Alien Manifesto (5 page)
Now that was an
offer.
I knew Snarth to be a shrewd
businessperson, so the danger must be greater than he was letting
on.
The question of the hour was; what
would I do with all the pay from this job and that stack of credit
notes, that very thick stack, I had taken from Shorty’s safe. I
thought for sure Snarth would catch me with it. I am still not sure
why I took it, maybe I am just looking out for my new life and my
future. If Snarth had seen me take it, he said nothing. Maybe he
considered it part of the cost of doing business or perhaps to the
victor goes the spoils
.
Either way, I win.
I had enough credits from
the job for a complete body refresh with some left
over
.
Tasha was
an organic body grown for a very smart computer, a pleasure
bio-mech. She was a much sought after model for sale to the highest
bidder, much like modern, super car collectors on Earth. The
bio-mech could be adapted to any known culture and any type of body
form. I had enough credits for one but not both apparently.
I might need a guide in the near future, one I
could control
.
“
Guess I will have to stick
around a little longer,” I said
.
Snarth nearly bent double in throes of
tentacle wiggling upon realizing that I intended to stay. “Well
played Human Tom, well played indeed. I look forward to many
adventuresss together. It will be interesssting indeed playing
poker with you,” hissed Snarth with another spasm of tentacle
wiggling. Then Snarth stood up and hissed, “All right, everyone get
sssome sssleep. Training ssstartsss at 0400.”
As Snarth turned to leave he paused,
“Before I forget, what do you want to do with ssShorty?” he hissed.
I had forgotten about Shorty in the course of the celebration of
the master’s passing. “You can’t turn him loossse, well not yet
anyway. He knowsss too much,” Snarth added. “We could hold him in
the dungeon for now until you decide what you want to do with him,”
he offered, almost half-heartedly. I just nodded my head in
agreement, unable to speak as the pain of loss welled up in my
throat. I would avenge the feline master’s death, just not
tonight.
~
Weeks had passed and Snarth was not
training with the team these days. A young, female feline had
replaced the fallen stealth master. She was rumored to be the
youngest stealth master in a generation. She kept to herself
mostly; I don’t think she likes me very much. Nevertheless, the
team trained on and a mutual, respectful silence ensued between
us.
One day, as the team was preparing to
climb a vertical ice cliff at the northern pole, a transport
arrived. A messenger mech disembarked and headed straight for me.
It spoke to me in a mechanical sounding version of galactic
standard, “Human Tom: my master, Snarth, requests your presence in
his private quarters with all haste. A transport has been provided
and you are to return with me at once.” Having delivered its
message, it whirred back to the transport, activated the
transport’s power cell and spun up the anti-grav repulser lifts in
preparation for an immediate departure. Without a word and only a
glance at the others, I swung my gear into the transport’s cargo
bay and strapped myself into the co-pilot’s chair for the short
ride back to Snarth’s estate house.
I found Snarth in a part of the estate
I had never been in before. He was in a large room reclined under
some sort of machine. I had never seen such a machine before but I
could feel a kind of energy pulsing from it and it felt
GOOD.
As I looked, I could see that Snarth
did not look so good. His normally smooth, leather like, green skin
was wrinkled and blotched with dark patches. Sensing my concern
Snarth waved his hand as if to dismiss it.
“
Nothing to worry about my
boy, jussst doing sssome much needed rejuvenating. Can you feel it,
my boy?” he asked.
“
Feel what?” I answered,
trying not to pry.
“
Why, the life energy, of
courssse,” he said, with the tentacle wiggle I had come to
recognize as his sly smile. “You sssee, thisss machine mimicsss the
life energy of a live body and that causesss cellular regeneration
in mossst life formsss, yoursss included. Come join me,” he hissed
gesturing to the empty couch next to him. I hesitated, unsure.
“Come on, don’t be sssuch a primitive, relax and enjoy youth
again,” he hissed with that sly grin of his.
As I rested on the couch next to
Snarth waiting for him to tell me why he had called me in from
training, I could feel an energy pulsing through me. Suddenly all I
could think of was Tasha. Chuckling Snarth hissed, “Now you sssee
my boy that isss how it feelsss to be young again,” in response to
my obvious excitement. “Go, be with Tasssha and we will talk in the
morning,” hissed Snarth. He dismissed me with a wave of his hand
and another fit of tentacle wiggling that passed for what was his
sly smile.
It was very late that night
when I finally collapsed, exhausted after hours of love making with
Tasha. Even she was exhausted, so intense had been my passion. As I
drifted off to sleep in her arms, my last coherent thought
was
, I have to get one of those
machines.
“
On your feet sssoldier,”
came Snarth’s familiar greeting in the morning. As always, I had
responded by bounding out of bed and straight to attention without
even taking time to dress. This was a constant source of amusement
for Snarth; a fit of tentacle wiggling laughter ensued.
“
The team hasss gathered in
the conference room Human Tom, if you would be ssso kind azsss to
join usss,” hissed Snarth.
“
Yes sir,” I said out of
reflex.
I hurriedly dressed and I wondered if
the team finally had another mission.
~
When I arrived at the conference room,
I slid into the only available seat, next to the feline master. Her
nose wrinkled in distaste.
“
At least you could have
bathed, you smell like mating,” she mewed
disapprovingly.
“
You don’t smell any
better,” I shot back.
“
Do you not remember
anything the master taught you?” she hissed as we waited for
Snarth. She being perfectly groomed as always. As I readied a
retort, Snarth arrived.
“
Welcome back everyone,”
Snarth said, greeting the team. “I am pleasssed with the progressss
you have all made in your training. It isss time to begin our next
missssion. I have a rival, ssSniggle, who hasss become too
interesssted in my busssinessss dealingsss. In particular the
whereaboutsss of the artifact we recovered from
ssShorty.
“
Now, I have already sssold
it to a buyer who wissshesss to remain anonymousss, acquiring a
great deal of profit in the processss. ssSniggle hasss convinced
the leader of the Followersss of Eli, a cult of religiousss
fanaticsss, that I ssstill have the artifact. The buyer wissshesss
to keep hisss possssessssion of it a sssecret for obviousss
reasssonsss. He hasss hired me to convince the cult leader that
ssSniggle isss indeed the one who hasss it.
“
Our job isss to infiltrate
the cult and convince the cult leader that ssSniggle hasss the
artifact,” Snarth continued. “You will be usssing the cover ssstory
of having been on the team that ssstole the artifact originally.
And having become disssgruntled with the former employer, me;
enough to sssell the location of the artifact. Thisss ssshouldn’t
be too difficult azsss the cult leader’sss obsssesssion with
finding the artifact isss legendary. However, convincing him that
you are willing to betray your former employer will not be azsss
easssy; it never isss with fanaticsss. I have decided that Tom and
the feline massster will infiltrate the cult usssing the guissse of
a ssstealth massster and ssstudent for hire who know the
whereaboutsss of the artifact,” hissed Snarth. “Thisss cult’sss
entire purpose revolvesss around the sssearch for the artifact and
they are extreme fanaticsss. Gaining acceptance will not be
easssy,” he hissed. “The ressst of the team will deploy in the city
sssurrounding the cult’sss temple in order to ssserve azsss backup
if extraction isss needed. Thisss isss a multicultural planet ssso
blending in will not be difficult, provided you have the right
cover ssstory.”
Snarth began handing out computer and
credit chips to the team members. “On thessse chipsss you will find
your cover ssstory, credentialsss and any credit you might need.
Memorize them; your life may depend on it. Now everyone get a good
night’sss sssleep, we depart for the temple at 0400 tomorrow. Human
Tom and Massster feline: I have sssome detailsss to go over in
private. If you would be ssso kind azsss to pleasssse join me in my
quartersss later. That isss all, you are disssmisssed.” That
finished the longest speech I had ever heard Snarth
give.
As I headed back to my
quarters to bathe, I wondered how the feline master and I would get
along.
Snarth seemed to think we would be
able to or he would not have partnered us together.
I had no idea what to expect, so I spent the next
few hours studying my role on the computer chip. I did not realize
it at the time but Snarth had given me a new identity, one I could
use anywhere in this new life of mine.
Later the feline master and I arrived
at Snarth’s private quarters to find him enjoying his fountain of
youth. I could not help but grin in anticipation. The feline master
had obviously been introduced to the machine’s pleasures before, as
she wasted no time in joining Snarth. I being the one of lesser
status waited until invited.
Seeing my hesitation Snarth said,
“Come my boy, don’t be ssshy, dive in!”
As I gave myself to the energy, I
could see it was having a similar effect on the feline master. She
was on her back writhing in ecstasy. I could smell the musk of her
scent and it excited me, wildly.
“
Children, pleassse contain
your passsionsss,” hissed Snarth. “We have busssinessss to attend
to.”
I snapped my attention back to him at
the sound of his voice but in the back of my mind was the feline
master’s dance of ecstasy.
Snarth continued, “I don’t know what
persssonal differencesss you two have, but I sssuggessst azsss your
employer that you sssettle them here and now.”
The feline master began to groom her
furry face and mewed, “He disrespects his former master and it
offends me.”
“
The Massster wasss my
friend and azsss far azsss I know, he and Tom never had the
ceremony making them massster and ssstudent,” Snarth
hissed.
The feline master paused her grooming.
“Is that true?” she asked me.
“
I respected what the
master taught me and it was a great personal loss when he died in
my arms. But, he never formally acknowledged me as his student that
I know of,” I answered.
“
How did he die?” She mewed
softly.
“
He was killed by a cloaked
security mech,” I answered.
She stood over me and looked me eye to
eye. I could feel her hot breath on my cheeks and hear her purring
with pleasure. “He was my father” she hissed. I felt a chill run
down my spine.
“
I didn’t know. I am deeply
sorry for your loss.” I stammered, trying to comfort
her.
With a louder hiss, she spat “You
humans, so sentimental. I forget that you have attachments to your
birth parents. I however do not suffer from such weaknesses. Once
my kind leaves the care of our mother we are on our own. I haven’t
seen my father in a very long time. But, I have been trying to live
up to his reputation all my life. And now I find that he was killed
protecting a mere human whom he didn’t even acknowledge as a
student. You have much to learn if I am going to accept you as my
student.” Taken aback by her statement, my mind was reeling, I did
not know what to say.
Fortunately for me, Snarth did.
“Massster feline,” he hissed softly, “your father mussst have
ssseen potential in young Human Tom here or elssse he wouldn’t have
taught him ssso much. Actually for a human he isss quite good.
Pleassse I am asssking you, teach him.”
Now I was starting to get
mad.
Mere human, who the hell do they
think they are? I’m standing right here.
Just as I was about to register my indignation they both
turned to look at me.
“
See, he is easily offended
and barely able to control his anger. I cannot teach him,” mewed
the feline master.
“
He will learn patience if
you will but teach him,” Snarth hissed, insistently. “Tom, tell her
about how you acquired the object from the massster in order to
gain acceptance to the team,” Snarth insisted.
My anger at being called a mere human
cooled as I related how I had seemingly outsmarted the feline
master.
“
How long did you become
the rock?” she asked.
“
It was at least 2 hours,”
I answered.
Snarth interjected, “More like 8
hoursss Tom.”
“
Snarth is exaggerating,” I
countered.
“
And you were able to evade
my father even when he was cloaked?”
“
Yes,” I answered, “I could
feel him, see him in my mind’s eye, and I just floated to the
ceiling.”