“I will not see our people led into ruination because of these parasites!” A new voice yelled and both Lily and I jumped as we turned to look upon the speaker, Jacklyn Estevez.
“Well so much for them not calling us parasites,” Khala said with pursed lips just before vanishing. Dyssa glanced at the spot her mother’s image had just vacated and let out a long sigh before, she too, disappeared.
While Lily and I had been conversing with our symbiotes the chatter among the assembly members had continued. I silently cursed myself for allowing myself to be distracted then opened my mouth to speak, but to my surprise the doctor spoke first.
“Vakrexid, can vouch for them. I have been able to determine with nearly complete certainty that the symbiotes cannot consciously influence their hosts. Any human, or Qharr, joined with a K’teth would remain completely independent from the entities. They can only gain control if the host allows it and most certainly only for a very short time.”
“Forgive us, if we do not take the word of an alien at face value,” the Jeremiah Krane said folding his arms across his chest.
Jacklyn, clenched her jaw then turned to stare at the doctor a slow smile forming on her face as I caught glint of amusement from her eyes. “Please pardon my young… friend Jeremiah, he is too young to remember the universe as it was before the invasion. So excuse me as I explain to my fellow representative. This alien, as you put it is a member of a race of people known as the Dexagarmetrax. They are a species of scholars, they value truth above all else. For them lying is a reprehensible crime tantamount to murder.”
Jokeb grimaced and scowled at the elderly woman. “That doesn’t mean he couldn’t be some sort of deviant.”
“Doubtful,” Arianne said her long auburn tresses draping over the edge of platform as she leaned over to get a better look at us. The top two buttons of her blouse were undone and I got an amazing view of her cleavage. That is, until Lily caught me looking and elbowed me in the stomach.
“There are very few criminals among the Dexagarmetrax. Let’s just assume that this doctor is speaking the truth it still does not mean he is infallible. He could have made a mistake or been led to a false conclusion. Still, I am inclined to believe him,” Arianne continued apparently heedless of my wandering eyes.
“How exactly is it that you know this?” Jokeb frowned glancing at the much younger councilor in surprise. “You weren’t even a twinkle in your parent’s eyes when theQharr invaded.”
“You may behave as if I’m just another pretty face, Jokeb, but unlike you I know how to read,” she said with cool disdain as she twirled her bangs around her index finger.
“How Representative Le Fonte knows this is immaterial, since she happens to be correct,” Jacklyn said with a slight tremor to her voice.
“Our own doctors have examined our friends in the resistance,” Bueller said tapping his cane against the floor to silence the room. “They’re reports are far from conclusive, but they’re results would seem to agree with the Dexagarmetrax’s conclusions.”
“Would seem to?” Jacklyn asked. “You took one hell of a risk bringing these rebels here, president. They could very well bring the Qharr down on us. I will not risk the security of this facility for sake of these people. We’ve already lost one nest to the gray-skins, I will not allow us to repeat the mistakes of Safe Haven.”
Lily stepped forward and looking up at row of the councilors as if seeing them for the first time. “What do any of you know of the mistakes of Safe Haven? None of you were there to watch as the ones you cared about were butchered by those bastards!” She was shaking with rage and I placed a hand on her shoulder as she let out a deep breath then continued speaking.
“The leaders of Safe Haven would have found a big bottomless whole to drop us down and wash their hands of us. They wouldn’t have taken us in like you did. They were paranoid and afraid of their own shadows. The reason Safe Heaven fell is because they… we were too damned arrogant for their own damn good. You can’t stay hidden from the Qharr forever, sooner or later they will find you and when they do, I hope you’re ready. Safe Haven wasn’t and looked what happened.”
“Ah, yes, our alleged survivor. You give a compelling argument, but much of what you said could be applied to your resistance, could it not? You come to us, a few survivors of an organization, that because of its arrogance was all but obliterated and you dare to preach to us?” Representative Jokeb glowered down at her. “If we move against the Qharr I fear that we will be doomed to repeat your mistakes. The gray-skins are like a force of nature there is no fighting them.”
“You can’t really be serious?!” I yelled glared up at the ratty little bastard in disbelief. “There may not be much left of the resistance, but the E-R-F represents our only chance at ever being liberated from the gray-skins, isn’t that worth taking a risk?”
“Hear, hear,” Bueller tapped his cane against the floor. “Before they came to us the Alexana Briggs and her band–” he paused then held his hands out to me. “–received one last message from the fleet. It took them some time to decode it, but it contains coordinates, a date and a time. I believe it would be in our best interest to at least investigate.”
Della Everly cleared her throat then pursed her lips and stood up. “I’ve heard enough. I thank our friends from the resistance for joining us today, but whatever decision this council comes to I believe should be done so without their presence. Alexana and her compatriots have done an admiral job making their case, but due to the sensitivity of the topic I believe a more private meeting would be appropriate.”
“I concur,” Lancaster Dahl said.
“As do I.” Jacklyn said leaning back in her chair.
“Very well.” Bueller glowered at the three representatives, but nodded and pounded his cane against the floor. “We will reconvene on the morrow privately. It was my hope that we could come to this decision as partners with our friends from the resistance, but clearly that is not to be the case here. I suppose then there is no reason for us to linger, meeting adjourned.”
The doctor went tearing out of the room without a word running at so great a pace I actually worried he would topple over, but he kept his balance, at least, until he disappeared from the room.
“Well,” Lily grimaced snatching my hand out of the open air. “That could have gone a lot better, but at least they didn’t do anything too drastic.”
I shrugged looking around the chamber and watched the council members depart. “Let’s just hope something good comes of it.”
“I’m sure it will.” She smiled and tightened her grip on my hands and led me out the room. She had that suggestive smile on her face that I’d learned could only mean one thing. Not that I was complaining, I was always up for a little fun in the bedroom.
Chapter Eight
Who was I, really? It was a question that had pounded its way through my head over and over since Kaya’s death. Was I this wild Lexa a beautiful, untamed warrior-woman with superhuman strength, or was I Jellfree, unassuming cook and reluctant rebel. Those two identities were at odds and I couldn’t come to grips them. After my transformation, I’d had very little time to reconcile my changes.
Events had happened so quickly that I’d been forced to set aside my insecurities and misgivings and fight for my life. Even after rescuing my sister, I’d been so caught up with our reunion and my budding relationship with Lily that my gender identity had taken a backseat to those things. Given that we were settled in the relative security of the nest I had a lot more time to really think things through, but I was no closer to understanding any of it.
It all boiled down to one question. Just a short time ago the answer would have been so simple, but I’d begun to build a new identity. Did I want to be a woman for the rest of my life? Khala had offered to return me to my former form, but I knew that I would be forced to change back to my feminine self sooner or later. Was it worth switching back and forth whenever it came time for Khala to mix her genetic code
with a male’s and pop out another offspring? Did I even want to be a man anymore?
I really liked Lily, and I could see our relationship becoming a lasting one, but would she want to stay with me once I changed? I didn’t even know if she was attracted to men. I should have talked it over with her, but every time I tried to broach the subject the words escaped me.
I felt my cheeks burn as I looked myself over in the mirror. I was wearing a little-slip of a black dress that clung to my figure and left almost nothing to the imagination. I had no idea what sort of fabric it was stitched from, but it was so light and airy that it almost felt as if I were wearing nothing. If I hadn’t been for the bra, it would have been a lot harder remember that I wasn’t naked. It dug into my back and was a little on the uncomfortable side, but it did make my knockers look pretty amazing.
The dress hadn’t been my idea, far from it, but if I was going to be honest from myself I kind of liked the way it made me look. It was strange thinking that way. I just wished those feelings made me a little more certain about which path I was going to take, but instead they just heightened my confusion.
A party was being held in our honor that night. I personally didn’t see the point of it, but according to Rayland the nesters seldom had a chance to celebrate and it was important for the community to be officially introduced to us. I didn’t give a flying rat’s ass either way, but it was just another compromise I was making in the interest of appeasing the nesters.
“Damn,” came Becca’s voice from the doorway. “You look amazing. I wish I could look half as good.”
If my reflection was any indication I think my cheeks actually turned two or three deeper shades of red. “Thanks.” It was all I could think to say without revealing my deep seeded doubts. My feminine side certainly liked having its ego stroked, but my masculine side wanted no part of it. I felt like I was at war with myself, two halves male and female battling it out for dominance. I wanted so much tell someone, to ask for help, or guidance but I just couldn’t find the words.
I swallowed and looked my sister over. She was a wearing a little red number of a similar cut to my dress, except that it showed a lot less cleavage. “Don’t sell yourself short. You look great.”
There would have been a time that I would have been uncomfortable complimenting my sister’s looks, but my feminine side didn’t have a problem with it and my masculine side didn’t put up much of a fight. I wasn’t lying either, my sister really did look great. I was certainly the more well-endowed sibling, but that didn’t mean Becca was hard on the eyes. Far from it. Her symbiote had yet to change her hair or eyes, but if what Khala had told me was true it was only a matter of time before my sister was sporting blue tresses.
“Damn,” Lily pronounced poking her head through the door. “I’ve been so worried about the way I looked, but god with you two in the room no one’s gonna pay me any mind.”
Typical Lily, she didn’t realize how beautiful she had really become. She looked in the mirror and still saw her old male self looking back at her. Yes, she had smaller breasts and a more slender frame than either of us, but a lot of that had to do with her height. Her proportions were more than generous and she had a figure that any potential lover, whether they were male or female, would have trouble looking away from. Her little blue dress clung to her figure in all the right places and it took all my restraint to keep my hands off her.
“I just want this night to be over.” I grimaced placing a hand on my sister’s shoulder. “Your symbiote still being mister talkative?”
She nodded then bit her lip. “Hasn’t said a thing since he revealed himself.”
“Well, there’s that at least.” Despite Khala’s assurances that it wasn’t possible I still had this fear in the back of my mind that Becca’s symbiote might try to transform her as Khala had done to me.
“Well,” I grimaced glancing down at my breasts which looked like they were ready to bounce out of my dress. “Let’s get going. We don’t want this thing to start without us, do we?”
I’d never been to a party that I could remember, so I had nothing to compare the experience to, but I did know I didn’t particularly care for the experience, especially since I seemed to be the center of attention. I was the leader of our little group, and since I wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes everyone’s focus was on me.
The party was being held in the large, open area at the center of the nester chamber. Rayland led us to a small space at the center of the area which looked to have been cordoned off specifically for Bueller, the town council and our ragtag group. Bueller was standing, at a podium and he smiled and nodded at us as we entered the area.
The town council hadn’t yet informed us of their decision save to say that they’d decided to offer us asylum for the long term. Whether that meant bringing the fight to the gray-skins or just sitting around with their thumbs up their asses was another thing entirely.
“Ladies, and gentleman.” He spoke into a small narrow tube that stuck out from the podium. I couldn’t be certain, but it seemed to be responsible for amplifying his voice across the entire chamber. He paused long enough for the crowd to calm and quiet down then continued. “I’m sure it has already become public knowledge by now, but Sanctum has became home to a small group of heroic resistance fighters. They came to us a broken and weary lot betrayed by those they once believed to be friends and allies. We felt it was necessary to give them time to recover from their ordeals before official announcing their presence here.”
I bit my tongue, forcing down the sudden urge to correct Bueller. It wasn’t that anything he had said was a lie, it just sounded so… grandiose. Nothing I had done was the least bit heroic, it had all been for the sake of survival and the stubborn part of me that kept thinking there was still a reason to hope for a brighter future.
“Though they number only five they’ve done more to ensure our eventual liberation than any before them. Their leader, Alexana Briggs, and her sister Rebecca Anders were forced to watch as their parents were murdered by our conquerors and were only recently reunited after spending years apart. Their tech-expert, Lillian Freemark, is a survivor of nest Safe Haven, and as well as being particularly brilliant, has devoted herself to avenging her family and liberating the human race from the clutches of the Qharr. Matthew Farris, though only twenty seven is a seasoned veteran who has been fighting with the resistance for more than ten years and their final member, a Dexagarmetrax doctor, whose religion forbids me from giving voice to his name, has been trapped on Earth since the invasion and is an accomplished physician who has studied medicine on dozens of worlds.
Each of us reacted differently when our names were mentioned, I felt my body stiffen and managed a lopsided-grin and a curt nod. Becca bit her lip and started to tear up before she brought her hand up to cover her face. Lily managed a shy smile and waved at the crowd while Farris shrugged then followed Lily’s example. The doctor’s reaction was certain the most noteworthy. He did a little dance, jumping from side to side and waving his hands down below his waist before jerking forward and letting out a long warbling sound.
I hated that Bueller knew so much about our backstories. I’d been particularly tightlipped about our histories, but that hadn’t kept some of the others, especially the doctor, from blabbing every little detail they could think of.
“Please extended to them the warm thanks they deserve and enjoy the food and drinks.” Bueller finished then grabbed his cane from where it was leaning against the podium and hobbled away. I guess the president wasn’t one for long speech which was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t been too keen on the prospect of listening to a long drawn out oration. He’d very obviously neglected to give a reason for Lily and my odd appearance, which would likely result in giving credence to the rumors. I was fine with that, the fewer people who realized I was host to an alien symbiote the better.
A fast up-beat tune started to play and I jumped attempting to detect a source.
The lack of any visible musicians forced me to conclude that the music had been recorded at an earlier time and was being projected through speakers. I had vague memories of listening to music that was pre-recorded before the invasion, but the concept seemed so strange to me. Music could move a person to new heights, but just listening to a piece was nowhere near as fulfilling as being an active participant.
I’d never had much of a singing voice, but I’d been known to belt out a tune or two while working. It wasn’t at all uncommon for slaves to burst into song while performing their daily labors. It often made the work day go by much more quickly. The Qharr liked live entertainment, and it wasn’t that unusual for guards to join in on our songs. Still there was something about the way that the nesters moved in sync with the music. Dancing, I’d seen so little of it during my incarceration that it almost seemed unnatural.
I tried to reproduce their movements, but felt my cheeks burn when I realized a lot of people were staring. I glanced around, looking for some place where I might escape all that scrutiny, but then Lily grabbed bother my hands and pulled me close.
“No,” Lily said standing up on her tip toes to peck me on the lips. “Don’t stop… just relax, don’t exaggerate your movement so much. Let the music flow through you. Let it move you, let the beat guide you. Watch.”
She stepped in sync with the music, her feet swirling against the dance floor, each movement slow and sensual. She raised her arms above her head, putting her chest out and rocked back and forth. She danced around me her back pressing into my side, and she spun around and grinned up at me. “Try it out.”
I swallowed and looked around feeling very self-conscious. Lily was a lot more comfortable with her body than I was, and during foreplay she’d shown a mastery of feminine sensuality that few natural-born women could match. Dancing, seemed like a natural extension of this ability and I just didn’t think I had it in me. She’d always been a woman at heart, but I hadn’t taken my form by choice. Still, I just couldn’t say no to her so I bit my lip and stepped forward moving to the beat of the music.
Battle For Earth Page 42
