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Description
Glass

Clarissa stood in the shower, letting the warm water stream over her body. The water felt good against her bald head after taking off the stuffy blonde wig. She braced her arms and leaned forward, letting the water pound against her scalp and trickle down her smooth skin as she replayed the battle in her head.

She should have shot the boot first.

The heavies were no match for her. She picked them off one by one. Long range sniping, stealth, superior tactics, and excellent physical condition left her unmatched on the battlefield.

Until the boot shot her in the back.

There were some things that just weren't done. She didn't care that he was from Earth, or that he was so good looking. He was a boot, and she was his superior officer. It was all so maddening.

As she stood in the shower, trying to let her troubles wash away she heard a knock on the door.

"Lieutenant Glass?"

Clarissa sighed. It was Captain Zink.

"Give me a minute."

Clarissa turned off the shower and quickly toweled off. Her blonde hair was resting on a head shaped wig stand on the sink. She scooped her wig off the stand and plopped it onto her head. She shrugged a robe over her slender shoulders.

"I'll be right there," she sang as she looked in the mirror and quickly penciled twin eyebrows on her hairless brow.

Zink

The Lieutenant looked beat. She was wearing a terry cloth robe and her wig was crooked. The wig sat too far back on her head like a kicked rug. Her eyebrows were uneven and her eyelashes were missing.

"I can come back."

"No it's all right," the Lieutenant replied.

Glass was meticulous about her appearance. Letting herself be seen like this was an indication of how shaken she was.

"It was just one fight."

She clenched and unclenched her fists. "I hate him."

"He's a boot. He's from Earth and he doesn't know shit. It was a silly mistake."

"Now you're insulting me. There is no way he could mistake me with that heifer Jordan Shultz."

Glass then glanced at Myra's wide body. Myra had at least forty pounds on Jordan.

"I didn't mean - "

"Big and beautiful, that's my mantra. Do you think I look like this by accident?"

The Lieutenant sighed and sat down on the sofa, her hands fluttering to her wig. The blonde hair slid forward an inch.

It took a lot of nerve for Glass to comment on Zink's weight when Glass didn't even have a hair on her head. Captain Zink made sure that the Lieutenant had access to the best wigs. Without Captain Zink and her pay per views Lieutenant Glass would be a bald nobody.

"So are you jealous?" Myra asked.

"Well, you have a lot of money, and you are successful - "

"No. Of the boot. Did you hear what they were chanting?"

"It will be a cold day in hell before I'm jealous of the boot," Lieutenant Glass spat.

"He's handsome, he beat you - "

"He didn't beat me!" Glass shouted and jumped from the sofa. "You know full well he didn't beat me." she said more quietly.

"I can't afford to have you going off the rails Lieutenant. Now take a deep breath, and pull yourself together. Forget about today, and tomorrow is business as usual."

Long

Karate was surprisingly unaffected that Glass shot him.

"Saved me a lot of running around, Bro. Besides, I wasn't dumb enough to show the Lieutenant up."

"How was it any different than what she did to you?"

Karate laughed. "You can't be serious. I'm a fucking shlub. Do you hear what they call her? The Angel of fucking Death. You don't go around shooting the Angel of Death in the back. That shit will come back and bite you in the ass."

"That's what I'm worried about," Carson replied. "She's already a total bitch. Is it even possible for her to bitchier?"

"I think you are about to find out."

"That's reassuring."

Carson sprawled out on the bean bag chair. It was Jupiter's favorite seat. He could smell a trace of her perfume.

"So Jupiter isn't seeing anyone, is she?"

Karate sat down on the recliner and patted his fat gut. "You still have your mind on Jupiter? I tell you, you need to get laid in the worst way. But after the showing today, I bet you could get any chick on this ship to screw you."

"Except Lieutenant Glass."

Karate chuckled, "You aren't getting in her pants anytime soon."

Carson sighed. "Yes. I suppose I should try to get laid before the lieutenant kills me."

Zink

Myra hurriedly wiggle-waddled up to her room. She cracked open the door and squeezed her wide berth through.

Jupiter was lying on the bed, already in a neglige.

"It took you long enough," Jupiter said.

"I had some business to attend to."

Jupiter looked ravishing. Myra could see the hint of Jupiter's nipples protruding through the sheer satin negligee, and the short gown barely covered her long tan legs. Even though Jupiter was in a slip she had a pair of Jimmy Choos on her feet.

"So how was Glass?" Jupiter asked.

"Pretty shaken up. The plan may be working too well. Her wig was completely jacked up. It looked like she just slapped it on her head and she wasn't wearing any makeup. I want a favorable contract negotiation and a healthy rivalry. I don't want to destroy my superstar."

"We can't have our blonde beauty walking around like that," Jupiter agreed.

"That said, having the Earthling shoot her was a stroke of genius. I honestly didn't see that coming."

"It was spur of the moment," Jupiter replied, pursing her rosebud lips into a smile. "I thought you would appreciate it."

"What's even funnier is what Lieutenant Glass said earlier when she described you. She said that Corporal Moon shows remarkably little ambition for an Aurellian."

Jupiter laughed, canting her head and exposing her long slender neck.

"Would you consider fucking the Captain of the Platinum Princess ambitious?" Jupiter said, a sly smile on her face.

"I would consider it delightful," Myra replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, her weight causing the side she was sitting on to sink downwards. "So how are things going with the boot?"

"He's my marionette. I pull the strings, and he dances."

"And your relationship?"

A hint of a frown crossed Jupiter's face. "I'm trying to slow him down. He is a complete horn dog. There is an Aurellian massage therapist who looks like me, and I gave her one of my wigs. I was hoping it would buy me some time, but he completely bungled it. He somehow managed to yank off her hairpiece a few minutes into the encounter."

"He is handsome, but socially retarded. I suppose that's expected for a primitive. However his combat scores are off the chart."

"Glass wasn't expecting it, but there aren't many who could have made that shot. It was a clean kill," Jupiter agreed.

"The fans love him. So far he is working out perfectly. Our next pay per view sales will be through the roof."

Talking about money was making Myra wet. It didn't hurt that nearly naked Jupiter was lying on her bed.

Myra pushed with her arms and rocked her legs into the air, thumping them back down on the bed. This pushed the mattress down and it then sprung back upwards, launching Jupiter's slender body nearly a foot into the air.

"Oh my," Jupiter laughed, a hand darting to check that her wig was still in place.

Myra rolled underneath Jupiter, her boobs and belly trembling with the shaking bed. Sometime she liked getting on top, but that required a lot of exertion and was particularly hard on Jupiter.

"Ride me," she whispered.

Jupiter climbed on top of Myra, her big Aurellian boobs brushing against Myra's face. With one hand on her wig Jupiter pulled her neglige over her head. Jupiter was now naked except for the brunette wig covering her head and the scarlet Jimmy Choos on her feet. Her skin was soft and perfectly smooth and hairless.

Myra was still in her officer's uniform, but Jupiter eagerly went to work on undressing her. Myra was otherwise dolled out to the extreme. Her blonde hair was freshly dyed and styled, and she had recently had botox and ex-foliation treatment. Her long fingernails were polished a bright fire engine red, Jupiter's favorite color.

In her years of making big and beautiful sex tapes, Myra had many partners, some men, some women, some of them even Aurellians. But to her they were just a job, she never cared about pleasing them. Jupiter was different.

They both had the same tastes. Myra and Jupiter both loved money. Perhaps the only thing as powerful as money was sex.

"One million credits," Myra whispered.

Jupiter craned her neck back, arching her back.

"Ooooooooohhh!

Breathing deeply, Jupiter rocked forward on Myra and replied, "Ten million credits."

At the mention of ten million credits Myra shuddered involuntarily and almost came.

"One billion credits," Myra said softly.

The mention of one billion credits caused both woman to climax. Jupiter rocked up and down on Myra before collapsing on top of her, her thin body caressed by Myra's flab. They were both perspired from the effort and Jupiter's brown wig was crooked.

There was a knock at the door.

"Oh shit!"

Jupiter rose to her knees. Myra could imagine her ears perked up like a prairie underneath her brown wig, listening for danger.

"Come back later," Myra called.

"Captain we need you at the bridge. There is an emergency. Shultz' shuttle went down."

Zink

Despite the short notice, the arena was full, standing room only. Even the tourists were uncharacteristically quiet, as they understood the gravity of the situation. Cameras were rolling in anticipation of a pay-per-view special.

One hour had elapsed since Myra's tryst with Jupiter. Although it was an emergency situation, things needed to be done right. Myra was prepared to film at a moment's notice, but time was needed for hair, makeup, and most importantly ticket sales.

"One hour ago we received a distress signal from Jordan's Shultz' shuttle."

A collective gasp rose from the audience as well as the assembled space marines. The rumor had spread throughout the Platinum Princess, but to hear the Captain say it transformed the rumor to reality.

"It went down on Tetra four, which is populated by colonies of wild Space Apes."

Space Apes were savage and brutal combatants. Although possessing little technology they were fearsome on the battlefield. The chances that Jordan and her crew were alive were slim to none.

"The Trade Federation has offered a substantial reward for their rescue."

The Platinum Princess had little chance of rescuing Jordan. While Myra did have several elite soldiers such as Lieutenant Glass, they were the minority. The vast majority of the crew were poorly trained, soft, and cowardly. The crew was suitable for hosting a space ship full of tourists but ill prepared for combat. Even with superior technology the Platinum Princess had no chance to best the fearsome Space Apes in a full fledged assault.

"Out of goodwill to Jordan and her squad we have committed to send a single rescue shuttle. Quite frankly, this is a suicide mission, and as such I cannot order anyone to go. I need two volunteers."

As expected, Lieutenant Glass stepped forward.

"I'll go."

Zink looked at Lieutenant Glass and nodded. Glass was once once again a picture of blonde perfection, having endured a full hour of hair and makeup alongside the Captain.

"Our first Volunteer, Lieutenant Clarissa Glass, the Angel of Death!

It was a foregone conclusion the Lieutenant would go. She was damaged goods after her humiliating defeat in lone survivor. It was a no lose situation for Myra. In the event that the Lieutenant didn't survive Tetra, Glass would be a martyr and sales of Glass merchandise would go through the roof.

Then the boot chimed in. "I'll go."

Captain Zink gazed across the arena at the boot, trying to conceal her rage. Jupiter said that she was able to control him, that he was her marionette, but the puppet master had failed. Not putting out was a poor decision. Maybe if he was getting some of Jupiter's sweet Aurellian pussy the boot would have been more reluctant to volunteer for a suicide mission.

So Myra pretended not to hear him.

"Are there any other volunteers?"

"I volunteer," the boot said more loudly, as Jupiter stared at him angrily.

Then the chanting started as the audience of tourists rose to their feet.

"Earth-ling, Earth-ling, Earth-ling!"

Zink could no longer ignore him. To turn him down would make him look either cowardly or inept. She had no choice but to acknowledge the moronic boot.

"Thank you to our second volunteer, Private Carson Long, Earthling!"

Myra did her best to plaster a fake smile across her face as she stared at the cameras. But inside she felt sick. If she lost both Glass and the Earthling, she had no immediate replacement.

Long

The rescue shuttle launch was conducted with great fan fare. The entire event was filmed and streamed via Captain Zink's pay per view channel. As the voluptuous Captain uttered her carefully prepared sound bites , the tourists waved shoddily manufactured Earthling foam fingers and cheap Earthling signs printed on shiny corrugated cardboard to bid him farewell.

The remainder of the mission would be filmed via miniature shoulder cams issued to both Carson and Lieutenant Glass. Captain Zink reviewed the function of the shoulder cams with them in great detail, but neglected to offer a single word of advice regarding combating space apes. Frankly, Carson was much more concerned about the later.

Tetra Four was a twelve hour flight away, so while on the shuttle the cameras would go dark and the two combatants would have privacy to prepare and sleep. Undoubtedly Captain Zink would find other ways to fill her pay per view air time while the shuttle was en route to the hostile planet. Carson could imagine such tidbits as interviews with Space Ape experts and flashbacks of Lieutenant Glass' career.

Flashbacks of Carson's career would be short. His entire career consisted of shooting the Lieutenant in the back. There was uncomfortable silence as Carson entered the rescue shuttle alongside of the Lieutenant.

Instead of her white power armor, Glass was dressed in a black jumpsuit which was torn down the middle revealing her impressive cleavage.

"It's a stealth mission," she explained as she noticed him staring at her.

As far as Carson was concerned, her outfit wasn't the least bit stealthy. His eyes were drawn to her cleavage as if her tits were shining beacons of light. The Lieutenant's skimpy skin-tight outfit and long blonde wig screamed porno movie, not combat mission.

Carson examined the bewildering array of lights and switches on the shuttle control panel.

"Don't touch anything dumbass." She batted his hands away from the panel. He noticed her fingernails were fake, but short and tasteful. Stylish without sacrificing function.

"Do you know how any of this stuff works?"

"It's all auto-pilot. I leave that stuff to the flight engineers. My job is to look pretty and kill things. Just try not to shoot me in the back this time."

She looked at him warily. Carson felt like an absolute heel.

"Shooting you was a mistake," he admitted.

"It's done and there is no undoing it," she replied. "You screwed me over big time, but if we are going to have any chance to survive this operation, I need you to pull your head out of your ass and focus on the mission for the next twenty four hours."

Carson nodded. It would be much easier to focus on the mission if there wasn't so much cleavage involved.

"So what do we do next?"

"I'd advise you to get some sleep," she replied. "When we hit Tetra Four we won't have any time to rest. We don't have any intelligence to review, so we should get at least a good eight hours so we are fresh when we arrive."

The Lieutenant sat down on one of the Shuttle's chairs. The shuttle was designed for several days flight and the seats reclined flat. The cabin smelled faintly of the Lieutenant's citrus perfume. It smelled nice and reminded Carson of Jupiter.

Carson was enamored with Jupiter, but she had barely spoke to him after he volunteered for the mission. It was hard to know where he stood with her. One minute Jupiter was hot for him, the next she was ice cold. Perhaps Lieutenant Glass hated him, but at least he knew where he stood with her.

Carson chose a chair at the far end of the shuttle.

"So do you think I have cooties, or what?"

Carson blushed. It seemed he could do no right in the eyes of the Lieutenant. He stood up and moved to the chair next to her, doing his best not to stare at her tits.

"I've never taken this off in front of anyone, but if I go to sleep in it, it will be all messed up for the pay-per-view." Lieutenant Glass smiled wryly. "Will it freak you out if I take it off?"

Carson realized that Lieutenant Glass was pointing to her big blonde hair. An Aurellian taking their wig off in front of someone was even more intimate than them taking off their clothes. Carson was an Earthling idiot, but he realized at least that much.

"Oh sure," he said nonchalantly, as if sharing a rescue shuttle ride with a hairless Aurellian was something he did on a daily basis.

Lieutenant Glass carefully peeled her blonde mane of hair off of her head, gradually revealing her smooth scalp underneath. The wig appeared to be held on with some type of adhesive. He knew that the Lieutenant was bald underneath the wig, but her appearance without it was still shocking. Her baldness was complete and permanent, and her pale scalp was noticeably whiter than the rest of her skin. He supposed that her scalp didn't see the light of day as it was hidden by her wig every waking moment.

She carefully draped the blonde wig over an empty chair. Glass' hair looked like a furry blonde animal asleep on the chair. She blushed as she noticed him watching her. She seemed much more delicate and vulnerable without the intimidating mass of blonde hair perched on her head.

"You tell anyone you saw me without my hair and you die."

"Yes Ma'am," he uttered. He picked a spot to look at over her right shoulder, as he did his best not to stare at either the Lieutenant's baldness or her cleavage. It seemed there was no safe place to look when Lieutenant Glass was around. Jupiter seemed innocent in comparison.

As the shuttle rocketed towards Tetra Four, the Lieutenant drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile Carson only pretended to fall asleep as he watched her through half closed eyelids. Carson wasn't sure how long he stayed awake staring at the sight of his beautiful bald companion, but eventually his eyelids became heavy and he succumbed to slumber as well.

Zink

"Shoulder Cams on."

It was night time on Tetra Four, but flashes of light brightened the sky and the earth shook with explosions.

Captain Zink fully expected Jordan to be dead, but the deafening noise indicated that the young trooper had somehow survived the onslaught and was free firing at the savage apes with her heavy lasers.

It had been fourteen hours since the Platinum Princess received the distress signal from Jordan's shuttle. Given the ferocity of the laser fire it was clear that Jordan was hard pressed. It was a foregone conclusion that her defensive position would be overwhelmed by the apes. It was just a matter of how long Jordan would last.

"Fuck," Lieutenant Glass uttered.

The view cut to the boot's shoulder cam, offering a glimpse of the Angel of Death. Glass looked resplendent in her midnight jumpsuit, every hair of her blonde wig perfectly in place.

"Music..." Zink said.

Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out I had a heart of glass

"Turn that shit off Myra. This is life or death, and I can't hear myself think," Glass said, looking directly into the camera.

Chagrined, the Captain motioned to the sound engineer to cut the soundtrack. Zink prided herself on the production quality of her pay-per-views, and she had the perfect entrance music queued up for the Earthling.

Zink would have to save it for the in memoriam souvenir video. She had already sent the rough cut of the in memoriam video to the media lab. While Zink hoped that her two brave volunteers survived, she had to be realistic about their chances. After all, peak video sales occurred within the first twenty four hours of death.

The view cut to the Lieutenant's shoulder cam, and Zink could see the source of Glass' expletive.

"Fuck," Zink agreed.

The hulking shapes bounded across the landscape towards the camera with inhuman speed.

The Lieutenant's shoulder cam display jittered as her laser rifle began its angry chatter.

Glass

The air was filled with the acrid odor of burning fur and flesh, but to the Angel of Death it smelled like the sweetest perfume. The apes kept coming, but the Angel of Death ruled the battlefield, parceling out mortal judgment one squeeze of the trigger at a time.

Clarissa saw an ape approaching from the left, and smoothly swung her weapon towards it. Aim. Squeeze. The chimp's head exploded.

One from the right... A squeeze of the trigger, another dead ape. The battlefield a kaleidoscope of chaotic violence. This Clarissa understood. This was what she was made for.

The field was littered with bodies. She stepped over an ape carcass as she made her way towards Jordan's position. The blast had shattered the ape's skull, brains oozing out like jelly. Clarissa was unaffected.

There were more more apes. They kept coming. Clarissa kept shooting. The Angel of Death knew no fear.

Growing up an Aurellian she had been called many names. Space Slut. Wig whore. Bald Bitch. But they were all wrong. She had only one name. She was the Angel of Death.

The Earthling was beside her. They worked in unison. They were the eyes in back of each other's head. He worked with deadly efficiency, his laser blasts echoing hers. A fine mist of blood coated his face, making him look more handsome than ever. He was no longer a boot. He was the Prince of Death.

On the battlefield it didn't matter that Clarissa was an Aurellian. On the battlefield it didn't matter that she was bald underneath her blonde wig. On the battlefield the only thing that mattered was killing, and when it came to killing, she had no equal.

As they grew closer to Jordan, the apes grew thicker. The explosions from Jordan's heavy laser joined in unison to the music playing in Clarissa's head. The sweet chorus. Not Blondie's Heart of Glass, but Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Killing apes in C minor.

An ape was twitching. They had thick skulls. Double tap to ensure the kill.

As the Angel and the Prince neared the position, Clarissa smiled. She could see the bodies piled up the steep hill. Jordan Shultz knew defense. But the Angel of Death only knew of offense and furious aggression. Quicker now. Beethoven's fifth on fast forward. Climbing the hill.

She was one with the Prince. She smelled his scent underneath the blood. He was powerful, agile, and knew no fear. Alone she was unbeatable. Together they were immortal.

Long

Carson spotted an ape and shot at it. He was terrified. It was all he could do to keep from shitting his armor.

Carson said a prayer of thanks that the Lieutenant was alongside of him. The sexy blonde Aurellian was furiously shooting all of the apes in sight. He had yet to see her miss.

Captain Zink was barking out orders in the headset about getting certain shots with the shoulder cam, to get a picture of the Lieutenant, but Carson ignored her. He was doing everything he could to keep from dying.

When he joined the Galactic Rangers he knew there was the possibility of death, but being rushed by the space apes that possibility was tangible. He could taste death on his tongue. He could smell it with his nostrils. He didn't want to die on some God forsaken planet, his body desecrated by the foul space apes.

Fuck...

But if he had to die alongside anyone, he would pick Lieutenant Glass. Last night on the shuttle, without her wig, she had been both vulnerable and beautiful. With her blonde wig back in place she was supremely confident and competent. What had he been thinking shooting her in the back?

The thought of the beautiful Lieutenant alongside him was comforting. She knew no fear and would protect him from harm. He had to make it through. He had to see Jupiter.

As they grew closer to Jordan, the action grew more furious. The Lieutenant's shots were no more than a second apart. Her speed and aim were inhuman. Carson's forearms were tiring from the heavy rifle and he did his best to keep up with her. It was that or die.

The ape's were grotesque. At least a foot taller than a human, with heavy slabs of muscle and thickly boned foreheads. Mostly unarmed, but a few had primitive spears and shields. The crude shields offered no protection against a laser rifle.

But Carson felt no guilt about shooting them. He was horrified.

They crested the hill and could see Jordan. She was again the lone survivor, her squad dead around her, but this time it was for real. Her squad mates weren't playing dead for the camera.

"Get a shot of Jordan," Zink's voice pleaded in his headset.

He didn't feel the spear hit him. He heard it instead, the heavy dull thunk against his ribs.

Carson was on his back, his shoulder cam pointing in the air. Jordan's face came into view. The Captain would be happy. She had her shot.

He saw the look of horror on Jordan's face, and looked down at his torso. The spear stuck through him.

"I'm leaking..."

Glass appeared. She was firing her rifle as she assessed his condition. "Get up!"

Carson could not get up. "Tell Jupiter..."

He couldn't finish. His throat was dry, and he couldn't breath.

The Lieutenant stared down at him. "Fuck Jupiter. I'm right here."

She leaned down, the hair of her blonde wig brushing against his cheeks, and kissed him.

Zink

Captain Myra Zink was working through the details of the memorial tribute when her focus shifted to the live video feed. Against improbable odds, Lieutenant Glass and the boot had savagely cleared a three hundred yard path to Jordan Shultz' position. What Myra had previously considered to be a suicide mission had the possibility of succeeding.

The Lieutenant and the Earthling worked to a savage rhythm as they methodically slaughtered the attacking apes. Lieutenant Glass looked resplendent in her black bodysuit and custom fitted blonde wig. Her actions were a poetry of violence and blood. She was the Angel of Death.

The tourists applauded with each kill, and at the frenetic pace at which the apes were being slaughtered the crowd noise became an unwavering buzz. A sane soldier would have abandoned the mission and retreated, but Glass seemed fully prepared to kill every ape on the plant if necessary.

The first glimpse of Jordan hunkered down behind her heavy laser brought another swell of applause. Shultzy was a crowd favorite, especially with the Corporate Worlds viewing audience. Jordan's large frame, thick haunches and belly hinted at the possibility that she could get bigger. That possibility was a delightful tease to the big and beautiful lovers within the viewing audience. While Jordan didn't match Myra's size it was clear that she was a big girl with potential to be even bigger.

Myra was brought back to reality when the spear went through the boot. Private Long collapsed like a wet rag at the Lieutenant's feet.

"Leave him," Myra instructed the Lieutenant, although at this point it was clear that Glass was no longer listening to her commands.

The crowd again reacted as the Lieutenant leaned down and kissed the boot. It was her first show of emotion since the fight began. Then she straightened up and continued calmly shooting apes with business-like efficiency, her face expressionless and her eyes hidden by the dark shades.

Jordan urged Glass forward, but Glass would not move. She was determined to guard the dying boot. Glass was no longer coherent and was mumbling something that sounded like "The Prince of Death."

The Platinum Princess had followed the shuttle to Tetra Four and was only an hour away, but it was too dangerous to land. Shultz and Glass would need to fight their way back to the shuttle or die on the planet.

Jordan Shultz lifted the boot upwards and flung him over her shoulders in a fireman's carry. Without Jordan's heavy laser fire, the apes pushed forward.

The Angel of Death grabbed the boots laser, brandishing it in her left hand. Dual wielding two laser rifles, Lieutenant Glass drove the apes backwards, leaving mounds of ape carcasses behind her as if they were a farewell gift to Tetra Four.

Myra contacted the media room.

"Start editing the Memorial tribute and make it a Victory tribute."

Six months later...

Carson stood in front of the brushed stainless steel bay doors, waiting for his entrance music. It was Sunday night so they were once again reenacting the battle for Tetra Four for the tourists. On the other side of the bay Karate and the rest of Carson's squad were dressed like Space Apes. Jupiter Moon was wearing a fat suit and a blonde wig, dressed like heavy trooper Jordan Shultz. Jupiter hated the costume with a passion.

But Carson no longer cared about Jupiter.

He glanced at the blonde Aurellian standing alongside of him, and squeezed her hand. Clarissa noticed him watching her and smiled.

Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Much of mistrust, love's gone behind

Description
Glass

Clarissa stood in the shower, letting the warm water stream over her body. The water felt good against her bald head after taking off the stuffy blonde wig. She braced her arms and leaned forward, letting the water pound against her scalp and trickle down her smooth skin as she replayed the battle in her head.

She should have shot the boot first.

The heavies were no match for her. She picked them off one by one. Long range sniping, stealth, superior tactics, and excellent physical condition left her unmatched on the battlefield.

Until the boot shot her in the back.

There were some things that just weren't done. She didn't care that he was from Earth, or that he was so good looking. He was a boot, and she was his superior officer. It was all so maddening.

As she stood in the shower, trying to let her troubles wash away she heard a knock on the door.

"Lieutenant Glass?"

Clarissa sighed. It was Captain Zink.

"Give me a minute."

Clarissa turned off the shower and quickly toweled off. Her blonde hair was resting on a head shaped wig stand on the sink. She scooped her wig off the stand and plopped it onto her head. She shrugged a robe over her slender shoulders.

"I'll be right there," she sang as she looked in the mirror and quickly penciled twin eyebrows on her hairless brow.

Zink

The Lieutenant looked beat. She was wearing a terry cloth robe and her wig was crooked. The wig sat too far back on her head like a kicked rug. Her eyebrows were uneven and her eyelashes were missing.

"I can come back."

"No it's all right," the Lieutenant replied.

Glass was meticulous about her appearance. Letting herself be seen like this was an indication of how shaken she was.

"It was just one fight."

She clenched and unclenched her fists. "I hate him."

"He's a boot. He's from Earth and he doesn't know shit. It was a silly mistake."

"Now you're insulting me. There is no way he could mistake me with that heifer Jordan Shultz."

Glass then glanced at Myra's wide body. Myra had at least forty pounds on Jordan.

"I didn't mean - "

"Big and beautiful, that's my mantra. Do you think I look like this by accident?"

The Lieutenant sighed and sat down on the sofa, her hands fluttering to her wig. The blonde hair slid forward an inch.

It took a lot of nerve for Glass to comment on Zink's weight when Glass didn't even have a hair on her head. Captain Zink made sure that the Lieutenant had access to the best wigs. Without Captain Zink and her pay per views Lieutenant Glass would be a bald nobody.

"So are you jealous?" Myra asked.

"Well, you have a lot of money, and you are successful - "

"No. Of the boot. Did you hear what they were chanting?"

"It will be a cold day in hell before I'm jealous of the boot," Lieutenant Glass spat.

"He's handsome, he beat you - "

"He didn't beat me!" Glass shouted and jumped from the sofa. "You know full well he didn't beat me." she said more quietly.

"I can't afford to have you going off the rails Lieutenant. Now take a deep breath, and pull yourself together. Forget about today, and tomorrow is business as usual."

Long

Karate was surprisingly unaffected that Glass shot him.

"Saved me a lot of running around, Bro. Besides, I wasn't dumb enough to show the Lieutenant up."

"How was it any different than what she did to you?"

Karate laughed. "You can't be serious. I'm a fucking shlub. Do you hear what they call her? The Angel of fucking Death. You don't go around shooting the Angel of Death in the back. That shit will come back and bite you in the ass."

"That's what I'm worried about," Carson replied. "She's already a total bitch. Is it even possible for her to bitchier?"

"I think you are about to find out."

"That's reassuring."

Carson sprawled out on the bean bag chair. It was Jupiter's favorite seat. He could smell a trace of her perfume.

"So Jupiter isn't seeing anyone, is she?"

Karate sat down on the recliner and patted his fat gut. "You still have your mind on Jupiter? I tell you, you need to get laid in the worst way. But after the showing today, I bet you could get any chick on this ship to screw you."

"Except Lieutenant Glass."

Karate chuckled, "You aren't getting in her pants anytime soon."

Carson sighed. "Yes. I suppose I should try to get laid before the lieutenant kills me."

Zink

Myra hurriedly wiggle-waddled up to her room. She cracked open the door and squeezed her wide berth through.

Jupiter was lying on the bed, already in a neglige.

"It took you long enough," Jupiter said.

"I had some business to attend to."

Jupiter looked ravishing. Myra could see the hint of Jupiter's nipples protruding through the sheer satin negligee, and the short gown barely covered her long tan legs. Even though Jupiter was in a slip she had a pair of Jimmy Choos on her feet.

"So how was Glass?" Jupiter asked.

"Pretty shaken up. The plan may be working too well. Her wig was completely jacked up. It looked like she just slapped it on her head and she wasn't wearing any makeup. I want a favorable contract negotiation and a healthy rivalry. I don't want to destroy my superstar."

"We can't have our blonde beauty walking around like that," Jupiter agreed.

"That said, having the Earthling shoot her was a stroke of genius. I honestly didn't see that coming."

"It was spur of the moment," Jupiter replied, pursing her rosebud lips into a smile. "I thought you would appreciate it."

"What's even funnier is what Lieutenant Glass said earlier when she described you. She said that Corporal Moon shows remarkably little ambition for an Aurellian."

Jupiter laughed, canting her head and exposing her long slender neck.

"Would you consider fucking the Captain of the Platinum Princess ambitious?" Jupiter said, a sly smile on her face.

"I would consider it delightful," Myra replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, her weight causing the side she was sitting on to sink downwards. "So how are things going with the boot?"

"He's my marionette. I pull the strings, and he dances."

"And your relationship?"

A hint of a frown crossed Jupiter's face. "I'm trying to slow him down. He is a complete horn dog. There is an Aurellian massage therapist who looks like me, and I gave her one of my wigs. I was hoping it would buy me some time, but he completely bungled it. He somehow managed to yank off her hairpiece a few minutes into the encounter."

"He is handsome, but socially retarded. I suppose that's expected for a primitive. However his combat scores are off the chart."

"Glass wasn't expecting it, but there aren't many who could have made that shot. It was a clean kill," Jupiter agreed.

"The fans love him. So far he is working out perfectly. Our next pay per view sales will be through the roof."

Talking about money was making Myra wet. It didn't hurt that nearly naked Jupiter was lying on her bed.

Myra pushed with her arms and rocked her legs into the air, thumping them back down on the bed. This pushed the mattress down and it then sprung back upwards, launching Jupiter's slender body nearly a foot into the air.

"Oh my," Jupiter laughed, a hand darting to check that her wig was still in place.

Myra rolled underneath Jupiter, her boobs and belly trembling with the shaking bed. Sometime she liked getting on top, but that required a lot of exertion and was particularly hard on Jupiter.

"Ride me," she whispered.

Jupiter climbed on top of Myra, her big Aurellian boobs brushing against Myra's face. With one hand on her wig Jupiter pulled her neglige over her head. Jupiter was now naked except for the brunette wig covering her head and the scarlet Jimmy Choos on her feet. Her skin was soft and perfectly smooth and hairless.

Myra was still in her officer's uniform, but Jupiter eagerly went to work on undressing her. Myra was otherwise dolled out to the extreme. Her blonde hair was freshly dyed and styled, and she had recently had botox and ex-foliation treatment. Her long fingernails were polished a bright fire engine red, Jupiter's favorite color.

In her years of making big and beautiful sex tapes, Myra had many partners, some men, some women, some of them even Aurellians. But to her they were just a job, she never cared about pleasing them. Jupiter was different.

They both had the same tastes. Myra and Jupiter both loved money. Perhaps the only thing as powerful as money was sex.

"One million credits," Myra whispered.

Jupiter craned her neck back, arching her back.

"Ooooooooohhh!

Breathing deeply, Jupiter rocked forward on Myra and replied, "Ten million credits."

At the mention of ten million credits Myra shuddered involuntarily and almost came.

"One billion credits," Myra said softly.

The mention of one billion credits caused both woman to climax. Jupiter rocked up and down on Myra before collapsing on top of her, her thin body caressed by Myra's flab. They were both perspired from the effort and Jupiter's brown wig was crooked.

There was a knock at the door.

"Oh shit!"

Jupiter rose to her knees. Myra could imagine her ears perked up like a prairie underneath her brown wig, listening for danger.

"Come back later," Myra called.

"Captain we need you at the bridge. There is an emergency. Shultz' shuttle went down."

Zink

Despite the short notice, the arena was full, standing room only. Even the tourists were uncharacteristically quiet, as they understood the gravity of the situation. Cameras were rolling in anticipation of a pay-per-view special.

One hour had elapsed since Myra's tryst with Jupiter. Although it was an emergency situation, things needed to be done right. Myra was prepared to film at a moment's notice, but time was needed for hair, makeup, and most importantly ticket sales.

"One hour ago we received a distress signal from Jordan's Shultz' shuttle."

A collective gasp rose from the audience as well as the assembled space marines. The rumor had spread throughout the Platinum Princess, but to hear the Captain say it transformed the rumor to reality.

"It went down on Tetra four, which is populated by colonies of wild Space Apes."

Space Apes were savage and brutal combatants. Although possessing little technology they were fearsome on the battlefield. The chances that Jordan and her crew were alive were slim to none.

"The Trade Federation has offered a substantial reward for their rescue."

The Platinum Princess had little chance of rescuing Jordan. While Myra did have several elite soldiers such as Lieutenant Glass, they were the minority. The vast majority of the crew were poorly trained, soft, and cowardly. The crew was suitable for hosting a space ship full of tourists but ill prepared for combat. Even with superior technology the Platinum Princess had no chance to best the fearsome Space Apes in a full fledged assault.

"Out of goodwill to Jordan and her squad we have committed to send a single rescue shuttle. Quite frankly, this is a suicide mission, and as such I cannot order anyone to go. I need two volunteers."

As expected, Lieutenant Glass stepped forward.

"I'll go."

Zink looked at Lieutenant Glass and nodded. Glass was once once again a picture of blonde perfection, having endured a full hour of hair and makeup alongside the Captain.

"Our first Volunteer, Lieutenant Clarissa Glass, the Angel of Death!

It was a foregone conclusion the Lieutenant would go. She was damaged goods after her humiliating defeat in lone survivor. It was a no lose situation for Myra. In the event that the Lieutenant didn't survive Tetra, Glass would be a martyr and sales of Glass merchandise would go through the roof.

Then the boot chimed in. "I'll go."

Captain Zink gazed across the arena at the boot, trying to conceal her rage. Jupiter said that she was able to control him, that he was her marionette, but the puppet master had failed. Not putting out was a poor decision. Maybe if he was getting some of Jupiter's sweet Aurellian pussy the boot would have been more reluctant to volunteer for a suicide mission.

So Myra pretended not to hear him.

"Are there any other volunteers?"

"I volunteer," the boot said more loudly, as Jupiter stared at him angrily.

Then the chanting started as the audience of tourists rose to their feet.

"Earth-ling, Earth-ling, Earth-ling!"

Zink could no longer ignore him. To turn him down would make him look either cowardly or inept. She had no choice but to acknowledge the moronic boot.

"Thank you to our second volunteer, Private Carson Long, Earthling!"

Myra did her best to plaster a fake smile across her face as she stared at the cameras. But inside she felt sick. If she lost both Glass and the Earthling, she had no immediate replacement.

Long

The rescue shuttle launch was conducted with great fan fare. The entire event was filmed and streamed via Captain Zink's pay per view channel. As the voluptuous Captain uttered her carefully prepared sound bites , the tourists waved shoddily manufactured Earthling foam fingers and cheap Earthling signs printed on shiny corrugated cardboard to bid him farewell.

The remainder of the mission would be filmed via miniature shoulder cams issued to both Carson and Lieutenant Glass. Captain Zink reviewed the function of the shoulder cams with them in great detail, but neglected to offer a single word of advice regarding combating space apes. Frankly, Carson was much more concerned about the later.

Tetra Four was a twelve hour flight away, so while on the shuttle the cameras would go dark and the two combatants would have privacy to prepare and sleep. Undoubtedly Captain Zink would find other ways to fill her pay per view air time while the shuttle was en route to the hostile planet. Carson could imagine such tidbits as interviews with Space Ape experts and flashbacks of Lieutenant Glass' career.

Flashbacks of Carson's career would be short. His entire career consisted of shooting the Lieutenant in the back. There was uncomfortable silence as Carson entered the rescue shuttle alongside of the Lieutenant.

Instead of her white power armor, Glass was dressed in a black jumpsuit which was torn down the middle revealing her impressive cleavage.

"It's a stealth mission," she explained as she noticed him staring at her.

As far as Carson was concerned, her outfit wasn't the least bit stealthy. His eyes were drawn to her cleavage as if her tits were shining beacons of light. The Lieutenant's skimpy skin-tight outfit and long blonde wig screamed porno movie, not combat mission.

Carson examined the bewildering array of lights and switches on the shuttle control panel.

"Don't touch anything dumbass." She batted his hands away from the panel. He noticed her fingernails were fake, but short and tasteful. Stylish without sacrificing function.

"Do you know how any of this stuff works?"

"It's all auto-pilot. I leave that stuff to the flight engineers. My job is to look pretty and kill things. Just try not to shoot me in the back this time."

She looked at him warily. Carson felt like an absolute heel.

"Shooting you was a mistake," he admitted.

"It's done and there is no undoing it," she replied. "You screwed me over big time, but if we are going to have any chance to survive this operation, I need you to pull your head out of your ass and focus on the mission for the next twenty four hours."

Carson nodded. It would be much easier to focus on the mission if there wasn't so much cleavage involved.

"So what do we do next?"

"I'd advise you to get some sleep," she replied. "When we hit Tetra Four we won't have any time to rest. We don't have any intelligence to review, so we should get at least a good eight hours so we are fresh when we arrive."

The Lieutenant sat down on one of the Shuttle's chairs. The shuttle was designed for several days flight and the seats reclined flat. The cabin smelled faintly of the Lieutenant's citrus perfume. It smelled nice and reminded Carson of Jupiter.

Carson was enamored with Jupiter, but she had barely spoke to him after he volunteered for the mission. It was hard to know where he stood with her. One minute Jupiter was hot for him, the next she was ice cold. Perhaps Lieutenant Glass hated him, but at least he knew where he stood with her.

Carson chose a chair at the far end of the shuttle.

"So do you think I have cooties, or what?"

Carson blushed. It seemed he could do no right in the eyes of the Lieutenant. He stood up and moved to the chair next to her, doing his best not to stare at her tits.

"I've never taken this off in front of anyone, but if I go to sleep in it, it will be all messed up for the pay-per-view." Lieutenant Glass smiled wryly. "Will it freak you out if I take it off?"

Carson realized that Lieutenant Glass was pointing to her big blonde hair. An Aurellian taking their wig off in front of someone was even more intimate than them taking off their clothes. Carson was an Earthling idiot, but he realized at least that much.

"Oh sure," he said nonchalantly, as if sharing a rescue shuttle ride with a hairless Aurellian was something he did on a daily basis.

Lieutenant Glass carefully peeled her blonde mane of hair off of her head, gradually revealing her smooth scalp underneath. The wig appeared to be held on with some type of adhesive. He knew that the Lieutenant was bald underneath the wig, but her appearance without it was still shocking. Her baldness was complete and permanent, and her pale scalp was noticeably whiter than the rest of her skin. He supposed that her scalp didn't see the light of day as it was hidden by her wig every waking moment.

She carefully draped the blonde wig over an empty chair. Glass' hair looked like a furry blonde animal asleep on the chair. She blushed as she noticed him watching her. She seemed much more delicate and vulnerable without the intimidating mass of blonde hair perched on her head.

"You tell anyone you saw me without my hair and you die."

"Yes Ma'am," he uttered. He picked a spot to look at over her right shoulder, as he did his best not to stare at either the Lieutenant's baldness or her cleavage. It seemed there was no safe place to look when Lieutenant Glass was around. Jupiter seemed innocent in comparison.

As the shuttle rocketed towards Tetra Four, the Lieutenant drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile Carson only pretended to fall asleep as he watched her through half closed eyelids. Carson wasn't sure how long he stayed awake staring at the sight of his beautiful bald companion, but eventually his eyelids became heavy and he succumbed to slumber as well.

Zink

"Shoulder Cams on."

It was night time on Tetra Four, but flashes of light brightened the sky and the earth shook with explosions.

Captain Zink fully expected Jordan to be dead, but the deafening noise indicated that the young trooper had somehow survived the onslaught and was free firing at the savage apes with her heavy lasers.

It had been fourteen hours since the Platinum Princess received the distress signal from Jordan's shuttle. Given the ferocity of the laser fire it was clear that Jordan was hard pressed. It was a foregone conclusion that her defensive position would be overwhelmed by the apes. It was just a matter of how long Jordan would last.

"Fuck," Lieutenant Glass uttered.

The view cut to the boot's shoulder cam, offering a glimpse of the Angel of Death. Glass looked resplendent in her midnight jumpsuit, every hair of her blonde wig perfectly in place.

"Music..." Zink said.

Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out I had a heart of glass

"Turn that shit off Myra. This is life or death, and I can't hear myself think," Glass said, looking directly into the camera.

Chagrined, the Captain motioned to the sound engineer to cut the soundtrack. Zink prided herself on the production quality of her pay-per-views, and she had the perfect entrance music queued up for the Earthling.

Zink would have to save it for the in memoriam souvenir video. She had already sent the rough cut of the in memoriam video to the media lab. While Zink hoped that her two brave volunteers survived, she had to be realistic about their chances. After all, peak video sales occurred within the first twenty four hours of death.

The view cut to the Lieutenant's shoulder cam, and Zink could see the source of Glass' expletive.

"Fuck," Zink agreed.

The hulking shapes bounded across the landscape towards the camera with inhuman speed.

The Lieutenant's shoulder cam display jittered as her laser rifle began its angry chatter.

Glass

The air was filled with the acrid odor of burning fur and flesh, but to the Angel of Death it smelled like the sweetest perfume. The apes kept coming, but the Angel of Death ruled the battlefield, parceling out mortal judgment one squeeze of the trigger at a time.

Clarissa saw an ape approaching from the left, and smoothly swung her weapon towards it. Aim. Squeeze. The chimp's head exploded.

One from the right... A squeeze of the trigger, another dead ape. The battlefield a kaleidoscope of chaotic violence. This Clarissa understood. This was what she was made for.

The field was littered with bodies. She stepped over an ape carcass as she made her way towards Jordan's position. The blast had shattered the ape's skull, brains oozing out like jelly. Clarissa was unaffected.

There were more more apes. They kept coming. Clarissa kept shooting. The Angel of Death knew no fear.

Growing up an Aurellian she had been called many names. Space Slut. Wig whore. Bald Bitch. But they were all wrong. She had only one name. She was the Angel of Death.

The Earthling was beside her. They worked in unison. They were the eyes in back of each other's head. He worked with deadly efficiency, his laser blasts echoing hers. A fine mist of blood coated his face, making him look more handsome than ever. He was no longer a boot. He was the Prince of Death.

On the battlefield it didn't matter that Clarissa was an Aurellian. On the battlefield it didn't matter that she was bald underneath her blonde wig. On the battlefield the only thing that mattered was killing, and when it came to killing, she had no equal.

As they grew closer to Jordan, the apes grew thicker. The explosions from Jordan's heavy laser joined in unison to the music playing in Clarissa's head. The sweet chorus. Not Blondie's Heart of Glass, but Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Killing apes in C minor.

An ape was twitching. They had thick skulls. Double tap to ensure the kill.

As the Angel and the Prince neared the position, Clarissa smiled. She could see the bodies piled up the steep hill. Jordan Shultz knew defense. But the Angel of Death only knew of offense and furious aggression. Quicker now. Beethoven's fifth on fast forward. Climbing the hill.

She was one with the Prince. She smelled his scent underneath the blood. He was powerful, agile, and knew no fear. Alone she was unbeatable. Together they were immortal.

Long

Carson spotted an ape and shot at it. He was terrified. It was all he could do to keep from shitting his armor.

Carson said a prayer of thanks that the Lieutenant was alongside of him. The sexy blonde Aurellian was furiously shooting all of the apes in sight. He had yet to see her miss.

Captain Zink was barking out orders in the headset about getting certain shots with the shoulder cam, to get a picture of the Lieutenant, but Carson ignored her. He was doing everything he could to keep from dying.

When he joined the Galactic Rangers he knew there was the possibility of death, but being rushed by the space apes that possibility was tangible. He could taste death on his tongue. He could smell it with his nostrils. He didn't want to die on some God forsaken planet, his body desecrated by the foul space apes.

Fuck...

But if he had to die alongside anyone, he would pick Lieutenant Glass. Last night on the shuttle, without her wig, she had been both vulnerable and beautiful. With her blonde wig back in place she was supremely confident and competent. What had he been thinking shooting her in the back?

The thought of the beautiful Lieutenant alongside him was comforting. She knew no fear and would protect him from harm. He had to make it through. He had to see Jupiter.

As they grew closer to Jordan, the action grew more furious. The Lieutenant's shots were no more than a second apart. Her speed and aim were inhuman. Carson's forearms were tiring from the heavy rifle and he did his best to keep up with her. It was that or die.

The ape's were grotesque. At least a foot taller than a human, with heavy slabs of muscle and thickly boned foreheads. Mostly unarmed, but a few had primitive spears and shields. The crude shields offered no protection against a laser rifle.

But Carson felt no guilt about shooting them. He was horrified.

They crested the hill and could see Jordan. She was again the lone survivor, her squad dead around her, but this time it was for real. Her squad mates weren't playing dead for the camera.

"Get a shot of Jordan," Zink's voice pleaded in his headset.

He didn't feel the spear hit him. He heard it instead, the heavy dull thunk against his ribs.

Carson was on his back, his shoulder cam pointing in the air. Jordan's face came into view. The Captain would be happy. She had her shot.

He saw the look of horror on Jordan's face, and looked down at his torso. The spear stuck through him.

"I'm leaking..."

Glass appeared. She was firing her rifle as she assessed his condition. "Get up!"

Carson could not get up. "Tell Jupiter..."

He couldn't finish. His throat was dry, and he couldn't breath.

The Lieutenant stared down at him. "Fuck Jupiter. I'm right here."

She leaned down, the hair of her blonde wig brushing against his cheeks, and kissed him.

Zink

Captain Myra Zink was working through the details of the memorial tribute when her focus shifted to the live video feed. Against improbable odds, Lieutenant Glass and the boot had savagely cleared a three hundred yard path to Jordan Shultz' position. What Myra had previously considered to be a suicide mission had the possibility of succeeding.

The Lieutenant and the Earthling worked to a savage rhythm as they methodically slaughtered the attacking apes. Lieutenant Glass looked resplendent in her black bodysuit and custom fitted blonde wig. Her actions were a poetry of violence and blood. She was the Angel of Death.

The tourists applauded with each kill, and at the frenetic pace at which the apes were being slaughtered the crowd noise became an unwavering buzz. A sane soldier would have abandoned the mission and retreated, but Glass seemed fully prepared to kill every ape on the plant if necessary.

The first glimpse of Jordan hunkered down behind her heavy laser brought another swell of applause. Shultzy was a crowd favorite, especially with the Corporate Worlds viewing audience. Jordan's large frame, thick haunches and belly hinted at the possibility that she could get bigger. That possibility was a delightful tease to the big and beautiful lovers within the viewing audience. While Jordan didn't match Myra's size it was clear that she was a big girl with potential to be even bigger.

Myra was brought back to reality when the spear went through the boot. Private Long collapsed like a wet rag at the Lieutenant's feet.

"Leave him," Myra instructed the Lieutenant, although at this point it was clear that Glass was no longer listening to her commands.

The crowd again reacted as the Lieutenant leaned down and kissed the boot. It was her first show of emotion since the fight began. Then she straightened up and continued calmly shooting apes with business-like efficiency, her face expressionless and her eyes hidden by the dark shades.

Jordan urged Glass forward, but Glass would not move. She was determined to guard the dying boot. Glass was no longer coherent and was mumbling something that sounded like "The Prince of Death."

The Platinum Princess had followed the shuttle to Tetra Four and was only an hour away, but it was too dangerous to land. Shultz and Glass would need to fight their way back to the shuttle or die on the planet.

Jordan Shultz lifted the boot upwards and flung him over her shoulders in a fireman's carry. Without Jordan's heavy laser fire, the apes pushed forward.

The Angel of Death grabbed the boots laser, brandishing it in her left hand. Dual wielding two laser rifles, Lieutenant Glass drove the apes backwards, leaving mounds of ape carcasses behind her as if they were a farewell gift to Tetra Four.

Myra contacted the media room.

"Start editing the Memorial tribute and make it a Victory tribute."

Six months later...

Carson stood in front of the brushed stainless steel bay doors, waiting for his entrance music. It was Sunday night so they were once again reenacting the battle for Tetra Four for the tourists. On the other side of the bay Karate and the rest of Carson's squad were dressed like Space Apes. Jupiter Moon was wearing a fat suit and a blonde wig, dressed like heavy trooper Jordan Shultz. Jupiter hated the costume with a passion.

But Carson no longer cared about Jupiter.

He glanced at the blonde Aurellian standing alongside of him, and squeezed her hand. Clarissa noticed him watching her and smiled.

Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Much of mistrust, love's gone behind