Of Moonbeams and Starlight-part 6
Later Red X sits up watching the TV as Raven sleeps. He turns the volume up as a news report comes on.
"More curious happenings related to the moon have been reported today. All moon rocks and dust brought back from manned missions to the moon suddenly vanished earlier today. Several witnesses working with it at the time are at a loss for how to explain it. One has been quoted as saying. 'One moment it was right there and the next it was just gone.' Pictures from space satellites also show that the once dark side of the moon that we were never able to view from Earth will be visible to us for the first time. While it lacks the impact provided by the dark sea like features scientists are excited about getting the chance to study a side of the moon they have only seen in photographs. New missions are reportedly already being planned at NASA and other space agencies around the world to visit this unexplored side of the moon."
"No!"
Red X looks over at Raven as she sits up. "You remember..."
"No more. I won't allow it."
"What did you do? We don't interfere with people remember?"
"Interfere? They were the ones interfering with me by dumping all their space junk. I never wanted to be here -I don't like it and I've been held captive ever since I came. Its so damn cold here."
"Artemis-"
"-If they set foot off Gaea they won't be coming anywhere near me again-I promise you that." Raven turns over in the bed and pulls the blankets up over her-refusing to discuss it further."
Red X looks back at the TV as the reporter continues.
"In other space news. Agencies have reportedly lost all contact with the orbiters and rovers on the planet Mars. Scientists are baffled as to why at this time."
He turns back to his sister sure that he knows now who put all the ideas about keeping humans away from the moon in her head. He might not like it that she ended up captive around Gaea after deciding she didn't want to be here but he isn't about to let Ares get his hands on her. As he turns off the TV and lays down he reasons that maybe its finally time to do what he should have long ago. Life on this world depends on a moon and if Artemis doesn't want to be that moon anymore he can force someone else to step up if he has to. He closes his eyes sending his consciousness out into the solar system.
Out here there is no Red X and no Viper-just Apollo. He by passes the asteroid belt simply because no moon like body is big enough for the job-unless it were Demeter but that is one that keeps all the asteroids pissed off at their bigger planet cousins so he doesn't even bother. It wouldn't be worth the attack it might provoke on the inner solar system. He heads instead out to what the humans call the Kupier Belt. "Here me one and all. I came once before and no one would answer. I come to ask once again if there are any out there that wish to come forward as a moon for Gaea."
"She has Artemis go away and leave us alone!"
"Yeah get out of here!"
"We don't need no stinking promotions."
"Wouldn't wanna be with that snooty Gaea anyway."
"Aren't those humans of hers the ones that sent them machines out here?"
"Good riddance to those varmints."
"Really Apollo? Must you start this again?"
That last one Apollo recognizes as Hades and he has the urge to give him the cosmic equivalent of flipping someone off.
"You're just upset the humans say you're no longer a planet you old wind bag!"
On second thought he will will let Charon deal will Hades. Someone out here has to want to move up in rank. Those hopes quickly begin to fade as he listens to more of the chatter.
"I do it."
"WHAT!?"
The cosmic gasp is nearly deafening. Red X looks as one distant world about 2/3 the size of Artemis moves forward.
"I take it if Artemis no want job-better than out here with these full speed locos. I loco for no doing it before. But what these humans gonna think of a new moon?"
Apollo breathes a sigh of relief. "I don't really give a damn what they think or Gaea for that matter."
"Just between you and me senor. I think she hot stuff-and if the rumors is true she really want to play that way-I let her hold me captive any day."
Apollo turns to look back toward earth. "You should move fast don't give the humans time to pick you up on their machines or else they might think you are on a collision course."
"Si-very speedy I get it."
"And be careful in the asteroid belt. They are even more loco than the rest of these."
"Si-senor. You no worry. I be there in no time."
Red X awakens to find Raven gone. He slips out of bed only to see through the window that she is outside. He quickly makes his way outside to find her clad only in her slinky diamond outfit with what looks very much like the bow she carried what time they spent on this world so long ago. She looks very much like a moon goddess standing there. Finally he speaks up after she draws back an arrow and strikes the target dead center. "You've still got it-even after all this time. Maybe I should warn the others not to piss you off now that you've taken that back up."
"I'm not in the mood to talk."
"Then I'll talk and you can listen." He cringes as her only response is to split the arrow she fired earlier in twain with another. "I just found someone willing to come here-to be Gaea's moon. You can come home when he gets here."
Raven lowers the bow as he continues.
"I'm sorry that I ever let you go. I never should have and wouldn't do it again if I had it to do over."
"Let me go?! I don't remember it like that. You begged me to do this cause no one else would. Finally I did come out here all the way into the cold and dark." She turns to her twin. "You would have ordered me to come if hadn't agreed all because you were caught up in being one of the few star systems out there to harbor life on a planet."
"If sending you to Gaea meant keeping you away from Ares then yes I would have."
Raven looks down at the weapon in her hand. "What if the people panic thinking this new moon is out to strike the Earth? They could fire nukes at it."
"No one will know what's happened until its over."
"And what about Gaea? Do you really think she's going to let me go?"
"I will make her if I have to. I should seek her out and let her know about this beforehand though." Red X picks up Raven's cloak that lays nearby on a rock and drapes it around her shoulders. He lingers there with his hands on her shoulders letting some of the vast warmth of the sun flow into her cosmic body."
"To finally go home after all this time..." Raven drops the weapon and buries herself in her twin's arms.
Red X holds Raven close to him. "Soon and then I promise I will never let you go again."
i have no idea why the KBO new moon guy sounds like Speedy Gonzalez that is just the voice that popped in my head when i started writing it. i don't mean to upset anyone with that-it was just one of those things that seemed too funny not to run with at the time. in Close Encounter-another of my stories one of those characters sounded like Mel Brooks.
