Ashlyn Chronicles 1: 2287 A.D. by Glenn van Dyke, Renee van Dyke Page A

studied the mural of Poseidon holding his Trident on the wall. “And what happened to the alien fleet?”
    “A few days after they’d seeded the atmosphere, they released the spiders. Two weeks later, they left,” said Renee. “Then, nothing—up until two weeks ago, anyway. Our probe in the Sirius star system sent us an alert that the alien fleet is inbound. Best guess is that we have a few days to a few months, but there is no way to know for sure. Time dilation being what it is. Nor do we know the capabilities of their ships. We don’t think it’s a coincidence that the shelf-life of the isotope is expiring and radiation levels are pretty much back to normal.”
    Ashlyn’s eyes watered as the horror of all the events settled in her heart. “So much has happened.”
    “I’ve said more than I should have. We’ve had time to adjust and acclimate. For you, the world you remember was only yesterday. I am sorry, Ashlyn. I’m sorry about your friends and about Tynabo. I wish your first day with us had been an easier one.”
    “It’s not your fault, Renee. I needed to know. I wouldn’t have let you leave without telling.” A soft smile tilted Ashlyn’s lips. “Renee, if you don’t mind, I think I do need a little rest.”
    Taking a bottle of water from the fridge, Renee handed it to Ashlyn. “I’d like you to drink this slowly. The bed you are on is actually a cellular regenerator. It is what healed you. The regen requires you to maintain a high moisture index for it to work properly.”
    “Thank you.” Ashlyn took a sip of water and set it on the table beside her.
    “All right, try to get some rest. I’ll check on you in a few hours. If you need me, just call out. Gena, our computer, will notify me.” Renee smiled sweetly and stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
    Alone, Ashlyn closed her eyes. She needed answers. Her life depended on it. Ashlyn then spoke the words that would open the conduit between her and the man for whom she had been created. She would now find out if he was still alive. “Alnilam, Mintaka, Alnitak.”
    The words released a powerful burst of adrenaline. It raced into the deepest corners and recesses of her mind, activating the genetically engineered circuitry that had been dormant within her.
    By design, Ashlyn’s heightened passions rose within her like those of an emboldened warrior, breaking the chains that had kept her aura bound to her physical being. Hungering for harmonic balance, Ashlyn’s aura loosed an invisible tendril of flame. It stretched outwards, sliding around the imperceptible gravimetric eddies of space with uncanny precision. With a graceful and surreal beauty, it found him asleep in his quarters.
    Had she not been under the control of the fugue, she might have even chuckled, for like most men he had simply let his uniform fall to the floor beside the bed. She might have even given thought to the worn set of admiral’s bars that were sitting on the nightstand and the stack of tabbed and dog-eared strategic warfare books that he had fallen asleep to. At this moment however, her attention was singularly focused.
    Seeing his defined chest, chiseled stomach, and muscular forearms, her breath hastened. She wanted him as desperately as she wanted to surrender herself to him. She wanted to be dominated by him. The desire embodied within Ashlyn’s aura swirled about him, teasing him, coaxing him.
    The two flames were tender, yet merciless—loving, yet unrelenting. The flames intertwined, becoming a fiery pillar of molten gold. It moved slowly, savoring the moment for which it had waited so long. It was a dance of lust, joy, and fulfillment realized. A dance which no human eye or human heart had ever known.
    Securely locked within the fugue, they were safe. The desolate and destroyed world outside faded away into nothing more than a forgotten memory.

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    Renee had only taken a few steps away from the door, when she remembered that