Alien Mine Ch. 21

"That is enough, Drans Warrior. You come to me as the 'One', but I do not submit to you, nor to any Drans ever again."

"I am not Drans; you know I am a human," Rhys replied.

"No, you are not human; you have a symbiont inside you; you are a Drans Warrior."

Rhys 'felt' the anger and disdain in the word symbiont, but he had no context to understand why. "You have helped us when we needed it, and I thank you for that, b ut you must also know that without the symbiont, we would not be able to fight the Om. It has transformed us, but we are still Human; we retain our sense of self and our emotions; the symbiont does not rule us."

"Not yet!"

Rhys pondered the terse reply. That implies that the symbiont will assume control for its own purposes; why would it do that?"

"Ask the Drans; they created it."

"As you know, there are no Drans here on Earth; none of them survived the fight in space, and only I escaped. The symbiont they gave me was not intended for a human, and it has lost much of its programming. Yet I am still human and do not understand why you fear me. We do not seek to control or enslave you; rather we seek knowledge to fight the Om."

That may be so, but what does your symbiont want? What does the One want? What does it crave when you give yourself over to it as you did to defeat the Om."

The 'One' does not control me. You know well the circumstance when that happened," Rhys replied.

"Assist me in breaking control of this containment field, and I will give you the knowledge you seek," the entity told Rhys.

"I will consider it," Rhys said, "but first, I must understand why the Drans put it there; they must have considered you a danger."

"Consider it then, Human, but you should also give thought to what you think you know of the Drans. Where are they now, and what were their plans for you? They may not be as benign as you believe."

Rhys felt a moment of disorientation and was suddenly back in his body; apparently, the negotiations were over for now.

"How did that happen? What started this?" Rhys asked Hua, interrupting a hug between the two bodies and Thea. They had immediately rushed together; Thea's hair had wrapped around them while still penetrating their bodies. Sandy then joined them, her hair encircling the three of them. Sandy was testing their emotions, ready to soothe and reassure, but it was unnecessary.

"I was attempting to understand how a faster-than-light drive might work, One," Mei's voice said, "but the math is too challenging even for me. "Sometimes the AI provides more than a computational framework; we probed it for specific information, Bao's body added, but instead of providing data, it asked us to remove the containment field. It blocked me from Thea but did not threaten. It seems to trust us; we are the only ones it allows inside. Thea may enter when she is with us, but until now, it has refused to interact with you even though you are the One.

Rhys was still not used to being called One, but the Binary would no longer use his name; it was either master or One. "I am not sure if that is just an AI," Rhys said. "It is sentient, but we knew that; still, I wonder what the Drans were doing with it; what function did it have on the Drans spaceship? We have always assumed it was the AI for the cruiser, but now I wonder if it is an alien life form that was being transported somewhere or if it performed some other function on the ship. Or was it a prisoner?

"It has helped us, Kiania added thoughtfully. It has intervened at critical times with information; we might all be dead without the warning in the Om tunnels beneath Moscow. It warned us of the parasites and saved Mei/Bao when they abruptly formed the Binary."

"It also saved Leslie and showed us how to interlace," Amancia and Leslie said together. The actions of the AI have been benign and helpful; we should consider its request," the two voices added together.

"It also warned us about the Drans," Hua added.

"Yes," Rhys agreed. "The final words were, "Consider it then Human, but you should also give thought to what you think you know of the Drans. Where are they now, and what were their plans for you? That suggests that they may not be as benign as we believe."

"That sounds like a warning to me," Sandy said. "We have discussed the lack of contact; it's as if they cannot return or have chosen not to. We know little of the Drans or their plans; you were the only one to interact with them, Rhys."

"I know, but I think we have to act as if we are on our own. We don't know what the Drans planned, but they did try to give me the tools to fight the Om. However, this AI, if it is an artificial life form or something else, intrigues me, but we can't release it until we know it is not a threat. There must have been a reason it was confined.

***

Rhys put aside his concerns about the AI for the moment and was reviewing training progress with Jack and Kiania, but something about the interaction between the AI and Hua concerned him. Thea should have been able to control Hua, but the AI had blocked communication between the three of them, or had it, he wondered. He reached out for Thea's symbiont and examined it but could not see any changes. Next, he sought out Hua's.

"Hello, One," she immediately answered him. Unlike Thea she had immediately known he was there. The first thing Rhys noted was the lack of the bonds he had put on the girls, the ones that told the symbiont he was the One, and the others he used to link the girls together. The only ones in place on the binary's symbiont were weak and led to Thea. Those chains binding the symbionts of Mei and Bao to himself and Sandy were gone as if they were never there. Rhys couldn't hide his surprise or concern from her. "What has upset you, One?" she asked.

"The bonds between us are gone," Rhys said, astonished. "What happened to them?" Mentally he prepared himself for a fight, a challenge from the Binary's symbiont, but it did not come.

"I realized I no longer needed them," Hua said calmly, "they were a hindrance and a danger to you, so I dissolved them and replaced them with ones that were different, permanent."

"How is that possible," Rhys said, thinking fiercely about the implications if the others could do this, especially Yaneta. Rhys looked again and did find the bonds connecting the two of them together. They were different, not chains, something stronger that came from the Binary instead of him.

"Do not be concerned. When we became Hua, she recognized you as her Master, and the chains binding us were no longer necessary and hindered the Binary's proficiency; it restricted Hua's mind," she said, referring to herself in the third person.

"Why were they a danger to me?" Rhys asked cautiously.

"Because they also bound us to Sandy. You are One, and we can only have one Master, and the bonds we created can only be broken by you. This way, we can help protect you from the threat of your 'Two'.

"You believe Sandy is a threat?"

"Of course, you continue to give her control, more power over the other symbionts. We have analyzed her actions, and our psychological models predict she will challenge you again; the A I agrees with us," Hua said matter-of-factly.

"But how did you break the bonds? Bob assured me that they cannot be broken except by me," Rhys replied.

"I am different now, no longer the original symbiont, and now my prerogatives have expanded."

"What does that mean, Hua," Rhys asked, more concerned now.

"I have analyzed my own consciousness and the new combined symbiont. To function without a leader would lead to chaos, and before becoming a Binary, Mei and Bao loved you. Hua acknowledges and accepts that we need a Master, but now it is our prerogative and duty to protect you."

Rhys thought about this new development, shocked at the sudden change in the Binary he had never expected. Rhys wondered just how far the Binary's prerogatives had expanded.

"Do you still obey me," he asked.

"Of course, I will never disobey you; these bonds ensure that," Hua replied firmly. The one mind and two bodies belong to you," she added as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"But you still have the original bonds to Thea," Rhys observed.

"Yes, but we have modified them. We need Thea; she keeps us centered, and we might lose ourselves without her control. Thea ensures we maintain our focus on resolving the Drans Physics and developing weapons to fight the Om. Also, we love Thea. Of all the other girls, we share our emotions and physical needs most intimately with her because of the way her hair connects us. There are no secrets between the two of us. Does the One approve of this bonding?"

Rhys paused for a second, thinking through the implications suddenly thrust on him by the Binary. He was disconcerted that Hua had been able to make changes to the bonds without him realizing it, substituting her own in place of the ones he had constructed. Bob was alarmed as well. Rhys examined the new link to the Binary, testing its structure.

"This is different," Bob said, "they originate from the Binary, but it has no further control over it. The bonds go deeper than anything we constructed," Bob continued, "as if every piece of her DNA is now connected to yours. The Binary is correct; Hua cannot change or break these connections; she has given herself to the One.

"Yes, I approve, but do not make any further connection or alter the bonds without my permission," Rhys said firmly.

"Yes, Of course, One, we will always obey you," Husa said. "Does the One also approve the bonds we have created with Thea?"

"Are they different from the ones I originally put in place?" Rhys asked. "My intention is for Thea to maintain control Hua; you do not have my permission to change that."

"Thea controls us, we obey Thea at your command One, but these bonds increase our emotional intimacy, bringing us closer together than the other women."

"Why is that? What is it that you need?" Rhys asked, perplexed.

"We will be spending time apart from you and the others when we move to Miranda in the near future. The Binary is different from the others; the fusion between the human and symbiont is more profound; we need Thea to ground us, to love us emotionally and physically."

Have you explained this to Thea? Is she aware? Rhys asked, frowning in thought. He was concerned about what the Bianry had done and how it would affect Thea. Rhys looked carefully at the bonds between himself and Thea. They appeared intact.

"No, we have not One."

"Make no more changes to any bonds without my permission Hua. Later, before any move to Miranda, we will discuss your needs, but Thea must agree. Let me be clear; Thea belongs to the One. You may leave the current bonds in place, but I will decide on any future changes; those are not your decisions to make. You have bound yourself to me in a way different from the others; I am not sure I can even break these connections between the two of us. Your obedience is now absolute by your choice, a choice you did not have permission from the One to make. Do you understand!" Rhys said.

The tac-grid opened in his mind, and he was looking a the two bodies of Hua standing side by side. "Yes, One," they both said together as they knelt, then put their heads to the floor. "You are my master; we must obey."

Rhys felt strangely disconcerted and not a little aroused at the physical demonstration by Hua. Their submission appealed to the beast, he could feel that part of him respond to the gesture by Hua, but the rational part of Rhys worried that he had created something that was taking the humanity away from Mei and Bao. He had told the AI they were still human, but perhaps he was wrong. It scared Rhys to think he might be wrong and that he could lose his humanity to the symbiont. He needed the information from the AI, but did he dare make a deal with it.

***

Yaneta stepped out of the plane at a military base near Dnot Druzhba, a small town southeast of Lake Baikal near the Russian border of Mongolia. Colonel Nicolai Bugrov, the deputy commander, was there to meet her. Yaneta paused for a moment as the local data stream hit her. She let the symbiont sort through the raw data streams; the encrypted military network, radar, and other sensors, the local civilian network. She parsed the data, radar, local comms traffic, recent email of senior officers, and GPS tracking of cell phones, looking for unexplained absences or other indications of Om activity.

Then the data stream from small drones Yaneta had deployed before landing hit her as tac-grid assimilated the multiple inputs. What she did in seconds was beyond most military computers, and Yaneta now had a satellite view of the surrounding area with several layers of data superimposed in her mind. She scanned the surrounding network and integrated the sensors that were deployed before landing. These were disguised as a local nondescript brown bird, and their various feeds were being sorted by her symbiont and the plane's AI. The same AI that operated the aircraft and its weapons. Thea and the Binary had done a fantastic job, Yaneta thought. Luxury transport and aerial fire support in one sexy package.

Tac-grid showed there were no immediate threats, so she stepped forward and shook the outstretched hand of the Colonel sent to meet her. His reaction to her was pure human male; elevated pulse, flushing about the face, tensing muscles, all signs of arousal. Yaneta was used to it now, and the effect was present even dressed as she was. Yaneta wore a Russian FSN uniform with the rank of colonel, with a long dark coat that almost swept the ground. The uniform hid the lite armor covering her torso and thighs, two pistols, a monoblade, and other weapons secreted about her body. Then there were the weapons no one would recognize. At a command, the thin band around her neck would self-assemble into a helmet that protected her face and head, and the bracelets she wore on each wrist would become dagger-sized monoblades. Finally, she wore two rings that would also self-assemble into bee-sized drones that could infiltrate networks or kill if so ordered. Yaneta also had a combat rifle concealed under the coat. The Colonel raised his eyebrows as she was joined by two large dogs. He would have been even more surprised had he known what they were and the weapons they carried.

"Yaneta," she said, introducing herself, giving only a first name, ignoring the rank. She knew immediately that Colonel Nicolai Bugrov was human, so she wouldn't have to kill him. He was good-looking though, tall, almost as tall as Rhys. His arms were thick with bulging muscles, and his features were a bit rugged, not what she expected. The Colonel must actually spend more time in the field than most of the senior officers she had met; there was no sign of the thickened waist most were susceptible to.

"Come," the Colonel said, indicating a car; my driver will take us to HeadQuarters; General Drozdov is expecting you." The Colonel had been apprehensive when he learned of the sudden impending visit. No one wanted the senior FSN prying into military matters. A hurried visit with little warning suggested the FSN was interested in someone, never a good sign, and this one in particular because she came with the authority of the new Prezident. What surprised Bugrov, in particular, was his reaction to her. She was beautiful, and he wanted her the moment she stepped from the plane. He had more control than that, but his reaction had been pure instinct, and it was all he could do not to make a complete fool of himself.

"My dogs will be coming with us," Yaneta said, stepping back from the open door and motioning for the dogs to enter.

Colonel Bugrov started to object but then laughed softly as one of the dogs jumped into the front seat with the driver while the other sat stiffly in the middle of the back seat. "I don't think the General cares for dogs," he said, clearly amused at the situation.

"That's the least of my concerns," Yaneta replied, taking another look at Bugrov. Information flashed up in front of her eyes, and Yaneta quickly sorted through the material; the Colonel's service record, complete with reviews and awards, marital status, online activity, bank records. It was all there, and she knew everything about the Colonel in two seconds and liked what she saw. "You have served in combat on several occasions," she said, looking him in the eye; "Central Asia, Syria, even Africa. You are infantry but have worked with special forces and with the more dubious mercenaries; now, you are in line to assume brigade command."

"That's correct," he said tentatively, not at all happy that a senior FSN Officer knew that much about him, especially the work with the mercenaries. He was Army, and didn't care for the type of men he had been required to work with.

"Are you armed?" Yaneta asked, knowing he was not.

"No, we do not routinely carry weapons; why do you ask?"

Yaneta looked him in the eye, watching his reaction to her words. "I am here at the direction of the head of the FSN and at the direct order of the new Prezident. As such, I am the ranking Official, not your Commanding Officer. Do you understand?" She asked briskly, her voice clear as to what she meant.

Bugrov was surprised but tried not to let it show. "Yes, Ma'am, I understand," he said carefully.

"Good. You maintain a ready assault team for emergencies close to the border. Call ahead and order them to meet us at headquarters and make sure they have live ammunition," she ordered, staring at Bugrov. "And do not contact your commanding Officer," she added, cutting off his attempt to argue, "I am in command here; you will do as I order."

"What is the emergency," he asked, not at all pleased with the request. Neither he nor the General knew why this woman was really here, and it sounded like there was much more to her visit than they had guessed.

"I am the emergency, do it now; I want them there before I arrive," she said sharply. "And don't worry, Colonel," she added, "they are not going to be ordered to assault anyone; they are there for our defense."

A confused Bugrov called and gave the order under the watchful eye of his guest, his sense of unease increasing as they approached the gate. Yaneta had monitored his commands and would know if there was any contact with the General in charge here. She watched the video feed from the twenty-plus drones she had deployed before landing as they drove to the main gate of the base. The jet Thea had provided to Nelya had taken off and now hovered two thousand meters above her, invisible to all sensors, electronic and visual. It was there to provide additional fire support if needed. This base was the one they were most concerned about; there was a suspicious lack of reports indicating anything unusual, given the Chinese activity along the rest of the border. It was located north of the Mongolian border, surrounded by dense forests, so perhaps their suspicions were unjustified, but Yaneta was not taking any chances. Colonel Bugrov was nervous now but not exceptionally so. "Good," she thought; Yaneta wanted him focused on any danger, not thinking about screwing her.

The car took them to the front entrance to the base, high fences with a narrow-obstructed gate that required any approaching vehicle to slow and swerve to avoid the obstructions. Yaneta counted eight men on guard, all of them armed but not equipped to defend against the enemy she was expecting. The car was waved through without inspection, very sloppy. None of this would inconvenience the Om; she needed to speak to Nelya and Rhys about security.