A second ship was able to be sent down to carry Alex, Agatha, Robert and the drones needed. If they knew that Hypnos was already deploying his own aircraft next, they'd be in shock. He was also going to test a theory. The drones didn't really need to breathe. He was going to launch one of his drones into space to see what happened. He had gone over it with Alex in complete depth before deciding to do this. If the drone was successfully deployed, then any space-bound enemy was definitely going to be in for a fight. Drones had natural cloaking. They didn't show up on thermal scans or radars. Something was going to get massively fucked over in the end.
"I've been going over what your memories show of your Council," Alex muttered, while they were driven back to the forested area in the limousine. "I don't think I'd trust any of them."
"Certain members are okay," John started.
"And the salarians from your memories. They sound like uptight fucks that would do anything they could to get any piece of scientific info," Alex started.
"If they try to tag me with a needle, the tagger will need to be bagged and thrown into a dirt hole in the ground in whatever pieces are left," Agatha growled out. "I refuse to have any part of my DNA stolen from me. It happened once. I had no control over that. I have control over it now. I will not let it happen again. We are freely giving back everything we took. We are upholding our word to give back what was stolen. I won't make any agreements to give over anything of mine. Willing or not."
"I can back you up on that," Alex nodded and let her snuggle into him for comfort. "Don't worry. I'm not leaving your side. Our drones aren't leaving your side. Heh. Those crazy fucks told us to go back to outer space when we came out of hiding. Not from there, but kinda ironic that we're going to space to check out this new, crazy galactic bullshit."
"If there's an invasion of different races, then everyone is going to want to know what's up," Robert sighed. "Glad I'm still dressed for the occasion."
"Maybe I should change my outfit into something lighter…" she mused.
"Bitch!" Alex growled to get her laughing. "You are not wearing a micro bikini to a first meeting with unknown aliens! I swear, that may be your new thing to get me riled up now…"
"You bet your ass! As for you, John, I do wonder how your missing salarian ship got here to begin with," Agatha admitted. "It really makes no sense to me at all."
"I'm not sure, either," John said with a shrug. "We know that many of our adversaries came from a place called The Veil. It's a very hazardous place to go through. Very few ships go in there and make it back in one piece. Some sort of time rift must have happened. Even I don't know how I got here. Nothing changed at all. Only thing I can think of is that your planet simply came into existence to our system. Maybe a mirror-world of some kind. I mean, this is Earth. A version of it. But, not the one I know of. I'm still…mind-blown over all of it."
"That makes two of us," Robert nodded. "I still can't wrap my head around it."
"But, you let your other head get wrapped up in my-" Agatha started before Alex pressed a finger to her lips to quiet her. At her pursed smile, he shook his head.
"I know you're horny," Alex muttered in her ear. "We'll fuck in a spaceship soon."
"Good," she chuckled and leaned into him. Robert was trying to remain calm. It had been some time that he was with her. Such talk from her wasn't helping him. Even worse was the small tentacle that moved to caress his back under his suit jacket. He wanted to have that stop, but he wanted the contact, too. He took in a deep breath for control and glanced out the window.
"Hera…" Alex growled in her ear. He knew the game she was playing. "Stop it. Now."
"No," she murmured with a small smile.
"Is something wrong?" John asked.
"She's bored. Insanely bored. Do you have any puzzles here?" Alex asked.
"Not really," he admitted.
"I have one," Nick chuckled and took out a prepared Rubik's Cube.
"I haven't seen one of those in…" John gaped. "well, never, really. Only in a picture book."
"Really?!" Alex grinned.
"Hypnos will be busy," Agatha chuckled and let him kiss her.
"So, I know what she can do. But, what can you do? Aside from the claws…" John started. Then he froze at Alex's savage grin. The two men with him actually started break out into a nervous sweat. Robert just rolled his eyes and continued to let Agatha's hair massage his back.
"You'll find out in a battlefield. I wouldn't advise that here," Alex seemed to snicker.
"And you call me a blood-thirsty bitch?" Agatha grinned.
"Nah. Just a bitch," he chuckled and nuzzled her. "And remember. No matter what happens, your purpose is fully for me. Ignore everything else."
"Okay," she nodded and pressed into his neck.
"Here. Apparently, she doesn't need it," he said and handed the Rubik's Cube to John. "We have boxes of them. You can keep that."
"Thanks. I know a few guys that would like these," John chuckled and studied the plastic, rotating, multi-colored cube in his hand. He gave it over to one of the soldiers to play with. It would definitely keep the man busy and out of his way.
"We have another ten minutes. We just hit the dirt road," Alex said.
:My Emperor! I ran the space test with the drone. It works.: Hypnos chuckled.
:How many drones can we deploy into space?: Alex had to ask.
:How many do you want to send?: Hypnos asked evenly. That got Alex laughing hard in the link.
:Set up several space stations now.: Agatha said with a chuckle. :The faster we establish ourselves, the harder it will be to remove us. Much like how we spread out here on the land.:
:We're gonna be like locusts.: Hermes finally managed to speak out in the link.
:Let the drones be the bugs they find first.: Alex snorted to get them all laughing.
:I'm making small jet packs that will work for single unit transport. I may need to get my hands on some complex rocket fuels. I want to see what they have before making the final designs.: Hypnos said. :If we are sending drones up, we'll need to disguise them in suits.:
:Makes sense. Work on it.: Alex nodded.
:And do not neglect Eir.: Agatha said gently.
:I am well aware. She actually does help me with various designs!: Hypnos chuckled.
:Read a book with her.: Eros nudged in. :I'm sensing that she needs that.:
:I'll do that now.: Hypnos agreed.
:Good thing to know that you're helping in ensuring our little King and Queen couples are staying stable.: Alex chuckled lightly.
:Of course, my Emperor. Also, you should see what new sights will be around for Mother.: He mildly hinted. Alex rolled his eyes, but he mentally agreed. When they got to the ship, it was uncovered and ready to go. John checked how much seating was there, and he frowned.
"I doubt there's really much seating here. I don't think it would be safe to just cram us all in," he started. Alex simply smirked at him.
"We'll manage," Robert chuckled. When John went to check around the ship, he swore. "What's wrong? Did something break?"
"Not really. A part of the landing gear looks stuck in the mud. Was it raining?" John frowned.
"It did rain for a few days around here. Hmm," Alex thought and studied how bad the ship's landing gear had sunk. Then he smirked when he saw Agatha's tendriled hair already moving to coil around various parts and carefully lift the ship from the ground.
"She's lifting the ship…with her hair…?!" John gaped.
"Remember. That's my wife," Alex chuckled. The drones moved in quickly to secure the earth under the spacecraft. "She can't hold it for long. Hurry the fuck up!"
"Yes, my Liege," several drones said together and sped up the task. Several lesser drones of Robin were quick to help lift the ship up on various sides. John was just in shock that several tons of steel was now being lifted up as though it was a simple pile of bricks. Right after the debris was cleared, the ship was settled back down. Agatha chuckled softly and examined the inside of the craft.
"There's plenty of room here," she chided.
"But, lifting off out of the atmosphere will be a problem…" John started.
"I purposely let myself jump from flying jet planes at high speeds for fun," Alex snorted. "We'll live. Commander, you may need a seat."
"I get it," Robert sighed. When they managed to pile in, the drones simply climbed onto the outside of the ship to hold on. Quite a few were able to do this.
"I hope we can lift off," one of the soldiers said.
"As long as they don't sit on an engine, we'll be fine. Um, you sure they can survive space?" John asked Alex. Nick was the only drone sitting inside with them. The drone had to be with Agatha at all costs for protection. At the small nod given back, John could only nod back and bring up the control grid. The lights came on, the engine roared to life and lift off began.
"Damn! That thing always falls down!" the second man growled at how a loose fixture started to teeter out of the holding it was in. It was right over John's head, and it appeared to be some form of compass support. If it fell on him, it would hamper his flight. Agatha's hair quickly moved and split into smaller strands to push the piece back into place and carefully secure it from behind the fitting. She was amused that, on the outside, the ship appeared to be seamless. On the inside, her hair could fit into quite a few crevices. Possibly even where the engine sat. This would be remembered down the line.
"Her hair…just fixed that…?!" John blinked.
"Focus on flying us," Robert said calmly.
"As I said," Alex snickered softly. "my wife makes me look tame. Just remember that."
"Right…" John sighed. Agatha sighed and looked out the small windows to see the land rushing away beneath them. Alex continued to focus on the hive link to ensure that he wasn't going to lose it. Much to his pleasant surprise, it was still intact. He sent visuals of everything he was looking at. Agatha was doing much of the same. They were clearly enjoying the ride. Robert was just amazed at how seamlessly the craft left the Earth's atmosphere. When they all found themselves weightless, her hair came alive to lock them all down in the form of mildly constricting seat belts.
"Thanks," Robert chuckled and patted a tendril of hair.
"Never tried to fuck in space before," Alex muttered in her ear.
"Mile-high club for sure, eh?" she grinned wickedly at him.
"I can still hear you," John grounded out.
"Why? Are ya jealous?" Alex chuckled.
"We can arrange for the two of you to fuck in space, but only when I'm not sitting close by. Do we have a deal?" John asked. Alex nodded at that. John let out his own small chuckle, but Agatha didn't fail to notice how he kept glancing at her. She knew he was intrigued by her, but she had no interest in him at all. When she looked out the window again, she saw them approaching something. "And there she is. The SSV Normandy. What do ya think?"
Agatha now moved to look out at the large ship floating silently in space. The ship slowly came into view to allow them all to get a good look, as they moved into a docking bay. It looked sleek in design, but Alex noticed, from John's memories, that it was purely a ship for scouting and quick getaways. He was actually impressed. Hypnos was bound to start making improved designs. When they docked, the small ship started to get hooked up to various feeds and refuel lines. The internal gravitation of the ship easily took over, and Agatha retracted her hair.
"Very nice," Alex nodded, as he looked around.
"We'll get a room set up for you," John said. "We need to see if I can get back to the Council."
"That's fine. Do what you have to," he chuckled.
"HOSTILES!" a docking recruit shouted when the drones began to uncloak from where they were latched onto the ship. Agatha gave out a seething hiss of warning when her hair suddenly came alive. Guns were drawn on them, and she was ready to attack in full force.
"No! They aren't hostiles! They are allies!" John said quickly and stood between them. "I'll tell all of you everything. Just…give them a chance."
"Why didn't we see them?!" another man asked.
"I said I will explain," John sighed and went to a control panel. "Attention! Immediate briefing conference now! Stop all actions and report! This is not a drill! This is a direct order!"
Several voices, male and female, soon reported in that they would be present. Agatha was still on edge. The men stationed there could only stare with a form of awe-struck horror at how her hair wavered about in a defensive and offensive way. Alex moved over to her side to kiss her cheek and whisper softly in her ear. She looked at him with a small frown, but he whispered softly again.
"He said he would tell them about us. After he talks about them, we'll walk in and crash the party," he chuckled and nuzzled under her jaw. "We'll still have some fun."
"If you say so," she whispered. When she heard someone walking down a metal hall, she tensed up. Alex was forced to stay with her to keep her calm. The drones couldn't do anything.
"Shepard! I heard there were hostiles!" a multi-toned male voice sounded. "I had to come down, and, yes, I heard you were going to explain a few things, but I needed to check on this."
"Garrus, it's fine. I just gave word that there was to be a meeting, okay?" John said calmly. When Agatha looked over now, she found her eyes locking onto the eyes of a creature that appeared to look like a hybrid between a dinosaur and an eagle in various looks. His cheeks were a set of mandibles around his mouth and moved when he talked. The back of his head appeared to have something akin to a horn-like frill, and his skin was metallic. It almost looked like a carapace, or some form of natural armor. Of course, he wore other armors, and this also revealed the thin limbs and three-fingered hands he had. He also had blue markings on his face, and he was simply speechless at what he was looking at.
"Ah. You must be of the turian race. Nice," Alex mused. "He'll tell you what we are. Then we'll either shake hands, or fuck something up together as a peace treaty."
"I…" he started. Then he looked at John. "So…they are working with us?"
"So far. Just don't piss them off. The woman there can lift the scout ship with her hair. And, apparently, kill whatever the hell she wants with it, too. So, let's play nice for now"
"Sure," Garrus muttered out. Something about Agatha peaked his interest. She looked like someone he had to watch himself around. That made him incredibly curious about her. Usually, that wasn't a good sign for anyone. He was a master with a sniper rifle, but something told him that this female could be a touch out of his league. He wanted to test that theory in time.
"My Empress," Kim said when it walked over.
"Empress?!" Garrus asked with confusion. John found himself pulling his colleague away to get talked to. Robert watched the whole thing. He was pissed.
"Commander?" Alex asked him.
"If that thing tries to get with Agatha, I won't be happy," Robert grumbled.
"You think he will?" Alex mused. Agatha simply shivered for control and looked away. Now he looked at her and nuzzled her. "I'm right here. I'll fuck up anything that tries to touch you."
"Okay," she nodded. She appeared to be the defenseless maiden in distress. He knew it was all an act. She was highly on edge now, on the brink of being in a killing mood, and he had to be the one to keep her from slaughtering their new, possible allies. If she went on a killing spree, the shit would hit the fan really fast. As much as he was all for causing chaos, they had to tread carefully in this new territory. He had to keep his guard up just to ensure that she was kept calm. There was no other way.
