Genus: Unknown Adaptation (7 page)

* * * *

"They scared the guy off!" Sissy said indignantly. "Did you see that?"

Kate was studying the glass in her hand, trying to decide whether it was a very bad idea to finish her drink or not when she already felt as high as a kite. All she could say was that they either mixed some damned strong drinks in the place or she'd lost any tolerance for alcohol she'd ever had. She was sure she shouldn't be this drunk with only two drinks! "See what?"

Sissy blinked at her. "Those women were huge! They looked like … bouncers in drag! How the fuck could you have missed them?"

Kate stared at her friend hard for a long moment and finally snickered a little drunkenly. "They weren't transvestites? Are you serious?"

"I'm seriously pissed off I didn't get a lap dance!"

Kate considered it and finally sighed. "Just as well. I'm horny already. I'd just be more horny and I don't see a handy pole to climb."

"Show's over. They'll let the men in now," Sissy said with a shrug. "Could be we'll find something worth taking home."

Kate did a mental inventory and decided that she really was horny, not just wishful. "Ok! I'm in! Let's stay and see if we see anything interesting. I think I'll have another drink. I'm going to have to be really relaxed to hook up." She leaned closer to Sissy and lowered her voice. "I have this problem with strange dick."

Sissy uttered a snorting laugh. "What kind of problem?"

"Don't laugh! I'm serious here! I can't relax enough to enjoy it."

Sissy nodded sympathetically. "That is a problem seeing as how you don't have a boyfriend."

"Exactly! And seeing as how I haven't had a damned boyfriend in … Fuck! What year is it?"

Sissy snickered. "I don't know …. Wait! How long were we on the space station?"

"I should look up my ex," Kate said abruptly. "He won't mind giving me a little dick."

"His companion might mind him giving you a little dick." Sissy snickered. "And that's all he could give you anyway if what you said about him was true."

Kate frowned. "I told you that? I don't remember telling you that. Guess I was pissed off and felt like being nasty. It wasn't little. It was average. The dick just didn't know how to use his dick!"

Sissy patted her hand. "Well, he's somebody else's problem now! Just as well you ditched him. I don't know why you'd want to look him up anyway if he didn't know how to please you."

"Good point! Strange dick it is! Sort of a roll of the dice," Kate said agreeably.

"Odds ought to be at least fifty-fifty that you'll get something good."

"Maybe they ought to be," Kate said glumly, "but I've been fucked by the fickle finger of fate more times than I can count!"

Sissy uttered another snorting laugh. "Well we'll just wait until they've knocked back a few drinks. Most guys have a hard time getting off when they've had a few. It'll give you more time to get yours."

Kate considered that. "Yeah, but if I get any higher I'll pass out in the middle and start snoring … and if I get too sober I'll be tense."

Sissy patted her hand. "I'll watch your back and keep you in the goldilocks zone."

* * * *

Finding himself in an empty corridor, Noo stopped as soon as they had stepped through the door the males had gone through and assumed the form of one of the security guards he had seen when he had entered the building. Dae and Rak followed suit, clearly relieved to discard the female forms they had taken. Noo glanced at them and frowned. We cannot all have the same face! They do not look the same!

Shrugging, Dae summoned another face to mind and changed his appearance. Rak, he saw, was having some difficulty. He projected an image into his nest mate's mind.

Rak shifted, but he was not happy. This is an ugly face, he said somewhat indignantly.

What does it matter, Dae asked indifferently?

I do not want to be ugly! Kate will not like this face!

How do you know, Noo asked, equally indifferent?

I think it is ugly! Why would she not think so?

Because she is human? They have a different perception of what is appealing and what is not.

Rak frowned, thinking that over as they proceeded along the corridor. I think Kate's face is very appealing and I am not human.

I find her very appealing, too," Noo agreed.

I also find her appealing. In fact, I believe she is what the humans think of as beautiful, Dae said.

How would you know that?

Dae shrugged. The way the human males look at her and the things they think when they look at her.

Those others on the space station may not be suitable mating males, but they have thought about breeding her.

Rak considered that indignantly for a moment before he recalled what had started the conversation. But this face belongs to one of them and clearly Kate does not consider it appealing, gods damn it!

How do you know?

Do not start that again, gods damn it! You just said they were not suitable mating males!

We are assuming that because they did not. We do not know that for certain, Noo said somewhat distractedly. I think there is a lot more that we do not know than there is that we do know for certain.

All three of them halted when they reached a room where the mating males had gathered. A little disconcerted that they had been so preoccupied with their discussion that they had not realized they would simply walk right up upon the males, they glanced around, trying to decide whether they should retreat or not.

Discovering that the males were in the process of stripping the last of the skins off or replacing them with other skins, Noo decided they might as well discover what they could while the opportunity presented itself.

It was something of a relief to see that the human males had members not unlike their own. They were not precisely the same, naturally, but he thought close enough in appearance and functionality. Of course, even the human males were not all the same. Just as they varied in height, breadth, overall shape and size and muscle mass-and the appearance of their face-their members also varied.

Mindful of the effect his probing had had on the female at the entrance, Noo carefully skimmed their minds in search of the information they sought. He had just focused on one who clearly had mating on his mind when one of the males noticed them and uttered a string of sounds.

"What's up?"

"Problems?" another asked.

Noo glanced at Dae and Rak for help.

"No," Dae said, pleased with himself for a handful of moments that he seemed to have uttered the sounds correctly. The mating males exchanged questioning looks that made him uneasy, however.

"The show's over," one of the mating males growled, a challenge in his voice. "As you can see, we don't have any of the women backstage."

Noo nodded as he had seen them do and turned around, urging Dae and Rak out before him. They paused when they had covered about half the distance between the room where the human males were changing skins and the other room where the mating females were. The images in their minds were not clear. I still do not know how they breed. Did either of you catch anything?

I did not try, Rak responded uncomfortably. I thought you would search their minds for the information.

Noo sent him a look of disgust and turned to Dae. Did you capture anything?

Nothing clear, Dae said evasively. Only more of the humping.

Noo's lips tightened. Well, they have members. Clearly they are designed to stick them in to the females and pump their seed inside! They cannot be that different from the females our clan has mated with. They will have a hole to receive! We will figure it out, he finished decisively.

We are going to attempt a mating now, Rak asked uneasily when Noo strode decisively toward the door once more?

Noo flicked an impatient glance at him. Of course! She is ready to mate or she would not be here!

Yes, but …. She will not like this face and she will not want to take me as a mate!

We already discussed that, Dae pointed out dismissively.

And I am still not satisfied! Rak snapped.

Noo halted as they reached the door. He may have a point, he said thoughtfully. Well, not actually a point in that, but it puts me in mind of an important thing that I had not considered.

What point?

If we use a face that she recognizes, she will expect us to be that human. Rak cannot use that face.

You took yours from that guard that is here, Dae pointed out.

And you took yours from that guard on the space station. We cannot use any of these faces.

What faces are we to use, then?

Noo thought it over. I think we must use our own.

She will certainly recognize those when she has seen them every day for more than an Earth year, Dae objected.

Noo sent him a look. Those are not our faces! Those are only the forms we took to make them not afraid of us.

Our real faces, you mean, Rak said doubtfully? But … they are not human faces. She is more likely to be afraid, it seems to me, than to agree to a mating.

Noo uttered an irritated huff. They are not very different from human faces. We must have human bodies and human skin. They will appear to be human faces to her with human skin!

Yes! Very ugly human faces, Rak muttered.

"Oh my god! Don't look now, but I think those transvestites are headed our way!"

Kate whipped a look around and spied the three tall, brawny males headed toward them. "Fuck! I made eye contact with the one in front!" she whispered, looking away quickly.

"I told you not to look, damn it!"

"You really think that's them?"

"Did you see anybody else built like that?"

"Are they still headed this way?"

"I'm not going to look! They'll take it as encouragement!" Sissy flicked a quick look out of the corner of her eye. "Shit! They are! Let's duck into the lady's room!"

Kate jolted out of her seat and looked around a little wildly. "Where is it?"

Sissy grabbed her arm and started hauling her through the throng in the other direction. "I don't know.

We'll find it."

"Actually, the one in front was kind of good looking."

"They're transvestites!"

"So? They're straight, you know. Why would they approach us if they weren't?"

"I don't care if they are. I can't get 'in' to men that like to dress like women."

Kate considered it. "Good point. It's a damned shame that that one is way better looking than anything else I've seen tonight."

"I wouldn't call him handsome. His face is too angular."

"Well, I would!"

"Attractive, not handsome."

Kate decided it wasn't worth arguing about. They finally spotted the lady's room and darted toward it.

Obviously, the trio was a lot more determined than they'd considered, though. The men managed to intercept them before they could take cover.

Since she didn't want to make it really obvious that she was fleeing, Kate smiled up at the men, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu sweep over her as she looked at them. "Excuse us. We were headed to the lady's room."

They frowned, all three of them, and she could see that they were struggling to digest what she'd said.

Either they were really drunk-and they didn't seem to be-or they hadn't heard her clearly enough to understand.

The one in the forefront seemed to discard the effort. "You fuck me, yes?"

Kate felt her jaw slide to half mast even though she was certain she'd heard him wrong, and it wasn't just the thick, almost incomprehensible accent that convinced her of it. She cut a look at Sissy to see if she'd completely misunderstood what the man had just asked her.

"We fuck you, no!" Sissy snapped.

The man glared at her. "No ast you! Ast Kat!"

Maybe she was drunker than she'd realized? "Uh … you don't speak English very well, do you?"

Uneasiness flickered in his eyes. "No say right?"

Kate bit her lip, struggling with amusement she knew she shouldn't be feeling. It occurred to her, though, that as blunt as the question was, she had to give him points for honesty. Actually, she supposed he just wasn't familiar enough with the language to do anything except go straight to the point.

"You're supposed to at least pretend you have some interest in something besides fucking!" Sissy said indignantly.

He looked confused and glanced at the other two men as if seeking help. Kate took pity on him-because he really was cute! And built beautifully if the material stretched over his massive frame was any indication!

"Actually, I don't mind."

She glanced at Sissy and shrugged. "You know they couldn't get in without a psyche eval and disease clearance. I'm sure it'll be alright and that was all I was looking for, after all."

Sissy looked unconvinced, but she finally shrugged. Leaning down, she spoke next to Kate's ear. "Just don't forget to reset your alarm system when you get to your place. The guy's a monster-no way you could fend him off if you changed your mind-and people can fake those psyche evaluations, you know."

"I won't. See you later, ok?"

Sissy looked unhappy, but she merely nodded. Shaking her head, she moved past the men and headed into the lady's room.

Kate smiled up at her hunk. So he was 'in' to dressing in women's clothing! It wasn't as if she was looking for any kind of commitment! She just wanted to get laid and he was the best looking man she'd seen all night-including the dancers! "Come on, cutie! Let's go to my place and fool around."

"Dis mean fuck?"

Kate snickered. "We'll get to that."

He still seemed a little confused, but the moment she tugged at his arm and started toward the exit, he seemed to grasp the situation. In the blink of an eye he went from passive to aggressive, leading the way. It wasn't until they stopped on the curb outside to wait for a shuttle that Kate realized his two friends had followed him. Uneasiness slithered through her, but she dismissed it. They probably just figured there was no point in hanging around when Sissy had been so nasty to them. They probably couldn't speak English as well as the guy she'd picked.

"What's your name? I'm Kate." She frowned as soon as she'd said it, recalling abruptly that he seemed to know her name already. She couldn't remember that Sissy had called her by name when they'd been standing by their table, but she finally decided she must have and he'd overheard.

"Noo."

Kate frowned. "You knew already?"

He looked confused. "Name Noo."

Kate blinked at him, as confused as he seemed to be. "I'm lost."

He stared at her for a moment and looked around. "Are here."

Kate compressed her lips in an effort to crush the urge to chuckle. "Let's try that again, shall we? My name is Kate. What is your name?" she asked slowly, enunciating each word carefully.

He looked like he would say something, but then he paused and seemed to think it over. "Ronan."

A jolt went through Kate. How freaky was it that his name was the same as the one she'd chosen for the alpha Sirian? She met his gaze and felt another wave of uneasiness when she saw that he was studying her intently ... almost as if he expected a reaction. That same odd sense of déjà vu traveled through her again, but she dismissed it. It had to be the alcohol. She didn't feel drunk enough to be hallucinating, but obviously her judgment was way off and her imagination working on overtime. "Man! I am so drunk!"

"What dis drunk?"

Kate shook her head, diverted by the arrival of the shuttle.

And then she was distracted when Ronan's companions climbed into the shuttle with them.

Trying to convince herself that they hadn't, somehow, gotten the idea that they were all invited to her place, she gave the computer directions to her cabin and settled back a little uneasily. She was so preoccupied with her own tension and the thoughts darting through her mind that they'd been traveling a while before she emerged sufficiently to see that the men were also tense.

This was a lot more awkward than she'd expected!

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea after all? Bolstered by the drinks she'd had, surrounded by so many other people in the club with pretty much the same goal in mind, it had seemed perfectly reasonable to pursue her interest in appeasing her sexual needs. It had seemed completely safe, given the precautions they took in clubs these days to insure the health and safety of their patrons, despite Sissy's warnings.

The small home she thought of as her little cabin in the hills, though, was fairly isolated. Unlike the city where everyone was practically stacked on top of everyone else, or even the immediate surroundings where homes still stood shoulder to shoulder, close enough if you tossed anything out the window it was liable to land in the neighbor's living room, her place was yards from the nearest neighbors. Surrounded by jungle-like plant growth, it didn't just give her the illusion of being miles from anyone else, the thickly planted yard that surrounded the little house prevented her from seeing or hearing her neighbors and vice versa.

Beyond that, most of her close neighbors were fellow scientists working on the colony project, just as she had been, except unlike her they were still on the space station.

She'd even left Sissy back at the club-which meant the only neighbor she knew for a fact had returned to Earth was beyond range for any sort of distress call.

She didn't think those thoughts would've made her quite as uneasy if she hadn't noticed that the men were nervous and begun to wonder why they were.