Commander

by Mel Todd

  ~So, lots of fat and meat and we will need to force each other through the change. Wefor, can I do that?~

  [Yes. Though in traditional settings it would weaken the commander drone bond as they would blame you for the pain. However, that scenario does not seem to apply here. Also, remember they will not be able to force you.]

  Silence fell in the room and mindscape as all of them seemed to pause and process that.

  ~I don’t care. I need to get back to my kids. Make me do it first. I should have the easiest time as I’m the healthiest at the moment. Kenna, force me, hurt me, whip me, threaten me. Do anything you need to make me shift. The longer we wait, the harder it will be.~

  McKenna swallowed. ~I’ll have to go last and we need to do this one at a time so that we have someone who can fight. Wefor, does it matter which form we go to?~

  [Human to animal is the best, the most cells discarded and recreated that way; the poison is attacked more thoroughly.]

  ~Incoming,~ Perc’s words had them all looking up at the two women moving towards them carrying huge platters of food, though not enough.

  McKenna rose and went with the flow.

  "Are the prisoners gone?"

  The younger one nodded, though she didn’t take her wide eyes off anyone of them, even as Perc moved so they could enter the room and deposit the food.

  "Yes, they are grateful. They have gone home to their families. The few guards who were not happy have been," she broke off and looked at the older woman who shrugged eloquently. "Dealt with."

  McKenna smiled, then dropped it when both women flinched back.

  "We will stay here for a day or so. Then go away and never come back. How far to nearest town? With phones?"

  "About 30 kilometers. We have car that can take you. You eat now?" The older one babbled as they pushed the food on to the table.

  "We will need much more food, fat and meat. All you can get. Kill an animal if needed. Then you can have all this." She paused and added, "Except the drugs. Those we burn."

  The older woman grinned wrinkling her face into that of a dried up toothless apple. "Good. Burn drugs. We keep house and make a real home."

  The girl grinned too. "Maybe get married." Her voice held a wistfulness that McKenna didn’t understand but she didn’t quibble.

  "Ocelotl, are wise and kind. We never imaged our prayers answered by the old ones."

  McKenna refused to address that, just nodded. "Food, lots, and we need to be left alone. Spread the word, if they disturb us we may kill them."

  Both women paled and nodded backing out of the room quickly. "Yes, ocelotl, yes."

  ~Why does everything else translate exactly, but that word doesn’t?~ She asked as she looked around. The dining room had a six person table but another room, appeared at the end of it. She walked towards it, ignoring the twinges of pain as she moved.

  [The rest of the words have a meaning in English, that word doesn’t, or at least not exactly. And saying ‘one who reminds of the old gods who we still worship and remember but fear and disbelief yet here is proof they existed’ isn’t efficient.]

  Toni snorted. ~Wefor has a point. It is layered in many things, heck I only know cause dad liked Mayan mythology. One of the original gods was called God L, which tells you nothing.~

  McKenna looked out the door, it led into a hallway. ~We need a more secure place to do this, someplace we can guard easier.~

  ~Give me a minute. I’ll find something.~ Perc started moving even as he said that and JD got up to stand in the door. From there he could see outside to the still open front door.

  McKenna leaned against the wall then glanced at the food. ~Start eating, Toni. You’re going to need it. We’ll save the food for the one shifting.~

  ~So how are we going to get home?~ Cass asked.

  ~Don’t know but first things first. I want to deal with the poison then we will deal with the rest. I’m finding it harder to think and we need to do this soon before we lose anyone. Toni, then Cass.~

  ~Why me next?~ Cass sounded curious, not offended.

  ~Because I have to be last and watching you hurt is going to be hard on everyone but we need you and Toni strong enough to watch over us when Perc and JD go through this. They are both protective of you. They will be able to comfort you while I’m being a Class A bitch.~

  Laughter bubbled across the shared connections.

  ~And the other reason?~ Cass teased her.

  ~Being mean to JD is easy? And I can do that without feeling guilty?~

  ~I knew it. You love to torture me, wench.~ JD responded with only humor and relief in his voice.

  The banter let all of them relax.

  ~Found it. Bedroom, only one door and the bathroom is across the hall.~

  ~It doesn’t have a dead headless body in it, right?~

  Per snorted, which tickled in her head. ~Unused, clean. Looks like a man, from the clothes in the closet.~

  ~Okay. Let's grab food and move there. Cass, can you monitor for a bit, then you and Perc switch while Toni recovers.~

  Her thought carried more than she wanted it to and her worry transmitted to everyone.

  ~I’ll be fine. I did it once, I can do it again. Wefor, how do we know if the poison is gone?~ Toni’s mental tone had confidence it in, more than McKenna felt.

  [For the rest of you, blood will need to be sampled every few shifts. The bots you have are not advanced enough to communicate that information. When McKenna shifts, that information can be obtained easier.]

  Toni reached out and grabbed some food, a roast chicken leg and started chewing. ~Got it. We ready to do this? Because I want to go home and find my kids.~ Her thought hard and resolute as she grabbed a tray, still chewing on the mouthful of food and headed towards the room Perc had found.

  McKenna took a deep breath and followed. ~JD, Cass, let me know if you see or hear anything. Perc,~ she paused as she walked not sure how to say this. She flipped to a private conversation with him, the link feeling overly intimate with all they had shared lately.

  ~Don’t let me falter. Remind me if I forget, please?~

  ~You’re one of the toughest women I’ve ever met. You’re going to be kicking all of our asses. You won’t falter.~ The faith in his thought warmed her and she swallowed past the nausea.

  ~Come on Toni, you’ve got shifting to do.~ Her falsely bright tone drew snorts of amusement from the others but she felt them settle in and watch, the mental clocks ticking away time they didn’t have.

  They shut the bedroom door behind them, setting the food on the dresser as Toni pulled the blankets and pillows to the floor. ~When you change back to human the second time, everything hurts. I figured the blankets will at least make laying on the floor less painful.~

  McKenna nodded and curled up on the bed, her joints bending oddly in this form as Perc stood, leaning against the door but she could tell from how stiffly he stood that he hurt too.

  Toni ate a last bite, then sighed. ~Don’t let me rest too long or I won’t continue.~ Another deep breath and she shifted, flowing into human. Her knees gave and she slumped to the floor. McKenna started to lunge forward but Toni lifted her hand.

  "I’m fine," her voice was rough, but strong. McKenna stopped and settled back down, letting her be.

  Another deep breath and she flowed into a cat. She didn’t make a sound but the shift took longer than normal, minutes going by instead of seconds. But finally a jaguar lay there, panting, tongue hanging out.

  ~You okay?~ McKenna asked.

  ~No. But I’ll live.~ The cat whined and started to shift again, flowing back into a human. The shift hurt to watch as bone and skin flowed into different forms. Toni lay there panting, tears leaking out of her eyes. Her ribs showed under her skin. When this had started she’d been lean but with a layer of flesh to soften her.

  [Again] Wefor’s voice jangled and Toni whimpered. But she started to shift again, her body moving step by step into a cat. McKenna wanted to comfort her but she couldn’t do an
ything to help.

  The cat appeared, even in this form looking thin and exhausted. McKenna jumped off the bed and handed her chicken to eat. ~Take a minute and get some food in you.~

  Toni ate the meat, but it took an effort.

  [Don’t let her sit too long. It gives the poison time to catch up.]

  ~Okay, Toni. Change.~

  The cat whimpered but started to shift, a low whine of pain slipping out. McKenna just sat there. Her hand hovering over the cat as it melted into a woman.

  ~Eat.~ She handed her some of the cheese wrapped in a tortilla. She looked awful, gaunt with circles under her eyes.

  [Test her.]

  Toni didn’t even flinch as McKenna cut her arm and licked the blood off her claw and waited. She felt Perc standing there, his concern strong via their bond and she had to admit Toni looked like hell. All the excess flesh gone, and she’d never had much to begin with.

  [The poison is gone. Now she needs food and rest.]

  The sudden relief almost knocked her to her knees.

  ~JD, can you get some clothes for us? Raid bedrooms. Cass, head this way. Perc, can you go take over for Cass?~

  Even as she talked she handed food to Toni in small pieces she chewed with effort.

  ~I’ll be right back.~

  She moved out of the room, leaving Toni here, nodding at Cass as the woman headed her direction. McKenna made a beeline for the kitchen. As she went through the main room, she saw the empty compound, the guns still laying there on the ground.

  ~JD, when you get a chance can you collect the guns? Leaving them there is probably not wise.~

  ~Got it. Found a bunch of large tunic shirts. Have put them in the bedroom and Toni is asleep.~

  [You will need to wake her every hour and get at least a thousand calories into her.]

  McKenna nodded and entered the kitchen, a plan forming in her mind. The two women jerked up their heads to look at her eyes wide.

  This fear thing is getting old, but I can’t afford to lose my advantages now.

  "We need food, soup, easy to eat, no chewing. Calorie rich." She let her words come out in Spanish and hoped they still meant the same thing.

  The younger one frowned but the older one tilted her head. "Like what you would feed a nursing mother, but more? Bone broth and soft food?"

  "Yes, exactly. We need lots and lots."

  Rapid nodding as the old one grinned. "Has pressure cooker, we can make lots." She pointed to a cast aluminum monstrosity sitting on the stove and McKenna nodded.

  "Thank you, please all the food you can. And we will leave this place for you."

  "Yes. A home. Go. We cook."

  McKenna nodded and backed out even as the old woman stuck her head out the back door and started yelling commands.

  Chapter 41 - Past Bearing

  The first shifter Astronaut is scheduled to go up to space. NASA is saying that Roger Corallan will be staying at the International space station for the next six months. Part of the tests he will be doing include how the animal form handles space. Special care has been taken to make sure there is a place he can change and the possible fur dislodged will not clog up the filters for the station. People are interested to see if there is any advantage to shifter astronauts. ~TNN News

  By the time she got back to the bedroom, Cass stood there. Her eyes wide and claws twitching.

  ~You saw Toni, I take it.~

  ~Yeah. She looked bad.~ Trepidation tasted bitter. ~Am I going to look like that when we are done?~

  [Most likely worse. From the information garnered, Toni had already had some poison removed. You will likely need to do four more shifts than she did.]

  McKenna wanted to groan and beat her head against the wall.

  ~That is not helpful, Wefor. Cass. It’s this or die. If there was any other option, I’d take it. Let's do the first two slow, eating between. Those won’t hurt and the woman are making some soups and broths to help with calories. But either way we are going to have to get the three of you done, then hopefully give you some time to recover and hope that Perc and I have the strength to deal. Oh yeah. JD change to human and back to warrior. It won’t remove all the poison, but it should give you a cushion. I’ll do the same.~

  [Be careful with that, the poison gets more aggressive. It is as if the cells lose resistance. You will need to change soon before the damage is too great and your bodies don’t have enough resources to change.]

  ~Should we start gorging now?~

  [It may help, it can’t hurt.]

  ~You hear the AI, everyone. Start eating to be ready for changing.~ She followed her words by stuffing food in her mouth and hoped her digestive system would kick into high gear. It looked like the extra weight she still hadn’t completely lost might be a life saver this time.

  That realization had her looking at Cass again and making a sudden decision. ~Cass, we’re going to wait on you. JD, get in here. You have muscle you can lose, Cass is so thin this might kill her. Cass, eat all you can for the next few hours, any calories at all. Sugar, fat, everything you can. If you don’t have the energy ready for the bots you’re going to die.~

  Realization zipped through the mindspace and Cass swallowed. ~Okay, I’ll grab food and watch the monitors while I eat. Time to binge I guess.~

  Feeling better McKenna kept eating as JD came in, stuffing his face. ~Why do I think I’m going to be a very skinny bear by the time this is done.~

  ~You won’t be dead. That seems like a viable alternative.~

  JD shrugged his huge shoulders, then started to shift into human.

  It’s odd. We don’t even care about the nudity. It just isn’t sexual.

  He stood there swaying a bit, ate for a minute, then shifted back into bear. Ate a bit more and shifted back into a human. Another few bites of food and he shifted back to bear. Already McKenna could see the difference in how thin he looked. Bites that looked like they took effort and he shifted back to human. JD lay there panting his body wracked with tremors. "Give me a bit."

  [No. Even now the poison is spreading to cells and it spreads faster. He needs to shift again.]

  JD growled, even in human form it had power. "I will. Give me a second." His body trembled.

  McKenna closed her eyes. ~Change, NOW.~ The thing that made her a Commander, some trick of programming, or maybe herself, forced the nanobots to change.

  JD screamed as his body morphed into a bear. He collapsed panting on the pile of blankets, still keening.

  ~Again, JD. You have to.~ Her throat so tight she couldn’t have spoken real words if she wanted. Instead she just watched him. One eye flicked open and he growled.

  ~Change, JD.~ Again, she forced him though the change, leaving the human laying there, body wracking in shudders, and significantly less mass than he had at the beginning. He whimpered as she got close, cutting him and lick the blood off. She handed him food, forcing him to eat and swallow, even as tears streaked his face. He couldn’t even talk in the mindscape. When she touched the link it just radiated pain, and her own hands trembled as she waited and tried not to hope.

  [Two more changes, to animal and back to human, and the last of the poisoned cells will be destroyed but he must change now.]

  Tear streaked down his face, and she wrapped her arms around him, the fur on her arms reacting to his body heat.

  ~Change, JD. I’ll be here.~

  ~And me. We aren’t going anywhere, JD.~ Warmth caring came down the link with Cass’s words. Toni and Perc joined in too, Toni’s mental voice weak.

  ~You can do it. We’re pack. Family. You aren’t doing this alone. We love you.~

  The words seemed to give him strength as he took a deep breath and shifted. A long painful shift with a scream of pain that she didn’t even think he knew he made. Until a bear lay in her arms. Skinny, underfed, it looked like an ASPCA mascot. Her heart broke.

  And I have to do make my friends do this three more times.

  ~Change.~ She didn’t ask, she forced him even
as she shot a command to Perc, not bothering to make it a request. ~See if they have the soup, if they have ice cool it down, we need to get it in him, he’s burned off most of his mass.~

  McKenna felt Perc follow her order and even as the bear shifted back into the man Perc crouched next to her, a large tumbler with a straw in his hands. He coaxed JD to drink as McKenna cut him and tasted the blood.

  The wait took forever and JD had most of the tumbler gone before Wefor spoke.

  [Clean. The poison is gone.]

  McKenna felt her bones give, and she sagged her arms tight around JD. ~You made it. You’ll be fine and can eat anything you want for a while.~

  A whisper of laughter came through the link but then it went dark. Only the fact that she could feel him breathing let her know he’d passed out not died.

  ~Let me take him.~ Perc crouched next to her. ~I don’t think we can wait days. Toni is awake and eating. If we can give her a few hours we should be fine. Do Cass next, then yourself. I’m big enough and we can do me last. I can lose the weight and I’ll gorge while we do this. Wefor, is there a way to get the nanobots to convert what I eat to fat?~

  [Yes, but I will need to transmit new nanobots to you.]

  ~How?~ McKenna felt exhausted and pain had become a non-stop companion as time went on. ~And, Perc, are you hurting nonstop as I am?~

  ~Yep. But I’m used to pain. In the NFL that isn’t a reason to quit. I’ll be fine.~

  Wefor had waited until they were done before she spoke [Saliva transfer is preferable in this form. You may bite or kiss. The effects are the same. The requested changes are being made on your body now, McKenna, to store what you eat as fat to buffer this change.]

  An insane bubble of laughter rippled through her and Perc’s dry humor floated in her mind.

  ~If I get a vote, I’d prefer the kiss. I’ve been hurt enough lately.~

  His smirk could be clearly heard via the link and McKenna didn’t know whether to laugh or slam her head into the wall.

  ~Saliva transfer, check. Can we get JD in a room first?~ Avoiding the conversation and the thoughts. Not to mention the mechanics with kissing in these forms.