Dark Space 49: Invasion

by G. K. Scott

  Carlos leaned forward. “Tell me Miss Wingates what makes you say that?” Emma leaned back. “Working under Utro wasn’t pleasant he was an arrogant bastard who always felt he knew better.” Carlos laughed slightly. “Coming from a level three scientist such as your self that’s interesting Utro was a born genius at level five or six. What makes you think your any smarter Miss Wingates?” Emma leaned forward. “Because I don’t play god with things I can’t control.” Carlos smirked. “Interesting view point.” He turned back to the screen. “Tell me what is your relationship, with Jeuki?” Emma felt her wrist blades spring out as he hand grabbed the sofa. “We are hunters.” Carlos waved his hand. “No let me rephrase that, what are feelings towards Jeuki?” Emma lowered her gaze. “He’s my friend.” Carlos leaned closer. “Friend define friend, friend who you admire, love or worship?” Emma put a hand on her chin. “Friend what else do you want to know.” Carlos sighed aloud. “Repressing our feelings is very bad Miss Wingates it’s referred to as denial.” Emma grunted aloud. “Oh please I’m not in denial.”

  Carlos leaned closer. “You express very human feelings towards him yet he’s not human. I won’t try to deny the fact that your pupil dilate when you look at him.” Emma felt her hand grab the sofa tighter. “Even if I did like him on that level I wouldn’t tell you.” Carlos sighed aloud. “He’s not human thought is he? Which brings up the question, do you see yourself as one of the human race or as one of his?” Emma turned slightly. “He’s more human though you’ll ever realize. His appearance is only his skin and bones it’s who he is that counts.” Carlos laughed slightly. “Some would say he’s only that way because you crafted him that way he’s from a race of hunter but acts more human.” Emma turned slightly. “How would you know how he’s meant to act? There’s only him here I don’t see anymore of his kind.” Carlos leaned back. “Tell me Miss Wingates do you have sexual feeling towards this alien?” Emma sat felt her wrist blades click back in. “Didn’t I just say that if I did I wouldn’t tell you.” Carlos sighed aloud. “You are the difficult one Miss Wingates.” Emma sat back. “This is amusing you just want me to say yes because then you can call me a messed up human being.”

  Carlos slowly met her gaze. “You are a messed up human being Miss Wingates. You seem to have forgotten your place in humanity and are reaching out toward another species to for fill some wanting need.” Emma raised an eyebrow. “You know if I’m not mistaken you’re trying to psychoanalyse me Carlos.” Carlos turned sharply. “What makes you say that Miss Wingates?” Emma pulled out her hand. “The fact that, that wooden box disguised as a medical case it’s actually recording what I say.” She leaned back grinning widely. “You know I was shown how they were made in the science institute. Fascinating concept really a box that records and video’s what’s happening to the patient.” Carlos slammed his hand down on the box stopping it recording. “Off the record Miss Wingates I believe your sexually attached to another species. You’re also in denial and you’ve forgotten your place in life.” Emma slowly stood up. “Is that thing off?” Carlos turned slightly. “Yes! I just said it was.” Emma moved forward meeting his gaze.

  She narrowed her gaze. “Well of the record I think you’re an arrogant asshole like Utro. I think you people are hiding something which is why both my self and Jeuki are trapped in a room and always escorted around.” She eased up her hand. “I think if I’m right you’re doomed just like every fool before you who played god and lost.” Carlos smirked. “Utro was right you are a rebel, a smart ass rebel with out a clue.” Emma put her hands behind her back. “Better to be like that than be like you. Thousands of innocent people died because of Utro, I wasn’t running from humanity I was running from people like him and people like you.” Carlos grinned evil. “Tell me what’s it like kissing your boyfriends ugly four mandible face?”

  8

  Lucy turned sharply hearing a yelp of pain from the room opposite, she watched as Emma slammed the door open walking out. She turned as Carlos walked out behind her clutching his nose. The head doctor turned sharply. “How dare you hit me!” Emma turned sharply. “Go screw yourself, you pretentious little asshole!” Carlos groaned in pain he watched as Marcus handed Julia the medial equipment. “I trust it didn’t go well.” Carlos sat on a chair near by. “Shut up! Check my nose I think she’s broken it!” Julia sighed aloud. “I told you the box was a really bad idea didn’t I sir, but you didn’t listen. Was this a direct punch to the face? Or was it side on?” Carlos sneered looking at the blood on his hand. “Direct!” Julia sighed aloud bringing up a device so she could see the bones under the nose. She pulled it away quickly. “Well it’s not broken she just gave you a nose bleed.” Marcus sighed aloud. “I’d like to know what it was that you said that made her punch your face.”

  Lucy turned back to her screen. She watched as Emma stormed past her turning to face Jeuki who’d been watching the event unravel. “Lets go back to our quarters.” Jeuki closed the pad nodding slightly. What had the ooman said to make her so mad that she’d hit one of her own race? Maybe he said something about her weight ooman females got angry about thing like that or so he’d just read. He closed down the pad fully slipping it in to his armour. Pulling him self slowly off the bed. Lucy sat up slowly. “Hey let me I’ll take you back to your quarters.” Emma eyed her. “That’s not necessary I know the way.” Leo eased up his hands. “Come on let as take you two, it’s no trouble. I mean it’s better than you both going alone.” Emma turned slightly. “Okay.” Lucy grinned. “As an act of good faith.” Jeuki looked at the ooman female with blonde hair. This was strange why was she being so nice? It seemed odd after her disrespectful behaviour, which he’d seen earlier. He slowly followed Emma maybe a gift would cheer her up the pad said that ooman females liked gifts.

  8

  Carlos slowly sat himself in the chair in from of Oran. “I want her off this ship now!” He felt his plastered nose. “Bitch nearly broke my nose!” Oran looked at his screen. “Did she take the money?” Carlos shook his head. “No she asked it to be sent to her brother on Eros.” He slammed his fist down. “She’s not worth it! We should just kill her and take her and boyfriend’s technology!” Oran looked up slightly. “Be quite! Quit whining about your nose it’s not important to me!” Carlos sat back. “What I got hurt!” Oran looked up slowly. “Make one more whining comment and I’ll make it so Oni Jui really hurts you.” He watched Carlos go silent. “I believe I should take matters on from here since your incompetence is proving to be a burden.”

  Carlos sat back. “What are you going to do? I mean she won’t take credits.” Oran breathed in angrily. “Please every human wants credits you just didn’t give the right amount. I’ll give her and offer she can’t refuse when she comes to dinner tomorrow.” He smiled slightly. “Her ship is in need of repairs and I have the parts.” Carlos leaned forward. “You’re not going to give her the parts from the other ship!” Oran lit a cigar. “No I’ll give her one of the prototypes which will work with her hyper drive.” Carlos pulled up his hands. “My scientists worked on those for a year! You can’t just take one away from me!” Oran leaned forward. “I can do what ever I want!” He leaned back slightly. “You can make more, so make more.” He breathed our smoke. “I’ll give her, her dreams and more and a working ship and she’ll fall in my arms like a child hugging its father.” Carlos leaned forward. “What if she doesn’t want your offer she didn’t want mine?” Oran blew smoke in his face. “No ones ever refused me, I doubt she will.”

  8

  Jeuki sat down slowly on the broken bed his gaze turned to Emma who was gazing in to space. “Was that male ooman cruel to you?” Emma put a hand on her face. “Yes, he was so I hit him.” Jeuki sat up pulling up his clawed hand, which he ran gently over the side of her face. “These ooman make you unhappy.” Emma looked down slightly. “Yes.” Jeuki slowly eased his arm around her shoulder. “What do they say that makes you unhappy?” Emma looked up at him. “They don’t like me, they don’t lik
e who I am. Who I’ve become.” She looked at her hands. “They just see me as an outsider.” Jeuki tapped his upper left mandible. “Do you want to go back to them?” Emma slowly met his gaze. “No.” Jeuki leaned over slightly. “Do you want to leave?” Emma sighed aloud. “Yes I do and as soon as I meet the person in charge we’ll leave this place.” Jeuki looked at her. “The ooman are being foolish treating you this way.” He turned slightly. “They should respect you for your courage.”

  Emma slowly put her arm around his spotted waist. “We shouldn’t have come here.” Jeuki pulled the pad out of his armour. “I disagree I’ve learnt a lot about your race.” Emma looked at the pad in his hand. “Where did you get that it’s not mine?” Jeuki shook his head. “From the ooman scientist, it’s about female oomans.” Emma pulled back in utter confusion. “Why on earth do you have that?” Jeuki looked at the pad. “I wanted to understand you better. It’s just you’ve been so sad recently I wanted to find a way to cheer you up.” He cocked his head to one side. “I don’t like seeing you unhappy that’s all.” Emma looked up slowly. “Look I’m sorry about what happened in the gym.”

  Jeuki leaned forward. “That wasn’t your fault.” Emma looked down. “You protected me for the second time and I haven’t said thank you.” She put a hand on her face. “That general would’ve hit me and you stopped him. I didn’t mean to get annoyed with you.” Jeuki looked at her. “Your welcome, it’s okay I understand you where just mad.” He put the pad down lying back feeling Emma do the same. “I get mad you get mad but where together that’s all that matters.” Emma held his waist tighter. “Your right that is all that matters.” She watched him tap his mandibles. That bastard was wrong! She didn’t care what anyone else said Jeuki was human in his own special way. She closed her eyes feeling sleep slowly take over her body. She didn’t feel Jeuki’s clawed hand move through her hair. Jeuki looked at Emma. She wanted to leave. Ether way it didn’t matter to him, they’d leave tomorrow. Somehow it would make it easer for him to tell her how he really felt. Back abroad there ship away from all the oomans.

  CHAPTER 10

  WITHIN THE REALM OF THE ONE WHO BELIEVES THAT HE IS GOD

  Location somewhere in the galaxy, in the personal quarters on level ten on board the Iron Year science vessel.

  What is a god is it a thing or person a person who believes in his will or his power? A thing that rises up over man then crashes down on him or her like storm. Destroying all who rise up to fight it, with lightening blots like those of Zeus. Who was meant to bring his thunder down from Olympus. On mere mortals who rose up to try and defeat him. If gods are things then the hard meat queen is a goddess of destruction. She doesn’t sleep until her minions have destroyed everything in their wake and gained control. Man is powerless against this evil bitch that doesn’t sleep. A bitch whose very screech brings chills to the spine and paralyze people in fear so that they don’t run or hide. Yet man still believes he’s god despite that a beast like the hard meat queen is living proof that he’s not. Man believes in his own arrogant accomplishments too much sometimes. Humanity tries to control things they have no control over and in doing so there creation, which they called god becomes a demon that they can no longer control.

  Utro believed control was just about a bunch of brain pattern after scanning a queen hard meats head just simple science and childs play. I guess thinking like that is arrogant beyond words. His goddess and human weapon being smarter than he ever gave her credit for. Her wrath destroying him, in the process no hard meat queen is a mindless animal, she doesn’t have random behaviour. She’s as smart as a human being. People just assume she isn’t because she doesn’t speak. The human race assumes just because something can’t speak that makes it a lower life form or an animal that’s driven by instinct to reproduce. I swear she’s no animal. I bet her brain is four times the size of a man’s stored in that enormous black crest. Every time she moves her set of teeth you can tell she’s thinking, calculating even looking at the odds. She’ll do anything to survive and survive she does. Until the end until a weapon destroys her but even then her offspring live on.

  What I keep asking myself since I got here is, why do people like Carlos believe their gods? What is in this ship that makes them think so much off themselves? It’s all very sad because it’s just an illusion. When I hunt but I never believe my prey is weak, and that I’m stronger because I’m not. Even my armour and weapons can be destroyed and I could die. Today I’ve got a bad feeling in my gut, today I meet the so-called god who runs these ships. Oran the man who I’ve not met yet, because he’s to busy most days I keep looking at the screen details and thinking this is bad and that he’s the last person I want to meet. Rich men who have money truly believe their gods and are sometimes ruthless and cruel. Emma looked up feeling Jeuki breath in deeply in his dozing fashion. For some reason during the night he’d asked to be escorted by Lucy back to the level twenty labs. What was that all about anyway? They where talking about mice those little white lab mice I don’t get it. Okay I wasn’t really awake enough to take in the whole conversation.

  Mice, was Jeuki hungry or something? Live food wasn’t his thing but it still had her wondering. She stretched slightly then sat up putting a hand through her hair. She watched as the computer came awake again it’s screen going on as messages started to come up on the screen. The computer voice hit the air. “Good morning Emma Wingates you have ten new messages.” Emma looked at the screen. “Why is it every time I shut you voice down it somehow resets it’s self?” The computer voice hit the air again. “Miss Julia Ibos resets me from her computer panel every morning. So you get your messages” Emma felt her hand form a fist, that annoying woman! She hated the computer voice and that medical moron kept resetting it! She stood up grabbing the panel. “Give me only the messages that are important out of the ten.” The computer voice spoke up again. “One message from Carlos reminding you about Oran’s dinner. The other message is from Lucy Summers saying she’ll be escorting you with Julia up to Oran’s office complex.” Emma pulled the screen around. “What’s the worst message?”

  The computer lit up. “Message 8 it’s telling you to leave and that you are unwelcome aboard Iron Year sent by someone on level ten.” Emma slowly started to type. She smirked electronics was her thing she was going to make sure that Julia’s stupid little desk gave her hell. She watched the screen fuzz as she got in to Julia’s panel. She grinned evilly. “All your computer’s going to say to you is you’re not worthy for the whole damn day!” She hit the screen watching the computer panel realign. Okay semi hacking was bad behaviour but that woman was getting to her. In truth Lucy who she’d believed to be the bitch was not cold and heartless. The woman had taken a real shine to them both as had Leo. Frankly she wasn’t sure about Julia and Marcus seemed to live in a world of his own while Carlos was an egotistic asshole. She turned the screen off quickly so as not to be traced. She heard a slight clicking sound behind her, she let her gaze wander only to meet Jeuki’s. She found herself jumping slightly as he was right behind her looking at the screen.

  Jeuki turned watching Emma jump at his presence. He had been watching her type on that screen with a positively evil look pastured over her face. “What were you doing?” Emma turned slightly. “I really wish you wouldn’t do that.” Jeuki clicked his upper right mandible. “Normally you know when I’m behind you. This time you where to engrossed to pay attention.” Emma looked at the screen pushing it away. “Your right I wasn’t paying attention I was messing up some ones computer panel. Because they keep resenting mine.” Jeuki turned slightly. “The computer voice, you don’t like the computer voice.” Emma sighed aloud. “No I hate it, I was just making sure the person who kept turning it back on can’t do it anymore.” Jeuki slowly stepped back picking up a little brown pouch. He had Lucy to thank for this in a way since he’d asked for her help to have it made. All his burning and skinning equipment was still on board the ship. Plus being an ooman female she could help g
uide him since he’d never cared for making necklaces.

  All he had was two little bird skulls, which hung of little thread, which was attached to the upper plate. He’d just never cared for bone necklaces or hanging skulls. He’d seen many young males make them aboard the ship in his youth, but always felt they over did it. He’d even laughed at one who’d made his shoulder guards into skull plates which had not gone down well as the older male had seen it as a challenge and they’d ended up fighting in the pit. He had lost that fight badly and had felt very foolish. Since then he had never laughed at skull decoration again no matter how outrageous or stupid it looked. He eased the pouch up. “Here I made you something.” Emma looked up slightly. “What is it?” Jeuki leaned over slightly. “Open it and see.” Emma slowly eased the pouch open she slowly pulled out what looked like a large bone necklace with had five small skulls on it and some rib bones. She found herself staring at it was beautifully crafted each bone placed in a unique manner.

  Her gaze drifted up to meet Jeuki’s. “You…you made me this?” Jeuki leaned over slightly. “Yes do you like it? Bones are not my thing but I know they’ll look good on you.” He kneeled down taking it from her hand. “I read that ooman females like necklaces, my race wear necklaces, and other skull items. As a form of pride and to define who they are.” He watched her pull her hair back. “I think this item defines who you are.” He slowly tied the necklace up it was made from the same thread as his clothing. He had a few spare pieces he kept on him but this one had come in handy. He pushed Emma hair back running his finger over the little skulls. “I think it suits you.” He didn’t get a chance to carry on when Emma threw her arms around his shoulders. He slowly picked her off the ground putting an arm around her waist. “It’s sad to think that I once saw you as a weak ooman female.” Emma ran a hand through his dreadlocks. “Jeuki I was a coward, I was weak. Don’t feel bad about something that wasn’t your fault. I was your prey it’s not like could have felt any different.” She looked up slightly. “Thank you for the necklace.”