McAllister and Restrepo were outside the hangar, as Dr. Poole and her team finished setting up all the hardware for the quarantine barriers. It was dark now. They had finished the douche, and Ms. Hamilton was about to be the first to go through it as she went inside the hangar. She would also be going through it in the way out. Restrepo, holding her tablet, said:
“Colonel, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you…”
“What is it, major?”
“I have been monitoring Miss Casafus’ gravitonic shackles. There are some readings that have me… well, worried or at least mystified”.
“Why? Are they failing? Do we need to change them?”
“All of the four are independent of each other, and their readings are consistent… they seem to be working properly. The thing is…” she hesitated, looking at Dr. Poole and the others, who were busy working, at a distance.
“I’m the one getting worried now, speak up, Restrepo”
“When Mr. Wilson ran to meet with Ms. Casafus, I was checking the gravitonics on the tablet, as it was likely she tried to run towards him, and it was a good time to test them… when she picked him up and stood up so quickly, I was startled… she should not have been able to do that, the shackles were put on and designed to prevent especially such sudden movements; admittedly, we’d never used ones so big”
“So they failed…”
“No. As the stood, the hand manacles changed from their original weight of eighty kilos each to 18000 and then I ramped them up manually to 35 000… I could have gone all the way to 250 000, the limit, but did not dare as she was holding him in her hands… she barely noticed”.
“Isn’t there the possibility of misreadings?”
“That’s what I thought. I waited for another opportunity to test them, and then when she was crawling under the power lines I waited until she was with her hands on the ground, so she did not notice the change, and again I ramped gradually the weight manually to 210 tons on each hand”. Restrepo swallowed. “She struggled only a little to get herself off the floor. I’m sure those manacles then weighed more than twice her weight at that moment. It was pretty close to their limit. I slowly took off the weight as she started walking again. She did not seem to notice; Colonel, there is no way both manacles gave the same wrong readings”.
“That means she is getting stronger? Didn’t Dr. Poole said a being of her size could not exist on Earth’s conditions without long term problems?”
“Gravity does not seem to be a problem with her, judging by these results. Either she has been that strong from the beginning or somehow, she is getting stronger, and quickly”. Said Restrepo “I asked Dr. Poole how much a humanoid of her size should be able to hoist with her hands when we were calibrating the manacles. She said at Ms. Casafus size, and with her slim build she should not be able to lift more than half her weight, about 80 tons max, because of mechanical constraints. Clearly that is not the case with her… I saw her struggle with the foot manacles when she woke up, but now she seems to have adapted upwards in terms of strength, fast”.
“Xenobiology is not my forte, Major, but I suspect this is not the last surprise Ms. Casafus is going to give us... stronger is better news than her bones collapsing under her weight, though. She’ll keep changing whether we (or she) want it or not… as long as she does not take flight all of a sudden, sprouts horns or starts shooting killer beams from her eyes… I will speak with Dr. Poole about it, though”. He paused, taking a look at the armored robots lined behind him. “And… let’s keep the walking drones around this hangar, and two armored VTOL airships, with miniguns and Maverick missiles. I want them covered, but ready, near the hangar, just in case”.
Betty was now knocking on the hangar’s door.
****
“Who is it?” Zava’s melodious, husky voice rumbled from inside, with a tinge of impatience on it.
“It’s me, Betty… can I come in?” Shouted Betty.
“Oh!!! Of course, Betty, please do!” Betty waited a moment and turned the door knob on the smaller personnel door embedded in the big rolling doors of the hangar, and entered. Zava was sitting on the floor, cross legged, with her back to the hangar doors and was now turning to face them, and the entering Betty, clad in white overalls, after passing through the douche. Her own clothes were left outside.
Zava’s face was smiling towards Betty, but clearly flushed. She was, reluctantly, putting Mark down, who was also quite red in the face. It was clear Mark, who Betty had thought hated being picked up by giants, loved being held by Zava, as he grudgingly stepped off her hand into the floor, sliding his hand lovingly along the tip of Zava’s extended fingers as he stepped away from the giant girl to get a chair for Betty. I wonder what these two were up to while they were alone… thought Betty, with a pang of jealousy that surprised her. Am I that petty? She thought, dismayed.
“Betty…” said Zava, shyly, with a sidelong glance at Mark. “I was wondering if you’d mind staying with me for an hour or two as Mark goes shopping for some supplies”.
“Oh, of course! That’s why I came here. It’ll be nice for us girls to talk… alone” she said as Mark passed beside her on his way to the door, him lifting an eyebrow at her last choice of word. “Dr. Poole is being airlifted from this airport to Boston, I mean, off the island and to a nearby city at midnight, and offered to take me with her. I have to work tomorrow. That gives us plenty of time to catch up”.
“Ok. girls. Will be back as soon as I can” said Mark, opening the same door Betty entered though. “See you soon, love” he waved at Zava, who waved back. “Bye, Betty”. He added, and disappeared after he closed the door behind him. Zava seemed to visibly deflate as Mark left. Betty got closer to Zava, carrying her chair, and sat.
“Cheer up, Zava, your situation has improved quite a bit” Said Betty.
“Thanks to Mark… I really thought I was in deep shit back there, Betty. I probably am, still, but at least I have a roof over my head, now”.
“Being held as a prisoner is no fun, I know”. Replied Betty. “Mark also rescued me quite a few times in giantland… and I him. He’s always got a plan”.
“That’s an understatement, if ever there was one. He even had this funnel for… ” Zava flushed again.
“I know!” Betty laughed. “I was with him when he made it… he did not want to tell me what it was for, but finally succumbed to pressure. He’s got a few more things for you, but I will offer no spoilers”.
“Betty… I know you told me Mark was too old for me, and too little, but things have worked out great!… we get along so well…”
“Well, honey, I did not want you to get hurt or angry at his rejection, Mark can be quite stubborn, and he really did nor seem that into you at the time… I did not know you all that well, and I was worried you would take it out on him if he refused your advances, as it would be easy for you to overpower him, get carried away and hurt him, perhaps grievously, even without meaning to. It had happened before: one of our crew was killed by an overly attached giant woman who squeezed him too hard in her fingers, it seems, while undressing him against his will”. Betty noticed Zava paled and looked away, biting her lip, but said nothing.
“Valerie was also hurt and molested by Millan, your friend… she even threatened to insert her in her… parts”.
“Former friend” Said Zava, flatly, as she paled some more, frowning.
“Anyway, Mark had me fooled on your account and more…” continued Betty “I guess he is very good at keeping his thoughts his own; not a predictable man, at all, and believe me, dear, THAT is a rarity on this world or on any other. Lemme tell’ya, I did not see it coming when he left us the day before our comeback… he worked himself almost to death trying to get the ship fixed, and then he does fix it, and then sneaks out and disappears! It made no sense!”
“He did not leave a note, or anything?” Said Zava, wide eyed, covering her mouth with her hands.
“Two meager lines, saying ‘do not look for me’ or something like that. Valerie and Burton even said he was probably suicidal. Oh, how I cried!”.
“Oh my gods!”
“Well, it turned out right in the end, he was with you!”. Said Betty. “As for me, I got back, and settled back into my old life, mostly. I’m even engaged, now”.
“Congratulations! When are you going to marry?”
“Next summer, on my vacations”, said Betty, so we can marry outdoors on a sunny day. I hate the cold!”.
“Er… when is that? I’m not very familiar with Earth’s season almanac”.
“Oh! In about six months, or a little more…. I mean, about four of your months. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to get adjusted to all the day’s, months’ names, etc.”
“Yeah… I don’t think I am ever going back to my… Anyway, I… we have no idea how we got here… I’m only happy Mark came along”.
“I saw the videos on the news where you explained the incident… can you really not remember anything, even a little bit odd before?”
“Before, no, but hmm… after I found myself here on Earth, up to the point to where Mark finally appeared, I had this vague fancy that I was being punished, but did not dwell on it too much”.
“Punished? Why?” Said Betty, puzzled.
“It is so silly…”
“Tell me, honey”
“When we were on that hike, we actually were into a kind of a religious sanctuary that men, males, I mean, are forbidden to step into… and I had Mark on me”.
“On you? Can’t really picture Mark riding willingly on anyone’s pocket, even yours, honey” Laughed Betty.
“Well, he was not riding in my pocket… my bag, or my hand” Said Zava, mischievously, leaving Betty to imagine where she was carrying him “although sometimes he had to, but not that day, as we were all by ourselves in the middle of a wilderness trail”.
“What was really happening before you swooned?” Said Betty, unsure she really wanted to hear the answer.
“Well, we were… cavorting”. Zava flushed furiously. “I wasn’t kidding you when I told you if whatever happened had happened just minutes later, I was planning to be as naked as he was”.
“Cavorting? How does that even work?” Said Betty, genuinely curious. “I mean… with the size differences, and all”.
“Oh, trust me, Betty, we have had plenty of practice. It definitely works” laughed Zava. “Anyways, I had finished him off…” Betty lifted her eyebrows, Zava continued “and was looking forward to get my due, when there comes this thunderstorm…. all of a sudden, I kid you not, Betty, lightning was striking the ground just a few feet in front and behind us on the ledge we were under… and then my fingertips started to glow purple-blue… I got dizzy… my vision started to fade at the corners towards the center… I was barely aware I was going to faint, and only just managed to tilt myself backwards so I did not fall on top of Mark, who I was holding in my hand. Before I blacked out. Next thing I know, I’m on my back, in tinyland, with no Mark in sight, and surrounded by killer robots”.
“So you think you were punished by God? And being exiled to Earth?”
“Goddess. One of the Five Gods, anyway. We were in the sanctuary of the Goddess of Love”.
“You’re right, it sounds kind of difficult to believe… but stranger things have happened… like dimensional rifts on space, on the other side of which a planet of giants exists”
“Or a planet of tinies”. Countered Zava. “But if I have Mark with me, it is no real punishment, so…”.
“That reminds me, Zava”. Said Betty. “This plan Mark has of making you a celebrity can backfire… please be careful before every step you take. Mark is a man, and there are some things he probably does not think about things that can happen to you in show business, as a woman”.
“What do you mean, Betty”
“You would not believe the stories Val told me… or you probably would, men are the same lechers everywhere”. Said Betty, rolling her eyes. “You are young, and very beautiful. You come from a world that is considerably more conservative than ours. I’m pretty sure sooner rather than later you’ll be offered money for posing nude… and other things… that can be Ok, if the venue is tasteful… you’ll get the feel for what is and what is not, in time, as you get accustomed to our culture. Some powerful men might want to pressure you to debase yourself in exchange for things or for not doing things to you or Mark… beware of politicians, particularly”.
“They can try…” Said Zava, lifting her chin, proudly “I’ll handle them”.
“I know… just… just take care of yourself, Zava. I tell you this as a friend”.
“By the way” Said Zava, eager to steer the conversation to happier grounds “I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me with a certain wedding that’s going to take place soon. I think I will need… how is it Mark called it?... a maid of honor”
Betty smiled.