by Mark Alders
Zane continued.
Of course the tricky bit will be when we have to enter the control room.
And how we’re going to get off Parenthesis so we don’t get sucked back in time with it, Motac said.
Oh fuck, I never thought of that. Shit…now you tell me, Motac. Great, this is just gettin’ better and better all the time.
Motac’s voice seemed to soften. Now, now, just phase shift, my lover. I’ll guide you.
You called me your lover.
You don’t like that?
Zane shrugged his shoulders. I don’t care one way or the other. He had to admit, he did like the pet name Motac had given him. To be a lover of cat beings and now of eternals, that had a nice ring to it. Lover? Yes, that’s what he was. A lover of all men, no matter their form, species or whatever. Zane loved Jakey and Cals and Tink and Mirko just as much as he would soon love Zoltan and Motac, he was sure.
You don’t sound so convincing, Motac said with a chuckle, one that reverberated around Zane’s mind.
I’m easy.
Don’t I know that.
Hey, no need to get nasty about it. Zane grabbed Tink’s hand. “C’mon, Tinkles, time we did what we have to do. I’ll follow. Motac seems to have a pretty good handle on how this place is set out. He’ll take us to the crystalline control room…hopefully without too many Banshan interruptions.”
Tink squeezed Zane’s hand. “Hopefully with none at all.”
Mirko said, “Zoltan and I will go to the storage rooms. He tells me our pods are secured there. I think an escape plan is just as good as a plan of attack, don’t you?”
“Ooh, good idea, Mirko,” Zane said. “We’ll need a way to get off this rock once all hell breaks loose.”
And break loose it will.
“Tink likes this plan. We split up, but work together then. My Zane, lead the way.”
Okay, Motac, which way once we’re out of our little fuck den?
Take a right. I will let you know when to change when we come to it.
Right-o.
For what seemed an eternity, Motac guided Zane through numerous tunnels, chambers and access ways. Tink was close behind—so close he would occasionally grab Zane’s buttocks and squeeze to reassure him that he was still there. Zane wished they weren’t trying to avoid angry Banshan, and that they had the time for some more skin on skin time. To have Tink’s tongue over his arsehole right now would be divine—a sure fire way to get him hard and horny and make him want to sink his cock into Tink as deep as it would go, the way he did when Motac lubricated him with his eternal fluids. Then again, to have Motac wank him at the same time he fucked Tink—man, that would be hot.
Zane shook his head of such thoughts. He always got horny when Tink was close, more so when the moment dictated he couldn’t do anything about his urges. Why was that? It seemed the more you couldn’t get something, the more you desired it. Still, Zane knew the time would come. They just had to get through this. He just knew he was dribbling pre-cum, his foreskin wet and glistening to let everyone know what he was thinking. Damn his hormones and his feelings for his men.
On the millionth turn, or whatever the number was, Motac said, Stop here.
Zane noticed they had halted inside a room that seemed to look down onto another. Then again, to say such a thing was an understatement. What he looked down onto was massive, larger than what he could comprehend in a single glance—or even a long one, for that matter.
Below us is primary control room and the beginning of the superstructure that houses the planetary engines, Zane, Motac began as if saying such a thing was normal.
To Zane, Motac’s words were certainly not run of the mill in any way. He’d never seen such a thing. To him, and to put it into terms he understood, he would say what he was looking down at what were about a half a dozen crystalline sky-scrapers that seemed to go right into the heart of Parenthesis itself. Many, many platforms, gangways and structures seemed to radiate out of the central spires. He could also see that the whole place glowed with an energy he couldn’t fathom, certainly nothing humanity had ever created, at any rate.
The previous owners of Parenthesis must have been a marvel—they sure did know how to create one. A machine made of crystal that could move a whole planet not only through space but through time must be one of the wonders of the universe.
Wow, Zane said. He realised his mouth was agape and that he couldn’t take his eyes of the workings below him.
Tink came into view, crawling from behind Zane. He’d forgotten all about the here and now, too busy gawking at the engine—if one could call it an engine. The cat being asked, “See the platform below us?”
Zane looked. On a rather large self contained platform directly below, three Banshan worked at numerous crystalline control stations. “Yeah, of course I can see it, Tinkles. How could I not miss it?”
Tink patted Zane on his back, rubbing it. “It is the first primary inducer flow control station, and fortunately for us, right at the peak of the crystalline engine. From here we could start a chain of events that could give us a desirable result.”
Tink’s right, Motac interjected. If we can disable the primary inducer flow, then perhaps it will open up an opportunity for us to halt the engine’s workings. If anything, we could trick the machine to think it was time for maintenance.
Before Zane could repeat what Motac said, Tink said, “There’s only one problem with this plan.”
“What’s that?” Zane asked, hating that he had to ask such a question straight away.
“It will mean that one of us will have to go down to the power relay station that controls the inducer flow. From there they’ll have to reverse the polarity of the neutron stream so that all backup systems will be disabled.”
Zane was now totally confused. “Say what?”
He simply means that the power feeding into the room below us will need to be turned off.
Tink let out a gentle chuckle and kissed Zane. “Tink loves Zane so much. Never fear, Tink will do it. But it will mean we will have to separate for a while. Tink shouldn’t be long, just a bit of stealth work.”
“I don’t know if I can handle not having you by my side, Tinkles.” Zane was genuinely concerned all of a sudden. First Mirko and Zoltan had to leave due to the plan, now Tink. He hoped the plan was working with them all being separated. He always understood there was strength in numbers. Not so right now. It seemed an individual could do more to stop a marauding planet than a whole army of angry Banshan not yet possessed by eternals.
We’ll be all right, Zane. We just have to do a bit of sabotage work once the power is disrupted.
That’s what I’m afraid of, Zane said.
Why? Because it means you’ll be alone with me again? Motac’s voice sounded hurt.
Zane didn’t mean such a thing, but in a way, he supposed the eternal was right. He preferred the company of Tink and Mirko to a shadow being, especially in situations like this. “Look, let’s just get this over and done with.”
Within a heartbeat, Tink had disappeared down an access tunnel, his beautiful bubble butt and long tail the last thing Zane saw. Zane had a nasty feeling, right at the pit of his stomach, as if it was the last time they’d be together.
He swallowed hard.
What do we have to do, Motac, to make sure whatever Tink has to do isn’t done in vain?
Go to the hatch on the left. I will guide you from there.
Right.
Zane crawled over toward the hatch in question. Straight away, Zane could see a problem, and blurted. “There’s a lock on this thing.”
Yes, and so there should be. This is the main access tube to the heart of the induction flow control room below. From inside this, you can do all sorts of damage before you’re even detected. A flicker of something strange permeated the eternal’s words. If Zane didn’t know any better, he’d say it was fear.
We’ve been detected already, haven’t we?
Why do you say such
a thing, Zane? But Motac couldn’t hide the register of his voice and the emotions it radiated within Zane’s mind. There was a moment of silence, before Motac added, With Tink going through the other hatch to the power control room, an alarm was tripped, yes, although it may take them a while to realise what’s going on. From what I can tell—and see through your limited vision—the panels below are reading such a thing.
Hey, my eyes are just damn fine!
They are…for a human. But not for an eternal. Now, we must act fast if we are to give the work Tink will do a chance of succeeding.
Zane looked at the panel on the hatch once more. It was like an LCD display, but holographic in nature. “So what do I have to do?” he whispered.
The door can only be opened by the right combination.
Cool. Give me the code, then.
It’s not that easy.
Somehow I knew you’d say that.
You still don’t trust me, do you, Zane. That’s why you didn’t want Tink to leave. That’s why you doubt me even now. Haven’t I proven myself to you already?
Zane had to be honest. He touched the panel and hundreds of geometric shapes danced around his fingers. Nope. A roll in the hay doesn’t make bosom buddies for life, you know.
Then we’re lost if you can’t bring yourself to trust me.
Zane had to cool the situation. He could tell Motac was both angry and upset. Look, buddy, just get us inside the hatchway, then we can talk. If there’s an alarm sounding, this whole area could be crawlin’ with Banshan any second.
Motac didn’t replay straight away.
Again, Zane tried to backpedal. The thing about words, even mentally projected ones inside your own mind to a being who was living there—once spoken, they couldn’t be taken back. He didn’t mean to be hurtful, but he also couldn’t lie to himself. He didn’t trust Motac…not completely. How was he to know if he really was a coalition eternal? What if he was only giving Zane a false sense of self awareness to make his capture easier in the long run? What if Motac was a double agent?
All those thoughts and more reverberated around his mind. Again, he asked, Motac, how do we get inside the hatchway?
Chapter Five
Emergency entry, Zane’s implanted data storage device. Ship time, unknown. Location, Hatchway to Induction Flow room control. Date, unknown. Secure internal input.
I worked out how to record a diary entry without Motac being aware I’m doing so. Here we are, at a sort of stale mate. An alarm has been tripped and all the Banshan this side north of the equator of Parenthesis now know we’re somewhere around the control section of the planet. Fuck. No wonder Motac was jittery. Still, I have no choice but to trust him for now. Sure, he could be a double agent, working for the shadow eternals, but what choice do I have? He’s inside my mind, for one thing. For another thing, I want to see Tink and Mirko again, if only to fuck them both good and hard.
The code is based on a fractal encryption sequence, Motac said, disturbing Zane from his thoughts and stopping his diary entry.
“Um…what?” he whispered.
Motac seemed to take in a deep breath. Don’t worry, I see geometric fractals like you see numbers or even more traditional Euclidian equations. I’ll guide you through it…then…when I’ve got us inside…will you trust me?
Are we going to go through all that again?
No. If you want me to leave you, I will. Just say the word. I don’t know what else I can do to convince you I have your interests at heart and yours only.
Zane smiled. All right. You got yourself a deal. I want you to get out of me.
What now?
He paused for a moment, waving his hand above the control panel, watching the shapes dance. Naw, get me inside the hatch way, then you get out of me. Clear?
Motac’s hand extended out of Zane’s arm. The eternal touched the control panel, moving his fingers so the geometric shapes danced even more. A fractal encryption code is similar to an invasive programme except that it doesn’t destroy, it creates. I am now creating the opening sequence as the code changes every time the hatch is locked. It may take a few moments.
A long, agonising wait followed. Zane watched Motac work. He was brilliant, hypnotic even, like a master holding the tool of his craft. His fingers were like lightening, making the shapes on the panel fall into line and create the combination required to open the door.
A click sounded out.
Done, Motac proclaimed. And not a moment too soon. I hear Banshan crawling up the access way.
But won’t they be able to open the hatchway as well?
Motac let out a shallow chuckle, but not one that sounded like he was being arrogant—rather it was filled with sadness. I have added more to the code. In effect I have created a delay. The hatch can’t be opened again until that time has elapsed.
How long?
Thirty-seven years.
Gee, I think that’ll give us enough time to get away, don’t you? Zane crawled inside the darkness beyond the hatchway. The solid door closed with a metallic clang, and it took a while for his eyes to become accustomed to the din inside, stark comparison to the room where the glow of the crystalline engine permeated everything.
When he could make out shapes and other control panels, he said, “Thanks, Motac.”
I have kept up my part of the arrangement. I think it’s time for me to leave you then, isn’t it?
Sure is.
As Motac left his body, Zane felt a rush of blood, heating him to make him sweat. Then, like the next step of an exorcism, nausea overwhelmed him. He grabbed at his stomach, dry heaving. Before he could even think about chucking up his guts, the dark shadow-like body of an eternal, even darker than the low light around him—like he was staring into the mysterious depths of the universe itself—confronted him.
He felt empty.
Motac then said, his voice like a rasp, dry and sore like it was the first time he’d used his vocal cords in a long time, “I will tell you what you have to do once Tink has disrupted the power. It’ll be your only chance.”
“And what about you?” Zane couldn’t help but feel sadness. Having Motac within him was, he hated to admit, comfortable. Like the being was an important part of him, like his lungs or his heart. Without it, he felt unable to function. Sure, that could be a reaction to the eternal extracting himself from Zane, but still, the feeling of loss was tangible.
“I will leave you. If I can’t be a part of you, then I am nothing to you.”
Zane swallowed hard. Motac had proved himself. He had left Zane when he was asked. What other proof did he need? “All righty then, I’ll let you leave on one condition.”
“I thought you made it perfectly clear you didn’t want me, Zane.”
“I’m givin’ you another chance.”
“You are?”
Zane looked around the room they had found themselves in. It was a good size, comfortable for him to stand within, anyway. An access way was on the floor about ten paces away from their entrance. He assumed that went down to the control section of the induction flow machine. “Yeah, I’m giving you one chance to prove yourself beyond doubt.”
“Name it,” Motac said, his voice holding cheer for the first time since he’d left Zane. “I’ll do anything to remain with you, beautiful Zane. I’ve never been with someone like you. You are, for the lack of a better word, unique.”
Zane smiled. “I was hopin’ you’d say that. I…I find you strangely beautiful too.” He reached out and held Motac, running his hands over his smooth body that held substance, something that surprised him. To call the eternals shadows was misleading. They were beings just like any other, having form and substance when outside of their host. “Anyway, to put it in simple terms, I want us to fuck—just you and me. I want you to stay as an eternal dude so we can hold each other, really get to know each other before you return to bein’ a voice inside my head. It’ll be the only way I can really let go and trust you. People—humans, I mean, we have a sor
t of unwritten rule—if we can’t eat it, have sex with it. We also have another. If we have sex with it, we can learn to trust it and then that sex can become love. In other words, until we touch dicks and swap saliva and play hide the sausage, I don’t know if I could ever trust you. You’ve got to be more than a voice in my head. It’s as simple as that.”
Motac returned the embrace. “You wanted to do that all along, didn’t you?”
Zane blushed, but could feel the excitement grow within him. “I think you know me well.”
“I think I understand. You humans need to touch something before they believe it’s real, don’t you? Because I was inside you, you didn’t trust me because you couldn’t face me man to man. That’s it, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, you got it in one. If a dude can’t look into another dude’s eyes while he’s suckin’ his cock, how can he ever trust him?”
Motac kissed Zane on his cheek, an action that sent shivers of delight though him. “You want me to suck your dick first then, beautiful?”
“Now you’re talkin’ my language.”
Motac didn’t need any more encouragement than that. Motac was on his knees, holding Zane’s dick with enough pressure to know he meant business, a smile on his shimmering shadow-like face. “Do you like this?”
Before Zane could answer, Motac opened his mouth. The darkness inside was eternal, like staring down into an abyss. Zane shuddered when Motac took him, making sure the whole of his ample length sank into that darkness.
Motac slurped and applied a gentle suction as he began working his lips over Zane’s cock, pushing on the base of it to keep Zane’s foreskin retracted so he could taste his goodness, enjoy every nuance his cock offered as it became more and more engorged. When the moment was right, when Zane’s stomach had those delicious butterflies within it he only ever got when a bloke sucked on him like his dick gave him the very breath of his life, he grabbed the eternal’s head. To do so was to encourage him to gain a rhythm that wasn’t too fast or too slow.