Damn, this took long! It's all the usual stuff people; work, writer's block, other stuff that comes up. This one is very short and was meant to be much much longer but I felt that you should get something after all this time. And, as always, I'm very happy and grateful for the reviews; Bella~Rose, Cartoonfire, ~Roni78tx~, BonitaChikia, ThEnAmEsGiGi, Lupine-Eyes, Tennisgal456, Tsukikage1213, XxGraysonGirlxX, A Little Mind. Thank you all. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Alien Incognito

Victor lay awake upon a metal bed within a dimly lit and warm recovery room. Half of his face was still covered by a single layer of gauze. He long ago awoke but was terrified to move. Even when Richard and Toni explained everything to him it all sounded completely bogus. And yet here he lay; without feeling in any of his extremities. Finally he dared budge a single finger and knew, not felt, that it was moving. He picked his arm up and in the darkness of the room made out a smooth metallic sheen. Slowly, he brought his hand to his face and pulled the gauze away. He heard the sound of metal scrapping against metal. He let out a broken gasp and let his arm fall back to his side. Only one side of his face leaked tears.

"Oh God….."

The loud rotors from three helicopter gunships shattered the tranquil air over the Atlantic. The crew of each chopper sat at their posts and scanned the ocean below. Their mission involved a certain missile frigate that, for some odd reason, had ceased all communications. A young British airman spotted something through his binoculars and signaled the pilot. The long silent and now halted H.M.S. St. Albans sat alone and darkened in the middle of the vast ocean. What windows and portholes that existed were darkened and devoid of any signs of life. The commanding officer took the youngster's place by the window.

"It's the Albans sure, and she's dead in the water!" he voice tried to outdo the loud ruckus made by the rotors. "Pilot!" Soon, all three gunships were landed upon the large deck of the ship and the dozens of combat equipped soldiers spilled out of each vehicle. At their superior's order they began entering the ship from multiple points. The commander, accompanied by two lesser officers walked through the nearest door at almost a jogging pace.

"I wan survivors and I want them two hours ago. Logs, manifests, family photos….I want it all."

"Yes sir." The acknowledging soldier took two more men for their task. The commander continued on his way, giving orders left and right as he passed his men. There was the sickening odor of corpses hanging in the air. It filled the corridors like a lurking gas and garnered the same affection as an unwelcome guest. The commanding officer finally reached the mess hall and the pungent smell only grew worse. Upon stepping through the doorway his mouth, and that of his fellow servicemen, slacked open. Dozens of bodies littered the floor and, along with the devastated furnishings, easily fueled any onlooker's imagination.

"Sweet Mary….," muttered the commander. He was careful not to step anywhere he would undoubtedly regret. A few soldiers carefully and respectfully searched around the bodies for any clues. His eyes fell down to the picture ID of an officer. Were it not for the picture above the officer's name the man would have been recorded as 'Officer John Doe'. "What the bloody did this?"

"Sir." Said a young lieutenant. His superior turned in place. "Ship's logs indicate no surface or submerged contacts for the past seventy-two hours." The saddened commander stared at him with a hardened look. "However…"

"Yes?"

"There is mention of…..of a girl."

"A girl?" repeated the commander with perplexity.

"Nobody knew where she came from. All it says is that she suddenly appeared on the deck and demanded food." The commander stepped closer to him.

"You're telling me that the only thing I will be able to tell the Admiralty about our country's missing vessel and her crew is……is that there was a girl here?"

"Yes sir," replied the soldier resolutely. The commander let his eyes fall to the floor momentarily. He then nodded at the subordinate.

"Right then, as you were." The young soldier returned the nod and set about his orders. The commanding officer walked back up to one of the few corpses still seat near the table. He spoke quietly to those nearest to him. "Start collecting dog tags, and inform the Admiralty we have two hundred and ten families that need to be notified."

BOSTON HARBOR………………..

For the first time since she bid farewell to the Albans, Blackfire spotted civilization. The lights given off by the many buildings stretching from Boston all the way to Cap Cod gave her limitless choices. She touched down on the summit of a water tower, which was decorated with fan assortment of colors. Her eyes moved over the vast metropolitan expanse and she placed her hands upon her hips.

"How pretty." She took flight again and drew closer to the buildings. The passing crowds below failed to notice her. She flew about, sometimes weaving between billboards and signs. As she looked down at them she could plainly see that their clothing differed so much from her own that she would easily be noticeable. That was not to say Koma didn't want that, just not at the moment. If she was to assume full control over this world, she would have to learn as much about it as possible. The best way to accomplish this was to remain incognito. Looking below once again, she spotted a couple cutting through an alley rather than having to circumnavigate the whole block. She decided they were prime targets and began diving.

The woman was speed talking to her date. "It's not really a 'woman' thing so much as it's like an ADD thing, you know?"

"No not really," replied her date tiresomely. Suddenly Koma landed before them and they both gasped aloud. The alien reached forward, grabbed him by the shirt and held him up.

"Stand aside, male." She tossed him into the wall and bore down on his date. "You, where can I find a merchant of earthen clothing?" She was so stunned and frightened that only broken words and short gasps escaped her. Koma brought her eyes to life, effectively using yet more fear to break the woman's stupor.

"Down five blocks!" She exclaimed. "It-it-it-it it's the closest one in three miles. Its one of those Goth type shops!"

"The name of this establishment?"

"B-Blackfire Knits…." Koma straightened up and folded her arms.

"What is your name?"

"Sandra…"

"Very well, when I assume dominance over your planet I shall do my best to ensure you are not among the casualties." As if the couple could not have used something more mind shattering, Koma took flight and was off in a flash. Koma was beginning to find herself surprised by how obedient these humans were with the smallest touch of fear and panic. It almost wasn't worth it to rule over such a species. The shop which the woman described came into view and Koma landed beside it. The windows were lined with dark purple neon lights and the name of the shop was brightly lit in the same manner. The shop's newest or most sought after items were displayed I the front windows for all to see. Koma arched a brow at the sight of it but shrugged and stepped inside. A chime rang throughout the store as she entered. What few customers and employees present, all looked around and stared at her. The man behind the counter, being the closest, nearly turned beat read at the sight of her shapely figure covered in metallic armor. Koma's eyes moved over each of them in turn. Finally, she turned her head and stared at the man.

"Can I….can I help you?" His voice was deep and a bit raspy, and his mouth was surrounded by a mustache and goatee. Her eyes found his nametag, Carl, and his title of manager beneath the name.

"You seem to be in command here, I demand service at once." Replied Koma with an icy tone. Carl glanced back at the other employees. They either shrugged or suppressed mocking giggles. He looked back at her and stuck a tootsie-pop in mouth.

"Uhhh yeah…., are you some guy's dominatrix?"

"What?"

"Hey I'm not judge'n," he said throwing up his hands. "You know, whatever floats your boat." Koma could hardly believe the audacity as well as the apparent stupidity of these… people'.

"I do not own a boat, peasant." Carl snickered and shook his head.

"Whatever, doll. Lucy! Fix her up." He switched on a mini TV behind him and opened a magazine. In a flash, the young employee so named 'Lucy' was ushering Koma toward the back.

"I think we can find you something, queenie." Koma would remember to punish that bout of insolence at a later time. For the time being she allowed herself to be shown many forms of attire of varying size as well as shades of black and purple. For someone who was supposed to remain permanently steeped in the dark and depressing, Lucy was making a valiant attempt to match whatever she pulled from the racks with Koma's dark hair.

"You know I've never seen hair quite as opaque as yours," she said admirably.

"I am certain that was meant as a compliment, such as it was." Lucy merely laughed and playfully patted Koma off the shoulder. Finally she selected a few garments which she was satisfied with and even more curious, so was Koma. When Koma walked back to the counter she had dispensed with her armor. Instead she wore a black mini skirt accompanied by an equally black sleeveless top and covered with a jacket of an extremely dark purple hue. Clearly, the success of Koma's plan to 'blend in' was going to be only skin deep. She looked herself over and nodded.

"Adequate, to say the least."

"Yeah that's hot, so….will that be cash or charge?"

"You expect me to exchange currency for these items?" asked Koma, genuinely shocked. He rolled his eyes.

"Well if it isn't too much trouble." Koma was a mere millisecond away from making regret rising this morning when her eyes fell on the TV behind him. It was a national news channel documenting a particular night in Vegas. Koma wondered why her attention was so easily drawn to the report. Her question was righteously answered when the camera panned around and focused on none other than Kory. Koma's mouth practically hit the floor at the sight of her sister, the voice of the anchorette narrated in the background.

"What has been the hottest ticket in Vegas for the past eight years is still smok'n and as vibrant as ever." Carl looked at her oddly as Koma stepped up onto the counter so as to get a better view of the tiny TV. "As usual, the house was full and the city of Vegas never saw so much revenue." Koma was hardly listening to the woman speak, her eyes were firmly fixed on Kory. When the report ended and highlights of the evening took its place, Koma hopped down from the counter. She yanked the TV off the wooden shelf.

"Hey!" shouted Carl.

"Where is this?" asked Koma sharply.

"What? Oh, those Geishas. What boulder have you been living under?" His curt question did little to lift Koma's growing irritation. He began to grow uncomfortable with the almost predatory expression painting across her features. "They show up at Vegas every month or so for their show. They're down at D.C. I think."

"Then I must see them."

"Well you've got the looks, I'll give you that. But I hear there's also a brains-thing attach to it, if ya know what I mean." Koma's eyes narrowed to slits. If it was one thing Komand'r of Tamaran could not tolerate, no matter which planet she was on, it was being insulted in the slightest bit. The stem of Carl's lollipop moved about between his lips. He jerked his head at her clothes. "You gonna pay for all that crap, or what?" Still keeping her slanted eyes as narrow as can be, she leaned forward on the counter. He arched a brow. Her mouth curved into a sinisterly seductive smirk. The other employees rolled their eyes as they watched her moved a hand up to his face. Carl cleared his throat and felt his body temperature.

"You know I-I should tell you…..I've done a deal like this in a while." Koma giggled and her fingers delicately grasped the lollipop stem. Carl nearly had a heart attack right then and then.

Koma suddenly yanked the lollipop out of his mouth, taking several of his teeth along with it.

"OH MY GOD!!! ARRRGGHHH!!" He slapped both his hands over his mouth and fell off his stool to the floor. His fall also took several items off the shelves behind him. Koma turned a blazing stare at the few petrified employees.

"Leave us!" Like rats abandoning a sinking ship, they scrambled out of the shop. Koma knelt down beside the trembling manager. Blood seeped down his chin. "So, that remark about 'brains'; I can only guess you were referring to my intelligence." Carl dared not try to speak out of fear and intense pain. "I suppose had I wished to totally stifle your powers of speech I would have taken your tongue instead. But now you are going to show far more respect to your queen aren't you?" Still he didn't move. Koma tightly grasped his hair and began nodding his head for him. "Yeeeessssss, we are." The last time that she brought his head back up she banged against the wall. Carl slumped over, out like a light. Koma dusted herself off while rising back up to her feet.

"Now where was I? Oh yes I remember." Pieces of broken glass splintered even further under the weight of her shoes. Koma stepped out of the store and back into the nighttime air. She cared not if anyone saw her take flight into the sky. As far as she was concerned, these human had better get used to it. For the moment however, that mission would have to be put on hold, for now……..she had a sister to find.

Again, shamefully short, but I had to give you guys something. I've got a whole week of nothing to do coming up so the next one will be longer and much better. Promise! Later all!