Frodo01228 – Okay, here's more! A nice long chapter too.

ChirikoFan – Yeay! A new reviewer! I promise I'll post at least one chapter a week, if not more. That rule will also apply when I start posting the sequel after this one. So keep reading…I'm glad you like it so far.

A/N - For those who previously read this fanfiction many months ago, I've added a new part in here that involves Ariedel's brother.

Chapter 12 – Paradise
Gateway Station
(Legolas's POV)

"Next stop shuttle bay," said the voice from somewhere above.

I stood from my seat and stepped toward the doors that moved. When the tram came to a stop, the doors opened and I headed out. There was a lot of activity around me. I looked around at all the people. When I turned, the tram was pulling away.

There were many corridors up ahead. A map nearby revealed where each corridor led and one of them led to the staff residences. I did not know which one was Ariedel's and I did not want to risk missing her.

Moments later another tram arrived. I watched the faces that came out.

Ariedel soon appeared. "Legolas!" She rushed over to me and we embraced.

"Are you all right?" I asked, seeing the fresh cut on the left corner of her lips from where Hawke had struck her.

"Yes. What about you?"

"I am fine."

Ariedel took my hand. "Come on. We can take a shuttle down to Earth."

I allowed her to pull me along behind her. She chose one of the corridors without needing to consult the map and we headed to the very end, which opened into a large chamber.

Lined up in rows were what appeared to me as cottages made of metal. Ariedel pulled me in the direction of the furthest one.

"What are these?" I asked curiously.

"They're shuttles used to fly from the station to the surface of the planet and back again."

I froze in my tracks, not sure about flying in one of these small structures.

Ariedel turned to me. "Don't worry, honey, I've flown these things a thousand times in a simulator. It's as easy as driving a car."

"I do not have a clue about driving a car, as I know not what it is, but I will endeavor to trust your abilities." I followed Ariedel inside the shuttle, as she called it. There were two seats behind a large window and Ariedel took the left one. I glanced toward the back of the shuttle and saw many other seats lined in rows, with an aisle in the center.

"Sit over there," she said, motioning to the empty seat beside her.

I sat down and watched her pull straps from the back of the seat. I followed her example and did likewise, finding the clasp to hold me to the seat. Then my thoughts quickly wandered to why these restraints were necessary. My eyes narrowed at the colored lights that suddenly appeared on the tabletop before us.

Ariedel's hands moved swiftly over certain parts of the tabletop. There was a sound to my right and when I turned to look, the door was closing.

"Do you see that blue and green circle thing over on your right?" she asked.

I turned my head and saw something on the wall beside me. There was a blue and green circle with a line up and down over it. "Aye."

"How's your hand?"

"Which one?"

"The one with the cast."

I held it up. "Tis fine."

"Good. Do me a favor and smash that thing over there," she said as she motioned with her head toward the circle.

I did not question her request. I smashed the plastic panel with my cast and sparks flew from it. "What was this?" I asked as I stared at it curiously.

"Tracking unit. Now Warner won't be able to follow where we're going."

I suddenly felt the shuttle move and stared through the window. We rose from the floor and moved forward. There was a large opening ahead and beyond it was nothing but blackness and small pinpoints of light, like the sky at night.

"Sit back and hold on. It's not a very smooth ride on the way down."

I turned to her. "Ariedel."

When she turned to look at me, I held my casted hand out to her. She gave me her hand and smiled. I pulled it to my lips and kissed it. Then I released it so she could maneuver the shuttle. As I faced forward and the shuttle moved directly through the opening and out into black space, I felt a sudden rush of fear pass through me. It was followed by the image of a vacant corridor. I was unsure of what to make of it. Perhaps it was nothing. The closer we moved toward the blue and green globe, the fainter the queen's presence felt to me.

"I can no longer feel her," I finally said.

"Who? The queen?"

"Aye."

"Good. The little bitch can rot in hell with Warner and Hawke and anyone else who thinks they're going to be able to tame her."

I continued to feel ill at ease. But my thoughts soon drifted toward what I was seeing before me. The shuttle shook relentlessly as we passed through the clouds that shrouded parts of the world below. I was amazed at the wonder of flying this high above the ground.

When we passed the clouds, I saw the earth beneath. There were mountains, some capped with snow and then we flew over a large expanse of water. The sights were breathtaking and amazing. To be able to see a world from this height…I sadly thought about Middle Earth, knowing that I would never see it again, nor my father or my friends.

Earth - Tahiti
(Ariedel's POV)

I decided the best place to take Legolas, without anyone questioning his Elven looks, was a quaint little resort in Tahiti. I had been there once before with some friends and the people were pretty bizarre, with body piercings and multi-colored hair. Legolas would blend right in with his long blonde hair and pointed ears.

Upon arriving, I registered us in one of the picturesque huts that sat right in the water near the beach.

Legolas's eyes never stopped moving as he took in everything around him. We walked along the white sand toward the path leading to the huts and I watched his reaction to the surroundings. He unzipped his white jumpsuit and pulled his arms out so he was bare-chested.

Then he dropped to his knees and spread his arms out as he closed his eyes and tilted his face up to the sun. I could have sworn I saw him glowing. Getting him off that cold, sterile space station was probably the best thing for him.

I lowered myself to my knees and moved closer in front of him. It was happening right before my eyes…the power of Elven healing. The scar on his chest became fainter. The scars from the skin and muscle grafts on his left shoulder faded to almost nothing. I waited several minutes, watching his beautiful face taking in the heat from the sun. "Hey."

Legolas opened his eyes and gave me a faint smile. "Hey."

I ran my hands over his chest and moved even closer. "I love seeing you in the sun like this."

Legolas lifted his hand to my face and brushed his finger over the sore on my lip. The pain there seemed to slowly disappear. Then he slid his fingers into my hair. Our lips came together in a heated exchange.

A few minutes later we were in the hut, undressing each other. Legolas grew impatient and we never made it to the bed the first time around. It was the entryway and then the floor leading to the bedroom. We were like wild animals on a feeding frenzy before we finally hit the bed and he sank himself inside me for the third time in the last fifteen minutes.

…Thank God that part of him still worked.

§

Afterward, we were lying side by side on the bed. His arm was stretched out under my head and he lazily twirled my hair around his finger.

I decided to bring up the subject to get an understanding of what he wanted to do going forward. "Legolas?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want to go back to Middle Earth?"

He turned his face toward me. "You said it was not possible."

"I never said it wasn't possible. I just said everyone thinks you're dead. I'm sure they'd be awfully surprised if you suddenly show up again."

"Aye, I want to go home."

I half-hoped he had wanted to stay in my world. But the look in his eyes told me all I needed to hear. He didn't belong in this technologically advanced world. "Okay."

"And you?" he asked.

I turned my body around to face him. "I'll go wherever you go, as long as you want me to."

"I want you with me, Ariedel. If you are willing to give up your world for mine."

I couldn't believe I was about to say this. But Legolas had become everything to me, my whole world. It was strange for me to think this way because a few months ago I never would have dreamed I'd be leaving the existence I knew for something totally foreign. "I would give it all up for you."

He smiled and caressed my cheek.

"When we go back, there'll be a lot of questions to answer," I said.

Legolas nodded his head. "We will have to come up with a believable story."

"The first thing we should do is find Gandalf. He knew there was something different about me. Maybe he can help us figure out what we can say to everyone."

"An excellent idea, Ariedel. He will know what to do."

"When do you want to go back?"

Legolas looked into my eyes for a long time. "Whenever you are ready. Perhaps there is someone you wish to see, friends and family you wish to bid farewell."

"My brother Seth and some friends on my homeworld."

"Can the shuttle take us there?"

I shook my head. "Going to Avalon requires cryosleep. It's a long way away and the ship moves so fast that one would cease to exist in real time. That's why we have cryosleep chambers. You sleep through the ride."

"Can we not take one of those ships with the cryo…sleep chamber?"

"We can't. Legolas, I don't know what cryosleep would do to you. You're immortal. What if it has some weird side affect and makes you age or something? It's never been tested on Elves, you know." I tried to laugh it off, when in fact I felt a lump in my throat at the idea of not being able to see my brother or my friends again. But I knew the risks in the job I was involved in and so did they. For all they knew, I had never returned from my mission to Middle Earth.

Legolas looked sad. "So there is no chance for you to say good-bye to them."

"Not in person. But I can always call them on a communicator."

"I am sorry, Ariedel."

"Don't apologize, Legolas. I committed myself to you when we were in Middle Earth. At the time it was for the wrong reasons, but now I can't imagine my life without you."

"We will start our own family in Middle Earth. I want us to have children. Lots of them."

"I'm pretty sure I can make that happen," I said with a smile. I just needed to get the birth control microchip extracted from my hip. A simple visit to a local medic. I would take care of it as soon as possible. "Yeah." I leaned closer and kissed him. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck so he wouldn't see me cry.

Tahiti – One week later
(Legolas's POV)

I woke with a yell, sitting up in bed. Ariedel immediately woke up beside me. I ran my hands over my sweating face and attempted to slow down my heavy breathing.

"Another bad alien dream?" she asked sympathetically.

I closed my eyes with a frown, trying desperately to keep my emotions under control. What I wanted to do was crawl under the bed and hide.

Ariedel placed an arm around my shoulder and caressed my arm. "Legolas, talk to me. If you talk about it, you'll feel a heck of a lot better. Trust me. I've been there."

"What do you want me to talk to you about?"

"Well, you never did tell me what happened in the cave in Middle Earth. Why don't you start with that?"

"I cannot." The thought of reliving the event brought a shiver through me.

"I know it's difficult. Just try."

I swallowed hard and slowly began to tell her the exact events beginning with the moment I entered the tunnel with my company of men. By the time I had finished at the point where Ariedel had found me, I was sweating, shivering and crying.

Ariedel had her arms wrapped around me, her face pressed against the side of mine.

"I feel like such a coward. Some brave Elf I turned out to be," I said as I wiped at the tears in my eyes.

"Don't you dare say that about yourself. No one working for Lifesource ever managed to kill an entire horde of aliens, including the queen and alpha drone. Do you realize that you single-handedly did the work of an entire United Systems Colonial Marine team. And with just a bow and a knife." Ariedel put her hands on my face and turned it toward her. "Legolas, you are the bravest person I have ever met in my entire life. Just because you fear them doesn't make you a coward. The aliens are the most fearsome creatures in the known universe."

"But I cannot for the life of me understand why I fear them. Why do I fear them more than an Orc, a giant spider, a warg or…or even a Balrog. I've confronted and battled all of these things and I do not sit here and tremble with fear from doing so." The frustration I felt from this unexplainable fear surmounted everything else I felt.

"People have written entire books on the subject of what makes these aliens fearsome. Some say its because they absolutely have no emotions whatsoever. Not an ounce of remorse. They live for a single purpose and that's to kill every living thing in the universe. Anyone that comes in contact with them and survives…their lives are changed forever. It's a life altering experience."

"You have had contact with them, yet you do not quake in fear from your experiences."

"Okay, there's a big difference between my experiences and yours. I've only dealt with single drones. The assassins, they're called because they're not part of a hive. Their sole purpose is to kill. Plus I had the appropriate equipment to locate it and the appropriate weapon to destroy it before it even knew I was tracking it. You had none of those things to help you and you managed to survive."

"Barely."

"You survived. That's all you need to remember. And do you want to know something? If you ever had the unfortunate luck of running into them again in an uncontrolled environment, you would only grow more immune to them. The more you know about their instincts, their movements and actions, the less threatening they become."

What Ariedel said seemed to make perfect sense. I recalled my first experience with giant spiders in the woods of Mirkwood near my home. It had been terrifying. But the more contact I had with them, and the more I killed, the quicker my fear diminished. I had confidence in my abilities and managed to survive countless battles in the near three millennia I had lived. The fear I felt for these emotionless, unfeeling creatures would soon pass. But for it to pass meant having to confront them again. "I never want to run into them again." I never wanted to show fear in front of anyone, especially not in front of someone I loved. But Ariedel was the only one that understood my fears and she did not think me a coward at all.

"And we'll make that a reality when we go back to Middle Earth. The aliens are gone and we'll never see them again."

I slipped out of bed and walked out of the open balcony doors. The sky to the east was red, telling me that the sun would be rising soon. I looked up into the sky directly above me, inspecting the stars, knowing that one of them was Gateway Station. The mere thought of the station brought a pain to my stomach for no apparent reason. Something was not right up there. The feeling was so strong that it nearly brought me to my knees.

Ariedel came up behind me, pressing her naked body against me. "Come back to bed, Legolas."

The feel of her skin against mine immediately aroused me, as did her fingernails raking along my back. I soon forgot about the space station and allowed her to lead me back to bed. There we engaged in an early morning romp at our leisure.

§

Later that morning, we had occupied our time by scuba diving. This was one among a number of activities Ariedel had shown me and this one happened to be my favorite. The sights beneath the clear water along the reefs were spectacular. I observed fish of brilliant colors and wondered if the seas in Middle Earth contained such creatures.

But not all of them were harmless. When we encountered a large sleek fish with a dorsal fin, Ariedel quickly steered me away from it and later told me it was called a shark and that some were known to attack people if provoked.

Ariedel captured many of our moments with what she called a camera, which created frozen images of whatever it was pointed to. She always surprised me whenever I was deep in thought and captured my image as I looked to the sun. The images were forever captured on a material she called plastic and she placed them in a book we would take back to Middle Earth with us.

As the days passed and I moved more physically, the pain from my injuries began to diminish. Ariedel had removed the cast from my left hand and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw that the scars on my left shoulder had almost faded completely. Even the scars on my left leg were almost gone. The only scar that seemed to take forever to fade was the one on my forehead.

While the daytime hours were spent outdoors, participating in many water activities, the nighttime hours were spent dining on fine foods and drink. Then we danced slowly to music played by local minstrels. The instruments the minstrels played were strange to me, but the music was pleasant.

Ariedel had to show me how to dance to the music as I was unfamiliar with it. It was plainly easy, almost like embracing with a side to side motion. I found it rather pleasant.

These were the moments I cherished the most with Ariedel for they drew us intimately close, arousing my senses into a frenzy so that I wanted nothing more than to 'bang' her. I smiled to myself at the memory of when she explained what that meant after I had heard her say it and I had laughed so hard my ribs ached.

"What're you smiling about?" she asked me as we slowly danced.

I leaned closer to her ear so no one else around us would hear. "I want to bang you right this moment."

She giggled and wrapped her arms tighter around my neck. "Patience, my love."

"I have mentioned countless times that I have no patience when it comes to making love to you, Ariedel."

She looked into my eyes and her smiling lips invited me to taste them. "This is just like a honeymoon."

"Honeymoon? What is that?"

"It's what people do right after they get married. They go on a romantic trip together."

"This is definitely romantic," I said before I kissed her lightly on the lips. "If I recall correctly, our honeymoon was spent with Gimli, Gandalf, my father and a whole slew of Elves as we traveled toward my realm."

She giggled and returned my kiss.

§

The next day, we had just returned from riding 'jet skis' and headed for the lounge on the beach. They served many of the fruity cocktails I quickly grew fond of. Except for the one called 'Mai Tai'. That cocktail reminded me too much of the Passionfruit wine Gimli had given me some time ago that had made me vomit for hours.

"What'll you have?" asked the barkeep.

"Two Tequila Sunrises, please," I replied as I pushed in the barstool for Ariedel before sitting myself done beside her.

A moment later the barkeep placed the drinks before us. We sipped them and I smiled at Ariedel as she stared at my face. "What?"

"Your nose is peeling," she said.

I reached up to feel my nose and scraped my nail on the dead layer of skin there. "I fear the sun here is too strong for my skin."

"I'll just have to rub more sun block on you."

The idea of Ariedel rubbing anything on me was enough to arouse me. "Perhaps we should go back to our cottage so you can take care of this task."

"Hey, those are totally cool," said a young man sitting two seats away from me.

I knew not what he meant. "Pardon me?"

"Your ears. Where did you get them?"

I turned to Ariedel briefly and she whispered to me from the corner of her lips before I turned back to respond to the young man. "I had surgery a couple of years ago, in Los Angeles. Talk to a Dr Dolittle."

"They are really cool. I'm gonna have to look into getting them. Thanks, man."

Later that afternoon, Ariedel took me to several shops that sold what they labeled as 'antiques'. We browsed the shops together and she found several items that would accent her gowns back in Middle Earth. I was more in the market for weapons, since I had lost my Lothlorien bow and quiver, as well as my Elven long knives.

"Hey, Legolas, what about this?" asked Ariedel.

I had been admiring something called a Beretta, which fired small projectiles at unheard of velocities. When I turned to Ariedel, I saw that she held some kind of bow. I walked over and took the weapon from her hand. "What is it?" I asked as I tested the weight and inspected the chamber in which an arrow could be placed.

"It's called a crossbow. Looks like this particular one loads the arrows with the pump action thing under here. Pretty cool." She turned to the shopkeeper. "Hey, you think he can try this out before we decide whether to buy it or not?"

The shopkeeper nodded his head. "Yeah. I've got a shooting range in back of the shop."

We went through the back of the shop and outside was a range with a variety of targets. There were several other people out there, some firing weapons similar to the Beretta I had been looking at. One was firing a much larger version with a longer nose. It rested against his shoulder and created far more damage than the smaller one.

I stood behind the wooden barrier and after a quick demonstration from the shopkeeper on the functionality of the crossbow, I slid the pump down until an arrow clicked into place. Then I held the crossbow horizontally and looked down the center of it at the target far ahead. I pulled the trigger and the arrow flew faster than any I had ever shot from my bow. The arrow struck the center of the target. I pumped another arrow in and shot it, landing it right next to the other.

"That's pretty good shooting, mister," said the shopkeeper.

I turned toward him. "I will take it."

"How much?" asked Ariedel.

"Fifteen hundred universal dollars."

I turned to Ariedel, not sure what a universal dollar was, and where I could possibly get fifteen hundred of them.

She smiled at me. "Don't worry about it. I've got plenty. It's not like I can take any universal dollars to Middle Earth with me." She went into her pocket and handed the shopkeeper a blue plastic card. I had seen her use this on numerous occasions during our stay at the resort.

Tahiti – Another week later
(Ariedel's POV)

I sat down at a public communications booth while Legolas stood just outside the door. After sticking my credit card into the slot, I hesitated punching the number I needed to call. A dozen thoughts were going through my head. What if my brother wasn't home? What if his wife answered instead? What if General Burbank was there? What was I going to say to him? I punched the number and waited.

After four rings, an image appeared on the screen in front of me. It was Wendy, Seth's wife. She stared at me and then smiled. " Crystal, my God, where have you been? Seth's been going crazy. Are you all right?"

"I'm doing just fine."

"Where are you? Are you back home or still on Gateway?"

"Actually, I'm in Tahiti on Earth."

Wendy raised her eyebrows in surprise. " Tahiti. What're you doing there?"

"I'm on my honeymoon."

Wendy's jaw dropped and then she stammered for a few seconds before she was able to continue. "Well, I guess I'll say congratulations. Who's the lucky guy?"

"His name is Legolas."

"I'll…uh…let me call Seth. He's outside with Kira. Hang on."

When I glanced outside, Legolas turned to me. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

A minute later Seth's face appeared on the screen. "Jesus Christ, Crystal. What the hell happened to you? The last I heard, you were being sent to SR-682 on a mission."

"Well, I made it to SR-682, but something got messed up." I went on to tell him that I had arrived with no weapons and that I had lost the transmutation device that was my ticket back home. Going through the rest of the story, including my marriage to Legolas, I ended with Randle Dorian finding me and my return to Gateway with my badly injured husband.

"So where are you now?" asked Seth.

"I was just telling Wendy that I'm on my honeymoon in Tahiti on Earth."

"All I care about is that you're okay."

"I swear I'm fine."

"When are you coming home?"

"I…uh…I'm not sure, Seth. That's the reason I'm calling." I told him about what Warner had tried to do with Legolas and why it was important for us to disappear for awhile. "So I'm not sure if I'll be coming back or not."

Seth frowned. "You can't mean that, Crystal. You can't just disappear."

"It's something I have to do. I love him, Seth."

He slowly shook his head. "I don't like it, but I understand."

I motioned for Legolas and he sat down beside me. "Seth, this is Legolas. Legolas, this is my brother, Seth."

"Tis a pleasure to meet you, Seth," said Legolas.

"I suppose I should thank you for everything you did for my sister, Legolas. I'm glad she ran into you and not someone who wouldn't have helped her in the situation she was in."

"There is no need to thank me." Then he smiled. "She enchanted me from the moment I first set eyes upon her."

Seth smiled back. "Yeah, she certainly has a way, doesn't she?"

I laughed at his sarcastic comment. "Hey, I resent that, dear brother of mine."

"So I hear you're a prince. Does that make my sister a princess?" asked Seth.

Legolas turned to me with a smile. "It does. She will make a fine queen someday."

"Oh God, no," added Seth with a laugh. "That's totally gonna go to her head."

Legolas frowned at the comment. "I do not jest, Seth."

"Yeah, I guess not. Just do me a favor, Legolas. Take care of her for me, will you?"

"Tis no reason to ask it of me as a favor. I do it because I love her."

Seth nodded. "Good-bye then."

"Good-bye," said Legolas before turning to me with a squeeze of my hand and then getting up to resume standing outside the booth.

I knew he was leaving me alone so I could say good-bye to Seth. Tears welled up in my eyes as I turned back to the screen. "How's Kira?"

"She's doing a lot better."

I missed seeing my niece. "Give her a hug and a kiss for me and tell her I love her."

"I will."

"We're going to Gateway tomorrow morning and translocating to Arda…I mean, SR-682. Good-bye, Seth. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby. Good-bye."

I quickly ended the transmission before I broke down in tears. Legolas was immediately at my side, holding me close as I cried.

Tahiti
(Legolas's POV)

On the fourteenth day of our visit to Earth, we placed our newly purchased belongings into the shuttle and strapped ourselves to the seats.

I watched as Ariedel sat quietly for a moment and took a deep breath. "Are you all right, Ariedel?"

She turned to me with a weak smile and I saw the tears in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm just…" She breathed and closed her damp eyes. "I'm going to miss all of this."

I nodded. "I will miss scuba diving and, of course, I will mostly miss the projection box." The magical box that projected images had been quite addicting.

She gave me a half smile. "Right, I had to practically drag you kicking and screaming away from that thing whenever one of those old classic movies came on."

"I especially liked The Terminator," I said with a sly grin. "I'll be back," I imitated the voice of the man who had spoken those words. "Perhaps we should have purchased one of those shotguns like he had."

She gave me a look. "Who needs a shotgun when you can have a blaster? Much cleaner and more effective."

A blaster. The mention of this new weapon fascinated me. "Where can I get one?"

"I've got one in my apartment on the station. We'll get it before we head for the lab to translocate to Middle Earth."

I sensed that there was still something bothering Ariedel. "Something else troubles you."

She raised her eyebrows and sighed heavily. "I'm not sure what we'll do if we run into Warner."

"I will take care of Warner."

"Hopefully it won't come to that. I mean, all we have to do is get a few things from my apartment, head to Lab B, program a translocator to take us to Middle Earth and then we're gone."

"Sounds simple enough," I said, even though I did not understand a single word of what she mentioned. I also recognized the sarcasm in her voice, so perhaps it was not as simple as she said it was.

"Chances are slim that we'll miss him because he's aware of every transmutation or translocation that happens." Ariedel set the shuttle into motion. "Say good-bye to Tahiti, Legolas."

I looked out the window at the huge expanse of the clear ocean beyond the beach ahead and locked away the image into my mind. "Good-bye, Tahiti."

Then Ariedel raised the shuttle up from the ground.

Tahiti

At the resort's beachside bar, the usual crowd of drinkers gathered. Some watched and pointed to the shuttle that rose up and then headed at a slant into the sky.

"Hey, turn up the TM, man," said someone sitting on a barstool. "The President's talking."

Everyone turned to the telemonitor as the bartender increased the volume. The image of Martin Stewart, president of the United Systems, was on the screen.

"…and the last communication was that of a crewman indicating that the station had been overrun by the aliens and that he was the last survivor. It's unknown as to the reason none were able to evacuate in shuttles or why none of the safety measures utilized to contain the creatures were put into place..."

"Is he talking about Gateway Station?" asked someone.

"I think so," responded someone else.

Stewart continued to speak. "…await the arrival of the US Colonial Marines within twenty-four hours. It is my unfortunate duty to inform those who had family or friends on Gateway that the station must be destroyed. We can't risk the chance of any aliens making it down to Earth. With the loss of Gateway Station, we will also lose our ability to transport via transmutation or translocation. As I'm sure everyone is aware, Lifesource has been a valuable asset to our continued effort in ridding our planets of these deadly aliens. Plans to build another Lifesource site orbiting Avalon had been discussed over the last three months, but it will take years before the site will be up and running."

"How many people were on that station?" asked another individual.

"Goddamn, there had to be over two thousand people up there."

"Hey, that shuttle that just left, wasn't that a Gateway Station shuttle?"

Everyone looked at each other. If they hadn't already heard the news on the TM about the aliens taking over Gateway Station, the occupants of the shuttle would be in for a very unpleasant surprise when they arrived at the station.

Oh no...what could possibly be waiting for Legolas and Ariedel on Gateway? Hmmmmmmmm...