On a rugged shore, a craggy headland is crowned by an old lighthouse, below on the small shingled beach, a lone figure sits in a patient vigil.  Joan is waiting by the sea for her man to return home from fishing. It is a difficult time as she had news which will either end their careers or forge their relationship anew. The sea was turbulent, crashing against the headlands either side of the beach. The beach wouldn't rate as a swimming or surfing venue being steep, stony and undesirable; too remote from towns and roads.

 She knew the reunion was approaching as tendrils of emotion welled in her soul as her mate approached the beach. It amazed her how she could feel his presence grow after years together. 

  Remembering years ago when they first met, the cliche had been love at first sight. The richness of his mind seemed to blend, and they became as one. 

   Joan had been selected to attend a school for talent as had her parents before her. She had found it strange that her parents were delighted for her to go to a boarding school far away from her small town. She had felt isolated in her earlier childhood; she seemed to know what the few classmates were thinking and had received odd looks when Joan blurted out answers to unasked questions. Joan learnt to hide her ability and avoid conversations; glad to hurry home to the welcoming warmth of her family.

  Arriving at the new school, it was like being at home; the mental scene was welcoming. When she entered the girl's wing instead of the catty comments, the dormitory welcomed her with calm thoughts. As the new girls were being escorted around to view the new home, they encountered a small band of boys from the opposite direction. There was a burst of curiosity from both groups, one boy seemed to stand out from the crowd, and a profound emotion welled up between them. Too soon, the two groups went their separate ways. Every time their paths crossed, Joan could feel John approach; when she commented to her mentor, the teacher explained that the school was intended to facilitate this interaction. The connection needed to develop naturally and please don't mention this to anyone else.

After a time, it seemed that wherever Joan went, John arrived to her embarrassment. A friendship blossomed; culminating in an eternal bond. The Border Patrol Agency recruited them into the programme, and the two realised that marriage was inevitable.  

  Far out to sea, there was a splash as something breached. Delighted Joan reached for her binoculars. Disappointment, it was a dolphin and not the small form she was desperate to see. 

  Then a feeling of frustration washed over her, 'Damn, I have company,' the thought came.

  A few minutes later a feeling of relief, 'Dolphins, they are only curious,' 

 Locating the direction Joan focused on a series of splashes as the dolphin pod breached with a smaller dark companion. This sign was what Joan was desperately waiting for; John, her beloved was approaching with his usual flamboyant display.

  The pod turned back towards the open sea after their curiosity was satisfied. The dark, streamlined shape appearing at intervals as John headed towards the beach. At fifty metres out, there was a change, surfing down the crest of a large swell was John. He reached shallow water stood and strode proudly towards the beach. Tall, muscled, dark of hair and tanned. Joan rushed towards her husband to deliver the towel and shoes.

 Teasingly Joan withheld this to admire her man, content that only she would see John in all his glory.

 'Enough perving, hand them over,' John said.

 'Payment first,' Joan said, offering her arms and lips for the reward.

  The result was a loving embrace, which eventually broke to allow John to become suitable for public view.

 'Good to be home, you have news?' John asked.

 'Can't keep secrets from you, brace yourself you are to be a father,' Joan beamed.

 'That is wonderful. Why are you worried?' John asked, taking another hug to celebrate.

'Will they assign us to desk jobs when I need extra care?' Joan asked.

 'We can cross that bridge when we come to it, I need a shower and a rest,' John said, 'Race you back to the house.' 

 It was on land where Joan could match John for speed as he was slowed by the loose towel, with this advantage she arrived at the door and entered first. Laughing, John headed for the shower and soon was filling the house with the cacophony which he fondly called singing. 

 Suitably dry and dressed as a coast guard officer, John rejoined his wife where she had a steaming cup waiting while she prepared a robust meal. 

 'Not sashimi, I hope?' John asked, 'I am dying for a good steak.'

  'Nothing but the best for the wanderer,' Joan said, 'With a good side order of vegetables to civilise you.'

  After sitting down and settling into a home-cooked meal, the conversation became domestic. 

The meal finished, John accessed the computer to debrief, sending a report back to the office. After John had transmitted the data, it wasn't long before the phone rang. 

 'About time you called,' Captain Cox said, 'Anything to add?'

  'Bit hard to chat when you are up to your ears in fish,' John said, 'The suspect ship is still southbound, suggest a cove ten miles down the coast.'

  'Brown's Cove?' Cox said, 'There are several rough tracks headed allowing escape roads if they spot an observer.'

 'That is why it is a favourite dropoff,' John said, 'I can cruise out to sea and stay in comms with Joan who can relay to the troops.'

  'Usual plan, I will alert the troops and have them ready to close up as required,' Cox said, 'Take care there is a pod of orcas cruising in the area.'

 'Yes I heard them further south,' John said, 'Shouldn't be too much drama as I don't need to travel too close to the ship. I will get a good nights rest and catch up in the morning.'

   At daybreak, the couple made their way to the shoreline. John to enter the water, Joan to retrieve his clothes and resume the wait.

  Changing to his seal form, he leapt from the surf to give a final wave to Joan before swimming out towards the suspect vessel. Swimming to his quarry, he became aware that he had company; the orca pod had learnt to remain silent as they tried to encircle what they regarded as an elusive prey. Over the past year, John had fun eluding them by hearing the Orcas' approach by their sonar emissions. It would seem that they had realised this and changed the tactics. Normally when the prey heard these sounds, it would induce panic which drove the target into the waiting jaws of pod members waiting in ambush.

   'Hey fellas can you annoy someone else, I am busy?' John asked using telepathy.

  Surprised at being addressed, the bull Orca responded, ‘You are here we are hungry,.'

  Things were getting tight, the path the whales were herding him on was coming close to the ship; while he could outspeed and outmaneuver the bigger killer whales; he could become visible to the seamen on the ship. Still, his skin was more valuable to him than the patrol's job, and besides, he couldn't provide much intelligence if he was in an orca's stomach. Using his sonar, he decided to dive under the ship to avoid the ambush waiting at either end of the vessel; his special talent for holding his breath beyond the normal seal's ability would give him an advantage. He leapt to gain maximum air and set up the deeper dive; he was aware that the seamen had spotted him and felt the tendrils of amused thought regarding his plight and how the orcas would soon be putting on a bloody show for their benefit.

  'Not if I can help it,' John thought as he plunged deep and swam swiftly towards the vessel. As he passed under the keel, his sonar picked out a waiting orca which was using the hull as a mask in case he tried this trick. As he broke clear of the ship the waiting orca torpedoed towards him, he leapt over the ambush only to find a second whale set to counter this trick. Desperately he tried to remain aloft to avoid this new threat. Instead of helplessly descending into the waiting jaws, he soared higher, leaving the whale floundering. The seamen viewing this astounding act as instead of the whales rendering a seal into mincemeat, a strange shape zoomed into the air and disappearing into the distance.

 'What the hell is that? I heard rumours of the patrolmen can change into seals,' The seamen's thought came, 'I had better tell the captain.'

 As John entered the sea and reverted to seal, he could hear the ship increasing speed and turn away from the coast.

  'Damn, I am spotted, and the trap is sprung,' John thought, Then focusing on Joan, 'Pass on the news that I was spotted and the ship is racing for the border.' 

  After a short time, 'Done, Captain Cox said a code signal was transmitted to alert the pickup crew,' Joan sent back.

  Annoyed that all his hard work seemed to have come to naught; John decided to give the orcas a lesson in manners; now that he had blown his cover, the use of his defensive powers would not raise any more attention.

  Using his distance sonar, he located the pod which was heading towards a mother humpback whale and its calf.

  ‘I will put a stop to that,’ John said, racing towards an intercept spot.

  As he arrived at the intervening point, he sent a sonar message to the mother and calf before sending a shout at the orca pod, deafening them. With the killer whale’s sonar handicapped, he swung around behind the bull orca to tap him on the fluke with a flipper, sending an electric shock to pass the message that John was annoyed and not to mess with him in the future.

   ‘Ouch, who did that?’ the bull complained.

  ‘I did, you spoiled my hunt, now we are even,’ John replied, ‘To show I am not nasty there is a baitfish ball towards the sun which has large fish in attendance, happy hunting.’

  'Can't eat noisy hard whale, it is all yours,' The Bull said.

  The orca pod realised that the mother and calf had swum out of their reach and joined with a larger pod. This change meant dealing with several adult humpback whales and beyond the pod's ability to separate the calf from its mother. The bull ordered his pod towards the baitfish ball, and the orcas resumed the hunt targetting a less formidable prey.

  This situation settled John headed back towards the vessel to see if he could exact revenge on them. Travelling at his maximum speed, he first located then closed on the ship. After careful thought, he swam to the stern to send a sonic blast at the rudder. The rudder swung to the side and jammed, sending the ship into circles. As he surveyed his handiwork, he detected the approach of the Border Patrol ship on an intercept course. The target ship crew were busy trying to find out what had caused them to heel over and turn in circles. With the ship’s crew occupied, the Patrol was able to close and dispatch boats to capture the drug carrier before they could dump their cargo.

  Satisfied, John headed back home to face the music. With the ship captured but without apprehending the drug couriers on land, the patrol had done half the job.

 It wasn’t a surprise the next morning a rhythmic thumping sound announced the arrival of a helicopter, likely with his boss aboard.

  Barely away from the aircraft, Captain Cox roared at John, ‘What do you think you were doing? A two-year investigation goes down the plughole. The Patrol ship captain signalled me that his sonar has blown up.’

 ‘Sorry, I was a bit peeved with the orcas trying to have me for lunch. I did nail the ship for you so that you wouldn’t have to chase it,’ John said, ‘I don’t know what happened with the flying trick, it is new to me, I panicked when all I could see was teeth in my landing spot.’

 ‘What is done is done, the boffins will want to check you, Cox said, ‘Pack your stuff and return to the main base. Good morning Joan.’

"Good morning boss,' Joan said, 'I had better get busy. Pity that I have to leave my gardens, though the next family should enjoy it.'

  After the pair had settled into their new quarters; Captain Cox invited John and Joan into the conference room, 'Before the real testing begins I need to brief you on what is going to happen,' Cox said, 'Your medicals have come back fine, congratulations Joan; I am pleased to confirm that you are expecting. Any questions before I start?' 

'Why the fuss? Not as if we haven't been guinea pigs before,' John asked.

 'This time is different, the team is entering the unknown territory,' Cox said, 'I have a short video suggesting why we need to proceed carefully.'

 With that Cox pushed a couple of buttons and the screen came to life, first with an empty corridor then a uniformed man made his way checking doors. A shape drifted into view hovering above the floor; the sudden appearance surprised the security man who aimed his rifle and fired. The screen blanked with electronic noise, and then it was replaced with a still photo of a blackened corridor with a gaping hole in the wall.

 'This is a top-secret report from our friends up north, they had their first transformed selkie who decided to wander, the guard hadn't been briefed and fired his weapon. The selkie reacted rather forcefully, those little bits and pieces on the floor are what is left of the unfortunate guard. The subject disappeared via the wall breach, and no one has seen since,' Cox said, 'Spent rounds indicate that they stopped midflight.'

 'I see why you may be cautious,' John said, 'I guess the new talent has people worried?'

 'Yes indeed,' Cox said.

 Joan asked, 'Why am I here?'

 'To communicate with John and keep him calm while he is in the new state,' Cox said, 'We don't have unbriefed or armed guards within the building. Having a partner in the mix is another thing that our friends didn't think of doing. As you should be aware, our staff are calm, empathetic specialists who relate to our important clients. Rather than treat them as freak tools that more militarist countries regard their selkies.'

  'I have heard of the way several of the Northern governments treat their people; I am not surprised that a few of my fellow recruits are refugees from there,' John said.

 'To date, you are only the second man to find the new talent. What little they had found out before the incident is that the air selkie has virtual arms and fins to manipulate his environment, and has a couple of nasty surprises if attacked. He absorbed radiation of all sorts for energy, hence not being able to track using radar. Visually a black fog while he is absorbing light,' Cox said, 'Here is a brief to bring you up to speed with Selkie history.’

  Joan and John read their copies, and while some of it was familiar, it was clear that the authorities had kept some details from them. Selkies came to notice several hundred years ago initially as fairytales before human and selkie bonds had grown to the point where the offspring had become model citizens of the northern countries. When DNA testing became available, the selkies and their human counterparts showed a divergence from the common population. Several governments with a Celtic population of selkies had gathered these as defence assets.

 'We are unique people?' John asked.

 'I am one as well, a Latent like Joan,' Cox said, 'Selkies are model citizens, intelligent, healthy and kind to kittens because of the empathy for others.'

'Really? Why isn't this common knowledge?' Joan asked.

 'Imagine the delight of ordinary people to find that hypothetical alien life forms have infiltrated and are "supermen",' Cox said, 'By recruiting and fostering potential we, meaning the Agency, train and protect Selkies from the general public. As they are gifted students, the authorities offer scholarships, recruiting them into the Defence Services.' 

 'Interesting, what is the drill?' John asked.

 'Being scared seems to initialise the change, but renders the subject anxious and potentially dangerous, we need to guide you through the change to keep everyone safe,' Cox said, 'We have a flying chamber to train skydivers as a cover. Theoretically, this may trigger the change while Joan can have fun at the same time.'  

 John and Joan following their invitation assembled next to the fan room; dressed in unflattering suits to allow transforming into a forty centre metre diameter cylinder. A bag with hands and feet tucked into the corners with an elastic opening for the head and neck.

  'Why am I dressed like this, not one to complain but it is hardly Haute couture?' Joan asked, 'And I thought John was the guinea pig?'

  'Some Boffin suggested that it could be catching when you are in rapport,' Cox said, 'Would be slightly embarrassing if the change ripped your clothes off.' 

'Oh right, good for a giggle,' Joan said, 'It is a bit chilly for a striptease.' 

 John entered the vertical wind tunnel with an experienced helper to take him through the techniques. When John was competent, the fan was shut off, and the attendant left John by himself. Once set again the fan restarted and John became used to moving using his body position to do stunts, he was used to this in his seal form.

 'Joan now if you instruct John to fly higher,' Cox said.

'John, see how high you can go,' Joan said telepathically. 

 When John had done so and was floating near the outlet, the fan volume suddenly decreased with John plummeting towards the floor. Before he hit, a change happened, and he was now a cylinder with domed ends sitting halfway down the tunnel.

  'Damn that was a surprise,' John thought, 'Oh it worked, I can see why the shock may make the subject a little anxious.'

'John said that was surprising,' Joan said with a laugh, 'It didn't affect me though I did get a light feeling.'

'You did change a little before settling back to human,' Cox said, 'Ask John if he can lower himself to the floor grate and resume human form.'

'Can you land and become handsome again?' Joan asked, 'That would be a change for the better.'

'I will try,' John replied. The cylinder descended, and when it reached the floor, John appeared. Standing up, he said, 'That was fun, shall I see if I can duplicate it without dropping?'

'Please do,' Cox said.

John concentrated and wavered between human and cylinder. 

'Nearly got it; I will try jumping to clear the ground and imagine spikes beneath me,' John said with a grin. He changed into the cylinder. 

'I will do a few laps to check the controls,'  John transmitted.

 'John said he would do a little practice,' Joan relayed.

  John hovered then went through the maneuvers that he had done in a human form, spinning and looping then rising to the top and diving towards the floor coming to a halt a metre off the grate swivelling vertical before resuming human form.

'That was tiring, I need a rest and eat something,' John said. He was let out to rejoin Captain Cox and Joan.

'How did it feel?' Cox asked.

'Like swimming in the sea, marvellous,' John said, 'Can I change and hit the cafe?'

  After resuming their uniforms, they rejoined Captain Cox in the cafe where John ordered an enormous pile and set to consuming it. 

  John raised his head to take a breath. 'I have never felt so empty,' John said.

  'You are a champion, I am glad I didn't have to cook all that,' Joan said, 'Why so hungry?'

  'The other subject just absorbed light from the lamps; I expect that the chamber's lights weren't direct enough for you to use,' Cox said, 'I will view the rest of the videos to see the laboratory setup.'

  Leaving John to his meal, Captain Cox returned to his office to gather the data. By the time Joan and John arrived, he had the video ready to view.

  Starting the video, it was evident that the lighting was very direct and strong; the subject surrounded by the dark fog that Cox had mentioned.

'Ah yes, much brighter than our setup,' Cox said, 'And you didn't have that field.'

'I didn't feel any energy field, though I don't know why,' John said. 

‘Perhaps as there weren’t sufficient radiation, it wasn’t triggered?’ Joan suggested.

‘I will get the technicians to arrange floodlights next flight,’ Cox said.

After the work crew had set several banks of heat lamps aimed at the flight enclosure and turned on, Cox confirmed that it matched the video and indicated that John should repeat the experiment.

By concentrating, John lifted off and reformed into the ovoid. After a few minutes of maneuvering, his outline blurred as the black absorption field started to replenish his energy.

‘That’s better I can feel energised,’ John telepathed, ‘I will manoeuvre around and see how much energy I expend.’

From the sideline, the crew watched as John the cylindrical entity zipped around testing his control. The technicians monitored the instruments with intense concentration, recording the infrared and filming the movements for research. The absorption field formed and dissipated regularly. 

‘Ask John to resume human form and give a report,’ Cox asked.

  Joan did so, and John descended and became human again.

‘How was that?’

‘I am becoming used to the means of control; it is becoming easier and takes less effort. I suppose it is similar to a strange exercise which uses new muscles.’

‘After dark tonight, perhaps you can try it outside to test if you can absorb energy; otherwise, it would be useless in low light scenarios.

Once the twilight had descended, John went through the transformation and floated around below the high fences that enclosed the laboratory. After a few minutes, the fog formed, “I can feel some energy coming from above.”

“Cosmic rays?” Joan asked. 

“Only source once the sun goes down. As it is stronger the higher above the ground, perhaps you can fly into space.” Cox suggested.

“I will cruise close to the ground until it is full dark and then see how high I can fly,” John sent.

After an hour Cox decided John was unlikely to be seen, he asked Joan to tell him to continue his practice. The blur that was John soon disappeared from view as he climbed skyward. 

“I am about a mile high according to my echo sounding. I feel great it is as you guessed the cosmic energy is becoming stronger and I can feel some from the sun.” John said via Joan. “I will go another few thousand feet and then return.”

After another hour, John appeared above them as he descended to the ground and reverted to human form.

“That was exhilarating, and I don’t feel drained,” John said, “I could stay up there forever, and not need to eat. Though I have a desire to stay close to my partner.”

“You had better,” Joan said, “Our child needs his father.” 

“I wonder if you can find the ability to join me and together explore the system,” John suggested.

“An experiment best left until after the happy event. For now, you should extend the distance to find out how far the connection can stretch,” Cox said, “Tests suggest that Thirty kilometres are the reliable limit across the Earth’s surface when the curvature starts to blanket the signal.”

“I notice that it affects us if I am at the beach level and less of a problem if I am at the clifftop. Seawater doesn’t stop it though I lost contact when John went around an island,” Joan said, “I was in touch for the whole time he was flying tonight.”

“I will set the boffins on the research. I think that you may stay in touch past the Moon unless something interferes,” Cox said.

After a night’s rest, the team spent most of the day debriefing and planning the next evening’s task. 

“Do you think I should try a suborbital?” John asked, “I think that while I am confident that Joan is safe, it won’t distract me.”

“I should hope not but go carefully and take baby steps until you know the dangers,” Joan said.

“Okay, we return at dusk and expand the territory,” Cox said.

At the appointed time the team gathered, and John transformed, after a quick lap to orientate ascended quickly and soon disappeared.

“He says he is passing forty thousand, climbing at three thousand a minute, feeling fine. There is a large aircraft heading South about thirty kilometres away,” Joan relayed, “Passing fifty, climbing at five thousand a minute. Everything is fine and feeling fit.”

Overhead a glow erupted streaking to the West.

“What’s that glow?” Joan asked.

“Oh, can you see that? I decided to put a bit of speed on to give a change from drifting like a balloon. It seems my bum is on fire, no heat though,” John sent, “Hit a couple of hundred kph without effort. Swinging back around seems that I am not completely invisible.”

The glow reversed course and then headed vertical. “That’s more like it passing a hundred thousand climbing at twenty thousand a minute.”

“He is still the same strength as if he was here. John hasn’t mentioned any difficulty breathing.”

“Got that, it hadn’t occurred to me, but now I think of it I haven’t felt the need anytime that I am ovoid,” John sent, “I suppose you don’t think about breathing unless you can’t. And now that I am becoming used to flying it requires the same thought as swimming beneath the water. I do that without conscious thought.”

The glow first brightened then became lost among the stars only noticeable because it was moving against the background.

“I estimate that I passed 262 thousand, which makes me an astronaut. I will begin my descent to gauge my re-entry speed.”

The spark reversed course, and the glow intensified.

“I am reading five hundred degrees, boss,’ A technician reported.

“John, you are getting hot, better slow down,” Joan said.

“No problem but safety first, I feel the brakes going on, and the glow interferes with my view,” John sent, “In free fall, estimate the speed at two hundred knots.”

The return trip took much less time. John appeared in a blaze, then landed reverting to human.

“That was fun, and if it weren’t for Joan, I could go for a long time and explore the solar system without thinking twice about it,” John said.

“Good point, any further changelings should have partners. It has always been a policy from when we noticed that unattached selkies go seal form and head out to sea, they rarely returned. Not that our operatives are captives only need a little grounding for everyone’s benefit,” Captain cox said.

“Strings of the heart bind the strongest,” John said, “A gentle hook on the soul, it only hurts if you pull too hard on the bond.”

“Wait until Junior can walk and I am going with you. If Captain Cox says okay,” Joan said, “You can then count on my return as you have a virtual hostage.”

“Bonds of Home, country and duty are the only ties I can impose. I remember the hole that the escapee left when he felt enclosed,” Cox said, “Even your seal form is too dangerous to confine.”

“That is why the training with kid gloves is important, instilling in the students a bond, self-respect and duty to the homeland,” John said, “Even technically in space I felt the love for my family drawing me back. I had no other discomfort, and there is seemingly boundless energy available.”

“We will adjourn till the morning and debrief. The doctor will do a thorough check on both of you to ensure that the exercise is not affecting you in any way.” Cox said.

John, Joan and Captain Cox gathered the next morning after the briefing and clearance from the doctor. The extra examinations were for exposure to radiation, though there had been none detected.

Setting the meeting as casual Captain Cox gave the rundown on what the technicians had detected.

“Some reports on the local radio about strange lights, we issued a news bulletin that the depot was sending up weather balloons equipped with tracking lights. An expert suggested that the movements were due to turbulence and optical effects.”

“Yes, a boring story can cover-up deeper facts than denials ever will.”

“Because of the glow you emitted, the ground crew was able to track you for most of the flight. The speed and control were impressive. One who had a private pilot’s licence suggested that he would love to fly an aircraft that capable.” Cox said, “They confirm that you exceeded fifty miles height, which is considered the frontier of outer space.”

“Congratulations to the first coast guard astronaut,” Joan said.

Keen to relive the experience, John was ready to repeat the flight.

“This time, I will float up taking my time to avoid the giveaway glow. This flight would take a little longer and attract less attention from the neighbours.”

“Good idea, ready when you are,” Cox said.

This time John stripped in a tent before transforming to remove the hindrance of the bag suit. As a precaution, Joan remained dressed in that fashion.

John as the cylinder drifted from the tent, bobbled as a farewell then rose quietly as a balloon. He ignored any breeze that sought to alter his progress. Without a telltale glow, the technician relied on a transponder taped to John’s skin. John joked that techs had better remove it before he changed as hair would be ripped out. 

“I have passed my earlier mark. I will now test the drive in a vacuum.” 

Overhead a new star blazed for a few seconds. “Oops gentle on the accelerator, nearly headbutted a satellite. Still getting used to steering.”

“He accelerated from two hundred to seven thousand knots, over ten G,” Fred the technician said, “that would knock a pilot out, and all Joan relayed was an oops.”

“There was no discomfort. I will stay on this heading until Joan fades out, then retrace my flight,” John relayed via Joan.

“I am losing the trace. The transponder has too weak a signal. I need a large satellite dish to keep track. I would suggest that if John goes further to allow for the Earth’s rotation.”

Joan passed this on, and John said, “Gotcha, feeding in the side motion. It is easy to forget that the ground and air are spinning at over six hundred knots at your latitude. I estimate the synchronous orbit speed is becoming faster than my ascent. Okay, I will return, I am using Joan as a beacon to plot the arc.”

“Going to make a flare. Expect meteor sightings to be reported.”

Cox was scanning the sky with a telescope and said, “There is a flare a little West moving towards us.” 

This glow swelled into a streak before fading as John synchronised his side motion relative to the waiting group. He had reverted to free fall, allowing the air friction to slow his descent.