Let He Who is Without Sin

"What is your name, singlething?" she asked, blinking. "And what did you do?"

"Vinos," he said, then bowed to her. "Vinos Picard, at your service, miss."

She blinked. "Which is it, Vinos or Picard? Or..." she grinned, slowly. "Ahh, you canny inverter. You're a duo, aren't you? I thought that the Threat didn't know how to branchiate. But it seems that I was wrong..." She prodded his chest, frowning as she floated around him slowly. "I can feel the other one here."

Vinos grinned. "There's a lot you don't know about us humans -- that's our term, mind. You can keep calling us singlethings."

"What!?" The woman flew around to his front. "T-That's an insult, you-"

"Yes, but you need to earn the right to use our proper name," Vinos said, putting his hands on his hips. "We are not hostile, by nature, but we do take offense easily."

Throwing her for a loop was becoming the high point of Vinos' day -- the look on the soldier's face as she tried to process that was just...the...epitome of utterly adorable. She crunched her brow, pursed her lips, mouthed the words. "You are the most confusing duo I've ever met," she said, quietly. "Why isn't your echoalt saying anything other than...what does hello Marie mean?"

"Well," Vinos said -- taking the gamble with a grin. "Marie. It just means that we're glad to see you again." He took her hand, then kissed her knuckles.

"My desig isn't Marie!" She scowled at him. "I am General Sub-Unit 01-21, a branchiated shard of the Sovereign Unit of Harbinger Cloud in Branelevel [...] by [...]." She blinked, then tossed her head like an annoyed horse. "And...and...and why am I talking to you, I am supposed to be taking apart your Nexus and putting this forgotten shard to sleep!" She gestured around herself. "Poor fellow has gotten so lonely he's started fucking dumpmemes!"

"...hey..." Sin groaned from the wall. She tried to sound furious, but ended up just sounding tired.

"Well, you're talking to me because I am so damn charming," Vinos said, grinning.

"Vinos, w-...what are you doing?" Sin rasped.

I'm doing the only thing a man with a spear can do to stop someone in a supertank, Vinos thought.

Marie 01-21 blinked at him. "W-Well, I mean...you're not all THAT charming!" She said, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose into the air. "I just found the sudden...pressure-"

"Pleasure," Vinos corrected.

"P-Pressure! It didn't feel good!" Marie flared, her cheeks flushing.

"Nimbus, you are the other man in the room, you've heard a female in the throws of passion. Did she sound like a woman being pleasured to you?" Vinos asked, his voice dry.

"W-Well, yes-" Nimbus sounded dazed.

"Shut up!" Marie 01-21 turned even more red. And considering she was a floating woman made of ruby and starfire, that was impressive.

"Marie 01-21," Vinos said, offering his hand to her. "It will take some time for Nimbus to take us back to the Nexus. Correct?"

"Correct," she said, slowly, eying his hand as if she suspected him of foul play. And to be fair, Vinos was pulling a dirty trick. But all was fair in love and war. He smiled at her and shrugged one shoulder.

"So, you cannot begin killing every singleton here -- you need us to get back to the Nexus. So, you might as well come with me to pass the time in the way we humans do when we are bored," he said, smiling at her. "I promise, we can't harm you. Hell, I don't even have a gun."

She snorted. "As if a gun could hurt me," she said, sneering. "We've tracked your evolution for the past terasecond -- you're barely able to scratch my paint job. And I'm the stupid shard of Sovereign Unit. And even that's more intelligent than your entire planet put together. The only thing I lack is data."

"Oh, fascinating," Vinos said, slowly as he walked back through the corridors of the ship to the room that he and Sin and tried and failed to activate their guns in. Once there, he patted down on the bed. "Here's some data to learn -- beds are comfortable."

Marie narrowed her eyes, then floated down. She put her adorable tush on the bed and sat there, sniffing slightly at the air. "It smells like transition in here," she said, quietly. "Not a bad smell. If you're primitive, I suppose."

Vinos chuckled. "You may find that most singletons are enjoy the primitive. As a duo, I have slightly more refined tastes. Now, do you mind if I show you some more of what I demonstrated earlier?" He grinned. "You can keep telling me about your branelevel, if you want. I'm always fascinated about places."

"Your tiny mind cannot possibly hope to comprehend it," Marie 01-21 said, sneering as Vinos slid behind her on the bed, his knees pressing to the soft, silky surface on whose actual construction he tried to not dwell on too much. His hands slipped along her shoulders, feeling the jagged edges of her armored chunks, then squeezed the softer flesh to the sides. His thumbs found her shoulderblades -- and he wondered why on Earth (or off it) an alien super-begin would look and feel human. Sin, he could understand. But this? This was just absurd. But it was an absurdity he was willing to grasp if it gave humanity a shot. His thumbs circled around and around, massaging out the tension in her shoulders. Marie 01-21 groaned -- the eager sound of someone who had never felt this before.

"Try me," Vinos murmured in her ear, then nibbled one tip. Marie 01-21 bit her lip. Hard. When she had her breath under control, Vinos had moved to kissing the back of her neck gently.

"W-Well, w-what you call your universe is an expanding light bubble -- u-uh, you can only meaningfully interact with light that has reached your Nexus. T-The point wherein the expanding matter has moved faster than the speed of light due to interaction with dark-matter gravitic fields creates a semi-solid dimensional barrier known as the brane. H-However, on the far side of the brane, there are other universes. T-The faster a branelevel -- what you call a universe - accelerates away from the center point of the braneverse a...ah!" She squirmed as Vinos cupped one of her breasts. His finger found and teased her nipple and the alien superweapon squirmed in his hands.

"The more advanced it gets?" Vinos asked.

"W-What?" She asked, her voice dazed. "I...y-yes. A-Acceleration is directly r-related to intelligence possibilities i-in the q...qu...quantum u-universe!" She gasped again. His hand had moved to caress her other breast. His finger pinched her nipple gently and Marie 01-21 squirmed again, her thighs spreading slightly.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" Vinos asked, his voice sweet.

Marie flared, her hair brushing against his chest. It felt warm, but didn't burn. "O-Of course not! T-This is similar to many things w-we do on higher branelevels. Just more..." she paused.

"Crude?" Vinos asked. His hand slipped along her belly, feeling the warmth of her tummy, the flat muscle, the smoothness of her skin.

"...personal..." she whispered. "N-Normally, entire beings interface, n-not their shards."

"There are upsides to the personal touch," Vinos murmured in her ear. His fingers caressed her sex -- gently. Very gently. Marie 01-21 sighed quietly, her eyes closing as she leaned against him. His fingers found her sex to be moist and eager, and when he slid his thumb against her clit, she bit her lip as hard as she could. Her back arched and her thighs suddenly clamped around his wrist, not letting him draw away. Not that Vinos had been planning too. His thumb circled her clit, the knuckle pressing against her thighs as Marie 01-21 tossed her head and gasped. Vinos leaned forward and fastened his teeth gently against her neck, adding pressure to it as he slid a second finger into her pussy. She made the most beautiful music as she came.

When Marie 01-21 had her breath back, she whispered. "T-This is not...ah...unacceptable..." she whispered, dazedly.

"I admit, I do rather like making girls do that," Vinos said, grinning.

"Do you do it to others?" Marie 01-21 asked, spinning around on the bed -- floating above him as she glared at him. "You ASSHOLE!"

Vinos chuckled. "I did it in the past -- this braneworld is still slow enough where causality matters. I cannot be faithful to you before you existed in my timeline."

"I exist in your freaking timeline!" she snarled, glaring down at him. "Your other branch knows me -- he called me by name!" She snarled. "You're a cheating asshole! I should rip you apart by your component atoms!"

Vinos chuckled, dryly. "And miss out on the finale? That was merely the opening act, cherie."

He leaned back on the bed, sliding his hands behind his neck -- though he did pause to lick his fingers clean. She tasted like starlight -- a taste that he would never be able to describe more than that single word and the memories it evoked. And the strangest thing was that the memories hadn't happened yet -- and were gone before he could get more than a taste. Though the taste was soured by the non-zero chance that his wife was going to disintegrate him a year and a half before she married him.

Marie 01-21 pursed her lips, frowning. "...opening act..." she said, slowly.

"Yes. Sex has more than just foreplay, Marie." Vinos smiled and shrugged.

Marie 01-21 bit her lip, hard. She looked conflicted. Vinos licked his lips and some residual juice made him taste the possible futures again -- and the chances were rapidly becoming fifty fifty as opposed to twenty five seventy five. He had to do something before he -- and the human race -- died. So, Vinos did the first thing that came to mind and wriggled his hips and shoved his pants down. A thousand years of genetic modification and selection based on extremes of human condition had produced a cock that slapped against his belly button when it sprang free.

Marie 01-21 oohed quietly and lowered her hands. She floated forward, her nose flaring as she breathed in his scent. "I...t-this makes me feel very...much like forgiving you," she murmured, quietly. "Vinos...c-can I...lick it?"

Vinos grinned. "You learn fast, my pretty braneworlder..." he reached down to caress her hair, fingers sliding through the flames. He watched her hair ripple behind her head in response to his caress -- and then watched as her glowing tongue darted out and slipped from his balls to the tip of his cock in a single, long, exploratory touch. His cock twitched and grew even harder, thrusting up into the air. Vinos sighed as Marie 01-21 put her hand on the base of his cock, squeezing him gently -- her palm pulsing with warmth as she licked at him again, and again.

"M-Mmm," she sighed. "I-I...by the O.P this is naughty..."

"And why is that?" Vinos asked.

"Y-You're the Threat! In the time it takes for a G-class star to die, you will fill your braneverse! And d-do you know what happens then?" She asked. "War! Calamity!"

"Or we don't fight," Vinos said, dryly.

"How could we prevent that?!" she asked. "You are so alien to the Harbingers and to the braneverses beyond -- with your singleton minds and extemporaneous monodirectional time states a-and y-your...t...the feelings your body feels..." she quivered. "Ugh. W-What is the hormone that makes me feel g-giddy when you are happy?"

"I believe that is called love," Vinos said, shrugging. "It normally takes more than two licks -- usually, it hits at the third."

Marie 01-21 growled playfully and gently nipped at his balls -- her teeth adding pressure, not pain. Vinos grunted, low. No matter how playful, or how gentle, some part of him would always squirm away from someone biting on anything near his cock. Marie-01-21 scowled again -- trying to get back onto her ire.

"Being in love with a mono-directional is so confusing," she said.

"You could always adopt causality while you're here." Vinos reached down to caress her head gently. Marie 01-21 licked at the tip of his dick gently, her tongue swirling around his foreskin, tasting his pre. Vinos closed his eyes and reveled in the delightfully soft, feathery sensation. He gave Marie the time she needed to think -- but he figured...she was, in a way, thinking across her whole life. He tried to imagine what that was like and found his thoughts scattering every time her tongue lapped at his cock, every time her hand caressed up and down his shaft.

"...ohhh..." Marie 01-21 whispered. "You think you can keep me from destroying the Earth and eventually brokering a peace between the Harbingers braneverse and the human race by finding common ground by being a creature adapted to both worlds."

"That and I wouldn't mind busting a nut in that ass of yours," Vinos said, opening one eye -- grinning down at her. Her hand pumped up and down his shaft faster and faster as she grinned at him.

"You are a good general," she said, casually. Blushing, she added. "V-Vinos...I am going to collapse my mind-state into a mono-directional. But until then, I will be aware of our timeline. Do you have any questions before I do?"

Vinos rubbed his chin.

Then, he smiled. "How do I avoid becoming fat and old?"

"Oh!" she blinked. "When Sin says goodbye, ask her to remember that she owes you for finding the eyeball."

"I haven't-" Vinos started -- but then a shimmering aura appeared around Marie's body. Copies of her -- dozens of copies from hundreds of moments appeared around her. In some, she was clothed -- as a stereotypical french maid, as a soldier in armor, as a businesswoman in a pantsuit. In others, she was nude. In one, tears streaked her face and blood poured from her hands. In others, she beamed with delight. In one, her belly seemed to swell outwards -- a promise. Then all the Marie's fell inwards to a single point and a loud CRACK sounded out and there was just one Marie.

She blinked, then smiled. "Wow...I have no idea what's going to happen next." She blinked. "By the inverted square law, this is fucking TERRIFYING! Why didn't you warn me, you ASSHOLE!?"

Vinos shrugged. "You didn't exactly give me time, cherie."

Marie crossed her arms over her chest and thrust her nose into the air. "Well, I'll never forgive you ever."

"What if I show you how us humans deal with mortality and uncertainty?" Vinos asked, smiling as he sat up -- his cock still hard and eager. He had to admit...a lifetime of living on a planet with procreation restrictions worked into the air that he breathed made the sight of a woman full and pregnant the most intensely erotic thing he had ever seen in his life.

"It's not sex is it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Vinos shrugged, then spread his hands -- the perfect Gallic expression of 'well, it cannot be helped, can it?'

Marie bit her lip, slightly. She looked uncertain as she floated towards the bed. "B-But I'm a virgin now. I don't premember any of the things that made me awesome at sex. I don't even remember if I was awesome at sex -- I am just assuming it because, I mean, look at me." She gestured at herself.

Vinos grinned. "You observed humanity for..." he did some quick mental math. "Thirty four thousand years and you don't know that men love deflowering virgins?"

"We didn't record stupid things," Marie grumbled as she let Vinos slide his arms around her and drag her into bed. She squeaked as he rolled her onto her back, moving atop her as he put his hands to either side of her shoulders. Flushing, she continued. "We just measured the amount of energy produced and used by your people, cross-referenced by your locality in space with extinction trackers."

"So, you've never heard of anal, then?" Vinos asked, smirking down at her.

She snorted, quietly. "Yeah. Like I'd enjoy something that sounds so...undignified."

Vinos pursed his lips. That had been the one thing his future self had muttered. And the last several longshots had paid off -- so Vinos leaned forward and kissed his future and present love on the mouth. Her lips opened awkwardly and she almost tried to choke him with her tongue. He cupped her cheek and showed her what to do using his tongue. Marie picked it up quickly -- first copying him, then expanding from what he did. Her tongue and his danced together and when he drew back, he was blushing and panting softly.

"Oh, you're not hurting Sin or Nimbus anymore, are you?" Vinos asked.

"What? No," Marie whispered back, her breasts rising and falling as she panted. "S-Sex is nice."

"That's kissing, not sex," Vinos murmured, kissing her neck, then her breasts. He sucked on one of her nipples and coaxed a musical moan from her. His hands slid to her knees, and spread her wide. His cock pressed to her sex and he whispered to her. "Can you...change your secretions?"

"Easy," she murmured. "My body's morphology is entirely under my control. Mostly."

"Can you produce lubrication then?" Vinos asked. "r-Right here where I'm grinding against you?"

"Pff!" She scoffed. "I can become lubrication." She focused as his cock slipped up and down her sex -- making her juices become slightly thicker. Vinos groaned, and tried to not think of all the ways that this made his life interesting. Instead, he simply slipped his cock down to the cleft of her ass, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. His hands squeezed her legs gently and she whimpered as he started to press his cock to her ass -- then slide in. She was tight and she made a tiny gasp. Her eyes widened and she groaned.

"N-Not...even procreative!" Marie whispered, sounding scandalized and delighted all at once. Vinos grinned, then thrust harder and she bit down on his shoulder. Her teeth pressed against him and he felt her muffled groans as he started to fuck her. She gasped and quivered underneath him and he felt the splash of her sex squirting against his belly as his balls slapped her ass. Letting go of his shoulder, she flung her head back and groaned. "Oh fuck, Vinos!"

Vinos kissed her forehead, thrusting into her again and again, his hips and hers meeting as her hands grabbed his head, squeezing his hair, fingers twining through the strands of his hair. Tugging on him. Vinos looked down into her face as Marie's head tossed from side to side. Then, noticing him, she looked up at him and gasped. "V-Vinos!" She whispered. "I...t-think...singleton sex is better than upperbrane sex!"

"K-Knew it!" Vinos gasped.

Then, with a single last thrust, he buried himself deep inside of her -- feeling her ass clench on his cock like a fist. Pleasure exploded through his body and his balls clenched as he leaned down and kissed her desperately. He felt his cum pulse into her body and she shuddered under him. Then, together, they lay on the bed. Panting softly, Vinos kissed her forehead. Marie grinned weakly. "S-So...I will destroy the Earth..." she whispered. "My managers will expect updates."

"Oh?" Vinos asked, lazily.

"But, oh, I may need to do so using the resources on hand," Marie whispered in his ear. "It may take some time. I believe I will s-start by digging up some land and destroying some of the ecosystem to craft a home for myself. All part of my devious plan, see?"

Vinos smiled, his eyes half closed. "Good..." he groaned. "Just...give me one moment. I want to collapse into your arms, but-"

"But?"

"I need to talk to Sin, tell her that..." Vinos yawned.

"Eh, fuck that." Marie's arms were like iron as she slipped them around his body, drawing him in close. "You and I are sleeping together. You're my pretty little general, and I'm not letting you go. Deal?"

"I can live with that defeat," Vinos mumbled. His eyes closed.

###

The invasion is on track. The Threat will be dealt with.

All things considered, a success.

###

Vinos stood on the gangplank that reached down from the Xenophile. He stretched his arms behind his back as Marie floated beside him. Before them, the green lawn of the Demarchy's headquarters in Geneva was filled with people -- civilians and humans from across the Earth, packed in, gaping at the ship that had brought them the stars without forcing them to give up their humanity. Camera drones floated in the air, recording this moment for posterity -- the first contact between humanity and an alien.