Icehole

by Kiera Dellacroix

  “You,” Malory said honestly. “You’re a beautiful woman,” she added, smiling at the resulting blush.

  “So are you,” Corky replied, trying to ignore the heat on her face. “Most of the time,” she added honestly, “when your mouth doesn’t get in the way.”

  Malory chuckled.

  “I better go,” Corky said, rising to her feet.

  “Okay.”

  The doctor debated for an instant, then hastily stepped forward and leaned in to place a quick peck on the Commander’s mouth, withdrawing swiftly and rushing through the door without looking back.

  Malory watched her go with a smile and snuggled under the covers contentedly.

  ———

  The Commander had been checking her watch every few minutes for the last hour, unable to concentrate on anything else but the approaching end of the current duty shift. She was down to counting the last few minutes when McNeely’s voice from the radio demanded her attention.

  “Commander?”

  She sighed pitifully, knowing she would probably have to put her plans on hold. “Go ahead,” she said resignedly.

  “They were going to page you but I thought I’d give you a heads up. They want you in the lab.”

  She groaned, having harbored the secret hope that she wouldn’t have to look at the thing. “And the heads up would be?” she asked curiously.

  “Hope you haven’t eaten recently,” he said and she winced, knowing that if the burly Sergeant thought to say something, it would be a dreadful sight.

  “On my way, Lovecraft out,” she said rising to her feet.

  She arrived at the lab a few minutes later and found McNeely waiting for her just inside the door. The laboratory was actually the largest room, or series of rooms, in the entire complex. Entering through the main door brought you to a glass enclosed lobby of sorts, where one had to pass through a vacuum sealed door to actually have access to the facilities inside.

  She noted Sergeant Terrel and Airman Daly standing behind McNeely, hands tight on their rifles and their attention fixated upon the activity inside. Malory avoided looking for as long as she could, glad that several of the scientists were hovering around the creature, partially obstructing it from view.

  “Commander, you’ll want to put this on,” McNeely said, extending a hand and giving her a nose plug, she looked at the man, noting that he was already wearing one.

  “Thank you,” she said, fashioning the clip to her nose. “Let’s get this over with.”

  McNeely pushed through the door and she followed him through. Dr. Lenard turned at the sound of their entrance and beckoned her over with a wave. She approached and the scientists parted to give her a full view of the exam table, she wasn’t wholly prepared to look at the creature in its entirety.

  The thing appeared to be equal parts insect, humanoid, and technology, its skin where visible, was the same greenish-black that she remembered. It seemed to be sitting backwards in a chair, not all that surprising considering its trunk resembled the hindquarters of a cat, only attached in the reverse and covered sparsely with a thick, coarse hair or antennae. Its arms were projected outward as if trying to protect itself from something, the torso covered in a carapace, like that of a huge cockroach, and seemingly fused to the strange looking chair. Tentacles, peppered with imbedded implants of alien technology, protruded from an orifice in the neck and wrapped themselves around the shoulders and groin. The actual head of the alien was the most disturbing feature to behold, resembling a snail’s shell with no other visible features except for a frighteningly wide mouth consisting of three different rows of triangular teeth, all of which looked razor sharp and protruded in all directions.

  “God,” she said softly. “Look at the choppers on that thing.”

  “No kidding,” McNeely said from behind her. “I wouldn’t want it going down on me.”

  His comment brought her out of her study with a chuckle and she looked up at the sound of a familiar laugh, surprised to see Corky on the far side of the examining table. She shot her a small smile and wondered why she hadn’t noticed her upon entering.

  “Okay, why am I here?” she asked curiously.

  Dr. Lenard spoke up. “A couple of reasons, Commander. First, you should be aware that it’s impossible for this creature to suddenly reanimate. Its quite dead.”

  “And you’re convinced of this why?”

  “That’s the second reason,” he said, gesturing for the others to help him turn the alien on its side. “You’ll notice that the back of the head and a good portion of the rear torso seem to be missing,” he said, pointing to several gaping holes and missing chunks in the body.

  Malory leaned closer to observe and grimaced upon inspection. “Okay, and?”

  “In our estimation,” Corky said mildly. “The damage to the creature’s body was inflicted by one of its own kind.”

  “Huh?” Malory blinked.

  “We took a cast of the creature’s mouth,” Corky explained, producing a hideous plaster representation of the alien’s teeth. “As you can see,” she said, holding the cast up to the wounds on the creatures back. “These injuries were made by an entity with the same dental framework.”

  Malory watched the plaster teeth line up almost exactly with the ragged wounds in the creature’s body. “So they’re cannibals,” she said quietly. “Or one of them was really pissed off at the other.”

  “Cannibals would be my guess,” Dr. Lenard said quietly. “A good portion of this alien’s internal body mass is missing.”

  She winced and tried not visualize. “Alright, if we find one of these things intact, what are the chances of it getting up and walking around if thawed?”

  “None,” Dr. Lenard said firmly. “Our atmosphere would be deadly to a living life form of this type.”

  “And you’re a hundred percent sure of this?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She pursed her lips thoughtfully, rocking back and forth on her heels for a moment. “Your opinion, Mr. McNeely?” she asked finally.

  “I’d prefer to remain cautious,” McNeely said quickly. “A lot of unknowns here, the craft might have had more than one kind of life form aboard.”

  She nodded in agreement. “Okay, everyone remains armed for the time being, but lets cut the guard in excavation down to one.”

  “Very well, Commander,” McNeely said in agreement.

  She looked at the gathered scientists. “Is there anything else?”

  Dr. Lenard glanced at his colleagues questioningly. “I don’t believe so, Commander.”

  “Very well then,” she said. “Please keep me informed,” she added and turned to stride from the room, McNeely on her heels.

  As soon as they were outside, she reached to pull the clip from her nose, turning to the Sergeant with a sour look. “Is that you or me that smells so bad?”

  “Unfortunately, its both of us.”

  “Jesus, that’s rank,” she said in disgust.

  He nodded to concur. “They weren’t pleased by maintaining a guard in excavation.”

  “No, they weren’t,” she said dismissively. “But this whole space monster thing gives me the jeebies. Plus, if someone wasn’t down there to tell them to call it a day, they’d be at it all night.”

  “True enough,” he agreed.

  She gestured over her shoulder at Terrel and Daly. “Stow their rifles and give them the night off,” she ordered. “Apparently, that thing isn’t gonna get up and table dance.”

  He smiled and gave her a nod.

  “I’m headed for a shower. Goodnight, Sergeant Major.”

  “Goodnight, Commander,” he said amiably, watching her stroll from the room.

  ———

  Malory lay on the cot in her quarters feeling sorry for herself. It had been over two hours since she had left the lab and suspected she wouldn’t hear from the doctor anytime soon. It was a hard pill to swallow playing second fiddle to some hideous, foul smelling monster that also happ
ened to be dead. She was trying not to let it bruise her ego.

  She spared a glance around the room and frowned; she had even cleaned her quarters for the woman. With a long, disappointed sigh, she rolled over to turn off the light, stopping halfway there when a knock came at the door.

  “Yes?” she said loudly, a hopeful lilt to her voice.

  “Can I come in?” Corky asked.

  “Of course,” she said happily.

  Corky entered the room, closing the door behind her and projecting a sheepish look. “Sorry,” she said sincerely. “Hey, you cleaned up in here,” she added in surprise.

  “Are you impressed?” Malory asked, pleased that her efforts had been noticed.

  “Yes, actually,” Corky said honestly but then smiled knowingly. “You ran out of clean clothes, didn’t you?”

  “Nope, I did all of this for you.”

  “Really?” she asked suspiciously.

  Malory considered. “Okay, I ran out of clothes too,” she admitted.

  Corky chuckled. “Uh huh.”

  “Are you gonna stand by the door all night or come over here?”

  Corky swayed indecisively. “Are you naked under there?” she asked, pointing at the blankets.

  “Would it make a difference?” Malory asked, smiling seductively.

  “Yeah,” Corky admitted. “I was hoping we could talk.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather just sit on my face?”

  Corky’s jaw dropped. “Jesus, could you be less romantic?”

  Malory choked back the intended retort. “Sorry,” she forced, resituating herself cross-legged on the end of the cot and gesturing to the available space. “Make yourself comfortable and tell me what you want to talk about.”

  The doctor sighed and sat down, pulling off her boots. “Larry said you were decorated, will you tell me about it?” she asked quietly.

  Blue eyes narrowed. “What else did Larry say?”

  “Only that you were considered unorthodox,” Corky said honestly.

  Malory brooded. “He shared more than he should have.”

  Corky turned to face her, pulling the opposite end of the blankets up over her legs. “Will you tell me?” she asked softly.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to know more about you,” she answered. “And I know that women in the military aren’t typically exposed to situations that result in combat decorations. I also know that a young, female officer wouldn’t be the choice of many to oversee an installation of this importance.”

  “I’ll tell you if you tell me why you have problem with the military in general.”

  “Okay,” Corky said softly. “You go first.”

  “What exactly do you want to know?”

  “How did you get your decorations?” Corky asked curiously.

  “I was in a helicopter over Bosnia that came under fire and I took a hit in my thigh,” Malory said tonelessly. “The aircraft itself took several and was crippled. We were forced off course and crashed into the Adriatic.”

  “Is that how you hurt your shoulder?”

  “Yeah,” Malory said. “Compound fracture of the clavicle, dislocated shoulder, torn rotator cuff.”

  Corky winced sympathetically. “And?”

  “And what?”

  “What’s the rest?”

  “There were five people on board, only two survived and made it to the surface. One was a Marine Colonel who had broken his back when we crashed. I pulled him out of the wreckage and kept him afloat until we were rescued almost forty-eight hours later.”

  “How did you do that with a useless arm and a wounded leg?”

  “With a great deal of pain,” Malory said honestly.

  “I can’t imagine how horrible that must have been,” Corky said sadly.

  “It isn’t something I look back on fondly,” Malory admitted.

  “What were you decorated with?”

  “The DSM and a Purple Heart.”

  “What’s a DSM?”

  “The Distinguished Service Medal,” Malory explained dismissively. “Now tell me your story.”

  “Its pretty simple really,” Corky said peevishly. “Former lover of three years also happened to be in the Army. I never really fit in with her crowd and always felt looked down upon because I was a civilian. I moved across the country twice when she was transferred just to be with her, even though she was distant and treated me as if I wasn’t good enough for her. The third time she was transferred she told me not to bother to come with her and informed me that she had been seeing someone else for the last two years. Not surprisingly, another officer.”

  “Is that how you ended up here?”

  “Pretty much. Larry was a Professor I had in college. When I completed my residency, he approached me with the job.”

  “I’m sorry about your girlfriend,” Malory said sincerely.

  “I’m not,” Corky said truthfully. “She was a horrible girlfriend and an even worse officer,” she added, suddenly shy. “She couldn’t hold a candle to you. I judged everyone in uniform by what I saw from her and the people she associated with. I look at you and see everything she could never be. Everyone here respects you, civilian and military alike, and not because you’re the boss, but because you’re a leader.”

  Malory smiled. “Can we make out now?”

  Corky laughed. “No, tell me how you got here.”

  The Commander sighed heavily and shrugged. “I’m a promotable officer and was going to resign my commission. They threw me a bone.”

  “You were going to resign? Why?” Corky asked in surprise.

  “Because I’m thirty years old and my whole life has been nothing but the Navy,” she replied. “I was of a mind to see what life was like without it.”

  “You changed your mind?”

  “They made me an offer. Take the position here and use the time to reconsider. Since I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do once I resigned, I agreed.”

  “Do you have a girl in every port?” Corky asked curiously.

  “Nope.”

  “Have a girl anywhere?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you a virgin?”

  “I lost my cherry, but still have the box it came in.”

  Corky laughed. “Where did you get your vocabulary?”

  “It was on sale at Sears. Can I see you naked?”

  “Maybe. Have you had a lot of lovers?”

  “Numerically, you’d be the second but as far as I’m concerned, the first and only.”

  “Really?”

  “Really on both counts.”

  “I’m having a hard time resisting you.”

  “Why would you want to?”

  Eyes rolled. “Do you have any idea what a hateful bitch you were to me?”

  “It was the quickest way to solve the problem.”

  “That’s it? No, I’m sorry?”

  “Did you know the minute I saw you I got wet?”

  “Could’ve fooled me.”

  “Get over it.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Yes, it is. Just kiss me.”

  “You think its that simple?”

  “Yes.”

  “It isn’t for me.”

  Malory threw her hands in the air exasperatedly and abruptly leaned forward, resting on her hands and knees, her face suddenly an inch away from Corky’s. “Then I’ll kiss you,” she whispered and gently covered the doctor’s lips with her own. Prodding lovingly with delicate caresses until she felt her respond, then greedily devouring what was offered. Catching a hesitant tongue and sucking it tenderly into her mouth, moaning softly at the bodily sensation it induced.

  She sighed in a frustration she felt all the way to her toes when Corky began to gently disengage. Struggling with her composure, she didn’t fight it and backed off respectfully, waiting with a barely restrained desire to observe her reaction.

  Corky leaned back against the wall and caught her breath. The energy radiating off the
Commander was so extreme, every nerve ending in her body was standing at attention. It was an intensity unlike anything she had ever experienced, both seductively powerful and emotionally frightening.

  “I want you,” Malory rumbled thickly.

  Corky looked up into a blue gaze almost dilated black with longing and knew she wasn’t yet prepared for the intensity lurking behind those eyes.

  “I want you,” Malory repeated. “Let me show you how much.”

  Corky tentatively reached out with a hand to cup her cheek, almost groaning when it was leaned into seductively. “I want you too,” she whispered. “But I’ve never felt so... pleasantly scared.”

  Malory bit her lower lip almost painfully. “Then lay with me and let me hold you.”

  Corky almost gaped at the sudden transformation; the sexual aura that had been almost tangible receded upon delivery of the gentle request. The Commander resituated herself on the cot and lifted the blankets in front of her invitingly. Silently, Corky stood on weak knees, stepped out of her fatigues and climbed into the offered embrace. The blankets settled around her and Malory turned to click off the lamp, returning to pull the doctor tightly against her body.

  “Thank you,” Corky said softly in the dark.

  “You’re welcome,” Malory whispered, her breath tickling Corky’s ear. “However, if you wake up in a puddle, it’s not because I have a bladder problem.”

  “God,” Corky giggled. “You’re so vulgar.”

  For an answer, Malory placed a gentle kiss on the back of her neck and smiled at the shiver it produced. “Goodnight, Doctor.”

  05/05/02 - 0815 hours

  Corky rose without the aid of the alarm and frowned upon realizing how late it was. Belatedly, she noticed the body that she held in her arms was about five feet smaller, a hundred and ten pounds lighter, and nowhere near as warm as the one she went to bed with. Her eyes narrowed in the dark and she fumbled around for the lamp. Illumination confirmed her suspicions and she flung Little Lovecraft across the room in disgust.

  Not amused at waking up with the doll instead of the Commander, she got up to put her boots and pants on. She was about to enter Malory’s office when she heard McNeely’s voice on the other side of the door. Trapped for the time being, she went over and sat back down on the cot with a huff, waiting impatiently. The time passed slowly and she eventually lay back down, staring at the ceiling until her eyelids grew heavy.