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The X-Hunters Elite Chronicles by Dolphin Power Prologue Must be 18 or older to read this story characters are copied to me and me only. ENJOY! Man, I hate this. I thought, waiting for that ugly yellow bus to pick me up to go to that hellhole otherwise known as 'school'. The rain poured from the sky like someone had placed a giant shower overhead, above the clouds, for the sole purpose of pissing off anyone who had somewhere to go that day. Then something happened. An unusual sound, only describable as a buzz, seemed to come from all around the environning area. What the hell? I thought, as a blue haze appeared in front of me. Something began to emerge from it. At first, it resembled a person, until I realized it was far too big and oddly shaped to be human. As it approached, its figure became distinguishable: a huge, black, insect-like form, but standing tall on two legs, with a long, spined tail hanging behind it. My jaw dropped as it spoke. "I am a Scorpion" he said. "Do you understand me?" I was, to say the least, startled. "Yes..." I managed to blurt out. "There is no time to explain. Your planet it about to be destroyed in order to avert a catastrophe of much, much larger proportions. We need you to operate a device meant solely for mammals like your species. With it, you will have approximately enough time to save 3 species, but the device is unable to do so for your own, whose population is too great. Will you help us?" I made the decision quickly. "Yes". Little did it matter to me that I couldn't save my own species. I've always hated humans. The black insect-like individual started talking into something on his arm. "The male has agreed to help us. Requesting teleport." A female voice then came from it. "The female has also agreed. Teleporting now." Female? I thought. "You would be best to grab onto me." He said, turning to face me again. So I did. Then the blue haze enulfed us both. I re-appeared in a small room, only to realize I was in earth orbit. It looked a lot like any of those earth-orbit satellite pictures that kids' science shows would occasionally show. Wow. I'd never seen anything like it. It was the first time I'd seen my homeworld from space for myself. And the last. I saw a console in front of me. It read : "Name of species for preservation?" I typed in "Dolphin" instinctively, since they're my favorite animal. "Sentience not in alignment. Do you wish to align?" I didn't really know what it meant. "Yes." A monitor showed the DNA sequence of dolphins, which was altered slightly. "Species preserved. Sentience active and aligned." Then I repeated the process for horses and deer, sort of on a whim, not really knowing what other species I wanted to save. Upon my completion of the preservation of the three species, I looked up at earth again. Orange and red veins of molten rock covered its surface, and were progressively getting bigger and bigger. My planet was, quite literally, tearing itself apart. Soon the entire surface was engulfed. In a violent yellow-gold explosion, earth was reduced to little more than a pile of drifting debris in space. Earth was gone. ___________________________________________________________________________________ After the orbiting encounter, I was brought aboard one of the ships of the alliance which was responsible for both rescuing me and destroying the earth. An escort to a medical bay ensued, and I was brought to a bed. After being told to sit down, the escorts left the room, leaving me alone. The room itself was quite big, with many beds on either side. I was perplexed at the sight of such technology, doors opening by themselves, lights that didn't glare at all while lighting a room perfectly, holographic computer consoles that suspend in mid-air and respond to simple hand motions... A few minutes went by before someone entered the giant room. A tall, dark red-colored individual, carrying something in its hand. A reptilian-like face, quills running down its back, eyes that reminded me of those of a cat. Apparently, unclothed as well. In one hand, it had two small objects. It handed me the smallest one, then said something in a language that I didn't understand. I was confused, but from its hand motion, it obviously wanted me to take it. After I did, it motioned up to its neck and tapped just behind its spine. I placed the small object on the corresponding area on my neck. It pinched at first, then my ears started to ring. "Can you understand me now?" It asked. I recognized the voice as being female. "Yes. I think." I said. What an interesting day this is turning out to be. "Good. Now sit still." I obeyed. She waved something around me, then pulled out a grey slate and seemed to be typing into it. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Giving you a checkup. You just went through some pretty serious changes. Do you feel any different?" "No." "You will." She put her device away. "How do you feel, then?" "Like shit. Nothin' new." She didn't seem too pleased to be there with me. I ran my eyes up and down her body in amazement. It was an alien. An actual alien. She snared at me. "What?" The questions were swirling in my mind. I couldn't really decide which to ask first. "What... are you?" I asked. "I'm a doctor." She snarled. "No... what -are- you?" She sighed. "The race to which I belong is named 'senneks'." "And... what's your name?" She paused. "Sonia. Sonia Thaumiel is my name." "Can I call you Sonia?" She backed off a little bit, then relaxed changed her disposition to a slightly more positive one. "Yes. You may." "Is my check-up over now?" I asked, trying not to sound impatient. "Yes, just about. However, you're not done yet." "What's next?" "You're going to learn about everything." "Everything?" I asked incredulously. "Yes. Everything. Follow me." We walked through the ship's corridors together. "What... is all this?" I asked. "We are aboard the Raptor. It's a destroyer-class ship belonging to the mixed fleet of the GSA." "GSA?" I asked. "Galactic Sentient Alliance." "I don't understand." I replied. "You will soon enough." She said, stopping in front of a door. "Is this the part where I learn everything?" I asked. "Yes." She said, opening it to reveal a dark room inside. She walked in and flipped a few switches. The lights turned on, illuminating the room. It was a very big room, with many insect-like creatures lying on beds. Each one, about fifty in total, had a device attached to their necks, like the one I had. Sonia pointed to a vacant bed. "Lie down." She said. "What is this place?" I asked, not having paid much attention to her. "It's a en education facility. What you see here are youths of the kronomorph species learning." "Learning? About what?" I asked. "Everything." She replied simply. "You've got to be kidding." "I assure you, I'm not. Please, lie down." I walked over to where she was pointing and obeyed. She went to a console in the center of the room, then came back over to me. She carried in her hand another device like the ones attached to the necks of each 'youth' in the room. She moved my head to the side slightly and placed it there. It pinched, then made a beeping sound. After that, she pulled out that pad of hers again and started typing again. "Will this hurt?" I asked. "No. This will only alter your brain waves slightly, so that you can be taught. You'll be learning the basics, however. You seem to have a partial education already, so this shouldn't be a problem. I'll be leaving momentarily, however, this should occupy you until I return." "Uh... okay." "Just relax... shut your eyes. You'll lose consciousness in a matter of seconds." I obeyed, and she was right. I started to feel lighter for a moment, then fell asleep. __________________________________________________________________________________ Within mere hours, the device that she attached to my neck - called a neural link - had programmed into an amount of knowledge that could've easily taken a few lifetimes to learn. So much of it buzzed around in my head. I tried desperately to sort it all: I was rescued by an alliance of four sentient species, all of which were united together against two common enemies, in a war that had been raging for over four milennia. I was rescued along with another human - a girl named Serena - who had also operated an orbiting capsule like the one I'd been inside. It gave her and I a few things that the alliance needed: armor suits made of 'deltanium', a supposedly mythical and indestructible alloy. The armor suits were highly advanced, far beyond any technology the alliance had, because of their apparent ability to give their user unparalleled strength, agility and endurance. They also wielded weapons of incredible power - X-energy, as referred to by the alliance. The alliance itself was a near-utopian society - if one ignored the fact that they were at war. Their society of multiple species had reached the peak of social evolution - there was no crime, no hatred, no discrimination. Everyone worked towards the betterment of themselves and the alliance, through whatever means they were best with. The races that composed it were quite varied as it was: * * *

Scorpions were evolved from insects on their very hot, desert-like homeworld. The females were white-colored, and the males were black. Exoskeletons, sharp claws and fiercely muscular, whip-like tails made them formidable warriors. They also commanded very quick reflexes, which made them highly acclaimed fighter pilots. Their species suffered from a genderial imbalance, roughly five females for every male. Their breeding season therefore yielded a lot of offspring. Females were generally accepted as the dominant sex, although that was more or less due to their significantly higher numbers. * * *

Kronomorphs had evolved from arachnid-like creatures, and had reached sentience many millions of years before the Scorpions. Before they originally met under hostile circumstances, the Krons had an empire that stretched over thousands of star systems. Kronomorphs themselves had dark red exoskeletons, stood on two legs, had two primary arms and four smaller, secondary arms. They had evolved into a state of 'hyperintelligence', meaning that they could learn and memorize uncanny amounts of information, could calculate nearly any sort of stupidly long math problem instantly, and had psionic ability - that is, the ability to read a person's mind, possibly control their thoughts and actions, see through their eyes, and the like. Their intelligence level made them good engineers, scientists, and doctors. Kronomorphs who had mastered their psionic abilities to the proper extent could manipulate matter and energy to a certain level - some, enough to synthesize weapons right out of their own flesh. Kronomorphs suffered a genderial imbalance similar to Scorpions, but in the opposite proportions. Because of this, females were regarded as the dominant sex, because they were so rare. After the Krons and Scorpions founded the alliance, the sexes returned to a state of equality, since there were an equal number of the members of each sex. Something that they took advantage of, and quickly became one of the founding principles of the alliance. * * *

Senneks, like Sonia, belonged to a species class that couldn't quite be classified. They embodied characteristics of reptiles and mammals, such as cold-bloodedness and laying eggs, but at the same time, nursing their young with milk. Senneks were generally a brownish-red color, though the shades could vary depending on geneology and planet of origin. Their heads reminded me of that of a cobra snake, but with white quills running down from the back of the head to just above their butts. They also have psionic abilities - not nearly as powerful as the Kronomorphs, but enough to read emotions and certain thoughts with ease. Senneks have a relative balance of the sexes, and regard neither one as being superior. Instead, they focus on more leisure-like activities, and exploration of the many, many possible ways there is of mating. Senneks have quite the knack for the biological and medical sciences, and being a generally inoffensive and non-violent species, prefer the role of doctors and healers to fighting soldiers. Although such positions don't hold any real military ranking, Senneks are regarded with very high respect, recognized as the preservers and savers of life. It was they who discovered something that is referred to as the 'immortality serum', which essentially provides a way for all sentients to stop their aging process once they reach maturity. * * *

Mantrins were the ones that fascinated me the most. They were quite like a cross between reptiles and birds, though they looked more or less like birds. They had wings, were generally tall and thin, with very sharp eyesight. Having developed this from a lot of hunting of various preys on their homeworld, Mantrins are recognized as having exceptional marksmanship. It was quite common to have mantrins as weapon specialists operating in or with military units, to develop, test and refine new weapons, as well as training in the art of marksmanship. The difference between their sexes was significant, from a physical point of view. The males were typically much smaller, with long, whip-like tails and slimmer body types. The females were very big, with fatter tails and legs that had two sets of knees, which make up for three-quarters of their total body height when extended. Another thing that set them apart was that their bodies changed appearance during their mating season, and the hormonal levels of a female who hasn't been impregnated or at least mated by her peak will be killed by her own body's chemical and hormonal imbalance. The alliance was originally incepted by the Scorpions and Kronomorphs, after they hunted and killed each other to the brink of extinction. The two races understood not only that they could live together peacefully, but that they could also solve each other's genderial imbalance problems. This basically led to founding the alliance's basic principles of acceptance about very liberal lifestyles, multiple mates, zoosexuality, homosexuality, and the like. All of them were widely accepted because of the diversity which was present in the alliance. Each race that joined the alliance after that only served to deepen the importance of these principles. And for nearly four thousand years, the alliance has upholded its principles. While fighting a war against two vicious enemies: The drej - a race that has evolved beyond the physical state, to an energy-like form. Their civilization seeks to be the only race dominant in the galaxy, through the propagation of their race and annihilation of all others. The reploids - a 'race' of pseudo-robots who were once slaves to their creators, but vanquished them and killed them all. Afterwards, they moved to create their own version of utopia, and vowed never to bow to anyone ever again. Their self-sufficiency and pride are what fuels their desire for war. Mammals were believed to be myths by the alliance. After their discovery of earth, the record was corrected about warm-blooded lifeforms who birth live young and nurse them with milk. My head spun. So much information... in so little time... ____________________________________________________________________________________ I awoke after a good night's sleep to see Sonia standing over me. She had something of an eager look on her face, or at least, was in a better mood to see me than the last time. She looked at me for a while, then lifted my head from the bed and removed the neural link. "How do you feel?" She asked. "I feel..." I paused. The neural link was gone, and so was the translator she'd given me. "I can understand you?" I asked. "Yes. You don't need the translator anymore. Now answer my question: How do you feel?" "Like someone just jammed an entire library into my head." "That -is- essentially what happened." "Not just the information, Sonia. The books themselves. Like, five every second, for-" "Three days?" I snapped up from the bed. "Three days?!" "Yes. You've been unconscious for three days, learning a lifetime's worth of knowledge." "Geez. It's the first time I've slept that well." "I believe it. Unfortunately, you can't do it twice. You've already learned everything." "Everything?" "Yes. Well, everything that a military unit's commanding officer would need to know. And then some." I gulped. "Military unit? Commanding officer?" She didn't answer. She only pulled me off of the bed and turned toward the door. "Follow." She said. "There's still a lot for you to do." I obeyed, and we walked along in the ship's corridors. I looked up at her. Although I'd been quite thoroughly educated, I couldn't get over the fact that I was walking beside an alien. And talking with it. "Hey, Sonia..." I said. "Yes?" "When you first came to see me, you seemed upset. Or angry. Or something. I'm just curious as to why." "Oh... well... I'm a little bitter about commanding officers... the last ones I've had were both very bad. Hardcore military, no sense of how to treat their subordinates, only knowing how to order, what to order and who to order." "So... I'm going to be your commanding officer?" "Yes. Your mental abilities were evaluated already, and now we're going onto the physical. Apparently, that orbiting capsule gave you a lot of weapons and tech that are being marvelled at by a bunch of green, glowy-eyed Kronomorph scientists. They've prepared a holodeck training program specially designed for you, to master all that, and whatever else they want you to be tested on." "Is that where we're going?" "Yes." "I'm not gonna like this, am I." "It's pretty unlikely." ___________________________________________________________________________________ After an intense few hours of training on the armor and weapons which I'd recieved, capable of withstanding the collape of the universe and probably also capable of causing it to collapse, I was re-united with Sonia. It was later in the day at this point. "Did you have fun?" She asked as we exited the holodeck. "Kinda." I replied. "I liked the part where I blew shit up." "Great. Listen, I've got one more thing for you to do today, then I'll take you to your quarters and you can have a rest before you're transferred to your new base, on a planet which was prepared specifically for you and many of the terrans you saved." "An entire planet?" "Yes. It was only colonized two years ago and hasn't been completely developed. Construction of a new base just for your unit is just about complete... with top-of-the-line technology and whatnot. Apparently, supposed to be the best the alliance can offer." "Wow... why?" "Looks like we're going to be famous, depending on how well you do." "Famous? how?" She yanked me away. "Come on. There's a few very important people who are dying to meet you. We made a mad dash through more winding hallways of the ship. How the hell big is this ship? I thought as we booted it through. In eventuality, we came to what looked like the command center of the ship. Aliens walked around everywhere, working busily on whatever it was they were doing. Sonia ran ahead, over to... Oh my god. I thought, as I set my eyes upon who she was headed to. Or... what. It was a dolphin, most definitely a dolphin. But it had attached to it was some kind of robotic set of arms and legs... and she was sitting in what I assumed to be a captain's chair. "Sonia! You're here, finally." The dolphin said, rising from its chair. I identified the voice as being female, although not quite sounding human... Like if a dolphin were able to speak, I'm pretty sure that it would sound exactly like her. "Yes, Admiral." Sonia replied. "He's somewhat fresh out of the training, but he's capable of doing everything that the scientists and engineers say he is. Possibly more." I stood just past the entrance, still staring at the dolphin. The admiral. She stood up, easily towering over Sonia, who was already much taller than me. My mouth hung open in my amazement. The admiral walked over to me, looking at me through her left eye, her mechanical appendages making almost no noise at all as she moved them. She stopped in front of me. Her right mechanical arm moved up to her head, the hand straightened out. On something of a reflex, I returned the salute, having had to do so from previous training experiences with the canadian military. "I am Admiral Deessa Kayen. It's a pleasure to meet you." I accepted the handshake that she offered, which was followed by her motioning me over to a door on the other side of the room. "The members of your new unit are in here." She said. "Come. They're anxious to meet you." I followed her in, Sonia behind me. I got a quick look around the room. Another dolphin, like the Admiral, who had all the mechanical attachments. A female mantrin, who looked somewhat shy and elusive. A female Kronomorph, a pair of horses, and a pair of deer. "Everyone, here he is. Captain Skorpion Delphinix, newly appointed commanding officer of the X-hunters." Deessa said aloud. "He doesn't look like much." I heard from behind me. The voice was definitely female and most definitely human. I turned around to see, standing in armor like mine - although red-colored, was a teenage girl, not much older than I. She had very long, blond hair, and kept her face just out of sight by looking at the ground. She came off as cocky, like a show-off. Her arms were crossed and she looked bored, leaning in the corner of the room. Hmph. American. I thought, drawing a conclusion based on her attitude. "That would be Commander Serena Zero. Your second in command." Deessa said. I nodded, then returned my gaze to the rest of the group. Deessa took a step back. "Introduce yourselves." She commanded. "You all know equally little about each other." Everyone waited a few moments. Since nobody was piping up, I decided to go first. "I'm the captain... But call me Skorpion... or 'Skorp' for short when we're off-duty. Being addressed by my rank gives me the creeps." The other dolphin, which was to my left, went next. "I'm Beaglu-Trourn... you may call me Beagle. I'm the science officer and medical assistant." She sounded young, but confident. I knew I would probably get along with her well. Next was the mantrin. "Shrike... Shrike Velias. Weapons specialist. Just graduated from the mantrin academy." She seemed nervous as well. Obviously, out of place. She didn't know anyone and wasn't farmiliar with the ship. Possibly hadn't even been in outer space before. I figured she'd probably need to be befriended the most until everyone got used to being together as a unit. "Anshar, Commander." The Kronomorph said, folding her many arms behind her back. "Cheif engineer." Confident. I thought. She's probably been in the service for a long time. The horses and deer, a male and female each, named Lazarus, Pegasus, Geo and Terra respectively, were all in something of a generally skilled vein, no specializations of any type. "We'll be arriving at the new base in a few hours. In the meantime, get acquainted. You're going to working together for a very, very long time." The admiral said before spinning on her heels and leaving the room. Everyone was quick to mingle: Beagle and Sonia got talking, Anshar joined in with the equines, soon followed by Serena. Everyone except... Shrike. She hung her head a little, looking very shy. Since I was also alone, I decided to begin conversing with her. As soon as I approached, she took notice. She flexed her wings a little, then snapped into a straight-standing position. "Oh, at ease..." I said. "When there's no ranking officers around that are higher up than me, I want things to stay pretty much informal." "Well... if you insist..." "Do I have to insist for you to relax and stop looking at my shoulder stripes?" "Well... they -are- right there..." Seeing as things wouldn't change unless she didn't see them, I deactivated my armor. It left me standing in the clothes that I was wearing the morning that I was rescued. Damn. I'm gonna have to get some new clothes, and wash these. I thought upon taking a look at myself. I wondered where I'd be able to get clothes... especially clothes that would fit. "There." I said. "No more rank. Just me." She seemed to relax a little. "Nervous?" I asked. She let out a big sigh. Aha! I thought. Got her. "You have no idea... I graduated from training just two days ago." "You think you've got it rough? I just came off of a planet that was destroyed. And all the training I got was programmed into me. Top that." She thought for a moment. "Nope. Can't." She said. We shared a laugh. I extended a hand to her. "'Shrike', right? Nice to meet you." "Yes... 'Skorp'." She replied. "Congradulations. You're my first friend." "And you, mine." I said. "I guess we're going to be sticking together a lot." "Sure. I don't mind." She replied. With that, I made my first significant bond to someone of the X-hunters. With many more, I hoped, to follow... _____________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 1: Lost and found Upon awakening after a very well-spend night of sleep, which was in its turn caused by a very draining holomatch of capture-the-flag with Beagle, Shrike, Anshar, Serena and Sonia. The window of my quarters let in the soft, golden rays of the two suns of Zeta Aquilae - the star system which hosted the planet that our base was on - Terranova Erilyanis. Often referred to as 'T.E.' for short. And there I was - Galactic standard year 6547, old earth year 2001. February 11. Quite a long time since my first day as commanding officer of the X-hunters. I woke up with the skin around my neck and face feeling tight and sticky. I decided I'd see Sonia, in case there was something wrong, since I'd been waking up like that for the last few days. I made my way over to the medical bay and walked in, seeing as she was already up. "Hey." She said as I came in. "Hey." I replied. "You got a minute?" "Sure. What's up?" "Tight and sticky skin." She motioned for me to come over to a bed. I followed, deactivating my armor in doing so. She picked up a bioscanner and did the thing that doctors usually do with them. Then scanned me. Once the scan was finished, she ran it through her computer. I watched as she typed away, various facial expressions sweeping over her. She eyed the display very carefully, then turned around so I could see it. "It's saliva from the looks of it."She said. I got a little worried. I never drool in my sleep. "It's not yours. I was afraid of this..." She sighed, "I was hoping I could tell you before something like this happened." I remained silent. "Take a look at the DNA match. It's Shrike's." My jaw dropped. I shifted on the examination table, surprised and shocked. "What do you wish you could've told me sooner?" I asked. "Be prepared for a surprise. Get ready." She said. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I had no idea what to expect. "Alright, bring it on." I said, once I felt prepared. "Shrike is in love with you." I almost stopped breathing when she said that. "Fuck off." I said. "This must all be some kind of joke." "It's no joke." Sonia replied. "A mantrin female drools and licks a male while he sleeps... when she wants to mate with him." A weird, awkward silence came over us both. Sonia didn't seem surprised at all, just... frustrated. "Shrike is in love with me and wants to mate with me?" I asked. "Yes." "But how? Me and her are friends. We haven't gotten intimate." "Bullshit. You've been plenty intimate with each other, you just seem to have forgotten what mantrin customs when it comes to things like expressing affection to a mate or advances on a potential or desired mate. One of the main ways that a female would go about that sort of thing is to keep a male in her gasp and lick him until he either accepts or declines. However, since she's really shy around that subject, she does it in your sleep. Things like rubbing her wings can also be considered as expressions of affection, which you two frequently do. I don't understand why you haven't picked up on her feelings for you by now..." "Probably since the first week or two since you two hitted it off after you were rescued from earth." "So... what are you telling me, then?" I asked. "You may consider her your friend, but she considers you her courting partner. You rub her wings, which is not only very romantic but also a vital element in mantrin courtship. She also feeds you, which mantins usually do while they're mating." I had no idea that something as simple as giving her those rubs could be so... intimate. I pulled myself together, and got enough breath back into me to speak again. "How long have you known about his, Sonia?" "About a week after she joined the team, so six months or so." "Seven months" I said. "Why didn't you tell me about this before when you've known for so long?" "I figured she'd make an advance on you and you two would mate, and then things would've been taken care of. However, she's too shy. I've been through a few of her personal logs recently, to find that out." "That's spying." I said. "It was the only way to find out why she never advanced on you. She tried a few times, but she either hesitated or something came up and one of you two had to leave." Me and Shrike had only been alone together a handful of times, usually when I was giving her the infamed wing rubs. "Do you have any of her logs here?" "I downloaded a few. I'll let you listen to some." She headed over to a computer, and played back a few of the logs. "Personal log, Lieutenant commander Velias, august 18. I've gotten quite attached to Skorp now, and I want to ask him to mate. I'm not sure if he'll accept, or even if he loves me." The playback stopped, and another one started. "Personal log, Lieutenant commander Velias, august 29. He gave me a nice wingrub yesterday, and I almost... just almost... made a move on him. I'd forgotten about the briefing, and we were both called over." Another playback. "Personal log, Lieutenant commander Velias, october 9. I had a perfect setup - he was rubbing my tail and I almost asked him. I hesitated, fearing rejection. My worst fear is that I'll eventually ask him and he says no. So I didn't ask." Then, the last one came on. "Personal log, Lieutenant commander Velias, february 11. I've finally decided. I'll ask him in 3 days. I don't know what he'll say, and I don't know what I'll do if he says no. But at least I'll know I tried. I just hope he says yes." I was unsettled. She'd just made that entry. I checked the date to make sure, and to my shock and horror, I was right. "So you've got 3 days." Sonia said. "What options do I have?" "The first is kill her." "I'm not going to kill her." "Well then, there's always the other option..." she said. I knew, of course, what she was thinking of. "Mate with her?" "Yes. Now, take this datapad." She said. I plucked it from her hand. "What is it?" "It has 3 parts to it. The first is a letter of authorization allowing you to engage in sexual relations with a member of your team not of your species." What a stupid thing it is, to need permission from your commanding officer to so something like this. "The second part is information on how-to with mantrins." She continued. "Unfortunately there is no data on human/mantrin mating, so I studied mantrin/mantrin and mantrin/dolphin matings, to give you a rough idea of what she and you will do." "Dolphins? Does my skin look at all grey to you?" "There is a similarity between your species and dolphins. I thought it'd be useful." "Alright. What's the third part?" "A list of recommended suitable locations for mating, where both you and her will be comfortable." I scrolled down the list, just to get an idea of what kind of places she recommended. "Basically anywhere is a good place" she continued, "as long as it's secluded, well lit and you're both alone. Mantrins mate naked, alone and in full light. Since you'll be on the bottom, I tried to pick places with soft floors, to take some of the burden off your back." "I'm not surprised." I said. "She's twice my size." "One and a half, actually. But if she had your legs she'd probably be only about an inch taller than you." "Whatever." One entry caught my eye. "Shallow beach?" I asked. She took a look at the pad. "How'd that get there?" she asked aloud. "That was for when Beagle starts on you." Beagle. I thought. I hate it when my life suddenly becomes extremely complicated. "Let's talk about Beagle when the time comes." I said. "As you wish. Even though most of your question will be answered on the datapad, do you have any immediate questions?" She asked. "Won't I get hurt? I mean, she's got claws, a beak..." "Contrary to your species, she'll be as gentle with you as the feathers on her wings. She loves you. She wouldn't want to do anything to hurt you. Mantrins are very gentle, caring and compassionate. You two are, for all intensive purposes, perfect for each other." I eyes her with a bit of spite. "You think this is cute, don't you? A never-done-it asking another never-done-it?" "I'll admit that since I'm more experienced than you, and I have seven partners among various species, yes. However, she's built up a lot of tension and urges over the months, and so have you. You don't realize it because you're too busy killing reploids or drej. You can't surround yourself with violence like this, and you need a mate. The entire team agrees with me on that." I sighed. "I guess you're right. But I am a little reluctant, since I've never thought of her as my lover. She and I have always kind of been... I don't know... pals, ever since we met. " "That's understandable" she said reassuringly "but it'll work out just fine. I've scanned both of you. Any questions you may have about pregnancy or STD's are all addressed on the datapad." I took a look at the pad, then back at her. "Well, I'd better go now, Sonia. I haven't even had breakfast yet." "Okay, but keep in mind: you've got 3 days. 3 days to fall in love. Heck, it shouldn't be that hard, since you two are already pretty close." "Alright" I said, leaving. "And thanks, Sonia. You're a gem." "I know." she said promptly as I left. Shrike was right there as soon as I got out. I was a little shocked to see her, after what I'd just found out. I just hope there aren't any weird rituals. "Morning" she said. "going for breakfast?" It took me about a second to snap out of my warped frame of mind. She's not any different from yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that. It's just that she wants to mate with me. That's all... "Sure. I was gonna have a cinnamon bun, then go visit Beagle and give her some breakfast." "Okay. Wanna do some sparring afterwards?" She said, walking up alongside me. 3 days. "Anything else on our schedule today, Shrike?" "Yeah. We've got a mission brief after lunch. Gonna blow up some drej. Again. For the third time this week. Damn, I'm getting bored of it... " After a nice, hot cinnamon bun with Shrike, I replicated some salt mackerel - Beagle's favorite. Upon my entering her quarters, Shrike closely following, I found that she was already awake, doing a little warm-up swimming before she had to put on be bio-mechanical arms and legs. I got in the water with her, and brought in the bucket of mackerel with me. "Morning. Thought you'd like a little surprise." "What's the surprise?" she inquired, poking her head out of the water.. "Your two favourite things." I said. She jumped straight out of the water, knowing that her two favourite things were: being fed, and belly rubs. I loved it every time she jumped for me. I looked over to Shrike. "I'll meet you on the sparring deck in 10 minutes, okay Shrike?" "Alright." She said, leaving Beagle's quarters. I sat on the edge of her pool, and began to feed her, one fish at a time. "Anyway, Beagle, there's something I wanted to talk to you about." "Sure. What is it?" She asked. "It's about Shrike. She wants to..." I stopped myself in mid-sentence. "Mate with you?" "Yeah. I... kind of just found out." "Don't worry. I've known about this for a bit, and from what I can tell she really loves you." "I know. I just wanted to talk about it. I'm a little freaked out. " "She's been holding herself back for a while. Her affection for you is so intense that she wants to show it to you in the most direct way possible." "Couldn't I just make a holo of myself or something? You know, like a replacement? " "If all she wanted from you was sex she would have. She loves you much more than that. Mating is just about the only thing that hasn't been changed by technology, and all species seem to express their affection in this way." "Since you once had a mantrin for a partner, can you just tell me a bit of what to expect?" I asked. "Well..." she searched her mind for something to say. "I can't speak for the females, but I can tell you that mantrins have the longest, slowest, most soothing and relaxing mating process out of all the species. Not vigorous back-and-forth motions like humans, but... well, I'll save the surprise for you." "Are there any weird ceremonies I have to perform?" "Not before the act itself. The official ceremony, where you're officially pronounced mates, is pretty close to the human custom of marriage. You do the standard kiss, boring speeches, then share blood, then party." "Kiss her? I've got lips. She's got a beak." "You'll get used to it. And the blood-sharing part isn't all that disgusting - you just cut each other's wrist open and let your blood flow into hers and vice-versa. It symbolizes the bond." I winced, then fed her some fish and started rubbing her belly. She let out a squeak, which always fascinated me - dolphins, although they had become sentient, still kept their original 'language' of various squeaks, barks and other sounds. She submerged while I was rubbing her. I went under too, then I started singing to her. I could sing, sort of like how dolphins could, but it always put a lot of strain on my vocal chords. After a little while we surfaced, and I gave her another fish. "You see," she said, "you can be a cold-blooded killer, but you have the capacity to be a passionate lover. You two have been in courtship for a while now, and whether that courtship is a success is up to you." I nodded. "I'd better get to the holodeck. Wouldn't be good to keep Shrike waiting." "I understand. Let her love you, Skorp, and you'll feel a lot better." "Alright. Bye." After that, I left to go to the holodeck for some sparring with my soon-to-be mate. I ate lunch alone. I needed some space, mainly so I could read the data from Sonia. The part about "how-to" was the longest. It took me almost an hour to read it. Apparently her mating drive is 6 times stronger than that of the average human male (not that I was average at that point), and during mating season, it rockets up to 26. She develops the urge very quickly and loses it very slowly. The only way to keep the hormones from taking over her system is either pregnancy or frequent mating. I swallowed the lump in my throat, nearly cringing at the thought of how busy I'd be here when that time came around. I also contemplated my position with Beagle. I knew I was getting close to her, and I liked how my relationship had progressed with her. Very slowly, but surely. I didn't think I was ready for anything that intimate yet, though... let alone with Shrike... I had just finished when Shrike walked in. "Time to go to that brief. Shall we?" she asked. "Okay." I said, putting my plate back into the replicator. My legs and back complained when I stood up, still tired from that intense sparring match with her. She was the most agile and skilled opponent I knew, when it came to hand-to-hand combat. We walked together, and upon occasional inspections of her facial expressions, I could tell in her eyes what she was thinking. I pretended not to notice. It freaked me out even moreso when I wondered if she was thinking about it. We got to the briefing room after a brief walk. "After you, Shrike." She walked in, I followed. "You two are late" Serena said. Serena was in scorpion mode - apparently we had the ability to "morph" our bodies between human and scorpion modes, in a complete physiological change. She stays as a scorpion most of the time, while I prefer to stay human, and only morph when I really need to, like in a fight. "Alright, alright. What's going on this time?" I said, trying to get into the briefing, taking a seat beside Anshar, with Shrike beside me. Serena started the briefing, with the display screen of the briefing room lighting up and showing off its little animations of how the mission was expected to unfold(and was also rarely accurate). "Alright everyone, listen up: The drej have been annoying breeder colony DN-19 - a planet populated mostly by dolphins. The enemy has a small outpost near there, and command wants us to take it out. The drej attacking breeders is not to be tolerated. We will be teamed up with the 42nd mantrin and 76th scorpion squadrons, and our orders are to wipe the sector clean of drej activity. The operation starts first thing tomorrow morning, first thing. So customize your ship loadouts now or before the night ends. In the morning you'll be too tired to make good choices, and we have to show up early. We're the best team in the fleet, and we've got to set the example. Any questions?" I looked around the room. None. "Okay then. Mission starts at 0700. Be on the flight deck by 0630." She said, finishing up. I went to bed early that night, not that it did any good; I couldn't sleep at all. Why is this happening to me? I thought, as I tossed and turned, the night slowly creeping by, one second at a time. Of all things... yesterday, everything was fine. I was plain ol' Skorp, and didn't have anything to worry about... My best friend is in love with me. Has been since the first week I knew her. Why me? Fuck. What's worse... is that if I don't mate with her, she'll either die very soon or when her heat season comes up. I don't want her do die... I care about her a lot... But do I care enough about her to mate with her? I can't. I won't. I promised myself a long time ago that never, ever, would I fall for anyone. I'll lose control of my life, I'll regret it forever. Living on earth taught me that, and it's no different out here... Love is nothing more, after all, than a trick that DNA plays so it can replicate. I sighed. Stuck between a rock and a fuckin' hard place... ____________________________________________________________________________________ Shrike, always having been the type to get a good night's sleep, headed to her quarters after a late snack. "Lights." She commanded as she entered the room, the computer responding accordingly. She stepped into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Satisfied with her facial appearance, she took a whiff of her armpitts. Ugh. Better get washed. She thought, looking over at the bathtub. She filled it quickly, not wanting a shower. It was easier for her to get clean without wetting her wings this way. Had she taken a shower, she would've surely spent the night trying to dry her wings. The feathers were bitches, and could retain water almost as well as they could fly. Once the bath had been run, she stepped into the water and began washing. She laughed to herself a little, thinking of how much nicer it would be if she didn't have to have wings. After all, she barely used them. But then, Skorp would have no wings to rub. And I wouldn't spend as much time with him as a result. She continued to wash, making sure to give her arm pits a very good scrubbing. She didn't pay much attention to her legs, as big as they were. She wanted to concentrate mainly on the sources of stink on her body. As she washed away, her thoughts drifted from one subject to another. The mission tomorrow, her combat training... Skorpion. Oh... She thought as her hands reached her tail and pubic bone. Coincidentally, of course. She exhaled deeply as her hands crept lower, almost instinctually. Inching along, her hands slid slowly until they met... just outside her vulva. Her eyes shut as her fingers, though rough and clawed, sank slowly inside the opening. A moan escaped her beak. Little by little, her fingers slid inside, her vaginal muscles, nearly by themselves, as if they had a life of their own. Instinct quickly took over her her body, each motion filling her with carnal extasy... Until the soap fell into the water, creating a splash. And a noise. Which promptly distracted her, and forced her consciousness to re-assert itself over her instincts. Skorp... She thought, quickly pulling her fingers from her genitals. She stepped out of the bath and grabbed a towel. Once she started drying off, she paused to look up at the counter. There, she had placed a picture: Her behind Skorpion, and Beagle in front of him. She had modified it so that it was only her and him in the picture. She wondered if, in her sentiment, she had become infatuated with him She decided at that point that it would be best for her to get some sleep. Once out of the bath and dried off, she headed to her bed and turned off the lights. The sheets were warm and soft, freshly replicated. Quickly, she pulled them over herself, folded up her wings and grabbed her plushie. She laughed slightly as she took it into her arms. It was a dolphin, which resembled how Skorpion had described himself, should he ever be a dolphin: grey skin, light blue belly, with red stripes stemming back from the eyes. She'd learned about the human predilection for stuffed companions, and had secretly made and modified one just for herself. She cradled it in her arms, as if it were the real thing. A tear pearled at her eye and ran down her face. I hope that Sonia's info was enough. She hasn't exactly had many human specimens to study when it comes to this. She sighed. As long as Skorp can learn to love me, I'll be fine... I don't know what I'll do if he says no... ____________________________________________________________________________________ I woke up the next morning at 6:00. I was tired. I stumbled my way out of my quarters, and still had my armor on. At least it was comfortable enough for me to not notice that I was wearing it. I snatched a quick bowl of boring cereal, got Beagle and Shrike up, then got down to the flight deck. My fighter - a sight for sore eyes - was fully loaded out and ready to go. Slowly and surely, everyone got to their ships. I leaned against the outside of mine and caught a few extra moments of sleep. At least, for a little while, until I recieved a swift punch in the gut. "Oof." I said, feeling the wind get knocked out of me. Looking up, I saw it was Serena. "Wake up." She said. "You can't sleep now that you're out here. It'll only slow your waking-up process." "I can never understand how you sleep so little, and seem so awake all the time." I said, standing back up. "I don't need much sleep." She said. "Fuck off." I said. "I do. I need at least nine hours, or I'm a cranky bitch." "Like right now?" "Exactly." The launch bay doors opened, and everyone else came onto the flight deck, Shrike included. Having slept on the issues of yesterday, I felt a little less stressed about being around her. However, I still wasn't at all over the fact that, in two days, her and I would either be the best of lovers, or the worst of enemies. I walked up to her. "Ready?" I asked. "Possibly." She replied cockily. "Depends on what I should be ready for." "Killing shit." "Oh, yes. Always ready for that." She replied. We climbed into the fighter, her in the gunner seat, I in the pilot's seat. What we each did best. I leaned back into the chair and flipped on the power. Clicks, whirrs and beeps resounded as the ship's displays flickered and lit up. "Good morning, captain. Would you like to run the preflight tutorial?"The computer asked. "Negative. Power up all systems and prepare for combat. Set autopilot until we reach the rendezvous point." A confirmation sound was heard, and the ship began to power up. One by one, the ship's systems powered up. The launch bay's massive doors finished openining, allowing the morning suns to shine in their crimson rays onto the flight deck. I squinted from the glare on the deck, promptly activating the cockpit's solar shield. Soon after, the ship's autopilot took control and flew us out of the hangar, to the rendezvous point. Upon our arrival, the leader of the 42nd was the first to greet us. "Welcome, X-hunters. We've been expecting you." She was then followed by the leader of the 76th. "Good morning, X-hunters. I trust you all slept well." I got on the vidcom with him. "No, we didn't actually. We're falling asleep over here." "You'll just have to make do" he said, "because now we've got some drej to take care of. "Roger that." I replied. "And let's get this over quick. I plan on going back to bed as soon as it is." With that, everyone formed up and we warped out to the attack coordinates. ____________________________________________________________________________________ As soon as the warp-in process finished, lock-on alarms and target acquisition alarms started blaring away. The cruel, cold blue swarms of drej fighters bolted from their base, emerged from subspace, or jumped out of the shadows of nearby astral bodies in an all-out brawl. Nothing unexpected, lasers firing everywhere, ships exploding before the slightest chance to evade... I swooped in to make my first kill as a drej fighter clumsily flew through my crosshair . "Let's do some fighter-hunting, Shrike. Then we'll go after that base." "Okay." she replied. " I've got us covered. Save some for me." The two fleets brawled and fought like two swarms of angry insects, and for each fighter that went down, two more took its place. Shrike held her own rather easily, chanting some mantrin battle anthem as she blasted away any target that was unlucky enough to fall in her sights. The fighter rattled with each cannon burst, either from her turret or my main guns as we dogfought our way through the teeming mass of drej fighters. Once most of the fighters were cleared away, Admiral Kayen came onto the vidcom. "The majority of the fighters are out of the way. Allied forces, move in on that base. Bomber squadrons are inbound." "Got it, admiral. Let's go, X-hunters!" I said, turning my ship toward the base and kicking the ship into full thrust. As our engines burned away, a thick plume of light trailing behind us. The engines whined under the stress of being at maximum throttle. From behind us, a chasing drej interceptor fired its lasers, shaking the ship and cutting off our speed, forcing us to accelerate to it again. "Damn!" Shrike growled. "I missed him, Skorp. He's too fast. All yours." I winced as the interceptor, almost teasingly, flew into view. My missile lock indicator, right on cue, showed up and began tracking the fighter, which strafed tauntingly from side to side, up and down. I maintained the ship's heading and hit the afterburners, pinning me to my seat, Shrike thrown back, who protested promptly and loudly. "We've got company!" Shrike shouted. "Six interceptors on our six, closing, one kilometer away!" "Fuck!" I said, looking at my radar display incredulously. Six red blips, closing fast. Still, I was going to kill that cocky interceptor pilot... I smiled spitefully as the missile lock indicator lined up on the interceptor and flashed. Wasting no time, I thumbed the launch trigger and watched the missile sail to its target... And explode just behind it. "Fuck!" I shouted. "Countermeasures. Computer, switch to and arm alternate ordinance! Change to double-firing mode!" A beep and click, followed by a loading sound. A new lock indicator shower up and started tracking the fighter. I waited impatiently, waiting for the lock confirmation sound. Before the indicator could line up, target lock alarms started to wail and flash on my HUD. I kicked the ship into afterburners again, forcing another vociferous protest from Shrike. The missile lock indicator lost some footing on the acceleration, then regained it, quickly locking up despite the drej pilot's attempts of bravado. I thumbed the secondary launch trigger angrily and watched as the missiles - four of them in total - sped their way toward the fighter. I grinned as the closed in, the interceptor ejecting countermeasures in vain. He managed to shake two of the missiles, but wasn't quick enough for the others... "Gotcha!" I said aloud, as the ship exploded in a blue flash. "Skorp!" Shrike shouted. "We have a probl-" She was interrupted by a shaking of the ship. I checked my radar screen again: Seven red blips, one of them, bigger and closer than the rest. Much bigger, and much closer. The ship shook again, this time with unfriendly blue arcs worming across the empenage and wings. "Warning:" The computer said coldly. "Energy disruption in progress. Engines offline." I gritted my teeth. "Emergency thrusters!" The ship shook again as the Drej pounded on us. I tried to fly us out, but emergency thrusters would only put us at a quarter of our maximum speed. I growled and attempted, in vain, to mentally will the ship into going faster. Like in an answer to my mental request, we suddenly got a burst of speed. I smiled and gave a yank to the control stick... Nothing. I tried again. My speed indicator showed that I was almost at full speed. Upon closer inspection, my engine power level was still at zero. I slammed my fist against the display panel in anger. Shortly after, it turned blank. One after another, the ship's systems lost power and shut down. "Shrike, they're tractoring us!" I shouted, activating my armor suit's buster cannon. "Pull out a rifle! We're not going quietly!" I waited, powering up the buster. "Shrike!" I said, scampering over to her gunner seat. The ship was black, I couldn't see a thing. I felt around only to find her seat empty. A high-pitched hissing sound filled the cockpit, followed by a flash. No more than a second afterwards, everything went completely black. Completely. ____________________________________________________________________________________ My eyelids fluttered. I felt numb all over, and I could'nt move. All I could see was a brown blur, a blue blur... I could hear a hissing sound. Or... more like a ringing sound. My senses had obviously been dulled by some kind of shock that had knocked me out while I was still in my ship. I winced as a sharp pain shot across my face and neck. My hearing started to return, and so did my vision. The ringing sound in my ears let up and I could then hear something different. Something akin to... A scream. "...oooooooooOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRP!" Another sharp pain. Felt a lot like a beak smashing into my face. "SSSKOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRP!" "FUCK!" I shouted, trying to move. I squirmed, trying to move my arms and legs, finding myself restrained somehow. "I'M HERE! I'M AWAKE!" "GOOD!" came the scream. My vision cleared. It was Shrike. "We're in some kind of detention cell on the Alahena herself." She was on top of me, and I realized that we were tied together. "The Alahena? As in, the drej? Mothership? Planet killer?" "Yes. Three for three. You deserve a prize. LOOK AROUND!" I did so. Although I knew we were on a drej ship, from everything looking like it was made of blue lightning." "Fuck off." I said angrily. "How long was I out?" "I'm not sure. I only came around a few minutes before you did." "Why are we tied together like this?" She took a quick look around, then returned her gaze to me. "They're researching us. They want to see us... mate." "You've got to be shitting me. What do they know about mating?" "Not a lot. From what I can understand of the drej language, they wanted to tie a male and a female together and see what happens." "Those arrogant little-" "It gets worse." She said, interrupting. "Queen Susquehana wants to fight you herself, then kill you while high-ranking reploids watch. They'll also demonstrate the power of this ship by destroying a planet - T.E.. If the fight is a success, the drej and the reploids will ally." "Okay, I'll bear that in mind. What did you hear about their knowledge of matings?" "They don't know anything, just that it takes a female and a male, and that body fluids are transferred." But I'll bet they don't know which body fluids get transferred. She continued: "...apart from that, they have absolutely no clue what goes on." I could see tears start to well up in the corner of her eyes. I had to get her mind off mating. Easily, one could tell what she was thinking: we're both going to die, and that this is the last moment we'll have together. "Well, I have absolutely no intention of educating them." I said firmly. "Mating takes a lot of energy from what I hear, Shrike, and I'll need all the energy I can get if I'm going to face off with that queen." She lowered her head and shut her eyes. I didn't know what to say. "I don't think we're going to make it through this, Skorp." She said, taking on a very soft tone of voice. She looked back up at me. I looked into her eyes. Wow. She really is beautiful. I'd always thought that she was very good-looking, although never had I imagined I'd think such a thought. She blinked, then moved her head closer. With each inch that she approached her head to mine, my heartbeat quickened. I couldn't move, however. I squirmed anyway, trying to back up. She stopped approaching and shut her eyes again. A sigh of despair escaped her beak. A friend in need... I thought at her sight. I didn't know if I could give her what she needed, knowing fully that it was me. I raised my head a bit, moving my mouth closer to her beak. She opened her eyes and saw it... Oh god... I'm crazy... She pulled herself closer. Every nerve tingling, every muscle tensing, she opened her beak slightly, then closed it over my mouth... I exhaled deeply at the warm contact of her tongue on mine. It was long, she pushed it far into my mouth, tasting me. I pushed mine in and felt along her sharp, serrated teeth inside her beak. It felt like hours that she and I were entwined in the embrace, stuck mouth to mouth... I think I'm in love. I thought. I wanted to reach out, touch her and hold her. Couldn't. Both of us were pinned. Apart from our heads and necks, neither of us could move. Therefore, I did what I could. Breaking the kiss, I deactivated my helmet enhancements, and then the helmet armor sections. She did the same. She backed away slightly, letting me see her eyes. She was on the brink of tears and was breathing shallowly. What harm could it do? I thought. Then she leaned over and we kissed again. And again. And again. I'm... falling for her... I couldn't bring myself to stop. I felt her getting warm around her genitals - a sign of sexual arousal in mantrin females, as I recalled from Sonia's datapad. I could feel the warmth through both her armor and mine. But we were too close to deactivate. We can't mate. Not here. Not now... Even though her legs and arms were spread, and her wings fully extended. We were in the mantrin's mating position. Her and I proceeded through embrace after embrace for what seemed like forever... Suddenly, two drej burst through the wall of our cell, abruptly ending our intimate encounter. The energy beams that held us both in place were cut off and we were released. "You shall face you death now, at the hands of our queen." One of the guards said aloud. I turned to Shrike and whispered "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. She's not going to kill me." There were more guards waiting on the other side of the wall. Drej can walk through their own walls, since both they and anything belonging to them is pure energy. A total 8 guards escorted us to the queens 'throne room' where she usually resides and rules over the rest of the drej. As we got in, I saw her. She was bigger than most of the drej, and obviously more powerful. She turned and spoke to me. "Ah, the human male hybrid. I hope you enjoyed our hospitality." I looked at her with a scour on my face. "Could be improved. The room service sucked. But... I hope you had the pleasure of watching me and my female companion here mate." "It was quite interesting" she replied, "wathcing you mortals give in to your disgusting need for procreation. But it is quite fascinating to watch." So she was watching us. Shrike leaned over to me. "We didn't mate." "I know," I said "but she doesn't know that. They know body fluids are transferred, but they don't know which ones." Then two guards pulled Shrike over to the corner, and watched her closely. I remained in the middle of the room, the huge queen just a few meters in front of me. "Now, you'll be killed, and the death warrant of the alliance will be signed." She said. "Do you like surprises?" The battle had begun. I engaged all armor and enhancements and dodged her first attack. I flipped and kicked her to knock her off balance, then rammed my fist into her thorax. She took the hit and fell back. She charged forward and knocked me off my feet as she swung her massive arms in one swift blow to my chin. She jumped on me, but I fired off an X-buster charge and deflected her attack. The fighting went on like this for a few minutes... Then she got cheap. As soon as I was vulnerable, she went for the weakest and most sensitive point on all males, myself included. And it hurt. A LOT. I fell to the ground, temporarily paralyzed by the intense pain. If Shrike was watching, she probably got real angry. "Humans. They're so weak." I looked up at her after she said that. "There's something about me that you should know." "What, you pitiful mortal?" "I'm not human." As soon as I said that, I got up. And deactivated my X-armor and all enhancements, leaving me in the clothes that I usually wore around the base when I'm not on mission. "Giving in to the inevitable outcome of your death, human?" "No. Showing you what I really am." And with that, I flexed the muscles on my shoulder blades and my spine, triggering the mutation that would make me a scorpion. I felt everything about me change. My blood went from iron-based red to acid-based green. Spikes grew out of my spine. Claws burst out of the ends of my fingers and toes. My eyes went from dull blue to fiery red. And I watched my skin break up and tear itself apart as my new external appearance grew in. The black exoskeletal armor plates covered my entire body. I was as tall as she was now. "I am FAR from being human." And I am pissed off and out for revenge. With new agility I sprang towards her with blinding accuracy and lunged directly at her exposed neck and knocked her to the floor with that attack alone. Revenge. I dove my claws into her upper thorax and dragged them down. She's a queen, therefore she's female. Therefore, what has she got that I don't? I looked down between her legs, and sure enough. I went straight for it. "Apparently evolution hasn't taken away the one thing that all lifeforms need, queen Susquehana. Too bad you won't live to use it again." I drove both arms in and back out with such force it knocked her across the floor. Then I reverted back to my natural human form, and reactivated all X-armor and weapons. X-energy is deadliest to drej energy. I aimed my X-buster cannon at her and started charging. I watched the energy particles flow towards me, and they were changing color: blue... yellow... red... then white. The energy was at maximum charge and was flowing through my entire body. I leaned forward and, in one continuous motion, clasped my hands together and released the energy. The charge emerged from both my hands and grew as it pulsated with the deadly energy. It flew forward with amazing speed and hit her head on. She was then pinned against the wall. I readied my next weapon, which was fully charged: the X-saber. Only Serena and I have one. It's a sword composed of X-energy so intensely concentrated that it can cut through anything, and drej queens are no exception. I took it out of its sheath and leapt into the air towards her. Then, as I got closer, I brought it down swiftly in a bright arc so fast that she didn't have time to react. It cut clean though her. I deactivated my armor again, and then knelt beside her. "Why... this cannot be..." She said. "Deal with it." I replied cockily. I threw myself onto her shuddering, weakened body and began charging again. I felt the energy welling up in my veins. I heard Shrike scream as she tore through the two guards and threw herself on top of the queen as I did. She was charging as well. Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, I released. With no cannon to go through, the energy went out like a shockwave from my body. Shrike had done the same. "Skorp, look! T.E.!" I looked out the window she was pointing at and saw T.E. There were a lot of drej ships present, but also reploids as well, and from the look of it they were going to ally. "They're probably going to destroy it and kill us to show the reploids how powerful an ally they could be. Shrike, listen: I have my energy subtank still fully charged. If we detonate it on their planet eating death ray, they won't be able to destroy T.E." "Great, Skorp. Let's do it-" "No, wait. You take it and attach it to the reactor. I'm gonna extract the orb from this queen. If I can do that, they won't be able to produce another one for a while." "Okay. Meet you on the hangar deck in 5 minutes." And with that, I gave her the subtank and took the orb. Little arcs of blue energy ran up and down my arms. I found her on the hangar deck fighting off drej. I helped her with the last of them, then we both got into a fighter. "You ready, Shrike?" "Ready as I'll ever be." I launched the fighter out of the huge hangar. There were already swarms of ships attacking each other: drej, allied, and reploid. As soon as we launched we were being attacked, and by Serena and Beagle, no less. I dodged all of their well-aimed shots, then tuned in to the X-hunters frequency. Serena was the first I heard. "That pilot flies as good as Skorp, Beagle." "Yeah" Beagle replied "too bad he and Shrike are dead." At that point I burst in: "We are very much alive, Beagle. But we're exhausted and I'm choking on drej energy." "SKORP!" they both shouted. "Get on vidcom!" Beagle said. So I did. "Whoa. You two had better get back to the planet. I'm going to ask the admiral." I heard her make the request, and I overheard her say "Negative on that authorization. I need all my ships up there." "Serena, put me on with her." Deessa appeared on my vidcom. "Admiral, look at me! I stole a drej ship at the cost of my own, killed the queen, stolen the orb which is slowly killing me and you're telling me I can't leave?" "We need that ray destroyed, or 4 billion sentients will die." "Already taken care of. Shrike?" "Got it," Shrike said. "Detonating subtank now." I looked over at the ray and it was, sure enough, exploding. "Don't make me remind you of that fateful day 2 months ago, admiral Kayen..." She thought for a moment. "Okay. Your Team Medical Officer can go down with you." "Thank you, admiral." Shrike looked at me, concerned, and said "You two didn't..." "No" I replied. "You see, she was in labor while she was a breeder, and the colony was under attack from reploids. I stayed with her for hours and delivered the calf myself." "Oh." she said, reassured. And we proceeded to the planet accompanied by Sonia. The orb was extracted and put into a safe containment field, and the injuries both me and Shrike acquired on the Alahena were fixed up. "Impressive" Sonia said "that you accomplished all objectives without having a clue what they were. You two have a few days of shore leave in light of recent achievements while the rest of the team is on duty at DN-19." Sonia returned to her ship and launched. I grabbed a quick meal, then went to the sparring deck. ___________________________________________________________________________________ I pummeled my fists through various holographic sparring partners. One after the other, my computerized opponents were defeated. I didn't know why, but after we'd gotten back I had a lot of energy to spend. I assumed that it was the drej orb, which had possibly, somehow, given me a tremendous boost of energy. "Skorp, can I come in?" Came a voice from the intercom. Shrike was at the door of the holodeck. "Sure. Come right in." I said. Then, I was hit by the realization. I quickly looked over at the date : February 14th. In her personal log she said she would... "There's something I need to talk to you about." she said, interrupting my little train of thought. "Sure. I wouldn't be a good team leader if I didn't let my team members speak their mind." "It's about another team member..." I tried to look surprised, even though I knew what she was going to say. "Me?" I said, pretending not to know that it was the correct answer. "I can't hide it anymore." she said, and walked towards me. She stopped only a few feet away. "Over the months, Skorp, I've developed certain feelings for you... and since I joined this team I've always felt we had something together, even from those first few days when everyone had joined the X-hunters. I... I love you, Skorp. Skorp..." she said, and dropped to her knees. Oh god. Here it comes... She swallowed the lump in her throat. I could feel one swelling in mine, about the size of a soccer ball. "Will you mate with me?" Wow. She just went right out and said it. I must have practiced a thousand times in my head the simple answer 'yes' over and over, but not when the request was so direct. Speechless, I paused for a moment. "Shrike," I began "we've been through a lot together and over time I know we've grown close. I'm sorry; if..." Then I stopped myself when I looked down at her. Tears were collecting in her eyes. She thinks I'm going to reject her. I'll bet she's had nightmares about this... I dropped to my knees as well, and kissed her. My arms quickly snapped up to her back, and I pulled her closer to me. "What I was going to say is that I'm sorry if I haven't paid much attention to you or your feelings while you were with us. And it took a kick in the head for me to realize that I feel the same for you." "You do?" she said as I wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yes. See, on the drej mothership, something happened. I don't know what it was about it, either our kiss or our seemingly final moments together, but I realized that I love you." She didn't say anything. She's not going to ask twice. I thought. So I looked into her eyes. "Yes, Shrike, I accept. I love you... and I'll mate with you." She came forward and hugged me, sighing deeply, happily. It meant that all the tensions that were built up - on both sides - were about to be relieved. She reached behind my shoulders and pulled the two switches that deactivated my armor from the outside. I did the same to her. Then we were both naked and I hadn't a clue what to do, as if the datapad Sonia gave me never existed. I was so focused on the moment, as I held my neck against hers, and we just held each other. I could feel her heart beating against mine, and I could feel the air rush in and out of her as she breathed. I closed my eyes and savored the moment. She whispered into my ear "I've loved you for so long..." then took my hands and placed them on the backs of her legs, near the base of her tail. She flapped her wings and extended them to their full 6-meter length. We started kissing almost nonstop. She reached down and found my balls, and started cradling them gently. I ran my right hand along her side and found her left breast. I followed along the contour of it with my fingers until I found her nipple. I went down and kissed it lightly. I looked back up at her and I knew by her expression that it felt good, that this is what she had always wanted. I was getting harder by the second. She took the length of my member into her hand and guided me inside her. Through the outer lips, inner lips, then stopped. I leaned back as she put her full weight on me and we got into the mantrin's mating position. She relaxed her legs and wrapped her beautiful wings around me. Once she was on top and I was fully flat on the sparring mat she took the rest of me inside her until I was all the way in. I shifted around far a bit. "What's wrong?" she asked in a whisper. "The last time we were like this, we were on the drej mothership. "I know. But now we're alone..." We resumed kissing and she leaned completely on me. Externally, neither of us were moving, except to touch and rub each other's bodies. But she was slowly tightening and relaxing the muscles all over the inside and outside of her vulva, producing a pleasurable sensation in both of us. It felt so good I lost all care for anything. It was like the universe finally gave us both a little break to get closer. I didn't care about anything: not the drej, not the X-hunters, not the alliance, not anything. Just being with her, mating with the one I love. What seemed like forever went by, and she was contracting a little faster now. She was also lightly thrusting herself against me, and I realized be were heading for our peak. In anticipation of the orgasm I let her flop herself down on me as she relaxed every muscle in her body except for her vulva, which was still heavily contracting. The thrusting and contracting grew faster. Faster. Faster... We both hit the orgasm simultaneously, an indescribable feeling as we kissed and writhed in the intense pleasure. Her contractions shifted over to me, making mine even more intense. I felt her beautiful warmth and shut my eyes it felt so good. It must have lasted a half-hour at least. We stayed in copulation for 3 days, kissing, rubbing, and touching each other, and mated again. Never have I ever felt like that. It was like the universe was in perfect harmony. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Epilogue of X-hunters Chapter 1: Love is deadlier than X-energy I was exhausted after the 3 days. Then Shrike and I spent the next day eating and sleeping, since we were both so tired from 3 days of being copulated together. Mating with her was relaxing, yes - but also exhausting at the same time. This 5th day was here, and I was busy preparing for the mating ceremony, which was necessary, apparently. Beagle was helping me put on my new golden armor. "I can't help but notice how good you look in this armor, Skorp. I think I'm going to fall for you." At that point, I said: "Are you... interested in me too, Beagle?" She looked at me, unsure of what to say. "Maybe, I guess." "Yes or no, Beagle. I need to know." "Yes" she said "If you really must know." I let out a sigh of relief. "I'd just prefer to find out from you rather than someone else." "Well, Skorp, don't be afraid. I won't be advancing on you anytime soon. You'll be busy with Shrike for a while. Mating season for Mantrins is coming up, you know. But I want to be next. You know that I love you." "How's the skynet holding up?" "The first and third fleets are patrolling every inch of space around T.E. Trust me, Admiral Kayen herself is overseeing it. The drej won't get within 5 light years of you two." "Alright. Let's do this, then, shall we?" "Of course." I walked out into the area that was set up for the ceremony. I'd call it more of a "ritual" because to me it seemed so weird. Shrike was already waiting in front of Serena, who was going to perform the ceremony. Normally the team leader would be doing this, but obviously since I'm the team leader, Serena has to do it because she's my second in command. Sonia was at the back, with a videoset to record the whole thing. We had already had dinner and the party/dance, and the ceremony was all that was left to do. I looked around. The rest of the team was seated except for Beagle. She escorted me to Shrike's side, then rubbed her "beak" in my neck briefly and took her seat. Once she sat down, she winked at me. Then I looked back at Sonia. She was smiling. "We gonna do this today?" Serena said, interrupting my train of though. "Yes" I replied, looking into Shrike's eyes. "By all means". After a long speech by Serena, it came my turn to speak. I turned to Shrike and said "Shrike, If there's one thing I've done to deserve you, I don't know what it is. But all I know is that we're here now, and that I love you. I can't think of one thing I don't like about you." She followed with her little speech. "Skorp, you come from an aggressive and violent species. But it's amazing how, through love, two people can come close together as we have. I've loved you since I first saw you, and I knew since then we had something together." Then came the giving. She went first, and gave me what looked like a computer chip, except golden, like my new armor. "It'll activate all level 2 enhancements on your new golden armor. Shields, speed, weapons, senses... everything will double in power." I took it and implanted it in the slot it fit in, then gave her the symbol of my affection. It was a golden locket, an old earth tradition. There were the slots for photos. One of her on the left, one of me on the right, and the middle one was empty. "Why is the middle one empty?" She inquired. I turned to Serena and asked "is it okay now?" she nodded and I turned back to face Shrike again. I leaned forward and we kissed, just like on the drej mothership. Once I pulled away, I said "Look at it now." Sure enough, a picture of us kissing replaced the empty slot in the middle. Then we did the bloodletting, and we both charged and fired our X-buster cannons into the air at the same time as we kissed again. Then I deactivated all armor, as she did, so we were both wearing our casuals. She spread her wings as grabbed onto me with her legs and arms. Serena said "I now pronounce you mates." Shrike gave a few powerful flaps and we took off. The team was cheering as we flew off into the blue void of the sky. I'd probably flown thousands of times, but not like this. It was so romantic. She flew us off to the secret mating area she had chosen. We flew over a pod of Dolphins, which I recognized to be the 21st elite dolphins team. They did a short jumping routine as we flew overhead. Eventually the mating site came into view. A cliff blocked most of my view, until I realized it was on top of the cliff. We landed smoothly and I got a look around. It was a field of silktails, a fern-like plant, only silky and fluffy, kind of like a horse's tail. They were long and bushy, and very soft. She plucked one from the ground and ran it through my fingers. I turned away from her and admired the view of the water and the setting suns in the distance. Zeta Cygni - the star system T.E. was in - was a binary star system. I looked around. The command center looked like a small speck in the distance. "Why did you pick this place, Shrike? What's the story behind it?" I asked, still looking around. "Well... this goes all the way back until I was a hatchling. I used to play in a field of silktails when I was being raised in my tribe, and I knew once I found my true love we would mate in a field of silktails. It's my dream, and now that we're together in this perfect moment, it's like I'm living out this dream. What's your dream? What do you strive for?" she asked as she finished her little story. "My dream is - or was - to be a dolphin trainer. I'd always loved dolphins, and I'd never been with one my entire life until after earth was destroyed, but I knew I wanted to be with them and work with them." I waited for a response, but didn't get one - or a verbal one, at least. From behind, she put one hand in my shirt, stroked my left nipple, and plunged the other one in my pants, found my member, and started gently squeezing and rubbing it. Her tongue found my other free nipple and she licked it, then brought her tongue up to mine and rubbed them. She's masturbating me. I thought as I leaned back to savor the moment. It felt so good. When I turned to face her, I saw she was already naked. She had even taken the locket off. I got a good look at her. She was quite attractive - good-sized breasts, and I felt the warmth of her vulva almost radiating against my body. She got even closer and helped me get my clothes off. We were kissing passionately. As the last of my clothes came off, she laid me down on a soft bed of silktails, wrapped her huge beautiful wings around me, then brought herself down on top of me. Slowly but surely, she pulled me inside her, then relaxed and put her full weight on me. She was heavy, but I could take it. She followed the same slow but steady rhythm of squeeze-release as she contracted and relaxed all the muscles in her vagina. I could feel both our hearts beating against each other again. I brought my hands up behind her shoulders as comfortably as I could, then rested them and enjoyed the feelings of closeness and pleasure which were dominating the one thought in my head: how much I love her. I was deeply concentrated on the moment, as we kissed and rubbed - the feeling was almost overwhelming. The hours seemed like days. Throughout the entire mating process, the muscle flexing grew stronger and faster - the orgasm was approaching. I pushed myself inside as far as I could. We got closer... and closer... and eventually the intense climax was upon us. We reached it simultaneously again - a wonderful shivery feeling of warmth and pleasure coursed through my entire body, and hers - her contractions were so strong they shifted over to me, making my orgasm even more intense. We closed our eyes and exhaled. The orgasm lasted about 10 minutes, and the sensation of warmth about a half hour, at least. The sun had set and the warm night wind caressed our bodies. I felt the careless freedom I usually feel while singing to Beagle underwater. The universe was at a constant war with me. But at a time like this one, I couldn't help but feel at peace...