Rem Monty, Therese’s art teacher walked into the restaurant at the truck stop. Therese and Kara stood up quickly from the booth, after Therese took a note from her pocket and left it on the table for Ben. “Mr. Monty!” said Therese, happy to see him.
“Follow me quickly, I have slowed time.” said Mr. Monty, going out the back door. Kara hesitated but then sprang forward to catch up. “Stay close, I’ve tuned the Time Stop to the three of us, but you must be close.” Mr. Monty said as they went up the stairs and out into the courtyard. The girls looked around, everyone was frozen still. “Into my ship.” Rem Monty said, stepping into a small spaceship that should not be in the courtyard.
“That shouldn’t be there.” said Kara, looking at the spaceship which was straight out of Space-Girl Michelle. The light reflected off the ship, there was a shadow on the ground, but there should not be a space ship on the ground.
“I’m going.” said Therese, following her teacher in. Kara, refusing to abandon her friend, followed Therese in. The inside of the ship was well lit, wires, junction boxes, padding lined the hull. The girls looked around at the ship, years of watching Space-Girl Michelle had already taught them everything about the ship. The Space-Girl Michelle video game had either one of them ready to fly it.
“Strap in.” said Rem Monty, pointing at the two chairs behind his pilot seat. The girls quickly fastened their buckles, just as they had always seen done on television. “Kara, quit checking your head for implants, you don’t have one.” Rem finished. Kara put her hand down.
“There goes my hope this was a hallucination.” said Kara, tightening her harness. Kara really hoped she was losing it, it would be easier to accept than finding out her childhood fantasy was real, but yet she also sat there amazed it was.
Rem Monty pressed some buttons, the ship’s engine hummed to life and he pulled on the controls, as the ship flipped nose-first into the air and rapidly accelerated. “There is no easy way to tell you this, but I am an alien.” said Rem Monty.
“No shit?” said Kara, not knowing what other comment to make. What, did he expect her to think every art teacher had a spaceship for the weekends.
“Are all art teachers aliens?” asked Therese, thinking along the same lines as Kara.
“No, but most aliens are art teachers, it is the perfect cover.” Rem Monty explained. The girls shrugged their shoulders and nodded their heads in agreement. That actually made sense when they thought about it.
“Space-Girl Michelle is real, and she’s trouble.” said Rem.
“If I wasn’t in a spaceship flying away from earth, I’d wonder about that, but if this is true, that might as well be true.” said Kara.
“Me too.” Therese agreed.
“Have you ever seen the movie the Last Star Fighter?” Rem asked the girls.
“Yes, on old Sci-Fi movie night with Therese’s dad.” said Kara.
“I kind of liked it.” Therese argued, liking the idea that aliens were using an arcade video game to screen for potential starfighter pilots.
“Well, the point is, it is a lot like that, the Space-Girl Michelle television series is like a training series, and we recruit from fans new Space-Girls to help Space-Girl Michelle save the galaxy.” Rem explained.
“I never wanted to admit it, but the low budget, they always had the training film quality to them.” said Therese.
“They are a little better than that.” Kara countered, but she could only defend the series so far.
“You guys are taking this quite well, better than most.” said Rem Monty.
“I had the government put an implant in my head that caused my schizophrenia, was shot and watched my friends shot, I am out of things to get worked up about.” Therese answered with her flat tone.
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“Your implant experience is exactly why we need you. Do you know how you make good steel?” Rem asked.
“Iron?” said Kara.
“You need iron, and a little carbon, some chromium, vanadium, whatever, you heat it up and beat the hell out of it in a forge.” said Therese.
“Your brain is good steel. Space-Girl Michelle has had her mind possessed by the Brainenock, only yours is strong enough to resist that level of mind control” Rem explained. The girls looked out the window and saw the earth disappearing behind them. Therese knew from the show that the Brainenock could possess the minds of anyone in near range, and when one Michelle was possessed by it, the only cure was to kill both of them. She understood they hoped she could get her hero out of this alive.
The girls were amazed as the stars quickly turned to blurs and they approached infinite speed, then the ship decelerated. The Space-Girl star base appeared before them, just as they had seen thousands of time before on Space-Girl Michelle. “We’re here.” Rem said, as he guided the shuttle into the landing bay.
“It’s I like I know all this.” said Kara.
“Me too, I know what everything here does.” agreed Therese.
“That’s the purpose of the television show, you have been training your whole lives to be Space-Girls.” Rem Monty reminded them, as he landed the shuttle.
As the shuttle stopped, several Space-Girls came out, but Therese and Kara saw they were battered and wore out. The Space-Girls all did the Space-Girl salute to welcome the new arrivals.
“Hello, I’m Space-Girl Karen” said one of the Space-Girls introducing herself. “Is she the one?” Karen asked Rem. Karen had served in the U.S. Army before she was a Space-Girl and wore green armor.
“Yes, she’s out last hope, girls, these are your new recruits, Therese and Kara.” said Rem Monty.
“Space-Girl Rachel.” Introduced one girl shaking the hands of the new arrivals. Rachel looked very serious but equally very friendly. She wore red armor.
“Space-Girl Kim.” said another Space-Girl, shaking hands. Kim had the kindest smile of them all and took pride in her kindness and her ability to break Mach 1 with her foot when kicking her enemies.
“Space-Girl Susan, but my friends call me Scrappy CoCo, I hope you can save Michelle.” the last Space-Girl said, shaking hands, and handing Therese a Space-Girl ring.
“I think I can, I know what to do this time.” said Therese. Therese took the Space-Girl ring, put it on her hand and twisted the signet on top. Beams of purple energy shot out and lifted Therese in the air, and a Space-Girl uniform, complete with helmet appeared on Therese.
Kara was amazed. Therese now stood in front of Kara decked out in a uniform just like Space-Girl Michelle wore, complete with patches, helmet and boots. Therese had not smiled that big since they were little girls.
“Fucking awesome.” said Kara to Therese, who turned and grinned.
“I feel amazing.” said Therese, with a full grin, ear to ear. Kara smiled right back, it warmed her heart to see Therese grinning big again, absent of the flatness of emotion which bound her for so long. The surge of the ring and the fading of her medications helped her have the strength for that smile even if it was a brief second.
“It only gets better.” said Space-Girl Susan.
“Thank you Space-Girl Scrappy Coco.” said Therese.
“Just Scrappy Coco.” said Susan.
“I’m sorry, I’m just amazed to be here with real Space-Girls.” said Therese.
“Quit being an apologonaut.” All the Space-Girls said at the same time back, with big smiles on their faces. Kara laughed, it was so amazing but so natural to be there at the same time.
“My ship?” Therese asked, pointing to a purple Space-Girl ship in the hangar.
“Yes, I knew you’d be purple, at least I hoped you would.” said Rem.
“I guess all those years as my art teacher paid off.” said Therese, as she ran to her ship. Therese climbed in and shut the cockpit over her and began her flight crew checklist just as Space-Girl Michelle always did. Amazingly and yet not surprised by it, Therese completed the start-up sequence perfectly and started flying the fighter shuttle. Therese instinctively knew what to do to ready the ship. A few unintentional scrapes on the landing bay later, the ship was in space and flying.
The purple fighter was of the newest conventional Space-Girl fighter design. The pilot and copilot (who would usually take over ops) sat up front side by side, with a cargo area with removable and flip-down seats behind it. The fighter reminded Therese of a flying van on steroids. It had twin rotating main engines that could be opened outward to allow a large rear hatch to open for loading heavy modules. The side of the ship could be opened as doors and two of the main guns could swing out to door gunner chairs if needed. This allowed the ship to be a multipurpose fighter, bomber, troop carrier, cargo hauler, or even an ambulance depending on the mission at hand.
“Set your course for the Norved system, Michelle is there.” Space-Girl Rachel said into their commlink. Every Space-Girl wished that they were going with Therese, but every Space-Girl knew they would instantly fall victim to mind control, and then to the possessed Space-Girl Michelle.
“Acknowledged.” replied Therese, and adjusted the ship’s heading and then approached infinite speed. Therese worked the controls like she had done it before, more than once, because all those hours watching Space-Girl Michelle episodes had paid off.
“I wish I was going with her.” Kara told the group, heartbroken at the thought of Therese facing this alone.
“We all do.” said Space-Girl Rachel, “But we’d just be more victims of mind control.” The Shadowbird might have stud a chance, but she had left the Space-Girls in exile and would be an even last resort beyond Therese who was brought in at Rem Monty’s suggestion. Everyone prayed she would not fail.