Page 47 of Stripped By the Alien

- Krix’vorr -

I wake before Nora does.

The Beast's pulse moves through the chamber in a slow rhythm while I lie still and watch the female sleeping beside me. For several moments I can't remember why the room feels different. Then I look at her and the answer becomes obvious.

Nora is tangled in the tattered and singed remains of my Dulurtz banner, a trophy from my first Harvest as a Junior Harrower. One thin arm rests beneath her head and the dark hair unique to her species has spread across the bedding. Her breathing is slow and steady. A few singed strands remain near one side of her face, evidence of how close she came to the digestive fires.

Alive. But that was a close call.

I study her for longer than necessary. The previous cycle returns in fragments. The furnace. The fall. The sight of her tumbling toward the fire.

The certainty that I would arrive too late.

That strange pressure returns beneath my chest plates. The strange lightning again, the one that seems to get triggered by some chemical reaction between this female alien and my carapace. At least, that's the explanation I try to give myself.

I've experienced pain before. Battle. Success. Joy. None of those things resemble whatever has been happening to me since Nora appeared. Even now I find myself watching her breathe, as though some part of me expects her to vanish if I stop paying attention.

I reach toward her without thinking. My hand stops halfway there. What am I doing?

The question irritates me enough that I rise from the platform and move away. Nora is valuable and potentially unique. She may lead me to an entire world. Those facts explain why I rescued her, why I carried her from the furnace, and why I healed her.

Every part of that reasoning is perfectly sound.

Yet whenever I picture her falling into the fire, logic seems to have very little influence over the result. And the mating… it was beyond magnificent. I can’t remember having been so lost in an activity, ever. Even a battle or a fight is less intense than that. Perhaps–

A strong pulse rolls through the chamber. The lights dim. Moments later they brighten again.

Then they dim once more.

I glance toward the walls and narrow my eyes. The Beast knows I'm awake. Another pulse follows, carrying an unmistakable note of irritation.

"Nora survives one cycle in my chamber and you've already begun behaving like a hatchling," I mutter as I get to my feet.

The lights dim even further. That answers the question well enough.

The membranes open ahead of me as I move deeper into the Beast. Warm currents travel through the corridors and the living walls part before my approach. Every part of her knows where I am. Every part of her also knows where Nora is.

The thought follows me all the way to one of the primary circulation chambers.

The space glows with the movement of nutrient fluids flowing through translucent vessels thicker than trees. Heat hangs in the air. The scent is familiar and comforting, carrying traces of digestion and life. As I approach, the nearest wall swells outward toward me in greeting. The Beast is very close here, her massive brain hidden in her thick skull.

I place my hand against the membrane. The chamber immediately responds. Pulses travel through the surrounding tissue. The response feels demanding, possessive, almost impatient.

“It’s enough now. You’ve made your point." The words sound harder than I intended.

The pulsing stops for a moment. Then the wall presses forward again beneath my palm.

I close my eyes and consider what happened in the furnace. At first I'd assumed the Beast had acted carelessly. Now that explanation feels increasingly unlikely. She knew where Nora was. She knew what the digestive chamber would do to an unprotected body. The more I think about it, the less it resembles an accident.

“You tried to kill her,” I growl.

I've always known the Beast disliked other females. She closes passages, refuses convenient routes, and makes her displeasure known whenever another female remains aboard too long. Usually it's an annoyance. This was something else.

I strike the membrane with the heel of my hand, just to get her attention. There’s no pain, I know that. To this immense spacefaring creature, this is like a gentle tap, barely to be noticed. The impact echoes through the chamber and the surrounding tissue immediately becomes still. "You endangered my mission!"

Nothing moves.

"You endangered valuable intelligence."