Alien Mine Ch. 24

General Kelly fired again, this time a long burst, 4.6 km range. There was no drop to the rounds; the bullets fired straight as a laser, anything short of five km, no matter the range or deflection. He had never seen a weapon like it, but then it was all alien tech. He stepped back, bringing his gun down, looking at Kiania as she talked to one of the men in her Command Squad. "Admiral Kiania," as she was known, didn't look a day over thirty and had the kind of beauty that men would fight over. Long, almost black hair, slightly Latin features, and she was obviously a mixture, all combined into a stunning beauty. Even the uniform she wore seemed designed to enhance her beauty.

However, the General had seen her in combat and run sims with her, and the "Admiral's" performance was superhuman, to say the least. He was one of the few who knew about the symbiont, but honestly, he wasn't sure what to believe. She, Rhys, and the others seemed human, but their abilities suggested otherwise. The General knew about Sandy and the strange ones they called Leslie and Amancia but who were also referred to as Binary. He suspected there were others that he hadn't met yet. It worried him, not knowing exactly what they were and whether the symbiont story was true. He knew others also had concerns as they saw how much power was concentrated in Miranda and controlled by a former army officer. It was a legitimate concern; however, for now, he had a job to do, and that was to get approximately 5,000 men ready to fight aliens never before even imagined. Except it wasn't all men, of course. The Admiral had pointed out that the powered armor let even small women handle large weapons as well as the men. There weren't that many yet, but they were being actively recruited. The Om had shaken up everything; the whole world might even unite against something instead of each other if humanity was going to survive.

"The integration of the forces is going better than expected. Language is still a problem, but the uplinks help; most of the commands are converted to graphic form over the tac-grid. Still, there is a shortage of Russian Officers who speak English," the General said while focusing on his uplinked display. He couldn't integrate the aerial drone input like Kiania could, but she had promised a simplified display for him and the other commanders.

"In the next two months, you will get your first contingent from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and England. A mixture of special forces and ground troops, not Marines. The Indians want to have their own division, but I don't think we can train that many in time, so perhaps a regiment," Kiania replied. "Sarge- coordinate with the battalion commander, watch the left flank; they keep probing there. Might be a diversion, so everyone, stay on your toes."

"Are you sure postponing the attack by six months or so wouldn't be beneficial? It would give us time to train and increase our numbers."

"No, we are not postponing the attack. We have to get ready to face the Om in space. If an Om nest ship arrives, we are helpless, and its goodbye humanity. This is it: either we take them out by going in and killing them in their nest, or we take our chances and hit them with something big enough and deal with the consequences. Either way, it will be over in six to nine months," Kiania said firmly.

General Kelly was surprised at the firmness of her answer, and it was not just an answer; the General had been around long enough to recognize a command when he heard it. He hoped he had nine months, but even then, the casualties would be atrocious. "What about China? They are at our back (literally, the nearest town of any size was only thirty kilometers away).

"Russian, Korean, and Japanese troops are occupying the critical areas. There is some resistance, but our technological advantage is so great the resistance poses little overall threat. A political solution will take longer; Rhys thinks breaking it up is the best solution, but one that will have to wait."

***

Nelya yawned, stretching her lithe body carefully to avoid waking the woman sleeping beside her while sending a mental command to a serving drone. She would have preferred a human servant, but keeping her privacy and relationship with Clara secret was necessary. Besides, the drone came immediately, having nothing to do except wait there, ready for her command. Coffee first, she couldn't stand tea. Then, a small breakfast popped out: fruit, yogurt, and a croissant that tasted like it had come from the best French bakery right from the oven. Besides her body, it was probably the one thing she liked best about the Drans technology. Nelya decided to let Clara sleep; they had only fallen asleep a few hours ago. That was more than enough; she only needed to rest for a few hours. Finishing breakfast, she swung her legs out of bed and headed for the shower. She felt good this morning, full of energy but still a little aroused; her "relationship" with Clara was turning out to be most satisfying, more so than she had hoped. Sandy had done a wonderful job with Clara's mind and body, and Clara felt no guilt or regrets about her "lesbian affair," and her body was so responsive to Nelya. Insatiable was a good description. Last night, Clara and Nelya had made love until she finally passed out early this morning. Still, something was missing, and that was a symbiont. Without it, no matter how satisfying the sex was, it always felt superficial. That connection that bound them together, the deep sharing of your most secret emotions, was not something that happened with an ordinary human. It had been there with Yaneta, even if she had been evil, and Nelya missed it terribly.

Nelya let the hot water from the shower run over her while she reviewed all the reports and surveillance from last night. Usually, Yaneta would have taken care of these details, but without her, Nelya had to be more conscious of her security. Not just the Om, unfortunately. She still had to deal with internal plots, and the Oligarchs had not accepted that their hold on the economy and power was over. Previously, she would have just made an example of them like her predecessor. But now, falling out of the tenth-story window would meet with disapproval from the EU, so she was forced to use other means. Sandy would be coming in a few days, so she notified the would-be traitors of their upcoming meetings with a representative of Miranda. They would jump at the chance, their greed overcoming caution, and Sandy would ensure their loyalty. It was a better solution for everyone, especially the Oligarchs., though ripping out a few hearts would have been more satisfying.

Nelya talked briefly with Bugrov while she washed her hair. He was now overseeing her security and working seamlessly with Kiania to get as many men trained as possible. The new Drans base in western Russia was almost complete, and training had already started there. Bugrov had wanted it in central or eastern Russia, but it needed to be closer to Europe. Bugrov was utterly loyal, and Sandy had screened her security service (The Empress' Guard, as they called themselves). They would die to a man to defend the Empress, as they called her. Dried, washed, and with a touch of makeup and a bit of perfume that Rhys preferred, Nelya came out of the opulent bathroom and sat on the bed by the sleeping Clara. She should really thank Sandy for the work she had done turning Clara into such an excellent lover. Attentive and eager to please, Clara would indulge Nelya's most debauched fantasies and masochistic needs. Under Nelya's direction, Clara had become an expert at delivering the right amount of pain at just the right moment. She wasn't Yaneta, but Clara was good at sex and now completely uninhibited in bed, eagerly performing any sex act Nelya's fertile mind could devise, and she even came up with some of her own. Together, Nelya and Sandy had transformed a straight, somewhat conventional woman into a wanton, passionate sexual being who revels in the most salacious sex acts.

Nelya sometimes wondered at her moral compass, as Rhys referred to it. It bothered her not at all to have taken Clara to her bed with the sole intent of using her for sexual pleasure, even if Clara didn't originally orient that way at first. She didn't love Clara, never would, and it never occurred to her that she should. Clara didn't have a symbiont; that would have been different. The mental connection with Rhys or one of his other women was so much deeper, so intense, especially when they made love that the simple pleasures she found with this woman couldn't compare. Nelya did care for Clara and took care to see that she was happy and never hurt her. On the face of it, they were secret lovers. Clara certainly thought so, but Nelya would never feel true love for this woman. In some ways, it was sad, but having a symbiont meant sharing your innermost emotions, especially when they climaxed together. That experience was indescribable to someone who had not experienced it, and Clara never would.

Yet Nelya yearned for another Yaneta, someone she could control, who had to obey her every command. She had discussed this with Sandy and finally with Rhys, but he had firmly told her no. However, that didn't change her desire. For now, though, she was satisfied with Clara but couldn't resist taking a look at the images of General Fedorov's young daughter Varvara, the daughter of the man who sold out humanity and tried to have her killed. Nelya took a moment to find the streaming video and look at Varvara in her small apartment. She focused the image on the sleeping girl, so innocent in many ways. Nelya had ensured she was accepted at the university where she wanted to study art. In a few months or a year, perhaps Nelya would find a way to have the girl working for her, possibly inventorying the art collection of the man she replaced. Nelya became aroused thinking about Vervara but forced her attention back to Clara. Her eyes found the double strap-on and decided there was time for one more before Clara had to leave.

***

Sandy deftly maneuvered the shuttle into a docking bay on Miranda, next to the newest addition to the supply fleet the men and women on Miranda had constructed. Uranus was the seventh planet from the Sun, a gas giant but also one of the coldest planets in the solar system. The temperature at the gas tops measured -224 degrees but took nothing away from the beauty or majesty of the sight that filled the sky over Miranda. Two point eight billion kilometers from the Sun and a fifteen-hour trip by shuttle, Maranda would be their new home once the Om had been eradicated from the Earth.

Thea had an eager team in place who were now working wonders as they began building up the fleet of ships they needed to move people and supplies in and out of the base and explore the rest of the outer solar system. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, the five other large moons of Uranus, were visible as they landed. Uranus had a total of twenty-seven moons and fourteen rings, but many of them were quite small, and one was almost gone after they discovered it was made from incredibly dense ores necessary for synthesizing the Drans metal. The base had expanded immensely; almost ten thousand people lived here now, and it was still growing.

"Hi, Sandy. We've missed you," Amancia said excitedly as the shuttle came to a stop.

"You've missed Rhys," she replied playfully.

"Of course, but it's been almost a month since you have been here."

That was true; Sandy had been busy dealing with politicians, most recently in Russia. She and the three women she controlled were gradually making progress in reorganizing the world's governments. Surprisingly enough, Mika was making the most progress, given that she had to deal with the Middle East and the Muslim world. Anita had perhaps the easiest job with Latin America and the Pacific Rim nations. The latter were scared after the short war with China, and for good reasons, given the close proximity of the Om. Nelya, on the other hand, had to deal with a fractious Europe and, at the same time, reorganize and pacify China. For now, Europe was proving the most difficult of the two, but Nelya had resorted to playing 'hardball' with some of the more recalcitrant governments. Cutting them off from any tech transfer was quickly having an impact on their willingness to cooperate. But still, their jobs were only half done; Rhys wanted a united Earth Government in place in two years. Sandy thought they would be lucky to have something in place in five.

"The ship is secure, Master," Sandy said as required, hardly noticing the feelings of submission the word now generated. Honestly, she no longer thought about it, and that scared her when she had time to dwell on it. Rhys' control had become like a boa constrictor that slowly but surely wraps its coils around its prey, tightening until the coils grip so tightly that escape is impossible. Now, the word Master came readily to her lips, a word pregnant with meaning, a word that aroused her no matter how she fought against it. She didn't want to admit it, but Sandy knew her struggles against the submission and chains Rhys demanded were weakening, and she would either die or accept the masculine grip on her throat. Once, she had thought she preferred death, but now a voice was always whispering in her mind that slavery to Rhys was what she deserved, and her body responded to it. The thoughts of submission and compliance, the exact words she had used on Anita, now made her pussy quiver, and her defiance ran down her thighs, leaking away as she pictured the dragon holding a leash and a naked slave girl named Sandy kneeling at his feet. "It's what you deserve, what you need to become whole again," part of her programmed brain would tell her in a sensual but utterly masculine voice.

"Good slave, come to the meeting with Thea, then we will discuss Anita and your future," Rhys said, dismissing her.

Sandy gasped in sudden fear and arousal. She had known this moment was coming, but she had not expected it now. The two emotions warred within... the desire to have Anita and the fear and dread of what she would have to give up to stay alive. The true power Rhys held over her wasn't just to make her submit; no, it was that implacable power of the 'One' that made her want to submit, to give herself and all she was into his hands, and become the compliant, docile slave the 'One' demanded. Sandy trembled inside, arousal fighting and intermingling with fear and humiliation, and the word 'Slave' hung in the air like the Sword of Damocles, ready to strike off her head.

Rhys smiled at Thea, Hua, and the Binary as he stepped from the shuttle into Miranda Base, followed by Kiania and her top commanders for the upcoming battles. They were here to see Thea's latest weapon and to plan the assault on the Om base. They would do that a few hours after everyone had rested, but first, Rhys needed to spend time with the four women he hadn't seen in three weeks. Exchanging bodily fluids was a necessity as much as it was a pleasure.

***

"Cicada's," Thea explained, "insects with an unusually long life cycle. They exist as larvae underground; in fact, they spend around 99% of their lives underground in an immature state. Then, in the spring of their 13^th or 17^th year, they emerge in tremendous numbers and make lots of noise while they breed and then die. These," she said, gesturing at the hologram rotating at the center of the table, will be our cicadas. Rhys stood in the back of the room observing the presentation. He had followed Thea's work on this new weapon and marveled at her mind. She never ceased to surprise him, and this latest weapon was brilliant. He only half paid attention to the presentation, instead watching the reaction of the men who would lead their troops into the Om nest. Only a few are allowed in the briefing, such as Israeli, Russian, and US, and then only two from each country. They would be watched; if the Om discovered their plan, it would undoubtedly fail.

"Each cicada is only a 10^th of a millimeter," Thea explained, and if our plan works, we will deposit hundreds of millions near the Galwin Valley and across Aski Chin." The image seemed uninteresting to Jack: a tiny ball with small spikes. "Each cicada will lie dormant for twenty-four hours before it bores into the ground, searching out others of its kind. As they aggregate, the cicadas will reach critical mass and begin reproducing," Thea explained. Our cicadas are much different from the insects they are named after and are much more versatile. Some will become large shaped charges that will explode inward, penetrating into the Om nest. Others will become tiny drones, the size of a small worm, that will explore and send back data. Others will remain amorphous like slime mold and seek out missile launch sites, beam weapons, and, if we are lucky, sources for the energy beam shielding. Finally, some will aggregate enough to self-assemble into tiger drones to provide the initial attack right before your men assault the nest."

Rhys watched as Kiania took over the presentation, leading the discussion and taking them through the plan of attack. He still marveled that when he had met Kiania, her only education had been whatever she picked up along the way while working as a whore since she was ten years old. She had to have been intelligent and cunning to survive and even thrive under those conditions. Now, she was even more beautiful, and her brilliance at leading on the battlefield was nothing short of stunning. The men in the room had had a combined one hundred and fifty-plus years of experience in combat and leading men, yet they deferred to her and accepted her as their commander with no misgivings that Rhys could detect. All of the girls and Rhys had worked to develop a strategy for attacking the Om base, but Kiania's mind had put all the details together and tied it into a cohesive battle plan that had a chance at success. Each woman was brilliant in their own way, and Rhys couldn't have loved them more.

Hua watched Rhys standing in the back, making it clear to everyone that he had complete confidence in Kiania to lead this battle. Even though he appeared relaxed, he carried himself like he was ready for war, and his presence dominated the room. Rhys looked every inch the warrior, and He was ready for war. These men and women in the room would follow Kiania into battle, but they fought because they believed in Rhys.

"Have you decided Sandy's fate?" Hua asked, distracting Rhys from his thoughts.

"Yes, the training and separating her from us emotionally has been more effective than she realizes. Her need to become part of us again has finally become stronger than her ambition. Anita is the key; Sandy will submit and accept her slavery with Anita's help."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then I will kill her."

"This upsets you, you still love her," Hua said matter-of-factly. She read Rhys better than anyone; the bonds forged between them with the help of the AI were more robust than the others and made Hua exceptionally sensitive to the subtleties of his emotional state. Rhys sometimes wondered if she could read his mind.

"Yes, I bear the responsibility for this. I didn't know what I was doing, how the symbiont and Sandy's ambition would feed off each other until it drove her to this. Sandy would have killed me, but I made her what she is. Also, playing god with others' emotions and lives may be necessary, and I will do it when I need to, but no one should have this power over others' lives."

"Giving Anita to Sandy will not harm her, and what you plan is merely an extension of Sandy's original programming of her. She will be happy."