al and Macy with a sick expression. "What we got was one dead from an opiate overdose, another who killed herself in grief. That's why we switched to paregoric instead. Haven't had any allergic reactions or overdoses yet, but we dodge a bullet every time one of our little friends uses this stuff." He capped off the small bottle, set down the eyedropper he'd been filling it with then handed it to Beautyberry, who began writing a warning label. Frankie sighed. "We can't even get an exact dosage because no one makes scales accurate enough. The best one man has come up measures in hundredths of a milligram, but for the stronger opiates we need one that will measure in nanograms." The kits were soon done; each marked, and stacked in a box. "When contact teams call in, they will get kits, or have them shipped or delivered by you and those who assist you. Easier to deliver really, since a lot of this is controlled substances and prescription. There is less than one street dose of anything in a kit, but mere possession would be enough for a felony conviction." "I understand that." Al commented. The conversation moved into the kitchen. They had a full dining room in the house, but the faerie seemed to love the kitchen best. Al and Macy watched amused as the thin slice of beef he had cut was reduced to slivers as the Faerie sat around and ate. Similar small pieces of baked carrot potato and onion were also chopped up and devoured. "So here's the deal-" Frankie said. When she did Matt snickered. She gave him a minatory look. "What's so funny?" Al asked. "Two of our people were affiliated with organized crime." Matt snickered. "Frankie here is the daughter of a mob boss in Chicago. Monica, our director of operations is the granddaughter of another. So her saying that reminded me of her family." "Are we quite through, sir?" Frankie asked in a sweet voice that threatened violence. Matt waved his hand and put on a sober mien. "As I was saying. We want you both to understand that helping them might have a price. Possession of one of those kits will get you arrested on a charge of possession for sale of a controlled substance. More than one is possession for distribution. We have not had anyone stopped and arrested yet, but it could happen. The worst part is that it's like the old Mission Impossible show. "We can't tell a patrol cop or a lawyer or a judge why we have those kits along unless he knows the secret. We cannot save ourselves by revealing their secret because quite frankly, there are too many whack jobs of all types who would see them as something to use or treat like a lab animal." She held out a hand and a Faerie landed on it. "Think of how much money a zoo would offer, or a museum, for one of our friends. "So we want you to understand that if you accept this you can stop at any time. But like that old TV show, if you are caught we will have to deny ever knowing you. We have our own measures in place so that the police will find nothing in Chicago except an assembly line that is putting together kits of artifacts from nests we have already discovered. No drugs, no proof of any drugs. The only part of having a mob family behind me I will use. "Also, as you know from speaking to them, they are a pragmatic race. If you harm or become a danger to them, they will deal with you as they see fit. You might end up as a prisoner trapped in a nest and used to propagate their race, Al. Or as a Faerie, or dead. They are used to everything dangerous to them being huge, and they have found ways to remove threats with all of the efficiency of any human in such situations. "Humans dealt with the cave bear and the saber tooth tiger. We're that dangerous to them, and they know it." "That is not a threat." Beautyberry said, though the look on Persimmon's face said otherwise. "Like you we must protect ourselves first." "So here is when you as the old saying goes, fish or cut bait. Matt and I will leave you alone, and the Faerie will avoid you as long as you do not threaten them. But if you are going to help, we need all the help we can get." Macy looked at the faerie. They were lounging now, replete. But the looks went from eager to wary. Bayberry looked at them with something that might be called hope. No. Her eyes were on Al. "That includes sex." Macy said. "Where possible." Frankie admitted. Macy stood. "Al must you..." She looked at him. He looked at her then reached out, taking her hand. "Can we decide forgo that part?" He asked, looking not at the humans, but at the diminutive guests. "Of course." Beautyberry said. Some of the faerie glared at the woman, and she returned their gaze mildly. "He is not a hitch hiker we can milk on the road, my friends. He offers to help in all ways save one." She looked from face to face. "Which tribe of the three represented here will deny him that choice?" "We will not." Bayberry said. She looked away, and Macy was sure she saw unshed tears in those eyes. "I spoke with our queen before I came. She has agreed to accept any stricture from our new friends that they place." "Nor will we." Said a Faerie named Peach Blossom from a clan to the north of Atlanta. "The ban stands." "Then we will help in all ways except for that." Al agreed. "Good." Matt reached across the table shaking Al's hand. "We'll get cards printed up, and assign you both e-mail addresses. All you need to do then is go to the locations we send to you, and deliver the kits to our roving field agents. Oh, by the way, what are you two doing this weekend?" "Nothing I can think of." Al said. "Macy?" "All we had planned was going down to the coast for a few days." She replied. "Then we would ask you to make a pick up and delivery." Frankie said. She explained about the Houston Faerie who wanted to go to the shuttle launch. "The launch is Saturday morning. The local faerie clan are in the nature preserve on the edge of the space center, and they will be ready to go back to Houston before noon." "So we transport what, half a dozen of them?" "Yes." Matt set down the camera case he had brought in earlier. "Just pick them up, and take them to Mobile Alabama where another team will carry them the rest of the way." Faire un r?ve de ?toile (Dream a dream of the stars) Dogwood stood holding the branch of the tree, staring in amazement at the Shuttle Endeavour. She had known it would be big. After all her own 99 mm was less than four human inches in height. But she had not realized that humans made things this large that were also able to fly! The three faerie that had accompanied her from Houston were just as amazed. "All that for only seven humans?" She asked in a hushed whisper. "This time there will be nine. Five from other countries; Japan France India China and Russia. The rest will be Americans." One of the locals, named Blackberry of the Kennedy Sanctuary replied. "But... That big round thing is big enough to hold every Faerie still alive!" Dogwood of Houston gasped. "They need so much space?" The older faerie of both clans laughed. "No little one. That is the fuel tank. They need all of that to throw that dart shaped craft into space. All of the rest is disposable." Dogwood of Houston shook her head. Mentally she calculated how many swords bows and structural members for tunnels could be made from all of that metal all to be thrown away. "It seems so... wasteful." "Yes." One of the other locals said. "We hear all of the arguments among the humans about it. Long before we received our Blackberry we could hear them argue. There are those that point out how much they can get from space, and others who argue about how much could be done here on the planet if they stopped 'wasting it'." She shook her head. "After you return home, you can read all of those arguments online." She looked at the setting sun. "They are supposed to launch at five in the morning. A night launch is spectacular. But that means all young Faerie must get to bed soon to be up and ready to watch it in the morning. "And tonight we have a treat. The ones who brought you from Houston gave us a new movie. Space Camp." ***** The diminutive pixie looked at the huge flying thing. The movie had excited her. She knew it was not true, but she understood the wonder of those children suddenly thrown into space by an accident. If only she could enter it, see those scenes with her own eyes! She lifted into the air, and flew low and fast. There was still over eight hours before the launch. ***** Jasmine of Kennedy Sanctuary sighed. She had night watch, expecting to get off at sunrise. One of the visitors Dandelion of Houston came from the nest, stretching. "I can't sleep." She admitted. She was one of the taller Faerie, 112mm tall, which made her a head taller than most of the locals. Her hair was a soft butter yellow, running down in a long pony tail between her wings almost to her waist. "Have you seen our Dogwood?" "She went down to the edge again to look at the shuttle." The guard said, pointing. "I told her not to go farther." "I had better get her back here." Dandelion said. "Otherwise she won't get any sleep." Moments later she returned at high speed. "She isn't there." She said. "But I could trace her scent. She went that way." She pointed at the giant vessel. "Oh god." Jasmine said. "They start preparing for launch hours before it happens. There are men all around that thing right now, and the crew might already be aboard!" Minutes later half a dozen faerie led by Magnolia of Kennedy raced toward it. "How do we sneak into there?" Dandelion asked. "With all those lights..." "By being brazen." Magnolia replied. "Fly above the lights. Avoid owls and bats, find her get her and bring her out." Like a living arrowhead, they lofted higher. Beneath their flight it was brighter than day, but that made the small figures invisible against the night sky. The local animals that were a danger, owls bats and ground predators had learned that when those lights were on, horrible noises would happen soon. That and the sheer brazen approach kept them alive. They followed that wisp of scent from the excited young faerie. It flew like an arrow straight at the upper edge of the structure. Then it arced down... Toward that open hatch that led into the ship. They followed. There were humans moving around, testing connections looking at the framework of the tower and other things the Faerie didn't begin to understand. They avoided them and finally reached the hatch. The Faerie flew into the cabin, ducking as they saw two men working at the controls. The smell went down deeper into the huge flying machine. Dogwood had hidden on the lower level, watching as other men went through the last minute inventory The others joined her. "I got in then they arrived." She gasped, waving at the men now climbing back into the main cabin. "I've been moving to avoid them for over an hour!" "And two more are up at the flight controls." Rose of Houston said. "There will be more soon. We must get out of here!" There was the noise of feet and people began to flow into the room. Unlike all the others they had seen, some of these wore bulky suits with helmets. "They are boarding the crew!" Magnolia of Kennedy gasped. "It's too late to get back out!" "But one of us must!" Dandelion said. "If only to let the others know!" "I will go." Rose said. "I am the best hunter of my tribe, and if anyone can get out of here it's me." "Go." Dandelion ordered. The hunter lifted, flying along the wall toward the ladder. She concentrated hard on what she was doing, and her skin had faded to match the sterile white of the back ground. Up onto the upper deck, diving out of the way of those huge figures moving about, then through the hatch. She flitted up like a fighter plane doing an Immelman turn as a technician came through the hatch, then was up in the blessed darkness above the all pervasive lights. Now she flew as if her life depended on it. Behind her the techs came out, and the hatch was closed. She dropped lower as soon as she could. As she flew she heard a squeak, and dodged frantically. The bat had already turned, and she could hear it coming closer and closer. It was faster than her, and none of her camouflage would protect her from those sonar pulses. There was nowhere to hide out here! She dived for the ground, and felt it fly close enough that it's claws barely missed her hair. So close to safety! She landed on the ground running. The bat would not hunt her here, it would have to get aloft again, and she was hidden by the ground itself, just one moving object in a plain of grass moving in the wind. But instead of ten minutes of flight, it would now take her hours. ***** There was a roar as if Niagra Falls had been brought to the Everglades. Light so bright it was almost blinding even here miles away washed over the gathered Faerie. "Where are they?" Queen Lemon Blossom snapped. Her assistant Tulip shook her head. "My queen!" Three faerie raced toward them The middle one, staggering from exhaustion collapsed before her. "You are the one named Rose from Houston?" Lemon Blossom asked gently. "Tell me, what has occurred." "The others. They are trapped within that thing." The tired faerie waved toward the shuttle now lifting into the sky. Lemon Blossom sighed. Then she went into the nest. Dahlia was on the screen with a human, and Lemon Blossom tapped the girl. "Who is this?" "We have started our own chat line, your grace. This is a man named Michael from Key West." "We have an emergency. Please ask him to end this conversation." Dahlia spun typing swiftly. It took a few minutes, but the man logged out. Lemon Blossom logged into the Yahoo Messenger, and into the Interworld's site. She clicked the icon for Houston. Someone named Spearmint was on there, with an icon that meant she was their queen. LEMON BLOSSOM: SPEARMINT OF HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM. Faire un r?ve de ?toile; Le cauchemar (Dream a dream of the stars: The Nightmare) Monica Braziani sipped the coffee. She had been awakened by Erika, and had asked only enough time to have some coffee before hearing what had happened. "So let me get this straight. We transported five Faerie from Houston to the Kennedy Sanctuary so they could watch this shuttle launch, and now three of them have stowed away aboard it?" Her tone was calm, but Erika could see the fury beneath it. "I don't think we can define it as stowing away." Erika corrected gently. She caught the back of a chair, and sat. She was six months pregnant, and her ankles hurt. Monica smiled gently, and tapped a button. At her nod, Erika continued. "The youngest pixie was Dogwood. From the report I read, she wanted to get a closer look at the shuttle, and didn't let anyone know she was going closer. Six others followed her by less than an hour. Three from each clan. Right before the launch, one of them, a Houston Fairy returned on foot after being harried by a bat then a fox, then by an owl. The others had been trapped in the shuttle cabin. "Before she could report what had happened, the shuttle had launched." Monica rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, poor choice of words. Kids!" Erika, herself only nineteen though she looked seventeen chuckled. "Hey, if I had been there, I might have tried to wheedle a closer look." "You and me both." Monica admitted. "But now we have a problem that may blow the lid off the entire secret. How long can they hide on the shuttle?" "According to Rose's report, they had found a small cubbyhole. If none of the crew poke around in it, they should be safe." Madison came in, wearing a satin robe, with a tray. On it were two carafes. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to wake up or sleep." The butler commented. "So the red carafe is coffee, and the blue one is hot chocolate." "Have I told you that you are a treasure, Madison?" Erika said. "Not today, Madam Erika." Madison commented. "But you do say it often enough." He set the tray down. "Madam Erika?" "Chocolate. I find I like it more right now than coffee." "Coffee for me." Monica said. "It looks like I won't be getting back to sleep tonight." The butler silently served them both then at Monica's unspoken order, joined them. "And with people from five different space agencies and that news magnate aboard, what are the odds that someone won't 'poke around'?" Madison asked when the situation was explained. "Slim to none." Erika admitted. "Well go on back to the control room, send out a message to all clans. We're going on total lockdown until further notice. We will still deliver anything they ask, but the chat lines Dandelion of Angeles Forest started are to shut down until we find out what is going to happen. If they end up on the public news in the next few days, we'll figure out how to do damage control." Monica ordered. "We have longer than that to worry about." Madison said. "This is the lead mission of that new International Geophysical year mission. It's slated to last for three weeks. The International Space Station's crew is scheduled to change in the middle of the mission so for about five days there are going to be not 12 but fifteen people there of seven nations." He looked at their astonished faces. "I have always wanted to go into space, Madam." Erika racked her memory. "Crap, they're supposed to have another Shuttle, Intrepid I think, rendezvousing with them on day seventeen, three days after the next station crew comes up." "Yes, Madam. When they arrive it will be 20 people." "Wonderful. Just keep piling the bad news on, why don't you." Monica moaned "Really? There is more." Monica glared at her. "There is more?" Erika handed her the sheet she had printed out. The crew of Endeavour. One name had been underlined. "Frank Lampier?" Monica asked. "Media mogul. Not as rich as Ted Turner, but a lot sleazier. His paper is called the Real Truth, and is a step down from things like the Star or National Enquirer. "He sees a faerie, and his papers will have a field day." "Oh that is just fucking wonderful." Madison stood. "If you will excuse me ladies, I think I must call the others, and rouse the house. Our day is only beginning." ***** "Houston we are on approach to the International Space Station." Colonel Travis Butler reported. This was his third mission, and first as Mission Commander. He looked at the slight woman beside him. Her coverall had a Russian Federal Space agency patch. "Ludmilla, take us in." "Yes sir." Ludmilla Dankova began to speak in Russian, but he held up an admonitory finger. "Remember, not every one speaks Russian, but every pilot has to know English." She nodded. "Not every pilot, Colonel." She adjusted the boom mike. "International Space Station, this is the American Space Shuttle Endeavour, First IGY mission. Now on approach." "Welcome, IGY One." A soft voice replied. "Casey Laughlin of Canada here. Give us a moment. Jacko is making a souffle and he's worried it will fall if you nudge us too hard." "Too late." A voice with a scratchy Austrailian accent broke in. "Vlad ate it so you'll have to be stuck with the same old rats like everyone else." "Understood, ISS. A good thing I went to something called Krispy Kreme before we boarded. I have two dozen filled donuts I was bringing as a house heating gift." "House warming." Butler corrected. As they joked with each other, the two craft closed. The woman had spent the last weeks practicing on the simulator, and her movements were automatic and deft. The shuttle linked to the boarding tube, and she flicked the switches disconnecting all of the thrusters. One of the simulations had been ugly thanks to that. The switch had 'stuck' open, and moving back had fired the thrusters, slamming the shuttle into the station. Three of the crew had been vying for the command pilot slot, and she had gotten it because when that happened, she had flipped the stick hard over, firing all thrusters on that side. They would have been stuck in orbit anyway, but at least her decision had saved both craft for repair. Miho Takagi, also a pilot but along as a biologist instead swam forward through the micro gravity. "Our guest doesn't like zero gee." He commented drily. "Mr. Lampier has discovered why we carry airsickness bags." "Have the doctor give him something. We have too much to do without having him hurling everywhere." "She is on it, commander." "Thank god." "Which one?" Asked Fan Shi Mai. He came up beside the Japanese, holding onto the seat behind Butler. "Your Christian one? Miss Levi's Jewish one? Our good doctor's Hindu dieties? Or perhaps our own Buddha?" "I am an animist, Mai." Takagi replied. "So we have every god of our own represented." "I love democracy." Butler disconnected his belts. "We shut down, Ludmilla?" "Yes Colonel. But I for one am still unsure of democracy. It might work in your own country, but we have only a generation with it at home, and there are so many problems we still have." She released her belt, catching the back of her seat. "Watch out, Miho." He moved aside as she kicked her feet upward rolling in the air above the seat and now flying backwards toward the ladder down. "I am going to get the donuts." "Why was she allowed to bring donuts?" Mai asked. "Will that not cause problems with food crumbs?" "That's why she brought the filled." Butler replied. "A cake donut might break up, but the filled ones are chewy. Little chance of crum-" There was a shriek of fury from below, and the men dove for the ladder. Dankova stood, holding one of the boxes. Her anger was so great that English was far from her mind. The others, Americans Loman Walker, the Physics mission specialist, Sarah Levi the engineer, Pierre Le Croix of ESA an aeronautical engineer who was going to test some different propellant models, Sarai Ranji of the newly formed Indian Space Agency as mission doctor, and Lampier stared at the livid woman in shock. "Hey, 'Milla! English!" Butler snapped. "Someone had broken into the box!" She held it up. The tape that had held it closed had been cut, and one of the donuts was missing. "Some nekulturny sookim sim took one!" She glared at the violated box. " Kto ty trahanie materi, pishchevaya ponchikom svinya!" Butler sighed. "No help for it. One of the ground crew probably did it. We'll let Houston know. I'm just glad we weren't on open mike." "Too late for that." A laconic voice replied. Both Butler and Dankova flinched. "Testing the new wireless technology for radios, guys, remember?" The voice continued gently. "Both you and the command pilot were wired for it." Butler thought the curse, rather than saying it. "How's the damage down there, control?" "Lucky for you two the entire thing was on a loop like they use for call in shows on radio. But our Russian friend down here is still laughing hysterically." There was a moment of silence. "We've told everyone what you said was 'You mother-loving, donut-eating swine'." Mission control said. "Not that you were polite about it." Ludmilla snarled wordlessly, and took the other boxes out. They had not been opened. "No one touches these!" She snarled, glaring into each face. "I brought enough so the next crew could have one each. You touch them and..." She growled something even worse in Russian. Lampier was moaning, but at least he wasn't projectile vomiting any more. Butler moved over beside him. Sarai floated like an angel beside her patient, checking his pulse and eyes. "Doc?" "I've got him on anti spasmodics. He'll be a little woozy for a while, but should be all right by tomorrow." She reported. "All right people. We represent just about every technological nation on the planet right now. Let's act like it, Okay?" The crew began moving the transported cargo to the main hatch. 500 liters of water in a long blivet, extra rations (The Russians had fallen in love with the sheer selection of the American freeze dried products) electronics to replace equipment the US had stopped using two decades earlier, and the assorted science packages that had been brought. There were also five computer cores. The Russian made ones had crashed in late May, and these Japanese built ones had come to replace them. The lower deck was quiet. Then the hatch to the storage cubicle opened, and Magnolia of Kennedy stuck her head out. She looked around. "Clear!" The Faerie flew out. The next few moments were funny. The faerie were used to the gravity of home, where wings required the rapid beat of a hummingbird to keep them aloft. But a constant beat in zero G slammed them into the bulkheads. Luckily NASA had padded them all, but the Faerie cursed in seven different languages and dialects as they learned how to fly again. "Where are we?" Cornflower of Houston asked. "Remember I told you they went above the very air?" Dandelion of Houston told her. "We are so high that gravity does not touch us." "Hey!" While terrified originally, Dogwood had adapted best in this environment. She beat her wings enough to move, then stopped. When she was almost to the storage cubby, she repeated the same number of beats, and stood as if on an invisible floor in midair. Within moments, everyone was flitting about, going from a lazy almost slow motion glide to a bullet. "Was it wise to steal their food?" Jasmine of Kennedy asked. "Perhaps not." Dandelion admitted. "But it was that or starve. They expect to be at this for three weeks. That one pastry will be enough for us for some time." They began slicing it into pieces narrow enough to hold, and light enough to carry. Lilac of Kennedy yelped when it began to bleed, but the cry turned into delight when they discovered it was raspberry filling. They scooped it out by hand, stuffing it into their mouths as they set the pieces aside for transport. They had just finished when they heard the hiss of the hatch into the cargo bay. Everyone spun, and dived for cover as Levi and Walker floated down. The humans began to unpack more cases, passing them up to some of the others. A lot of it was strange and exciting. Packages of fragile components, more water, As precious as gold to a sealed environment such as this one. Flasks of even more precious oxygen. Levi opened a pack of rations, pulling out some meals. "What do you think the Aussie might like Lo?" Walker shrugged. "From what we were told I'd see if we had some lager in there. If that fails, beans and franks would probably do." "No way." Levi retorted. "Low gas low waste rations, remember? We don't want extra crap or smells we can avoid." She dug into the box, and found another. "This had better do for him." She turned, flipping it toward Walker. "We could let him eat the Russian borscht instead." To the side, Dandelion motioned. "Now's our chance." The Fairy didn't bother with wings, They grabbed a segment of the chopped up donut, leaped, hit the wall of the storage area, and using their legs shot across the intervening space. As each arrowed toward the box, they concentrated, making themselves as invisible as possible. Luckily both civilians were bemoaning NASA regs. Either one would have been glad for a cold brew when dinner came rolling around, and Sarah Levi was dying for a smoke. She'd had to go on the patch to make this trip and was regretting it. The trays within the box had spaces they could crawl into. The donut pieces were rammed down beside them, and they burrowed deep as the case lid came down. "Why are we in here?" Lilac asked plaintively. "Everything is being moved from ship to station through the vacuum of space." Dandelion of Houston explained. "But even though this food would survive the trip without protection, they still pack it in an air tight container. We have more than enough air to survive until they open it again." Outside, Sarah Levi lifted the box noticed it was unsealed, automatically resealed it, and tossed it toward Walker. The man caught it, shoving it ahead of him up into the cabin as he swarmed up after. Levi started to go, but noticed a red spot on the wall near an open storage cubby. She pushed herself off, slowing herself with outstretched arms. The spot looked... odd. She held onto the door of the cubby, pulling herself closer until the spot was inches from her nose. No... It couldn't be a... a hand print the size of the tip of her finger? She pulled the door open. The metal of the deck of the cubby was scored half a dozen times, as if something with claws had slashed across it. And there was more of the red stains here, some where the scoring was, but there were other hand prints as small as the first. She shook her head. Those assholes on the ground! They'd joked for years that gremlins, creatures of air that destroyed planes, really existed. Now some pencil neck SOB had made sure to leave proof they did. Well Colonel Butler would hear of this! ***** Milla held out the box. "As a sign of International camaraderie I, Ludmilla Dankova present to my countryman and Station commander Vladymyr Roshvenkovski the choice of the first treasure I bring from America." Everyone cheered and applauded, both in the station and in mission control. The fifty year old ex PVO Stranya fighter regiment commander and once lead pilot of the Russian Air Force's Imperial Knights flight team opened the box. He selected a filled donut, eye brow crooking. "Vanilla cream." Colonel Butler told him. "Ah." The Russian Brigadier General nodded his head. "In the spirit it was given, I commander of this station ask that all of our associates and guests join me." As the astronauts began to choose their favorites, David MacCallum, head of operations down in Houston sighed. Like every government agency, NASA had to fight the budget through Congress. After the Mars lander debacle that funding had been in jeopardy. There had been talk of scaling back manned missions. Hell, admit it, canceling them all together. And once men turned their back on space, they might as well have the final war. Because they would choke to death on their own waste before too long. At seventy McCallum had always dreamed of being up there. But nature had given him a bad heart, and like Moses, all he could do was watch as other fitter men took those EVAs. This was to be his last mission. That same traitorous heart had struck at him late last year, and he was to be retired once the shuttle landed. Well thanks to the new IGY, the agency he had been part of would outlive him. He turned to the reporters that crowded the gallery, then back at the giant flat screen. Nine men and women floated in space, eating donuts, and talking of their homes. At the back he noticed Lampier. The man was not eating his donut. He was staring at it as if he'd never seen one before. Of course Butler and Doctor Ranji had reported that he had been space sick. Maybe he just needed some time to get used to it. Knowing those vultures up there, Lampier's sickness would be the high point. Like the reports from Iraq during the abortive war it wasn't the good that had been done, it was the body count and broadcasting terrorist manifestos as if only they had the right to decide. But he'd find a way to get them to work with NASA this once. Couldn't the people realize what they would lose if this all went away? Every high tech device they took for granted now had come about because of his agency, and their competitors! Computers, high strength plastic, composites stronger and lighter than steel, thermos jugs, cell phones; hell, I-pods had started because men in space had to limit weight or get the most out of the smallest package. Whether it was data or pictures, the space agency had been the first to create it, not because it was profitable, but because it was necessary. But the press trumpeted every failure, and downplayed every triumph. The last crumb was consumed, trash chased down and bagged, and General Roshvenkovski waved his combined crew into lines facing the camera in the International Space Station. "Control, we have a lot to do to get ready for the Progress arrival. My thanks to you for allowing this gesture by my countrywoman. We have all agreed to ask that Intrepid bring two dozen more, so they can be shared before Progress returns to Earth with my crew." McCallum grinned. This was what the Agency had wanted for years, cooperation with other countries. "I'll even buy them myself, General. Later you guys can let us know what fillings." "Thank you Mission control. This is International Space Station clear." The camera stayed on as the astronauts waved at them, then blanked. McCallum stood, groaning a little. As much as his doctor wanted him to take it easy, he couldn't sit on the sidelines ***** The astronauts settled in to their duties. Takagi took the small animals he had brought into orbit, ensconcing them in Lucite cages so that their reactions to zero gravity could be studied. Mai took chemical compounds that were difficult to merge in atmosphere, hoping that they would make unique combinations more readily in space. Walker and Le Croix began to assemble their packages, deep in conversation with Houston as to when they could be deployed. Levi began working on the extension for the Canadian built robot arm that would be used to attach the new modules scheduled this year. Later she would be using the same arm to place the small zero gee vacuum forge where they would test the smelting process, doing with metals what Mai was doing with chemicals. Both Casey Laughlin and Jack 'Jacko' Morgan spent hours sending the reports of their last six months down to Earth. Vlad Roshvenkovski, commander of ISS 1 filed report after report about the new computer cores. Lampier sat cross-legged in mid air, staring at the donut he had picked. It wasn't that he hadn't been hungry. It had been that one spot on the donut's chocolate topping. He brought it closer to his eyes, until his nose almost touched the soft topping. Clearly marked there had been what he thought looked like a footprint. But a foot less than ten millimeters long. It looked like a footprint left by a moccasin, pressed into the goo. He considered calling the office. Hogan could run a story about it. NASA CREATES MINIATURIZATION PROCESS! TINY PEOPLE DESIGNED TO LIMIT WEIGHT FOR SPACE PROGRAM! Unfortunately he had his normal cell phone instead of his satellite phone. But the cell could take pictures, and he had brought the USB cord, so he'd be able to download them. At least it would be better than that damn story they had run a few months ago about Fairies in the Angeles Forest. No pictures, so they had used pictures of Tinker Bell and models with obviously fake wings. He took out his phone, turned the donut until he got a clear view of the footprint, and snapped it. He heard someone coming, so he stuffed the donut in his mouth. Le veride prendre connaissance de Le cauchemar (The truth becomes acquainted with the nightmare) It had taken almost an hour to slice through the plastic of the casing. They had grabbed their food store, and immediately stashed it. The girls found that staying in one place would not work for long. There were a dozen people on the station, and someone was always awake and working, moving like lumbering elephants. One of them had to remain awake at all times, ready to awaken the others so they could move. They had problems none of them had considered. The faerie had to be extremely careful in the elimination of their wastes. Without gravity the waste could be noisome projectiles floating through space. All they needed was one accident. Luckily for them, NASA had considered the problem. The first thing they had done was assure that all of the food sent to the station was low waste. This would reduce but not eliminate it the problem. They had also created completely biodegradable toilet paper, which the Faerie found was more than adequate to accept their waste and made a simple bundle they could throw into the toilet. That device was a true wonder. Working with the humans, they thought they had seen ever possible toilet, but this was amazing. Designed to operate without gravity, it used a suction device to suck away all waste into a sealed tank which could be dumped into space or taken back to earth for recycling. But at their size they could not use it. The machine was designed for normal humans, and even with two others helping, they almost lost Magnolia into the tank the one time they tried it. Dogwood had been watching all of the video feeds since she had discovered space travel and was able to spot the cameras in each module. It wasn't easy to move through them without being spotted. But it was a wonderful time. Having learned they could still move unnoticed by avoiding the camera angles, they explored the station. By the standards of most human habitations, it was tiny. Half a dozen modules about ten meters long and three in diameter. Most were packed with equipment making them much smaller. With such limited space the humans slept in shifts, something called hot-bunking though there was not a bed in sight. The faerie were able to move freely a lot of the time merely by knowing the schedules. But it had been almost a week and a half and food had become a problem. Of course when you consider how much fun they had licking chocolate, glazing sugar and raspberry filling off each other's bodies that first day... Unfortunately they finished the donut by the third day, and they despaired until Cornflower discovered that Lampier wasn't finishing his meals. The ship had brought up freeze dried meals equaling 3000 calories per person per day. One of them would have lasted all of the faerie for a week if they had been able to use the water system that infused them. The man was eating only half, maybe two thirds of his meals. The first had been thrown away before they could snatch it, but after that they watched him. "Look." Magnolia whispered. Lampier had set his tray aside, jamming it under a clip before swimming from the compartment. Cornflower prepared herself. She still didn't understand why such a large object was so light, but Dogwood and Lilac had worked it out quickly and were sure they could catch it. Cornflower slapped the clip free, caught the edge of the tray, and flew backward. For a moment, it resisted, then it began to move first with glacial slowness, then as if it had a rocket attached, as in a way it did. She slid beneath the tray, using it to shield herself from view as she flew through an area covered by a camera, now only holding on as the tray floated through that space. Waiting on the edge of the camera's angle, Dogwood and Lilac waited until the tray was beyond it and caught the tray, bodies extended along the flight line. Each began beating their wings sharply, slowing it until one last burst stopped them floating about ten centimeters from the bulkhead. The others streamed out, chopping the lamb chop and vegetables into manageable chunks and flew away. A few minutes later, Lampier came in taking the tray that now floated in the air. He looked around to be sure he wasn't being watched, then he reached under the desk where the camera phone had been set. He'd rigged a delay thanks to a cryptic conversation with his technical experts. The clip that had held the tray had been rigged to trigger the camera three times. The first show nothing. The second however... It was a woman, gripping the tray, struggling backwards. Two pairs of dragonfly like wings a blur of motion. The last showed the woman and tray from below, her stretched back as if she were going to do one of those arching gymnastics moves where you bend over backwards to put your hands on the ground behind you. He grinned. He might not be able to send these pictures down to the news room yet, but once he landed on the ground again, the truth would be out. But... He lay back in mid air, thinking. What if he could catch it? NASA would have to admit what he printed. It wasn't often that his kind of paper broke a really good story before the national press but the National Enquirer had broken such a story only a few years earlier. He could almost see the faces of the editors of the Washington Post and LA Times when they had to admit in print that a 'rag' had beaten them to the punch. But this wasn't some rabbit he could catch with a box propped up with a stick. First off the damn box would just hang in mid air. He decided to check with General Roshvenkovski. There had been studies that some small pests; insects and mice for example, might accidentally be brought aboard capsules and get into spatial habitats. NASA had merely spent a few million on specialized specific toxins. But he had heard the Russians had actually built a better mouse trap. ***** "Those..." Sarah Levi bit her lip. She motioned to Butler who was helping her to move another canister of rations each. She showed him the clip on one edge. Something had cut through the soft plastic so the clip hung loose. He looked at it, and she gestured to the earpieces they both wore. He nodded, and they removed them, setting them near the entrance to the storage bay, then swimming through the air back to the box. Butler examined the box carefully. "So someone cut it after it got here." He commented. "Have you seen anything sharp edged on this station except for the General's Spetznatz knife? Skipper this is one of the cases we brought up, and I only picked it up today. Why would our General wanted to chop it up?" She opened the container, lifting out the dinners one by one. Then her fingers found something sticky. She lifted the tray, looking at the brown smear on the bottom, and red paste on the edges. Silently she extended her fingers to Butler. He sniffed, eyes confused. "Chocolate and raspberries?" "Remember the donut that was missing? Want to bet it was raspberry filled?" "So what do you mean? One of our crew sliced it up to hide in the bottom of this box? Why bother?" "I don't know, Skipper. It might be someone's idea of a joke. Make us think something was hidden in the box." He shrugged, "If it was right after the Second World War I'd probably say they were gremlins." "Gremlins? Like in the movie?" "Not really. Ever since that war, there were stories. Planes literally coming apart because something was dismantling them in flight. One dive-bomber from the battle of Midway returned to the carrier, and when it landed no one could figure how he had made it. Elevators and rudder shot up, control wires shot away, it should have crashed immediately. But it flew over a hundred miles in that condition." "So we have some kind of spirit that messes with planes on board?" "When weird things happen with planes that can't be explained, they would blame it on gremlins. I didn't mean I believed in them." He pulled the box closer; first looking at the outside then looked in the box itself. He touched the bottom then took a mini mag-lite from his breast pocket. Focusing the powerful beam, he leaned closer. "Get the magnifying headset from the commo room and bring it here." Confused, Levi did as she was told. Butler slid the headset on, eyes locked on a brown smudge on the bottom of the case. For a long time he stared at it, then he leaned back, handed the light and headset to Levi, and pointed. "Tell me what you see." Levi put it on, leaning her head into the box, the light illuminating... her breath caught. She suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to tell him about the handprints and scraping aboard the shuttle. "It looks like a footprint. But so small." She leaned back. Then she told him about the evidence she had seen aboard the shuttle. "Tell no one." Butler said. "We're going to go to take a look over there right now." ***** The director of Signal Imagery walked into the pit. Tao Lin and Myra were sitting at adjoining monitors, both working. "Tao Lin, a word please." The young man stood up, apprehensive. He and Myra had spent a lot of time together, and both were the type who enjoyed touching. Myra because she was a sensual being, Tao Lin because he couldn't believe such a beautiful woman was attracted to him. That had caused a lot of animosity because there were a lot of men working here who had seen beyond those pop bottle glasses she used to wear. "Tao Lin, I have a question. Can you make the video feed from the station clearer?" The young man was taken aback. That question wasn't what he had expected. He considered. "The problem is the signals are low bandwidth compared to what we get from satellite imagery. I would have to break it into sections, say thirty to forty-five second increments, and then try to digitally enhance them. If I could get some help and the use of say a sixty inch plasma screen TV as a monitor, it could be done." "Would it be easier if you had the monitor, the help, but only had to check specific periods of time?" "Of course." "Colonel Butler called down a few hours ago privately. He wants us to watch for small animals that might have gotten aboard. They have found what might be traces of some kind of animal." "What kind of traces?" "Food missing, what he thinks might be footprints, that kind of thing." Tao Lin lifted his hand, rubbing his chin as if in thought. Actually he was horrified. In the small spaces of the station, the Faerie could not hide too readily. They had left traces that had been noticed, and now the humans there knew it. "But how could something like that get aboard?" "Why do you think our clean room technology is so strenuous? None of our ships, from the old Mercury capsule to the present, is left where something can get aboard. But we have only sketchy reports of the Russian clean room technology. They had a lot of problems in the seventies and eighties because of that. "Let's say he's right, that say a field mouse got aboard, or a rat. It could run along the pipes or inside the machinery. It wouldn't have to come out except to forage for food. Except when the crew are sleeping all the lights are on, and the only space that doesn't have cameras are the cleansing and toilet sections. "If it were pregnant, you could have the second or third generation already used to zero gee and able to move more readily. "So far we haven't seen anything but this to suggest Butler might be correct." He handed Tao Lin a disc. "A tray that idiot Lampier had clipped down came loose, and flew across a compartment. There looked like there might be food on it still, but it was empty when he threw it away. So start with this." "They are running a rotating schedule up in the ISS, but most are asleep before 2 AM our time. Maybe two of the nine are still awake. Instead of shutting down the cameras, we're going to have them all up and recording 24-7 as of half an hour ago. "Whatever they are, they have eluded all attempts by the crew to actually see them, and our men monitoring the cameras so far have seen nothing. Butler thinks they might be smart enough to avoid the cameras." Tao Lin felt a chill. "Smart enough?" "If you know where the cameras are, you could move outside their field of view if you were mouse or rat sized. That is the only explanation he has." "We'll get right on it." He told the director. He held the disc as if it contained nuclear weapons secrets. They might not yet have been seen, but someone aboard knew the faerie were there. "Myra?" "Yeah,