Alien Penetration

by Kaitlyn O’Connor

  “Yes. Always—on Father world, too. Different.”

  Simone blinked at him. “But … I’m different.”

  “Yes. Have nice tings there,” he said, studying her boobs. “And very nice there.”

  “Could you get your mind off of sex?”

  “No,” he said, grinning.

  Simone couldn’t help but chuckle. “Are you really interested? Or are you just pretending to be interested because you’re hoping to get sex?”

  He considered that in frowning intensity. “Interested. Want different. Want make change tings—so Zev can have woman and son, and then son have woman.” He frowned. “Zev want be other class, not worker class.”

  Simone narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

  He squirmed. “Hoping for sex, too.”

  She folded her lips. “I’ll say this for you! You’re persistent! You’ve definitely got drive—sex drive! I don’t know about anything else.”

  His face hardened. “Brave. Strong. Not warrior, but still not weak. You talk me. I talk others. The warriors, the middle class—treat us like breeders. No look. Like we not here.”

  “They’d notice quickly enough if you were gone,” she said dryly.

  He frowned. “No place go. Five more cities on Macedon. But all same.”

  Simone sighed inwardly. “It’s called a strike.”

  “Fight?”

  She shook her head. “Fighting just makes enemies. It makes more hate. I suppose sometimes its necessary, but it isn’t the best solution to any problem. You heard what we were planning to do?”

  He nodded. “Walk, sing, chant protest,” he said a little doubtfully. “Won’t change tings.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. The point is that one person may be strong, but many people are stronger. In a strike, everyone would get together and agree not to do whatever it is they do—say, for a day. You’d have to talk to a lot of people and those people would have to agree to do the same thing at the same time. Then, all workers stop and nothing gets done. Suddenly, you’re important. You see what I’m saying? They can’t ignore you. They can’t pretend you don’t exist. Then, once you’ve gotten their attention, you have power. Then you say to the others that you want the chance to get an education and become something else—or whatever it is that you want.”

  He stared at her so blankly for so long that she thought he hadn’t gotten it at all.

  Slowly, he smiled. It broadened until he was grinning. “Yes! I see this!”

  Simone grinned back at him. “You think you could talk all of the workers into striking?”

  “No.”

  Simone felt her excitement deflate. “No?”

  He shrugged. “Some, maybe. Could try. Old men, no like … different. No like … trouble. Young men, maybe. Not many young men.”

  “Do you want to try?”

  “Yes, if it mayhap change tings. Will try. Tell them, different your Father world.”

  Simone smiled thinly. “We call it Mother Earth—giver of life.”

  He looked shocked. “Mother?”

  “I know that’s a radical concept, but try to start thinking in terms of including women in the picture. We have a lot to offer besides sex.”

  His brows lifted. His dark eyes gleamed. “More sex?”

  She gaped at him a moment before it dawned on her that he was trying to joke.

  “Very funny!”

  He chuckled. “Zev go. Tomorrow, Zev watch.”

  “Zev?”

  He paused at the door and looked back questioningly.

  “Be careful.”

  He studied her for a moment. “Yes. Be careful.”

  She wasn’t certain if he was advising her or agreeing. “Work on your English. I can’t speak your language and it’s really hard to understand you.”

  He grinned a little sheepishly. “Zev try.”

  “I’ll try.”

  He looked a question.

  “I’ll try—not Zev try.”

  He nodded. “I’ll try.” He hesitated. “Simone sure no want fuck Zev?”

  She threw her pillow at him. He looked shocked when it hit him in the face, but he grinned when she started laughing. Bending down, he picked it up and threw it back at her, laughing when it hit her hard enough to bowl her over.

  “Cute kid,” Simon muttered, settling more comfortably on the bed when he’d left.

  It was hard to be excited about his suggestion that he would work on convincing some of the drak’s to protest when he seemed so doubtful that he could make a difference, but he was awfully young—or he looked it anyway.

  Uneasiness hovered at the back of her mind, anyway, and had since he’d talked about the fighting. It hadn’t seemed unreasonable that she hadn’t seen even one of the guys since she’d arrived. It wasn’t as if she walked the streets constantly and it was a city. Now she couldn’t help but worry, though, that she hadn’t seen any of them because they had been shipped out to fight.

  Anger flickered through her—and wasn’t it typical that they were sent to fight and possibly die over ‘things’? So maybe whatever they were fighting for was important, maybe it was essential to life, but if it was like the wars fought over oil on Earth—instead of making a push to find an alternative—well it wasn’t worth losing what might possibly be the best and brightest of a generation! Or was it even worse? Like Vietnam? When nobody had ever really figured out what the war was for? When thousands upon thousands of young men had died, or been maimed for life, or become mentally unstable from the things they’d experienced?

  She didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to think that they could be dead and she wouldn’t even know it. Her throat closed at the thought. She shouldn’t be upset about it, she told herself. She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them! It wasn’t as if there was, or had ever been, anything between them.

  Except they were the fathers of her babies. She hadn’t realized that she felt any sort of ties to them when they’d only been donors, but she did. She cared. Maybe they were assholes, but they were still her babies’ fathers.

  And really, she didn’t think they were total assholes. She was sure they had some redeeming qualities. She hadn’t seen them, but she was still convinced they did.

  Giving up on just being able to compose herself and go to sleep after a while, she got up and took the hot shower she’d promised herself and finally relaxed enough to drift off. She was still heavy eyed with lack of sleep when she went downstairs the following morning, however.

  Zev was at his station. He smiled at her broadly, but the best she could manage in return was a half-hearted effort. He frowned worriedly, watching her as she moved to the table.

  “Now what’ve you done to upset your admirer?” Liz asked when she sat down.

  Simone looked at her in surprise. “Zev?”

  Liz blinked at her. “You know his name?”

  “The server who always gives us our plates?”

  “Yeah, that one—the one that always looks at you like he wants you for dinner,” Liz said dryly.

  Simone felt her face heat. “He’s just a kid.”

  “I think he’s got all the equipment and he wants to use it,” Liz retorted dryly.

  “Anyway, I don’t think they have a very good concept of our ages. I haven’t gotten so many ‘I want to fuck your brains out’ looks since I was twenty. And I’m talking everything from kids that look like they should still be diapers to grandpas.”

  “Well, considering we seem to be just about the only pussy in town,” Sharon offered wryly, “I guess that makes us beauty queens even if none of us are ‘fresh’ anymore.”

  “Hey! I’m only twenty-seven, damn it!” Karen put in.

  “I rest my case!”

  Karen glared at her.

  “Any idea how many plan to join us?” Simone asked.

  “None,” Sharon replied. “Anybody think of a good slogan to chant?”

  Simone sighed. “I was talking to Zev last night. He just about scared the p
ee out of me! He was waiting in my room.”

  “And I can guess what he had in mind!” Liz chirped.

  Simone couldn’t help but smile. “Actually, he did, but he said we could talk first and fuck later. Turns out, he isn’t very happy with the status quo around here. He’s been listening to us talk about home and it sounds grand to him.”

  “It would—not that it isn’t a hell of a lot better than this place, but it isn’t like we don’t have social issues, too.”

  “Didn’t have social issues. We have plenty of social issues here.”

  “Anyway,” Simone redirected the conversation, “he feels rebellious. He’s going to talk to the worker class and see if he can pump them up to strike.”

  “Oh my god!” Liz exclaimed. “You’re kidding?”

  “Really?”

  Simone shrugged. “He isn’t very confident that he can convince them, but he wants to try.”

  “But … that’s wonderful!”

  Simone frowned. “I hope he doesn’t get in trouble.”

  The other women exchanged looks. “Haven’t you been preaching change? That we can’t expect not to have any trouble at all?”

  “I don’t preach!” Simone said indignantly. “I guess you’re right, though. It’s just … he’s so young.”

  “And we aren’t?”

  “Oh! You know what I mean! Besides, he isn’t a breeder. We at least know that it’s unlikely that they’d do anything to us that might endanger their precious stock!”

  “Yes, but that still doesn’t put us in a position of power to make changes.”

  “Not much. I’m not sure he can help, either, but at least he’s willing to try.”

  “Hopeful of a reward?” Liz asked.

  “I didn’t offer, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Don’t get pissy! I wasn’t suggesting that, although ….”

  “What?”

  “Well, you said he wanted to because he wanted a chance at a better life.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well—I haven’t said anything before because I know it won’t be well received, but the pussy thing—it’s in short supply and high demand. It might not be a bad idea to take on lovers since that’s one thing not forbidden.”

  “And use that to convince them?” Sharon asked with distaste.

  Liz sent her an annoyed look. “It’s a weapon and we don’t have a lot of weapons!” she said pointedly.

  “She’s right,” Simone said. “There’s no point in being squeamish about it.

  They’re using us and if we gave them sex they’d still be using us. I don’t see that it’s that underhanded to try to barter with it.”

  All of the women around her gave her a look.

  “Fine! Nobody’s saying you have to or even asking. Liz just pointed out that it could be used if anybody wanted to. And before you get all high and mighty about it, consider how many times you’ve already done that! Used sex to put your guy in a better mood to get something you wanted. At least this would benefit a lot of people.”

  “And you’d get laid! Don’t forget that benefit!” Liz said pointedly. “I don’t know about rest of you, but I’m starting to feel a little deprived. Maybe it’s the hormones?”

  Sharon frowned. “It doesn’t seem right to do that when we’re pregnant by somebody else.”

  “Like you’re likely to get a piece of that action!” Liz snapped. “They’re too good for us! We won’t be getting any of that dick!”

  “Must we discuss dick when I’m trying to eat … this sausage thing?”

  Simone burst out laughing. She studied the ‘sausage thing’ on her plate for a moment and finally picked it up between her fingers. Pushing the tip in her mouth, she sucked on it experimentally.

  Even Liz reddened. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Just testing the waters,” Simone said innocently, slowly pushing the meat-like substance in and out of her mouth.

  All of the women around her slid a glance toward the buffet table and snickered when they discovered that half the men had noticed Simone’s play and were staring at her slack faced. They winced when she finally took a bite off the end. “Not bad.”

  Liz shook her head. “That’s probably about the most dangerous thing you’ve done since we got here!”

  Simone sighed. “Actually, I think what we’re about to do is. Everybody ready?”

  “We still don’t have a slogan!” Sharon pointed out.

  “I say we go with ‘mother’s rights’ or ‘women’s rights’,” Simone replied.

  “How about ‘we’re people, too!’?”

  Simone shrugged. “We’ll alternate.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Simone felt a surge of excitement and hope when she discovered that most of the women had decided to join them after all. When she, Sharon, and Liz had trooped outside and into the street to wait to see if anybody at all was going to join them, the other women followed them, pouring out of the building in a stream that was far more impressive than the handful that she’d expected. One of the women had even made a banner out of her bed linens. It read ‘FREEDOM’!”

  “Alright, ladies! Let’s do this right!” she said loudly enough to be heard by all.

  They formed up by fours, linking arms. Two volunteers moved to the front and stretched the banner between them so that it was prominently displayed and could be read—if there was anyone who read English.

  They’d caught a good bit of attention even forming up.

  She could see the women were already getting nervous. Leaving Liz, Sharon, and Colleen, she started with a song she’d remembered that had always lifted her spirits, made her feel strong as a woman and powerful, not helpless and hopeless.

  I am woman, hear me roar!

  In numbers too big to ignore!

  No one’s ever going to keep me down again!

  Thankfully, a handful of the women also knew the lyrics, or enough to fake it.

  When they began singing it, she returned to the front and linked arms with Liz and they began their march.

  * * * *

  Camryn stood at rigid attention while he listened to the council berate him over his failure, but it had begun to wear on him. No amount of discipline or determination served to close his mind from the pain after standing so many hours and once it managed to slip past his control, it enveloped him. A cold sweat broke from his pores and he began to feel lightheaded.

  Blinking the sweat from his eyes, he struggled to follow the discussion despite the fact that it had become so redundant that it was clear they meant the harangue itself as part of his punishment for losing the mine.

  Ordering his men to retreat.

  It didn’t seem to occur to them that they would still have lost the mine if they had died there.

  He supposed they just didn’t give a fuck. It was honorable to die—dishonorable to live if one failed.

  It infuriated him that they’d called him back without giving him the chance to redeem himself. They could have retaken the gods damned mine once they had reinforcements if the council, in their infinite wisdom, hadn’t immediately called them back upon receiving the news.

  That wasn’t acceptable, apparently. It also wasn’t forgivable, despite the fact that their communications had failed them and they’d been overrun.

  He’d begun to think he might further disgrace himself by fainting when he heard something, dimly, in the distance. Frowning, he tuned out the drone of the council member’s voice, trying to pick up the strange noise he could hear.

  Slowly, it became louder, ceased to be noise as he began to hear it more clearly.

  Singing—women’s voices. His heart thudded uncomfortably in his chest. A sense almost of wonder filled him for several moments. He’d never heard anything like it. Women—many women—singing!

  Oh my fucking gods!

  The thought had barely formed in his mind when the council member, also hearing it, abruptly fell silent. The entire council room f
ell silent.

  Camryn discovered his mind had turned to pure mush. He couldn’t think what to do, couldn’t think of any way to avert disaster.

  Bowing abruptly, he begged pardon of the council members, whirled on his heel and strode rapidly toward the exit. Kael and Ean, seated near the back with what was left of the men who’d abandoned mine fifteen to the enemy, leapt up and hobbled after him.

  * * * *

  Lielani had been pacing her sitting room worriedly since the men had been called before the council to answer charges of treason, terrified of what the outcome might be, sick at heart that such unreasonable charges had been launched against them at all.

  They’d tried! They’d fought! It wasn’t right to call them treasonous because they hadn’t succeeded!

  They might at least have had the decency to give them time to heal!

  Not one had returned hale! It had been all she could do not to weep over them when she’d seen they were wounded, healing, but pale and weak from their injuries.

  She was so angry with their fathers! She didn’t care about appearances! If they could not show some leniency toward their own sons, what was the point of their power on the council? And how could they worry about their positions when it was their sons!

  Stupid men! Stupid, stupid men, she thought furiously!

  Her poor babies! They should be in bed, not trying to defend themselves from their own people!

  She was struggling with her anger and her tears when she heard a sound that penetrated her misery. Voices raised in song! Women’s voices? A sense almost of wonder filled her. She hadn’t heard anything like it since she’d been a child herself and even then ….

  Drawn to discover exactly what it was she was hearing, she went out onto her balcony and looked out over the city. She saw them immediately. Breeders by their clothing and the metal collars around throats that glinted in the sunlight, linked arm and arm, singing—though she didn’t understand the words.

  It was the alien women, she realized immediately, instantly feeling swamped with guilt.

  She’d failed Camryn, and Kael, and Ean. She’d thought when she’d promised them that she would try to convince Arrek to bring their breeder into his household that she could. She might have if the silly child hadn’t pulled such a stunt!