I was trying to write another story about the Allyonian Empire, but it was not going good, so somehow, I am not sure how, I dumped the whole thing and had to start over. It is a story that came to me while watching several TV programs, hopefully my second attempt is better than my first.
The scariest moment is just before you start.
Stephen King
I love Micky Mouse more than any woman I have ever known.
Walt Disney
Excuses are the tools of the incompetent.
Mike Tomlin
I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things I have not done.
Lucille Ball
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
George Elliot
Micheal Dress was a member of the most technologically advanced civilization in the galaxy, he was a member of the Allyonian Guard and assigned to one of its most respected admirals, Charles Melville. He had at age six been sent away for military training as all Allyonians are, and had done well, not great, but well. He completed all of the steps within the required time units, usually on the third try, but that was rather normal for many of the students. He was a classmate of Victoria, the Crown Princes of the Empire and the only daughter of Emperor Alexander XII. HIs brother and sister had been outstanding students and were among the most popular of their classes. Micheal saw himself as the dark child of the family, the one who never lived up to expectations and was basically a constant source of embarrassment and disappointment to his parents.
This was not true, and his family constantly tried to convince him that his parents were very proud of him and did not hold him in any less regard than his older siblings. While he was average in his military training, he excelled in science, especially biology and anthropology. This had attracted the attention of Melville, who ask for him to be assigned to his starship, the great science ship Darkwood, and had him do many research assignments and work in all of the galaxy, especially in the field of his expertise, the Ape Planets of the Orion band. As a lieutenant, Micheal worked on many reports and projects for the Admiral and was directly assigned to Vice Admiral John Ahab.
Micheal was also expert in the Honor Code, the great code of rules the Allyonians followed, and had since the ancient times. There were two hundred of them and Micheal knew every one and knew the interpretations and rulings that had been handed down from the ancient days to the present. While all Allyonians knew the code, Micheal knew the great body of law and rule that was behind it, for this he had much respect, but he did not seem to see that. He felt he was a failure in life and basically destined to live a lonely life of disappointment and regret. He worked through his depression by laying in his bunk and watching the great panorama of stars go by on the viewer over it. He would just look out on space and wonder, wonder about so many of the things and thoughts that roamed through his mind.
Two days before Micheal had been called into Melville’s cabin and told of a new assignment that he had been given. It was a strange and crazy one, involving one of the most egregious breeches of the Code in many years. A distant relation of the emperor, and he had broken about 50 of the codes in an attempt to push himself into a position of power. He had stolen some DNA from the emperor and used it to impregnate a woman in the Ape Planet, in an attempt to get a mate for his daughter who would have been a child of the emperor. The plan was discovered when his daughter went to authorities when she was told of this and the man, Carl Micheals, had been dealt with to the full extent of the law. That was twenty-two years ago and many felt that had been the end of it, but recently it was found that the pregnancy had taken and resulted in the birth of a girl. She was unaware of her true identity, and a camouflage chip had been implanted in her to disguise he real identity.
The emperor wanted this girl brought to him, she was family, and even if she had only fifty percent Allyonian DNA, she was still his daughter, and family ment much to all of Allyon. Information was sketchy, but one individual had been identified as a prime suspect for this, and many said that her personality was much like the Crown Princess and the Emperor, when he was younger. There were a couple of other suspects, but this one, her name was Melanie, seemed to be the best, and someone needed to discreetly gather information and blood samples on her to confirm the suspicions. Micheal was picked because he had an unmatched ability to make himself invisible. This was a big advantage, as they would have no time to set him up with an identity in the records of the planet.
Micheal sat alone on the deck of the command center of the great starship, looking out into the darkness and watching the stars go by. He had many thoughts about his upcoming assignment, mostly about the creatures that inhabited this watery ape planet. They were a strange bunch that except for their rounded ears, short incisors, and the lack of whiskers they physically resembled Allyonians. Unlike the grey, big eyed dolphin people, or the wolf like dog people, or the lizard people who looked like the monsters in old science fiction movies, the ape people closely resembled the cat people of Allyon.
They also made the best pets, if one could find the more docile ones, and because of their physical closeness to Allyonians, they also made excellent subjects of medical research. Unlike the cold, distant dolphin people, the ape creatures could be open and warm, even to the point were some Allyoians had intermarried with them. This was rare, and the unions were sterile, as those between species always are, but they were the closest thing to the Allyonians in the galaxy, which made them the subject of endless curiosity and research by Allyon. There were 12 ape planets in the Orion band, but only one was anywhere close to interstellar flight, and they was still a long way from that. It was the one that had the largest oceans and the inhabitants called it Earth, it came from some ancient god or myth of theirs, Admiral Melville knew why, but Micheal had forgotten.
There were several basic differences between the species, Micheal, like many Allyoians, felt it came from the fact that they had been carnivores who became omnivores in the process of becoming an intelligent creature with the capabilities of civilization and science. Apes were herbivores that became omnivores in this process. They also did not adhere to a code of honor, in fact they were a rather corrupt group of creatures whose governments were marked by arrogance and corruption. They, as Allyonian anthropologist would say, did not have the adherence to the pack that all carnivores had, thus they were susceptible to the sins of pride and arrogance. To Micheal, and almost all Allyonians, this was gospel and seen as the reason that Allyonian government and society was more ethical than the ape planets.
Micheal held the Allyonian belief that the herbivore lifestyle in the jungles produced a creature that may have adherence to a group, but not the one that came from the hard and dangerous life of a predator and carnivore. They felt that the ape was able to evolve into an intelligent creature only when they became scavengers, like rats and other nasty creatures of the plain, and thus still held many of the traits of scavengers. A mean streak and a gift of arrogance that provides the scavenger with the necessary tools of survival in the dangerous pre-civilized world. Because they are descended from scavengers, they had to fight for food from the predators, and had to be able to challenge the strange more dangerous creatures that filled the prehistoric worlds of the planets of life. To do this they developed the trait of arrogance, a trait that an Alloynian politician or official would lose his or her position for having, unfortunately, it was a trait that permeated many layers of ape planet politics and government.
Since first visiting this planet close to 730 years ago, Allyon had made many agreements with the political structures, all in secret, as Allyon never had formal relations with a people unless they had achieved interstellar flight. It avoided the many problems that always occurred when a vastly higher technological advanced group interacted with a lesser one. During this period they had dealt with many leaders, but only one stood out, that was the American George Washington, who did something remarkable for an ape creature, but not for an Allyonian, he turned down absolute power and retired without being forced to, a remarkable man who was granted a commission in the Allyoinian guard because of the high regard the Imperial Command had for him. He, like Allyonians, held himself to a code of honor and thus was able to overcome the limits of his species.
Micheal then turned his thoughts to the object of his assignment, the young woman who could be a daughter of the Emperor. He would have to collect blood and DNA sample from her and then find a way to get her to the Emperor. Not an easy task, since he could not be discovered by any of the people of the planet, and she might expose him if he made a misstep. He felt the best way to do this was to engage her as a neighbor and hopefully a friend, a plan that both Melville and Ahab endorsed. This ment he would have to go undercover and he already had been fitted with the camouflage device that gave his the appearance of an ape creature. He was spending his time familiarizing himself with the culture and mores of this planet and learning the questions that people of this planet would expect him to be able to answer.
As they approached the planet Micheal was called into Ahab’s office, and the man looked at him and said, “Micheal, I do not need you to feel you cannot do this, you can and will. I have total confidence in you and you need to bolster yours. A lot is riding on this, and that is why the Admiral and I chose you, Micheal, you can do this.”
Micheal looked at the man who he saw as a mentor, and not wanting to disappoint him, he hid his self-doubt and answered the man in the affirmative. He also detailed his plan and left feeling a little better of himself, Allyonians were a very confident people, and Micheal, despite some doubt, was confident he could do this.
He returned to his cabin and collected his stuff and proceeded to the launching bay, there he boarded his small ship and took off towards his destination on the watery ape planet. His destination was in a southern area of the planet, called Palm Beach, a place he had visited before and knew very well. It was a place that Allyon had worked in for a long time, a rather corrupt and weak government made concealing oneself rather easy, and also made collection of species very easy. He got an apartment close to the girl and set himself up as a young man who was employed by a company that allowed his to work from his home on a computer. This was perfect, now he began to put his plan into action.
The plan was simple, set himself up in the neighborhood and get to know the young lady, then collect the samples and be done. The girl’s name was Melanie Pearson, and she and another girl ran a small daycare business in the neighborhood. She had a checkered legal pass, nothing serious, but she had spent some time in a juvenile detention center, know to be rather quick-tempered and even quicker to act, she reminded Micheal of the Crown Princess. It also reminded Ahab of the Emperor when he was young, although neither of them had ever been arrested, they both had come close at times. Now both were more playful than delinquent, they were famous for their pranks and sometimes rude behavior. Many said that for the Emperor, it was a rebellion against his father, Thomas IV, who was famous for his very formal and rather stiff demeanor.
It took Micheal almost a month to get set up and meet many of the people of the complete, and almost two months before he was able to meet Melanie. Micheal took his time and let people come to him, that way he did not attract much attention and was able to blend into the surrounding environment. He had many interesting neighbors and several were glad that he and Melanie seemed to hit it off. The consensus was, Melanie had very little luck in relationships and here was a nice young man that might just be perfect for her, at least he did not seem to mind her many little quirks and her sometimes rude and pert behavior. Her business partner, and friend, Joanne, was also excited about Melanie making a new friend, she had recently been getting more serious with her boyfriend and felt Melanie needed someone in case she and him decided to get married and move to another area.
The neighbors noticed some of Micheal little quirks as well, it seemed he liked to walk around at night, not a safe thing to do in this County as many night creatures were always near by. Jonathan, a local shaman, noticed that many of the night creatures seemed to avoid this young man, and his friend Maria, a werewolf, said he had a strange scent, she was not sure of what, but it was strange. She also said her cousin Danshi had a particular dislike for him, would not say why, but she seemed to want a confrontation with him. He also seemed to spend a lot of time late at night in front of his mirror, why nobody knew, and frankly, few cared. The truth was known to the older night creatures that recognized the scent of cat in him and his mirror was his communication device and he reported in every night around one in the morning.
After about six months Micheal noticed something, he was having strong feelings for Melanie, this could be dangerous. Because of his position he could not marry a non-Allyonian, which he felt would be just his luck. He could find his love, but not be with her, such was his fate, he thought. He moved on with his mission, the plan now was to slip into Melanie’s apartment and collect the samples he needed tonight, it should be easy, using his force shield he could make himself invisible and make all the collections as she slept.
Micheal used his body shield to make him invisible and entered the girl’s house, rather modest with little furniture and even less in personal property. On a small nightstand were several pictures of family and friends, her closet was sparse and except for her motorcycle, the place was almost devoid of things. He entered her bedroom and found her fast asleep, he gathered his tools and noticed that as she rolled a bit, her shirt rolled up exposing her body. Micheal looked at her and thought she looked so beautiful, too pretty for a monkey creature, she had to be Allyonian. He collected his samples and quietly left the room, later he contacted Ahab and got all the samples to him.
As he spoke to Ahab, he related a situation that he had recently had to attend to, involving his two pets John and Suzanne, a couple of ape creatures he had collected several years ago while on another trip to this planet. Seems that during a small excursion the two wandered off from the person who was watching them, and were discovered by a group of young monkey creatures, one had known Suzanne before she became Ahab’s pet. They were troopers and did not disclose anything, but did attract attention from the authorities. Mainly John did, when Ahab had found him he was sickly child abandoned by his superficial parents. Imagine, Ahab laughed, what the authorities thought when they compared his recent physical exam with the one of the sickly, dying child of many years ago. Suzanne was the only survivor of a gang killing in that same year and many wondered where they had been and who had been rasing them. Fortunately, an Air Force officer who knew of the Allyonians smoothed things over and got them returned, as neither wanted to stay here, an adventure yes, but one for another time, Ahab told him.
It took about six weekes to get the results of the samples from the lab, they wanted to be absolutely sure, and the results were as Micheal thought, Melanie’s personality was too close to that of the Crown Princess not to be. Now, thought Micheal, for the hard part, telling Melanie who and what she was and seeing if she was willing to return with him and meet her family. He was also relived, deep down, he was in love with this girl, but he felt she would never love him. That was his nature, unusual for an Allyonian, who were famous for their confidence, and bad table manners.
He decided to approach her on Friday morning, her day off from the daycare and a time when most of the inhabitants of the complex were out. The night before he wandered around the complex, he was looking for someone and wanted to finish something he had been doing since his first visit to this place four years ago. He saw a figure while he was walking and he knew who it was, he usually ignored her, but tonight, he walked right up to her and engaged her in conversation.
“Good evening vampire,” Micheal smiled at Mary Seymour, “looking for those in the darkness?”
“I have heard you many nights Allyonian,” Mary laughed back at him, “Yes, I know who and what you are, an it seems that the darkness afflicts this planet and yours.”
“Yes it does, ” Micheal admitted, “but you offer no comfort.”
“No, just understanding,” Mary interrupted, “just understanding, that is all, Satan wishes me to use the darkness against them, but I cannot, fought it too much my own life, so now I just offer understanding, it does help, yes?”
“Surprisingly it does,” Micheal answered.
“So you have the resolution for the girl you have been stalking for the past few months, good I hope,” Mary responded.
“Yes, she is an Allyonian, at least 70% of her is.” Micheal stated.
“We creatures of the night could have told you that before,” Mary smiled, “can tell by her scent, but you needed more, yes, of course you did, you needed to know for sure, for you have great feelings for her, do not deny it, make your move, love comes few times in life, and if you miss it, you may never find it again.”
Micheal looked at the ground and ignored he last remark, but said, “Please do not allow a vampire to interfere…”
“None will,” Mary laughed, ” none will, but heed my words, oh, the she-wolf you seek is nearby, you are looking for a fight, of course, you Allyonians remind me of the warriors of my day, cannot pass up a challenge.”
Micheal smiled and watched her disappear into the night, but soon another presence was felt, the she-wold he had been following off and on for four years. She had married a local priest, and Micheal had been egging her on for quite some time, now it was time to confront her.
Danshi approached the Allyonian as she transformed from wolf to human. She sneered at him, her husband liked this guy, but she had enough of his constant following and stalking. She growled at him and said, “You, now we meet, I have had enough…”
Micheal flashed the Allyoinian confidence, some called it arrogance, and interrupted, “if you don’t like it, do something about it she-wolf.”
With that, Danshi returned to wolf form and lunged at him. He quickly dodged her attack and threw against a tree. She found him quicker and stronger than she had thought. The pair fought for about 20 minutes, with Micheal inflicting several wounds to her side and neck. She could not get ahold of him and finally he grabbed her by the neck and threw her on the ground. He extended his claws to her throat, she was defeated and thought he would now kill her, but he did not.
“Rise up, worthy opponent,” Micheal proclaimed, “twenty minutes, the great parasite could not even last ten, you are a worthy and honored opponent.”
Danshi laughed, he was right, she had heard that Allyoinians were impossible to beat and she gave him a go. She said, “High compliment from an Allyonian, and you did not use your shield, according to my husband, that is even a greater honor.”
Micheal bowed and laughed, “Yes, I have always know you were a good opponent, one who is honorable and with great ability, could be an Allyonian, I honor you and your race, but could I have one favor?”
“Leave your little girlfriend alone, no problem, Alexander, Travis, stand guard,” Danshi answered.
“Worthy and beautiful, “Micheal returned, “but she is not…..”
“First, careful of compliments boy, you could have to contend with the tiger, ” Danshi interrupted, “and do not tell me she is not, I can smell it, your just like Vincent, you an idiot.”
Micheal blushed and asked, “Why him….”
Danshi looked him straight in the eye, and proclaimed, “Like all who ask, you do not understand, I love him, loved him from the first time I set eyes on him, there is no reason, that is how love is.”
They shook hands by interlocking thumbs and she went on her way, as she left Micheal thought, is it that obvious?
The next morning, Micheal approached Melanie’s apartment with mixed feelings, the events of the night before still weighed on him, and while feeling great because of his victory of the she-wolf, what both women had unnerved him with their comments about his feelings toward Melanie. These comments were echoed by both Admiral Melville and Ahab, but Micheal had convinced himself, she would never return his feelings.
He found the door open and Melanie sitting at a small desk in tears. Micheal looked at her and asked, “What is wrong?”
“Wrong,” Melanie stuttered between tears, “everything, Joanne is getting married and leaving, same thing happened to me before I came here, everyone finds somebody, every one but me, plus, I can’t get a licence to run the business because of my record, I mean, I just don’t feel I belong here sometimes.”
“Melanie,” Micheal comforted “It will be fine, maybe I can help, I mean I can apply if you want…”
Melanie threw a bunch of papers in his face and turned her back on him while screaming, “You, I ran a background check on you and do you know what I found……”
Micheal looked down, he turned off his camouflage device and interrupted, “You found nothing, nor will you, at least not on this planet.”
Melanie turned slowly and looked into Micheal’s eyes, seeing his pointed ears, his long whiskers protruding from his eyebrows and his purple uniform of the Guard. She looked at him a while and quietly whispered, “I know about you people, you take people, I should be afraid, but for some reason I am not.”
Micheal thought for a moment and he saw how to continue, he quietly, but firmly, said, “You have discoloration of the top three bones in your neck, nobody ever done anything about this because it did not harm. Plus recently you heard that your mother had located your father and he had died, but your DNA does not match his.”
“Ya, strange cause me and my sister are twins, I just,” Melanie began.
“A very bad man stole some DNA from an Allyonian, and used it to clone you by splitting your mothers egg, your 70% Allyonian, This was done by the man who you thought was your father and the doctor, they were paid by a very bad man to do this,” Micheal continued.
Micheal quietly explained everything to her, and she sat in disbelief, untill Micheal used a device to remove the camouflage chip in her neck. She then stared on her true face, an Allyonian one, she was a little afraid, but Micheal comforted her and then told her who her father was.
“Emperor?” Melanie exclaimed, ” but why did they wait so long?”
Micheal smiled and said, “We did not find out about you until a year ago, the galaxy is a big place and it not as easy as some think to find someone and track down everything they do. Now they want you to come and meet them, family to us is the most important thing.”
Melanie asked about her friends and family on this planet and Micheal told her she could visit them anytime, after all she was a duchess, could not be a princess because her mother was not royalty. He then showed her how to use her claws and how to shoot the lithium from the one in her thumb. He explained all the training she would need, but mostly he told her how the royal family was looking forward to meeting her and welcoming her into the family. They talked for hours, from morning until night, Micheal explained traditions and all the things she would need to learn. In the end it was agreed, Micheal would leave on Monday, telling all that he found another position in another city. The next day Melanie would just pack up her motor cycle and ride out, it was what all expected her do at some point anyway.
Melanie looked at Micheal and asked him how Allyonians proposed, a question that caught him totally off guard, he explained the tradition of Fiaet et forma, how the man broke into the girls bedroom and tried to take her, when Melanie asked if that ment they girls were raped, Micheal assured her that no Allyonian woman ever had sex or was not taken if she did not want to be. If she was not willing, she said Fijaet, and 98% of the men would just retreat. If not, they were thrown out on their asses. He said that when confronted the man extended the claws on his right hand and placed them at the right side of the woman’s throat. The woman then did the same to the man and if she wanted to have him in marriage, she would say forma.
Melanie smiled, extended her right hand to Micheal throat and said, “Forma, now kiss me you idiot. Maria was right, you have no clue, did you think my shirt accidentally moved the other night?”
Micheal surrendered, he had no other choice. For then on, they lived among the stars and in the royal court of Allyon, both finally finding the world they belonged to, and in. It was as Micheal’s grandmother said, one lives in hope, aspires in faith, but conquers and endures in love. Both were happy at last.
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