Land of the Giants: A Love Story
By JR Thomas
Chapter
Four: Interlude
The next morning the Spindrift seven enjoyed a brunch that, in their minds, was a combination of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter dinners, all rolled into one. Huge slabs of turkey were laid out before them on the main table. In fact, the meat, vegetables, and bread the giants had given them were so big that they ended up removing the tables from the lean-to and the passenger cabin in order to accommodate it all. Although the meal course was simple, the quantities were far more than they’d ever had since becoming stranded on the giant’s planet. For the first time in a long time, there were smiles on everyone’s faces.
Fitzhugh, sitting to the left of Steve Burton, patted him on the back. “Captain, I don’t know how I should ever repay you.” He spoke between taking big bites out of a giant slice of turkey. This is the best meal I’ve had since leaving Earth.” All at once he started coughing; his food obviously going down the wrong pipe.
“Hey, slow down Fitz”, Dan said in a friendly manner.
Fitzhugh recovered his composure and embarrassingly smiled while wiping large strands of meat from his face. Barry could be seen pulling chunks of his giant piece of bread and handing them to a grateful Chipper sitting at his feet.
“It’s too bad that we’ll have to end up throwing most of it out”, Betty noted regretfully. “Our small refrigeration unit will only be able to hold a fraction of all this.”
Dan looked at his wife. “Maybe we can get the giants to help us create a larger one”, he postulated.
Mark Wilson glanced at the Erickson couple. “If things continue the way they are, I don’t think food will ever be a problem again”, he noted confidently.
The engineer turned to Captain Burton. “Steve, it looks like we’ve hit pay dirt in agreeing to deal with the giants. I told you that we had nothing to worry about.”
Steve looked up from his food and gave the engineer a slight grin. “Yes Mark, it appears to be so far so good, but we’ve still got a long way to go to get back to Earth.”
“But you must admit Captain that we seem to be headed in the right direction”, Mark replied.
Valerie intruded on the conversation, changing the subject. “Hey Steve, so tell us about your giant girlfriend.” She gave him a coy smile.
Captain Burton dropped his arms on the table, obviously exasperated from her comment. He replied without looking at her. “Ms. Scott, when are you going to give it a rest?”
The others exchanged embarrassed smiles. Betty queried Captain Burton along the same lines, but in a less threatening manner. “Yes Steve, tell us about the giant woman that met you in the park. Was she nice?”
Steve looked around at the others. “If you must know, Miss Noor is a very kind and gracious lady. It is her we have to thank for preparing this meal.”
Fizthugh looked up from the chunk of potato he was in the process of devouring. “Yes Captain Burton, and please convey to her my heartfelt thanks for this grand repast”, he said somewhat formally.
Betty looked at the Captain from across the table. “Steve, I heard she was very pretty.”
He shook his head annoyingly and gave her an astonished look. “Not you too Betty; what does that have to do with anything? She’s a giant.”
“Yes Steve, you are right”, she replied. Betty and Valerie looked at each other, and Valerie winked.
Dan Erickson brought the subject back to more staid matters. “So Steve, what’s next on the agenda?”
Captain Burton wiped his mouth with a piece of giant handkerchief, looked at Dan, and then addressed the engineer. “Mark. You and I are meeting Sylvana tomorrow morning at the park and returning to Obek’s estate.”
Betty gazed at him. “Is that her name, Sylvana?”
“Pretty name”, Valerie added demurely.
Steve actually hadn’t meant to refer to Miss Noor by her first name, but did it without thinking. He immediately regretted doing so, however, because the two gossipy woman looked at him with even more curiosity.
“Captain”, Mark said.
“Yes Mark”, Steve replied.
“I guess that means I get to take a purse ride, huh?” Steve rolled his eyes, and the others burst out in laughter.
They continued enjoying their meal for the balance of the morning, and then took an early afternoon siesta while Steve stood watch outside. He comforted himself with the thought that he was rather looking forward to seeing the giant secretary again, though of course he would not admit that to the others.
*****************************
Sylvana Noor trotted up the path towards the park bench. She walked by Steve and Mark, hiding as they were behind the same tree that they had two days prior. The concrete reverberated slightly from her four foot high heels; “clack, clack, clack, clack…..” Steve’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and Mark shook his head incredulously. This time Sylvana was decked out in a very short miniskirt, with dark silky nylons and sexy black high heels.
Mark looked at Captain Burton and folded his arms. “Well Steve, it seems you must have made quite an impression on her.”
Steve ignored the engineer’s comment, partially because he had by now given up on trying to discourage the others’ kidding him about Sylvana, but mostly because he was spellbound by the incredibly sexy woman he was now beholding. To him, Sylvana’s incredibly shapely legs were downright intoxicating!
She reached the bench and then looked around to make sure no one else was in the area. “Steve, little people, it’s OK, you can come out now.”
Steve immediately got up and started walking towards the beautiful giant, as if drawn by some mythical siren’s call. After a moment Mark followed.
In a few seconds Sylvana spied the two little men approaching her. She peered down at them and smiled. “Good morning Steve.” She looked around briefly then continued. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
The pair stopped about five yards from her feet, and Steve looked up and answered. “Yes it is Sylvana, but its beauty is nothing compared to you.” Although he didn’t want to give Mark and the others more ammunition to use to rib him, he couldn’t help himself, she was just so gorgeous.
She looked down on the little men with an admiring glow, and then extended her arms slightly at both sides. “Do you like it Steve?”
“You’re magnificent Sylvana”, Steve replied.
Mark was taking in the whole scene with much disbelief. To him the idea of a giant woman parading before them was totally ridiculousness, no matter how attractive she was.
She folded her arms and moved her head slightly to the side. “Hey Steve, who’s your cute little friend?”
“Sylvana, I’d like to introduce Mark Wilson, our technical wiz.”
She grinned and waved. “Hi there Mark. I’ve heard a lot about you from Steve.”
The engineer continued to play through the whole scene with incredulity. “Oh really?” He replied caustically.
Much to Mark’s surprise the giant woman crouched down and sat on her heels in front of them. She jutted her legs to the side to prevent the little men from getting an immodest view, but even so, her skirt was forced up to the point where Steve and Mark were treated to a close-up view of the entire length of her nearest leg. The contour of her beautiful thigh curved down from the knee and then up to the bottom of her skirt in an elongated ellipse. Steve thought the site was absolutely breathtaking, and even Mark was impressed, though the idea made him feel more than a little uneasy.
The giant woman extended her right hand to Mark, who proceeded to awkwardly grasp her index finger with both hands. “Pleased to meet you Mark”, she said. Mark looked up at her while clutching her finger, but otherwise remained silent. In a moment Sylvana withdrew her hand, and Steve noticed that Mark looked like he’d seen a ghost.
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Remaining crouched; the giant secretary slid her purse from off her shoulder and set it down in front of the Earthmen. “Well my little friends, in you go”, she said playfully.
Unbuttoning the purse, she gently placed Steve and then Mark inside.
While riding in this giant, portable feminine enclave, Mark regained his senses and accosted Captain Burton in the darkness. “Steve, what’s going on with you two?”
“What do you mean Mark?” He replied over the low hum of the car engine.
“Steve, I don’t understand why you encourage such flirtatious behavior in her?” He sounded stern. “Good grief, the woman is a giant.” He paused for effect, and then continued. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a five-inch oddity; not much more than a mouse to her.”
Steve laughed. “Relax Mark, there’s nothing going on between us.”
“Well I’m glad to hear it Steve.” He didn’t sound terribly convinced.
Steve moved closer to him. Although he was pretty sure Sylvana couldn’t hear them locked away as they were in her purse, he didn’t want to take any chances. He spoke softly. “Now look, Mark………Sylvana is a very sweet lady…….I consider her a friend,” he said almost apologetically.
“What!” Mark exclaimed.
Steve put a finger to his lips. “Shhhhhhh”. He then pointed up in the direction of Sylvana. In an instant he continued. “You must admit Mark that we’ve been in a real bind since being stuck in this land of giants. We need all the friends we can get.”
“I guess Steve, but you should tread carefully. We don’t want anything jeopardizing the negotiations.”
Steve patted the engineer on the shoulder. “Don’t worry Mark.”
Steve sat back and they remained silent for the remainder of the trip. He thought that perhaps he had gotten a little carried away kissing Sylvana on the foot the other evening, but he chalked this up to the wine he’d had at the reception. Still in all, he had to admit that the sight of the beautiful giant in her sexy attire had aroused him greatly, and he looked forward to seeing and talking with her again today. He hoped he would get the opportunity.
*****************************
Mark looked up at the giant scientist standing next to the table. “Hey, look, are you sure this is going to work? Like I told you, I don’t think this alloy is the right ratio of metals.”
Grond Harko looked down at the tiny engineer. “Why of course it will, Mr. Wilson. Indeed, the materials you’ve suggested are perfect. They should improve the efficiency of our electrical conductors by several orders of magnitude, and alleviate our energy shortages. The Archon, and I might add, the High Council, will be most pleased.”
Mark put his hands on his hips. “Now look Grond, you have the right metals. All I’m saying is that I don’t think the proportions are quite right, and we don’t have much of an error margin to work with. We should try a higher ratio of polythene in the alloy.”
Captain Burton had been waiting in the wings assisting Mark as needed, and he joined the discussion. “Now look Grond, a bad ratio could fry the whole testing module.”
“My point exactly; we’d have to start over from scratch”, Mark noted.
The giant gave the little Earthmen a condescending look. “Nonsense, my calculations are perfect. Now don’t you worry your little heads.” He smiled patronizingly. “You two scurry off behind the shield; I’m going to test it now.”
Mark shook his head and spoke softly to Steve. “The giant is as stupid as he is big.” They exchanged wry smiles, and walked over to the 10x15 foot metal plate set up at the far side of the table for the little people’s protection.
Once they were behind the shield, the giant put on his visor and flipped the activation mechanism.
Nothing happened.
He flipped the switch again, and still nothing.
He flipped it back and forth several times, and then in frustration hit the switch box with his fist.
“KABOOM!”
Mark and Steve instinctively crouched down and covered their faces. The explosion, though no more than a large firecracker to the giant, was like a case of TNT to the tiny men. They could feel a gust of the wind generated from the explosion rush past them. The shield shook violently for a few seconds, but it managed to stay upright.
Some smoke was still lingering in the air when they walked out from behind the shield. Dr. Harko had a hand on his chin, and looked totally baffled as he peered at the now-ruined test machine.
“I don’t understand it”, he said to no one in particular. “It should have worked.”
Steve and Mark noticed some black soot on his white lab coat. They grinned at each other.
“Well Grond, I hate to say I told you so……..” Mark said.
“Point taken, Mr. Wilson”, he responded apologetically as he brushed the soot off his coat.
At that moment Sylvana entered the workshop. Steve watched the giant woman admiringly as she walked up to the work table where the two Earthmen were standing.
The secretary looked at the giant scientist. “Is everything alright? I thought I heard an explosion.”
Dr. Harko mumbled something about problems, and Mark spoke up. “We’ve had a little setback, Miss Noor, but nothing serious.”
Sylvana nodded with a grin as she too noticed the dark splotches on the scientist’s lab coat.
In her short skirt, a good portion of the giant secretary’s shapely thighs were showing as she lingered close to the table. If Mark Wilson noticed, he wasn’t letting on. Captain Burton, however, held his breath and put a hand over his chest. “Be still my beating heart”, he thought.
She looked at Harko and then at the Earthmen on the table. “I just came to tell you that lunch is served in the guest dinning room.”
Steve spoke up. “Great Sylvana, I’m famished!”
Harko turned to face the woman. “Thank you Miss Noor, but I have work to do”, referring to the ruined experiment
Mark looked at Steve, but spoke loudly so he could be heard by the giants. “Steve, why don’t you go along with Sylvana. Grond and I have a lot of work yet to do if we are going to be ready for another test before the day is over.”
Captain Burton looked surprised. Although definitely wanting to go with her, he felt his pride at stake. “But Mark, if you two are going to stay and work, then I should too.”
Mark touched Steve on the arm. “Don’t worry about it Steve. Grond and I have to prepare another conduction wire before fixing the test machine. I won’t be needing you for at least an hour.” He smiled secretively at Steve.
Steve nodded, though he was not sure he kenned the engineer’s intent.
Mark peered up at the secretary. “Miss Noor, why don’t you bring us something here to the workshop a little later?”
She crossed her arms and moved closer to the table. “That’s fine; it’s all sandwiches and cold food anyway.” The secretary leaned over slightly in the direction of the little men. “Are you ready Steve?”
Steve walked up to the edge of the table and pinned his arms to his side. Mark watched as Sylvana reached down and tenderly wrapped her huge fingers around him. As many times as he’d seen his Spindrift crewmates handled by the giants, or indeed been handled by them himself, the disconcerting spectacle never ceased to amaze him. Mark noted the care and gentleness in which she seemed to handle the Captain, and the way that he seemed to enjoy it. He shook his head in disbelief as she whisked him off the table and carried him out the door.
Mark and Grond couldn’t help admiring her shapely legs as she left the workshop. They looked at each other and smiled. Mark stretched out his arms to his sides and gave the giant a bewildered look.
*****************************
Archon Garm Obek was flabbergasted. Here it was the first real day of working with the Earthmen, and the High Council was already pestering him for a progress report. He had told them the little people had just started working with their own scientists on an improved power conducting system, and to mollify them he had said he expected rapid progress. Before letting him go they made him promise to prepare formal progress reports to be submitted to them at least twice weekly. He wiped his brow. More paperwork; that was all he needed!
Judging from the technical acumen of the little people in general and their engineer Mark Wilson in particular, he was reasonably confident that rapid progress would be made on the project. At least he hoped so. He needed just one little victory to show the High Council that working amicably with the little people was a good idea. He shuddered to think, however, what would happen if there were setbacks and the High Council started to grow impatient. He had nightmares of them rescinding on the agreement and sending big-booted SID men and that dreadful Inspector Kobick to confiscate the little people.
Garm needed fresh air. He took some paperwork off of his desk and headed for the upstairs patio. It was his favorite place in the whole estate, and he always went there whenever he was feeling harried.
Garm could here Sylvana talking as he approached the patio. Judging from her laughter and the overall tone of her voice, she seemed to be altogether enjoying herself. He smiled, wondering who it was that was keeping her so entertained.
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When he entered the veranda, he was quite surprised to see Sylvana sitting at the round patio table talking animatedly to apparently no one. As he got closer, however, the source of her attentions came into view. Sitting in front of her on an overturned coffee mug was Captain Burton. They were having lunch and she was showing him some photographs.
“Good afternoon Sylvana, Captain Burton. Enjoying the beautiful day, are we?”
Sylvana was surprised by Obek’s abrupt entrance. She started to get up, but Obek motioned her to remain seated.
“Hello Gar……Archon”, she said with a tinge of nervousness in her voice. “It was such a nice day that Steve and I thought we’d have lunch out here.”
“Yes, quite right”, Obek replied, trying his best to sound casual.
The secretary continued. “I was just showing him pictures of Gard and Tarla.”
Steve got up from his coffee mug seat and started slowly pacing the table, but otherwise remained silent.
Obek put his hands in his pockets. He hesitated for a moment, trying to think of something to say. “So how are your children, by the way?”
“They are still away at university and doing very well thank you.” She smiled.
“Good, good”, Obek replied, doing his best to show sincere interest. He peered around at the tiny Earthman. “So Captain Burton, how is the conductor project coming?”
Steve walked to the edge of the table and looked up at the giant politician. “Well Archon, we had a slight setback this morning, but Mark thinks we should have a successful test by the end of the day.”
Obek’s face brightened considerably. “Why that’s great news Captain!”
Steve turned around and faced Miss Noor. “Sylvana, speaking of which, I guess I’d better be getting back to the workshop. Mark might be needing my help about now.”
“Yes dea…...” Sylvana paused nervously for second and quickly corrected herself. “……Steve.”
Steve walked up onto her flat palm. Cupping the tiny man in her hands, Obek’s secretary then got up from her seat. “Ta ta for now Archon”, she said cheerily.
He nodded to her as she started walking out of the veranda, and then called to her as she reached the interior door. “Oh, Sylvana.” The woman stopped and turned around.
“I like your new Spring attire.” He gave her a mildly catty grin. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a miniskirt, but he had to admit that at 42 she filled it better than many younger women.
“Thank you Archon.” She smiled brightly, gave him a wink, and proceeded out the door.
Obek sat down on his big oak chair and placed his work papers on his lap. He reflected for a moment on the curious encounter with Sylvana and Steve. If he didn’t know any better, he would say that the two seemed quite fond of each other. I guess that’s OK, at least, I think it is, he thought. No harm I suppose. “Hmmmmph”, he grunted and shook his head from side to side. He started leafing though his reports, but the warmth of the sun combined with the cool breeze was just too relaxing. He dozed off into a short nap within five minutes.
*****************************
Later that afternoon Fitzhugh and Barry brought the cart up to the rendezvous point, and after waiting nearly an hour they were starting to worry when Sylvana finally arrived just after dusk with Steve, Mark, and another care package in her purse. She unloaded the little men, and then placed the package on the cart. After exchanging farewells with Sylvana, the four Earthmen lugged the cart back to the Spindrift camp. It was well after dark by the time they arrived. Although they had a standing rule against campfires most of the time, the low intensity light emanating from the Spindrift was enough to at least partially illuminate the general area.
Dan, Betty, and Valerie filed out of the Spindrift to great them.
“How did it go guys?” Dan asked.
Mark answered him, sounding slightly winded from the trip. “It was touch and go for a while, but by late afternoon we were finally able to successfully test a better electrical conducting material for them.”
“Really, I hope they were appreciative of it”, Valerie said.
Captain Burton joined the discussion. “The Archon seemed to be very pleased.” He looked at the load on the cart. “As you can see, they’ve provided us with some supplies.”
“But more importantly, now that we’ve completed a project for them, it’s their turn to help us with something”, Mark added.
This aroused Betty’s curiosity. “How so Mark?”
The engineer folded his arms across his chest and smiled. “I’ve asked them to help us with the reactor shielding, and they’ve agreed.”
The others broke out in joy, and the girls walked up to Mark and hugged him. Valerie gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. “That’s my Mark”, Valerie purred.
Dan slapped him on the back. “Way to go Mark!”
“So when do we leave for Earth?” Fitzhugh asked in total seriousness.
“Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves Fitz”, Steve said. “We still have a long way to go before we can think about that.”
Mark looked at the Captain. “True Steve, but it is a significant first step.”
Fitzhugh beamed. “All in all, this is the best news we’ve had in many a day. We should celebrate with some more of the food the giants gave us.”
“I’m pretty tired, I think I’ll pass”, Mark replied.
Steve concurred. “It’s been a long day, I think we should turn in”, he said in a semi-official tone.
“Captain Burton, aren’t we going to see what the giants gave us?” Barry asked.
Steve looked at the boy. “Barry, we’re all very tired, why don’t we wait until morning? It’ll still be here.”
The girls spoke up in Barry’s support. “Ah come one Steve. Let’s see what’s in it”, they implored.
“Yes Captain. There’s no time like the present”, Fitzhugh added.
Steve sighed and threw up his hands. “Alright, alright, I give up.”
 |
Barry, Fitzhugh, and the girls smiled with anticipation as they all walked over to the cart to see what the giants had given them this time. The bundle was wrapped in what looked like part of a paper bag, with some string securing it on all sides. Rather than untie it, Steve found it more expedient to break the string in several places with his makeshift razorblade ax. Once the string was loosened, they found it easy to unravel the paper from the top.
Barry, Betty, Valerie and Fitzhugh started removing items from the pile, with Steve, Mark, and Dan looking on.
Barry with all his strength pulled out a giant AA-sized battery. He stood it upright and it nearly came up to his chest.
“Well, I should be able to use that to help recharge the Spindrift’s lighting and air conditioning”, Mark noted approvingly.
The girls produced a couple of colored handkerchiefs, larger than blankets. Valerie wrapped a light blue one around herself in sarong fashion as the men looked on approvingly.
“Hey look!” Dan exclaimed. He pulled out a large folded section of dark cellophane-like material.
Fitzhugh looked confused. “Just what are we supposed to do with that, Mr. Erickson?”
Dan turned to face him. “Fitzhugh, it’s too bad your imagination isn’t as big as your waistline.” He grinned at his own joke. “We can use this to reinforce the roofing on the lean-to’s.”
The former con-artist looked at him with mild displeasure. “There’s no need to get personal, Mr. Erickson.”
“Hey, look at this”, Betty said with a touch of excitement in her voice. She moved towards the captain. “Steve, I think this is for you.”
The others dropped the items they were handling and moved close to the stewardess. She was holding a semi-flat, circular object wrapped in paper, and written on the paper in large ink letters was the word “Steve”.
A puzzled looked came across Captain Burton’s face, and after a moment he took the object from Betty and slowly unwrapped it. Once it was clearly visible, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind what it was.
Mark, Dan, and Fitzhugh grinned. Betty and Valerie barely held back from giggling. Barry for his part remained expressionless, standing silently with Chipper now cradled in his arms. The object brought back memories of Shiva Torridge to the boy. Steve looked a little sheepish and a lot embarrassed, and he placed the object on the table.
Steve recognized it right away as one of the rings that Sylvana had worn at the reception. He remembered admiring it as she carried him around in her hands. It had a smooth gold surface, and centered in the ring was huge diamond larger than his fist. The diamond reflected the dim reddish light emanating from the Spindrift, causing it to radiate with an eerily enchanting glow.
Everyone stood around the table staring at the giant ring, and Mark eventually broke the awkward silence. “Well Steve, either Miss Noor has sent this as something to be used in repairing the ship…..” He paused. “……..or she’s got a crush on you.”
Betty smiled. “Do you like her Steve?” She said in all seriousness.
Steve just stood their, alternately regarding the luminous ring on the table and his crewmates standing around him. He was on the spot and he knew it. He briefly thought of getting all belligerent and denying everything, but he figured what’s the use?
Steve put his hands on his hips. “Now look, Miss Noor is a very kind and caring lady, and she is very sympathetic to our plight. She’s probably the best ally we have on the planet next to Archon Obek.”
Valerie, ever the troublemaker, couldn’t pass up an opportunity. “But a diamond ring Steve? Where I come from that mean’s quite a lot.” She paused for a moment and crossed her arms. “But tell me Steve, aren’t you a bit compact for her?” She winked, and Mark, Dan, Valerie, and Betty broke out in laughter.
“Don’t be ridiculous Valerie.” Steve said crossly. “We’re just friends; leave it at that.”
She smiled and nodded her head as if to say, “yeah, sure, whatever you say”. The others continued to regard Steve with much gaiety.
Dan spoke up in an attempt to support his Captain and friend. He addressed the others. “So what if she does like Steve? That means she’ll be all the more willing to help us. Right?”
“Yes, and she could influence other giants to think well of us”, Betty added in support of her husband and Steve.
Mark looked at the captain. “Be that as it may Steve, with the deal we’re now getting into with the giants, I’d be careful about mixing business and pleasure.”
Steve had had enough. He gave the engineer an irritated glance, and then headed into the Spindrift in a fit of pique.
Latter on after everyone had gone to bed; Steve came back out into the cool night air and sat down at the table. He gently caressed the smooth surface of the ring; larger in diameter than one of his legs. He thought about Sylvana, and what this moderately bold gesture on her part seemed to imply. He did indeed like her, and she evidently liked him. As much as this pleased Steve, for obvious reasons it also troubled him.
*****************************
It was
Dektora slipped back into her velvet halter top and leopard miniskirt, and sauntered around her elegantly furnished abode. She made her way over to the kitchen and poured herself another glass of wine. The first class she was scheduled to teach the next day didn’t start until the early afternoon, so she didn’t have to go to bed right away. In any case Dr. Lefay was the youngest professor to have tenure at the university, so she could pretty much come and go as she pleased.
With drink in hand, Dektora unhurriedly strolled over to her study and opened the door. She turned on the lights and entered the room. For all intents and purposes it was your typical academic’s study resplendent with large desk and shelves of books. There was one important difference, however. The room contained her private collection of Earth artifacts, amassed from years of studying the Earthmen. To the casual observer it would have appeared to be a collection of toy models, dollhouse furniture, and doll clothes. They were in fact, however, the real things, worn and used by the tiny men and women of Earth. Doctor Lefay had obtained most of the artifacts from archeological expeditions which had uncovered Earth spacecraft that had landed, or more often crashed on Brobdinia.
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Dektora strolled over to the
corner of the room where a small, low coffee table was situated. She looked down admiringly. On the table was Dr. Lefay’s
prized possession; a complete Earth spacecraft that had landed on Brobdinia largely intact.
It was an odd looking thing about a foot-and-a-half high, with four spider-like
lander legs underneath a spherical crew
compartment. She set her drink down next
to it, and leaning over slightly, grasped the sides of the sphere with both
hands and slowly picked up the spacecraft.
She still marveled at how relatively light the craft was. She would have to ask Obek’s
little people about the metal used in its construction. This reminded her that she would also have to
ask about the letters “
Gently setting the spacecraft back on the table, she walked over the to a large multi-shelved display cabinet containing numerous Earth artifacts. She glanced over the tiny chairs, plates, drinking glasses, silverware, and other sundries, and her eyes came to rest on a complete wardrobe of Earth clothing. She bent over slightly to see the tiny clothes better, and after a moment found what she was looking for. She picked up a tiny man’s bathrobe, no more than a couple of inches long. Dektora loved the feel of the soft material in her fingers. She pinched each side of the tiny sleeves between her thumbs and index fingers, and holding it up to her eyes marveled at the exquisitely embroidered snake-like creature-with-legs design on the back. She lingered for a moment, thinking how she’d love to see little Captain Burton in this bathrobe.
Thinking of Captain Burton reminded Dektora of something very near and dear to her heart. After all this time studying the little people, what still eluded her was a real live little man to complete her collection. She set the tiny bathrobe down and closed the glass display cabinet. Picking up her wine goblet, she finished off her drink. “Yes”, she thought, “I need to call Archon Obek in the morning and see how soon I can get an interview with Captain Burton”.
Dektora presently retired for the evening, and her last thought before falling asleep was that if she could somehow get Captain Burton all to herself, then she would never need another one of those big oafs again. She slept with a smile on her face.
*****************************
The next several days saw a marked increase of activity in the life of Sylvana Noor; personal assistant to Archon Garm Obek. Between chaperoning the little people to and from the rendezvous point in the park, looking after their needs while at the estate, requisitioning supplies for the scientists and engineers working with the little people, and doing all this while still managing Archon Obek’s office and schedule, she didn’t know if she was coming or going.
She wouldn’t have things any other way though. For one thing, she was a consummate professional. She loved her job and loved working for Garm Obek, and took her responsibilities very seriously. More importantly however, she loved being around Captain Burton. He was kind, considerate, sympathetic, athletic, witty, intelligent, and exceedingly handsome; everything she craved in a man. These mental meanderings caused her to stop typing the supply order she was currently working on, and she stared off into space. There was one small problem with Captain Burton, Sylvana thought. She sighed.
Sylvana was shaken from her reverie by the ringing of the phone. She picked it up. “Archon Obek’s office, Miss Noor speaking.”
A familiar voice greeted her. “Good afternoon Miss Noor, this is Deputy Chief Brazen,” the man said glibly.
She hadn’t thought about her erstwhile boyfriend in a few days, and it caught her off guard. She replied nervously. “Why…..why…..ah……Tor. How are you?”
“Great, now that I’ve finally got a hold of you”, the man replied somewhat tersely. He continued. “Where have you been Sylvana? I’ve been trying for days to reach you at home, but either you’re not there or you don’t pick up, so I thought I’d try calling you at work.”
This was a conversation that she would have preferred avoiding, but she did her best to humor him. “I’m sorry Tor, I’ve been really busy lately. The Archon has me helping him with some very important projects.”
There was silence for a moment, and then it dawned on him what must be going on. “Hey, wait a minute. I saw Bertha Frye’s interview with the Archon.” He started turning irate. “I smell those dratted little people!”
Tor’s tone gave Sylvana a paranoid rush. How could he know of her friendship with Captain Burton? Her heart started racing. “Wha, what are you saying Tor?” She responded nervously.
“Come off it Sylvana. I wasn’t born yesterday.”
Here it comes, Sylvana thought. She mentally braced herself.
Brazen continued. “Obek is working with the little people on God knows what, and you’re helping him!”
Miss Noor breathed a sigh of relief that what Tor was thinking was not what she was thinking, and she regained her composure. “Now look Tor, you’re being unreasonable. You don’t know what you’re talking about”, she said calmly in her best professional tone. “The little people have already helped us on an important energy conservation project, and who knows what else they will be able to do for us.”
“Well Sylvana, I’ll believe that when I see it.”
She thought she’d better attempt to wrap up this unpleasant conversation. “Tor, you’re going to get me in trouble with the Archon. I shouldn’t be taking long personal calls at work, and I shouldn’t be talking about the little people.”
 |
“Alright honey, but when are we going to get together again? If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you’ve been avoiding me”, he added in an exasperated tone.
“Don’t be silly Tor.” Like I’ve said, I’ve been very busy.” She paused to catch her breath. “Now look Tor, give me a few days, and then maybe things will settle down and we can go out next week.” She tried sounding a little sexy to placate him, but she knew she was being insincere.
“OK Sylvana, but just remember that I will be very disappointed if we don’t see each other again soon.”
“Don’t worry Tor. Everything will be back to normal once things settle down around the Archon’s office”, she said with false warmth. “Goodbye.”
She thought she could here him start to say something else as she hung up the phone.
“Jerk!” she said under her breath.
Sylvana hated the way he was always trying to bully and dominate her. She hated herself for trying to lead him on when she knew damned well that she was in no hurry to see him again. A single tear streamed down her eye, and she wiped it off. She needed to find the courage to break up with Tor, she thought. Actually, that idea had been running around her mind for some time now, but she hadn’t had the courage yet to do it.
Sylvana needed a break to settle down from Tor’s distracting call. She grabbed her purse, and then got up from her desk and headed for the ladies powder room. Upon arriving there she faced the long and wide mirror, then retrieved the brush from her purse and started stroking her reddish-brown locks. This put her in a more relaxed frame of mind, and she reflected on things.
Sylvana thought how she really must be getting paranoid to think that initially she had thought Tor suspected her of seeing the tiny Earthman Captain Burton. She was being silly. After well, there was nothing going on between them, and in any case how would Tor know? A frown crept up on her face. She knew that she was rationalizing, because although Sylvana and Steve had done nothing other than a few moments of mild flirtation, she knew in her heart that she wanted the tiny man. The other evening when he had kissed her foot, it had been all she could do to restrain herself from scooping him up, tearing his clothes off, and smothering his tiny body with kisses. She continued brushing her thick, sensuous hair. Sylvana felt some guilt because she thought that deep down something must be wrong with her to desire a man who was not much bigger than a mouse. She knew for certain, however, that she really liked Steve in the same way that a normal-sized woman cared for a normal-sized man. She was so happy whenever he was around; he made her feel special, and besides, she loved handling his tiny body. She sighed heavily. Let the chips fall where they may, she thought.
As so often happens in the fortunes of people whether on Earth or Brobdinia, Mother Nature and circumstances would soon conspire to present Miss Sylvana Noor and Captain Steve Burton with an extraordinary opportunity.