Chapter 10: ‘Inta does the Dallas’: Part 4

‘Inta does the Dallas’: Part 4

“We now hold this Council Circle begun,” Bi’candra declared, borrowing her mate Os’tryve’s voice. The Brothers walked silently with slow, swaying steps into the circle of tree-like Mothers and sat on their heels, kneeling in front of their mates, facing the others in the circle.

Their mood was upbeat despite the serious conversation they were about to have, mainly due to having their months-long sexual dry spell wetted spectacularly by the topic of tonight’s council circle, Inta. The Brothers and Pi’natha all wore the evidence of Inta’s influence on their skin, the same silver markings Will, June, and Ben bore.

Typically, the eldest Mother would preside over the Council Circle. Since the rest of the Mothers were currently Seeding and their minds temporarily lost to ecstasy, Bi’candra was the only one coherent enough to handle the job.

Of those present in the circle of Toparians, only Larce and Ti’lame seemed haggard and drawn out. While the Brothers had spent the time blissed out and resting from Inta’s ministrations, Larce and Ti’lame had spent the past two and a half days fucking each other silly, only pausing when thirst compelled them, or exhaustion took them. They kneeled beside each other, Larce resting her sleepy head on Ti’lame’s shoulder.

The Nestia crew stood by Pi’natha slightly outside the inner circle. They were in attendance because Inta was the topic of discussion, and the Grove requested that she be present.

“We are here to talk about recent events and how they affect the future of this Grove, and specifically our options in light of Inta’s recent involvement,” Bi’candra said, setting the tone and highlighting the topic of discussion.

“May I start?” De’noke asked the Circle.

“You may,” Bi’candra replied.

“Our Grove is now feeling the result of a string of events, some unfortunate, and some fortunate,” De’noke paused and looked towards Inta, smiling.

“We left Topar with ten Mothers, ten Brothers, and ten Maidens, the time-tested, ideal core around which every new Grove builds a new colony. We planned our journey so that shortly after our arrival, our Sprouts would bloom, and the Mothers would be ready to Seed. When the deal we made with the government of Bedarius Four fell through, we were forced to scramble and select a new location much further away.

The need to travel longer and Ti’lame’s unexpected transition put a member of the Grove, Pi’natha, at grave risk. But fate guided us, and our meeting with Inta was not a matter of chance. Not only has she saved Pi’natha, who is Seeding with her at this moment, but she has also offered us a path to reclaim our forgotten legacy. Ages ago, the Andranari were symbiotes with the Toparians, and Inta represents the opportunity to be as we once were.”

When De’noke finished, Os’tryve straightened his spine and responded.

“Inta’s arrival was fortunate,” Os’tryve began, “But not without a steep cost. She has thrown everything into chaos; She could not control herself when she seeded with Pi’natha, and sent the entire population aboard the Dallas, including the Grove, into a sexual frenzy which we barely survived. Mothers and Maidens endure levels of ecstasy beyond measure in order to breathe life into the seeds, but Brothers are not usually capable of handling such intensity. The affected Brothers could have gone into cardiac arrest or suffered brain hemorrhages. Now we find half of our Grove Bonded to an almost complete stranger.”

June’s face screwed up with anger, and she was about to vigorously defend Inta’s actions when De’noke turned and gestured for her to calm herself. When June had settled, he spoke.

“Yes, a cascade of unusual events has brought us to this predicament, but ask yourself: Do you feel less for it? I, for one, feel enhanced by the intervention. It has only been a few days, but I feel stronger than I have felt since I was a young Brother. She provides me with energy and a connection like none I have felt outside of the Grove itself, and I feel reconnected to our roots, one that our ancestors knew intimately.

It is common for a new Grove to adapt to the situations of a new colony. When faced with colder or hotter climates, a Grove will develop adaptations to cope with the adversity. In hotter climates, we grow more shady leaves; in cold weather climates, we might develop like conifers. This new adaptation, bonding with Inta, is in response to the challenges this Grove is facing, and I firmly believe that it is and will continue to be beneficial.”

The Grove members murmured and spoke low to one another, discussing the points De’noke highlighted until Bi’candra spoke again, and then they quieted to listen.

“This Grove is on the cusp of a decision point, that I believe reduces to this: With half of us now carrying this new connection to Inta which I believe can not be reversed, and half of us unchanged, do we proceed as we were, and continue to create a new colony? How will this affect the colony with half of the members connected to Inta and half not? Would the colony be sustainable in this fashion? Or would we need to fully bond with this echo of the past for the Grove to maintain its identity as a whole? Would Inta need to come with us if we decided to? What place would there be for those who are now bonded?”

Inta stepped forward into the circle and addressed the Grove directly. “I acknowledge that the price for saving Pi’natha’s life was extreme, and while I am sorry for how the course of events played out that brought us here, I am glad that it turned out the way it did. You are a beautiful species, and I am grateful to have been allowed to be part of your life.

In whatever course of action the Grove decides, please know that I am committed to helping you in whatever you choose, those Bonded and not alike. You all are the closest connection to who and where I came from, a living, breathing connection to my people. I have consulted with my family,” she said, glancing at June, Will, and Ben, “we have agreed that in whichever direction you choose, we will help and support you.”

The Grove murmured amongst themselves for a brief moment until Bi’candra spoke again. “We are grateful for your offer. We must carefully consider what to do next, so we will adjourn, meditate upon the choices before us, and reconvene in a few days to decide. May the spirit of the Great Forest be with us,” Bi’candra said, concluding the council circle.

As the Toparians rose to their feet and went off in separate directions, De’noke walked over to where Inta and the crew were standing next to Pi’natha. “Well, that went about how I expected,” he said in a non-committal tone. “It’s a big decision and not one to make lightly.”

He reached down and gently placed a hand on Inta’s silver cheek. “As for me, now that I am assured that Pi’natha is in good health and our Seeds are well looked after, for which I owe you everything, my Dear,” he said, stooping to give Inta a peck on the cheek, “I intend to do what I can to help you fully discover your past and where your people went to. I will travel with you to where your journey takes you.”

“How does everyone else feel about that?” Will asked.

“They understand my predilections for History and my ties with you and support my decision. They also understand how important this is and genuinely want to help you. They have blessed my decision to go with you; it was an easy choice for them to make.” De’noke said, smiling.

“But what about your Seeds? What will happen when Pi’natha and Inta birth them?” Ben asked, concerned.

“The Grove will care for them as they do all Seeds. Though a pair may conceive the Seeds, the Grove is their family and cares for all young ones together, Seed through Mother. Though we may be individuals, we are one Grove.” June smiled at the heartwarming sentiment.

“And Pi’natha?” June asked, concerned.

“She and I talked long about Inta, who she was, where she came from, and we agreed, even before Inta volunteered to stand in as a Maiden, that our fates were intertwined with hers. She will stay with the Grove, though she will never be far away; our connection to each other is deep and distance will mean little to our psychic link.” De’noke said, stroking Inta’s pregnant form beneath Pi’natha’s skin. “Come, let us go to the sitting room and discuss your next steps, and what arrangements need to be made,” he said, leading them from the Grove.

Captain Ugaki accepted the tablet bearing the report from the Dallas hospitality crew’s Passenger Health and Wellness Office. “Thank you, Amanda, erm, Lieutenant Billings,” He said, forcing himself to return to established protocols.

“Yes ... Captain,” she replied with a groggy smile. Like the rest of the bridge crew and probably every other person on the Dallas, the lieutenant was exhausted from the two-and-a-half day bender. The Health and Wellness Office had spent the last day trying to find what caused forty thousand people to become sex-crazy nymphomanics during what they were calling ‘The Incident.’ Still, their thorough analysis of the ship’s water, air, and food supply turned up nothing.

The fact that the effects were felt across all species aboard discounted the possibility of viral infection, but mass psychosis couldn’t be ruled out; he and his bedraggled bridge crew were testaments to the delirium-soaked event. His mind drifted off, replaying the recent memories of what he and his bridge crew got up to, and an inappropriate smile crossed his face.

A voice calling, “Captain,” snapped his mind back to the present. Command Cirrilo stood beside him, her ordinarily crisp uniform a bit sloppy, suffering from the same lack of sleep as the rest of the crew, evident from the bags under her eyes and a small dopey smile curling the corner of her lips. Not that he was in any better state; his droopy eyelids and a half-tucked uniform shirt spoke volumes.

“I thought I told you to get some rest with the other half of the bridge crew?” he asked her, half irritated that she had done as directed but also grateful she was here to help.

“I did. I caught a quick power nap. I can sleep properly once we’re not running a skeleton crew on the bridge,” Cirrilo answered tersely. And by the looks of the state you’re in, you could also use a nap.”

“That I could, Commander, but we have a lot to deal with,” he said with a weary sigh. “Twelve hours into the incident, we missed a course correction and ran two days in the wrong direction. Now, there’s a star cluster that we’ll need to navigate around, which will delay us by three days. Also, Health and Wellness haven’t found anything that could have instigated the Incident; here’s their report,” he said, handing her the tablet.

As she reviewed it, she noted that, along with the causal report, the Infirmary reported that they had treated nearly two hundred cases of dehydration and used half of their stock of creams and ointments for various abrasions and bruises.

She didn’t allow herself a smile when she thought about her rug burns and how sore and achy her ass and pussy currently were. Holy fuck, Will and Ben had used her well. Though she gave as good as she got, she thought wryly.

She turned her attention to the situation at hand. “Captain, why don’t you take fifteen in your ready room, then I’ll wake you before I head down to the Health and Wellness office.” He gave her a quizzical look. “I want to make sure that they have a sufficient stock of pregnancy tests, and that they’re ready to provide support services once passengers have fully taken stock of ... recent events. It might also be wise to set up a voluntary DNA registry if passengers wish to be alerted of any surprise paternity.”

“And that’s why you’re my Second, Commander, always finding the angles I miss.” Ugaki paused to consider, then looked up at Cirrilo. “I will take you up on your offer. You have the Con, Commander,” he said, getting up from his seat and heading to the ready room. Cirrilo took his seat, and though she held the report in her hands, her mind drifted far to Dallas’ aft and the occupants of a peculiar ship berthed therein. Unawares, a small smile crept across her face.

Wearing her waitress uniform, Inta tugged on the glass door to the Rainbow Starlight Lounge and was surprised to find it locked. She peered into the glass and thought she saw someone near the bar in the back, so she rapped on the glass, hoping to get their attention. After a moment, a bleary-eyed Della came to the door, saw that it was Inta, smiled, and opened it.

“Well hello, sugar,” Della said, looking relaxed but tired. “Come on in. We were just fixin’ some sandwiches and drinks, why don’t you join us?” She said, walking with Inta back to the bar. Trixie was sitting at the bar, bubbly as always, and she heard the sounds of someone working in the kitchen that Inta assumed was Joe.

“Inta!” Trixie screeched excitedly, rushed to hug her, then held her by the shoulders at arm’s length. “So tell me, what did you get up to during the ‘Fuck-nado’?” Della shook her head and groaned at Trixie’s antics. “Cum-pocalypse? Orgasmaclysm? Whatever you call the glorious last three days, I want all the dirty details.”

Inta smiled at the excited blue-haired girl as they returned to the bar.

“Well, if you must know, I got well acquainted with some Toparians,” Inta said, intentionally leaving out details. Some things, she decided, would just be too difficult to explain.

“Oh. My. God.” Trixie reacted in delighted shock. “Is it true? I heard that Toparians are packing...” she said, holding her hands about shoulder-width apart.

Inta winked. “And wide as my wrist,” she said, holding her wrist with her other hand, pumping it slowly in and out of her other hand suggestively. Trixie nearly swooned.

Della laughed and mussed Trixie’s hair, then went behind the bar and got four glasses down. She mixed three strong-looking drinks, then asked, “Inta, care for one?” holding the empty glass up.

“Just water please,” she replied.

“One water, per usual,” Della said, filling the glass with clear liquid from a tap. As she handed glasses to Trixie and Inta, Joe came in from the kitchen carrying three plates, each with a toasted pastrami sandwich, chips, and a pickle.

“Oh, Hi Inta. I didn’t know you were here. I would have made a plate up for you.” He apologized, handing a plate to Della and Trixie. Della reciprocated and gave him the drink she had made for him.

“Don’t mind us; we’re famished,” Joe said, taking a big bite. The three of them were disheveled, their clothes wrinkled, and looked like they had spent a few days balled up in a pile. While Trixie was chipper and energetic as usual, Della and Joe looked like they had just run a marathon, and Inta guessed that wasn’t far from the truth.

“I suppose the lounge isn’t opening tonight,” Inta said, more a statement of fact than a question.

“Naw, I reckon there won’t be any customers with enough energy to wander down to the Concourse tonight, maybe not even tomorrow. They only just cleared the Concourse outside of passed-out passengers a few hours ago, brought back to their cabins to recuperate.” Della said.

“I heard things were wild all over the ferry. People were fucking in the corridors, lifts, and passenger cabins,” Trixie chimed in excitedly. “I heard that one cabin had so much cum soaked into the carpets, housecleaning had to relocate them and close the room until it could be rehabbed.” Trixie was giddy, sharing all the salacious gossip she had heard around Dallas. “I heard there was a silk buyer’s consortium in negotiations with those half-spider people, the, Uh...” Trixie paused, struggling to remember.

“The Linyphiidae,” Della offered with a loving smirk at Trixie’s antics.

“Yeah, The Linphiidae. Well, I heard that they were just about to conclude their negotiations in one of the large conference rooms when the ‘Fuck-nado’ hit. When the Health and Wellness teams found them, the conference room was wall-to-wall webbing, the Linyphiidae were passed out on the floor, and all twenty members of the consortium were wrapped up tight, hanging in the webs, stuffed so full of eggs they looked like Christmas turkeys. As Health and Wellness cut them down, they begged and screamed to be put back and stuffed with more eggs.”

“Sounds like the negotiations went well,” Joe joked as he sipped his drink, smiling.

“I only wished I could have seen the thousand-person orgy out on the Concourse,” Trixie lamented, “that must have been a sight. Though I can’t complain too much, Joe and Della gave me such a going over, that I’ll be walking funny for a week.” Then she squirmed and moaned in her seat. “Aw fuck, thinking about all that is getting me wet again.”

Della chuckled, looked at Joe, shaking his head, and said, “Darling, I think if you try to suck or fuck anything else out of Joe or me, all you’ll get is dust. You’re gonna need to give us time to get our fluids back up.”

“Ah, that’s how you three spent the last three days,” Inta smirked devilishly.

“Yup, we three were knockin’ boots,” Della said casually. “Spent the last several hours cleaning up after our fun.”

“Mmmm, it was so much fun,” Trixie said. “Della’s the best carpet muncher I’ve ever met, and Joe, Holy Hell, that man can cum buckets! His balls are huge!” She said, her hands holding two imaginary grapefruit.

A deep red blush rushed up Joe’s neck and enflamed his face. Then he retorted, “Well, because of you, now we need to restock the kitchen with vegetables. These pickles were the only spared because they were too soft for your liking.”

It was Trixie’s turn to blush. “I didn’t hear complaining when I was shoving carrots up your...” She was interrupted by a rap on the glass door out front. She squinted and saw the vague outline of a woman through the glass; then, her lips turned down in a slight frown. “That’s probably Belinda,” Trixie sighed, then declared, “I’m going to have to let her and Daniel down gently.” She paused. “They were a lot of fun, but I think I’ve found the real deal.” Her eyes sparked when she smiled at Della and Joe, who smiled in return.

“This may take a few minutes. I’ll be back shortly,” Trixie said, gulping down the rest of the drink Della had made for her. Then she went out through the front to talk to the woman.

Della, Joe, and Inta made small talk while they waited for Trixie, and when fifteen minutes turned into twenty, Inta felt uneasy. “I’m going to go check on Trixie,” she said as she pushed away from the bar.

Inta found the concourse deserted as she stepped out into the unusually quiet space. A chill ran up her spine as she walked towards some benches across the promenade from the lounge. She saw an envelope on the bench with her name written in flowing cursive lettering: ‘Inta.’ As she bent to pick the note up off the bench, she inadvertently kicked something under the bench, and when kneeling to retrieve it, she realized it was a syringe. Picking it up, she sniffed it, then flicked the tip of the needle with her tongue for a chemical analysis. She detected human blood mixed with a powerful anesthetic. Setting the syringe aside, Inta tore open the envelope addressed to her. The simple message on the note read, “Cabin 6386. Come alone. Trixie is waiting.”

Dread chilled her heart as Inta realized that Trixie was in danger because of her. Dropping the note, she sprinted to the passenger cabin lifts. As Inta rode the lift up, she scolded herself for allowing her friends to be thrust into danger.

The lift doors opened, and two men were waiting for her, backs against the far wall, heavy laser rifles pointed directly at her center of mass. Inta scowled at them, and they nervously shifted the guns in their hands as she stepped out slowly.

The lift doors closed behind her, and one of the gunmen jerked his head to the left, directing her down the corridor. They kept their guns trained on her as she passed but did not follow her.

Two more armed men stood down the hallway, just in front of a cabin with the door open, and they also watched her nervously, guns drawn as she approached. Glancing inside, she spotted a man and a woman whose dark black auras told Inta everything she needed to know about the two.

“Come in, don’t keep Trixie waiting,” the woman called in a mocking sing-song voice. The hackles on the back of Inta’s neck raised at the taunting invitation, but she slowly entered the cabin anyway, her steely eyes glowing bright blue.

Entirely in the room, her eyes went wide at the sight of Trixie secured to a Saint Andrew’s cross, naked and gagged. Her head lolled weakly to one side, one eye blackened and swollen shut. A leather strap circling over the top of her head secured a small device tightly under her jaw, pressed tightly against her throat.

Before Inta could say anything or move further into the room, two solid sheets of laser light snapped across the space just in front and behind her, blocking her advance and retreat.

“You must be Daniel and Belinda.” It was a statement of fact and not a question.

“Indeed,” Belinda purred. “You should have come to play with us when Trixie offered; things would have gone more smoothly for her. She’s not having as much fun this time on the cross as she did the last few times,” She said, reaching over and twisting one of Trixie’s nipples hard, eliciting a cry of pain muffled by the gag in her mouth.

Daniel grinned wickedly, then held up the device in his hand. “This is a dead man’s switch. Too little or too much pressure and the explosive strapped under your friend’s chin will blow her head off. Same goes if you cross either of those lasers. Boom.” Daniel pantomimed an explosion with his free hand.

“What do you want?” Inta asked defiantly, eyes darting around the room for any advantage.

“You, my dear, and ultimately your ship. We’re betting that your friends care enough about you that they’ll give it up quietly and without a fuss.” Belinda said as she sashayed up to Inta on the other side of the laser plane. “ Now here’s what you are going to do; you see that box? You’re going to climb inside.” Inta looked to her left, and in between the two laser barriers with her was a heavy-looking titanium box, several inches thick, looking every bit like a coffin.

“We know how strong you are and what you are capable of, but I’m pretty sure you won’t be forcing your way out of that.” Daniel hissed. “Now, in you go.”

“I’m not doing anything until I know that Trixie is safe.” Inta countered, placing her hands on her hips.

“Darling, we hold all the cards. We know how much you care about your friend, so unless you want her brains painted all over the walls, you’ll do as you’re told.”

“You promise not to hurt Trixie and that you’ll let her go if I cooperate?” Inta asked, stalling while focusing intently on the explosive strapped to the underside of Trixie’s chin without looking at it directly.

“Would you believe us even if we did? Probably not,” Belinda said mockingly. “Your best option is to play along and hope for the best.”

Inta paused, making it look like she was torn and hadn’t already devised a plan of action. Then, slowly, making sure both their eyes were on her, she walked towards the coffin-like reinforced box and stepped inside, looking out at them.

Triumphantly, Belinda produced a small device from a pocket and pressed a button, causing the heavy lid to begin sliding into place. The two abductor’s eyes were glued to the closing lid, and they didn’t notice the film of silver covering the explosive under Trixie’s chin.

The heavy lid clunked shut, and a dozen bolts and latches screwed down and secured the lid in place. The laser barriers winked out, and Belinda and Daniel stepped over to their now-contained quarry. The lid had a small, reinforced, transparent slit through which they saw Inta peering back at them, only her glowing eyes visible. Their gaze fixed on their prize, they did not see the small, silver-covered explosive under Trixie’s chin slip quietly into 4-D space.

Belinda stroked the transparent eye slot of Inta’s prison and said, “Poor dear. It’s unfortunate that you and your friend got caught up in this. If you had only let us take your ship earlier, neither of you would have needed to die.” she said with fake pity. The smile she saw in Inta’s eyes confused her and suddenly made her feel uneasy.

Just then, two silver girls stepped out of 4-D space into the cabin, one directly in front of Trixie and one blocking the open door. Both of Inta’s newly arrived instances sprang instantly into action. As the one next to Trixie shielded her with her silver body and tore the restraints off the Saint Andrew’s cross, the other Inta slammed the cabin door shut with a kick and launched herself at the two kidnappers.

Daniel reacted instantly, and before Inta could take a step in their direction, he simultaneously triggered the deadman switch in one hand while drawing a laser pistol from beneath his jacket and leveled it at the Charging Inta. He didn’t have time to register the lack of noise when he released the deadman switch because Inta was on him in a flash and, with a downward chop of her hand, shattered the bones of his forearm holding the gun.

In one fluid motion, Inta followed up the bone-crunching chop with a solid blow to his chest, flinging him across the room. This gave Belinda time to draw and aim her weapon. She fired several shots, all of which missed the attacking Inta, who almost moved in a blur. Instead, she struck Inta, who had her back to the action, freeing Trixie.

Inta’s face contorted with pain as the laser fire scorched and blackened spots on her back, but she didn’t react otherwise. Having freed Trixie, she quickly melted and engulfed the surprised blue-haired girl, then stepped into 4-D space, carrying Trixie with her.

Holding her gun out in front of her, Belinda fired at the charging Inta, who bobbed and weaved the shots fluidly like a prize fighter dodging an opponent’s rain of punches. Belinda glanced briefly through the eye slit of the Inta Containment Vessel and saw it was empty. Before she could register her surprise, a vice-like silver hand gripped the back of her head and slammed her face-first into the wall. She crumpled like a scarecrow freed from his post onto the floor.

Behind the two Intas, Daniel weakly pressed a button on the communicator on his wrist and was able to gasp out one word, “Failure...” before he passed into unconsciousness.

Out in the hallway, the armed men guarding the door were surprised when the door slammed and alarmed when they heard laser fire, but by the time they burst into the room with guns drawn, the only people in the room were the two beaten and unconscious kidnappers.

Compaan squatted, bent over in the low service way, watching the proceedings from cabin 6386 through several cameras hidden around the cabin on the small tablet he held in his hands.

“Fuck!” he swore as he watched the silver girl efficiently take apart his two operatives, then blinked in confusion as they vanished. Yet another factor he hadn’t accounted for, he chided himself, his brows furrowing, trying to decide how this wrinkle affected the overall plan. Deciding it didn’t, he said out loud, “All right, then. They didn’t want to do it the easy way, so the hard way it is.”

He tucked the small tablet away in his jacket, then pulled out a communicator. “All teams; execute ‘Full Stop.’ Weapons hot, we’re doing this hard and fast.” Then, he waited for execution confirmation.

Strategically scattered around the ship, several small devices with blinking green lights were attached to power regulators feeding the FTL power core. All the green lights turned red, then simultaneously exploded, destroying the power regulators with precisely sized explosions. The FTL power core levels began to fluctuate wildly, setting off alarms, and ultimately, the fail-safes tripped the core offline to prevent a core runaway.

The Dallas lurched hard as it abruptly dropped out of FTL flight, flinging items off tables, spilling drinks, and throwing those standing to the floor all over the ship. The lurch was Compaan’s signal, and he was prepared for it when it arrived. A moment afterward, he gave the order: “Blow it.”

On the Bridge of the Dallas, the skeleton crew scrabbled to figure out what caused them to drop out of FTL.

“Captain, FTL core is offline,” shouted one lieutenant.

Another lieutenant said, “Engineering reports that power regulators, FT64 through FT73, are not functioning. They are investigat...” Midway through his report, the portside wall of the bridge exploded, sending shrapnel and debris into the room. The lieutenant reporting on the status of the power regulators had been standing at a terminal in the blast zone and was blown off his feet, spraying bloody chunks of him all over the consoles along the far wall.

The Captain and the remaining bridge crew were dazed and concussed by the blast, and in the short time it took them to regain their senses, Compaan and his men poured through the breach. Time slowed for Ugaki as he surveyed the scene on the bridge—HIS bridge. Smoke filled the room as the attackers entered, and his crew bent over, holding their ears in shock. Though academy-trained, most had never seen combat and were severely disadvantaged.