text: [Themes: sci-fi, female protagonist, LGBT, science fiction]
  
  You realize that Andrea's tactics are getting increasingly insane, but you've come this far --also, you're afraid to stick around now that Mildred is lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood. You step through shards of smoldering, broken glass and climb over the windowsill. You look back to Esmeralda and see that she is having issues getting over herself. You reach out your arms and grab her metal torso and heave her over the partition.
  
  Andrea is still standing in front of the metal door at the far end of the Jovian room.
  
  You tap the radio button at the side of your helmet and ask: "What's the hold-up, Andrea?"
  
  Andrea smiles through her face-plate and taps the side of her helmet. "It won't budge. I've tried the button, but they've obviously locked it. That's okay, though, because they have to come here now that there's been a security breech. I'm just standing here, biding my time. It shouldn't be long."
  
  You and Esmeralda meet her at the door. "How long should I have my air tank on?"
  
  "Keep it on for now. We're still in hard vacuum until further notice. Plus, this is the Jovian region so they're bound to flood this place with hydrogen and ammonia when they want to give it air again."
  
  "Was it necessary for you to crack Mildred's skull like you did? I checked before I left, and she was still alive. But that kind of act could have killed her!"
  
  Andrea grins at you. "Young miss, this is a brutal game you're playing now. Both of us our on a quest for revenge. People are going to get hurt. That's just how it is."
  
  You shake your head. "You were never like this before."
  
  "Tragedy changes a person, Sandra. You know that. We can never go back to the way things were. Ever." Andrea suddenly stands up straight, her gloved hand on the wall next to the door. "They're coming now! I can feel the vibrations. You two might want to step back."
  
  You and Esmeralda head to the other end of the room. You aim your ray rifle at the door.
  
  Andrea steps back a few feet from the door and aims her own rifle.
  
  The door slides up and a bulky metal robot steps through it. It stands over six feet and has multiple legs like the Jovians. It turns its blocky head sideways and regards Andrea with grim glowing blue eyes.
  
  Almost immediately, Andrea fires her gun at its head. There's a bust of blue light as the gun's ray beam burns across the robot's face. Andrea keeps this up for close to a minute, all the while backing away from the mechanical sentinel until she's standing next to you. She then stops firing.
  
  The robot's head explodes in a flash of light. Sparks spray from the now-gaping maw where it's face was. But because the room is a vacuum, the whole thing is a coldly silent tableau.
  
  Andrea pats you on the shoulder. "Well, now that Talos there has graciously opened the door for us, shall we be on our way?"
  
  "You're crazy."
  
  "I have your dad to thank for that." Andrea heads for the door.
  
  Her progress is interrupted by 97364 Ocean-Hill, who sidles past the sparking remains of the drone. The Jovian is wearing some kind of space suit of it's own which, like its previous outfit, is covered in armor-like metallic plates.
  
  There's a burst of radio static in your helmet. Then you hear a mechanical voice say:
  
  "Why have you done this? Did you think you could really escape from our city? I am not your enemy. I am one of the few Jovians who actually likes humans. I have done every thing I can to make your stay here as comfortable as possible. I trusted all of you to co-operate with us. What you have done could very well start an interplanetary war. Millions of humans and Jovians could die because you refused to be civil."
  
  Andrea points her gun at the Jovian. "Let us through, Jovian."
  
  97364 Ocean-Hill scuttles forward and stops about five feet from Andrea. Then a gloved proboscis shoots from his "mouth" and a three-fingered hand grabs at Andrea's ray rifle.
  
  Andrea jumps to the side and fires her rifle at 97364 Ocean-Hill's appendage.
  
  The creature flinches back as its retractable hand gets burned to ash.
  
  Andrea pushes the barrel of her gun into the side of the Jovian's helmet. "Now, my jovial friend, it looks like you're our hostage. We want safe passage out of this God-forsaken berg. And if we don't get it, you won't be around any longer to annoy humans with your pathetic attempts at charm."
  
  Things have taken a grim turn, you realize. This is only going to escalate further and further until...what? You don't even know how bad it will get, but the Jovian's predictions of war seem increasingly plausible. All you wanted was vengeance against the people who killed your parents. You don't want innocent people to die.
  
  And certainly not millions.
  
  > go Along With Andrea Because You're in Too Deep
  You close your eyes and take a long, deep breath.
  
  "Well?" says Andrea. "Are you coming, Sandra?"
  
  You open your eyes. "Of course, Andrea. Esmeralda, can you get the bag of air tanks, please?"
  
  "Certainly, Mistress Sandra," says Esmeralda. She scuttles to the bag and picks it up with one claw.
  
  Still holding the nozzle of her gun to 97364 Ocean-Hill's helmet, Andrea says: "Okay, Jove, I think you should lead the way now. We need a ship out of the city, so if you'll be a dear and take us in that direction, that'd be lovely."
  
  "I will direct you to the port region of the city, where you can get a ship," says 97364 Ocean-Hill's translator, "but that is as far as I am willing to go. You'll have to figure out how to fly one of our space ships yourself."
  
  "Very well. My ex-boyfriend is a pilot and knows something about the layout of your people's craft. He explained a lot to me when we were together. I'm sure we'll be fine once we set you on your way."
  
  Your party skirts the remains of the robot sentinel and goes through the doorway.
  
  97364 Ocean-Hill directs the group to a long metal tube that snakes its way up a wide, circular shaft and connects at various points to other tubes in a rootlike network. "There is a transport that goes through this tube system to all parts of the city. It should be but a moment for me to contact it."
  
  With Andrea's gun still trained on the Jovian's head, 97364 Ocean-Hill scurries to the white tube and presses in a square depression with a his burned hand. Soon a rectangular section of the tube slides up, revealing a glowing, padded room. 97364 Ocean-Hill enters, followed by Andrea, you, and Esmeralda. 97364 Ocean-Hill makes an adjustment on a dial just inside the doorway and you suddenly feel a ton of weight pressing down on you as the transport accelerates upwards at several Gs. You and Andrea have to lean against the walls for support, but 97364 Ocean-Hill and Esmeralda don't seem to mind the added gravities. After a few minutes, the transport stops and the door slides open, but you notice that you still feel heavy.
  
  "Come this way," says 97364 Ocean-Hill, scurrying forward on his squat legs.
  
  Andrea, you and Esmeralda follow.
  
  You're in a giant space that looks like a glowing white aircraft hanger. The floor slopes up the further it gets from you and merges into the far wall, which appears to curve outward like the inner part of a giant wheel. You realize this must be just inside the outer rim of the Jovian city. Lining the outer wall are spherical ships sitting in front of large, square, silver doors.
  
  Soon your party is standing just outside the metallic hull of one of the space ships. 97364 Ocean-Hill presses a depression in its side and the doors slide open and a ramp protrudes out like a tongue. "As I have said before, I will go no farther than this. I refuse to be your hostage any longer. If you wish to kill me, you can, but that will surely bring war onto your people throughout the solar system."
  
  "You were willing to come this far with us," says Andrea. "What makes you so sure I can't convince you to come along with us?"
  
  "My people have been monitoring our progress all this time, Andrea Laughlin. They have valued my life enough to allow your party to make it to this point. None of us wishes to start a war if it can be averted."
  
  "I see. And once we've let you go then all your security forces come down on us like the fist of God! Is that it?"
  
  "Go in the ship, all of you. We will give a...how do your kind put it? A running start. I just hope for the sake of both of our people that this act does not lead to war."
  
  Andrea pulls the barrel of her gun off of 97364 Ocean-Hill and points it into the air. She slowly makes her way up the ramp and you and Esmeralda follow. Once you are all inside the doors close and you are all sealed away from the outside city. Andrea, strained by the higher gravity as much as you are, pants as she slowly works her way to the back of the ship.
  
  You follow and enter a small cockpit. There appear to be no seats or handrails or even a control board, but only a small green octagon near the floor on the far wall. Within each corner of the octagon is a metal button.
  
  "Where are we supposed to sit?" you ask.
  
  "I don't believe the Jovians have any seats in their ships," replies Esmeralda.
  
  "She's right, Sandra," says Andrea. "Did you notice all the metal on our Jovian friends' underside?"
  
  "Isn't that armor?" you ask.
  
  "No, my girl. Those are electromagnets that help hold him to the metal floor when he's in Mercurian gravity. They also serve to keep those creatures glued to one spot when they're flying around in their spaceships."
  
  Andrea smiles at the control display. "This should be easy, kids," she continues. "John always told me that the Jovians modeled their ship controls after the ones used by the Martians. Apparently, the Martians were the ones who introduced the inhabitants of Jupiter to space travel in the first place. Guess when you're from a heavy-gravity world, flight is something of an afterthought." She gets down on her knees and presses the two top buttons within the octagon, then presses the next set down, then the next. She does this move twice and then does it from bottom to top. "Think that's based on some old religious ritual the Martians have."
  
  Nothing happens.
  
  "Jovians only have one hand," you point out.
  
  "It's supposed to bring up the damn control lever!"
  
  "Yes, but the Jovians can't do that move."
  
  Andrea looks to the bag of air tanks Esmeralda his holding. "Here, Esmeralda, give me that bag if you will."
  
  "I'd hate to think what you have in mind, Andrea," says Esmeralda, handing the bag over to Andrea.
  
  "Do you two have any better ideas?"
  
  > do, Thanks to Mikhail
  "I think I have the solution," you say, approaching the green octagon. "At least if what an old spacer told me is true. He was in the Martian Wars."
  
  Andrea snorts. "That's nothing. So was John."
  
  "Yes, but John only knew how Martians activated their ships. The Russian spacer I talked to had experience with Jovian spacecraft."
  
  "Make it snappy, Sandra. I don't want our Jovian 'hosts' changing their minds about letting us go because of our apparent indecision."
  
  You kneel down and reach for the button in the top left corner of the octagon and press it. "The Martians based their activation ritual on some aspect of their religion, right?"
  
  "That's what John told me," says Andrea with a sigh.
  
  "Well, the Jovians, having one hand each, couldn't replicate that ritual. And the closest thing they have to a 'god' is the red spot in the atmosphere of their planet. But because of how thick the cloud layers are in their home world's atmosphere, they didn't know what direction that storm rotated until they got passed the cloud layers. So they first noticed the rotation as it would it appear to someone looking at the planet from space." You press the top right button and then work your way down to the next right-hand button and press it. "Counterclockwise."
  
  It takes less than a minute for you to finish pressing all the buttons. You stand up and take a step back after finishing.
  
  The green octagon starts flickering with a white light, then slowly resolves into a black and white image of the spaceship dock overlaid with a green grid pattern. There's a whirring sound and rectangular part of the floor slides back and a steel lever with covered with green buttons rises out.
  
  "Voila!" you say with pride. "It pays to listen to your elders. That's what my father always told me."
  
  Andrea chuckles, bitterly. "He also told you that adultery was a bad idea, but here we are."
  
  > To The New Melbourne Archeological Site
  The Jovian city's rapid spin flings the ship into outer space, but Andrea's sure hand on the control lever is able to make the craft arc downward into a low orbit around Mercury. The speed you're traveling at is so great that you cross over into the day side several times before Andrea can pinpoint the right spot to descend into the general vicinity of New Melbourne.
  
  "I don't get it," you say. "That shuttle we were taking was flying low to the ground and was going to take hours to get to New Melbourne. Why is this taking so much less time?"
  
  "Simple," replies Andrea. "The shuttle had multiple stops. I can't read Jovian so I don't know what the readouts are saying on the screen, but I'd estimate that we'll make the archeological site in about twenty minutes."
  
  Andrea's prediction turns out to be correct. Soon the Jovian craft is flying over a wide, gaping crater about fifty feet in diameter and surrounded by a ring of floodlights.
  
  "Here we are," says Andrea, guiding the ship down.
  
  As the crater gets bigger on the screen, you notice its rocky throat is littered with pieces of burnt, twisted metal.
  
  "What happened here?" you ask.
  
  "I have no idea. And there are no spacecraft parked in the area, either. There's a lot of wreckage in the lava tube, though. Looks like something happened here."
  
  "The floodlights are still on. Do the sensors scan any signs of life?"
  
  "Maybe. I already told you, Sandra; I don't read Jovian!"
  
  "We can always dip into the crater and check," says Esmeralda.
  
  "Good thinking, Esse," you reply. "Can we do that, Andrea?"
  
  "That would be stupid," says Andrea. "We don't know what's down there and I don't know what buttons to press on this control lever to activate the ship's weapons."
  
  "Yes, but you were originally planning on going down into the lava tube, anyway, probably with the expectation of getting into a firefight with John and his men."
  
  "I had been planning on parking the ship outside the crater so we could go in. Like I said-- I don't know how to activate the weapons on this ship. I do however know how to use a human-crafted ray gun."
  
  "I think we'd be safer in the ship. Maybe we could just use just ram anyone down there with the ship."
  
  "Oh, that would much safer than getting out of the ship and going down on foot. I say we just head to New Melbourne. We could go to the Hotel Hermes. That's where John and me and his men were all supposed to meet, originally. There are no signs of rocket ships down there. Plus, I could use a hot bath about now."
  
  "Is this a democracy?" asks Esmeralda. "I'm assuming I'd get a vote if it is. And I vote for whatever Sandra wants."
  
  Andrea looks back at Esmeralda and laughs. "No, it's not even remotely a democracy, robot. And even if it were, you'd have no say in things. I'm for the Hotel Hermes and a hot bath."
  
  > Hotel Hermes Sounds Good
  "Glad you two are capable of seeing reason," says Andrea as she pulls back on the control lever and sends the ship rising. "When we get to New Melbourne, we may have to do something about how the two of you look, though. Sandra, getting a disguise for you shouldn't be so hard. Esmeralda, I'm not so sure about you. John will recognize you from the cafe."
  
  "It should be noted," says Esmeralda, "that I'm hardly the only robot with this design."
  
  "If he should see you with a young girl, he may very well make the connection. No, we have to do something about your appearance. I'm just not sure what, though."
  
  "How about we give her a paint job?" you suggest.
  
  "Paint job? I'd almost think making Esmeralda here any color other than steel gray would just make her stand out more."
  
  "Paint job and we can also put one of our helmets on her head. Esse, do you think your head could fit into a helmet?"
  
  "Certainly," says Esmeralda.
  
  "Fine," says Andrea in a resigned voice. "Now, we probably should land this craft just outside the New Melbourne city limits. It wouldn't do to have a Jovian ship setting down in the middle of the city."
  
  You and Esmeralda are both in agreement with Andrea on this point, but you don't expect her to land so far outside New Melbourne. She settles the ship behind a craggy outcropping of small peaks and you are forced to make a twenty minute march to the city. You're only happy that Mercury's lower gravity makes the journey all the less tiring.
  
  New Melbourne lies nestled in a large canyon and glitters in the perpetual night like some beautiful Christmas display. The outer limits of the city consist of rows of cylindrical aluminum modular units laid out horizontally and peppered with red, blue, and green lights. Scattered throughout the clusters of modular buildings are concrete landing fields illuminated with floodlights. At the city's center is a vast bubble dome that houses tree-lined streets and tall Art Deco buildings.
  
  "What do we tell everybody?" you ask from where you stand atop the cliff overlooking the city. "I mean, do we just traipse into town and nobody bats an eye?"
  
  Andrea laughs over your radio speaker. "Most of these people aren't going to care who we are or where we came from. This place is like your home world was thirty years back. It's John I'm worried about. That's why you guys need a makeover."
  
  The three of you make your way down into the valley and find yourselves walking up a large avenue of hard-packed dirt. Milling about the street are a few other people in space suits, though most of the area is taken up by light ground car traffic. You notice names painted in red on the fronts of many of the cylindrical buildings: Kasper's Tea Garden, Monkey Magician Bar, Cherenkov's Authentic Eurasian Cuisine, The Great White Milky Way Diner, Nakamura Environment Suits and Life Support, The Mykhailuk Mind Connection.
  
  "What are we looking for, exactly?" you ask in an exasperated tone. "I for one need to find a bathroom soon or I'm bound to pee my space suit."
  
  "Hold your bladder for just a few minutes more, Sandra," Andrea replies. "John had mentioned to me once that New Melbourne had a curio shop where the proprietor could work all kinds of miracles... for the right price."
  
  Several more minutes go by and you feel the pressure inside you reaching the bursting point.
  
  "Oh, here we are!" exclaims Andrea. "This name rings a bell too!"
  
  You and Esmeralda look in the direction she's pointing and see a green wooden sign hanging above a building entrance. Carved in barely-discernable calligraphy it says Madam Zigeuner's Shop of Hermetic Artifacts.
  
  "Wow," you say. "Does she sell Lacertilia pottery or jewelry?"
  
  "Not anything real, I'm sure. This is basically a stupid gift shop for off-world tourists. Come on, let's go in and make you guys inconspicuous"
  
  > At the Hotel Hermes
  Beneath the spacious dome at the center of New Melbourne it is lush, green, and warm. From the outside, the dome looks like some snow globe robbed of its snowflakes. From the inside, however, the sky radiates a bold blue and is lighted by a simulated sun that arcs its way across the heavens in mimicry of a spring day in Maine. The streets are paved, and they are lined with lush, green trees that raise their branches high into the air in the lesser gravity of Mercury. The buildings are all poured cement structures done in the mid-Twentieth Century Modernist style, which has been in vogue throughout the solar system these past twenty years.
  
  You inhale the air and it is crisp and smells of parklands and tamed nature.
  
  "Ah, Esse," you say, smiling, "I've so missed the feel and smell of real civilization. So sick of cramped metal quarters and space suits and air tanks and noisy atomic motors on rocket ships. I only wish the gravity was stronger. I think it's even less than what they have on Luna."
  
  "It is, my dear," says Esmeralda. She's been painted a Navy blue and wears an old space helmet Madam donated-- also painted blue.
  
  You have a wig of short, blond locks done up in a bobbed style on your head, as well as a pair of sunglasses like Andrea's. You had to fork over your last few dollars to pay for everything, and so in the back of your mind you're wondering how you and your robot will be able to get back to Venus when this is all over.
  
  "Hotel Hermes should be just another block from here," says Andrea. "I'll loan you some money so you can check into a room. But I'm going to check in first. Waite five minutes after the bellboy's shown me to my room, and then you can check in. If John should happen to see us, he shouldn't see us together. That'd be too suspicious."
  
  "Um, how will we find you then?"
  
  Andrea looks at her wristwatch. "Okay, I've readjusted my time to New Melbourne time...so lunch will be served in about two hours. Just go down to the dining room then." She looks up at you. "But don't come to my table. Just find yourselves someplace to sit and you two can keep your eyes peeled for John. I'll do the same. If I need to get you guys a message, I'll have one of the waiters bring it to your table."
  
  The lobby of the Hotel Hermes is tiled with faux marble and has Doric columns supporting a gold domed ceiling. At its center is a twenty foot tall brass statue of Hermes, the messenger of the Greek gods. He stands in a heroic pose, winged helmet on a handsome head staring heavenward, a caduceus staff entwined with two serpents in one hand and a scroll in the other. His feet (adorned with winged sandals) are posed in the stance of a runner.
  
  You and Esmeralda stand by the base of the god while Andrea crosses the lobby to the concierge desk at the far end and checks herself in. You look around the lobby and see various spacers and tourists sitting in armchairs or gathered in small clusters around the columns.
  
  Then you notice something you haven't seen in a long while-- a Martian. He stands over eight feet tall, is thin and gangly, has a bulging chest and a mushroom-shaped head. His huge, black, insect-like eyes stare from folds of wrinkly gray skin. He's decked out in shimmering gold and green robes and has a shiny red pendant hanging around his neck. He's engaged in conversation with a pretty young Asian woman in a blue satin tunic and black slacks.
  
  "Esse," you say, pointing, "look. It's a Martian!"
  
  "Dear, it's not polite to point. Yes, I can see it's a Martian. He's no concern to us, though."
  
  Just then the Martian looks in your direction, apparently alerted by your pointing. He says something else to the Asian woman and then the two of them walk up to where you and Esmeralda stand. His dear-like muzzle forms into a surprisingly warm smile and he says something in Martian to the Asian woman.
  
  She smiles too and says, "My employer would like to make your acquaintance. He is wondering why someone as young as you is here by yourself."
  
  "Oh," you say, shocked by this turn of events. "Well, I'm not really by myself." You gesture to Esmeralda. "As you see, I have my robot with me. I'm...uh, I'm visiting my father. My parents are divorced, you see."
  
  The Asian woman smiles again. "Hello, then. I am Yuja Lin. I'm personal assistant to Solon. That's not his Martian name, mind you. No human can pronounce that. Solon was the ancestor of Plato who learned from the Egyptian priests about Atlantis."
  
  "Oh, that's right! I remember the story. But you can speak Martian?"
  
  Yuja laughs good-naturedly. "No, I only understand it. I communicate with Solon using very basic English. The rest of the time I must rely on gestures and written notes. Like my people, the Chinese, Martians use an ideogrammatic writing system."
  
  "That makes sense."
  
  "He noticed that you seem to be in some great pain, though. That's why he wished to speak to you."
  
  You're shocked at her words. "I'm...I'm not in pain. Why would he think that?"
  
  "He can read humans very well. It's a skill he developed over the years. We will be having lunch in a few hours. Would you care to join us?"
  
  What should you do? Accept their invitation? This isn't why you are here and getting Solon and Yuja involved could complicate things. But they just seem so damned charming, and you suddenly feel an overriding need to talk about what's been going on with you.
  
  > have Lunch with Solon and Yuja
  You follow Andrea's suggestion and take a hot bath yourself as soon as you've checked into your room. Then you take advantage of Esmeralda's built-in chronometer and have her wake you up in an an hour and a half so you can get yourself ready for lunch with Solon and Yuja.
  
  "She's really cute, Esse," you say while brushing your teeth.
  
  "Who, dear?"
  
  "Yuja, of course. I wander how old she is."
  
  "I'd say about thirty. You're a minor; you needn't concern yourself with her."
  
  "I can still look." You spit toothpaste into the the faux marble basin. "What she said about Solon noticing I was in pain, though. That was pretty unsettling. Looking into his eyes...I don't know. I almost feel like I can confess everything to him."
  
  "I advise you do talk about what's happened in your life, Sandra. I'm concerned about you. Things are getting increasingly dangerous."
  
  "I know..." You sigh, take a sip from a plastic cup, swish water around the inside of your mouth, then spit.
  
  "If it's easier for you to speak to Solon without Yuja present, then it should be noted I can speak the major dialect of Martian fluently."
  
  "You, Esse? How? Even Yuja can't do that."
  
  "She's human and suffers the limitations of human vocal chords, tongue, and lips. I have an electronic voice-box which can manipulate sound waves the same way an oscilliatron does."
  
  "Wow, I never considered that!"
  
  "If you're ready, we should be on our way, dear."
  
  "I don't mean to sound like a cheapskate, but I hope they can pay for our meal."
  
  "Solon says he's happy you decided to take him up on his invitation," says Yuja.
  
  You, Esmeralda, Yuja, and Solon are sitting at a large circular table in an alcove-like section of the dinning room. Surrounding the table are potted palm trees, several statues of naked women you assume are nymphs and dryads, and a small fountain shooting an arc of water high in the low gravity.
  
  You take a sip of your glass of Carmichael's Colo. "Yeah...um, I guess you could say I've got a lot I'd like to get off my chest. Yuja, Esmeralda has informed me she's fluent in Martian. I, uh, think it might be a little easier for me to open up to your employer without you present...Sorry, I hope that didn't sound bad."
  
  Yuja's dark brown eyes widen and her mouth forms an "o". "I see. Well, I think I can understand your uneasy feelings, Sandra." She looks around and then smiles. "Here, I see an empty table. I'll just take my salad over there and I'll be back shortly."
  
  She gets up with her salad and drink and goes through a clump of palm trees to a table beyond.
  
  Esmeralda talks to Solon in the fluting tones of Martian. Solon replies and Esmeralda turns her pink eyes to you. "He says he is ready to hear all you have to say, Sandra. If you want, dear, I can just give him a summary of our misadventures, if that will be easier for you."
  
  "Thanks, Esse," you say with a sad smile.
  
  For the next ten minutes Esmeralda recounts all that has happened to you and her. Solon says little in all this time but just nods his head --you wander if that's a truly universal gesture or if he's merely imitating human body language. All this while you just slowly stab at your Tilapia fish with your fork and nibble tentatively. Eventually, Esmeralda finishes her tale and Solon replies.
  
  Esmeralda says, "He can understand your need to seek justice in the deaths of your mother and father, but he also believes the violence is becoming increasingly chaotic. He told me that there is a news story circulating about the hostage rebellion we were part of. Mildred, the stewardess, was killed in the debacle and the Jovians and other hostages have concluded that you and Andrea are responsible."
  
  You feel your blood chill.
  
  "Mildred...she's dead?" you ask.
  
  Esmeralda's eyes darken to a bloody hue. "Apparently so. I'm afraid this is the first I've heard of this. Is it true?"
  
  You suddenly feel dizzy. Your hand, now drenched in cold sweat, lets the fork clatter onto your plate. You feel like you're going to hyperventilate, but you manage to slow down your breathing to a deep, steady rhythm.
  
  Seconds drag out into an eternal non-time.
  
  "I-I...." you say, taking in another deep breath. "I didn't kill Mildred. I checked her pulse when we left her quarters; I swear she was still alive. It was Andrea who hit her over the head with a chair. She didn't seem concerned about all the blood...but I checked Mildred and her heart was still beating. Esmeralda, please believe me. I would never kill an innocent person..."
  
  "I would certainly like to believe that, young lady. All this time, I've been assisting you. All this time, I've been trying to persuade you to choose a better path. It's as if your hell-bent quest for vengeance has made you disregard your very future. Have you even considered where you will be in five or ten years? Do you even care at this point? Has the sum total purpose of your life become avenging your parents? Is this what they would have wanted for you?"
  
  You put year head in your hands and close your eyes. Hot tears stream down your cheeks.
  
  "There you are!" says a familiar voice.
  
  You look up into the shaded eyes of Andrea.
  
  "I've been looking for you two," she continues. "Have you forgotten the plan? John and his men are here. I need your help." She glances at Solon. "What have you been saying to this Martian?"
  
  "Nothing...Everything."
  
  Andrea scowls. "Nothing, Everything. It doesn't matter now. Come with me. You want justice for your mother and father, don't you?"
  
  Solon says something in his chirping language.
  
  Esmeralda gently places a claw on your shoulder. "He says there is an alternative to all this vengeance business. He says he can speak to the Jovians about what happened at their city and explain your situation. He can offer you a way out of this. A new life."
  
  Andrea chuckles cynically. "There's no way out of this, Esmeralda. She's my accomplice. Sandra, do you want to punish the people responsible for this or not?"
  
  > trust in Solon
  You feel queasy all of a sudden.
  
  "Are you with my or not?" asks Andrea.
  
  You suddenly look up at her. "You're a murderer. Mildred is dead. You were the one who bashed her head in with that chair."
  
  Andrea scowls at Solon. "So he told you that?"
  
  "And you gave Captain Harlan Zamora the security codes that allowed his ship to land on Lozano's Island. You had an ax to grind with my father; it's obvious you didn't care if he and my mother were killed. All in the name of vengeance, right?"
  
  Andrea shakes her head. "No, it wasn't about vengeance. I just wanted my sister, Janice, back. Like I told you, Sandra, you can deal with me as you see fit when this is all over. But the man who is actually responsible for your parents' murders is sitting at a table in this dinning room. Don't you want the satisfaction of ridding the universe of him?"
  
  Esmeralda makes more chirping sounds to Solon. He soon replies and she turns to you. "Solon says he is an ambassador from Mars. He can take you back to his home world and give you sanctuary. He also says you will have the option of explaining your side of things concerning the death of Mildred or of turning yourself in to the proper authorities if you feel that is better."
  
  Andrea makes an exasperated noise. "Fine! I don't need you. I can do this by myself, you stupid little bitch. And for the record, Sandra, I'm glad you're father is dead!" She turns on her heal and starts walking off.
  
  "I'll report you to the authorities," you call to her. "You're not getting away with this. None of you is."
  
  Andrea stops and looks at you. "What was that?"
  
  "You heard me."
  
  Andrea balls her hand into a fist and charges at your table.
  
  Before her swing can land on your face, Esmeralda intercepts her arm and latches onto her wrist with a steel claw.
  
  Andrea winces in pain, tears streaming down her eyes. "Let go of me, you stupid robot!"
  
  "I advice you leave young Mistress Sandra alone, Andrea," says Esmeralda.
  
  "To Hell with you, Esmeralda!" Andrea pulls a ray pistol out of her handbag and presses it to your temple. "I'll kill her! I swear I will."
  
  You feel a wave of arctic water spill through you.
  
  There's a jolt to your whole head and something flashes before your eyes. To your surprise, you see that Yuja has come up and kicked the pistol out of Andrea's hand. She grabs Andrea's gun arm and quickly pins it behind her back.
  
  "You'll stop this now," say Yuja.
  
  Esmeralda releases Andrea's wrist, giving Yuja the opportunity to knock Andrea to the floor and hold her down with one knee.
  
  Yuja looks up at you. "You need to contact hotel security, Sandra."
  
  "Given Sandra's current emotional state," says Esmeralda, "I think it best that I do that." Your robot scuttles through the wall of potted plants.
  
  You gasp and put your hand over your forehead. "This is too much excitement. Yuja, how'd you do that?"
  
  "I know Kung Fu, Sandra. My parents wanted me from an early age to be able to take care of myself."
  
  "God dammit!" screams Andrea. "Wherever they put me, Sandra, I swear I'll escape and then I'll come for you!"
  
  "You'd do well to shut your foolish mouth, Miss," says Yuja, tightening her grip on Andrea's arm.
  
  Soon Esmeralda returns with several security gaurds who handcuff Andrea and take her away. All this time, Solon seems to be talking to himself for some reason. The short, dark man with a mustache and a green blazer comes through the wall of potted plants. He identifies himself as the hotel detective and you tell him about John and his men.
  
  "Based on your description of him, Ma'am, I'm sure I'll be able to pick him out from the other guests," he says. "But what about you?"
  
  Solon makes a series of chirping sounds.
  
  Yuja smiles. "My employer says that Sandra is under his charge and he will take full responsibility for her. He is backed by the full authority of the Martian High Elders."
  
  "Well, this is all highly unusual," says the detective. "I'm not used to dealing with alien ambassadors. Stick around for now, folks. I'll be back in a few minutes to ask some more questions. You especially, young miss." He points to you. "I have a lot more to ask you."
  
  He walks off.
  
  "Don't worry, Sandra," says Yuja. "Solon will do everything in his power to keep you out of jail."
  
  You sigh. "I guess that's fine for me, but what about the war between Jupiter and Earth?"
  
  Yuja touches her hand to your shoulder. "There will be no war. Solon has already discussed the matter with the Jovians via the communicator about his neck. He has used his diplomatic skills to convince them that the events which transpired in the Jovian city were the actions of a crazed woman and her unwilling accomplice. They've checked the chair used to kill the stewardess and only found Andrea's fingerprints. If need be, Solon will argue to the Human authorities that you were acting under duress."
  
  You stare down at the table. "Maybe that gets me off the hook in some ways, but Mildred's death is still weighing on my conscious. I suppose it's just Catholic guilt rearing its ugly head, but I can't let go of this. I could have prevented her death."
  
  "My dear child," say Esmeralda, touching a claw to your arm, "you need put this behind you. All of it."
  
  You close your eyes and feel tears well up. Opening them, you smile sadly and say, "You're right, Esse. You're always right."
  
  The End