Battle For Earth Read online

  Midway down the long undecorated and dimly-lit corridor we passed Kaya. She didn’t say a word as our gazes locked, but tears were streaming down her face and I felt that bubbling rage rise up to the surface just before I turned away unwilling to look into those eyes any longer. A part of me wanted to reach out her, to tell her everything would be alright, but another part wanted to start yelling and cursing at her at the top of my lungs.

  In any case Mara and the doctor had me inside the dark lab after a very short trip. They set me down atop a long narrow bed and the doctor moved away to flick the lights on. Unlike the corridor and the other room, the walls were stark white and looked as if they’d been painted sometime within the last few years. Below me the bed came thrumming to life and a strange white board, which had been previously indistinguishable from the wall, detached itself and hovered over the bed. Bright white light blinded me and I closed my eyes against the illumination.

  “It shall only take a moment,” the doctors’ voice spoke as the bed began to thrum louder and louder.

  Something inside of me stirred and I swore I could feel something ripple underneath my skin… ‘LIFE!’ the K’teth’s voice screamed within me and I clutched at the side of my skull as my screams joined those of the being lurking under the surface.

  God it hurt! Never before in my life had I known such pain! My body was burning from the inside out and I thought that I would lose consciousness at any moment. Yet, the darkness never came and the pain kept on building until it reached a climax and I thought that every fiber of my being would be consumed. I writhed in agony and thought that if it didn’t stop soon that it just might prove to be too much.

  Then I was beyond it, and there was only the pain, but then it was joined by something else. Power the like of which I’d never known. I could feel it waiting to be seized and I had only to reach out for it to be mine. So I did exactly that, or tried to, but it was the K’teth within me that reached out. I could feel the energy being pulled into me and while the pain wasn’t diminished somehow it became more bearable. It began to focus on different parts of my body starting in my face, but briefly extended to my scalp my shoulders and chest, but then it ceased and the light from the hovering platform disappeared.

  ‘Not enough!’ the K’teth’s voice screeched inside of my head.

  My eyes snapped back open and I found that I didn’t feel nearly as weak as I had before coming into the lab. I glanced over to my side and felt my eyes grow wide as I looked on the doctor. The board which had been hovering over me was clutched in his arms and his chest was rising and falling almost as if he’d overexerted himself. I slowly sat up and felt hair fall into my face…

  ‘What the hell…’ I thought, as I reached out to touch it.

  It must have been close to fifteen centimeter long, but that wasn’t the odd part… It had gone from my usual brown to blue! ‘Blue? Blue like those damned Edant K’teth,’ I thought my hands starting to shake. ‘What the hell are you doing to me!’ I yelled at it.

  ‘Damn you, answer me!’

  ‘More life! Need more life!’ the K’teth muttered its voice growing weak and distant.

  I shook my head and sat up locking eyes with Mara. “Dear god!” She gasped and took a step back the moment we matched gazes.

  “Vakrexid would not believe it, if a rolling claxid had come along and beat upon my trelp!” the doctor suddenly called out.

  I turned my head back the other way and watched as the doctor gently placed the board down then turned to me. “Vakrexid knows what has happened to you.”

  “Then whatever that thing was… it worked?”

  “No!” he cried his hands flapping wildly. “It didn’t work at all, but it matters not! What happened to you, it showed Vakrexid what I needed to know!”

  “And that is?”

  “You have been joined with a K’teth!”

  “I know…” I muttered quietly.

  “You did? Then why did you not tell Vakrexid?”

  “I-I was afraid about what you would do to me if you found out that I have this damn thing inside of me? Can I even trust myself? What if it takes control of me and forces me to…?” I trailed off unable to let myself utter the last few words.

  “Ah, Vakrexid believes I understand. The K’teth are a symbiotic species. Previously, it was always believed that among intelligent beings only the Qharr were able to join with them, but apparently it is not so. I cannot say with certainty, there is little known about their nature, but it is believed that the K’teth are incapable of controlling a Qharr host. Most likely it would be the same if a human were to bond with one.”

  I nodded, acting as if I was reassured by the doctor’s comment, but I didn’t feel even remotely better. I’d already had the K’teth take control of my body once before and if it could do it once there was a good chance it could do it again. What happened if it took over completely and I became a prisoner in my own body? There was, however, a small glimmer of hope. The K’teth had only gained control of me because I had let it do so, maybe it couldn’t control me unless I allowed it to. It was a flimsy hope I know, but if I let the rebels know that it was possible the creature could control me I didn’t like the prospect of what they might do to me.

  “Doctor, how exactly is it that you came to realize Jellfree was infected by this… what did you call it a K’teth?” Mara asked.

  “Vakrexid knew as soon as I activated the body scanner. Jellfree began to glow and consume the energy from it. It was fortunate for you Jellfree that Vakrexid was near. I was able to catch the upper unit once all its energy had been drained.”

  “I-I glowed… a-and consumed energy?!”

  The doctor bobbed his head, “That is how Vakrexid knew. That and the changes, only a K’teth has the ability to do such things.”

  “My hair… and eyes…” I said remembering that Mara had said something about my eyes.

  “And face…” Mara added.

  “Oh, god! What did that thing do to me! I need a mirror!” I yelled reaching out to touch my face. It felt wrong, my nose was far too small, my lips were just a tad fuller and my skin felt as smooth as freshly boiled g’tck. As I traced my hands over my face I realized that all my stubble was gone and my eyes grew wide as the doctor flung a mirror in front of my face. What I saw in that mirror was enough to make me sick. The reflected image was the visage was that of a woman, but not just any woman; it was the face of an incredibly beautiful one. The eyes were the strangest part of the face, they were so inhuman. They looked like magenta-colored swirled disks which when paired with the blue hair and feminine face would definitely make me stand out in a crowd.

  I shuddered and forced the mirror out of my face feeling tears start to form out of the corner of my eyes. The face I had seen in that mirror hadn’t looked anything like the form the K’teth had taken in my mind, but the hair and eyes were the same. I knew what the K’teth was doing to me, but I still didn’t understand why. What possible reason could it have for changing me into a woman? My new face was proof enough of its intentions, but that still didn’t provide any explanation.

  ‘Why?!’

  Again, the K’teth didn’t answer, but I was coming to expect it.

  “It is most distressing that the body scanner is no longer of use, but since Vakrexid has been left with no other choice I would still like to perform a physical examination. It would tell Vakrexid little in comparison to a full body scan, but I think it would be best so that Vakrexid may chron… No, that is not right. Ah, yes, document, that is the word. So that I may document your changes,” the doctor said suddenly.

  I let out a long sigh trying to calm myself and looked up at the doctor, “I guess… Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.”

  Vakrexid bobbed his head, “Strip down to your skin so that Vakrexid may examine your testicles!”

  Mara snorted and shook her head then stalked out of the room the sound of laughter following her as the door closed behind her.

  He
cocked his head, “Did Vakrexid say something wrong?”

  I snorted a bit myself then I looked over to the doctor, “Can we just get this over with?”

  “Yes, yes, of course, but first you must remove your clothes.”

  I sighed and started to unbutton my trousers, “Sure, doc… Whatever you say.”

  The doctor’s examination while brief was definitely an experience I wouldn’t want to repeat. I’d never met a human doctor, well, at least not that I could remember, since the Qharr had seen to it that anyone with advanced scientific knowledge be put to death. Because the gray-skinned assholes only allowed the most injured and sick to be treated by their healers I’d never actually had a doctor look me over. I shuddered, suppressing thoughts of Vakrexid’s long fingers running over my body like a dozen small tentacles. Hell, was it really necessary for me to turn my and head cough? What exactly was that supposed to tell him?

  Once he finished up he let Mara back into the room and I could tell by the look on her face that she was trying to determine what to do with me. “I’m sorry Jellfree, but you can understand why I’m concerned. There’s no telling what influence this K’teth creature might have on you,” Mara said, her eyes boring holes into me.

  I bowed my head and wiped away the tears from my face. “So what exactly do you intend to do, kill me?”

  “Nothing quite so drastic. For the time being I’d like to keep an eye on you. You’ll be allowed full access to all the communal areas of the compound, but I’m afraid I’ll have to insist you be escorted by an armed guard at all times. Just until we’re sure that thing inside of you is not a threat,” she said placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

  “Vakrexid agrees. It does not hurt to be cautious,” the doctor chimed running a hand up and down his center face tube.

  I nodded and forced down my fear as I met Mara’s gaze. Her concerns echoed my own that the K’teth might try to gain control of me or at least influence my mind. If it came down to it, I would fight the K’teth with every fiber of my being, but I wasn’t sure if it would be enough.

  “And…what about these changes?” I reached up to touch my face or maybe it was best to say the face the K’teth had given me. It wasn’t mine, not exactly.

  “They will continue,” the doctor tooted. “Vakrexid cannot say how long it will take, but if that face shows the truth of the K’teth’s intentions it will need to feed upon a very large amount of energy before it completes your transformation.”

  “Feed?”

  “Feed, what is the right word? The K’teth consume energy. To a point they can draw it from the host, but they cannot take much for fear of harming them. Feeding on the energy from the body scanner allowed it to transform your face. If it had more energy upon which to consume it could likely complete the changes,” the doctor said his big purple eyes blinking repeatedly.

  “What about phase energy?” Mara asked stroking her chin thoughtfully.

  “Yes, yes. It is why the Edant K’teth can withstand phase blasts. Energy is absorbed by the symbiote and some of it is passed back to the host. The host is given superior endurance, speed and strength as a result. It may be better to give the symbiote the energy it needs so as not to prolong your transformation,” the doctor replied.

  I shuddered and looked to the doctor then to Mara and finally back to the doctor. “There isn’t any way to stop it from changing me, is there? I-I don’t want to live my life as a woman.”

  “Vakrexid is afraid not, I am sorry, but even if Vakrexid were to operate and attempt to restore your facial features, there is nothing to keep the symbiote from returning it to the way it is now. The K’teth is bonded to you at the deepest most microscopic level; it is not just changing your genetic structure. That would not be unlike changing a blueprint after a building was built. No, it is changing you cell by cell. Moreover it is only because it has suppressed your immune system and is in fact acting in its place that your body has not rejected the new cells.”

  “Oh, god! So… I can either sit back and let this damned thing change me, or shit… I don’t really have any choices, do I?” I whispered. There was one possibility I hadn’t really voiced, I could take my life before the changes completed. The idea of committing suicide had always been pretty unappealing to me. Despite living under the Qharr’s thumbs for so long, but the prospect of becoming a stranger in my own body coupled with the fear of the alien entity gaining control of my mind terrified me.

  Mara eyed me thoughtfully. “This must be very taxing on you. Why don’t you get some rest? I’ve had a room prepared.”

  I stared into her eyes and swallowed hard as she met my gaze. She may have phrased it as a question, but I got the feeling that she meant me to do exactly as she had asked. That woman might have looked frail, but she had a core of steel and I just knew she wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

  I nodded. “That would probably be for the best.”

  Mara stood up, moved across the doctor’s lab and swung the door open. “Felix.”

  A tall lanky man who looked to be somewhere in his late thirties stepped into the room. He had a battered looking phase pistol holstered at his waist and he looked like someone who knew how to use it. His eyes scanned the room and when they landed on me, they widened slightly and he pursed his lips before his gaze settled on Mara.

  “Felix, be a dear and show our friend Jellfree to the guest quarters I had prepared. He has free access to any of the public area of the compound, but do try to keep him from wandering into areas that might get him into trouble,” Mara said placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling fondly.

  Felix nodded and muttered a “Yes, ma’am” before jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. “Coming?”

  

  Felix led me down the hallway and up a flight of stairs before stopping at a featureless door. Never once did he speak to me, and I wasn’t feeling very sociable so that was just fine by me. He kept glancing at me and looking at my face, and I suppose if our situations were reversed I’d have done the same. I was a pretty odd sight and with the female face, and the male body, not to mention the magenta-colored eyes and blue hair. Really, it was a wonder he could stop gaping for even a minute. It was humiliating, but I held my head up high and pretended like it didn’t bother me. What the hell else was I supposed to do? I stepped inside the room and heard the door shut behind me. I was a prisoner plain and simple, Felix knew it and so did I.

  The room really didn’t look all that different from the one I’d had back at the Qharr research compound. It was just little larger, and only had two pieces of furniture including a small chest of drawers and a bed, not a bed pad, but a real bed with a frame, foundation and mattress. I sat down on the edge of it and slipped my boots off then I just sort of melted into its soft surface. The last time I’d laid on a real bed my parents had still been alive and though I only vaguely remembered doing so the experience seemed very familiar. I savored the feeling of the fabric as I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh.

  ‘Are you there?’ I thought at the K’teth.

  For a moment I was met with only silence and I was about to call out to the alien creature again when it finally answered back. ‘I am always here.’

  ‘Why are you doing this to me?!’ I demanded screaming out inside of my mind.

  There was another pause, this one much shorter. ‘Because I must… I wish I could help you understand, but I know not the words. Your mind is still strange to me.’

  ‘Well that’s just swell and all, but I’d really like you to change me back now,’ I replied slamming a fist into the bed.

  ‘I cannot.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘If I did so much would be lost.’

  ‘Dammit… Are you trying to piss me off? Do you want me to trust you or not?’

  ‘Your trust is not necessary.’

  “Just tell me what it is you want!” I screamed growing so angry that I actually said the words out loud.

  ‘In time
. Now… now I must rest.’

  “Oh hell no! You’re not getting out of it that easily!”

  The K’teth ignored me and I howled in frustration. ‘Answer me! This is my body! The Qharr may have taken everything else from me, but the one thing they could never rob me of was my body! They might have claimed to own me, but this body is mine, dammit!’

  Again the symbiote was silent.

  “God damn you! You fucking parasite! I’m talking to you, you damned ass-dripping piece of shit!” I yelled letting out several curses I would never have otherwise let myself utter.

  No matter what I did or said to provoke the K’teth nothing seemed to work and I tried everything I could think of as I offered up insult after insult. Hell, I even threatened to do myself in and still the stupid thing wouldn’t answer. I sat back up in the bed–feeling my new longer hair fall into my face as I did so–and felt tears well up in my eyes. I was used to feeling helpless living as a slave, but this felt different. The symbiote threatened to take away the very essence of my being and I don’t think there was a thing I could do to stop it.

  I wiped the tears from my face then I stared at my hand… What the hell was that thing doing to me? Why was I crying? I felt so wrong… I didn’t feel like myself my emotions were so much closer to the surface than I was used to.

  “No,” I whispered clenching my hand into a fist. I wouldn’t let the K’teth have the satisfaction of seeing me succumb to my emotions so easily. I would be strong, more importantly I would be me! I wasn’t going to lose myself to the K’teth not if I could help it!

  I sighed and laid back in the bed, I stared up at the tiled ceiling and absently ran my fingers through my hair. I didn’t even know what time it was, but I was tired… Living as a slave had taught me how to sleep even when I feared for my life, and while the threat the K’teth presented loomed over me I was able to drift off into the world of dream without too much trouble.

  Chapter Six