Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 71

 

We had to cram together in the tiny, teardrop shaped vessel to get back up to the ship, and the trip gave me a good excuse to be very, very close to Garjah. Bouncer had tried to elude us when Garjah insisted on tranquilizing him again, but the lure of food was just too great for the greedy gullet. He snoozed the entire time and was currently ignoring us in our cabin on the ship.

Fine by me. No eyes on me was how I liked it. We’d reported our tentative success, and Garjah had touted pride in his foolproof plan. I didn’t want to speak out of turn in front of his people so I didn’t mention all the worry he had about our exposure and the potential for shots in the back—no one needed to see fear in Garjah or cowardice in soldiers from my culture.

While he gave his report, recording one to send back to the resistance leaders on his planet, I carefully formulated several different messages I could send to multiple people asking for their expertise, their influence, or outright calling on long-held favors.

It was a marvel to send them while we were still traveling. The level of technology surrounding me surprised me constantly. I wasn’t a technophobe or a technophile, but I was used to knowing what was possible. Almost no devices worked while traveling through space because of the signal issues.

The corridors were oddly empty. The ship was running on a skeleton crew, but usually when we walked the corridors I saw more males and females than this. Bouncer had finally woken when I tried to leave the command center and he was at my heels. Maybe that was the deterrent. Not many liked to give him their backs when we came on them during my restless pacing of the ship on the journey to Ardra. It was hard to remember a time when he hadn’t been with me, though, or a time when I’d been afraid of him. Bouncer chirped, nudging my hip with his head, and I scritched between his oversized ears.

He closed his glowing eyes for a moment, growling in contentment, then chirped again when I paused. I headed toward the galley. My stomach was gnawingly empty too.  

Pirlev, the Four-Arm working in the galley, nodded at me but didn’t speak. I grabbed a large platter and filled it with foods I’d grown familiar with. Bouncer started dancing around my legs, living up to my name, so I knew the sedative had worn off. I grabbed a second plate to fill just for him. The cubed meat was his favorite and there was plenty of it.

“Is it fine if I take a bunch of this?” Maybe they were coming up on a shift change; I still wasn’t sure of the time, and I didn’t want to leave him short.

“It’s for him,” Pirlev said. “Rather he ate that than me.”

He said it with all seriousness, but I chuckled. “He’d never do that. Bouncer hasn’t tried to eat anyone since he tried to take a chunk out of me that first morning after I fed him.”

“Hmph.” His wordless acknowledgment made me smile. I nodded my thanks to him as I piled meat high on the plate for Bouncer then took them both to our assigned quarters. The plates were heavy enough my wrists were ached by the time I got there.

We both ate, and I left plenty for Garjah. I hoped he’d be back soon, so I stripped down out of my suit finally. Sighing in relief, I took a quick shower, wishing for a tub and real water.  It was still better than being on that steamy hot planet in a tiny can of a protective suit. I crawled onto the narrow bunk naked and sprawled onto the surface. I was more exhausted than I thought, and I fell asleep to thoughts of Garjah’s actions when he came in and saw me.

 

The bed was narrow, and low to the ground, but it was a shock to wake up to Garjah kneeling on the floor beside me with his mouth fealed over my semi-hard and rapidly thickening shaft. The wet heat and strong suction threatened to pull my brains right out of my dick. “Oh stars,” I moaned. I felt like I was floating among them, still dazed from sleep but lost in the pleasure of Garjah’s mobile tongue wrapping around my shaft as he sucked up with hard suction and then slowly slid back down.

I grunted on a hard pull when his tongue tickled the tip of my cock, probing the slit, the muscles in my thighs tightening. I ran my hand over the ridges on his head and down to his neck, squeezing the back. Not to control—I had no control—but in a desperate bid to distract myself from coming in an instant.

Then he started that vibration, and paired with the suction, the pull reached deep inside my balls and turned them inside out. I came with a shout, his name on my lips. It went on with each sucking pull, and Garjah didn’t take mercy on me until I squirmed to get away, pushing on his forehead at the same time.

I panted for air, my body one giant sensitized nerve. “What… what was that?”

“I was hungry,” Garjah rumbled. He stood, his hands going to his suit button.

“Food’s over there.” I waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the tiny table. I blinked, unable to look away. Garjah stripped off his suit then his underclothes, leaving him bare to my gaze.

“I don’t want food. I want you. Need you.”

“You can have me.” I had only gone slightly soft, and gazing at Garjah’s body was all I needed to bring me back to full hard, my balls aching with want.  

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 70

It was time to cut out the bureaucracy, and I didn’t have much tact to start off with. Garjah actually seemed to do better with his people’s politics than I did with the jockeying for favor and positions I’d faced within the Institute, but he wasn’t experienced enough to deal with these people.

Officious oafs were going to just get in the way.

“We appreciate that you have encountered a race that may have a claim to Ardra, and that we have much to learn. Rushing does not benefit anyone, however.” Dr. Margo spoke and my mother nodded her agreement, giving me a hard look. As if that would shut me up.

“I believe this goes beyond the Institute and the study of a potential new ally species. We have already made contact, and Garjah’s people have monitored Galactic space for some time. They are ready to move beyond their current isolationist views and begin discussions with the Galactic Council.”

There, I’d said it. It was recorded, and since any new species contact data was sent to the Council, they’d know a request was made. I squeezed Garjah’s hand, tugging it slightly.

“We have many files on the species that make up your Galactic; while we do not currently prefer to contact other species in your space, we have known many. This can help smooth the way, but we need to speak with those who have the ability to speak for your kind.”

“Do you have the ability to speak for your kind?” my mother asked. Her nostrils were flaring, never a good sign.

“On security matters, no one can gainsay my words. This is within my role to ensure the safety of my people.” It was a stretch, but only we knew that. “I can recall my ship, and we can travel to your planet to speak with your Council.”

Dr. Margo and my parents exchanged looks. They weren’t even a tiny bit subtle. Did they think I was stupid and Garjah was oblivious? “I would like to speak with my son. It has been some time since we saw him.”

“We are not comfortable separating at this time.” I hated saying it, knowing it exposed vulnerabilities, but I also wouldn’t let them separate us. “Whatever you wish to say to me, you can say in front of Garjah. We are very close.”

She eyed our clasped hands and the way Bouncer was pressing against the front of our bodies and how we were both touching him to keep him calm. “I see that.”

My father put a hand on her shoulder. “There will be time to talk to Essell when he comes here. In person may be better,” he said steadily. “I look forward to meeting your companions, son.”

Dr. Margo opened and shut her mouth, then took in a deep breath through flared nostrils. “I will contact the council. How long do you think it will take you to arrive?”

“I am not aware of your local time, but one rotation.” Garjah looked down at me.

“That’s slightly longer than a full day on Institute time. Tomorrow by lunch?” It was a rough estimate but unless you’d laid down a course and had the local time in your computer, it was always tricky to give a timeframe on travel.

“We will be prepared.” Dr. Margo ended the transmission.

“Well,” Dr. Vikrish turned to them. “That is not what I expected.”

“I am sorry, doctor, and I appreciate your willingness to openly speak with us and bring us here when you knew so little.” He’d taken a chance, and it still might bite him if political maneuvering didn’t go in our favor. It was one reason why I’d tried to cut him out of the conversation early. “I knew our appearance might be… complicated.”

He shook his head. “Makes me glad we’re just boots on the ground to study new plants and animals.” Dismay crossed his face and slumped his shoulders. “Though now I guess we can’t do that anymore.”  

I leaned my weight against Garjah. His voice rumbled in his chest and against my side. “If you continue to limit your impact on the planet and take precautions, especially the humans, I do not see why you cannot continue to study the planet for the time being. We may share this space in the future, and knowledge shared is beneficial.”

Dr. Vikrish’s mouth dropped open. “Really? We can stay?”

“As I said, for security matters, I can speak for my people. You are not a threat to our security or to our continued use of this planet.” Clever, clever. Dr. Vikrish was beaming, and I knew we’d won ourselves an ally. Perhaps not one with any power, but his team would also be happy not to have to change assignments immediately. Researchers always loved a new challenge and Ardra was a good one.

Allies among the people had saved us with Garjah’s people. Maybe it was my turn with mine. I’d have to send some messages once we started traveling. There were a few people I could message, sons and daughters of other scientists, diplomats, and government officials who had grown up and taken jobs that may help us negotiate this tricky new alliance. 

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J Ray Lamb

Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Chapter 69

 

Was that some sort of political non-talk they taught the higher ups? Dr. Vikrish and now this woman had both said it was an ‘unexpected development’ that the Four Arms claiming Ardra as a planet they had used for centuries as a resource planet in their territory. This was on the edges of the Galactic explored space, which is one of the reasons I’d applied to the Rinta. I would have far more opportunities to explore new biological environments on the fringes of society than if I’d signed onto a ship that patrolled closer to known space.

Of course I’d known the spacers on the ships that went farther out were tetchy and often had sketchy reputations, but it was an Institute and Council sponsored ship, so I thought I’d be safe.

Ha bloody ha. Literally. I’d broken a few noses before some of the more predatory types backed off. Few women enlisted, but those who did were equally forced to be a badass or carry a weapon. It was something I wasn’t sure those in charge knew about.

I was independent and tough enough to steal a skimmer after manipulating the assholes, land on an uninhabited planet, and survive first constant with an insular species who were apparently in the midst of a whole species upheaval. I could handle Institute higher ups.

“Essell? What are you doing there?”

Oh, I’d spaced out for a bit too long. My mother was standing in the room beside Dr. Margo, my father standing behind them both. How had they gotten there so fast?

“Hello, Mother. Father, it’s good to see you.” They were both dressed well, power colors and their Institute badges glinting on their chests. The Norsk looked drab beside them

“An explanation if you please.”

“This is Gar’jah. He is the leader of security for not just his ship, which is what I thought at first, but his entire planet. We met here on Ardra, but due to an unfortunate exposure to a native plant that was damaging my body, a doctor on their ship had to change my body.”

My father looked intrigued at that, but it was my mother who took the lead as I knew she would.

“My name is Dr. Adelina Deray. It is rare we meet such a technologically advanced race, if you were able to create such changes in my son.”

“It was necessary to prevent loss of limbs and potentially his life.” Garjah reached out and ran a hand down my back, and I leaned into his touch. Screw what my parents would think. I needed the comfort of his closeness, and his shoulders eased as soon as we touched too. “He is important to me, and Timok knew that. He did much research on humans as soon as Essell came aboard our ship.”

“So he entered your ship willingly?” My mother glanced at me briefly, but she stayed focused on Garjah. If she thought I wouldn’t have warned him about her not-so-subtle interrogation tactic to assess the threat level from a newly discovered alien race, she was more naïve than I thought. I didn’t have to say a word.

“No. He was with Bouncer, which is the cerops you see here.” Hearing his name, Bouncer turned his head toward Garjah. He nuzzled his lower hand, and Garjah rubbed one of his large ears.  “I wasn’t sure if he’d been harmed or not, but I couldn’t risk getting injured or allowing my presence to spook it and prompt an attack on either of us. I didn’t know he’d bonded with the creature at that time.”

“He doesn’t seem so dangerous.”

“Actually,” Dr. Vikrish broke in and cleared his throat. “We have observed one incident with this species attacking a very large animal. It appears they have a toxin in their claws or bite; I’m not sure which. Within seconds of piercing the flesh of the grazing beast, it crashed down despite being at least five times this cerop’s”—he glanced at me for verification so I nodded—“general domesticity.”

Bouncer chose that moment to let out a huge yawn, showing off the razor sharp teeth he had tried using on me when we first met.

“The toxin is in their claws. I will be happy to speak more with your researchers about what I’ve noticed is consistent with his species, but his behavior is not valid for studying. And he’s not safe to study; he’s very intelligent and he’s close to me. It would be unwise to provoke him.”

I stared right at the screen, at my mother, as I said those words even though I was speaking to Dr. Vikrish.

Siever chose that moment to speak up, of course. “We haven’t detected any other ships in the area. How do we know any of this is true?”

My father raised an eyebrow. “I can assure you, my son was not born with four arms,” he said dryly.

“What I’m saying is there’s no proof this alien comes from here. Your son is on this planet on an unapproved mission. Frankly, he’s not even here by record, he’s on the Rinta.”

I’d had about enough of this guy. My mother was treating Garjah like he was a potentially hostile race, which was bad enough. My father was clearly upset about the genetic modification if that is where he went first with his argument, or he wanted to study it, and I wasn’t sure which was worse.

“I’m here. Garjah’s people were here. They can come back, but we didn’t want to startle anyone here with what could be interpreted as a hostile approach by a more advanced ship.” I turned to face the officious soldier. “Because let’s face it, he’s bigger, stronger, adapted to heavy gravity, has better technology therefore better weapons… and he’s standing here unarmed and answering questions. How about someone gives Garjah and me the benefit of the doubt and we have a frank conversation about what happens next.” 

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Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 68

 

The rest of the team was ushered about their business while Dr. Vikrish, Soldier One, and two of his lackeys ushered us into their shuttle and further through the corridors toward the control center. We made an interesting parade for those crew who’d stayed behind. Dr. Vikrish lead the way, a soldier behind him and in front of us. Garjah and I were clearly newcomers on a planet reported to be unoccupied, and a wild animal with a lethal gait and roving gaze prowled at my hip. Soldier One and another soldier brought up the rear behind us.

That made my skin crawl, and I’m sure it was worse for Garjah.

It got better when we reached the control center. There weren’t enough chairs for everyone but Garjah and I were ushered into the seats at the edges of the room for the observers. Bouncer sat between us. I put a hand on his head and rubbed; he tilted his neck and I scrubbed the edge of his jaw and under his chin. He yawned, as he always did if I tickled him, exposing his sharp teeth.

He flicked his tongue out when I stopped before closing his mouth and rumbling in his chest in displeasure that I’d stopped. He eyed Soldier One who was nervously eyeing him.

Or maybe I hadn’t observed Bouncer’s kind enough to gauge his intelligence. They’d avoided the scientists as a species, and Bouncer clearly knew the biggest threat in the room. How? I wasn’t quite sure.

“Shh.” I rubbed his jaw again and tried to calm him in a low, quiet voice. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

I tried to stay calm as the questions began. How did I get on Ardra? The skimmer they’d found us at made that seem fairly self-explanatory, but I answered anyway. What was I doing here? I’d uploaded the data synced with the skimmer’s computer with a spare data pad I’d found, and showed them the notes I’d made before Garjah had found me.

How did he find me? Garjah fielded that one, explaining they had the planet monitored but only used it for resources. That’s why it’d taken a few days to arrive and find me. That’s when it got interesting.

“So your kind are not part of the Galactic?” Dr. Vikrish asked.

“No, we avoid socializing with your races.”

“Why?” Specialist Siever asked. He’d introduced himself, so I was no longer calling him Soldier One in my head, but I didn’t really want to know what he was a specialist of with that much aggression. He remained standing, feet spread, arms crossed over his chest. He was human but his back up pair were both Corle warriors, their orange skin with black dots and exaggerated features exposed without their suit helmets.

“A part of our culture. We have species who reached out to us when we were new to space exploration, but as a rule we do not trade much with others who are… new.” Based on what I knew of Garjah’s genetic makeup, that word was nearly an insult to their kind.

“That’s—”

“Interesting,” Dr. Vikrish interrupted Siever. He glared at him. “We need first contact specialists. I know I am not trained to handle this situation, though it appears to be very unique.”

“So it’s time to contact my family? My mother is a first contact specialist.”

“That she is,” Dr. Vikrish agreed.

“I’m going to contact my superiors.” The way Siever said that was almost a threat. Garjah and I exchanged a look, and I knew he heard it too. He was a security expert, so maybe he had a better grasp on where Siever was coming from though.

The Corle warriors didn’t move. They were a quiet, stoic race and rarely showed emotion so that didn’t surprise me.

“Here, I will bring up the call on the main screen. I believe your parents are actually at the Institute right now, so this call may serve a dual purpose.”

If that was his way of warning me that my parents would be among colleagues and this call would be more than a family message to let them know I was alive, if not the same son they’d once known, he was a bit off. We were not that kind of family, and they would never have an emotional bond like that with me. If anything, my dad would want to study me. My mom would want to analyze every second my exchanges with Garjah and his people.

Exhausting. That was the word.

I sighed. “Thank you.”

It took a few moments for the space relays to align for the signal to go through and then the alert hit the Institute’s system. A tech appeared.

“Dr. Vikrish. Dr. Margo has been waiting for your call.”

“I apologize for the extended delay. We have an… unexpected development,” Dr. Vikrish said carefully. “I believe Doctor Adelina and Corvi Deray are on the premises? We need them to also attend this meeting.”

“And why is that?” An older female Norsk appeared on the screen. Her robe was deep green and complimented her pale skin and green tinged hair. Her gills worked furiously even through she was out of the water and on dry land to draw in air lending her words a whispery quality.

“Ardra is not unclaimed as we thought; we found an institute trained biologist, Dr. Essell Deray, who had made previous contact with an alien species who claims Ardra as part of their territory.”

“Part of their territory?” She raised a wispy brow.

“Yes, they are an advanced spacegoing species previously unknown to us, but we are not unknown to them.”

“Indeed.” Her face became impassive. “That is an unexpected development.” 

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J Ray Lamb

Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Chapter 67

 

“You’re not supposed to be here, are you?” That question came from the scientist who I instinctively didn’t like. I’d come across his type before. He still had his helmet on, and he kept several people between his spot in our column and where Garjah and I were walking with Bouncer by my side.

“I am,” I answered indignantly. “My ship was the closest to Ardra when the bulletin was announced. I’m a first-ranked researcher, and this was a prime candidate for new exploration with an eye toward biological research. There was no contact orders, and all the reports stated this would be a safe and potentially valuable resource for the Galactic.”

“That’s out the airlock now,” someone muttered.

“No, the planet has a prior use claim, but the Four Arms are a reasonable race about most things. There’s also the issue of safety for some of our researchers.” I nodded toward the pair of Tlgerics who had a mucous membrane between their hands and webbing their toes. “I would hate to see what that plant could do to your tissues. Or maybe the fluid on your skin would be a natural repellent to it; I don’t know and didn’t have enough time to do more research. That’s something we can negotiate hopefully.”

“Negotiations may take some time; I have researched your Galactic extensively. Some species are very good at managing their use and others are known for removing large quantities. We are very good at terraforming, but we prefer to leave planets natural and harvest only what will not harm it.”

“Admirable,” Dr. Vikrish said. “There are many at the Institute who push for similar policies when using planets for resources. Settlement planets usually come under the governance of the races of aliens who claim them, but planets being shared are not normally settled.”

We approached a rocky area that required a lot of climbing, and the suits were flexible and moved with us but didn’t make it easy. Garjah and I better able to navigate the slope with our extra arms. The humans in the group I saw were visibly drooping as well. The heavy gravity didn’t press on me the same way it did before, and I definitely didn’t miss it.

It also helped me pick out the aliens among the group. Those who moved freely, more easily climbing the slope, were probably not human. Not everyone had removed their helmets, especially the soldiers.

Most of them weren’t human.

Made sense, really, you wouldn’t send someone to protect and defend a scientific team to a planet that would be physically disabling for them. It would also explain their larger size. I was pulled from my thoughts when we got to their camp. They hadn’t landed that far from my skimmer. If they hadn’t come for me, then how had we landed so close together? That seemed improbable.

One side of their shuttle opened when the team neared.

“Oh wow.” I couldn’t help but let out that soft exclamation of envy. They had the mobile lab. It was also full of specimens. I recognized several that I’d studied and cataloged during the few days I’d had before Garjah’s ship had showed up.

Two of the scientists peeled off from the group and entered the lab. They were carrying packs with compartments that could carry multiple specimens.

“You’ve gotten more here than I thought you would by now.” My notes on Ardra would be less than useless. They had more data than I did. Well, about this planet anyway. I looked at Garjah. He was paler than normal, still stressed by the many weapons surrounding us and his inability to ensure my safety. I itched to enter their lab and take a closer look, but I stayed at his side.

“We have spread out and cataloged everything in this region we could safely. Start small and then work up to the larger animals. That’s why we landed here; it is a very rich and diverse ecosystem.”

“It is.” Maybe it wasn’t so unbelievable we’d land so close together then. That was exactly why I’d picked this general area too.

“You wouldn’t consider letting us take a couple of samples from your friend, would you?” one of them asked. “We haven’t been able to get close to… What did you call him?”

“I call him Bouncer. Garjah’s people call them cerops. And no, it would be a bad idea to take samples from him.” Bouncer was definitely keyed into our mood. Garjah was stressed so I was nervous which meant he hadn’t even bounded up the rocky hillside when he could have made it up and back half a dozen times before I got to the top. “And while I have kept notes on behaviors I saw in him versus wild cerops, from what little I saw of them, he’s spent too much time with me. He’s not

“That’s not priority right now.” Soldier One was barking again. He held up a scanner. “Ident.” He looked uncertain. Which wrist would it be in? I held in the sarcastic chuckle. Did he think I grew a whole new set of shoulders, head and neck? I held out my upper left arm and let him scan my forearm for the ident chip.

“Essell Deray. Currently on the Rinta.” He had removed his helmet from his exosuit. He pursed his lips sourly. “Clearly.”

“I’m assigned to the Rinta. Like I said, I was the logical choice to study Ardra.” I crossed my lower arms.

“But you weren’t. Your captain didn’t register any assignment. Nor did he register your absence.”

It was my turn to purse my lips. “It’s not my job to make Captain Sonez do paperwork.” It was thin. There was something off, and we both knew it. I just refused to say it and he wasn’t quite secure enough to accuse me.

Might have something to do with the hulking alien at my back.

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