Volume 2: Gamma-17, Chapter 2.11
The Deadliest Lifeform in the Universe Loves Me
When I was reunited with that arrogant bitch, she nearly tackled me to the ground in a fierce hug. "Darling, I missed you!" She sang, giving me a couple kisses on each cheek.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Eve at the doorway to my crew quarters. I'd been cleared of my debriefing with Kianna for several hours now and had been fine to relax until I got my next orders. I hadn't been expecting Eve to just knock at my door like this.
Eve smiled brilliantly, her perfect pearly white teeth framed with fangs surrounded by those sexy, pouty black lips flashing at me like a weapon, "I've been cleared from my security debriefing; I'm free for now."
I found that hard to believe, "Really, completely free?"
She rolled her big, glowing yellow eyes, "Well, not completely." She stepped away from the door to reveal she was being guarded by two clandestine agents and four power armor soldiers, "I have an escort." She announced cheerfully.
The agents wore simple tactical gear and were on high alert staying within a few feet of Eve, while the power armor soldiers gave her a wider berth and held their guns in a relaxed position.
I nodded along, "Nice, a compromise in allowing you out of your containment cell?"
Eve beamed and nodded, "Uh-huh. One of the many dozen security protocols they established. I'm free to walk around The Radiance now, so long as I have an escort."
I wasn't sure what all the escort could even do against someone like Eve—she trapped some hundred people in a matter of seconds all while being locked within that containment unit; what exactly could six random soldiers do?
"And did you get rid of all your spores like you promised?"
Eve groaned and kicked at the floor like some belligerent kid, "Yesss. I even helped them adjust their scanners so they could actually read for my spores now. In return, they deactivated all the failsafes except the one you have." Her expression turned coy, "Does that excite you, knowing the power you hold over me? The only person aboard The Radiance who could stop me."
I ignored her attempts at flirting, "Didn't do me much good back at the command center; I pulled out the controller and you disarmed me before I could even press the button."
Eve pouted and stomped her foot, "Right, I wanted to bring that up again." She turned away in a huff, "Were you really going to kill me back there?"
I nodded once, "Considering what you did back there, yeah, I thought it was the only way to save everyone you had trapped in that biomass nest."
Eve turned back to me, her eyes searching mine with a serious expression for a few silent moments. After a few seconds, a vicious little smile spread on her face, "No, you wouldn't have—you couldn't." She said with complete conviction.
I didn't know why, but her response really irritated me—but I chose to just ignore it, "Did you need something? Why are you here?"
Eve's smile turned playful once more, "Well, now that we're both free, I figure it's a good time for you to give me a tour of The Radiance."
I opened my mouth to protest, but quickly realized it wouldn't do any good. If I was to resist Eve's seduction attempts, it would be best to move forward with clinical detachment and compliance—no reason to fight or argue, no reason to give her any more than the bare minimum. I would act as her handler and nothing more—hopefully she'd get bored and give up her stupid games.
I closed the door to my quarters and stood before Eve, "What would you like to see first?"
I could see Eve had expected an argument—she'd been surprised by my response. But she quickly regained her composure with a little smirk, "Show me around your favorite spots."
I nodded, and without another word started down the hallway. Eve grabbed onto my arm quickly and pressed it against her huge breast. Eve's escort followed us like silent shadows a dozen feet away.
I rounded a couple corners and led us through a few different hallways, and anytime someone else saw our little entourage they made a hasty retreat. I wasn't sure what all people knew of what Eve had done in the command center, but as Kianna said rumors ran fast in a vessel like The Radiance, so I was sure most of the details would be widely known by now.
It would be a strange adjustment for anyone to make—the monster we'd had locked up securely in her containment cell now walking mostly free aboard the vessel. But as it was said before, what choice did we have?
"You don't have to fight against me you know." Eve said softly, that playful arrogance gone from her voice.
"What?"
"I know you don't trust me and think I'm trying to turn you into my pawn, but I promise that's not the case."
I was silent for a few beats as we rounded the next corner, "Unfortunately, there's nothing you can just say to change my mind now."
Eve was silent now for a time as she thought over her response. "What would you have me do?"
I shook my head, "I don't think there's anything you can do; you opened the door, too late to close it now."
"There must be something." She patted my pocket—the one that held the failsafe control, "I gave you power over my life, surely that means something?"
I shrugged, "You even admitted you don't think I could use it; not much of a power then, is it?"
In response, she just chuckled, "My clever Adam." She sighed contently, "Time will pass, and we'll look back on these days and laugh at how silly we were to each other, you'll see."
"I doubt it."
"In the meantime, feel free to be yourself; there's no reason for you to be all on edge and uncomfortable. I'm happy just to spend time with you as the real me finally; I want us to enjoy our time together."
I didn't offer any reply as we finally made it to the first stop in our tour, "Here, the life chamber." I said as I opened the massive bay doors. Inside was a series of large, futuristic greenhouses. There were a dozen giant white spheres surrounded by pure green trees covering every inch, with silver tubes in a large kind of crisscrossing cage, "This's where all our oxygen comes from. I don't understand it at all, but I think it's super cool to look at." It felt a little muggy, and there was a layer of mist on the ground, and unlike the rest of the ship, it actually felt alive here—like I was in a real forest once again.
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Eve looked up and around in awe, walking forward into the chamber and pulling me with her, "Wow, they're all so big." She walked up to the nearest sphere that was at least 50 feet tall and opened the door, revealing a series of trees and netting slowly rotating around each other, more mist spilling out as a cool wave of fresh air hit us.
"This system allows us to stay in space indefinitely; we'll never run out of air, so long as we have at least four of those spheres still active." I explained.
Eve turned to me, a mischievous smile on her face, "Fool! Now I know the secret to destroying The Radiance—you've fallen into my trap! Mwuahahahahaa!"
I looked at her with a horrified expression, but before I could even say anything, she just giggled in that alluring, musical trill of hers, "Adam, darling I'm just teasing—lighten up, will you?"
I fixed her with a flat look, "Sorry if I'm not in the mood for teasing."
Eve bit her lip in a way I found way too enticing, "You're actually really cute when you're grumpy, you know?"
"Right, we done here? There's plenty more to show you."
Instead of being irritated I'd ignored her comment, Eve seemed even more amused by my response, "Lead on, darling."
Next, I took Eve to the sector beneath the life chamber to show her the hydro-treatment center; working in tandem with the life chamber, the hydro-treatment center was a massive water plant of spiraling tubes over 50 feet tall that recycled water from the ship, as well as produced and refined the moisture gathered from the plants of the life chamber. There was also some filtration system that allowed it to collect errant ice particulates from space and repurpose it into useable water. Again, I had no idea how it worked, but standing in the middle of the blue and purple tubes listening to the rush of running water, the cacophony of pumps and drains, it reminded me of being at a water park.
"How long do you think it would take the humans to develop such technology on their own?" Eve asked.
"Why?"
Eve looked at me with a rather sincere expression, "You don't think about earth much?"
I shrugged, "Not really, too busy with life in the Empire—it's much more exciting out here."
Eve shook her head, "I don't really need the excitement. I wouldn't mind a quiet life back on earth."
"Really?"
She smiled, "Sure, if I had my way, we never would have left your grandparents' farm. You could find some local job—or better yet I'd create some riches so you'd never have to work again. We could just spend all our days about the farm, taking care of the animals—taking care of each other. That would be my dream."
I didn't think about life back on earth very often—didn't want to think about who I left behind, hoping they were safe and I hadn't totally fucked up their lives by bringing Eve home. "What did you think of my grandparents?"
"I really liked them, they reminded me of you, but different in their fuddy-duddy ways. Gramps was always sneaking me more treats, and he acted like it was a big secret—always so funny. And Gram really treated me like a person—like a granddaughter, I guess." Her smile seemed a little sad, "I miss them."
I didn't know how to respond to that; it was strange hearing her talk about my grandparents after all this time, but I guess they were a big part of her life back then too. Whatever mercy I'd shown her that bonded her to me, my grandparents offered it as well. Was that why she hadn't consumed them either, some bond she made with them as well? Would she have bonded with any human that showed her mercy? Was I just the luckless fool who got tangled up in everything when that stupid space rock crashed down in the woods by my house?
When I didn't say anything, Eve leaned closer into me, resting her cheek against my shoulder, "We could go back there, you know. Leave all this behind and return to earth, live out our days with your grandparents on their farm. There's nothing the humans could do to stop us; I would keep us all safe. We could all be a happy little family away from all this Imperial nonsense." She said softly, almost a whisper.
Hearing her honeyed words in my ear, it pissed me off—I didn't believe for one second she'd be content to live a quiet life back on earth. She'd killed humans like it was nothing before, there was no telling who would be safe from her wrath. "Stop it, just shut up about my grandparents and about earth. Leave all of humanity out of it—whatever your game with me, just make it about me, okay?" I snapped.
Eve's expression immediately changed as though she was hurt, "Adam, I'm not playing some game with you—I'm being honest." She gestured forward like she was at a loss for words, "I do miss it—earth and your grandparents. I'm not lying."
Eve's eyes were wide and sad, and I could see a loneliness there she was desperately trying to fix—but I was sure it was all some trick; she could literally completely remake herself and her form, there was no reason to believe she couldn't fake a few choice emotions.
"Whatever, let's just move on with the tour." I turned and started to walk away, but Eve grabbed my arm and held me in place.
"No, you hurt my feelings, and I demand an apology." She insisted, her gaze hard and serious.
I yanked my arm from her grip, and she let it go easily. I took a step towards her, "An apology—after all the shit you've put me through? You owe me like a thousand apologies!"
Eve crossed her arms while her stare remained steely, "And I did apologize to you, that doesn't give you the right to be cruel to me in return."
I crossed my arms too, "And what if I don't apologize? What if I continue to be cruel to you?"
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to reveal my master plan? Reveal I've been manipulating you to become my Predazoan pawn all along, but you being a jerk ruins everything—oh how the house of cards comes crashing down because Adam was an asshole to me, that it?" She pressed angrily.
So far Eve had flipped between being cute and innocent to wildly flirty and seductive, but this was something different; she was upset and angry and expressing it in a surprisingly open manner—it made her seem more like a real person. It was quite disarming.
"I…" I didn't really know how else to respond—didn't have any clever quips or sarcasm at the ready, "I'm sorry, okay?"
Eve's angry stare didn't relent, "Whatever you think of me right now, however you might fight against what you perceive to be some great injustice, know I will only ever be kind to you; I will be gentle and caring and loving. Next time you would think to be cruel, imagine yourself talking to the little Evie huddled up in her blankets back in your bedroom on earth shivering in fear and see if you still have the heart to be so unnecessarily nasty."
This was the most reasonable she'd been since she'd changed into her true form, and it felt like I finally had a window to have a real conversation with her.
"Then how do you think I should respond after what all you've said to me? You were with me back on earth, you know who I am, you even understand what it is to be human, and yet you've taken from me one of the most important parts of being a human, and you call me cruel." I said in a calm, even tone.
Eve tilted her head to the side, losing a little of her heat in exchange for confusion, "And what's that?"
I placed a hand on my chest, "Choice. You tell me all these things you are to me, yet you haven't even given me a choice in the matter. My mate—my perfect woman—but you never gave me any say, declaring it all well past done already."
Eve opened her mouth to speak, but didn't have a good response ready, so she just closed her mouth again.
"See? You can't even respond because you know I'm right."
She took a step forward and placed a hand on my arm, "Adam, I'm sorry but this is the one situation where I will have to be cruel and remove the option of choice from you. I know I'll make you happier than you ever thought possible—we're meant to be together, you just can't see it yet."
I laughed without humor, "And you wonder why I'd resist you?"
"Adam, please, for now let's just call a truce. I promise as you spend more time with me and remember our bond, all of this will be put behind us." She insisted.
That was probably the best I could get for the time being. It was a little disarming seeing her be so real—so vulnerable. When she was being ridiculously seductive it was almost easier to resist just for how outrageous she was. Here, it made me question if I was wrong after all—I didn't think I was, and I would still fight to resist her, but it certainly was a little unsettling.
"Alright fine truce, let's just finish the tour." I offered.
In response, Eve's eyes grew wide and she smiled brilliantly. She grabbed onto my arm again in such an obvious way to push it into her huge boobs—outrageous as always.
"Wonderful! Where to next, darling?"