In a Galaxy, far, far away, there was a peaceful planet called Devia. On this planet lived a young man called Carl and his family.

This planet was invaded and overwhelmed in a surprisingly quick time by an army of sinister humanoid warriors. Leaving a devastated landscape and the civilisation in ruins, our young man is herded by the soldiers, with thousands of others, into an enormous transport ship. Men and women were segregated for an unknown, but ominous purpose.

With all other members of the family missing, believed killed, Carl and his mother have little time left together. On the urgings of his mother, he assumes the appearance of a girl in a vain attempt to remain with her.

The invaders seem to believe it...

but then the nightmare begins!

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The Legal Stuff: The Rats of Hell © 2009, 2010 Tanya Allan
 
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright, in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Permission is granted for it to be copied and read by individuals, and for no other purpose. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited, and may only be posted to free sites with the express permission of the author.
 
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
 
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
 
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
 
Please enjoy.
Tanya
 
 

 
 
 
Prologue
 
 
The first time he spoke, I didn't understand what he said for various reasons. Looking back, I know now why I didn’t understand; for a start, his accent was weird and quite pronounced. With everything else that my senses encountered, I suppose I must have just stared blankly at him. He looked annoyed for a brief moment but then repeated himself, clearly in a hurry.

"Welcome to hell, young lady, now git your naked ass outa there, before the fires roast your pretty hide!" The voice came from above me, but the sights that confronted me gave me little inclination to look up, or to pay much attention to what he said.

I was numb with shock, for I sincerely believed that I had died and was now in hell.

The stranger’s words had little impact over the horrific environment in which I now found myself.

There was so much horror around me that my senses threatened to shut down. As I recalled, somewhat confusedly, the events that led me to this point, it was a reasonable assumption that I was indeed dead. All the factors seemed to point to that assumption.

I was stark naked in a pit, quite a dark pit, lying on top of a pile of dead human bodies; bodies that had been alive a short time before, some of whom I probably knew. It was very hot, but the rank stench of death, rotting flesh and excrement was overwhelming. Blood was everywhere, covering everything I could see, including me. The blood had dried, so caked my entire body, feeling hard and unpleasant. Some, I feared, was probably my own, from my aching abdominal area. It was everywhere; in my long hair, in my eyes, all over my skin. Some had yet to dry, so it made everything slippery, yet was beginning to feel tacky as it too started to congeal. The poor light, coming from the opening above, gave this world a surreal appearance - grotesque and macabre.

Open, sightless eyes, clawing hands and mouths fixed into soundless screams seemed to meet my eyes wherever I looked, together with the liberal helpings of human blood. However, the fact I seemed to be the only one that was in anyway animate was the only indication that this might not be hell, after all. My vague recollections of heaven and hell were hazy at best, so at this point were confused and patchy in the extreme, but if it was the hell of which I had been told then there must be others in torment, not just me!

If this wasn’t hell, where was it?

Why did the strange voice call it hell?
 
 
I retched, a dry and futile operation, but then I screamed. It was pathetic, I know, but my mind was so overwhelmed by my surroundings, including the grotesquely distorted limbs, the staring dead eyes and the fresh memories of what had just happened, it was all too much to deal with at once.

“Quiet girl! Just give me your hand if you want to live,” the gruff voice almost shouted, his impatience and desperation obvious in his intonation.

Dimly, I once more gazed upwards towards this voice. A bearded face filled the rectangular opening that was the only source of light in this place. A gnarled and calloused hand stretched down towards me. I vaguely looked about me for the girl to whom he was addressing; however, on being the only living soul that I could see, I simply assumed he mistook me for a girl. My long hair had sometimes caused that back home. I raised one arm above my head so, grasping my hand, he lifted me clear of the macabre heap and out through the hatch, lowering me none too gently onto the warm metallic deck. He heaved a large metal plate over the hole and then roughly pulled me to my feet and pushed me towards a dark tunnel.

"The fire will start any second, so I hope you can run," he said, turning and running down the dark passage. Having no choice, I followed, my bare feet making faintly damp slapping sounds on the metallic floor. The pain in my belly hurt tremendously, so I pushed a hand against my lower abdomen as I ran. Within moments, I heard a loud roaring sound, followed by a blast of very hot air that tore down the passage that I’d just travelled, almost knocking me off my feet.

Strong arms caught me, pulling me through a gap in the side of the tunnel, as a rush of incredibly hot air sped down the passage in which we’d both been running. With one hand firmly holding me by my upper left arm, my companion dragged me along a myriad of passages until at last he permitted me to collapse onto a pile of rags.
 
 
After a few minutes, I caught my breath and looked around. The man lit a crude lamp which appeared to burn oil. It gave a dim but reassuring glow in the darkness. We were in a room, of sorts, but lacking anything I had come to understand as essential.

“There's some water in the container in the corner, behind you. Wash yourself and the put something on. I haven't been this close to a live female for a hell of a long time.”

This time, his words sunk in. I was about to correct him when I stared down at myself. Even in this dim light, I could see why he thought me female. My small but firm breasts were the first give away, but what was now between my legs clinched it. Or rather, what wasn't there any more!

I was indeed a girl.

This was all wrong, for I’m not a girl. I’m a boy - was a boy. With a supreme effort of will, I searched my memory for anything sane to grasp. My name! For some strange reason it eluded me for a moment, but then, with a sense of triumph, I remembered.

My name is Carl.

I'm sixteen and my whole life seems to have just ended. I remembered the rest. My brain reacted, bringing on a faint. I fell back onto the rags, in total denial of the horrible reality in which I found myself.
 
 
Chapter 1
 
 
“We’re all on full alert as from twenty hours,” my father announced at suppertime. “Full invasion alert.”

“Oh dear Lord, are you sure they’ll come?” my mother said, her pale face looking more tired and drawn than ever.

“Of course they’ll come, but we’ll kick their red asses when they do!” my older brother Sean said, as he rapidly finished his plate of food.

“Sean, language!” my mother said automatically, yet her heart wasn’t in it. All the family had gathered around the table, and all, except mother and I, were dressed in the green Devian Defence Corps uniform. I was the youngest of five children, four boys and one girl. Sean was next to me, being eighteen, and then there was David at twenty and Marcus, the eldest at twenty five. Mandy was twenty-two, yet even she was in uniform. They were all part of the Northern Battery, in which my father was a Major. Mandy’s boyfriend was a Lieutenant in the Battery, so he sat with us at this crucial time.

“How do they know if they really will come?” my mother asked.

“The trading post on Finnegan’s Six reported a fleet approaching the eighth portal. We’re the only system this side of the portal,” Dad said, looking glum.

“It might not be them,” I said, voicing the hope we all felt.

Dad looked at me. “Carl, no one has a military fleet anymore, except them.”

“Mister Souter says that intergalactic invasion is impossible due to the logistics involved,” I said, quoting my history teacher.

“How does Mister Souter explain the twelve planets already taken?” he asked, dryly.

I kept quiet; frustrated at the fact I was too young to join the Defence Corps. I only had a year to wait, but the way events were happening, I might never get the chance to join up.

“How ready are we?” mother asked.

Dad looked glummer still. “We’re ready, but heaven knows whether we’ll ever be able to beat them off. The Batteries are more powerful than ever, all citizens between seventeen and fifty-five are in service to the Corps, so if we’re not ready, we’re dead!”

The threat of invasion was first raised a few years ago when news of an invasion across the rim on Hylios One. Hylios was a relatively newly colonised planet, with a strictly agrarian economy, but with enormous potential for mineral extraction further down the line.

The invaders were believed to be human, but their origin was unknown. They appeared human, but as witnesses and vid-pics showed, they seemed completely inhuman in that they neither showed pain or emotion. Their dark Bat-like craft dropped silently from a night sky, with thousands upon thousands infantry soldiers overwhelming any resistance. Each invading soldier was clad in a distinctive crimson armoured suit.
 
 
Hylios had no formal defence force, so the crude resistance of the few, armed farmers was inconsequential. Yet, surprisingly few of the defenders lost their lives, as the weapons that the invaders used against them only incapacitated rather than killed.

Now, after eleven more planet communities had been laid waste, we all understood why. The crimson troopers drove their captives, like cattle, into the bellies of vast transport ships, which departed to God knows where. It was rumoured that they turned the human cargoes into the mindless robotic soldiers for the next campaign. This was started by a trader who’d narrowly escaped during the fourth invasion, claiming that he’d seen a former colleague wearing the crimson armour, but whose personality had vanished. Males, it seemed, became soldiers, while females, even those with military experience, were separated and taken somewhere else. No one knew where or why, only that none were ever seen again.

These invaders were never heard to speak, as their captives were simply herded into the ships with the used of crude pain-inflicting prods. Once captured, no one had ever escaped, but it was only through the gallantry of some Marines on Gorran V, the ninth planet to fall, that we discovered that the enemy soldiers were indeed mind-wiped human males from the previously conquered planets. The whole purpose of invasion was to farm humans, to put us to use. Rumours over the fate of the women and girls were rife, ranging from being used as food for some mysterious alien race, to being used as breeders to produce yet another generation of red-clad soldiers. No one had any hard evidence either way, until quite recently, that is.

The Gorran V Marines managed to shoot down a small but advanced spaceship in which the real enemy was revealed for the first and only time. This find added fuel to the fear and feeling of dread that was sweeping the known galaxy, for this being was definitely not human.

Alien life had yet to be discovered with any degree of intelligence, yet this life form had already made itself known to mankind, long before the stars were anything other than ornaments in the night sky.

The alien was eight foot tall, a biped humanoid, with certain features that were deeply imbedded in human psyche. The red skin was acceptable, but the horns and twin toed feet that gave an impression of cloven hooves were features that caused the religious fanatics to blame those who sought expansion for bringing the wrath of Satan upon mankind. At least the tail was missing, but it was still sufficient to bring on the names of Devils or Demons.

The creature in the wrecked ship was found to be dead, but even in death its very presence caused fear to fly to all colonised worlds, including ours.

The meal ended and our family had a communal hug, just in case we’d never meet again. As it happened, it was to be our last meal and my family would never get together again, like this anyway.

They didn’t come that night.
 
 
They came at about two hour on the following day, after the batteries had been on alert for over twenty-four hours. Their silent ships fell from the night sky in massive waves. Our four enormous batteries picked off vast numbers of the ships, but there were just too many of them. Our government had invested heavily in these hi-tech centres with the most sophisticated weapon systems that were designed to prevent craft from entering the atmosphere or ever landing on the surface.

We had firepower capable of annihilating hundreds of ships attempting to invade our cherished planet. The thousands of enemy vessels simply flooded our skies, and despite the hundreds of ships destroyed, these were a fraction of those that actually successfully landed on the surface.

The enemy ships disgorged armoured infantry brigades and armoured vehicles, but as our government were convinced that nothing could get past the batteries, further investment was denied to those who wanted to recruit and train fighting soldiers. As it happened, the batteries were overwhelmed in a few short minutes.
 
 
Mother and I had taken refuge in the large communal shelter on the east of town. We could hear the incessant booming of the sonic cannons based in the Battery. I felt a fraud, as there were only women, old people and young children in the shelter. I was desperate to go and help fight the enemy.

Suddenly, silence reigned. The Battery ceased firing. I looked at my mother as the realisation of defeat began to sink in. Panic started to spread amongst the others in the shelter. It had taken the enemy only twenty minutes to destroy what had taken us more than two years to build.

“Quickly, dress in these clothes!” Mother said, holding out Mandy’s old cast-offs.

“What? No way, Mum!

“Listen, Carl, do you want to die?”

“Of course not!”

“Then do as I say. The men will be sent to be mind-wiped and used as soldiers. If you are taken as a boy, then you will probably die as a soldier, or at best, you will lose your personality and individuality and experience a living death. This way, you have a chance.”

“Of what? They’ll find me and kill me anyway!”

“Not necessarily, there is always a chance you could escape.”

“Where will I go, Mum?”

“Then stay with me, just to please me,” she said, breaking down. “I’ve lost everyone else, I don’t want to lose you!”

Numbly, I stripped off and dressed in the unfamiliar girl’s clothes. She rolled up my old socks, placing them in my empty bra.

“Your long hair and pretty face will pass muster, let me just put some make up on you.”

I let her do this, believing it would make no difference, I was dead anyway.
 
 
The enemy soldiers found the shelter after another hour. The red-armoured soldiers simply made us walk towards the vast ships that had landed after the soldiers’ landing craft. Stun rods assisted those who displayed any reluctance to comply. I noted that one ship was resting where my friend Cindy’s farm had once sat. I wondered whether Cindy was dead or alive. Smoke and debris littered the landscape. It was like an alien land, no longer my familiar home. No landmarks were visible and a large pall of smoke hung over where the enormous Battery once stood to the north. Burning hulks of destroyed enemy vessels lay all over the place, I counted over fifty in sight alone, yet the enemy were here in vast numbers, so I wondered how they managed to sustain such terrible losses.

The human stream swelled as bedraggled Corpsmen and women joined us. I eagerly searched the faces for my family, as were most others, but mainly in vain. After a mile, the enemy formed a V, splitting the stream into two lesser streams. Males were sent to the right, while females were forced to the left. Husbands and wives were torn apart by uncaring soldiers, while male children were forcibly separated from their mothers without a word being spoken. Babies were simply removed from their mothers, and no one saw where they were taken.

I found myself in the left hand stream; my mother had a tight grip on my hand. Other boys had attempted to do what I was doing, but were seen and forced into the other stream. I expected to be seized and removed any moment. I kept looking for a way of escape, but noticed that those who attempted to slip out of the line were inevitably shot by the strange weapons held by the red-clad soldiers. These weapons were soundless, simply paralysing the victim. The soldiers then neutralised the paralysis and manacled the potential escaper, returning them to their original stream of pathetic humanity.

Looking back to where we had just come, the stream stretched back as far as the eye could see. I reasoned that there were probably collections such as these near each city or centre of civilisation on the planet. No wonder they could afford to lose men, for I was looking at streams of their cannon fodder for the future.
 
 
Suddenly, my feet were on a metal ramp, as we reached the rear of the vast ship. It was so large I could see neither the top, nor the far end. I saw no opportunity to escape, so simply followed the stream like a sheep. The stream slowed and split into six smaller streams. My mother was forced to relinquish her hold of me, as we were separated.

“I love you, always!” she wailed as we were forced down different passages.

My impersonation was going to be discovered; of this I was positive. Every turn and every door we came to, I waited for the strong hands that would seize me and remove me to where I belonged. In a perverse way, I looked forward to it, as this deception was making me fear reprisals. Yet the soldiers behind their mirrored visors made no movement towards me, seemingly only interested in guiding the human stream to its destination.

I then found myself in a long, narrow chamber with recesses in the walls. A soldier pushed me into nearest recess. I watched as each recess was filled with young women of roughly my age. When all recesses were filled, I experienced a pressing sensation pushing me back against the rear of the recess. The light extinguished and a roaring noise filled the air, mingled with the terrified screams of the girls along side me. After a while, I realised that I too was screaming.

I dimly became aware of a hissing noise and a strange smell.

Gas!

I tried holding my breath, but I must have passed out. There followed a period of confusion. Partially conscious for a while and hallucinating occasionally, time ceased to have a meaning for me. All my friends and relatives came to me, but then turned into snarling monsters. It was with some relief, therefore, that eventually the light came on and the pressure slowly released. None of us could move or even speak. I tried, but my body failed to respond to even the simplest tasks. I could blink, breath, swallow and smell but couldn’t even move my eyes.
 
 
One by one we were released. The first human who wasn’t a soldier released me. He was male, aged about fifty and completely bald, dressed in a white coverall, but his very dark skin indicated he wasn’t from our world originally. His expression was blank and he wore heavy tinted glasses, which were almost goggles, as he forced my right hand into a clamp-like device. I felt a sharp pain, so reasoned I’d been injected or had a sample taken. This was the moment I’d be discovered, so I steeled myself for the bullet.

With no change in expression, the man watched a screen. A series of digits and letters flowed past, and then he stripped me of all my borrowed clothes and pushed me through a small hatch onto a conveyor. I was still unable to move, but as I fell onto the belt, I could see a marking stencilled onto my forearm. I lay on my back, shivering but unable to cover my nakedness. I couldn’t move my head or eyes, so had no idea whether I was alone on this belt.

I must have left the ship, for I briefly saw unfamiliar stars in a sky, but then was inside another structure. The conveyor delivered me onto an automated gurney, which wheeled automatically through a tunnel of wires and up to a panel. I was in a small techno-cavern and started to feel claustrophobic. It was as if I’d been swallowed by a malicious machine. I watched in horror as an auto-syringe protruded from the panel and plunged into my forearm. I was powerless to resist, and wondered what they could possibly do to me, and why. That was the last moment I recalled before awakening amongst a pile of bodies.
 
 
Chapter 2
 
 
I came round to find I was covered by a rather suspect blanket. I was still naked and still female. The man was seated on the floor in the opposite corner, watching me.

“I, I, I’m a, a, a, a girl!” I stammered.

“Yup.”

“Huh?”

“You scared me, girl. Don’t do that again!”

“I scared you?” I asked, incredulously.

I looked under the blanket, finding to my dismay that someone had cleaned me up. I looked at him.

“You, you washed me?”

“Someone had to, as you were stinking the place out. I thought you was dead for a moment.”

“What happened to me?”

He shrugged, as I looked at him in some detail. He had a shaggy head, but his hair was receding at the front. His hair was grey, as was his beard and moustache, but with dark flecks in both. His clothing was military, but faded and worn.

“Are you a soldier?” I asked.

He laughed, eating from a small dark block of something.

“I haven’t been a soldier for a very long time. I was once for about five minutes. They came and they conquered, we never had a chance.”

“Which planet?”

“Xiona.”

“Fifth,” I said.

“How many now?”

“I think we were the thirteenth.”

“What planet?”

“Devia.”

He shook his head, as I looked about me. I still hurt in my belly, like a dull permanent ache.

“Where are we?”

He laughed again, but there was no humour in it.

“Deep beneath the fires of hell.”

“Hell?”

“It was called Hylios once, I call it hell.”

“Hylios? The first one to fall?”

“So they say,” he said, standing up. He started approaching me, so I pulled the dirty blanket up to my chin.

“Don’t panic, if I wanted you, I could have had you when you passed out. Besides, you’re too damn skinny for me.”

He rooted around in a locker that was against one wall. Turning, he threw me some items of camouflage uniform.

“Try these for size, if they don’t fit, don’t panic, I know where we can get some more.”

I struggled into the pants and shirt. They were both rather large, but with a length of cord, at least the pants didn’t fall down. As I did so, my new gender was very evident to me. I felt light headed and fearful. I so wanted this to be a bad dream, so I could wake up at home and with my family around me.

“Boots may be harder, as you have small feet. We’ll go take a look, because we’ll be needing food and more water,” the man said.

“Thanks.”

“So, little girl, what’s your name?”

I hesitated, the harsh reality of my situation was beginning to sink in, like a horrible dream.

“Carl.”

“That’s a boy’s name on my planet.”

“And on mine,” I said, bitterly.

“Okay, that explains your confusion, now tell me your story.”

I did. It didn’t take long.

“Okay, you were in the female sector, so they didn’t see you as a male, even when you were stark naked.”

“How come? That technician was right next to me when they took my clothes.”

He shrugged. “They don’t get to think like you and I.”

“So? They did tests, didn’t that tell them anything?”

“It told them you didn’t have the right equipment, so the Medic-tech machine did its best.”

“Medic-tech?”

“Automated medical unit. There aren’t any doctors here.”

“Why did I end up in the pit?”

“You weren’t fertile. It’s the last test. They’d have given you everything you need to be female, in theory, but you aren’t producing ova, so they dumped you.”

“But I wasn’t dead!”

“That’s not a problem to them. As a female, you weren’t fit to fight, so, as you can’t have their babies, they dumped you. In fifteen seconds, you’d have been toast if I hadn’t heard you screaming.”

“I don’t remember screaming.”

“Take my word for it, you were.”

“I’m not even a female,” I said bitterly.

“You are now, kid.”

“Not a proper one.”

“Look, believe me, you’ll find you are. It’s just they want instant fertility, they have sufficient raw materials not to worry about waiting for things to develop.”

“I can’t be a fertile girl, I’m a boy!”

He looked at me. “Nope, you ain’t, not any more, as I said.”

“But, I can’t be a girl!” I felt tears spring to my eyes.”

“It beats the hell out of being dead, or worse.”

“Worse?”

“Yeah, if you’d have stayed a male, you’d be wearing a red suit and joining the next invasion.”

“They make anyone do as they want?” I asked.

“Yup.”

“Then their technology is way ahead?”

“Absolutely, but they don’t use it for good. That’s why they burn everything surplus to requirement that they can use. Like you,” he reminded me.

“Thanks. But, who are they?”

“They're the Devils. Who knows what their real name is. I guess they’re an old race whose time is running out. They’ve been around a long time. They were first seen on old Earth, way back when. There are old writings depicting them as Satan or demons. They’ve always been seen as evil, trying to impregnate women with their seed to perpetuate their race.”

“You mean old Earth was real?”

“Sure. Been there once, when I was about nineteen, working on a freighter in the first quadrant. Not a lot left, just a burned out, barren wasteland. Hard to believe it spawned mankind, but it was our cradle. That’s what comes from bad housekeeping! Anyway, it seems that the devils were watching, always trying ways to have offspring through human females.”

“Did they?”

“Sure, lots, but most are sterile. One or two weren’t, so they followed them up and kept going. Each generation has more devil and less man. The problem is, the pure-bloods are now very old and few in number. What we’re seeing is a last ditch desperate measure to perpetuate their species.”

“You mean these invasions are just to get us to have their babies?”

“Yup, I guess.”

“They killed all my family and friends, changed me to a girl, but then dumped me because I couldn’t have babies, like instantly?”

“Yup.”

“The bastards!”

He grinned. “You got it in one.”

“But the soldiers? The ones with no feelings, who are they?”

“Your brothers, friends, or people like them. I would have been one too, but I was wounded so they dumped me in a similar place to where you were. I got out before the fires too.”

“Are there others?” I asked.

“You mean like us?”

I nodded.

“Not that I’ve found. There was a kid, a girl, like you. But she curled up in a ball and refused to eat, drink or speak. She died after five days. You ain’t gonna do anything dumb like that, are you?”

I thought of this unknown girl, dying of pure terror and misery.

“Kid?”

I looked up and shook my head. “No, I’m not. On one condition.”

“Yeah?”

“Teach me how to kill these monsters?”

“You ain’t got it, have you?”

“Got what?”

“We ain’t predators, we’re vermin.”

“Vermin?”

“Like rats. We’re beneath their feet, under their floorboards and behind the skirting. They can’t see us, so we could gnaw at their wires and cause whatever mayhem we can, but once they know we’re here, then we’ll be in danger.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“Survive, don’t draw attention to ourselves and find their weakness.”

“You said there weren’t many of them, the devils. How many exactly?”

“I don’t rightly know. I’ve only seen three. There are quite a few mix-breeds, but three real ones for sure.”

“Where’s their home planet?”

“That I do know, for they don’t have one. Their sun went nova, I guess, because they’ve been floating the Galaxy looking for a race their DNA is most closely compatible with.”

“How do you know this?”

“Just after I got here, I was exploring the tunnels and passages, just trying to find others. I stumbled on an archive room. Now I don’t read their scribble, but they have a time-line chart. It started with an exploding sun, and now we’re at the point where they’re desperately trying to breed to produce fertile offspring. They figure that with all the millions of human females, one has to be capable of carrying a half-breed full term that’s fertile. They have enough human scientists working with their advanced technology, so they’ll get lucky real soon.”

“But why invade and destroy everything? Surely they could have tried to negotiate?” I asked.

“Look kid, I don’t have any answers, but my guess is that they tried that, and man, being the nervous and violent type, ran them out of town. If you turned up looking like Satan himself, who the hell is going to trust you enough to agree to have your babies?”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“They’re a much more advanced race, capable of solving all man’s problems, but they’re not interested. They want to solve their own problems at our expense, or even extinction.”

“It’s such a terrible waste.”

“It sure is.”
 
 
I thought about my brothers and father, all being forced to become mindless soldiers. Then I thought about Mandy, even now probably being impregnated in the hope that she could produce a fertile thing. Then I thought about me. All my plans, hopes and aspirations, flushed with my genitals down some unknown drain. I suddenly had a thought.

“Could the machine make me male again?”

“They’re good, but I don’t think they’re that good. They probably have the science and technology, but they wouldn’t even think about it.”

“Surely if it made me female, the technology exists to make me male?”

“Why should it? They need breeders, not men. If there was a sudden lack of males, they might look into making males from females, if there was good tactical reasons for it.”

“But if we reprogrammed the machine, surely we could find a way to get me back to normal?”

“Can you reprogram it, given that we could ever get to it, that is?”

“Me? No. But someone could.”

“Who? Me? I can’t. One of them? Why should they? Just accept it, Carl, the girl is here to stay.”

I just looked at him, trying not to cry.

“There are benefits, though.”

“Like what?”

“You’re still alive, you ain’t a soldier and you ain’t pregnant with a monster inside you.”

Again I just looked at him.

“Suit yourself, but things could be a lot worse in the fire pit.”

“Then we have to find their weakness,” I said, determined to fight.

“Right. Look, I can’t call you Carl, it don’t seem right.”

“I guess not,” I said, feeling despondent.

“How about Carla?”

I shrugged, as this whole situation was surreal and simply awful.

“Okay. Come on, Carla, let’s go eat.”

“Um, can we get me some shoes or boots first, my feet are killing me?”

“Sure, we’ll pop down to the mall and see what’s on offer,” he said grinning.

“What do I call you?”

“My name’s Seth.”

“Hi Seth.”

He smiled again, looking at me strangely.

“What?”

“Are you sure you haven’t always been a girl?”

“Yup, why?”

“You’re a damn pretty one.”

His words upset me. I didn’t want to be a girl, pretty or otherwise. I think he sensed this.

“Hey, just be thankful you’re alive. The fact you’re cute means very little here, but you never know, we might get out of here and you’ll find life as a beautiful girl ain’t that bad.”

I smiled for the first time. It wasn’t much of one, but I did feel slightly better.

He led me back out into the passage system.

“Seth!” I almost shouted, for it was pitch black.

“I’m here. The one good thing is that all the floors are clear of rubbish. If we come to a hazard, then I’ll let you know. You’ll find your eyesight will adjust soon enough.”

“Oh yeah?” I said, unconvinced.

He chuckled in the darkness. “This is a ventilation and access system. The devils built their complex with robots and human mind-wipes. They left these passages to facilitate repairs and ventilation of the chambers above. You occasionally see robots, but rarely humans.”

“I’m amazed you can see anything,” I said, feeling my way with my hands on the side of the tunnel.

Still laughing, he led me in a confusing trail through the tunnels. It was like a maze. It was also very dark, with occasional shafts of dim light seeping in through grilles and hatch covers.

“How long did it take you to find your way about?” I asked.

“A long time, but then I’ve had loads of time. This place is big, and when I say big, I mean really big!”

He squeezed into a narrow space and through a loosened grille. I followed on my hands and knees for what seemed about a mile. It couldn’t have been, but my knees felt as if it was. Finally, he stopped, turned and whispered, “Shh, no sound now.”

There was a sudden draught and I was alone in the darkness. I scurried forward to feel a hole in the floor of the tube. I looked down into a dim chamber. I could just see that Seth was looking up and beaconing for me to jump down. I did, he caught me and we moved quickly to a door.

Seth placed an ear to the door and waited, then he opened it a crack, peering out to whatever was beyond. Satisfied we were alone he opened the door fully and moved through, with me close to his heels. We ran down a corridor. This had dim lights every twenty yards.
 
 
He suddenly stopped by a door and opened it. I noticed that there were no locks on any of these doors, which all looked the same to me. We went through it, to find ourselves in another long, very large and very dark room. Of all my new surroundings, the almost total darkness was the most disconcerting. No wonder it had taken Seth so long to find his way around. He activated a flashlight and shone it around.

The ceiling was at least twenty feet high, and the whole place was filled with racks and shelves. On the shelves, I realised with growing alarm, were cast-off clothes and equipment from all the captured people.

“Welcome to the super-store,” he whispered.

“Why do they bother keeping everything?”

He shrugged as we walked down an aisle.

“I guess as they have no planet of their own, they recycle everything. Nothing seems to be thrown away.”

“Except people,” I added.

“True, but the furnace is part of the power grid.”

“That’s sick,” I said.

“Here, boots,” he replied, pointing.

There were hundreds of pairs of shoes and boots. It took a while, as they weren’t placed in any size order. Many of the numbers and letters were strange to me, as they written in scripts that were not Anglic. While I was trying on a pair, Seth went up another aisle, leaving me in the darkness.

I stood in my new boots. They felt fine, but I would have liked some socks, though. I tried not to think of the boot’s previous owner. Seth must have been a mind reader, for when he returned, he threw me a pair of socks. I slipped the boots off, put on the socks and was about to put the boots back on when he stopped me.

“Here, these may fit you better,” he said, passing me a bundle.

There were some women’s underwear and a set of black military overalls. I stripped off the old uniform that he had originally given me, and put on the underwear. It was so weird filling a bra with my own flesh, but I didn’t have time to dwell on the sensations. I thought that was just as well.

The black overalls were the right size and, judging by their cut, probably originally designed for a female. They even had a cool blazing grenade emblem on the shoulder and two small stars on the collar.

I stood up, after tying my new boots up tight.

“Wow! You look great,” he said, his teeth showing white in the gloom.

“Thanks.”

“Those belonged to an officer.”

“Oh?”

“The stars, I guess they makes you a Lieutenant in the Gorran Space Marines.”

“Should I take them off?”

“Why? There aren’t any Marines left to get upset.”

“Oh.” That made me feel depressed again. “Are there any heavy weapons here?”

“Lots, but what’s the point?”

“We could fight.”

“Just the two of us? For how long do you reckon we could keep it up?”

“Oh.”

“I carry one of these,” he said, showing me a small pistol. “Just in case I get caught, then I can at least try to escape.

“Should I have one?”

“Can you use it?”

“You could teach me.”

He grinned and moved off. I followed.
 
 
The racks of weapons would make any soldier salivate. There were enough of every conceivable size, shape and calibre to arm an entire army, and yet these were just sitting here. It didn’t make sense.

Seth could probably read my mind.

“They don't use lethal force. What's the point? Their objective is to capture as many of us as possible,” he asked.

“Oh.” I hadn't thought about it like that.

He passed me a small pistol.

“This is a recoilless, Grummer-Eight pistol. High-energy bolts discharge the bullets, so there’s no casing, no explosive, just a bullet and no noise. There are twenty in a clip, and sufficient energy to fire five clips without a re-charge. Here are two spare clips,” he said, handing me the weapon and clips.

“How do you charge it?” I asked, turning the gun over in my hands.

“Any energy source, heat, light or electricity. Even the heat from your body will give it a slow trickle charge.”

“How far will the bullet go?”

“Don’t worry about that; just know that it will kill anything within ten paces of you. That’s the most likely range in which you’ll have to use it. The bullet will still be lethal up to ten times that, so be careful”

He then handed me a belt with a holster attached, I noticed that he wore a similar one. More importantly, he passed me a similar flashlight to his.

“Remember, use it sparingly. You must learn to adjust to the darkness without help.”

I strapped the belt around my waist and saw he had already moved down to another aisle. I hurriedly caught up with him, putting the pistol into the holster.

“What are you looking for?”

“Anything.”

“Like?”

He turned and looked at me, his expression was quite hard, but softened.

“Sorry, kid, I’m not used to being with anyone else. For some reason, these guys don’t like light, that’s why everything is so dark, so if I can find some night-vision glasses for us, that would be good.”

We searched up and down the aisles, eventually finding exactly what he wanted. They came attached to lightweight helmets as adjustable visors. One setting had night vision, another UV, other Infra-red and a final setting on heat sources.

“These are brilliant!” I enthused.

“They may be, but when in use they also give off heat and power sources that can be traced by the soldiers’ sensors. We mustn’t get too reliant on such stuff.”

There were also some concentrated rations, which he loaded into a backpack and slung over his shoulder.

“Need a knife?” he asked.

“I don’t know, will I?”

He threw me a sheath with a rubber-handled combat knife inside. The blade was a good eight inches long. I attached it to my new belt, feeling more like a warrior every moment.

“Okay, let’s go eat!”

“What’s wrong with the rations?”

“They’re fine for emergencies, but why use that when we can eat for free from their food supply system?”

I meekly followed him back through the maze of ventilation tunnels. This time I was very grateful for the boots, as the metal edges to the joins were unfinished and ripped unprotected flesh. I made a mental note to acquire some gloves on my next visit to the store.

I smelled the food before we actually arrived. It was an unpleasant smell, sort of sour and sharp. Seth slithered out of a small duct cover into the bowels of a large mechanised supply system. Belts and tubes surrounded us, while condensation moisture dripped from various parts above us.

“The food is a composite of vegetable and animal matter that's processed into a highly nutritional mush. It tastes like shit but the humans here exist quite healthily on it.”

“How do you know?”

He pointed to a larger pipe that disappeared through the end wall.

“Follow that and it comes out in the main refractory. If you want to see, then take a look.”

I followed him through a hatch in the floor and we crawled along for about a hundred feet. He pushed up a grille and I followed into a tiny space behind a wall. The tube went into a cylinder, from which about twenty smaller tubes came out and went to output vents in the wall. The smell was overpowering, and the chugging noise of the system was almost deafening. I noticed another tube entering the cylinder from above. It was made of clear plastic or glass and I watched as drops of a clear liquid dribbled slowly into the cylinder.

“What’s in there?” I asked, pointing at the clear tube.

Seth shrugged. “I’ve no idea, but I guess it must be some form of drug that maintains the mind control.”

“How do you know?”

“I don’t. But I found this place first, ate a bit of the food and felt dizzy and weird. I stopped, concluding that that was how they kept control of the poor bastards out there. I lost all feeling in my fingers and toes for several days. The food in the other place is fine, it doesn’t affect me.”

I had thought the mind control was some form of surgical or mechanical process. It never dawned on me that they’d use drugs. Seth, who was waving me over to a small hatch, interrupted my thoughts.

I looked out.
 
 
I’m not sure what I expected, but to see line upon line of completely bald, naked men, all wearing blank expressions and very little else, was quite disconcerting. They moved in complete silence in the semi-darkness, collecting their bowls of food and then sitting at the next available seat. Without regard to anyone, they spooned the food until it was gone, stood and departed, depositing the bowl in a slot in the wall. The lighting was very dim, as if they couldn’t afford the lighting bill.

“They’re all naked!”

“Those are the soldiers. They only wear the armour when in battle. The ambient temperature is around seventy five degrees, so what's the point of clothes? This way, there’re no laundry bills.”

“Why are they bald?” I asked.

Seth ran a hand through his tangled mess of hair.

“Ease and hygiene. No haircuts, no razors, no time spent dealing with hair or beards.”

“Do you think they’d come back to normal if we cut the drug supply?”

“Possibly. I haven’t been able to find out. I should think the levels are monitored automatically, so if we tried anything, someone or something would come a looking.”

“Is there an antidote?”

“Look, Carla, I’ve been through all this in my mind, and I have to say, there are no answers, yet.”

I was staring at the clear tube and the point where it disappeared upwards through a small hole.

“What’s above us?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never been there.”

“I’d like to find out. Could we go there?”

“We could try, but let’s eat first.”

I wasn’t hungry, as my abdomen still ached and I’d seen sights to take away my appetite for months. I reluctantly followed him back along the crawl space to the main processing room. He was loosening a tube as I clambered out of the hole.

He had a bowl, similar to the ones the naked soldiers had been using. He filled it with the grey/green mush.

“Here,” he said, passing me the bowl and a spoon. The contents of the bowl looked revolting and smelled even worse. I must have turned my nose up.

“Don’t get fussy on me, it’s this or nothing.”

I spooned a dozen spoonfuls in, trying hard not to gag. I swallowed and handed the bowl back when I really couldn’t take any more. It was like very salty porridge, but with an after-taste that I couldn’t identify.

He finished the bowl and poured another one, which he dispatched equally quickly.

“How often do you come here?”

“Every day, as when I tried taking a larger quantity back to my lair, it went off quite quickly.”

“Is this all there is?”

“Yup, ’fraid so, kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” I said, realising I sounded petulant.

“You are to me. Look, I appreciate that this is all hard for you. I didn’t have anyone, so learned by nearly starving to death. Just accept the fact that I know my way around, okay?”

I nodded. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Look, you got guts. I can’t imagine what it must be like to wake up having gone through what you’ve been through. But try to focus on staying alive and what’s in the future. The past is gone, we can’t alter or change it, but the future isn’t written yet, okay?”

I nodded again, feeling the tears well up behind my eyes. Suddenly everything I’d lost was coming back to haunt me.

“Good, now, take this canteen and fill up from that faucet over there.”

I did as he instructed, filling the litre water-bottle from a tap in the corner.
 
 
I swear the route back to his lair was a different one to the one we took earlier. I was still completely lost, as Seth rarely used his flashlight, but I wore the helmet with night-vision. Once in the relative safety of the lair, as I came to call it, he taught me how to load, unload and strip the gun he’d given me.

“You have to be able to do it in the dark, so practise stripping and reassembling it with your eyes closed.”

I shut my eyes and practised, very badly. I realised that the temperature here was constant too, just like in the mess-hall, not too cold, neither too hot. I had not experienced being uncomfortable as far as the temperature was concerned at all.

“Seth?”

“What?”

“Can we go to see where that tube went?”

“I don’t think you’re ready yet.”

“Ready for what?”

“Exploring new areas.”

“It’s all new to me.”

He was silent for quite a while. Then I heard an unfamiliar sound. It took me ages to realise what it was, as I couldn’t see him in the gloom. He was crying.

I moved over to where he was seated, with his head on his arms, crying quite quietly. I sat down beside him, putting a hand on his arm.

“Seth?”

He looked up at me, his eyes puffy and red rimmed.

“Do you know what it’s like being so alone?” he asked.

I shook my head, saying nothing. What could I say?

“I thought I’d go mad, many times. I worked out a routine; collect water, collect food, get supplies every tenth day and only go to places I knew were safe. I’ve been a prisoner for years, yet mostly it’s up here!” he said tapping the side of his head.

I still said nothing, but kept my hand on his arm.

“I prayed for someone, anyone to come and share my loneliness, but no one came, until you. Oh, there was that other girl, but she died. I told you that, didn’t I?”

I nodded again.

“Now you’re here asking questions, I find I’m more afraid of upsetting what’s familiar to me than actually doing anything to get out or help those poor bastards. You’ve made me realise that there’s more to life than just me, and you’ve just been to hell and back.”

“I’m still there,” I said, feeling my own tears start to roll down my cheek.

He lifted a shaking finger to stroke my cheek.

“Yeah, but neither of us is alone, any more!” he said, opening his arms and giving me a hug. We wept together.
 
 

*          *          *
 
End of Part 1
 
 
To Be Continued...

 
In a Galaxy, far, far away, there was a peaceful planet called Devia. On this planet lived a young man called Carl and his family.

This planet was invaded and overwhelmed in a surprisingly quick time by an army of sinister humanoid warriors. Leaving a devastated landscape and the civilisation in ruins, our young man is herded by the soldiers, with thousands of others, into an enormous transport ship. Men and women were segregated for an unknown, but ominous purpose.

With all other members of the family missing, believed killed, Carl and his mother have little time left together. On the urgings of his mother, he assumes the appearance of a girl in a vain attempt to remain with her.

The invaders seem to believe it...

but then the nightmare begins!

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Tanya has a new website where she will display her latest works first and then to BigCloset TopShelf a few weeks later is here at Tanya Allan's Tales .
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!

---

 
The Legal Stuff: The Rats of Hell © 2009, 2010 Tanya Allan
 
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright, in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Permission is granted for it to be copied and read by individuals, and for no other purpose. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited, and may only be posted to free sites with the express permission of the author.
 
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
 
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
 
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
 
Please enjoy.
Tanya
 
 

 
 
 
Chapter 3
 
 
Seth had been a spaceship engineer, attracted to the potentially exciting life as a spacer to see lots of different worlds. He’d been on the freighters since leaving school, but met a girl he’d been sweet on as a lad and settled down near his parent’s hometown on Xiona. Spaceships always needed repairing, so he found work at the spaceport, a job that didn’t require him to go into deep space anymore. He’d make the occasional trip into orbit to assist a stricken freighter, but that rarely took him away for more than a couple of days at a time.

“Life in space ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. In reality, it’s days and weeks of boredom, followed by moments of furious activity and then more boredom. Spaceports tend to be the same all over the Galaxy, full of drifters and whores, so it was a relief to settle down.”

They had three children, all nearly adult when the attack came.

“We had no warning, one minute the future was wonderful, the next, everything we’d struggled to build was destroyed.”

“How were you wounded?”

He lifted up his shirt to show me an enormous scar that ran across his chest from left shoulder to his belly button. I could see the marks of the very crude stitches that had put him back together.

“My God! Who sewed that, a blind epileptic?”

“I did.”

I reached out and gently touched the rough skin.

“You poor guy, what happened?”

“We were dug in, just outside of town. Their ships all came down on farmland, so we could see the lines of red devils all mustering to attack. When they came, it didn’t matter how many you shot, as more filled the gaps until they just overwhelmed our positions. As we fell back, I ran out of ammo, so found this axe. I went in and tried to take as many out before they got me. We still didn’t realise they weren’t killing anyone. This big bastard just took the axe from me and then threw me into a heap in some rubble. Just as I was getting up, the roof caved in and a wooden spar slithered across my ribs. I bled like a stuck pig, but they still took me.

“I was still bleeding when they assessed me, so I found myself in the fire pit.”

“They could have sewn you up.”

“They didn’t. I think I was weak with the lack of blood.”

“And your family?”

He looked at me, his dark eyes looking like small pits in snow.

“Just like yours, I’ve never seen them since.”

“How did you get out?”

“Of the pit? I was lucky, I guess. They’d filled it so full that it reached the top of the furnace. I was on the top of the pile and close to the hatch. I simply opened it and slithered out before the fires came.”

“How did you stitch it up?” I asked, pointing to the scar.

He laughed again, but with little humour. “I used some thread from my pants. I didn't have a needle, so I made one out of a shard of steel.”

I winced at the mental picture.

“You could have died,” I said.

“I often wished I had!” he admitted.

We made an unspoken pact, not to mention family again. It just hurt too damn much. The strange tattoo on my arm itched, so I kept scratching it. Seth held my arm and looked at it.

“When did you get this?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, just after I was first taken.”

He showed me his arm. There was slight scarring of the skin where his mark had been.

“I took mine off,” he said, almost triumphantly.

“How?”

“The hard way.”

“What, fire?”

“No, the opposite, I froze it off with nitrogen. I guess it is the same as fire, though.”

“Ouch!”

“Well, there’s only three ways that I know of, and that seemed the easiest for me.”

“Three?”

“Yup. You can cut it out and sew up the skin.”

“Knowing your skill with a needle, forget it!”

“Okay, then we could rub it out,” he said, smiling nastily.

“With what?”

“A sander.”

“No way!”

“Then we freeze it.”

“How about laser?” I asked.

“Kid, the only laser we’ve got is a combat laser, so unless you want to lose your entire arm, it has to be another way. Look, it’s not as if it’s a big tattoo, and I have some balm from stores that are supposed to help burn victims.”

“Gee, thanks a bunch,” I said, folding my arms tightly.
 
 
A couple of days later, however, he persuaded me to try it, having rubbed the area with an anaesthetic jelly first. It stung a bit, and then he covered the area with this sticky balm. I couldn’t read the label as it was in a weird script, but after a few days, there wasn’t much of a scar.

We didn’t try to find the place the drugs came from immediately, as I was kept busy learning to find my way around places that Seth knew. Every time I tried to go somewhere by myself, he’d follow. I thought at first that he didn’t trust me not to get lost, so, on the tenth day, I challenged him.

“I can get back by myself, you know?”

He grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, I know. I just kinda like the company.”

It dawned on me then that he’d been alone for so long, he was terrified of being alone again. So, I never grumbled again and we went everywhere together.

The scale of the structure amazed me. It was vast - high, long and wide. Seth reckoned it was big enough to house five million people easily, as well as housing the automated industry and support systems.

“Have you ever been outside?” I asked.

“Why?”

“To see what’s there.”

“Nope.”

“I’d like to.”

“I ain’t stopping you,” he said, ending the discussion in his usual fashion.

After I’d been a rat for three weeks, the dull ache in my abdomen became worse. I lay on my crude bed groaning and moaning so much that I woke Seth up. He was at my side, his face showing concern.

“What’s up, kid?”

I was very frightened, as I’d never experienced pain like this. I was so afraid of having something seriously wrong with me and there was no way of getting medical help.

“Are you sure you weren’t a doctor?” I asked, hopefully.

He smiled sadly. “Nope, but I can sew a bit.”

“That’s not helpful,” I said.

“I pulled some teeth once,” he said, showing me some nasty gaps in his mouth.

I hugged my belly and groaned. He looked worried and brought me some water. He placed one hand on my forehead.

“You ain’t burning up, that’s a good sign.”

“Bollocks it is. It’s my belly not my head!”

“Do you want me to take a look?”

“Do you know what you’re looking for?”

“Nope, but if I don’t, we’ll never know.”
 
 
I lowered my pants to just above the pubic area and raised my shirt so he could see my belly. I was quite surprised at how much I’d changed over the last few weeks. I had a female shape now, with narrow waist and wider hips. My breasts were firm and round, and I think I was putting on a little weight. I’d almost got used to the mush.

He placed a hand gently on my belly.

“Where does it hurt?”

I moved his hand above where it ached.

He pushed down slightly.

“Hurt?”

I shook my head. He moved his hand slightly to the left and pressed, looking at me. I shook my head again. This continued all around my navel area.

“Okay, now I had a crew-mate who had a nasty appendix. I saw the doc touch this guy’s belly and he screamed blue murder, so you ain’t got one of them. You got the shits?”

I shook my head. Our toilet facilities were basic. Down the corridor was a bucket, which we emptied into a sewer after each visit. I have to confess that being a girl was definitely a disadvantage!

“Sick?”

“No, but it wouldn’t take much.”

“Headache?”

“A bit.”

He looked at me, and then placed his thumbs on either side of, and slightly above my navel. He pressed slightly.

I tensed my muscles.

“Sore?”

“Not sore, just uncomfortable. That’s the spot.”

He grinned and looked more relaxed.

“Well, I’m blowed, I think I know what’s wrong with you, girl.” Standing up, he went over to his storage locker. He rummaged around and came back with some medical dressings.

“What’re they for?” I asked, suddenly worried.

“Well, if I’m right, then tomorrow you’re going to see whether the medic-machine did its job properly.”

I frowned at him. “Huh?”

“Carla, I think you’re about to become a real woman. They’ve implanted or developed ovaries inside you, which are ovulating and so you are about to have your first period. The pains must be from them coming to fruition, so to speak. Now I ain’t got any of them so-called feminine hygiene products, so these will have to do.”

I stared at him blankly for a moment. Then the enormity of what he said hit me. It had been one thing to be no longer a boy and to have the body of a girl, but to be a woman and have the potential to have babies! I suddenly wanted my mother.

He enveloped me with his strong arms, whispering to me as I sobbed my heart out.

“It’s okay, Carla, really, it’s okay.”

It wasn’t, so it took me a long time to calm down.

Seth was right, goddamn it!! For in the night, after I eventually managed to get to sleep, my visitor started. Despite placing a large dressing in what I thought was an appropriate position, I flooded and managed to make a real mess.

For the first time Seth was at a bit of a loss, so I disposed of the mucky dressings in one of the furnaces and went looking for fresh supplies. Wearing the helmet with the night vision visor in place, I managed to find the storeroom by myself, and spent a long time going up and down the aisles. Many of the artefacts were alien to me, but I knew a medi-kit when I saw one, and there was a whole box of five hundred tampons appropriately sitting next to a box of fifty fragmentation grenades. Either a moron or someone with a sense of humour stacked these shelves, I thought.

Such was my mood that I put both boxes in my pack as well as strapping the medi-kit to my belt. On my way back, I took a wrong turn. This wasn’t unusual, but as I felt stroppy, I kept going just to see where the hell I would end up. I think I wanted to come across some nasty alien, just so I could see if I could shoot straight.
 
 
I ended up in a ventilation shaft that ran across the top of a large room. Not so much a room, as a vast enclosed stadium sized area. On looking through a grille, I could see hundreds of men in white overalls working at benches. They wore masks over their mouths and noses, and all were wearing gloves. Only one person was walking about. He was a big man, but as I looked at him, it became apparent he wasn’t completely a man.

He was a good seven feet tall to start with, and his skin was a dull red colour. Despite the fact that he wore sunglasses in a relatively dim environment, his whole bearing and stature was wrong. He didn’t have horns and, as he was wearing boots, I couldn’t see if he had hooves. He wasn’t one of the pure-bloods, but I guessed he was a half or quarter breed.

I watched for a long time, transfixed by this almost-man creature. The white-suited men were all working with equipment I remembered from doing science at school. Each had a small directional lamp, so they could see what they were doing without causing undue glare elsewhere. Test tubes and beakers were everywhere, with large cooler cabinets lining one wall. I started to realise that I was watching some form of fertilisation process. I had no idea which part, but this had to have something to do with their attempts to produce a human hybrid capable of reproducing their kind.

One of the men moved his lamp and caused the light to shine straight at the half-breed. With a horrified shriek, the creature covered his eyes and swung a mighty fist at the man, causing him to fall to the ground, where he lay unmoving as another man corrected the lamp.

It couldn’t be that simple.

Could it?
 
 
They were sensitive to light, but then had Seth told me that. They may exist in an Ultra Violet environment, so the white light we used was harmful to them. It would explain their skin colour and the fact that they were always associated with the dark and night.

If this creature were so sensitive, then a pure blood would be even more so, perhaps to a fatal level. I put all thoughts of setting off my grenades away and scuttled back to find my way to our lair.

Seth took the news philosophically.

“I thought as much,” he said.

“It’s their weakness!” I said, excitedly.

“It may be, but we ain’t got no bright lights, have we?”

“There’s the sun.”

“Yup, but they’re shut away, nice and safe.”

“We can escape and tell everyone.”

“You’re forgetting one fact, little lady.”

“What?”

“The soldiers are all men, they don’t give a shit about the light.”

“Oh.”

I felt deflated. I thought I had the answer, but Seth had already figured it out. Even with the knowledge, there was very little we could do.

“Phosphorous!” he said, suddenly.

“What?”

“Phosphorous is a metallic element that when combined with water and oxygen gives off very bright light.”

“So?”

“Water is one substance both they and we use to live. We drink it, wash in it and cook with it. We use it in industry and in every home, so it stands to reason they do too.”

“So?”

“We gotta find as much as we can.”

“And then what?”

“Then we make a plan.”

“Um, I hate to say this, Seth, but they’re hardly going to leave the stuff lying about.”

“Military flares. They have the necessary chemicals to produce the same results. We just have to get as many white light flares.”

“Look, I’ve just been to the stores, I’m not going back now.”

Seth started to laugh.

“What?” I asked, indignantly, with my hands on my hips.

“You're now officially a woman, in every sense of the word,” he said through his laughter. Grudgingly, I smiled as I recalled what I had said and the manner in which I said it.

“You don’t have to. I’ll go.”

“I’ll come too, if you want,” I offered.

“No, I won’t be long.”
 
 
I was alone again, so I changed my dressing for a tampon. The writing on the package was in a weird language, but I’d seen Mandy with hers. This was tough, as I’d had no time to prepare mentally or practically for being a woman!

Seth was a very long time. I worked out how long it should take, even if he had to search a while for the right flares. Seth was far too long, so I started to worry.

Do I go after him, or not?

If he’s in trouble, will I help or just get caught too?

In the end, I went.
 
 
I reached the stores, where it took me a few seconds to realise he wasn’t here. There was no sign of him, and I didn’t know which way he’d gone. I was at the door just trying to work out what to do, when I heard a noise.

I’d become sensitive to noise. This whole place was a series of noises, so one became accustomed to them, aware only when a new or different sound entered the arena.

This was metal on metal, and it came from further down a corridor with which I was unfamiliar. Drawing my weapon, I carefully advanced, keeping tight against the side wall.

The passage was a long one and, as everywhere in this place, dark. My foot touched something. I stopped and felt the ground, carefully with my left hand, keeping my pistol pointing ahead. It was Seth’s pack.

I opened it, feeling the tubular shapes of flares. I fastened it again, slinging it on my back, advancing once more. A brief flickering of pale reddish light warned me of something ahead. I heard noises, rather like grunting.

Cautiously peering round the corner, I saw Seth prone and still on the floor. A red clad soldier was standing over him, staring straight ahead. In front of the soldier was a mixed breed, tall and wearing dark glasses. I wondered what they were doing, but then realised they were waiting for an elevator. Knowing I had very little time, I took a flare, pulled the cord and rolled it towards the group.

These flares were self-igniting from the inside, so no warning was given, just a very bright light burned for about forty seconds.

In the event, it was spectacular.
 
 
The soldier did nothing. He just stood there, staring blankly ahead, as if on parade. The mix-breed screamed and clawed at its eyes, falling and writhing in apparent agony on the floor, before lying deathly still.

I approached and was at a bit of a loss. Any moment the elevator would arrive, and I had no way of knowing who or what would be on it.

The soldier had a long prod on his belt. I unhitched it and jabbed it into his side. Blue sparks flew everywhere as the white light died. The soldier crumpled forward onto his knees and then onto his front. He made no attempt to stop himself, and I heard a nasty crunching noise as his nose came into contact with the hard floor. The floor won!

I rolled Seth onto his back. He was alive, just. I tried to wake him, but he was out of it.

I looked at the prod I held. With very simple controls, it had a single knob set to one extreme, so I turned it to the other extreme, hoping it was the mild stimulation setting.

“Forgive me, Seth!” I said, jabbing it into his buttock.

There was a mild Bzzzt, and he jerked slightly. I repeated the performance and this time his eyes opened.

“Seth, can you get up?” I asked.

Dumbly he nodded, and so I helped him to his feet. He looked at the two prone figures, bending over the mix-breed.

“I rolled a flare at him,” I explained.

Seth stood up. “He’s dead,” he said.

“Flares work, then.”

“He’s not,” he said, on checking the soldier.

“So?”

“Grab a leg and pull.”

“What?”

“You heard!”

“Why?”

“Don’t argue, do it!”

Holstering my pistol, I grabbed a leg. Together we pulled the soldier down the corridor. I heard the sound of the elevator opening. No sound of pursuit followed, so I guessed they’d called it and no one was in it.

“How did you know where I was?”

“I didn’t. I just got lucky.”

“You shouldn’t have come, you could have been taken.”

“Oh, that’s nice, how about, thanks for saving my life, Carla?”

He grinned at me as we attempted to get the red-armoured soldier through a narrow gap.

“Thanks, Carla, but you shouldn’t have come for me.”

“Shove it, Seth, you’re all I’ve got.”

I was sweating hard, as the man was heavy. It took everything I had to help Seth get him down the tunnels.

“What are we dragging this bastard for?” I asked, at one particularly tricky corner.

“You wanted to see what happens if food without drug has any affect, didn’t you?”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I wanted one of these of my very own.”

I stopped, wiping the sweat from my brow.

“Seth?”

“Come on, girl, keep going.”

“Seth, why don’t we take his armour off, and then come back for it later?”

He grinned at me sheepishly, then bent and undid the straps. Even without the armour, the soldier was a big and heavy man, he was also naked. I looked away, blushing, as he was a big man in every sense of the word. Seth left the soldier’s helmet on, in case we dropped him on his head, again.

Seth chuckled as we bent the poor man almost in half to get him over an obstacle. His head hit the floor with a nasty bang. He was lucky he was wearing a helmet. I noticed a thin trickle of blood seeping from his nose after his previous encounter with the floor.
 
 
By the time we got back to the lair, I was drenched in sweat. Seth tied the man’s arms behind his back and wrapped a blindfold around his eyes, after resetting the cartilage in his nose. Then, with a quick grin at me, he disappeared to collect the discarded armour.

I stripped off down to my panties and had a wash with a little of our precious water. I turned to see Seth looking at me. He could move so silently it gave me the creeps.

“What?” I asked.

“Shit, girl, you’re really all woman, now.”

Suddenly self-conscious, so I covered up. “Sorry, I didn’t think.”

“It’s okay. My fault, as I hadn’t realised how much you’ve changed. You ain’t skinny any more.”

“You’re still too old and hairy for me,” I joked, slipping into slightly less dirty clothes.

The soldier groaned.

“What are we going to do with him?” I asked, looking at the unfortunate man.

“Make sure he’s okay, then put him somewhere safe, feed him some clean food and see what happens.”

We found a small space between two banks of machinery, where Seth tied him firmly to a steel stanchion, and we took it in turns to watch him. I insisted that Seth at least put a pair of shorts on him.

He was well muscled, as was Seth. I found that my muscle tone was firm in a less masculine manner, so believed the food must have something to do with it. The soldier was much younger than Seth, so I guessed he was in his mid-twenties.

I became aware he had come round by chance. I glanced at him to see his eyes were open and he was staring unblinking at me.

“Seth!”

Together we sat the man up. He made no aggressive moves. He tested the ties once and, failing to free himself, he simply sat there, staring straight ahead.

Seth did the meal run, so I spoon fed him the first bowl of non-drugged food. He ate it all and drank a litre of water. Then, with no warning, he released his bowel and bladder with no sign of emotion whatsoever.

“Bloody hell!” I said, as I went to fetch the mop and bucket.
 
 
This went on for a week, only now we sat him on a bucket for his meals. We took it in turns to get food, three times a day. Sure enough, straight afterwards, each time he voided himself, and he seemed to have more inside him than we fed him. I was fascinated that the constitution of his food seemed to hardly change from going in to coming out at the other end. It just smelled a bit more rank!

Seth would get him to stand and walked him up and down for five hundred paces, the man sat down afterwards without changing expression.

On the eighth day, I noticed a change in his expression. He was frowning. Lines appeared across his brow. It made no difference to his routine, so we maintained the process. On the twelfth night, I awoke suddenly to hear screaming. I looked across to Seth, to find that he wasn’t there. I immediately got up and ran to where the soldier was. Seth was already there.

The man was thrashing about, screaming and babbling in a strange language.

“What happened?” I asked.

“He’s coming out of it. I think he’s remembering things.”

“What language is that?”

“I don’t know.”

Seth covered the man’s mouth with tape to quieten the screams. After an hour, our captive subsided and slept.

“We have to watch him all the time now,” Seth told me.

“Okay. I’ll take the first watch. I’ll see you at breakfast, can I have white toast?” I joked.

Seth laughed. “Oh, I’d kill for some toast,” he said, his eyes taking on a far-off expression.

He wandered off grumbling about food; so I settled down to watch the man.

I nodded off, to awaken at a sound. I looked up to see the man was awake and looking at me.

“Leutnant, wo ist ich?”

“What?”

He frowned again, glancing at the stars on my collar. It dawned on me that he thought I was one of his officers.

“Do you speak Anglic?” I asked.

He frowned again, but nodded.

“Ja, but you wear the uniform of the Marines.”

“I’m not a Marine, this was my size.”

“You steal it?” he asked.

This was not going well.

“Look, my name is Carla. I’m from the planet Devia, beyond the eighth portal. You are from Gorran V, yes?”

He nodded, shaking his head, as if to clear his mind.

“Why am I tied up?”

“You’ve been drugged by the enemy who destroyed your world. They drugged you and turned you into one of their soldiers. You were tied up so we could rid you of the toxins. For our protection.”

“I remember nothing. Our world was invaded?”

“Yes. The enemy is an alien race who use male human captives as their soldiers. They, they use the women to breed.”

“We were beaten?” he asked, as if it was unthinkable.

“The Marines were the first to destroy an alien. They look like Satan.”

He shook his head, as his eyes took on a far away look.

“I remember a battle, but nothing else. What year is this?”

“2532 standard.”

“Two years? I’ve been here for two years?”

“Maybe not. You may have been used against other worlds.”

“Where are we?”

“On a planet called Hylios. The first to be taken.”

“How many have fallen?”

“Planets?”

He nodded.

“Devia was the thirteenth.”

He looked down at his near nakedness.

“Do you need to keep me tied up?”

“It has its advantages,” I said with a small smile. He didn’t smile back. “I’ll speak to Seth, then we’ll release you.”

I went to find Seth. He was just returning from the food run.

“He’s come round. He’s a Gorran V Space Marine.”

Seth laughed, looking at my uniform.

“I take that back, there is a Marine to get upset.”

“He thinks I stole it. He wants to be untied and to have some clothes.”

“Fine, he can have some old uniform, but I’m not untying him yet.”

“Why not?”

“Drugs are funny things, they have a habit of lingering in the system a while.”

I then noticed that Seth had shaved and cut his hair. He had also acquired a clean uniform with colonel’s rank bars on the collar.

“Seth, what’s got into you?”

“Nothing, I just felt like a change.”

“You’re jealous. You think there’s competition!”

“I do not. I just need to exert a little discipline.”

I started to giggle and he had the grace to smile sheepishly.

“Come on, then, let’s introduce you. Do you have a last name?” I asked.

“Ambrose, Seth Ambrose.”
 
 
I returned to the lair and found a set of Marine overalls from the locker. Together we went and checked on the Gorran.

The man took one look at Seth’s uniform and sat to attention. I stifled a giggle and passed him the uniform.

“This is Colonel Ambrose. He’s the ranking officer here,” I said, releasing some of the cords.

The man struggled into his coveralls, and zipped them up. Standing he was head and shoulders taller than me. He stood to attention and stared at a spot just above Seth’s head.

“Master Sergeant Otto Stein, 6574382, Gorran V Space Marines, sir.”

“At ease, Sergeant. Has the Lieutenant told you of our predicament?”

Otto glanced at me and then away again.

“She was starting to, sir.”

“Okay, the lieutenant comes from the Devian Defence Corps, but her uniform was destroyed in battle. I issued her with the current uniform because it was available. You have to agree, being naked has its disadvantages.”

“Sir, yes sir.”

“Secondly, as all our respective units are no more, it is irrelevant what uniform we wear, only that our purpose is the same.”

“And that is, sir?”

“To defeat the enemy, sergeant.”

“Sir, yes sir.”

“Now, you appreciate that the enemy drugged you and for some time you have been operating directly under their control.”

“So the Lieutenant told me, sir.”

“That was the reason you have been kept bound. You have been in our custody for nearly two weeks, and only now are beginning to come out from the drugged condition. Are you feeling any strange effects?”

“Yes sir, most of me is still numb, sir.”

“They managed to completely cut off all feeling in their subjects, both physical pain and emotion. Listen, this is what they did.”
 
 
Seth told the man everything while I watched his expression. His emotions were beginning to kick in, for before very long, tears were streaming down his face. When Seth told him about what happened to the women, Otto glanced and me and looked ready to kill. I felt most peculiar under his gaze. I had to look away.

“The lieutenant was left for dead and would have been burned alive in one of their furnaces if I hadn’t found her, so we’re all damaged goods here, Sergeant.”

Otto looked at me again, with a very odd expression. I blushed and looked away again. I wasn’t used to this.

“Sir, then please keep me bound until all traces of the drug has left my system. It’s safer for you both, sir.”

Seth looked surprised, but nodded.

“Thank you, Sergeant, I agree. One of us will be with you at all times, just to make sure you are all right. I warn you we are both armed and will use lethal force if threatened.”

I looked at Seth, horrified. No way could I shoot the sergeant.

Seth winked at me and I relaxed.

“I expect nothing else. May I ask why I was selected to be freed, sir?”

“You and an alien captured me. Carla, the, ah, the Lieutenant, killed the alien and managed to render you unconscious. It was her theory that the drug was in the food, so we needed a subject on which to test her theory. We brought you back here and it seems to have proved her right.”

The sergeant looked at me with a completely different expression.

“I am forever in your debt, fraulein,” he said, his voice was quiet and made me shiver.

Seth passed over the bowl of food to the sergeant.

“I don’t think she needs to feed you any more. Eat this. It tastes like crap but it is good for you.”
 
 

*          *          *
 
End of Part 2
 
 
To Be Continued...

 
In a Galaxy, far, far away, there was a peaceful planet called Devia. On this planet lived a young man called Carl and his family.

This planet was invaded and overwhelmed in a surprisingly quick time by an army of sinister humanoid warriors. Leaving a devastated landscape and the civilisation in ruins, our young man is herded by the soldiers, with thousands of others, into an enormous transport ship. Men and women were segregated for an unknown, but ominous purpose.

With all other members of the family missing, believed killed, Carl and his mother have little time left together. On the urgings of his mother, he assumes the appearance of a girl in a vain attempt to remain with her.

The invaders seem to believe it...

but then the nightmare begins!

---

Tanya has a new website where she will display her latest works first and then to BigCloset TopShelf a few weeks later is here at Tanya Allan's Tales .
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!

---

 
The Legal Stuff: The Rats of Hell © 2009, 2010 Tanya Allan
 
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright, in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Permission is granted for it to be copied and read by individuals, and for no other purpose. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited, and may only be posted to free sites with the express permission of the author.
 
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
 
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
 
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
 
Please enjoy.
Tanya
 
 

 
 
 
Chapter 4
 
 
It took Otto five days to rid himself of the drugs. The cord was a good idea, for on the day after our conversation, he came over all blank and every time we approached he became aggressive. I had to prod him with his own prod at one point when he looked as if he was about to do harm to Seth. But in the end, patience won through and Seth cut his bonds.

“We must free some more men,” Otto said, as he massaged feeling back into his limbs.

“Easier said than done, they don’t exactly walk about waiting to be rescued,” I said.

“I’m still worried about what happened last time. I wonder what steps were taken when they discovered the dead mix-breed,” Seth said.

“Given it was the first time anything like that happened, what can they do? There’s no evidence of your presence,” said Otto.

“All the more reason to keep a low profile.”

“I still don’t know how you managed to get caught?”

Seth looked at me.

“I was careless. I’d collected the flares, but then I remembered that you wanted to know how to get up to the drugs supply area. I was looking for a way up when the mix-breed found me. Otto here was with him, as they were bringing some more stuff to the stores. I tell you, Carla, that thing could move!”

“Fast?”

“Very. I thought I could give them the slip, but the bastard had me and Otto gave me a prod. The next thing I know, you’d killed the Mix-breed and Otto was out cold.”

“Imagine the chaos if the whole barracks came off the drugs,” I said.

“Too obvious, as they’d check the supply and find where we’d been. Then they’d work out they’ve got rats and bring in the exterminators.”

“No more obvious than killing a mix-breed and stealing a soldier.”

“It’s the scale. One soldier is no loss, thousands is a concern, besides, it’s taken too long to wean Otto off that stuff.”

“There is another way,” said Otto, who’d been quiet during our exchange.

“Go on, sergeant.”

“I have a uniform, so maybe I could go in and see if I can secure the release of one man at a time.”

I reached out and took hold of his wrist, turning it up. We all looked at the barcode etched thereon.

“They’ll know you were the one who went missing and may have something to do with the death of the alien. You can’t go, it’s too dangerous. If you’re taken, we’re back where we started.”

Otto looked at me with something strange in his eyes, but the moment was lost when Seth started to chuckle.

“I agree with Carla. We can’t risk losing you back to them. You know too much and could betray us unwittingly.”

“We go and seek out lone soldiers, but outside.”

Seth looked daggers at me.

“Look, Seth, I know you aren’t keen on the outside, but it has to be the only way. The aliens don’t like sunlight, so the only way to be sure they aren’t around is to take them outside.”

“What about cameras?” Otto asked.

“They have never needed security arrangements, so why bother. I’ve never seen any. Reluctantly, I have to agree with Carla again, it makes sense, despite making us vulnerable.”

“There is an alternative,” I said, suddenly having an idea.

“What?”

“We’ve been so determined to take soldiers, aren’t we forgetting something?”

Both men looked at me blankly.

“The women. Many are soldiers, despite their current predicament. Now, I have yet to see their conditions, but if the aliens want to breed, surely harmful toxins in the drugs will mean some other method of containment?”

Seth looked darkly at me once more. I knew he’d not taken me to see the girls for a reason.

“You wouldn’t like it. They’re penned in; the drugs are less, just enough to make them docile.”

“Would it be easy to take one?” Otto asked.

Seth shrugged. “Easy, yes, but what will we do with an unfortunate girl that’s expecting a monster’s child?”

“Give her some hope where there isn’t any?” I said, making both men look embarrassed.

“I had some good women in my unit,” Otto remarked, but then realised how that sounded. “I mean, they were good soldiers.”

Seth smiled. “I’ve got a darned good one in mine,” he said, making me blush again.

“Okay, we go take a look at the women, agreed?” Seth said.

“Agreed.”

“I hate to be a party-pooper, but we need more supplies,” I announced.

Otto realised quite quickly that he was the only regular professional soldier in the group, but he made no bones about it. He acknowledged that Seth’s experience and knowledge was greater, while I was just me. He held me in certain awe just because I didn’t kill him when I could have done and saved him instead.
 
 
Our foraging was more effective with three of us. I would keep watch while the other two sought what they needed. I was right about the soldier finding the stores exciting. Poor Otto almost had an orgasm when he saw the racks of weapons.

Otto re-equipped us with what he considered to be the best of the best. We had to be lightly armoured and armed, capable of fast retreat and agility down the tunnels. He looked very much at home with familiar weaponry. We also took the opportunity to move lairs. We found a better chamber closer to the stores and other supplies. It was down a level, but more secure and easier to evacuate with five different escape routes.

I still had my pistol, but Otto insisted I carry a slightly larger gun of a similar type that had greater firepower. Once again, I was stripping the thing with my eyes closed, but I had yet to fire a shot in anger.

Announcing that we were ready to move across to the women’s sector, Seth seemed unusually down. I went over to him.

“What’s bothering you?”

Looking at Otto, he shrugged. “I guess I feel I’m losing control. Don’t mind me, I like company, but I’m not sure about the change in routine.”

“You still saved my life, I’ll never forget that.”

“Carla, you’ve paid me back ten times, you know that.”

“Come on, old man, I’ll race you!”
 
 
It was a long way to the women’s sector. We went down several levels, where we were dripped on virtually perpetually. Pools of water were everywhere and the smells were ripe. Real rats or similar vermin scurried amongst the pipes and piles of rotting matter as we passed. Seth led us along a very long tunnel before starting to climb again.

“I’ve only been here the once,” Seth admitted, as we squeezed through a narrow gap. “I didn’t like what I found so I never came back. It’s not a nice place.”

When we finally reached a drier level, he announced that we were close.

“They’re kept in cells, more like pens, really, as there are bars all around, so there’s no privacy. The men sleep in long dormitories, these are similar, but they are separated by the bars.”

“Why?”

“I guess they don’t want them assisting in the abortion of others.”

It made sense, for if they were more aware than the men, they’d know they were carrying hybrids inside their wombs.

“I’d want to abort,” I heard myself say. I had come to terms with being female now. Certainly, both men were competing to be nicer to me, and I found I liked the attention.

Seth slithered along a beam on his belly so we followed, with Otto taking up the rear.

Slowly, Seth removed a panel in the floor, so I found myself looking down at a dormitory the size of a football pitch, separated into eight foot by five foot cells. There were narrow walkways between the lines of cells and they were divided into banks of ten, with cross-over walkways every ten cells. There must have been a thousand cells in this one chamber, and the smell was awful.

Each cell had a bed, a crude toilet, a drinking fountain and a food slot. There was an almost constant wail of anguish from the girls and women. Some were sobbing, while some were silent, staring in shock at the end of the bed or their feet.

“How many are there?” I asked, totally appalled.

“There are at least ten of these vast rooms, with over a thousand in each room. Who knows how many other places like these may be in other parts of the planet.”

Otto was staring at the awful sight that stretched out below us. All the women had swollen bellies, showing that all were in the latter part of pregnancy.

“This is simply awful!” I said, still shocked.

“These are near full term, if we want those who’ve just been impregnated, we’ll have to move east,” Seth said, replacing the ceiling tile.
 
 
We made our way down to the floor level of these terrible places, so I found myself looking through a ventilation grille at people’s feet. Adjacent to us was a walkway between the cells. The girls here were more active and didn’t even appear pregnant.

As we watched, a pair of white-clad men appeared with a girl who was struggling. A soldier in red armour held her arms, but despite her struggles and crying, he seemed completely oblivious to her plight.

“Bastards! You let me go, you’ve got no right to do this to me! Bastards!” she was screaming in Anglic and doing her best to free herself from the soldier’s grip.

The small group stopped, while one of the men in white used a metal disk to open the lock on the cell door. They stood back as the girl was literally thrown onto the bed. The door closed with a clang and the three men left without a backward glance.

The girl lay sobbing on the bed. The woman in the adjoining cell was older, so she came over and peered at the sobbing newcomer.

“I fought them at first, but it don’t do no good,” she told the younger woman. “Just eat the food and keep quiet, they don’t give a toss if you scream, but the rest of us do.”
 
 
We moved back from the grille.

“The key is a simple magnetic fob. If we could get one of them, we’ll be able to free any of them we wanted to,” Otto said.

“If we free too many, we’ll draw attention to ourselves. It has to be one at a time, and in no set pattern,” Seth observed.

“I still think we should cut the drug pipe to the men. We could move out and see what happens.”

“If they find out, they’ll be wary of another attempt and make life harder for us. There will come a time for that, but not until we have distracted them.”

Otto was thinking and he looked very angry.

“How can they do this to people?” he asked, after a while.

Neither Seth nor I could say anything, as we were both equally shocked. Otto was shaking his head and he was almost in tears.

“My people originally came from a country in Europe called Germany. We still speak the language of that country. To our shame, many centuries ago, Germany had a leader called Hitler. He hated another group of people called Jews, for no other reason than they were slightly different. He and his followers tried to kill all the Jews in Europe. First, he invaded other countries, then, he had them rounded up and shipped to great camps where he gassed them and burned their bodies. In some camps they tried experiments on the Jewish men, women and even children.

“Lots of countries got together and fought the Germans, even though no one knew for certain what was happening at the time. When the Germans lost, the horrible truth was discovered and everyone agreed to fight such terrible things whenever it was found to be happening. I owe it to my people who are prisoners here, and to my forefathers, to fight these monsters.”

“We need a plan,” said Seth, quietly.
 
 
The red clad soldier clumped down the corridor behind two science techs. He marched fifteen paces behind the two men in white coveralls, neither he nor the pair in front showed any awareness of each other.

The techs came to a locked door, so one of them used a fob to open it. They passed through, leaving the door open for the soldier, neither looked back at him. There was a slight delay before the soldier passed through the door, closing it to within an inch of being shut completely. As he did so, Otto looked back at us, as we dragged the unconscious original soldier through the grille from which we’d tripped him and knocked him out with the prod. He gave a small wave and then tramped after the two techs. He looked the part, but I felt nervous seeing him disappear wearing the hated red enemy uniform.

Having first stripped him of his armour, it took the pair of us ten minutes to take our captive to the chamber we’d prepared, where we tied him firmly to his improvised seat. It was a home-made commode, as we had learned from Otto how regular these men were.

“Right, now we have to get to point B,” said Seth, as we ran down the tunnel to our next rendezvous.

Otto was hopefully escorting the latest poor girl from the cells to the fertilisation room. We’d been watching them for days, and so now had their routine firmly fixed in our minds. The techs went to the barracks, collected a soldier and then made their way to the preparation chamber. An endless stream of new girls were in a line and they were impregnating ten every twenty minutes. Two techs and one soldier arrived every two minutes and took a girl to the next available cell. They didn’t even stop at night, for the routine was continuous.
 
 
I was sweating when we finally arrived at the grille we’d first seen the girls at floor level.

“Next one down,” Seth muttered and we clambered over the pipes to reach the next grille.

As Seth unscrewed the grille from the inside, I lay and caught my breath. The last week had been a flurry of activity for the small team, as we finally agreed a plan that looked as if it could work and succeed in releasing one soldier and one girl.
I didn’t like the risk that Otto was taking, and had said so.

He’d looked me in the eye and said, “Carla, sometime we have to risk a little to save a lot.”

I’d grumbled but was out-voted.

“Here they come, ready?” Seth asked. I nodded.

I heard Otto first, as his heavy boots made a distinctive clumping sound on the metal floors. Then I saw the legs of the two techs as they passed us, followed by the naked legs of the poor girl and the red armour of Otto. We’d scratched two crosses on his shin-guards, so we could see it was him.

The girl had long red hair, but wasn’t struggling like the last girl we’d seen. She was whimpering, but making no attempt to resist the firm grasp of the soldier.

The techs opened the cage door and stepped back. They were already turning away as Otto placed the girl on the fertilisation table. They were walking back to the main door as Otto pretended to shut the door and started to follow.
 
 
Once their feet passed our position, Seth slipped out first, with me closely following. Seth turned after the techs and Otto, while I turned the other way and opened the door. There was a brief zapping noise as the two techs were taken out, which I didn’t turn round to watch.

I grabbed the sobbing girl and pulled her out of the room. She followed, but had a glazed expression on her face.She started to resist, so I hissed at her, “Follow me if you want to live!”

I reached the grille as the two techs were being bundled through. I frowned, as this wasn’t part of the plan. We were going to take the key and leave them.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Otto grinned at me. “Change of plan.”

“I can see that,” I hissed, “Why?”

He shrugged. “Seemed a good idea at the time.”

We now had three to get to safety. I took the girl, who was becoming increasingly unnerved and was starting to resist me.

“Look, stop fighting me. I’m Carla and I’m your last hope so come on, stop fighting me!”

“Carla?” she said, oddly.

“Yes, Carla. I’m in the resistance, so shut up and come with me.”

Numbly, she followed me. I could hear the other two cursing and swearing as they carried the two unconscious techs along the obstacle-strewn passages. Otto was sweating in his heavy armour, so I thought it served him right.

We’d prepared a place for the girl, but not the two techs. I sat with her while the two men made a makeshift gaol for our two unexpected guests.

Once they were all settled, Seth and Otto went back to secure the route, in particular the grille we’d removed. I stayed with the girl, having given her some clothes. She sat shivering, staring at me.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Carla and myself and the others are part of the resistance.”

“What have they done to me?”

“What’s your name?” I asked, trying to work out how to tell her what could have been implanted into her womb, if we hadn't interceded.

“Shelley Francis.”

“Where are you from, Shelley?”

“Devia.”

I smiled. “Me too.”

“How did you escape?”

“Long story, they thought I was sterile, so they tried to kill me.”

She looked down at her abdomen and rested a hand on it. “Have they done what I think they’ve done?”

“No, if you’re thinking they’ve impregnated you. We got to you before they could.”

“What with?”

“I’m not sure, but the aliens are not able to reproduce for some reason, so they’re attempting to create hybrids.”

“Would it have killed me?” she asked, raising her head and looking at me. Suddenly I realised why they had to take humans against their will. The aliens were so much bigger than us, then the chance of surviving childbirth was less that poor.

“If we couldn’t manage to abort it,” I said, bluntly.

“How?”

“I’m not sure, but that's why we took you before they managed to do it.”

“I’m frightened, Carla, do you know if my family is all right?”

“I don’t. You and I are the only Devians that are free, so far.”

She looked round the shabby room.

“Where are we?”

“Deep underground. We’re like rats under their floor boards.”

“How long have you been here?”

I worked it out.

“Several weeks. I was saved just after I got here.”

“Did they try to impregnate you too?”

“I wasn’t fertile then. I’m just sixteen.”

She looked surprised. “You look older. I’m nineteen. How come you’re dressed as a soldier?”

“These are the only clothes I could get. Besides, I am one now, as you will be. We all have to be if we want to beat them. If you look, you’re dressed as one too.”

She looked down and appeared to just notice the combat fatigues I’d given her.

“I can’t fight, I’m a nurse.”

“You were a nurse, you mean, and you can fight, as you will have to. We all have to.”
 
 
Chapter 5
 
 
“Lieutenant, you’re up!” Otto whispered.

I nodded to Shelley, now with two stripes on her sleeve and her long red hair tied back. She was now a corporal, so ran a small squad. I nodded at the three others, who returned it briefly to me as I dropped as silently as possible down from the roof space into the corridor below. They followed me as I ran swiftly down the corridor with my weapon ready. I reached the first junction and stopped, crouching just past the four converging passageways.
The five of us waited, as hopefully it wouldn’t be long now. I took the time to reflect on the past months.

Using the tried and tested plan, we’d slowly managed to free thirty people, eight techs, eight girls and fourteen soldiers. None of the girls had been soldiers, but they were now. The techs had been medically trained, or had some scientific background. No one else was from Devia, so Shelley and I were the only two so far. Otto had managed to secure one other ex-Marine called Max, whom he knew vaguely. Our little band benefited from the soldiers’ experience, but, although it was known that I wasn’t a professional, Otto insisted that I retain the rank. It was during that discussion that I realised that I meant a little more to him than I had thought. I hadn’t told him of my unwitting gender conversion, and didn’t intend to either.

Seth was our natural leader, as he had by far the greatest knowledge of our surroundings. He also treated me like a daughter; so many times he’d find himself having to warn me of potential sexual intentions of the men.

I was more than aware of such attention, so for the first time in my short female life was sexually aware and beginning to appreciate being an attractive girl. However, Otto seemed to assume that I was his, and actually, I rather liked the feeling of safety that he exuded whenever I was close to him. He was instrumental in helping me come to terms with who I was.

For example, as my hair started to grow so long that it started to become a pain, he taught me how to braid it and keep it up.

“Why can’t I just cut it?” I asked, looking at his slight fuzz that was beginning to grow back.

“Because you look more attractive with long hair.”

“Otto, it’s a real pain. I can’t look after it properly. It makes sense to cut it short.”

“Sense in this place? You’re too pretty to be a soldier. You should be allowed to be the beautiful woman you are.”
 
 
This shut me up, as I was still sufficiently confused not to know how to deal with this, so much so that I started to cry.

“Hey, Carla, what’s up?”

“You wouldn’t understand!”

“Try me.”

“No, it’s me. Thanks for being nice, I’m sorry I’m so screwed up!”

“What did they do to you?”

“I can’t tell you,” I said, shaking my head.

Otto looked angry.

“Those bastards, I’ll….”

I put a hand on his arm.

“What’s done is done. I’m okay now, one day, I might even tell you.”

Seth was the only one who knew the truth, and I was happy for that to remain the case. Otto sensed I had been damaged somehow, so would often try to pump Seth as to what it was. Seth let him assume I’d been injured and discarded, never intimating any semblance of the truth of what I’d been. To be honest, I was actually so used to being a girl that I had almost forgotten life before the invasion. Carl was all but forgotten. I found that as long as I didn’t think about that life, then I was able to think reasonably straight. However, if I did think about the old days, I’d end up crying and that didn’t help anyone.

One of the techs was Gustav Holst, from DeGraaf’s planet. He had been an eminent surgeon and physician. With his help, the techs managed to induce safe abortions for the girls who had already been impregnated. Shelley, grateful to have been spared that treat, was seconded to act as chief nurse and post-traumatic supporter, and I helped, which was fun…not!

They showed us the foetus from the most advanced girl. It was not human, although one could see elements of humanity in the poor wee mite. It was considerably larger than a normal human baby, so, at full term, would be more than likely to cause massive trauma if not death to its surrogate mother. Natural childbirth was out, as Caesarean would be the safest option, but probably not an option for these aliens unless it meant a live child.

We split into two teams; the HQ team, which consisted of the techs and four of the girls. Their tasks were to identify the drug being given to the captives and work out a way of neutralising it; then they were to develop a mapping system so we could actually find our way about more easily.

The other team was the active unit. I was nominally in charge, but I had all the soldiers and the other four girls, so I looked to Otto for assistance in making strategic and military decisions. Otto took on my training as a personal quest. He felt that as I wore the uniform, I ought to at least have the basics. As a seasoned NCO, he had the usual jaundiced view of all officers; however, he obviously had a vested interest in my development. He’d made his interest in me very plain, which at the same time both scared me and strangely pleased me.
 
 
We seemed to spend all our spare time together, supposedly with him teaching me everything he knew. He did know an awful lot, but we seemed to spend much of the time teasing each other and laughing a good deal.

It didn’t start that way, as we’d both lost a lot. He was more philosophical than I, for he found that, as a soldier, death and loss was part of the whole job. I shared a little about my family, so he told me to try to forget the past, as the future was what was important now.

“You have to realise that we’re your family now.”

Then he’d tease me, so I started to tease him back. Our relationship was like a brother and sister, but then perhaps I was kidding myself. I often caught him looking at me in a way that no brother should ever look at his sister.

Our team’s tasks were to ensure the security of the whole force, to train our unit, and to secure the release of as many captives at a pace that the HQ team could deal with.

One of the first tasks had been to move from our lair again, as once we passed eight persons we outstripped the facilities. We found a new lair against an outside wall, which, with some sweat and effort, we managed to breach, so, despite the barren nature of the landscape, it was wonderful to feel sun on one’s face again.

Hylios had, at one time, been well known as a beautifully gentle, farmers’ paradise. Now, however, it was a bleak and barren wasteland. However, I noticed that green shoots were beginning to peek above the charred surface, promising to regenerate the planet once more, given the opportunity.

Outside, during the day, was the one place we felt reasonably safe, for everything seemed to take place inside the massive domed and darkened structures. I hadn’t realised that they were domed, not until we took our first look outside.
 
 
On a reconnoitre, one of our patrols found a crude defence bunker that had been abandoned by the human defenders against the red horde. Inside we found an ideal command bunker along with fresh water and all the facilities to house a small garrison. It took us three days to move in and make it our own. Not that far from our new base was the remains of a zoo. Some of the buildings still stood, the previous occupants either long dead or enjoying life in the wild.

A sound to my front brought my mind back to the task at hand. I raised my hand and signalled to the others. I knew without looking that they melted into the shadows. The corridor was in darkness as was the norm. We all wore night vision visors down, so could see as clear as day. I could hear the rhythmic tramping of marching feet, signifying a combat patrol of soldiers. These would all be equipped with similar night vision equipment to ours, as they were human. If a mix-breed accompanied them, then the lights would be kept down or off completely. Otherwise, the lights would come up automatically in whatever section they happened to be in at the specific time.

One disadvantage of securing the freedom of thirty people was that we’d brought ourselves to the enemy’s attention. I guessed that we’d done that when I’d killed the Mix-breed, but being outside their realm of experience, they’d been unable to follow it up. Armed patrols now escorted the girls to and from the labs, while extermination squads using flame-throwers and gas were working their way through the ventilation system in the vain hope they’d locate and destroy us.

All doors now had new locks on them, and security alarms and devices were an added challenge. However, the place was too big for them to cover completely, so we were able to move quickly and almost silently whenever danger showed up. They’d located two of our previous lairs, but as yet we had yet to have a confrontation. We’d set traps involving flares and bright lights, just to take out any mixed-breeds, and sonic devices to disorientate any human soldiers. We were split over what we should do against the soldiers, as these could well be our own friends or relatives. Some were colleagues of Otto’s, so we didn’t want to kill them, but we had to ensure they weren’t capable of being put in the field against us again.

I noted that the enemy weren’t restricting their soldiers’ firepower to the stun weapons, as blasters and projectile weapons were now carried by those sent against us.
 
 
The patrol came round the corner, remaining in darkness. I could see the taller Mix-breed near the back of the group. Our task was to capture one of these beings alive. The problem with salvaging mind-wiped individuals was that there was no intelligence to be gleaned from them. Without exception, just as Otto, none had even the slightest memory of their life as a soldier or tech. For the girls, it was different. They had memories, but indistinct nightmarish ones at best. Most preferred not to remember, as the reality was little short of a true nightmare.

The patrol approached in a classic V formation, with the Mix-breed in the protected section in the centre rear. I glanced at Otto and nodded. He, together with six others, dressed in the familiar red armour, simply formed up and waited by the next intersection.

What happened next was a joy to behold. The patrol came round the corner, saw the other group silently standing there and halted, with the groups fifteen feet apart. As rehearsed, Otto’s group parted, allowing passage for the patrol. After a moment’s hesitation, the patrol set off again, without the slightest acknowledgement to the other group. As they passed, Otto’s men simply stunned all the soldiers, all ten of them, while Otto flashed a bright light directly at the Mix-Breed.

He crumpled, uttering a high-pitched wail and clawing at his eyes. Otto leaped in, manacled his wrists behind his back and chained his legs while he was semi-conscious. We’d seen these creatures in action, they were very strong and exceptionally fast, so we were taking no chances.

It took us minutes to strip the soldiers of their armour, giving the girls a few giggles, and then cart off our unconscious captives. We’d travelled for half a day to reach this point, so that if any investigation and seek to destroy operations were to be mounted, we’d be a long way away.

I remained behind with Otto and two of his men. The creature lay on the ground twitching. Otto had removed the dark glasses, revealing a very human face, but with a faintly bony brow that hinted of the other creature that sired him. Very slight protuberances just above the forehead displayed the vestiges of horns, but otherwise it was almost human — big, but human. One of the men removed its boots, revealing five toes on each foot with thick horny nails.

“Is it dead?” I asked.

“No, but he’ll have one hell of a headache for a while, and probably won’t be able to see worth a damn,” one of the soldiers said.

“How do they communicate, telepathy?” I asked, not seeing any coms equipment.

Otto looked at me and frowned.

“I hope not.”

“Best we get him away from here fast. Stick a bag over his head,” another soldier suggested.

“No, keep his eyes in relative light so then he’ll be weaker. If we give him relief in darkness, he’ll get better faster,” I said.

“The Lieutenant’s right, keep him in the light,” Otto said, smiling at me.
 
 
We’d prepared a cage for him, some way from our base of operations, and outside where natural light would keep him at a disadvantage. He started to resist and struggle long before we got there, but as soon as Otto showed him a flare and threatened to use it, he quietened down. At no time did he try to communicate with us, but he maintained an expression of disgusted superiority the whole time. If looks could kill we’d all be dead a thousand times!

We heard the sounds of another military patrol giving chase, so we hurried up, leaving three men to set some traps. We were certain that they wouldn’t risk another mix-breed, so these patrols were only manned by human mid-wiped soldiers, rendering individual thought and initiative as unlikely at worst, or impossible at best.

As a result, we heard a distant rumble of a sonic bomb and our three grinning comrades appeared, carrying two dazed red-clad soldiers, destined to become more of our troops in the statutory few days.

Actually, I’d been right about the telepathy, but that was in the pure-breeds. The Mix-breeds had some powers but not a patch on the real thing. Hampered by emotional disruption and simple distance, we’d been lucky. We found out by accident, as Roj, one of our techs, came from Albion, a planet with a strange natural radiation that caused minor ESP gifts to many of its inhabitants.

Roj was a minor telepath, so, as soon as we’d caged our beast, he’d come over to watch. I noticed he was sweating and appeared nervous.

“What’s up, Roj?”

“He's trying to call for help,” he told me.

Frowning, I turned and looked at the prisoner. He was rocking back and forth while sitting on the floor of his cage. With his arms over his eyes, no sound came from him.

“What?”

“He’s telepathic and is trying to call for help.”

I gave Otto a ‘told you so’ look.

“Can he get through?” Otto asked.

Roj shrugged. “I don’t think so. I can only just hear him, but one of the pure-breeds may be able to pick up his call.”

“Can we cloak it, or jam him somehow?” I asked.

Roj simply shrugged again. This was beyond all our experience.

We looked at our prize. Naked, he still looked impressive, although nearly seven feet tall, his muscular torso was in proportion to his height, unlike some humans, who can appear too slim for their height when they reach such sizes. He was very male, boasting equipment that would make most human males envious. I walked over to the bars. The sun was low in the sky, but it was still daylight and I could tell the light was causing his distress. He kept his eyes closed, with an arm across his face.

“Can you understand me?” I asked him.

There was no reaction to my words.

“Roj, can you communicate with him?”

“Possibly. What do you want me to say?

“First, can we communicate?”

Nothing was audible, but the creature looked up and squinted at Roj, who laughed with little humour.

“He’s just asked me how I want to die.”
 
 
We continued to try to gather information from him, but he wasn’t playing our game. I did notice that as he watched the shadows lengthening, he became bolder and more arrogant.

“Otto, can we get some floodlights brought up?” I said quietly.

He simply nodded and within a few minutes, two sweating soldiers arrived and set up two floodlights with a generator. The creature watched this with detached insolence until it became clear what the items were. His arrogance dissipated suddenly and he huddled at the bottom of his cage with both arms over his face, whimpering again, even before we’d switched it on.

“Ask him how many pure-breeds there are,” I said.

No response.

“Tell him to answer, or the lights go on.”

The creature whimpered again, burying his face in his arms. I nodded at the soldier by the generator. One pull, and the generator burst into life, the lights went on, flooding the cell with very bright light. The creature started to wail.

“Roj, tell him the lights will go off if he answers my questions.”

“He says you are barbaric to torture him like this.”

I felt the icy tendrils of anger well up and start to take me over.

“Barbaric? I’ll give you barbaric! Tell him that as far as I’m concerned, he and his whole race should be exterminated for the untold mass genocide he and his things have committed against mankind. For the horrors they are going to our girls and women every minute, and for what they’ve done to me. Barbaric! He hasn’t seen me barbaric!”

There was a lengthy period of silence.

“Well?” I asked.

“I think he’s thinking about it.”

“Then leave him to think. Keep the generators going.”

Otto looked uneasy.

“What?” I asked.

“He may not like lights, but his friends can’t help seeing us, we’re lit up like a Christmas tree.”

“Tough, we need him to talk. Just leave a man with them to turn them off if necessary.” I turned and walked off, hoping the others would follow. They did.

Half an hour later, we returned to the cage. The lights gave no quarter, bathing the creature and every inch in a white light. There was a foul smell.

“He’s shit himself,” the soldier explained with a grin.

Roj looked at me. I nodded.

“He says he’ll answer your questions if you turn the lights off.”

“No, it doesn’t work like that. If he answers the questions to my satisfaction, then I might turn the lights off for a while.”

“Ask then.”

“How many true-bloods remain, in total?”

“Eight.”

“In total, not just here?”

“Eight.”

We all looked at each other. None of us had realised how few there were left.

“How many like you, Mix-breeds?”

“Eight hundred.”

“How many true-bloods here, on this planet?”

“Three.”

“How long have you known of our presence?”

“Since you murdered one of us.”

I was silent, trying to think of something sensible to ask. Roj coughed.

“What?”

“He wants to know how you want to die.”
 
 
I turned looked at the cowering creature that was almost human. It was the part that wasn’t human that I detested. I walked up to the bars, but as he hid his eyes, I couldn’t make eye contact.

“You can’t kill me twice, you bastard. You already killed me once, when I was left in the pit to burn with all the other dead. I rose from the pit to destroy the evil he represents. I will not rest until all true-bloods and mix-breeds have been sent to the same flames as I felt. You and your kind have destroyed my life, my family and my world, so there’s nothing left to kill. When you’ve taken anything, the only thing left to me is working out how to destroy you!”

“Turn the lights out,” I said, and there was instant darkness.

I sensed that he looked at me, but I couldn’t see anything.

“I am going to die of old age, but only once you and all your kind are no more.”

With the darkness, I sensed his strength building, so I allowed my words to sink in and then drew my pistol, chambered the first round and shot him between the eyes. The back of his head disintegrated, covering the back of the cage with his brains. His lifeless body slumped back and fell to the ground.

Without a word, I holstered my pistol, turned and walked away. Otto shouted some orders and hurried after me, grabbing me by my arm.

“Why did you do that?”

“He was of no further use to us.”

“We could have gotten good intelligence from him,” he insisted.

I turned and carefully removed his fingers from my forearm.

“Think, Otto, it was getting stronger by the second. Darkness brings out their strength. He wasn’t able to tell us any more, but he was a danger to us, for every second he was alive, he could bring us down. Now, destroy the body and let’s move!”

He stared at me saying nothing. I held his stare until he nodded.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“I am, Otto. Look on the bright side, only seven hundred and ninety nine left.”

I left him staring after me.

I think I’d hoped to feel better after killing my second half-alien, but I didn’t. I didn’t feel bad, but neither did I feel any satisfaction at all. My predicament wasn’t entirely the Mix-breed’s fault, as it was the Pure-bloods who had that honour. Now I was determined to get them. That was the only way to stop them.

I was grateful to be left alone for a while. Otto was busy organising everyone, so I took some time out to think.
 
 
I had come to terms with what they’d done to me, in that I was able to function reasonably well as a girl. It had been almost two years since I’d found myself in that pit, to be hauled to safety by Seth. In those two years, I had adapted to be the person I now was. What that person was sometimes confused me. Inside I was Carl, sometimes and when I allowed myself to think of better times. Those times were becoming less and less, as the pain of losing so much so quickly threatened to engulf me each time. Otto made me feel like a girl. He was a constant feature of my life, offering me help, guidance and strength. I’m not sure what he got from me in return, for he’d never tried to take our relationship into anything other than just friends. In a way, I was disappointed, as he invoked strange feelings in me. I enjoyed seeing him smile at me and I always felt safe when he was close. I enjoyed being with him, even if we didn’t speak, just being close was enough to make me feel good.

It dawned on me that I might just be falling in love. I tried to look at girls in the same way I had as Carl, but it didn’t work. Shelly was a friend, and although I thought she was pretty, I didn’t feel like taking a relationship over into the sexual realms with her. With Otto, on the other hand, I often tried to imagine what it would be like to make love to him. Whenever I thought such things, strange things happened in my body, so I tried to think of something else. It didn’t work very well, but my confusion was becoming less as each day as Carla passed.
 
 
I had my own room now, if one could call it a room. It was very small, but it gave me the first taste of privacy on this planet. In a way, I was happier in company of other people. It took me several days to get used to being on my own. I was sitting on my bed when I heard the others return, having disposed of the body. Otto paused by my open door.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded, not feeling like saying anything.

“Can I come in?”

I nodded again, so he sat next to me on the bed.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

We sat in silence for a while.

“Carla?”

“What?”

“If ever you want to talk, you know I’ll be there for you?”

I nodded again.

I felt my emotions rise, and tears came to my eyes, as I fought to stop myself crying.

“Otto?”

“Ja?”

“Hold me?” I asked.

Very tenderly, he placed on large arm round my shoulder and I snuggled in close to him. I cried quietly into his shoulder.

I became aware that he was stroking my hair, which I liked, so I looked up at him. He slowly bent his head down and kissed me. My instinctive reaction was to push him away, but somehow couldn’t. Instead, I just enjoyed it.

He broke off first. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

I shook my head, smiling.

“Thanks.”

“What for?” I asked, frowning.

“Making my day. Have you any idea how long I’ve waited for you?”

I shook my head again.

“Since the first day I saw you.”
 
 
From that moment, Carl was forgotten and I can honestly say that Carla was complete. It was also the day that Otto and I declared our official status of ‘walking out’ together. Our ten new soldier-captives were housed in a secure unit that had once contained large predatory fish. Our techs had discovered the nature of the drug, and had developed an anti-toxin that accelerated the period needed to be free from its clutches. So, unlike Otto, who came off the drug while tied up in a small confined space for two weeks, these soldiers would be free of the drug within forty-eight hours.

Seth, Roj, Gustav, Otto and I, together with some of the others held a strategy meeting. We now had forty mouths to feed, forty people to clothe, equip and train, and forty people to hide from the increasingly alert and ruthless enemy.

“It's only a matter of time that they locate us,” Gustav said.

“Then we can fight!” said Otto, the ever-enthusiastic Marine.

“And lose!” I said. “Look, on Devia, we had technology, manpower and warning, yet we hardly slowed them down. What the hell can we do against an enemy that can literally throw endless resources at a problem?”

Seth was being very quiet. I knew he felt uncomfortable about leaving the dome, but most of us had had enough of the enclosed spaces. He had been happier being a rat, now we were like rabbits he felt particularly insecure.

We waited as an almighty roar deafened us. Every six hours a vast enemy transport landed and took off, bringing more hapless souls to the baby farms and military ranks, no doubt. I wondered how many more planets had fallen by now. It gave me an idea.

“There is a way,” I said.

However, they were in mid-argument, so I waited for a lull.

“There’s a way,” I repeated, a little louder.
For a change, all were silent and looking at me. I felt embarrassed being the centre of attraction, so I swallowed and put my thoughts into words.

“If there are only eight True-bloods, and three are here, that means five are somewhere else. The three here will be well guarded and they have a vastly superior force. I also believe that it is inevitable that they will eventually track us down and kill us, so I just think we should stack the odds more in our favour.

“If we could get off planet and start a resistance movement somewhere else, we could be away from their power-base and build a force to take them down. We could get onto one of their freighters, land on a planet that has recently been invaded and start a revolution before they can remove the population off-planet. The soldiers will all respond to the anti-toxin, as will the techs. Imagine a planet-wide revolution, and the logistics if we had control of one of their invasion fleets?”

They were all silent. I waited for someone to start laughing, but no one did.

“How do we get onto a transport?” Otto asked.

“They ship in with potential soldiers and girls to be bred, right?”

“Right.”

“So, do they ship out with trained soldiers and techs, if they’ve an invasion to run?”

“No. These aren’t invasion ships, they’re space going cattle trucks.”

“So, are they empty when shipping out?”

“More or less, apart from crew, a few key personnel and replacements.”

“Then we stow away on one of the freighters.”

“How?” Otto repeated.

“Shit, I don’t know. Firstly, we have to get close enough to take a look and then see what safeguards are in place. At the moment we’re a minor domestic irritation, so I doubt that they suspect we’ll want to target the spaceport and steal a ship.”

Otto shrugged looking around the group.

“I agree, it makes sense to leave this place,” Gustav said, looking at Seth.

“Hell, I thought I was gonna die here, if you find a way off, I’m going’!”

They all looked at me.

“Okay, so now we go take a look at our way out of hell!”
 
 

*          *          *
 
End of Part 3
 
 
To Be Continued...

 
In a Galaxy, far, far away, there was a peaceful planet called Devia. On this planet lived a young man called Carl and his family.

This planet was invaded and overwhelmed in a surprisingly quick time by an army of sinister humanoid warriors. Leaving a devastated landscape and the civilisation in ruins, our young man is herded by the soldiers, with thousands of others, into an enormous transport ship. Men and women were segregated for an unknown, but ominous purpose.

With all other members of the family missing, believed killed, Carl and his mother have little time left together. On the urgings of his mother, he assumes the appearance of a girl in a vain attempt to remain with her.

The invaders seem to believe it...

but then the nightmare begins!

---

Tanya has a new website where she will display her latest works first and then to BigCloset TopShelf a few weeks later is here at Tanya Allan's Tales .
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!

---

 
The Legal Stuff: The Rats of Hell © 2009, 2010 Tanya Allan
 
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright, in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Permission is granted for it to be copied and read by individuals, and for no other purpose. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited, and may only be posted to free sites with the express permission of the author.
 
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
 
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
 
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
 
Please enjoy.
Tanya
 
 

 
 
 
Chapter 6
 
 
My last time in space was under the influence of all manner of drugs and emotional distress, this time there were no drugs, but emotional stress was there in bucket-loads!

I was clamped into the same type of enclosed space pod into which I had been transferred to Hell in the first place. We all were. It was the only way to travel. Such were the G-forces and physical stresses on the human body that to attempt travelling without such protection would be unthinkable. The ships were fully automated, so there was no crew up on the control deck. There was a crew, but in pods similar to ours. They were there in case of emergency only, and to facilitate the impending invasion.

It had been a dangerous path to get this far, yet we had managed it, just. Who knows what awaited us at the other end, but at least we had risen from the pits of hell.
 
 
The spaceport was several miles across country from the large dome from which we’d recently escaped and closer to the Zoo. It was the only existing facility that we’d come across that had been left intact by the invaders. They’d built a covered expressway to the port, most of which was sealed in with a substantial wall. There was nothing outside the walls, except piles of mangled metal and discarded machinery. It was through this junkyard that Otto and his team found a route for us to make our approach, and then through a rusting gate that led to more wreckage but also access to the port. It took them several days of painstaking and back-breaking work to create a gap large enough for us to squeeze, one at a time.

We’d discovered many things on our trips to the spaceport. It had taken us several weeks of observing and reconnoitres to come up with a workable plan. The first surprising thing we discovered was that not all humans were coerced through mind-altering drugs. There were many in paid employment of the aliens, and seemed happy to be doing so. They all lived and worked in the closely confined spaceport area. Seth took one look at the men working amongst the ships.

“Scum!” he said. “These and fellows like them you can find in or around all the shit-holes in the galaxy. Driven by cash and probably keeping up a drug habit, they’ll work for anyone doing anything, without question. They have no loyalty to anyone or anything except to themselves and can’t be trusted further than you can throw them welded to a Humbolt Mark-six space drive.”

There was a vague military presence in the spaceport, consisting of guarded gates and the occasional patrol. We saw several of the tall Mix-breeds, usually in company of half a dozen soldiers and several techs.

It explained how they were able to initiate their invasion plans in the first place. If they could recruit the basis of a fleet maintenance crew and enough techs to instigate the mind wipe system, then they were on a roll.

There were four types of vessel at the port - transports for the returning captive potential soldiers and girls. Next, and as large as the transports, there were military invasion ships, which had the smaller landing craft attached to the enormous hulls, into which the soldiers would stream ready to drop through the atmosphere and onto the target planetary surface. These were used to return the surviving soldiers, once the target planet had been stripped of all assets and a garrison established to start building domes.

There were also some freelancer spacers, which had nothing to do with the aliens or their military force. They belonged to what Seth called the scum. They were small vessels, scruffy and unkempt, reflecting their owners.

Lastly, two small, very odd-looking craft, kept in a highly guarded sector of the port, and near to which we never saw any humans approach at all.

“They must be private craft for the True-bloods,” Otto said, voicing our unanimous guesses. I remembered Seth explaining that some Marines had disabled a similar craft and killed the pure-breed inside.

There was a real community of humans at the port. We estimated that at least a couple of thousand men and women working in and around the port, of their own free will, and judging by their actions and interaction, Seth’s initial assessment was slightly kind to them. There were bars, hotels and apartments, in fact a whole community, policed by a combination of the red-armoured soldiers from a distance, and a local militia recruited from the scum themselves. Fights were commonplace, but the soldiers made no attempt to keep the peace, they waited for things to quieten down and then went in with some force and removed the bodies and any persons who appeared to offer them aggression if the locals didn’t sort it out before them.

The small militia, or private police force, comprising of what appeared to be a gang of ex-mercenaries, seemed competent at maintaining order for most of the time. They used extreme violence in keeping their own idea of the peace. There didn’t appear to be any communication or cooperation with their employers, but they seemed to be effective, so the red soldiers rarely needed to venture into the area.
 
 
On one occasion, while Otto and I were working out how to approach the ships unobserved, two men working on the landing gear of a freighter, called out to a passing woman. We hid amongst some parts’ canisters, only thirty feet away from them.

The woman was driving a sort of pallet truck laden with parts. Then and there, both men had sex with the woman on a small grubby mat on the floor, one after the other. They paid her and she left them. Hardly a word was spoken, and I was stunned into disbelief at what I’d just seen.

I also found it disturbingly arousing, lying in a confined space with Otto watching such an animalistic event. I’d never had sex, as a boy or in my current form. I’d often talked about it with my friends, and even tried kissing with a girl at my last year’s harvest festival on Devia. Recently, however, the thoughts of kissing a girl were abhorrent to me, as in my few moments of fantasy it was Otto whom I kissed.

As for the sexual act itself, my mind was still replaying the images my eyes had seen. The girl lay there with one man pounding away, as she pleasured the other with her mouth. My fantasies immediately replaced her with me and I had to immediately stop the thoughts before they overtook me.

I became acutely aware of Otto’s proximity and the heady scent of his warm body that was so close to me. I sensed he was looking at me, but was unwilling to look back at him, in case I gave the wrong signal.

The two men went back to work, laughing and joking with each other in Anglic. They were comparing their performances with the woman and they were graphic, if a little crude with their description of events. Blushing and still feeling slightly aroused, I turned to Otto to see if we were to move out.

His eyes met mine and he placed one finger to his lips. I nodded. I glanced back at the men, who showed no inclination to move away from this particular job. When I glanced back at Otto, I noticed he was still looking at me with a strange smile on his face.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he stopped me by shaking his head. Before I could react, he leaned across and kissed me.

Once again, I allowed him to pull me closer as the kiss went on longer. I’d never experienced anyone else’s tongue in my mouth, and so I wasn’t ready for his, gently stroking my tongue and the inside of my cheek.
 
 
All the feelings I’d repressed whilst watching the copulating group came back to me, and I found that I was enjoying everything he was doing to me. My body was responding, making me confused and wonderfully alive at the same time. My breasts were tingling and as for my vagina, I could feel myself swelling and becoming damp.

He was now on his back, with me lying on top of him, both fully clothed. My hand seemed to find its own way to his belt and was already undoing it before my mind caught up. Before I knew what was happening, I was holding his enormous manhood while he was undoing my top, exposing my breasts.

I broke away from the kiss, breathless and desperate to know more.

“We shouldn’t!” I whispered, but wanting to ask him to fuck me like those men had fucked that girl.

“I love you, Carla, I want you!”

I was still holding his cock, so I looked at it. It seemed huge, but all I knew was I wanted it inside me. The thought of his pushing that into me made me want it more.

I stroked it and smiled, as he seemed to shudder.

“You want me?” I whispered and I ran my tongue over the silken head.

“I want you, but not now!” he said, which confused me.

“You mustn’t get pregnant, Carla, it isn’t fair to you or the child.”

He made sense, but I so wanted him.

I remembered the woman on the mat. Smiling, I lowered my mouth down over his member and took as much of him in my mouth as I could, wrapping my fingers around the shaft as he started driving himself deeper than I wanted.

He wasn’t long. Not knowing anything other than what I had recently seen, I allowed him to ejaculate in my mouth, swallowing some of his seed. It tasted better than the slop we called food, but I decided that I didn’t feel I could exist on it for long.

He looked at me quite tenderly, before pushing me onto my back. He then rubbed me until I almost screamed. If I’d wanted him before, it was nothing compared to my feelings for him now. I was so wet; I couldn’t believe I had produced all that liquid. Breathless and somewhat frustrated, we dressed again, still watching the men working a matter of a few feet away.

Finally, the men left the area, ambling away without a care in the world. I looked at Otto.

“You bastard!” I said, to which he simply grinned. “You knew it affected me, and yet still you wouldn’t do it.”

“As I said, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“Stuff fair, I so want you!”

“I want you too, but not here, not like this.”

“I don’t care!”

“You say that, but if you get taken carrying our baby, then they’ll abort it and replace it with a monster. It wouldn’t be right.”

I nodded, still feeling let down, but understanding his reasoning and agreeing with it. I was actual a little afraid of my own feelings and how they took over from my sense of reality. No wonder girls got pregnant.

“You knew I couldn’t stop, didn’t you?”

He nodded and drew me close to him, kissing me tenderly.

“I wanted you so much!” I admitted.

“In the right place at the right time.”

“When will that be?”

“Not here, not now,” he told me, looking like the soldier again.

We also observed that most of the men and some of the women carried pistols in holsters on their belts. I wondered whether that was just the way they did things or whether they’d been warned that we might attempt to access the port.

Their freighters came and went in no set pattern, but clearly their presence was necessary for the aliens to maintain their fleet and keep things running. They had no way of getting out of their restricted area, such was the security that each craft was escorted in by an alien fighter, and no humans were permitted out of the confines of the port.
 
 
Regrouping back at our camp. We went over our options. Seth brought a sense of reality back.

“If we stole a freighter, we’d need to know how to fly it, and none of us are flight trained. Heck, I could probably repair a busted engine, but I can’t fly worth a damn. The military ships are full of soldiers and not the best place to be. It has to be one of the empty transports, as it goes off to collect the poor victims of their latest conquest,” Seth said, voicing all our conclusions.

“I agree, as we couldn’t trust the freelancers not to betray us for a few extra credits. We know the equipment in the transports is good for interstellar travel, as we all managed to survive the journey here in the first place,” added Gustav.

“How do we get in?”

“I think we move in, a few at a time. Take over a small part of the enclave and pretend to be freelancers. They seem to come and go frequently, so we shouldn’t come to notice,” offered one of the techs.

“We need trades or jobs that will allow us to blend in,” said Seth.

Each of them listed their experience and possible trades. I had none.

I got a naughty idea, so I looked at Otto and offered to become a whore.

“No absolutely not!”

I grinned at him, so he’d know I was teasing.

“Why not? I can’t do anything else.”

It was Seth who told me not to be foolish, making me feel like a little girl chastised by her parent.

“You know more about computers than any of us,” he reminded me.
 
 
We talked long into the night, discussing all the possible choices we had. I wasn’t convinced we could bring in forty people and just exist alongside the freelancers who, after all, were possible known to each other. A group of strangers with no ship was bound to draw attention. One or two might just manage it, but forty was too many. I shared my feelings and went to bed.

I was woken by someone shaking me. I drew my pistol and came awake at the same time. Otto pushed the pistol down and away from him.

“It’s only me,” he said, unnecessarily.

“What do you want?”

“Your watch in ten minutes.”

I glanced at my wristwatch. I’d slept for six hours straight without a nightmare. That was rare.

I pulled back my bedroll revealing my almost naked body. I slept in a pair of knickers and nothing else. I used to sleep in full kit, but got too hot. Strangely, I no longer felt self-conscious with him, not after yesterday.

“Why are you here? You’re not on watch tonight,” I asked, dressing quickly and efficiently.

“We need to talk, Carla.”

“What about?”

“Us.”

“What’s to say? You said it all yesterday.”

“No, I simply stopped before we made a mistake.”

“Mistake? What mistake was that?”

He stopped me as I was trying to pull on my pants.

“Carla, I want you for a wife, not some girl who gives me sex whenever I want it.”

“I case you hadn’t noticed, we haven’t had it and we’re not really in the ideal situation for holy matrimony.”

“I need to know how you feel.”

“Let me get dressed, and then maybe I’ll tell you.”

He let go of my hands and allowed me to finish dressing. After strapping on my belt and picking up my weapons, he followed as I made my way to the OP.
 
 
Sam was pleased I was on time, and scuttled away to grab a couple of hours sleep. The OP was some distance from the bunker, on a slight rise, in what had once been an enclosure for large predators. The concrete slabs that had formed a shelter, simulating a cave, were ideal for us. It gave us commanding views of the surrounding countryside and thereby gave us time to react should anyone try to surprise us. The slabs should prevent heat-seeking probes from picking up our body heat.

I settled down and scanned the horizon for any signs of movement.

“So what was decided?” I asked, without looking at him.

“Huh?”

“After I went to bed, what did you decide?”

“Oh, I think we’re going to try a small incursion by a team of six. Then, smuggle the rest in when we’ve found a secure base.”

“Why six?” I asked, looking at him and frowning. It seemed an arbitrary number.

“Small enough to go un-noticed and big enough to fight their way out if needs be.”

“Oh yeah, and who are the six?”

“Seth, because he’s the only flight engineer, Gustav and Roj, because of their experience in technical and medical areas, Shelley because she has experience in nursing, then you and me.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because if I go, you go and vice versa.”

“Okay, why you?”

“I can help protect the team.”

“Why me?”

“I want you with me.”

“Otto, this is dumb, I’m not a specialist.”

“Seth says you know more about computers than anyone else. That’s a specialist.”
 
 
I was silent for a moment. I did know about computers, in my last life, the one I didn’t think about because it hurt too much. I’d been a real geek, building and upgrading computers all the time. I was into programming and developing better ways of doing things all the time.

“Carla?”

“What?”

“We need to talk.”

“So you keep saying, so talk.”

He smiled and shook his head.

“You know what I want to talk about.”

“So, humour me.”

“I want to marry you.”

I laughed, not unkindly, but with an ironic view of our situation.

“Look Otto, I’m damaged goods, you don’t even know me, for goodness sakes!”

“Over the last few months, I’ve got to know you and I like what I’ve seen. You’ve guts, determination and drive, more than any girl I’ve ever met. You’re beautiful, funny and fun, every day I just love you more and more!”

“You just want my body,” I teased.

He had the grace to blush slightly. “Ja, that’s true, but you feel the same way, don’t you?”

It was my turn to blush. I’d enjoyed the feelings he invoked in me, but was afraid of them at the same time. They were more powerful that I was.

“Why can’t things just go on as they are?”

“Because we need something to look forward to. We need to have a hope that we have a future. You are my hope, my future.”

I smiled, this time because he made me feel all mushy on the inside.

“I love you, Carla, and I want us to be together always.”

He reached out to me, wrapping one hand behind my head, drawing me towards him.

“I think I love you, but everything is so confused,” I managed to say before he silenced me with a kiss.

Familiar feelings coursed through my body, so I broke off from the kiss before they took control again.

“Not now, Otto, please. I have to keep watch.”

He gently stroked my cheek, and I felt my body respond to his touch. I snuggled in close to him, while casually looking out at the distant horizon. I summoned the courage to tell him the truth.

“I wasn’t always like this.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t like this when they came. They made me into what you now see.”

“I don’t understand.”

My courage failed me, so I shook my head.

“It doesn’t matter; just accept the fact that I’m damaged goods. You should find someone who is better than me.”

He enveloped me in his strong arms.

“I take what I see. I don’t care about before, it is not important.”

“If you knew!” I whispered, a tear dropping across my cheek.

“It was bad?”

I nodded.

“How old are you, Carla?”

“Old enough. I was sixteen when they came, so I must be eighteen now. I’ve sort of lost track of time.”

“I’m only six years older than you. I’ll make a deal with you. For us, life began when we first met, what happened before doesn’t matter, okay?”

“Oh, it does matter, for it’s why I’m the way I am.”

“Look, I love you for who you are now, not back then. I will never know that girl, the one you were, and you will never know the person I used to be. They are gone, forever!”
 
 
Our conversation was interrupted by three freighters swooping low from the hills behind us, heading for the spaceport. These were larger than most of the freelancers we’d so far seen, but no less unkempt. Three of the alien fighter craft escorted them, and I wondered who flew the fighters. Were they men, under some mind control, or were they Mix-breeds?

“New people, that’s a good sign,” observed Otto.

“So when do we go?”

He glanced at the sun, as it started to show a glow above the horizon. The planet’s two moons gave an eerie reflection to the landscape.

“Today. We go today.”
 
 

*          *          *
 
End of Part 4
 
 
To Be Continued...

 
In a Galaxy, far, far away, there was a peaceful planet called Devia. On this planet lived a young man called Carl and his family.

This planet was invaded and overwhelmed in a surprisingly quick time by an army of sinister humanoid warriors. Leaving a devastated landscape and the civilisation in ruins, our young man is herded by the soldiers, with thousands of others, into an enormous transport ship. Men and women were segregated for an unknown, but ominous purpose.

With all other members of the family missing, believed killed, Carl and his mother have little time left together. On the urgings of his mother, he assumes the appearance of a girl in a vain attempt to remain with her.

The invaders seem to believe it...

but then the nightmare begins!

---

Tanya has a new website where she will display her latest works first and then to BigCloset TopShelf a few weeks later is here at Tanya Allan's Tales .
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!

---

 
The Legal Stuff: The Rats of Hell © 2009, 2010 Tanya Allan
 
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright, in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Permission is granted for it to be copied and read by individuals, and for no other purpose. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited, and may only be posted to free sites with the express permission of the author.
 
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
 
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
 
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
 
Please enjoy.
Tanya
 
 

 
 
 
Chapter 7
 
 
The six of us met in a small room that had been an office in happier days. Homemade oil lamps flickered but gave sufficient light. The furniture was intact, so we had a plan of the spaceport on the table, drawn by two of the soldiers who had spent a month and a half lying in cover obtaining as much intelligence as possible. Seth gave us our briefing, using a roughly drawn map of the spaceport.

“There are three main areas to the port. The holding-area; where the craft land, are emptied, refuelled and filled prior to leaving. Any large-scale repairs to ships are conducted here, or in the case of badly damaged ships, in orbit at a specially designed space station. This area is the maintenance area, where repairs are conducted on all motors and smaller units. Lastly, this area here is the residential area. There are four blocks, each containing apartments, rooms and recreational areas.

“The bars, brothels, restaurants and such-like are all situated in the basement areas of the blocks. Our plan, such as it is, is to find some accommodation, set up a base and just try to blend. If we can get jobs, so much the better, for we know that itinerant workers seem to come and go all the time.”

I stuck up a hand.

“Yes, Carla?”

“Won’t there be a record of who comes off what ship?”

It was Max, one of the soldiers, who answered me. “Our observations seem to say no. Most ships’ crews tend to stay on their ships, but workers seem to arrive on one and leave on another whenever they fancy.”

“How easy will it be to blend?” I asked.

“For the last couple of weeks, we tried and succeeded. No one is that bothered about anyone else. There’s a central pay office, where you register for work. They pay in credits, which can be exchanged for gold coins called Marks when you are about to ship out. Gold is still the universal currency all over the Galaxy. However, a large percentage of the people don’t register. Their work isn’t related to the aliens, but to the welfare of the workers. These, like the girls in the whorehouses, get paid directly in the same gold, but by the workers and not by the aliens. Judging by what I saw, it is possible for a manual worker who welds all day to earn enough in six months to set himself up for the rest of his life.”

“You see, the aliens obviously steal the gold in the first place, so it costs them nothing. The people who leave simply go to a free planet and wait for the invasion before moving on to another,” Gustav explained.

I stuck my hand up again.

“This may seem daft, but they’re not going to like us rolling up dressed as soldiers from conquered planets, are they?”

“We’ve secured some clothes that appear to be the norm. We even managed to liberate a number of gold coins in a game of cards,” Max explained, with a chuckle.

He held up a diaphanous affair, which seemed to be a pair of slim straps attached to some fluffy black gauze.

“We saw this and thought of you, Carla.”

“In your dreams!” I said, secretly wondering what it would be like to wear feminine clothes for a change.

The laughter subsided and the briefing continued. The team would enter, attempt to blend and settle into the system, such as it was. The remainder would remain in the zoo, wait for ten days and then send a second team of six to make contact and if possible and practical, move in and adapt to the enclave. With twelve inside, the remainder infiltrate gradually, and as it was safe to do so.

Gustav brought things to a close. “We are under no illusions and under no time constraints. Once we cease operations against the aliens, they will either conclude we have been destroyed or have disappeared, either way, we must focus on our next goal, which is to get the hell of this damn planet.”

We were each handed a bundle of clothes and other personal effects. I noted that the frilly clothes were in my bundle, as was a pouch of alien artefacts.

“What’s this, Max?”

“Make up, we thought you and Shelley should have some.”

I stared at the small pouch, dimly aware that Shelly was making strange squeaking noises, which I took to mean she was pleased. I went over to where she was eagerly going through the tubs and tubes.

“Shell?”

“What? Isn’t this great?”

“I’ve never worn makeup.”

She looked at me in amazement. “Didn’t you go to a harvest festival?”

“Yeah, I did, and dances and stuff, but, look, I just never wore it, okay?”

“What else you got?” she asked, peering inquisitively at my bundle.

I showed her, and she seemed slightly jealous of a couple of items.

“Come on, let’s get dressed. I’ll help you with your face.”
 
 
Coveralls seemed the general clothing of the moment for those in the space port, but the women did wear feminine attire, particularly those who worked horizontally, in a professional capacity. I was content to select a black set of coveralls, with some black underwear that seemed to be made of a very slinky material.

“That’s real silk! Have you any idea how rare it is?”

“It feels nice,” I said.

“You’re wearing a year’s salary, just on your boobs!”

“Oh.”

“Sit still and watch me in the mirror, I’ll do your face.”

It was like watching an artist at work, for the old me with whom I was now familiar disappeared under her deft fingers. The new me was a very different creature, but one with whom I felt rather uncomfortable.

“Shit, Carla, you’re stunning, girl!”

Shelley brushed out my hair, which I normally kept tied up in a ponytail.

“I know you joked about being a whore, but I reckon with a face and body like yours, you could be earning more money than the rest of us.”

I picked up the flimsy dress Max had teased me with. Shelley helped me work out how to put it on. I looked at myself in the broken mirror. I certainly didn’t look anything like Carl any more.

My next thought was whether Otto would like me looking like this. I was soon to find out, for he came in to see where we’d got to.

“Carla, are you……Mein Gott!”

He stood there with his mouth open, so I posed for him, flashing my ridiculously heavy eyelashes.

“Well, Otto, you think you could afford me?”
 
 
For the first time that I recalled, he was lost for words. I felt an amazing feeling of euphoria at being acceptable as a normal girl. Shelley giggled and left us alone.

It sobered me, that thought.

I was a girl.

I wasn’t Carl any more and never would be — ever again. I’d not thought of myself in those terms before, because every day was a struggle simply to survive. Now, however, there was a glimmer of hope that we might actually manage to find a decent life beyond this existence.

I was a girl.

My future was as a girl.

I started to cry, but for the life of me, I had no idea why.

Otto had his arms around me and crushed me to his sizeable chest. Just being in his arms stopped me crying, but then he kissed me, making all those other feelings return. I wriggled out of his grasp.

“I’m sorry, I just felt normal for the first time in my life!”

It was true. For my life as Carl had been okay, but filled with the insecurities of adolescent life. I felt all-woman now, and I was strangely content. It dawned on me then - I no longer wanted to go back to being Carl. I was Carla.

“You look too beautiful. You mustn’t wear so much makeup, they’ll treat you like a whore.”

“I’m your whore, Otto. I want to be all yours!”

Smiling, he nodded. “Then we stay together, you as my woman, okay?”

“On one condition.”

“What?” he asked with a frown.

I moved in close to him again, placing my hand against his groin, stroking him through his pants.

“If I’m your woman, I want what’s in there.”

Bending his head, our lips met, as I snaked my arm behind his head, allowing our kiss to take me to places of which I had only dreamed.

I felt his strong hands on my buttocks, tightly gripping me. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before he took his right and my virginity. But it wasn’t to be quite yet, for we had to cover a lot of ground in the next few hours.

I took off the dress and pulled on the coveralls, wiping some of the makeup from my face. We all kept a few side arms, and Otto had his beloved TR3000, a multi-purpose weapon with six different functions, driven by a miniature fission cell pack.
 
 
One by one, we slipped into the compound, where we split up into groups of three. I was with Otto and Seth, while Shelley, Roj and Gustav followed a little distance behind us.

Otto casually draped his arm proprietarily around my shoulders, which I enjoyed, as we made our way through the maintenance area towards the living area.

We saw a small group of red-soldiers manning an exit, but apart from them, saw no sign of the enemy at all. However, I found it incredibly disconcerting to be amongst humans again, humans who didn’t abide by our rules, and humans who were as much our enemies as the aliens themselves.

Our attire and general appearance was very much in character, and so I felt we at least looked in keeping with our new surroundings. As I was between the two men, I was spared the indignity of being accosted, for my large and powerfully built escort made it very plain to whom I belonged.

Seth, having taken on the mantle of my father, was equally protective, but I still found it a worry to be quite so openly appraised and leered at by so many men. We made it to the living quarters, and spent some time seeking the most appropriate place to live. The few coins we had weren’t enough for more than a few nights and some food for about a week, so the first task would be to get some more money.

The rent on a four-roomed apartment was very high, but Seth bartered and managed to settle for a week up front for half our meagre coins. I think the clerk had it in mind to bring me into the equation, but seeing Otto’s expression, he wisely decided against voicing his opinion.

Roj and the others met up with us once we’d secured the key and we all moved in.

There was no discussion, Shelly had a room, Otto and I had a room, while the other three could fight over the remainder.

I looked at the sagging double bed and grey sheets. It was hardly luxurious, but to me, used to the squalor of the last couple of years, it looked amazing. I also thought of sharing it with Otto, so that in itself was exciting.

“We go and find some jobs. Stay here, Carla.”

“We all need to work, as it’ll bring in more income, and help us get everyone here sooner.”

Reluctantly he agreed, so we set off to see what we could find. Otto was probably only good as a doorman or bouncer in the bars, while Seth headed for the official pay office, to register as an engineer.

Roj and Gustav went with Seth, leaving Otto with us two girls. Within moments of being on the street, he was approached and offers were made for either us singly or as a pair. It became apparent that our looks were far above the average in this neck of the woods. In order to avoid being taken for a pimp, he pulled us into the nearest bar.

Big Mistake!
 
 
Dancing topless on a small stage were two middle-aged women, whose figures were in a late stage of decay. Otto, realising that this was a mistake was about to turn and leave, when the owner saw us.

“Hey man, how much for them both?” he asked, coming over, and almost forcing us into a booth. He was a disgusting example of manhood, overweight, balding, with a prominent nose and missing teeth. His breath stank of something long dead and his grubby hands settled on my bum rather too quickly.

“They aren’t for sale,” Otto grumbled, pulling us away from his clutches.

The man ordered some beers, as I stared in amazement at the bottle of cold brew that appeared so ordinary, and yet as an object was more alien than anything else I’d seen in ages.

The man laughed, sliding into sit next to Shelley with a toothless grin.

“When did you guys ship in?” he asked.

“Yesterday.”

He nodded, as there had been three vessels arrival, so it was reasonable.

“I’m Cappo.”

“That’s nice. I’m Otto; the girls are Carla and Shelley.

“Okay what deal are you after?”

“Deal?” asked Otto.

“Oh come on, you don’t come waltzing in here with the finest skirt on the sodding planet without a deal, what do you want?”

I could see Otto needed help, so stepped in.

“We dance, he protects our interests. We do four hours a day, for ten marks a day, each. No sex with punters, and not nude.”

The man looked at me, so did Otto and Shelley.

“Ten marks? No way, sister. I’ll give you five a piece.”

“Then we go somewhere we’ll be appreciated,” I said, draining my beer, which, incidentally, was absolutely delicious.

“Hang on, I’m sure we can work something out,” the man said, eyeing Otto’s TR3000 with suitable unease.

“Ten a day, each, and you get me thrown in for nothing!” Otto said.

“You? What the fuck do you do?”

Otto grinned evilly. “I make things go away. Bad things, like drunks, fights and people who interfere with my women.”

Cappo’s eyes half closed as he weighed up the potential. I could see his brain working hard. We could bring new trade to a sleazy establishment, and with a mean looking bastard like Otto keeping house, he’d be sure of less breakages and disruption to make more money than ever. It didn’t take him long.

“Done!” he said, thrusting a filthy hand over the table. “You start tonight, in an hour!”

He left us, shouting at the other two unfortunate women that they were fired. Giving us filthy glances, the two women hurriedly dressed and left as quickly as they could.

“How much is ten marks, anyway?” Shelley asked.

Otto smiled. “About a week’s wages in the workshops.”

“Do we need some clothes?” I asked.

Otto looked at me. “Just a clean pair of panties, you daft woman!”
 
 
So, we returned to the apartment, to find the others had not returned. I scribbled a note for them to come to the Screwdriver Inn when they got back. I had my first shower for a very long time, using as much precious soap as I could. Otto wanted to join me, but I locked the door. It was one complication too many.

Shelly made up my face again, before doing her own.

“Why did you volunteer for us to dance? How often have you danced almost naked for men to stare at you?” she asked.

“Never, but it can’t be that hard. Just wiggle our bums and tits and promise something they’ll never get.”

“I thought you were a naíve little girl, but you constantly surprise me.”

“I am a naíve little girl, but I’m also desperate to get off this hell-hole. Can you think of a better way to earn enough to get things happening?”

I dressed in my dress and silk underwear. Shelly wore something in crimson that looked that it would disintegrate in a mild breeze.
 
 
Cappo had already posted crude billboards advertising NEW YUNG WOMIN WITH BIG TITS up and down the walkway near his bar. I started getting a severe case of the seconds.

Otto, still carrying his TR3000, sat on a barstool very close to the stage, where he could run interference against anyone he felt was a threat. With a beer in his hand and a grim look on his face, he watched us as we made a start.

The music came from a dilapidated player that used digital memory retaining over fifty thousand songs from most of the known galaxy. There were a few I knew, plus Shelly knew some, so we selected the ones with a definite rhythm.

Taking two barstools as props, we started to dance, or at least sway and grind in time with the music.

I lost the dress, and continued in my bra, knickers, stockings and new, very painful high-heeled shoes.

It was an unreal experience, seeing fifty plus males all staring no higher than my chest. After only a few minutes, there seemed to be a crowd of over a hundred men. Otto lost the beer and was cradling his TR3000 with some menace in his eyes. Once I got used to the situation, I found it quite exhilarating that all these men were engrossed at what I looked like. I switched myself onto autopilot and lost myself in the music. Occasionally, Shelley and I would come together an in a pseudo-lesbian embrace, managed to lure catcalls and cheers from the punters. We did half an hour on stage, with a ten-minute break, and then another half an hour, for four hours.

There was a brass spittoon on the edge of the crude stage. Every now and again one of the men would put something into it. I cautiously looked and saw some coins. As a result, we’d give the donor a few minutes exclusive wiggles as close as we dared, this proved popular, so out ‘tips’ increased accordingly.
 
 
Towards the end of the evening a very tired and rather shocked group came in. It was our three friends.

They stood, mouths open, staring as Shelly and I wiggled our naked breasts together and thrust our scantily clad bums at the crowd.

They eventually sat down with a beer and gaped in disbelief at us.

In the middle of the last act, a drunken spacer decided he wanted to touch. He never got closer than two metres before Otto grabbed him and literally threw him out of the door. In itself, it wasn’t too mean a feat, until one appreciates that the man weighed 200 lbs and was a good six inches taller than my Marine.
 
 
After the music ended, Shelly and I left the stage and returned to the small room that passed as a dressing room. Otto posted himself outside our door, refusing entry to even Cappo until we were decent.

The greasy bar-owner seemed delighted, paying us twenty Marks without a quibble, then handing the spittoon to Otto for him to retrieve the tips, which came to another sixteen Marks.

“Same time tomorrow?” he asked.

“Five days on, two days off,” I said.

“Two days off? Why do you need two days off?”

“To rest.”

He was about to argue, but after glancing at Otto, he shrugged and agreed. Cappo couldn’t hide his grin; after all, he’d just had the best evening in many months.
 
 
We left our dressing-room and joined the others in the bar.

Seth was almost speechless with anger, while the others grinned lewdly at us until they caught Otto’s expression.

Eventually, the thirty-six Marks went some way to dispel Seth’s anger, as Otto had been right when he estimated the salary for an engineer. He still muttered about a ‘wholly inappropriate way of earning a living.

It took us four weeks to establish ourselves. Shelly and I were physically fitter than we’d been in ages, with the exercise and better food. We’d even refined our routine to get maximum tips, aided by watching vids of strippers and dancers from other planets. Our average evening, we’d make over forty Marks, which accelerated our plans considerably.

The others managed to get jobs, except Otto, who wasn’t about to let us out of his sight. There was a complication after he’d sorted out a bar fight, as the two instigators waited for him in an alley outside. He killed one and damn nearly killed the other when they ambushed us on the way back to the apartment.

The local quasi-police came down and dragged the bodies away before the soldiers could attend. The grizzled police chief took one look and offered Otto a job on the spot.

“I’m Brant Greeb. I heard about you, I could do with men with your skills. Were you a soldier?”

“Marine,” said Otto, perhaps foolishly.

“With an accent like that, Gorran V?”

Otto nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Otto.”

“She yours?” Brant asked, staring unashamedly at my breasts.

“Ja.”

“Nice. Do you want the job?”

“What’s the pay and hours?” Otto asked.

“Five Marks a day, and a day is eight hours. You get free food and accommodation if you need it.”

“What about my woman?” he asked, looking at me.

“What about her?”

“I have to protect her while she dances.”

“I can see why. Okay, you have a choice, then, either 2200 to 0600 or 0600 to 1400.”

“I’ll take the early shift. When can I start?”

“Tomorrow, 0600. Move your woman and your stuff into the police apartments by the station.”

Brant nodded vaguely at my tits again and left us alone in an empty alley.
 
 
We hurried back to the apartment to find the others worried about our lateness. There was relief when we appeared, followed by alarm when Otto told them of what had transpired. Seth felt it was too high a risk. I disagreed.

“No! This is a good opportunity to establish ourselves. We need to find more accommodation, in any case, as we can afford to start bringing others in now. If Otto and I move out and we rent another couple of apartments, we should be able to gradually increase numbers over the next few weeks. It should be possible to house everyone soon.”

“But with Otto in the police, it’s too high a profile,” Seth insisted.

“No, it's good, because I'll be accepted as part of the establishment. It could be very useful,” Otto said. Seth backed down, but I could tell he wasn’t convinced.

“Look, Seth, with Carla and I bringing in over two hundred marks a week, Otto will bring in twenty five, but with no rent, so with all the others we should have enough to have everyone in here with just a few weeks, isn’t that what we wanted?” Shelly asked.

Seth nodded, slightly reluctantly. “Okay, but be careful. We’ve seen several policemen killed in the few weeks we’ve been here.”

“Hell, we’ve seen more killed in the bar fights. This place is not safe at all,” said Otto with a grin.

Seth looked at Max.

“Tomorrow return to the bunker and bring another six, okay?”

Max nodded, pleased we were now actually in business.

Otto and I packed our meagre belongings and moved out of the apartment, to move into an apartment above the police station. It was a two-roomed apartment, with a big bed in one and a small kitchen/sitting room next to it. The bathroom was tiny but the shower worked. I loved it as it was our first home.

He took my virginity that night.
 
 
As we snuggled together, I knew that there was no way that I was going to wait any longer. I had secured several condoms and so as I stroked him into the appropriate condition, I rolled one onto him. He was surprised, but as I pushed him onto his back and mounted him, his surprise gave way to pleasure. As I sank onto him, feeling him penetrate me so completely, I felt so wonderfully female and content.

I gasped as I felt a little pain, but it soon dispersed, leaving me feeling impaled and gloriously attached to the man I loved.

“Carla,…”

“Shh, just fuck me!”

Actually, that first time was a little disappointing, for he was so quick that I never really achieved anything.

I rode him briefly, but his face contorted and then he arched his back, driving himself deep inside me as he came.

“Already?” I asked, disappointed.

“Sorry, but I haven’t had it for so long!”

I arched my eyebrows. “Oh yes, so when was the last time?”

“Before I was taken.”

I was immediately jealous of this unknown woman - at least I hoped it was a woman. Then I felt guilty for feeling jealous, so I got off him, as his flaccid penis escaped from the condom, spilling his seed onto his belly. I snuggled against him.

“What was she like?” I asked.

“Like you, young and blonde. Actually, I can’t remember her face.”

“What was her name?”

“Is it important?”

I shrugged. “Probably not.”

“I can’t remember.”

“Liar. Everyone remembers their first time.”

“It might not have been my first time,” he teased.

I immediately felt young and naíve, so my expression of hurt must have been obvious.

“Her name was Eva, and her father worked with my father.”

“Did you love her?”

“Is that important?”

“Yes.”

“I thought I did, yes.”

“Then she was very lucky.”
 
 
We lay together, with me thinking about Eva and wondering what had happened to her. That led me to think about my own family, which was a mistake.

I cried a little, which confused Otto, so I had to tell him what I was thinking about. This led to him cuddling me, which led to me becoming aroused again, which led to me taking his penis in my mouth until he was hard again.

This time I was on my back and he took ages to climax. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the sensations and feelings that I experienced then. I’d heard a little about multiple orgasms, but that didn’t describe what I felt. He brought me to a peak, but kept me there so I simply had one orgasm that lasted about five minutes. I was crying and laughing with pleasure at the end, as he kissed my breasts making me flood our conjoined genitalia with warm juices that simply added to the animalistic feel of the whole experience. When he finally came and withdrew before he became flaccid, I quickly whipped the condom from him and took him in my mouth so I could taste him.
 
 
We made love several times that night, and so when I finally slept, it was the sated sleep of sexual gratification that I enjoyed. I never heard him leave me in the morning, but awoke to find him gone.
 
 

*          *          *
 
End of Part 5
 
 
To Be Continued...