The Polaris


Christmas Special

By Aves D
Grate, Emanon Historian 

(Oh, admit
it, you know me!)

jenjes@simcoe.igs.net

"This is a Christmas
special. We call it a Christmas special

because it's Christmas, and you're special!"

-George Bowser



The pair of telekinetics walked out of the church.
Major Michelle Rando immediately made for her car, followed by
Mike Smith, her companion. They both buckled up and the car asked,
"Please state destination." 

"Home," Michelle stated. The car started and coursed
away from the church.

"Six more days," said Mike, trying to make conversation
with the disgruntled major, "Are you done your shopping?"


"Ha!" Michelle laughed, looking over to him, her head
against the window, "I still have to shop for Vic, you, Laura,
Marc, and Jacque."

"You got something for Ricky and Hellbender? They seen really
hard to shop for. I still have to get something for my brother,
sister, mother, the two ensigns, and uhh . . . you." Mike
said nervously.

Michelle shrugged, closing her eyes, "We'll have to take
the next flight to Canada or America. We'll go shopping there."


The car's computer beeped, "Incoming message from Polaris
High Command."

Michelle sat up, "Activate holoscreen."

The holographic image of Admiral Derek Thompson appeared in front
of them, "Good morning Major," he nodded towards Michelle,
and then to Mike, "Commander. I've just gotten a disturbing
message from one of our Outposts up by the northern ice cap. Apocalypse
has been spotted up there with Prince Fuego and we think they're
up to something."

"Oh, god!" Michelle held her forehead, "The Mistress
of Doom and Swedish Flame-boy, what a mix."

"Don't they have family?" Mike asked, "'tis the
season to be jolly! And that's very hard to do with either of
them."

"Commander," the admiral said, "We have an immortal
bitch and Swedish bastard, I don't think they care for family
or Christmas."

"Happy Hanukah, Admiral. Rando out," Michelle departed
from the admiral with a short salute.

"That's the one thing about being in Polaris High Command,
you hafta work through holidays," Mike said, shaking his
head.

Michelle slapped his forehead, "You've been possessed, have
had unauthorized genetic tests done on you, and have gone through
dimensional portals to meet hostile aliens, not to mention wage
wars with alien civilizations, and you're upset because you have
to work Christmas?!"

"Well, yeah!" Mike admitted, "It's
not that bad . . . we're the good guys, we have to win all the
wars! Or else people won't read!"

"Read what?" Michelle asked annoyingly.

"Never mind, the point is that Fate is on our side, and with
it, we always win!"

"I just wish Fate would leave us the hell alone!" Michelle
snarled.

"Face it, when it's in female form, it's sexy," Mike
said.

"Mike! Do you have the hots for Fate?" she asked, raising
her eyebrows.

Mike smiled evilly, "No, but I have the hots for you!"
he pounced on her and laid a kiss on her cheek. Michelle giggled
and said, "Mike, please! I'm driving!" 

"Nice try, sir," Mike saluted momentarily.

Major Rando pushed him off her, "Stop it! Oh, damn. We have
to call everybody for the mission. Maybe they'll be happy to go
to the North Pole around Christmas."

"Doubt it," Mike said, "You're calling them!"


"No way! I had to call them at Thanksgiving, both Canadian
and American, you do Christmas."

"No, I did Easter and Halloween."

"I did Ricky's mother's birthday and Sam and Nella's father's
birthday, you're doing Christmas, Smith."

"Yeah, but I did Larry's wife's birthday."

"Damn, can't top that."

"Ha!"

"Laura, come on. Gimme a break! If we're lucky
we'll be back two days before Christmas Eve, giving us three days
for last minute shopping. If you come . . . I'll get you that
CD you wanted!" Michelle was having a hard time convincing
her second officer to go with her on the Christmas mission.

"Michelle," Commander Laura Williams argued, "When's
the last time we've been lucky? When Apocalypse and Feugo are
involved, we are seldom lucky."

"Please?" It was Michelle's last hope.

There was a moment of silence, "Oh, all right. But you owe
me!"

"I'll add it onto my tab."

"Yes, Jacque, we'll be able to make snow-angels
up at the North Pole. Won't it be fun?!" she tried to add
a flare of excitement to the last comment.

The holographic image of Lieutenant Commander Jaques Pilliar nodded,
"Wonderful try, Michelle. Really, this one was better than
Thanksgiving, the Canadian one. But I promised my sister I'd go
Christmas shopping with her and her son."

"Do you need further reason?" Michelle asked.

"Shut up," Jacque said, and he hung up.

Michelle smiled and checked his name off the list, she knew him
well enough.

"But Larry," Michelle whined, "You
didn't come Thanksgiving."

"But I did come on my wife's birthday, and she was really
pissed off then. If I go for Christmas I'll come home to find
my clothes outside in suitcases with a note saying, 'Sorry, pal.'
I'm not going."

Michelle could tell by the tone of his voice that that was final,
but she gave it one last shot, "For me . . . buddy?"


"Nice touch, Major, but no!"

"Look, I realize, really I do, that you want
to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'
but Ricky, we need you! We'll be going to the North Pole, we need
someone with hydro . . . whatever you people call it."

Michelle was talking to Ricky through the telephone instead of
the holophone. 

"Hydrokinetic . . . oh, never mind, that's not the point,"
Ensign Richard Valentine said, "The point is that this is
really, really special to me, and I'm not going to drop
it when PHC snaps their fingers. They're not paying any of us
and they can't tell us what to do."

"Actually. They can." Said Michelle.

If she had seen him she would have seen his head shaking, "No,
they can tell us what they want us to do. We choose whether
we're going to do it or not."

"Ricky," Michelle was growing tired and annoyed, "Just
tell me if you're comin' or not." It was more of a question.


There was sigh from the other end of the line, "I guess so
. . . but you realize that if it was anyone else I wouldn't."


"Thanks, Ricky."

"No."

"Sam," Michelle said, "You must come, we need more
people."

"Sorry, Miche. I'll be a no show," Lieutenant Sam Fletcher
replied.

"Me niether," his sister, Lieutenant Nella Fletcher,
agreed with him.

"Nella, I can't to anything to make you come. But Sam, you
owe me," Michelle pointed at the holographic image of Sam.


"I do not," Sam said, creasing his eyebrows.

Michelle smiled and tilted her head, "Las Vegas? Blackjack
table?" she smiled again.

Sam turned to his sister, "Sorry."

Ensign Loraine Churstian, who always went by the
name Hellbender, was giving herself a manicure when she was called
by Michelle.

The holophone on the table lit up, "Visual call from Major
Michelle Rando."

"Activate holoscreen," Hellbender ordered. The image
of Michelle appeared above the phone. 

"Hi Hellbender, Merry Christmas," Michelle said.

Hellbender nodded, "Hey, Miche. What's up?" 

"Oh, nothing. Just, some o' the guys and I were taking a
two or three-day trip to the North Pole and we wondered if you
wanted to join us."

"Vamirie, Apocalypse, or Fear?" Hellbender asked, smiling.


"Apocalypse . . . and Prince Feugo," Michelle answered.


Hellbender tilted her horned head for a moment, "Refresh
my memory."

"Red, flaming cape, brown hair, weird eyes . . ."

"Oh yeah," Helbender smiled and nodded, "Right,
he's cute."

Michelle shook her head, "You comin'?" 

"Of course, sweetie," Hellbender smiled, filing her
nails, "Why would I miss a mission involving a woman bent
on the depression of you and a sex-crazed bisexual? It's too much
fun!"

"Of, speaking of fun, you're invited to a Christmas party
at my place. Christmas Eve, Air Stronghold."

Hellbender took a gulp of some odd-coloured liquid, "I'll
be there, I'll make my chili. So, when do we leave?"

Mike fell onto the bed in the hotel beside Michelle,
"So, how'd it go?"

Michelle closed her eyes, " Not icluding you and me, five
people are coming," she sighed, "This sucks. We have
to leave for the North Pole, plus, I still have to do stuff for
my party! Oh, do you wanna come? You can invite your family, too.
The Air Stronghold can hold three-hundred, seventy-six point five-seven
people in the party room alone."

"Yeah, speaking of which, will we be taking a Stealther or
is PHC providing a vessel?" Mike asked.

"We're taking the Mechknight. It's an arctic walker.
Apparently, Laura had some experience with one in the Russian
war," Michelle answered, lying down fully on the bed, she
blew her bangs away from her face.

"Seven people against Apocalypse and Feugo, how interesting
this will be."

The Mechknight was far from lovely. It had
two thirty foot metallic legs with a torso that didn't have much
artistic talent to it either. It was abut ten feet high, with
some massive rockets fused to its back and two "arms"
level with the "head," which served as the control and
command area. The right arm had a scanner, and other science equipment,
the left arm had laser turrets and missile launchers. 

The seven members hoped to god that their mission wouldn't be
too long, as their quarters were one room with a whole lot of
bunks. This room was located behind the command area. 

It was evident to see that both Mike and Laura had gotten in there.
There was mistletoe hanging over the two chairs in which Mike
and Michelle were to sit, garlands of cedar and holly laced the
windows and control consoles, and a pair of poinsettias were set
up by each door. Also, seven stockings with the names, Michelle,
Jacque, Dam, Ricky, Hellbender, Laura and Mike were hung up around
the tactical station. Laura's station, the helm and navigation,
had little silver bells all around it, and a nativity scene had
been set up at the science console, Sam's station. Hellbender
had an Advent wreath on a shelf by her console, and the moment
she walked in the four candles ignited with a small splatter of
wax.

Michelle seated herself in the Captain's Chair. although she was
a major by rank, she headed the team's missions, while their Captains,
Terry Brooks and Avery Farrell, and the Colonel, Kurtis Enjelssing,
supplied the information and layout of their attack plans and
missions. 

Mike sat down in the chair for the first officer, he averted his
eyes to the ceiling and then to Michelle, "Note the mistletoe?"


Michelle glanced at the parasitic plant hanging from the ceiling,
"Mike I'm not in the mood."

Mike grabbed her head and pulled her towards him, kissing her
full and long on her lips (I'm not sure if there was tongue).
Michelle pushed him away and he fell back in his seat smiling.


The major glanced at him, "Oh, hell with the mood."
She jumped at him and knocked him off his seat with her.

Since fate hates them, the view-screen switched on at that precise
moment. Admiral Derek Tompson didn't say anything for a few awkward
seconds, "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.

"Technically," said Mike.

"Where's my bra strap?" Michelle yelled, crawling around
the floor.

Mike shrugged, "I didn't know it snapped off so easily.

"Excuse me!" Derek shouted, annoyed.

"Got it!" exclaimed Michelle, holding a white elastic
strap up in front of the view-screen. Derek smiled and nodded
momentarily, "Thanks so much for sharing that."

Michelle frowned and threw the strap away, "Yes, sir?"


"I'm just going to page Terry and Avery through here. It's
only gonna take a second so don't start anything. They'll give
you a debriefing and put through the schematics for the mission."


Michelle and Mike nodded and looked at each other. Laura swiveled
her chair and rose an eyebrow, smiling mischievously, "No
one's in the bunk if that's-"

"Don't even say it, Laura," Jacque said from the upper
level.

Laura shrugged, smiled again, and turned her chair back to the
control panel as Terry Brooks and Avery Farrell appeared on screen
in their full Polaris High uniform. Terry sighed and shook her
head, "Major, you're going to the North Pole and wearing
a tank top?"

Michelle spread her arms wide and smiled, "Note everybody
else?"

Avery and Terry looked at each other and then at the T-shirt,
tank top, and short clad bridge crew. Avery rolled his eyes and
read from a pad, while he was speaking, a small schematic map
came into the top left hand corner of the rectangular projection.


"Apocalypse has used Feugo to melt away a large chunk of
snow into a valley, so she and him have a base which is pretty
well hidden. Our intelligence specks show the exact location of
the base. Apocalypse doesn't expect that anybody will be coming,"
Avery was soon interrupted.

"Why not?" asked Ricky.

"Because, Ensign," Terry answered, "It's Christmas,
she thinks that everybody will be at home."

The entire crew sighed as they heard the word . . . home. Avery
tried to comfort them, "C'mon, guys. All you have to do is
get in there, clean them up, and send them home. Once you guys
storm in they'll probably retreat anyway."

"Anyway," said Terry, desperate to change the subject,
"If you attack with Mechknight from the south side
and just blast your way in. They'll probably retreat and you'll
be able to come home."

"What are they doing?" asked Jacque.

"We're not entirely sure," said Avery, "they're
building something, we've verified that they have people bringing
them supplies. By what they've brought in it looks like a heavily
armed transport of some kind. We haven't been able to tell the
full purpose of this machine, but if Apocalypse and Feugo are
involved I'll bet that it isn't a giant hologram saying 'Season's
Greetings.'"

Hellbender turned from her station to look at the two captains.
"What if we see Santa?"

All eyes turned to her. "I'm kidding!" the pyrokinetic
reassured them.

There was an audible sigh of relief and Terry and Avery began
to finish up. "We're coming to your party, Michelle. I'm
bringing my wife and my brother, is that OK?"

"The more the merrier!" Michelle exclaimed, spreading
her arms wide.

"Me too," said Terry, "My boyfriend, his kid, and
my sister."

Michelle nodded, "Whoo! This is gonna be a hell of a catering
bill."

Mike swept Michelle up and dipped her as if they were dancing,
"Will you be leaving now."

"Good, an excuse," Terry said. Their image faded off
the holographic screen.

Laura put on her headset and on and held it to her ear, "Permission
to ignite rockets."

"Permission to be granted, please wait," one of the
people working at the dock answered her, "Opening hatch."


The crew looked up through the skylight to see the hatch open
up and sunlight coming pouring in. The docking guy spoke again,
"Hatch opened successfully, ignition granted."

Laura immediately flicked some switches and punched in some codes,
"Ignition sequence activated. Ignition in ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Rockets activated, inputting
coordinates. Navigation sequence initiated."

The Mechknight's rockets flared and in a puff of flame
the jetpacks were spewing out a straight stream of fire. The mechanical
mass began to float up through the hatch, and then, in another
burst of flame, it rocketed off northward.

The dual doors of the bunk slid open and a bright
shaft of light cut through the darkness as a silhouette appeared,
saying, "We're theeeeeeeeere."

Michelle squinted, letting her eyes adjust to the massive change
of lighting, "Mike . . . I'm hungry . . . let's have sex."


"Later," Laura said, switching on the lights. The five,
formerly sleeping occupants moaned and awoke with a start. Hellbender
rolled over and fell off her bunk to the foot of Ricky's bed.
The hydrokinetic looked over the side groggily, "But mom,
it's Christmas Holidays, I don't have to go to school."

Hellbender pushed him back up into his bed and got up off the
floor, brushing herself off.

Sam looked at Laura in the doorway momentarily, and then buried
his head under his pillow. Laura picked up the alarm clock (that
hadn't been set to go off at all) and flung it at Sam. It hit
his pillow, and a muffled "ouch" followed. 

Michelle staggered, squinting and with a strap of her bra hanging
down, "Where exactly are we?"

"Sittin' on top o' the world, major," Laura smiled,
"I've brought up a schematic of where we are and where Apocalypse
is."

The holoscreen activated and a blue map. There was a small cube
(coloured green and red, as Michelle soon noticed) and about a
foot from it a large excavation with a large white, blinking dot
in the middle of it, undoubtedly the headquarters of Apocalypse
and Feugo.

"If we take the ground, we should bypass any sensors and
get there by morning," said Laura.

"Make it so," Michelle said, pulling her bra strap around
her shoulder and rubbing her eyes, "Oh, damn. I need a shirt,
don't I?"

Jacque shrugged from his post a tactical, "I'm not sure about
uniform regulations, but I'll make a bet . . ."

Hellbender smiled sarcastically, "My cousin the failed comedian
called, he wants his joke back."

Jacque pushed her gently, but with her groggy disposition, she
fell flat in front of the door at the precise moment that Sam
was walking out. Inevitably, he tripped over her. He got up on
his hands and knees and glared at the pyrokinetic, who grinned
broadly.

Mike was pulling his shirt on when he came and sat down in his
chair. He stuck the gold bat, the Commander's pip, and looked
up out the skylight, "Michelle, you said we'd make snow angels."


Michelle slipped on her tank and sat down beside him, putting
on the Major's sign of rank, the gold claw, "Mike, sweetie,"
she said, patting his face, "That comes after we save
the world, OK, honey?"

Mike smiled drunkenly.

"Got it!" Hellbender called from behind them.

Mike and Michelle got up and turned to look at her. Michelle ran
to the upper level and joined Hellbender at the targeting array,
"Where?" she asked, scanning the screen for the excavation.


Hellbender pointed to a image that looked like a big footprint
in the snow, "There."

Michelle turned and walked back to her seat, "Jacque . .
."

"Already on it, Major," the Commander responded, "Targeting
quantum missiles to excavation."

"Fire."

At the push of a button Jacque sent six bright projectiles speeding
to the sight of the hole. There was an explosion and a flying
of snow as the missiles collided with the earth. At the explosion
there was a shock wave, but, a small, crescent-shaped ship seemed
to travel with it. It's razor-sharp edge was speeding directly
at the legs of the Mechknight.

"Laura!" shouted Michelle.

Laura's hands were a blur across her panel, "Got it covered,"
she said, catching her breath, "igniting rockets."

The rockets flared and Mechknight flew into the air, moments
before the ship rushed by. Still travelling in the same direction,
it swiveled and shot at the Mechknight. The laser blast
collided with the aft rocket.

The crew staggered for footing as the arctic walker turned on
its side, still in mid-air.

"Jacque! Ignite the laser turret!" shouted Mike, "That'll
give us some leverage to land!"

"No!" Laura disagreed, "It'll flare into the ground
and won't do any good. I'm jettisoning the fusion gasses, that'll
give us some leverage."

Laura's hands danced across the helm and a spray of white gas
was thrust from the walker. It almost made a 360 turn and slammed
headfirst into the ground. But someone up there liked them so
they just missed the actual leverage point and rocketed off higher
into the air. Laura deactivated the only funtioning rocket so
they wouldn't turn over again. For a fraction of a second, they
floated in mid-air, then they sped towards the ground.

"Maybe we should hold on to something," said Hellbender,
groping for the banister.

"Grand idea," Sam replied. They all grabbed for the
nearest rail and most of them closed their eyes.

Instead of hitting the ground with enormous impact, they crashed
through the ice. They still kept their eyes shut, until the Mechknight
came to a halt with a force so large it shattered all the windows.
It was lodged between two walls of an icy crevice, seemingly secure.


Laura shivered, as she was the closest to the window, "Brr
. . . It's sure gotten colder."

"That's what we get for wearing T's and tanks to an ice cap,"
said Sam.

Suddenly there was an audible creak and the floor shifted slightly.
Michelle shook her head, "This is gonna be a really . . .
really bad day."

The ice broke from the iceberg and the Mechknight fell
to another ice cliff even lower down. This time, none of them
were prepared, and the impact knocked all of them off their feet.
The impact sent Laura out the window.

"Laura!" cried Mike, and ran to the window after he
regained his footing. He looked over the sill to see the still
body of Laura slowly sliding over the ice down a chasm in the
ice.

Hellbender and Ricky jumped over the sill on either side of Mike.
Hellbender, propelled by makeshift rockets on her feet (that she
made with her pyrokinetic powers) slowly floated down to the icy
floor. Ricky made water rise up from the ice and it brought him
to the ground. Laura's body then slid down into a thin crevice
of ice. Hellbender and Ricky slid down after her like they were
surfing. 

"Hellbender!" cried Ricky, "Here!"

Hellbender joined him. Laura lay very still, and already her lips
were an unhealthy bluish colour and her skin pale and purple.
Ricky picked her up and they climbed the hill of solid ice together.

Ricky laid the still form down of the a bed in the
bunk room. Michelle was holding her hands to her mouth, in deep
shock. Jacque comforted her as best he could. 

Mike came dashing into the room holding a small, white and metal
suitcase with a red x on it. He handed it to Sam. He opened it
and took Laura's temperature and pulse with a small, hand-held
device.

"She's in a deep state of hypothermia," he said quickly,
"I need some hot water, hot towels and 6 CC's of texyric
acid."

Ricky filled up a bucket with hot water, Hellbender heated the
towels, and Mike handed him a small bottle. Sam took the bottle,
inserted it in a needle, tapped it with his finger momentarily,
and then injected it into Laura's arm.

Suddenly Laura gasped and the monitor beside Sam let out a continuous
beep that wouldn't cease.

"Flat line, flat line!" cried Mike.

"I know, I know," Sam said, he hesitated momentarily,
"Charge the shockers." He grabbed a set of small, square
devices. He placed two on her forehead, two on her chest, one
on her neck and the remaining two on her stomach.

"Clear," said Mike. Sam punched the remote and there
was a thunk and the flat line jutted up for a moment.

"Again."

"Clear."

Thunk.

"Again."

"Clear."

Thunk.

Laura breathed in heavily and then the continuous beep began to
space out. She was alive. Sam took the monitors off her and placed
the warmed towels on her chest, stomach, arms and legs, and a
cloth dampened with hot water over her forehead.

Michelle took Sam's arm and then escorted him to
a corner of the room, "Is she gonna be OK?"

Sam hesitated, "I can't be sure. She's in really bad condition,
and she'll need a lot of rest in the next few days. She's hanging
on by a thread, and if we do anything else, we might just cut
it."

Michelle took Sam out onto the bridge and the rest followed, "What
do we do now?"

"I say we wait for Laura to get better and then try and find
the outpost," said Hellbender.

"I'd rather get Laura to a better doctor and medical facility,"
said Sam, "we have very limited resources here."

"I know," said Michelle, "I know . . . oh, god,
what are we gonna do?"

"I think, when morning comes," said Mike, "Two
of us go to look for the Outpost, bring back a doctor and equipment,
and then we can get home."

Ricky and Jacque nodded, "I like his better," Jacque
agreed.

Michelle nodded as well, "OK, in the morning, Mike and Hellbender
go looking, we stay and try to fix this pile of rubble."


The nodded and went back into the bunk.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Michelle's eyes shot open. She jumped
up and over to Laura's bed. The lights flickered on and Sam joined
her. He placed the square devices on Laura and Ricky charged it.


"Clear," said Ricky. Sam pressed the remote and the
pulse line flickered, "Again."

"Clear."

Thunk.

This time nothing happened at all. But to Sam, it was worth one
more try, "Again."

"Clear."

Thunk.

Nothing but a flat, green line.

Sam sat back, gaping. Michelle, however, was not about to give
up so easily. She pushed Sam away and shouted at Ricky, "Again."


The ensign hesitated.

"Again!!" Michelle screamed.

"Clear," he responded.

Michelle pushed the remote and there was the thunk again. Laura's
body just jerked for a moment.

"Again!"

"Clear."

Thunk.

Jacque stood in the corner, hot tears dripping down his face,
and his body jerking at each shock they induced into his dear
friend's lifeless body.

Sam covered up the dead body of Laura with a blanket.
Michelle was hugging Jacque close to her, screaming, crying, and
shouting at the same time. Jacque and Michelle had known Laura
since they were quite young, even before they had been thieves.
The two remaining Technomages crouched together and held on tighter
than a vice.

Ricky sat in a chair by the bed, with Hellbender at his shoulders.
Mike kneeled in front of Laura beside Sam.

Jacque helped Michelle up and led her out the doors.

Hellbender wiped her face with the back of her hand, "What
can we do now?"

"We have to find help, of any kind," said Mike, "We'll
go looking for it this afternoon."

"When Ricky and I were getting Laura," Hellbender chimed
in, "I saw a cave going off into the iceberg. I could swear
I saw blinking lights."

Sam glanced to Mike, "That could be Apocalypse's lair,"
he said, "We could probably find some resources in the rubble."


Mike nodded, "We'll leave right away."

Clad in warm, watertight suits, the remaining crewmen
made their way out of the Mechknight. Armed with rifles
and ice-hooks, they made their way over to a icy ledge which led
to a luminous cavern. The reflection on the wall was undoubtably
blinking lights. Red, green and blue. The crewmen pondered as
to why the Warlord and lady would make such conspicuous accommodations.


Hellbender, trying to cheer up the team, smiled and said, "Maybe
it's Santa's workshop."

Then Mike walked around the corner and gaped, "Either I'm
really drunk, really tired, dead, or insane."

Hellbender raised here eyebrows and joined him, and she gaped
too.

There was lights without electric strings, as if they came from
nowhere but the air around them. Large, red bricked houses with
snowy roofs and icy flowers.

There was a few snowmen there, and little creatures bustling about
busily. It was also plain to see that the buildings extended through
another cave.

"I'll take choice 'D,' Mike," said Jacque.

"I'll take 'B,'" said Hellbender.

Michelle then fainted, soon accompanied by Ricky. The remaining
four stared momentarily at the buildings, and then Jacque flung
Michelle over his shoulder and boldly strode forward, "Let's
hope they're friendly."

Hellbender and Sam followed, and Mike scooped Ricky up and followed
them.

Jacque knocked on the door. A small, young girl with
pointed ears opened it, "Hello."

"Are you an elf?" asked Jacque.

The small girl rolled her eyes, "Duh!"

Then a woman who looked in her twenties gently pushed the girl
away, "Hello. I'm Anna, you're Jacque Pilliar, it appears."


"How'd you . . ." Jacque was about to ask, but he decided
he would prefer to just let it go, "Uhh, this woman needs
some water."

"Honey," Anna said, "We're in the North Pole, how
much water do you want?" After a few moments of silence,
Anna motioned for Jacque to follow her in and he laid Michelle
down on a bed Anna pointed out to him.

"Ahh . . . It's Michelle Rando, she's been a good girl this
year," Anna said, bringing a pitcher forward to the bed.


As Hellbender and Sam were coming in, Jacque asked, "Where
are we?"

"The North Pole, of course."

"Wait a sec," said Jacque, "how are you going to
get her up?"

"Simple," said Anna. She opened the helmet and then
squeezed Michelle's nose. Michelle struggled for a moment and
then awoke.

"We're still in la-la land, it seems," the major observed.


"You're going to be in la-la land for some time, Michelle,"
said Anna, "I'd get used to it."

Jacque took off his helmet, "Uhh, I'm sorry, Ms. Anna, but
we've got to go soon."

"No you won't," said Anna, "this woman here has
just endured a lot of shock and stress, she's going to need rest,
and treatment."

"Are we in Santa's workshop?" Hellbender blurted out.
She tuned red and held her mouth shut.

Anna sighed, "No."

The sigh was audible.

"The workshop is downstairs, this is sort of the lobby."


You could almost hear their blood pressure accelerate. Then Sam
approached Anna, "Are we insane." At the remark Anna
smiled and patted his cheek, "Not yet, sweetie, not yet."


Then a man walked out of the room beside them. There was an odd
twinkle in his eye, and he had a white, puffy beard that looked
neat and trimmed. He was large, to say the least, and he was clad
in a red housecoat type robe.

The youngest (conscious) crewman, Hellbender, spoke what they
all wanted to say, "Santa?"

"In the flesh."

When he regained consciousness, Mike found himself
on a soft, red bed. There was a little girl sitting in a rocking
chair reading a book. When she noticed him, she smiled and put
the book down. She walked over and climbed onto the bed beside
him. After a few moments of staring at each other, she asked,
"Have you ever met an elf before?"

Mike nodded, "In the Mystic Islands. I saw a lot of things
there."

"How come you think you're crazy?" the little girl asked.


"Because I probably am," replied Mike.

She creased her eyebrows, "What makes you say that?"


Mike sat up and spread his arms wide, "This! This entire
place."

"Michael," she said, "You've seen women with snakes
for hair, gods, golems, succubi, and you're astonished by what
you've been taught since your childhood?"

"It's a lot more complicated than that . . ."

"Gates."

"It's a lot more complicated than that, Gates," he said,
getting up off the bed. "When humans are very young, they
are taught that Santa is real and that he delivers presents to
good girls and boys. But when we turn seven or eight, we are then
taught that it is wrong."

Gates leaned on her arm, "Mike, you were also taught that
centaurs don't exist, but when you saw a centaur you trusted your
senses."

Mike kneeled down in front of the bed, "Gates, things are
very different here. I just lost a very close friend of mine,
and we just may have forfeited the earth to two villains. It wouldn't
surprise me if I was insane."

"Mike," said Gates, "I know about Laura, and I'm
sorry. But you can't think that everything is a dream from now
on. You have to let go."

"I want to," said Mike sadly, "but I can't."

In her dreams, Michelle was reliving that awful visage.
She could see the flat line, the blue lips, purple skin, and hear
the beep that just wouldn't stop. She awoke with a start, sweating
and crying.

"I was wondering when you'd wake."

Michelle jumped at the voice. A teenage boy with pointed ears
sat on the edge of her bed, "Hello." He said.

Michelle waved a sweaty hand.

"Why don't you want to believe in me?" he asked, "When
you were younger, you wanted to."

Michelle  fell back into bed, "I don't know what is going
on anymore."

"When you were nine," began the elf, "you wrote
a letter to Santa asking for a Hilt CD. You found it in the attic,
and at Christmas, it was marked from Santa."

"How'd you . . ."

"All that winter you were convincing yourself that he was
real, and that there was an explanation for that event. But you
got over it. Why is it so hard to believe?"

Michelle closed her eyes, "Look. You have to understand human
culture. When we are young, we are taught that magic is not real,
that everything has logic, everything has a legitimate explanation.
And it sucks when you find out that there isn't one. You should
be lucky that I'm here, anyone else would be saying how fun the
cat scan will be."

The elf nodded, "Do you believe?"

Michelle huffed, "Well, now I do. I've seen the big guy himself,
I don't think I could ask for much more."

"I hope you enjoy your stay."

Mike, Michelle, Hellbender, and Ricky, were meeting
in Mike's room the next morning when . . . Santa came rushing
in.

"Look," he said, "There's some bad news on holovision."


The holographic TV screen popped into view and a horrible sight
met their eyes:

"This is Sydney Wilder reporting live from cellcopter above
the ruins of what was once Polaris High Command. Reports say that
an army led by Swedish escaped mental patient Harry Unther, alias
Prince Feugo, and a mysterious woman known only as Lady Apocalypse.
The building was bombarded by soldiers and then destroyed by an
attack vessel orbiting the island. Unther and Apocalypse have
not waited to put down their authority, their armies have swarmed
the island and taken it by force. Right now Canadain Special Forces
and American Naval armies are preparing to take back Polaris,
but the outcome looks grim. More on the story as it develops.
This is Sydney Wilder, signing off."

The four crewmen gaped at the horror. It had begun with Laura's
death, and now everything they had ever worked for was being taken
by savage warlords. Hellbender and Ricky began to cry.

"What can we do about it?" said Michelle, "Once
Apocalypse makes roots in Polaris, she'll move on to the rest
of the planet, and no one will be able to stop her."

"I know. You have to stop her from getting out of the North
Pole," Santa Claus said.

"But she already did," said Michelle, "we can't
change the past."

Santa sighed, "You may be able to."

"Sometimes when some people find us, we must keep ourselves
secret. We place them in a machine that is the crucial point to
discovering us. They make another decision and the timeline carries
on."

Hellbender suddenly jumped up and hugged Santa tight, "But
Santa, I don't want to forget you."

"Loraine," said Santa, "At Christmas time, sometimes
we have to sacrifice ourselves."

"But I've learned so much," she pleaded, "please,
don't do it."

"Loraine," Santa whispered, "The planet is at stake."


The pyrokinetic wiped tears from her eyes, "But I don't want
to go."

"This is far more important than wanting," said Santa,
"it's a matter of need, now."

"I know."

Michelle climbed into the small pod alongside Mike.
None of them wanted to leave. They wanted to believe in Santa,
but they couldn't anymore.

Anna, Gates, and Santa waved from outside. They didn't want them
to go, either. They liked having people to believe in them, and
at that time, those people were very rare.

Hellbender got in last, "I don't want to go," she said,
"I don't want to forget you."

"You have to," said Anna, "it's fate."

The door to the pod closed, as a single, glistening tear slid
down Hellbender's cheek. Then there was a huge flash of blinding
white light.

"Laura!" shouted Michelle.

Laura's hands were a blur across her panel, "Got it covered,"
she said, catching her breath, "igniting rockets."

The rockets flared and Mechknight flew into the air, moments
before the ship rushed by. Still travelling in the same direction,
it swiveled and shot at the Mechknight. The laser blast
collided with the aft rocket.

The crew staggered for footing as the arctic walker turned on
its side, still in mid-air.

"Jacque! Ignite the laser turret!" shouted Mike, "That'll
give us some leverage to land!"

"No!" Laura disagreed, then suddenly she coughed.

"What?" cried Michelle.

"I forget," said Laura.

"Jacque, fire laser turrets!" ordered Mike again.

Jacque pushed a few buttons and a laser blast shot out. He strengthened
the beam to match the integrity of the rocket, and they alighted
bumpily, but still in one piece.

"Jacque, fire at that ship!" cried Michelle.

"Vessel targeted," said Jacque.

The Mechknight swiveled its torso and fired at the escaping
ship. It hit the wing and it fell back into the snow.

"Yes!" cried Hellbender.

"Merry Christmas!" cried Ricky.

Michelle hugged Mike, "Merry Christmas, sweetie."

"Merry Christmas, honey."

Suddenly Michelle phased in and out of a pale complexion, "Mike,
do you remember anything recently about . . . blur skin, purple
lips . . ."

Mike shook his head, "Nope. Must've been a dream or something."


"Yeah," said Michelle. Then she took a long, hard look
at Laura, "Just a dream."