by Lauren Wood
She had her dirty blond hair tied back into a ponytail and wearing a customary pantsuit that had pinstripes to give her that flattering slim look. In the last couple of months, she had begun to show a pattern that was almost like a rite of passage. Streaks of gray hair gave her that maturity, but she knew that the stress was weighing heavily on her shoulders. The world was waiting for her to make the first move. Dignitaries from around the globe had come here specifically to sit at the table of those that made those decisions for the rest of the population.
Jan was only 30 years old, but her platform for peace and prosperity gave the people hope that their children would inherit something worth getting their hands on. Her desire for going green and becoming self sufficient showed the people that she was not from the old school.
James Tanner looked at madam president and felt a sort of pride that things had progressed in this way. He was worried that her bleeding heart would get in the way of seeing what was right in front of her. It was primarily the reason why he had taken the position to advise her. To her credit, she was willing to listen to a man’s point of view and not get stuck on the fact that men were primarily animals they wanted to lash out in self defense. He saw that there was two ways of thinking and one was negotiation and the other was battle. There was no happy medium. It was one or the other.
“I want you to be there for the meeting this afternoon, James. You will sit by my side and you will watch for anything out of the ordinary. The one thing that we can’t have is any surprises. Beef up security and make sure that there’s no way that anybody can interfere. The guests of honor have already arrived from the other countries. They’re anxiously awaiting a preliminary meeting with myself and the cabinet. Go home and get some rest. You’ve been working diligently all this time to make sure that I’m not deluding myself. You have shown yourself to be a man of honor and character and I don’t think that I could ask of anything more of you.” She sat there in the oval office, contemplating what the alien race known as the Nexus could have up their sleeve. Was this a way to finally eliminate starvation and poverty, along with diseases that had no cure?
“Madame President, it has been my honor to serve you and I hope that you don’t take my pessimistic attitude to heart. It’s my job to think outside the box and I will be damned if they catch me with my pants down. You may think that I’m paranoid, but it’s not paranoia when somebody is really out to get you. Remember to take everything that the country’s leaders have to say with a grain of salt. It’s not going to be easy to get them on the same page. A lot of them want to fight and to strike when they least expect it. I understand the sentiment, but I also understand that research has already shown that we are outgunned and outmanned.” He turned on his heels in a military fashion and walked out the door knowing that the days ahead were not going to be easy.
He walked down to the elevator and gave the customary salute to the secret service and those guards that would lay down their lives to protect the president of this great country. He hoped that some of these pubescent boys that had never seen real combat would never have to. He had the scars on his bodies to make everybody very aware of his experience. He sometimes woke up in the middle of the night feeling like the war from any third world country had followed him back. His screams of terror and nightmarish sleepwalking had destroyed the one thing that he held dear.
He remembered the look on his wife and his son’s face. It made him sick to think that he had the right to put them through that. They tried to make it work, but in the end he knew that the best thing for his family was that he wasn’t in it. They fought him tooth and nail, but eventually the writing was on the wall.
“Excuse me, James tanner, but I need to speak to you in private.” He had his hand on the door to his blood red wrangler jeep. He had already felt the presence of somebody nearby, but he wasn’t about to act, unless absolutely necessary. “I don’t want to be an alarmist, but what you believe to be true is false. Your country is in grave danger and I’ve come here to warn you, before it’s too late.” He casually moved his hand back towards his gun. “I’m the only one that gives a damn and you and I might be the only ones that can save the planet from a fate worse than death.”
Reina Sierra was a woman on a mission. She had thought about nothing else and against her best friends better judgment, she had decided to reach out to somebody that might be able to help. She had watched with apt interest the one man that seemed to look at things from every angle. “I see this man and I feel that we might be able to work together. He certainly looks bigger in person and the muscles that are threatening to rip through his uniform is making it hard not to take matters into my own hands. I’ve noticed from the very moment that I came to this planet that I have been almost powerless against the leering gazes of the men. I think that James Tanner might be the worst of them all. My legs are literally shaking and I have no idea if what I’m saying is really getting through to him.”
“I don’t know what your game is, but this better not be wasting my time.” James had seen the reflection of the woman behind him and was fascinated by the multicolored hair and what appeared to be a tattoo of some kind of sun around her right eye. “I’ve noticed that your kind has those same markings on their face. Every one is different, almost like a snowflake on a winter’s day.” He turned slowly and couldn’t get over the curves that presented to him. He had always been a leg man and this alien female had the kind that went to heaven on an Amazonian 6 foot frame.
“I don’t think that we can talk here. If you really want the truth, then you need to come with me. I know that you are reluctant and that your first instinct is to detain me for questioning. You can’t do that. Word of my incarceration will get back to the rest of them. They’ll know that something is wrong and they will make the first strike sooner than later. Right now, we have the element of surprise and I think that the both of us can agree that that is one thing that is priceless.” Reina was an only child and the only thing that she hated more than war was her people thinking that they were deserving of conquering planets for the sake of sport.
Had it been for resources or even survival, then she probably would be right alongside them. Most of her people believed in what they were doing, because they really didn’t know anything else.
“I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but don’t try my patience. You really wouldn’t like me, if I were to think of you, as a combatant” This woman of female alien origin was certainly singing his kind of song. He had suspected from the moment that they arrived a few months ago that things were not exactly, as they appeared. He hadn’t found anything concrete, except for brief whispers on the dark web that claimed that the aliens were here for domination and not peace.
“I think that after what you see with your own eyes, you’ll finally realize just how dangerous my people really are. I don’t want something like this on my conscience anymore. I think that you suspect that this is not what everybody hopes for. This isn’t the first time that we’ve reached out our hand in greeting and then turned around to stab that world in the back. It’s a tried and true method of attack that works amazingly well. I can see that you’re willing to listen and that’s a far cry from some of those that I have reached out to in the past. It’s just lucky that I’ve been following the proceedings and I get this feeling that you might be one that might have an open mind. “He’s handsome and has the kind of discipline that would definitely translate into the bedroom. My skin is on fire and being in this hostile environment has made me into a wanton whore. I’ve been able to keep it under wraps for the time being, but I don’t know how long I can possibly do that with a man like him standing by my side.”
“I’m hoping that you’re not telling me what I want to hear. You better have something to back up your claim or I will have no choice, but to give the president the right to do what is best for the people.” James found her absolutely to die for. The red and purple and yellow streaks through her hair gave her th
at very unusual look that was almost like catnip. “I have a duty to my people. I understand that going against your own can’t be easy. It has to twist in your gut the way that you are betraying them for the sake of a world that you don’t know.”
She was wearing what these people called clothing. It made her feel like her skin was crawling in the pair of jeans that were up against her ample thighs. She wanted to rip them off to be free. The clothing that she was used to had more of a breathing quality. It was still skintight and of various colors, but mostly their world had no semblance of fashion. It was all about what felt good against the skin. “I don’t want to make him think that I’m on his side. I’m on the side that is right and my people need to be taught a lesson in humility. They can’t automatically assume that those that are inferior will bow down in servitude. My research that I’ve conducted in private has taught me that these people will fight, even if defeat is inevitable.”
“It’s not easy being the only one that is willing to stand up for what she believes in. I need you to understand that my people are good. It’s just that our military feels a need to go out into the cosmos and take what isn’t theirs. There are those of us that have talked openly about change, but that change cannot happen without a fight. I’ve been trained to be a space marine, but I’ve only had to fight on the side of my people. Those fights don’t last long, especially with the kind of weapon that we have in our possession.”
“I haven’t heard anything about any kind of weapons. We toured your main ship and the most that you have to fight back is some kind of laser cannons. Are you saying that they are hiding the true purpose for the reason for their visit? What are these weapons that you speak of and is there any way that we can prevent them from being used?” Always the warrior, James was not about to let the world and Madame President fall victim to an alien race that wasn’t here with an olive branch.
“Their type of warfare has been right in front of you all this time. I really don’t want to get into it any further than what I’ already have. There are eyes and ears everywhere and let’s just say that my people have decided to infiltrate many facets of your world. They have been waiting. They came here many months before they actually let you know that they were here.” Leaving that revelation and bombshell to hang in the air, they climbed into his jeep with him passing her the keys, all be it reluctantly.
Chapter 2
James watched transfixed, as these trucks were being filled during the cover of darkness. He had no choice, but to bow out of the meeting with the alien race. There was no way he could be in two places at one time. He had convinced Madame President that his work was better suited in the field. He couldn’t go into details, but he was on the cusp of finding something out that would change everything. He was informed by the president that negotiations and talks were going to be long and tedious and might last a few days.
“Those boxes that you see marked, as pharmaceutical medicine. You believe them to be earmarked for those that are suffering on your planet. Victims of what you call cancer and other diseases have been the main selling point of my people to weasel their way into your good graces. What you don’t realize is that they’ve already started to put things into place. That medicine that they speak of has already been inside your homes and your medicine cabinets for a few months. Those that take it for asthma or even allergies are slowly being poisoned. They don’t even realize it and death is almost instantaneous after an incubation period of six months. That time is rapidly approaching and that is the main reason why my people have decided to come here under the pretense of peace.”
James pondered what was being said, but the only way to know for sure was to get a sample and have it analyzed by a private lab that had no affiliation with the government. He knew several of these private labs and one in particular that could probably make sense of all of this.
This installation had a gate that looked like it was a regular fence of wire and mesh. With his infrared goggles on, he could see the crisscrossing lines of some blue laser like add on. “I would like to believe everything that you say, but without proof, I’m pretty much powerless. I need something that I can bring to the president and give her reason to send these aliens back to where they came from. I doubt that they will go willingly, but with you helping us strategically, I think that we can make them realize that fighting is not worth the effort.”
“I know what you’re trying to say and believe me it’s best that we keep things quiet for the time being. As your president has already stated, these negotiations will be time consuming. My people want it that way and exactly three days from today is when people are going to stop and realize that things are terribly wrong. Your morgues will be flooded with those victims that fall quickly and efficiently. I don’t know the percentage, but I’m sure that there are a lot of you that take counter medicine for allergies.” “I could feel my heart beating and my lips are chapped in and in major need of something to quench my thirst. I don’t want anything to drink. The main protein that makes me ache inside is the stuff that is found within the heated balls of a man’s anatomy. I need to siphon something out of one of these men. I’ve been denying myself, but maybe I don’t have to. James does look good in that uniform, but he probably looks a whole lot better out of it. I don’t think that it would take all that much convincing to make him see me, as a viable conquest.” He was using night vision goggles, but her eyes were accustomed to the darkness like that of a cat. She pointed out that shipments had been going out for months and that this was just another batch about to land on the shelves of some unsuspecting allergy victims.
“I know that there’s very little that I can do to stop what has already been sent out. I can’t stand here and do nothing. I need to destroy the installation, but to do it in a way that makes it seem like an accident.” His gears were going around in his head and then he came up with a suitable solution to his problem. “I think a gas leak and then an explosion will suffice for what I have in mind. Before I try to cut through this fencing, I need to know what the blue lines mean and how to circumvent them.” He couldn’t help but to nonchalantly and casually look in her direction. He glided his eyes over her body from head to toe.
The adrenaline rush of battle was starting to raise its ugly head. He felt a need to do something and to wrap his hands around some suspect. He had to do things in a more clandestine way in order not to be discovered by those that they had targeted. He still wasn’t sure how accurate her information was, but there was really only one way to find out. Destroy the installation and then get a sample and take it back to the only person that he could trust. Dr. Jessica Stevens was his ex wife and the chemistry between them had always been enough to make them forget about the divorce.
There had been many times that he had succumbed to her incessant knocking on the door in the middle of the night. She’d come for a booty call with no words in exchange, except for that of their bodily fluids. The sex between them was amazing and nothing seemed to compare. Those that they had decided take to bed after they called it quits was nothing. He was worried that seeing her would make him feel like he wasn’t in control of his own faculties.
“The wires are basically something that you might call lasers in your own world. I believe that a normal mirror will break the connection and I have brought a few tools of the trade. I’ve learned a long time ago that being prepared is the one thing that every soldier should be taught to do from the moment that they pick up a weapon.” Reina fished through her bag of goodies and came out with something that she had made by herself in her workshop. She placed two mirrors on makeshift tripods on the ground five feet apart from one another. Turning them slightly, she broke the connection and made enough of a gap that they could probably crawl through after the wire was cut.
To this end, James had produced very small wire cutters. He went to work and before he knew it, the hole was big enough for them to make entry. They would leave the mirrors in place to make sure that they could get out t
he same way that they came in.
“I can honestly say that I haven’t had too many instances that I have gone into battle with a woman. I’ve definitely not gone into battle with a woman from another planet before. This is new territory for the both of us.” The other new territory for him was feeling this excitement and rush running through his veins. It wasn’t just for battle, but it was the need to see her naked. He wondered what she would look like and if her body parts were primarily the same, as those of the human female. “One of us is going to have to take the lead.” His thought were that she would give him the honor, but it appeared that she was hell bent on making this a mission for her own purposes.
“I know my way around these kinds of facilities. Keep back and let me work my magic. The Security System that they have in place is nothing that you’ve seen before. Those beams at the gate were nothing compared to what we’re going to come up against.” “I don’t know why, but I love feeling what it’s like to stand toe to toe with this man. James is not stuck in his ways. He understands what it means to be fully informed, even if it means going against everything that his commander in chief has told him to do. He only wants to do the right thing and that’s refreshing. I think for reward, I should show him the hospitality of my people.” Thinking of her own sexuality, she felt the pulsating lips of her sex beginning to beg for something of an intrusion.
“I’ve been thinking and I don’t think that destroying this installation is going to be enough in the end. We need to find out from a source of mine, if your assumption about this medication is correct. Once I verify that, then we need to find a way to make sure that no other shipments make it down to the planet’s surface. I think that between the two of us we can come up with something.” He saw her put up her fist and that was somewhat like a universal sign to stay put.