33 Lance - Don’t get even, get revenge. (1/2)

Grass is grass and trees are trees, no matter if they are prehistoric or not.Serina lead me out at a trot into the middle of a field of grass surrounded by tall trees all in full summer foliage.The stars twinkled in the sky. The grass was short cropped so it must be used a pasture. As I was in full light armor, the darkness looked to me as if we were in full daylight except the colors seemed to be washed out.I had to overcome my tendency to overexert myself so that I did not bounce across the landscape as if on a trampoline.This armor was something else. Whatever I did, the suit did only more so. If I had not had to adjust myself to a one-gee environment after almost living my life in a three-gee world for so long, I doubt that I would have made such a good showing. Indeed as I looked over to where Serina was waiting for me, I saw from the glimmer of humor in her eyes that she really had expected me to fail spectacularly.

The design of the suit is such that regular exertion caused a supernormal response.The trick to moving as one would expect was to act like you were on a moon and every movement had to be kept under tight control to keep from leaping high in the air with each step. I could see in Serinia's expression that strange combination of pride in her mate and at the same time that impish grin of wanting to pull a fast one.

I wanted to really try the suit out and at the same time do a bit of a show-off stunt.I leaned forward as if I was about to fall over and then dug in and started to really travel. Zero to one hundred KPH in three seconds, and then the trees were coming up fast. I turned my next step into a leap that took me up over the tall trees—then in mid-air, I overrode the flight system and doubled back under powered flight mode to drift down to a light landing right in front of Serina.I tried to kiss her, but our helmets caused a jolting head bump collision instead.

Serina started to laugh, ”Ok, so Bit sent you the manual as well. I should know better.”Then she turned off her helmet. I did the same. And…(Well, what did you expect we are newly wedded after all…)

Seeing that I did not need much in training for the basics, Serina led me in a bit of Fox and the Hound chasing.And we ran rampant over the countryside.Thankfully there was still a lot of farmland in the area compared to later.Actually, as I thought about it, this area was probably sea bottom in my time. Given the climate change and then those vast quakes from that rogue planet's flyby back in '24 that shifted land masses all over the globe.Back? Forward? Just thinking about it made my head swim, for now, the best self-defense was to just accept each day as it happened.

I had no idea where we were, I'm not sure if Serina knew herself when she stopped in mid-leap. I quickly caught up to her, but before I could say a word, she held up her hand in the universal hold it, stop right there and 'shut-up,' hand signal that even a freshman husband understood.

I started to check my sensors myself when she took off like a startled deer.We had been in full stealth mode, and she maintained that as she came upon a half dozen motorcycles parked off the side of a gravel road.Now I could hear for myself the sounds of a woman in ultimate distress, crying and protesting at the same time.

She was almost naked in a circle of big brutish hairy men all dressed in black leather, their jackets hung with chains used as decoration. They were laughing, and I could see that they all were sipping from brown bottles while they played cat and mouse with a beautifully formed, and very young, blonde haired girl. Every time the girl staggered from being shoved into the reach of one of these creatures (I could not call them men) they would grab her in an indecent way that terrified her—ripping at her clothing. Obscenely caressing her before shoving her to the next guy and it rapidly became apparent from her response and attempts to hide herself with her arms,that she was a virgin.

Serina dropped her stealth and accelerated into a grey blur so fast that she appeared to solidify from nothing into a solid presence that was suddenly in the middle of this circle holding the girl in the protection of her arms. To be honest, I am not sure if the girl was more in fear of this dark-grey creature wearing a hazy faintly glowing head or the brutes that surrounded her.[catch], Serina said as she tossed the girl over their heads towards me. I phased out of stealth myself just as I softly caught her. ”Don't worry,” I quietly told her, ”we are friends.”At which point her outraged senses gave up the challenge, and she fainted.

In the meantime, Serina was about as mad as I had ever seen her and the battle was over with almost before I knew that it had started.Men were still falling out of the air after she had hit them like a whirling dervish.

Then all there was, was dust settling to the ground while men were still bouncing from landing so hard.”I thought we were going to be stealthy,” I said.

”Not in this situation!” Serina stated as she carefully picked-up the young girl from my arms. ”I'll check her over to see if she needs medical attention. I can see some clothes over by that tree, I know she will feel better dressed when she wakes up.”

Yes, there was a pile of clothing there, but also two more girls, one on top of the other. Neither was wearing much, if anything. What I did see was blood dripping on to the ground. Thankfully it was still dripping so they might be alive.”Serina!” I yelled. ”I need you now!”