Alien Deception

Alien Deception

Tony Ruggiero

www.dragonmoonpress.com

www.tonyruggiero.com

Alien Deception

Copyright © 2006 Tony Ruggiero

Cover Art © 2006 Kevin Capizzi

All rights reserved. Reproduction or utilization of this work in any form, by any means now known or hereinafter invented, including, but not limited to, xerography, photocopying and recording, and in any known storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without permission from the copyright holder.

Dragon Moon Press

www.dragonmoonpress.com

For Katie and Alexandra:

my loves and my life.

&

Mom and Dad:

It may not be Star Trek,

but it's pretty close.

&

Family and Friends:

For just being there when the

story needed something.

&

My characters:

Greg and Sarah,

for continuing to live in my imagination.

Part One

GET OUT OF MY MIND

Chapter One

COPOLLA

"Just have them killed and begin the indoctrination!" the voice boomed impatiently. "We will not waste any more time debating this issue!"

All heads turned toward the Honorable Copolla, leader of the United Council for Developing Worlds, as he regally strode to his seat. He took slow, calculated steps, so that each delegate could take note of his ominous appearance. His large humanoid shape commanded a height of well over seven feet. His body was a large mass of pure muscle that conveyed an immediate sensation of power and strength. His face, made of a substance that resembled quartz, glistened in the light and was as unmoving as stone. His eyes were red and glowed with an intensity that looked like fire.

He walked forward, his long robes flowing with self-importance and prestige, his position flamboyantly displayed for all to recognize. He approached his seat, the biggest in the Great Hall. From here, he would sit and listen to the discussions of the members; on many occasions, he sat without a single comment throughout entire sessions. On others, he thundered his rulings, leaving the delegates quivering in their seats. His quietness was sometimes mistaken for aloofness, but he was a being who could formulate plan upon plan while not missing a sentence of discussion.

The delegate from planet Ross 154, a child-like humanoid figure with barely enough flesh on its body to hide its skeletal frame, asked timidly, "How can you be sure they are the ones? I am very concerned that the movement to install members to this Council from this primitive planet is very premature. They are by far at the lowest end of development compared to any other planet that is a member of this Council. Furthermore, the indoctrination process is very tricky, and could compromise the initial contact agent, Leumas. I feel the Council should re-visit this issue. The charter states that—"

"The Leader of the United Council of Developing Worlds has decided!" Copolla thundered, his strident voice echoing throughout the cavernous hall. "They have been selected as the next members. It is done!" He spoke with finality. "The Sol system has been under our influence for far too long now. It needs its own species to contribute to the decisions of its destiny. There will be no further discussion on this issue!"

The delegate from Ross 154 sat quickly as Copolla addressed the delegation again, this time in a more subtle tone. "Members of the UCDW, my distinguished colleague from Ross 154 has brought up an important issue regarding the planet Earth." Copolla looked around the room, staring with a piercing gaze that no member would meet. "I have personally looked into this matter and carefully reviewed the Council’s recommendations."

He lifted his hands to emphasize his point. "The opportunity to make history is before us. This planet, Earth, even though we all agree it is very primitive, has great potential to provide valuable insight into its own development and serve as an example to other planets that we are currently assisting. I feel very strongly that we are doing the right thing." He continued with what he hoped was a sincere smile on his hard, carved face. "I have carefully looked at this from all angles, and that is why I have assigned our very best to handle this case. You all know that Leumas is one of our best initial contact agents. I have the utmost faith in his ability to successfully indoctrinate the two new subjects, who I have assisted the Council in selecting."

The delegate from Ross 154 looked imploringly at the other members, hoping that someone would join him in questioning the validity of the order. No one stood. He was on his own. He prepared to speak; he took one more look at Copolla's piercing red eyes burning through him, and decided to remain silent.

Copolla smiled. "If there is no further business then, this meeting of the United Council of Developing Worlds is concluded."

Chapter Two

LEUMAS

"Council Report. This is initial contact agent Leumas’s report on the Planet FRA-232. The mission was highly successful and the species very receptive to joining the United Council for Developing Worlds," Leumas said as he ran his fingers of his webbed hand through his thick blonde hair. He turned toward the mirror, bending slightly so he could check his appearance.

Tall and at exactly the appropriate weight for my height, flat stomach and nice buns,
he thought. He smiled, admired his brilliantly white teeth, his blue eyes and the perfectly centered dimple in his chin. He used his hand like a comb and worked a few strands of his hair back into their place. Smiling, he winked at himself and then chuckled.

"Where was I?" he asked as he turned away from the mirror. "Oh yes, minimum influence was required, which is indicative of the well-developed mental powers of the inhabitants of the planet. Special note. The Council needs to revise standard indoctrination procedures." He began raising his voice from the earlier level. "If I had followed them to the letter, we would have insulted three quarters of the planet and lost any chance of bringing them into the Council. The procedures are not flexible enough to meet the requirements of agents in the field. This is my second or third request," he added sarcastically. "Leumas, initial contact agent, Alien Affairs Branch, report concluded."

His webbed fingers moved along the desk console, checking readouts on the progress of Council actions as he completed the documentation of his last assignment and logged it into the upcoming queue actions of the Council for review.

"That's it. I'm finished," he said, as he sat and kicked his feet up on the desk "Now I need some quiet time."

From his desk, he had a clear view through the window of the surface of planet Zire.

"The colors are so pretty," he said, as he looked out the window. "So pretty and so deadly. So unlikely and unimagined a combination, but ever so true in life, where things do not always appear what they actually are."

He continued to stare out into the beautiful but deadly atmosphere of the planet through the secure window. Somehow, he found it relaxing to watch the highly toxic colors that swirled in individual torrents as savage winds whipped them in all directions. The heavy levels of radiation that still lingered in the soil brought about the colors as the wind lifted them into the atmosphere; the resulting chemical reaction was the miraculous show that he now watched.

Residue radiation posed the greatest problems in the early years following the Great War. It had taken centuries for the radiation levels to dissipate on Cortazon, his home world several light years away. Over this span of time, it led to strange deformities, both physical and mental, among the survivors on the planets. Today, most of the effects had been weeded out by generations of new births and by controlling the major genes but, every once in a while, something managed to sneak through the less apparent or hidden genes. It was perhaps from that poisoned gene pool that Leumas had received the ability to apply influence or, as others called it, mind manipulation.

Discovered at an early age, Leumas was taught to control these powers and use them toward the betterment of the Council. Today, the power to influence was less a natural occurrence than a synthetic one accomplished through surgery. Unfortunately, the high levels of radiation required for the surgery were extremely dangerous, and the operation was only performed when absolutely necessary for Initial Contact Agent recruitment.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an entry request to his office.

"Now what? Can I not get a moment's peace around here?"

Aggravated at the disturbance, he got up and stomped to the door ready to scream at whoever was there. He placed his palm on the unlock mechanism and the door hummed open.

In the corridor outside his office in the alien affairs complex stood a messenger from the Council. Leumas recognized the uniform worn by a Comoran, a scaled reptilian alien, which stood about five feet tall and weighed several hundred pounds. He immediately wanted to comment on the terrible color combination and the poor tailoring of his uniform, but the thought vanished when Leumas saw the gold envelope in the messenger's hand; instead, he bit his tongue and said nothing. The envelope was the special stationary used only by Copolla. Leumas felt his stomach lurch with anxiety, and he wished he had not answered the door.

"Thumbprint, please," the messenger hissed as he held out a small device. The Comoran saw the look on Leumas’s face and seemed concerned about difficulty in delivering the letter. "Thumbprint, please," he said again.

Leumas’s first thought was that he should refuse the letter, but decided that would only add to his problems later on. He shrugged, then raised his hand and pressed it to the device to verify his authenticity and receipt of the letter at the same time.

"Thank you," the messenger said, quickly handing Leumas the letter. He turned to leave, his short, armored tail almost striking Leumas.

Leumas buzzed the door shut and returned to his desk, noticing that the view outside the window was no longer as appealing as it had been only moments ago.

"It can only be trouble," he said to the empty office. "I should have seen it coming; it's long overdue. Copolla has been waiting for just the right moment and the perfect assignment to discredit me."

He let his breath out in frustration and hesitantly broke the golden seal to remove its carefully folded document. He handled the one page carefully, as if the print would jump off the page and attack him. He read aloud, slowly and clearly.

"You are to immediately depart for the planet Earth to begin the indoctrination of two humans specifically chosen by the Leader of the Council. Pertinent information has been sent to your ship's computer. This mission is of the utmost importance and timing is crucial if we are to protect this race." It was signed Copolla, Leader of the United Council for Developing Worlds. He finished reading and placed the piece of paper on his desk.

"Earth? Where the heck is Earth? Never heard of it before. What kind of trick is this? Now he's sending me to places I haven't even heard of before. It's a trap…I know it! This is just like something he would do!" Leumas shouted, picking the letter back up from the desk, wadding it up into a ball, and throwing it up into the air. He paced back and forth for several minutes trying to calm his mind. He knew he had to be rational about this and try to figure a way out as numerous scenarios played out in his mind.

He knew Copolla would have surmised that he might refuse the mission; he always had a backup plan to everything. In his thoughts, he played out the scene.

"If I did refuse the mission against the Council’s wishes, he would use that to discredit me. He wants me to get blackballed with the Council; he knows my followers are growing and someday I might be able to rally enough support to challenge him."

Staring upward as if pleading, he said aloud, "I have to find a way out. I need more information."

He strolled by the mirror, checking his appearance out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly stopped. One of Leumas’s special attributes was the power to change his physical appearance for extremely short periods of time. Like his influencing ability, this was the result of radiation from his home world. He practiced this form changing as he stood in front of the mirror sometimes, a kind of game that he played for amusement and distraction. Now he slipped into the mood easily, and changed his form for a momentary diversion from the problem at hand.