This story contains a significant sci-fi element. If that's not your thing please pass. In any event I'm convinced that it best fits in the Loving Wives category.
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In elementary school Nova O'Malley was not athletic or artistic but she more than made up with it by her intelligence and beauty; however, she was apparently best characterized by her vivid imagination. For some reason, maybe spurred on by nursery rhymes of princesses and knights in shiny armor, damsels and dragons, and true love and romance she always imagined a life of passion and adventure but always as the maiden being saved by a paladin, never as the heroine.
Despite her success at school work and any intellectual activity that she set her mind to Nova also yearned to be all of a famous artist, celebrated athlete, and prima ballerina.
Nova's obsession with a life of bygone eras and success in endeavors that she didn't have the acumen for consumed much of her brain power all through elementary school. Then as is the case with virtually all children entering puberty she gave up what she had determined were childish dreams and unrealistic endeavors and focused on reality.
In actuality, reality was kind to Nova. She was treasured by many, and appreciated by all due to her conservative natural beauty, quick wit and sense of humor, and above all kindness to everyone. It was hard for her peers not to like someone who never said anything bad about anyone and had empathy for all. In her High School senior class she was voted all of most feminine, most congenial, and most likely to succeed.
Young Nova had another thing that preoccupied her; something that didn't go away during puberty. Her great grandmother and grandmother on her mother's side of the family died in their early forties. Nova was terrified that the same curse would befall her mother -- and eventually her. Her mother regularly counselled her to just live her life during the moment and not think about it -- but it always was in the back of Nova's mind.
Due to her intelligence and hard work Nova graduated near the top of her class from one of the most prestigious universities in the United States majoring in both communication and literature. The only concession that she made to elementary school Nova was her emphasis on science fiction which her senior thesis was written on.
Nova started her life after college working for a local TV station, first as a researcher, soon promoted to a production assistant, then to a newscast editor, and after a lucky break only after two years an on-air feature reporter.
It was doing a story on a local chef that Nova fell in love with Royce Williams. They married after a year of dating; Nova kept her maiden name since she had already developed a following in the industry. By the time that Royce and Nova had twin boys Nova had established herself as a local anchor, skilled interviewer and sometimes even a national celebrity Two years after the boys were born Nova delivered a baby girl who looked like Nova's clone.
Nova had a setback when her mother died early -- at the age of 44 -- extending the curse of early deaths for women on her mother's side of the family. Nova got through the trauma with the help of her father and Royce both of whom believed that they had successfully counseled her not to focus on her mortality but to live her life to the fullest.
After a couple of years off for child rearing Nova returned to broadcasting and combining her intelligence, grace, beauty, and industriousness became the anchor for one of the four largest national TV network newscasts, fortunately located in Washington, D. C., the same city where her family lived so that their lives were not uprooted.
Nova became particularly well known for her insightful and skilled interviews of a wide variety of news-makers. However she predominantly loved finding out information about avant-garde advancements in science and the arts which subconsciously brought to mind her college enthusiasm for science fiction and her childhood interest in passion and adventure.
Despite the fact that at the time of her 44th birthday Nova had the respect of all that knew her, classic beauty, a rewarding and highly appreciated job that also allowed her to possess any material things she was interested in, a loving husband, and three children who were the joys of her life, so that 99+% of the world's female population would probably switch places with her, she felt a restlessness. Her birthday also made her remember her mother's death at 44 as well as that of her grandmother at 46 and great grandmother at 45. It didn't help her outlook on life that her first medical appointment after she turned 44 her doctor expressed concern about several aspects of her health including high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, and adverse effects of an early start of menopause.
As is the case with almost anyone who feels restless Nova could not fully understand what the cause of it was, although her concern about early death played some part in it. She opined that it was somehow related to a story that one of her researchers brought her about a woman in Wyoming who seemingly convincingly told of an extraterrestrial experience. Nova saw a video of her story and even interviewed her over the phone but Nova's station chose not to air the story. While the general consensus was that there were some very intriguing and mysterious aspects of the woman's story, she was most likely clinically delusional. Still, Nova wondered...
One day when travelling on assignment after Nova interviewed a recently notable astronomer by the name of Paul Pretsky, who had just made a number of remarkable discoveries, her restlessness became almost overbearing. She begged off going to dinner with her producer and station colleagues, and remembered having a further discussion with Pretsky after her colleagues left, but she didn't remember any details of the conversation. After she parted ways with Pretsky she made a quick call to her husband and kids who were in the middle of their active lives but were happy to take a few minutes out to talk to their lover and mom, and then she went for a walk in a local forested area.
After about a quarter mile walk in the forest Nova suddenly felt light headed. She sat down on a recently cut stump and closed her eyes.
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Nova felt someone shaking her and saying "Are you all right?" When she opened her eyes she was lying on the side of a path in a wooded area, but the trees didn't look anything like those in the forest she had just walked through.
"What -- where am I?" were her startled first words. Standing above her was a tall handsome blond haired blue eyed man with muscular arms extending out from his short sleeve shirt, and well-developed legs extending out from his shorts. One of his forearms had some sort of metal sleeve with what appeared to be buttons on it. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
"I was hoping that you could tell me," the man said with a sly smile. "I just woke up a few hundred yards from here with this metal sleeve on my forearm and a backpack, scabbard, and short sword next to me. I have no clue where we are or what is going on. I see that you have some sort of metal sleeve too," he continued, pointing at Nova's left arm.
Nova sat up and noticed the sleeve -- which was actually very comfortable -- on her forearm. It had a few buttons and in small type in the English language "Universal Translator" engraved on it. As she moved her right arm to stand up it hit an object immediately behind her -- it was a backpack that looked very much like the one on the big blond guy's shoulders.
After she stood up she realized just how tall the blond guy was. Nova was tall for a woman at five foot nine (175 cm) but he towered over her. Standing and looking around Nova also saw that she was not wearing the skirt and blouse that she remembered that she had on when she sat on the stump but instead mid-thigh-length shorts and a sturdy, but not particularly fashionable, short sleeve blouse. Her shoes were running or walking shoes, but not ones that she recognized.
"Is this some sort of joke?" she asked the blond guy.
"Look, lady, I'm just as confused as you are. I don't have the slightest clue where we are or what is going on. Maybe we can find someone else who knows."
"What's that metal sleeve on your left arm?" Nova asked.
"I have no idea -- all that I know is that it has a few buttons and it says in flowery English language script 'Electromagnetic Shield.' Does your sleeve say anything?"
"Universal Translator," Nova replied.
"I trust that both of the names are descriptive; we may have to play around with them to figure them out since I've never heard of either before, have you?"
"Certainly not," Nova replied.
"By the way, my name is Rob Vanvleet. What's yours?" Rob said/asked extending his hand.
Nova shook his hand noticing how large and powerful it was. "Nova O'Malley," she replied.
"You look familiar," Rob said. "Are you famous or something?"
"Perhaps 'or something,'" Nova chuckled, although there was nothing humorous in the situation. "I'm often on National TV."
"Now I recognize you. You did a great interview with an avant-garde astronomer, what's his name?"
"Paul Pretzsky," Nova replied finding it odd that the interview could already have been played on TV and she knew nothing about it; perhaps she had been out of it a long time.
"That's the guy; he sounded more like a science fiction writer than a serious scientist, however he really was interesting," Rob stated.
"I'm beginning to think that we're in some science fiction story ourselves," Nova replied. "Do you have any suggestions as to what to do?"
"I suggest that we both test out these sleeves, then you put on your backpack, and we walk along the path hoping to find someone who knows what's going on."
Nova was in agreement so first they tested her Universal Translator. After Nova pushed a couple of buttons the Translator seemed to light up. Rob spoke some Dutch, and a very little Russian. He said a few phrases in each and the UT (as they called it) properly translated both into English. Nova pushed another button and said something in English which -- as far as Rob could tell -- was perfectly translated into Dutch."
"Cool," Rob chuckled. "OK now let's test this Electromagnetic Shield -- we'll call it the 'ES;' why don't you stand about ten or fifteen yards from me and throw some rocks at me."
"What if I hit you?"
"Then we'll know that it doesn't work," Rob chuckled.
