Page 3 of Alien Abduction for Experts
He pressed a button on his wrist communicator and an image appeared on the large screen in front of us. A strange male creature seemed to be looking down on us. Its two heads were almost identical, although the one on the right had slightly larger nostrils. Yes, just nostrils, because they didn't have any noses, nor ears, for that matter. Their eyes were almost human in shape and size, but their mouths were too wide and their lips strangely patterned, almost as if they had scales. Below the shoulders, they resembled my males. Humanoid, two legs, two arms, the same proportions I was used to. Their skin was covered in a thin layer of white down, reminding me of a freshly hatched bird. Weird.
"Is that one or two people?" I was a bit embarrassed to have to pose that question, but to be fair, I didn't want to assume that this male was like Siamese twins back on Earth. It could have been just a guy with two heads, sharing the same mind.
"Two," Xil confirmed. "Hix and Hex."
"Their mother clearly wasn't very creative," I muttered.
"Gemi’i don't have mothers. Well, they do, but they don't grow up with their parents after they hatch from their eggs. The mother lays the eggs in the desert region of their planet, then moves on, letting the sun do the job of incubating the eggs. The hatchlings are born with the ability to walk, but only a handful survive the journey out of the desert and into one of the habitable areas. It's why the Gemi’i that survive are known to be hardy and able to survive almost anything."
"Are they going to be hard to abduct?"
Xil patted his lap, and I took the invitation without a second thought, sitting down on his thick thighs. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I leaned against his chest, enjoying his warmth. Half an hour ago, I wasn't sure if we'd make it. Feeling him like this was reassuring. We were alive and we were going to stay that way.
"I'm not sure. I've never met one of their kind,but I doubt it'll be easy. Katila wouldn't have given us this job if anyone could do it. No, she chose us because we've taken her course and we know what we're doing." He chuckled. "Mostly, anyways."
"What do you need me to do?" I asked.
"Maybe you could look into their species, research their planet. Defences, weaknesses, habits. I'll dig into Hex and Hix's background, see if I can find out more about who they are and why Katila wants them."
"Aye, aye, Captain," I said with a grin. Now that the main danger was over, it felt good to smile.
Iused my new wrist communicator to dive into the IGU database. It was surprisingly easy. Matar had given me access to the ship's AI as well as all the Alien Abduction for Beginners material, and the system was similar to that of Earth computers. Much more sophisticated, of course, and the content was shown to me in holographic 3D, but still, the basic concept was the same.
It didn't take me long to find the entry on Gemi'i.
Instead of reading the various documents, I had a look at the pictures first. Both drawings and photographs showed males and females. There was a 3D model that I was able to move around with my hands, zooming in wherever I wanted. Just like Hix and Hex, all of the Gemi’i were two-headed. Or one-bodied, depending on how you looked at it. I took a closer peek at the male model's crotch. Only one dick. Surprising, really. I would have assumed they'd want one each, but I supposed nobody was in charge of nature.
Once I'd taken in the strange sight, I opened the first document and scanned the text. I didn't want to become an expert in Gemi'i. It was enough to know the basics that would help us with the abduction.
Gemi’i lived on three different planets in the same solar system. They'd also colonised two moons, but those were mostly used for mining. It was unlikely our targets lived there. Still, that left three entire planets to search. Their kind were ruled by the Hydrapta, what sounded like a Queen. I scrolled down to find a picture of her. Wow. She had three heads, four arms and what looked like more than just two breasts squeezed into her ample bosom. Impressive. She also stared at the camera with so much distaste that I instantly decided I didn't want to meet her.
Most of the information in the database wouldn't assist us in abducting our targets. I didn't care what they ate (omnivores), how long they lived (around two hundred IG years) or how they procreated (eggs). They seemed to be a peaceful species who preferred to be among their own kind. I supposed three planets was plenty for a population of only a billion. I imagined what it would be like if we had three Earths. Wow. Maybe we wouldn't have destroyed our planet and each other if we'd had that much space. But then, maybe not. Humans loved killing each other. It was a miracle we'd made it this long.
"Anything interesting yet?" Xil asked, looking up from his own research.
"No, nothing. Unless you want to know that they like to eat some sort of leaf wrapped in animal dung."
"No, thanks. I didn't need to know that. Shall I make you a cup of tea?"
"I'd love that. Are there any piki cakes left?"
Xil chuckled. "Half a storage hangar full. You can have more than one, but I doubt you'll manage to eat that."
He was right. As delicious as piki cakes were, they were also incredibly filling. Besides, my stomach was still a little queasy after our near-death experience.
While he left the bridge, I continued scrolling through the files. It was interesting, but not what I was looking for. This wasn't just me trying to learn about a different species. It was research that might keep us alive. If we failed, who knew what Professor Katila would do to us. I doubted she'd let us fly away into a happy ever after.
Finally, just when Xil returned with a small tray, I stumbled across the perfect snippet of information.
"Gemi’i have one weakness in particular," I read out to Xil. "They can be easily knocked out by a hit to the fleshy part where their two heads diverge. It will render them unconscious for at least ten IG minutes. In battle, Gemi'i wear specialised armour that covers this intersection."
"But not if they're unaware of being our targets," Xil said cheerily. "Well done. Havel is going to look at their physiology as well, see if our standard tranquilisers would work on them, but if not, we now have another strategy."
"Did you know they live on three different planets?" I asked. "Katila didn't give us coordinates, did she?"
"She didn't. I don't think she'd take kindly to us asking, so we will have to take a different approach. Once we're closer to their solar system, we might be able to intercept their media and intra-planet-communications. If we're lucky, we'll be able to find something about them."
I took the cup of tea he offered and breathed in the smoky scent of his favourite tea. Havel preferred something much sweeter, while Matar wasn't much of a fan of tea in general. The smoky, strong taste matched Xil well, I thought.
