Alien Mine

Chapter 8

Rhys lay paralyzed, trying to scream in pain, but his body wouldn't obey his mind. He tried reaching out to Sandy mentally, but nothing; he was shut out from all the girls. "Bob?" he queried desperately but was only answered by silence. The alien presence in his mind was silent for the first time since he awoke in Miami Beach. Bob had always been there whenever he was awake. It was not something that talked to him all the time, but it was always there in the background, interacting with his mind on multiple levels, guiding him as he developed.

A dark sense of loss enveloped him; how would he be able to carry out his mission? What would happen to the girls? He kept trying to contact the symbiont within him, but it was silent. Refusing to give up, he tried to move, willing his body to respond. He felt a glimmer of hope as one of his fingers twitched, then another. He lay there testing parts of him, fingers, toes, yes wiggling his toes gave him hope.

Then a hand clenched weakly, finally both of them. Rhys managed to moan as feeling slowly came back to his body. It hurt, hurt badly; he was screaming inside, but the only sound he could make was a moan. Slowly, so slowly, feeling began to return to him; pins and needles wracked his body as his nervous system slowly began to function. An arm, then a leg twitched and moved slightly. His eyes blinked, and his head moved, but oh so agonizingly slow. The world looked off, colors wrong, everything seemed dull. He tried to stand but was too weak, falling back to his prone position. Trying again, he forced himself to his knees but screamed loudly in pain, falling back again to the ground.

Forcing his body to move again, he slowly crawled to the stars. Using the railing, Rhys tried to pull himself to his feet but screamed as a searing pain shot through his mind, and he fell forward, barely conscious, rolling down the stairs. He was vaguely aware that he was hurt, but nothing made sense. He could hear the girls trying to contact him over his comms but couldn't get his mind working enough to answer.

"Hurt," he managed to whisper over the comms, "I'm in the building."

Sandy felt her stomach clench as she barely heard Rhys. She couldn't see him on the tac grid or sense him in her head. Something awful was wrong. "Kiania, get into the building and help Rhys," she ordered.

"On my way," she replied, already running in that direction, moving as fast as she could but still wary of threats. She moved quickly but slowed as she came to the area where the bugs, or whatever they were, had attacked. She could see parts of them scattered around, some of them almost whole, but others in pieces. She shuddered, thinking about them. It had been close; she had fired as quick as she could, but there had been too many, and they moved so fast, seeming to jump and run like the locust bugs they resembled.

Something about them revolted her; some primal part of him recognized that they were different, aliens, and something to be feared. Or killed quickly, she thought. Kiania stepped into the doorway, looking around. The place was a mess, broken chairs, empty shell casings scattered across the floor. Some bodies still in place where they fell. One headless she observed, wondering if that had been one of her shots.

"I'm here," she said softly, going over to Rhys and kneeling by his head. Kiania felt a surge of relief seeing him that was quickly followed by concern seeing him lying so still on the floor where he had fallen down the stairs. She gently turned his head so she could look into his eyes.

"Something happened to Bob, Rhys groaned painfully, can't contact him."

"Found him," she told Sandy, "Rhys, what happened? Where are you hurt?"

"Can't move," he mumbled, "hurt everywhere."

Kiania carefully looked Rhys over, searching for wounds or injuries but not finding any. "I don't know what's wrong," she told Sandy worriedly, "he doesn't seem injured in any way, but he can barely move."

Shit thought Sandy, maybe it was some kind of Om weapon. Her Bob couldn't tell her or didn't know. "I'm bringing the shuttle down and will come help you, do whatever you can." Sandy stuck her hand in the hologram, twisting it about as she brought the shuttle to the ground. Sprinting from the control room, she was moving at almost forty kilometers per hour by the time she hit the ground. It did not take her long to cover the half-mile to Rhys.

Rhys heard something faintly in his mind, as if from down a deep well.

"Kiss her,"

said the faint voice. Rhys fumbled for his helmet, trying to pull it away. He couldn't do it, but Kiania reached to help, pulling it away from his head. His face looked almost blank, she thought in a panic. "Hurry, Sandy, I don't know what to do." His hand reached up weakly and fumbled at hers. Understanding what he wanted, she pulled her helmet off, too, letting her hair fall down her back. He put his hand up to her face, and she leaned into it, kissing his hand. "God, Rhys, don't die, please," she said with tears in her eyes.

His hand pulled weakly at her, trying to bring her face down to his. She let him, lowering her head and kissing him. In a daze, he pressed his lips against hers, and then Rhys was kissing her like a drowning man looking for air.

Kiania's lips tasted like the first drink of water of a man dying of thirst. His whole body responded; he could feel life pouring back into him. The voice in his head became louder, and the confusion began to fade. Still kissing Kiania, parts of his brain were suddenly functioning again as if a computer was rebooting. But a very slow reboot, his thoughts clearing but still sluggish. Then Sandy was there and was kissing him as well.

Pulling away, she started to lift him. "Help me," she said to Kiania, "let's get him back to the ship."

With their help, he got to his feet, feeling himself slowly getting stronger. Rhys staggered but stayed erect; everything was still confused, out of focus. Then nausea hit and hit hard, and suddenly he was on the ground, throwing up violently.

As the nausea subsided, they began to lift him again. "Wait," Rhys whispered as his strength slowly returned, and his head began to clear. His vision slowly began to focus, and the throbbing in his head came down to a bearable level. He could feel his strength coming back, but it was as if he had the mother of all hangovers. His mind seemed to go blank for a moment, then he was aware again, mostly.

"He seems better," Kiania told Sandy. "Can you walk?" she asked Rhys

Rhys nodded slowly, afraid to make any sudden or quick moves.

"Thank god, Sandy said, relieved, "what happened, Rhys?"

"I'm not sure, but I am ok for now.

"Bob, you ok in there?

"Yes, Rhys, injured. We need to rest," Bob said, and then Rhys felt the ground getting closer as he passed out.

***

His eyes came open slowly, and he was treated to the sight of two beautiful women looking down at him.

"How do you feel," he heard Sandy say?

He concentrated for a second. "Bob, are you there," he asked, holding his breath

.

That was a clever trap."

"

Better

," he said, "

Bob is back."

Sandy leaned down and kissed him; it felt so good for both of them. Then Kiania took a turn, letting him know how glad she was that he was all right.

"What was it, Bob?" he asked, including the girls so they could hear the explanation.

The best I can explain is a nano-virus," Bob replied. But one designed to attack a Drans symbiont. Crude, but it took me by surprise. Though it would have been more effective against my original programming. My evolved structure and program were not as vulnerable.

"You don't seem all there."

"No, if not for your mate, I would not be here."

"Why,"

"The virus had corrupted me and was moving quickly throughout your body. Exchanging body fluids with your mate provided an uncorrupted sample I could use to rebuild myself. Mating would have been quicker, but I did not deem you capable at the time."

"No, probably not," they all laughed in relief.

"What about Amancia? He asked out loud, suddenly alarmed.

"Don't worry," Sandy said, "she is still in the med unit and doing fine; she will be out in another ten minutes."

Rhys nodded, thinking about the battle. It had been a close thing; they could have quickly been overrun if the shuttle had not been there. That had surprised the Om, no doubt, but they would be ready the next time. Rhys hated always being a step behind; staying on the defensive was necessary, but he hated it. The patience he told himself, you can't afford to screw this up, but they had to get better. He thought about what had happened, how the Om had been ready for them.

"I am beginning to suspect all this was for show," he said, "the real trap was for Bob, and it almost got him."

"An exaggeration," said Bob to everyone. "Though you are surprisingly insightful, Rhys, and you are correct, that was the trap. When you placed your hand close, an attack virus was transferred to you. The virus was designed to attack the symbiont, a very effective strategy. Fortunately, I have backups now, so even if the attack was successful, you could have carried on

."

"While the virus was well designed," he continued, "the Om did not consider the changes needed to mate with you. Those changes made it possible to fight it off. It was a close thing, though, and I will have to consider how to counter future attacks of that kind. I am weakened at present; I need you to mate with your women, you generate energy during sex, and I can use that to restore my full functions."

They all laughed at that, and the girls looked enthusiastic. "Sorry everyone, but I think I need some food and a drink first."

"Amancia will be out in a few more minutes; I think we can wait until then," Kiania said with a sly smile. "And I don't know about the other two, but I think you will need your strength back because I intend to show you just how glad I am that you're ok."

"Ok," Rhys laughed, but food first; I am starved!"

As he ate, he could not keep from thinking about what had happened. He had thought they were prepared. Luckily Amancia had spent only a few hours in one of the Drans med units. Her enhanced body had absorbed much of the damage, but she had been wounded. Rhys shook his head in dismay; they had been surprised and almost overwhelmed. If not for Sandy in the shuttle, they would have all been killed. The Om now knew about the shuttle; they would not make that mistake again.

Sandy had sanitized the area with energy weapons, and there was still Leslie to deal with. She was going to be under scrutiny; everything about this mission was. There would be recordings of the robots (if that's what they were) from the gunship. The loss of the aircraft and the casualties on the ground would ensure an exhaustive investigation.

They did have one ace in the hole to use, though. Kiania had found Nazir hiding in a bunker. He was more than happy to surrender. That should take some of the heat off.

The CIA command center had been confused with no clear picture as events unfolded. The hostages and surviving team members were outbound in helicopters, including the casualties. No sign of Rhys, which was going to cause questions Leslie couldn't answer. No one except her had a clue who had attacked, some were accusing Iran, but others thought that highly unlikely. Leslie knew this would not go away. There would be pointed questions about the inclusion of civilians from Miranda Group. When her phone rang, she saw it was from Rhys and stepped out to take the call. Hearing Rhys's voice on the phone, she was immediately relieved.

"What the fuck happened," she barked before he could talk, "this was just a simple operation; now we have a gunship down and casualties to our team."

"I just called to let you know we are ok, sorry about the casualties. It would have been a massacre if we had not been there. The Om were waiting; it was a trap. You are going to have to do damage control there, not sure what everyone saw. Those in position to see what happened here were killed."

"We didn't get to see much," she said, "but we got some pretty good visuals from the gunship. This isn't going to be able to be swept under the rug," Leslie said.

Rhys sighed. "I expected as much. We will sanitize the area, so there is nothing left to find there. I am going to check out the building for any sign of the Om. Blame it on the Iranians or something," he said and hung up.

Leslie looked at the phone in disbelief. "That bastard," she said, "I will rip off his testicles when I see him," she thought out loud in a fury.

"Who, boss?"

Leslie just glared at her deputy. Fortunately, he knew when just to shut up.

Damage control indeed. She was in this up to her neck; it was her operation. Scapegoats were the order of the day when there were losses like this. And the Air Force was not going to be pleased about the loss of their plane and crew, nor the Special forces in light of their casualties. Blaming the Iranians made more sense than trying to convince anyone that aliens had invaded, and Leslie began composing a narrative in her head.

She arrived home that night in a foul mood. There hadn't been any further word from Rhys, no explanation. It pissed her off even more since it wasn't her home since Rhys had just moved her out of her place and into a 'safe house'. Nice to be sure, but decorated by a man with no taste. She didn't care much for the massive bed with mirrors on the ceiling, but the luxurious spa did make up for a lot. The security had been seriously upgraded, even a new front door that Rhys had assured her was bombproof. That and the twenty-four-hour security. Two guards were outside her door, and they escorted her to and from the parking garage. She just hoped no one at the agency knew about it as explaining the expensive townhouse and the guards would have been impossible.

Undressing, she stepped into the spa. Now, this was a luxury she could get used to. Big enough for six, it was surrounded by stones set into the floor and was surrounded on two sides by foliage. A fire rock fireplace was at one end, and a large floor to ceiling window next to it gave her a view. As she sank into the hot water, muscles seemed to relax, and her thoughts turned to Rhys as they always did now. Her nipples hardening immediately; it was as though she had no control of her body. Not just her nipples, Leslie could feel her clit swelling as her body readied itself as if for sex. Damn it, she thought, I can't go through half a day without thinking about sex now. It was a constant distraction, even at work.

Sighing, she reached for her vibrator. Even this wasn't hers. When Rhys and the girls had moved her here, they had apparently gone through her house; moving most of her personal items. Someone (probably Sandy) had placed the vibrator on the nightstand next to the bed. Leslie was mortified, but after using it the first time, well, she would have to thank her for it. It wasn't Rhys, but it was the next best thing. It resembled Rhys, she thought, softer though, but the way it vibrated was terrific. When she put it between her legs, it seemed to surround her clit, and it felt like a dozen tongues were licking her. If she pushed it inside her, it touched all the right spots, filling her up. It could become addictive, she thought every time she used it

Laying in hot water, as her muscles relaxed, she tried not to think about Rhys. The warm jets of water and a chocolate martini washed away some of the tension of the day. However, she couldn't ignore her body and struggled to tell herself it meant nothing. But the words did nothing to stop the pleasure Rhys had inspired, nor the way this reflexive desire took hold of her. The need shamed her, and Leslie felt herself becoming wet, her body betraying her with its automatic arousal. She moaned silently, and cursed herself as much as she did them. That Bastard! But though she struggled inside, her body remained aroused, needing him, wanting him.

She squeezed her thighs together, then ran the toy over her breasts, letting the vibrations seep into her consciousness as her breasts felt better than they should. An intense sexual itch was growing within her, deep within as the sensations traveled throughout her body. Then the other women intruded into her thoughts. No, I am not attracted to other women, she told herself, even as the lust flowed through her. An image of Amancia's breasts, nipple rings dangling from the most delicious looking breasts she had ever seen. Leslie had wanted to run her tongue over them, take them in her mouth, and tease the nipples. She moaned even as she told herself again that women did not excite her. She hated that she was having sexual feelings for the women who had helped Rhys give her the symbiont, who had used her.

Leslie pressed the vibrator to her clit, letting the sensations take her. She felt slutty, dirty. Hot and dirty. She felt like a slut, a whore. What in God's name have they done to me? she asked herself as she screamed loudly and came.

***

"We need to get our engineer on board, someone who can design better armor and weapons," Sandy said to Rhys with concern. "You would not have survived the missile rounds that the shuttle defenses took out. Also, you had difficulty penetrating the armor of the robots with your rifles. I thought the weapons could take out anything we would be up against."

"Your right about the missiles. If you had not been there with the shuttle, we would probably have all died there. We were fortunate the Om didn't know about it. As for our rifles, Bob and I are working on it."

"They know about the shuttle now," Kiania reminded everyone...

"I bet they were surprised when I took them out."

Rhys was thinking rapidly. "Look," he said, that was a well-laid trap. No, they didn't know about the shuttle, but the next time they will. But also, they laid the trap for Bob. That means they know they are facing a symbiont now. At least one of them. They won't know Bob is cloning himself in other humans, at least not yet."

"We will go over the battle later," said Rhys. He pulled Amancia into his lap, his arms tightly around her. "I am so glad you are ok honey, I was worried, but you handled yourself well against the Trangrod. They are very effective weapons; we wouldn't have stood a chance if they had come after us from the first."

Amancia could feel Rhys emotions, his love, and concern. It touched her deeply, the gentleness, his anger at himself that she had been hurt. "I love you," she said, "and I am fine. I am glad I was there to help you; I will always be at your side Rhys," she said firmly.

"Amancia is not your fault; she is going to be OK," Sandy said.

"Of course it is my fault; I am in command, I am responsible for the casualties we take," Rhys replied. "I was not prepared for the Om to attack like that, and I put everyone in danger. It could have been worse if they had known about the shuttle; we could have lost everything. My assumptions were wrong about what we would face."

Despite that, everyone fought well. You saved us by intercepting the missile attack. Kiania's support was critical. On the bright side Amancia and I fought well together, and to be honest, the Om underestimated us. Being able to link as we did gave us enormous advantages. The Om do not know about that yet. But we have to get better; that was too close. We need to find a way to strike back."