The Man O'Whore

Nothing ever happens in Koda XI. Not since the*lights*were blasted from the stratosphere a month ago in the final push back, ending the decade-long war between our planet Xendri and*The Outsiders.*But us soldiers lucky enough to survive have remained abandoned, awaiting orders from our rusted outposts to return home."We ate better as grunts," Niko says, sighing as he rests his weary head against the wall. "I haven't seen a fucking supply truck for weeks.""Do you think about anything other than your stomach? Have faith in Xendri, for it shall prevail and provide," I reply, laughing heartily. But his fear isn't unfounded, and in this desolate wasteland of dust, overshadowed by the towering Dome, our efforts to rebuild have been for naught. Already the others have been overcome by wanderlust and deserted, preferring their chances elsewhere, likely wraith-chow by now. I'll be damned if I lose Niko to the wilderness, too, after swearing to my sister I'd keep her boyfriend safely tucked under my wing. "I'll take over this watch, so get some rest. And be careful. I shot two wraith-wolves within the perimeter on the way here."Niko zips on his opalescent skin-tight, neural suit, then pulling on a solar helmet over his red hair, he blends into the surroundings at a touch of a button. Designed to be a second skin, the fibres mesh with our nervous system, enhancing our senses and shielding us from the sun's heat and radiation. But we have little physical defence against the native creatures roaming outside the security of our buildings other than the invisibility and our swift Ion-bikes. We need more weaponry soon to have any hope of surviving."Thanks, Jax," he says, thumping me hard on my shoulder. "Don't forget to buzz me if anything comes up."The door barrier fades off as he exits, zinging back on with his departure, leaving me to operate the security gates alone. There should be a team of at least two at the entrance. Still, we'd long lost the numbers, so we take shifts in sleeping, doing little else other than dreaming of a hero's welcome back to our beautiful, utopian, neon city high in the sky.I strip from my suit, the nano-fibres stinging like static as I peel it from my nude skin, then pass through decontamination to shower. My fist rests on the tiles as my palm glides over my cock, pumping with vigour as I seize my first chance to satiate my hunger for sex. I promised myself to someone once, vowing to return dome-side when the war ended, but it dragged out too long. There was little chance she hadn't moved on, but vivid holo-visions of her black hair and grey eyes float before me, replaying from my memory chip.On my first trip to the pleasure district, barely twenty years old, she'd tamed me with ease and taught me how to love. So I transport, once again, to beneath the aspen trees, where my trembling fingers unbuttoned her blouse, and we kissed for the first time before she laid me. My mouth brushes over the image of her parted, plump lips, recalling the warmth of her tongue thrusting and flicking over my gums and teeth. I remember how her moans filled my lungs as I gasped for air, sprawled upon the lush, dewed grass of spring. None of it was real other than her; the scenery was little more than a projection from our home planet, but my feelings were sincere, and I adore her now, just as I did back then. Fighting for her and the safety of our great nation was the grandest of privileges. "Rosa... Please, don't forget about me."The memory abruptly disperses as I'm hurled to my knees by a shockwave, and a wailing, high-pitched siren screeches through my skull. Without a chance to re-dress, I sprint to the monitor Dikmen Escort room and scan through the footage to assess the situation.*What the fuck is that?My hand hovers over the alarm button as I try to make sense of the smoking, sphere-like pod that's breached our defences, blowing a two-meter hole through the force-gate. Nothing unidentified had blipped up on the security system in advance until the impact. Still, I hadn't been warned of the arrival of an envoy either. As the highest-ranking officer alive, I'll have to take a chance that this is the hope we've been waiting for."Jax, what the hell is going on down there? We've got hundreds of wolves invading down in residential,"*my audio transmitter speaks directly into my brain from Niko.*"I don't know if I'll be able to hold them off for long.""I-I don't know, but there's something weird I need to check out,"*I mentally reply, tugging on my clothing.*"Switch on the auto-turrets and get loaded up with whatever we've got. Maintain your position, and don't come down here until I say so, okay? That's an order."I activate my suit and helmet, my vision switching to a laser pointer crosshair at the raise of my weapon. The enhancements embedded in my brain power up to the max as I launch myself into the fray with wraith-wolves swarming through holes left, right, and centre. The scent of dirt and beast flesh fills my nostrils as the autocannons blast craters around me, but the time to feel afraid is a luxury I cannot afford.*With a running leap, I weave through the fearsome mandibles charging toward my scent and fire back a beam, disintegrating several at once. It was unlikely they felt anything past the instant the flash of light burned them away. My off-hand materialises pulse blades from my palm, which effortlessly find their mark in the back of several pups' heads, spewing crimson blood towards the sky. For the sake of my last comrade, I fight alone, carving through my numerous adversaries to repair the damaged gate. But, these ten-foot wolves are the least of my concerns, even at numbers as large as this. Enormous void worms with rows of serrated teeth lurk beneath the surface, and if one of those gets in, the outpost is done for. We must prevail, whatever the cost, even if that price is my life.Steaming piles of dead creatures surround me as I finally lower my weapon, the invisibility suit rendered useless by the gore drenching me head to toe. I've expended more energy than I'd liked. Punching open the control panel, I key the re-activation code back in and then turn my attention to the bizarre object that caused this mess."I've cleared up the situation and reactivated the barrier, but I'm gonna need to patch up the gate after checking something,"*I tell Niko through our synced-up auditory system.*"Stay safe, and standby for further instructions."*Clouds of vapour hiss from the ball as I cautiously approach it with my weapon ready. I expect it to be blistering hot with the power it'd burst through, and my hand hovers before it, testing for residual heat with my sensors. But the surface is cool and unlike any alloy, I've ever known in my lifetime. Instead, it feels organic, almost alive in the way it pulses and ripples to the gentle poke of my fingertip.I flinch and continue to observe, unnerved by what is increasingly likely to be alien, when it suddenly cracks like an egg and oozes clear mucus over my boots. My surprised gaze locks with the steely glare of a half-naked young woman within. By all appearances, she's Xendrian like myself, but the technology is too unusual to be our own.**With unexpected, awe-inspiring strength, Dikmen Escort Bayan she smashes through the roof of the vehicle cocooning her, then steps out, almost regale in posture. In the haze of vapour, her irises fixated upon me appeared blackened like her pupils but now shine in a brilliant, sapphire blue, like the undercut mohawk on her head. "Who are you? State your name and business."Her hand, slender and uncalloused, presses against the barrel without fear. "Lower that weapon. I'm here to see the Commander."I point my phaser towards her chest suspiciously, switching to stun as I run the small details of her clothing, hair, and facial expressions through my memory bank. It might have been ten years since I last stepped foot in the city, but she's far too advanced for the typical worker. "You're speaking to him. And nobody steps foot in here unless I know who they are."A flicker of light flashes from her eyes, scanning over my face and body, then over my weapon. My ears become hot like she's seen straight through my clothes with X-ray vision. "Then*I*suppose*my*name is Physalia, Commander Jax Doan. I came here as an ambassador."A hundred questions sail through my mind, trying to figure out where to start. "Then, you*are*from the Dome? Why didn't you say earlier-" I begin, as my eyes divert towards the hungry growls of more wraith wolves sniffing at the opening in the wall. "It's not safe. Quickly, get inside while I hold them off, and we'll talk after."With unnatural speed, she sprints towards the entrance while I blast the beasts snapping their teeth at our heels. Auto-locking sight and incredible dexterity are the only edge I have over them. Still, my power has drained to the point of uselessness. I'll need to recharge before I stand up to another horde."What are those things?" Physalia asks as I stagger inside, and the door slams shut behind me. "I thought all other life had been extinguished on the main planet.""Wraith-wolves, but they're only the pups," I reply, beginning to disrobe on autopilot before reality hits that I'm alone with a woman. "You should go through decontamination first. I'll wait.""Why? Are you nervous around me?" A smile teases across the strange woman's lips, and her hand reaches towards my bare chest, hovering within millimetres of my skin. "I can feel your heartbeat thumping from here... Ba bump... Ba bump... Ba bump...""Look, lady... I don't know what you're playing at, but-" I could have sworn that her eyes had been blue earlier, but at this distance, they appear slate grey, then paler as she presses a light kiss on my mouth. Stunned, I step backward until my spine presses against the concrete wall. "Who are you?""Physalia," she repeats, shimmying her pearl-white skirt to her ankles. "I*was sent to save us."At that moment, she places her hand against my forehead, and a tremendous shock of electricity passes through me, overloading my brain with a cache of information. I can barely make sense of the data and fall at her feet in despair. "All this time... But, I thought we'd won?""Your government has forsaken you because your nation can no longer sustain its population. Those of you on the outside were deemed expendable, but it's still not enough, so the ecosystem in the Dome is in collapse, and sacrificial deaths have begun-""My people are dying? So you're telling me we've been fighting for nothing all this time? I don't want to believe it," I say, looking at her with hope, but she shakes her head, confirming my worse fears. "Can we not leave this planet and start anew?""No. Worlds capable of sustaining life are few, and your nation has destroyed Escort Dikmen numerous before, so we cannot allow it. If your leaders had accepted our knowledge and guidance early, we might have been able to slow the process. But the resources are almost depleted, and they foolishly refuse our help, choosing to die in their edifices rather than join us.""But, what about Rosa? I promised I'll go back to her!" I yell at this cruel harbinger of doom, hot tears burning at my eyes. And after everything we've been through, I'd be damned if I allowed Niko to die after fighting beside me all these years. "So you're here to tell me it's all over? That I need to bend over with defeat? I can't accept that... I have a good, honest man here who has faithfully done nothing but what's been asked of him. Tell me what I can do-""The Rosa you knew never existed. It was a fake memory implanted in your brain to give you something to fight for," she says, rubbing her chilled, lithe hands over my broad chest to my shoulders. "But, I can offer you what I offered your leaders. Become one with my hive. Unfortunately, your weaponry destroyed my consort, so I'm also in need of a new one. I know you're the man who made that order which ended his life."I laugh sardonically. "That enormous glowing vessel in the sky? I was following directions from my Captain-"My brain suddenly screams with Physalia's memories and agonising loss unfathomable from her mask-like facade and droning, mechanical way of speaking. "Those lights you saw were bursts of bioluminescence from a living, breathing organism communicating back the negotiations to me across the galaxy. Your leaders knew that and had him killed to insult me."I sense hostility as her hand squeezes at the front of my throat, forcing me to stare into her cold, silvery-grey eyes as she chokes me of air. I buzz with the knowledge that it wasn't only her consort she lost. But everyone in our nation was assigned a position at birth, and as soldiers, we only knew how to obey, like those in the pleasure district only knew how to fuck. Insubordination was dealt swiftly with instant death, so you did your job without question. However, the data churning through my cerebral cortex heaves with errors and inconsistencies as she raises me to my feet. How could it be that we are the enemy and not the innocent? "I'm sorry. We never knew what we were fighting against... What do you want from me?""Commander... I'm still awaiting your orders,"*Niko interrupts through our link.*"I can also sense a corruption in your system-"My eyes blink in confusion at his voice.*"I'm severing this connection right now, Lieutenant."The lips before me morph to the full, rouged bee-stung pout of Rosa's from my dreams. "We need to merge with you to further our species. Then you'll become one of us, living in a harmonious, symbiotic future like the others we've saved."*Against everything I have been taught, I know our only hope is to put my trust in her. Closing the gap, her tongue zaps over mine as we kiss, weakening my allegiance to the cause. The information freely surging through my brain from her to my neural chip tells me she isn't what she seems. That this appearance is nothing more than a beautiful lie, but I'm not afraid of the truth and instead lift her into my arms, bringing her beneath the water with me.*Everything I've wanted to know about the world, our ancestors who escaped their planet Earth thousands of years ago, and the planets scattered throughout the universe invades my system. That we've destroyed all we've touched out of incessant greed and vanity. However, I also learn that this misunderstood Queen of her colony has been known by many names over the years. 'The Negotiator,' 'The Conqueror,' 'The Siphonophorae,' and*'The Lover.'*Able to tolerate extreme environmental conditions, she seeks civilisations on the brink of collapse and saves them in a mutual exchange.*