THE NEW FACE
He is open! She marveled. He is not afraid! This was her chance. If the Antolian race was ever going to interact with these aliens this would be it. She would have to act quickly, the process was painful and he might stop her.
She grabbed his hand and lifted it to her face. His hands were so soft she had to pause and admire the furless skin. Then, in a swift movement she turned his hand over palm up, her tail lashed around releasing that hidden spike again and stabbing his hand, this time something was injected into her victim's skin. She stepped back from his defensive response and released him.
Crouching down she tilted her head back and let the single drop of blood drip to her forehead. It soaked into her fur and soon into her skin. The alien DNA was being absorbed into body and her DNA was being absorbed into his. His DNA would act as a filing system for her. Any thought that was linked to her through him would attach itself to his DNA making it possible to distinguish his thoughts from the rest while her DNA would open up his mind to the collective.
Every one of the collective gasped as the new alien mind could be heard, "What the hell?" his voice and mind worked as one. "Holy Shit!"
"Colonel!" his crewmen shouted as they rushed forward. Newly attained weapons were trained on Jutoi. "Colonel are you ok? What the hell did she do?" it was the one Young recognized as Lt. Scott. Memories and words began rushing into the collective's head Jutoi smiled. They were called Human and they were advanced, not far, but far enough for travel with the help of a type of worm hole machine.
The onslaught of information made Jutoi dizzy but she could handle it. In a matter of moments she learned their language, their history, and their social behaviors. She was about to speak when suddenly Young collapsed. Something was wrong! His consciousness in the collective became unstable and was beginning to rip apart! "What have I done?" she asked herself and the collective.
DESTINY
Tamara was called and rushed in to Young's side, "What happened?" she asked with urgency.
"The alien stabbed his hand with her tail!" Eli was close to panic. The alien in question had three soldiers with weapons trained on her. Johanson quickly examined the hand, there was a small patch of blood and a puncture wound. "It must be a poison of some sort! We don't have the supplies to fight venom…" Tamara felt despair begin to creep into her heart but in desperation she began to suck at the small puncture wound in his hand.
"It will do no good Tamara."
Everyone turned in surprise… the alien spoke and it knew her name.
"It has melded with his DNA, I am sorry, I did not think his mind would act this way!"
Johanson stepped forward, "What did you do?"
"It'll take too long to explain, but I had to learn your language somehow or we would have spent years learning to communicate with you!"
"A lot of good it'll do you if he dies! We won't exactly take kindly to that," Greer said with malice in his voice.
"I understand, so let me help. I put him in this state let me find a way to fix it."
After only a moment's hesitation Johanson pulled her forward. The alien reached in her bag and pulled out a small button-like device. She attached it to Colonel Young's head and stepped back, relaxing, "That should keep him steady, his mind will become inactive and it will give us more time to work," She looked to the rest of the crew who stood tense and observant of her every move, "My name is Jutoi and I am a member of the Antolian society… Welcome to planet Tieffay"
ANTOLIAN AND DESTINY on TIEFFAY
After Lt. Scott finally convinced the crew that it was at least safe to leave Destiny they found themselves on a vast plain of what looked like wheat. The alien, Jutoi, began to carry Col. Young to another very large ship a short way in the distance before Johanson stopped her, "You help him here in front of us… I don't want you attaching anything to him while he's with you…"
Jutoi searched through her memories and smiled, "Of course, you're run-in with some rather unsavory aliens has made you cautious. My people call them… well a rough translation would be "Nappers"… They kidnap alien species and run endless tests on them all for the sake of 'knowledge'. I will do as you ask Tamara only to prove that we are nothing like the Nappers."
In minutes several other Antolians appeared, running through the field. They were various colors of grey, brown, and tan, black and white. They also brought supplies with them, food, tools and machines.
"My people have agreed to help service your ship back to health after much convincing from me," Jutoi said smiling as the alien with the tools stepped forward staring in awe at the ship and its crew.
"They are so… delicate looking," the handyman said.
"Yes, Terru, they are. But, looks can be deceiving, and you have work to do. So hop along!" Jutoi spoke and immediately went to work examining Young with the machines brought to her. The tools were dispersed among three of the Antolians and they rushed to the ship. A small female, obviously a child stepped forward with a basket of food.
"It tastes good," she said shyly. The crew apprehensively began to eat.
Scott spoke first, "Looks like your plan worked Eli."
"You're surprised?" Brody laughed, thumping Eli on the back.
"Sure it worked, and if these aliens hadn't jumped in at the last moment we would have breathed our last breathe on that ship," Rush said sarcastically, "Let's not forget that brush."
"Can't you just be a normal human being for once?" Scott jeered.
"Guys, stop! We're alive I don't care if that means my plan failed or not!" Eli held up his hands to the crew, "Honestly I'm relieved they just want to help. They could've dissected us while we were in those pods… yet they didn't. I'm glad we finally met some nice neighbors!"
"Eli's right," Johanson said with a smile, "We should count ourselves lucky they were there when we woke." The crew murmured agreement.
Jutoi worked tirelessly for several hours in silence. Some of the crew returned to Destiny and helped the Antolians fix the broken ship and others set off in exploration of the strange planet, Tieffay. Johanson, Greer, Scott, and Eli stayed behind to watch Colonel Young's progress.
"What do you think happened?" Eli asked.
The little Antolian with the food spoke, "She merged DNA with him."
"What?" Tamara looked confusedly at the little girl, "What does that mean?"
"Jutoi opened his mind to the collective. When we do that, your memories, are ours. The collective keeps no secrets."
"So… you did some Vulcan mind meld on him?" Eli asked. The crew shook their heads but smiled with amusement, the little girl seemed confused, "You know… Vulcans… I thought you said our memories were yours."
"I should rephrase then, Colonel Young's memories are ours… he was the linked one."
"So what is she trying to do now?" Johanson asked.
"She is trying to separate her DNA from his. If she is successful, then he will awake the same Colonel you knew and have no connection with the collective."
"And if she's not successful…?" Tamara hated to ask, but she needed to know.
"Then… there are several scenarios which can occur. The first being his eventual death, second an acceptance of the collective, third, a complete reconstruction of his psyche in order to accept the collective and lastly, a possibility of simple insanity."
The crew looked grim, "So if she fails… he's basically an alien for life…" Eli moaned.
"I am done." Jutoi stood up and walked over to Johanson, "He needs rest, but I cannot tell what damage may or may not have occurred until he wakes. In the meantime, I hope it is alright if I examine your ship more thoroughly."
"First I think we deserve some answers. We've been-"
"In stasis, yes I know Tamara. For three years I believe, judging by the state of the interior of Destiny that's how long I'd assume you've been out. The exterior though… It looks like it hasn't been touched in thousands of years… Our mechanical team will have quite a job fixing it."
"How was it you came to our ship?" Scott asked.
"I was on a research assignment on a nearby planet when your ship dropped out of… FTL, as you call it. Our sensors picked you up and we took our ship to investigate. Once in range we scanned the ship, it was in very bad shape, but often ships will warp to our galaxy with much damage after crossing the Badland Galaxy. It is rare that we find survivors so we did not scan for life."
"Badland?" Greer asked.
"It was the site of a large civil war and the remains of that war have left the galaxy very dangerous to travel through."
"Yeah, we had a few run-ins with those 'remains'…" Greer said.
"I know sergeant," Jutoi smiled, "It is what I originally suspected but what surprised me more was the fact that you had survived by placing yourselves in stasis. You're a very resourceful people…"
"Humans are known for that," Scott smiled.
Johanson looked at the three men then looked where their eyes kept darting too and she smiled, "Humans are also known for their modesty…" during the conversation the men's eyes couldn't help but move to the very voluptuous and uncovered Antolian's body. Though covered in fur, it was not thick enough to hide the very feminine physique.
Confused only for a second, Jutoi laughed then asked for another crewman's jacket. Once covered Johanson decided it best that she give the tour of Destiny. The tour was very short and Tamara had to smile, Jutoi knew every corner of the ship, it wasn't surprising once she realized the alien had a hold of Col. Young's memories. It was a very interesting idea, the sharing of memories, and Tamara wondered if their people ever became overwhelmed with it. How does one show individuality when a whole species is thinking and living inside your head.
"What the hell are you doing Brody?" Rush's voice echoed around the corner.
"I'm trying to bring the life support back online…?" Brody, unsure of why Rush was upset stopped the power-up.
"And that would be our lead scientist…" the lieutenant said with a slight smile. Jutoi knew they had put up with this strange man's surly attitude for a long time and had grown used to it, even ignoring it at times.
"We're on the ground! We don't need life support. We need to find the other problems first. Starting up life support would only drain power that we do not have and cause problems for the rest of us working on actual problems!"
"Careful Nicholas… The damage your words can cause will sometimes be greater than the damage of the ship…" Jutoi smiled as Rush looked up obviously irritated at yet another distraction, "And you do not have to worry about the ship. My people are good mechanics when it comes to older vessels."
"I'm not upset with your people I'm upset with Brody." Rush seemed to calm for a moment as he watched Jutoi move easily through the control room to Brody.
"Bring life support back online Brody," Jutoi asked gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
"But… Rush-"
"Rush is right, it will draw from power you do not have, but you may be surprised how little Rush knows."
Tamara, Brody, and Volker who was now standing in the door all gaped at Jutoi in surprise. She had just insulted Rush! Rush opened his mouth to protest but Jutoi spoke over him, "Do not assume that what is obvious is all there is, Rush. I have seen your antics in Colonel Young's mind and I believe a good humbling is in order… Turn life support on Brody."
There was a moment's hesitation but Brody turned switching the life support system to minimum power. Then all hell broke loose and hundreds of alarms began to blare. Rush smiled smugly.
