As promised, the final teaser of Season 2.

 
 

 
 

Excerpt from Flagstaff Observer, March 12th, 2020
 
 

AP-Kitts Peak National Observatory, Arizona- Scientists this morning have announced the occurrence of what they suspect is the first ever detected Matter-Antimatter reaction in another galaxy. Researchers here at Kitts Peak National Observatory watched in humbled amazement as the Gamma and Cosmic wave detectors flew off the charts at 4:05AM MST. The source of these immense waves- strong enough to disable several orbiting satellites and cause deep concern for the ISS crew- have been tracked to the star M353, a red giant system-gone supernova estimated at over eleven million light-years from Earth.

“Imagine the intensity of that explosion”, one astronomer, Prof. James Gregg, remarked with excitement! “Even if you took all the atomic, nuclear, hydrogen and neutron bombs ever manufactured on Earth, it would equate to only a very miniscule fraction of the energy released from M353! The energy output from this thing was simply staggering!”

Another researcher with the Observatory, Dr. Shelley Carroll, tried to put a human spin to the massive explosion. “Try to imagine the rage- the extremely focused hate- the unimaginable sadness, not to mention the full gambit of emotions a woman could release after just finding out her boyfriend cheated with her best friend! Believe me, that’s a lot of destructive force! Now imagine if that vengeful woman had really fantastic super powers!”

Mr. Gregg went on to say that it was a good thing Earth was so far away from what he dubbed the ‘Mini Big Bang’. “We were able to alert NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Russian Space program, as well as the Japanese and Chinese Space ministries so they could take protective measures with the ISS and their various satellites. I’m not sure what the body count will be with this one.” Mr. Gregg said in terms of orbiting satellites. “Hopefully, just the auroras will be brighter for the next few months and that’s all.”

 
 
 

Excerpt from The New York Times, March 12th, 2020
 
 

Greenbelt, MD- Sources at NASA’s Goddard Space Center reported the loss of communications with the aging Galileo Cosmic Space Observatory this morning. Due for decommissioning later this year, Galileo has searched the skies for almost two decades monitoring and sampling radiation from far off galaxies. Just before all contact was lost at 6:05AM EST Galileo transmitted Gamma and Cosmic radiation data “That was inconceivably way off the charts”, NASA’s Director of Public Relations, Janine Hilf, told interviewers at a press conference just after 11:00AM.

“Galileo was still an important instrument for understanding the universe around us and will be sorely missed if it is indeed lost. We are still trying to locate the craft since the initial loss of communication early this morning. As we speak, flight engineers and controllers are exhausting all possible avenues to locate and possibly re-establish a link to the crippled spacecraft. At this time there have been no reports of re-entry, so our hopes are still high that Galileo can be revived.”

 
 
 

Citadel Community Park, Citadel, Terra
 
 

“Alexandra, a single unit for your thoughts?”

“I’m worried, mother.”

“She’ll be fine, Alex. You have to believe she knows what she was doing. As she would say, ‘have a little faith, honey.’”

“But you didn’t share her memories, mother! Although she tried to secret them from me, I still caught a glimpse…”

“You know the rules concerning invasion of privacy, Alexandra.”

“Y’all don’t think I know that, ma? She and I, we can’t help sharing- you know that!”

“I know, Alexandra. Now let’s go home. You look as though the weight of the known universes has been heaped on your shoulders! I’m sure Marcus and Alexia would be ecstatic for your return.”

“I can’t, mother. I gotta stay on this bench and wait.”

“Why, honey?”

“I gotta be here when she arrives! I gotta know she’s okay!”

“Alexandra, honey, your grandfather, Grand High Counsel has every astronomer searching the heavens for what you called ‘all hell breakin’ loose’. We are the first on the alert list when it happens.”

“Mother, aren’t you the least bit concerned about Grandma or Connie? Have you been able to see anything about their whereabouts or possible future?”

“Mother?”

“Why the silence, mother? Have all your scenarios’ played out to the negative?”

“Mother, I asked you a question! Why do you stay focused on the stone pathway at our feet? Oh mother, why the tears? Will it be that awful? Will it…OH GOD IT HURTS!”

“Alexandra! What is wrong? Alex? Why are you doubled up in pain, honey? Alexandra, say something!”

“It…Its…Its happened!”

“What! What has happened? Why are you in pain?”

“I’m not sure how I know, but it’s happened, mother! Rubbing my abdomen does nothing to alleviate the intense pain that just shot through my body and soul! It was hundreds of time worse than the last pain of labor- as if a blunt metallic object suddenly pierced and continued straight through me!”

“Alexandra, did you just feel the ground rumble?”

“I was too busy with the subsiding pain to notice anything else, mother. Was it a seismic event?”

“I’m not sure, but the coincidence is too much to dispute, Alexandra! We must hope for the best now!”

“MOTHER! Over there- by that Quivering Fern Tree! Look!”

“What is that dark brownish heap? Why is there steam emanating from it?”

“MOTHER CALL FOR HELP! THE EMPRESS IS IN NEED OF A HEALER!”

“Alexandra! Stay away, she might possess dangerous radiation!”

“CONNIE! Mother they are both here! Get help right away!”

“Assistance is on the way, child! You are requested to keep your distance. The Grand High Counsel has seen this before and knows how to handle it!”

“Mother you must not come any nearer! Please, I beg you to stay your distance from such a grotesque sight!”

“By the lords of Terra, this is the worst…”

“You’ve seen her like this before?”

“Something similar happened when you were a child, Alex. It wasn’t pretty then, either.”

“When I was a child, mother?”

“Yes, the Empress suddenly appeared near this very spot when you were about six years old. She was barely alive and looked more like a sun-dried corpse than a twenty-year-old woman. Your grandfather and his genetic research group teamed up with the biologics group to find a remedy for the poison that had been injected into her system. It took almost two years for her to completely repair herself.”

“Wait, I remember that particular incident and I only remember it being three months! Why would the Empress’s memory differ from your account?”

“Your grandfather’s team had to keep her in an old style stasis chamber for most of the first year until they could isolate and manufacture an antidote. Your grandmother was told a shorter period of time had passed so she wouldn’t worry about being away from home for so long. It was discussed and recommended that she be told a significantly shorter stay so her recuperation wouldn’t be influenced by outside factors.”

“What outside factors, mother?”

“’Bad Alex’ for one! Once revived, your grandmother spent many exhaustive hours, weeks, and months pushing her ability to its limit in order to seek the best possible solution to her destructive alter ego. Had she not been almost fully healed, she would have done more damage than her nanos could compensate for. Father took full and sole responsibility for keeping her in stasis to protect her from the additional pain and stress.”

“So he really does love her.”

“More than you could possibly know, sweetheart! Mother has a special place to lock up such emotional memories and thoughts, as I’m sure you do also. Rarely does she leave that place open even a crack for us to glimpse.”

“But you’ve done just that, haven’t you, mother?”

“On occasion, yes. I wouldn’t be a good daughter if I didn’t.”

“Alexandra, Alexis, are you two harmed?”

“No, father, but mother and Constance, I fear, are near termination! Where are the healers?”

“Right behind… By all the Lords of Terra, it’s even worse than I imagined! Nathan, get them into the stasis chambers as quickly as humanly possible!”

“Grandfather, stay your distance, please!”

“Alex, my love, why couldn’t you have asked for help? Why must you always handle such matters unaccompanied? And Constance…why such a display of anguish? Was it really so important to be a Terran instead of an Earther? We are all human and the same after all. No one would have thought ill of you for that.”

“Counsel, the healers are here now, let them work their craft. They give their guarantee that Alex and Constance will be properly administered to.”

“I promise we will have you two up and around as quickly as humanly possible!”

“Tibius please stand aside and allow the healers to pass.”

“Aye, Nathan. Granddaughter Empress?”

“Grand High Counsel?”

“I charge you with collecting the family Masterson from 2030 Earth to aid our healer’s efforts! Ladies Corrine and Julia are by far, the best cosmetic healers in the known universes!”

“As you wish, Grand High Counsel. What of Lady Jacquelyn? It is only right I bring her also.”

“It is my belief she will not let you forget her, little one! If necessary extend passage to Ladies Elisabeth and Sarah too!”

“Would there be a timeframe for their arrival, Counsel?”

“Alexandra, you should know the answer to that question.”

“Then I shall return within the hour, grandfather!”

“May the temporal tides favor you, little one.”

“Counsel, she has outdone herself this time! Both bodies are extremely irradiated and burned beyond recognition yet surprisingly I sense life within each, albeit faint. I seek your permission to use the new enriched stasis solution with no dilution.”

“Just save them, Jasen! As before, I take full responsibility!”

“As you wish, Grand High Counsel!”
 
 

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Thanks again for reading Season 2 of South of Bikini.
Alexandra and Crew will be back next spring for Season 3!
Join us then for more adventures with 'The Empress of Time and Space'.
 
R.G.