Chapter 9: Life Onboard
Alex spent the rest of that night pondering this troubling information.
Jim's dad... he's the one who tortured us...
Like the rest of his friends, Alex silently wondered if Jim knew about his father. They wondered if Jim was just like his father. They had known him for four years and during that time, he acted the exact opposite of what his father believed. They were giving him the benefit of the doubt. If he truly didn't know, they hoped Jim would stay as far away from his dad as possible.
At least we made it out...
The next morning, Alex felt better enough to explore their new home. Abby and Miko gave him the grand tour, showing him around the Altimoor. They had left the medical wing where he was sleeping and showed him the crew quarters.
"We each get our own rooms," Abby was saying. "We got your bag in your room, then you can decorate it later."
"Decorate?"
"It's amazing," Miko said. "They have this replication machine. It can make whatever you want."
"Like Star Trek." Alex was liking the place already. But there was still another question he had.
"Guys, where's Coal? And who is this, this Selyys?"
"Oh, they're both in the common room," Miko answered. "It's just up here. The kids are there, too."
They went down a long, bending hallway, coming up to a set of double doors. They walked right up to the doors, which slid open. Inside was what looked like a rec room, with several round tables and chairs. Most of the kids were sitting around the tables, reading, drawing or playing board games. A few were sitting near a wall, playing video games on a hi-tech plasma.
Alex found Coal playing with a group of four kids and another alien. This one was the same height as the teens but had the same features as her grandfather: dark copper skin, thin limbs, and two-pronged feet. Unlike her grandfather's, her two main eyes were bright blue and her hair was black. This one didn't wear a robe like Galdyn, so her alien features were visible. Her body wasn't like a human's, as she appeared to be inside out. The outside was an exoskeleton, like an insect, with the outline of her internal organs barely visible. Around where a human's waist would be, hers was segmented with jagged, vertical lines. In the center, where the belly might be, was a slightly extended part of the body, which ended in an upward point, like a drop of water.
Coal caught scent of Alex and rushed right toward him, jumping up trying to lick his face. Alex fell to the floor, laughing. The kids that were playing with Coal went over to another table while the alien walked toward them. She stopped in front of Alex as he was getting up, bowed deeply and introduced herself.
"It is good to see you awake. My name is Selyys Ralqe, of Strays. A pleasure to meet you."
"Uh... good to see you too. I'm Alex Carson, of Oregon."
Selyys gave a puzzled expression.
"You have hesitated. Is it my appearance? Do I startle you?"
"No! Not at all. I'm just surprised you speak perfect English."
"It is best to learn when young. My grandfather's mind is not what it was. But also, I was the head student of my class, so new information comes naturally."
"Awesome. I really want to thank you for looking after Coal."
Selyys gave a big smile, showing pointed teeth.
"I love Coal! He is my first Earth friend. I think it adorable when he asks to be scratched on the midriff."
"Oh, yeah, he loves tummy rubs." While speaking, Alex was scratching Coal's ears, his tail wagging.
I do, I do, I do, I do.
Alex stopped, then begun to look around.
"Who said that?"
The girls also looked around, but were more confused than Alex. Abby called him out.
"Who said what?"
"I heard a voice, in my head," Alex replied. "Like Val, but it sounded different."
"We didn't hear anything." Miko said.
Tummy rubs, please.
Not believing it, Alex looked down at Coal, who was staring up at him, tail still wagging.
"Coal, was that you?"
Yes, it me, I Coal. Tummy rubs, please.
"No way. I can hear Coal thinking."
"What?" Abby asked. "What's he saying?"
"He wants tummy rubs."
Tummy rubs!
"Oh, I shall give the 'tummy rubs' to Coal." Selyys said, kneeling. Coal laid on his back and let Selyys scratch his stomach. He gave a satisfied groan while she was giggling.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna tell you what he said."
"So, you can hear animals talk?" Abby asked.
"Maybe... I don't know. I think I need to sit down."
"What you need is to find out what you can really do. Come on, we're going to the gym."
Abby and Miko led Alex out of the rec room, with Selyys waving goodbye while still scratching Coal.
"I shall meet up with you later."
While walking down the corridors to the gym, Alex asked why the kids were still there.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're safe, but shouldn't they be back with their families?
"Well, we'll let Val explain that further." Abby replied.
"But for now, we think it better for the children to stay with us." Miko finished.
Walking to the end of the corridor, the three walked through another set of double doors. The room inside was oval-shaped, wide and spacious. The floor was actually packed dirt instead of metal or carpet. Theo was standing off to the side, working the gauntlet on his arm. He had changed into a red tank top and black camo pants, with goggles resting on his forehead. Val was standing in the middle, making small spherical objects levitate in front of him. He was wearing strange clothes; a dark violet bodysuit that was accented with bright blue, wavy lines. Wearing on top of the suit were pieces of silver armor on his shoulders, arms, chest, and upper legs. Attached to the dampener on his head was a black mask to cover his eyes.
"Right, mate, ready for target practice?" Theo asked.
"Ready." Van answered.
Theo then tapped the holo-screens of his gauntlet, then several circular targets appeared before Val. The targets started to spin around Val, who just stood completely still. Then the objects Val was making float shot away from him, hitting the targets dead center. All except one, which then shot a tiny laser beam back at Val.
"Ow! That still stings!"
"Then next time, make sure you hit it." Theo said, laughing to himself.
Abby walked over to the two as they were staring to bicker.
"Hey, dills, Alex is feeling better. Get this; he can tell what Coal was saying."
Val found this intriguing. "Really? Was Lex also barking, or could you hear Coal, as well?"
"No, it's like your telepathy, but we couldn't hear it." She explained.
"Makes sense. If he can be any animal, it's possible he can talk to them too, in his own way."
Alex stepped up to them. "Is there anything else I can do?"
"That's what the gym is for, we're testing our powers, without those sadistic scientists."
At the mention of the scientists, Alex remembered what Abby and Miko had said earlier.
"They said that for the time, the kids are staying with us. Why? Can't we find the General and his lackies?"
Val and Theo had worried expressions.
"No, they vanished," Val began. "We went back to the base we were kept at, but it was abandoned. They cleared everything out in a day. They're covering their tracks well. And since the General is a public three star general, we can't just accuse him of kidnapping."
"Another thing is that he knows all our names," Theo added. "Both ours and the kids, and also where we live. If we try to go back home, it's near definite he'll hurt our families to get us back."
Alex could understand, but he felt useless not being able to do anything.
"So, what? What can we do? How can we find them?"
"Well," Theo began, "What we can do is learn what we can really do. The General is still looking for us, so we need to be prepared. As for finding them, they're hiding deep underground. We're keeping our eyes on the news stations to see if Sheppard slips up and reveals his location."
"Didn't that reporter say he was at Ft. Bradley?"
"Yes, but that base is legit. No traces of the kind of tech they were using to study us. That mad doctor must've built them himself. Hell, he's probably why we can't find them. But we'll keep looking."
"For now," said Abby. "We need to whip you into shape."
Alex looked down at his big belly with a frown.
"No, not that kind," Abby reassured. "You're fit enough in your Savage state or animal form, so no need to lose the rolls."
Alex was relieved at that.
"Great! So then," he said, rubbing his hands together. "What do you want me to change into first?"
"Whoa, there!" Val exclaimed. "You're not changing into anything just yet."
"But... I thought you..."
"Remember how when you changed the last few times, you felt your body heat up?"
"Yeah, I felt like I was on fire. Still a tiny bit sore."
"Because the Clion gas is alien, your body was trying to fight it out, like an infection."
"We did some tests while you were sleeping," Theo added. "If you shapeshift again, you will spontaneously combust!"
That bombshell made Alex more wary and worried.
"I don't wanna combust! How can I help if I can't—"
"It's alright, Alex-kun," Miko reassured. "Remember what Galdyn said; he has a way to bypass that, so you can train with us."
"Okay," Alex said shakily, but calming down. "What can he do?"
"It is not what my grandfather can do, but what this can do."
The group turned around to find Selyys walking into the gym with Coal beside her. In her hands, she held a large jar with a liquid, grey substance. Alex pointed to the jar.
"What is that stuff?"
Selyys cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"I do not understand. Did Abigail and Kumiko not inform you, or show you?"
"Show me?"
"Oh, I knew we forgot something!" Abby exclaimed. "Right, Alex, check it out!"
Watching in mild confusion, Alex saw Abby and Miko stand right in front of him. Then something happened that made Alex freak out slightly. The girl's skin, hair and clothes were transforming before his eyes. Blotches of new colors were appearing like when ink bleeds through paper. In the span of a few seconds, Abby and Miko had grown costumes out from their own bodies.
"What the..." was all that Alex could say. For Abby, she was wearing a primarily midnight-blue suit, but across her chest diagonally was a silver lightning bolt, pulsating with white energy. Silver also accented as jagged lines on her arms and legs, as well as the tips of her gloved fingers and the toes of her boots. Her mask was also the dark blue, except for rugged silver spots around her eyes, which were glowing with energy. The mask covered most of her head, except for one opening at the top where all her hair poured out. Due to the energy running through, it was charged and styled to look like a downward bolt of lightning.
Miko's suit was nearly the opposite. Hers was a magenta color, with slightly darker shades for the gloves and boots. On the top half of her chest was a half-oval with five colors inside: Red, Green, Blue, White, and Yellow clockwise. The colors glowed in sequence. She didn't wear a full-on face mask like Abby; it only covered her mouth and nose and was the same color as her gloves and boots. Her hair changed drastically; it went from short and black, to shoulder length, with the look of a rainbow.
Alex got over the initial shock to ask many questions at once.
"How the heck? How'd you do that? Can you grow clothes? Miko, your hair grew! Are you a chameleon? Abby, why is your hair so spiky?!"
Abby and Miko laughed over Alex's excitedness. Val and Theo also chuckled over to the side. Selyys was the only one who did not see humor in the situation.
"Does he truly not know?"
"Sorry," Abby said, still fighting giggles. "We never got around to it."
"Around to what? That your new powers are making super suits?"
"It's not a new power," Miko explained. "It's that."
Miko pointed over to Selyys, more specifically, the jar of goo she was holding. Alex didn't fully understand.
"What, you want me to drink that stuff?"
"You do not drink him, you wear him." Selyys corrected.
"Huh?"
To demonstrate, Selyys opened the jar and the goo inside churned, then began to climb out. It hit the floor with a wet plop, then started to take a basic shape. The mass stretched out, then bulged at one end. Strands of the substance jutted out like antennae from the bulge, giving it the appearance of a sea slug. Upon taking shape, it made a small chittering sound. Alex thought the thing was both cute and gross at the same time.
"It's a... slug?"
"It is called a 'Belrik,'" Selyys corrected. "An indigenous life form on my planet. It feeds on thermal energy. Back when my people were warriors, they used these creatures to make armor for themselves, but later used them for fashion. It can bond to another being and provide a protective coating, in exchange for feeding on the host's energy."
"But, yeah," Abby chimed in. "We call it a metamorph slug."
"And you guys are... wearing those things?"
"Our powers affect our bodies as well." Abby said.
"It's not as much as yours, but our cells heat up also when we use our abilities," Miko added. "We bonded to the creatures so we can use our powers safely."
Alex turned around to Val and Theo and asked, "You guys too?"
"No," Val said. "Since our powers are mostly mental, the rest of our bodies are unaffected. These are just normal clothes."
"Well then, where'd you get all that?" Alex asked, pointing to Val's suit.
"It's ancient Skorospian armor, before they even used the slugs. Galdyn helped to make it fit a human."
Alex turned back to Selyys, then looked down at the slug, which was pointing it's feelers in Alex' direction.
"So, you want me to bond with this thing, so my shape shifting won't kill me?"
"Correct, Alexander," Selyys said. "When you bond with the Belrik, it will absorb the thermal energy your body makes, making it stronger to protect you, and you can transform safely. When bonded, you can also make it look however you like, just as Abigail and Kumiko did."
Nodding, but not fully understanding, Alex knelt down on the floor, and hesitantly held out his hand to the Belrik.
"Hey there, little guy, or girl. Whichever. I'm Alex, uh... nice to meet you?"
The Belrik felt Alex's hand with its feelers, then jumped up and clung to Alex's face. He tried to struggle to get the slug off, but his friends urged him to be calm. Attempting to do so, Alex stood completely still as the Belrik expanded over Alex, slowly covering his entire body. To him, it felt like being covered in slime. A moment of blindness, then Alex was able to see again as the slug fully absorbed into his body.
"I don't... feel much different."
"Try using your powers to kick start it," Abby said. "Go into your Savage state."
Complying, Alex willed his body to go into the in between phase. As he felt his body heat up, he also now felt something different; something growing out of his skin and covering his body as he transformed. As he grew taller, thinner and more muscular, his new suit formed around him. It was nothing like Abby's or Miko's, as it wasn't colorful. It covered his body from head to toe, and was grey like the slug. On his arms, legs and head were lines of white light, and his eyes glowed the same. In place of his mouth was a mouth plate, like on a Transformer. Around his waist was a band of energy similar to Abby's lightning bolt or Miko's half-oval, which pulsed with white light. It reminded Alex of a cummerbund.
"It feels awesome," Alex said. "But the style is kinda... boring."
"Remember, in your first use, you can make the suit look however you want it to." Selyys reminded him.
Thinking on it, Alex had found an idea. He willed the main color of his suit to go from grey to jet black, and for the lines and band on his waist to turn from white to green, his eyes also. The band, he altered so it came to a point on top. And for the finishing touch, he willed the lines on his head to rearrange themselves, making some lines weave around his mouth plate to give the appearance of saber-toothed tusks. Two other lines he willed to arc over his eyes to give an eerie look, and the remaining three at the top of his head to be vertical, sharp stripes. The last alteration he made was to grow pointed ear-like growths at the side of his head.
"Now, I look awesome!"
"I am loving the scary touch, mate!" Theo said. "You look like an alien!"
Theo then turned his head toward Selyys, who had a slightly offended look.
"Am I repulsive to you?"
"NO! No way! I meant a sci-fi kind alien! Like the movie!"
"Movie? What is a movie?"
"Uhhh..."
"Dude," Alex whispered to Theo. "Foot in mouth, now."
Theo opened then closed his mouth, pointed toward the end of the room and went in that direction. To break the awkward silence now forming, Abby clapped her hands loud, almost sounding like thunder.
"Okay, then! Lex, let's test what you can really do."
Happy to oblige, Alex readied himself. Abby ran to the other side of the room. And by ran, she barely twitched and in the blink of an eye and a flash of blue and silver, she was already there. At the other end she yelled,
"Right, then! Turn into something, then charge at me with all you got!"
Thinking she was crazy that he could even touch her with her speed, Alex backed to the opposite side of the room as her, then went into a sprint. Being in his middle phase, his physique was like an athlete, with the skills to match. Thinking of a good animal to start with, he jumped in the air. Going higher than he thought, he felt the beast deep down in his bones and called it up. As he was coming back down, his body shrank and the black and green suit vanished under grey fur. His face grew a muzzle, and a furry tail sprouted from the other end. His hands turned into paws as he touched down and continued running as a grey wolf.
His senses even sharper, Wolf Alex could smell every other person in the room, but had his sights on Abby. Snarling, he was only a few feet away and about to jump at her when suddenly she wasn't there.
"Come on, that's it?"
Alex turned his head and saw Abby with her arms around Theo and Val. Alex morphed back, crouching on the floor.
So, it's like that, huh?
Still on all fours, Alex changed again, becoming sleeker, the green lines fading to all black. He drew back his haunches and Alex sped toward Abby as a black panther. Abby sped away again, now standing behind Miko and Selyys. Panther Alex jumped past Val and Theo and used the wall behind as a springboard to quickly turn around. He got closer, but not enough as Abby sped back to the middle of the room. Getting angry, Alex felt something different. As he ran toward Abby as a panther, he felt his body heat up again for a transformation. Jumping up in instinct, his body expanded slightly, his muscles growing. His black fur turned mostly orange, with the remaining black staying as stripes. Everyone was dumbfounded, especially Abby who got pounced on by a tiger instead of a panther.
Ha! Got'cha! Tiger Alex said in his mind.
Getting Alex off her, Abby stared at him in confusion.
"How were you able to...? You went from a panther to a tiger?!"
I don't know, Alex thought to them. It was instinctive. I just felt I could.
Val stepped up to them and said, "I have a theory. Alex, do you think you can turn into something else right now? Try say... a lion."
Wondering what Val was thinking, Alex complied, digging deep down until he felt his body heat up again. Now thanks to the Belrik, he didn't feel like he was on fire every time. His form changed again as his pelt went from orange and black to a sandy beige and a mane of hair formed around his head. The rest of the group formed around Alex as he was now fully transformed into the king of the beasts, resting on his haunches.
How do I look? He asked, his amber eyes looking at each of them.
"Regal," Val replied. "Now to confirm, try turning straight into a wolf again."
Alex concentrated, but for some unknown reason, he couldn't change. He had the same thought process as the cats, even tried to make himself angry. Nothing he did worked. Eventually, he gave up and shifted back into his suited form.
"I don't know why, but I can't. Sorry."
"I think I can explain," Val said. "You changed into a panther, then was able to go from panther straight into tiger, then lion. But not directly from lion to wolf. My theory is that while you can change into any animal, you can morph straight from one animal to another if they share the same genus, like the three cats. The all share the genus Panthera. Wolves however, come from the genus Canis, which is different."
"Makes about as much sense as anything else we've seen." Alex replied. "So, if they're closely related, I can go from animal to animal without going back to my Savage state?"
"Exactly."
"Nerd." Abby teased.
Val ignored her, but gave her a playful sneer. He then asked Alex,
"So, you ready to keep going?"
"I don't think so," Alex said. "Not used to all that running. Also, I just feel tired, drained."
"Probably all that energy you were making in your changes," Abby said. "The slug ate the energy, leaving you drained."
"Also, it's still your first day outta the med room." Theo added. "You take it easy, and we'll keep at it for now."
Nodding, Alex went and sat down next to Coal who put his head on Alex's lap. He scratched Coal behind the ears as he shifted out of his suit, it retreating back into his body. He and Selyys then watched the others continue training. Next two against each other were Theo and Miko. Theo put his goggles over his eyes as he fiddled with the controls on his gauntlet. Pressing a final button, a wall of blue light appeared in front of Theo's propped up arm. The shield covered most of Theo's body, and appeared to be made up of computer code, with 1's and 0's going down the shield in random sequence. He called over to Miko,
"Ready when you are, babe!"
Nodding, Miko started walking toward Theo, then broke into a sprint. She jumped high up and came back down, landing on one knee. From where her front foot landed, a crack appeared in the ground, then the dirt floor erupted. Large chunks of stone burst out and went flying straight to Theo. Running toward the rocks, Theo kept his shield in front of him to break their impact. They either bounced off his coded shield or crumbled into dirt as he ran closer to Miko, who was moving more rocks by swinging her arms, with her legs in a low stance.
A respite in the boulders appeared and Theo took the chance. He dropped his shield and held his gauntlet arm straight out. He pressed a button on the side, and a small sphere shot out. The ball broke apart and a compact net burst out, trapping Miko. Theo chuckled to himself as Miko struggled inside the net.
"You gotta hurl something better than rocks to beat me, honey."
Getting annoyed, Miko waited until enough time had passed. Then, she ignited her hands, which ignited the net. Theo backed away quickly as his girlfriend broke free of the flaming net, her eyes intense. Theo tried to diffuse the situation.
"You know, I knew you were hot for me, babe, but maybe you could cool off a bit?"
Finding him just a little bit amusing, Miko rushed forward and attacked with flaming fists. Theo had just enough time to recreate his shield as her fists made contact with it. Though the shield wasn't physically connected to him, Theo could still feel the impact from the blows. She kept knocking him back until he brought his shield down in exhaustion. She extinguished her fists and used her feet to knock Theo down to the ground. Three quick kicks and he was down.
"Are you cooled down yet, Theo-kun?" Miko said with mild sarcasm.
Getting back up, Theo was about to make a witty quip, but Miko had other plans. She waved her hands in circles, and mini tornados formed above them. She aimed them at Theo, and their force blew him back further. Getting up again, Theo heard his friends catcalling in good fun, making fun of him getting beat by the smallest person in the room. Taking the jeers serious, Theo had a scowl on his face as he once again formed his shield. This time he didn't wait and rushed at Miko, screaming all the way.
Miko wasted no time, and pulled her biggest trick. She raised her arms high and wide and the air around her cooled until droplets of water formed. The water expanded until Miko had a miniature wave in front of her. She pushed the wave forward to intercept Theo, and the wave kept growing as it got closer. Soon a giant wave crashed over Theo, shorting out his shield and making him water-logged.
"Okay, that's it for you guys." Val said, making a time-out hand sign.
Miko went over to Theo, who was still spitting up water. She offered to help him up, but he refused, looking defeated and humiliated.
"Come on, I thought I had you." Theo complained.
"And I thought we said we wouldn't go easy." Miko retorted.
Theo just gave a mild grunt, then went over to a side wall to sulk. Miko went to stand by Abby while Val spoke to Selyys.
"Alright then, we're just about done for today, unless you want to get your exercise in."
"I would like to very much, thank you."
"Wait a minute, she can fight?" Alex said with a puzzled look.
"I have already explained my people are pacifists," Selyys said. "However, we require a strict training regimen to keep our bodies fit."
"You should see her move," Abby added. "She like an Olympian."
Selyys told Val she was ready to begin as she moved to the center of the room. Val had picked up baseball-sized spheres, then threw them in the air and caught them with his mind.
"Right, I'm going to make them fly around. You try to track and pierce them. Ready?
Pierce? Alex thought. Does she have a weapon?
Val made the spheres twirl around Selyys until they looked like the electrons of an atom. Then Selyys' waist began to unfurl, and Alex finally understood that extended piece on her stomach. Selyys crouched, then launched herself in the air as her now unfurled tail whipped around, with the stinger on the end jabbing the spheres and making them deflate. With her tail showing, Selyys had an extreme hourglass figure, with her waist and stomach compressed.
"You're a scorpion?!" Alex asked out loud.
"Incorrect," she replied. "I am Skorospian."
"He's referring to an arachnid species here on Earth." Val supplied. "They have a similar tail to yours."
Selyys recoiled her tail until she regained her more humanoid shape.
"I see. Perhaps it is a distant cousin. I shall research them later."
A few more exercises, then nearly everyone was tired and hungry. Nearly everyone was ready to leave, except for Miko. She stayed behind because she promised to teach the kids judo for self-defense. As if on cue, the doors of the gym opened, and all twenty kids came in, wearing martial arts uniforms. Alex was happy to see that all of them no longer had dead looks in their eyes. The other teens and Selyys left, greeting the kids on the way out. Alex was last to leave because one of the kids took hold of his arm. The others stopped to watch. Alex barely recognized him as the kid who welcomed them back at the General's base.
"We thanked the other big kids, but not you. Thanks for freeing us."
"You guys don't need to do that," Alex said with an embarrassed smile. "But you're welcome anyway... I guess you guys don't remember your names yet."
"My name's Michael. You can call me Mikey."
Alex's grin grew wider as all thekids told him their names: Emily, Joey, Amy, Jason, Samantha, Jose, Lin, Ryan,Maya, Harry, Kenzie, Chris, Layla, Dean, Rosa, Kenny, Bianca, Donny, and Mia.