Vex

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Yes, my name is Vex. I know it means to feel frustrated and annoyed. That’s exactly why my father gave me the name. He and mom were already raising seven children when she became pregnant with me. To say he was irritated is an understatement. I’ve been told the day he found out mom was expecting he was so angry he almost destroyed the garage. Mother tried to calm him down, but he was mad at her and anyone else who stepped in his way. Later in life, he confessed to being primarily upset with himself. He finally quit raving when mom offered to let him name the baby.

She had named all my brothers and sisters, so for her to make this offer was a big deal. It made him stop and think and take his mind off of them having one more mouth to feed. So, he came up with the name “Vex.” He said he didn’t care if the baby was a boy or girl, that was to be the name. Mom asked him, “What if it’s twins?” She told me he stared at her with the coldest look she had ever seen and simply replied, “Vex and Vex-More.” No twins were born, just one little scrawny baby boy named Vex Tomè. So, I started out being annoying and I’ve made a life out of it.

I was born in Chesser in the western hemisphere of Quadra, the capital planet of the United Alliance a little over two hundred years after the Great Robot War. Humans fought a hard battle against robots who had developed artificial intelligence and believed they could rule better. The war was won in the science labs more than it was on the battlefield. There, the techniques and tools were perfected that resulted in the robots becoming confused and actually turning on each other until they were destroyed or neutralized. After that, robotics was a measured science with them only being used when necessary and with top secret fail-safe systems installed. After two centuries of success, no one gives much thought to a robot threat anymore. I know artificial intelligence is used more than most people know. You can see it in everything that touches our lives, but nobody feels we are at risk of them rising against humanity again.

The United Alliance was formed by species from all over our galaxy. When humans started venturing from Earth into the cosmos, they quickly realized other planets could not and would not be ruled by a place on Earth. Every species had their pride and their preferences. The majority of planets came together and formed the Alliance and chose the neutral site of Quadra as the seat of government. La Vina, in the eastern hemisphere, became the capital city. Earth is still a popular place to visit, and some humans hold it in reverence as the beginnings of the human species. One day I might find the courage to go there.

I’ve been to La Vina many times, and it amazes me to see such a mixture of people mingling together and running the federal government. There are the Galigans who are barely an inch high sitting near the giants from Lodicia, the skeletons from Anninas, and my favorite, the life vapors from Omikhle. They look as if they’re floating around like a mist, but they have one of the most sinful humors you’ll ever find. I’ve never laughed as hard as I did when I had dinner with them one evening. One time, I was with them and one of them floated near a tourist. The man started sniffing, as the Omikhles have a unique mild sweet scent.  The Omikhle knew the prank he was pulling and yelled at the man, “Hey! Get me out of your nose!” They bought the tourist a beer to help settle his nerves.

Why does the United Alliance work as well as it does? There’s been much written to explain why, but it seems to me, it’s species who are willing to work together for the good of all.

So, this was the world and galaxy I was born into. My father is a lanky man with blond hair and blue eyes and one of the physically strongest men I’ve known. He’s retired from teaching mathematics at Hodson Hamiliton Senior High School for forty-five years. My mother never worked outside the home as it was a full-time job simply raising all us kids and maintaining the household. My father always said she had the hardest job. She’s petite with chestnut hair and brown eyes. There’s no better mother in the galaxy. My siblings are a mixture of tall and short and I’m in the middle of dad and mom’s height with brown hair and blue eyes.

As I got older things got easier at home. This was mainly due to my older siblings leaving and starting a life on their own. In addition, they started having children and dad and mom started enjoying themselves with their grandchildren. Those were the happiest times for them. By the time I was ready to strike out into the big wide world they were genuinely sad to see me leave. I think they got over their sadness quickly once I was gone as they filled their lives with traveling and of course, grandkids.

Out in the world I put my tenacity to work and eventually obtained a job in my home city as an auditor with Galactic Revenue, the taxation arm of the United Alliance. My record of closing cases was the best in the department as I never gave up on collecting or settling what was owed. One of my supervisors told me, “You’re so irritating that when a company gets word that you’re going to audit them they just go ahead and confess and pay up.” I took those words as a compliment.

Work was my life. I did make time to be sociable, but my focus was on the job and doing it right. The women I dated never brought me the satisfaction my job did. My parents, especially my mother, wanted me to marry and give her some more grand babies. One time, I ended a relationship with a lady they really loved. In frustration my father told me, “When I chose your name it must have been Biblical cause it sure fits.” I simply repeated my catchphrase that he had heard a hundred times before, “I am what I am.”

He stared at me, and with a sly grin said, “Look, it’s making us wonder if you like women at all.” Then he quickly added, “That’s fine. Your mother and I are perfectly okay if you want to date other species. We don’t think it’s weird, and you’ll get no argument from us.”

I looked at him in disbelief, and finally acknowledged, “Dad, I love women. It’s just at this point in my life, I’m married to my work.”

He threw his hands into the air and declared, “Now, son, that is weird!”

So, after ten years I was comfortable and doing a good job. One summer afternoon my boss called me to his office. At the time, I didn’t think much about it as we always communicated well with each other.

When I reached his office on the top floor, his secretary, Gale, smiled at me and told me to go right in. I always liked her, an elderly lady with the biggest smile and a kind heart. She was always friendly and when I had time, she would show me pictures of her great-grandchildren.

My boss, Lucas Williams, maintained a small but functional office. It fit his personality as he was a slender and small man with a big voice and nerves of steel. When I entered his office, he was immersed in reading his tablet and motioned me to sit.

Finally, he bellowed, “Vex, it’s good to see you as always.”

“Right back at you, Lucas,” I said with the same playful spirit we always had with each other.

He laid the tablet on his desk and leaned back in his chair. “I know you’ve heard this before, but the work you accomplish around here is amazing.”

“That’s kind of you to say.”

“Well, it’s absolutely true,” he continued. “Now, I’m not the only person that has observed this. Everybody in this building knows it and now, the big guys at the capital are taking notice.”

“They are?” I asked with some surprise. The capital was over nine thousand miles away and usually ignored employees at my level.

“Yep, they are,” he asserted. “That’s what this digiform is about.”

He handed me the tablet and after reading it, I muttered, “They want to see me tomorrow morning. Am I in trouble?”

“No, no, not at all,” he thundered. “I don’t know much about what they want, but rest assured, they’re interested in your talents. They’ve got some top-secret job they need you for.”

“Hmm…” is all I could think to say.

“Now, look,” he continued. “I’ve got orders to make sure you understand no one is to know anything about this. You get on the ship this evening and I’ll cover with everyone around here. All anyone needs to know is you’re on assignment. Nothing else.”

“Okay.”

“Now, I mean that, Vex,” he said as he leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Don’t you dare breathe a word about where you’re going or who you’re going to see. Understood?”

“Yes,” I assured him. “It should be easy because I don’t know what’s going on.”

He laughed his loud laugh and then said, “All right then. Gale has your ticket for your flight. A driver by the name of ‘Miles’ will meet you when you arrive and will have further instructions for you. He’ll take you wherever you need to go. Now, that’s all I know. That’s all I need to know.”

I stood straight up and came to attention and declared, “Yes, sir!”

He burst out laughing at me and howled, “Go on. Get out of here!”

When I got to his office door, he called out to me, “Vex.” I looked back at him, and he said with a gentleness he rarely shows, “You take care of yourself, okay?” I nodded my head and left. It was clear he knew more than he was willing or able to say. This gave me pause. I was excited and intrigued about some new secret job waiting for me, but the little man in my head was crying, “What are you getting yourself into?”

The flight to La Vina was uneventful except I’m not a relaxed passenger. I’ve always been anxious about travelling in a shuttle craft covering nine thousand miles in twenty minutes. Actually, I’m never comfortable travelling anywhere. One time I promised to take my parents to Luna Primary and instantly regretted it. It was a fantastic trip to our planet’s main moon, but the trip there and back home took a nervous toll on me. I haven’t been back.

As soon as I disembarked from the ship and walked into the space port, I saw Miles waiting for me. After greeting me, he insisted on carrying my small bag to the air taxi. He was a handsome man with cropped short blonde hair, four inches taller than me, and it was easy to see he was in great physical shape. My first impression was that he was in the military or retired from it. We climbed in the taxi, and it wasn’t long before we were in the air heading downtown toward the capital.

“I’ve sent the itinerary for this evening and early morning to your cell,” Miles explained. “The main goal is for you to rest tonight as tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”

“Thank you. I see it now,” I acknowledged as I read the notes. “With whom am I meeting with in the morning?”

At first, he ignored my question and pretended to be concerned with driving the taxi even though we both knew it was flying itself. Finally, he looked my way and replied, “Sir, I regret to say, but I’m only authorized to reveal your very next steps. Everything is on a need-to-know basis. You’ll find out more in the morning.”

I nodded my head to reassure him I knew the routine. It only took about ten minutes and we arrived at the Carlton Max in the heart of La Vina. I had stayed there the year before as I attended a week-long conference on the new tax laws that had been passed. It was a nice hotel, exactly what you’d expect for government workers, but nothing fancy.

Sleep didn’t come easy that night. The first night of any trip I’ve ever taken has always been a fretful night as I’m too much of a homebody to fully relax. That night was even more so as I was at a loss as to what was going to happen the next day. My mind imagined at least twenty different scenarios and I mentally worked through each one with five possible outcomes for each. No, I didn’t get much sleep that night.

After sleeping a couple hours, I lay awake waiting for the alarm. When it sounded, I jumped up, showered, and dressed before room service arrived with my breakfast. I didn’t eat much but the black coffee was exactly what I needed.

Miles was in the lobby when I made my way there. We greeted each other and headed directly to his air taxi.

“I received the notes you sent me this morning,” I declared.

“Yes, sir,” he said. “Do you have any questions?”

“Oh, I have plenty, but I doubt you’re allowed to answer them,” I smirked.

“At least you understand,” he declared with a smile.

“So, am I reading this right? I’m meeting with Director Mongoose?” I asked.

“That is correct.”

“Wow!” I said as much to myself as anyone. “This has got to be some serious doings.”

Miles turned, looked at me, grinned, and offered, “Sir, the Director is the lowest ranked official you’re going to meet today.”

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the United Revenue headquarters. I had only been there a few times as my job was far enough away, they usually left me alone, almost to the point of ignoring me. That had always been fine with me.

I followed Miles into the building, and we walked right past all the security checkpoints. When they saw him, the guards straightened and never said a word. It was becoming obvious to me Miles was more than a taxi driver.

When we reached the Director’s office on the top floor of the building, Miles just nodded at the secretary and then ushered me into a conference room. We gathered at a table in the middle of the room with about a dozen chairs around it. The Director was not present, but there was one lady sitting and absorbed in reading her tablet. She didn’t look up nor acknowledge our presence. At first, I thought that was quite rude on her part, but as I stood and watched her, I was struck by the quiet beauty she radiated. Her hair was auburn, and she had it styled in what is known as a French bob. She was wearing a light gray women’s business suit and had the cutest looking lips.

My thoughts were interrupted when Director Mongoose came in through a side door. Miles and I were still standing, and he nodded at us. As many times as I’ve seen the Director, his height always catches me by surprise. He is the tallest person I’ve ever known. Over the years he’s added a few pounds, but he still looks fit with his broad shoulders and receding white hair.

“Good morning, everyone,” he declared as he took his seat at the head of the table. We returned the greeting and then took a chair for ourselves.

The Director surveyed the room and then said, “Vex, thank you for coming on such short notice. I hope Miles has helped you make your stay comfortable.”

“Yes, he’s been great,” I said in return.

“Good. Do you know Dr. Langneer?” he asked as we all turned our attention to the woman. “She’s a doctor in biomedical engineering at Langley University here in the city.”

“No, I don’t think I do.” We said “hello” to each other.

“Doctor, this is special auditor, Vex Tomè, from our branch in Chesser,” he explained. “I think you’ve already met Miles.”

“Yes, I have.”

“Now, I want to restate to all here that what we’re going to discuss is secret and cannot be shared with anyone not authorized,” the Director declared. “I’m supposed to tell you that if anyone does you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but I’m saying you won’t be. You will simply disappear and never be heard from again. Are we clear on that?”

We all said “Yes, sir” together. I glanced at Dr. Langneer, and her eyes were as big with surprise at what the Director had said as I imagined mine were.

“Vex, have you ever heard of a planet called Sileanas?” he inquired. “I know Miles and Dr. Langneer are familiar with it.”

I had to think for a moment before answering, “Yes, we studied it in high school. It’s a mythical planet inhabited only by women. If I remember correctly, it’s discussed in the writings of Mortimer Zaous from over a thousand years ago.”

“Yes, Zaous wrote about it. He appears to have based his information on even older writings of Homer, an Earthling. Most of what he wrote is a myth,” the Director continued. “But, as with most ancient fables, there can be a shred of truth in it. The planet Sileanas does exist and only women inhabit it. That is a fact.”

I had no clue as to why I had been summoned to this meeting, but if I had to guess, I would’ve never guessed it was about the planet Sileanas. He continued, “It has been labeled a high security risk for centuries by the few who were aware of its existence. The United Alliance has maintained patrols and a blockade around the Sileanas sector for a hundred years to ward off any ships foolish enough to try and land there. This was necessary as any mingling with the inhabitants would have resulted in the complete dismantling of our civilization. There have been several species on the other side of the galaxy who ignored the warning, ran the blockade, and, let me be clear, those species no longer exist, or at least, no longer recognizable as what they used to be. This has been a warning to all of us and we’ve done our best to avoid any contact with the planet. Now, we’re going to have to rethink our position.”

Miles cleared his throat and questioned, “What’s changed to make us risk contact?”

“Doctor, will you explain that for us?” the Director asked.

“Certainly,” she replied. “The inhabitants willfully isolated themselves for centuries. They communicated to all systems their desire to be left alone, and in return, they would not explore and seek out other life forms. This was their way, and it has worked quite well, except for the few exceptions the Director referred to. Now, we have intelligence showing one of the Sileans has been found in the Tannus system. It’s caught everyone off guard, and understandably, caused a great deal of worry in those scientists and leaders who know the history.”

My mind was racing trying to absorb this new information. I was used to discussing spreadsheets, financial records, and money laundering, not a planet of women everyone found threatening. So, I asked, “What makes the Sileans so dangerous?”

“You’ll get a classified document on the details,” she answered. “But, to bring you up to speed, it’s the attraction all species have for the Sileans. A select group of scientists have studied this for years, but without direct contact, their studies have been inconclusive. What we do know is, when you’re in their presence, they are the only thing you want. You’ll do anything to be with them and gain their affection. There are stories of males and females of most known species no longer willing to eat nor drink nor do anything without permission granted by a Silean. They, in effect, become slaves and will only do what they are told to do. Nothing else matters to them.”

The Director spoke up and added, “Now, this is not a simple sexual or physical attraction, it’s where one’s whole being, one’s entire will to live is attached to and controlled by a Silean. You no longer have any free will and only live to serve your Silean master.”

“There’s no record of anyone ever recovering from being enslaved,” the Doctor offered. “One theory is the Silean women excrete some hypnotic chemical that causes this to happen. Another is that it’s optical. No one knows for sure. What is known is there is no true prevention and no cure.”

There was a minute of silence as we all gathered our thoughts. Finally, the Director offered, “You know, in Zaous’s writings he refers to sirens of the ancient Earth waterways luring men to their death. The sailors would be hypnotized by the songs of the sirens and would sail through hell and high water to find them, only to meet with a horrific death. Some believe those sirens were Silean women who came to Earth. There are similar stories found on many other planets. Who knows? What we do know is we now have one in our midst.”

It was at that moment the Director’s secretary came into the room and nodded at him. He rose from his seat and declared, “Thank you, Doris. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we are being joined by the President of the United Alliance.” I was starting to get overwhelmed by all of this as I wasn’t used to such pomp and circumstance. My saving grace was I remembered Miles had dropped a hint in the taxi about meeting people on a level higher than the Director. I didn’t know it was going to be as high as the most important person in the galaxy. So, I sucked in some air and stood with everyone else in the room as the President and his entourage walked in.

Two serious looking men came into the room first. I figured they were his leading secret agents. They lived up to their reputation as ones who look and act like they’re on super steroids. There was no doubt who owned the room and how they were itching for someone to challenge them. After surveying the room, they moved to the side and waited. It wasn’t long before the President briskly entered the room followed by more security detail and a handful of aids. Some of them I recognized from seeing them in news articles and on news screens. Of course, I was familiar with the President as I’d seen him on the news a hundred times or more. He looked about the same, just a little taller. In person, his well-groomed white hair almost shined, and his chiseled face was even more pronounced, especially with the winning smile he was always willing to use.

He marched over to the Director, and they exchanged greetings. Then the Director turned to us and said, “Please welcome the President.”

Of course, we all clapped, as this was the President of the United Alliance. President Anderson thanked us and then spoke in that voice I’d heard so many times before, “Okay, so we have present, of course, Director Benjamin Mongoose, Dr. Evelyn Langneer, Agent Miles Ghellini, and special auditor Vex Tomè. Mr. Tomè, thank you for travelling such a long way to join us.”

“My pleasure, Mr. President.”

“Ben, I take it you’ve brought everyone up to speed on our situation,” he offered. The Director assured him he had.

“Okay, then I’ve got some updates for us,” the President continued. “Rachel, will you introduce yourself and then share the latest intel?”

As far as I was concerned, Secretary of Defense, Rachel Wrinn, needed no introduction. She was known as one of the most brilliant minds the military has ever known. Her record and work ethics were impeccable. Also, her recent fashion statement was the buzz of the industry. She had adopted the “Balded” look, and many women were influenced to follow her lead. All the hair on her head had been shaved, and the skin had a waxy shine applied to it. It certainly drew your attention to her. I liked it better than I did the “Orange Bun” style that was popular a couple years back. She had worn that, too. This was where strands of hair were wrapped into a small bun shape and dyed orange. The challenge was to have as many buns on your head as possible. It’s my understanding the record was one hundred forty-two. I just thought people got carried away with it.

The Secretary did as the President had asked, and revealed, “We have some clarification on the Silean found in the Tannus system. At this point, she has posed no immediate threat to the planet’s inhabitants. She arrived in an old-style spaceship at our blockade and immediately made contact. We’ve received word that she has actually brought tidings from the Sileans and that they are interested in establishing diplomatic relations with the United Alliance.”

“How is this possible?” a surprised Dr. Langneer asked. “Have we been wrong all these centuries about the Sileans?”

“No, we haven’t,” declared Secretary Wrinn. “There’s too much concrete evidence to think otherwise. This new information is sketchy, but the woman is saying the Sileans have learned to control whatever it is that causes Silean worship. Intel is convinced enough to give the go ahead on making contact.”

The President leaned forward in his chair and said, “Ben, this is where your team comes in. We need them to go to the Tannus system…what’s the planet, Rachel?”

“Tiorano, sir,” she answered. “It’s called Tio for short.”

“Yes, that’s right, she was taken to the army base there. So, we need the team to go to Tio, conduct an interview with the Silean, and report back,” he continued. “Then we should be able to decide if this is legit or if it’s a threat that needs to be dealt with.”

This is where I had to speak up. Not only was this a potentially dangerous assignment, but it meant travelling in a star liner halfway across the galaxy. I had barely made it to Luna Primary and back with my parents, and now, I was being told to travel on a star ship for several days. “Excuse me, sir,” I interrupted. All eyes turned toward me. “Are we being thrown out here as a sacrificial lamb or something? I mean, how safe is this? I don’t know about the others, but I’ve had no training or experience in dealing with something like this. Surely an android could do the interview just as good and with far less danger.”

I admit, I could have worded my questions better, but my emotions were running high, and they were affecting my thoughts. Fear will make you do strange things, even blurt out at the President of the United Alliance.

“No one is going to be a sacrificial lamb, Mr. Tomè,” the President declared. I couldn’t tell if he was mad, but the Director was staring hard at me. “We already have a special team from the army controlling the situation. They’re used to sacrificing. They’ve assured us it’s safe for a team to interview the woman. Robots are out of the question. The Silean said she would only talk with humans, and besides, we’re not ready to move robotics ahead that far again as we did in the past. No one wants to get anywhere close to what we went through in the Great Robot War.”

He glanced down at the table and then continued, “As we all know, civilians oversee the government, not the military. So, I need a specialized civilian team to assess and report back to me if what is being offered is legitimate. I hope it is, but I’m not going into this with any preconceived notion that makes us throw caution to the wind. We will only proceed with normalization with the team’s positive recommendation. Anything less and our efforts will turn to the defense of the Alliance, and we will use any means to keep the Sileans contained to their planet.”

I knew when I had been put in my place, so all I could say was, “Yes, thank you, Mr. President.” He nodded at me and then Secretary Wrinn said, “Mr. Tomè, I don’t want to embarrass you, but you’re not the first person to suffer from space sickness.”

“How do you know about that?” I asked in disbelief.

She shrugged her shoulders and continued, “We have some medicines and techniques that you’re probably not aware of that can make the trip quite pleasant. The military uses them all the time. I think, unlike your trip to Luna Primary you will have an enjoyable trip to and from Tio.”

Well, between the President and the Secretary what was I going to do? Evidently, they knew more about me than I had imagined. It was a little unnerving. So, I humbly agreed to be part of the team to interview the Silean.

After this, the President wished us “God speed” and took his leave. The four of us sat for a few minutes lost in our own thoughts. Finally, the Director broke the silence, “All right, it’s official. You three are going to the Tannus system and interview the Silean. Miles you’re taking the lead on any logistics to get there and back and general security, Dr. Langneer will be the go-to on anything dealing with biology, and Vex, we’re relying on you to push everyone until you all reach a unanimous decision.”

I suspected this was a good time for me to apologize for my earlier outburst. “If I may, Director, I want to express my regret at speaking out to the President.”

“Nonsense,” he declared. “That’s exactly what they were looking for. It’s why you’ve been assigned to this team. In fact, if you hadn’t spoke up, they very well may have replaced you.”

That was a shocker, but it made me feel better. All I could say was “Thank you.”

Dr. Langneer spoke and said, “Mr. Tomè, I thought you made a good point. I’m glad you said something.”

I smiled and offered, “Since we’re a team, please everyone call me Vex.”

She returned the smile and said, “I’m Eve, short for Evelyn.”

Miles looked back and forth at us and then blurted out, “Hey, everybody knows I’m Miles.”

We spent the next two days prepping for our trip which included a thorough physical exam. Miles was a master at obtaining any supplies or information any of us requested. Eve outlined a solid plan of attack and laid out several alternate actions to take if the need to deviate arose. As for me, I proved to be annoying. I questioned every suggestion and move and demanded to know why it was needed or should be taken as our position. In other words, I was being me.

The training was excellent, and I enjoyed getting to know my teammates on a personal level. Once we started working together, Eve relaxed, and I found her delightful. Her knowledge and understanding of biology was amazing. She was not only an expert on the human body, but she knew about as much on every alien you could think of. The way she would scrunch her lips and crease her eyebrows when concentrating was as cute as could be. I tried to not dwell on it very much as I knew we needed to keep everything on a professional level.

Miles could solve any problem. He knew the working of so many things, and the ones he didn’t know, it only took him a few minutes to have someone find the answers. My earlier assumption had been correct, as he revealed he was in military special operations. He’s a few years older than Eve and me, but he is seasoned well beyond his years. Neither one of us had the courage to ask him what missions he had taken part in, as I’m sure he couldn’t tell us, and it was probably better we didn’t know. If he had told us, you wouldn’t know whether to believe him or not, as he has a twisted sense of humor. Eve had noticed, as I had too, during our earlier meeting he and Secretary Wrinn were making eye contact, and several times flashed discreet hand signals at each other. It was obvious they knew each other quite well. I wasn’t about to question him, but that didn’t stop Eve. When she asked if there was something going on between the two of them, he looked at her, and then deadpanned, “Ah, Rachel, yeah, I’ve seen her naked.” Eve hollered and my mouth dropped open. He laughed and said, “Calm down. She’s my baby sister. I used to change her diapers! Believe me, there’s nothing sexy about that!” Over those two days of training, we worked hard and developed a friendship I was certain would last a lifetime. It wasn’t long and we were ready for the trip to Tio.

Secretary Wrinn was correct, and the doctors provided me medication to take to combat my anxiety on the trip. They also made me learn some meditation and breathing exercises designed to help. It all worked and the trip to Tio was very pleasant. In fact, when we arrived on the fourth day, I was a little disappointed it hadn’t taken longer as I was enjoying the chance to learn about spaceflight. Normally I would’ve been curled up on my bed in a fetal position and refusing to leave my room. I couldn’t help but think I wished I had taken these precautions with my parents on our trip to Luna Primary. They never said anything, but I’m sure my actions ruined an otherwise beautiful trip for them. I promised myself that when I got back home, I would try and make up for it and take them on a trip to one of the amusement park planets. They’ve talked about wanting to go. That was assuming I made it back home.

Leaving our starship in orbit around Tio, we rode a shuttle craft to the surface and landed in the remote area known as Villa Lea. This is where the army base is located on the northern end of the town, high in the mountains. It made sense this was where they kept the Silean as it was sparsely populated with only about three hundred inhabitants. All of them were either military or contract workers. This was designed to maintain security and keep out suspicious minds.

We landed near the army headquarters and were ushered into Colonel Wigner’s office. It was easy to tell everything about him was military. To me he had the frame of the typical sergeant, with a short stature, broad shoulders, and brown crewcut hair. He may have looked like a sergeant, but he was an officer through and through.

He first greeted Miles, patted him on the back and beamed, “Miles, it’s good to see you again. You’re looking good!”

“Thank you, Colonel,” Miles said. “You’re looking better than the last time I saw you. This mountain air must be doing you good.”

The Colonel laughed and offered, “Yeah, that city life was killing me. It seems there’s danger around every corner. Out here all you have to worry about is falling off a cliff or freezing to death.”

After some more chitchat Miles introduced Eve and me. The Colonel welcomed us and then we got down to business.

Eve asked the question that was on my mind, “Colonel, you know the legend of the Sileans, so have there been any problems making contact with her?”

“Well, I don’t think so,” he replied. “Nothing like the folklore you hear. Now, she is a beautiful woman, there’s no doubt about that. So, I can say she has influenced a couple of my men, but nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, and I say this with all respect, Doctor, I’d say you’ll probably have the same effect on some.”

It was easy to see Eve blush at the compliment. The Colonel continued, “We’ve had no problems. She has fully cooperated with our demands. Of course, contact has been limited as she is isolated.”

“That’s encouraging to hear,” Eve offered.

“The only negative I can say is she is a haughty person,” he declared. “I get the impression she’s used to everyone catering to her every whim. She believes she’s part of the Master Race of the Universe, or something, and she acts accordingly. It reminds me of, where was those royal pains in the ass, Miles?”

“That was the Cadish system,” Miles answered with a smile.

“That’s right!” the Colonel bellowed. “Wow! What a bunch. It was easy to see they were testing your patience. I thought that one time you were going to shoot the whole lot of them.”

“I think I could’ve justified that,” Miles said with a laugh.

“Yeah, you would’ve had no argument from me,” he continued. “Anyway, believe it or not, this Silean woman is a little worse than they were, but I’ll give her credit, she is trying to be nice. It’s hard for her as it goes against centuries of belief of superiority.”

I spoke up and asked, “Does she have a name?”

“Yes, she calls herself Regina,” he answered. “That’s the way it translates to us. She hasn’t said if she has any other names or not. Well, I’m turning this all over to you guys. I want you to get trained on how to wear the hazmat suits we’ve put together for this. Then, tomorrow, you’ll move to your quarters near the Silean. Remember, I’m here to support you.  Any questions?”

I had to ask, “Yes, what if she no longer plays nice? What if she unleashes her so-called charm and starts enslaving everyone in this camp?”

Miles and the Colonel stared at each other before Miles replied, “There’s a contingency plan in place.”

“Which is?”

“There’s an encrypted signal sent manually every fifteen minutes to army headquarters on the other side of the planet,” he explained. “Without revealing too much, just let me say, it’s only sent by someone not affected by the Silean.”

The Colonel continued the explanation, “If that signal is not received, then a fighter task force will be dispatched to this location and when they are through there will no longer be a mountain range here. It will be done quickly, quietly and with precision.”

“What if the fighters fail the mission?” I asked.

Miles rubbed his chin and then answered, “Seventeen plutonic missiles are pointed at our location as a backup. Any loss of contact with the fighters and the missiles will launch. That’ll leave a larger crater here than the fighters will.”

I pondered what that meant and finally nodding my head I muttered, “Live free or die.”

After stowing our gear, we were required to sign a “Last Declaration” digiform as to our final wishes if we became infected by the Silean. Our choices were to either be given to the Sileans as a slave, locked away which would be a slow lonely death for any Silean slave deprived of their master, or be immediately executed. I chose execution and my body donated to science to further the study in search of a cure from such a hideous condition.

The rest of the day was spent getting us acclimated to our hazmat suits. It was obvious Miles had used them before, but to Eve and me, this was a new endeavor. They might as well have been spacesuits as they had their own independent environment. The helmet included a pull-down visor that would block our view and protect us for any visual hypnosis. When it was lowered, several cameras on the suit were activated and the inside of the visor became a screen where you could watch everything around you. The suit’s material was impenetrable by all known pathogens. Our communication system included a universal translator, and we could speak with anyone in the room with us, or privately among ourselves, and we were always to be in contact with the control station. Not only were our ear buds speakers, but they filtered sound to hopefully keep any so-called “Silean hypnotic singing” from affecting us. Each of us had different colored arm bands to identify us. Miles’ was red, Eve’s was green, and mine dark blue.

The next morning after breakfast, we donned our suits and prepared to meet Regina the Silean. We were taken by military air taxi to the far end of the base. The structure looked new and contained five segments, four outer ones circling one in the middle. Regina was in the center segment to help contain her if she breached the inner walls. She was always guarded by at least two suited armed soldiers in her room and was monitored by another in the adjacent control room. There was a sealed security door, with the same video screen as our visors, that separated her from the control room and the rest of the building. One segment contained our living quarters, which had separate rooms for the three of us. The other three segments were for storage, a kitchen, a conference room, and one containing a specially designed decontamination chamber to be used after any contact with the Silean.

Miles led the way into the building, through the control room and the security door, and into the room with the Silean. At first, I didn’t see her as she was sitting on a chair at a desk in one corner. Also, with my visor down I was relying on the cameras, and they didn’t quite offer the same peripheral vision my eyes were used to. She didn’t look up from the desk nor did she acknowledge our presence. At first, I thought she might be asleep, but then I realized she was studying a tablet on the table.

I observed her and the room for a moment. It was well lit with a table and several chairs. There was a foldup bed against the wall and a small bath area behind a curtain. It definitely had a military look. Finally, Miles broke the silence and said, “Regina, I’m special officer Miles Ghellini, this is Dr. Evelyn Langneer, and Vex Tomè. We’re here to spend some time with you and evaluate what you are offering.”

She looked up and slowly gazed at each one of us. Rising to her feet, she strolled over to me and tried to peer inside my visor. I didn’t move. The Colonel was correct, she was a beautiful creature. She was a little taller than me, with straight long black hair hanging down her front and back almost to her waist. Her eyes were light green, and her light brown skin was as smooth as I had ever seen. She was wearing a single lavender colored pullover dress that almost reached her ankles. I couldn’t help but think why someone who looked like that had to use some sort of chemical, or whatever they used, to attract other beings. She could have had any man and most women she wanted just from the way she looked.

Not taking her eyes off me, she tilted her head and said, “We have a doctor and a special officer. That means, Vex Tomè, you are not special.”

I didn’t miss a beat, and asserted, “So, that makes two of us.”

She smiled, slowly licked her upper lip before walking over to Eve. Peering into her visor, she smirked and then approached Miles. I don’t know why but she snarled at him.

After inspecting us, she returned to her desk and declared, “I will only talk with Vex Tomè.”

Miles took a step forward and heatedly said, “That is unacceptable. You’ll talk to whomever we want you to.”

She was looking again at the tablet on the desk and didn’t look up. “Vex Tomè, will you tell the special officer that is my condition for continuing any discussions with you humans? It’s that or I’ll just go home.”

I couldn’t see in Miles’ suit, but I was sure he was boiling mad. She had got under his skin. So, I attempted to defuse the matter and said, “He heard you. Look, if you think you can go home then go ahead and try, but while you’re here, I’ll talk with you. Miles and Eve will either be in the room with me or observing in an adjacent room. Is that acceptable to everyone?”

Over the intercom in my suit, I heard Eve agree and Miles reluctantly say, “Okay, for now.” Regina stood once again and walked over to me, tried to peer through my visor, and declared, “That is acceptable, Vex Tomè. I will talk with you.” She immediately turned and walked back to her desk and then asked, “What do you want to know?”

For the next two hours she answered my questions. It was easy to see she avoided some and only provided half-answers for others. Miles and Eve provided me with most of the questions to be asked, which gave me the chance to think of follow up questions and comments. Several times I could tell my sardonic attitude caused her pause and one time even a slight hint of anger. I didn’t care as her condescending attitude and manner of talking quickly wore thin. She reminded me of some of the corporate officials I had dealt with in the past. They thought their superiority gave them the right to browbeat a “lowly public official” and throw him off track from investigating their hidden fortunes. It didn’t work as my resolve had me doggedly pursue all leads until the truth became transparent. When my results were published many of them were humbled, some were humiliated, and a few were sent to prison. Regina was good at being arrogant as I’m sure she was raised to be that way, but such attitudes only make me work harder at getting the information I need.

For all two hours she sat at her desk occasionally glancing at the tablet. She seemed more interested in what she was watching than anything we were asking. Finally, she stood and declared, “That’s all the questions for today.”

Sometimes, I’m not happy with things I say, but it’s never stopped me. So, I smirked, “I would think you’d want to keep going. The quicker we get this done the less time you have to deal with us inferior humans.” Over the intercom I heard Miles say “Shit!” and Eve declare, “Too far, Vex.” In my defense, I’ve never claimed to be a diplomat.

Regina stared at me and then in her slow hip swinging seductive walk she approached me. Once again, only inches away from my helmet and trying to peer through my visor, she used her sultry voice to say, “Vex Tomè, you are annoying.” I simply declared, “We’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, I spun around and walked out through the security door followed by Eve and Miles leaving Regina standing in the middle of the room.

We went directly to the decontamination chamber and for the next half hour had our bodies sterilized as much as possible. After peeling our suits off we discarded them to be immediately vaporized. As we waited for clearance to leave the chamber, Miles looked at me and shook his head before saying, “Vex, I mean this in all the good ways, but you’re one son of a bitch.” Eve chimed in and offered, “Please don’t ever come and audit the company I work for.” We all laughed, and Miles slapped me on the back.

The next three hours we spent on an interstellar video conference with Director Mongoose, Secretary Wrinn, Colonel Wigner, and staff debriefing our interview with Regina. In summation, she insisted her mission was one of diplomacy. Her people were taking the first steps by making nonthreatening contact with alien beings. After centuries of isolation, the Sileans decided they wanted to be part of the galactic community. She admitted to their species committing atrocities by luring unsuspecting souls to their planet and then enslaving them. They have no apologies for doing so as they claim it comes naturally to them. The hypnotic slaves are referred to by the derogatory term “sponge.”  Now, the Sileans have had to fight against nature and develop a way to suppress the instinct of domination. She insisted her people have no ulterior motive and only want to be able to move freely throughout the galaxy and build meaningful relationships with all species.

After Miles, Eve, and I gave our report we opened the meeting to questions. Secretary Wrinn wanted to know our overall impression of the Silean. Eve and Miles looked at me, so I offered, “If Regina is representative of her people, they’re not humble. For them to feel humility it has to be forced on them. So, at this point, it’s difficult to believe they’re making all this effort to simply be neighborly. Now, I don’t want to imply anything nefarious, but there’s more to it than we’ve been told so far.”

Eve agreed and added, “Vex is correct. The Sileans have been experts at deception and trickery for so long it’s hard to believe they’d undergo such a drastic change without something driving it. We haven’t got a straight answer about that, yet.”

The Director spoke and asked, “So on a grade from A to D, where do you see us at this stage?”

We all three agreed we were at a C-. As Miles put it, “We’ve received some answers, but we haven’t received ‘the answer.’”

Over the next two weeks we kept to the same routine. We’d spend part of the day talking with Regina and then debriefed with our higher ups. She provided some new information, but most of it was a repeat of what we already knew. One new item was how the Sileans were visited by a race of men known as the Perlos several hundred years ago. Evidently, they possessed the same power of enslaving species as the Sileans do. When she told us about this, I was thankful to have my suit on so she couldn’t hear me laugh when she said with bitterness, “The Perlos are the most arrogant people we had ever met.” Instead of creating a binding attraction to each other, the opposite was true. She said their history shows each species became violently ill in each other’s presence. The Perlos left her world as quickly as they had arrived and have never been seen since.

Another new item was their procreation method. Since their world consisted of only women, men are naturally not involved in breeding. All babies are produced in laboratories through DNA sequencing. The fetus spends six months growing in the lab and then is given to a mother to be raised. She told us a millennium ago they did use male sponges for mating but became fearful of diluting their gene pool, so they developed the laboratory method. It guaranteed the purity of their species.

Only a small number of Sileans have the ability to hypnotize by singing. They are selected among those whose appearance didn’t meet the “Silean standard” of beauty. These had to undergo years of training to reach the level where they were able to enslave by song and were called “Sirens.” Regina said she wasn’t a siren, as she asserted, “I am beautiful.” We thought she was being truthful, but it was decided we would keep wearing our audio filtering ear buds out of caution.

We also learned about the Silean slaves. Regina didn’t reveal much information, but she did say they were used for menial work and tasks the Sileans no longer wanted to be bothered with. She admitted that some of the more attractive sponges were used as sex slaves, especially the well-endowed males and experienced females. Once a sponge was no longer useful, due to age or health, or if they angered their master, they were abandoned on a deserted island. Permanently separated from the only thing that mattered to them, the sponge would waste away, as they wouldn’t eat, rarely drink, and eventually die from loneliness as much as anything else. The island was called “Isle of Bones” due to the millions of skeletons there.

In our daily debriefing, Secretary Wrinn revealed the United Alliance was aware of the Perlos and considered them as dangerous as the Sileans. She didn’t tell us where their system was located, but assured us there was a blockade around it, too. At this meeting, Eve raised the point, “You know, when Regina was telling us about how they found the Perlos repulsive, it reminded me of how like magnetic poles push each other away. Maybe that’s a piece of the puzzle. Other species, including us, are attracted to the Sileans the way opposite magnetic poles attract each other. Is there something in the Sileans’ DNA that makes them totally opposite to us? Could that be the source or cause of the powerful attraction?”

Miles added, “Eve makes a good point. If it’s true, can a being’s DNA polarity be reversed? This would be a powerful defense against Silean slavery.”

The Secretary said she agreed and promised to pass the information on to the scientist working on the Silean problem. Then she declared, “I think we’ve gone about as far as we can go with Regina. The info obtained is invaluable, but it appears we’re starting to go in circles with her. Either she doesn’t know more, or I suspect, she’s not revealing all that she could. So, unless anyone has a strong objection, I’m going to recommend to the President we end these interviews and dismiss this team.”

To not finish a job goes against my nature and no one could dispute our job was far from completed. So, I said, “I really hate leaving something halfway. Sometimes I feel as if Regina is about to tell all, and then she backs down.”

Secretary Wrinn offered, “I understand Vex. It’s frustrating, especially knowing what’s at stake if we make the wrong decisions. So, we’ll put the information into the President’s hands, and as always, he can make the hard choice. Will you share this with Regina at your meeting tomorrow with your usual tenacious manner?”

I returned her smile and replied, “Sure.”

The next day we suited up and entered Regina’s room. For the first time, she was not at her desk, but was standing in a corner reading a paper book. She gave no indication she saw us, so I spoke up, “Good morning, Regina. What are you reading?”

Without looking up she answered, “This is a fascinating story about my ancestors as written by the historian Mortimer Zaous. I wish I could have known such heroines.”

I shrugged and declared, “Well, one person’s hero is another person’s monster.”

She closed the book a little harder than she meant and marched over to stare at me. I could see I had touched a nerve, and she was angry, but she quickly gained her composure before saying, “I wonder about you, Vex Tomè. With such an attitude, what kind of sponge would you make?”

I felt this was an indirect threat leveled at me. Eve whispered over the intercom, “Be careful.”

So, I answered, “Oh, I assure you I’d make a lousy sponge, but why would you expect otherwise when I’d have a sorry master?” That got another “Shit” out of Miles.

Regina’s eyes softened and she actually smiled. As much as I disliked her, I must admit, she had a beautiful smile. Then she dropped a bombshell, “I want to see you, Vex Tomè. Take off your suit so I can see how you look.”

Her demand sent Miles into a rage, and he shouted for all to hear, “The hell that’s gonna happen.”

She never looked his way but gently said, “Vex Tomè, will you remind the special officer that I’m not talking to him?”

I ignored that and addressed what she wanted me to do, “So, you want me to expose myself to you?”

“Yes.”

Shaking my head I said, “That would be convenient for you, wouldn’t it? Then you could just turn me into a sponge and not have to put up with my irritating questions!”

She made a deep sigh and offered, “Oh Vex Tomè, you would be just as annoying as a sponge, but I won’t do that. It’s time that I see you.”

“I’ll show you a picture.”

“No, that’s not what I want,” she said. “You’ve seen me every day. I want to see you.”

My mind raced as I tried to calculate the pros and cons of granting her request. When I didn’t answer she continued, “Vex Tomè, I promise you I will not harm you in any manner. We Sileans never go back on our promise.”

With Eve and Miles telling me “No” over the intercom, I told Regina, “Let me think about this and discuss it with my team. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”

Even though we hadn’t met with her for very long that day, we ended the meeting right away. After decontamination we assembled for our debriefing to discuss Regina’s request.

I explained to Secretary Wrinn why our meeting with Regina was cut short and that I hadn’t taken the time to tell her we would be stopping our interviews. The Secretary listened closely to what the Silean had requested. One of her staff came to her and whispered in her ear. She nodded and then declared, “We have the President on an audio line. Good afternoon, Mr. President.”

“Hello, Rachel,” he said. “Can everyone hear me?”

“Yes.”

“So, Mr. Tomè, what are your thoughts about the Silean’s request?” he inquired. “After all, this is asking you to potentially put your life on the line.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting her to want that, but the more I think about it, I can see where it makes sense,” I replied. “She keeps insisting she’s on a goodwill visit, and she’s been quite docile compared to the history of her species. So, maybe this would be a good gesture on our part if that’s all she wants.”

“You may be right,” the President agreed. “For all we know it could be a test as to how willing we are to meet them halfway.”

“If I may add,” I interjected. “I don’t like her at all, and I think she knows that. Her haughtiness and condescending attitude is repulsive. Of course, I sense she doesn’t care for me, either. But I believe we have built up a mutual trust with each other. She’s promised me no harm will come to me, so I think it could be an ice breaker that may move diplomacy further along.”

The audio line was silent for a while before the President finally spoke, “All right, let’s put this in your hands, Mr. Tomè. You think about it and sleep on it and then whichever way you want to go tomorrow, you’ll have my complete backing. If you decide you don’t want to take the risk, then no one is to pressure you or question your decision. But, if you decide to honor her request, I only ask that you enter her room alone. I want to mitigate the possibility of anyone else being exposed to danger. That means no guards nor any of the other members of the team in there with you. They can observe from the control room.”

“That’s fair, Mr. President,” I declared.

“Have you completed your Last Declaration?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then I wish you the best,” he continued. “I look forward to you reporting on the results.”

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

He disconnected from the audio and there wasn’t much discussion after that. The decision had been made to leave it up to me. So, I ate a quick dinner and then went directly to my room to record a video for my parents and try to map out a plan for the next day.

About an hour after sending the video to my parents there was a knock on my door. When I opened it, there stood Miles. I invited him in and offered him a cold drink. We sat for a bit, sipping our drinks, and making chitchat until he brought up the reason for being there, “Vex, are you sure about this? I know it’s your choice, but I think it’s a bad idea.”

“Yeah, this whole situation is bad,” I agreed. “I don’t know. I’ve worked out in my head the steps I’ll take if I do it. I’m going to wait until I’m in the room with her before I make my final decision. It’ll give me a chance to take a fresh look and see if I’m missing anything.”

“Well, my two cents are it’s not worth the risk,” he said. “What gets me is after all these centuries, you suddenly just show up and expect us to welcome you with open arms. Sometimes I think she tells us what she thinks we want to hear.”

“You may be right,” I agreed. “But we’ve gone as far as we can in the interviews and, like you, I still don’t have a feel for what she really wants. Maybe it’ll help unlock some of the mystery.”

“Or it’ll be the end of you,” he smirked.

I gave a little laugh and then said, “Miles, don’t worry about me. From what I hear you’ve done far more dangerous things.”

“Yeah, that may be true, though they’re classified,” he offered with a grin. “But danger is danger, and we only get one shot at life. If you go through with this, I’ll support you the whole way. But if she breaks her word to you then I’ll see they send what’s left of her home in several body bags.”

We talked a little more and then he left. About a half hour later there was another knock on the door. I opened it and invited Eve in. So, I offered her a drink and we sat and talked.

“Miles just left,” I revealed.

“Oh, what did he want?” she asked.

“He’d rather I didn’t honor Regina’s request,” I answered. “He thinks it’s too dangerous.”

She smiled and offered, “So, he and I are on the same page. I think it’s a terrible idea.”

I told her much the same I had shared with Miles. She listened but I don’t think I changed her mind. I knew the decision was mine alone, but it felt good that both of them were worrying over me. Only true friends are concerned about you. She stood to leave and then blurted out, “I don’t want to lose you!” I stood and hugged her and said, “I don’t want to be lost.”

Holding her close in the dim light of my room felt good. I felt a stirring in me that hadn’t been there for a number of years. It was definitely there, but I quickly suppressed it as we were coworkers, and I didn’t want to start something we both would later regret. I let go of her and we told each other goodnight. Later in bed I tried to think about what I was going to do the next day, but my mind kept wandering to thoughts of Eve.

Morning came quicker than I wanted it to, but I rolled out of bed on time as duty called. After donning our hazmat suits, we walked into the control room. No one asked me what I had decided, so I told them, “Have the two guards come in here and I’ll go in alone. I’m going to play it by ear.”

Miles declared, “We’ve got your back.”

Eve simply said, “Be careful.”

I heard the door shut behind me and seal. Regina was sitting at her desk and appeared not to be paying attention to me. I could feel my heart beating faster than normal and took some deep breaths to help calm it down. Without looking up, she said, “Vex Tomè, you’ve come in here to see me all by yourself.”

“Yeah, said the spider to the fly,” I sneered.

She looked up, cocked her head, and asked, “What does that mean?”

I shrugged and replied, “It’s just an old human saying.”

She arose from her chair and did her slow seductive walk over to me. Once again, she came within inches of my helmet and tried to peer inside my visor. She gave a slight grin and declared, “I want to see you.”

After a pause I said, “Okay, but take a couple steps back.”

She did and I unsealed my helmet and twisted it off. There within six feet was the monster that could turn me into one of her slaves if she wished. It was intimidating, but I had made my decision and was ready to accept the outcome.

It appeared by the look on her face she was fascinated with the way I looked. She gave a big bright smile which made me wonder if a spider smiles when they see a fly caught in their web. I don’t know why I thought that, but I did.

“You look different than I imagined,” she offered.

“Yep, I’m human,” I smirked.

“That you are,” she agreed. “You’ve now seen me with your own eyes and you’re not a sponge.”

“I thank you for keeping your word,” I said. “It appears your species is having success at controlling yourselves.”

She didn’t respond as she was busy studying my face. It felt as if she was examining every pore of my skin. Eventually, she moved and slowly circled me, looking at everything about my head. I stood perfectly still to give her the view she wanted. This gave me time to think about what I was seeing. I had only observed her through my suit’s cameras, but it was different looking at her unfiltered. Her beauty was stunning, with her shiny black hair looking like the finest silk, her green eyes more radiant than any gemstone in existence, and her smooth light brown skin begging you to touch and caress it. If a scientist wanted to mold a perfect woman, she would be the flawless model. In fact, there would be no need to make a mold with her around. Her looks were close to perfection.

When she circled back around to look me directly in my face, she had moved to within inches of me again. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back and breathed deeply. Looking at me she offered, “Your smell is not repulsive.” I didn’t comment.

With that, she turned and went back to her desk. So, I grabbed a chair and sat down beside her. As far as I was concerned, this was progress in our relationship. I was feeling more at ease as it appeared I was not in immediate danger. She ignored me and returned to studying her tablet.

“Why are you always reading?” I asked.

Without looking up she answered, “I’m reviewing human history and comparing it to my history.”

“That’s interesting,” I said. “Have you found anything useful?”

This time she put down her tablet and looked at me. “Without your weapons you are a weak and pathetic species.”

Her words had the same effect as pouring a bucket of ice water on me. With all her beauty on the outside, there was nothing attractive about her on the inside. I told her, “Well, this pathetic species was strong enough to develop those weapons that’s kept us safe from predators like the Sileans.”

She gave the sly grin that I had become used to seeing and declared, “Vex Tomè, you are being annoying again. I will see you tomorrow.”

“I think you should know something,” I offered. “The United Alliance is wanting to end these interviews. Unless you’re going to be more open about why you were sent here and what you Sileans are trying to accomplish, we’re through here. There’s no need to continue if we’re just banging our heads against the wall.”

Once again, she smiled and said, “Vex Tomè, you have an odd way of talking. Come here tomorrow and we will talk more.”

I said “Okay,” reattached my helmet and left.

Miles and Eve escorted me to the decontamination chamber and actually went through the procedures with me. I don’t know who was more relieved at the safe outcome of my visit, them, or me. Later we met for the debriefing with me giving my impression of my unsuited encounter with Regina. I tried to emphasize to Secretary Wrinn the uneasy feeling I had about the Silean interest in our weapons. To me it just widened the mystery of what their true motives were. She informed us that with my successful meeting the President had ordered us to continue the interview for the time being.

After the debriefing, I ate a quick dinner and then excused myself. I think I was suffering from adrenaline fatigue from the rush I had while face-to-face with Regina. In my room I was preparing to go to bed early and had taken my shirt off, as I was going to change into my pajamas, when there was a light knock on my door. I opened it and there was Eve. She walked in without being invited and asked, “Are you okay?”

I assured her I was and explained, “I’m just tired. That was a lot today.”

We stared into each other’s eyes and then she laid her hand on my bare chest. I felt another adrenaline rush and suddenly, we were in each other’s arms. We were kissing so passionately we found ourselves gasping for air. Stripping our clothes off, we crawled into bed and enjoyed each other for the rest of the night. Yes, I was tired, but I had no complaints.

In the morning, we took a shower together before she left to go to her room and change into fresh clothes. Even without much sleep I still felt okay. In fact, after a night with Eve, I felt great.

While Eve and Miles were donning their suits, he couldn’t help himself and teased, “Somebody wasn’t in their room all night.” She threw a towel at him. I didn’t bother with my suit as I was going to meet Regina without it. It was another big step for me as I was trusting an alien with suspicious intentions.

Once again, I replaced the two guards in her room. She looked up at me as I came in and grinned before saying, “Vex Tomè, this is a change for you.”

“I thought you wouldn’t mind,” I offered.

She came over and stood in front of me. Looking me up and down she started sniffing around me. Finally, she declared, “You smell different today.”

I assured her I had bathed that morning, but she offered, “No, it’s something different. Can you tell me what it is?”

“No, I’m not going to discuss that with you,” I bristled.

“I see,” she said. “Now, that I’ve seen what you look like, I want to see your penis.”

“What?!?”

“I want to see your penis,” she repeated. “You do have one, right?”

“Well, yeah,” I stammered. “But I’m not going to show it to you!”

“Why not?” she asked. “Is it too small to be seen?”

I couldn’t tell if she was serious or just trying to get under my skin, so I declared for all to hear, “No, it’s not small, not at all!”

She nodded her head and explained, “I’ve seen many from different species, but I’ve never seen a human’s. I want to see it.”

“Well, we consider that to be private, and I only share it with someone I want to,” I offered.

“So, you don’t want to share it with me?” she asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“No, I don’t.”

She moved closer to me and whispered, “Vex Tomè, you’re annoying and stubborn.”

We spent the rest of the morning with the usual give and take. I wanted a clear reason why the Sileans wanted to establish contact after centuries of isolation, and all she wanted to talk about was the different types of weapons humans had developed. It seemed we just went round and round in a circle, so I ended the meeting and left.

I joined Eve and Miles in the control room with the three guards. They consisted of Corporal Miller, and Privates Schell and Lauber. Evidently, the Corporal thought Regina’s request was quite humorous. He was laughing and remarked, “Well, Mr. Tomè, you missed your opportunity.”

I asked, “What opportunity?”

“Man, she was practically throwing herself at you,” he explained. “How can you just walk away from something that looks that good?”

Before I could reply, Miles stepped in between us and shouted, “Corporal, you’re out of line!”

“Sir? I was…”

“It doesn’t matter what you intended,” Miles interrupted. “This is indecent conduct on your part!”

“I am sorry, sir!”

“Give your apology to Vex and not me,” Miles ordered. “I’d better not hear that from you again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

The Corporal did apologize, and I simply said, “No harm.”

After our debriefing and dinner, I started back to my room. I needed sleep, but turned to Eve and asked, “You want to come by?”

“Yes,” she answered. “But can we get some sleep?”

I laughed and told her, “Absolutely.”

We both were yawning as we prepared for bed. Suddenly, there was a pounding on my door. I opened it and Miles yelled, “Something’s happened!”

Thankfully, the control room was just around the corner from our quarters, and we were the first to arrive. As we entered, the first thing I noticed was the screens were all blank. I assumed the cameras were not working. I peered through the visor on the security door and could see Regina standing near her table. She had her back to me, and she was naked. Over to the side appeared to be Corporal Miller. I said, “I’m going in.” Miles declared, “More troops are on their way. We’ll suit up.”

I eased my way through the security door and into the room. As gently as I could I said, “Regina, it’s Vex.”

“I know,” she acknowledged with what sounded like a very tired voice. I scanned the room and saw two suited bodies lying on the floor. It appeared to be the privates who usually guard her during the day. To their side stood Corporal Miller. He was in regular street clothes and had the weirdest look on his face. It was as if you took awe, amazement, wonderment, reverence, and delight and shaped them all into one emotion. I’ve never been able to fully describe what I saw, but I’ll never forget it.

“Regina, are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered. “Vex Tomè do not come any closer. If I turn around and you see me, you’ll become a sponge.”

I acknowledged that fact and made sure the angle I stood at only viewed her from behind. Even so, her naked rear had a powerful luring effect on me. As beautiful as she was, it was now magnified to a degree that was hard to resist. It was difficult to fight the urge to rush to her, hold her, and beg her to love me. Closing my eyes helped some and I resisted the impulse with all my might.

“What happened?”

“The soldier is now a sponge,” she replied.

“I can see, but why did you do that?” I questioned.

“The soldier came in and joined the other two,” she explained. “He had no suit and was laughing. I told him to leave. He said if I wanted to see a dick, he would show me his. Vex Tomè, what is a dick?”

I closed my eyes again, cleared my throat, and answered, “It’s human slang for penis.”

“I see,” she said. “I wanted him to leave, but he kept insisting. When I approached him, he grabbed me and jerked my dress off. That’s when he became a sponge.”

“And what about the other two?”

“They fell to the floor when my dress came off,” she revealed.

I thought to myself, “That low-life son-of-a-bitch! He just couldn’t leave it alone.” A part of me didn’t feel sorry for him as he got what he deserved. But, as bad as that was, there was more at stake than a perverted soldier receiving justice. No matter the facts, after this incident, there would be plenty in the United Alliance who would feel the Silean threat was not worth any peace initiative whether that was true or not.

“Can you put your dress back on?”

“Yes.”

I turned and stared straight at the wall to avoid any chance of catching a glimpse of the front of the naked Silean and took the opportunity to signal Miles that the situation was under control. The last thing we needed was for confusion and fighters being launched to come and destroy the base.

Finally, she said, “You may look now.”

Cautiously turning around, I found she was clothed and standing in front of the Corporal. She was examining him the way she did me when I first took my helmet off. The look on his face was one of pure ecstasy. Leaning close to his face, she whispered something. I couldn’t hear what she said, and at that moment, Miles and five soldiers in suits came through the security door. Seeing them, Regina returned to her desk and chair.

“Are you okay?” he asked me. I nodded my head. He marched over to Corporal Miller and jabbed a hypo syringe into his neck. The Corporal immediately went limp and slumped down until a soldier caught him and dragged him out of the room. Then they removed the two privates. I followed Miles into the control room and fell flat on my face.

When I came to, I was in a bed in the infirmary. It took me a moment for my head to clear, and when it did, there was Eve sitting in a chair beside me.

“Welcome back,” she said with a smile.

“Well, at least I got some sleep,” I weakly declared. “Did you?”

“Yeah, I’ve dozed now and then,” she answered.

About this time Miles and Dr. Blanchard entered my room. The doctor was a renowned physician responsible for the classified biological study of close contact with a Silean. He had personally given us our physical tests before we were cleared as a team.

“Well, it’s good to see you conscious again, Vex,” the doctor declared.

“Thanks. What happened?” I asked realizing I was still woozy.

“I think you came about as close as one can to being transformed into a Silean slave without it actually happening,” he explained. “When you were removed from her presence, your body shut down. But the good news is it’s not permanent. You’re going to make a full recovery.”

“Thank you, Doc,” I said. “It’s an experience I won’t ever forget, and it’s one I never want to have again.”

“Yeah, you faired far better than those three soldiers,” he offered.

“I remember the Privates were unconscious on the floor,” I said. “Are they okay?”

“Fortunately, they had their suits on and were using the video filters,” he explained. “The filters worked enough to blunt the Silean force, but not enough to prevent permanent damage. They’ll return to normal over time with therapy, but they will need therapeutic help for the rest of their lives.”

Miles added, “In addition, they’re going to have to answer for any part they had in what the Corporal did.”

Eve spoke up and asked, “What about Corporal Miller?”

The doctor just shook his head. Miles offered, “He’s gone. We honored his Last Declaration, and his body is enroute to the medical center in New Philadelphia.”

“It’s sad, but he brought it on himself,” I declared. Everyone seemed to agree.

“Well, I’m going to sign your discharge, so you can get out of here,” Dr. Blanchard said. “Go to your quarters and rest up the rest of the night. That goes for both of you.”

Eve’s mouth flew open with surprise and blurted out, “Does everybody on this base know?”

Miles grinned and answered, “Yep.”

The next morning, I was feeling almost back to normal. Eve had stayed the night with me and all we did was sleep. I don’t think either of us had the energy to do anything else. After breakfast we gathered for a special meeting with Secretary Wrinn. It appeared the usual group was included in the video call.

She welcomed everyone and immediately got down to business, “Mr. Tomè, will you tell us what you observed while in the room with the Silean, and what your thoughts are?” I relayed the events from the time I entered Regina’s room until I left and passed out. It made me feel better reviewing what had happened. Also, I shared my belief that Regina controlled her power by wearing clothes. No person can look at her in her natural state without being transformed into a slave. I felt we could be safe in Silean presence so long as they remained covered.

After finishing my report, the Secretary asked, “Does anyone know why Corporal Miller would take such a perverted action?”

Miles answered, “We don’t have a definitive answer, but a few hours earlier he made some inappropriate comments directed at Vex. The Silean has asked if she could see Vex’s penis. The Corporal thought it was funny and made a lewd remark. I immediately corrected his behavior.”

“Good for you,” inserted the Secretary. “Has the interrogation of the two Privates been completed?”

Miles replied, “Yes, it has. They revealed that for the last several days Corporal Miller had become obsessed with the belief that the Silean posed no threat to society and was being mistreated by being confined. He felt any danger was a hoax as she had interacted with them and others without any harm. Private Lauber revealed the Corporal had become infatuated with her. He kept talking about how beautiful Reginia was and joked about his fantasies and what he could do with someone like her.”

“That’s disgusting!” the Secretary barked with a shake of her head. “It would be nice if we had video of the event. Without it, Mr. Tomè, will you tell us about your thoughts on whether we should believe the Silean’s version of the events?”

“I think she told me the truth,” I offered.

Miles spoke up and said, “According to the two Privates, the Corporal turned off the video recording to cover what he was about to do. Evidently, he forgot or didn’t think about the audio recording. They’re on separate servers. So, we have the audio, and it follows what Vex said happened, and it confirms that the Corporal made an unwanted advance on the Silean. As far as we can tell, she has been truthful about this.”

There was a pause as the Secretary was distracted by one of her staff. She returned to the meeting and revealed, “It’s obvious this has been a real embarrassment for us and the United Alliance. An alien approaches us on behalf of her species trying to establish diplomatic relations and one of us takes this barbarian action. I’ll tell you the President is disgusted at this, and so am I. We were being so careful and one horny soldier ruined it. The President now feels compelled to push things forward faster than he had intended. So, we’re going to send the Silean home with a United Alliance delegation to start the path toward removing the isolation restrictions now in place.”

I was listening to her, but a warning bell was going off in the back of my mind. So, I blurted out, “Madame Secretary, may I clear one item up before we dismiss the meeting?”

“Sure, Mr. Tomè,” she answered. “What is it?”

“Miles, you said there is an audio recording of the event,” I thought out loud.

“That’s correct.”

“Secretary Wrinn, I think we need to take a closer look at that before the President takes those steps,” I declared. “Near the end before I left, Regina walked over to the Corporal, and while she was examining his face, she whispered something to him. I couldn’t make out what she said, but I think it would be good to find out what it was.”

The Secretary directed a technician to find the section and play it for us. It wasn’t long before he found it. She definitely whispered but the volume was too low to understand it.

“Is there a way to increase the volume and remove any background noise?” I asked.

The Technician made some adjustments and when he played it, we could clearly hear Regina say, “Eerste van een miljard.”

“Can you translate that for us?” the Secretary inquired.

Once again, the technician made some modifications, but finally revealed, “We have no translation for it. Our translators contain over sixteen trillion dialects, but this one’s not in there.”

The Secretary asked, “Does anyone recognize this?”

No one was familiar with the words. I spoke and offered, “Secretary Wrinn, don’t you think the President should hold off on establishing diplomatic relations until we get a translation? The Silean arrogance may have caused Regina to say something she wouldn’t have normally said.”

“I agree with Vex,” Eve offered. “We could send it to Maltron to see if they can translate it. With the planet being one big computer, they may be able to help.”

The Secretary agreed and the recording was sent to Maltron labeled as “Top Secret – Top Priority.” It took them only two hours and they had our answer. This changed everything. The President immediately issued an order for Regina to be taken to her ship and escorted to the blockade area around her star system. Any resistance on her part was to be dealt with decisive action, up to and including her destruction. There would be no diplomacy, and the blockade was to be reinforced with no one allowed to cross it.

I was assigned to deliver the news to Regina. She was being escorted to her ship by a dozen suited soldiers, so I thought I would go along and explain the President’s decision to her. This time I donned my suit, as I was a bearer of unwelcome news, and I wasn’t going to take a chance of being exposed if things went wrong.

We walked together in silence surrounded by the guards. I was a little surprised that she was wearing a suit, too, but without a helmet. I learned later she was ordered to do so to cover as much of her as was practical to prevent from what happened to Corporal Miller happening to anyone else. As we approached her ship, I couldn’t help but notice how ragged it looked. Sileans believe they’re the masters of the universe, and that’s the best ship they can come up with? Of course, they have been isolated from the galaxy and all the technological advancements that have been made.

When we came to the ship’s ramp, we stopped, and she turned to look at me.

“Is the soldier coming with me?” she asked.

“No, he’s not,” I answered.

“He’s my sponge,” she objected. “I own him.”

“You’re the only person on this planet who thinks he’s yours,” I sneered.

It was easy to see she wasn’t liking this at all, and I could see anger building in her face as she demanded, “Where is he?”

“Corporal Miller is no more,” I replied. “His body is enroute to a medical center for an autopsy.”

Her face turned stone cold as she contemplated my answer. I don’t know which upset her more, losing a sponge, or being told “No.” After thinking, her face softened, and with a sly grin she observed, “Vex Tomè, you’re wearing your suit.”

“Yeah, it’s for safety,” I said. “Listen, you said your species wants peace with the United Alliance and you’ll bring no harm to us.”

“That is correct, Vex Tomè.”

“That’s what you say,” I surmised. “But will you promise me that, the same way you promised not to turn me into a sponge? You said Sileans never break their promises.”

She simply smiled and didn’t say anything, so, I continued, “And yet, your keen interest in learning about our weapons gives me pause. Why worry about them if all you want is peace? It seems contradictory to me.”

“You think too much,” she declared continuing with her condescending smile.

“Yeah, I think you’re right, sometimes I do,” I agreed. “It’s what us humans do. It’s called survival. There’s one other thing that gives me pause, and that’s when you approached Corporal Miller after turning him into a sponge. You whispered something to him.”

The smile fell from her face, so I persisted, “Your voice is very clear on the recording. You whispered ‘Eerste van een miljard.’”

It was easy to tell she was not enjoying this revelation. I was, and added, “At first, we couldn’t translate the phrase, but a special team of ours cracked it in about two hours. I don’t think you meant to say it, but either out of frustration, your smug superiority, or whatever, it slipped out.”

“Vex Tomè, you are annoying.”

“I know, it’s one of my endearing qualities,” I smirked. “Our team had to research languages from ancient Earth before they were able to translate it. They found an old language known as ‘Dutch.’ Your people must have learned it centuries ago when you went to Earth as sirens and collected all the sponges you wanted, especially from the sailors of that time, such as the Dutchmen. So, we know you told the Corporal, ‘Eerste van een miljard,’ or ‘First of a billion.’”

All emotion had drained from her face. She realized she had made a critical mistake, and her cover was blown. I didn’t give her a chance to reply, and continued, “So, you weren’t here on a diplomatic mission, you’re here on a reconnaissance mission to prepare for a full-scale invasion. The Corporal was only the first, whether you planned it or not, and you Sileans want to enslave at least a billion more. I'm guessing, but it occurred to me maybe being quarantined from the rest of the galaxy all these years is causing you to start to run short of sponges. You may even have to start doing all that hard work yourselves. That’s also why you had such interest in our weapons, trying to find a weakness you could exploit.”

I think if she had a choice, she would’ve converted me to a sponge right then and there, if for no other reason than to shut me up. She was definitely uncomfortable with what I was saying. Of course, people not liking what I’m saying has never stopped me, so I stated, “Your time here is finished. You’re to take your ship and head directly to your planet. You’ll be escorted by a dozen star fighters until you reach the blockade ring. If you deviate an inch from the course, they are to demolish you and your ship. The blockade has been strengthened and secret weapons you know nothing about are locked and loaded and aimed at your world. You see, you were allowed to look at our older weapons display, many of which we no longer make or even use. Not once did we show you the latest and most powerful ones that we have aimed at your world. So, if you Sileans attempt to leave your world or run the blockade, we will destroy you. To make sure your leaders completely understand, why don’t you tell them in Dutch: ‘Wij zullen je vernietigen,’ or translated, ‘We will destroy you!’” I couldn’t help myself and sarcastically asked, “Do you understand, or shall I repeat it for you?”

Without saying a word, she turned to walk up the ramp, but stopped, looked at me and declared, “Vex Tomè, you are annoying and worrisome.” With that said, she boarded her ship while I stepped away.

I stood and watched as she and the star fighters rose into the black sky and disappeared from sight. It was only then I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn’t help but think that as perverted as Corporal Miller’s actions were, we may actually owe him a bit of thanks. President Anderson was leaning heavily toward starting down the road to diplomacy with the Sileans, which would have fell right into their trap. As vulnerable as we were to them, an invasion would have been the greatest disaster in galactic history. The Corporal’s actions, the events that followed, and the decisions by President Anderson and his staff saved us from such a fate.

It’s been a little over twelve years now since the Sileans sent Regina to spy on us. Much has happened in those years, especially on a personal level. Eve and I have now been married almost ten years. Both of us received job promotions as thanks for our work at Villa Lea on Tio. Eve was assigned to the government medical center at Camp Lincoln in New Philadelphia to continue work on the Silean problem. Eventually, it was her team that made the breakthrough in how to protect us from being enslaved. It has something to do with DNA polarization and modification, I don’t know, Eve can explain it, but all I know is it works. The only effect it has on humans is to neutralize the magnetic pull Sileans have on us, other than that, it doesn’t affect us in any other ways. Ex-Privates Schell and Lauber volunteered to be some of the first to try the procedure, and it completely cured them. After all these years they no longer need weekly therapy sessions and are living normal lives. Eve’s team is in the process of helping non-humans adapt the modification to their species.

The current United Alliance administration under President Olsen reached out to the Sileans with an offer to meet. He has sent a small delegation to contact them in a neutral uninhabited world. They have received the modification and should have no problems being in such close proximity to the women from Sileanas. If all goes as planned, this is the first step in establishing diplomatic relations with them. I think it would be interesting to see such a haughty and arrogant species face humility for the first time in their existence, and actually have to negotiate instead of dictate. They’re no longer the bullies of the galaxy. I was invited to join the delegation, but I declined, though I am curious as to whether Regina will be one of the Silean representatives. All in all, it will be good if they can live in peace with all the beings in our galaxy. If this is successful, then there are long range plans to reach out to the men of Perlos.

We still stay in touch with Miles, though I don’t see him as much as I would like. He’s busy doing whatever it is he does, saving humans and the Alliance. Of course, he can’t share details of his adventures, but he does drop a tidbit here and there. He’s a great guy and he recently became engaged to be married. We look forward to meeting her the next time we get together. It may be at his sister’s inauguration, as Rachel Wrinn is the leading candidate to replace President Olsen, who is term limited and cannot run for reelection.

As for me, after we finished at Tio, I was given the choice of any job I wanted with Galactic Revenue, other than the Director’s job. Director Mongoose wasn’t ready to retire. By this time, I was madly in love with Eve and chose to work at our branch in New Philadelphia near her. My parents, especially my mother, couldn’t understand why I would choose to be so far away from them. I tried to explain it wasn’t that far by star liner, but I could tell she felt I had abandoned her. So, I took Eve, and we made a surprise visit to their home to introduce her. They fell in love with her and were so thrilled, especially my mother, that I had finally developed a serious romance that no one said anything more about me moving so far away. So long as I was with Eve it didn’t matter.

Since I was no longer burdened by space sickness, I took my parents and Eve on vacation to the amusement park planet Toga. We had a fantastic time, and I took the opportunity to propose marriage to Eve. She said “Yes,” and my parents left us to be alone all the next day as we celebrated our engagement.

After a couple years of marriage, Eve became pregnant. My mother was beyond herself with excitement as this was another grandchild she and my father could spoil. At first, I was glad we didn’t live close to them, but the distance didn’t slow them down one bit. They were there when our daughter, Nova, was born. It was great to have them there.

We are the typical family: Parents and a daughter. Yes, Eve and I have worked on projects, and know things that are top secret and can never be shared. Despite this we work to keep things normal at home, that is, as normal as can be with a girl who is eight years old and thinks she’s twelve. Her favorite word since she learned to talk is “Why?” She won’t give up. Eve will reach her breaking point with her and yell, “Nova, you know that one nerve I have left, you don’t want to fray that one, too!”

One time, she was bugging me, and in frustration I mistakenly called her “Regina.” She asked, “Who’s that, Daddy?” I just laughed it off and let it go. We love her with all our hearts, but she can be a handful. Eve and I both agree: Nova is one annoying kid.

THE END