Chapter 15 – Reunions
Somewhere Over Valinr

Ariedel carefully tended to some of the cuts on Galadriel's face. The blood was caked in certain places and she had to dampen the cloth to let it soak on the cuts.

"Hannon le," Galadriel whispered. (thank you)

Ariedel pulled her hand away to look fully at Galadriel, who slowly opened her pale blue eyes. "Buion na 'ell," said Ariedel, remembering an appropriate response to someone as revered as Lady Galadriel. (I serve with joy)

Galadriel shifted her eyes to those around her. Besides Ariedel, she saw Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli. There was two other men that she did not recognize, but somehow knew were not any men from Middle Earth. She could feel movement around her as if she were being transported in a wagon. The surrounding walls, however, were not made of cloth as would surround a wagon, but were made of metal. For the moment she decided to ignore the surroundings and shifted her eyes to Ariedel. "You saved my life."

Ariedel didn't know what to say at first. Her contact with Galadriel had been limited before the Lady sailed to Valinor, so they really didn't have much of a comradeship. But Ariedel respected Galadriel because of what Legolas told her about the Lady of Lothlorien. Ariedel also knew that Galadriel was an indispensable person to her kind. Regardless, she would have been just as willing to rescue anyone from the clutches of the aliens. The fact that it had been Galadriel made the situation seem more crucial. "I couldn't let you fall victim to what the aliens had in store for you."

"But you risked your own life to save mine," Galadriel added.

"You are safe, my lady. Let's leave it at that." Ariedel wasn't sure what else to say.

Galadriel glanced at Legolas and for some unexpected reason, she felt a strange sense of dread about him. A sort of premonition…of something. Perhaps of something to come. As hard as she tried to understand it, the answers simply wouldn't come to her. And she knew that he felt it as well. His eyes were haunted, fearful and distant as if he were listening to far away voices that he desperately tried not to hear. "Legolas…" she whispered in his mind.

Legolas immediately raised his eyes from the floor he had been staring at and he met Galadriel's gaze. But she did not say anything more to him. She simply stared sympathetically at him before finally closing her eyes.

Freak maneuvered the Dropship passed the high wall of the compound on the mountain. It wasn't long before he saw where the other Dropship was resting. There wasn't much room with all the tents around, but he calculated that he could land right next to the other ship if he timed the landing just right. "Bishop, how am I looking?"

The android was sitting in the seat behind him in the cockpit. He glanced at some readings on a screen. "Turn the tail fifteen degrees to starboard. You'll be clear."

Freak nudged the controls slightly and then gently set the Dropship down, seemingly in the midst of a crowd. Since the APC was blocking the ramp in the main hold, a smaller ramp on the side of the Dropship was lowered and everyone exited.

Reunions soon followed.

Thranduil greeted Legolas and Ariedel and was quickly concerned about the injury to his son's chest, especially after hearing how he had received it. "I will have Elrond attend to you."

"I assure you, adar, I am fine. Just a bit shaken. Lady Galadriel needs Lord Elrond's aid more than I." (father)

Celeborn took Galadriel from Aragorn's arms and quickly headed for the palace with Elrond, Aragorn and Arwen at his heels. During that moment Arwen realized that Cail had been injured and was devastated at the sight of the tiger's scorched face.

Frodo Baggins emerged from the crowd and greeted Gimli and Legolas. "Tis good to see you again." Then he smiled at Ariedel, remembering her from their wedding he had attended long ago. "And you, my lady."

Legolas placed a hand on Frodo's shoulder and momentarily glanced toward Thranduil, who was busy conversing with Freak. "So tell me, Frodo. What was the mood like when my father and your uncle Bilbo saw one another again?"

Frodo rolled his eyes, knowing that past relations between Thranduil and Bilbo had not been favorable. "Do you really want to know?"

§

Afterward Freak met with the others on a private balcony. "We're still not out of danger yet. The hive may have been destroyed, but the queen is still out there and so are four hundred and sixty-two drones scattered around a two hundred mile radius."

"What do you suggest?" asked Thranduil.

"We go out in small teams of maybe three to four people. We hunt down the aliens and exterminate them."

"Two hundred miles in any direction is quite far," stated Celeborn. "It will take months to cover that kind of ground."

Freak shook his head. "With my ships, the teams can be dropped off in certain spots a lot faster than the teams can walk there. There seems to be a lot of people on this mountain which we can recruit and I've got a lot of spare weapons I can hand out. We'll get it done." Freak turned to Thranduil. "My biggest concern right now is the research base on the east coast."

Thranduil took a moment to inform Gandalf, Celeborn and Elrond about the Weyland-Yutani research base. Although none of them truly understood the magnitude of the threat The Company posed, they knew that the presence of anyone without the Valar's permission was a serious matter that needed to be dealt with.

"You mentioned earlier that you did not know if the alpha was alive," said Aragorn. "What is the role of this alpha?"

"The alpha drone basically fathers the young," replied Freak.

"How crucial is the death of this father creature? Do we need to be concerned about killing it first before any other?"

Freak shrugged at Aragorn. "It doesn't matter anyway. If the alpha is killed, the queen'll just pick another one. She's not very picky about who fathers her spawn."

"Let us continue to discuss these matters in the morning," suggested Gandalf. "You are all in need of much deserved rest."

Freak nodded to the others and left. He and his crew would sleep in the Dropships. Gandalf informed Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli that special quarters had been assigned to them, so they would not be required to sleep in tents as most of the masses had been.

§

Thranduil went with Legolas to the quarters Gandalf had directed. When Legolas entered with his father, he found Ariedel standing in the archway that led to the balcony. She looked as if she was nervous about something.

"Ariedel," Legolas called out. "What is it?" Legolas saw her glance at something unseen out on the balcony. Something was wrong. Before he had a chance to question his concern any further, someone stepped into the archway to stand beside Ariedel. Legolas recognized her immediately and heard his father whisper her name.

"Alfirin."

Legolas stared at the elleth beside Ariedel. His mother. With tears in her eyes, she stepped away from Ariedel slowly and then broke into a run toward Thranduil, jumping into his arms. For a moment Legolas watched the affection between them. As a child he had many times seen his mother in an emotional state. But to see his father so overwhelmed was almost disturbing. 'Tis not a crime for an ellon to shed tears, ion nin. Always remember that.' His father had spoken those words to him before they had left the ship in space. (Elf maid. Male Elf. My son.)

After a moment, Alfirin pulled away from Thranduil's embrace and turned to face Legolas. With huge tears in her eyes, she stepped up to him, her hand extended to touch his cheek. "Legolas."

Legolas gazed into his mother's eyes and all of his inhibitions suddenly melted away. She embraced him and he cried like he had not done in ages.

Ariedel watched from the archway as Thranduil joined in the embrace. The three of them seemed to glow brighter as they stood together. She almost felt as if she should leave, to give them the chance to be alone. But then she saw Alfirin lift her face and look directly at her. She seemed so happy. Alfirin raised a hand, beckoning Ariedel forward. Tears welled up in Ariedel's eyes. To be included in this family reunion suddenly seemed extremely important to her. She moved toward them and they accepted her into their family circle.

Somewhere in Valinor

Eldarion and Anwar sat huddled together among a small grove of trees. They had grown weary from walking and decided they needed to rest before they continued on in the direction the metal eagle had gone. It had headed for the tall mountain in the distance.

"I do not recall ever seeing such a mountain anywhere in Gondor," commented Eldarion as he glanced up at the night sky between the branches of the trees. "We will continue again when the sun rises."

Anwar studied Eldarion for a moment as his face was still tipped upward. Despite the fact that they were lost, she felt completely safe being with him. There were other Elflings closer to her home that paid her much attention, but she felt that they indulged her because she was the king's granddaughter. There was no one she could truly call a friend. But with Eldarion, she did not feel any false illusions. He simply behaved as himself, and was not out to impress her in any way. Maybe it was the reason she adored him. A flush came to her cheeks as she finally admitted to herself that she indeed had feelings for the prince of Gondor. And there was no other place she would rather be at the moment than in his company, sharing in this unexpected adventure.

Eldarion felt Anwar's eyes on him and despite the fact that she was a year and a half younger than him, he liked her. She was a pretty elleth and one that did not treat him in a manner befitting a prince. He hated when others his own age acted differently in front of him, just because he was the king's son. They pretended to enjoy his company, when he knew they were jealous of him and all that he had. Anwar treated him as an equal. He knew she liked him as well. He wondered how she would behave if she knew that he shared her feelings.

When Anwar turned away with a shiver, Eldarion finally lowered his gaze. "Are you cold?"

"A little."

Eldarion slid an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. Anwar briefly shifted nervously and then finally settled against him. "Hannon le an mellon nin," he said to her. (Thank you for being my friend)

Anwar shifted to look at him again in surprise. "I did not know you spoke Sindarin."

"Naneth taught me. But I know adar can speak it as well. They often speak to each other in Sindarin when others are around and they do not want them to know what they're talking about." (Mother. Father)

Anwar smiled. "Hannon le an mellon nin sui mae." Then she felt a sense of comfort surrounding him. With that feeling she boldly curled up her legs and pressed herself against him for added warmth. (Thank you for being my friend as well)

Eldarion smiled to himself, thinking that when they were older, he would enjoy courting Anwar Greenleaf.

Ilmarin
(Ariedel's POV)

I wondered what the kids were up to as I stared out at the moon from the balcony of the luxurious suite Gandalf had kindly assigned to us. Hopefully they weren't driving Alma nuts or Éomer, Faramir and the others for that matter.

Brendan had a tendency to go a little stir crazy when he had nothing to do. I smiled to myself as I pictured Brendan's face whenever he was told he couldn't do something. He reminded me so much of my brother Seth when we were kids, the way he pouted. It was the reason I named him Brendan, which was my brother's middle name.

My youngest son, Elril was still a baby, so I knew he couldn't get into too much trouble.

Anwar was the one that worried me the most. She was at that age where she was curious about everything, including the opposite sex. She denied it at every opportunity, but I knew her a lot more than she thought. Had I been that much in denial at her age when it came to boys?

The moon became partially obscured so I turned to look down at the surrounding grounds below. This castle belonged to two of the Valar and it was huge. It was even bigger than Aragorn's palatial residence in Minas Tirith. But what impressed me the most was the sheer size of the property within the high walls. It was obviously big enough for thousands of tents to be pitched up for all those seeking shelter from the aliens.

I had asked Gandalf if I could see the owners of the castle, to thank them personally for their hospitality. But the old wizard said it wasn't necessary, that in their own way the Valar knew I appreciated it. So I let the matter drop.

My thoughts drifted to Alfirin, who had been quite a surprise to me. Legolas hardly ever talked about his mother, so I had no idea she would be in Valinor. Earlier when I was waiting for Legolas, Alfirin came to me, telling me she would have sought out Thranduil or Legolas, but she couldn't find them. She knew I was Legolas's wife before I even said anything to her. She explained that she and Galadriel were very close friends.

"Galadriel's description of you was exact," Alfirin had said to me with a smile that reminded me so much of Legolas. "And quite honestly you are exactly whom I imagined my son would choose." She had caressed my cheek so lovingly that I felt as if I had known this woman all my life.

I had lost both of my parents when I was young and Seth was the only family I had left. After marrying Legolas, I gained Thranduil, who was like the father I never had. King Alexor Draconir, the father of the real Ariedel had died not long after Brendan was born, so I didn't have him either.

So now I had a mother. Not only was I excited for myself, but I was so overjoyed that Legolas got to see her again. And Thranduil, I couldn't imagine what was going through his head, seeing his wife again.

I snickered to myself, wondering what they were discussing right at the moment…or maybe doing.

"What are you giggling about?"

I felt Legolas come up behind me and as he wrapped his arms around me, he bent to sink his teeth into my shoulder. "I'm just wondering about Thranduil and Alfirin," I replied, still smiling.

Legolas turned me around to face him. "About what?" he asked as he began to suck on my face.

"I bet they're doing it," I giggled.

Legolas smiled. "Of course they are. My father has not had relations with anyone for over two thousand years."

"Are you serious? Two thousand years? That's a hell of a long time to go without sex."

"I would be surprised if he did not ravage my mother as I am about to ravage you."

"Hm, keep talking." I tilted my head to give him access to the side of my neck.

"Where would you like me to start?" He kissed my neck. "From here or perhaps from your toes?"

"Mm, I think my toes could use some extra attention."

Legolas reached for my hand and began kissing my fingertips. "Or I can start here."

"Yeah, fingers are always fun."

His eyes traveled down over me. "Must you choose such attire?"

He was referring to the black military trousers, teeshirt and Kevlar vest I had on. All of it had been provided to me by Lauren Sanchez. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

Legolas brought his lips to mine, kissing me hungrily. "It conforms to your…body so well. It makes me crazy." Then he lowered himself to his knees and proceeded to yank open the Kevlar vest. He pushed the hem of my teeshirt upward to uncover my torso which he soon began to lave with his tongue. "This is where I shall begin."

"Sure, I'm all for that." I closed my eyes as Legolas tugged down my trousers. Within seconds he had me naked. I was pretty sure that he made a science out of taking off my clothes, the more complicated the layers, the more challenging it was for him. He picked me up and sat me down on the balcony's stone balustrade, which was incredibly cold on my bare butt. Pulling my left leg over his shoulder, Legolas buried his face between my legs and it took everything out of me to keep from crying out. I also had to hang on for dear life. It was a long way down if I happened to fall off the balcony.

Ilmarin – the next morning

Thranduil observed the demonstration of the weapons Freak had retrieved from the Dropships. Then he watched the faces of those others that also watched. Most of the Elves in the chamber had seen many wars in their lifetimes, but never one such as this, and never with such weapons. There was much confusion on their faces, but they fully understood the magnitude of the enemy.

After the weapons demonstration and they had been passed out, Gandalf called for silence. "Let us hear the words of the Elven king of Eryn Lasgalen."

Everyone turned in Thranduil's direction and he waited for the room to grow quiet before he began. "The first thing I request is that everyone in this hall divide into groups of three or four, but no more than five."

There was mass confusion for a few minutes as everyone found who they wanted to be teamed up with.

When all was quiet again, Thranduil surveyed the room. He counted ten groups of four Elves. Forty warriors being sent out to eliminate the remaining aliens.. There would have been more if Freak had had more weapons to distribute. "Designate a leader in your group for they will be provided with a communication device to periodically check in with what I am told will be called homebase."

Thranduil walked over to stand with Zion and Sanchez. "You all witnessed the arrival of the metal ships that fly. Some of you will be transported in them by Zion and Sanchez." He moved on to Lipinski and Takashi. "And some will be going with Lipinski and Takashi. Your designated drop off point will be based on the number of creatures in that vicinity. On foot your team will deal with the creatures that have scattered upon the land. Tis vital that group leaders communicate with home base." Thranduil turned to Freak. "Is there anything you wish to add?"

Freak stepped forward. "Yeah, just one thing. If any of you happen to encounter the queen, I suggest you set your weapon sites on her and keep shooting. It takes a lot to take her down, but it can be done."

"What does the queen look like?" asked someone in the crowd.

"About fifteen feet tall, ugly as hell, big head with a ten foot long crest behind it, mouth full of teeth the size of daggers. Yeah, you can't miss her."

Thranduil nodded. "When all of the creatures have been destroyed, we will know it. And then we will anticipate your safe return to celebrate victory and to celebrate the approaching restoration of the slain members of your families from the Halls of Mandos!"

The chamber erupted in cheers.

"Let us depart!"

The cheering continued as the groups exited through the double doors, each giving Arwen and Ariedel the name of their group leader and each taking a communication device that was briefly explained by Gimli. Then the Elves followed Freak's crew to the Dropships.

Thranduil, Legolas and Freak stood together for awhile, watching as everyone boarded the Dropships. Soon the two ships were airborne, turning to head out from the mountain, each taking a different direction.

Then Legolas teamed with Glorfindel, while Aragorn teamed with Haldir. Their duties were to scour the immediate area of Mount Taniquetil.

As much as Freak wanted to be out where the action was, he needed to scout the Weyland-Yutani base and determine how best to approach without being seen by security.

Bishop had a portable computer that was patched via satellite with the Rebel and his job was to keep track of the numbers and receive the communications from the team leaders.

When Legolas, Aragorn, Glorfindel and Haldir entered the room where the remaining weapons were, they found Ariedel and Ripley arming themselves.

Legolas frowned at his wife. "Ariedel, where do you think you are going?"

"I'm going out there," Ariedel nonchalantly replied, as if she had every right to be out fighting with everyone else.

"There are plenty enough out there to finish it," stated Legolas.

Ariedel shook her head as she slid a dagger in her boot. "I need something to do or I swear to God I'm going to flip out."

Not wanting to argue with Ariedel in front of the others, Legolas gave her a stern look and proceeded to retrieve his weapons. But he continued to watch her stashing daggers and small pistols wherever she could find a place on her. He did not doubt her ability in a fight against an alien, he just did not like to see her endangering her life. Then his attention went to the doorway where his father and mother stood. He met his mother's eyes and from their expression he knew she was telling him to allow Ariedel to fight the battle. It was important to her. He looked away and stepped over to Ariedel, reaching for her hand.

Ariedel stopped what she was doing and turned to him. "Legolas, please…I'm not staying behind!" she quipped angrily.

"I do not ask you to remain behind. I only ask that you to be careful."

Ariedel felt bad for snapping at him. "I'm sorry."

Regardless of who was around them, Legolas brought his hands up to Ariedel's face and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered.

Ariedel accepted his kiss on her forehead, but then she demanded one on the lips. "I love you too and I'll see you soon."

Legolas released her and grabbed his quiver and long knives before walking out with Aragorn, Glorfindel and Haldir. He was not sure how long they would be apart, but he prayed to the Valar that she remained safe.

I used the name Alfirin for Legolas's mother in one of my other stories. I'm too lazy to think up another one and I like the name so I used it again in this one.