by Maia Starr
“I will have you know that it is not easy to defend this colony on my own. I am doing the best that I can. We do not have engineers that can build an electrified fence, so we put up tangled barbwire where we could. I do not have the trained army needed to fight against cyborgs, so our only defense has been complete a blackout at night in order to stay hidden. Staying hidden is our only weapon against the cyborgs. If they don't know that we are here, they can't attack us, and that is as good as it gets, General!” she turned and stomped away. Clearly, I had hit a nerve with her.
“Lieutenant, fly to the ships and tell them that I will be returning in half an hour to lead them into the colony. Let them know we will be staying, but to take no action until I arrive,” I said to one of my lieutenants.
“Yes, General,” he said and then turned and flew into the air.
“Lieutenant Reqan, come with me into this building. Let's have a look shell way,” I said to my trusted lieutenant.
“After you, General. Maybe there will be a cold shower in there for you,” he said teasing me.
“That obvious, is it?” I said laughing and walking into the building.
“I thought a fire was going to eat a wrap to between you and the human female. That was intense, but I think more on your part than hers. I am pretty sure that she hates you,” he laughed.
“Thanks. I will keep that in mind,” I said as I opened the door and walked into the bottom floor of the building. It was completely empty, and that was good. “We will make this floor a communal space for our soldiers. I want the top floor to be the command center. It will have a good view from up there, and it will be easy for soldiers to fly in with information. We might have to blow out the windows,” I said.
“Let's go check it out,” he said.
But as I took a step, everything went dark. I felt the floor underneath my body.
“General? General, are you all right?” Reqan asked.
I sat up and sure what had happened. Did I trip? Did I fall over something? But it didn't explain blacking out. This wasn't good.
“I am fine,” I said.
“No, you are not. Do you think I don't know the first symptoms of the blackness plague when I see it?”
“That is not what that was,” I said getting to my feet.
“Denying it won't make it go away,” he said.
“Promise me that you will tell no one. There is no point in starting to panic among the army. Promise me, Reqan,” I said grabbing his shoulder.
“Fine. I promise. But if you get any more symptoms you must promise me that you'll try to remedy it. The king told us what the cure is. There are plenty of human females around here that can cure you,” he said.
“I will be fine; I promise you that. Now let's continue with the work. Let's go to the top floor to check this out. There is a lot of work to do,” I said turning away from him. I wasn't ready to promise him that I would take a human female and mate with her, not yet. I knew that it was the blackness, there was no doubt about it. But taking a human female was for life: for her life anyway. We Veruka lived for hundreds of years. I was already one hundred years old. For the human female, it meant that they would bond to us. It was eternal for them. I already knew which human female I wanted, but as Reqan said, she hated me. This was going to be more complicated than I thought. I had simply wanted her out of desire, but now with these new symptoms, my life depended on it.
Chapter 4
Sergeant Sheila Adams
I was pissed off that this alien weredragon had taken over the assembly with his own information. Who did he think he was? I had told him that I was in charge and yet he was taking over, and the crowd seemed to love it. It annoyed me. It annoyed me to watch him lead people that I had been trying to lead for a long time. They were a hard bunch to take care of, and this charismatic weredragon just strolled in and had their trust. I still didn't trust him, but what choice did I have? If I didn't work with him, he would just take over the whole thing. He would defy my authority, and I wasn't ready to give into him. His dominating ways were frustrating, and yet attractive. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I find this alien attractive? He wasn't even human.
Just two hours after I had given him a building and fields for base camp, the entire Veruka army was in action. I saw Azlo, and he was out of dragon form. He no longer had the wings or the hard scales on his body; he looked more human in this fashion, but not quite. He was still very much alien. I watched as Azlo ordered the setup of the base camp. I was impressed, but I would never tell him that. The way he shouted orders and the way his soldiers obeyed him was very attractive to watch. He was in his element. He was in charge and knew exactly what he was doing. I could tell they had done this many times before. It was executed perfectly. As I watched, my suspicion of him and his purpose began to wane a bit. They really did seem like they were setting up a base camp in order to help defend the colony.
“Like what you see?” a deep voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Azlo standing behind me.
“It's been a long time since I've watched an army in action,” I said.
“Is that all you were looking at?” he crossed his arms across his chest.
“Yes. I was merely watching your tactics,” I said.
“I have more tactics where that came from, if you're interested,” he said. His voice was thick and husky with desire. It was working on me, but I was going to pretend to be disgusted.
“You don't need to play your games with me, General. It's not going to work,” I said turning away from him and back toward the action of watching the soldiers set up camp.
“Aren't you the least bit curious about us? I know that I am curious about you humans,” he said.
“I am curious about your shifting abilities. I don't understand how it works. It seems impossible to me,” I said.
“I can show you. Maybe it will make more sense to you if you see it,” I said.
I turned my head even more away from him. “No thanks; maybe another time,” I said.
In a flash, he was standing in front of me. I didn't even see him move. It was like a blur. My mouth fell wide open. “How did you do that? I didn't even see you move.”
“The same way that you do. Just a certain amount of movements, but we move too fast for your human eyes to see,” he said.
“Another one of your spectacular abilities?” I said.
“Yes, an ability that will help to defeat the cyborgs, should they come,” he said.
“Let's hope that they do not,” I said.
“I agree with that statement. I have something for you, for all of your colony, but I assume that you are the one to give it to you since you seem to be in charge here,” he said.
“Seem to be? I am in charge here: make no mistake about that,” I said feeling my anger build up again. How was he able to do that? He was able to get me riled up with just words.
“Good, then I will give you the virus from Haven Brook,” he said.
I lit up. “Virus from Haven Brook? What do you mean?” I asked.
“I told you that I brought a message from Haven Brook when I met you at the gate. I told you that we had found a possible way to defeat the keddle. Remember?”
I didn't remember until that moment. I had forgotten in the craziness. But now I remembered. “Yes, of course, I remember. But you didn't say that it was a virus. You mean that it is a computer virus that can infect the cyborgs?”
“Oh, now I have your full attention. I tell you what: you watch me shift, and I will tell you more about this virus and hand it over to you,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him. What was this weredragon playing at? Why did he want me to watch him shift so badly?
“Fine, get it over with,” I said.
“Not here. I will give you the copies of the virus after I shift. Therefore we should be close to where you are going to keep the virus. I would not want you walking through the colony with it and losing it. It must be stored in a safe and
secure a place, and only you and one that you trust shall know where it is and how to use it,” he said.
"You think I can't walk through this colony for less than a mile and not lose something? You have very little faith in me, General,” I said putting my hands on my hips.
“I am just following protocol. Now do you have a secure place or not?” he asked.
“Yes, I do. Come with me,” I said turning around away from the base camp and walking toward Main Street. We walked in silence all the way across to the other side of the colony. I was walking to the old abandoned bank. I unlocked the door and walked in.
“What is this place? Is this your home?”
“No, my home is next-door. This is what we call a bank. Or used to call a bank. It is where valuables were kept, like money, in safes. Are use it now to keep items that need to be safe, like extra ammunition, guns, and important documents.
“A bank…” he said as he looked around.
“Yes, this is where I will keep this virus that you speak of. Now that you know where I will keep it, can I have a look at it?
“That was not the agreement,” he said.
“Fine, I will see this shifting that you talk of,” I said rolling my eyes. In truth, I did want to see yet. I was very curious and anxious, but my pride would not let me show any enthusiasm for it.
He took several steps away from me and moved around to the corner of the room that did not have any furniture.
“Watch closely; it happens fast,” he said.
“I am watching and holding my breath,” I said with sass.
He smiled. He liked the way I was talking to him and that only made me infuriated. I wasn't trying to have fun with him, but clearly, he thought it was fun and games.
He stood there and then in a flash faster than my eyes could see, he shifted into weredragon form. His emerald wings spread out behind him. I gasped. I didn't mean to; it was involuntary. But it was such a damn impressive sight. His arm muscles flexed as he rolled his shoulders forward to allow his wings to stretch. Then he rolled his shoulders back and his wings folded behind him. My mouth opened as I watched him. The scales along his chest hardened, reminding me of the iridescent inside of an oyster shell.
“It happened so fast. How do you do that?” I asked.
“It is a skill of the Veruka. It is not to be explained, only to be witnessed,” he said.
“But it makes you stronger?” I asked.
He took a step toward me, and then another. Now he was directly in front of me. Having his manly physique so close to me and dragon form took my breath away. I looked up at him. He grabbed my hand. I wanted to pull it away, but I was hypnotized by his presence. He placed my hand firmly on his abdomen, just below his hard pecs.
I gasped. “You are hard,” I said.
He smiled. “Yes, I am. Do you feel that, Sheila? Hard dragon scales. It does make us stronger. We are able to withstand gun blasts. Getting punched or kicked, we hardly feel a thing. But the scales do not cover our entire body. So we are vulnerable, just like you humans.”
I moved my hand up and down his abdomen, feeling hard scales that felt like bone. His skin was very warm. I heard a soft moan escape his mouth. I looked up at him, and he was looking down at me with a big smile on his face. I immediately pulled my hands away from him. I felt my entire face flush. I turned away from him and walked around the bank.
“Well, I held up my end of the agreement. Now it is time for you to stick to yours. Tell me about this virus. What is it? I want to know everything,” I said.
“All right, Sheila. I will keep my word. I always do,” he said. He reached into a small compartment on his belt. He pulled out a small drive. “Hold out your hand,” he said. I swallowed. I held out my hand to him with my palm up. He placed the small drive in my hand and then smiled at me.
“On that drive is the virus. A human in the Haven Brook developed it. You are a lot like her. I am sure that you two would get along. She is stubborn as well,” he said.
“I am not stubborn,” I said.
He laughed at me. “Of course not.”
“Her name is Dr. Vanessa Lopez, a scientist and medical practitioner. She developed this virus and was able to implant it inside a keddle herself. The virus loaded onto the keddle and brought the keddle down. The entire cyborg army that the keddle was the leading died.”
“But how did she plant it inside the keddle? You can't just walk up to them, you know,” I asked.
“Yes, it was very complicated. You see, we learned a lot, including the humans during the time that I was at Haven Brook. Dr. Vanessa Lopez was abducted by the cyborgs. She was taken to a cyborg base camp. The keddle opened itself up to her like a clamshell. Then she was forced to sit inside it as the keddle connected to her. She believes that it was trying to learn about human anatomy and download information from her,” he said.
“My God. That is the first time I am ever hearing of something like that. If that is what they are doing, abducting humans to gather information, it means that they are evolving. They are learning a new way to take over the Earth,” I said astounded by this news. I could not believe it. It was terrifying.
“Yes, but it did not last long because my colleagues, including my king, rescued her before it could finish with her. After we took her back to Haven Brook, she got the idea that maybe if she was near the keddle again, it would open up to her thinking it needed to finish downloading information from her. So she willingly went to the keddle with a virus in her hand. On a drive just like the one that you have there. But this time when she sat down, she plugged the virus into the keddle. It downloaded, thinking it was downloading information from her. That was how it happened,” he said.
“Unbelievable. I have never heard of such a thing. Humans have never been able to get near the keddle before. They are guarded like a treasure by the cyborgs,” I said.
“Yes, we don't know how we can download the virus into the keddle considering this happened to be a lucky coincidence, but that is not going to stop us from trying. Our first mission is to get the virus to humans, then deal with implementing it. I will give you more copies,” he said.
“Thank you for this, General,” I said.
“Azlo… Call me Azlo…” he said in a husky voice filled with desire again. He took a step toward me. “We are truly here to save you, Sheila. I know you doubt my intentions, but my intentions are true,” he said as he grabbed a strand of hair by my cheek and ran it down his fingers. My breath caught in my throat. I wasn't expecting him to be so sensual. His ice blue eyes locked with mine. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine. They felt warm, very warm. I was shocked at just how much heat was radiating from his body against my chest. I lost all sense of control and opened my mouth, letting his long tongue inside. He slowly twirled it around mine. I kissed him back. I was breathing hard. I didn't know who I was any more at that moment. He let out a soft moan, and the sound brought me back to my senses. I took my mouth away and pushed away from him. I suddenly thought about my fiancé; this was wrong.
“I think you should go,” I said turning my back to him.
“Sheila, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…”
“Sergeant Adams. Call me Sergeant Adams. Now please go; I have a lot of work to do,” I said walking away from him.
I heard his heavy boots walk across the floor. I heard the door open. I turned around; he was gone. I got control of myself as I leaned against the wall. Why did his kiss taste so good? Why did it make me feel sexier than I ever had in my life? Why was it the most passionate thing I had ever done? He was an alien, after all, and there was something very exotic and tempting about it.
“Get a hold of yourself, Sheila,” I whispered to myself. Then I remembered the virus in my hand. I knew just what I would do with it. But no one could know what I had in the vault of the bank. It was my secret, and I was glad that I had kept it there because now I could actually use it for something. I went to the door and locked it so that I could go into the va
ult to hide the virus.
Chapter 5
General Azlo Bron
I walked out of the building that Sheila called a bank feeling a combination of extreme happiness and frustration. I felt euphoria. It was as if hot to blood was rushing through my body and vibrations were tingling my skin. I felt like I was in a blissful place that I had never been to before in my mind. It was very strange. I remember Karik speaking about this extreme happiness after being with a human female, but I thought he meant after having sex. I wasn't expecting it from one single kiss. It made me feel good; it made me feel damn good. But I felt frustrated that she had pushed me away. Her body was telling me that she wanted me to kiss her, and for a moment, she was in deep. She had kissed me back; she had relaxed in my arms. But then out of nowhere, she stopped and grew angry with me. I knew not to stay longer considering she wouldn't even talk to me. She made it clear we were not on a first-name basis when she told me to call her Sergeant. That was fine. I couldn't expect that she would be open to a stranger she had only known for less than a day, and an alien at that.