Alien Mine Ch. 20

"Stop, Yaneta, what are you doing," the Prezident demanded in a shrill voice while also pressing the emergency button by his chair to call for help. Yaneta saw something change in Pavel's eyes, and the moment he twitched, her hand snaked beneath her dress grabbing a pistol, and she shot him between the eyes, the specially designed round blowing his entire head off. Yaneta had only a microsecond to enjoy killing him when the headless body exploded outward and the familiar alien scream reverberated off the walls. The Om parasite flew outwards toward the President. Yaneta slashed at it, but the parasite dodged her blade and threw itself at the President. Instead of pursuing it, Yaneta rolled to the side as Lixin, moving faster than any human could, pulled a weapon and fired, the bullets passing through the space where Yaneta had been. His body jerked before he could shift his fire, taking several high-powered rounds through his spine from Rhys. Quicker than a striking cobra, Yaneta moved, her blade slashing through the neck of the Om and removing its head before it hit the ground.

The prezident, oblivious to anything else happening in the room, stood frozen, standing by his chair as he watched the woman he thought was Yaneta brutally kill his closest aid, only to see something explode out of Pavel's body and head straight for him. The Prezident put out his hand in a futile attempt to stop it when he was roughly shoved to the ground by the other woman. A blade appeared in her hand as if by magic and flashed too quickly for him to see, but as she stepped back, there was another terrible scream as the thing attacking him fell in parts, some still withering on the table. Then, even more astonished, he watched as a silvery cloud swept out from her and hovered over the pieces, where they quickly dissolved.

The Prezident slowly drew himself to his feet. Looking around, he saw the two guards disarmed by women in some kind of camouflaged armor, the headless body of his Aid Pavel, and crimson blood splashed across the table and chairs and pooling on the floor. There was another headless body that should have been Lixin, but now, even without the head, it did not look human. At the back of the room were two more dead Chinese, one having been killed by a robot. Then he realized it was the same kind that had killed everyone at the drug lab. Terrified, he started to run but was grabbed by the woman near him and thrown unceremoniously into his chair. "Stay," she ordered him like a dog, and for the first time in his life, the President was too terrified to do anything else, and he stayed in the chair as ordered, looking around fearfully.

"You see, comrades," he heard a man say in Russian, "we have a problem, as I showed you last night."

The Prezident started to ask who he was when he noticed he wasn't talking to him but to General Vladislav, and Gregori, the Defense Minister. They had regained their seats and were sitting calmly now, looking at the man who had spoken.

"I agree," he heard Vladislav say, "that one is obviously not human, and Pavlov was infected as you said. Those aren't human either, even though they looked normal when they walked into the room," he said, gesturing at the two dead creatures in the back of the room.

"And do you agree with the proposed solution, that it is the only way to defend Russia?" the man asked formally."

"Do you agree to the terms we discussed last night? You will train and provide weapons to fight the aliens?" Gregori replied, glancing at Nelya.

"I do," the woman replied.

"Very well, it's better this way; he would have led us by the nose into our own destruction," Gregori said with contempt, looking the President in the eye.

"What is this? Who are these people," the Prezident finally shouted, standing up from his chair? "Gregori, how do you know these people? I will have you shot for this," he screamed with venom in his voice.

"No, Vladimir, you won't," Gregori replied with contempt, "you are through,"

No one had dared call him anything but Prezident for years. He started to protest, but he was grabbed and held, his hands pulled behind his back. Gregori and Vladislav watched in fascination as the woman named Sandy caught the President with her hair. They had seen it when they were taken on a fantastic voyage into space to see the alien ships, but it was still unnerving to watch the hair snake out from her head, wrapping around Vladimir and holding him off the ground.

"Yaneta, help me," he pleaded as the other woman approached him.

"You slimy piece of shit," she replied vehemently; "I would kill you myself if they would let me."

Nelya stood before the soon-to-be former President and let her anger build. This was the man who had corrupted an entire country, the man who had allowed people like her father and husband to thrive. She focused the anger and looked at her hand as it began to change, her fingers turning into claws, fur sprouting across the back of her hand. The transition was swift, but it didn't stop there. Nelya felt the bones shifting in her face, and she willed it to stop.

Looking into the President's eyes, she growled, "I am the wolf of Russia, not you!" and slammed her claws deep into his chest. The prezident screamed, but Sandy held him tightly with her hair while Nelya's claws reached deeper, grabbing his beating heart and ripping it from his chest with a deep growl.

"It is done," she said, holding the still beating heart in her hand as she turned to look first at Rhys, then at the two other most powerful men in Russia. "I confirm you in your positions if you agree to serve me and dedicate the rest of your lives to fighting the Om."

General Vladislav was obviously shaken, but he looked impressed. Gregori just nodded in satisfaction. "I do," both men said together.

Nelya dropped the heart on the former Prezident's body. "General, call your men; the President appears to have died of a heart attack. Before he died, he asked me to head a temporary government. My close association with the President has been kept a secret, but that is no longer necessary. Gregori, I want a list of fifty men to be trained by tomorrow morning; I will interview each of them before they are approved. In two weeks, we will need fifteen aircrews; I will also interview each of them before they are approved."

Yaneta had moved to stand beside Nelya, her pistol and sword still in her hands, her bodyguard status clear.

General Vladislav looked at the two women standing there and felt a moment of fear. The previous two days had shattered his view of the world and his place in it. He had thought himself the second most powerful man in Russia, perhaps the world, but now he knew better. At the same time, there were promises of even greater power in Rhys' vision. Looking at Yaneta, he could not help but remember last night when she followed him into his small cabin on the spaceship. He had never had such a passionate and erotic woman, and when he looked into her eyes, he saw the promise there. Even now, in this situation, his body responded to her. Somehow he tore his eyes from her, looked at Gregori, and saw agreement. Turning back to Nelya, he bowed like an old-fashioned nobleman. "Yes, Empress, it shall be done," he replied.

"You will be great," Rhys said.

Nelya smiled at him as her finger found the jewel hanging from the necklace. She could still feel the heat across her thigh and abdomen, where the dragon fire ran all the way down to her clit, and the way Rhys's large hands had traced the designs on her body, his mark signifying that he owned her. "He does own me," she thought, body and soul if she had one. The vivid memories brought a creeping heat in her loins, but now was not the time, later though, before he left.

"I will be great; Russia will be great for you," she said, staring into his eyes. Nelya didn't just love Rhys; she worshiped him. Rhys had saved her from a life of degradation and now gave her a kingdom that would be greater than any of the Czars had even dreamed of. She felt Mika looking at her, the admiration plain on her face. That was something else Rhys had given her, a new lover who would never go away. Life is good for now, she thought.

***

"We are back to full strength," Major Jack Miller reported to Kiania, but I am concerned about the training schedule. The Israelis' arrived two days ago, and we have our own replacements to train, and now we are expecting fifty Russians?

"I know, but we are being pressed on all sides by the Om. The instruction will be in English; Thea thinks she can add a translator to your communications implant if needed. I need you to turn your men into instructors for the time being; these new soldiers need to be trained to fight the Om." Kiania replied.

"Roger that, we will do our best, but I still need an Executive Officer, especially now."

"I thought you were going to promote from within?"

"I have Sargent Chada from Charlie, but I need him back in command of his squad," the Major replied. He is mainly coordinating drones, but I need an Executive Officer more right now." The Major watched Kiania's face as she paused for a moment. That's what she did when she contacted Rhys, asking for instructions, he guessed.

"Congratulations, you have been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel; pick your successor and his XO. Rhys wants you to be in command; the US, Israeli and Russian components will report to you now. Good luck," Kiania said with a smile as she walked away; I have to help Mika train; she is only going to be here for a few days."

Mika typically practiced with her monoblades and pistols every day for a couple of hours in her apartment, but being back at the base and being able to use the simulator was much different. Her body now allowed her to do things she had never thought possible. One exercise Mika liked was when Kiania would release several small drones about the size of dragonflies. She had to shoot them with the pistols, one in each hand before they could sting her. It hurt when they did, but Mika was getting so good that now it rarely happened. She thought a pistol in each hand bouncing off the wall as she shot them from the air was a great way to work off stress. Her weapons had an arms computer linked to her symbiont, and Mika was just learning to use it now that the tacgrid abilities were fully developed. She could put the pistol around the corner, aim and shoot without ever exposing more than her hand.

She was even better with the monoblades. Kiania made her practice with them at different lengths, from a few centimeters to a meter-long blade. She loved the blades, they felt natural to her, extensions of her body, and she kept one on each wrist. The little dragonfly drones didn't have a chance. However, the last few days were more difficult because Kiania did not share her opinion of her skills. "You're killing me," Mika complained as Kiania threw her across the room.

"Not yet, but the Trangrod would have if you let it get that close."

Mika nodded, dragged herself to her feet, and resumed her stance with the monoblade extended and the pistol in the other hand. It was hard, the lessons, the new body, it was like learning to walk again while at the same time training with swords and weapons. Her strength was incredible, and Kiania said she would get stronger. Her speed, likewise. Mika's new abilities had yet to peak, so everything was in flux. But sprinting at almost 100 kilometers/hour and jumping 15 meters, bouncing off walls and ceilings as she went after the drones, were the most fun since she had been a child. She actually laughed and squealed like a little girl, she thought, but it was exhilarating. She loved her new body, except when Kiania reminded her how much she had to learn.

Kiania stepped back, and a hologram sprang up around her. Mika found herself in the street, and a roach Trangrod lunged at her as she spun away, avoiding the barrel of the weapon it was using. She was careful to stay out of the line of fire, slashing with the blade. The machine was fast, at least as fast as her. Not very intelligent, though, she thought as she lunged forward to take off the sensors and cripple its vision. As her blade descended, the roach suddenly twisted away, having drawn her in, and, rotating before she could recover, hit her with rounds almost from her crotch to her head.

"Arrghh," she screamed as she felt the rounds hit.

"You are dead," she heard Kiania say, killing the simulation again. She wasn't really hurt, but the simulator and her Bob let her know when she had been hit.

"Oww,: she thought to the symbiont. Does it have to hurt so much?"

"If you die, I die," her Bob said," you keep underestimating them. I hope they don't send us into combat soon."

"Yeah, I screwed that up," Mika sighed as the hologram disappeared, and Kiania was again standing there.

"You will do better, or you will die the first time you run into them," Kiania said sternly, "now again, pay attention to its movements; use your mobility; you are as quick or quicker and can jump small buildings. Rhys cannot afford to lose you, Mika, you have to get better," she added with concern in her voice. "We just have a few days; tomorrow, you will spend the day practicing with your two guards, but remember they are not enhanced and will die much easier than you. So now, let's take a break for a moment, and you can meet your new dogs."

"Dogs, I don't think so; I don't have time for a pet."

"You do now, two nice looking Belgian Malinois that hide a Drans metal body, a machine gun and a grenade launcher, four small missiles that shoot out of its butt and teeth that will rip into a Trangrod. Yaneta's idea, surprisingly enough, and Thea and the Binary managed to upgrade the AI, so it acts like a real dog; well, mostly. The nice thing is you don't have to walk them or feed them and, of course, no picking up dog poop. You will insist on taking them everywhere with you. Later today, we will go through scenarios so you can get used to how they react to danger and how to control them in a fight."

"That will help, but we need a better weapon, a larger pistol," she said, "something to use at a greater distance with more stopping power.

"Thea is working on it, but this is the best we have right now. You can't go around carrying one of the big rifles."

Mika had seen the video of the fight in Moscow and was just as horrified as the others at what they had found. The problem was she didn't have any training to fall back on and, unlike the others, had been unable to spend a few months at the base training with Rhys. She was good, better than any human, but not nearly as good as Kiania or either of the Binaries, of course.

"Rhys told me he wants to give you a bodyguard, someone with a symbiont. Have you thought about that yet?"

"We have discussed it, but I haven't given much thought to it," Mika said. She and Rhys had discussed it briefly, but she was strangely reluctant to consider it. Mika understood the implications of picking someone; it would change their life forever, just like hers. But also, it meant she would be choosing a lover, someone she would become very intimate with, but also someone who would be expected to die for her if necessary. However, whoever she picked would also be another soldier, a shooter as Leslie liked to refer to herself and Amancia. Mika would have to think about that; it wasn't something she could do easily. On the other hand, perhaps Nelya had some insights, she had Yaneta, and besides, she liked talking to her. Also, Michael could probably recommend someone.

"Hi, Mika, can you come back to the house for a minute," Rhys asked her, "I 'm talking to Michael, and you need to hear this."

"Of course, on my way."

As Mika walked into the house, as Rhys called it, she found Leslie, Amancia, Sandy, Kiania, and the Major sitting in the living room. The house always seemed strange to Mika because once inside, it felt like a home, not living quarters one thousand meters below the West Texas Mountains.

"Mika is here, Michael; repeat what you told us," Rhys said.

"We have been picking up what appears to be Om aerial intrusions now that we have installed the new sensors you gave us. They do not penetrate our airspace, but we have tracked them two hundred kilometers away in all directions. It appears they are probing, looking for something, perhaps the base. Then this morning, the automatic defenses at the base came online briefly, but nothing appeared on our sensors. Finally, as you know, we have contacts and agents in Saudi and Jorden. I have been expanding those since we learned about the Om. We have been getting disquieting reports from the area along the Saudi-Jordanian border, west of the Gulf of Aqaba, and southeast of the Wadi Rum Reserve in Jordan."

Sandy brought up a hologram of the area that they all could see. It was a desolate area, to say the least, dry, the terrain crossed by ridges and sand dunes; it was just about inhospitable as it got.

I sent a two-man team in to check it out, but I have not heard back from them; I'm beginning to think I won't, Michael added.

"Is there any sign of Om activity in that area?" Rhys asked Leslie.

Amancia felt the gentle request from the other half of the Binary, and she welcomed the interlace that made them unique, their minds merging into one effortlessly with so much more potential. In seconds they scanned through all the available satellite imagery over the past several months, looking for any signs of activity. The Binary found and discarded the many man-made changes to the landscape and those that were natural weathering events. "Nothing, there is no indication, but perhaps they are becoming better at concealing their presence. A few reports have been entered into the security database concerning attacks by unknown assailants that resulted in missing persons and animals. Just a few, and the Saudis are concerned there may be armed gangs of some kind. The area is very desolate, and it would be easy to hide small groups there. However, the population, both human and animal, is scarce; there is not even food for goats out there."

"I think we need to check it out, Michael, don't send any more men into the area. Thea has some new drones we can send in," Rhys said. Alert Sarge, they are the only ones in Israel with experience fighting Trangrods. We will be on standby. Major, I know we are short of trained bodies right now, but we need an alert platoon. You can rotate it but make sure the men have their armor onboard the shuttle and weapons ready to go.

Sarge and his men don't have the newest armor yet," the Major reminded him.

I know, in a few days, though, it should be ready when Mika goes back."

Mika sighed, realizing she needed to go back but not liking it. She didn't know quite how to describe it but leaving always made her unhappy, like leaving your family for the first time and finding yourself alone. With the tacgrid functioning, she was never really alone, she could talk to any of the others, and the symbiont to symbiont connection was much more intimate than a mere phone call. Words came with the emotions attached to them; it was almost like sitting next to the person and seeing the facial expressions and body language. Almost though was the problem. There was none of the close physical connection they all felt when they were actually present together. For instance, when she walked into the room, she would have hugged and kissed each of the others if the Major hadn't been there.

That physical touching was sensuous, but it was much more than that. Mika thought of it as a constant reaffirmation of love and belonging on an intimate level normal humans couldn't experience. The symbionts exchanged bits of themselves, but Mika always felt she was exchanging bits of her soul with the others. Having another one near her, a bodyguard that would be with her, would be better; she wouldn't feel as alone or melancholy. Mika wasn't as ruthless as Rhys and especially Sandy when it came to choosing someone to infect with the symbiont. She would have to give it some thought.