Free Supernova on Twine by Mark Alders Page A

Mirko. “My new body is goin’
okay.”
    Don’t use any inflections. You’ll have to speak like me. Try
and pronounce everything as succinctly as you
can , Motac said.
    All right, keep your pants on , Zane
chastised him in his mind, finding the experience quite
disorientating. Talking to three people, one of whom was inside his
mind, could get kind of tricky. This wasn’t going to be
easy.
    There was
a moment of pause from Erkla, but to Zane it looked like the leader
was more preoccupied checking him out. After all, Zane’s cock was
there for all to see, him being naked. A Banshan’s genitals were on
the inside until required. He guessed the leader liked the look of
Zane’s appendage, by the amount of time he spent staring at
it.
    When
Erkla had done a complete circuit of Zane, and with Motac telling
him to keep as still as possible while under scrutiny, the alien
lizard finally said, “I really don’t see why eternals would bother
with such a weak species like humans. Banshan are more than capable
of ensuring the eternals’ rule is complete.”
    Motac said, Tell him it’s because
humans are resourceful, curious and survivors .
    Zane did
so, adding, “Imagination” to the list.
    “ Bah! Humans are pathetic. They cannot last more than a few
days without water, a couple of weeks without food, and if naked,
no more than a few hours in an extreme environment. What good are
they, really?”
    Say that the Banshan are the warriors while the humans are the
cattle. After all, the greatest colonies in the universe require
diversity, even if they are enslaved.
    I’m not sayin’ that. Us humans have kicked eternal arse, and
we’ll do it again if we have to.
    I admire your spirit, Zane, but remember, you’re me…so act
like it. The truth of the matter is that humans are easy to enter
and therefore easy to control. There are also plenty of you. Don’t
forget that.
    Zane,
without anymore argument, replied, “Humans are a more compatible
vessel.” He left it at that.
    Good. Good .
    The
Banshan snorted. “No matter what I think of them, the eternals will
rule no matter the species they inhabit. We are about to set course
for the first human defence space-station, Supernova on Twine.
Prepare yourself, Motac. You will be the new voice of the eternals.
The reason this human was chosen was because he is strong and knows
of our ways. His occupation will let others know that they cannot
resist. They will also know of our intent and our interests.
Hopefully, humans will resist less if they are more aware of the
consequences if they don’t comply.”
    Zane bowed again. “We will destroy them if they
resist.” Pigs arse we will. You Banshan
fuckers will get what’s coming to you, no damn
doubt .
    That’s the spirit, Zane.
    Erkla
gestured for them to leave his presence, but added, “Your first
task is to fetch me the spirit folk beings, Tink and Mirko. We have
a similar use for them as well.”
    “ Yes, Erkla.” Zane left the throne room. Straight away the
guard who had escorted them to the heart of the empire was at their
side again. Zane remembered to breathe though his mouth. At least
now he knew Tink and Mirko were safe. He just hoped Zoltan was
reinserted into him…but he doubted it. After all, they would know
the cat being would need an eternal to keep Mirko alive…the matter
of which eternal probably wasn’t a concern for them.
    In that
moment, Zane missed Zoltan.
    Zoltan will be all right. He’s a survivor .
    I hope so. I kind of got used to him .
    You liked him? Motac asked.
    If you have to know, I kind of love the dude. What he did for
Mirko was amazin’ and I have nothin’ but respect for
him .
    Just like you’ll come to love me, I’m sure .
    Don’t count your chickens, buddy. You’ve got a long way to go
before I relax in my own mind with you around .
    We’ll see .
    Yeah, we’ll see alright .

Chapter
Two
     
     
    Emergency
entry, Zane’s implanted data storage device. Ship time,