The Alien's Handler (Virgin Warriors of Kar’Kal Book 1)

by Gemma Voss

  What would make me so certain of that? I wonder. I have not spoken to her past an introduction. Why do I feel I know her? I know her to be intelligent. Perhaps it’s just the eyes… Yes, they glow with intelligence, darting around, watching our reactions as Jen explains… something. What is she explaining?

  Pakka grasps my arm. His hand is cold like ice against my heating skin. “Are you well, Kila?”

  “Yes,” I insist, though my brow is sweating. “I just need to sit for a moment.”

  “Hey, why don’t I sit with him in the lab while you guys finish the tour?” Ella suggests, turning to look at me with concern. She brushes her tiny hand over my elbow, and the feel of her touch crackles through me. “I’ll get you some water.”

  The others nod in agreement and we part ways. I am too panicked to refuse, knowing that if I run away it will only add to the impression that I hate this woman. I don’t hate her. I don’t know what I think of her, but I’m starting to feel like my stomach is knotting just by looking at her.

  “C’mon,” she says. “The lab is just down the hall. You think you’re just dehydrated maybe?”

  I shrug and follow her. Perhaps if I focus on my new surroundings, the effect of her proximity to me will dissipate. The hallways here are poorly lit and un-decorated. This building was once used for human research offices prior to the planet’s neutralization, and it seems they did not bother to update the transitional areas with the Alliance’s new materials. The floors are a made of a hair-like fabric with a strange pattern printed on it, while the walls are massive bricks thickly painted over in a yellowy-white color. It makes for a shocking contrast when Ella pushes open the door to a modern lab room, outfitted with all the highest quality furnishings.

  The room has sterile, fire-resistant Linx-stone flooring and benchtops, an in-ceiling lighting system, and a top-of-the-line programmable storage system installed on the far wall. There are several screens spread around the benchtops for computer access. The open space in the lab is packed to the brim with boxes of all shapes and sizes—no doubt the equipment Pakka has ordered for our project.

  While I am looking around, Ella has already bustled through a door at the back of the lab and she soon emerges with a glass water bottle.

  She holds it out to me with a bright smile. Our fingers brush lightly as I take the water from her, and the feeling sends my whole body tingling.

  Before I take a sip, an idea strikes me, a possible explanation for my physical response to her body.

  “Are you planning on sexually propositioning me?” I ask her. “Perhaps, emitting a pheromone to entice me?”

  She blinks and her mouth falls open. “I—I … I’m sorry—WHAT?”

  I take a long drink of water, hoping it will indeed make me feel more myself again. “I suppose that is a ‘No’?”

  “Oh my God,” she sighs. “I guess I have my work cut out for me on this project. No, I wasn’t planning on propositioning you. I hope that’s not how you start all your friendly conversation.”

  “No,” I explain. “Your appearance has triggered a physical response in me.”

  “Oh…” Her cheeks begin to flush a pretty shade of pink, and her mouth twitches. Those wide blue eyes flicker, dropping to glance at the front of my pants. “That sounds like a personal problem.”

  Unable to decode what it is she means by this, I simply take a seat in one of the padded chairs with rolling wheels that has been provided for the lab. I work on finishing the bottle of water, following Ella with my eyes as she picks her way around the room. From the way she opens cabinets at random and pokes the equipment boxes, I can tell this is her first time seeing it as well. When she bends over, I am drawn to the shape her backside—firm, round, and curving out further from her frame than I have ever seen in a Kar’Kali female. Come to think of it, it protrudes further than almost any of the human women I’ve noticed as well…

  “You horny little shit,” she laughs, turning around. Great Ka, I’ve been caught staring. “I see you checking me out. Look, I’m flattered and all, but I thought people that flirt and mess around are ex-communicated in your culture.”

  “Yes,” I say, “They are known as Deviants. But I would have to remove my suppressor chip to engage in forbidden activities. Do not worry. I was simply distracted by your well-shaped...”

  She snorts. “Ass? They won’t cuff you for looking, will they?”

  “No,” I assure her. “I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable. The suppressor prevents me from arousal or true sexual attraction, so you have no need to be concerned that I or my teammates will bother you with sexual advances.”

  “Mmmhmm…” She doesn’t sound convinced by what I’ve said to her. “That’s alright. With my last team, I found that honesty was the best policy. Just tell me whatever you’re thinking. That’s how we will get to understand each other’s cultures and avoid having miscommunications.”

  I nod, tapping my fingers against the empty water bottle. She has noticed as soon as I’m done and offers out her hand toward me. “Here,” she says. “You relax and I’ll get you some more. I think you’re looking better already.”

  I trust she is being honest with me, but if she says I look improved it’s hardly an indication of what I feel inside. My throat is tight, my stomach is twisted, and I cannot seem to focus. My instincts know that this change is all down to her—the shape of her, the sound of her, and the dancing light in her eyes when she laughs at me. Something’s very, very, very wrong.

  ***

  An hour later the team has returned without Jen, and we sit down to discuss our project in depth with Ella. Pakka is exasperated, annoyed that Jen has ordered we spend today making sure Ella is fully briefed on everything she will need to know to support us. We are, all six of us, seated around the central lab bench.

  “She received a written briefing ahead of our arrival,” he whispers to me. “What else is there to know?”

  Kiva is explaining the basics to Ella.

  “The egg production in our female population has decreased over time. We are hoping that if we better understand our evolutionary predecessors, we can improve the reproductive health of our species. After a study of the Alliance database we have determined that the closest match to our samples of the ancestral species is the human biology.” He’s taken out his tap-pad and placed it on the table, showing images to help the female. The current image shows a side-by-side comparison of the Archaic Kar’Kali and a human. “We will conduct a full analysis of human mating practices and reproductive biology with the goal of targeting which evolutionary divergences may have resulted in reduced egg production.”

  I am thankful that eager Kiva has the energy for this. He seems excited at the prospect of interviewing Ella, as if she is our first test subject instead of our ‘Handler’.

  “I guess that makes sense,” Ella says.

  Kiva swaps his tap-pad to a recording session. “Now, tell me, how is the mating call physically exhibited by the human species? Obviously, I would be interested to know this for both the male and female calls.”

  One eyebrow raises up closer to her hairline. A curious manner of expression. “Are you talking about erections?”

  Kiva hesitates. “The engorgement of the ‘penis’ as humans call it is one example, yes.”

  “Mating calls,” she repeats. “I read about this in the file but I admit I was a little confused. Is this just how you refer to being horny?”

  “Horny,” he repeats, pondering the word. I decide it wouldn’t be prudent to mention that she called me ‘horny’ earlier. “Yes, does your species have horns which stand at attention and become sensitive during heat, which would be comparable to say, the Malvara species?”

  “No, humans don’t have horns,” she says. Then she softens her tone and shows us her palms. “Here’s an idea— you guys can tell me all about your mating call just like you were talking to a little kid that knows nothing. Start to finish. And then I’ll let you know how humans compare
.”

  Kiva’s face cheeks flush as blue as his hair. I can see he does not wish to speak of Deviants in the presence of a female.

  “I will explain,” I offer. “But I think it is best we start from the beginning. From Archaic Kar’Kal.”

  “I’m taking a walk,” Vala mutters, pushing back his seat and heading for the door. “This will take you far too long for my patience.”

  “Once there was a time of great unrest on Kar’Kal,” I begin. “We were separated by the Great Houses then, who warred for control of the planet. Though we come here to study, we have learned the basic fact that humans do not mate in life-long breeding pairs, but rather might have multiple partners between maturity and death. This was not the way in Archaic Kar’Kal. The rulers of these great families would have but one breeding mate, to whom he would make himself a slave.”

  “Sounds kinda romantic,” Ella comments.

  “This was not good for the society,” I continue. “If a leader’s breeding mate was captured in warfare, all hope of diplomacy would be destroyed. The sons and daughters of that House would tear apart their enemies in the name of their sires without thought for consequence. Then the cycle would begin anew once they had their vengeance on their rivals.”

  “On Earth, we would say ‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,’” she says. This metaphor strikes me as very appropriate. I am encouraged, as it makes clear she understands the troubling nature of Deviant breeding that I mean to explain.

  “Yes, precisely. And amid all this destruction, the Azza forces were becoming strong. They were united where we were divided. Strong where we were weak. They struck our planet and reduced us to slaves within a single passing.”

  “But now you fight for the Alliance as a sovereign planet. So how did you get rid of the Azza?”

  “The ruling families of the Great Houses had been murdered by the Azza, and we were then one people suffering, rather than many peoples fighting. And from this suffering a new Kar’Kali was born. A stronger people with one objective— peace only. Even then, before forking was even an option, our technology was more advanced and the rebellion was able to communicate and organize without the Azza’s knowledge.”

  “Not to mention,” Mori reminds me, “The Kali’Ka. It rejected the Azza.”

  “Kali’Ka?” Ella repeats the sacred word and it sounds charming from her lips.

  “The translator cannot understand. I would translate as the Core Spirit. Just like Kar’Kali, which means ‘people of the core’. The Kali’Ka controlled the mating call for thousands and thousands of passings. When the Azza were finally expelled from Kar’Kal, the people vowed never to allow the weakness of division to spread again. Our ancestors created the first suppressor chips to control the mating call by monitoring the population-wide hormone fluctuations and reading the Kali’Ka’s pairings without the knowledge of the breeding pairs. When a breeding pair arises, the male and female’s eggs and seed are collected and the optimal offspring is produced at the lab.”

  My hope that Ella will understand what I am telling her seems to have gone misplaced. Her mouth has fallen agape, and her blue eyes shine with concern.

  “You mean there’s no relationships, no families at all?” She sounds incredibly sad. I should have expected this.

  “Did you even read our provided file?” Mori snaps.

  “I guess I thought… Well, I don’t know what I thought. Anyway you haven’t actually explained the mating call situation,” she says with a breathy sigh.

  “Yes, there are those that reject our ways and have their chips removed in order to partake in the pleasures of flesh rather than do their duty to the planet. These are Deviants, as I mentioned earlier, and their continued existence is how we are able to confirm the natural sexual behaviors of our biology.”

  “It is disturbing, Ella-vi. I hope you will not think less of us to speak of it,” Kiva says. He is naive and does not realize that Ella herself may in fact be capable of such barbaric practices. That is why we are here, after all. Kiva must think, like a youngling, that one can spot a Deviant by their behavior from a mile away. I have learned this is not the case. Deviants can hide in plain sight, controlling their dark desires, if only for the time being.

  As I watch the corners of Ella’s mouth quirk up in amusement at Kiva’s words, I wonder about it myself. Could she act like a wild animal, hormone-drunk and bucking her hips for the rut? A tingle in my chest forces me to push these strange wonderings aside as quickly as they have arisen.

  “Don’t worry. I’m a big girl. Hit me with the dirty details,” she says with a kind pat to Kiva’s hand.

  “When a Kar’Kali male is without a suppressor chip, the Kali’Ka dances within him until it finds a mate that has caused his blood to jump. Every Kar’Kali male reaches sexual maturity at sixteen years of passing or so, but the Kali’Ka waits and waits until he has seen the most appropriate female. It could be on their first meeting, or on their fiftieth meeting, but when it happens the Kali’Ka spikes within them both immediately. The resulting change in hormone levels is what we refer to as the mating call. The blood becomes thick and red, and the seed becomes potent. The male exhibits physically through the erect penis, as we discussed, but this is not unique to a breeding mate. He will also exhibit the slight change in skin tone due to the blood, the secretion of an aphrodisiac from the tongue, and an overall sharpening of the senses.”

  Ella’s flutters her hand over her mouth but says nothing. Perhaps I have shocked her.

  “The more frightening aspect of this mating call is that the male becomes utterly out of control of his senses. He loses all reason and logic immediately and thinks of nothing but how to attain his female’s favor, complete the breeding process, and secure territory for her to gestate. He may enter a savage state in which he reverts entirely to animal instinct, but we don’t know much about this.” I explain this slowly and then add, “Do not be afraid for your safety. We are all safely chipped to prevent any such temporary insanity. Deviant Kar’Kali males are dangerous, but there are none allowed here on Earth.”

  My colleagues and I await her response with bated breath. I wonder for a moment if she will request re-assignment, but I know humans are capable of similarly disgusting practices. Surely, the archaic mating practices are not so different from the human mating call. Especially considering some of the evidence I’ve seen.

  “Ella-vi, now that you have heard this,” Mori urges, “What have you to say about human mating calls as compared to those of our ancestors?”

  “No, humans do not have mating calls like that,” she says firmly, pressing her delightful pink lips into a flickering line. I believe she is trying not to laugh at us.

  “How can this be?” I ask. “How is it this is true when we have seen clear evidence of a similar animalistic mating style, possibly even humans in the savage mating call state, fucking like wild animals?”

  Her quivering lips show me she is amused. “It takes all kinds,” she says.

  Maddening. It is a non-response by my approximation.

  “You are our liason. If you are to be forced upon us, we must at the very least be able to rely on you for basic information such as this,” I tell her. “We cannot work with such a vague reply.”

  “What have you seen of human mating that has made you believe we fuck like animals? I mean, I’m not denying it… Hell, we even have a position called doggy style. Oh, and cowgirl.” Her face grows ponderous and I can only assume she searches her mind for more of these animalistic positions.

  “We have studied the Alliance database for this information,” I state.

  Mori leans forward, in disbelief. “The extent of their barbarism is truly maddening. They sexually imitate both canine and bovine creatures during the mating call? And you are certain their biology is a close match to our ancestors?”

  Pakka nods grimly. “This female is the closest we have been to our evolutionary mother.”

  “No ancestor of mine fucke
d a bovine calf,” Mori says.

  Ella finally lets out the laughter I suspected her of hiding. Kiva has been fiddling around on his tap-pad while we spoke, and now lifts his head with a smile.

  “Here,” he says, turning it around to show Ella. “This is one sample from the Alliance database that we used to craft our proposal. Can you confirm that this is an authentic record of human mating rituals?”

  We all gather round the screen. I brace myself for the obscenity that surely awaits. The video player launches the clip of the bare-naked pair of humans, slamming against one another and screaming. The male is atop the female’s ass and he uses his arm to crush her face into the floor. He thrusts into her from behind, assaulting her with vigor. Kiva slides forward to pause the clip after quite enough slapping sounds have entered our eardrums.

  Ella blinks silently for a moment.

  “I hope you have not triggered a mating call in our colleague,” Pakka says gruffly to Kiva. “Irresponsible, thoughtless—”

  The female begins shaking, and at first I fear we have triggered her into heat. Then a soft peal of laughter fills the room. The sound of it is quite lovely, I realize. Only for a moment though, because it soon becomes a cackle of hysteria. These humans are truly mad. How is that our brains are so biologically comparable?

  “Oh my God,” she moans through her fits. “You guys downloaded porn from the government database—” She shivers all over and throws her head back. “— and made a science project out of it?”

  With her head bent back, I cannot control my need to admire the delicate line of her exposed throat. Why is it that the sight fills me with a desire to take my tongue and slide it over that soft and vulnerable skin? The thought frightens me more than I would like to admit. Is it possible our hormone chips are not receiving proper updates from Kar’Kali? The lab has direct access to the Alliance transmission network, so I cannot imagine why that malfunction would occur.