Chapter 13

A few days later, Susan's message makes perfect sense to me. A strange breed of fierce flowers has sprung up, almost overnight. Young women are mysteriously vanishing at an increasingly rapid pace. At first, no one connected the appearance of these flowers to the disappearances, until some of the flowers tried to attack Princess at Jill's.

It is clear what Lord Zoltar wants me to do. I am to send Princess after the flowers. Alone.

I contact Princess on her communicator.

"This is 7-Zark-7, calling Princess."

"Hello, Zark!" she answers. "What would you like?"

Princess is so polite. And so pretty. It is a shame, really, that she has to be set up like this. But then, I have my orders.

"I was wondering, how you were doing." I say. "I was concerned for you, after you were attacked by those flowers."

"I'm just fine!" she laughs, "I didn't even get a scratch from that encounter."

"All the same, I'm concerned, Princess." I say. "After all, you are a young woman, and the flowers have been attacking young women. And while you are capable of defending yourself, I do worry about you."

"How sweet." Princess giggles. "But you don't have to worry about me, Zark."

This is going well. But I must be careful.

"That's good to know, Princess." I reply, "But what about all of those other, poor, defenseless young women out there? The ones who keep disappearing each night?"

"Yes…" Princess' voice is sober. "That bothers me as well."

"And while I have the utmost confidence in the G-Force team, I…" I let my voice trail off, as if I've said too much.

"What is it, Zark?" Princess asks worriedly.

"I shouldn't have said anything…" I say.

"Zark, if something's bothering you, I'd like to know." Princess says.

I can't believe how considerate Princess is being of my feelings. At this point I really regret what I am about to do. But it is what my foster father has asked of me. I can't turn my back on him… even for Princess.

"It's just… the majority of the G-Force team is male." I explain, with seeming reluctance. "And since the flowers only appear to attack females… I have to wonder if they would ever be able to locate them…"

"You have a good point, Zark." Princess says seriously. "I agree with you."

"You do?" I ask, in a surprised tone. Inside, however, I am gleeful. She is taking the bait!

"Yes…" Princess muses. "I'll take care of it Zark."

"That's good to know, Princess." I reply.

"Goodbye, Zark." Princess says, distractedly. "Over and out."

Suddenly, I wonder what chain of events will unfold from this conversation. A feeling of dread overtakes me for a moment, but then I shake it off.

I have done my duty. There is no higher purpose.

88888

As I had anticipated, that very night, Princess ran off to find the flowers by herself. Keyop followed her, arriving just in time to see her being swallowed by one of the giant plants.

The team were half-convinced that Princess was dead, but were certain of this after they set fire to the flowers, in order to destroy them. It looked like Lord Zoltar had won: the flowers sent spores into the air, simply re-generating elsewhere, and it looked like Princess' life had been sacrificed for no real gain on the Federation's part.

What I didn't know, at that time, was that Princess had 'borrowed' a protective suit developed by Chief Anderson. It not only spared her damage from the plant, but from the flames as well. Still, she was captured by Spectran operatives, and nearly executed. However she was saved by the timely intervention of the remainder of G-Force, who proceeded as they usually do: they defeated the Spectran soldiers and captains, and destroyed the base.

Even more frustrating, while all of this was happening, Chief Anderson discovered the flowers' weakness, despite my attempts to hinder his research. Shortly thereafter, the flowers were destroyed, and the status quo restored.

The only good thing to come out of all of this, is that Mark's feelings for Princess seem to have re-surfaced. I had been unable to find the appropriate opportunity to enact my plan to re-unite the 'couple' (and I use that term loosely), but thinking that his third was dead seems to have done the trick for the Commander. Even in their brief communications from the Phoenix, on its way back to Center Neptune, I could see the way they were looking at each other.

For the first time in weeks, I am forced to scramble (relatively: with my capabilities, my fastest speed is still a crawl) to reach the tube to my oil changing station, before Mark and Princess enter my Ready Room. Fortunately, 1-Rover-1 is out of the room, charging his batteries. As usual, the pair enters, ostensibly looking for me.

"I wonder where Zark is?" Princess asks.

"I guess he's off, having a ten second oil break!" Mark says.

"That's too bad." Princess responds. "I wanted to let him know how grateful we are, for all of his work, helping Chief Anderson find a way to destroy those terrible flowers!"

"I'm grateful too." Mark says, quietly. "For Zark's work, of course… but I'm even more grateful that you're alive, Princess."

Princess blushes a becoming shade of pink. It matches her uniform perfectly.

"I'm… I'm glad too, Mark." she whispers. "I was afraid that I was going to die. And…" she stops speaking, looking fearfully at Mark.

"And, what, Princess?" Mark asks encouragingly.

"I didn't want to die… with things the way they were… between us." she finishes.

"I know what you mean." Mark replies. "It nearly killed me, thinking you had died in those flames, and knowing that you thought…"

"Thought what, Mark?" Princess asks hopefully.

"That I… uh…" Mark can't seem to finish his sentence. I understand. He has never been one to admit to his feelings. Although, it would seem like if he were ever to do so, that this might be the appropriate time.

After an awkward pause, Mark speaks again.

"What made you go off on your own, anyway, Princess?" he asks. "It wasn't the best idea."

"Well, I was talking to Zark…" Princess thinks for a moment. "You know… it's almost as if Zark told me to do it. At the time I thought it was my idea, but thinking back, that whole conversation…" She furrows her brow, as if trying to grasp an important concept that is eluding her.

Oh, no. Not now. I can't be discovered because Princess is second-guessing herself. I need something… anything… to get her mind off of this line of thought.

Panicking, I activate the remote implant triggering sequence I had set up weeks ago. Fortunately, Mark and Princess are both in my Ready Room. This is well within range of my transmitter. For a brief moment, they both seem to shake their heads, as their implants are remotely re-programmed.

"What… what were you saying, Princess?" Mark asks, shaking his head.

"I… I'm not sure…" Princess says. "Isn't it hot in here?" She removes her helmet, shaking out her hair, so that it settles onto her wings in an ebony cloud.

"Yes… I feel warm too." Mark replies, removing his helmet as well. "In fact, I…" The Commander looks up at his third, and his face softens.

"Princess…" he smiles, "You're… you're beautiful!"

"Really?" Princess asks, her face aglow. "How nice of you to say so, Mark."

"I'm not being nice." Mark says, "I'm stating a fact. You really are beautiful, Princess." His helmet drops to the floor, as he reaches for Princess' hands.

"I've… I've always thought that you were very handsome, Mark." Princess sighs. Her helmet falls as she reaches out to her Commander. She places her palms on Mark's chest, and he puts his hands on her waist.

Oh my. I think I may have pushed this a little too far. I had originally intended the sequence to return them to their guarded flirting, given that they were in an angry state to begin with. It would appear that activating the implant re-programming while they were already… interested… has pushed them to deepen their relationship.

In a way, I am concerned, because such a development will be noticed. Then again, it is unlikely such a thing would be traced back to me, and it could only provide a distraction from my more secretive activities.

I decide that this is a fortuitous course of events, and return my attention to the engaging scene in my Ready Room.

"I don't know why I've been fighting my feelings for you, Princess." Mark says, looking into her eyes.

"I'm not sure, either, Mark." Princess responds.

"I… just…" Mark looks into Princess' eyes, and then kisses her.

From the look on Princess' face, it is clear that this advance is far from unwelcome.

"I… I love you, Princess." Mark says, when the kiss finishes.

"I love you too, Mark!" Princess cries, her whole face lighting up. She throws her arms around his neck, and they begin kissing again.

Oh… my…

I never thought I'd be privy to this kind of human behavior. It's certainly very… exciting… My antennae are now standing straight up.

It's almost beginning to get to the point where I feel I should stop them. Let them know that they're being observed. But curiosity gets the better of me, and I stare, entranced, at the images on the monitor before me.

Who knew that with one small re-programming of their implants, I could cause this?

It's a new perspective on the power I hold.

"Let's go to my quarters…" Mark says, huskily.

Princess nods silently, a look of complete adoration on her face. The pair departs from my Ready Room, leaving their helmets behind on the floor.

I should probably let them know about that.

But not now.

Slowly, I make my way down the glass tube to my Ready Room. The two G-Force helmets are sitting on the floor, right next to my control panel.

I need to get rid of them before 1-Rover-1 finishes charging. What do I do?

Just as I am frantically searching for a solution, both helmets disappear in a whirling flash of color.

The same kind of flash that signals a de-transmutation.

Oh, my. Things are getting serious.

Once again, I silently bemoan the fact that I do not have access to the cameras in G-Force personal living quarters.