Terrors

Athena was not asleep, but she was not awake either.

She felt good. There was a dull ache in her right arm, but it was fading. Everything was.

She was floating on a sea of bliss and it felt good. Voices were singing softly around her, the vibrations oddly soothing. Was someone spoon feeding her?

No, she was floating in something that was too dense to be water and it felt good.

She stared up at a huge expanse of black filled with twinkles that she had never seen, and was both awed and humbled by the sheer vastness of it. Was this a night sky?

She lay on something that was so comfortable that she just sighed and lay still as warm things wrapped around her shivering body.

She was-

"Are you going to lie there all day?" An unexpected voice had Athena jerk and open her eyes to see a familiar Viper coiled up beside her! Alley wore armor, but no helmet so it was easy to see the worry in her eyes.

Athena stared at the Viper and then around herself. They were not the crypt. There was no water here. From her surroundings, they were clearly in another room that was part of T'Leth, one that felt gentle to Athena's battered senses. The light from the crystal walls, floor and ceiling were all softly muted as if to keep from hurting her eyes. The crystal slab she lay on was as soft as fronds of seaweed, but firm under her as well. She was no longer in her borrowed XCOM jumpsuit, now she wore robes made of white material that gleamed like crystal. The singing faded and Athena felt bereft for a moment, but the Viper Matron held out a hand that Athena reached up to take with the arm that didn't hurt. Athena's hand was trembling, but Alley's grip was strong and the two very different females smiled at each other.

"That was weird." Athena complained as Alley smiled wider.

"Welcome to my world." Alley snarked, but it was still gentle as she shook her head. "Weird is what I do these days. Do you remember what happened?"

"I think so." Athena used as her foggy brain woke up entirely "Oh! Lisa! Kim! Sakt! I-" She tried to sit up, but Alley applied leverage on the hand she held. It was not painful, but clearly meant to keep her down. "Alley!"

"They know what happened and that you are alive. They can manage without you for a few hours.." Alley reassured Athena who relaxed just a little. "Just lie there and relax for a moment. Mortal minds like ours are not meant to touch such things as you touched and as touched you." Athena started to stammer an apology, but Alley hushed her. "It is not your fault. You were mind controlled just like the Templars did before your change."

"I couldn't fight it, Alley." Athena said with a sob as she collapsed back onto the slab. "I tried. I tried everything I knew! Everything you taught me! It was all I could do to run back to the crypt when I realized…" She paused as Alley nodded. "You know?" She asked, incredulous.

"Kim called for help as soon as you vanished from your room. They were worried about you, so had you under watch, but then the ship took you into itself and they could not follow. I came as quickly as I could, but I got here too late." Alley said with no recrimination. "I found you lying on the floor of the crypt. I pulled you out and sealed the door."

"The… The ones inside… They are not dead, are they?" Athena all but begged that and Alley shook her head again. "Then this will happen again!"

"It might, but that is for later." Alley said firmly enough that Athena paused. "For now? You need to take some time to recover. You feel good, but it is an illusion. The ship cannot speed such any further than it has. Neither can I although I have eased you as best I can." She was honestly sorrowful about that.

"You cannot heal me, Alley?" Athena was stunned at such an admission. The Viper Matron was far more powerful than she was. If she couldn't heal it- Athena's thoughts broke off as Alley gave her hand a sharp squeeze. "Alley?"

"There is nothing to heal." Alley said and Athena's mind went blank as she tried to understand that insanity. "Athena, your mind is your own. No trace of your passenger remains. Your brain was hurt by what it did, but it was healed before I arrived. The bone you broke is knitting nicely. Neither the ship nor I dare speed anything else up too much or we can cause complications. Aside from the bone, there is nothing else wrong with you that some rest cannot fix."

"He was inside my mind, Alley!" Athena pleaded but Alley just nodded, not fazed at all. "He hurt me!"

"And you were healed of almost all of your mental wounds before I got there. The ship healed your body before you went down." Alley replied. Athena stared at her and Alley slowly shook her head. "I know what you saw. That huge Aquatoid. He talked to me as he healed the rest of you, he warned me about the evil Ethereal that he holds for all eternity. He entered the stasis chamber again as I pulled you clear and sealed the door. His last words before the stasis systems activated again were to wish you 'Good luck'."

"I don't understand!" Athena pleaded. "The Old Master wasn't the Old Master and the other, that energy being was inside him and-" She broke off, unable to put her jumbled thoughts into words.

"I know." Alley was sad now. "It was a secret. Not even Kim knew that both of them had survived. Sakt? I am not sure about, but he knows how to keep secrets. It is simple. You don't tell anyone. Ever. This is a secret that must stay secret, Athena."

"Or people like the Templars-" She broke off and gasped. "Oh no! The Templars know!"

"The Templars are all either dead or mind wiped with the notable exception of their leader who is stark raving mad after my interrogations." Alley reassured Athena again and the supine woman stared at the Viper. "I will never make no apologies for what I did to him. He killed Alice, fostered this whole mess and for what? To unleash an apocalypse at the behest of his enslavers."

"'Enslavers'." Athena repeated, numb.

"After the war with Advent, the Templars all disappeared." Alley said with a frown. "Everyone had other problems, so no paid them any mind until now. Apparently Giest led his people into another war against a new foe who defeated them with ease. That new foe did not kill them all. Instead they set Giest on a path to destroy T'Leth along with its evil inhabitant and obliterate almost all life on Earth in the process."

"Who?" Athena felt faint. The Templars had been bad enough!

"I don't know." Alley admitted. "I know the Elders came here hunted by foes they could not defeat as well as seeking a remedy for their mortality. They were defeated here by XCOM, but many of us have been worried that the Elders' enemies followed them here. That is now proven true. We think they are hunting Ethereals like the Elders and the one you saw. They have no moral scruples whatsoever. They set Giest on your former peoples, killed so many just to get the fleet to lead him to T'Leth so he could destroy it. You know what would have happened." She gave Athena's hand another squeeze as Athena shivered.

"It is going to happen anyway, Alley." Athena slumped. "I hoped to stop it, but I failed."

"No, you haven't." Alley reassured her and Athena perked up a little. "Not yet."

"Alley, it is pollution from leaking space craft engines!" Athena said with a wince. "Nothing on Earth can stop it!"

"Stop it? No. Fix it? Eventually." Alley corrected her, just a little grim and Athena stared at her. "That is for later. It involves a lot of secrets that I wish you didn't have to be exposed to. Even with such toxins, it will take time to damage the oceans to the point of destroying Earth's environment. We have time, Athena." She reassured the other. "And right now, you need to take time to rest."

"Why?" Athena stared down at herself, but could nothing wrong with herself. She stared at her sore arm and it looked as it should. She scanned it with her powers and yes, it was broken, but healing very quickly, even for her. It must have been a very bad break from the scars in the bone she could see. "The only thing that hurts is my arm."

"I…" Alley swallowed hard and then the Viper gave herself a shake that ran form her tail tip all the way to her crest and jiggled Athena hand that Alley still held. "Scan yourself with your power." Athena looked at her and Alley nodded. "Please?"

One thing she liked about Alley. The Viper wasn't above using any tactic at all to win conflicts, but when dealing with friends and coworkers, she tried to be nice. Alley had once said to Athena that courtesy cost nothing, but could cost everything if not used properly at the proper times. Athena had dealt with all kinds of people during her time in the fleet. Submissive, dominant, grief stricken, bullies, masochists, liars, thieves. All these and so many more. The fleet had been focused on survival, but then the ranges of emotion within the fleet had rivaled anything Athena had read about in her admittedly limited study of human history after her change. Athena found that she liked Alley's approach. Gentle, but hard as nails when needed. Calm but ready to fight to the death whenever her family was threatened.

Athena did not quibble. She scanned herself and then gasped as her power revealed changes in her body!

"Where is my chip?" Athena demanded, halfway to angry. The identity chip that had been implanted in her body at birth as a Gill Woman and survived her change into hybrid form was gone. Not just an identification, had also helped her focus her abilities. Was she mind blind now? She started to speak, but then Alley shook her head.

"Scan the rest." Alley was so gentle now that Athena felt a touch of fear. Alley was only that gentle when someone was very badly hurt! Talk to me with your mind. Alley's mental voice soothed Athena's fear. We are not private. Scan the rest of your body.

Alley! What is going on? Athena demanded as her scan flew down the length of her body and then, she stopped short and gasped as her scan showed her abdomen. Showed a tiny form growing in her abdomen! I... No… No! They didn't!

No. Alley was so gentle now as she moved up onto the surface with Athena and coiled up around her, offering comfort as only she could. T'Leth did not do that. If it had, the form inside you would be an Aquatoid. That is all the ship knew how to make. It is not. Athena stared at the tiny embryo inside her and shivered as she recognized her own hybrid DNA in it.

THEN WHO DID IT? Athena screamed that in her mind, but far from offended, Alley hugged her again.

You did. Alley's words made no sense to Athena but then she felt something impinge on her mind and a new voice spoke to her.

Be at ease, Captain. The newly come mind was odd. Calming, Gentle. Soothing to Athena's jarred senses. You wanted to change the templates and we have. The future is coming and we are ready to serve.

Let me do this! She is already stressed to the point of breaking! Alley commanded and the other withdrew a bit. Not gone, but giving the illusion of privacy.

I… Athena took several deep breaths and focused her mind. She had been taught such early in life and Alley had taught her more She felt Alley's pride in her and it strengthened her hold on sanity that had been fraying. After several minutes of calming herself, Athena spoke slowly and carefully. I have no chip now, but I can mind speak easier and that communication felt clearer than it ever did before. The hybrid looked at Alley who smiled at her, but let her continue in her own time. My body is the same as I scanned while you taught me, but I am different. If I am… No. I had given up on ever having more kids. You know.

I know. Alley's mind was a soft blanket wrapping around Athena's and her voice was just as soft. You had yourself sterilized to keep from adding anything to the fleet's resource consumption. A noble sacrifice but a hard one. And you didn't want to chance the thought of bringing more children into the world only to lose them again. Grief that was so like Athena's surfaced for a moment and Athena hugged Alley in the real world as well as her mind. Another reason she liked Alley. The Viper understood grief all too well. You made your choice and it was an informed one. I warned you that you might not remember, that the healing might take some of your most recent memories, but you made your choice and you told me what you wanted to do. I argued, but you are just as stubborn as I am and when you got Lisa into it… The Viper shivered. I know when to run away from fights I cannot win.

Lisa? Athena gasped as a sleepy mind impinged her. Lisa! But...

Mom? The other said in a muzzy tone. Don't be mad, Mom. I am happy. We will be happy, together! That was not from outside! That was from inside her belly! You didn't have to do it, but you wanted to make me happy. You gave me a real body, a beautiful one just like yours! It needs to grow, but it is all mine. You are the best Mom ever! I never dreamed to be as pretty as you. I am going back to sleep now and I will do my homework when my projection wakes up.

I forgot a lot. Athena said into the sudden utter silence that followed. She was careful to keep her mental voice down.

Not really. You just packed a whole lot into a few minutes, Earth time. I made recordings, just in case, and you can listen to them later if you want. Alley's voice was low too. She shouldn't wake up again unless we say her name, but we should keep it down anyway. She needs her rest and so do you.

I… I am going to need help. Athena said very softly. Therapy at the very least.

I know a very good one, but you need time to get over what happened first. Alley seemed back on firm ground now. When you are ready, I will introduce you. She is very nice but you are not ready for her. The Viper chuckled. I wasn't ready to meet her either, but hey, we play the hand we are dealt. Yours has sucked, but hopefully it will get a bit better from here on. Not easier, because it never gets easier but maybe a bit better.

I am calm, Alley. Athena said after a few more deep breaths. Thank you. She sent a heartfelt mental hug to the other even as she hugged Alley's physical coils again. This is… What happened?

The Aquatoid was the original captain of the colony ship. Alley returned the hugs, both mental and physical. The evil one, the Old Master as you knew him, took control of him and you know what came after. Athena sent a wordless agreement and Alley continued. XCOM defeated him, but at the end, they were overwhelmed by his sheer power before they could finish destroying the stasis crypt. Which was good thing, all things considered since the detonation would have likely ended almost all life on Earth.

Agreed.

So, he took control of the last two survivors. Alley heaved a mental sigh. Kim and Sakt. He tried to get them to repair the systems, but they were under such tight control that they were useless for such delicate tinkering with tech not from Earth. So, he limited his control… She paused as Athena gasped in realization

And they tried to run away!

Yes, but not until after they tried to kill each other several times. Alley's voice was dry now. As far as they knew, they were still fighting the same war and did not realize the battle was over for quite some time. The master didn't have any other slaves, so he didn't want them killing each other. He also did not want them escaping, so in addition to the mental controls, he chained them together.

I saw them. Athena shivered at the horrific memory of two living beings trapped in a force field still alive. That was when they freed Aken?

It wasn't altruistic of them. Alley warned. They hoped the monster would turn on the master, kill it and let them run away but then she started crying and begging them for help. She is older than humanity itself, but her mind is very young. I think that was intentional. Keep the servant uneducated and away from any other sources of intellectual stimulation and it will not rebel even if given a chance.

She is so nice. Athena said after a moment. Odd, but I like her.

Most do. Alley's voice was warm now. She is no wilting flower. No innocent, but she wants to be a good person instead of the weapon of mass destruction that she was made to be. That is admirable in any.

Okay. Athena smiled at Alley in the real world and spoke aloud. "So what now, oh great and mighty Matron?"

"You are cruising for a bruising, Captain of T'Leth." At Alley's instant rejoinder, Athena felt her calm suddenly shake. "Yes, the Aquatoid's final 'gift' to you was the command authorizations for everything about the ship. He hoped you might find a way to stave off the end of life in the oceans. Maybe you can. Inside this ship, you are literally the final word on anything as far as the tech goes. If you want to throw me out, you can."

"Never!" Athena hugged Alley tight enough that the Viper hissed in pain. Athena quickly relaxed her grip and Alley relaxed as well. "Sorry." The Viper kissed her cheek in acknowledgment.

"It is okay, Athena. You are stressed and well… Never is a long time. Times and people change, my friend." Alley was sad again, but Athena just hugged her gently and the Viper relaxed.

"You are my mentor and my friend. I hope that never changes, but if it does, I will face the consequences." Athena took a deep breath. "So, what do we do now?"

"Plan for the future." Alley uncoiled from Athena but did not leave her side. "And yes, there will be lots of children who look like you in that future. And now, we get to the secrets. You will not thank me for these and you may never sleep soundly again. There is a lot of bad stuff coming and most of it is nothing we have control over even with all of our power."

"Are you are trying to scare me, Alley?" Athena shook her head, not disagreeing. Worried.

"Yes." For once, the Viper was not joking in the slightest. "Is it working?"

"It is."

"Excellent. I speak from experience when I say that terror is a very good motivator."

Mars

A game board. A piece shaped like a human male is knocked over by an inhuman transparent hand made of yellow energy and another shaped like a hybrid who has Athena's face is placed next to a Viper by the same hand.

Your move. The young Ethereal who called herself 'Lady' said to her opponent whose many compound eyes stared her with bottomless hunger for her life energy. To drain all psi power from her and leave her a husk as it had so many others who faced it on its chosen battleground, a game with live pieces and all too real consequences for said pieces. Or do you concede?

I have many pieces left in play. The other replied as its mandibles clacked together as its hunger for the life forces of all of the psionic individuals everywhere surfaced for a moment before the bubble of the Lady's sanity pushed the existential terror back. A smaller appendage moved a small piece on the fringe of the board. A feint? Or an attack? Hard to say. The game continues.