Revolutionary ~ Closed for Baelnorn

Sianna, matriarch supreme of her race, the Ishtari, regarded herself in her mirror while she settled on a look. Blue lightning flared in waves across her skin, changing it through various shades but none of them were quite human in appearance. Their pigmentation was irritatingly nuanced. Oh her people had been eavesdropping on their media satellites for many Earth months now, so she knew well what they looked like. It had absolutely beggared Sianna's belief that they were still digging for fossil fuels and poisoning their world, until she had witnessed the drivel with which they kept themselves entertained. No wonder they had travelled no further than Mars and on the kind of craft her people would consider a relic. Oh, and what did they accomplish exactly? They put a flag in the ground and then scratched a life out under a bio-orb until they died. Hardly colonisation, let alone terraforming.

Finally she settled on a light skinned, silver haired look. She was not one of them, so why would she want to appear so? On the other hand, she was arriving as the saviour of their world, an advanced and powerful ally, so it wouldn't do to alarm them. Her replicator had furnished her with a teal dress in a businesslike style acceptable to the country she was preparing to land in. The colour set off the coruscating flashes of blue energy that were her irises. Sianna stepped her 6 ft frame into teal five inch heels. She had considered jewellery but decided in the end that she needed no embellishment. She needed to command the gravitas of her status as supreme leader.

A muted beep sounded within her mind. Sianna silently recognised the energy's identity and permitted its intrusion.

"{We are in position Matriarch.}" flooded her consciousness, whereupon the messenger politely exited her mind.

In many ways, Earth was not a particularly ambitious target. It was primitive, its defences laughable. On the other hand it was by far the most conflict ridden planet Sianna had encountered, with many more political leaders than she had ever had to deal with before, not to mention a few deeply ridiculous religions. There had been reservations about using their usual M.O. but really there was nothing to lose. Either humankind sucked down the carrot or it would get the stick, for Ishtar Prime the end result would be much the same. For her own part Sianna relished the challenge this planet would present in terms of P.R. She could have stayed on their motherworld and delegated this acquisition but where was the fun in that?

Her fleet's flagship hovered above the pacific ocean, safely away from land masses and only just below atmo. Other vessels were moving into position over keys targets: 52 of the world's major cities, 4 of which were in the USA; Washington DC, New York, San Fransisco and Los Angeles. Sianna herself was with the Washington DC party. She had never been one to lead from the rear.

She marched onto the bridge, her consciousness silently demanding a report. The captain told her they were ready to land. The Americans had discovered their forcefields and ceased firing.

"{Hail them.}"

Sianna gave some thought to her voice while the captain wrested a few satellites out of American control and gave her access to every live TV screen connected to cable within a 200 mile radius. How did she want to sound? What would engender trust? Since her own race had evolved telepathic communication, oration was something of a lost art; much like exquisite penmanship might be in Earth's computer dominated age. Sianna spoke for the first time in a long time and pitched her voice deep, warm and just a little sultry. Males were males after all.

"Hello Washington DC. I am Sianna and I am the leader of my race, the Ishtari. We have travelled for months to meet you from our homeworld of Ishtar Prime, also in our galaxy, which you call Milky Way. I would like to assure you that we are a peaceful race. We feel that we have a great deal to offer your people and we are here on a... humanitarian mission. It pains me to say that you are destroying your world and one another. You are already past the point of no return. Your climate has irrevocably altered. We can work with you to remedy that. We offer our assistance to all parts of your world, giving no race or nation preferential treatment. Our advanced technology and medicine can transform your planet. We can save you from yourselves... if you will allow us to.

in simple terms: We are revolutionary."

She paused to let this sink in.

"Also, the pragmatic part of me has to point out that you cannot fire on our ships. They are well protected and only just inside your atmosphere. So please... put away your weapons. Let us meet and talk."

At a telepathic command the signal was cut, Sianna's face still wearing an ingratiating smile. She joined her council and bodyguards in an escort cruiser and they travelled down to the surface. Sianna wanted them to land in the White House's grounds but her council suggested that was too aggressive a move and they couldn't be completely sure of all the security measures. Instead they found the nearest park large enough to accommodate their shuttle. Sianna stepped out with her team and started making the short walk to the White House. She wore no protective armour. Let them see that she was a female not unlike them in physiology. Let them see her take this risk in order to win their trust.

Her trusted bodyguards were all male, two of each. Ishtari were born with certain gifts. Males could either manipulate electrons and thus fire or gravitons and thus gravity. Females could either manipulate photons and thus light or protons and electrons and thus electricity. These gifts along with their respective physical strengths meant that some professions were held only by the most suitable gender. There was no such thing as gender inequality among the Ishtari, they simply had different strengths to which they played.

Sianna's council consisted of two males and 2 females representing all those with their gift. All four were aged and much revered, tasked with providing balance to Sianna's comparative youth and ambition.

They weren't expecting an attack on their delegation but the human population must be much alarmed. One of Sianna's guards carried a portable forcefield generator but they were not expecting to have to use it. The guards carried laser guns but were not holding them up in a threatening manner. They walked as briskly as the elders could comfortably manage.

Alexander Reyes was exhausted, and the only thing he wanted to do right now was get home, take a shower, and fall into his bed. He had left his shift at Starbucks just a few minutes ago, and trudged towards the Metro Center Station, his backpack lazily slung over his right shoulder. In less than half an hour he’d be home, could shower, and generally just forget about this day. Then he realized that he still needed to polish and finalize his term paper due in three days, and let out a soft groan. “Great, another long night…” he muttered under his breath as his hopes for only one free evening this week disappeared.

He had no idea what the hell was going on today, but people have been idiots all day long. Everyone was talking about some aliens, and how “our guys kicked their asses.” Had he missed some movie release? He couldn’t believe he’d missed a new sci-fi movie, since he usually suckered that stuff up like a sponge sucked water. Or was it some prank show, like that 1930-something War of the Worlds thing that sent most people into a panic?

Getting closer to the entrance to the metro station, he saw a cluster of people, all bunching up in front of the shopping windows of the small recently reopened RadioShack store. Against his better judgement, he decided to get closed and take a look what was so interesting that people stood together instead of staring at their smartphones. As he got closer, he noticed that the people were staring into the window with utter disbelieve spelled out in their faces. He managed to squeeze closer, and peek into the shop, too.

”… I am Sianna and I am the leader of my race, the Ishtari. ...” The woman talking was… beautiful. She was gorgeous, inhumanly so. The sight of her silvery hair softly falling over her pale, flawless skin took his breath away. Her lips curled upwards to a welcoming, friendly smile, and her eyes held a soft, but mysterious glimmer. She was… perfect.

A minute later, he was as dumbfounded as the rest of the crowd. This… this couldn’t be happening, right? Aliens landing on Earth, bringing peace? This had to be some prank, there was no chance that this was real. The message on the screen kept repeating, and it was clear that this was no longer the normal TV program. There were no ads, no station icon, no scrolling news banner, all the things that usually polluted the screen were gone. Slowly it dawned to him that this might not be a prank or show after all, but reality… and then the street went dark.

Alex looked up, and what he saw made his mouth gape open. The thing… the ship… was massive, over a kilometer in length, and slowly, carefully, deliberately moved through the air like a predator on the prowl. It was moving west, but not straight for the White House. It seemed as if it was going for the Monument, or at least the park area there. He had to see it. He couldn’t not see it. No matter how this affair turned out, he had to be there. If they were going Independency Day on us, running away wouldn’t help him anyway, so he decided to take the risk and at least get a good view on it.

First he moved in a slow jog, but soon he had to push and shove and squeeze his way through the crowds. The streets were completely clogged by now, and the few police officers he saw were helplessly overwhelmed by the masses. He sensed that the people were on the verge of a mass panic, holding together by only a thread of self-control. A few hundred were as curious as himself, trying to get closer, but it felt as if thousands wanted to move the opposite direction and get away from, or through, the area.

Finally, he managed to make his way to the Ellipse, and for the first time he managed to see the ship in its whole, terrible, glory. It just hung there, not moving even a millimeter from its position, a soft reverberating hum emanating from it. It was both frightening and amazing at the same time. This ship, as well as all the others accompanying it, were the definitive proof that we were not alone. By now he had completely forgotten about his term paper, and the exhaustion from a long day at work has been completely wiped away by the excitement of being there when we made first contact with another species. This day had taken a sudden turn from bad to awesome.

”Oh… my… god…, Alex muttered, staring at the vessel in awe, trying to take in every detail of its shape, of the lights running along its side, the texture and color of its hull. The ship’s plating was a matte white, covered with some sort of octagon pattern, and its shape was sleek… elegant… sophisticated. He saw extensions that looked like engine ports, and a structure that could have been a control tower like on an aircraft carrier. His inner geek was completely freaking out, and right now he’d have probably given his right hand just to be able to touch the hull.

After a few more moments, a smaller craft emerged from an opening in the larger ship’s hull, and headed towards the ground. ”A shuttle… they are landing? They are landing!” Alex first whispered, then almost shouted, and struggled to move closer to the front of the crowd. The shuttle carried the same elegance and sophistication as the main vessel, even at its much smaller scale. Swift and elegant, and with the precision and grace of a hummingbird the transport touched ground in the center of the Ellipse.

Alex was too far away to see what was happening, a hopelessly outmatched group of policemen trying to form some kind of perimeter against the curious crowd moving in closer by the moment. But it was of no use, all had happened so quickly that there were just not enough officers in the area to control the crowd. The masses had formed a ring around the shuttle, respectfully – and fearfully – keeping their distance. Still, their curiosity was so strong that they didn’t move back more than one meter when the shuttle opened, and several beings stepped out into the open.

They were nine in total. The first four exiting the shuttle wore some kind of mechanical suit – power armor – and carried rifle-like weapons. Apparently they were some kind of guards, protecting whoever landed with the transport. And then, moments later, she stepped out. Her tight dress left little of her shape to the imagination, and in person she was even more beautiful than on TV. Alex just stared. He didn’t even register the last four visitors exiting the shuttle, two men, and two women, who accompanied her.

Without hesitation or haste the small delegation started to walk down the park, heading straight for the White House. The crowd tried to keep up, following the alien visitors in a healthy distance, torn between fear and curiosity. The delegation was about to cross the small, unused, street between the Ellipse and the grounds of the White House, when Alex was roughly shoved out of the way but some man, stumbling a few meters, and only barely managing to stay on his feet. He was about to complain to the guy what he thinks he was doing, but then he noticed the completely insane expression in the man’s face, and the handgun in his hand.

Alexander’s eyes went wide. No. No, no, no! This couldn’t happen. This mustn’t happen. Before having finished the thought, Alex jumped towards the man and tried to grab the gun. ”NO! STOP!” he shouted, but a split-second later the sound of a shot echoed through the air. He stumbled backwards, a searing pain eating through his belly. ”No, don’t… plea-” A second shot was fired, and the world turned black for Alex.

”NO! STOP!”

Sianna heard the shot as she looked up and saw a young man fall to the ground. Then a wall of light surrounded them as one guard remained with the delegates and threw up the forcefield around them.

"{DO NOT RETURN FIRE!}" Sianna commanded. A rifle bullet could not touch any of them now anyway. If they stunned the man the humans would likely believe him dead, and the Ishtari aggressive.

One of her gravitron guards used his power to lift the gunman off the ground and another guard separated him from his weapon. He hung there about fifteen feet up, yelling about God and calling them abominations. A quick sweep confirmed that he was a lone assailant.

"{Bring me the boy and a medkit. Tell these people to be calm.}"

A guard ran back to the shuttle for a kit and nobody was stupid enough to try stopping him. The gravitron extended his other hand and lifted the wounded boy, floating him through the air towards the Sianna and her delegates.

"Please be calm, Earth people. Americans." One of the guards said, pacing between the crowd and the delegates to request that they kept their distance. "We offer this man to your law enforcers. He is not ours to judge. Please remain calm and stay back."

They lowered the forcefield just long enough to let the boy and the medkit through and he was deposited onto the ground at their feet. Sianna's skin was blanched even further by worry. This was not how she had envisaged first contact. One of the elders was rifling through the medkit and handing things to her, while another put pressure on the wound, which woke the boy up yelling.

"OK Mr Hero, I'm going to give you a little something for the pain. We'll try half a shot and see what happens. My species metabolise much faster but our physiology is much the same." Sianna fired half a vial of the drug into his jugular vein. The boy's blue eyes clouded and his head lolled. A little too much then. Dammit.

Someone stuck a small device to his chest that started displaying all his vital signs. Sianna ripped his shirt open to get a better look at the wound and his eyes flared open, locking onto her lazily and then closing again. A scan confirmed that nothing vital had been hit and the bullet was in his abdominal cavity.

"{Joresh, can you remove this?}"

There was a lot of blood. How much could humans afford to lose?

Joresh was the gravitron elder and his powers were waning with great age but the removal of a bullet was not beyond him. He used the scanner to guide him as he deftly lifted and eased the lump of metal back through the abdominal cavity and out through the entry wound.

"{Lhiannon.}"

The light elder knew what needed to be done. She sent a bright pulse flashing over the boy's abdomen and into the wound cavity, cauterising the skin as it went to prevent infection. Sianna then used a handheld grafting device to replicate the boy's skin cells and graft them over the wound until nothing remained but a small patch of slightly lighter, hairless skin.

"{Lady, the people are concerned about the boy.}"

The guards were getting concerned about the delay. People were beginning to realise that the alien guards might be kitted out like the terminator but they were sorely outnumbered and didn't appear to have authorisation to use their guns. Some were worried about the young man's welfare and the distant wail of sirens told them things were probably about to get even more complicated. The gunman had been passed to thoroughly beleaguered officers who had locked him in one of their vehicles, which was now being targeted by people angry that he had attacked the delegation.

Sianna looked through the medkit and found a stimulant. She was not going to hand this boy back unconscious. These people needed to know that she had saved him. She injected a small dose into his jugular and cradled him in her arms as his eyes flickered open and he gasped, still believing he was bleeding to death.

"Hello Earthman... you're OK. Please be calm."

Sianna stroked his dark mop of hair. He wasn't unattractive, this one. She wondered what had motivated him to stand between a madman and aliens.

"{Their medical team is here.}" A guard informed her. "{They want the boy.}"

Sianna cast an eye over the boy's vital signs and hoped he wasn't descending into a state of shock. "What's your name? Alex? OK Alex. You're OK, because we've saved you. You have no gunshot wound." She watched him claw at his abdomen, examining the blood on his clothes, his torn shirt and the new skin beneath with utter astonishment. "Alex, I need you to stand up for me. You've lost a little blood and we'll fix that but just stand for me." Sianna and Lhiannon supported Alex to his feet and remained either side of him, their arms around him,, holding him up. He was shaking but he did not collapse.

"{Lower the forcefield.}" Sianna pasted on her most radiant smile and spoke to the crowd.

"Earth people. This human male was shot by one of your people. A gunshot to his abdomen. In fifteen minutes, in the middle of the street, we have saved him." She lifted the remnants of his shirt to expose the new hairless skin graft. "We are here to form an alliance with your planet. You have nothing to fear from us. Alex... you are a true hero."

Many of the people clapped and cheered, just thrilled to have been addressed by Sianna and to witness this spectacle. Others looked up as a funny little carriage suspended from a couple of fans hove into view and then landed nearby. Some armed men piled out and it was evident that it had come from the white house. Sianna did not know if they were more afraid of her or their own people. Curious. There was not enough space for their delegation and no way the machine would carry even two of her guards in their heavy armour. Sianna would not be separated from them and anyway, the little contraption looked decidedly unsafe. She made a decision.

"This has been a most eventful first contact. We're going to take this man back to our cruiser so we may check him over more thoroughly and allow him to recuperate. The president will just have to wait." She smiled cheekily at the crowd and then shrugged her shoulders at the white house staff.

Sianna accompanied the boy onto the shuttle, holding his hand as he was levitated inside. She did not want to take him up to the main ship, as that would only alarm him. The shuttle had a perfectly adequate medical bay and physician. It also had forcefields powerful enough to repel all but the humans' heaviest ordinance.

"Alex, this is Fen, one of our physicians. I want to make absolutely sure you suffer no adverse affects from receiving medical treatment from us. You are our very first human patient."

"{He had better not die on us, Fen. Run full tests. Replicate and replenish his lost blood. If anything happens to him after this public display I will personally flay it out of your hide.}"

Sianna sat beside Alex, fussing over him as the doctor ran his initial tests and took some samples.

"So Alex, tell me about yourself. Why would you take on that gunman? You're either very stupid... or very brave."

Pain. Movement. Light. Alex was drifting in and out of consciousness as things happened around him. In the few waking moments that were filled with pain, he thought he was going to die. At moments he felt weightless, as if he was floating. Wasn’t that how people described near-death experiences? Floating, and lots of light? He didn’t want to die. It was only 2 weeks after his 18th birthday, he was too young to die. Then the pain stopped, and he felt like his head was stuffed into a box filled with cotton. He was sleepy, so incredibly tired. So this is how he’d die. Getting shot by some weirdo that couldn’t handle aliens landing in DC. Aliens… aliens…

His eyes blinked open, and he drew in a deep sudden gasp of air. Instinctively he reached for his belly and chest, where he’d been hit, but... there were no wounds. And he wasn’t hurting. His shirt was torn and soaked with blood, but there were no wounds. It was in this moment he realized that someone was holding him, gently cradling his head. He raised his gaze, and then he saw her. It was the alien woman who was tenderly running her fingers through his hair. The woman from the TV broadcast. The leader of the aliens. Sianna.

Alex gulped and just stared at her. How… why…? He was breathing, he felt his heart beating, so he was sure he hadn’t died and gone to heaven. He listened to her words, and simply nodded when she asked him to stay calm. When she asked his name, he needed a moment to sort his thoughts, but still stammered his reply out.

“I’m… I mean… my name is Alex. Alexander. Alex.”

When Sianna mentioned the gunshot, he unconsciously touched his belly again, and slowly the realization of what must have happened set in. He’d been shot, and they healed him. She healed him. His eyes were wide with confusion and wonder, as some part of his mind desperately tried to come up with a rational explanation why he wasn’t writing in agony and bleeding out. His train of thought went completely off-track, when Sianna asked him to stand.

“O...okay. I can try, but I still feel... feel weak…”

Alexander struggled, but eventually, and with the help of Sianna and another alien woman, he managed to stand. His knees felt as if they’d fail him any moment, but they were holding him, allowing him to rest his arms around their shoulders for support. He raised his head, looking around, and seeing the faces of hundreds of people watching the scene. Still, he barely registered what was happening more than a meter away, as the presence of Sianna almost fully drowned out his senses. She was indeed perfect. Everything about her was perfect – her eyes, her voice, her smile, even her scent, and the way she felt against his body.

He realized they were moving back to the shuttle, and tried his best to not make too much fuss, even though his legs were not as cooperative and reliable as he’d wished this moment. Sianna held his hand while he was helped into the small craft, and he tentatively squeezed her hand. Once inside the vessel, that now didn’t look that small from the inside, he was introduced to an alien man named Fen, who was apparently a doctor.

Alex put a weak smile on his lips, while he was maneuvered onto a fold-out bed in the shuttle’s med-bay. “Uhm… hi, Fen? I… I hope I’m not too much trouble…” The young human tried to remain still while the physician took a couple of samples from his body and ran some tests and scans. Alex was still shocked by the events of the last couple of minutes. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought to experience something like this. Sure, he could have done without getting shot and almost killed, but being this close to actual aliens, talking with them, touching them? Totally worth it!

Alexander turned his head to look at Sianna, a slight embarrassed blush coming to his cheeks when he heard her words. With cast down eyes, he began to answer her question. “Uhm… there’s really not much to tell about me, really. I’m nothing special, there’s nothing extraordinary about me, or my life, or my family. I was just on my way home from work when you… you know… landed. And I guess I’m more of an idiot than a hero. I don’t actually know why I did that. I didn’t think it through properly…”

He breathed a sigh, before he shrugged his shoulders and continued, “… but that’s obvious considering I was shot twice as a result. It just felt… wrong to not do anything, something. I mean you’re aliens, with giant spaceships! Stuff like this only happens in movies or bad fan-fiction! This all being real is… I don’t know, better than fire plus wheel plus printing plus internet combined.”

Alex took a deep breath. “What I mean is that I’d never have dreamt that something like this could ever happen. This could become the most important day in our world’s history! If… if that guy had shot you, or one of your companions, that would have been horrible. Things like that have started wars in the past... But me? I’m just a nobody, I’m not important...”

“Uhm… there’s really not much to tell about me, really. I’m nothing special, there’s nothing extraordinary about me, or my life, or my family. I was just on my way home from work when you… you know… landed. And I guess I’m more of an idiot than a hero. I don’t actually know why I did that. I didn’t think it through properly…”

Sianna nodded along sympathetically but her mind was actually elsewhere.

"{I need a camera and access to the television network again.}"

If she so wished, Sianna could call the president's cellphone and force it to accept the call but that was not what she wanted here. It was useful to give the impression that they could only communicate by hijacking media, because then she had a huge audience and crucially, the president could not get away with trying to deceive his citizens. Her PR coup depended almost entirely on pubic support, not upon ingratiating herself with world leaders. Oh that was very useful of course but world leaders tended to have their own agendas and getting them to cooperate with one another was like herding cats. Far better to appeal directly to the people.

She turned her attention back to Alex.

"We're all guilty of having all done things we didn't think through properly... like trying to make friends with neighbouring planets." She chuckled wryly.

“… but that’s obvious considering I was shot twice as a result. It just felt… wrong to not do anything, something. I mean you’re aliens, with giant spaceships! Stuff like this only happens in movies or bad fan-fiction! This all being real is… I don’t know, better than fire plus wheel plus printing plus internet combined.”

She didn't really follow everything he said but the gist was clear enough.

"Well I have lived my whole life knowing that other planets have intelligent life on them... and I've been around for longer than you would think. We must be quite a shock to the people of Earth."

“What I mean is that I’d never have dreamt that something like this could ever happen. This could become the most important day in our world’s history! If… if that guy had shot you, or one of your companions, that would have been horrible. Things like that have started wars in the past... But me? I’m just a nobody, I’m not important...”

Boom. Sianna went in for the kill. She cupped Alex's chin and made him lift his gaze after he dropped it. She stroked the side of his face with one finger as she spoke.

"On the contrary Alex, you have just become one of the most important people in your world. You saved my life and those of the other delegates. You have received medical treatment from us that - I am hoping - will prove to your president that we are not hostile. I caused a massive incident by landing in your city and instead of meeting with your president, I am sat here making absolutely sure that you are OK."

With Sianna the wheels were always turning, whatever she happened to be doing. Sure, the boy was cute in a strange sort of way but she certainly wasn't given to casting aside her plans just to hold the hand of a human who was almost certainly healed and making a full recovery. Alex was becoming increasingly interesting to her because... well he just ticked too many boxes. The only reason Sianna was being cautious was because he was so too good to be true that she was simply incredulous. He was young and naive, wanted to believe good of the aliens and definitely found her attractive. He had been rescued by her people and hence had more trust in them than any other member of his species. He would be incredibly easy to manipulate. Sianna would be able to lead him around by the balls spewing her rhetoric about 'revolutionising' Earth for the better and this kid wouldn't doubt her for a nanosecond.

The camera equipment arrived and Sianna silently gave orders regarding its set up. She turned to Alex.

"I'm concerned about having you aboard our shuttle, Alex. Your people will be concerned for you and I don't want your president thinking you've been taken hostage for anal probing."

She smiled mischievously at him.

"Isn't that what you people believe aliens do? If so I am sorry to disappoint." She chuckled. "So we are going to send him a little message to reassure him that you are fine and being well treated." Fen appeared and started an infusion of replicated blood.

"{Highness, I have lowered the rate and pressure significantly to compensate for the lack of raw energy in his system but I also do not want the blood to clot, as this will cause him real harm. I recommend you keep the recording brief, so I can keep a close eye on the infusion. Adjustments will be required. I will need to keep him at least overnight for observation.}"

"{Then why did you not wait until after the broadcast to start the infusion?}"

"{That they may witness our advanced medicine being successfully applied to one of their species within hours of your arrival, Highness.}"

"{Good enough.}" Sianna conceded with the merest twist of her lips.

She sat beside the med bay bunk and held Alex's hand. "I will need you to say something, Alex. Just so that your president and your loved ones hear you speak for yourself regarding your treatment by us. For you to sit silent could suggest coercion. Make sure you tell your family not to worry about you. We need to keep you for observation, because you're our first human patient but by tomorrow morning you should be ready to go home."

Sianna did not need to check her appearance. Her 'make-up' was all part of her control over pigmentation and besides, someone would have told her if she looked less than flawless. The camera shot - at her instruction - was a wide one that took in the sleek beauty of the ship's interior and the highly advanced medical equipment crammed into the tiny sick bay. The robotic infusion equipment knew exactly where Alex's veins were and exactly how much pressure to exert. As soon as Alex swung his legs over the side of the bed, the IV line would retract from his forearm completely. His vital signs were displayed above his head. Sianna squeezed Alex's hand to give him fair warning, then smiled and addressed the camera.

"Hello humankind and particularly Mr President, who I unfortunately did not have the pleasure of meeting this afternoon. There was an incident with a lone human gunman when we landed and this young man bravely saved my life, with no thought for his own. He was shot in the stomach." Sianna's expression turned grave and she shook her head. "I hold myself responsible. We should have had a better arrival plan and should have done a better job of reassuring the public. For that I apologise. We have removed the bullet and healed the wound. Our physiology is not as different as you might think, which was one of the main reasons we wanted to reach out to Earth." Sianna lifted Alex's bloodstained top to expose the new skin. "This is where Alex was shot. There will be no scarring. Our surgeons are not butchers. We need to keep Alex for a few hours for observation as he is our first human patient. We are have replicated his blood and are replacing it. We would like to return him to you tomorrow." Sianna turned to Alex.

"Alex, you have had first contact with our species. What would you like to say; to the president, to your people and to your family?"

The whole situation was surreal, and Alexander barely managed to hold his thoughts together. He almost drowned in Sianna’s eyes, her wonderful, deep eyes, while she tenderly caressed his cheek with her fingers. She told him he had saved her and her delegation, and that his act of rash bravery had made him one of the most important people. His lips curled up in an embarrassed smile, and his blush deepened, while he mumbled a soft, “You… you really think so? Thank you…”

The whole time, Alexander’s full attention had been on Sianna – being so close to her, touched by her – that the sudden motion nearby almost made him jump. A bit unsure he watched one of Sianna’s guards return with a dull gray disk, very similar to a throwing discus. The soldier touched the surface in a few places, and white blue lines started glowing all around the disc’s circumference. Once released, the disc started hovering on its own, and aligned itself perfectly towards the alien empress and the human boy.

Alex listened carefully to Sianna asking him to tell the viewers he was okay, and that he would be returned home tomorrow. By now his mother was probably worried sick, since he wasn’t home yet. Maybe she’s even seen him getting shot on TV! He just had to let her know he was okay. He carefully sat up, and swung his legs out of the bed. Looking at Sianna, he nodded with a soft smile on his lips. “Okay, I guess I can do that. But I… I really don’t want to cause any more trouble than I already have…”

And then Sianna started the broadcasting. He sat there, slightly uncomfortable in his skin knowing that thousands, if not millions of people were watching them right now. He barely believed his ears when she – of all people – apologized for him being shot. It wasn’t her fault; it wasn’t she who had pulled the trigger. When she touched him, lifting his torn bloodied shirt to expose the newly regenerated skin, he drew in a quick gasp of air. He wasn’t used to being touched by a girl – no, a woman, a queen – let alone being exposed on what amounts to national TV.

When she addressed him, asking him what he wanted to say to the president, his nation, and his family, he gulped. His gaze jumped between Sianna and the camera, and he nervously licked his lips before he spoke. “I… uhm… first I want to tell my mama that… that I’m okay. I’m unhurt, and I think I can come home tomorrow. You don’t need to worry about me, I’m safe. I’m with friends.”

He took a deep breath, biting his lip for a second, and then continued. He was so nervous he wanted to jump out of his skin, but he just kept talking. “What happened today was a pretty big thing… you certainly don’t see something like that every day… This day is probably the most important day in the history of our planet… and we should all try to stay calm, and reasonable. I guess many people are scared. But I don’t think we have to be scared. Sianna and her people saved my life… I think if they wanted to harm us, they wouldn’t have bothered with helping me.”

Alexander glanced over to Sianna, gently squeezing her hand and smiling shyly, before focusing on the camera again. “We should welcome the… uh…,” he stumbled for a second, trying to recall what her people were called, “… the Ishtari, and try to learn from each other.”

"Thank you Alex. While I deeply regret the injury you sustained, you have had a unique opportunity to experience first hand what we, the Ishtari, can offer your world. Our technology and medicine is very advanced but our planets are in fact very similar - which means that anything we can do, you can do also. Instead of waiting generations for scientific discovery however, we are here to offer you huge advances that will transform your lives and crucially, save your planet and your species from ecological collapse. We have ships all over your planet, liaising with national leaders. As Alex has observed; if we were here to launch an attack of Earth believe me, it would be over and won by now."

Sianna rose and took a couple of steps towards the hovering disc. It reacted automatically to zoom in on her upper body.

"Perhaps I was too hasty in my approach. I leave you, citizens of America and President Lucas to reflect on today's events and decide on what tomorrow's will be. For security reasons, my delegates and I will return to our ship and for medical reasons Alexander should come with us. I will return him to you in the morning, not merely unharmed but fully healed from a life threatening injury inflicted by one of his own kind. Let him share his experiences with you. Then perhaps I can visit the white house without causing a major incident."

Sianna turned to Alex and smiled. "Will you consent to spend the night on our ship?"

She was scheming as he stammered his acquiescence, hiding her satisfaction behind a veneer of concern. This was working out even better than planned. Tomorrow she could send the boy out as an ambassador and nobody would be able to deny that he had been treated as an honoured guest. The innocence in his clear blue gaze would startling enough to disarm even the most sceptical of the president's advisers. If anyone could convince them to dial the paranoia down a notch and take their hands of the nuclear warhead launch codes, it was Alex.

So, their shuttle returned to the main ship while Fen made adjustments to Alex's infusion. The elders came in to enquire how he was faring and Sianna left them to make a fuss of him while she went to the cockpit to communicate with her senior aides. By the time they docked, every non-essential crew member was gathered in assembly to honour Alex for saving her life. He was led through a vast throng of Ishtari; sending up bright shafts of light, arcs of lightening or bursts of flame in various colours that were then manipulated into patterns by the gravitron males. Sianna led him by the hand to a disc marked out on the floor at the front, which then lifted itself and them into the air, to hover above the heads of the gathered Ishtari. To Alex it was a silent display but Sianna could hear the telepathic Ishtari equivalent of applause. At her command, a little grey orb detached itself from the hovering disc and lifted itself until it was almost level with Sianna and Alex's mouths.

"Behold Alex... the human who saved my life today!" Sianna's magnified voice boomed around the ship.

Finally the gathered crew members realised they needed to give audible appreciation and so they cheered verbally.

"And in return, we saved his life today. We demonstrated a small part of what we can offer to humankind. Through this young man, we will gain their trust. We will save their world and form an enduring alliance. This is a proud day for our people and I thank you all for being part of it."

Nobody gave the slightest impression that their Matriarch wasn't generally given to such mawkish displays. Alex was presented with a rough edged, cloudy grey stone the size of a hen's egg. "Compensation for yourself and your family." Sianna insisted. "They are abundant on one of our planets but I understand they have value here. I believe you call them die-munds." Sianna turned back to the gathered Ishtari.

"Thank you all. You may return to your duties. Our hero needs to recuperate."

Sianna summoned a chef and a replicator technician, tasking them to liaise with Fen and see about Alex's nutrition. She was pretty sure he could eat Ishtari food but Sianna wasn't about to risk poisoning him. Most rations were replicated but she did have a private stock of actual food farmed on her homeworld.

So it was that Alex found himself being wined and dined in one of Sianna's personal suites. The holographic technology allowed her to transform the room into what ever she wished, to accommodate and impress whatever species she encountered. On this occasion there was huge open plan space encompassing all the most decadent luxuries found in truly exclusive Earth hotels. There was a sunken lounge area beneath a behemoth cinematic screen, a well stocked drink and snack bar, a sunken hot tub, an emperor sized bed, a small study... and an intimate dining area. The ceiling was twenty feet high and the whole of one wall of the suite was given over to 'windows' that were in fact screens showing the slice of sky that would be visible through that wall, were it not for the thick hull and state of the art shielding systems. Currently the screens showed cloud cover swirling over Washington DC and the surrounding area. It was sunset and the colours were utterly beautiful.

"I trust you will be comfortable." Sianna purred. "Fen will look in soon to check on you and see about nutrition but for now you can relax a little."

Alexander listened to Sianna’s words, closely following her every move as she stood and approached the camera drone. For a second his eyes followed her immaculate form, the figure-hugging dress accenting her perfect shape, and he took a deep breath as he forced his gaze away from the promising curves of her butt. Then she suddenly turned around, and asked him if he wanted to stay on her ship. His mind took a long moment to realize what she’d just offered him, and he stammered his agreement, barely able to think straight in this rush of excitement. “Uh… you… really? I… I mean yes, of course! Yes, I’d love to stay...”

This day couldn’t possibly get any better. It slowly dawned on Alex that he would be the first human to set foot on an Ishtari spaceship, and perhaps even see it from the inside. Before he had finished that thought, a soft rumble ran through the shuttle, and he felt the power from its engines lifting the small craft effortlessly into the air. Fen very closely watched Alexander’s vital signs, since the human’s excitement was messing with the values in a way the alien physician didn’t know, but they made it without any problems.

During the short flight the four members of Sianna’s delegation visited him, and inquired about his wellbeing. This was the first time Alex managed to get a good close look at the other delegates, this time without a pain-killing drug induced delirium. They all had an aura of power and wisdom, but it was impossible for him to figure out any details. All four, two males and two females, seemed old, but he couldn’t really say they looked old – he’d have said they were probably middle aged, simply assuming that Ishtari showed the same signs of age as humans.

Now he also noticed something he hadn’t seen before, neither with Sianna nor with Fen. Sometimes, just every few seconds, a bit of energy emanated from the four elders. One female had tiny motes of light shimmering around her, and the other had small sparks of lightning crackling between her fingers. One male had flickers of flame dart over his skin, and the other had the ribbons on his garments float upwards. Before Alexander could garner enough courage to ask about those displays – unsure whether asking about that was considered rude, or too personal – the trip was over, and the delegates left the med bay.

With perfect accuracy the pilot navigated the shuttle to the hangar, from where a tractor beam took hold of the craft and guided it inside. A moment later, the vessel was firmly secured and docked inside the alien ship, and Sianna returned to lead him off the shuttle. Alex followed the Matriarch, and the moment he stepped into the docking bay’s space, his mouth gaped open. He looked around, awestruck by the sheer size of the hangar, and the dozens of docking bays. Ramps, tractor beam lifts, levitating platforms, and truck-sized service tunnels made the hangar appear like a perfectly functioning hive of activity, which was lying dormant and just waiting to awaken.

Sianna gently, yet affirmatively, took hold of his hand, and led him through the assembled crowd. His heart was thumping in his chest, while he followed the alien empress with careful steps. The effects displayed as they passed made him stare, even though he had no idea how the Ishtari created all those flames, sparks, and lights. He was simply mesmerized by the inherent beauty of the visuals, and tried to absorb every tiny detail he could see. At last, Sianna had lead him to a marked circle on the floor, and without thought he stood on it, right next to her. When the disk started to raise itself out of the floor and levitate higher, Alex jumped a little. He unconsciously stepped closer to Sianna, and squeezed her hand tighter. Taking a very careful look at the space below the platform, he took a deep breath trying to calm himself.

When she finally addressed her people, he blushed to a deep shade of red. He’d never been in the spotlight like this. Part of him was unimaginably proud of standing where he was, while another part was deeply embarrassed. And when Sianna presented him with an egg-sized raw diamond, he flushed even more. “You really don’t have to…,” he stammered at first, but ultimately he accepted her gift with a shy, “Thank you.”

He carefully, almost tenderly, cradled the stone in his hands, his thoughts running wild. He and his mother lived in a small and old apartment in the Bellevue neighborhood. His father had left them when he was 12, and since then it’s been a long and hard time for Alex and his mother. From an early age he had to work part time jobs to help them pay the rent and bills. Alex could have worked full-time, but his mother insisted he at least finished high school. Due to mere luck he was offered a scholarship a bit over a year ago, and after being pressured by his mom he accepted and enrolled at the UDC. Watching and reading works of sci-fi and fantasy was his way of escapism, his dream of a better – or at least more exciting – life. The stone he held now was this dream turned reality, the promise for a better and carefree future for his mother and himself.

Finally, the ceremony was over and Alexander was led into a suite that screamed luxury in his face from each and every corner. He’d thought that places like this only existed as movie sets, and that not even the most prestigious hotel could possibly have a suite with that many decadent extras – but he just now learned that at least Ishtari cruisers could have them. He stood in the entrance of the suite, his mouth again gaping open a little at the sight of unimaginable luxury. Sianna basically told him that this was his place to stay, and that he could rest for now. He managed to return an honest, “Thank you, Sianna. For everything…” before she was gone, and he was alone.

Carefully, almost tentatively, Alex took some steps around the suite, eventually standing at the wall showing the outside of the ship. The technology was amazing, but the actual view was breathtaking and beautiful. He wished he could share this moment with his mother and wept a single tear of joy, happy that their life in near-poverty was over. After some minutes of him enjoying the view, calming down, and letting the excitement of the recent events fade a little, Alex decided to take a shower. It’s been such a long day for him, and after lectures at university, a shift at Starbucks, getting shot, getting healed, speaking to the President and the nation, and visiting a huge alien spaceship, a shower and a nap seemed like a good thing to do.

Alexander put the diamond on the impossibly comfortable looking bed, and slipped out of his clothes. He took a look at what he had been wearing, and besides the shoes and underwear most of it was ruined. His shirt was ripped open and covered in a crust of his blood. His pants had not fared much better, also being partially covered with clots of blood, and torn at some of the seams. After discarding his ruined clothes into a separate pile, he quickly made his way to the walk-in shower that was larger than his room at home, and turned on the hot water.

A soft moan escaped his lips when the heated stream of water cascaded over his body, and all the tension and anxiety fell off, and was washed away. After almost half an hour, Alex emerged from the shower completely relaxed and thoroughly cleaned. He quickly toweled his skin and hair, and wrapped another large towel around his waist. Returning to the bed, he carefully took the diamond and placed it on the nightstand, before flipping aside the bedcover. First testing the mattress with his hand, Alex then turned and just fell back onto the bed. His barely covered body connected with the cool surface of the sheets, and it felt as if he was floating on a cloud. Alex closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep, lulled by the unearthly comfort of the bed.

Sianna left Alex in his suite and the entrance vanished as she left. She paused, and turned to examine the place where the doorway had been. Did she want him to be able to leave the suite? More crucially, how would he react if he tried and could not?

"{Fen.}"

"{Highness.}"

"{I assume Alex will take some rest. Alert me if he wakes.}"

Here on the ship telepathic communication was optimised. Sianna could therefore talk to any crew member on the ship without needing to know where they physically were at that moment. On Earth's surface proximity was a great deal more important and although the ship could hail her telepathically, Sianna needed to be within sight of other Ishtari in order to communicate. Some substances were harder to project her consciousness through than others but by and large, human edifices were small impediment.

Sianna put the Earth boy from her mind and walked through to her conference room. It was another holographic creation that allowed the captains of her 51 ships positioned across the globe, the mothership's captain, her number two currently ruling Ishtari Prime in her absence, a small committee governing other worlds that the Ishtari had acquired, and the four Ishtari elders to all come together for a virtual meeting. Her personal assistant, a photon sentient female called Kai-Leen, was hovering in the entranceway.

"{They await you, Matriarch.}"

"{Naturally.}" Sianna swept past her, then paused. Her hand lifted towards Kai-Leen's throat, blue lightening sparking between her fingers. Kai-Leen moved back and found herself against a wall. Sianna's hand came to an abrupt stop a few centimetres short however, when Kai-Leen's eyes closed in anticipation, her chin lifting slightly. "{You really are utter filth, aren't you?}" Sianna's voice in the young female's head was sardonic. "{I don't even have to bother touching you.}"

Kai-Leen gazed up at her Queen helplessly, her throat, tits and groin beginning to glow beneath her clothes and pulse to her heart rate. Photon sentients did not get the luxury of secret arousal. She was so motionless it was as though Sianna's hand was already at her throat, pinning her to the wall. The power built between Sianna's fingertips until her hand became a seething ball of blue lightening. Kai-Leen's whole body arched of it's own volition, begging for the pain. Sianna smirked and the blue electricity evaporated as swiftly as it had appeared. She looked down at her assistant with disdain.

"{I'll let you know when I'm bored enough to let you suck my cunt.}" Sianna stepped smartly away from Kai-Leen and towards the door, utterly indifferent to the girl's helpless arousal. "{It'll be after I've fucked that weird little Earth boy.}" She added, so that Kai-Leen would have vivid imaginings of Sianna seducing the human guest that night while she lay alone. "{If you touch yourself I'll have it sliced out, pan-fried and served to Alex as an Ishatri delicacy.}"

"{Yes, Matriarch.}" Kai-Leen telepathically stammered, her emotions discernible as a mixture of adoration and terror.

Sianna walked through into the conference room and took her seat, utterly composed and focused. It had been a long day however, a day she had spent suppressing her powers so as not to alert and alarm the humans and soon she would need some release.

"You will report to me verbally." She told her assembled delegates. "We all need the practise for acquisitions like these. Report."

The other 51 ship captains spread out over Earth's major cities each reported in that everything was proceeding as expected, or close enough. Pyonyang was proving to be an uphill struggle but the captain hoped to befriend North Korea's dictator and then wrest control from him while his back was turned. Their media was already solely state run, so they could feed the public whatever they wished. Her captain was confident he would be able to 'persuade' the fat, indolent man-child 'running' the country to play along for the cameras if he valued his own safety, or that of his mistresses.

The captains positioned at Kabul and Tehran had run into difficulties. Both Muslim nations, their presidents had experienced an incredibly rare moment of solidarity in their rejection of the Ishtari.

"I will visit them personally." Sianna decided.

"You would have to be veiled." One of her captains explained. "Even then they wouldn't see you. Women are possessions there and their religious text requires them to cover everything except the eyes and hands."

"I subjugate myself to no-one." Sianna purred. "If they want to call me an extra-terrestrial whore then let them. Start with the women. Rescue them from sexist punishments. Commence the aid offensive and guard it from the men. Allow only the women and children to approach. Feed them. Heal them. By the time I can leave the USA and visit I will be their new deity."

In only a few Earth hours Sianna had finished governing her vast realm and coordinating their actions on Earth. She exited the conference room and gave a list of instructions to Kai-Leen, then asked Fen whether their guest was awake. He reported that Alex had taken a shower and gone to bed.

"{He is medically recovered? Then you will cease monitoring the room. Have some nutrition left outside and what's that hydroxyl intoxicant they're fond of?}"

"{Alcohol, Highness. The most romantic beverage is Champagne; dry, effervescent and fruit based.}"

"{Presumptuous.}"

"{Erroneous?}"

"{Presumptuous.}"

"{I'll replicate some and send it down.}"

Sianna entered Alex's quarters and left the lights dimmed. She padded to his vast bed and looked down at his drowsing semi-naked form, taking in their similarities and differences. She chose not to lift the towel and look at his genitals, in case he woke up or she was disappointed by the proportions. The champagne arrived with 2 flutes and Fen had replicated the best. Once Sianna worked out how the caged cork was released a loud pop rang out across the room, causing Alex to stir. She poured two glasses, kicked off her shoes and padded over to Alex to sit on the bed beside him.

"I would have sat on a chair but they're so far away." She said with a warm smile, once he was fully awake. "I thought I would sample one of the best drinks on Earth. Will you join me? There is so much I need to learn about your world."



[I've run out of time and can't edit. I still have RL stuff going on and so can't say when I'll next look in but hopefully this is OK

The 29-year-old dyed blonde sitting behind the studio desk wore a dark blue dress, and the usual layering of make-up. She rolled her eyes at the comments from her director and spat back, “For fucks sake, Tom! I know how to moderate a special report, so shut the fuck up and don’t tell me how to do my job!” When the intro music rolled, she focused on the camera and put on the most dramatic-serious facial expression she could manage.

“Good evening, America. I’m Kelly Richards with an FOX NEWS Special Report. Today’s events have thrown the world in turmoil, with the arrival of reportedly over 50 spaceships of extraterrestrial origin appearing all over the globe. So far it appears that the visitors are peaceful, but it remains to be seen what they exactly want here.

We’re getting reports from our national and international correspondents that ships like the one hovering over the Ellipse in Washington D.C. have appeared over several other cities, including the capitals of Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Russia, China, Japan, and India. It seems that the alien fleet contains ten of these over 1100 yards long ships, but the reports we’re getting are incomplete. Still, we have additional reports from dozens of other cities about smaller alien ships appearing there.

We will now cut to Timothy Rogers, our reporter in D.C. to see what’s currently going on in our capital.”

A monitor behind the camera switched view, and showed the image of the other reporter, indicating that the viewers will now see him.

“Thank you Kelly. I’m reporting from the park area south-west of the Washington Monument. In the background you can see the gigantic alien ship hovering in the air. It hasn’t moved one inch during the last few hours, and it seems that it will stay there for an unknown time. After the shooting incident four hours ago, the Secret Service has closed off the whole Ellipse area, and as far as we could see from a distance, investigations are still ongoing. Government experts are currently taking a closer look at where the aliens landed, and where the attack happened.

So far the identity of the victim is unknown, aside from his name, but eye witnesses reported that “Alex” seemed to have survived the shooting and has been taken onboard the alien ship for further medical treatment. The shooter was detained by local police officers who had been on the scene in time, and is currently being interrogated. It is still unclear why the aliens took the victim with them. A DC FEMS ambulance had been on the scene after only a few minutes and could have provided certified medical treatment.

Speaking of which, the aliens rather pompous arrival caused hundreds of accidents here in DC alone, with dozens of injured and two dead. Local fire and police services managed to clean up the worst by now, but the George Mason Bridge is still closed, and the relating traffic jam is blocking Interstate 395 for miles in all directions. Already the estimated local damages run over 4 million dollars, but this number is certain to increase once all incidents have been reported. The whole country could easily look at damages in the billions.

We reached out to the White House for a statement. We were told that in two hours the President would call a press conference, but until then the White House asks all citizens to remain calm, and stay at home if possible. We’ll be reporting from the conference and keep you up to date with the latest development live from DC. For now, back to you, Kelly.”

The view switched back to the news studio.

“Thank you Timothy. Reports from other cities in the US indicate a similar number of accidents and damages wherever the alien ships appeared, and we can only hope that the number of casualties remains low. Our thoughts go to the families who lost their loved ones in the chaos caused by the aliens’ reckless arrival…”

The report continued for another 30 minutes, before she did the handover to one of her colleagues after putting in almost a whole day of overtime. On the one hand, she was beyond annoyed already, snapping at everyone because she’d wanted to be home 6 hours ago. On the other hand, this whole chain of events was amazing – both for her career, and for her station’s agenda.

She had an axe to grind with President Lucas, and these aliens were giving her the perfect whetstone to do so. Reporting on the negative sides of the aliens’ arrival would allow her to put Lucas between a rock and a hard place. If she could sway the public opinion – ignoring all the stupid Star Trek nerds – against those non-humans, any important business Lucas did with them was another nail in the coffin of his reelection.

But for now, she just needed to get home. She grabbed her purse and coat, and basically stormed out of the office before someone could tie her up for another stupid special report or interview or other crap.

---

Alexander’s sleep was interrupted by a loud pop ringing across the room. He startled up from his rest, drowsily trying to scramble a bit away from the origin of the sound. “What…?” Blinking his eyes open, he slowly started to remember where he was, and then he noticed someone walking closer to the bed. It took him another second to blink the remaining sleep from his eyes and recognize the Matriarch. And then he remembered that he was practically naked, barely covered by the towel that now revealed even more of his legs because of his movement.

He instantly blushed to a deep shade, and tried to cover himself better with the towel, while Sianna walked closer, and sat next to him. After “fixing” his coverage, Alex looked at the glass she offered, then looked back at her. The way she smiled at him made him blush even more, especially in his current state of dress. Slowly, carefully, he reached out and took the delicate flute from her hand. “Thank you...”

Alex listened to her request, and finally nodded. “Gladly, if… if you want me to join you. But I…” His voice almost turned into a whisper, and he shyly fidgeted with the glass as he continued. “I don’t know if I was the best person for that…” He was only too aware of his family’s borderline poverty. He couldn’t even afford proper text books; even with the scholarship he was using old used books. If the liquid in this glass was really champagne, the bottle probably cost more than what he and his mother could spend on food in a month. How could someone as poor as he help someone as powerful as her learn about Earth?

Sianna smiled at Alex's attempt to cover himself with the towel.

"Who better than you Alex? Knowing how the president spends his days will not help me here. I need to understand the everyday issues that average citizens face."

She handed him a champagne flute and in doing so contrived to spill some of the golden liquid down his chest. "Oh dear, how clumsy of me." She laughed. "It's at times like these I could do with being gravity sentient." Sianna lifted Alex's towel and leaned over him to dry him off, leaving only the merest scrap of fabric concealing his genital area. Despite his embarrassment, she saw that he wasn't following what she had said. "The males of my kind can produce and manipulate either gravity or fire." She explained. "Females can do this either with light or electricity." Sianna released her end of the towel and held her hand in front of Alex's face, where blue lightening flared across her pale flesh. She allowed a small flash to spark from her fingers and connect with Alex's left nipple, knowing it would then earth through his damp groin, causing him a light frisson of stimulation that would make it 'harder' for him to conceal his attraction to her. "For my kind, these sensations can be very pleasurable." She purred, "But I am here to learn about your world." She admonished herself, moving to sit beside him on the bed and then suddenly restless, as though trying to distract herself from the thought of pleasurable sensations arching through her young guest.

"Some sustenance perhaps." Sianna changed the subject, placing her flute on the night stand and fetching the small trolley on which the champagne bottle sat in a stasis chamber that kept it in suspended animation, perfectly sparkling and chilled. The trolley also held various western earth delicacies on little blinis such as lobster, caviar, or wild mushroom with white truffle oil. "There's no need to be embarrassed about your body, Alex." Sianna told him before taking a bite of caviar blini that betrayed her sensual pleasure in the delicacy. "Mmm... I had expected your planet to be a backwater in culinary terms, I hope you'll forgive me. Some of your foods are indeed quite palatable, however." Sianna smiled at Alex wryly, taking in what she could see of his form. "Alex, your body is a wonder of evolution, as is mine. You're an attractive young man by Earth standards... pleasing symmetry. Tell me... who is your favourite earth celebrity? I assume you are sexually interested in females?"


Kai-Leen lay in curled her quarters, her body still throbbing at a low ebb and pulsating dimly with her own light as she mentally replayed her brief encounter with the Matriarch again and again. Her hands were clutched into fists on the ergonomic 'pillow' of her sleeping pod in her determination not to touch herself. The Matriarch knew everything. She could spy on any part of the ship and if she did not choose to that, there was still the option of interrogation. The first and last time Kai-Leen had lied to her, she had been beaten and electrocuted to within an inch of her life and then dumped into an air lock.

"{Tell me why I should not do this... rid myself of your lying incompetence.}"

"{I was so scared Matriarch. I could not make myself tell you.}"

"{And now? If there was to be a next time you failed me, would you fail me again and lie? Would you so insult my intelligence?}"

"{No, Matriarch. Never.}"

"{Then beg me for your miserable little life back.}"

Kai-Leen communicated nothing, just lay in a wretched little heap waiting to die.

"{Well?}"

"{I deserve no mercy Matriarch... no second chances. I cannot beg for something I know I have no right to wish for.}"

Sianna took her hand off of the switch that would have blasted Kai-Leen into space and almost instant death. Anything but this admission of total unworthiness would have got the little bitch killed. No need to tell her that though. Besides, Sianna was in no mood to break in a new assistant. It seemed her current one still had the capacity to surprise her.

Sexual masochists of course existed among the Ishtari but as on Earth they were a small minority. Kai-Leen had been selected on merit and Sianna had not expected her to last. She went through assistants twice an Earth year, because the job was so demanding and stressful but also because her standards were so exacting. She had known Kai-Leen had been hero-worshipping her and had expected witnessing her at her worst would put an end to that. It hadn't. The first time she had truly lost her temper with the girl, Kai-Leen had lit up like a supernova. Sianna had found in her a sexual outlet for her malice that made it easier to don an engaging smile like armour, while duping her latest acquisition into accepting Ishtari hegemony. Kai-Leen was a slave who required no chains and not even much instruction. She enslaved herself every time she responded to vicious maltreatment and verbal humiliation with frenzied, desperate, tortured arousal. It was delicious. Kai-Leen could never be given too much time or attention however. She functioned best when believing herself to be held in utter contempt and kept around on sufferance. She needed to be worthless and expendable and Sianna was nothing if not generous in giving her precisely that.

Sianna walked away from the airlock, her features lit with a rare genuine smile. Some hours later she even bothered to notify maintenance that there was someone trapped.

When Sianna spilled some of the fizzing champagne over his exposed chest, he thought he was going to die. “Please, it’s okay, you don’t have to…,” he stammered a weak defense, but the Matriarch had already taken hold of his towel, and proceeded to dry his skin. The sensation of having his cover being slowly pulled away by her, as well as feeling her hand tenderly brush the fabric against his naked chest, made him shiver. And it started a familiar tingling, accompanied by rush of blood to his groin. Slowly his member began to swell, and Alex blushed even stronger.

He’d never been with a girl before, and now here he was sitting next to the – incredibly attractive – leader of an alien civilization, while she gradually tugged on the towel covering his groin. The whole situation was surreal, and Alex desperately tried to keep his thoughts focused on anything but the extremely pleasant touch of her hand against his body. He barely caught any of Sianna’s explanation about the different powers of her species’ sexes, desperately clinging to the last piece of towel covering his cock with his left hand, while trying not to drop the glass he held in his right hand – or spill its contents. He wasn’t sure what he’d rather wanted in this utterly embarrassing moment, and his thoughts alternated between fainting and crawling into a corner.

Sianna’s demonstration of her own power, however, quickly caught Alexander’s attention. For a brief moment, he forgot his exposed state, and stared fascinated at the sparks dancing over the Ishtari’s fingers. When she then flicked her finger, and the flare arced to his nipple, he let out a surprised yelp and almost jumped off the bed. “Ahhhh…,” He shivered as the small charge raced over his skin, tickling his intimate area as it travelled into the ground. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant at all, and the teasing static finally helped his shaft swell to its full size, making him sigh a soft, “Uhhhh…”

Alex was still trying to sort his thoughts, while Sianna quickly switched her attention to the small food laden trolley. He had no idea what was happening to him, his mind struggling with the experience of being almost fully naked next to a beautiful woman, who didn’t seem to mind his exposed state at all. Actually, it felt as if she was encouraging him, as he listened to her telling him not be embarrassed about his body. “I… I’m not embarrassed about…,” he stammered, holding the towel over his hardened shaft as if his life depended on it. “It… it’s just…,” Alexander struggled to start with an answer, but then she called him attractive. And asked about his favorite celebrity. And whether he was attracted to women.

“What…? I… I mean…,” Alexander began to reply, but then stopped and gulped hard. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Aliens visiting Earth was crazy enough, but he could deal with it. However, sitting with the alien’s leader on a bed, him being naked with only a towel hiding his erection from her gaze? That was almost too much for him. Even more considering that Sianna didn’t seem to be put off by his obvious state of arousal, instead asking him quite personal – borderline intimate – questions.

Alex nervously licked his lips, and nodded. “Yes, Sianna, I… I do find women… attractive. And…,” he took a moment to draw in a deep breath before he continued. “And my… favorite celebrity is… Emma… Watson…” He gaze was lowered, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. Ever since seeing Emma in Harry Potter, he’d had a crush on her. She was nerdy, funny, gorgeous… everything he’d ever hope to find in a girlfriend. It was unlikely that Sianna would know about the history of that particular actress, but alone the fact that he had all but admitted his crush on her out loud was enough to color his face red. His throat was suddenly dry, and after a moment’s hesitation, Alex quickly raised the flute to his lips and took a long sip on the champagne.

At Sianna's behest the massive TV screen lit up and then scrolled through a load of images from Google of Emma Watson.

"Stop." The screen displayed a high def image of Emma's beauty. Personally Sianna thought her look what English speaking humans might call 'mousey.'

"OK... let's see what I can do." Blue lightening flared across Sianna's visible flesh as she focused on the task of recreating Emma's lightly tanned skin. The smattering of freckles was tricky but Sianna tried her best. Her hair burnished to a golden brown and her eyes darkened to a dark brown, flashing bronze as lightening energy sparked across her skin during the final adjustments. Her lashes and brows darkened, while her lips became a little thinner and blossomed red. "What do you think?" She asked Alex. "I bet I'm the first girl to do that for you. It's a part of my species' natural ability, to be able to change their appearance a little. I'll never be five feet tall or a quadraped but small changes are possible."

Sianna drained her flute and took the liberty of replenishing both their glasses. In her 'Watson' skin she sat beside Alex on the bed again.

"I'm sorry Alex, I just find you... fascinating." Sianna's gaze dropped to the bulge beneath the towel at his groin. "Our races are so physically similar that I don't have my usual sexual indifference towards members of other species. Instead, I find myself... curious. Especially after you saved my life." Sianna lifted a comforter from the bed and draped it across Alex's body. "But I can see now that I've made you feel uncomfortable and I apologise for that. I guess as Matriarch I am a little over accustomed to... getting my own way." She took another sip of Champagne, obviously savouring the novelty of bubbles on her tongue. "Do you find Ishtari attractive, Alex?"

Frustrated by his own inexperience, Alexander took another sip from his champagne, emptying the glass. The whole situation was an awkward mess, and he blamed himself for it. He hated how helpless he felt, and how from his point of view everything he did made the situation even worse. Alex looked up from his empty flute, and with a tinge of curiosity he watched the Matriarch command the huge TV screen. With a simple spoken command from her, the screen lit up and started to scroll through galleries of pictures. Alexander instantly recognized the images, having browsed many of them himself on several opportunities.

Then she started to change. Alex almost dropped his glass when lightning started to arc across Sianna’s skin, and her features started to change. His eyes grew wide in shock and awe while he watched the Matriarch become Emma. The young man’s mind desperately tried to rationalize what he was watching, but Alexander could only stare with his mouth gaping open, as he witnessed Sianna’s transformation. “Oh… my… god…,” he finally managed to breath, still struggling with his grasp of reality falling more and more apart the longer he stayed with the Ishtari.

“What… what I think? That… oh my god… that was… unbelievable…” The shock was slowly replaced by curiosity and fascination. While he was still staring at his host in complete awe after having witnessed this event, Sianna casually explained that it was a natural ability for her kind, and refilled their glasses. “And… and this is… natural to you? You mean you can… can do that again? I… wow… I don’t know what to say.”

The shock of watching Sianna change form had briefly put a damper on his arousal, but having “Emma” sit right next to his basically naked form had easily returned his excitement in full force. And this realization now came back to haunt him, his mind drowning in conflicting emotions of extreme arousal and utter embarrassment. He listened to Sianna, holding the glass in his right hand, while covering his fully erect member with the last corner of his towel under his left hand.

“Please… you don’t have to apologize. It’s my fault, I guess. If I wasn’t so… so…,” he hesitated for a moment before he continued, not daring to raise his eyes to meet her gaze. “…so inexperienced, this situation wouldn’t be so awkward. So I guess I have to apologize for making it so difficult for you…” Alexander’s cheeks burned again with this uncomfortable mixture of embarrassment and arousal, and he nervously shifted on the bed. “Thank you,” he continued after she’d draped the comforter around his form. “And yes, I do find you attractive,” he answered honestly, not realizing in his haze that he addressed Sianna directly. “But what did you mean when you said you found me fascinating, and were curious about me? What do you find so special about me?”



--[ OOC: Scene abandoned ]--