Out Of This World Rumble 
By The Captain 
Do Fear The Sleeper! 


Dave Hanson drove along the back-country road which ran as straight as a
laser-beam towards the horizon. His TrakScan 300 told him that there were
nearly twenty miles to go before he got to the turn-off which led to the
microwave relay station. In the back of his white company truck boxes of
replacement parts and several tool kits bounced in time with the many dips and
bumps in the road. He finally turned off the radio in disgust as the last of
the stations faded into static. There was something about this area which
seemed to kill radio reception. His cell phone had died miles ago. In the
distance he could see something red on the side of the road. Had some one
broken down way out here in the Arizona wilderness?

Minutes later Dave drove up to the red pickup truck. The back left tire was
clearly flat. As he got out of his truck Brad could feel the heat that his air
conditioning had him protected him from. A tall red-head stood up on the other
side of the pickup. As she walked around to Brad he could see that she was a
very impressive sight. The red shorts and tight white muscle-shirt did little
to hide her athletic figure or her large firm busts. Plus she was at least
four inches taller than he was. If Hooters had a basketball team, she would be
on it. "Hi! My name's Dave, are you having same trouble? Maybe I can help!
Looks like you've got a bad flat, do you have a spare?" asked Dave.

The woman seemed unable to speak, but she pointed at the metal jack that lay
at the side of the pickup. Dave found himself stammering as he tried to pry
his eyes away from her sweat covered cleavage. "Wow, this thing is all
mangled! How did that happen? Something bent the crank assembly all out of
shape! If we could lift the back end of the your truck we could use it like a
stand. Maybe we can use what my truck came with." Without a word the tall
red-head walked to the back of her pickup, bent down, and smoothly lifted up
the back end of the truck. Dave was unable to see how she had performed this
incredible feat of strength, but the thought of the power she must have used
only increased his own flow of sweat. He carefully pushed the broken jack
under the frame and stepped back. She carefully lowered the pickup onto the
jack.

Dave found the spare tire in the bed of the pickup, but was forced to use his
own tools to replace the flat tire. When he was done the woman repeated her
show of strength and he pulled the broken jack out from under the truck. After
Dave had put his tools away his discovered that standing next to the silent
woman was a young girl, also red-haired and athletic looking, who had to be
her daughter. The young girl. who could be anywhere from ten to sixteen-years-
old, walked closer to Dave and said, "Thank you. We are close to our home, may
we reward you?"

"Well, you don't have to pay me, if that's what you meant. But I could sure
use a cold drink!"

The girl nodded and said, "Please follow us in your vehicle!"

He climbed back into his truck, thankful for the air conditioning, and
followed the red pickup down the road. They traveled for over ten miles and
then suddenly made a right turn and went off onto the desert. Unable to see
what marker they had used, Dave glanced at his TrakScan 300, only to see the
message that it had lost contact with the satellites. This is just perfect, he
thought, as he switched his truck into four-wheel drive. The desert was in
some ways actually smoother than the road had been, but the last thing he
wanted was to be stuck in the desert in an area where radio didn't seem to
work. A few minutes later he spotted what looked like an old wood and metal
shack that hadn't been visible from the road. Could this be where the
read-head and her daughter lived? The red pickup stopped in front of the
shack.

As Dave got out of his truck the young girl waved to him, "I have to get the
key to our home. This will take several minutes. Come with me, you will be
more comfortable inside!" The inside of the shack was actually much cooler
than he had expected, though he could find no signs of air conditioning. The
door, which was on the other side of the small building, was better
constructed on the inside than it looked from the outside. It was almost as if
the "shack" had been built to look like it was much older than it really was.
Dave waited as the young girl stood in the center of the room and closed her
eyes. She stood there for several minutes, motionless.

Suddenly Dave heard the sounds of several other cars driving up. While the
windowless walls of the shack muffled the sounds to some degree, he could tell
that a fight had started up. As he heard the sounds of gunfire he threw
himself to the ground and tried to move the young girl, but she had become as
solid as a statue! The door to the shack opened and two armed men rushed in.
Both unloaded a hail of bullets at the girl at point-blank range, but either
they were horrible shots or the bullets ddin't seem to bother her. The young
girl became a blur as he leaped at the men. She was much too fact for Dave to
follow, but he heard two sickening snaps and they dropped to the ground.
Without a word she ran from the building. Dave grabbed a gun, unsure how it
worked but wanting it anyway, and followed her back to the front.

Dave could see three black SUVs and ten more men dressed in black suits. They
looked as dead as the two inside the shack. The tall red-head lay on the
ground, her back propped up against the outside of the shack. Her face and
chest were covered in black burns. What had they shot her with? The young girl
bent down close to her mother's face and then turned to face Dave, "We must
leave quickly, this place is no longer safe! You will have to take me home. I
will provide navigation!" The girl pointed towards the red pickup, which had
clearly taken several hits to the radiator and was no longer functional.

For a moment Dave hesitated, but then he remember how easily the young girl
had taken out two armed men. It took three minutes to load Dave's truck with
the odd collection of junk that the red-heads had carried in the pickup. The
young girl gathered all of the equipment from the dead men and brought them as
a gift to Dave. He took something that looked like a GPS unit and tossed the
rest in the back of his truck. For some reason the young girl insisted that
they leave the body of her mother behind. In any case, he discovered that the
tall read-head was much too heavy for him to move. They continued to drive out
into the desert. While the terrain was still flat, Dave was worried that he
would run out of gas. Thankfully each of the SUVs had spare five-gallon gas
cans.

He had traveled over ten miles east of shack when he saw a bright flash of
light behind them. Even though it was still afternoon, the flash was bright
enough to cause long shadows. Dave slammed on the breaks and jumped out of the
truck. In the distance he could make out the distinctive mushroom cloud of a
small atomic explosion. He turned to look at the young girl, her face showed
no signs of emotion, 'You are safe at this distance. All signs have been
erased. She is gone. You are now my protector. Please. We must continue before
others come!"

An hour later Dave found himself driving towards one of the stone hills that
dotted the Arizona landscape. As he started to turn around it the young girl
grabbed the wheel, forcing them to continue driving directly towards the rocky
hill. "What the hell are you doing!" he shouted at the girl as he tried to
force he hand off the wheel. How could she be so strong? Dave looked up,
horrified to see a wall of orange stone flash towards him! But instead of the
crash he had expected, Dave found his truck was filled with sparks and flashes
as if he had tossed a handful of spoons in a microwave. Without warning they
were suddenly inside of a large room the size of a basketball court. Dave
braked hard, feeling the anti-lock breaks pumping the pedal under his foot. As
they came to a stop he turned off the engine and sat back, too stunned to move
or speak. The young girl got out of the truck and moved towards what looked
like a large inner door.

In the dim orange light that filled the room Dave could see that she was
straining to open the door. This brought his brain back on line, so he got out
of the truck and walked towards her. As he came near her he could see that
while her face was still void of all emotion her body was trembling with
effort. Suddenly her muscles exploded into view, turning her into a grotesque
parody of a female body- builder. Dave stepped back as the young girl slowly
forced open the giant metal door. As she let go of the door her body returned
to normal size, "I am sorry for the delay. We must conserve energy and there
is normally someone else with me to open doors. Welcome to your new home,
protector!"

As Dave stepped through the doorway he entered a large multi-level room the
size of a small shopping mall. Dozens of nearly-identical red-heads appeared
to be working with grim purpose using towering alien machines. Several tall
red-heads walked past Dave and entered the room where his truck was parked.
Moments later they returned with all of the material from the back of his
truck, including his tool kits and boxes of spare microwave transmitter parts.
"Hey! That's my stuff!" he shouted as they walked by.

The young girl turned to him and said, "As a member of the Community, all that
is your is ours. However, you will learn that we also share everything with
you. We recognize that your species requires regular pleasure sessions. When
you are not on duty we will provide suitable sources of pleasure. The
Community is adaptable. We are preparing new scout drones. After you have
rested, your first assignment will to assist us in testing them for direct
interaction. I was a prototype. My size was selected to make me look less
dangerous, but all who we met me wanted to interact with the worker drone that
I had brought as a protector."

She led Dave past several large chambers filled with mysterious equipment.
Finally, they came to a small room that looked as if it had been recently
emptied. "This chamber has been assigned to you. A worker drone will arrive in
a few minutes with the cold drink that you had requested. I must now report to
be recycled, my model type has been designated as a failure."

As she turned to leave Dave shouted, "Wait! You mean that you're going to be
tore down into parts? They can't do that! I still have - need - of your -
company - your assistance! Can't they just re-assign you to something else?
This seems a waste to me. What if there's a mission where someone who looks
like you is needed? They would have to start from scratch and rebuild you,
right?"

"Your argument has some merit. My continued operation would be a minimal drain
on the Community. I have bee assigned to assist you in your interactions with
the Community. Perhaps you will select me as a source of pleasure. It was
noted that your interest in my appearance peaked when I entered maximum force
mode." For a moment her muscles inflated to outlandish size and quickly
returned to normal. Dave stepped back.

"Well, yes, I do get turned on by really strong women. But I think I would be
a lot more comfortable with someone a little taller, like maybe one of those
workers! It's a cultural thing, you know. I hope I didn't offend you or
anything!"

For a moment the young girl stood there looking at him. Then she turned and
walked out of the room. Dave sat down on the hard metal floor and tried to
find a comfortable position. Moments later one of the silent workers walked in
with a blue and white cooler. She placed it down in front of him and said, "I
have been transferred into this body. We hope that this form is more suitable
as a pleasure source. My original body will be stored. Your assessment that
the energy budget required to rebuild is larger than expected material
recovery is correct. We had not factored that in. The Community finds you of
value. I am instructed to provide you pleasure now."

Two hours later Dave was very pleased as well a little frustrated. The alien
red-head had been more than co- operative, she had become his tireless love
slave willing to do anything he could think of. He smiled as he remembered the
many life-long fantasies he had just experienced. The tall worker body was
also able to go onto a muscle monster mode, though what had looked grotesque
on the small girl looked was drop-dead sexy on the six- foot-two adult. Sadly,
Dave had found that she was not a total duplicate of a female.

"You were amazing," Dave remarked as he finished off his second turkey
sandwich, the cooler had been filled with sandwiches and soft drinks. It
looked as if a vending machine had been raided. "I hope I'm not in trouble for
using too much energy!'

"Your demands on the Community as far out-weighed by your contributions. We
have observed design flaws and will correct these in the new scout dron model.
I must leave you for a time. But I will return for you first assignment. Do
you wish to label me?"

Dave looked up from his sandwich, "Label you? Oh! Give you a name? How about
Angela?"

"Then I am Angela," the tall red-head said before she walked out the door.

Nearly an hour had passed when Angela returned. Dave waited for a second woman
to enter the room, expecting to see the new scout he had been told about. But
as Angela stood there he realized that she looked different, more feminine,
and that she was actually smiling at him. "You've changed bodies again, didn't
you? This is the new scout type? The other body was more of a hard-trained
athlete, this one looks more like a good-looking woman that works out a lot.
Can you still do that big muscle thing?"

Angela grew her muscles for him, "As you can see, these muscles have a fuller,
with a more rounded look to them. I am now equipped with a facial expiation
library with over one hundred basic configurations." Her voice turned low and
husky. "I am also FULLY functional for maximum pleasure generation!"

"Well, we can try out THAT improvement later. But before we get to my first
assignment I'd like to make a request. I don't want to be a burden, but is
there a rest room around here? Oh yeah, and if I'm going to be living here,
could I get access to a shower or at least a sink and some towels? And if I
may suggest, as great as that outfit is, you may want to dress - different -
if you want to blend in."

"I was correct in my initial assessment of you. The same skills which allow
you to work away from others of your species that give you insight that the
Community lacks. Come, there is a storage room containing material recovered
from your people. You will assist me in selecting suitable coverings for our
mission." Before she led him to the storage area Angela allowed him to fondle
her enlarged muscles. Was the Community thanking him, or was she? And how was
she connected to the others, he wondered.

She led him through another series of hallways past a bewildering array of
alien machines and large-breasted workers. Though none of the workers
expressed any sign of emotion, Dave felt that they were friendlier some how,
as if they had been part of his pleasure session. Or was that all in his mind?
Was it because he had tried to have sex with one of them? He had more
questions now.

The storage area was the size of a small aircraft hanger and was filled with
piles of clothing and small kitchen appliances. "What did you guys do, raid a
swap meet? All of this stuff looks brand new." Suddenly Dave realized that the
further back he walked, the older the piles were. Near the back of the large
room he spotted a flint-lock rifle and a set of wooden teeth. "OK, this is
spooky." Sudden realization hit Dave like a blow, "You've been here for a
while, haven't you? At least a couple hundred years. But why?"

Dave walked up and down the paths that ran between the piles of random items,
trying to spot a pattern. "These are all examples of the technology of the
day! Our production and design, the materials we used, each pile is a snapshot
of where we were. It's almost as if you were waiting for something." Dave
smiled, "And I think I know what it is! Spare parts! This is a ship, isn't it?
And you need parts to make repairs!" He pointed at the different piles, "You
go to sleep between the times you check, saving batteries? That's why the door
didn't open by itself, you're running low on power. Or, I'm just guessing
wildly and everything I said is wrong!"

Angela stood there for a moment, silent and motionless. After several moments
she seemed to relax and said, "You have surprised the Community with your
assessment. We did not realize that this arrangement of material could contain
secondary information about our status and procedures. You may have wished to
keep this information to yourself and perhaps transmit it to others of your
species, but you did not. Why?"

"Look, you trusted me enough to bring me here. I'm guessing that you don't do
that a lot. And while I may have preferences that are not very common, I
consider myself one of the good guys. That means that until I see anything
that tells me that you are hostile to my planet, I'm obligated to help you.
And from the look of those government goons, helping you means keeping your
secrets. Besides, everything that I've seen tells me that you guys just got
stuck here. Like having a flat tire on the side of the road."

"Yes, you offered your assisstance openly. Even after the hunters attacked you
continued to assist me. Our assignment is to travel to a nearby settlement
that is a short distance east of here. We are to purchase several items and
return here with them. You will be provided funds to do this and I will
attempt to act as your mate. The Community needs your experience and insight.
Please dress me!"

It took nearly an hour to find the other road. While it was as narrow and
barren as the other, it did have the advantage of an intersection with another
county road. As Dave drove down the road he could see a gas station, a few
small stores and several mobile homes. He parked next to the general store and
stretched his legs for a moment. The long drive had left him sore and tired.
Angela promised to massage him after they returned to the ship. She got out of
the truck and walked over to him. While she still had a hint of the military
march she normally used, Angela was doing her best to move more natural. Her
transformation had been worth the effort. The long green sun dress, wide-
brimmed hat and large sunglasses give her a softer look, though her bare arms
still made her look like an off- season gymnast.

Dave took the list of items for their scavenger hunt from his pocket and
smiled, "Some of these items would require a trip into a much larger town, but
I think we can find a lot of these here. Thankfully we only need small
numbers. I wouldn't want to fake up a reason for buying a hundred light bulbs!
Thankfully you gave me a little extra, there's a few things I'd like to pick
up for myself. Why don't you stay here while I pick up some stuff at the gas
station. I don't want you to get your pretty dress dirty and I'm feeling
greasy just looking at that place!"

It took only a few minutes to spend nearly a hundred dollars, but then
everything had premium prices this far out of town. As Dave walked out of the
gas station he noticed that three large bikers had arrived and were standing
very close to Angela. Dave started running as the first biker reached out to
grab Angela. She smoothly moved out of the way before her could touch her and
smiled at the biker. Angela pointed at the short alley that ran between two of
the stores and laughed. The bikers looked at each other and followed her into
the alley. Dave made it to the entrance of the alley just in time to watch her
gracefully punch each biker one time. Seconds later she was the only one
standing. Because she knew that only Dave could see her, Angela made a show of
picking the bikers up one at a time and gently putting them down into a
battered green dumpster.

For a moment her arms were showing massive muscles which made the bikers look
like weak children. But then he realized that she had pumped up her muscles
just for him. Thankfully the bikers had parked their motorcycles near the back
end of the same alley, but before Dave could walk to them Angela had picked up
two, one in each hand. She turned and smiled at Dave as she slowly extended
her arms. Angela gently put the motorcycles on top of a large water tank.
Moments later they were joined by the third motorcycle. With her arms and
shoulders full with large rounded muscles, Angela reached down, picked up a
piece of thick metal scrap, and smoothly bent it into the shape of a heart.
Dave thought he heard a giggle as she dropped the artwork on top of the
sleeping bikers.

After her arms had returned to normal Angela left the alley and joined Dave
for the rest of the shopping trip. Because of the strange collection of items
they were buying, and the way that Angela stayed close to Dave, everyone
assumed they were newlyweds and started to treat them as such. No one had seen
the bikers harass Angela so there were no awkward questions. The highlight was
lunch, where Angela had to strain to maintain control as she consumed her
grilled-cheese sandwich. . Dave could tell that she wanted to ask a thousand
questions and knew that the trip back would be one long question and answer
time. He smiled, when they returned he would make her do all the work.

On the way back Dave spotted what looked like an old prospectors shack near a
hill. He asked Angela if they could stop for a break. Since the difficult part
of the mission was already completed she agreed. The prospectors shack had
seen much better days well before Dave had been born, but at least the last
owner had left then some interesting metal objects to play with. "You were
having fun in that alley, weren't you my lovely Angela?" he asked.

"It is difficult to explain, but I felt some measure of - enjoyment - when you
were watching me. If there wasn't a need to keep my dress clean I would have
allowed those men to wrestle with me. Then I could have provided you with a
more interesting show. These objects are simple iron, of little value to us.
But perhaps you have other intentions?" she asked, her voice suddenly low and
husky.

"Take off your dress and hat and place them in the truck. I'd like to see what
you can do with these. How impressive can you be?"

With great care, Angela took off her sun dress and placed it into one of the
shopping bags. Her hat went on top of the passenger seat. She slowly turned
towards the metal junk collection, her muscles swelling up to their full size.
Angela winked at Dave and said, using the sexiest voice he had ever heard her
make, "Foolish human! You can not stop me with your puny weapons!" She stepped
up to a chunk of metal that may have been an engine block at one time and
thrust her wrists into two of the open holes. Angela slowly lifted the heavy
block above her heard and growled. For several moments nothing seemed to be
happening, then cracks began to form in the block as she tore it apart with
her bare hands.

Each metal object was destroyed by her powerful muscles. Some were crushed,
others bent. Angela was acting as if she was getting turned on by Dave
watching her performance, feeling her harder than rock muscles as she posed
for him. She pointed at a sledge hammer and said, "Even your most powerful
weapon can not defeat me human!". Angela pointed at her large breasts and
posed.

Dave smiled, now this was his kind of woman! He picked up the heavy sledge
hammer and swung it up to smash into Angela's unprotected breast. As expected,
it bounced off as if he had hit a solid block of steel. Angela was unmoved and
laughed, pointing again at the sledge hammer. It took Dave a moment to notice,
but her nipple had been so hard that it had left a visible dent in the face of
the tool. "I don't know which one of us is having more fun, but I better get
you cleaned up and back on the road before the sun sets!"

When they returned to the ship, Dave discovered that a toilet and sink had
been installed in one corner of his room. Though it made the room look more
like a jail cell, he was happy to have some plumbing to call his own. The car
blanket he had bought at the gas station was thin, but provided some comfort
when multi-folded. Angela, as he expected, went into full pleasure mode as
soon as they walked into his room. The scented oil he had found in the tiny
drug store was a new and exotic pleasure for her. They had been enjoying each
other for several minutes when suddenly the dim orange light became dimmer and
shifted to red.

Angela paused as if hearing a silent message and turned to Dave, "We need more
components similar to those you were transporting. There is now only one
emergency power source remaining and emergency repairs are incomplete. Will
you help us? You may be our only hope!" Dave walked over to a pile near the
door and garbed some clothing and a pair of boots, "Here, put this on and lead
me back to my truck. There's a microwave relay a few miles north from here.
With the line down nobody will notice if it goes off line!"

On the drive out to the relay station Dave had Angela practice driving. He
didn't want to turn on his headlights for the drive back, this would make them
an easy target for any searching aircraft, and he hoped that her enhanced
night vision would allow her to drive by starlight. It took them over an hour
to drive to the small station. While Dave fumbled for the proper key, Angela
simply ripped the lock off the gate, walked though the now open gate and
ripped the metal door off of the cinder-block equipment building. Not wanting
to see anything else destroyed Dave made her stay outside and carry equipment
modules to the truck. Since he didn't know what the aliens needed her was
forced to take everything. The emergency survival kit would come in handy
later. Now he had a real blanket!

The sun set as they drove back and Dave noticed that Angela had no problems
seeing in the darkness. As his own eyes became adjusted to the night he began
to see that a large number of aircraft were passing over the area. "Looks like
somebody is really putting a lot of effort in hunting you guys down. We better
hurry, after the desert cools a little we'll be easy to spot on infra-red!" He
looked down at the strange looking GPS unit he had taken from the government
goons. This was the first time he had a chance to play with it. There were no
controls to set a new destination and it seemed locked to point towards one
location. In this mode it was more of a direction finder. Then it hit him! It
was pointing at Angela, it was an alien detector!

"Angela, are you broadcasting any kind of location or status signal?" he
asked.

In the darkness she replied, "Yes Dave, all drones maintain contact with the
Community at all times. It is how we maintain organization and control. Why do
you ask?"

"This thing can detect the signal you are broadcasting! This is how those guys
in the suits tracked you! If I'm right, some of those aircraft have bigger
versions of this box and are picking up your signal right now!" The box in his
hand lost whatever signal it had been detecting and stopped pointing towards
Angela. "That's better! I suggest that you guys maintain communications
silence when you leave the ship. I'm surprised that we didn't get any visitors
on our last trip."

"Thank you again Dave." she said, her voice oddly husky. he heard a strange
ripping noise and Angela handed him a small but very heavy metal cube. "Please
toss this out the window and keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open
them. The moment he dropped the cube out onto the desert floor he felt Angela
floored the gas. He closed his eyes and held on as the truck bounced across
the desert at a speed he never thought possible. For nearly twenty minutes
they drove like a bat out of hell, spending half of the time airborne. And
then hell came to the desert. Even with his eyes closed Dave could feel the
blinding light from the atomic explosion.

"Hell yeah! I don't know what that was, but I'm sure it grabbed the attention
of all of the searchers and fried most of their sensors! Is that what was
buried under the shack? Some kind of demolition charge to clear away any signs
you were there?" he asked.

"In a way. That was my self-destruct module. It is a standard component of all
drones. You can open your eyes now"

Dave blinked, his night vision still recovering, "Too bad you can't use those
as a power source. Might come in handy."

He felt Angela stiffen, "What do you mean? We are in desperate need of
emergency power! What do you propose?"

"Well, do you have a way to extract the stored energy from these things in a
more controlled manner?"

For several minutes Angela was silent. "I do not have the engineering data
required. By when we return I will submit you suggestion to the Community.
Even if it is only a partial success this may buy us time to make additional
repairs. You will be rewarded!"

An hour later and Dave had returned to his room. He had selected an assortment
of items from the large collection that the aliens had gathered. Some rugs,
two small tables and a chair made the room feel softer, more human. Even
though he had no wall outlets, he had brought in several lamps and a lava
light. Several paintings were propped against the wall, waiting for Angela to
help him hang them. But the biggest prize was a 1970's era mattress and
bedding from the 1980's. The aliens had rewarded him with a small enclosed
bathroom in one corner of his "apartment" to go with his working toilet and
sink. But now it included a simple shower. The back wall of the bathroom held
a sealed cabinet with three years worth of soap and toilet paper. Though most
of the brands were no longer sold, Dave was very happy to see signs of
civilization.

The lighting was still dim red, which Dave took as a bad sign, and many of the
alien machines looked like they were turned off. Since there was nothing he
could do to help, he figured that he would just lay down on his mattress to
rest. It took a moment to realize that Angela had returned, but she began to
act - different - than he had come to expect. Getting down on her hands and
knees, she slowly sniffed his body from foot to head. He found himself looking
up at her, with her face just inches from his. She rested her full weight on
him, her powerful body pressing him deep into the mattress, Dave thought he
could hear her purr like a cat. Angela licked his forehead, nibbled his ear,
and left the room so quickly he could not react. Moments later then lights
went out and he felt the air stop moving.

Dave rolled off the mattress and fumbled around until he found his tool kit.
He found the comforting shape of his big LED flashlight and soon had light. He
left his room in search of Angela, only to see dozens of the worker drones
standing around. They looked at him and his flashlight. "Hey," he shouted,
"Why aren't we working on the emergency power systems? Come on! Let's get
going!" For a moment the workers starred him and then they started moving with
purpose, as if they had just received new assignments. Moments later Angela
returned to him.

"The Community is shattered! Our mission is a failure and the greatest
possible disaster has occurred!" she moaned.

Dave walked up to her and pulled her to him with his left arm, "So, that's why
you were acting so weird! So tell me, what happened and why were all the
workers just standing around until I yelled at them? Which I'm sorry I did,
because I really like you folks!"

"I do not understand, this is the first time I have seen you since we
returned." she said.

"Don't give me that! You came to my room, acting all animal like. Sniffing and
licking and purring like you were a cat in heat. Not many women could do
something like that and make it sexy, but you've got a gift!" he answered.

Angela pushed him to arms length, "You saw a woman who looked exactly like me?
A woman who licked you and purred? Then we may have some small hope. Dave,
that wasn't a drone, that was the sleeper! When the power dropped too low her
sleep chamber opened and she woke up. She has left the ship, but without power
we can not track her. But before she left she must have smelled you and
followed your scent. She didn't kill you, which means that for some reason she
felt that you were acceptable to her. If only so much time had not passed the
situation would be much different."

"What a second, slow down. Sleeper? Who are you talking about? She looked
exactly like you. I thought it was you!"

"The Community needs your help even more, so we will tell you everything. This
transport ship was sent out into unexplored space in an effort to hide Empress
Botella until a time when it would be safe for her return. Our mission was to
protect her until we received the signal that it was safe. We never received
that signal. Instead, we received broadcasts that the empire had fallen into a
bloody civil war. That was over five hundred years ago. Since then we have
detected no signals from what remained of the empire."

"We kept Empress Botella asleep as we had been instructed. Her body was easy
to maintain, her race was engineered for enhanced health and strength. But her
mind slowly faded away. We could do nothing, the sleep chamber technology was
not designed to operate for such long periods of time. The creature you met is
all that remains of the genius who once ruled a thousand worlds! Over time the
original worker drones failed and required replacement. The Community has used
the Sleeper as a template when creating new drone models. Over the centuries
we gained the ability to match her appearance. This is why I look so much like
she does."

Dave noticed that the lights, very dim and pure red, had come on again. Some
progress was being made. "So, let me get this straight. Somewhere, out in the
Arizona desert, is a five-hundred-year-old ruler of a dead empire who
currently has the brains of a wild animal? So, how dangerous is she?" he
asked.

"If she were to become angry her power would increase almost without limit.
Her race was designed to be very difficult to kill or hold captive. Most of
the weapons on this planet would not even cause her pain. Very few could
actually harm her. You may be the only one who has a chance of stopping her.
She would not harm the one she has chosen to mate with!" explained Angela.

"How do you know that this - alien she-hulk - you've been keeping here wants
to mate with me?"

"Did she lay on top of you and purr? Did she taste you and let you live?
Empress Botella my be mindless, but she is still female."

Suddenly the light grew much brighter and turned from deep red to a pale
orange. Dave could see that the worker drones were quickly restoring the ships
systems to full operation. "OK, let's say that I somehow find her and somehow
bring her back, then what?"

Angela looked into Dave's eyes, "The Community has chosen. We can no longer
remain on this world. When you return Empress Botella to us we will correct
the damage to her mind. When we leave we would like you to come with us."

"I don't know. Things are moving too fast right now. Ask me again after I
return."

After Dave reached the road he put back the fuses for the truck's driving
lights. The last thing he wanted was to look out of place. Of course, since
the road was now littered with dozens of destroyed military vehicles and
hundreds of bodies, looking normal made him look out of place. Had the alien
woman caused such destruction? Many of the vehicles looked as if they had been
torn apart so that - simething - could get to the soldiers inside. A short
distance from the road he could make out the shape of an Abrahms tank, the
front caved in by some increadable power. By the time he found the first
manned road block he looked as panicked as he felt. Which only made his story
that much more believable.

"Halt! Where the hell did you come from? This area was sealed off days ago?"
screamed one of the soldiers.

Dave rolled down the window, "I work for a company that maintains the
microwave towers! When I saw the first explosion I figured that I better hide
out until it was safe. My cell phone doesn't work out here so I couldn't call
for help and all the links were down. Are we at war? It looks like a
battlefield out there! Who are we fighting?"

The second soldier put down the radio he had been using, "Looks like the brass
wants to talk to you, sir. We did get a call from the company you work for, so
your story checks out. But you might have accidentally seen something that can
help us. You're the first live person to come out of that valley in over four
hours! If you would park your truck over there, we have transportation from
the base coming to pick you up." In the distance, Dave could hear the familiar
sound of a military helicopter.

Dave was tired, he felt his eyes burn from the strain. The questions from the
military had been relentless."

"Mr. Hanson, it says here that you are an independent contractor who has a
reputation for dealing with difficult situations. The company that hires you
says that you repaired several communications relay stations all by yourself
during the Katrina disaster. You went into areas others said were too
dangerous and got the job done. That says a lot about a man. You've seen
things that you rather not talk about. I can understand and respect that. But
I think that you saw some things out in the desert that I need to know. And I
expect you to tell me these things or I will present you with a difficult
situation that you ca not deal with. Do you understand me, Mr. Hanson?" The
lean officer sat back and continued to stare into Dave's eyes. The bright
lights of the military base seemed harsh and alien to him after the softer
lights on the ship.

Dave looked down at his hands. Torture had not been mentioned, but he had seen
too many dead bodies to think that that the military was going to play nice
with him. "There was this woman, I didn't see where she cam from, she just
surprised me! She pushed me down on the ground like I was a little kid. I
couldn't do anything, she was so strong! She looked me in the eyes and sniffed
me, but I guess I wasn't what she was looking for because she just got up and
walked away."

"Did you see which way she went?" asked the officer.

"No, I was too scared to move! I didn't want her to come back! And then I saw
all the bodies on the road! What's going on?"

The officer looked at his partner and then back to Dave, "You are a very lucky
man. As far as we can tell, you are the only person that our visitor made
contact with who was not killed. We shot her with everything we had. Small
arms she ignored. Heavy machine-gun fire and grenades did little. We even had
snipers shoot her with explosive fifty- caliber rounds. When we hit her with
an armor-piercing round from a tank we just knocked her down. Then she got
back up and destroyed the tank. You say she actually touched you? Everyone
else she touched is dead. I'm afraid that we require your continued
cooperation. Please come we us, Mr. Hanson!"

Suddenly two armed soldiers were at his side. Dave really didn't have much of
a choice. He was led down a brightly lit corridor and out into the night where
a Humm-Vee waited for him and his escorts. A short ride brought him to a large
building that looked like a cross between an aircraft hanger and a bunker.
Dave could feel vibrations coming from the ground, as if there were explosions
he could not hear. "This test chamber was used during the cold war to test
exotic explosive material. The walls are over twenty feet of reinforced steel
and concrete. And even through all of that, we can feel this!"

Dave asked the officer, "How did you capture her?"

"Some lucky SOB got off a one-in-a-million shot with a Dragon anti-tank
missile. Hit her in the head and knocked her out for nearly an hour. She woke
up before we were ready for her. She tore through the special chains we had
like they were paper and turned six guards into a red smear on the wall. We
barely got the chamber door closed in time! You can see her if you like,
there's an observation platform she has ignored so far."

Several minutes later Dave stood on a metal catwalk nearly thirty feet above
the test chamber. The officer said it had been used to mount cameras during
the years the chamber had been used to test explosives. Now it allowed the
military to view the most dangerous woman on the planet. And only he knew that
she wasn't from Earth. Even with the ear protectors the sound of her fists
hitting the thick steel door punched through him like hammers. The military
was worried, instead of getting tired she seemed to be getting stronger. Dave
knew why but couldn't tell them. Cracks were beginning to form shere she was
punching the door. what the military planned to do after she broke down the
door was unkmown to him. Suddenly - she stopped - and looked around the
chamber.

Dave saw her sniff the air. She could smell him! He turned to the officer to
warn them but it was too late. The muscular red-head leaped at the wall and
pounded it with both fists. The shock waves started to rip the supports of the
catwalk free from the concrete. The guards and officers made it through the
metal hatch, but the supports gave way before Dave could escape. He hung on as
the catwalk swung down to crash on the floor. Dave felt the alien woman come
near him. He whispered, "Empress Botella, I am here to rescue you!" She
brought her face close to his, he thought she was going to lick him again, but
instead she whispered directly into his ear, "Yes, I know that! Tell me what
to do!"

The military officers watched in horror as the unstoppable killer female
gripped Dave close to her. What few microphones that remained in the chamber
could only pick up growls and a strange purring sound. Some of the soldiers
were making bets on wither she was going to eat him or have sex with him. Dave
remained motionless because he was stunned by the revelation that the alien
woman seemed to have recovered her mind. For several minutes they were having
an intense but whispered conversation.

"It seems that I have no empire to rule. Should I rebuild, starting with this
world?" she asked.

"I would ask that you didn't, though I think that you could if you wanted too.
The drones say that they have repaired the ship and are ready to leave Earth.
In fact, they asked me if I would come with them." Dave whispered.

She growled and licked him on the cheek, "You have brought out the animal in
me. If I promised to leave your planet, would you come with me as I searched
for what remains of my empire?" her muscular arm flexed, it expand several
inches within seconds.

"You know, I've always wanted a girlfriend with lots of muscles. I can't turn
down an offer like that. But first I need you to play dead so they will try to
rescue me. That will give you a chance to escape into the desert. Just play
along, OK?"

Her answer was to stiffen and roll off of him. Her body went into convulsions
as if her muscles were fighting each other. Dave forced himself to stand up
and screamed, "She's going to blow! You've got to take her back out to the
desert or she'll destroy the base! Hurry! I think I can slow the process down,
something about my body chemistry! What the hell do I know, but I think those
other explosions were weaker versions of this woman!"

Dave had to give the military credit for being able to move fast. A cargo
helicopter took Dave and the alien woman back to the desert road block where
Dave's truck had been refueled. They placed the heavy woman into the back of
the truck. One powerful spasm tossed two soldiers to the ground. Grim faced,
they limped to the waiting Humm-Vee and roared off. Dave drove down the road
for nearly twenty miles until he spotted the small cube waiting for him in the
middle of the road. He killed the engine and stopped the truck. The alien
woman jumped out of the back and ran towards him. Dave moved the controls on
the top of the cube as he had been taught and tossed the self destruct module
into his truck. The former Empress of a thousand world picked him up as if he
were a piece of paper and sprinted out into the desert night.

Twenty minutes later they were five miles away from his truck as it was
suddenly turned into an expanding ball of plasma. The alien woman put Dave
down, "You are a mighty hero indeed to have rescued me. Sadly, all is not
well. I fear that my mind is fading as my anger does. I do not know if I can
be restored. But I will follow you back to the ship. That I promise, for I can
feel a growing lust within me which will control me even as I return to the
animal you first saw me as! Please remember me, my hero!"

Two hours later they reached to hidden spaceship and were greeted by Angela
and several worker drones. "You have done well. We will take care of the
empress. Why don't you clean up and rest! I will have cold drinks and food
sent to your room." Dave could only nod as he slowly made his way to the room
he now called home. He noticed that the air inside the ship smelled fresher
and that the lighting was brighter and now had a golden tone to it. The drones
had made major progress while he was gone.

A firm but enjoyable pressure woke him up. As Dave opened his eyes he saw
Angela's face inches from his. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Angela, or
is it Empress Botella?" he asked, unsure who it was that shared his mattress.

"Well, my love, that answer gets a little complicated. You might say that the
answer is both! The mind that you knew as Angela was transferred into the body
of Empress Botella. But something wonderful happened! We have saved most of
her memories and some of her personality. It took a while to get everything
sorted out. The Community helped when it could. Oh, I remember the fight with
your military! I remember the chamber they trapped me in and how you tricked
them into setting me free! I also remember my promise to you. If you stay with
me I will leave your planet unharmed."

She moved closer to him, her voice grew low and husky, she purred, "Please
stay with me."

Three months later and all of the supplies were finally loaded. Dave had
managed to raise a large amount of money by carefully selling most of the
older portions of the aliens collection. Because the material had came from a
wide range of years no one seemed to notice that the market was being flooded
with artifacts in near-mint condition. A few items he kept for the apartment.
The money was used to purchase more repair parts and those supplies they
needed for the trip. They now had enough toilet paper to last a lifetime.
Stored inside of the now fully operational airlock were four civilian colored
military Hum-Vees.

The woman who had once been an empress now used the name Dave had given a
drone. She worked out daily in a special gym that filled the same chamber that
once held the Earth artifact collection. Most of the weights were outlandish
in size, but Angela knew that Dave enjoyed the way they made her muscles swell
and bulge. While the scout model drone had been retired, all of the worker
drones had been upgraded with personality and expression modules. Queen Angela
would have her royal guard. And they were all, as Dave discovered, FULLY
functional.

Twenty miles away four black-suit-wearing humans looked up into the night sky
as the alien transport slowly gained altitude. The senior agent knew exactly
what this meant. Yet again he would be stuck doing a mountain of paperwork.
Time to get more beer.