Southern Cross by Windstar

With one more yawn, she closed her eyes and gladly let sleep overtake her.
Her companion stayed awake for a while longer, trying to piece together something that she
knew she should understand. There was something about this which prodded at her, and Julie
sighed when it wouldn't come. Finally though, she too let her eyes close and followed her larger
friend into sleep. They stayed in each other's embrace until duty dragged them from bed a few
short hours later. For that time though, each of them slept well, untroubled by dreams.
Chapter Five
Julie watched in amusement as the crowd below surged forward, or tried to anyway. The
Marines in full, unpowered body armor did a very good job of holding them back.
"You sure this is a wise idea?"
The reflection of the First Guardian nodded, her eyes drawn to the scene below as well.
"Yes, I had a good long chat with Captain Kilgore this morning. He didn't say much of course,
but what he didn't say was as important as what he did."
Julie smiled at that and shook her head. That hadn't been what she meant, but Emie was thinking
only in terms of military tactics and information. Something which she was beginning to
understand that the First Guardian always did.
"I meant, are you sure you want to release them like this? To the State Police?"
A low chuckle sounded behind her, and the warmth that Emily's body always seemed to give off
radiated along her back. Almost unconsciously, she found herself leaning backwards into that
warmth. A glance at the other watchers in the tower cured her of that response though.
"Yes, it seemed poetic. We're releasing them and pressing charges of trespassing. Handing them
over in front of the media circus was someone else's idea though."
That someone else was currently paying more attention to a spiky-haired blond than anyone else.
"Well at least God won't be complaining about your brother not being around for a little while."
Emily simply snorted at that, and Julie grinned, looking back down towards the unfolding drama
below them. She and the others were in one of the taller buildings which had hastily been
constructed above ground at Longbow. Like the other Tiri base's which were scattered across the
globe, Longbow had been built to avoid detection. Now that avoiding being spotted by humans
was no longer an issue, the base had exploded in growth. It was now one of the main command
stations in the rapidly forming Global Defense Force.
"How many reporters do you think are down there?"