Battle For Earth

by Daniela A. Wolfe

  As with the previous night my dreams had been mostly about my sister and Jaysen. The former having to do with killing Jerem and saving my sister from the Qharr and the latter involved Jaysen and I screwing one another repeatedly and because of those dreams my shower had definitely taken an erotic turn. Unfortunately, while the shower room wasn’t quite empty there were a few women there and there was no way I was going to allow them to see me playing with myself. So, I gritted my teeth, finished washing myself and grabbed my towel off the racks.

  I was careful not to stare too intently at any of the other women which was actually rather hard because some of them had pretty nice bodies. There was a time that I would have done anything to be able to get into the women’s shower room, but if I’d found myself in my current predicament, well, I’d be just as miserable then as I am now. To tell the truth, I was sort of getting used to my body, but even with the new plumbing I kind of doubted I’d ever truly consider myself as female. I certainly wasn’t any closer to understanding them. Okay, well that wasn’t completely true, I knew things about women now that would have been a surprise to me just a few months ago, but many things about women were still baffling to me.

  I dressed myself, and made my to way to the kitchen where Creg was brewing some tea. Some things never changed and in an odd sort of way it was comforting to see Creg brewing his weekly batch of tea just like he had always done. I’d never really known the man that well. Creg was quiet and kept mostly to himself. I’d worked with him for years before I’d gone to Het’ma and I knew almost nothing about him.

  “You’re here early,” he mumbled glancing back at me then turned back to his task.

  “Couldn’t sleep,” I replied and stepped up beside him sniffing his teapot. It smelled oddly familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. The name suddenly popped into my head and I had a vision appear in my head of me as a young child popping a red and white striped candy into my mouth. “Peppermint? Where on earth did you find it?”

  The Corrector is fond of earth teas. He let’s me keep a small portion of the plants I grow in exchange for maintaining them,” he mumbled and scratched at the stubble on his chin.

  “Enforcer Jerem will probably come around here soon. He never misses tea day,” he mumbled.

  I stiffened and moved for the door, but it was already too late Jerem was standing there in the doorway leering at me. I shuddered and took a step back as he stepped inside the room. He traced a hand across my cheek , but passed me by in favor of Creg. He wore a burn rod strapped to his waist and as he walked it swung back and forth across his leg.

  “Tea ready?” he asked bending over the pot and taking a good long whiff.

  “Yeah,” Creg mumbled staring up at Jerem with an indiscernible look then back at me. There was a warning look in his eyes, but I had no what he might be trying to convey to me.

  Jerem reached up into a cupboard grabbing three glasses out and set them on the counter next to the stove. “Well, what are you waiting for?” He glared at Creg rapping his finger against the counter.

  Creg shook his head and sighed pouring tea into each of the glasses then grabbed one of them off the counter and turned away. Jerem hovered over the two remaining cups then suddenly turned back to me holding one out. I was a little surprised by this, but I took the glass from his hands. “Drink it down honey buns.”

  I glared at him and took a sip of the tea, and stared back into my cup. It wasn’t bad as teas went, but it had a funny after taste. I shrugged then brought the cup up to my lips and downed the rest of it.

  “Now come,” he grinned. “I’m in the mood for some morning refreshment.

  I let him drag me out the kitchen and through the hall. Outside we were stopped by Becca who stared at her husband with wide eyes. “Jerem, please no!”

  “Get the fuck out of my face, bitch. If you knew how to please a man in bed I wouldn’t have to find my kicks elsewhere,” he said between clenched teeth before pushing her out of the way and dragging me along after him.

  ‘He put something in your drink,’ Khala’s voice came unbidden inside my head.

  It had been days since I’d heard from the symbiote and now to suddenly hear her voice again was startling. ‘Shit, what was it?’

  ‘A sedative,’ Khala replied. ‘I’m working on expunging it from your system, but it’s a toxin I am unfamiliar with. You should feel its effect soon do everything you can to fight it. If you succumb to the drug it will be more difficult for me to clear it from your system.’

  “JEREM!” Becca called after us, and that’s when I was hit by the first wave of drowsiness. I gritted my teeth and tried to fight it, but my knees started to wobble and abruptly I fell face forward to the ground.

  “Took long enough,” Jerem said glancing down me then bent over to throw me over his shoulder.

  “You’re heavier than you look,” he groaned. “Don’t worry the effects are only temporary I slipped something into your drink to make you more submissive.”

  I felt a surge of anger at his pronouncement and if I’d had the strength I don’t think I would have hesitated to kill him. I let my anger bubble and brew as it seemed to help me fight the sedative. Jerem was silent as he carried me down the hallway before stopping in front of a door. He pulled the lever, swung it open, and set me down on the ground atop the bed pad just inside. I watch him close the door behind him then slowly started to undo his pants. Oh, god! What the hell was I going to do? I tried desperately to scramble away, but my attempts to push myself up only resulted in me falling back down to the ground.

  “Fuck,” he leered at me. “You are so damn hot. I can’t wait to get my cock is inside of you.”

  There was a loud creak and Jerem spun around and got a face full of fist. Apparently, taken by surprise he stumbled backward and fell on top of me. “Bastard!” my sister yelled.

  “You worthless piece of shit! This is how you repay me?!” he yelled climbing back to his feet.

  “Repay you!” she yelled slamming the door shut behind her. “You’ve made my life miserable! Do you think I actually wanted to marry you? I hate you, I hate how you prey on the women of the compound, I hate the smell of your disgusting breath and I hate every damn thing about you. I’m not going to watch you do this anymore least of all to my cousin!”

  He grinned glancing back at me. “So that’s what this is about? She’s your cousin? Give me a damn break, Becca!”

  ‘Try to move now,’ Khala’s voice whispered. I did as she suggested and wriggled my fingers. They still felt a bit… sluggish, but it seemed like some of dexterity had returned to my hands. I tried to sit up, but fell back down with a loud grown.

  Jerem glancing down at me and stepped on my hand as he moved across the room. He grabbed my sister by the hair then grabbed her shoulder and forced her down to her knees. “You know,” he growled pulled a long knife from his belt. “You’ve always been so damn proud of that hair of yours.”

  He pulled up the back of her hair and traced the blade across the back of her hair line and I could see a very slight trickle of blood as he lightly pressed the blade into her skin.

  “Please,” Becca begged her whole body shaking as tears ran down her face.

  I’d had enough, I was still weak and dizzy from the drug, but I couldn’t just lay there and watch that bastard scalp my sister. I lunged onto my feet, grabbed at his knife hand while simultaneously breaking his grip and pushing my sister away.

  “The hell?” Jerem cursed.

  “God, I never thought it possible but you’re an even bigger ass than you were before I left,” I pronounced glaring down at him and gripped my fist around his shirt collar.

  “Before? I think I’d remember meeting someone like you!” he gritted his teeth and suddenly jammed his burn rod right into my chest.

  My eyes flew open in surprise and I fell backward as I could feel the energy from the weapon flow into me. “Thanks,” I whispered clenching a hand around the born rod and gripped it as hard as I
could until the outer casing shattered. “I needed that.”

  Jerem’s eyes grew wide and he scrambled backward, “Shit, what the fuck are you?”

  “Just an old acquaintance,” I narrowed my eyes then slammed my fist into his face. Jerem’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped down to the ground unconscious.

  I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh in relief then turned to my sister who was staring at me with eyes nearly as wide as her husband’s had been. “You alright?”

  “No one is that strong,” she shook her head then shuddered. “You’re not really my cousin are you?”

  I closed my eyes and shook my head, “No, I’m sorry I lied to you Becca… it’s just I was afraid of how you might react if I told you the truth.”

  “The truth?”

  “I’m your brother. It’s me, Becca, I’m Jellfree.”

  “Oh my God! I don’t know who you really are, but you couldn’t possibly be my brother! Do you know how crazy that sounds?!” she yelled frantically climbing up to her feet and slowly edging away from me.

  I sprang to my feet after her and grabbed her wrist. “Becca, it really is me. Remember after we were taken by Duvak you told me something I would never forget. You said that no matter happened we would always be there for each other. You said we would have to be strong because we only had one another.”

  She blanched and took another step back, “YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER!”

  “Becca! Listen to me!” I yelled bighting my lip.

  Fuck, I needed to do something and I had to convince her somehow, but what could I tell her? My nerves… I could barely think straight and as my mind raced I drew a blank as I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. Then the perfect thing to say popped into my head, and I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Becca, believe me this all must seem strange to you, but remember everything we’ve been through. Remember how you used to sneak into the men’s quarters just so that I wouldn’t have to spend the night alone? God!” I laughed.

  “Remember Robb Kelly? You used to have the biggest crush on him anytime you were in the same room as him you’d just ramble on and on! I remember one time you got so nervous and actually puked right there in front of him!”

  Becca pursed her lips as tears started to stream down her face. I could tell I was getting to her, but the way in which she slowly started to shake her head told me that she wasn’t quite convinced. I whispered her name and moved across the room and embraced her in a great big hug. She tensed and I could feel her try to push me away, but I held steady and whispered in her ears, “I have missed you so much… When Duvak took me away from you I thought I would never see you, but here we are again. Becca please, it really is me…”

  I released her and took a step back. She remained where she was standing and looked into my eyes then reached out and touched me in the face. “Those eyes…” she whispered. “God, Jeff! It really is you!… How?”

  I glanced about the room then back to my sister, “That is pretty hard to explain and as much as I hate to say this. I don’t really think it’s a good idea for us to be sticking around. Once your husband wakes up he’ll go straight to the Corrector and then we’ll be–”

  “Dead,” Becca interrupted. “the Corrector will make sure we’re both executed.”

  “That’s not gonna happen,” I shook my head then snatched her hand and guided her toward the door. “Come on, it’s time we get out of here!”

  

  “Dammit!” I cursed then slowly closed the cracked door and turned back to my sister. “Qharr guards.”

  “Oh hell, what are we going to do?”

  I shrugged and bit my lip, “Well, there’s only two of them so I could take them out pretty easily, but there’s a pretty good chance one of them would raise the alarm before I can get to both of them.”

  She stared at me with wide eyes, “You can take out two fully trained Qharr hunters without weapons? Oh, Jeff what’s been done to you?”

  I leaned back against the wall, and closed my eyes. “You ever heard of the Edant K’teth?”

  Becca nodded and bit her lip. “Yeah, the Corrector is one of them.”

  “Well, a lot of the stuff you’ve probably heard about them is true. They’re incredibly strong, super fast, perform feats that seem to defy gravity and they can absorb the energy from phase blasts. What the Qharr won’t tell you is how the Edant K’teth gain these abilities. They get them by bonding with a symbiotic being known as a K’teth.”

  “And I’m guessing it you became bonded with one of these K’teth? How?” she asked folding her arms across her chest.

  “It wasn’t exactly intentional. I…killed a Qharr Overseer who was bonded with a symbiote and it went into me. Long story short I have boobs now,” I muttered looking down at my breasts then cracked the door open and peaked through again.

  “Damn, the guards are not showing any signs of leaving,” I whispered turning back to my sister.

  “That’s really the least of your problems, darlin’,” a voice breathed suddenly in my ear and I froze as I felt something press into my back.

  I slowly turned my head and caught sight of Jerem out of the corner of my eyes. “Say, is that a phase pistol?” I asked glancing slowly moving my hands up.

  “Fuck yeah, it is!” he yelled pressing the weapon further into his back.

  How on Earth had he gotten his hands on a phase pistol? Even Enforcers weren’t allowed to have anything more dangerous than a burn rod or a knife.

  A slow smile crept onto my face as I swirled around to force the gun out of his hands then clenched my hand around his wrist as hard as I could. “I can absorb phase blasts but I guess you weren’t awake to hear that.”

  The gun clattered to the ground and he howled in pain and reached for his wrist as I pulled my hand away.

  “Bitch, you broke my wrist!” he yelled, slipping a knife from out of his jacket with his unbroken hand and pounced on me. This caught me totally off guard and I was only able to bring my arm up in time to deflect the blade and keep it from penetrating my heart, but it plunged into my left breast instead. My eyes bulged as an evil twisted grin formed on his face, but that smile suddenly fled from his face when I gripped my fist around the knife’s handle and yanked it free. Like the gun, I let the blade clatter to the ground at my feet before I rounded on him clutching at his shirt collar.

  “Let go of me freak!” he yelled stumbled backwards then a dark look passed across his face. “I was awake to hear one thing.. GUARDS!”

  “Bastard!” my sister yelled running up to us snatching the knife from the ground and plunged it into his throat.

  I stared at my sister with wide eyes and felt my jaw drop as Jerem’s lifeless body fell to the ground at my feet. “Holy hell, Becca!”

  “God, I hate that bastard!” she yelled just before the two Qharr guards burst into the room.

  “Ah crap!” I yelled and pushed my sister back as the first of the Qharr guards entered the room. He glanced down at Jerem’s lifeless body then screeched at the top of his lungs and raised his phase rifle. Bright flashes of energy splattered against my skin and I felt the sudden surge of energy as I rushed the first of the two guards with my fists swinging. I smashed my hand into his face and then pounced on the second guard as the first was reeling from my blow.

  The second Qharr grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the wall with so much force that I could feel my bones groan as my body pressed into the wall, and if it hadn’t been for Khala he probably would have broken every bone in my body. As it was it still hurt like hell and I let my body slump to the ground as the Qharr released his hold and turned toward my sister. I was back on my feet in an instant leaping onto his back pelting him with punches with my right hand while keeping a tight hold of his neck with my left.

  There came another screech from behind as the first guard rejoined the foray, I loosed my grip on the second attacker and slid back down his back then swu
ng around hitting the first guard across the chest with a roundhouse kick. The guard stumbled back and I pressed forward pummeling him with blow after blow. The Qharr were a race of warriors and they could take a pretty severe beating before they were rendered unconscious. It was very obvious that my attacks were hurting the guard, but I wasn’t confident that they’d be successful in knocking him out. I was going to have to kill him and that meant a different approach. I hit my opponent across the chest with a blow that would have been bone shattering for a human then brought both my hands up and pushed him as hard as I could.

  I spun around then dove for Jerem’s discarded phase pistol and snatched it from the ground as the second guard leapt at me. I squeezed my fist around the trigger and watched as the bolts sizzled through the air and slammed into the chest of the second guard in rapid succession. It took three bolts to fell the guard and two more to finish him off. The phase pistol was definitely of human-make and probably would have had the power to kill a human at close range, but the Qharr were much more resistant to phase blasts so it took a lot more to do them in. The gun was minuscule which probably explained why it was so underpowered. I wondered briefly how Jerem had gotten his hands on such a weapon as the Qharr would have never allowed it, but those thoughts were soon interrupt as the first guard let out yet another high pitched howl.

  I rolled back onto my feet and raised the phase pistol for another attack, but it didn’t come, at least not right away. The guard pounded an open palm against the back of his left hand and I silently cursed as a high-pitched siren call sounded from the speakers above. The Qharr guard had sounded the alarm and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to shut it off. I gritted my teeth then squeezed my hand around the phase pistol’s trigger firing shot after shot until the guard’s chest was a mass of charred flesh. I lowered the weapon then turned my back on the Qharr guard and let his corpse fall to the ground without looking back.