“And I thank you for not evicting us.” Cunningham smiled. “We assumed the station was abandoned. Even now, after a month, I have a problem accepting your presence here. I’m amazed at your ability to learn our language so fast.”
Starfinder chuckled and touched a spot behind his ear. “Thanks to a tiny computer inside my head. It really is old technology. In our sector of space, we are dealing with thousands of different species, each with a variety of languages. To establish our superiority we needed to develop a way to communicate effectively with them.”
“What part of the Galaxy do you come from?” Cunningham asked.
“Far from here, how far I don’t know.”
“How did you get here?”
Starfinder gave him a smile. “In this station, obviously. We did have interstellar travel capability, but not anymore. Something went wrong when we slipped through the rip in the space fabric, the portal that brought us here. We found it by accident. Unfortunately, it only works one way. There is no way back for us.” He gave Cunningham a grave look. “I understand you have colonists living on the planet we are circling. Is that correct?”
“That’s correct. We have one thousand settlers trying to make a new home for themselves.”
“Any problems?”
Cunningham hesitated. How much could or should he tell the alien? Shrugging, he said, “Nothing they can’t handle. Why?”
Starfinder’s large eyes stared at the Captain. They glittered with purple fire. “Have you found any of our people?”
Cunningham leaned back in his chair. Suddenly, he felt icy fingers touching his brain. “You have people down there?” he asked with a voice like sandpaper.
“Two thousand,” Starfinder said slowly.
“Where are they?”
“Probably dead.”
“What happened?” Cunningham gripped the armrests of his chair with cold and clammy hands.
Starfinder shrugged. “We are not sure. In the beginning, everything seemed fine. We thought we found the perfect planet, until we discovered a sinister presence.”
“You mean you found the planet was inhabited?”
Starfinder shook his head. “We never found evidence of inhabitants, physical inhabitants. But that planet is not dead. Something was living there, probably is still living there. At first, we thought it might be a virus. The colonists became obsessed with the pursuance of physical pleasures. Instead of working and building up the colony, they spent most of their time copulating. But no children were born.”
“Perhaps they were working too hard and that was their way of coping with the hardship?”
“No, that wasn’t it. People were beginning to change. They seemed to loose their individuality. Then they started to die. They weren’t supposed to die, not yet. All were young. We performed an autopsy on one of the dead. Something was wrong. The DNA makeup of the dead was not Genaar. When we did more autopsies, we found the results to be the same with the others. By now most of the colonists on the planet were changed, and it was just a matter of time until all of them would be infected with the virus.”
“So it was a virus?”
“No.” Starfinder shook his head. “Not a virus. We discovered that the colonists had been replaced!”
“Replaced? By whom?”
Starfinder spread his hands. “We don’t know.”
Those icy fingers were still caressing Cunningham’s brain. “When you asked me about our colonists I did not answer you quite truthfully,” he said slowly. “They also are behaving strangely. I’ve sent a psych-team down for a few days to observe the colonists, and what the team found was quite disturbing, to say the least. I blamed it on the harsh conditions the settlers are facing, but what you are telling me scares the hell out of me.” He didn’t tell him about the Demon-Goddess Father Champain claimed to have seen, nor did he tell him about his own lucid fantasy in the park, when he had made love to his wife, a woman dead for forty years.
“Then it is beginning, again,” Starfinder said. “You must take steps to protect yourself and the station.”
“How can we do that? What did you do?”
“There is one thing we found out, the alien entity seems to live in the water. The water you are using, where does it originate?”
“We brought it up from the planet,” Cunningham answered, a horrible thought popping into his mind. “There was also a plant someone brought up. A huge plant.”
“You brought a plant onto the station?” Starfinder seemed horrified. “You must destroy it! And you must sterilize the water. We don’t know what we are dealing with.” He wiped a hand across his forehead. “It may already be too late.”
“Why do you say that?”
“How many of your people living on the station have been down to the planet?”
“Half of the researchers have been at one time or another.”
“Have you?”
Cunningham shook his head. “I am the captain. My place is here on the station.”
“You must have everybody who has spent time on the planet’s surface examined.” Starfinder said urgently. “Our scientists will assist you. They know what to look for.”
“What else must we do?”
“The planet must be quarantined. Nobody on the station must be allowed to set foot on it. Nobody on the surface can get back to the station.”
“Is that what you did? Quarantined the planet?”
The alien nodded. “We were scared. We’ve never run into an enemy we could not see. We didn’t know what to do. Moving the station was impossible, so we decided to close it down and go into cryogenic suspension, hoping whatever was living on that planet would be gone by the time we awoke again. When you revived us I hoped our people had found us.” He rubbed his forehead with his fingers and closed his eyes for moment. When he looked at Cunningham again, his expression was grave. “We might have slept for a thousand years, but for us only days have passed since we abandoned our people. Some may have still been alive, but we couldn’t take the chance.”
“That’s why you asked me if we had found your people? You were hoping some had survived?” Cunningham gave Starfinder a searching look. “A good reason for us not to panic. I’m not abandoning the colonists. We will quarantine the planet, as you suggest, but we will keep in contact. I want to find out what it is we are facing here.”
“You are probably right,” Starfinder agreed. “Maybe we overreacted. However, I suggest proceeding with great caution.”
“We will. I must say, I am surprised,” Cunningham mused, “you claim to be an old race, with an advanced technology, in contact with thousands of different other races. Surely you have means to deal with all kinds of threats?”
Starfinder smiled. “If you mean: do we have superior weapons? We do. It would have been an easy task to destroy all life on that planet, but that was not an option. We are a peaceful people and do not kill wantonly. Yes, we are an old race, but with age comes caution, and sometimes complacency. We chose our own safety, instead of trying to find out more about the enemy.” His large eyes rested on Cunningham. “And let there be no doubt, an enemy it is, more cunning and ruthless than anything you have ever met. Don’t let down your guard!”
Cunningham looked at the perspiration on the alien’s forehead, at the sudden terror in the large purple eyes. “Is there something you are not telling me?” he asked softly.
“You are perceptive,” Starfinder whispered. “Yes, there is. I was on the planet’s surface. I’ve met the enemy, looked into her face, tasted her passion…”
A cold hand squeezed Cunningham’s brain. The gentle touch of her hand on his face. Her body soft and yielding, her kisses sweet honey. How could she be alive after forty years? “You’re telling me the enemy is a woman?”
“Not a woman, not really. I told you, I don’t know.” He stared at the Captain. “You said you brought up a plant. I want to see it.”
Cunningham rose from his chair. His knees seemed suddenly weak. “W
e can do that right now.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Alpha Colony
He stumbled down the overgrown path, came out in a clearing. It looked familiar. He recognized the women’s bathing place. The alien sun was a bright blazing fireball high above, warming the cool morning air.
He was free!
He touched his buttocks, felt between his legs. There were no strands of fibers growing out of him. He didn’t remember how he managed to get free, but it didn’t matter. He looked at the pond, saw the giant plant floating in its center. It was sleeping. He ran down the familiar path, crossed the little bridge.
When he passed the grove of peach-trees, he slowed down. People were picking the ripening fruit, he recognized Orona among the pickers. When she saw him, she smiled and waved. “Hey, Tom, where have you been?” she called.
He waved back, began running again. Anina was not at home, so she must be at the hospital. He put on a shirt and a pair of pants.
When he burst into her office, she called out “Thomas!” Then she was in his arms, kissed him. “I’ve waited for you to come home.” She smiled happily.
“So have I. I have learned a lot these last few days. This planet is not really ours for the taking, Anina. It is already inhabited by a powerful life form.”
“I know,” Anina said. “I have met the Great Mother.”
“Not the way I have.” Tom studied his wife. She seemed to look younger. Her auburn hair hung loose around her shoulders, her green eyes sparkled with a soft fire. “My, I have forgotten how beautiful you really are,” he said.
She gave him a bright smile and looked at him with a strange and thoughtful expression. “How is your memory?” she asked.
“My memory is fine. As a matter of fact, it is quite clear, and I feel better than I’ve felt for a long time.”
“That’s good.” She grabbed his arm. “Come, there is something you must be told.”
They headed for Sister Angela’s little church. Sister Angela was in the back, in the garden. Nurse Mabel sat beside her on the wooden bench. “Hello, Brother Thomas.” Sister Angela smiled when she saw him coming down the narrow path. She got up, reached down and pulled her black robe over her head. She was naked underneath.
There was a small bulge in her flat belly.
Tom stared. “Are you pregnant?” he asked.
She nodded; her beautiful face lit up by a smile. “I am, and you are the father.”
“Impossible!” he blurted out. “It hasn’t been long enough.” He looked at Anina. “I’m not the father.”
“It’s all right, Thomas.” Anina smiled. “I know everything. I am very happy.” She opened her white frock, slipped out of it. A warm soft body pressed itself against Tom’s back. He felt gentle fingers unzipping his shirt and his pants, felt them drop down. A soft hand reached around to touch his penis.
Anina kissed him, broke away. She grabbed his shoulders and turned him around with strong hands. “Make love to Sister Angela,” she whispered. “I want to watch.”
His penis became a rigid mast between his legs.
Sister Angela lay in the soft grass, her knees up, her white thighs spread; the golden fleecy triangle below her belly was sparse, her pink slit beckoned. Anina pushed him gently. With a moan, he sank to his knees, moved between Sister Angela’s open thighs. A soft hand grabbed his penis, guided it toward the waiting orifice. Sister Angela smiled. He stared at her firm beautiful breasts.
The tip of his penis touched creamy moistness. With a loud moan he pushed forward, soft walls molded around his hard organ. Shockwaves flooded his body and unbelievable pleasure seared his brain. He moved as if in a dream. In and out…in and out…
He wasn’t aware when Sister Angela was replaced by Nurse Mabel, couldn’t remember when they changed positions. Staring at the naked arching back of the nurse, he slammed his hips into her soft round buttocks.
Again...and again...
After climaxing he pulled out, stretched out on the ground, watched Anina straddle him. “We all love you, Thomas,” she said and laughed throatily. Her full breasts bobbed up and down, her hips gyrated in his lap. Her tight vagina milked his aching organ, making him climax again.
Sister Angela kissed him, straddled his face. His tongue entered her cleft, she tasted like creamy honey. He felt Anina leave him, Sister Angela moved down, took him deep into her. Her blue eyes never left his face as she rotated her slightly swollen belly above him. She smiled and whispered softly, “We love you, Brother Thomas.”
He dug his fingers into her soft breasts. She bent over him and let him suck on her nipples. Swallowing the sweet nectar, he forced his lips from her nipples. “This is wrong!” he shouted. “What are you doing to me?”
“Loving you.” Nurse Mabel said as she straddled him. Her hairless thick vulva caressed his glans as she rubbed it gently back and forth. Then her soft sex-canal took him deep into her.
“We are all one,” Nurse Mabel said, her light blue eyes shining with a strange fire.
“Yes, we are one,” said Anina and Sister Angela, who were kneeling beside him. “And we all love you, Brother.”
He lay without moving, his penis deeply lodged inside Nurse Mabel, waves of pleasure still cursing through his veins.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
“I am the Xandra,” said Anina.
“I am the Xandra,” said Sister Angela.
Nurse Mabel squeezed his penis. “And I am the Xandra.”
He closed his eyes. “Let me wake up!” he screamed. This is a nightmare.
Soft lips covered his. Don’t be afraid, brother, a voice whispered inside his head. We are the Xandra, and so are you. His lids snapped open; he stared into his wife’s green eyes.
“I am Tom McClary,” he said, “and you are my wife Anina.”
I am the Xandra, she repeated. Her lips never moved, but her words echoed inside his head, as if she spoke them aloud.
“Where is my wife?” Tom screamed, pushing up to dislodge Nurse Mabel. She fell backward and lay there, her pale eyes looking up at him. He stood in a half crouch, facing the three women.
“Tell me this is just a cruel joke,” he sobbed. He pointed an accusing finger at Anina. “I’ve known you most of my life, loved you most of my life. I know you intimately. You cannot be the Xandra. Say you are not her!”
Anina smiled gently. “I cannot, but I am your wife, Thomas. I have all her memories, her character. She was getting old. I am just a younger version of her. Look at me, look at my flat belly, my buttocks. Look at my breasts, they were beginning to sag.” She turned around, presented her round, solid buttocks. “Look at them, Thomas! Aren’t they lovely?”
He saw the difference. She was Anina, and she was not. He was beginning to believe. “How?” he asked. “How can you walk around free, without being chained to the mother plant?”
“We are the new generation,” Sister Angela said.
Tom looked at her, he saw the slight differences. She looked more voluptuous, her face looked even more beautiful than he remembered. Her skin showed no blemishes. “You say you are with child. How can you be if you are not human?”
Sister Angela laughed. He always liked her laugh. “I am human. I am an exact copy of the old Sister Angela, just better. Some modifications were made, I am healthier, will never be sick, but otherwise I am Sister Angela.”
“But you are also the Xandra.”
She nodded. “Yes, I am, but I am an individual. We all are, with our own thoughts, likes and dislikes. The Xandra is with us. She is aware of everything that goes on. She is present now.”
“In other words, you are a puppet, and she pulls the strings,” Tom spat.
“Oh no, you are wrong. We are free. She only guides us.”
“Same thing.” He looked down at his hands, his feet, flexed his fingers. “What about me?” he asked in a low voice.
“You are Thomas McClary,” Anina said, “just not the original.”
> “I don’t believe you,” he said hoarsely. “I know what I am, who I am. I am not one of her puppets. Tell me, why do you know that you are part of the Xandra, but I don’t, if I’m supposed to be?”
He cried out when the voice spoke inside his head.
Hello, Thomas, my son. Why can you not accept the truth?
She stood underneath a tall tree, flaming hair blowing gently. Her green luminous eyes were large and burned with a soft fire. She was so beautiful.
He knew that she wasn’t there, just in his mind.
My daughters told you the truth, my son. You are the crowning of my creation. I have given you free will. Maybe I made you too well. I don’t know. But I had to do it so the humans could not recognize you. You are my champion, Thomas. In time, you will accept your true identity. I cannot influence you, not really, but I will always be with you. I love you.
Her vision began to fade.
“Wait!” he cried out, but she was gone.
He sat down on the bench, looked up at the tree women. Anina sat down beside him, took his hand into hers. “We all love you, Thomas.” She put his hand on her breast. “Does my breast feel soft and warm?” Touching his penis, she smiled, “and does this not arouse you?”
“That doesn’t make us human. If this is all true, we are freaks, clones, artificial humans. Where is my real, true self? Where is the real Thomas McClary?”
“He lives.”
“Where?”
Anina shrugged. “What does it matter? In the valley. He’s happy; he lives a man’s dream, surrounded by all those beautiful and willing girls.”
“A slave!” Tom spat.
“Not a slave. His brain needed to be adjusted a little for him to accept the situation, but he will be taken care of.” Anina stroked his cheek. “What do you care, Thomas. He is an inferior being. You are his superior. You are the real Thomas McClary now. Accept that. You are a human, a better human.”
“How many of us are there?”
“We are the only ones, for now. More humans will be replaced.” Sister Angela said. “It has to be done gradually. We cannot arouse the suspicions of the observers in the ship. The humans do possess terrible weapons. Once all the colonists have been changed, we can start to reproduce. There will be a human population on this planet someday, and the true humans never need to know about us. If we differ they will think we have mutated, that’s all.”
The Xandra (Book 1): Daughter of the Dark Page 19