Author's Note: This is a re-post of a story that I transferred from an old account. The idea for the Enzo/Cass pairing in a story came from takersdarklover, one of my friends here on fanfiction. This story is an alternate universe set slightly in the future that features science fiction themes like an all-male species of aliens and male pregnancy.
1:
My name is Enzo Amore, and this is my full statement of the events at the Camp Moonstone Compound. All information is given to the best of my knowledge and to the best of my ability. Most if it cannot be verified, confirmed or certified because I saw it with my own eyes and no one else. No one born on earth, that is.
They came in 2015.
There were three species in all. They were the last of the creatures of their planet, which had been destroyed during some kind of nuclear civil war. They came without weapons. They claimed that they meant no harm to the human race. They were refugees on our planet. After debriefing and verifying all documentation they provided, they were determined to be safe to stay here.
Humans were not happy with them. Some of the species were being attacked while being escorted to their compound were they would be staying until the more secure apartments being built for them were finished. We discovered the cause of the attacks were race related and all humans involved were charged with hate crimes. The species involved were not hurt. Their nature is more brutal and they are at least eight times the strength of some of our planet's strongest men. We were surprised to find that, even when attacked, they injured no humans. We were satisfied that they meant the peace they preached.
They are all male. The largest group are humanoids, similar in appearance to human males, with the same external anatomy and bone structure. Their skin shines a metallic color in the sunlight that looks like a tribal tattoo dragged along their bodies. It comes from chemical compound not known to earth. This glimmering skin is the reason for the Moonstone nickname.
Some humanoid males carry an internal reproductive egg sac. A very small group of humanoid males carry sperm in their genitals. Humanoid males carrying eggs will search for humanoid males with sperm during their mating season, which corresponds with earth's summer months. The male with the egg sac orally pleasures the sperm male and ingests the result. In two months' time, the egg forms into humanoid offspring the size of a premature human newborn. The offspring must be surgically removed from the male or both will die. Children of this race grow fast, reaching maturity after only four years. They can live for an earth time of 300 years but resemble a male in his late twenties.
The second species is a reptilian breed with equally high strength, but their intelligence is similar to a developing child between the ages of nine through eleven. Their features, size, color and anatomical structure are similar to the Velociraptor of the Cretaceous period, but they share no genetic links. They feed on oats and grains despite their predatory appearance. They speak to each other with clicks of the tongue and primitive vocal sounds, but they have shown enough intelligence to research the human language of Morse Code. They use this process to communicate with us by tapping the Code repeatedly on a slate or rough surface using one of their clawed hands. This species is also all male. Their reproduction ritual is similar to the humanoid group, with the difference that this species can give live birth through a canal in their genital region.
The third and final species is the strongest, largest, and most powerful. They measure nine feet tall, and there are only three of them currently within the compound. One claims the rights as leader of the entire Moonstone group. This species resembles earth's gorillas in mannerisms and appearance but they stand upright. They also show no genetic link to the gorillas. They show intelligence equal to the humanoids. This breed is undeniably more aggressive and dominant than the others. As with the others, they are all male, and their course of reproduction is similar to the humanoid breed, with a birth canal similar to the reptilian breed. This species provides security and a brotherhood toward the sperm males of the humanoid group. It looks to be in an effort to ensure the future of the humanoid species, a pact that was made while still on their home planet.
My husband, Fandango, and I were sent to study all three races for a scheduled two month period while they remained in their natural habitat within the compound walls. They gave the scientific team we represented on behalf of the federal government all the information regarding their lifestyle and culture. We were sent to observe them for social research and to understand their reproductive rituals. Given their taste for earth's literature and their speed with knowledge, Fandango and I had to work quickly to memorize what we could about them in a limited time before entering the compound.
Shortly after arrival, it was obvious to us that the species were deeply fascinated by the human population that inhabits earth, a species that until now was completely unknown to them. They requested a human candidate to study and research, but the government declined their request. This did not fare well with curious minds, and I knew that I was being sent along with my husband for the benefit of keeping peace among the new species by letting them reasonably observe us while we observed them. The rules would be different on the inside. Peace wasn't guranteed. I still assumed we would be safe. I could call outside the compound and request to leave if anything went wrong. I wasn't worried.
I was an officer until six months ago. I was stabbed and thrown down some stairs while stopping a domestic dispute and I suffered a concussion an internal bleeding. I survived, but my husband refused to let me go back to the force. I didn't want to admit it to myself at the time, but I was glad that he would not let me go back. I didn't want to go back. I wasn't ready.
Joining his team of experts, I assumed I would be delving into research with the alien compound to pass the time for several months. I would be living in the compound's center with Fandango, cut off from the outside world save for our communication devices and guards who checked in from time to time. I believed it would be like an extended vacation. I thought I would be ready to rejoin the force when research was finished.
Fandango's intentions for the research looked normal. He was glad to gather information about the new species. He showed excitement that I would be there with him every step of the way. When we arrived the first day to negotiate with the compound's leader, the alpha of the gorilla-looking species we nicknamed Cormund, I had no reason to believe Fandango wanted anything more than to observe, collect data, and leave the compound after our two months were up.
Cormund was known to be very intelligent and very protective. We were aware of this fact. In earth's social structure, when a dominant figure leads, the other figures show no competition as a sign of respect. We had researched Cormund's social class and we understood that his world was known for brute force. Requests on their world were like wrestling matches. Fandango resorted to the human way of asking Cormund's permission to grant us research rights and tried to get approval through non-competitive respect. Cormund took this as a sign of weakness, a travesty to the Moonstone species, and he took hold of Fandango's arm to break it.
"No! You can't!" I shouted.
Cormund's advisor, the leader of the humanoid species they called Big Cass because he was much taller than the other humanoids, was keenly interested in me since Fandango and I called him into our headquarters weeks earlier. We asked for an interview to get permission to come in and research as a sign of good will.
Big Cass showed remarkable intelligence and perception during the interview. I was sure he had observed my disgust that Fandango kept controlling the interview process and Cass found this to be both distracting and amusing. I pointed out that Cass had unusually transparent blue eyes. He smiled in response to me, revealing his gleaming white teeth with canine incisors as sharply pointed as earth's leopards. He told me distinctly, "I appreciate your interest in my abnormalities."
His interest in me resumed when we arrived at the compound. He did not remove his gaze from me even at the moment when Cormund took hold of Fandango. The entire compound and its species were watching me with astonishment as I angrily shouted for Cormund to stop. Cormund himself ignored me. I was told never to bring a weapon into the compound. Being a former cop, I still carried a legal firearm in my pocket out of habit. I withdrew it and pointed it at Cormund to get him to release my husband.
Cormund finally laid eyes on me. He observed the gun with mild interest, even showing boredom. He grinned and released Fandango. With that, his people departed to return to their small encampments.
Fandango stumbled to the ground. I holstered my gun and leaned down to help him. Fandango was in shock and he accidentally tore my t-shirt while he was pulling on it to get up.
The wind was blowing and the hot sun was not helping the situation. Fandango was confused and I wanted to get him to the shade. My chest was exposed but not much. I thought nothing of it. I figured the aliens wouldn't care. I looked up and saw that I was being watched by the entire compound.
On my chest where I had been stabbed, the knife had come out at an angle and left a gaping wound. The surgery I went through had also made its mark, and the scar tissue stretched eleven inches along the left side of my chest. Doctors were stumped how I survived.
The Moonstone race saw scars as a sign of status. The more brutal the scar, the more powerful the creature. I had no plans to show my scar or to gain a status symbol, but I was observed by all three species sporting a scar that outmatched all but Cormund.
I got Fandango to his feet. He was still out of it. I helped him along with the intention of leaving for good. Cormund was the one who said, "You may begin tomorrow. Your observations will be shown to us and we must approve of your findings and research before you can leave the compound."
He was giving us the okay. I knew Fandango would never forgive me if I turned it down. We had to stay.
:-:
I changed my shirt while Fandango took a shower. When I met up with him later, he was whining about the assault. He mumbled something about pressing charges and told me, "I should have been more careful."
His ran his palm through his hair to send it back. I shrugged and told him, "He gave us the okay. It was no big deal."
He scoffed and argued, "Yes it was! I exposed your scar to an entire clan of war-based males. They could have asked to fight you!"
I sighed to let him know I thought it was nothing, but he was right. The whole thing could have ended badly.
Fandango went on, "Who knows what they would have done if I hadn't been there to hold them off!"
I snorted laughter. Fandango glanced at me. I shrugged so he didn't see that I wanted to laugh at him.
:-:
Ten huge ATVs came the next morning with our supplies for the coming months. I was still in the shirt and jeans I wore the day before. Fandango looked me over and asked, "Trying not to keep up appearances, are we?"
I straightened up and replied smoothly, "I'm still wearing a shirt, aren't I?"
We walked outside. I stopped short when I saw one of the humanoid species. He was called Sami. He was the only one with red hair in his group. It was easily recognized when observing him that he was the outcast of his kind. His red hair was seen as unappealing to the others. He was also smaller and less aggressive than the rest of his group. Sami most resembled a human of earth, and there were talks to make him the face of his people so they would be more accepted.
Sami held out his hand for me and replied, "I apologize, Enzo. I was sent to help you, per Cormund's request."
His knowledge of earth's manners were taken from the literature given to the compound for research on our culture. I took his hand and shook it. He smiled and I saw the sharply pointed canine teeth that were present in all three species, a trait that reminded us he was not from earth. He helped me to guide the ATVs inside the compound and Fandango gave them orders on where to put the supplies.
:-:
With the help of the Moonstone race, we were finished unloading and had already built our outside testing grounds in less than six hours. Fandango and I were up early the next morning. I set up the vials and needles that would be used to extract blood samples from the humanoid species while Fandango prepared the computerized scales that would measure and weigh the reptiles.
The sun was bearing down on us again and the strong wind was whipping my hair until it was standing straight in all directions.
"So am I going to be doing the dinosaur samples?" Fandango asked, pacing our testing grounds with frustration.
I told him while I worked, "They may look like raptors, Fandango, but they aren't related to the species, so they should not be called 'dinosaurs.'"
He scoffed. I made a mental note that he had been scoffing in response to me for the last few weeks. He rambled on, "You remember my brother, Dolph? He had pet lizards when we were kids. I didn't like touching those things. Scaly and cold and weird..."
I knew he would not let this go. I told him, "Why don't you do the humanoid group and I'll do the reptilian species, huh?"
He shook his head and replied, "Oh, I couldn't make you do that..."
"I insist," I said, moving away from the blood sample kits.
He pretended it was hard to give it up.
:-:
The first humanoids came within minutes for blood samples. Cormund was conveniently missing and had not been seen again since almost breaking Fandango's arm. He sent Cass to watch over the research and to keep a close eye on the research being done, especially when it came to the needles. Fandango joked with Cass and the other humanoids, but I saw from their faces that all of the Moonstone race was unconcerned with Fandango and his attempts to make a friendship with them. If anything, he provided amusement for the humanoids that were otherwise bored out of their minds and had nothing better to do than to watch him make a fool of himself. Fandango told them dramatic and mostly blown out of proportion stories of survival during his time in the military doing top secret research. The humanoids would go into laughing fits that he mistook for a sign they liked him. I decided against telling him otherwise.
Trouble came when I attempted to find a nickname to explain the difference between the reptilian breed from the humanoids. I called the reptiles Raptids and their raptor-like supervisor seemed to enjoy this name enough for it to stick. When I asked the supervisor what he would like to be called, he tapped on the table in Morse Code to spell out Miz. I showed him the scales and said, "All you need to do is walk up on this cage here to get your weight. The scale just takes a couple of seconds. Then, I'll have to give you a little shot, just to draw some blood."
He got anxious about the mention of needles after he had seen the humanoids getting their blood drawn. He shifted his clawed hands together like he was upset, so I told him, "Don't worry, the pain is only a little and very quick. If you pass, I'll give you a whole bag of grain to eat."
This made Miz very excited. He had to struggle to calm himself long enough to use my table to tap a question in Morse Code. I responded to his question, "Well, if you all pass, I'll give you the whole supply of grain and you can have some extra to keep for tomorrow."
He was so happy, he called out in a long howl of glee. Then he pointed one of his claws at a gland on his chest the size and shape of an almond and out came a small purple liquid at the end of his claw. He bowed to me and I was surprised by it. I had researched that this was a ritual done by the Raptids when they were showing respect. I allowed Miz to draw a short line on my forehead between my eyes with the purple liquid. He then took off in search of his group to bring back for testing.
Fandango snorted when Miz was out of sight and he said with a side of sarcasm, "Way to go! You gained their trust."
A few of the humanoids were nearby, including Cass. They observed both Fandango and I closely. I was insulted by Fandango's sarcasm so I told him firmly, "I didn't do it for fun, you know."
He smiled and said like I were thick in the head, "Kudos is all."
I gave Cass a look. I didn't want he or his people to think I was all talk like some sort of car salesman looking for suckers to sell my lame pitch to. He responded with a short nod to show me he didn't think that.
Fandango was setting up another vial. He didn't know he upset me. My F-D was my one and only when we got married. He meant the world to me once, but somewhere along the line, he'd gone sawft.
I looked at Cass again. He was seated with his fellow humanoids immersed in a game of cards which they had learned to gamble with. He was dealing the cards but his eyes were still on me. He was staring at me with interest again, as if he were making little notes in his head. I looked away. I wondered if he were a researcher for his group and he was watching me to make a report of his own. Researcher or not, it was weird to know he was always watching me.
Why did he stare so intensely like that? Most of all, why did my heart skip beats every time I caught him staring?