by Ma West
As they passed down, through, and into the atmosphere, a huge billow of dark-black smoke rose up from the ground. The ship was moving too fast for Prisoner 00 to find its origin, but as they passed it, another appeared ahead. A strong vibration rocked his chair as the shuttle manipulated its exterior hull to become more aerodynamic. The ship tilted, slowing down to the point where objects on the ground became recognizable. A long formation of humans marched in column lines as two Xendorians flanked their sides.
“It has been some time since the empire has had a good infusion of slave labor.” The team leader shifted through various displays and graphs on his console. “Not a very hardy species. My god, how does such a fragile species reach the top of its food chain?”
Lady Imric sighed as she looked outside. “Look at this planet. It’s a paradise. This species was given the gift of dominance, and abundant fertile land and water. And nearly the entire planet is habitable, not even any large predators. Such a shame for what is about to happen.”
“They say you have the commodore’s ear. Why not, perhaps, have the commodore defer the Wilde attack and claim it as your province? It has a good location, central spiral, yet isolated.”
“I detect a sense of fishing in your suggestion. Whatever attention and respect I have garnered from the commodore is due to my performance and abilities as an officer. Should I choose a mate and wish to be endowed with his gifts, this little planet would be far from adequate.”
The team leader let out a small squeak. “There are many reasons to go fishing—to satisfy one’s own hunger is usually the primary. Hunting a rare catch is my personal favorite.”
There was a short pause as the lady interpreted the conversation. “You may come off as gentle, team leader, but you can’t hide your intensity from me. Reptiles like you can accomplish great things, but—”
This time, the team leader moved away from Prisoner 00 and closer to the lady. “Intensity is the power to ignite the passions of others. Something the commodore’s leadership lacks, at least for the moment.” He now stood behind the lady as she piloted the shuttle. “My intensity, my leadership, and my passion will be felt everywhere.”
He then leaned back, turned around, and looked at Prisoner 00. “Thanks to our spies aboard the Arkapeligo, we were able to determine the building of consummation.” He activated a display, and a video of Prisoner 00 and the baroness jumping off the building played over and over on repeat. “Now you will tell us the exact location of the consummation.”
Prisoner 00 looked blankly at the team leader, twitched, and sneezed. “Can’t help you there, buddy. I wasn’t invited.”
“Why do you always insist on this? You know that noncompliance will result in tremendous pain, yet time after time, you continue to annoy, counter, and delay. I will have no more of this. I will search your memories one by one if I have to, and know this, you will die before we leave this system.”
The shuttle touched down with a loud screech from the thrusters, followed by a whine and a hiss. The team leader picked up Prisoner 00 by the waist, lifted him like a toy doll, and walked out into the dimming sunlight of a cool New Jersey evening.
The feeling of fresh air and sunlight brought back a sense of life to Prisoner 00. The three approached the baroness’s building’s main entrance. The streets had been emptied, and only an overturned sedan lay silently—a victim of circumstance. The damage to the back side of the building had been considerable. With the ocean side of the building nearly gone, every room was now exposed. The canopy that once so proudly overhung the entrance to this fine establishment was but a shred of what remained behind, just a damp piece of cloth swaying in the wind.
The team leader raised Prisoner 00 and used his body to open the front entrance. The interior of the building was a mess. The floor was still wet in places, furniture lay strewn about the lobby, and the smell of death was pungent. The team leader put Prisoner 00 down in the center, took off his neon restraints, and commanded him to lead them. “To the place of the child’s conception.”
The awkwardness of the situation left Prisoner 00, speechless, and he searched the room with his eyes, hoping for an idea—an idea for what, he wasn’t sure. He had no intention of escaping without the baroness, and he actually had no memory of the consummation. Helping these aliens out wasn’t on the agenda either. The idea of leading them on a wild goose hunt was appealing, but pointless and trite. So he took a page from his father’s book: when all else fails, go with the truth. “I don’t know where the consummation occurred.”
The two Xendorians closed in around Prisoner 00. Lady Imric spoke first. “We have had enough of your games. If you will not give us the information, we shall take it from you.” The middle spire of her head began to twist, exposing the spongy circular organ the commodore had used before. The team leader tripped Prisoner 00, sending him onto his back, and held him down so tightly that it proved difficult to breathe.
Lady Imric placed the organ on his forehead, causing an instant burning sensation all along the front of his brain. His body convulsed as she prodded, searched, and tore apart his memories. Desperate to find a method to push back against the pain and his attacker, he focused and brought up the baroness in his mind. He thought back to that night. He remembered the look she had given him. Focusing hard on the memory, the invading presence had found what it wanted, and the pain narrowed down deep in his brain. Losing control of the memory, he now watched himself as if it were a movie—Big M slicing off his nipple, the baroness patching it, and then there was blackness, followed by agony.
Over and over, the nerves in his brain where probed, prodded, and exposed, each time more intensely than the last. Finally, Lady Imric pulled back, exiting herself from Prisoner 00’s brain. “He doesn’t know. He truly doesn’t know. Can you tell me how that can be?” With an angry thrust, she pushed Prisoner 00 to the ground. “We will examine the bed in which he awoke.” The reptile’s voice sounded more forced than before, and there was a slight yellowness in her face.
The team leader continued with a sympathetic tone. “Initially, I found the commodore’s distaste of this species to be overblown, but the more I am forced to get results out of them, the more frustrating they become. Never before have I encountered a species so unintentionally obstructive. They lack the mental powers to be that many steps ahead of us. They, they lack the physical abilities to be a challenge, and yet they thwart us at what feels like every turn. The commodore and I understand. However, the empire does not. Therefore, I am afraid that all excuses must be muted.
“I have no mind to play political bantering. I am as committed to achieving our objectives as you are. Have you not yourself experienced frustration at these humans’ hands? How is that shoulder feeling?”
They started to climb the stairs, with the team leader once again carrying Prisoner 00 like a large doll. “Physical scars are badges of honor. Scientific failure is not.”
Prisoner 00 could feel the vibe change dramatically between the two. Body language was apparently universal.
Lady Imric said, “It was on the backs of great scientists that our civilization rose to greatness, and it will be on the backs of warriors that it falls to new depths.”
With a new harshness, the team leader hissed his words. “Such rhetoric from someone sucking at the commodore’s breast.”
“I am an accomplished scientist, proud of my contribution, and I am a female proud of myself. If who I share my bed with bothers you, then perhaps you are misplacing your jealousy.”
“Such venom from a subordinate will most certainly poison the well. Count your blessings, for they may soon run dry.”
The three now entered what remained of the room where the baroness had mended Prisoner 00’s nipple. He skimmed his hand across the rough scab, now covered in ridges from being torn apart and rehealed several times over now. A drop of blood covered his finger, as his sporadic twitching had once again disturbed the wound.
Lady Imric placed a small box
in the center of the room, adjusted several elements, stepped toward Prisoner 00, and put her hand on the top of his head. She grabbed hard and pulled out a large swatch of hair. She set the hair in the top of the box. It ignited in a blue light that colored the room, overpowering the dimming evening light and turning Prisoner 00 a glowing neon blue.
She said, “Disgusting, does your entire species mate in this room? It will be very difficult to isolate the prisoner’s DNA, much less what I’m looking for.”
The team leader grunted with a slight satisfaction. “Another scientist wasting a guardian’s time on frivolous dead ends.”
Lady Imric sneezed. “Another guardian looking only to destroy that which they don’t understand, or is too lazy to.”
“Just get it done, scientist.”
Her heart palpitated, and her body pulsed with an erotic heat. Waves of wet warmth rushed upward as her mind searched behind closed lids. Blood flowed through her body, draining the extremities. Each wave started as a tickle and grew in intensity with each new crescendo. The baroness felt her body warm and her adrenaline rush. Then, as quickly as they started, they stopped and the baroness lay smiling, lost deep in the void between wake and dream.
She was unable to fight back an initial wave of panic and screaming as she opened her eyes to the smiling orange barrel of one her two doctors. The words came across both verbally and mentally. “Ah, I see our treasure has finally awoken. Tell me, do you know me?”
It took a second, but the baroness regained her conscious awareness. “Dr. Fengie, what’s happening?” Immediately grabbing for her pants, she felt reassured that they were still on and, as far as she could tell, in place. She scanned the room as she tried to calm her breath and slow her heart. He wasn’t here. It annoyed her greatly that he was the first one she looked for, but her body was calling out for him, longing, deeply and urgently.
A chuckle erupted from Dr. Fergie as he patiently laid down the devices that once covered his eyes. “What a species, not for a moment does she trust in the hands of the universe. The power and sexual dynamics of this species are quite complex, always engaging and manipulating the situations and stimulations. I can only imagine your history is filled with gluttony of wars over power and love.”
Dr. Fengie held the baroness’s hand and helped her sit up. “How do you feel, my dear?” The doctor ran a tentacle across her forehead and stared into her eyes. “We are still in the clutches of the empire.” Dr. Fengie turned to face the Xendorian Lyndia. “No offense, Lady Lyndia, but there are few of your kind in the empire anymore.”
Lady Lyndia moved to the side of the baroness, opposite Dr. Fengie, and began speaking to the baroness. “My dear, it is my great honor to meet the mother of a god.”
The realization of her pregnancy once again slapped her in her face. The appearance of an alien now calling her child a god brought in a wave of emotion that overcame her.
“Baroness, my name is Lady Lyndia, and I operate as the commodore’s chief scientist, but I have pledged my loyalty to an ideal—an ideal that my position has let me pursue with abandon. A privilege few of my kind now enjoy.” Lady Lyndia turned around and paced a bit. “My species was once a bastion of scientific insight and discovery, but as our technology made us powerful, it also made us immoral. Species far and wide would call on us for enlightened government, but those days were long before I was born. For I was born into a post-flood empire. Our home world was a very beautiful planet. It was a jewel of the universe. Then came the floods. So great, so intense was the water that it destroyed nearly the whole planet’s surface. As our scientists failed to understand the nature of the disaster, we were unable to cease the water from covering the land.
“Unable to save their home world, the Xendorian scientists found themselves well out of favor. The rise of the warrior species hindered all scientific attempts to re-vegetate the plant. The guardians seized the opportunity to take power of the empire and have been running it into the ground ever since.”
The baroness was more confused than ever. “What does any of that have to do with my child?”
“Of course, my point, the destruction of my species’ home world was an act of superior authority, for only one Xendorian on the planet survived. Cast out as having gone crazy from the destruction, by the populace, he spoke of a message from that authority, and I believe your child is the fruition of that message.”
The baroness flung her legs over the table and took several deep breaths. She held her hands over her womb. “Where is he?”
Lyndia naturally assumed the question was for her. “My child, that was before I was born. I’m sure he is long since dead now, but I do hear that the planet of Zentak has a memorial to him.”
The baroness shook her head, looked at Dr. Fengie, and asked again, “Where is he?”
Dr. Fengie returned a blank stare, but her blind husband spoke up. “My dear Fengie, listen to the inflection for help in understanding her. Her meaning of ‘he’ is regarding her mate, not Lady Lyndia’s story.”
Catching sight of Aragmell, the baroness focused on maintaining her composure, made all the more difficult by the silence about her question. She exploded with as minimal an outburst as possible. “Where is he?”
Lady Lyndia looked around at the group and gently coughed. “As the newcomer to your fellowship, I had hoped to be spared the task of giving you bad news, but I am afraid that your mate has been taken to the surface. It is very likely that once they examine the conception site, they will terminate him.”
The baroness tried to stay calm, but her anger was palpable in her voice. “Give me a weapon.” Feeling surrounded by aliens only intensified her feelings. “Give me a goddamn weapon, now!” Again the aliens stood motionless, sending the baroness into a near tizzy, with tears streaming down her face. She jumped off the platform and searched the equipment drawers, nooks, and crannies until she came upon a surgical knife.
The group of aliens watched her as she moved, like a group of children watching a terrible magician, unaware—as are the adults—that the trick will end in failure. The baroness, now armed, walked directly toward Aragmell and placed the blade at the creature’s throat. “I have seen your true colors, beast. I have no need for a bodyguard who would sacrifice the ones I care for. Follow me not! I see now that I am truly alone, and the only one I can trust is out there in need of me. So I will go to him, even if it costs me our lives.”
The building was a hollow shell of the magnificence it once was. Prisoner 00 stared longingly at the bed. Memories of the baroness floated across his mind. Lady Imric scanned and examined the room. In total, none of the four devices she had brought had managed to find what she was looking for, and with each new negative result, her frustration grew.
Prisoner 00 walked to the rear of the room, surveying the landscape that was once Manhattan. The black slates had all been removed. The tethers, and now even the greatest city of all, were gone. All that lay behind was a vast empty ocean and a New Jersey beach covered in debris.
The team leader’s wrist device beeped, and the commodore’s image appeared above it. “Science surface team, report.”
Lady Imric pushed a button on her communicator. “My time and resources have been limited, but I have found no indications that would support the external interference theory. I see no signs of non-humans at this site. I am requesting additional time to examine a larger area.”
The commodore’s reply was swift. “Negative. Wilde are immediately inbound. Last of my soldiers will be off the planet in forty minutes. You two now have four. Expedite return to ship. Team leader, you will take the prisoner to its cell, and then report to my office.”
The two Xendorians knelt in a military salute, and the transmission ended. Prisoner 00 took a deep breath and surveyed the area one last time, only this time he was sure he saw a motion. Looking ever closer, he now saw an exposed arm. At first his instinct was to look away from the probably severed limb, but the arm definitely moved. The arm was
slowly rising, as if in an unconscious attempt to grab hold of anything. The person was a floor beneath them, covered under the rubble. He turned his head and saw his Xendorian master hurrying over. Out of time, and more appealing options, Prisoner 00 jumped down.
The team leader was no fool and was obviously prepared for his prisoner’s attempt to jump. A strong clasp grabbed Prisoner 00 by the chest, and as his feet moved over the edge, he fell only a few feet before being suspended by the grapple that was tearing into him.
“You arrogant fool, so you wish to fall—I can make your wish come true.” As the team leader approached the side of the building, he pressed a button, releasing the prisoner to fall several feet before digging into his chest and nipple scar. It burned, and his head became woozy as he fell too far, below the arm.
His hands clasped, holding the crest piece and trying desperately to relieve the pressure and agony. Yet he now floated low enough to grab the limb. With a bite of his lip and a burning in his chest, Prisoner 00 was able to grab a footing on an exposed pipe and use it to twist his body and push off in the direction of the limb.
The voice of Lady Imric came as if an angel were speaking. “Are we done acting like a child? We need to be moving.”
Prisoner 00 was getting good at concentrating beyond pain, and as his captor slowly brought him up, he reached out, grabbed the wrist, and held on as best he could. Prisoner 00’s shoulders popped with the weight of his body, and his chest felt as if it was about to be ripped off, and suddenly one of the baroness’s girls rose out of the debris.
Had there been more time, surely the girl would have been left behind, but with barely a double take, the team leader had secured his prisoner and his newfound slave in one motion. They bounded down the stairs with a grace and speed beyond human capability. Within seconds, they were back inside the shuttle craft, and without delay, the team leader threw the baroness’s girl to the side and strapped Prisoner 00 back into his restraining harness.