Chapter Seven
"What do you mean, 'preparations'?" Sam asked as she stood from the table. Kyle sighed as he looked at Brother Shaun.
"I don't mean to impose, but we need someone to watch over our home for a while . . ." This stunned the room into silence. Brother Shaun blinked before smiling.
"Ah, for your kindness in the past, we would be glad to take care of your home while you are away," replied the monk. Sam was reeling.
"Wait a minute, what's going on?" Sam demanded. Sophie gave a soft moan in reply.
"Sam, they know about Sophie's kind from Reinhardt's research. We can't let them use her people as weapons." Kyle looked at her. "We have to do something to stop them . . ." MacReady sat, listening and smoking his pipe. With a puff of smoke, he spoke.
"So, you two are just going to run off to the Outer Rim all by yourselves . . ." Everyone looked at him. Mac looked at Kyle, his piercing, slate-gray eyes locked on Kyle's. "And just what is it you intend to do when you get there?" Kyle blinked, silent. Mac smiled mirthlessly around the stem of his pipe. "The Rim is a dangerous place, kid. The Krauts aren't the only dangerous people around there. It's not very smart to run out there with no plan." Kyle frowned slightly.
"I was having a blonde moment." This brought a welcome round of laughter to the room. Mac puffed a little more smoke.
"Besides, with that dinky little ship of yours, it'd take you close to two years just to get to the Rim, let alone to get back . . ." Mac smiled a knowing smile at the young blonde and his mate. "Also, didn't I say if you needed a favor to ask me?" Kyle gazed in uncertain bewilderment at Mac.
"Well, yes, but not about something like this. This is very risky, and-"
"And I owe you for what you did for Sam . . ." Mac glanced at Sam, a small smile on his lips.
"My ship, unloaded, can get you there in six months, max . . ." Sophie hissed softly at this.
Kyle, he's right. And the quicker we get there, the better . . . Kyle sighed as he looked at Mac.
"Thanks, Mac." The bearded man nodded. Barnabas smiled from his place at the table.
"From what I understand, Weyland-Yutani found the eggs of Sophie's kind in some sort of alien ruins. Based on that, you will probably need somebody who can understand alien languages . . ." Everyone looked at him. The Bar-Master chuckled lightly. "I know just the fellow for something like this. His name is Sergei." Leon looked at Barnabas, then Kyle.
"Kyle, I know you feel strongly about this, but don't forget who you're going up against. The Fifth Reich may not be as large or as powerful as the Fourth was, but they're no less dangerous. You also have to remember that W-Y are in this." Kyle smiled at Leon.
"I'm aware of that, but I can't just do nothing." Kyle reached up and stroked the side of Sophie's head. "Besides, if there's any trouble, I have Sophie . . ." Sophie purred deeply as she wrapped her arms protectively around Kyle. Shiloh smiled and did the same with Leon.
The ginger-colored, fox-like female looked at Kyle and Sophie, part of her sad at the thought of her friends leaving.
"Kyle, Sophie, I know this is important, but I wish you didn't have to go . . ." Leon pulled his wife into his arms and cuddled her. Kyle came closer and held Shiloh's hand. Sophie did the same.
"Don't worry, Shiloh. We'll be back soon." Sophie purred her agreement. Shiloh threw her arms around their necks and embraced them both. Shiloh's gentle, warm embrace steeled their resolve.
If the Nazis or W-Y got their hands on Sophie's kind for use as weapons, the tragedy of the Milurian Holocaust could repeat itself on Zerichs II, or something as bad on another world. As they pulled back, Shiloh stroked their faces softly.
"Just please come back to us. Both of you." They smiled and nodded. As Shiloh released them, they turned to Sam.
"Sam, you've been a wonderful friend, and have helped us a lot. So, we want to let you stay in our house while we're gone." Sam smiled and shook her head.
"It's a nice offer, but I can't." Kyle blinked and Sophie hissed softly. Sam put her hands on her hips. "Because I'm going with you." Kyle's eyes were wide and Sophie hissed with surprise. Mac smiled from where he sat. Kyle was about to speak, but Sam raised her hand. "I know what you're going to say, and I don't care. I'm still coming. You never know what may happen. You might need my help."
Sophie smiled and gave a soft moan as she walked forward and embraced her friend, pulling Sam off her feet. Kyle smiled as he lightly shook his head. He looked at Mac, who was smiling at the scene. The bearded captain gave one last puff on his pipe before putting it out.
"I need to get my crew together and stock up the supplies. I'll pick you three up tomorrow." Kyle nodded as Mac stood. Barnabas nodded as he stood from the table, still looking as dapper as ever.
"Right. I have some things I must attend to, as well. I'll bring Sergei by Mac's island tomorrow." The Bar-Master extended his gloved hand to Sophie, who smiled as she shook it. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam . . ." Sophie purred in return. Leon sighed as he scratched behind his head.
"Listen, you two: don't take any unnecessary risks. We all want you home safe, you hear?" Kyle nodded. Shiloh gave them one last hug before she and Leon left. Brother Shaun smiled from where he sat.
"Well, it seems your quest has begun, young ones . " Kyle gave a soft smile at him. The monk stood and pulled his hood over his head. "The Great Wheel of Fate is turning. Only time will tell what shall come of it," the monk enigmatically mused as he left to catch up with Barnabas, Leon and Shiloh.
As soon as the door closed, Sam embraced her friends. No words were needed as they shared in the warm embrace, Sophie's tail wrapped around all three of them.
They spent the rest of the day preparing and trying to calm their minds. Sophie also disposed of the remains of the Nazis, having no desire to smell their vile stench any longer than necessary.
Despite the serious situation, Kyle still found the time to prepare a wonderful dinner for them. This time, he had prepared terriyaki-fish that was delicious. Sam turned in early, while Kyle and Sophie stayed up a little longer as Kyle drew out a few ideas and sketches before retiring.
As they crawled into bed, Kyle could feel something troubling his mate's mind. He gently held her hand as he embraced her mentally. Sophie gave a soft moan as she hugged him. Sophie had been thinking on how dangerous this was, and what would happen. As a result, her mind turned to what would happen if anything happened to either of them. Kyle smiled as he tenderly kissed her lips.
Sophie . . . My sweet, beautiful, darling, lovely Sophie, I will never leave you to wander the stars alone . . .- Kyle gazed intensely at her, stroking her face. –. . .for I'll be right behind you . . . Sophie wrapped her mate in her soft embrace as she pulled the covers over them.
And I you, my sweet, wonderful, kind, beautiful man. My Bonded. Kyle paid his tears no mind as the love of his life gave him another soft kiss on the lips before they drifted off to sleep. Where one of them went, the other would always follow, death and beyond.
The next morning, everyone woke bright and early as Kyle and Sophie made certain everything was in order. They had just finished breakfast when Sophie looked at the door. Kyle smiled as he stood and walked over to open the front door for their guests. Brother Shaun was there to greet him, as well as several other monks, all in robes. From their outlines, not all of them were humans.
"I hope you all slept well . . .?" Brother Shaun queried as Kyle motioned for them to enter. The monks each bowed in turn to Kyle and Sophie as they entered, as was the tradition of their order when invited to somebody's dwelling.
"I have a greenhouse out back, and we have our aqua-farm down in the cove. Whatever you grow or farm while we're away I want you to see as payment for taking care of our home for us." Kyle said as he gave Brother Shaun a small map of their island. Sophie nodded her agreement. Sam watched all this. The monks seemed a little surprised, but pleased. Brother Shaun smiled at Kyle.
"Your kindness is great. The bounty of your home will go to feed those who have naught, not us ." Shaun patted his muscular belly. "We eat well already." Kyle smiled agreement at the monk.
"Thank you." The monks nodded.
As Kyle, Sophie and Sam stepped out, Josey came bounding up. Sophie purred as she scooped her pet up and stroked her. Sam smiled at the cute sight of Sophie petting Josey, her pet rabbit. Sophie turned and walked up to hold Josey out to Brother Shaun with a soft moan. The monk smiled softly as he took the rabbit, who fidgeted and wiggled in his grasp before he began softly petting her.
"There, there, little one. Your friend will return. Shh . . ." He smiled at Sophie as Josey settled down in his arms. "Don't worry. She will be well cared-for." Sophie gave Josey one last pet before turning and leaving with Kyle and Sam. Kyle sent soothing warmth to his Bonded One as he took Sophie's hand, giving a loving squeeze, feeling the heart-hurt it was to leave their home.
We'll be back, Sophie. Don't worry. Sophie gently squeezed his hand back as she looked down at her beloved mate.
I know. Sophie wound her tail around him to reassure herself as they walked.
When they reached the clearing, Mac was already waiting for them by a small ship, puffing away on his pipe. Seeing them, he put out his pipe.
"Let's get going," chirped the bearded man as he led them into the ship. They all buckled into their seats as the ship took off.
As they flew, a thought occurred to Sam that hadn't before. She turned to Kyle as she queried,
"Kyle, how is it you know Brother Shaun?" Kyle smiled and chuckled as Sophie gave a stuttering hiss, holding both annoyance and dark delight. Mac raised an eyebrow as he piloted, waiting to hear the tale.
"He and the monks were the first ones to check on us when we first arrived on our Homestead, after the Serrex attacked. We ended out trading a few bundles of Serrek furs to them for equipment and the like. The rover me and Sophie use to move our harvest from the aqua-farm is one of the things we traded furs for." Sam smiled with delight. MacReady grinned with delight as he piloted the small ship.
"Good trade," the captain grunted, eying Sam. Sam smiled softly.
"You and Sophie have touched a lot of lives, even if you keep to yourselves." Sam observed.
Kyle gave a small rueful smile, Sophie purred as she held her mate's hand. As Kyle looked out the windshield, he saw a large, sandy island come into view.
He could clearly see a large ship sitting on the island, ready and waiting. The large, long craft was sitting, almost idle next to a small building.
"Ah, there she is. The Vortex." Mac's voice held rich satisfaction as they came in to land.
Barnabas was waiting for them by the building, along with Leon and Shiloh. As Mac and the rest approached, Kyle noticed a man with a mustache looking at something on a datapad, and guessed he was Barnabas' friend, Sergei. The Bar-Master smiled as they came up.
"Good to see you." He motioned to the mustached man and smiled. "This is Sergei, one of the best Xeno-Linguists this side of the galaxy." Sergei chuckled as he put his datapad away.
"He exaggerates. It's nice to meet you all," he softly drawled as he shook their hands. Kyle noticed he didn't seem fazed by Sophie at all. "I can hardly wait. Exploring an unknown alien civilization is a dream come true for me." They smiled knowingly at Sergei's eagerness. Kyle noticed that Leon was dressed in his fatigues and boots, ready for battle. Kyle's eyes did not miss the enameled red dragon pin on his black beret. The emblem of the Flying Dragoons. Shiloh gave Kyle and Sophie a warm hug.
"I'm going to miss you both so much." Sophie purred softly as she stroked Shiloh's fur.
"Don't worry, Shiloh," said Kyle as he pulled back. "We'll be back before you know it." Shiloh nodded sadly. She pulled up a bundle and gave it to Kyle, smiling as best as she could, for like all her kind, Shiloh's friendship was forever with those she formed a kith-bond with.
"Some more amaretto cake for you two." They smiled and hugged her once more. Everyone knew of Kyle and Sophie's intense love for the delicately wrought yellow cake. Barnabas smiled almost paternally at the pair as he stepped forward.
"Well, you all ready, then?" the Bar-Master inquired. Kyle nodded. Barnabas chuckled as he brought out his own datapad and showed it to Kyle. "I thought it might give you peace of mind if I showed you some pictures from Zeraven." Kyle looked at the datapad, his jaw dropped in shock.
There were armed men in fatigues with berets all around the streets, keeping watch as people went about their business. That, though, was not what had him so stunned. All the men had long mustaches and faces tattooed in elegant spirals, swirls and intricate designs. Each wore a sash of distinctive plaid patterns over his shoulder. Kyle could hardly believe it. The Tribes had come out of the sea mists, fogs to help, but then, this was a global threat.
Since Zerichs II had a very heavy Celtic population, Celtic culture contributed a lot to the culture of the world. As such, a few people had chosen to live on isolated islands in a tribal fashion.
These new Celtic Tribes were known for their hardy warriors and their elegant wandering Bards.
In fact, the Return of the Bards, an annual celebration where the wandering Celtic Bards would return to Zeraven, sing their songs and tell their stories, was only a few weeks away. Sadly, Kyle and Sophie wouldn't be there for it.
Kyle smiled at the sight of the Celtic warriors helping keep people calm. The Tribes were particularly protective of the Milurians, who still had not a single violent bone in their bodies, because of their genetic makeup, some scientists speculated, they never would . . .
Barnabas saw the relief flood into Kyle's face and smiled.
"That's not all!" Mac grunted from where he stood, lighting his pipe lazily as Barnabas put his datapad away.
"Indeed. The Gerries were fool enough to land on one of the moons." Kyle stared with stunned disbelief as Barnabas smiled thinly with grim dark delight. "They ended out staying for supper with the locals." Kyle couldn't help his snicker of grim delight, Sophie joined him.
The inhabitants of one of the two moons of Zerichs II, a race of pygmy-like tribal hunters, were decidedly not fond of outsiders. Anyone with half a brain stayed away from the moons. That is, unless they wanted to end up as lunch. "I think that dinner was served with cabbage, apples and a few woody parsnips," Barnabas commented as he straightened his coat dispassionately. Both Kyle and Sophie were fighting a losing battle with laughter at this point. Leon smiled, shaking his head over the news of this idiocy by the enemy as he walked forward, putting an arm around Shiloh, giving comfort to his mate.
"You two just stay safe, real safe. You hear?" Sophie and Kyle both nodded with a firm, grim resolution. Barnabas looked at Sam, giving his usual enigmatic smile.
"The same goes for you, Luv. You stay safe." Sam smiled as she hugged her friend. The violet-eyed man returned the embrace before looking at Kyle and Sophie. "Well, that about covers it. Now, go out there and help your lady's people, wot." Kyle blinked at that last, startled.
" . . .What?" Kyle asked as he frowned slightly. Barnabas grinned at that.
"Wot, wot." Kyle blinked. Mac groaned, a weak chortle of laughter escaping him as he walked behind Kyle and Sophie, gently pushing them along.
"Don't get him started. He'll 'wot' your ass until your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth," Mac grumbled as he ushered Kyle and Sophie towards the Vortex. Sam giggled, as did Shiloh. With one last wave, Sam went to catch up with Mac, Kyle and Sophie. Sergei smiled and followed.
Although the outside of the Vortex appeared rusted and rough, there was method behind this Rent-A-Wreck-look, it kept the vulgar riffraff from giving the ship a second glance. The inside was anything but vulgar or rough. Kyle was amazed. The piping and conduits in the corridors were all hidden behind panels. The halls were lit with soft, golden light, giving the ship a close, comfortable and elegant feel to it. Mac seemed to swell with pride as he led them aboard. "Welcome aboard!" he said grandly as he led them into the mess hall. Kyle smiled with awe in his eyes, Sophie purred.
A large, wooden table sat in the middle of the room, wooden chairs with soft, comfortable cushioning sat all around, waiting to be filled. A chandelier that looked like black iron lit the room with warm, golden light.
How lovely . . . Sophie commented as they walked through. If Kyle didn't know better, he'd think he was in a stately home, rather than on a cargo freighter. Sam smiled softly as she looked around.
"You redecorated . . .?" Sam observed, waiting. Mac flushed faintly.
"Yeah. I changed a few things since the last time you were aboard," he admitted as he led them towards the bridge. As they entered the bridge, they could hear the sounds of keypads being clicked upon. Someone sat at one of the chairs, typing. Mac nodded approval as they approached. "How's the novel going, Hemingway?" The person jumped at the voice. They turned to reveal a man with tousled brown hair.
"Oh, Mac . . . I was checking systems and going over everything one last time." Mac nodded with approval and his lopsided-grin as he motioned to the group.
"You already know Sam. The guy with the mustache is Sergei, the blonde is Kyle, and tall, dark and mysterious lady is Sophie." Mac introduced them to the man. "And this is Terry. Everything to do with tech or comms is his domain . " Terry smiled, a little shyly.
"Terry Lambert. Nice to meet you all." Mac looked around, then at Terry.
"Where's the rest?" Terry sighed, wincing, eying Mac warily.
"I told them over the intercom to get up here several times . " Mac sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Brother!" Mac groaned as he walked over to a button and pressed it. "Vic? Hugh? Where are you?" There was a hiss, but no reply. Mac growled softly and set his jaw. He looked at Terry, who shrugged. "Where's Ay-Mos?" Terry chortled with a grin.
"In cargo." Mac nodded and motioned for everyone to follow.
"I swear, I tell them all to be up here and ready to go, but do they listen . . .? Noooo." Mac grumbled as they walked down the halls towards the cargo area. Kyle couldn't help being amazed at the huge cargo hold of the ship. Of course, since it was a cargo freighter, that only made sense. Mac looked around the vastness of the cargo hold. "Aaaaaay-Mos?" he called softly.
"Over here, Captain," came the reply. They followed Mac to the far side of the cargo hold, where a tall man was looking over items in a container that was open. The man's white hair contrasted with his dark-green shirt and gray cargo pants. Kyle was amazed at his muscular physique, despite his obvious age. A-Mos turned to face them, revealing his mechanical left arm. "Ah, our guests, I take it. Welcome aboard, all of you." Mac nodded with a friendly grin at A-Mos.
"Sam you already know. From the left, that's Sergei, Kyle and Sophie." A-Mos smiled as he shook each of their hands. Despite how tall and muscular he was, he was far from intimidating.
"Ah, Mac told me about you and your lovely lady, Kyle. It's nice to finally meet you."
Kyle smiled as he shook his hand. Kyle noticed that A-Mos' mechanical arm was almost skeletal, with no attempt to disguise it as a normal human arm. Mac chuckled softly from where he was.
"So, where are the others?" A-Mos looked at Mac, his brows furrowed.
"They're not on the bridge?" Mac shook his head and A-Mos groaned. "All right, let's go gather the peanut gallery," the tall man growled as he joined them as they went further into the ship. As they walked, Sam smiled reassuringly at Kyle.
"A-Mos is a wonderful man. Mac saved him along with me during the Malera Conflict." Kyle blinked and Sophie hissed in surprise. Sam looked at the tall, white-haired man walking in front of them and smiled sadly. "That was where he lost his arm." Sophie moaned sadly at that. Sam shook her head as they entered an area that was a little more dirty than the rest of the ship. Kyle guessed they were entering the Engineering area. "Ironically, he was a USM soldier they left for dead." Kyle smiled bitterly at that, not surprised by it, but still soured by the news.
It looks like MacReady was an Angel of Mercy during that war . . . Kyle mentally observed.
Yes. Who knows how many lives he saved . . . Sophie purred as they walked.
As they wandered further into the greasy, dirty area of the ship, they could hear something clanking, like a wrench. A-Mos stepped over an open access panel and crossed his arms as he looked down into it. He casually used the tip of his boot to knock a heavy wrench into the open hole.
"Ouch!" came a yelp from inside. There was a grumble as someone emerged. The man's head was shaved into a Mohawk, his sunglasses hanging askew on his nose. "What the hell . . .?"
"Where the hell have you been?" Mac asked. The man looked up and grinned sheepishly.
"Oh, hi, Captain . . .-" Mac frowned darkly, the man broke off.
"Did you hear the call to get up to the bridge?" The man scratched behind his head as he grinned.
"Well . . .yeah, but I wanted to make sure these damn fussy pipes were all in order. You know how big a pain in the butt they are if they break." Mac sighed.
"This is Victor, our lead mechanic. Vic, Right to left, Kyle, Sophie and Sergei." Vic smiled with
a hint of uneasiness and straightened his sunglasses as he pulled himself out of the hole in the floor.
"Nice to meet you. I'd invite you in, but I just shampooed the rug." Mac groaned at Vic's joke.
"Just ignore his jokes," Mac ordered absently as he looked around. "So, where's Hugh?"
"Yo!" came a reply from above. They looked up at a panel in the ceiling that was open. A hand reached out and waved. A head poked out, upside down. The man wore a blue bandana over his black hair. From his skin color and the necklace he was wearing, Kyle guessed he was of Native-American descent. He smiled at Sam. "Hey, Sammer . . ." he greeted as he swung down and stood up. Sam rolled her eyes at this. She looked at Kyle and Sophie.
"Just warning you two ahead of time, these two are pretty annoying. You'll just have to live with it for a while . . . or kill them now and get it over with." Mac laughed aloud at Sam's biting bit of humor, as did A-Mos. Hugh smiled sheepishly at Sam.
"That's 'cause you ain't got no sense of humor, Sammer." Kyle noticed that Sam seemed a little irritated by the nickname. A-Mos cleared his throat and stood at attention, very much a military officer's stance.
"All right, you two. Enough of that. Where's Seth?" the white-haired man demanded. As if to answer their question, a voice came over the intercom.
"Captain? Where are you?" asked the cool, calm voice. Mac sighed with some relief as he pressed the button.
"In Engineering. Where are you?"
"On the bridge." Mac smiled.
"Stay there. We'll be right up."
"Rodger, Captain." Mac turned to the group.
"All right, everyone to the bridge. About time we got this show on the road," Mac groused.
When they arrived at the bridge, another man was there. He was about as tall as Kyle, with light-brown hair that was carefully trimmed around the sides of his head, but long on top, his bangs almost hanging in his deep-blue eyes.
"Hey, Captain," he greeted as the group filed in. A-Mos smiled lightly at the young-looking man.
"Seth, say hello to the new folks." A-Mos gestured towards the newcomers with his mechanical hand. "Sergei, Kyle and Sophie." Seth nodded, but Kyle noticed something when Seth saw Sophie.
The smile of wonder that crossed his features struck Kyle. When Kyle looked at MacReady, his mouth was hanging open, his pipe ready to fall from his lips. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the smile was gone as Seth took a deep breath, recomposing himself.
"Good to see you again, Sam." Seth looked at Kyle, Sophie and Sergei. "Nice to meet you guys." Sophie gave a soft purr as her tail swished very lightly.
He smells kind of like you . . . Kyle blinked as he looked at his mate. He looked at Seth. There definitely was something different about Seth, but what, Kyle wasn't sure.
As the crew set about getting ready for departure, Mac watched Seth with amazement as the fellow went about his duties. Sam noticed this, and decided to ask.
"Something wrong, Mac?" He looked at her, then back to Seth.
"Sam, I've had Seth aboard my ship since he was fifteen, and in all that time I've only ever seen him smile a few times, and never like he did just now." There was a question in MacReady's words. Sam looked at Seth. As she watched, she saw him look up briefly. He looked over at Kyle and Sophie, and the smile returned, if only for a nanosecond.
Mac took his place in the Captain's chair as they started the engines. "All right, people! Let's get this crate in the air!"
Someone muttered happily, "Hypersleep, here we come . . .-"
XXX
Kyle moaned softly as his senses slowly returned. The first thing he was aware of was a soft hand caressing his face. He smiled as he reached up and held Sophie's hand.
Good morning, my mate . . . Kyle smiled as Sophie gave him a gentle, soft kiss on his lips as he began to wake from the cryogenic stasis they had been in for the last six months.
Good morning, beautiful . . . Sophie gently helped him to sit up in the open stasis pod.
Almost as soon as they were in orbit and had set course for the Telara system, they had gone into stasis. Thankfully, Mac's ship was outfitted with almost the best of everything, including the hypersleep section. He had outfitted the ship with Morpheus Stasis Pods, designed for very long journeys and to give maximum comfort to the sleepers.
Kyle had never woken from hypersleep feeling so well before. Sophie also liked the soft, comfortable pods, as they had plenty of room, but not too much. She had been able to sleep with Kyle in perfect comfort for the whole time. As he stretched, Sophie softly rubbed his shoulders as she draped her tail over his lap. Kyle smiled groggily at her as the others awoke.
"Morning, you two," greeted Mac as he pulled his jacket on. Sophie gave a purr as a greeting as Kyle swung his legs out of the pod. Kyle looked over and saw that Sam looked even more groggy than he did. He couldn't help a bit of a smile. Mac fished out his pipe and some matches from his jacket pocket as he headed towards the mess hall. "I'll go get some coffee brewing."
This earned several growls and groans of approval from the still-groggy crew. As Kyle stood, Sam managed to wobble over. Sam smiled excitedly at her friends.
"Well, we're almost there," she said as Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. He nodded as Sophie softly purred. Sophie took notice when Seth stood up from his pod and calmly walked over to retrieve his clothes. A-Mos finished pulling on his shirt and smiled as he patted Kyle on the shoulder as he walked past.
"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Let's get some chow." Sophie purred her agreement as Kyle got dressed and they headed for the mess hall.
The breakfast had been delightful, as MacReady, like many people on Zerichs II, had been spoiled by the native victuals, using only dried, canned or otherwise preserved natural native foods, no artificial, synthetic food. Sophie also appreciated this. Kyle thought the chowder was great.
Once breakfast was finished, they all gathered on the bridge to take their first look at their destination. As they walked onto the bridge, Kyle stared out the large window at the stars and blackness of space. It had been so long, he had almost forgotten what space was like. Right in the middle of the window was a small, red planet. Kyle sighed as he stared at HS-90, their destination. Mac lit his pipe as he sat in the Captain's chair.
"Okay, everybody, strap in. This might get bumpy," Mac warned as the crew strapped into their chairs as they began to descend. As they closed in on the planet, Kyle couldn't help noticing the bright, crimson-red color of the planet, that reminded him of blood. Sophie purred gently, holding his hand and winding her tail around him as she embraced him mentally. The ship rattled and rocked as they descended through the atmosphere of the planet.
Mac grunted as he steered the ship. "Closing in on the coordinates of the W-Y site. Turning forty degrees to Port." The ship tilted as Mac adjusted their course. As they breached the clouds, Kyle took at the desolate landscape, and immediately felt homesick for their home of beautiful oceans and balmy island life.
The planet was almost a desert, a frozen desert. Some tall, rocky mesas stood up from the sandy plains, but there was little else. Sophie felt the same, missing their island and forests, not to mention the grand majesty of the sea. "There it is," Mac growled low. Everyone looked up at the rocky mountain that stood out in the middle of the vast plains of blood-red sand. Mac and the rest of his crew carefully brought the ship in for a landing as close to the mountain as they could.
The ship shook and rattled as they landed, but not unduly so. Mac sighed as they powered down the engines and the ship finally came to rest on the harsh, unforgiving sands of an alien world. "And we're here. Terry, give me an atmospheric, if you please . . .?" Terry tapped in the commands as Kyle unstrapped and walked over to stand by the window, gazing out at the landscape. It reminded him of pictures of Mars, before it was terraformed and colonized. Terry hummed as the readout came up.
"Let's have a look-see . . . Primarily Casmium gas, helium, some nitrogen. Not what I'd call 'breathable." Mac sighed darkly as he put his pipe out.
"Suits." Mac looked at Kyle. "Sorry, but it looks like Sophie will have to stay here." Sophie gave a very soft growl. Kyle looked at Mac with amusement.
"No, she can come. Her kind are very adaptable. Trust me on this one . . . captain." Mac eyed Kyle, then Sophie, then nodded as he leaned against a console.
"So, Captain, now that we're here, what's the plan?" Terry asked. Mac coughed lightly as he scratched his beard.
"We go in and find any eggs that they don't already have loaded, get them back on the ship, and trash any of their tech." Victor raised an eyebrow at this.
"So, we're going to be messing with the plans of Weyland-Yutani and the Nazis at the same time?" the mechanic yelped with a glitter of malicious delight in his eyes. Mac nodded.
"That's about the size of it." Vic grinned and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Oh, goodie! Random destruction, my favorite." A-Mos cleared his throat as he stood to the side.
"If you don't mind my asking, what do we intend to do with these eggs once we get hold of them?" Mac frowned lightly.
"We'll worry about that part later. Right now we need to keep them out of the hands of W-Y and the kamikaze Krauts." Mac looked over at Terry. "Any chatter or activity in the area?" Terry typed as Sam walked over to stand next to Kyle and Sophie. "Not a thing, Captain. It looks like we're alone out here." Mac sighed deeply with sheer relief.
"Don't jinx it," Mac ordered softly.
XXX
Kyle sighed as he slipped into the spacesuit. He had only worn one once in his life. It was a strange feeling to be putting one on after so long. The team going out consisted of himself and Sophie, of course, as well as Sergei, Seth and A-Mos. Mac and the rest were staying on the ship. Sam had not been pleased about the arrangement. As Kyle slid the seals closed on his gloves, he noticed A-Mos loading a magazine into an assault rifle. Sophie gave a soft hiss as she gently touched Kyle.
"Just remember that we're here to help Sophie's people, not hurt them." A-Mos tossed a reassuring smile towards Kyle and Sophie as he slung the rifle.
"It's not your lady-friend's relatives I'm worried about: It's whatever else we might meet out there." Kyle sighed with unease, nodded grimly as he put the helmet on and locked the seals with a whispered hiss. Sophie gave a soft moan as she ran her fingers gently over Kyle's faceplate.
Stay close to me, Kyle. I'll always protect you . . . Kyle smiled as he touched her face.
Seth watched Kyle and Sophie as he suited up. There was something so . . . different about the way the two of them interacted. Different . . . and wonderful. He had never seen any two humans that got along as well as they did. As Sophie gave a soft moan, running her long fingers over Kyle's helmet, a strange feeling came over Seth. He blinked hard over eyes stinging faintly as he pulled on and sealed his gloves. With a grunt, he lifted up his helmet and fastened it.
Sergei seemed almost ready to explode with excitement as he patted Kyle on the shoulder.
"Well, shall we go? History awaits!" Kyle smiled indulgently at the man's energetic excitement as they headed to the airlock. Seth had prepared the large, four-wheel drive rover earlier, making certain all was secure on the rover. As they got into the rover, Mac's voice came over the radio.
"Okay, you all know what the plan is. Follow Kyle and Sophie on most of this, but don't take any risks, any of you. Anything happens, you get your rears back here, ASAP." With that, the airlock depressurized, opened, letting in the blood-red light of the sun, the howling of the winds and dust as the rover rolled out, towards the large mountain. Seth was the one driving, keeping a careful eye on a display in one corner of his faceplate. About halfway there, A-Mos noticed something.
"What's that?" A-Mos muttered, pointing to something to their left. Seth steered towards the disturbances. As they got closer, everyone could see what they were: Weathered tracks and abandoned containers, all of them bearing the Weyland-Yutani logo. Seth didn't stop, passing swiftly by instead.
"Looks like this is where they landed," Seth mused as they saw the obvious prints of the landing gear of a ship in the sands. As they headed towards the mountain, Kyle adjusted the brightness of his visor, as the brightness and red color was starting to strain his eyes. Sophie hugged him as they neared the mountain. She didn't like the suit, since she couldn't feel Kyle's soft skin, but knew it was necessary. As the sun was blocked out by the mountain, Kyle looked up at the jagged, rocky giant.
"There it is," Seth breathed softly, awe in his voice as they neared an opening in the rock at ground level. The tracks still visible in the sand indicated that they weren't the first visitors.
"Vortex, are you reading us?" A-Mos growled as they came to a stop.
"Affirmative, A-Mos. We're receiving you fine and clear." Mac's voice replied in their ears.
"All right, we're going in," Seth murmured warily as he got out. Kyle and Sophie followed closely, with Sergei next and A-Mos bringing up the rear. As they stopped in front of the opening, A-Mos came up to take point, Seth behind him. They all switched on their flashlights as they carefully entered the cave.
Kyle was surprised just how dark it was. Sophie, on the other hand, could see just fine, linking her mind with Kyle's to allow him to see what she could. Kyle noticed that the cave, or, more properly, tunnel, was shaped oddly. It looked to Kyle's eyes like it was kidney-shaped. Aside from that, there was nothing exceptional about it. Loose gravel, rock and sand littered the floor. In front, A-Mos swept his rifle around, shining the light on it across the tunnel as they traveled deeper into it.
As they moved deeper, Kyle felt an odd sense of unease from his mate. He gently stroked one of the tubes on her back as he sent warm, comforting thoughts through their link. Sophie purred gently as she leaned against Kyle, for comfort, for them both.
As they rounded a corner, they saw the red light of the sun, shining through an opening in the wall. A-Mos motioned for the others to stay back as he slowly crept forward and took a look.
"All clear." A-Mos softly droned in their headsets as he motioned for them to join him. As Kyle and Sophie walked through the opening, they stared around at the large room. In the middle was a large, cracked, shattered and worn piece of stone. There were holes in the ceiling, letting the crimson sunlight into the room, where it pooled looked like . . . like . . . day-old blood. There were mounds of dust almost up to Kyle's knees in some places. As they looked around, Kyle wondered just how old the ruins were. Sergei was stunned as he shined his flashlight everywhere.
"These walls are much too smooth to be natural. This room had to have been carved out by someone or something," the linguist croaked as he looked at the large lump of rock in the middle of the room with wonder. Kyle glanced around at the beams of light shining in, almost like spotlights.
"Mac, can you and the others see all of this?" Kyle queried as he looked around.
"Affirmative, Kyle. We can see everything. I can see some footprints over to your left . . .?" Kyle looked over where MacReady had indicated. Sure enough, there were footprints in the sand. As Kyle came closer, he could see the W-Y logo in the prints made by heavy boots. Kyle sighed darkly as he followed the tracks. They wound around, as if the people who left them had been looking around the same as they now were. Sophie had climbed up onto the rock that dominated the middle of the room. Kyle could feel Sophie's unease at the strange place growing.
"Another opening over here," Seth softly muttered from the other side of the room. A-Mos checked carefully, making sure there were no threats before having the others join him. As Kyle was leaving, he cast one glance back at the rock and frowned at the shape he saw. Was he seeing things?
"Kyle? Come on!" A-Mos called. Kyle looked back down the tunnel.
"Coming," Kyle softly muttered as he turned to follow. Maybe he was going crazy, but he thought for sure the massive rock looked a lot like a face, albeit, a defiled one.
As they walked down the tunnel, A-Mos leading and sweeping the hall with the light on his weapon, Sergei was looking at the walls carefully. Kyle and Sophie walked side-by-side in the middle while Seth brought up the rear. As Seth looked towards the front of the group, he noticed that Sophie's tail was arched over her back, almost like the tail of a scorpion. It was clear as day she was on edge.
"Is she all right?" Seth gently whispered. Kyle looked back at him, as did Sophie.
"What do you mean?" Kyle returned. Seth gave the tiniest of smiles.
"Because she looks ready for a fight." Kyle blinked, startled and looked at Sophie. He sighed uneasily, before looking up at Seth.
"Sophie's kind pass memories down at the genetic level. Some of her memories are coming to the surface about this place, and they're making her very nervous." Seth raised an eyebrow at that.
"What's she remembering?" Kyle frowned as Sophie gave a very soft growl.
"More feelings than anything, but this place isn't a good place . . .," letting his voice trail off, because it was so nebulous. Seth looked at Sophie as she dropped down to walk along on all fours.
"Guys, take a look at this," A-Mos ordered softly from up ahead. They hurried to catch up, stopping behind A-Mos, who was looking at a large light, standing on the floor, shining on a broken, cracked wall. Sergei stared, awed at the obvious writing around what was once a door.
"My word," he breathed, incredulous as he pulled out his datapad and began typing. Kyle blinked against the eery crimson-light as he came closer. They kept having to adjust their face-plates against the strange, yet painfully piercing light. Sergei was furiously typing as he looked at the glyphs, muttering to himself in various languages from time to time. "This is amazing. This almost looks like cuneiform . . .and yet . . .? . . . Not. No." Kyle looked at the odd writings and symbols.
"Can you read it?" hoped Kyle. Sergei frowned as he read over the screen of his datapad.
"With a few minutes and a little guesswork, yes . . .," Sergei muttered vaguely, more to himself enspelled, transfixed since they entered the room, then to the group, as he concentrated. A-Mos was knelt next to the light.
"More W-Y tech!" A-Mos snarled low, saying the name like a curse. He stood and looked warily around. Sophie was starting to pace, obviously agitated. Kyle gently laid his hand on her head as he let feelings of warmth, love and bonding flow from himself to Sophie.
It's all right, Sophie. I'm right here . . . Sophie curled her tail around Kyle in gratitude.
"I'm running it through my translation algorithms. It should automatically translate it for us."
A-Mos carefully peeked into the room through a shattered door before entering.
"Big room, but empty," A-Mos grunted as he returned to the group. Sergei's datapad beeped and he looked over the readout. "What's it say?" A-Mos hissed low. Sergei frowned.
"A lot of the writing was destroyed, so it's incomplete, but, it roughly translates a word that seems to mean 'caution' or 'attention' . . .?" Kyle frowned at the words, his unease beginning to grow.
He and Sophie knew those of W-Y were many things, but fools was not one of them. A-Mos sighed lightly, as if puzzled, as he looked further down the passageway.
"Well, let's see what's down this way," A-Mos whispered, taking point once again. As they walked, Sophie stayed very close to Kyle, not just to protect him, but also for comfort. Up ahead, they could see more of the disturbing, crimson/scarlet sunlight. Kyle looked up at the hole in the ceiling of the tunnel as they passed, shivering faintly within his suit, not liking any of this one damn bit.
They entered into a new room. This one, like the rest, was a large dome, the floor covered with crimson stained sand dunes. They immediately could see a large path tracked in the sand. There had been a lot of people coming and going in the room recently. As Kyle entered and looked around, he could see why.
Crates and containers were still resting where they had been set. All around the room were dark objects in various states of disintegration. The best-preserved ones were ovals, and very familiar ones at that. Kyle closed his eyes and mentally groaned, with sorrow and something else. Sophie moaned, as if she were in physical pain. She moved forward to investigate the dead Cradles that littered the room.
A-Mos looked askance to Kyle.
"Kyle, are these-?" Kyle nodded curtly as he followed Sophie.
"Yes. These are Cradles. The eggs of Sophie's kind. Or they were . . .-"
"Nobody but Kyle goes anywhere near those!" Mac ordered over the radio.
Kyle knelt next to one of the Cradles. The side was almost completely disintegrated, the curled Seeker inside calcified and long-dead. As the wind lightly blew in the room, more of the Cradle crumbled away right before his eyes. Kyle stood and looked over at Sophie as she sat next to three other Cradles, all of them little more than dust; dust and death.
Sophie, are any alive? Kyle's heart hurt at Sophie's feelings of sadness.
No . . . Kyle walked over and gently hugged his mate. Sophie moaned a sad softest keen of grief as she curled her tail around him, her grief her mate's grief and sorrow as well as her own. Seth carefully approached, looking around, but keeping his distance.
"Are they all dead?" Kyle sighed and nodded. A-Mos looked at a spot where there was a very large number of footprints. There were depressions in the sand where something had been removed. Seven of them, in fact.
"I think I found where Sophie's egg was," A-Mos huskily muttered.
"Kyle, what happened? Were the eggs burned?" Sam's voice whispered over the headset.
"No. It looks like these Cradles were just . . . just old," Kyle whispered, sadness in his voice.
Sergei looked over at the other side of the room and noticed something. Some crumbled rock and debris seemed to be piled up against a wall. He walked over and examined the pile of rubble. Some of it looked like it might have writing on it. One stone in particular looked to be relatively intact. He reached out and grasped it, gently pulling. At first it didn't budge.
With a grunt he pulled again, and this time, it came free, quite unexpectedly, sending the linguist backwards as the large pile of unstable rubble collapsed. A-Mos spun at the sound, as did the others, A-Mos had his weapon up, at the ready. A-Mos looked at Sergei, then to the large collapsed rubble, his light vanishing into the black of another opening.
"We've got another doorway." They looked over at it. A-Mos carefully walked over and peered through. He looked back at the others. "I don't know about you, but I really want to know what the hell happened around here." Kyle nodded curt agreement as he stood, along with Sophie. Once again, Seth brought up the rear, and A-Mos was on Point. Kyle kept his mind linked with Sophie's.
If I were strong enough, I'd carry you . . . Sophie gave a very soft purr to this.
Thank you, Kyle. Kyle could feel Sophie's unease growing at an alarming rate. Something about this place had her spooked like nothing they had encountered to date. Even Dr. Reinhardt's research station hadn't felt as frightening as this place did. Seth walked almost next to Kyle, yet still behind, Rear Guard.
"So, do their eggs die after a time?" Seth whispered over the headset, all of them speaking very softly, even whispering, not certain even why they were, they just were. It was as if they were unsure if the five of them were alone or not. Kyle glanced sideways at him.
"Yes, but it would take a very, very long time. Those Cradles might be millions of years old, for all we know," Kyle replied. Seth blinked against the brightness of the crimson/scarlet light and such startling news. He looked at Sophie. He looked back at Kyle, Seth's deep blue eyes shining.
"Were they her family?" Kyle closed his eyes and nodded.
"Yes. Her sisters." Seth looked back at Sophie as she walked, with a sorrow in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," was all Seth could hoarsely croak out. Sophie looked back at Seth. Seth's smile was one of both apology and empathy, tinged by a bitter twist of private grief. "I know how much it hurts to lose family."
As they walked down the halls, they felt the sand begin to disappear from under their boots. Kyle frowned as their flashlights played on odd shapes on the walls. They were shiny. Kyle blinked as he approached one of the walls, if he was seeing what he was seeing. He recognized the forms with shock, at least partially.
The walls were lined with the odd, bone-like structures. They were almost like ribs on the walls. They looked sort of like how Sophie and her kind made their hives, but this was different. They were too regular, and even. Sophie and her kind constructed more randomly. It was almost as if this were imitating how Sophie's kind built.
Sophie reached up and touched the wall before swiftly jerking her hand away with a hiss of distaste. Although the contact with the substance had been brief, through the link, Kyle had felt it wasn't metal, but more like some kind of . . . bone? Plastic? What kind of material it was, he had no idea, but it unnerved him like nothing else had in this crimson-stained crypt. A-Mos shined his light around the hall.
"Well, if this isn't alien building, I don't know what is," he mused as they walked down the corridor. As they moved, they noticed that it seemed to be getting darker and darker, like a blanket of black velvet descending down on them. A-Mos stopped, his light shining on another doorway. This one was made from the same metallic material as the rest of this strange corridor. The room beyond the smooth-lipped opening was as black as pitch.
As he approached, Sophie shivered as she crouched so low, her belly touched the floor. She suddenly growled as she bounded forward, almost knocking A-Mos over as she darted past, hissing and snarling, her tail wildly whipping around as she bared her teeth in aggression. Kyle dashed after her as she crouched, fingers splayed, tail whipping as she screeched loudly. Kyle ducked under her tail as he wrapped his arms around her, his helmeted head touching her face.
Sophie, it's all right! It's okay! Kyle could feel her confused, frightened thoughts and feelings, mixing with instinct as he tried to calm her. Sophie was preparing for blood-battle.
"What the hell's going on down there?!" Mac demanded over the radio. A-Mos kept the others back as Kyle calmed his frightened mate.
"I don't know," A-Mos calmly retorted, not wanting to upset those still aboard their ship and thus be ordered back, ASAP. They watched Sophie gradually calm, her tail wrapping around Kyle as she shuddered from some inner turmoil this damn place had set off within her.
"It's okay. It's okay. Shh. It's all right. Shh, shh . . ." Kyle gently stroked her head as he held her. The others carefully approached.
"Kyle, what happened?" Sam whispered in a strained voice through the headset. Kyle gave a light sigh of relief as he stroked Sophie's head.
"Her Hive Memories . . .-" As Kyle stood, he shined his flashlight into the large room they were standing in. Something huge dominated the middle of the room. Something bizarre. A-Mos set his light on the large lounging form as well.
It looked like some bizarre mechanical crescent attached to a huge telescope aimed upwards at the ceiling. The construct was in the middle of some sort of huge turntable in the center of the room.
"What the hell is that?" MacReady yelped, sounding as stunned as they were. Sophie moaned as she slowly rose. A-Mos frowned as he kept his weapon aimed at the machine. If it even was a machine.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Mac," A-Mos shot back softly as he investigated the strange construct. Sergei was amazed as he stared at the mammoth shape in the middle of the room.
"Astounding," breathed the linguist.
"Hey, guys?" Seth grunted from where he was on the other side of the object. "You might wanna take a look at this." They all followed, and stared at the huge form that his flashlight was focusing on.
"My gawd!" Sergei hissed.
"That isn't your god," Seth snapped as they stared at the huge skeleton that lay where it had fallen.
It looked like an elephant, the "trunk" seemingly attached to the ribs. The whole form was massive. Even bigger than Sophie. There was a large hole in the right side of the chest, obviously the source of the giant's demise. A-Mos looked the alien carcass over before he looked at Kyle.
"Kyle? What is this?" Sophie shuddered as she hissed.
Creator . . . Kyle looked at her, and his eyes seemed to glue to her. The young blonde seemed frozen in place, his eyes going misty and distant for a few moments. Seth frowned at his silence.
"Kyle? You okay?" Kyle didn't reply. He looked up at the huge device in the middle of the room, his flashlight locked on it. Without a word, he strode to the bizarre shape, Sophie following.
Kyle climbed up onto the strange thing and cast his light down on the sides of a large hole in the shape.
On either side were what were obviously buttons. Kyle pressed one of the soft, oval shapes. A beep was heard. He pressed two more, seemingly guided by something beyond the comprehension of the others in the room, with the exception of Sophie. One of the buttons glowed blue and Kyle pressed it.
Suddenly, the room flashed with bright clear light, showing just how high the ceiling was above their heads before the room went dark again.
"What the hell was that?!" Seth hissed as he looked around. A-Mos looked at Kyle.
"What did you do?" They didn't have to wait long for their answer.
Another light dimly illuminated the room from the way they had entered. They all turned, and stared in awe as they saw the ghostly, slightly fuzzy image of the giant skeleton walking into the room. It was a hologram. Sergei moved out of the way, but Seth stood still, even as the image walked right through him to stand next to the machine that Kyle and Sophie were perched on. "Jeez . . . That thing's gotta be fifteen feet tall!" A-Mos breathed as the giant hologram pressed a few buttons on the construct.
They noticed that the hologram had a strange golden color to it. Suddenly, they heard garbled yelling. They and the hologram of the giant whirled and faced the entrance, and stared as two more of the giant's kind ran into the room. These ones, though, were different. They were smaller, and they were colored a dull gray. They both were holding strange, long tubes of some sort. They yelled something at the giant in an alien language, garbled and distorted. The golden giant pointed at them and yelled something back.
One of the smaller giants raised the tube he held and pointed it at the golden giant, a bolt of blue light flying from the weapon, hitting the golden giant in the right side of the chest, going right through and hitting the wall behind as the giant groaned and fell. The two gray giants looked at each other and talked in their language. The two giants never noticed the familiar shapes silently climbing down the wall behind them.
Unlike Sophie, the Xenomorphs in the hologram had ridged heads, and looked a bit bigger. The giants never knew what hit them as their attackers dropped on them, landing on their backs and knocking them down. They tried to bring their weapons up, but the Xenomorphs seemed to know the long tubes would bring death, and held them fast against the giants' chests. One of them ripped the weapon away, sending it flying away to the other side of the room.
The other giant almost managed to bring its weapon up before the Xenomorph used her tongue to smash open the skull of the giant, bringing its struggles to a halt. The other Xenomorph grappled with her disarmed opponent, trying to overpower and subdue it. The giant managed to place its feet on the Xenomorphs chest and kick it away long enough for it to roll over and get to its feet to try to run.
Another Xenomorph dropped from the ceiling, knocking the fleeing giant down as the recovered Xenomorph lunged and grabbed one of the giant's feet. The Xenomorph on top aided her sister and grabbed the other foot as they swiftly dragged the struggling giant towards the door where the other one was vanishing with her wounded, but still living prey.
The giant tried in vain to grasp the tubes and pipes on the floor to keep from being dragged off, failing in the end. The doomed giant gave one last, tortured wail as it was dragged through the door and the room flashed. The hologram was gone. Everyone was stunned beyond words at what they had just witnessed.
"Um, would somebody mind telling me just what the hell that was?" MacReady squeaked over their headsets. A-Mos looked up at Kyle, still perched on the huge machine in the middle of the room, Sophie right next to him.
"Kyle, how the hell did you do that?" A-Mos hissed. Kyle stroked Sophie's head.
"Sophie showed me . . ." Seth nodded.
"Right . . . Hive Memories. Those were her sisters. Who-knows-how-long ago? They would have passed their memories on to her." Seth stated. Kyle nodded. Sergei looked at the skeleton of the massive golden giant.
"And who or what are these?" muttered the linguist.
"Creators," replied Kyle with a soft sadness in his voice. They all stared at him.
"Creators of what?" Sam wailed. Kyle frowned as Sophie gave a soft moan.
"Sophie's people." The whole room was silent.
Seth walked over to the body of the giant and knelt next to the head, shining his light carefully over it. He frowned as he looked carefully at where the "trunk" joined with the skull. He reached out and touched it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Mac warned. Seth's brows furrowed as he looked at the skull of the giant.
"Somehow I doubt it's a zombie," he replied. He noticed that the "trunk" seemed to have come loose from the chest. Curious, he grasped the trunk and pulled upwards. He was surprised when the skull seemed to "unlock". With a grunt of effort, he pulled up, and the top of the skull came off, revealing not only that it was, in fact, a helmet, but something even more strange. Seth drew in a breath at what his eyes beheld. "You've gotta be kidding me."
The others stared as well at a face that was far from alien. It was so human, it was frightening. Sergei's eyes were wide as dinner plates as he muttered something in Russian, obviously floored.
"This is . . . unbelievable." Sergei almost choked. Sophie hissed softly from where she was. A-Mos smiled wryly at Sergei.
"Why not? Seeing is believing." Sergei knelt next to the giant, looking at the revealed face.
"It's amazingly well-preserved. Doesn't look like it's rotted at all . . .-"
Indeed, the face of the giant almost looked as if it was sleeping. Curiously, the giant's skin was the same golden color as the suit that covered it. A strangely beautiful, golden humanoid, a helluva big human at that.
"Well, that just about takes the cake . . ." Mac croaked weakly. Sergei looked up at Kyle.
"Do you think you could bring up the interface for that machine?" Sergei hissed softly, almost pleading. Kyle nodded. Sergei smiled with relief as he stood. "Good! I think it can translate and see just what is going on here." Kyle pressed a few more buttons on the device, and suddenly the room flashed again, but this time the whole room was bathed in a soft-blue light, amidst that soft-blue light, an immense hologram shimmered, nearly filling the entire room.
All of them easily recognized what it was, here and there, hisses and sounds of awe, wonder echoed over the headsets.
"That's a map of the galaxy," A-Mos gasped huskily as he watched a solar system pass right in front of his face. Sergei's grin threatened to take over his face.
"You're most certainly right! This is astounding! Stupendous!"
"You can marvel over it all later. Right now just see if you can find out what the hell was going on here!" Mac barked, his own unease heard in his sharp order. Sergei nodded as he climbed up onto the machine and brought out his datapad. Sergei was remarkably quick in his task as he pressed buttons on the machine and tapped the screen of his datapad.
They blinked at the sudden shift of glittering lights, as the map highlighted HS-90 with green, a thin string of green light flowing out and away to a large planet with rings around it. A-Mos looked at the display, then to Sergei.
"Well?" Sergei frowned.
"To find out exactly what was going on here, I'd need a few years to fully translate the language and get into the memory banks of this place, if I even could . . .?-" Sergei's voice again trailed off as his attention was diverted away with years of happy research. Seth frowned from where he was.
"I seriously doubt we have a few years!" Seth snapped, Sergei was yanked back to the here and now by the sharp tone of Seth's reprimand.
"But, I did manage to kill two birds with one stone, though," Sergei pointed to the highlighted planet. "Where they were going to is where they come from. They were returning home when this happened."
"So, that's an observatory?" Sam queried hoarsely, the strain was coming through in her voice, as it had in Mac's over the headsets. Sergei chuckled with a bitter amusement and shook his head.
"Not by a long shot," Sergei sourly mused. He pressed a few buttons, the map closed, and instead displayed a pale-blue hologram of a strange U-shape. Sergei grinned, but it was more a baring of his teeth. "This isn't a base, or a laboratory; it-is-a-ship." They all stared at the bizarre shape of the ship they were standing in, unease leaping from one to the other; a contagion, as they realized the true nature of the danger.
"Sergei, did you copy down the coordinates of where they were going?" Mac demanded in a terse sharp cold voice of pure command.
"You bet your balalaika I did," replied the linguist.
"Good. Now, do you think you can set the engines on that ship to overload?" Sergei's eyes grew huge and Sophie hissed.
"Um . . . I think so. The interface is pretty user-friendly." Sergei looked at his datapad as it translated, then touched the ends of the "horns" of the ship in the hologram. The horns highlighted in yellow as Sergei touched the hologram, moving through options in alien glyphs that as a linguist, Sergei recognized.
A-Mos looked around at the room, at what could only be the bridge of a bizarre alien craft.
"Good idea, Mac. I don't want to even think what W-Y or the Nazis could do with tech like this . . . I have my skin goosed up already!"
As Sergei worked, Seth approached Kyle and Sophie, who were keeping to themselves.
"You two all right?" Seth gently inquired. Kyle looked up at him. He gave a halfhearted smile.
"We will be once we get out of here," Kyle tried to sound reassuring. Seth nodded, not fooled for a nanosecond. He looked at Sophie and gave a very soft smile. Sophie tilted her head as she looked at him. Kyle's smile grew very slightly as he slid an arm around his mate. Sophie wrapped her tail around Kyle in response.
Sergei frowned as he touched the engines again, this time highlighting them in red as red text flashed in the air.
"Okay, all I have to do is confirm and it's ready to blow . . ." said the linguist as he put his datapad away.
"How long before it blows?" Mac snarled softly. Sergei frowned as he looked around.
"About seven minutes." Sophie hissed and A-Mos gave a low groan.
"That makes for one helluva marathon," moaned the former soldier. Mac groaned through the radio.
"It's that, or leave it for the Krauts. Do it and get your butts back here." Sergei nodded and tapped the command in the alien letters, his fingers trembling faintly. Suddenly, the whole ship filled with the sounds of an alien alarm blaring in a high-pitched whine. More a distressing screech, the kind that sets nerves on end.
"Now let's move!" A-Mos yelled as they dashed for the exit. Kyle and Sophie ran side-by-side.
Kyle looked at her and smiled.
Boy, does this bring back memories . . . Kyle mused to his mate as they dashed through the tunnels, back towards the rover.
They managed to make it back to the Vortex in record time, but then, death by a massive explosion can bring on some serious speed. Mac already having engaged the ship for instant take-off. As soon as the airlock was closed, he began taking off.
"Hang onto your hats, folks!" Mac advised as they took off. The ship rocked as it took off.
Kyle and the rest managed to make it to the bridge just as the monitors showing the surface of HS-90 lit up as the alien ship detonated. It was an amazing relief when the blood-red skies of HS-90 faded into the black of space.
Mac sighed as he set the ship to orbit the planet for the time being. "Okay, now that that's done, let's go over what we've got from this little escapade." As he turned to his crew, he noticed Kyle and Sophie just disappearing through a door. "Where are they going?" he wondered, hands on his hips, eyes wide with dismay.
Sam sighed softly as she looked at him. "They just need some time to themselves, Mac. It was rough, real rough on Sophie planet-side." Mac nodded in sudden understanding.
XXX
Kyle and Sophie had retreated to their cabin to rest and relax. Sophie had been extremely troubled by the events in the ruins, and her mind was filled with confusion and fear as a result.
The two of them lay under the sheets of the large bed, snuggled together to comfort each other.
Sophie already felt worlds better being able to smell Kyle's scent fully, and feel his wonderfully soft, warm skin. She thrummed as the feelings of fear and anger melted away. Snuggle-time always made them feel better. For the time being, the rest of the world and universe didn't matter, nor would it be allowed to intrude. Sophie stroked her mate's wonderfully soft hair as she nuzzled him. Kyle smiled as he stroked her head, just enjoying being close to her.
Kyle's eyes slid to the nightstand next to the bed, and the small object that rested on it. It was a piece of the same resin Sophie used to make their bedroom back home. It was carefully shaped like a heart, a miniature version of Sophie's tail stuck through it like an arrow. Across the front were raised letters that read "Sophie loves Kyle". He smiled and nestled his head against her neck as he closed his eyes. Sophie's "Valentine" was one of the few things he had brought from home. Kyle treasured the small item dearly. Sophie thrummed deeply as she curled around her beloved mate. They almost fell asleep, but not quite.
Kyle couldn't tell how much time had passed before Sophie felt someone coming.
"Kyle? Sophie? It's me. Can I come in?" Sam gently pleaded as she knocked.
"Sure, Sam." Kyle replied as he sat up. The door slid open as Sam walked in. She smiled as she looked at her friends.
There was something so sweet and beautiful about Kyle and Sophie. Seeing them cuddled together in their bed just warmed her. "Sorry to disturb you, but Mac wants you guys on the bridge." Kyle nodded and Sophie gave a gentle moan as they got up and followed her.
On the bridge, Mac and the others were standing around a large table that was displaying the map of the galaxy that Sergei had recorded in the derelict ship. Mac nodded towards Kyle and Sophie as the cleared his throat.
"All right, from what we know, those beings, those 'Creators', at the very least were the reason Sophie's people were out here, if not the ones who made them. The big question is: Why?" A-Mos cleared his throat as he stepped up to the table.
"I have a theory . . ." the former soldier tapped the hologram and brought up the images from the cameras in their suits. "From what I saw of the layout of those ruins, they reminded me of a weapons depot." Everyone looked at him. "It looks to me like they were using Sophie's kind as bioweapons. Likely they filled ships like that one with eggs, then dropped them behind enemy lines during war. Kind of like a bomber." A-Mos tapped the hologram with his mechanical hand, bringing up the map of the galaxy again. "And look at this . . ."
He pointed to several planets that had green glyphs near them. "My best guess is they have bases on these worlds, too." Mac groaned as he looked around the map. Seth stepped forward, his brow creased in a frown.
"A-Mos, can you superimpose our star-chart over this?" Seth swiftly grunted. A-Mos did as he asked. "That's where Almus Prime used to be," Seth croaked as he pointed to one of the highlighted worlds. The group murmured in astonishment at this.
Almus Prime had been a frontier world the Rim Corps had been exploring several centuries back when it exploded. It was still one of the biggest mysteries, as planets just didn't up and explode.
Seth frowned as he looked at the other highlighted worlds. Although there was a planet in the place on the map from the derelict, in the modern star-charts, those spaces either were empty, or were asteroid fields.
Sam swallowed as it clicked.
"They destroyed their bases, and the planets they were on!" The room was stunned into silence.
"Good god! I can't imagine how advanced they must be to have such destructive capability," hissed Sergei weakly.
Victor grinned smugly as he looked at MacReady, gloating happily.
"Well, this means that the Nazis and Wey-Yu can't get their hands on their tech." Seth gave a soft groan at this.
"Maybe, but now we have an even bigger problem." They all looked at him. Kyle nodded gravely with Seth's unspoken assessment.
"He's right. The Creators have much more advanced technology that either the Nazis, or Weyland-Yutani. They're a much bigger threat than both of them combined." Kyle gestured to the map. "The fact they can destroy whole planets is a testament to that." Mac groaned as the realization hit him and nodded.
"He's absolutely right. The last thing we want is for the Krauts or W-Y to get a hold of that kind of technology." Mac looked at the highlighted planet with rings around it, strange rings, what they meant, none aboard could say, not yet; not until they got there. If they got there. "This is where they were coming from and where they were going. This is where we'll find answers." Kyle's fingers fluttered over the ringed world, out in the deep, cold darkness of unexplored space; at least, unexplored as far as any of them were concerned.
MacReady looked up at his crew. "I'll put it to a vote: All in favor of flying out of explored space to find Sophie's people and butt heads with the most technologically advanced race in the known universe and possibly get ourselves vaporized?" Everyone raised their hands, even Sophie. "Opposed?" Nobody moved. MacReady grinned, shaking his head over it ruefully, but not surprised at all by the unanimous vote. "All right, then. Terry, set our course for the Creators' home world." Terry nodded with a small grim smile.
"You got it, Captain,"
Kyle rolled his eyes, this meant returning to hypersleep, for how long, he was not certain, nor was anyone else come to that. Great, back to hypersleep . . . Sophie purred as she hugged him.
It's not so bad when you have somebody to share your dreams with you . . . Kyle smiled as he looked at his mate as she stroked his hair.
How right you are, my beautiful lady . . .
XXX
The bridge of the ship was filled with activity as the massive screens displayed the Vortex as it was leaving the Telara system.
"Should we engage, Herr Claus?" asked one of the black-clad soldiers. The captain of the ship, Claus, frowned.
"No. Follow them, but stay out of their sensor range."
"Jawohl . . ." Claus grinned darkly as he watched the Vortex on the screens.
"This may prove more fruitful than we first thought," he sneered softly, delighted with this sudden turn of events. Events that could bring him honor, glory, wealth and power. Like his forebears, power was, of course, of prime importance – always.
Author's note: I apologize for the long wait, but I was sick since the last posting with pneumonia. I want to thank my readers for their patience and support. As always, ideas and suggestions are more than welcome. Especially cover and artwork ideas.