Alien Mine Ch. 10

Leslie watched as machines came out of the walls in the cavernous room and connected to the shuttle. Other 'things', round tubes about 10 cm in diameter, seemed almost alive the way they moved on their own and were attaching to various places on the ship's exterior. Leslie thought she had seen everything but apparently not.

Rhys took her hand, leading her out of the ship into the base. "How deep underground are we?" she asked.

"About 1000 meters, it's pressurized, so you don't feel any different, no need for airlocks. No, we have no idea how it works yet," Rhys answered before she could ask.

Leslie just shook her head. "You take all these things for granted, doesn't that worry you?"

"Of course, but we had no choice," he shrugged. "We just got used to it, I guess. But now we have Thea, and soon we will get a real physicist to help us out."

The way they all casually talked about taking someone against their will and infecting them with a symbiont still bothered her. She was beginning to grasp the necessity, but still, she found herself reluctant to condone it. She supposed it was hypocritical of her considering what she had done herself. But whatever she had done, she had not changed someone from human into something half-alien. That was the part that bothered her, the symbiont.

"It's hard getting used to, I know," Rhys said, looking at her as if he knew what she was thinking. If it makes you feel any better, I worry about it as well. But I have had more time to think about it, and I realize I really don't have any choice. I can't stand by and let the Om destroy us. The symbiont gives us a chance, makes us so much more capable. You have seen the changes in the girls," he went on. "Not just the physical ones, but the mental ones. With the Symbiont, our brains seem to speed up, and multitasking capability is tremendously expanded. Also, the symbiont learns with you, begins to anticipate your needs."

"What do you mean?"

"For instance, if I begin to think about a problem, the symbiont will anticipate my needs, reach out for information, and suddenly there it is. Suppose I have a tactical problem I want to solve. In that case, Bob grabs relevant information, even situations, and just slots it into my brain. That's how we were able to fight the Om with no experience at something like that."

"Will I have the same abilities?" she asked.

"Of course. But that's not all. As we have told you, your physical body will change, muscles replaced by bio-polymer materials, your skin the same. Bones changed and strengthened. You won't have to worry about a concussion or even a bullet to the head from any standard weapon. You are concerned about the change, I get that, but what's bothering you, and me, I guess, is that we are no longer strictly 'human'. We have wrestled with that, but there is no real solution. The technology requires a symbiont interface; we cannot remain 'strictly' human and fight this war."

"So I make these kinds of decisions - me, not anyone else. I decide who gets a symbiont. Make no mistake, I choose you specifically, we need your expertise, and I will continue to select individuals we need, such as our Chinese scientist." Rhys stopped and took Leslie in his arms, looking into her eyes. "Yes, it's ruthless, but you would do the same in my shoes."

Leslie looked into his eyes and admitted to herself that he was probably right. She would do the same thing. Realizing that seemed to relax her, she could see the softening in Rhys' eyes as he stared into hers. It was a terrible burden he was carrying, and Leslie felt something shift inside her. She couldn't deny that she was in love with this man no matter what he had done to her. She resolved to try and remember that, and it was true she would have probably done the same.

She just nodded her head, not sure what to say, but at the same time, something made her lift her head, wanting Rhys to kiss her. His lips came down on hers, gentle at first, then demanding as his tongue probed hers. Leslie couldn't stop herself from pressing her body up against his, feeling him against her, making her feel safe, secure, and loved.

"Well done, Sandy said. You touched something in her; she is much calmer now.

"She is still having a hard time adjusting, but this is progress. I prefer to have her cooperative. Besides, I do like her a lot."

'Not love? She teased, "just lust?"

"Getting there," he said, releasing Leslie from the kiss.

"Come on, Thea," he said, taking Leslie by the hand, "let me show you where we live now. You will be suitably impressed."

===============================================================

Rhys introduced Leslie to the base AI, making sure she got clearances necessary for her work but not enough for her to betray them. He or one of the other girls would be monitoring everything she did.

"Before you start the tour, how about coming down to the range? I want you to see the new rifle, test fire it, and tell me what you think," Thea said, anxious to show Rhys what she had been working on.

"You already have one built?" Rhys asked.

"Yeah, the fabricators made all the parts while we were gone. It was just a matter of putting it together."

"Assembly isn't automated?"

"Not for the prototype. I assemble the rifles by hand to make sure everything fits ok. After I get the design down, I will be able to just push the button; go have a drink, the fabricator will turn out the parts, and the assembly mechanism spits out the finished product." Rhys and Leslie followed Thea; not only did Thea have new weapons to try out, but the Bots had been busy extending the range out to 200 meters.

"Impressive," Rhys said, looking at the new and improved range. Targets could be moved to any distance and shrunk or expanded in size.

"Yeah, but try this."

She handed him the new weapon. "Standard operation, but an improvement over the one you are now using. Bigger slug, higher velocity with a standard antipersonnel, and improved armor-piercing rounds. Recoil is higher than I like, but I am thinking about something completely different for the next one."

Rhys looked it over, a little heavier, shorter barrel, with two magazines with a switch to toggle between them. He stepped up to the firing lane and looked through the sight. Wide vision, zoom function, laser pointer, and it felt good in his hands. Taking aim, he fired a short burst and was surprised when the target exploded at 200 meters.

"Armor-piercing rounds," she said proudly, "Drans metal-tipped, you might want to switch over to regular ones. These will tear up our current targets."

"What kind of penetration does the new metal give us?"

More like a 30-millimeter cannon, I think would be the closest comparison. The metal is nothing like anything we have on Earth, and I have only begun to figure out how to use it. I think it will be more than effective against the Trangrods'. The smaller round is more antipersonnel, less destructive to the surrounding area.

Rhys fired again, testing it on automatic, as well as five-round bursts. The recoil was not bad, but Thea and Leslie would have trouble with it until they developed more muscle mass. He would have given most anything to have had this weapon in Afghanistan and Iraq. He estimated it would be the equivalent to shooting a 50 caliber sniper rifle, but one smaller and lighter than the current standard army rifle.

After running it through a few more tests, Rhys was satisfied with it. "Nice design; these should kill the Trangrods faster than the old ones. Are there enough for everyone?"

"Just a few prototypes, but I can make more."

"Good, make enough for everyone. Can you add a grenade launcher?"

"Sure, but Rhys, this is just an improved version of what we have. I think I can do much better than this, something revolutionary. The Drans technology is so much better than anything we have, and I have barely scratched the surface. Give me a month, and I will give you a weapon ten times better."

"Good job, '' he said, taking her in his arms and giving her a kiss. Rhys liked holding her, and the way she responded to him added to her attraction. Breaking the kiss, he held her for a minute. I am sure we are going to need better weapons. The Om know they are stranded now and will be fighting for their survival. I am worried we have not seen the newest horror from them, and we need to be prepared."

***

Leslie frowned as she looked at the hologram. After seeing the firing range and Thea's engineering spaces, she had gotten the rest of the tour. She didn't know what to expect from an alien base, but opulent living quarters were something she was unprepared for. Somehow, they built a small and very comfortable mansion inside the base with every amenity your run-of-the-mill billionaire would want. It wasn't a giant house, but it was definitely grand.

She had blushed when Rhys showed her the bedroom where apparently they all slept. Still, the luxurious bathrooms, spa, and pool made up for a lot, even if it was underground. Now she was wrestling with the AI interface, which turned out to be simpler than she expected. "Just talk to it," Rhys had told her. After a bit of hesitation, she did and discovered that the AI could do more than Leslie could have possibly imagined.

She now had access to intel that every spy agency in the world would sell their own mothers for. Detailed information on power structures, personal habits of leaders, banking information on the Mexican drug cartels, and where Russian oligarchs are hiding their money. Private pictures from their computers and phones, a wealth of blackmail material if she wanted. Leslie gave the AI new search parameters and found herself browsing through some of the most remote parts of Chinese intelligence.

It even allowed her to watch China's real-time hacking efforts into one of the many new space launch startups. She highlighted it with a pointer. "Can you block that?" she asked the AI.

"Yes, do you want it stopped," a strangely timbered voice said back, the sound seeming to come from everywhere?

"Yes, do it now," she said, worrying about what they were stealing.

The hacking connection abruptly disappeared. "Can you trace it back to where it came from? She asked.

Suddenly a video sprang up showing an office and a woman sitting in front of a computer frowning. She was dressed in a Chinese army uniform, and personal data was displayed. Putting her hand into the hologram, Leslie could sort through the data. Name, military records, and all her online social data were there. Leslie could even see who she was dating, what kind of tea she bought, and when her last doctor's appointment had been.

"Is it possible to put a virus into her computer," she asked.

"Yes but unnecessary," came the reply.

'Why is that," Leslie asked absently while still sorting through information about the woman. This was more than they had ever been able to collect about the people doing the hacking. Sometimes NSA had been able to identify a name but had nothing like this in-depth information about them.

"The primitive systems pose no difficulty to complete access. There is no need for the programs you use."

"Can you delete the information she was stealing?"

"Done," the voice said after a momentary pause.

Leslie was able to see the consternation on the Chinese soldier's face as the data disappeared from her screen. She watched as the woman tried her online backup where the data should have gone, only to find it empty now. "Unbelievable, thought Leslie; it was scary having this much power at her fingertips.

It was also strange having a computer speak to you, much less one that sounded so intelligent. According to Sandy, the Drans AI's were only partially self-aware. Leslie didn't really understand what that meant, but it took a little getting used to. I wonder what they have on me? Deciding to take a look, she said, "show me data on Leslie Clarke CIA."

"That information is blocked."

"Why is that."

"' One' has restricted that information."

"you mean Rhys?" She asked.

"Yes, he is 'One'."

Strange way to put it, she thought, deciding to see what other information might be available. She looked through a list of senior people at the CIA, clicking on a few to see what kind of information was available there. Lets' see what Tom has been up to. Tom was a friend of hers, an analyst for Africa who she interacted with often. "AI," she said out loud, show me everything about Tom Rinkin, employee CIA."

Immediately information and pictures began flashing across her screen. What she found was equally impressive and disturbing. While there were no security cameras in the offices to hack, the amount of information the AI could gather almost instantly was horrifying.

Intimate details of her colleague were displayed. It included his complete CIA files and personal banking information, online social life, and texts to his wife (naughty). Pictures stored on the cloud, movies of their kids, everything about them laid bare. Apparently, she could even listen in to their amazon Alexa or other voice-activated devices, turn their laptop cameras on, and tap into the cell phone conversations or camera.

Leslie sat back, thinking about the implications. Wow, talk about big brother monitoring your life; no one had any privacy from this technology. That thought was scary enough but imagine this in the hands of a government like China or Iran. Leslie was beginning to understand Rhys' reluctance to let anyone else have this. A movement caught her eye, and she turned from her hologram.

One of the girls or Rhys had stayed with her since they landed. Kiania was with her, but now she was doing some kind of exercise. The first thing Leslie noticed was the long knife Kiania was holding; the second was the lack of clothes. The hand holding the knife twined through the air as her right foot lifted, and she spun with perfect balance and grace, once, twice, then three times before adopting a pose out of an action movie. Left hand up behind her, knife held outstretched point first in her right, legs bent and perfectly balanced ready to attack.

As Leslie watched, Kiania exploded into action, her movements almost a blur as she went through a series of exercises, jumps, and rolls. Then she abruptly slowed, moving as if in slow motion, each movement precise, controlled. Leslie's mouth went dry as she watched the lean, muscled body. Kiania's legs, stomach, arms were perfectly toned, muscles moving smoothly under her skin, her motion controlled and graceful. She went back into her initial pose and then exploded once more into an almost frenzied series of movements at full strength and power.

All at once, she came to a complete stop, both hands out in front of her, the knife held crossways, legs spread, her thigh muscles tensed as though ready to move again. Seeing Leslie watching her, she started to relax.

"Please don't stop; I am fascinated by what you are doing."

A playful smile spread across her face before it disappeared into a concentrated mask. Her posture changed dramatically, and the dance began again. Leslie watched, mesmerized as Kiania demonstrated just how different she was from a normal human being. She moved with the grace of a trained dancer but at impossible speeds, leaps, turns, constantly flowing and changing. There was a deceptively smooth elegance but a hard edge leaving no doubt that this was a dance of death. Still, the effortless perfection completely captured Leslie's attention, and she watched until Kiania came to a sudden halt, not a foot in front of her.

"Did you enjoy the show? She asked with a cute smirk and a bow that made her heart do a flip and sent a bolt of excitement through Leslie's body. Indeed she had.

Leslie blushed at her words and the way she had been staring at Kiania's perfect body. Kiania was covered in a thin sheen of perspiration; tiny beads of sweat dripped from her face onto her chest and ran down between her breasts. Leslie couldn't help but notice the large areoles and hardened nipples. It seemed she wasn't the only one who had enjoyed it.

Kiania noticed the direction of Leslie's eyes, and looking down, she laughed. "Yeah, it turns me on, something about combat training," she said, looking at Leslie with invitation in her eyes. "You can touch me if you want," she said softly but with heat in her voice.

Leslie froze like a deer in the headlights, wanting to but unsure. The relationships among them all still confused her, her jealousy over Rhys warring with her growing acceptance and fondness (love?) for the other women in his life. Kiania smiled, walked over, and taking her hand, brought it to her breast. Leslie could feel the softness but the diamond-hard nipple as well. Kiania sighed gently and moved Leslie's hand over her breasts, up along her throat, and then back to a nipple.

"I like being touched," she said, using her other hand to push Leslie's hair back, stroking her face. Seeing no resistance, she leaned in closer, bringing her lips to Leslie's. The kiss was soft, sweet, as only two women can kiss. Leslie was lost in the sensation, unsure if she wanted to run or ask for more. Then she felt Kiania's tongue tickling her lips as if asking for permission. Leslie opened her lips, and the tongue dipped in, seeking hers. The sudden wave of lust and affection surprised her as she became lost in the kiss.

Her fingers tightened on Kiania's breast, seeking out the nipple, pinching, tweaking. Kiania responded with a moan and deepening the kiss, pressing closer, offering her nakedness. Leslie was drawn even deeper into the heat that seemed to be emanating from Kiania and then gasped as Kiania suddenly pulled away, giving Leslie some space.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I got a little carried away."

"No, it's all right," Leslie stammered, not sure just what happened. She wanted to reach out and pull Kiania back to her but was still confused by her body and how she reacted.

"It's just that going through the exercises really affects me. It gets me hot in more ways than one," she said, smiling wickedly.

"How do you normally deal with it then?"

"I find Rhys or one of the other girls, or if they are busy, I take care of it myself," she said, looking Leslie in the eye.

She felt the heat in her face again. They were all so matter-of-fact and open about sex, sometimes Leslie felt like the unsophisticated country cousin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Kiania said, "but I think it's better to be upfront about these things."

"It's ok, but it does take a little getting used to. Is it natural, or is it a side effect of the symbiont?" She asked, wondering if she was going to be like this.

"A combination, I suppose. Remember, I have been a prostitute since I was a kid, so sex and everything associated with it has been the focus of my life whether I wanted it to be or not. But the symbiont plays havoc with your libido."

"In what way?"

"I'm sure you have noticed an increase in desire, the need to touch yourself at odd times, increased frequency and duration of masturbation?"

Leslie tried not to blush at the blunt words and just nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"It's inherent in the symbiont, the urge for sex. When Bob reproduced himself in Rhys, Sandy, and Amancia, he programmed the symbiont to mate frequently. Apparently, the symbiont was being rejected and killed by their bodies, so he needed them to have sex with Rhys as often as possible while he changed his programming. The problem is that the increased need for sex was locked in when it took, in Rhys and the girls. And now also in all the new ones like mine and yours. So our sex drive is somewhere past the nymphomaniac stage."

"And that's going to happen to me?" Leslie asked, not at all sure how she felt about it.