Chapter 41

To: Deputy Director Joint Intelligence Committee for Extraterrestrial Threats  

From: Special Agent John Boling

Subject: Surveillance of Sgt. Joseph G. Ricci

Colonel,

Per your directive, the DIA and FBI, in a joint effort, began surveillance of Sgt. Joseph Ricci 25 May last. Following your orders to avoid detection by Kara Zor’El, AKA Lisa Banks, our agents set up a covert "blind" position well away from Sgt. Ricci's property and out of direct line of sight. On 28 May Sgt. Ricci was observed in the company of a Velorian female, possibly Xara Zor’El, AKA Danni Banks, for a short time. Shortly after the Velorian departed Sgt. Ricci also departed. Our agents took this opportunity to enter Sgt. Ricci's home to search for intelligence and plant surveillance devices in every room. No intelligence was found but listening devices were successfully planted and tested.

Sgt. Ricci returned to his home in the evening hours of 29 May. Our agents believe, from the sounds they picked up, that he left through his back door and went into his backyard. About half an hour later he reentered his home through the back door, apparently accompanied bya female. Very short bits of conversation were picked up, described by our agents as grunting and moaning, for about five minutes and then, over the course of about another three minutes all the listening devices went dead.

Agents Lattimer and Carlyle arrived at the blind position at 0800 hours 30 May and relieved agents Benson and McPhee. At 0815 hours the agents were in the surveillance van attempting to reestablish contact with the listening devices in Sgt. Ricci's house. Without warning the doors on the back of the van came off and both women felt themselves exiting through the windshield at high speed, eachin the arms of a Velorian.

According to the agents, they were dropped to the ground from a height of about five feet and rolled on the ground for several feet. They attempted to get to their feet and draw their service weapons.

They were immediately disarmed by a lone Velorian female who identified herself as Kara Zor’El. They did not see the second Velorian again. Kara Zor’El instructed the agents to inform their superiors that she viewed their activities as a serious violation of her agreement with, and instructions to, the U.S. Government to refrain from surveilling or otherwise interfering with Sgt. Ricci, and she was losing patience. She then searched them, confiscated their cell phones (both personal and government issue), and destroyed the phones before departing.

Aside from minor cuts and bruises the agents were unhurt. They returned to the blind and discovered the van was missing. They managed to hitch hike into Bellingham and contact agents Benson and McPhee.

Examination of the charred remains of the vehicle found in General Morrison's back yard confirms that it was the surveillance van in use by our team in Bellingham. No notes, recordings, or any other surveillance data survived the destruction of the van.

To date we have lost one satellite, three drones and two vans attempting to surveil Velorians operating within the boarders of the United States, all destroyed and deposited in General Morrison’s back yard. NSA intercepts of cellular telephone calls have only demonstrated that Xara Zor’El, or Danni Banks, has an active social life typical of a teenager from an affluent family.

---

This time was different. Instead of totally overwhelming me with her pheromones she used them very sparingly. I could just barely smell the honey and wild flowers. I took her by the hand and started to lead her to my room when I suddenly remembered Gloria.

“I need to show Gloria around, get her clean sheets for her bed.”

“Gloria can take care of herself Joe.”

Johnson said, “That works for me.”

I said, “That works for me.” And we went into my room and closed the door. Sharon put on her gold. I put on some music and we undressed each other and laid down on my bed.

We took our time exploring each other’s bodies. Her skin was so soft and smooth, her breasts and nipples so very sensitive. She guided my hands over her body, told me when to use light caresses and when to use more strength. Even with the gold she was much stronger than me, but rather than overpower me as she had the night before, she let me take the lead. I entered her as Bog Seger’s “Night Moves” started playing in the background.

She moved with me, matching my thrusts, and when I started to get close to orgasm she tightened her inner muscles. I could still thrust in and out, but I couldn’t come. Until she did, and then she loosened her grip, and then I came. I continued to move in and out for a minute or so, because it felt so good, and then I rolled off her onto my back. She rolled over towards me and draped her arm over me and just sort of melted into my side.

“Sharon, can we talk?”

“Sure Joe, what do you want to talk about?”

“Are all Velorians as good at sex as you are?”

“Well, I like to think that I am particularly good at it, but then we all do. But the answer to your question is yes.”

“The men are that good too?”

“Oh yes, the men are very good.”

“Are all Velorians bisexual?”

“No, not all. Not even a majority. Bisexuality is much more common among women than men, but we’re still a minority.”

“So, given that Velorians are better at sex than pretty much anyone else, and some of you are bisexual, why would you want to have anything to do with me when you could have Kara, or Xara or Skar-el?”

She raised herself up on an elbow and looked down at me, “Joe, surely, after what we just did, you aren’t feeling inadequate, are you?”

“I had a pretty good look at Skar-el, Sharon. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t need to wear gold with him.”

“Well, the jury is still out on Xara, but I’m pretty sure she prefers men 100% over women. Kara is more open to women, but still would rather have a man. So, for female companionship I have Deb. Oh, we’ll never tell Deb about us, okay?”

“I’ll keep your secret Sharon.”

“It’s not much of a secret. She knows I like men too, and she knows what it means that you are Kiraling. I just don’t want to rub her face in it. And I don’t want her to rearrange your face any more than it already has been.”

“It might be an improvement.” She laughed at that.

“But back to my question, with guys like Skar-el around, why bother with Terran men at all?” I’m starting to think of myself as a Terran now.

“The short answer is they aren’t around all that often. On worlds that are disclosed, that is, know about Aria and Velor, and are space-faring or in contact with space-faring civilizations, Velor has diplomatic relations. Depending on the world, there might be anywhere from a few dozen to nearly a hundred Velorians stationed there at any given time. On those worlds sexual liaisons with Terrans are either rare or very, very discrete, discouraged in fact.”

“Discouraged?”

“Terran attitudes about sex and love are the same everywhere. You attach too much to sex. And with our beauty and skill, well, if you had the choice to spend a night of love making with me or with any Terran woman you’ve ever known …?”

“Oh yeah, I’d choose you.”

“Velor learned that the hard way when there was an interplanetary diplomatic crisis involving a low level Velorian embassy worker who had an affair with a highly placed member of a Terran planet’s government.”

“You said Skar-el isn’t around that much, why not?”

“He’s a Messenger. The job of the Messenger Corp is communications. To deliver messages between Velor and the planets that have Scribes and Protectors. Sometimes we’ll go weeks without seeing a Messenger, sometimes months.”

“So, he’s the postman who also makes booty calls? Kind of sounds like a porn movie. Does he deliver pizza too?”

Sharon laughed at that.

“And earth is on Skar-el’s route?”

“It is, but he came close to being grounded. Just before the Arions captured us he tried to run. If he’d stayed with us we could probably have fended them off. But he fled and was caught before he could even get out of the atmosphere.”

“How did the Arions capture you?”

“Oh Joe, I can’t tell you. The tactics they used were original. Arions very seldom do anything original. They stick with the tried and true and the tried and failed. They took us completely by surprise. If you knew what happened and were captured yourself, there is no way you’d survive an interrogation without telling them everything you know. That’s not because you are weak, but because they are very good. And once they knew they had a tactic that was that successful it wouldn’t be long before they’d start rewriting their operations manual and Protectors all over the galaxy would be at risk. This is so sensitive that I didn’t even include it in my report. This is information that is only communicated verbally.”

“So, what happened with Skar-el?”

“When Alla’na captured you, Skar-el went to Kara. You know you’re Kiraling to him too. He told her what was happening and then joined her in your rescue. He redeemed himself.”

“Are there other Messengers that come to earth?”

“Yes, depending on the message and the urgency. If Skar-el isn’t available Velor will send whoever is.”

“So, Messengers visit planets that have Protectors and Scribes and make booty calls. Assuming that the sex and sexual preferences all line up.”

“Oh, they do. All Protectors and Scribes are female, and all Messengers are male. So, things usually work out well for the Messenger.”

“Why the different roles for the sexes? I would have thought Velorians would be more egalitarian than that.”

“Female Velorians are stronger than males. We can store more Orgone energy. Has anyone told you about that?”

“Yes.”

“Good. So, Protectors are strongest, then Scribes, then Messengers, and so on down the line.”

“Down the line?”

“Velorians are engineered and Velorian society is highly stratified. We’re engineered with the DNA most appropriate for the jobs we will perform. Administrative, Protector, Laborer, etc.”

“Sharon, it sounds like a caste system.”

She laid back down on her back and said, “It is Joe. Being assigned off world is highly prized. Wherever we go we are always the most beautiful, the strongest and often most intelligent people on the planet. It’s a real rush, especially on disclosed worlds where we are desired and sought after and treated like gods and goddesses.”

I rolled over towards her, reached out and started tracing her areola with my finger. She said, “That’s nice Joe, keep it up”, and before long she pushed me over onto my back and mounted me.

When we were finished I laid on my back thinking about what we’d been doing, and all I’d learned about Velorians the past few days. Something was nagging at me and I didn’t know how to bring the subject up.

Sharon raised herself above me and asked, “What?”

“Huh?”

“I can tell something is bothering you Joe. Out with it.”

So, I took a breath and asked, “Sharon, is this a pity-fuck?”

“Terrans! Would you kick me out of your bed if it was?”

Well, I did seriously think it was, and I definitely wasn’t thinking about kicking her out of my bed, now or ever, so I said, “Nope.”

“So why are you asking?”

“I guess, well, you could have anybody. If that episode in the cave hadn’t happened I don’t think you’d ever look at me, except to do a double take then turn away. So why are you with me instead of some guy who isn’t all scarred and ugly? Does the Kiraling relationship really obligate you to get into bed with someone who looks like he lost a fight with a meat grinder?”

“Yes, it does, if that’s what he needs, and you do. But let’s unpack this a bit, okay?

“We’ll start with you being ugly. Velorians don’t think all Terrans are ugly, but very few of you are very good looking, by our standards. Give any Terran woman a choice between Brad Pitt and Skar-el and I guarantee you Brad would be going home alone every time.”

“Okay Sharon, but what if a Velorian woman has the choice between going home with me or Brad Pitt? Would I ever win that one?”

“Well”, she answered, “your average Vel could do a lot better than Brad Pitt. I certainly have. But you’re making an assumption about the qualities we find attractive in a Terran. Remember Crystal’s description of the power imbalance between Homo Sapiens and Homo Sapiens Supremis?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to hear my list of things that either frighten me or can hurt me?”

“Umm, sure, I guess.”

“Arion Primes, black holes and some pulsars.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it. I wake up every morning secure in the knowledge that nothing on this world can threaten or hurt me. You, on the other hand, can blow away in the wind! Fire burns you, water drowns you, your cars crash and kill you, your bones break, you get sick, even your teeth decay, right in your mouths, and on and on. Honestly, Joe, how do you find the courage to get out of bed in the morning? Why don’t you cower under the covers all day?

“You don’t because you have to live your lives. And that quality, that willingness to get our there and live even though you are so very fragile, is very attractive to Velorians.

“Kara is a protector. I was engineered to be a protector. Xara has her mother’s genes. Something I’ve observed on every planet I’ve served on is that protectors admire and are turned on by courage. Firemen running into burning buildings instead of running to safety, first responders jumping into roiling waters to rescue people who are stranded, the men and the women who ran into the Twin Towers to try to rescue people who were trapped. For us, these are real panty-droppers Joe.

“In the cave, Kara told you to run. Instead you pulled out your little pea shooter, engaged an Arion
Beta and won! And then you went after a Prime! You have no idea how big a turn on that is for us. Just talking about it makes me want to jump you!”

This was a lot to take in. But I think she was telling the truth because I began to smell honey and wild flowers again and then she was one me. In the most wonderful way you can imagine.

Sometime after this, I don’t know what time it was, but it was still dark, I asked Sharon if Kara and Xara feel the same way about me, sexually, as she does.

“Yes, certainly. Kara is still grieving Eric, she’s been here so long that in some ways she’s gone native, but not that native. And Xara has a serious crush on you.”

“A crush on me? Really?!”

“Why do you think she asked you to the prom? You have to know the boys were lined up down the street and around the block waiting their turn to ask her.”

“So, I’m a hottie?”

She laughed and planted a big kiss on my lips and said, “Yes. You’re hot. Don’t let it get go to your head!”

Honey and wildflowers and I was suddenly hard again. “Sharon, how is this possible?”, I asked pointing to, uh, myself.

“My pheromones. It’s a mild aphrodisiac among Velorians, but really slams Terrans. It can also be addicting. Don’t worry about it, just take me!”

Chapter 42

I woke up in the morning and found myself in an empty bed. There was a note from Sharon on the bedside table that said, “Had a great time. Don’t tell Deb!”

Wait a minute, did she say her pheromones are addicting? What does that mean? I’ll have to ask about that.

I was on indefinite leave. I’d have to find something to do and the first thing on my to do list was PT. I put on shorts, a T-shirt, socks and running shoes and set out for a run. I’d gone about a mile and a half when Gloria came running up beside me. She wasn’t even breathing hard. “How far are we running Joe?”

“About six miles.”

“When we get back I’ll make breakfast while you shower.”

Dixon said, “I don’t know about that man. She might burn down the kitchen.”

“Do you … do … much cooking … Gloria?”

“No. But Kara says I must practice if I want to be good at it.”

Johnson said, “I don’t think we want her practicing on us.”

I said, “I’ll … teach … you how … to … make … chocolate … chip … pancakes.”

She nodded. We finished the run in silence. Not only was she not breathing heavy, she didn’t even break a sweat.

After I showered I put on clean shorts and a t-shirt and found Gloria in the kitchen. She’d laid out my meds.

“Gloria, when I’m just around home, I don’t really need those.”

“Kara wants me to evaluate you with and without your medication. You didn’t take them yesterday, true?”

“True.”

“Then take them today and I will evaluate you.”

Dixon said, “Well, I guess he won’t be getting any booty with her.”

Johnson said, “Dude, look at her. She’d probably kill him in bed.”

I took the meds. Then it was time to cook breakfast. I had Gloria watch while I mixed batter and made one chocolate chip pancake for her. I knew from watching her eat brunch yesterday, and then a large porterhouse steak, that Arions eat like Velorians. What I wasn’t prepared for was how enthusiastic she could be about chocolate chips.

“These are wonderful Joe! The Empire does not have chocolate chips. No wonder the Emperor wants to conquer earth.”

“Okay, you saw me make your pancake, now you make me one.”

“Can we make more than one?”

“Sure. Tell you what, I’d like two. We can mix up enough batter to make two for me and one more for you.”

“I want three more.”

“Okay, we’ll make enough batter to make five more pancakes.”

She did well. I had to intervene though to keep her from using the rest of the bag of chocolate chips. It was a big bag, the kind you get at Costco.

Watching her savor those pancakes was like watching a little girl who had never had chocolate before. “What else can we do with chocolate chips Joe?”

       “Oh, lots of things. You can put them in brownies, cake, look at the back of the package. There’s a recipe for chocolate chip cookies there.”

“Good. After training we will make chocolate chip cookies!”

“Training? What training?”

“Kara wants you to learn how to fight.”

“I’m a soldier Gloria. Fighting is what I do. The United States Army has spared no expense in turning me into a fighting professional.”

“Not that kind of fighting Joe. Hand to hand combat. None of your army toys.”

“Why do I need to learn that?”

“The Empire has recruited Terran toadies to carry out its plans. You must be able to defend yourself against any kind of attack from them.”

“I think I can already do that.”

“Maybe. I will make you better. Do you have all the ingredients we need to make chocolate chip cookies? What is a Toll House?”

We cleaned up after breakfast and went into the backyard and began my training. It was pretty basic, and Gloria said I was okay (as in just okay) and that we’d need to work on my reflexes and aggression. I told her that could be my meds. She said we’d work tomorrow without my meds.

Then we went back into the house to begin the lecture phase of my training. Besides improving my hand to hand combat skills, I also needed to learn to recognize when I was being followed, or tailed, and how to evade my tail. She also said she would bring me equipment that could be used to find electronic bugs.

“What will I be doing that requires that kind of equipment?”

“Probably nothing. But you need to learn to sweep your own home or hotel rooms for bugs.”

“The Arions will bug my house?”

“Probably not. Better to be prepared.”

After all this it was late in the afternoon and I wanted to make lunch. But Gloria didn’t want to have lunch. She wanted to start in on those chocolate chip cookies. So, I set up my mom’s old mixer and got out all the ingredients and started a batch of two dozen cookies.

“Are you sure that is enough chocolate chips Joe?”

“I am. We follow the recipe.”

“It doesn’t look like enough.”

“It is Gloria. The company that makes the chocolate chips developed this recipe to use just the right amount of chips to make the best cookies and sell the most chocolate chips.”

We started baking the cookies and I made myself a sandwich. When all the cookies were done, and cooling, Gloria looked at the bag, which had plenty of chocolate chips in it, and said we needed to make more.

“How many cookies do you think we can eat Gloria?”

“I can eat a lot more.”

So, we started another batch of two dozen cookies. And of course, the first batch had cooled, and Gloria started in on them. By the way she was carrying on you’d think there was something very sexual about those cookies.

When the second batch of cookies went into the oven I went out back to enjoy the lake, and who should come floating out of the sky but Xara, carrying her pod. Just as she landed Gloria came out of the house to greet her, “Xara, we made chocolate chip cookies! Have some!”

“Cool!” And she ran right by me without even saying hello and grabbed a handful of cookies off the plate Gloria had brought out.

“These are good! Toll House, my favorite!”

Having Velorians and Arions around is hard on the grocery budget. I decided to ask Gloria if she had any money and then take her to Costco.

“Joe”, Gloria said, “Eat some more cookies. You are too skinny.”

She was right about that. I’d lost a lot of weight since my last deployment and the Army doctors had all said I need to put some back on.

“Cookies put the wrong kind of weight on me Gloria. I need protein, not sugar and fat.”

“Let me worry about that. Come have some cookies.”

So, I had a couple of cookies, and asked Xara what she was here for.

“Flying lessons.”

“Are you going to teach Gloria how to fly?” I had no idea it could be taught.

She laughed and said, “No silly! I’m going to teach you how to fly with me.”

“I have a better idea. Let’s not.”

“It’ll be fine Joe. I’ll use my trust pheromones, you’ll be completely relaxed.”

“He’s on his medication”, Gloria said.

“You can come back tomorrow Xara, I won’t be on them then.”

“No”, said Gloria. “Kara and Sharon don’t have trust pheromones. Only sex pheromones. You must learn to fly with all of them. Start learning today. Don’t be a pussy.”

We both looked at her, a bit surprised. Gloria said something to Xara in Arion or Velorian, not sure which, and Xara said, “Close enough. This is important Joe. The time may come when we have to get you in to or out of a location quickly and flying may be our only recourse. As Gloria said”, and then she repeated the same phrase in Arion or Velorian Gloria had used.

I started to back away. Xara turned into a blur and suddenly had her arms around me and her lips at my left ear, “Mom wanted to do this Joe, I convinced her that you’d be more willing with me. If mom has to come up and do this she won’t give you any choice and you’ll see a side of her you really never want to see.”

“It sounds like I don’t have any choice with you either.”

“No, but I’m going to be nicer about it.”

Crap. “Okay, what do I do?”

“First, take off your shoes and socks.” I did.

“Now come here and put your arms around my neck and stand on my feet.” She was barefoot too. I did what she asked, and she put her arms around my waist. And then, almost imperceptibly, I felt us lift off the ground about an inch. She moved us backward and forward, left and right, all over the backyard.

“How are you doing so far?”

“Good. I’m fine Xara.”

She brought us closer to the side of the house nearest the tree line. “Okay, now just a little altitude. You can hang on to me as tightly as you need to.”

We started to rise, slowly. When we were up to the top of the roof line I looked around and then down and started to panic. I was shaking like a leaf and was squeezing Xara’s neck as hard as I could.

“Don’t look down Joe, just look at me. Right at me.” Then she leaned in a bit and said just barely loud enough for me to hear, “I’ve got you Joe. Never be afraid of me. Never be afraid of anyone or anything when you’re with me.”

“Okay. I’ll try.”

Then we went up some more. I just kept looking at Xara, not around at anything and certainly not down. She slowly moved us around to the back of the house where we had started and then slowly and gently set us down on the ground.

I let go of her, she let go of me, and I just plopped onto the ground. I was still shaking, but not as badly. Xara sat down beside me and said, “I’ll come up every day after school for the rest of the week and we’ll work on this. We have to get you to where you can fly with us in a position that allows us some maneuverability and some speed. What we just did won’t work if we have to get anywhere in a hurry.”

And then she went over to her pod, opened it up and took out a motorcycle racing suit and a helmet.

“What are those for Xara?”

“You’ll be more comfortable at high speeds with the racing suit.”

“Why do I need a helmet?” Seeing the helmet raised my anxiety up a notch. I’d need a crash helmet to fly with her?

“Bugs. Better they splat on this than on your face.”

That made sense. But made me wonder, “I’ve never seen bug guts splattered all over you. How do you manage that?”

“Most of my high-speed flying is at altitude where there aren’t too many flying insects. See those bugs over there?” She was pointing to a swarm of gnats flying in the shadow of a tree. “Go stand close to them and watch.”

I walked over, close to the swarm. Suddenly, one by one, they just started, I don’t know, vaporizing or popping or something. Where the swarm had been there was just a little bit of ash floating in the air and blowing away. If I hadn’t been standing close I never would have seen it.

“Heat vision. I can focus very quickly and precisely. Still, every now and then a bug will zig when I expect it to zag.

“When I was four mom and Eric took me to Disney World. Our car broke down on the highway and while we were waiting for the auto club to show up I got bored and wandered off the highway and started to fly. Mom came after me and I made a game of it. Mom was yelling at me to come back and trying to catch me, and I was having so much fun and laughing that I didn’t see the June bug that flew into my mouth and right down my throat! Oh gross! I started crying and trying to cough or gag it back up and flew right into a tree and knocked it down. I was crying and sobbing and just wanted to be in mom’s arms for the rest of the day. I didn’t go flying again for over a week! That was the last time I ever flew with my mouth open. I haven’t swallowed a bug since.”

“Keep my mouth closed while we’re flying. Got it.”

“We’ll keep your exposed skin to a minimum Joe. We have a lot of experience flying with Terrans. There’s nothing to worry about.”

I seem to remember the helicopter pilot issuing encouraging words just moments before that RPG brought it down.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Joe!” And off she went.

The rest of the day was uneventful. It turned out that Kara had given Gloria a credit card, so I took her to Costco and Fred Meyer to do some grocery shopping. She came home with three big boxes of Costco chocolate chip cookies.

---

“Colonel, General Morrison is on line two.”

“Yes General, what can I do for you?”

“Jack, I’ve just had a very uncomfortable conversation with Kara Zor’El regarding your botched attempt to surveil Sgt. Ricci. Would you please explain to me why you ignored my directive to leave Ricci the hell alone?”

“General, both the heads of DIA, the FBI and the NSA have assured me that your side agreements with Ms. Zor’El are not binding on the rest of the intelligence community or on this committee. Our orders, which bind you as the head of the committee, are to learn as much about the Velorians, Arions and anyone they work with as possible.”

“Can I assume, Colonel, that you will continue your efforts to surveil the Velorians and Sgt. Ricci?”

“Yes sir. The committee has the right and the obligation to do so and I have the right to act on that obligation.”

“Well then, Colonel, you’ll be happy to know that I have given your home address to Ms. Zor’El. Let’s see how you like seeing your back yard turned into a junk yard!”