Secret Chapter: Xenobia and Dracul
Dracul was thought of as a human staff member by the human staff, but he felt closer with the Xenomorphs and spent most of his time in their nest rather than the human-intended sections of the facility. More often than not, he'd even sleep in there, usually sharing a Queen's chamber.
Xenobia, Alcina, and Violet had the run of both aspects of the complex, but they made no secret of their preference for having others in their nest. Their hosts had been very sweet, docile, mild-mannered women, and their DNA and memories, along with how the girls had been raised, had led to the most complete integration of humans and Xenomorphs known to history.
Dracul was admiring the tubing and living nature of the nest when he sensed rather than heard Xenobia approach. She was around eight feet tall now but had developed her head crest and secondary arms in proportion with her height. Dracul thought the three girls were gorgeous and extended an arm in silent invitation. Xenobia stepped into it, cuddling happily. Her mood was radiantly affectionate.
Dragon, I know something about big people you don't know, Xenobia said, a mental purr accenting her telepathic voice. Dracul smiled and kissed her forehead, replying I expect that you know much about big people I don't. Will you please share it?
Dracul's curiosity only grew when Xenobia replied with an emotion that seemed like shyness and she scooted a little closer to the tall, paper-white man.
We have lots of redundancies and variations we can choose to suit our environment, Xenobia elaborated. If I was alone, I could lay eggs all by myself. In my inherited memory, some of my ancestors gathered up a few males and had them fight for mating rights so the line would be strengthened, or… mated with compatible species to create eggs better suited to the mate's environment. Those eggs were made from both, and the children made by hatchlings and parents would have more in common with the mate and parent than normal procreation allows for.
Now it was Dracul who projected something of an aura of cautious arousal. You can mate across species lines viably? That's incredible! Xenobia acted on memories and impulses inherited from her human mother, leaning forward and extending her inner jaws, her posture and mood mirroring a human female offering a kiss without knowing for sure that she won't be rejected. Yes… Xenobia agreed. I think it's incredible too…
Xenobia didn't know what she would have done if Dracul had responded negatively. He responded exactly as she had dreamed, stroking her long head with his free hand and kissing her inner jaws, both of them being careful not to cut his mouth on her teeth.
I can still delay laying eggs until the moment is right, she assured him, but when that time comes, I want them to be our eggs.
Xenobia was linked to Violet and Alcina at all times, and they were watching curiously through her mind, wondering what they preferred for eggs and noting with pleasure that there is a willing and viable male to open the option. The other three staff had far too much going on in a complex so large to account for every member's location at all times. Before they got too large, while there was still adequate privacy, was the time to choose to mate or lay solo.
Dracul looked up at Xenobia admiringly, one hand holding her by her hip, the other stroking her head. I would be honored to know such a sweet-hearted beauty is laying my eggs, he replied, and in the privacy of the nest, observed only by Xenobia, Violet, and Alcina, Dracul shed his human disguise and revealed the truth of himself to the Queens, who only grew more interested at the reveal.
Xenobia arranged herself comfortably in the nest, positioned herself to mate, and let the memories of her Mother guide her. Dracul responded, and Xenomorph united with Midian. For Xenobia, it was the physical expression of the love she felt for the smaller people, and her desire to be one with them, in sexuality, reproduction, and society, and the pleasure she felt was confirmation that her way of doing things was a step up from all that had come before her and her sisters. For Dracul, this was the total acceptance of his true self, the Thing he kept hidden from his human coworkers that his Xenomorph coworkers loved even more than his disguise. As he mated with the Queen, he understood that he had found his home in this world. Among the humans, he had to assimilate their faces, their voices, their language. With Xenobia, he was no longer the strangest one in a room. She understood what he was and wanted him anyway, even wanting his genes in her Ovomorphs.
Seed filled Xenobia, hot and with the appearance and consistency of glowing quicksilver, and the young Queen had her first climax, the hardware inherited from her Mother. They stayed in union, neither willing to be parted from the other.
Titan-sister and Flight-sister want this with you too, Xenobia relayed. She stroked his long silver hair, seeming reluctant to proceed. Dragon, will you be with me like this when I'm full-grown?
Dracul kissed her on her lips, which she pulled back to open her outer jaws and extend her inner jaws, which he kissed again. We'll do this as much as you want, Xenobia, he promised. And I'd be happy to give your sisters the same love as you. Thus, with one decision born of his own loneliness and the sincere love he felt for the kind-hearted young women that most humans outside of Colony Seven would call horrifying monsters, Dracul gained species-wide acceptance as a full-fledged Xenomorph, going so far as to donate his unique, inhuman genome to the species, and from that day on, the Queen sisters had no cause to feel like aliens on this world, for they were loved by three of its natives and each was the bride of an Earth resident that would make their eggs even more adaptable, resilient, and intelligent.
At the time, none of the four knew it, but the combination of Xenomorph XX121's genetic memories and the uniquely fluid genome of the shapeshifting assimilant that called itself Dracul was going to offer Xenomorph Colony Seven a flexibility in biology that even the Mala'kak would have admired. The introduction of Midian genes into a creature derived from the Blood of the Deacon was going to challenge the very limits of what was considered Plagarius praepotens.
But that would come later. Now, there was Dracul and Xenobia. Later would come Alcina's and Violet's turns, and perhaps having their burdens of loneliness eased together and their species inextricably bonded makes what would transpire worth it all. That is a question every parent must ask, when their children are not that which was expected.
If the four of them could revisit this point in time, would any of them elect to do anything differently? Would they embrace even more eagerly knowing that the Colony would become a totally unique expression of life never seen in even genetic memory?
Who really knows how the minds of Aliens work?