Disclaimer: Hi there, kiddies. This particular story has been knocking around in my skull for… uh… decades. Yeah, really, it’s been that long. Mike and Molly first popped up in Maze, which I co-wrote with Chelgi back in the 90’s, long before it became the title of a comedy show (I’m keeping their names, so deal with it). I’ve revisited them in some shorts. But the full story of how they met and what came of it always appealed to me. I may retcon the other stories, or maybe not. It’s tempting, though, because their tone and plots really don’t gel with this one.
No disclaimer is needed, but is included out of long habit. This beastie is safe for anyone to read. There is an afterword at the end that may be of some interest.
One last thing. Stop by Aphrodite’s site and give her hugs. It’s a rare treat for any of my stories to get illustrated. I love her style.
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Mike gazed out through the forward view screen at the pitiless stars. Giving them up hurt like a splinter in his heart. But the void they had carved into his soul was unbearable.
“Passing L1,” said Ship. “Helm reverting to your command. Power nominal. Sensors nominal. S-EW pass-through systems nominal. Whisper Drive program DS-2 downloaded into the engines. No evidence of detection.”
Mike gripped the yoke, instinctively running through one of the regulatory five second warm up exercises. The small tactical Star Scout spun randomly around each axis. Taking a deep breath he instinctively solved the necessary quaternion calculations before restoring the ship’s original orientation with a flick of his wrist. The cruel stars rotated out of view, replaced by the bright glow of the nearby world. He punched in a series of vectors.
“Flight path violates efficiency and safety guidelines,” Ship warned.
Mike added the conditions for the final parameters.
“Correction, path is required,” said Ship, “but is highly illegal.”
A ghostly smile touched Mike’s lips as he finished with a cipher key.
“Override accepted. Is a query permitted?”
“It’s my last chance at sanity,” Mike explained quietly, “as long as I don’t get caught.” The cabin shook with a subsonic rumble as he activated the Whisper Drive, propelling them towards the planet’s surface.
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Myriad shadows of overlapping oak leaves dappled her face and jet black hair. Molly smiled up at a bird hopping among the branches. It took considerable effort to focus her huge emerald eyes on the tiny creature, forcing her to cross them.
The limb shook beneath its tiny feet. It flapped its wings in alarm. The limb swayed again, bobbing up and down. On the third shake the bird chirruped and sped from view. Molly sighed, recognizing the rhythmic footfalls causing the old tree to shiver and tremble.
“Are you getting up,” Rihanna asked with her usual terseness, “or do I have to rip that little weed out of the ground?”
“Leave it alone,” Molly huffed. “It’s done nothing.”
“The hell it has,” Rihanna retorted. “Over the last several months you’ve spent more fucking time with this plant than with me.”
Molly smirked and rolled to her left, carefully rising several meters away so as not to damage the fragile oak. She rose to her feet, towering over it. Brushing her fingers through her shoulder length hair she combed out some of its miniscule leaves. Mild defiance shone in her eyes.
Rihanna confronted her, fists on hips and untamable blonde hair framing a disapproving look. Her dark eyes softened as Molly grinned and lunged forward, slipping her arms between Rihanna’s crooked elbows is if they were an invitation, hugging the taller woman close.
“Am I really so much trouble?” Molly asked contritely.
“Every damned time,” Rihanna growled. But she returned the embrace. “Why do you sleep under this stupid thing?”
“I wasn’t sleeping,” said Molly protested. “I was looking at its leaves.”
“From underneath,” said Rihanna wearily.
“Sorry,” said Molly. “I like the Autoc point of view. It doesn’t hurt anyone. And it passes the time.”
“Shut-up. Just shut-up,” Rihanna breathed, holding Molly tight.