FALAHA'S JOURNEY 2: Graveyard of the Gods

Episode #22

I stood in the bathing hall, having decided to perform Tabiru like the Maok did it: in the water. General Beren was fighting with the numerous fasteners of his suit to get it off in the locker room. When he was finally done, he emerged out of the locker room fully naked and with a very serious face. I turned to him, scanning his pale figure with my curious gaze. Numerous scars on his bare soldier's body suggested a man with a gruesome past. The fact that soma didn't dissolve those completely signified that he did not have full access to its functionality. But those will be gone once he emerges out of our merger.

I was in my Baalat form, free from my clothes as well. Eyuran and the others left us to ourselves, but I had a two-way connection open with my First spouse, so he could intervene if something went wrong.

"Come, Beren," I said. "Let us soak in the hot water and relax our bodies."

"Are you trying to seduce me, Falaha?" Beren's face flushed. He shook his head, chasing away bothersome thoughts.

"Believe me, we are far from that, dear General. Though this procedure is quite... intimate. If your culture regards close proximity as something very sexual. We Danna do not. Not always, at least. Depends on the context, and that is very personal. You are a stranger to me yet, so touching a stranger implies something else. A way to merge bodies, in our case. But at least I see that being naked in the company of a stranger isn't something unusual to you. To us bare bodies are a sign of trust."

"I'm a soldier, Falaha. I do what I'm told to do, even if that means being naked in the company of a beautiful woman who is also fully undressed." Beren resumed control of his own feelings, serious and calm.

"Good self-possession. Most excellent." I approached the General and placed my palm on his chest. I could feel his heart rate increase, his breathing breaking into irregular. But he stood motionless, looking at me. I removed my palm and turned away, heading into the pool. Beren followed.

I swam to the other end of the pool, where it was shallower and sat in the water. Beren soon caught up with me and sat by my side, submerged up to the neck.

"What are those scars from?" I asked.

"Various battles... and punishments..." Beren replied, closing his eyes. He placed the back of his head on the side of the pool and tried to relax.

"Do you want to forget those?"

"No... They make me what I am now." The General placed his hand over mine under the water. "What about you, do you people get rid of your negative experiences?"

"No. But do I see them as negative? Not really. Everything is a valuable experience for us spacefarers."

"Even death and pain?"

"We have a very close relation with death and pain, though we are physical and mental damage-proof and immortality is possible. We've come a long way from being the Lael. I will show you our history. You will understand."

Beren's hand grabbed mine and squeezed it lightly.

I turned to him and my palm touched his cheek, caressing gently. He opened his eyes in surprise. "It's time," I whispered and moved in closely, my lips touching his. My body heated up, gaining energy for the merger. Beren responded to my sudden kiss, and I felt he was taking charge. I allowed him to follow his desire, but his body was heating up as well, my soma intruding his broken one. Aggressively and defensively. I dived right in, feeling the immediate attack on my barrier. Beren's arm embraced me, pulling me close in his forceful, hungry kiss. In a few moments we both lit up, the stars surrounding us, and his body flowed into mine, disappearing from his miserable reality and unpacking into my soma space.

I sat in the water for a few moments, adjusting to my new state and my new inhabitant.

"Beren, you alright?" I asked.

Yes, was the reply in my head. Feeling strange, but not as bad as I had imagined.

My barrier held under the constant waves of destructive attacks of Beren's broken soma. That was good. Eyuran checked in to see if we were fine. His consciousness touched mine, also protected by my barrier. We're good, I told him. It is done. Keep the link alive, so we can work together.

Understood, was the reply.

I got up and headed out of the bathing hall to the locker room to dry myself and get dressed. Passing the mirror I noticed a few black streaks in my red hair and my eyes were now like Beren's: crystal blue. If anyone has questions, I could write it off as a fashion choice. I was still myself, so I could go meet the Baali without endangering the Surani. However, the shield on my soma was under such immense pressure that I had to double the energy it required to hold out against the destructive processes in Beren's soma. It was time to get to work. To share everything between us the barrier would have to be taken down eventually. No protection against destruction. My bare soma against violence of his.

"I didn't know you had such passion in you, Beren," I said, smiling.

I didn't expect to be kissed, Falaha. Couldn't hold myself back. You should have warned me.

"Consider it as a gift for all the trouble," I told him. "The merger is complete, so now accommodate yourself for I shall lower the barrier that keeps us from being separate soma entities. All the thoughts, dreams, memories will flood into your mind. We will know each other as no simple talking would do. We will become one. We merged bodies but I still keep our minds separate, until I can hold back your soma processes. Get ready for countless years of experience and a heavy burden. Your twenty thousand is child's age compared to what I have in store."

If it's a price to pay to be yours, I won't mind.

"Ah, there it is again. You see everything as a punishment. So we'll work on that attitude as well. You are no longer a slave."