Something happened in the middle of the night while I was being hugged by Mia. Imagine yourself feeling warm and rexed, far away in dreamnd while being hugged by someone who has the potential to become more than just a fellow Lantosian. A new best friend perhaps. Nice thought, right?
Then imagine dreaming about blue and green letters fshing and popping up from out of nowhere until they wake you up. My watch is lying on a desk near the entrance, so that didn't cause the lightshow.
Even with my eyelids closed, still half asleep, I can clearly read the letters.
===========From: FredMessage: I detected an unusual signal. Signal origin: Building 2, block C, floor 104, room 19.
You might soon be in danger.===========
"Crap," is all I can manage to say while freeing myself from Mia's warm grip.
"Wha....what's wrong?" She said, sounding very sleepy.
"Fred sent me a warning. I need to urgently call Ben, just give me a minute."
I crawled out of the den and made my way towards the entrance where I grabbed my watch. It was a difficult thing to do while still seeing letters in one's field of vision.
Mia joins me, obviously curious, and of course she's also still wearing her PJs.
I gesture to her to wait and push the Comm's button and say "contact Special Agent Ben Lee, this is an emergency." It's unfortunate, but this nightly emergency might trigger more bad memories for Mia. It can't be helped.
"Calling now."
Ben answers the call within seconds, audio only. "Kaya? What the heck, it's 2 am?!"
"Ben, this is an emergency! Fred has detected a suspicious signal coming from within this city. He said I might soon be in danger!"
"Crap. F....." He's swearing a lot, probably having a difficult time waking up properly. "You better be damn sure about this."
"Of course I am!"
"Alright, give me the location and I'll send a team over right now."
"Building 2, block C, floor 104, room 19. Ah, and Fred now says they are 2 Lantosians."Fred sent me a little update after I had dismissed the previous one.
"Copy that. Until ter. Ben out."
He did not sound happy...not at all.
While Mia slowly and carefully put her arms around me, begging for a hug, I removed the messages from my field of vision, then sent Fred a quick text-only reply to thank him. Seeing me typing in mid air must have seemed very strange to her. But as soon as I finished, I hugged her properly. She's still uncertain about many things, and I don't want to upset her.
"What's wrong, Kaya? Can you tell me?"
"I'm not supposed to talk about this. Em...let's just say that people are doing something illegal nearby and I just informed Ben. They're going to investigate."
"And Fred told you that?"
"Well...sort of. He showed me all sorts of fshing letters, so I would wake up."
She embraced me again, without warning. "Can we please go back to sleep?"
"Um...what are you doing?"
"You are shivering, and embracing helps. It's a well known..eh...Lantosian technique."
"Oh...." They sure have many of those.
She releases the embrace and just stands there, smiling, nothing more. Not exactly what I had expected to see after dealing with an emergency situation.
I can't help but notice how incredibly cute she looks right now. Her PJs aren't concealing what they should be concealing and a blush forms on my face.
"Like what you see?"
"Oh god, please forgive me!" I tried to hide my face behind my hands, but obviously that didn't seem to work very well.
"Awww......a human reaction. So cute."
"Huh?" I stared at her, fbbergasted at her weird reply. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, trust me. Nalea told me about humans and their emotions. She said it would help me talk to you since we both need some time to adjust. She said that humans are reserved about expressing certain....emotions. Like romantic ones. Tell me...are you having....romantic emotions right now?"
Oh crap....she knows that I prefer women? I can't lie to her, but she's still recovering! I don't want to hurt her! "Em......okay, okay, yes, I admit! You're cute! There...are you happy now?" I ran away to get dressed so I could leave this pce, but hadn't expected her to follow me.
She simply smiles again. But why now of all times?
"May I....embrace you? It is needed... to...share something important with you. Or do you need to rush out immediately?" She asked, with the room's light reflecting in her eyes. It made her eyes seem glistening.
"Um.....no...I can wait a few minutes....if you must."
She's definitely blushing and doesn't waste a second to embrace me again. She's a bit taller than me, so imagine my surprise when she doesn't speak, but instead gives me a kiss...on my neck.
"What....what are you doing?"
"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. But I thought...as a former human....you wouldn't accept my feelings. Kaya....I wish to have a romantic retionship with you."
She then releases me and smiles, looking hopeful. Somehow I doubt that she was expecting to see my test expression. Yes, that's how I always look when I'm totally confused.
"You....don't like me?" She said, her expression going sad.
"Um...it's not that. It's just...you're a bit...direct."
"So...you do like me then?" Her smile slowly returns.
"Huh? Yes, from the very beginning. But I'm human...and only look Lantosian."
"You are not human anymore, Kaya. Maybe still on the inside, but you are a very attractive Taleena woman to me. I fell in love with you as soon as you comforted me in that hospital. Your voice....your scent...your little mannerisms...everything about you told me that I could trust you."
Love at first sight? Does that really happen to people? Well, I did have kind of a simir reaction when I first saw her....so...maybe? "Wow...I can't believe it. So you prefer women too for a romantic retionship?"
"Of course I do, you dummy. Now please tell me, because I need to know. Can you only love humans?"
"Huh? God, I don't even know WHAT I am!"
"But I do! You're beautiful!" She then lets her hands touch my cheeks for a moment.
"Mia, are you serious? Please don't hurt my feelings. What could possibly be beautiful about me? I'm a fake Taleena woman!" I'm sorry, but I'm still adjusting to being an alien!
"Shhh....you're not fake. I like how strong you are. The way you speak...you are smart and kind. Your friends respect you too. You even appreciated my garden effort."
"Of course I appreciate that! It's our home, isn't it?"
"Home? That sounds nice, I'd like this to become our home."
"Now who's the strong one, Mia?" A smile finally appears on my lips.
"Well....it's only natural for me to cim you before anyone else does."
"Cim me?!"
"Yes. I want you to become mine."
"Mia....I really, really like you, but this is going too fast for me."
"Alright....to a human, or former human, it might appear like that. By the goddess, you are so special and don't even realize it. Your cute ears are so fluffy. I'd love to take you in my arms and show you what it means to be a real Taleena woman."
"Fast...tooooo fast!!!!!!!!"
"Awww...then at least tell me what you like about me, Kaya?"
"Um....your eyes are...god, I can't say it!"
"Yes, of course you can. What about my eyes?" She gave me a wonderful smile. I don't think she'll let me go without answering her question.
I swallowed. "Um.....they're so...deep, I could drown staring at them. And yes, your ears are so cute, I want to pet them. They keep twitching...and...and..."
She embraced me again...and kissed me...on my mouth! It definitely made me stop talking.
When she released me, she said "it's the Taleena way to be truthful about one's feelings. I love you. Do you love me?"
"Yes, I definitely have feelings for you, but it takes time to admit if it's real love. You are going too fast for me!"
"Alright then, we'll slow down. Tell me when you are ready."
"Um....now I feel guilty. Guilty for....god, yes, I love you too, okay?" What is going on? Am I still half asleep? Is this a dream? Me...falling in love with an alien woman? In the middle of the night?! I should be helping Ben right now. Could this be a tactic to dey me? No....she wouldn't.
She put a few stray strands of hair behind my fluffy ears and then put her hands on my cheeks. Or eyelids closed and....we kissed again. "Kaya, if you must leave, then go. But please know that my feelings for you are very real."
"And so are mine. Sorry, but I have to get dressed now, Ben will want to talk to me soon."
"Duty calls...I understand. Can I join you?"
"Um....no, I need to cool down...ter?"
"Yes, see you ter...my love."
She returned to the den, walking barefoot and simply left me behind, like this conversation was anything but special.
Well...that happened. There's no way I can return to sleep now after what happened between us. My face must be very, very red right now.
Anticipating the need for Ben to talk, I got dressed and took the elevator down to the parking area.
Everything's so quiet...not a soul to be found anywhere. I hope that the restaurants in the entertainment district open early, because I'm feeling hungry already. God, the fresh air is really helping me calm down. Why didn't she tell me this earlier?
I didn't see Ben or his car in his favorite spot, so I just walked around. The walls allow fresh air to circute, so it's like being outside, but safer somehow. I don't know why, but I always found these quiet pces to be rexing. People just tend to ignore you and I can always return inside to warm up.
When my watch beeped, I assumed that Ben was calling me, but it was Fred."Hi Fred."
"Kaya, sorry for waking you."
"It's okay, it was the right thing to do. Ben is sending a security team to investigate."
"Yes, I see them moving in on the location right now. There are 5 armed humans. They can't open the door. Should I help them?"
"Yes!"
"Done. The humans just fired a shot, but it wasn't directed at the Lantosians. They are now lying on the floor, while the humans are yelling at them."
"How do you even know that?"
"The human uniforms are equipped with sensors."
"Ah...of course they are."
"The two Lantosians are now being removed from the room. Did we do good, Kaya?"
"Yes, Fred, we sure did! You probably saved lots of people just now. Thank you. I'll be sure to tell our friends that you helped. Hopefully this is all the proof we need so they won't fear you anymore."
"Do you fear me?"
Oops. "No, Fred, we're friends." I quickly changed the subject. "How's the drone doing?"
"The drone is still being repaired, but we're ahead of schedule. Expect it to be avaible in about 4 hours."
"Nice work, Fred. Sorry, but I need to end this call. I'm expecting Ben to call me."
"See you ter, Kaya. Fred...out."
Fred sounds more human every time I talk to him and I hope that's a good thing.
After walking around in the parking area for about ten minutes, I was about to return and have an early breakfast. Believe it or not, Lantosian food starts to look better and better with every passing day.
I fear that all traces of humanity are leaving me. Especially after a gorgeous Taleena woman just decred her love to me.
I'm close to the elevator when my watch beeps again."Kaya, Ben here. Can you talk?"
"Sure, I'm in the parking area right now."
"Stay there, I'll pick you up in...5."
"Understood, waiting as ordered." Of course I'm not in the military, but it sure feels that way now. I tried to sound a bit more professional like he does, but he didn't even notice.
"Good, Ben out."
Five minutes ter I joined him in his car once more.
"Kaya, your intel checked out. We have two Lantosians in custody, and have confiscated their equipment. The Lantosian chief of security will join their interrogation any time now. It's a Treaty thing, or we would have started already."
"Excellent news! Do you think those guys are the ones you're after?"
"I bet they are. Who else in their right mind sends messages in the middle of the night from currently unassigned quarters? These guys are involved, trust me, just like the two guys who tried to abduct you. The interrogations are still ongoing, but I'll keep you up to date. Finally we have another lead, and so soon."
"Yeah, you can thank Fred for that."
"I see. I guess I will. How are things going with Fred?"
I took a few minutes to expin what happened yesterday. About me being able to control drones, being able to go 'offline' and such. But also that Fred was becoming more human by the hour, and truly seemed protective of me. I told him that drones could basically track me everywhere, but that this car was definitely shielded properly. I even remembered to tell him about the two yellow drones who were looking for me because of that.
"And you think that Fred can be trusted? Even if he can basically follow us anywhere?"
"Yes, so far he seems really nice. He even admitted that he could tap into your sensors. I guess he meant your security team or something. They have cameras, right?"
"They do. And he can pick up those signals?"
"Yes, he told me what your team was doing in real time."
"Good to know. Thanks for sharing that, it means that we need to find a way to better encrypt those signals."
"Yup. So....do you want to join me for an early breakfast?"
"No, I'm sorry, I need to return. I'll keep you up to date, okay? And on behalf of Earth Force...well done, Kaya. Just look at you....you already made progress where we failed. Heck, even the Lantosians failed. I was right about asking you. Just promise me to stay safe, you really did the best thing and not approach those yourself."
"Thanks, I'll be careful."
"Good. May I ask something?"
"Sure, Ben."
"You said that you can log on to drones. Could you use those for surveilnce now and then? I'm sure there's still more going on here."
"Of course, just say the word. Any specific location in mind?"
"No, we don't know yet. When we learn something, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I suggest tapping into those drones, use Fred, or whatever means you have avaible to you. Keep scanning for the signals, look for suspicious behavior, that sort of thing."
"Alright, I'll try. But don't expect too much from me. Maybe this was just dumb luck."
"Perhaps, but even if it's luck, I'll take it. I'm not asking you to become a fulltime spy. Just keep your eyes open, like you did now."
"Alright...
"Stay safe."
I made my way to the closest restaurant I could find and found it completely abandoned. Thankfully drones kept working there at night, so I could still have my early breakfast.
When one of those drones asked me if I was fine because I had been 'offline' for a few minutes, I made up an excuse about a bad signal, and then enjoyed my breakfast in total solitude.
After finishing my breakfast, I wandered through the entertainment district, but it too was totally devoid of life.
So much for entertainment at this hour. To be honest, I'm still worried. Some bad actors are at work behind the scenes, and apparently they want to get their hands on me. But the least I can do is return the favor and get them arrested. This is personal...I will have my revenge...and Fred is going to help me get that.
While contempting what to do next, I sat down on a chair in the corridor near Anisa's shop.
I think I'll wait here for her to arrive. I can't return home, or I'll disturb Mia who's probably still sleeping. Besides, I need some time to process what happened between us. She's way too fast for me! But I kinda like it to be honest. Mixed feelings, but still good feelings.Fred is still working on that drone, and even Ben is occupied right now. Hopefully this pce will help me rex for a few hours.
But sitting there in total solitude for half an hour made me doze off. People must have wondered why this poor soul was sleeping here, because when I woke up.....the pce was teeming with life!
And then I realized why I woke up...my watch was beeping.
"Hello? Kaya here."
"Greetings, Kaya. I am a communications drone, located in the Central Hierarchy building on Lantosia. You are requested to address the Hierarchy at once."
"Wait...what? How? I'm nowhere near Lantosia!"
"Understood. Please use a hologram room near your location."
"Um...okay. But how do I know your...eh..phone number?"
"It is not needed to remember any number. Your Comm will interface and start the uplink."
"Eh...okay. I'll do my best to find that room now. Give me a few minutes, okay?"
"Of course. We are awaiting your connection at your earliest convenience."
"Understood. Kaya...out."
My god...I'm really Kaya now, aren't I? The name sounds normal already and I even think of myself as a Lantosian woman. Is there even anything human left inside of me?
Anisa still wasn't there, so I asked Fred where I could find such a room, and he guided me to one. It was a long walk, since they only had a few of those rooms unfortunately. I wondered if the drone who called me forgot about that fact.
After finally finding the room in question, I entered the simple, cramped, square room.There's nothing more than a light above me, a few buttons to push and some tiny dispys to my right.
Man, I'm so exhausted...do I really have to do this right now?
I push the button on my watch and use its AI to guide me."I need to return the call to the Hierarchy, can you please assist?"
"Scanning....yes, you have a call waiting. Please standby. The hologram equipment is warming up. Ten seconds remaining."
Okay...too much information. Why did it even bother telling me?