Oooh, first submission! This is actually an older story, written I think maybe a few years ago...I can't quite remember. But it was my first story written about my little Martian who I eventually named Meg. This is more of an intro story for her, so the beloved characters Duck Dodgers and company don't appear, unfortunately / I'm sure I have more stories with her interacting with those guys though. Hope you enjoy it 8)
Oh my, how they've grown! Earth plants grow ever so fast… Peering through specialized goggles that magnified the three tiny plants set before her, Meg measured their growth, careful not to crush the delicate stems. Her holographic computer glowed beside her as she occasionally typed in new data, keeping her attention focused to her corner of the laboratory.
The Martian Biology and Botany Labs were always busy, trying to pump out new information for agriculture, environmental studies and (unfortunately) biological weapons. Meg spent most of her free time in her own lab, though occasionally flitting between the agriculture and environmental studies labs. But she firmly refused to be part of any form of weapons manufacturing or research– biological or otherwise. She despised any form of weaponry, usually calling it barbaric and a waste of funding, though she admitted that she wouldn't hesitate to blast someone away. But only if they had it coming.
Obviously, her views did not make Meg the most popular Martian on the planet. But the Queen kept her around because though she was an extremely opinionated little Martian, she was also quite useful. Meg was the only Earth Specialist on Mars. During the times of war and animosity between the two planets, Meg was often called in to explain the culture, mannerisms and capabilities of the rival Earthlings. Time after time, her advice had proven useful and truthful, so the rest of the Martian High Command grudgingly respected her and her expertise. Eventually, the officials were so impressed by her knowledge that she was awarded the rank of Lieutenant – much to her dismay – and was called in for most war meetings that were held. Eventually she came into contact with members of the Galactic Protectorate, working as an "Earth Advocate" and as a go-between for both planets who often refused to meet with each other.
Throughout the time of unrest and war between the two planets, Meg - though receiving many accolades and much attention for her skills – was extremely unhappy. She hated being part of so much destruction, because although she was now Mars' only Earth Specialist, she secretly wanted to go back to her study of Earth botany. It was the plants of Earth that first caught her attention and eventually led her to specialize in all aspects of the planet. Everything on Earth was so different than what she had grown up with. Everything was so…green! And all the colors found on Earth flowers! Morning Glories, Winter Aconite, Primrose, Dogwood; all with such vibrant colors that she had never seen before. And of course, her personal favorite: the Daisy.
Meg paused briefly from her work to look at a pressurized container resting on a shelf above her. Inside was a single, crisp, white daisy. It took her years to finally grow one successfully, because apparently the dry Martian atmosphere makes it nearly impossible to grow daisies. But after millions of failed attempts, she finally was able to grow one, only inside a special container though. Meg looked at her prized flower for a moment then sighed happily. She was quite proud of it.
She turned back to the plants before her and was about to continue her examination when a loud shout jarred her train of thought and made her jump nearly out of her skin,
"MEG! Hey, MEG!"
Meg turned off the computer beside her and turned in time to see a curly-haired, smiley-eyed Martian woman her age approach.
"Meg, are you still working? It's time to head home, you know!" She stood with her hands on her hips and gave Meg a slightly scolding look. Meg checked the time and gasped,
"Oh, my! You're right, Maddie! I was too busy working that I didn't…" Maddie pushed past her friend and looked at the three tiny plants on the work table,
"What are these things? Weeds?" She poked one, "They look kind of pathetic, don't you think? Earth plants are so odd and so…green." Meg gasped again and snatched the plant away before her friend could touch it a second time, cradling it protectively.
"It's called a "clover" and no I don't find them pathetic at all. I think they're rather pretty! And furthermore, what's wrong with the color green? I happen to like the color green." She glared at her friend and cleared the rest of the plants from her worktable, closing up her lab for the day. While Meg tidied up, Maddie leaned against the wall and asked,
"So, do you have any plans for our three days off?" Meg started and looked sheepishly at her friend.
"Oh...it's already our break tomorrow?" Maddie looked at her as if she were crazy - er, crazier than usual at least.
"…You forgot?"
"I…I guess I have just been so busy…"
"Doing what? Studying your weeds!? Meg, you realize that it's not against the law to actually have a life?" Meg brushed past her friend and headed towards the changing rooms to change out of her lab-wear. "You know, Meg, one of these days you'll burn out if you keep working so much." Meg ignored her and walked through a set of mechanical doors, leading into one of several small chambers.
"Welcome, Lieutenant Meg." A clipped robotic voice greeted her as she stepped into one of the chambers, "Did you have a satisfactory work day?"
"As long as my days are spent in the labs rather than on the battle front, G-99, my days are always satisfactory."
"Splendid, Lieutenant."G-99 answered, "Shall I begin?"
"Ready." Meg held her arms up away from her body, stood with her feet braced slightly apart and closed her eyes tightly. A horizontal beam of light appeared above her head and slowly made its way down her body. As the beam moved down her slender body, her clothes changed from the grungy lab uniform to her more comfortable street clothes – from her ¾ sleeve red (of course) shirt, to her green skirt and right down to her trademark boots. The beam shut off and Meg pulled her long hair out of the large bun she usually kept it in for work and quickly pulled it back into a simple ponytail.
"Change complete." G-99's dry voice said, "Thank you, Lieutenant." The doors slid open and Meg stepped out,
"Thanks, G-99."
"It is my pleasure to be of service, ma'am. Please have a safe and enjoyable break." Meg walked back to her workstation and grabbed her bag. Maddie popped up behind her and eyed her disapprovingly,
"I still think you work too much." Meg raised what would have been eyebrows if she had any and replied,
"Thank you for the tip, 'Mother'. You may want to save some of that maternal scolding for the three little ones at home. Speaking of which," Meg looked at the clock again, "It's getting late, if you don't return home soon Marcus and the kids will worry." Maddie grinned at her friend and laughed,
"No, Marc would worry and the kids would get hungry. I swear the only time they even notice I'm missing is when they're hungry." Maddie suddenly looked more serious and placed a hand on Meg's shoulder, "Hey, what I said before… I'm just being honest with you, ok? You're my best friend, Meg, I just-I guess I just want you to be happy for once." Meg's expression was unreadable for a moment and she answered,
"I'll be happy once the war is over and the High Command officers stop calling me in for information." She sighed, "I hate warfare, it's ever so time consuming..." Maddie thought for a moment then grinned again,
"At least some of them are cute!" Meg started and looked at her friend in disbelief,
"What?!"
"I just said some of them are cute. You know, maybe you could-"
"Maddie, just stop. Right now. We've been over this before, no I don't find anyone in the High Command even remotely attractive appearance-wise or any-other-wise for that matter." Meg crossed her arms defiantly, "And do not. I repeat, do not even think of trying to set me up with anyone, do I make myself clear? You've tried that once and it was the absolute worst experience of my entire life." Maddie laughed again and winked at her friend as they exited the laboratory complex,
"Well you never know, Meggie dear, some of these guys are pretty sweet once they're out of uniform." She dodged as Meg swung her bag at her and headed, laughing, towards her small transport. Meg watched, fuming, as her friend climbed in her ship, winked again and flew off.
As much as I love Maddie's friendship, sometimes I just want to – aargh! Meg thought as she pulled a riding helmet out of her bag and put it on. She flipped a switch on the outside and a tinted visor slid down over her eyes. The visor lit up, detailing the area – a collision on Airway 17-X, traffic in the Lower tunnel, the weather, etc. Meg noticed the sky growing dark already and opted for the quickest way home, a route she didn't usually care to take: Airway 2-V. Oh well, I suppose that's what I get for working overtime and not keeping track of time.
She secured her bag on her back, checked to make sure she was prepared and finally pushed another button on the side of her helmet. The soles of her boots began to glow softly until they steadily increased to a bright aqua light. Everything seemed to be working properly, so far. She let herself hover over the ground a bit to make sure nothing would inconveniently malfunction while she was up in the air. So far, so good. After she was sure nothing would go wrong, Meg allowed more power and sped off above the buildings of the Imperial Center.
Flying by "hover-boot" was her favorite mode of transportation; she generally used these babies to go everywhere. It was much more convenient than having to fly around in a personal transport vehicle, since parking in the Imperial Center was ridiculously chaotic. There was only one downside to flying via footwear and that was –
"HEY LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING, JERK-FACE!"
- nearly being run over by larger vehicles on the Airways. Other than that, it was just peachy.
--
Meg finally arrived home, slightly wind-swept and tired from her commute. She descended to ground level and, after passing through security (because of her position as Lieutenant she was now housed in a higher security residential area, much to her displeasure), rode the elevator to the top floor. She trudged wearily to her door, punched in her access code and entered as the lights flickered on for her arrival. She tossed her helmet and bag onto a small table by the door and called out,
"Marshall! I'm home!" There was no answer, "Marshall, sweetie, I'm back!"
The only sound came from one of the bedrooms, where a soft snoring could be heard. Meg smiled slightly and headed toward the sound. How typical. When she reached the bedroom she peeked in cautiously and saw a large lump snuggled beneath a layer of blankets. Good old Marshall, sleeping on the job. Meg tip-toed to the bedside and snapped her fingers. The lights switched on suddenly, blindingly, which startled the sleeping lump, who gave a loud squawk of surprise. Meg stood with hands on her hips and said,
"Well good morning to you, sunshine." A large beak poked out from beneath the blankets, followed by the knobby, vulture-like head of an Instant Martian. Marshall yawned, looked sleepily at Meg, and then suddenly leaped out of the bed when he realized who he was looking at. He happily brought his head down and nuzzled her lovingly. Meg, still trying to keep a straight face, attempted to push him away,
"Oh, I don't think so. You're not going to get out of trouble that easily, buster! Didn't father train you to be a guard? I came home and what did I find? You fast asleep! You lazy, good for nothing –Hey, knock it off!" She burst out laughing as Marshall's feathered head tickled her cheek.
"Ok, ok, I understand boy, you're sorry," Meg held his large head in both hands, scratching at his favorite spot, "I forgive you. Common, boy, let's go eat dinner!" At the mention of food, Marshall's head shot up, he lifted his large bird-like body up and darted to the kitchen as fast as his legs could carry him. Meg laughed as she followed right behind him.
Years ago her father had brought home a small, scruffy looking creature. Meg remembered being able to easily hold little Marshall in her arms and how he slowly began to grow until he reached his current size, a good five feet taller than she. She couldn't quite remember where her father had gotten Marshall, but he said something about poor Marshall being a sort of experiment from one of the labs. For some reason he had the wrong genes placed in him, so instead of making him a fiercer and more hostile fighter, he had ended up becoming a devoted, loving creature. Such a creature, of course, was no use to the Martian military, so Meg's father offered to adopt the creature and keep it as a sort of family pet. Meg was delighted and the two soon developed a close friendship, Meg protecting Marshall when he was a tiny fledgling and Marshall protecting Meg once he began to tower over her. Eventually, it was discovered that the scientists were not completely correct about Marshall, who apparently would not hesitate to bulldoze anyone who tried to lift a finger against Meg. He became vicious once Meg was threatened. But as long as he was sure Meg was safe, Marshall was the gentlest creature on Mars.
And also the creature with the biggest stomach.
Meg entered the dining room and saw Marshall already waiting expectantly in front of his huge food bowl. Meg chuckled and dialed a few numbers into a control panel on the counter. The appliances began to hum and, to Marshall's delight, deposited food right into his bowl. He immediately dove in, gobbling up his food while Meg watched from her seat at the dining table. The appliances hummed a second time and a smaller plate appeared before her. She ate absent-mindedly, gazing out her large wall of windows to the skyline of Mars. After a moment she pushed her plate away, realizing she wasn't really hungry. She sighed and walked towards the windows, which lead out to a balcony. She leaned against the railing and looked down on the out shirts of the City Center, still lost in thought. She sighed again, feeling like she had done an awful lot of sighing today.
Back in the kitchen, Marshall licked the last crumbs off his dish and sat back, burping contently. He glanced over at Meg's usual spot and jolted when he realized she wasn't there anymore. Frantically he scanned the room, trying to locate her. Once he noticed her small silhouette out on the balcony he relaxed and slowly ambled his way out to join her. He stood behind her, craning his long neck down so his face was directly in front of hers, though upside down, and offered a beaky smile. Meg didn't smile back this time. Marshall, undeterred, cocked his head to the side and crossed his eyes, even sticking out his tongue for good measure. Meg finally sighed, for the millionth time and said,
"I'm sorry, boy. Suddenly I don't feel as happy as I thought I was…"She leaned a little farther over the railing and looked towards her lab building, "Maybe Maddie is right, perhaps I do work too much. But being in my lab I feel so peaceful and so content, I don't really want to do anything else." She paused for a moment,
"Marshall, I think it's about time we visited our little bio-dome out in the West Desert." Marshall leaned over and gently nudged her questioningly. "Yes, boy, I think the change of scenery would do me good. And even if it doesn't…well, at least we can tell Maddie that I didn't just sit around all break!" Marshall nuzzled her cheek again; glad to see her mood change for the better. Meg managed a smile and gave him a loving pat on the head,
"Thank you for putting up with me, boy." Marshall gave a slight gesture that she took to be a nonchalant shrug, "Well, I suppose we better get the robot unit to pack for us then head to bed. Tomorrow we'll see how our dome has held up these past few months."
--
"Marshall! Get your head back inside this instant!"
Marshall, apparently not hearing Meg's orders, sat in the passenger's seat with his long neck sticking out the window, tongue hanging out as they sped along the red terrain. Meg glared at him,
"Fine, ignore me. But if you lose your head, don't come crying – or whatever." She put on her sunglasses and adjusted her wide-brimmed, floppy hat. For their desert trip she had exchanged her usual clothes for a tank top and beachy skirt, all in varying shades of green, of course. She held the steering wheel casually in her hands, admiring the vast landscape.
"We should be coming up to it soon, Marshall; you might want to come back in." Marshall reluctantly pulled his head back inside the cockpit and shut the window. He glanced out the front window and gave a triumphant squawk, pointing excitedly in front of them. Meg leaned forward slightly and exclaimed,
"Oh, there it is!" And a silvery dome appeared, gleaming in the bright sunlight just ahead of them, a solitary figure in a seemingly barren landscape.
A few years ago, Meg decided that she wanted to expand her research beyond the limits of the laboratory complex. Her dear friend Maddie, whose husband happened to be an engineer, showed her a possible solution: the bio-dome. This nifty contraption generated and maintained an artificial atmosphere set at specified levels. In Meg's case, one set with the same atmospheric pressure and moisture as those found on Earth. Meg was ecstatic and immediately set about setting one up in an isolated sector of the West Desert, where no one would bother it. For months she snuck away to her dome, personalizing the dome's functions and planting her first few Earth plants. After a year had passed, Meg's loving toils had earned her a flourishing and lush garden, filled with various Earth plants.
This single dome was her pride and joy. As she and Marshall landed beside the structure, Meg admired it with obvious pleasure. Stepping out of her transport, she made a quick circle around the dome, checking for any outer damage. When she was satisfied that there was no obvious damage she waved to Marshall and began unlocking the dome. The dome's security system was top of the line; actually it was a few stages beyond that. Meg punched in the clearance code which was long and complex. After a few minutes, the large pressurized doors opened, releasing a puff of mist.
"Common, Marshall!" Meg called and entered with Marshall close behind. The doors clanged shut behind them as they walked a few feet to another large door. A few quick keystrokes of code opened them up to reveal a verdant garden teeming with wildflowers, trees and other plants of varying sizes. Marshall immediately ambled off to the spot he had staked out for himself years ago, right beneath a large elm tree. He settled his great bulk down and reclined against the tree's thick trunk, sighing happily and closing his eyes. Meg stood a moment in front of the closed doors, taking in the delightful sight. Every second in her paradise made the burdens of city life melt away. Oh, yes…I could stay here forever, she thought. Suddenly a giant yawn overtook her and she stretched,
"Well Marshall, I do believe I'll follow your lead and take a nap." She kicked off her sandals and padded, barefoot on the soft grass, to a hammock slung between two small trees. Meg lay contently and gazed up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves above her. She took a deep breath and tugged her hat down over her eyes, drifting into a peaceful slumber.