Transmission Lost

by Stefan Mazzara

  Whenever he and Aria were together, Jack occasionally caught her staring off into space, not paying attention to anything around her. She was getting distracted, forgetting small things such as chores around the house, and she was sleeping at times longer than usual and at other times not at all. Her fuse was getting shorter as well, and she was snapping at everyone a lot more than she usually did, growing frustrated more quickly and more easily. Jack found himself trying to avoid her at times, though he could tell he was hurting her by doing that. Another major source of stress for Aria was that she very much wanted to spend time with him, but she was also reluctant for her family to learn of the scope of their relationship. That meant that any time they wanted to be together, whether for sex or just to enjoy each others' company, it had to be done in secret. The strain was incredible, but they tried to bear it as best as they could. They did manage to spend nearly every night together, which was a welcome break. Only at night, when the estate was quiet and all of the family was asleep, could they set their problems aside in favor of peace.

  Through it all, Aria tried to maintain her composure. But she felt like everything was slowly falling apart, and that it was only a matter of time before something terrible happened.

  ******

  One evening, Aria stepped into the bath house, weary from a long day. When she had closed the door behind her, she inhaled a deep breath of the steam-laden, clean air. The transport to the airbase had been earlier that morning than usual, and she had spent many hours with Major Tal'in, scouring military law books and legal records for precedents which could be used in her defense. As usual, they hadn't found much of anything. They also hadn't made any progress with finding an advocate, which was what they really needed. A good lawyer would be able to find loopholes and exploits in the legal system much better than they could, as well as have a better idea of how to more efficiently search through centuries of case law.

  Shaking her head, Aria tried to banish away the thoughts of her upcoming trial. She needed to be able to shut off now that the day was over, but it was very difficult. Which was why she'd come to the bath house in the first place. She lit several candles, placing them around the rim of the dark bath house. Soft, flickering light filled the room.

  -Maybe a long, hot soak will help,- she said to herself. Shuffling off her silken robe, the Ailian stepped over to the edge of the rocky bath. Aria put one foot into the water, continuing in until she was submerged up to her shoulders. -Oh, yes...-

  With a sigh of pleasure, Aria closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall of the bath. The water soaked through her fur, and the searing heat seeped into her body and warmed her very core. The stress began to bleed away, little by little, as the bath relaxed her muscles and soothed her worries. Aria turned around, folding her arms on top of the edge of the bath and resting her head on them. She waved her tail behind her slowly, gently swishing it through the hot water.

  -You look like you're enjoying yourself.-

  Aria opened her eyes, smiling a little as she heard the familiar voice. -Yes, Sami, very much. Come join me.-

  With barely a ripple, Aria's eldest sister slid into the water beside her. Sami stretched her body out with a purr, showing obvious pleasure at the therapeutic heat of the bath. -I wish I could spend all day in here. But then I wouldn't get any painting done. Though these days I'm having much more fun learning to speak human.-

  -Jack is doing a good job, then?- Aria asked, propping her head up on one elbow and looking at Sami.

  -He says I am a slow learner, but that I am doing well,- Sami said, laughing. -I would tell him he is a terrible teacher, but I don't know those words yet.- She glanced sidelong at Aria, her eyes sparkling with mischief. -He seems cute, sister. For a human.-

  Aria felt a hot flash inside of her, despite the already high heat of the water surrounding them, and a twinge of jealous anger. -Oh, you think so, do you?- She stared at her sibling.

  Sami laughed lightly, waving a hand at her. -Don't worry, I'm not interested in stealing him from you. He is not my type. And I doubt I would be able to anyway. He seems quite enamored with you.-

  -Oh. Well, good.- Aria calmed down, embarrassed with herself for her rush to anger. She should have expected better of her sister than to think that she had any ideas about Jack. Sami would never do anything like that. -I'm glad, at least, that he's found something to do when I'm away. I imagine he'd be having a pretty terrible time of it otherwise. I don't think many of our brothers and sisters like him very much.-

  -You're right about that,- Sami agreed. She closed her eyes and sank lower into the water. -He does talk about you a lot, though. At least, I think he does. I still have trouble understanding what he says to me. But he has managed to tell me a little about your time together after you crashed.-

  Aria closed her eyes as well, thinking back to when she was stuck together with Jack back on that alien world. -Sometimes I wish we were still there...I actually think now that it was a lot better than coming back.-

  -Oh, don't say that, sister.- Aria felt a ripple through the water. She opened one eye, and saw Sami leaning close to her, curiosity in her expression. -So, tell me...What's it like?-

  -What do you mean?- Aria said slowly, her ears pricking up. She opened her other eye, turning her head towards her sister.

  -You know what I mean,- Sami chided her, jabbing a finger against her sister's chest. -What's it like, mating with a human?-

  -Sami!-

  -What? I'm just curious!- Sami leaned back, grinning. -I know you've done it. You've told me so. I just want to know what it's like, that's all.-

  Aria turned her head away, crossing her arms over her chest. -I'm not going to answer that.-

  -At least tell me this, then. Bigger or smaller than our males?-

  Covering her face with one hand, Aria shook her head. She didn't want to entertain this line of conversation, most of all because it was going to make her want to go to Jack, and it wasn't nearly late enough for her to be able to do that without drawing attention. But when she looked back at her sister, Sami looked so eagerly curious that she couldn't help grinning a little. -Well, ah...bigger. Much bigger.-

  -Really?- Sami breathed, her eyes glinting in the candlelight. Then she began to laugh. -I was only joking! I didn't think you'd actually tell me!- She covered her mouth, her laughter echoing around the bath house.

  -Ahh!- Aria growled, splashing some water at her sister. She grinned anyway. -And...ah, how do I say this...He is gentler with me than I would be with one of our males. I think he does not realize how much tougher I am than he is.- She toyed with the end of her tail, feeling uncommonly bashful. -He takes the time to make sure it is good, and...-

  Suddenly, Aria's nose twitched. Through the heavy scent of the steam and the flowers in the air, she had gotten a brief whiff of something else. She stood up in the bath, water streaming down her fur as she sniffed the air, trying to get the scent back. Her ears were standing up straight now, her fur bristling out and her tail hanging stiffly.

  -Aria?- Sami asked, growing a little alarmed at this sudden transformation. -Sister, what's wrong?-

  -I'm not sure...,- Aria murmured. Her soldier's instincts were awakening again, and she felt like something was very much out of place. She stepped out of the water, not bothering to dry off, and went to the door of the bath house. Carefully, she opened it just a crack, peering out into the darkening evening. She sniffed the air, and listened. Nothing seemed out of place or sounded strange, but...

  Then, just as she was about to close the door again, she smelled the scent very strongly.

  -Sami!- Aria hissed, looking over her shoulder at her sister. -There's something wrong. I smell humans. Humans that shouldn't be here.- She walked back to where her robe lay on the floor, and she put it back on, cinching the sash tight about her waist. -I'm going to check it out. Whatever you do, stay here and don't make a sound.-

  -But...-

  -Don't question me, Sami!- Aria growled sharply,
baring her teeth. -Just do as I say!-

  Sami closed her mouth, trembling with fright. Clearly her sister was serious, and there must be some danger. Aria wanted to say something, to go give her a hug to comfort her, but there wasn't time. She blew out all of the candles in the bath house and then went to the door, slipping out as noiselessly as she could.

  Outside, Aria sniffed the air again. The scent was strong; there was more than one unfamiliar human nearby. Keeping to the shadows, she began making her way down from the top garden tier to the rest of the estate, making for the guest house and the main building. If anyone was going to sneak in, that was where they would be most likely to go. Whatever was going on here, Aria was going to find out, and deal with it the best way that she knew how.

  - 6 -

  The darkness outside was all-encompassing. The Lirnan sun had long ago sunk below the horizon, and the night was not a clear one. Thick, dark clouds cloaked the moon and blotted out the stars, leaving the outdoors clad in an inky shroud. Ailians didn't use much in the way of exterior lighting; their eyes were good enough in the absence of light.

  Slinking through the night, Aria kept to the darkest of the shadows, trying not to make a sound. She crept through her family's estate, her eyes, ears, and nose keenly tuned to detect anything unusual. The scent of human was everywhere. Aria fully expected there to be the smell of human in her home, as Jack had been here for several weeks now. But she knew Jack's scent well, and this was definitely not Jack she was smelling. From what her nose was telling her, at least five unfamiliar humans were about.

  Aria had discarded her silken bath robe, which was much too flowing and loose, in favor of her bare fur. She longed to be holding her trusted rifle in her arms right now, but of course all of her weapons had been taken from her when she'd been arrested. For now she would have to rely on only the weapons that her body afforded her.

  Where to look first..., she thought to herself. The Ailian had no idea why humans would be invading her home, but whatever the reason was it was certain to be something bad. Aria tried not to let her fear for her family paralyze her. She needed to keep her wits about her right now, needed to be able to rationally think in order to investigate the situation.

  As much as Aria was concerned for her family, she knew that the presence of humans while Jack was here was no coincidence. Before she did anything, she needed to make sure that he was safe. Still having no idea where the humans might be, she began making her way carefully through the gardens towards the second tier, where the guest quarters were located. As far as she knew, Jack would be there in his room, probably in bed already. Aria reached the right level in short order.

  For a moment, she considered going straight to the door, but as she made for it the fur on the tips of her ears raised subtly. She paused. Aria had learned to trust her instincts, and something told her not to go that way. Hesitant, she crept around the edge of the building, listening and sniffing the air carefully. The scent of strange human was growing stronger. Her claws unsheathed as her heart rate began to increase, and she rounded the corner of the building...

  Aria nearly jumped out of her fur as she suddenly came face to face with a fearsome sight. An unfamiliar human was staring her right in the face. He had on black combat fatigues loaded up with grenades, both fragmentation and concussion types, and was carrying a suppressed rifle in his arms on a single-point sling. He had on light body armor and a heavy belt with a pistol, knife, and enough spare magazine for both firearms to equip a half squad. His head was covered by a black balaclava, and he was also wearing a set of night vision goggles.

  For a few crucial seconds, the human stared at Aria, seeming to have been taken by surprise. Then his rifle came up, a red laser beam sweeping up to paint a dot on the Ailian's chest. Aria didn't give him a chance to fire. With a low, deep snarl she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his chest and tackling him to the ground. The human gave a muffled cry of distress as he lost his grip on his weapon. The rifle thumped against the grass, though it was still connected to him by the sling. Aria wrapped a hand around the man's throat, lifting his head and smashing it against the ground.

  The human cried out, though his cries grew weaker as Aria bashed his head over and over again. Finally, she rolled him onto the ground, straddling his back and pinning him down with her weight. He was struggling feebly now, thoroughly addled by the repeated blows to his head. With no thoughts of showing mercy, Aria cupped both of her hands underneath his chin. She pulled his head slowly backwards, applying pressure steadily and firmly. His neck finally popped several times in quick succession as his vertebrae snapped, and he went limp underneath her.

  After making sure the commando was dead, Aria listened carefully to try to tell if anyone had heard the brief fight. She couldn't hear anything that would suggest that. Swiftly, Aria relieved the dead man of his rifle and pistol belt. If all of the human intruders were armed similarly, she needed to work quickly.

  ******

  Jack was just getting ready for bed, having had a quick bath and taken a few moments to decompress from the day. He'd had a long day, spent alone for most of it. He was getting the feeling that his welcome with most of Aria's family was growing worn out. He had spent a few hours with Sami, though, giving one of his rudimentary English lessons. She seemed to be a quick study, even though he had absolutely no experience as a teacher. And he was even picking up a little of the Ailian language as part of the bargain. He definitely didn't know enough to speak or listen fluently, but he was learning a few words here and there.

  Sighing, Jack climbed into his bed. The hour was late, and he was starting to wonder if Aria was going to join him tonight. She should have been here by now, if she was going to share the bed with him. He could have used the company, but she had been under a lot of stress lately. Maybe she needed a little time to herself.

  Just as he was laying his head down on the pillow, Jack heard a muffled thump and several small clatters from the hallway outside his closed door. He raised his head again, but the sounds didn't repeat themselves. As he was contemplating getting up to poke his head out into the hall, he heard a sharp, insistent knock on the door. Before he had a chance to get up, the knock came again, louder and more urgent.

  “Hang on a sec...,” Jack said. He got up from the bed, grabbing his pants from the floor and pulling them on quickly. “Who is it?”

  “Me,” came Aria's voice in answer. She sounded worked up. “Open. Quickly.”

  Grinning to himself, thinking that Aria was in a particularly frisky mood tonight, Jack crossed the room to the door and unlocked it. He opened it up, and for a moment thought that his initial thoughts had been correct. Aria was standing there, wearing not a stitch of clothing, looking down at him. The grin on Jack's face spread even wider.

  “Getting bold, aren't we? Coming here without any-,” Jack started to say, but then he noticed that she was holding a rifle in one hand and a pistol belt in the other. The smile evaporated instantly from his face as his body went cold. “Aria? What the hell-”

  “Not much time to talk,” she hissed. She pushed her way into the room, closing the door quickly. Jack felt only confusion as she pressed the pistol belt into his hands. “Take this. May need.”

  “Aria, what's going on? Where did you get the guns?” Unable to comprehend what was going on, Jack automatically put the pistol belt on, fastening it tightly. He examined the gun that was sitting in the holster. The weapon was chambered in ten millimeter, a slightly smaller round than he was used to shooting but more than adequate for the job a firearm was designed to do.

  “Humans. Here.” Aria was looking around the room, as if she was expecting something to come out from the corners. She was acting exactly as she had back when they'd been stranded together, when wild animals had been assailing them from every direction. Jack worried that she might lose control of herself again. “Killed two already. Not know how many left.”

  “You're not serious,” Jack blurted ou
t. His hand went immediately to the weapon now hanging at his hip, releasing the retention hood on the holster. Aria turned to look at him, and her expression was deadly sincere. He swallowed on his suddenly dry throat. “You're serious.”

  Aria nodded. “Need to look around. Wanted to make sure you safe first. I need to find rest. You stay here until clear.”

  “No way!” Jack insisted. “If there's going to be any trouble, I'm not letting you go on your own. I'm going with you.”

  “No!” Aria snapped at him, vehemently. She bared her teeth, growling. “These not animals in forest! They are soldiers. Too dangerous for you!”

  “Don't fight me on this, Aria.” Jack stepped up to her, drawing himself up to his full height with a stern expression on his face. The sight might have appeared comical to an observer. The top of the human's head barely came up to the Ailian's breasts. “I'm not just going to sit here and wait while you take all the risks.”

  “Po'krai nai le tok!” Aria snarled, covering her face with one hand. She took a few deep, calming breaths as the fur on her tail bushed out. Then she lowered her hand, her grip tightening on the rifle. “Very well. But not coming with me. I leave Sami in bath house. You go there, keep her safe for me, yes?”