Empyrean Iris Story Collection

An Alliance

Sunny opened the door quietly peering into the darkness. The pale illumination of Jupiter's spiraling storms casting the room into a dim luminance. Leave it to Adam to make space his nightlight. She stepped quietly through the door listening as it whispered shut behind her. The room darkened sharpening the illuminated contours in her vision.

The man slept curled up on his side, the blankets had been kicked down below his feet, and his knees had been drawn halfway to his chest. One arm supported his sleeping head and the other rested at a 45 degree angle atop the cheap army-issued sheets. Lines of white light reflected from Jupiter's stormy surface traced the outline of his exposed shoulders, arms and collarbones through a patch of darkness obscured his chest.

Despite her size, Sunny moved silently across the room making it to the side of the bed and peering over into the darkness.

Two tiny orbs of reflected light flashed into existence between the man's body and his arm.

The air filled with a high pitched growl, more like a whine or a whistle than anything else. Still sleeping, the human's hand slid over the fabric and gently patted the patch of darkness before returning to its original position. The growling stopped, but the two pinpoints of light still stared at Sunny.

She moved around the other side of the bed a bit tentatively, and reached out a hand. Something flashed form the darkness skittering onto the man's shoulder and snapping at her fingers.

Sunny pulled away with a curse.

Overhead the lights adjusted to a dim luminance giving Sunny a very clear view of the thing snarling at her. It was larger than it had been when it hatched, about the size of a kitten but with less fur, and debatably less cute. It's K-9 like lips were pulled back over a range of gums. Tiny white bumps pressed against the soft pink skin hinting at teeth that were soon to come. Its eyes were manic and green, unnervingly human. Tiny ears flopped at the side of it's head like a dog.. Six spidery legs held up it's its back thorax, and, at this moment, the front two arms braced against the man's shoulder.

A hand came over the side of his shoulder and gently wrapped around the creature sliding under its belly and avoiding the many legs, "What have I told you Glados" Said a somewhat groggy voice, "no growling at people It's not polite."

Adam sat up still holding the tiny creature, cupping it in both hands and looking it in the face. Its eyes grew bigger almost.... Caring, but when it turned back to sunny, it's eyes narrowed and it growled.

He poked it, "Ah, none of that."

Him sitting up had caused an eruption of the tiny creatures which began crawling onto him as he began to move.

Sunny found it all quite..... disconcerting .

Adam turned to look at her smiling, but then his smile fell..... "It's.... That day isn't it."

She nodded her head.

His shoulders sagged, 'Ah... yes.... Of course." Still sulking a bit, he sat up, "Did you get the marines ready?"

"Yes, all present and accounted for. No one overly hungover."

"Good."

On one of his shoulders, two of the tiny.... Spider... lings began snapping at each other fighting over the prime position, on the shoulder right next to the neck. They liked to be close to Adam, as close as possible.

Adam frowned at the two of them, "Vicky, Hal, knock it off, and don't make me separate you two." The one he called, Glados had already claimed the other shoulder guarding it jealously over, Data who sat patiently on the man's bicep waiting for an opening. Sunny watched in sort of horrified fascination as another one crawled up his neck and onto the top of his head.