by Marcus Sloss
“How do you sustain a population if you are always fighting? I lost three soldiers and one citizen in the last ten days with zero born.”
“We use virum— Wait, you know the name. Then you understand,” Elifer said with a “duh” expression.
“We are new to virum; it was not intentionally introduced to us. Well, not my tribe, anyway. Please explain,” I said, and she frowned.
“Like how we crixxi make our young. Well, I would remove my—”
Mitchell cut in and said, “We know how sex works. The babies. How do you have so many so quickly?”
Peterson mumbled in the background, “I would have listened to more sex talk.”
I rolled my eyes but did grin.
“We crixxi have amazing hearing. How is someone snoring at a time like this?” Elifer said, and I faintly heard Felix snoring from behind the bedroom door. “Hmm… I will still answer. The virum control our cycles. We used to have single babies before the virum. Now we have multiples. Up to four. Same gestation time. The babies are happy and grow up very healthy. I will mate after birth a few days after and I’ll have three or four more little ones six months later. I never age, I heal quickly from childbirth, and I almost instantly become pregnant again. Without the virum we crixxi would have perished. Hence our neighbors not having room for us. We would starve out their children. If you are on virum you either have extra food or plan on getting extra food soon, or else you would have rejected my asking for sanctuary right away.”
“Fuck me,” Willow blurted. “Four babies, then four more right away.”
“Nine months is a long time. And we can cure the virum next cycle,” I said to Willow.
“I am going to ask something: do you know how the cure of virum is performed?” Elifer asked.
Nancy slid into my lap to occupy the screen. “There is another invasive species that kills the virum. They go into the host body to hunt the virum. They cause damage, but when they are done they will return to a vial for reuse. Then I will have to use a melder with protein to fix up the human bodies.”
“Ah, so you do not know?”
“Know what?” Nancy asked, confused.
“You are sitting in your mate’s lap without desire. Am I correct?” Elifer asked, and Nancy nodded. “Then you are with child. Even in the tiniest of stages that child will have virum in them.”
The dots connected. Nancy groaned, then moaned. She was a woman of science. Yet she was also a miscarried mother. I held her tightly. Elifer put the point home even further.
“If one of your ladies declines the cure, then the rest will be re-infected with time. There is an offspring control we use for those mothers wanting a break. Even the virum understands this, we think, as it works better on mothers with more offspring born. Virum can destroy nails, bone, skin, muscles, but not solid rock. We place rocks in our ovaries. I think we have relatively similar internal bodies. We have fur, longer tongues, tails, extra ears, and more fangs, but structurally we are almost the same. In our bodies we place the stones in the ovaries. The virum accept them as growing young and then you stop getting pregnant. Not perfect; your desire will be in the middle of full lust and minimal yearning. New mothers of only a few rotations will painfully reject the stones at a one in ten rate. The pain fades, though, and you simply replace the stones. My mother has not had a child in over”—the translator was calculating time with two uncommon denominators—“four hundred years.”
“How old are you?”
“Four hundred and eight. I was in her last child cycle. Not sure if I should be proud or ashamed. Anyway, I wanted to clarify you were not baby killers,” Elifer said, and Nancy tried her hardest to maintain her composure. She fled for the bedroom to cry or scream out her emotions.
“Elifer, Nancy went through something in our old lives. Some found it acceptable for such behavior and forced it on Nancy. Those times are behind us and Nancy is very excited to be a mom finally,” I said with stern eyes to those around us. Not a fucking chance in hell I would have taken such a hard stand on abortion a month ago. It looked like we needed to rock up some ladies, but I sure as hell was not forcing Nancy to get an abortion. I sighed, knowing some might leave the community and its new ageless wonderment to avoid crushing amounts of child-rearing. Ah, the joys of alien technology in the apocalypse bringing out old societal issues. Fuck.
“Are you still there, human leader?”
“Oh, my name is Cap. Sorry. How big is your tribe, what do you require to live, and what is your plan if the lurrol burn everything down?”
A new woman came out of the portal, almost a replica of Elifer. Her hip fur was black with green stripes. Her hair was brown, her extra ears were a fuzzy gray, and her eyes contained that same yellow shine. She was wearing a tight leather onesie that hugged her contours. When she came out, Jevon let out a whistle from above me.
“Do you think Becca will get bigger breasts? The virum sure does make them perfect,” Jevon said.
“Ah, here is my mother—she is my tribe’s leader. Males get more muscle mass, like my brother holding the door. Females will change to a larger bust with wider hips. Age recovery is much quicker than body morphing.”
Nancy snickered while Willow felt her breasts. I bit the inside of my lip adding things up. Perci sent me a text.
“These are some big changes. I will update Aspen. I expect them to become infected sooner or later but a joint operation will make it too late. My boobs swelled to the point they hurt. My fake breasts have been removed. I know you love me regardless, but I am growing natural big boobs now.’’ - Queen 1
I flexed my arms. Yeah, we were changing, alright.
I glanced outside while we waited for Elifer’s mom to reach Mitchell’s Gpad. The county road was flying by. Rescuing these crixxi would mean we could not lock down the portal. At least for another ten hours. My jaw twisted in concentration as I contemplated the options. I let out a long hmm.
“Elifer, is there a way for you to add your own names to the translator?”
“If Mitchell here will lift his shirt, yes,” Elifer said, and Mitchell exposed his belly. She waved her hand up. He raised the shirt higher. When the translator was exposed she placed the tip of a finger on it. “You will get something close. Your language is still new, it seems. Ah, Cap, this is my mother, Daphne. Daphne, this human leader is willing to hear about our tribe seeking refuge from the lurrol.”
“Greetings, Daphne, please call me Cap,” I said. “How big is your tribe, what do you require to survive, and what is your plan if your forest ends up being completely destroyed?”
“We lost fourteen warriors today. Our remaining tribe consists of seventy adults, two hundred under warrior age,” Daphne said while squeezing her daughter's shoulder in sadness. “Water, food, and canopy over our heads during the day would be nice. For eleven days we can survive a lot. We have pets that will need forest fruit.”
I pinched my nose when she started mentioning pets.
“We have enough supplies to last until the time before the portals transition. If we cannot return home, our planet is rich in rare minerals. We have a lot we will bring with us that we shifted out of the river.”
Okay, this piqued my interest. “Can we obtain more while avoiding the lurrol?” I asked.
“A wise question with many variables. I would prefer if you defended our forest,” Daphne said bluntly. She was sexy, but not that sexy.
“I may, but not right away. Squibbles are raiding an ocean planet. To get home, they have to use Earth and—”
“Chain jumpers. They must have seen something they liked. We almost never chain jump. Too many variables.”
I frowned. I had every desire to save these people. They had lots of knowledge we could use with very little downside. I also felt they could not overpower us if they went hostile. Especially with all the children. When I added in the fact that I doubted the virum would let them get all the kids killed, I decided on my answer.
“Daphne, get e
verything you can and hurry back. My small fighting force will be there in twenty-one minutes to carry you to your new home,” I said with a grunt of finality.
“Thank you, Cap.” Daphne and Eilfer ran far faster than a human could, their tails swishing as they shimmered into the blue.
“I agree,” Jevon said. “I also want to try to defend their home. Hey, Mitchell, you still on the line?”
“Yes, XO.”
“Go ask that man what those lurrol bodies are good for,” Jevon ordered.
Mitchell jogged over to the man.
“Excellent. Hold the button. Right here,” the man asked Mitchell. Mitchell placed his hand to keep the Xgate in position. The moment the swap was complete the crixxi male jumped into the portal.
“I failed you!” Mitchell said with a chuckle and a shrug. He turned to the remaining scouts. “Hey, everyone else into the blue. Go help.”
The rest of the team ran to aid our newest allies. I called our building officer.
“Go for Gary,” Gary said to his Gpad.
“Keep longhouses sixteen through twenty empty, please,” I said, and he frowned. “What is it?”
“Sixteen and seventeen were just settled into. We started twenty-one and twenty-two, though. I have enough supplies here to get to twenty-five. Then things will drastically slow down as we have to create roofing prices.”
“Drive on, Gary, we are taking in three hundred more tree dwellers. Going to save lots of youngsters,” I said.
“Perci gave us the alert. Everyone is working hard, your grace,” Gary said in a playful tone. At least he was in a good mood.
“Aye, thanks for the hard work. Cap out.”
Perci called me the moment the connection severed.
“Hey, my love, so the colonel is not concerned about virum. He has citizens already infected. You have extra zinc in RV3 under the bed. Hand the colonel the zinc when you link up, please. Part of a friendly trade deal. If you cannot lock the gate down, he wants to try to hit the squibbles midway home while on Earth. Save the raiding for when we can lock down the gates. He does have a team eager to go gold panning. Funny how humans still get gold fever.”
“Things would be so much easier if there was no chain jumping or multiple portals. I agree, though. We will maybe send Mitchell with a team. Those resources may save both them and us. Plus, hopefully we can still extract fruit, animals, and whatnot before the forest is consumed in fire. If the lurrol are only in ones and twos, then I think a few snipers can win the day. I am getting ahead of myself, though. We simply need to figure out what they send when the lock is over. I do know we need to buy larger projectile weapons to replace the fifty calibers. We will eventually run out of ammo, with no more to make.”
“Eric, don’t stress. We got this,” Perci said in a chipper tone. I smiled at that. “Queen Momma out!”
I watched the road transition to a dirt trail. An Xgate occupied the horizon over the tree line. The early morning sun cast a beautiful day. Perci was right. I was not used to being able to worry about logistics in the future. We had almost twelve days of fighting before I could make weapon changes. The goal now was to consolidate resources, protect my people, and ensure we were fed. Well, us and the virum.
I was distracted until Nancy sat on my lap. She pressed her full boobs into my face while hugging me. Yummy. I could feel her happiness. I also felt an inkling of wetness seeping through her shirt. That was a bonus of the shielded armor: you could wear whatever you wanted.
“Nancy, your boobs are leaking.”
“I know, isn’t it amazing? Thank you, Eric. I have wanted this for so long. The forced inhibitors from the prison, then the military, drove me crazy. Norm refused when I asked, and to be fair, the situation wasn’t right. Come here, Willow. Don’t grunt,” Nancy said as both ladies sat in my lap.
“You’re in armor. Also, yeah, you both have milk production starting, it looks like.”
Willow licked my face while giggling. My arms were locked down from them sitting in the chair. I twisted with a groan. Her smile was so wide and her eyes so radiant with happiness, I couldn’t help but let the transgression slide. “We love you, Eric—get back to work.”
The girls winked to each other, then kissed my ears seductively. My pants tightened until the girls fled my lap with happy giggles. I would allow the antics since we entered a quiet point in the action.
The first of the crixxi refugees arrived: children in leather outfits carrying sleeping supplies. Their skin tone was all the same peachy color. The little ones were incredibly varied in their fur tones. The hair colorations were just as different, too, with splashes of blues, greens, and purples. Whatever genetics restricted human coloration did not apply here.
“They look so healthy,” Jevon said from over my shoulder. “So many of them. We need to plan. Eric, if we survive for a year, we are so underprepared for so many children. Quick math, we have seven hundred fertile women… Yeah, we’re fucked.”
“Blessed, my friend. We are blessed,” I said joyfully. I pulled up the eastern gate we had avoided. The old image showed the mighty castle in the backdrop. “This is our future. A mighty fortification. Sturdy walls, intense defensive emplacements.”
Willow patted my shoulder from behind my bucket seat. “I like the castle idea. There is plenty of stone in the mountains. I understand we live in a new world. Others may take time to adjust.”
I placed my hand over hers. Humanity was entering a new age. I hoped making friends would help us achieve greatness.
CHAPTER 8
The RV crunched over the rocky terrain. The sloping terrain was littered with short spring grass and small bushes. The vehicle’s brakes squealed slightly, with our rolling coming to a halt outside the Xgate. I leaned forward and craned my neck up. The Xgate always seemed to elicit this response from me, as if I had to take in the grandness of the mighty structure. I just wished it wasn’t so plain to view. Maybe the aliens avoided artwork due to their utilitarian nature of good versus evil; simple versus intricate. Or it could be they left the drab gray exterior plain to avoid giving away facts of who they were.
The RV rocked with creaking stairs when people exited out the door. I caught sight of the Aspen forces coming in from the south. My eyes shifted to the blue portal of the jungle planet. The tall fronds, hanging branches with large leaves, and competing underbrush with its vivid green and browns were being lasered down to clear a path. I was starting to think the crixxi tribe was always ready to flee when I saw how readily they carried their prized possessions for Earth. They did mention they had been forced to move recently. This confirmed that to me. They carried nothing more than what they could carry on their backs. Their little pets carried a single fruit in each arm. The furry little guys were adorable.
“Aspen, this is Mansion, over,” I said into the radio.
“Go for Aspen.”
“I have zinc for you. This is your last chance to slow the infection.”
“We understand the risks. I was thinking we escort you home while our scouts stay behind. We come back to follow the gate as a team. If the squibbles use the time to transition while we are away, then we wait for a different time to go hunting. Or go to Denver.”
I left the RV as he talked. The little children were being jammed into the RVs for the ride home. I went to the back of ours to use the ladder. I scurried to the top of the RV and activated my shielding. We had over sixty vehicles around the gate that were efficiently being loaded. The mozala pets were going into the horse trailer. Adult crixxi joined them, unconcerned about the confinement. I used the bathroom vent stack on the roof to secure my spot. My legs crossed around the jutting metal in a tight grip. Certain I could stay there, I gazed down to see Mitchell rapidly talking with Elifer. She was giggling at something he was saying. Her hand rested on his arm and they both beamed with smiles. Mitchell was single. Eilfer was extremely… pretty. That was a simple way to put it. I did notice more men than female crixxi. Stronghold Mansion was en
tering an era of beautiful men, women, and hybrids.
I watched the scene unfold. The trailer gates were flopped open with loud thuds as the ramps connected with the rocky terrain. Supplies were rushed into enclosed containers. The arrival of Aspen’s vehicles slowly joined the swarm of activity. I smiled when I saw at the end of the Aspen convoy a tank rolling on crunching tracks.
Jevon went under my vision line as he ducked into the RV. He left the RV carrying ammo cases filled with zinc. I waved to Reinhardt, who sat in a gunner's turret as his MRAP pulled up beside our RV. The old man still looked old, which I was a tad surprised by. Maybe the eighty-mile distance to Aspen was a lot to cover for a microscopic organism.
“Sorry, I have no room for them in our stronghold,” Reinhardt said with slumped shoulders. He drummed the top of the vehicle with his fingers in frustration. “Look, we have been adjusting in Aspen. We purchased some power generators, pumps, and lots of food.”
“The golden portals were a lifesaver. We literally brought old people back from near death.” I wanted to keep going, but he held a hand up.
“Soon, we will open for more refugees,” the colonel said with empathy. “I know you probably do not want to hear this, but we had backflowing toilets. Every single hotel, home, and… it is gross in Aspen right now.” The colonel shuddered at the thought. “Our citizens are coping the best they can. Add in the fact we have no sustainable food and a large population… Well, if we do not hunt this blue rotation, we’ll have to supplement by looting in Denver. I think the alien portal system is designed to force communities to forage. There will never be a completely stable environment with so much change. So we are here to fight for that savannah. After all, we are in a new Viking age.”
“We will fight by your side. We have enough to wait out a timer, though. Maybe we can leave a screening force to deter the squibbles’ exodus,” I said, pointing at the southern portal of the Xgate. “I want to send a drone team with a fast truck through, anyway.”