Part 6-Homecoming/With Friends Like These
Notes from the Author:
Hey people. I'm back. I have banished the writer block demon (don't ask how. A whole mess with fire, shaving cream, and some cheetos. Long story, not pretty). Anyway, here's part 6. This segment was originally two parts, but I combined them as I thought they were too short on their own. Thus, the dual title. Also some pronunciations:
Drakas: DRAY-kass
Akras: Ack-RASS
Rael: RAY-el
Well, on with the story:
Jared walked down the tunnel. He really had no idea where he was going. He stopped to read the scanners. "Visuals." He said, as a holographic map of the tunnels system was projected from his hopper bracelet. "Scan for Hopper 704-9-Beta." A blip on the holomap appeared. "Plot quickest route." A line drew itself to the blip. Jared took a look at the direction he needed to go and started down that path.
*****
About fifty feet beneath Jared, Sheloz was watching a holo screen of his own, this one with about a thousand blips. "Ahhh, as expected. Your human mate is taking the direct route. And as you can see, he is walking right into my trap. If he walks into this cavern, the soldiers will make quick work of him. Drakas have mercy if he forgoes the cavern for the tunnel, as I have planted my elite shadowjumpers right there."
The spider turned from his musings to face his prisoner. She was pathetic. Her will was broken when the soldiers brought them in. She wasn't going to be any fun, so he tossed her to his soldiers, knowing that this perceived gift would satiate the minute dissent in the soldiers, who were growing more and more reckless as their DNA encoded desires wreaked havoc on their systems. They hadn't returned to the Hive to mate with the queen lately, and their impatience was eating at their loyalty.
Sheloz had fixed this problem when his soldier had brought him this prisoner. Sheloz wasn't encoded with these same desires, so he had no use for the wretch. So, he flung her to the starved soldiers.
Sheloz watched her. She had actually looked up when he told the scanners to locate this Jared, and her eyes widened when she saw the blip on the map. However, she had returned to her stoic look when she realized that Sheloz was enjoying her torment. And Sheloz had been trying his best to elicit a response, but to no avail.
He walked over to his blue-furred feline captive. He lifted her chin so she was looking into his pitch-black eyes, her face uncomfortably close to his mandibles, "Well. It seems that you refuse to speak. Let's see how well you can hold out for this." Sheloz said, as he made the holo zoom into the single red blip. The holomap expanded to form a picture, and the lines grew texture and color as a camera view formed of Jared. Veronica gasped as she saw the likeness of her lover walking unknowingly into this trap. Sheloz laughed at her reaction. "You will see his doom through the eyes of my spider scout. Alas, your people have killed my old one, the ever-loyal Jib. This is Grig." Sheloz explained.
Veronica didn't know what hit her. These weeks of being abused had taken its toll on her. She was half-alive when she was dragged into this room; where she witnessed the spider conjure up this image of her lover. However, upon seeing Jared's face, something snapped. While the spider had his fun, Veronica had called up Aether into her palm. She would give this son of a bitch something to laugh about. She concentrated on freezing the chains on her wrists. She winced as the piercing cold froze her hands.
With a yell, she broke her chains on the rocky ground below, sending shards of ice into her back and arms, but freeing them. With the Aether still concentrated in her palms, she smashed her hands into the two guards flanking her, who had been too slow to react.
She sent the freeze Aether into the skulls of her captives, freezing the brain fluids. The spider merely grinned as she turned to face him. Sheloz could see the smoky wisps flowing from his prisoner's palms. "Well, it seems the cat can scratch after all. Even a de-clawed one." Sehloz grinned. "You MONSTER!" Veronica yelled as she leaped at Sheloz, her arm reaching for his chitinous neck. Sheloz had anticipated this. He sidestepped, but not before bringing up a knee to ram into the airborne feline's side.
Sheloz heard the satisfactory crunch as he felt one or two of his assailant's ribs crack. "Foolish girl. Did you really think you could take me on?" He said, leaning over her on the ground and putting his mouth right next to her ear. "I will kill you." he heard his captive whisper. "How could you possibly think that you are that special?" The spider turned back to his hologram, leaving his prisoner to lie there in pain.
*****
Jib had never before experienced a jump. He was nearly thrown into shock at the extreme cold of what these hairs call 'Aether'. His chitin plated did little to warm his frail body. He really wished that he didn't have to do this...
*****
Jared walked down the path, and he came to an intersection. He opened back up his holomap. "Scan for life forms in that cavern." Jared gasped as he read the readout of the adjacent cavern that was down the left path. "Ho...ly...shit..." He said to himself as he realized the doom awaiting him down the left path. He then read only three life forms in the path ahead. "Well, lets see if we can do this quiet-like." Jared smiled as he loaded the machine-guns on his back. "Semi-auto, and lets go." He walked on. To Jared's surprise, the hall was devoid of any soldiers. "Odd. Maybe the scanners were wrong."
"Thatsssssssss what you think, human!" Jared heard a voice behind him.
*****
"NO!" Veronica yelled as she saw the Shadowjumpers materialized. There were three cockroaches. They came out of the shadows, two behind Jared, who immediately grabbed his arms and bound them behind him. Another one materialized in front of him, holding a wicked looking dagger to his throat.
*****
"I have never killed a humann, befffffffore. Thisssssssss isssssssss going to be ffffffffffun." The cockroach said to Jared. "Damn" He said, now realizing his folly. Even now, he didn't regret coming. He had tried to save his mate; he only regretted that he wasn't strong enough to complete his mission. He closed his eyes to accept the dagger that would soon drain his life from him. "Sssssay, goooooodbyeeeeee, human."
Then, the cockroach's head exploded.
*****
"Not on my watch, vermin!" Fuse said, holding a smoking nine-millimeter. The two cockroaches reacted fast. They melted into shadows as they faded into the Aether. The wisps of shadows started revolving around the group. "Dammit, we can't hit them!" Sitz shouted as he fired bullet after bullet, each one crashing into the rocks, not hitting the incorporeal shadows. A quite solid dagger slashed out at Gorgon, who deftly dodged away from it. Jared was unsure of what to do, not wanting a stray shot from his less than accurate machine-guns to hit one of his rescuers.
*****
'It seeeemssssss that we are in a sssssssssssssstand off, brotherrrrrrrrr' said Akras. They were hard pressed to keep these hairs at bay. They knew that if they stopped moving for a minute, it would be their heads plastering the tunnel wall along with their brother Yaren's. 'Indeed, Aakrasssssss.' Said Rael. They kept moving in and out of the aether, trying to score a hit. But, the hoppers were as fast as the Shadowjumpers, evading any attack. The brother's were tiring, as maintaining constant shadowform was taking its toll on their minds, it required a lot of concentration just to meld into the shadows, but to materialize only their dagger when they swung, it was almost torture. 'Dammmmmmmit, brotherrrrrrr. We musssssst withdraw. The sssssssswarm doessssn't pay usssssss enough for thisssssss!' Akras hissed. 'Well, brotherrrrr, we will have to withdraw for now. Iffffff Shelozzzzzz hassssss a problem withhhhh that, we don't have to work for himmmm.' Rael hive-minded back. 'Well, then, brotherrrrr, let us ffffall back.'
*****
Fuse, Sitz, and Gorgon knew it was a losing battle, as they were tiring and they couldn't hit what they couldn't see. They knew it was only a matter of time before their stamina wore out. But then, the shadowjumpers disappeared. "Quick, let's get outa here before they come back!" Shouted Sitz. "No, I am going to save Veronica!" Jared quickly retorted, wondering why they had come this far only to try and persuade him to come back.
"No, no, no. You have it all wrong Jared, we're here to help you. We figured that if you were going anyway, you might as well take all the help you can get." "Chibby!" Jared heard the familiar yell. "Another one?" Jared said, looking around, expecting to see another spider somewhere close. It was then that he noticed the spider on Gorgon's broad shoulder. Chibby! "Why did you bring Chibby?" Jared asked. "His name's not Chibby, even though he always says it." Sitz said. 'My name is JIB: ' Jared heard a voice in his head say. "The hell was that?" Jared asked, a look of confusion on his head. "It's how he talks." Replied Fuse. "But now is not the time. Ask Auldron later if you want. For now, we have a friend to save."
Jared smiled as he took off walking. Using Jib's directions, they managed to dodge around the soldiers and traps.
*****
Beneath them, Sheloz was having a conniption. "No, no, no, no, NO! They are avoiding everything I throw at them! How can this be?" He then brought his attention back to that cat in his possession. He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and picked her up so she was face to face with him. "Tell me how this is happening! How are they doing this?! How in the world do they know where each and every ambush and trap is?! TALK BITCH!" Sheloz screamed at her.
*****
Veronica stirred back into consciousness only to be greeted by a sharp pain throughout her body and her captor screaming in her face. She didn't know what he wanted, but she just didn't have the strength to tell him to, in her lover's words, "Fuck. Off." She retreated back into the warm embrace of blissful sleep.
*****
Jared suddenly stopped. "No." "What is it?" his friends asked in unison. "Her heartbeat is slowing." They doubled their pace.
*****
'They're almost here. Have the guards assemble the troops at the main cavern, we'll cut them off when they come back through there.' Sheloz hive-minded the alert.
*****
The hopper party arrived outside the room where the blip was coming from. They saw her. She was just lying there. They rushed to her side, ignoring the bodies of the two dead soldiers flanking her. "Damn. She's alive, but barely. We have to move fast." "Chibby!" Jib piped up to get their attention. 'The soldiers are massing at the main exit cavern. Take the east tunnel.' They set off.
At the last junction, Jared stopped. "Go, I have to do something." "Jared, we don't have time for this." Fuse said. "Sitz, Gorgon, get Veronica to safety. Fuse, hold the portal open for sixty seconds. I'll be right there." "What are you gonna do?" the canine asked. Jared handed all his weapons except the rocket launcher to Fuse. "Some unfinished business."
Fuse nodded and gave Jared a hug. "Be careful." "You got it."
Jared set off for the main exit cavern, taking Jib with him. "This is the ledge?" he asked. 'Yes.' "Well." He walked out onto the ledge overlooking the cavern. "Damn" Jared said to himself as he aimed his RPG, once again amazed at the sheer number of the Swarm. Calling all he had seen of Veronica, he steeled himself for what he was going to do. "You dirty sleezeballs," he yelled angrily as the entire cavern shifted to see him on the ledge. "obviously, had no idea, who, you were FUCKING WITH!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger. He ran as the entire cavern went wide-eyed. "Come on, JIB: " the human scooped up the spider scout and sprinted toward the exit, out into the open, and through the jump gate.
*****
Sheloz was waiting abnormally long for the hairs and the human to walk into his little trap. However, he then heard a voice behind him, a hauntingly familiar voice. He turned to look at the human, who was pointing some weapon at him. "Drek." He said as the projectile launched toward him. The entire cavern system collapsed on the surprised Swarm soldiers.
*****
Back on Trillious Prime, the hopper party came through the Jump Portal. On the other side, it wasn't the empty space he had imagined, or the fuming guards Jared had imagined would be there. Instead there were medical personnel, guards, and scientists all hustling and bustling.
Jared saw that Veronica had already been laid on a wheeled stretcher. Doctors and scientists had hooked her up to all sorts of machinery and needles. Jared knew that they were doing their best to keep Veronica alive and thought it would be best if he let them alone for now, Veronica had been through enough and he knew she needed rest.
He walked with a few guards to the Council Chamber, as they had requested his presence. He knew what was coming. "Jared! You have deliberately disobeyed the council! You have put us all in danger, the Swarm will definitely retaliate!"
Jared stood with his eyes at the ground, letting Councilman Trilliam berate him, but then Victor came to his aid. "Ah, bother you old badger." Said Victor in an amused tone, "Jared did what he thought was best. Plus, we have dealt a crippling blow to the Swarm." Victor stepped down from his chair. "I'll take care of Trill, you go to her." Victor whispered with a wink. Jared didn't argue, but abruptly left the Antechamber, leaving the old mole to placate the council.
He went into the hospital wing of the building. "How is she doc?" Jared inquired of the elephantine doctor. "Her body has been through a lot, but nothing a few days of rest can't cure. We've already extracted the worm. Her insides have been wiped of all inorganic material and some organic material that isn't hers-meaning that we've cleaned all the semen, sweat, and other bodily fluids from her...erm...orifices." The doctor explained. "The scientists have been monitoring her for hidden bugs and the like, but they haven't found any, although they did extract a few peculiar-looking fleas. I'm having the biologists examine them now. However, most of the damage has been mental, and we can do nothing about that. You two have a connection, you might be able to relieve some stress...not that way!" He hastily added seeing the surprised look on Jared's face.
"No, I don't think she is quite ready for that. Her body needs time to recover. But, I will permit you stay with her, she needs someone to talk to, and I can't think of a better person." The elephant left with a wink at Jared, but not before talking to the nurse.
Jared walked over to the bed. He saw her hooked up to a monitoring machines and an IV. He was glad that the doctors had removed her oxygen mask. "Veronica?" He asked quietly. He saw her body shudder and her eyes open. "Jared? Oh, Jared." Veronica said weakly. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, now that I've finally had something to drink. The doc said I'm not strong enough to actually eat anything, as my body would reject it, it having been starved."
"Veronica, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. This IV is giving me my nutrients, and when they let me out, you can take me somewhere nice."
"I have just the idea."
Jared and Veronica talked for hours until Veronica's body gave out again and she slipped into a deep sleep. Jared stood vigilance over her for the next few days. "Ah, dammit." He said as his hopper bracelet started buzzing. "I'm on my way." he said into the com as he kissed his still-sleeping mate.
A few hours later, he was dressed in his casual human clothes, getting ready for another jump to Earth. The Council didn't know when it would happen, but they were convinced that the Swarm would strike back. So, Jared was on another mission to Earth, this time to bring back schematics on planetary missile defense systems. He sighed as he walked through the jump gate. He hated doing this in clothes, as the cotton fabrics never held his body heat, and he walked around the next few hours shivering fiercely, something that always drew attention.
"Hey, Joseph." Jared said to the hotel manager, now on first-name terms since he stayed at this hotel frequently. He walked into his reserved room, sat down, plugged in his laptop, and then started typing.
"I hate this planet."
Jared was typing away at his computer, gathering a little information before he was to take a shower and go to bed. "Fucking jet lag. Every damn time I come to this dirt hole." He muttered to himself all while he was typing, trying to get as much done as quickly as possible.
He flipped his laptop closed, stood up, and walked into the shower. He undressed, then looked into the mirror. He had lost some weight, and his muscles were a little more toned. He stepped into the shower, turning it on scalding.
Jared didn't know what happened. He figured it was the steam making him sleepy. He had heard of half-sleep, so he figured he would let his dream-hallucinations run free. He watched as Veronica stepped into the bathroom. She stepped into the shower, letting her hoppersuit fall off. Jared hugged her and kissed her. He saw her step into the shower with him.
Jared was amazed at the detail of his semi-dream. He saw her wince at the hot water, but saw her relax when the initial shock wore off. He pulled her close. They stood there, locked in each other's embrace for the longest time. Jared turned off the water and walked out of the bathroom, still in his mate's loving arms. They fell onto the bed. He lie on his back as Veronica crawled over him.
He watched as she slid down his now-stiff member, moaning softly as the familiar tender skin of her partner enter her. He drew her into another kiss as he started thrusting. She gave a muffled moan, the tender thrusts of her lover brushing in all the right spots. Jared fingered her nipples as he kissed her. He moved his hands to her bottom, rubbing the bulbs of his fingertips along her sensitive back as he kneaded the flesh of her bottom, just like he knew she loved.
"I missed you." Jared whispered to V as he repeatedly thrust into her. They could both feel the brink of orgasm creeping toward them. Jared started thrusting faster, and Veronica started growing tighter and tighter as she tried to hold on.
Veronica couldn't hold it any more; she drew Jared into a hug as she whispered into his ear. "Me too." She said as she let the orgasm wash over her. Jared let her contractions drive him over the edge, as he proceeded to shoot deep into his kitten. "That was a pleasant change of pace." He heard her whisper as they let the peace of sleep wash over them.
Jared woke with a start. "Wow, that was a pleasant wet dream." Jared said, wondering why he was in bed if he had fallen asleep in the shower. Oh, well, it had been a pleasant dream. But, Veronica could never come to Earth, the people here wouldn't understand.
He rolled out of bed. He did a double take and looked at the bed. It couldn't be.
"Veronica?"
To be continued...