An Incubus Life - 182 - Andromeda's Research

Chapter 182 Andromeda’s Reaserch

I watched Sofiel become engrossed in the terminal. Flipping through documents, could she read the Eladrin language? If Lilith was in control of Sofiel’s body and she was learning things, did that mean I was learning them as well?

As long as we were on the gunship, I didn’t have to worry about her getting out of range. I had saved Sofiel, but at what cost? Based on her disposition, she might just kill herself. Hours later, Captain Aida sat with me, and we both watched the angelic, “Never seen it’s like before. You mind construct migrated to hers?”

“Yes, with her aether core weakened, the angelic had no way to defend herself. It was easy for my mindspace construct to take over.” I replied flatly, hiding my own concern.

“I still want her restrained when no one is watching her,” the Captain said.

“Understood,” I replied, nodding. Aida moved to the forward cabin and took a shift, the pilot retreating to nap.

Lilith had heard the entire conversation, being just a few feet away. “I have perfect control, you know. Her body feels odd, but I think that is because of the conflicting angelic and demon energies.” Lilith reached inside her suit and ran her hands along her breasts and then down to her groin. “The body responds normally to stimulation. It will be interesting testing the body’s normal functioning.”

She turned away from the screen to face me. “I think we can project the others in the mindspace as well. They will not have physical form, and the aether investment would need to be continuous, but the pedestal we designed for this should work for them as well.” Her tone and demeanor were that of Lilith in my mind space, and I still found it disconcerting that Sofiel appeared to be gone.

“I think I will wait on bringing more of you out to play. We need to focus on convincing the Gaian’s not to let the battleship Eternity land.” I said, hiding my unease. I should be trusting of my mind constructs but having Lilith here made it feel all too real.

“That is what I have been working on,” Sofiel’s voice had exasperation in it. “There is not much information in the gunship’s archives, but I am piecing together what I can.”

I was suddenly interested, “What have you discovered?” I was not the only one interested as a few Eladrin nearby turned their heads.

“I have confirmed three races on the planet by images I pulled. The Eladrin, the Kentaur, and the Kitsune. There are probably more, but it appears the Eladrin race is in charge.” She explained.

Captain Aida added, “The Kentaur are purebred centaurs. Andromeda pulled them from a planet on the 20th layer a few thousand years ago. They are more intelligent, larger, and much stronger than their counterparts. They produce fantastic lower tier two aether crystals. The Kitsune are shapeshifters with a humanoid fox-like form. They have powerful aether cores and there were a few on Andromeda’s battleship the Remembrance. There are also two aquatic races on the Gaian that I know of.”

The co-pilot turned in his bunk, “Yeah, those breeding programs got out of hand, though. Last time we dropped a delivery on Gaian, the oceans were considered hazardous.” All eyes turned to the co-pilot.

He looked to the pilot in the front seat to explain. The male Eladrin turned, “We did some stealth deliveries for Andromeda over the decades. I don’t think the old codes will get us through their security. But yeah, the oceans are teaming with massive cities of the Selkie and Aquadrin. They have gone unchecked for a time but are wise enough not to interfere with the surface operations.”

“Aquadrin?” Sofiel asked, interested, and she tapped on the screen to try and find more information.

Captain Aida answered, “An experiment of Andromeda’s, joining the Eladrin and Merfolk. Unsuccessfully, if I remember correctly, their cores are barely strong enough to survive on the 17th layer.”

Sofiel found a computer entry, “Interesting. Apparently, Andromeda was hoping to create aquatic troops. It makes sense as most planets probably have large aquatic populations.”

“No organic would surpass our combat suits capability.” Captain Aida stated.

Sofiel was not deterred. “Magic is the great equalizer. They could have been formidable water warriors if their cores had been stronger.”

Captain Aida conceded the point with a nod. I was one of many keeping an eye on Sofiel as we raced at FTL speeds toward our destination. Lilith was compliant with having the body restrained when I rested.

My dreamscape felt odd when I checked, and I had to deal with an angry Pandora. I had promised her a thank you session, and she had determined this would be the perfect opportunity—a much better option than doing it in the dreamscape. I promised to make good on my word—eventually.

I hunched over a screen with everyone else when the gunship arrived in the outer system. The giant planet in the system was teaming with life. We were more concerned with the possibility of our spaceships. Sofiel/Lilith was nestled next to me as we shared a screen. “One point two of Earth’s gravity. Forty-eight percent land mass. Wow, the flora and fauna are enormous.”

We settled into the orbit and started to receive live video feeds. It did look like a dinosaur planet. Some creatures could have been from Earth’s distant past, while others were more exotic. I half-listened to the pilot, co-pilot, and Captain Aida. They were computing times to recharge the gunships' aetheric batteries and transition. The aether concentration had massively increased as we approached the planet and its access to the transit threads.

I could feel my own aether regeneration increasing as the aether bled up from the planet. It was going to be hard going back to Earth’s low aetheric density. We waited two days to gather enough aether to jump directly to the seventeenth layer. We moved to a higher orbit, just within reach of the transit access point, and entered.

Alarms sounded as we exited into space from our transition. I got slightly dizzy from the intoxicating rush of aether and had to force myself to focus. Sofiel/Lilith started sweating profusely next to me.

I studied her core and her body under my aether sight. Her core was holding out but under attack, and her skin was flush, “Is the body going to hold out?”

In a constipated tone, “Yes. I think we have time. Days at least. Her flesh is acting as a condenser for the environmental aether and trying to funnel it to the core, but the gates are closed.” She smiled weakly. “I am taking a little more control to reinforce the cracks. Just don’t wander too far and break the connection between the mindspaces.”

I wasn’t sure how much I trusted Lilith’s approximation of the situation, but I had other things to worry about. The co-pilot was getting frustrated, “They are not recognizing the old codes. Six interceptors from the surface will reach us in 97 seconds. Picking up aether turbulence waves.”

Captain Aida was swearing from the third seat in the cockpit, “They are trying to infiltrate the system. They have bypasss codes.”

An engineer at a terminal next to me replied calmly, “Shutting down automated systems and going to manual. Disconnecting sub-systems as I locate the backdoors they are trying to utilize.”

Finally, a face appeared on a screen of an olive-skinned Eladrin. In the background was a pristine white office and a window out into the garden with a plethora of colorful flowers. “Caretaker Daenra. Please remove your gunship from our orbit, or I will be forced to shoot you down.”

Captain Aida tried to reason with her, “We have come to warn you. Desarae has taken Andromeda captive and is coming here in the Eternity.”

A flash of surprise crossed the Eladrin’s face before returning stoic. “Be that as it may, you lack the proper codes to approach Gaian.”

I flipped my comms on, “We are seeking your help to free Andromeda. What do we need to do to make you trust us?” I was putting all our eggs in one basket. I thought I failed when the screen went blank.

“Three more craft are launching from the surface,” the co-pilot announced. I swore but got hope when he added, “Transport shuttles. Unarmed.”

The interceptors slowed, and the Caretaker Daenra appeared again, “You will scuttle the gunship and enter space. We will collect you on the shuttles.”

Captain Aida spoke, “The gunship needs to be destroyed or concealed. If the Eternity sees it when they arrive they will know we are here.”

“We are not idiots,” the caretaker said a little hotly. I was hoping we didn’t anger them as we could also be quite the prize if the planet decided to side with Deserae.

The next hour could have been more pleasant. After we exited the gunship in our suits, we had to turn over the suit controls to the shuttle pilots. They jettisoned any weapons from our suits and locked out the controls. Even if we could summon objects from our mind spaces, we would not be able to fire them. The gunship was towed toward the only moon orbiting the planet.

I requested to go on the same shuttle as Sofiel, explaining the circumstances broadly, but they never affirmed they would allow it. Fortunately, we did end up together on the shuttle, saving Lilith from being disconnected. Only Captain Aida, Sofiel, and I were on the shuttle as we were separated from the other crew. Descending from orbit, the planet appeared as an array of vibrant greens with only isolated cities on coasts on the high plateaus.

The planet looked mostly untouched by industry. We passed over a large snow-capped mountain into a deep valley. As the shuttle settled softly into a rocky outcropping, I relaxed but noticed the other two shuttles did not land with us. Captain Aida had noticed as well and frowned. Not that the rest of the crew was combat-effective.

Our suits were unlocked as the ramp descended. A simple bot greeted us and ordered, “Follow me to decontamination.” The bot took us to a room where we were sprayed down and put under deep violet lights. “You may remove your armor now,” the bot intoned. The three of us complied, and the sterilization procedure was repeated. “Follow me,” the bot announced after confirming that we were not bringing any disease or bacteria.

Captain Aida whispered, “Andromeda used this planet as a research base as well as storing her wealth. We must be in one of the research centers.” The bot led us to an elevator that rapidly descended into the mountain. When it stopped, we stepped off into an arboretum inside the mountain. Olive and pale-skinned perfect-looking Eladrin walked among the paradise in loose black clothes.

The air was thick with humidity as the Eladrin gave us curious looks. A massive centaur, its majestic naked male torso giving it a height of eight feet, was picking fruit and adding it to a basket. Through the foliage I could see a number of other centaurs—or I should say kentaurs, also picking fruits from the trees.

I caught sight of a few of the female kentaurs as we followed our bot guide. The females were only slightly smaller than the males but just as muscular. A younger black-haired female trotted toward us, curious. Her breasts were firm but bouncing as she approached. A male centaur stepped from the trees, stopping the curious young female. The centaurs all had solid black eyes, adding a slightly demonic visage to their fantastical forms.

We entered a glossy white structure and were led to an office where Caretaker Daenra sat. She did not look happy to see us. Captain Aida asked, “Where are the Eladrin we came with?”

“They are fine. They are at another facility and are being cared for. It appeared you two were decision makers and this one is your pet?” The Caretaker indicated Sofiel.

Lilith took exception, stumbling forward, “I am not a pet!” A tug at my mind space sent alarms through me. I pulled her back.

“Sorry, Sofiel got the upper hand for a second. It is under control now.” I really couldn’t deal with this at the moment of these important negotiations.

“Should we put the body in stasis?” Captain Aida asked, ignoring the Caretaker.

“No, I was just having trouble with the aetheric density. Sofiel took the opportunity. She only got minimal control and wasted her efforts, but now I am prepared. But she is not sleeping like I thought. She is aware of everything going on.” Lilith informed me.

Things were never simple. I focused on the Caretaker, “Are you going to help us rescue Andromeda then?”

“No.” My shocked expression had the Eladrin smirk. “We can’t hold off a battleship. If we tried, they could bombard the planet and destroy the research groups.”

“What is the research? I couldn’t find anything in the computers.” Sofiel stepped forward, interested.

The Caretaker shrugged, “We are experimenting on creatures from the sixteenth to the eighteenth layer that have too weak a core to survive on a higher layer, yet they flourish anyway.”

“I thought there were uncountable riches on the planet,” I asked.

“There are vaults of material wealth, yes. However, the true value is understanding how to cope with the aetheric press on your aether core. One day, maybe someone with a tier two core, could live on the tenth layer.” The Caretaker rose. “The best I can do is try to get you aboard the Eternity when it arrives.”

“Does Deserae know what is here? It seems like a lot of trouble to go through.” I asked.

“Unlikely. Andromeda never let her bonded on the surface. We tend only to take deliveries, and Andromeda only visited every decade or so to review our progress or initiate new experiments.” The Caretaker moved away from her desk. “Now, if you don’t mind, I am very busy. You can rest in a room until the Eternity arrives.”

We followed the bot to a room that had fruit trees growing in the common room and small alcoves for sleeping. “That actually went much better than I thought it would,” Captain Aida said as she walked the room perimeter and frowned as there was no exit other than the door we entered. Sofiel/Lilith tried the door, and we were locked inside.

Lilith huffed, “No terminals either to access their net.”

“We wait,” I said, picking a yellow fruit that looked like a lemon. It had a harder exterior. The flesh was red when I peeled it. It tasted like raspberry but much sweeter. I assimilated the fruit into my mind space. Maybe the seeds could be grown on Earth. The thought of growing the exotic tree was probably me being hopeful I would return to Earth.

Hours passed and a human woman delivered our power armor with an odd but powerful core. She looked to be in her late teens and had silvery hair and eyes to match. I couldn’t see any duplicitous nature under my abyssal sight.

“I am available to service your needs,” she said in the Eladrin tongue.

Captain Aida volunteered, “A kitsune. Masters of shape-shifting. They prefer human, foxkin, and fox bodies, though.”

“I couldn’t detect that human was not her true form,” I said, confused, examining her again as she stood by the door.

“Did you assess her aether core?” Lilith questioned. Lilith stood in front of the woman, inspecting her like a zoologist.

“Two point three, three,” I said, coming to a realization. “Her shifting ability matches the strength of my abyssal eyes.”

“Also, they are experienced tricksters and usually solitary creatures. This one may have looked like a human teenager, but she is probably over a hundred years old.” Captain Aida added.

“I am thirty-seven,” the Kitsune said. “And yes, I prefer this form.” A little tersely, she added, “We are not a solitary race. We just don’t socialize often with our own.”

As we inspected the power armor, making sure it was functional, I asked, “So are the Eladrin in charge then? It looked like the kentaurs were farmers and the kitsune are servants.”

The kitsune looked offended but I didn’t care. “The kitsune are the superior researchers, and we have much finer control of aether than the Eladrin. The centaurs are the builders and work in the field monitoring the subject species.”

“Fascinating,” Lilith remained in front of the kitsune. Clearly, she had someone here who could answer her questions in place of a computer terminal. “How many different species are you researching?”

The kitsune was suddenly flustered, “I am not a researcher. I tend to the logistics of the staff and procure necessary sustenance when required for researchers who are too busy to get it themselves.”

Lilith laughed, “So you are a servant!”

The kitsune shifted into a female foxkin in the blink of an eye and growled. She didn’t move threateningly, just voiced her disapproval at being called a servant. “Lilith, don’t anger our steward. She may spit in our drinks.”

Lilith sighed, “So, how many kitsune, Eladrin, and kentaurs live on Gaian?”

“They preferred to be called centaurs. There are about a million Eladrin, half that number of kitsune, and the centaur population is probably over four million. There have been revolts in the past and past maintain enclaves in the wild.” The kitsune answered.

“Revolts?” I asked.

“There are population caps set by Queen Andromeda. The centaurs are an amorous race and highly focused on family. They prefer the hardship of the wilds rather than limit their offspring to two.” The kitsune answered.

“Why are they not hunted down?” Captain Aida inquired.

“Andromeda always it as long as they do not damage the biomes. Most of the research is focused on tens of thousands of plants from lower layers and how they can survive here.” She replied.

“So, she does know something. Come into my web, little one. I have questions,” Sofiel guided the reluctant kitsune to an alcove to question her till her eyes bled.

Captain Aida was finished with the suits and stood. “We have some time. Do you need any life essence? If I am not satisfactory, perhaps we can get you one of those amorous centaurs.”

Her suggestion caused me to form an image of myself in my incubus body behind one of the centaur females to puzzle out how that might work. It would probably be easier to just create my own centaur male form. “Maye I will try one later,” I joked. “You will do for now.” I followed Captain Aida to the alcove opposite of where Sofiel and the kitsune were talking.