This story, as with all of the author's previous related stories, is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious way. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

It is dedicated to Tricia and Gayla, in gratitude for getting so many of our lost FRLians to join our fourth anniversabirthday party. Now, for those of youz guyz with a memory as bad as mine, here is how the last story ended:

...Several minutes went by as Julie received the telepathic vision. Brooks didn't have any idea what was happening in the vision, and it would be a while before he actually found out. But when Julie came out of it, she hugged Brooks and kissed him and started crying---only these were tears of joy. And as she hugged her friend, between gasps for breath, she managed to whisper one sentence in his ear --- "She survived, and she's coming back home to me."

-- (FRLian@fiction.writer), January 03, 2003

Answers

Julie thought back to that fateful day in August when she had the vision and shook her head. Pat’s visions were never wrong, yet this one had still not come true. Pat still hadn’t come back home.

Julie had waited. September passed and gave way to October leaves that fell dead to the ground, carpeting the woods with a gold and yellow and red tapestry. Usually moved by the beauty of it, nature’s carpet held no comfort for Julie now. Nothing did. October gave way to November, and then to December. But there was still no sign of Pat.

Now it was 2003 and Julie felt as frustrated and as helpless as ever. If only there would be another vision from Pat---something--- anything! But there wasn’t. Only silence and the wind outside, and the sounds that any old house makes that you always ignore during the day but can’t ignore at night, when the sounds seem to take on strange new life, especially if you’re alone.

And Julie was alone. She missed Pat something awful. What could have gone wrong? Why hadn’t Pat returned as expected? It was all a mystery. She wished she had an answer.

Julie sat alone in her kitchen eating her Aunt’s wonderful black- walnut fudge brownies, not realizing that another adventure was about to start---and adventure that might bring an answer to her wish.

-- (FRLian@fiction.writer), January 03, 2003.

STORY!!!!

-- helen (popping@popcorn.making.hot.chocolate), January 03, 2003.

Well my back up wish was for a story :-)

Thanks, FRLian writer!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), January 03, 2003.

You're welcome Sweet Princess. Hopefully, your main wish will also come true someday too!

Right now we are getting blasted by another winter storm of ice and snow. Up to a foot of fresh snow is expected...and our snowman from the Christmas Day Storm never melted!

It's really warm (hot!) here in the summer though ;-)

-- (sonofdust@n.j.), January 03, 2003.

It was reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllly cold today. Nasty wind too.

Might even freeze tonight.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 04, 2003.

Woohoo! Story! (((((Rob)))))

Where is poor Pat? How can she go this long without food? Does she have water? How come she's not sending any visions?

Rob, HOT is the summer where Aunt Bee lives! Robert, COLD is the winter where Tricia lives! You'ze guys don't know nuthin'. ;-)

-- Gayla (grabbing@the.popcorn from Helen), January 04, 2003.

You're right Gayla, I can't compare here with where Tricia is. Today for example, the high temperature is expected to go all the way up to near-freezing ;-(

-- (sonofdust@saveme.somepopcorntoo), January 04, 2003.

Well, this is a new one! I can't continue the story! I submit the lastest chapter and get a message saying 'ouch dml error sql too long' or something!!!!

But it's NOT long!!!! Maybe I'll just wait a while.

poppie.

-- (sonofdust@too.long), January 04, 2003.

Ronald Brooks sat down heavily in front of his boss’s desk, looked up at the middle-aged yet still-attractive woman, and frowned.

“Well, Helen, I don’t know what happened to Pat either. None of us do, but we have to do something. I mean, Julie’s shadow-government tour has ended, right? For the last few months she’s been kept busy-- -very busy---but now she’s sitting around at home with nothing to do but worry. And that’s exactly what she’s doing. I know. I just talked with her. It’s Pat. We have to do something to get Pat back, or if we can’t do that, at least we need to find out what’s happened to Pat. We have to try for Julie’s sake.”

Helen Bee Mebs, Head of the Advanced Defense Research Organization (ADRO), cleared her throat before answering. “I know, but what can we do that we haven’t done already? The only thing we had to go on was Julie’s vision. That was it. Since then there’s been nothing.”

Helen lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “We’re not even sure Pat is alive. How do we find out? Where do we start? Julie is the only link to Pat and there’s been no communication between them since Pat blew up the KL9 asteroid and saved us all.”

Now it was Brooks’ turn to clear his throat. “Well, I have an idea. I mean, something that might be worth a try. We have to find out what happened to Pat. We owe Julie and Pat that much.”

-- (sonofdust@first.halfofpost), January 04, 2003.

Helen looked intensely at Brooks as if he had said something very secret out loud. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and watched as she slowly nodded in agreement.

Brooks didn’t know the half of it, but he was right, Helen thought. She rose from her seat, indicating the meeting was over.

“Ok, Brooks, call Julie and get her over here. We’ll meet tomorrow morning in the Pentagon’s vault. The sooner we get started the better. You’re right. We do owe her and Pat. In fact, more than you could ever guess.”

Brooks left Helen’s office wondering about that last remark. What did she mean by ‘more than you could ever guess’? He would think about it later. Right now he had to call Julie.

-- (sonofdust@second.half), January 04, 2003.

Helen, is that popcorn ready yet? I need something to chew on so as not to eat my fingernails!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), January 04, 2003.

After Brooks left, Helen went to her office window and looked out at the Potomac River rolling along lazily in the morning sun, with the Capitol Building as a backdrop.

Brooks knew Pat saved them from the Asteroid, but didn’t appreciate the real extent of what the Planet owed Pat. It wasn't his fault, Brooks never saw the Top Secret report.

In fact, only five people on Earth knew the full awful truth: the Chief Scientist over at the U.S. Deep Space Observatory (DSO) that wrote the report, his boss the DSO Director, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, The President of the United States, and Helen Bee Mebs.

The Top Secret report sounded like science fiction because it was so calamitous. She had read it several times, as if re-reading it could somehow make it more believable. But it was not science fiction; that’s what made it so horrifying yet captivating at the same time.

She walked over to her office safe, took out the report, and began reading it once again...

TOP SECRET / KL9 EYES ONLY

*****Copy three of five*****

Asteroid KL9 Threat Assessment - 15 August 2002

-- (sonofdust@anyone.gotchocolates?), January 04, 2003.

Impact Assessment at 29 August 2002 GMT 14:37

Asteroid KL9 is 2 kilometers in size and has an estimated impact velocity of 25 km a second. Impact will wipe out an entire continent, at a minimum, and initiate global climatic changes of unimaginable proportions as described below. Although there is no exact precedent for this event, we can base our impact assessment on documented scientific evidence collected from the impact of a Comet around 9000 years ago (approx. 7000 B.C.) that resulted in the creation of what became the Hudson Bay in Canada. Based on the associated scientific studies from the Hudson Bay, as well as the collection of over two hundred observations and corresponding measurements of KL9 itself, the following assessment is made with high confidence:

KL9 will enter Earth’s atmosphere on a 45 degree angle at 124,000 miles an hour. Eight seconds afterwards, it will impact the southern tip of South America, releasing a tremendous amount of kinetic energy with an immediate seismic shock of a 13.0 earthquake. Millions of tons of water, rock fragments, soil, and other debris will be hurled upward through its entry hole and into the atmosphere, with some debris reaching the stratosphere. Rocks will fall back down to Earth as fiery fragments. Some volcanoes around the world will activate and spew out tons of molten lava. Millions of square miles of forest will be destroyed. Volcanic ash will be propelled by hurricane force winds across the entire planet. The Sun’s light will be blocked for over a year resulting in global temperatures dropping below freezing for most of the planet. All of this is expected to happen with extreme suddenness---within 48 hours of impact.

After this, things will get worse.

-- (sonofdust@needs.chocolate!), January 04, 2003.

Handing Rob some M&M's. Do you prefer plain or peanut?

Sorry it's so cold there. It was in the 60's here today. Ahhhhh... been outside all day.

A 13.0 earthquake? The very thought boggles my mind. (Please continue!) :-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), January 04, 2003.

Actually now it isn't too cold. A serious cold front can make temps here go down to about zero and stay in the single digits/low teens for a days! The earthquake 9000 years ago after the Comet hit Hudson Bay was calculated to be "only" a 12.0 (but I decided to use a bit of literary license ;-)

-- Where's Aunt Bee when ya need her? poopie! (anychocolate@will.doThanksGayla), January 04, 2003.

Sorry Rob, been in the kitchen whipping up a batch of your favorite marshmallow black walnut fudge! Here have a piece or three and please continue...

What about Pat? And earthquake of such magnitude, oh MY!

Anyone else for fudge while we wait for the next installment?

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 04, 2003.

The impact will cause a displacement in the Earth’s outer layer, which is less than fifty miles dense. Earth’s axis will be changed by up to three degrees, altering the location of both Poles and changing the Earth’s magnetic field. Whole continents will be shifted around as the crust on which they rest is suddenly and violently displaced.

At the same time, tidal waves up to three miles high will inundate coastlines worldwide. Most islands will disappear. Storms of inconceivable intensity will rage across the entire changing surface of the planet for over a decade.

A new Ice Age will begin. Most life will become extinct.

Helen put the report away. She looked carefully at the Globe in her office and gazed at Canada, her eye traveling to the Hudson Bay.

That’s what the last one did to us. To think it almost happened again. But Pat destroyed KL9 and saved us. Brooks doesn’t even know the whole story, but he’s right. We have to find out what happened to Pat, and not just for Julie’s sake. We owe it to Pat.

-- (yummy@Thanks.AuntBee), January 04, 2003.

(Watches DSL line bulge suspiciously as fudge goes by.....)

(Noted that M&M's tend to make the modem get a loooong row of bumps.....)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 04, 2003.

Wow!! We really do owe Pat!

So was a comet the cause of the last ice age, then? And one that fell in the Hudson Bay? I thought it fell in the Yucatan (or off the Yucatan) peninsula. Hmm, I see some net-surfing coming up!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplane.tnet.), January 04, 2003.

LOL Robert! I wonder what would happen if I put my Kalua Fudge topping for ice cream on the buffet?

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 04, 2003.

Oy waves .... (As the sea-sick Isreali fisherman was heard to say)

These Canuckiananaians can't even keep track of their own meteor impacts! (No wonder they're losin' the North Magnetic Pole as it slides up towards Russia ever faster....)

The Yucatan meteor impact was 65-odd million years ago and is linked to killin' billions of innocent dinosaurs. The Hudosn bays were even earlier. As Pat could tell ya, the last "little" ice age effects over the past few tens of thousands of years were the results (in part) of the volcano eruptions.

But those were tens of thousands of years (cave-man times) ago, not dinosaurian years ago.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (puts@way.meteorbook-grabsmmmmmms.net), January 04, 2003.

The next morning, Julie met Brooks in Helen’s E-Ring office and the three of them took the elevator down to the Pentagon’s basement for the short walk to the vault. Once past the heavy security, they entered the secure room and sat down.

Helen surreptitiously studied Julie and frowned. The usually-pretty young ADRO agent looked terrible. The Head of ADRO quickly glanced at Brooks who gave her an “I told you so” look in return.

Helen turned to her young agent and began speaking softly, unaware of the ‘motherly concern’ in her voice.

“Julie, yesterday Brooks told me of an idea he had to try to help find Pat. That’s why we’re here now. The way we see it there are only two possibilities. One is that the Aliens still have Pat but haven’t returned her for some unknown reason. The second possibility, well...” Helen’s voice trailed off into silence as she looked down to the carpeted vault floor.

Julie almost jumped out of her seat and ran over to her boss, who had proven to be a loyal friend. Brooks looked at the expression of surprise in Helen’s eyes as Julie hugged her. Then Julie went over to Brooks and hugged him. These people were more than just co-workers; they were Julie’s dearest friends, and if anyone could help her find answers to the mystery, it was them.

Julie was afraid to find out the truth, but there was no choice, she had to know. Overwhelmed by her feelings she sat down and began crying softly.

After a minute or so, Julie looked up at her friends through her glistening, beautiful eyes. “Ok, let’s get started.”

-- (sonofdust@here.wego), January 05, 2003.

Helen shifted slightly in her chair.

“Ok, Brooks, tell Julie your idea.”

Ronald Brooks nodded. “The telepathic connection between you and Pat has stopped. We don’t know why. But here at ADRO we have some people who have very special talents---psychic talents--- that may be able to help. These folks are called remote viewers.”

Julie sat up in her chair. “Oh! I know about them. You give them some information about what you want to find, and they are able to concentrate on that and somehow get visions or something---kind of like the way I do I guess.”

“That’s right, Julie. So yesterday morning, Helen sent photos of Pat to a team of our best remote viewers. Using these photos, they have been ‘looking’ for Pat for about 24 hours now. We’re here in the vault to get a status from the team of viewers, and answer any questions they may have to assist them in finding Pat.”

Julie smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever. “Thanks Ron. It’s a good idea. And I know there’s no guarantee or anything, but it’s worth a try. I feel better already just knowing we have a chance at finding her.”

-- (post@part.one), January 06, 2003.

Helen pressed a button by her seat and the far ‘wall’ of the vault rolled up into the ceiling revealing a large flat TV screen. She pressed another button and the screen flickered and came to life.

A man in a uniform that Julie did not recognize was in the picture on the screen, partially blocking two women remote viewers who were seated behind him. The women were drawing something on pieces of paper. Everyone could see and hear each other.

The man in the strange uniform looked at the three of them, got the pieces of paper from each of the viewers, and then directed his attention to the Head of ADRO.

“Director Mebs, I’m glad to report that we’ve already had some results; but they are very strange results, to say the least.”

The man walked closer to his end of the screen and held up the two papers so that the ADRO team could see what the viewers had drawn.

A second later, there was a collective gasp in the Pentagon vault.

-- (post@part.2), January 06, 2003.

What? WHAT???? What did they see???

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), January 06, 2003.

Heck, I don't know what they saw!

(Now Gayla's sufferin' from post@part'em depression .....)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 06, 2003.

ROTFLTIP Good Sir! THis dang software didn't let me post the whole post at once again...so I had to post part mostly because partly posted is better than paltry posts without parts.

I think.

Gayla; the next partial post will be partly posted in two parts completely probably tomorrow.

-- (sonofdust@lol.lol), January 06, 2003.

Yes, apparently greenspun aka Philip has been fiddlin' with the software and you can't make very long posts! DRAT!

In the meantime, I can whip up a batch of Chocolate Dementia with a Cashew Chocolate Brownie Cake, if anyone is interested... I mean I have to do SOMETHING while we sit on pins and needles waiting to see what the remote viewer SAW!!!

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003.

LOL @ Robert! Now THAT was funny! :-D

-- Gayla (chocolate@please.Aunt Bee), January 06, 2003.

Mmmmmmm!!!!! Thanks Aunt Bee. All that yummy chocolate sure makes me happy. And for some reason I don't feel tired at all ;-) Why, I've been writin' and eatin' this whole time. So why wait 'till tomorrow! Might as well post now. Besides, it's tomorrow in Australia, right?

-- (sonofdust@posting.soon), January 06, 2003.

Both remote viewers’ hand-drawn pictures were very similar. Each viewer had drawn two things on their piece of paper:

The first was a round, saucer-like object, and the second was

a dog lying flat on a strange, low, metallic table---

a dog that was unconscious---

a dog that had a blood-stained bandage covering the top of its head---

a dog that was breathing slowly.

Julie, Helen, and Ronald Brooks all recognized the dog as a golden retriever. There was no doubt for any of them.

It was Pat.

-- (sonofdust@part.postem), January 06, 2003.

Thank heaven! At least Pat is BREATHING, albeit slowly-SHE LIVES!!

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003.

Oh good grief!

(Now my modem has chocolatte dementiadventures......)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 06, 2003.

After the meeting with the remote viewers, Brooks was the first to recover his composure. He looked first at Helen and then at Julie, a question obviously forming on his face.

Brooks spoke haltingly, as if talking out loud to himself. “Well, the pooch is alive, and the Aliens still have her, but what about her head? It was all bandaged up.”

Julie and Helen both nodded. They were wondering the same thing. Suddenly Julie seemed to have an answer.

“Wait! I think I know. The aliens operated on Pat before sending her to destroy the asteroid. They gave her a brain-wave amplifier. It looked like an antenna sticking out of the top of Pat’s head. It enabled Pat to use telepathy over much greater distances. They must have removed it after they rescued Pat. That’s why there’s been no communication from her. She’s still too far away to use her telepathy, even if she were healed.”

Helen jumped out of her seat. “That’s right Julie, I remember you telling us about it. And Pat wouldn’t have needed the antenna after the Asteroid was destroyed. It makes sense that the Aliens removed it. That’s why Pat’s head is bandaged!”

“Yes, Helen! Pat is still in a recovery period, that’s why there’s been no contact yet.”

-- (sonofdust@posty.parts), January 06, 2003.

A thought occurred to Brooks and his brow wrinkled.

“But I don’t understand why Pat is still recovering. After all, it’s been so long since Pat destroyed the Asteroid, I mean, since last August, you know? She should’ve been better long ago.”

“There’s only one explanation,” Julie said. “We all know that when the Aliens are down here with us, they are in our local time. But time itself works differently when they not here with us. It passes very quickly for them, but slowly for us.”

“Yes, that’s true,” said Helen with excitement. “What seems like a few minutes to us is actually days. There are consistent accounts like this from some people who have been abducted. One case involved a lumberjack who thought he was gone for a couple of hours only to find that he had really been missing for days! He had shaved the morning they took him but returned with a beard!”

As they put it all together, Julie couldn’t get the smile off her pretty face. “Pat is alive, and recovering. She will be coming back to us after all! I’ll just have to be more patient and remember all that she’s gone through for us.”

Brooks walked over to Julie and hugged her. “Yes, Julie, we’ll all have to be more patient, but at least now we know more than we did. Poor Pat, she saved us all from the Asteroid and is still going through a lot for us.”

Helen thought of the report locked away in her office and had only one word to say in response.

“Amen.”

-- (sonofdust@demented.parts), January 06, 2003.

Amen! Thankfully she's alive, but something is still not quite right. Those aliens are incredibly advanced but they can't speed her healing time? I think something else is going on...

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), January 08, 2003.

It's tomorrow in Oz. Is Pat okay?

Not nagging, just inquiring. Or have I missed a post again because the server is not being nice to me lately?

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 08, 2003.

LOL Gayla. Can't fool you, even for a second ;-)

Hi Carol. Hang tight and stay tuned!

-- (sonofdust@fiction.writer), January 08, 2003.

After the meeting with the ADRO people, the man in the strange uniform turned to his remote viewers with an expression of gratitude on his face. The two women were both still sitting down. One had idly begun drawing something, while the other watched her with a bit of curiosity.

The man in the strange uniform came over to them. “Thanks to both of you, those ADRO folks seem happy. Evidently, you’ve done your country a great service today! A report of this will be included in each of your personal files. Congratulations!”

With that, the man strode out of the room leaving the two women alone. One of them got out of her chair as the other finished her drawing.

They both stood up and looked down on what the woman had just drawn. Actually, it wasn’t a ‘what’, but a ‘who’. The artist made a couple of last minute pencil strokes and the portrait was done. She turned to the other viewer with a questioning expression. “You know who this is?”

The other viewer laughed out loud. “Heck no! You drew it, you mean to tell me you don’t know who he is?”

The artist shook her head. “Not a clue. It’s just a face that popped into my mind. Do you think it’s important?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Probably not. Let’s go.”

- - - - - - - - -

But it was important.

Very important.

It was a face that Helen would have recognized and shuddered at.

It was a face that Brooks and Julie would have recognized with an expression of horror.

But none of them had seen the drawing, the face, of their enemy; Alexander Lawless.

-- (sonofdust@he's.baaaaaaaack), January 08, 2003.

Alexander Lawless was insane. Really and Truly insane. His last plot to steal all of the world’s chocolate cereal had been foiled just in time.

The Aliens had since kept him in their protective custody on the Mother Ship. They had tried various things to bring him back to normalcy, and had thought they succeeded in their latest attempt.

Alexander had played along and managed to fool them into thinking he was better just long enough to snatch Pat, steal a scout vessel, and make his getaway. The Aliens couldn’t take the scout vessel back or shoot it down for fear of killing Pat.

In short, they were powerless to stop Alexander this time. They had to wait and see what Alexander’s next move was and try to stop him then, and at the same time save Pat.

So it was that Pat lay heavily sedated on the low metallic table in the Alien scout vessel, alive and, thankfully, unaware of her current predicament. An old bandage was still on top of her head, which had healed long ago.

But Alexander didn’t care about her bandage. He only cared about getting back home. And Pat was his ticket. He knew how to pilot the scout vessel and had set his heading correctly.

The Mother ship followed him patiently. After a while it became apparent where he was heading. Every passing hour brought both Alexander and Pat closer and closer to Earth. In only a short time, Alexander would be back home.

What he planned to do once he was back, nobody could even guess.

-- (sonofdust@uh.oh), January 08, 2003.

OH NO!!!

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), January 08, 2003.

Oh dear, oh me, oh what WILL happen? NOT the evil Andrew Lawless back on our midst!!! At least poor Pat's head has healed, thankfully!~

While we wait for the next installment, on the edge of our seats I might add, perhaps our fellow FRLian readers would care to sample a slice of my Chocolate Cashew Brownie Cake covered with Chocolate Ganache?

Would that take the edge off our impatience as we wait to hear???

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 08, 2003.

Oh Boy! Chocolate Cashew Brownie Cakes !!!! MMMMmmmm! I don't know why, but I suddenly have the urge to write some more tonight!

Aunt Bee, now be truthful...How much sugar did you put in them there brownie cakes?

-- (sonofdust@yum.yum), January 08, 2003.

Helen was alone in her office when an alert started coming over her secure fax. She stopped what she was doing and went over to the machine, her eyebrows rising at the sight of what she saw. It was a NORAD Flash Alert!

Something major was happening, and it was happening now.

She read through the terse report. Evidently, a pair of Alien vessels had just entered Earth’s atmosphere, one following the other, and then, in only a few moments, one had disappeared completely and the other raced back into space.

Moments later, the first one reappeared and the second one that had flown away into space came back down on an intercepting trajectory. In a repeat of what happened earlier, the first one disappeared again and the other craft returned to space.

Helen walked over to her desk. What the hell is going on up there tonight? THEY are up to something---but what? She picked up her phone and dialed. . .

-- (sonofdust@brownie.cakes), January 08, 2003.

While Alexander had had no trouble piloting the ship to Earth, landing in one piece was proving to be a bit more complicated than he thought it would be. After two failed attempts he was about to try again, his concentration total. Because of this, he had completely forgot to give Pat any sedatives.

The golden retriever lay perfectly still on the metallic table, eyes closed, breathing slowly and regularly. But she wasn’t sleeping at all. She was wide-awake and in command of all her senses.

Alexander kept talking and mumbling to himself. As a result, Pat knew what her basic situation was, and also where she was. She had to pretend she was sedated, but in reality she was very excited. Her time of waiting was over! Finally, she was close to Earth again!

A thought occurred to her, and an instant later, she reacted. She couldn’t move or change her breathing or draw attention to herself in any way, but there was one thing she could do while lying there, and Alexander wouldn’t know.

In fact, nobody would have known the pooch had done something, except for one very special person---

-- (sonofdust@yummy.chocolates), January 08, 2003.

Julie and Brooks had flown back to New Jersey following the meeting in the vault. Both ADRO agents were due some time off and Helen said that now was as good a time as any.

Brooks and Julie both lived in the same town; a small lake community. Brooks dropped Julie off and then took the short drive to his place.

All Julie wanted to do was sleep. She was just about to doze off when it happened---

she felt the familiar tingling sensation at her temples---

she felt the dizziness---

she felt the beginning of a vision coming to her---

a vision that could only be from one source---

from Pat.

-- (sonofdust@vision.time), January 08, 2003.

It felt so good to communicate with Julie again, but Pat couldn’t enjoy the moment. She was in trouble and had to do something.

Pat knew they were about to either land or crash trying. She needed to see what was going on. The pooch chanced opening her eyes just a slit.

She saw that Alexander was standing, looking away from her direction, busily engaged at the controls of the vessel. She remained still and quiet.

An idea came to her.

It would be risky.

She would have to time things perfectly.

There would only be one chance---

-- (sonofdust@one.chance), January 08, 2003.

...holding breath ...

...turning ... blue ...

-- helen (hurry@hurry.hurry), January 08, 2003.

Helen Bee Mebs, Director of ADRO, almost shouted in excitement at the duty officer on the other end of the phone.

“Where? Australia!!! Did you say the first vessel is landing in Australia? Is that confirmed? And the second vessel is following it still? When they land, I’ll need the exact coordinates as soon as they’re available!”

The second after Helen hung up, her phone rang again. It must be the duty officer again, she thought. But it wasn’t. It was Julie instead.

“What? Alexander Lawless!!! Are you sure, Julie, I mean, this is crazy! Ok, then I want you to go over to Brooks’ house. I’ll call him now and tell him to expect you. He has a secure line and we can conference everybody in. It looks like things are coming to a head. We need to be ready for anything. And soon!”

Helen put down the receiver and speed dialed another number inside the Pentagon.

“Who’s ADRO’s Section Head down under?” she demanded. “Carol who? Oz? Her name is Carol Oz? I need her on this phone line. Right now!”

-- (t@keabreath.helen!), January 08, 2003.

Alexander was pleased with himself. The ship was slowing nicely now and they should be landing at any moment.

He stole a look over at Pat. Still sleeping. Good. As long as I have that damn ugly smelly stupid dog as a hostage they can’t touch me. I’ll show them! I’ll show them all! HA HA HA HA HA HA!

The ship had slowed down almost to a stop and had actually begun hovering. Alexander pressed a panel and the ship stopped hovering. As it descended slowly, he smiled. Things were going well now. It would only be another few seconds before he was free.

Pat felt the soft shudder of the landing gear being deployed. Seconds later, the craft softly settled onto the Earth.

She tensed all of her muscles. Now was the time.

-- (sonofudst@timetosleep.now!), January 08, 2003.

Wow! That chocolate cake worked miracles, Aunt Bee :-)

Lawlessness in Oz with Carol - ooohh, I hope it all turns out great. I think our fearless leader is going to coordinate a meeting of the (totally fictional) FRLians in Oz :-) Maybe even DieTeR will show up again!

-- Tricia the Canuck (*jayles@telusplanet.net), January 08, 2003.

<>

Sounds delicious. MMMMmmmm. As I continue reading the many stories found here in the archives, I am in awe.

-- JustPassingBy (sroors@neo.rr.com), January 08, 2003.

WOW! Sounds like Pat is about to make her move on the famous self- centered Alexander Lawless! Nothing like chocolate and sugar to get a body and it's fingers moving! Applause to you dear author!!!

So for breakfast, I will be baking my famous chocolate-Kahlua- hazelnut filled crossiants served with a lil whipped-cream-topped hot chocolate, for those who are interested in warming their hands in preparation for the next installment!

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 09, 2003.

Sleep? How can you sleep at a time like this? I think it's really a coma from all of the sugar! ;-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), January 09, 2003.

Chocolate-Kahlua-hazelnut filled crossiants served with a lil whipped- cream-topped hot chocolate?!?!?!?!?! Geez, that sure sounds better than what I just had (oatmeal with Wheat Germ and a glass of OJ) Thanks Aunt Bee!

Can't wait for Carol to check back in and find out that she's a character now ;-)

Gayla, Gayla, Gayla ;-) I Think coma is my unnatural state!

Hey Tricia, how 'bout some of your famous peanuty-butterry-chocolaty cookies for lunch (or dinner ) today? Poor Aunt Bee needs to get outta the kitchen for a bit and you sure do make a wonderful cookie if I remember rightly!

Kritter (or whoever has the KEYS); Can you make a new category for stories and re-cat the existing stories there. Then we authors can use that category for our new stories and all FRL stories would be in one place. It would make them easier to find. (I can make a list of my stories so far (thread name and link). That should help the Holder of the Keys to re-categorize them. Let me know please.

And now, back to trying to figger out the ending to this here really silly story!

-- (sonofdust@new.category), January 09, 2003.

Helen, Julie, and Brooks were just starting the conference call when Carol Oz---ADRO’s Australian section head---joined the call. Carol was only a couple years away from retirement and had quite a reputation as a good no-nonsense tough agent. Most other agents would have been a bit put off at the ‘Big Boss’ calling them unexpectedly, but not Carol Oz, who took just about everything in stride. Helen started things off.

“Hello Carol. This is Helen Bee Mebs. I have two other ADRO agents on the call; Julie Eden and Ronald Brooks. The reason for this call is to address a fluid and ongoing situation that has unexpectedly made its way down under.”

“G’day Director Mebs. So you lot have a mess that you need me to help clean up? That ‘bout it mates?”

Helen was taken off guard by this but managed a short “Uh, yes.” She could here Brooks take a deep breath and it sounded as though Julie was trying to stifle a giggle!

Helen was about to continue when her other line lit up. “Hold on people, I ‘m getting more information right now on another line. Julie and Brooks, you two brief Carol on rescuing Pat. I’ll rejoin in a minute.”

Carol, Brooks, and Julie all heard Helen begin talking to the other person, evidently a duty officer. “Latitude 26 degrees , longitude 152 degrees. Got it. What else? Thanks.”

-- (sonofdust@herewego.again), January 09, 2003.

Helen returned to the conference call. “Ok, Carol, here are the coordinates where we think the vessel landed. Do you have an atlas or globe handy?”

Carol looked at the globe in her office and saw the area. “Yup, it’s Queensland, at the eastern edge of the Great Artesian Basin by the coast. Looks ‘bout 100 kilometers from where I am now, in Brisbane.”

Helen breathed a sigh of relief. Carol might be a little rough around the edges but she was competent and smart.

“Great, Carol, it’s a stroke of luck you’re in the right general area.”

Julie grabbed Brooks’ hand as she asked the question that was on all their minds.

“Carol, do you think you could mount a rescue operation?

“No worries, dear!” “What about the local government and officials," Brooks asked. "Do you expect any hassles from them?”

“Like I said mate, no worries. This isn’t France. We remember who our friends are. You yanks just hold tight. I’m on it. We’ll get the pup before you can fire up the barbee for lunch.”

-- (sonofdust@carol.oz), January 09, 2003.

Just as the call was bout to end, Helen’s other phone rang. Julie and Brooks waited a moment for Helen to finish.

“That was the duty officer. The ships are gone. Both of them. One landed right after the other and then they took off back into space. Looks as though the ships weren’t on the ground for more than a minute or so.”

Helen’s voice trailed away as she heard Julie echo what she had said.

“They’re gone?”

Brooks turned to Julie.

“Don’t worry, Julie. The ships may be gone but that doesn’t mean Pat’s gone too. The important thing is that the ships actually landed and were down – even if it was for only a minute. A lot can happen in a short time, and we don’t know what’s happened yet.”

Julie nodded. “You’re right, Ron. We’ll just have to wait and see. And pray.”

-- (sonofdust@time.topray), January 09, 2003.

Oh boy, I'm in a story and what a story! Thank you Rob. I've been busy at work and just look at all the episodes and food I've missed.

Sounds like this Lawless fellow needs a clip under the ear.

Aunt Bee those crossiants sound wonderful. Do you ever make coffee flavoured fudge?

-- Carol (c@checking.in.com), January 09, 2003.

Lol Rob, I love your Aussie lingo.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 09, 2003.

There was a long list of things that pissed Helen Bee Mebs off. Near the top of that list was feeling helpless. And that’s how she felt. Everything was out of her hands for the moment, and she strained hard to think of something---anything---that she could do.

Suddenly, she laughed out loud. An idea came to her. She picked up the Gold Phone on her desk and issued an Action Message for a Teal Amber search.

Julie turned to Brooks, brows furrowed. “A What? What did Helen order?”

“A Teal Amber search, Julie. It’s simple. We have all of these high- powered computer-controlled telescopes that can check out the night sky above Queensland Australia, or anywhere else They can observe at a rate of speed that is precisely counter to Earth’s rotation.”

“Now Julie laughed out loud. “What the hell are you talking about? Use plain English mister or I’ll pop ya one!”

Brooks smiled. “Ok. It’s a way of freezing all of the stars and planets in place and at the same time highlight any kind of object that moves against the frozen backdrop. In other words, Helen is using a Teal Amber search to look for the Alien vessels that returned to space. She’s trying to track them.”

“Oh! Well why didn’t you just say so!”

-- (sonofdust@hi.carol), January 09, 2003.

Pat felt the ship settle onto the hard ground and took a chance. She opened her eyes, while still being as still and quiet as possible. She saw Alexander walk over to a green-colored panel and press it. A doorway appeared out of the wall next to where he was standing.

Pat could smell the rich soil, and feel a wisp of breeze on her face. Alexander’s back was facing her as he took a step towards freedom.

Pat leaped up in an instant and jumped across to where Alexander was, clipping him just under the ear. Caught flat –footed and by surprise, he stumbled into a low beam head-first and fell unconscious to the vessel’s floor.

But Pat didn’t know this.

Pat was long gone---out the ship’s doorway the instant after she knocked into Alexander.

She had no idea where she was, but for the first time in months, she was free.

-- (sonofdust@sheis.free!), January 09, 2003.

Yahooooo~! Home at last! At least earthhome! Now to get back to Julie is the quest! Bet her heart is pumping while her ears are flapping as her feet fly to find her beloved Julie!

Will Carol find her and return her to ADRO, and ultimately Julie? Will the aliens destroy Andrew Lawless and his ship, in order to avoid further inquisitions by ADRO?

Will Helen Bee Mebs connect the dots? Will Pat "tell" Julie she is on the planet?

Sooo many questions!

While we wait for the installment, time for a batch of mocha pecan fudge for our newfound, soon to be heroine, Carol OZ to save the day! Any takers????

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 09, 2003.

Julie had decided to stay at Brooks’ house until this whole thing was over. She liked him a lot, and besides, with everything happening so quickly it was better to be here where they could reach Helen easily. Brooks had put on a pot of coffee when Julie felt the familiar tingling sensation at the side of her head. She looked up at him with an expression of both surprise and joy.

"Pat’s sending me another vision!"

Brooks went over to her quickly and helped ease her down on the couch before she became dizzy. The vision came. In only a minute, it was all over. Julie looked at Brooks and rubbed her head.

"Pat’s here, not in space. She’s back here with us on Earth. I didn’t see Alexander. But Pat showed me something very odd. I don’t know what to make of it but got the feeling she thought it was extremely important."

Brooks gave Julie a questioning look. “What did she show you? What was it?”

“It was a big sprawling building--- with something that looked like a gigantic brown ring on the top of it.”

“Wow! I wonder what the heck it means. We better tell Helen. Maybe she’ll know.”

---

Helen paced around her office desk, thinking. It’s been two hours and still the Teal Amber search has turned up nothing. They’re really gone this time. Damn!

The phone rang, breaking her concentration.

“It’s me, Brooks. Julie just had a vision from Pat!”

Helen listened carefully to Brooks describe the vision.

“Well,” Helen began, “the most important thing is that now we know Pat’s back, and Carol’s on her way to find her. But I don’t have a clue what the building with the ring means. Maybe Carol will have an idea. In fact, all of this information needs to get to Carol right away. I’ll call her now and get back to you as soon as we learn something.”

-- yummy mocha pecan fudge (sonofdust@yesnono.yesHelen), January 10, 2003.

After leaving the Alien ship, Pat didn’t stop running and didn’t look back. She was already a mile or so away by the time the Mother Ship arrived and had taken back the scout vessel. There was no way of knowing if Alexander had also escaped or was still unconscious on the floor inside.

At this point, she had more immediate problems. She was lost and getting tired, but had to keep going. She smelled salt on the air. The breeze was coming from the east. She headed that way. All around her the flat ground was covered with low shrubs, and there was grass, rocks and dust.

After going on at a slower but steady pace, she came to the outskirts of a small town that was built on several small hills. She looked up at a road sign that announced she was about to enter the town of Gympie, but the letters on the sign held no meaning for her.

Walking past the sign, Pat could see buildings and hear the sounds of people in the town. She had a decision to make; either stay hidden on the outskirts or enter the town. She gave the town the once over and noticed something interesting. There seemed to be one building on the western side of the town that was different---newer and bigger- --than the others, and there was something really big on top of it. She went into the town for a closer look.

It was then that she realized what the big thing on top of the building was, and what it meant. She needed to contact Julie and let her know---she needed to show Julie the building with the thing on top so Julie could find her. Afterward contacting Julie, she would just stay right here---and wait.

-- (sonofdust@almost.done), January 10, 2003.

Twenty minutes later---

Brooks answered the phone on the first ring. A look of pure joy crossed his face. He hung up and turned to Julie. “That was Helen. Carol called her and she’s got Pat. The pooch is fine and with Carol!”

Julie jumped up and ran over to Ron and hugged him.

After a moment she asked “But how did Carol find Pat so quickly?”

Brooks laughed. “You know that building with the ring on top? Well, it wasn’t a ring. It’s the new Poopie Loop factory, with the biggest single Poopie Loop in the whole wide world sitting right on top of the factory! It’s become one of the biggest tourist attractions in all of Australia. Everyone there knows about it! So as soon as Helen told Carol about your vision, Carol knew exactly where to go find Pat! And sure enough, when Carol got to the Poopie Loop factory, there was Pat sitting down waiting!”

In a flash, Julie realized what it all meant and began crying. Between tears she managed to get her feelings out.

“Oh! Thank God she’s finally safe. I can’t wait to see her and be with her again. Things just haven’t been the same without her. Thanks to you, and Helen, and Carol too, we’ll have Pat back with us again soon!”

Brooks looked Julie right in the eye and with a straight face said, “No worries, mate!”

Then both of them started laughing.

THE END!!!!

-- Rob Michaels (thesonofdust@yahoo.com), January 10, 2003.

Mocha pecan fudge! Yes please. I'm such a sweet tooth I love any fudge, but anything with coffee flavouring is my favourite. You're an ace Aunt Bee.

Rob, I've got pictures of tracking mounts like the one in your story. They are great when you want to photograph the night sky without getting star trails.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 10, 2003.

Hi Carol. Your pictures must be really cool! Are any on the net?

I'm gonna need some help from you to learn more Aussie lingo too (in case I write another story in the future ;-) especially since my current "Aussie" is limited to what I remember from only a couple "Croc Dundeee" movies!

-- (sonofdust@aussie.lingo), January 10, 2003.

Well look at that. While I was posting a reply, the whole end of the story came up. What a bonus. And a happy ending too!. I guess Mr Lawless had to go free in order to fight another day. Great job.

Rob, I thought you must have known some Aussies as you seem to have captured our style so well. I'd be glad to help with Aussie lingo although some of ours is a bit coarse. At one time I worked in the canteen at a meatworks so I've heard some doozies.

No I haven't any pictures on the web, mine aren't good enough yet. Your NASA sight has some brilliant ones though. It also tells you when and where to look to see satellites etc. passing overhead. Cheers.

-- Carol (thanks@Rob.com), January 10, 2003.

LOL Carol. I had to make a happy ending or somebody here (I won't mention no names) might start getting a bit upset and might even yell a little (post in CAPS with lots of Exclamation points ;-) Glad you enjoyed the story!

-- (sonofdust@happy.ending), January 10, 2003.

I don't know WHO would post in caps with lots of exclamation points!!!!! ;-)

I'm finally back home too, and got to finish the story. Great job, mate! :-) My Aussie lingo is limited to what I learned at Outback Steakhouse. LOL!

I just KNOW Alexander (Bin) Lawless is still around and will be creating more problems in the future. (Every story has to have a villain don'tcha know?) ;-)

Thanks for the story (and the chocolate.) Both are a treat!

-- Gayla (who@wants.to write now???), January 12, 2003.

woo hoo!

NOW GIVE US ANOTHER STORY!!!!

-- HELEN (DEMANDING@MORE.STORIES), January 12, 2003.

Bravo!! Bravo!!

(Errmmm, Helen??? I don't think you ever did finish your story about the end of the world... you gotta be careful about begging others for another story before we see the end of that one :-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.ent), January 12, 2003.

You tell her, Tricia! ;-)

-- Gayla (hee@hee.hee), January 12, 2003.

Now, how can someone finish an "end of world" story?

If the world ended, the story would stop.

If the story didn't end, then t'weren't the end of the world; so it t'weren't an "end of the world story" ..... If the world ended, the story would end, so the story would really be finished, except it wouldn't be finished, because nobody could read about the end of the story because then it would be the end of the world when the story ended, if it ended at all - which nobody would know if it ended or not. And anybody would be write about the end of the story would be wrong about the end of the story because then it would NOT be the end of the story because it would be end of the world so it couldn't be the end of the world or writer couldn't be write about the end of the world or the end of the story if it were the end of the world.

(So the writer about a story about the end of the world would a wronger, which might put Gayla and helen through the wringer, except we won't go there and talk about putting parts and pieces of nice ladies through the wringer.)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.yknot@endofworld.yet), January 12, 2003.

Uh oh! Helen's screamin'! And soon it's TEOTW! I'm going into hiding!

Pssssst. Gayla. Shhhh. Over here. Shhhh. You may not want to incite, uh, I mean encourage Tricia in this. Please remember that our Sweet Princess has an alter ego and we don't want to go through another war!!!! Besides, we should be thankful since we got through this silly story without the forum going down---that's one on a row ;- )

-- (sonofdust@hiding.now), January 12, 2003.

I totally forgot to finish that story. I knew there was something ...

-- helen (now@where.was.I?), January 13, 2003.

Hooray! We're gonna get more story!

Rob, would I incite a war? (Don't answer that!) ;-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), January 13, 2003.