Repopulated Chapter Six
She slid the cover back over the box and set it back on the table. Face white, her lips were clamped together as she returned to the couch.
Her seat rippled, reconfiguring to give her a more comfortable sitting experience as she sat heavily, her breasts bouncing as the tentacles continued to lap at her breasts.
“What’s wrong?” asked Kate. “This is excellent news! She’s given us a way to fight back, to get out of here!”
Jackie turned towards her, her face more gray than usual. “Deep down, I don’t believe we have any chance of escaping, even with this. The slugs around our necks would strangle us before we took even a single step. Doris knows this, so she’s suggesting another solution—if we can’t take the pressure.”
“Oh. Oh.”
Kate shook her head. “I think you have it all wrong. Yes, she got what she wanted from us, and it wouldn’t derail her plans completely if we took ourselves out. There’s still the eggs in our necks, though. We can be useful.”
She sniffed, feeling rather haughty. “Besides, I won’t let you do any such thing! I’m still getting used to these changes. I need you.”
“A heartwarming sentiment,” muttered Jackie, crossing her legs together as she scooted back on the couch.
Kate noted the fat length of her flaccid dick, a tingle running through the inner lips of her pussy as her throat clenched. Some of this attraction was undoubtedly caused by their Masters, but she couldn’t blame everything on them.
Jackie folded her hands and gave her a severe look, her human eyes squeezed shut as the triangle of blue alien eyes speared her. “I don’t want this responsibility,” she announced. “You can carry it, if you want, but after all I’ve been through, I don’t trust myself. I don’t trust my mind.”
Kate wanted to say something, but she sensed that Jackie was finally opening up, so she settled for resting a hand on her knee.
“I’ve been far too emotional lately,” Jackie sighed, turning her hands over to examine the sharp claws that had replaced her fingernails. “When all this kicked off, shooting seemed like the right thing to do. Now that it seems I’ve got nothing to lose, somehow it doesn’t.”
Kate gave her knee a squeeze. “Maybe you’re still worrying about me? I must assure you, I’m doing fine.”
She let out a low coo as her nipples tingled, giving her right breast a light caress with her free hand. “In some respects, I’m doing better than ever. I’m free to spend time with you without being worried about drawing disapproving looks. We can be together now, and nobody will care. That’s a huge triumph!”
Jackie gave her a wan smile. “You were always better at dealing with the stares.”
She thumped her head against the back of the couch, the material cushioning the blow. “I’ve made a decision. I’m not going to do anything. It’s yours. You can decide what to do with it, but I’m not going to touch it.”
Taken aback, a protest sprung to her lips. “But my aim is terrible! That one time you took me to the range, I could barely even get a shot on the paper!”
Jackie shook her head, but Kate wasn’t done. “I’ll probably end up shooting one of us by accident!” she pressed, dismayed when Jackie looked away.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jackie said obstinately. “I’m not touching it.”
Well, that seemed final. Kate sighed, poking her knee. “You’ve gotten into that stubborn mood again. Fine, I’ll hold onto it, but if anything bad happens, I’m handing it to you.”
Jackie grunted, but said nothing, crossing her arms under her chest. Both of them could play that game. She humphed and crossed her arms as well.
This pose didn’t last long, however, as the creatures sitting on her nipples stopped tugging. Confused, she examined them more closely.
The long tubes connecting them to her breasts had shriveled, becoming wispy white strands with the consistency of a snake’s molted skin.
As she pinched the withered tubes, they fell off, leaving behind small, rounded bodies that were still firmly clamped to her nipples. Curious, she ran her fingers over the blobby creatures, sighing as they shifted a little.
The seam between the edge of the creatures and her skin was tight, making it difficult for her to remove them. Besides, she didn’t particularly like the idea of tugging at them, as her nipples were feeling extremely sensitive.
She tilted up one of her breasts, looking at the top of her new adornments. The tip had a small dimple where the tube had connected, looking somewhat like a belly button.
Around the lip, its body shimmered, the light penetrating its translucent skin. There was a small amount of fluid stored inside, and its body was visibly expanding as it huddled against her breast.
She stared at the creature dumbly. It was helping to drain her excess milk, preventing her from getting uncomfortably overloaded, but this just felt strange. Now, she had an alien creature stacked on top of an alien creature, like some sort of extraterrestrial sandwich.
No, that wasn’t right. Her Masters were a part of her now. It wasn’t right to think of them as being something other.
Sighing, she prodded the creature’s flesh, chuckling when she noticed how it pulled away.
“They’re cute, aren’t they?” asked Jackie, her earlier intensity fading. “Like tiny external milk pouches. I wonder how they evolved?”
“Probably similar to bedbugs or ticks,” muttered Kate darkly, “but these seem to provide some form of benefit, so they’re not parasites.”
“Doris kept calling our Masters ‘symbiotes,’” noted Jackie, “and I have to admit they’re certainly improving our sex life, but only in service of their form of reproduction.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Kate asked airily. “That’s just the circle of life in action. Nothing wrong with that.”
Her dick flexed as she looked over the swell of her lover’s breasts. “Speaking of which... ”
A coy look appeared on Jackie’s face. “If you insist.”
Kate traced her fingers up Jackie’s thigh, snaking out a hand to grab at her dick, which was already beginning to engorge. “I’m feeling all empty and alone. I’d very much like to be held and filled to the brim with someone’s fat package.”
Jackie was about to say something when she froze, the slug around her neck squeezing tight as it inflated. Kate wheezed, scrabbling at her neck as she experienced the same thing. A pulse of control flooded into her brain and she sat up straight.
“We’re being summoned,” said Jackie flatly, saying out loud what both of them were feeling.
They were. Kate knew this with every fiber of her being, the tendrils of the Masters massaging her thoughts to calm her down, as if she was a frightened horse. Normally, this wouldn’t concern her too much, but there was something she had to do before the chamber’s portal irised open. Before the Masters ordered them to leave.
Not waiting for the next command, she leapt to her feet. Leaning over the end table, she pulled the top off the cardboard box and wrapped her fingers gently around the cold iron contained within.
She was careful to keep her finger off the trigger as she tried to figure out how to conceal it. Where could she put it? Would the aliens scan them before bringing them before their overlord? They wouldn’t expect a lowly breeder to possess a deadly weapon, would they?
Her anxiety grew as the tentacle arms at the portal rippled. She was running out of time. What should she do?
Her eyes flitted around, landing on an object resting at the other end of the couch. It looked like a breastplate. Doris must have left it behind when she had left, but why?
Marching over, she snapped it up and turned it around, suspicion blossoming in her brain.
There was a depression on the back side, large enough to hold the revolver. She placed it inside and lifted the piece up, giving it a test on her belly.
It probably wasn’t going to work. Although she was no longer filled to the brim with eggs, her breasts were still quite large, and there definitely wouldn’t be enough room to hide them underneath the armor plating.
Pushing it into place, she studied the fit. No it wasn’t going to... wait, hold on, this was actually working!
The piece had suctioned itself onto her skin, molding itself around her bust as it glued itself in place. Within moments, it was solid and secure.
She gave it a little tap with her knuckles, wincing at the hardness. She had no idea how she would access the weapon under the armored plate, but at least this would work!
A solid thrum pulsed in her head, and she turned towards the door, feeling the command taking hold. She had to follow the other breeder out into the corridor. She had to obey.
She gave in, allowing her body to follow the impersonal command. Her penis bobbed, swinging between her legs as she increased her pace.
This was okay. She was following their orders, and she had the means to protect her lover. She wouldn’t allow the Slanadorians to harm Jackie. She would ensure that both of them survived this. Somehow.
Exiting out into the corridor, she made a left turn, following Jackie as they walked up the ramp in a wide circle. A Tonkain appeared behind her, waddling along like a lost duck, its trunk in the air.
She was rather amused by its antics, but couldn’t spare it any attention. Her brain was fixed on the command given to her, all aspects of her mind working to obey.
There was comfort in obedience. The shimmering smoothness of a thoughtless mind was soothing, and the more she marched, the better she felt.
Another couple joined them at some point along the way but she barely noticed them. She was too far gone, her consciousness sinking under the direct control of her Masters.
Together, they marched around and around, climbing at a steady rate until the passageway leveled out, arched openings appearing on their left.
Circling around a pair of light stalks projecting from the wall, they stepped down into a sunken circle.
Around them were wide, tinted windows, giving them a good view of their environs. Purple land ingested by the Sturge spread out in all directions, truncated stalks of former trees billowing out infectious fluid that spelled the death of mankind.
In front of them was arrayed a central console, Slanadorian guards stationed at both ends. She couldn’t read their alien expressions, but they certainly looked fierce, lances cradled in their arms.
They were also equipped with pistols in their belts, coils of a silvery rope hanging from their sides. They could easily stun and wrap up an attacker with all of that gear. She shuddered, imagining what they might do to her if she attacked them.
Their multitude of legs trembled as they approached, the tubing on top of their heads throbbing as they systematically examined the new arrivals for threats.
Kate calmed down as their eyes skipped over her without lingering, ignoring the armored chest plate. They clearly saw her as just another breeder, nothing dangerous. She was safely under their control, just like the rest of them.
They were safe in this assumption, actually. At the current moment, Kate could no more turn her desires into actions than she could walk to the moon.
Her thoughts fluttered against the solid threads that bound her mind without resistance. She belonged to them.
On top of a raised dais was mounted a large chair, its back to them. The occupant stood on her tendril legs, facing a large screen mounted on the far wall.
She ignored them as they lined up in a row together, the commands in their heads forcing their legs apart into a resting posture. Their hands moved as one, thumbs and forefingers pressing together into heart shapes as they placed them over the top of their dicks, framing the thick appendages, which were quickly becoming erect.
An alien that looked like a converted human appeared from her right, stopping in front of her as it raised its hands. They appeared to be filled with a small, rounded blob of an alien.
She frowned through the iron control clamped around her mind. What were they planning on doing with that thing?
It didn’t look like the Master that had been taken from her head to be converted into a dick. Its body was rounded and flat, with two tendrils that stuck out from either side of its nose.
Unable to ask any questions, she was forced to wait as the creature was pressed into place above her forehead. It adhered over the spot where she had originally been infested, the tendrils draped over her skull as they brushed against the sides of her head.
The resulting tickling sensation was uncomfortable, but all this went away when the flattened ends slapped over her ears. The incidental sounds from the room at large vanished, helping her to focus better on their alien Mistress, who continued to wait in silence.
The converted human moved on to the others, producing more of the small organisms, but she didn’t care. She was rapt, her lips parted as she stared at the wide shoulders of her Mistress.
If the Masters did not have her within their control, she would have knelt and pressed her head into the metal decking. She was not worthy to lick Her foot tentacles!
The screen blinked, and another alien appeared, sporting the same head tubes as her Mistress standing on the dais. There were subtle differences, as the one on screen was wearing an elaborate crown.
The alien floated down a ramp, moving closer to the pickup. In the background were a collection of aliens like her, working feverishly at a circular bank of consoles that surrounded a glowing, red orb.
“Proctor Dahgla,” growled Mistress, bowing her head. “We are not worthy of being graced with with your august presence.”
“You are not,” said the alien without fanfare, her eyes glowing a powerful yellow. “Tell me, Khanja, what is the reason for your delay? The local region should already be in your grip.”
Kate blinked, now understanding the purpose of the alien sitting on her skull. It was meant to translate the alien words into something she could understand.
A humming throb pulsed in her mind. Mistress was prescient for thinking of this ahead of time! She couldn’t wait to worship her glorious head tubes and wash her delicate foot appendages!
Her thoughts were being changed again. She was under their control. She must obey.
Her dick strained forth, her body rock hard at being commanded in this way. She was here to highlight her Mistress’ command of the situation, nothing more. She was Her obedient slave.
“There has been more resistance than anticipated, Proctor,” replied Khanja. “We have had to send in our limited reinforcements in an attempt to get back on schedule. If we had another two ships, I am sure we could achieve the desired results.”
“You dare question our allocation of resources?” bit out the severe alien, her mouth fronds twirling outwards to show off her needle sharp teeth. “Show your remorse!”
Khanja grabbed at her neck tubes, trembling as she gave them a sharp tug. They burst outwards, a splatter of greenish fluid gushing out through the clean holes.
“I am mortified that I could not achieve your expectations! You should punish me for my failure!” she said, a fanatic fervor twisted through her words. “I am unworthy to be your protégé! Please, take this sign of my lifeblood and be merciful!”
This appeared to be an alien humiliation ritual. Kate was rather impressed by the dramatics, but would it be sufficient to mollify her Mistress’ superior?
The Proctor’s head tubes lifted up from her face, showing off a set of frills that were hidden underneath. “It is good that you do not forget your place, meerish. Make do with what you have, or the penalty will be even more severe.”
The screen blanked out, a hissing noise coming from Khanja’s lips as she spun about, green fluid squirting from her neck. She made a clicking noise with her tongue and folded her arms, glowering at the gathered slaves.
One of her bodyguards set aside her spear and approached, grabbing the ends of the head tubes and slipping them back into their sockets. She then proceeded to wipe down the mess that had been created with a cloth she grabbed from the table, unbothered by how the blood soaked through the linen.
Her Mistress must know the Proctor well. Khanja had been prepared for this to happen. She was happy that she was owned by a smart Mistress.
Unfortunately, that meant she would probably be hard on her slaves until she had achieved her goals. That didn’t mean much to Kate, though. She was quite willing to do whatever it took to please her Mistress.
When the guard was finished, Khanja stepped up to the edge of the platform, examining her slaves. She didn’t appear to be too happy at their appearance, but maybe that was just because of the stress she was under.
“You there,” she said, looking at Kate. “What’s your name?”
“Kate,” she replied automatically. “You look gorgeous, Mistress.”
Her lips formed the alien words without her thinking, the strange glottal gaps coming naturally to her speech as the alien on her head smoothly translated for her.
The flattery settled down the tubing around Khanja’s frills, the alien crossing her arms. “At least someone around here appreciates me,” she muttered.
She jumped off the platform, her torso bouncing as her army of legs cushioned her landing. “You are coupled with this one, are you not?” She pointed at Jackie, keeping her arms crossed.
“That’s right, Mistress,” she said, turning towards Jackie. Her lover was wearing one of the translation aliens, her face flat and pale.
A cruel smile lit up Khanja’s face. “Good. Then we’re going to have a little fun.”
She pulled a thin knife out of her belt and handed it to Kate, who accepted it without question.
“The Proctor doesn’t believe I have what it takes to get the job done,” she said, watching her with malicious glee. “She doesn’t understand the depths of my hate. I will do whatever it takes to see this through. And so will you, my slave.”
Kate didn’t know what she was babbling about, but she waited calmly for her next instruction. The purple gemstones on her Mistress’ shoulders and neck glowed, the diadem on her head sparkling with power.
“Cut her,” ordered Khanja, watching her with dispassion. “Make her bleed.”
Kate hesitated, her arm trembling. Did she really mean that? She couldn’t, could she?
“Did you hear me, slave?” hissed Khanja. “Cut her.”
The pressure in her skull increased, and she stared at Jackie’s arm in horror. She didn’t want to, but she couldn’t disobey a direct order.
Screaming inside, she was able to slow her arm down as it moved forward, the tip of the knife barely scraping the surface of Jackie’s skin. Her lover shuddered, but remained still, staring straight ahead as the slug around her neck squeezed tight.
She was probably experiencing the same terror as Kate, but she had to stand and take it. Their Masters wouldn’t allow them to move.
A thin line of dark, green blood welled up from Jackie’s skin, the shallow slice bleeding profusely. “Do it again,” ordered Khanja. “Deeper. Show me that you’re mine, slave, or I’ll completely break your mind. You won’t have a single thought left in your silly little head beyond pleasing me.”
The threat didn’t motivate Kate, as she was already losing her mind. Her hand moved again, creating another cut.
She gasped, feeling physical pain at being forced to hurt her lover, but she couldn’t stop. The command had been strict, and she had to obey.
This time, she winced as Jackie cried out. She couldn’t do this! She was hurting her!
The conflict in her head increased, making her movements clumsy. That was almost worse, as the knife sliced deeper than she had intended. She couldn’t give in, though!
She made another attempt, and this time, her hand shook more, halting in place. She breathed hard, staring at the rivulets of blood running over Jackie’s arm.
“Did you not hear me, slave?” hissed Khanja. “I told you to cut. Obey me!”
She screwed up her lips as the desire to submit returned, but she couldn’t allow herself to do so. This was anathema, and she wouldn’t allow herself to be a party to it!
Struggling against her Masters, she turned towards the alien, blood glinting on the tip of the blade. “No,” she said, using up all of the fortitude she could scrape together. “I will not hurt her further.”
The alien smirked. “Very good. You are not entirely useless. There’s still some fire left in there. I will enjoy snuffing it out.”
She ran her fingers over the jewel embedded in her armlet. “The indomitable will of the spirit never truly dies, even when harnessed for use by another. I have no interest in such things, however. I need obedient slaves that won’t talk back.”
Her eyes glowed a deeper yellow as the intensity of the jewel she wore at her neck increased. “Keep disobeying me, yes, just like that. Every time you push back, your resistance falls. Eventually you will do anything I say. You’ll destroy your best friend and lover at my word, and in doing so, you’ll know yourself helpless to resist me. That is the ultimate power.”
Kate groaned, seeing her doom in the glowing jewels. They must be working in tandem to enhance whatever psionic ability the alien was using to communicate with her Masters.
At this rate, the conclusion would be inevitable. Her Mistress didn’t seem to care if she crushed her mind in pursuit of power. She had the advantage, as her Mistress didn’t have anything she needed to protect.
Baloney! The fact that she was fighting for her lover’s life made her stronger! This alien bitch could never understand that!
“Loveless, friendless, cold hearted, ruthless, piece of shit!” she hissed under her breath, using the pauses between each word to bolster her defenses.
“Oh, yes, I am all that, and more!” declared Khanja, her face swirling as the power of her gems distorted Kate’s vision.
“I am the knife that cuts all relationships asunder!” she roared, grinning as she noticed Kate wavering. “I am the blade that will thrust through the heart of this world and bring it back to my superiors, enslaved to My will. Fear me, and obey!”
The jewels flashed, and Kate’s walls crumbled, the slug about her neck clenching tight as the attack pulsed into her brain from multiple angles. She couldn’t defend against it all. Couldn’t even see where she was being attacked from.
She groaned as her thoughts writhed, twisting into new paths laid out by her Mistress.
She had lost. She was a slave. She was foolish to think that she could be anything more.
Her body began to turn back to Jackie, intent on following her Mistress’ commands. There wasn’t any other option. She must follow through. She must cut.
Her fingers trembled as a cracking sound reached her ears, twinges of pain jabbing into her neck. She couldn’t understand what this meant while under the influence of her Mistress’ gems, her arm descending towards Jackie’s bloodied flesh.
A cool blanket washed over her mind, and her arm stopped, right before it could penetrate her lover’s flesh. A burst of static rattled her brain and suddenly she could think freely again.
What the hell was she doing?
Jackie’s face rippled, the dumb bliss she had been forced into feeling being replaced with sudden horror. Kate dropped the knife and took a step back, shocked at how bright and sharp everything felt.
The contrast was striking, like night and day. The world was shifting around her, dizziness striking her head as she struggled to understand what had just happened.
One thing was abundantly clear, however. The alien’s control over her had slipped. She could disobey her. She could... what could she do?
It was probably too late to play dumb. The act of refusing Khanja’s commands would alert her instantly that something was wrong. She was backed into a corner, exposed in front of the alien overlord. There was no other choice.
She grabbed at the chest plate, pulling at it with desperate strength. The jelly-like substance which had adhered it to her skin began to give, and she redoubled her efforts. Levering it forward, she stuck a hand inside, grasping the gun.
Whipping it out, she pointed it at Khanja. “Freeze!” she shouted, waving it about. “Don’t move a muscle, or I’ll plug your leader!”
Khanja didn’t seem all that impressed by the threat, watching her with curiosity. The way Khanja’s eyes subtly shifted, she got the sense that she was seen as no more dangerous than an annoying bug. She wrapped her finger lightly around the trigger as the alien’s legs rattled together.
“Amusing,” Khanja murmured. “An unusually strong willed breeder? An oxymoron, at best.”
The translator must have struggled to find an appropriate word for that expression, as the words came through rather sluggishly. Kate kept the weapon trained on the alien as she slowly shifted to one side.
“No,” smirked Khanja, rolling her shoulders with disdain. “This is well within parameters. There is nothing special about you. A breeder does not have thoughts. It does not have brains. It does as it is told. Nothing more.”
Khanja stopped moving, facing Kate with intensity as her gems burst into an achingly strong brilliance, the purple color washing out her vision.
“Stand down, slave!” she roared, her words trembling in the air. “Bow for forgiveness, and perhaps I shall show mercy!”
The assault from earlier returned, bombarding her mind with a sheer force of will. She could feel her defenses beginning to crumble again, and panicked, her finger crushing the trigger.
A loud report rang throughout the chamber, and everything seemed to slow down, her mind accelerating.
The alien overlord’s head tubes lifted from her skull in surprise, the bullet bouncing off the large, oval gem mounted in the center of her diadem. The ricochet impacted the view screen above, smashing a hole near the bottom quarter of the panel.
Shards of the screen sprinkled down on their heads as the tendrils in her ears writhed, but she ignored all this. The commanding presence in her mind had vanished again. For the moment, she was free.
“Stop that,” she barked, pointing the gun at the two guards who had dropped their lances into a ready position. “I won’t say this again. If any of you move a muscle, I’ll put a hole in you!”
Khanja pressed a hand to her forehead, her face twisting into a dark scowl. “She destroyed it!” she shrieked, hate booming through the translator. “Kill them all!”
The bodyguards appeared ready to follow her command, but a converted human hopped on the stage and rushed the one on the right, grabbing the lance. The two of them began to struggle, distracting the second bodyguard.
A voice cut through the cacophony. “This is our chance. Get them!”
All hell broke loose, with more of the converted humans rushing the stage. The bodyguard was able to push back the initial assailant, but a second soon joined the fray, pushing and shoving.
It looked like the crowd might prevail when Khanja tilted her head back and roared, the gem on her chest beaming with brilliance. “Obey me, you fools!”
At first, Kate thought that her command was a dying attempt to seize control, but the struggles of the converted humans began to fall off. Somehow, her force of will was getting through to them.
She couldn’t allow it, but she also couldn’t shoot due to the shifting multitude of others in the way. If she missed, one of the humans could be injured, or worse!
A firm hand gripped her shoulder. “Let me,” said Jackie grimly. “I’ll put that bitch in her place!”
Fingers nerveless from the shock of the situation, Kate handed the pistol over. Jackie’s face was pale, her other hand pressed over the deep cuts on her shoulder. The self assured version of her lover was most definitely back, however, her hand steady as she lined up the shot.
Kate clamped her hands over her ears as she turned back to the battle, flinching as the shots came one after another. The jewel on Khanja’s chest simply exploded, splintering into several shards that opened up wounds in her neck and shoulders.
She barely had time to wince as the alien turned, an outraged look on her face. Khanja tried to say something, but the bullets impacted her armlets, neatly shearing the gems off their mounts.
Her spell broken, the converted humans renewed the assault, continuing their struggle with the bodyguards. Despite their training, there were far too many of the converted humans for them to fend off. Inexorably, they were pushed back, the sheer weight of the assault becoming too much for them.
Khanja looked stunned, her hands outstretched as she stared with murderous intent at Jackie. “You!” she hissed, her legs pressing against the floor as she stretched herself to her full height. “This is your fault!”
“No,” said Doris, who had suddenly appeared at Khanja’s side. “It’s mine.”
Plop.
Confused, Khanja tilted her head towards the other alien as she lifted her hands up towards her skull. A green blob had been emplaced there by Doris, slime dripping between the tines of her shattered diadem.
“What?” she blurted out, completely lost. “You’re just another slave. We control you. We own you.”
“Not anymore,” said Doris confidently, grabbing her by the shoulder. “In a matter of moments, you’ll be just another slave, no different from us.”
Khanja grabbed at the blob angrily, trying to remove it, but the rubbery slime had already fixed itself in place, resisting her efforts. Doris wasn’t waiting around for her reaction, either, smashing another blob of slime into the alien’s face.
She gurgled, eyes tightening in fear as the egg fixed to her forehead cracked open. A violent, blue flash sparkled as the creature pressed itself against her skull. The alien’s yellow eyes dulled as a blue liquid mixed into them, creating a toxic green glow.
She groaned, her legs fluttering as they spread wide, her body sinking towards the floor. Doris watched her without sympathy. “The creature is infesting your brain,” she said in a nonchalant manner. “In a few moments, you’ll be unable to resist its control. Tell me, how does it feel to be taken over by the same creatures you’ve been using to convert countless humans into your subjects?”
Khanja’s eyes rolled and she lost control of her limbs, her body collapsing onto the floor. Doris was immediately there, cradling her head as she smiled maliciously. “We can’t have you being hurt. You’re going to be our first test subject, to see how well the genetically altered symbiotes work. We need you to cover our infiltration. It wouldn’t do for our masters to find out what we’re planning before we’re ready to deal with them.”
A cry came from the back of the stage and one of the bodyguard’s lances jerked, a pulse of energy pulsing from the tip and crashing into the ceiling. The weapon was soon wrestled from the alien’s grip, a blob of green goo being placed on top of their head.
Their fate was similar to Khanja’s, the creature pulsing as it injected its contents into the alien’s skull. All resistance soon evaporated as it came under control.
The grunts and groans of the fighting faded, settling into sighs as everyone relaxed into a ball of entangled limbs. Jackie lowered the pistol, seeing that the situation was coming under control. They had won.
What did that really mean, though? Had their situation actually improved? Kate had to admit that she didn’t really know whether they had simply traded one master for another.
She stepped onto the stage, her legs unsteady as she loomed over their former captor. In the state she was in, her body didn’t look imperious at all. In fact, her crumpled form appeared rather pathetic. “What are you going to do with her?” she asked Doris, swallowing hard.
“Exactly what I said,” replied Doris, looking up at her. “She’s our key to freedom. We’ll use her to keep her bosses off our backs while we grow our network. With any luck, we’ll be able to steal control of earth out from under them before they even know what’s happened.”
She leaned back, looking like a cat who had gotten into the cream. “At that point, we’ll have plenty of options. They won’t be able to get rid of all of us if we’re found out, but I’d much rather stay below their radar. If we could infiltrate further, there’s a chance we could take out their high command once and for all.”
Kate wasn’t impressed. “We’re never going to be able to go back to what we were before this, are we? And we can’t even stop their march to enslave this planet. Everyone is going to be converted into one of us.”
“Yes, but you can’t tell me that you haven’t been enjoying yourself,” pointed out Doris, gesturing at her dick. “Don’t tell me you didn’t have a good time coupling with Jackie when you were given the opportunity. I bet you’d be fucking her right now if I gave you leave to do so.”
Kate let out a hiss, but she couldn’t deny the sexual friction she was experiencing from seeing her former controller laid low. She owed so much to Jackie, and it was the only way she could think of to expiate some of the guilt she was feeling at being forced to hurt her.
“Don’t change the subject,” she said obstinately. “We’ve done what you asked of us. Are we going to be shunted away, consigned to be bimbo breeders for this new world order you’re putting together? Don’t we get a say in things?”
“Do you want a say?” asked Doris seriously. “We can’t really afford for this to be a democracy. We’re going to have to retain strict controls and secrecy if we hope to be able to succeed in our goals. While this mission was successful, you have to know that you might not be brought in on the next one. Not everything is about you and what you want.”
Kate shook her head. “I know that.” She balled her hands into fists. “I guess, I just want some certainty that nobody will hurt Jackie more than she’s already been hurt.”
“I’m not that hurt,” said Jackie wryly, appearing at her shoulder. “Look, the wounds are already healing. It looks like becoming an alien has some tertiary benefits.”
Relief washed through her limbs, and she could feel tears gathering in all her eyes. “Thank goodness,” she sighed, pressing her hands against her sides to hide her trembling fingers. “I thought you were going to be permanently disabled!”
“She wasn’t foolish enough to do that,” grunted Doris, turning Khanja’s head over.
The alien was clearly out of it, her tongue sticking out of her mouth as throbbing blue waves glowed in her eyes. Her chest deflated, a rattling hiss breaching her lips as her legs wiggled, but there was no conscious thought involved.
“No matter what she claimed, it was unlikely she would have allowed you to kill her. It would have been difficult for her to explain to her superiors.”
“You didn’t see her eyes when she threatened it,” shuddered Kate. “I could tell that she was serious. She’s a cruel bastard, and I don’t want to see her ever again!”
Doris chuckled. “Well, after she’s had some time to marinate, we’ll get her a control slug, and then we won’t need to worry about that any more.”
An alien appeared next to her, offering her an egg. “Thanks, Ben,” she murmured, cracking it apart as if she was about to make a scramble.
The pallid slug inside flopped onto the alien’s chest, on top of her armored plate. It crawled around in a circle, leaving behind a trail of slime as it sought out her neck.
Kate ignored this as she stared at the converted human. “Ben?” she said, astonished. “You’ve been working with her all this time?”
The converted human lifted an arm, gathering in a second one who had sidled up next to him. She whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. “That’s right. She came to recruit Janice and I before she went to you two. The offer she made us was too good to refuse.”
Jackie glanced over the two of them. “Oh? And what was that?”
“We’re the leaders of an alien cell,” he announced, his neck rippling. He frowned. “Actually, we’ve been leaders for a long time. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”
“You what?” Kate stared at him in bewilderment. “How long?”
“As long as her,” he said, nodding in Doris’ direction. “I know this might come as a shock to you, but we were infested during the initial invasion. We’ve been double agents from the start.”
Kate shook her head in confusion. “That’s impossible! I would have noticed something!”
“The aliens were very careful to give us parasites that were not visible.” Ben cleared his throat, looking sheepish as he glanced down at his privates. “If the word got out about what we were planning, we would have stood no chance at pulling this off.”
Jackie grabbed at Kate’s shoulder, pulling her close. “I won’t ask how you deceived her for so long,” she said sharply. “But I think we’ve heard enough. We’re just dumb breeders. If you tell us too much, we might give away your plan.”
Doris made a full throated chuckle. “It’s too late now, my dear, you’re neck deep in this mess. We’ll let you go for now, but you’ll have to accept that you’re involved sooner or later. The new freedom you have will only last if you work for it.”
Kate wrapped an arm around Jackie’s waist. “It looks like we’ve done quite enough work for today.” She gave her lover a squeeze. “If you have any other plans that will change the fate of the planet, tell us tomorrow, please. Jackie and I have a date together.”
“We do?” asked Jackie, her triangular eyes shining with amusement.
“That’s right. You’re the only one I want to spend the end of the world with.”
The blazing smile her lover gave her healed the gaping hole in her heart. Perhaps the distance that had opened between them could be fixed, with enough effort and love. She felt sure that they both had what it took, despite all of the alien interference.
It would have to be enough. She would accept nothing less.