Alien Deception by Tony Ruggiero

but blank looks in return, he continued. "Then we brought you back to life. All your people back on Earth, I mean in your home towns, thought you both had actually died, you know, well, in freak accidents."
    They both began to interrupt, but Leumas held up a halting hand, and then offered, "A logical question at this point would be why have we done this? Well, we did it because we need you two in our organization." He paused. "More on that later. In answer to your other question about where you are, you are four point three light years from Earth, on a planet in the star system of Alpha Centauri, called Zire."
    They suddenly became slack-jawed, gaping. Greg spewed out a mouth full of beer. Sarah's glass of water crashed to the floor.
    Leumas continued, trying to ignore their reactions. "And, yes, I am actually what you people would consider an alien. However, I look amazingly like you humans except for these," he said as he held up his hands showing them the webbing between he fingers.
    He turned toward the mirror, patting his slick hair. Then, turning toward them again, he pointed. "But don't get too comfortable with the idea that everyone in the organization looks human, because a lot of my associates, well, they, uh…don't." Leumas leaned on the bar, and looked at them seriously. "If you think back to a dream you had a little while ago, the implanted memory waves in your brains will release additional information about the organization to which I belong. It is called the United Council of Developing Worlds or the UCDW or just Council, for short." He paused and poured himself a drink from a bottle that contained an odd-looking pink substance. He sipped it and continued. "Well, as the phrase goes, you know what I know. Any questions?"
    Sarah and Greg continued to stare with gaping mouths at him, unable to utter a sound at his question. Then, virtually simultaneously, they both dropped to the floor, unconscious.
    Leumas stared at the still figures on the floor, shaking his head. "Humans! Always in a hurry. See, you should have listened to me."
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
    WHOOPS…THERE GOES ANOTHER ALIEN
     
    Biom carefully slipped out of the control room during the confusion he had caused by tampering with Leumas’ assimilation program on the two Earth humans. He searched his memory, trying to picture the layout of the facility, looking frantically for a terminal that could be used to transmit the data Copolla wanted. He finally located an unused wing of the building that contained the terminal he needed. He loaded the crystal data disk and began transmission of his report detailing the sabotage and its results.
    He chuckled as he thought about the reaction Leumas’ two subjects were having right at this moment. His subdued laughter caused the rolls of skin that layered his body to shake and quiver. The additional layering of skin was a protective coating from his home world, where the sun's light was very intense.
    Talk about being mentally screwed up! That's putting it mildly. Those two aren't going to know what's real and what's not after my tampering with the sensitive indoctrination sequence and raising additional doubt in their minds. With this increased doubt, the process will become much more complicated. Leumas is going to have to work a long time to straighten that mess out, if he can at all.
    The orders from Copolla had been quite specific. The words echoed in his mind in the same tone in which they'd been spoken, reminding him of the price of failure.
    "Do what you have to do, Biom. Any hopes you have of aspiring to any position with the Council depends on your success," Copolla had told him. He remembered, shuddering, the cold red eyes that stared into his as Copolla had continued. "Leumas must be stopped. Do whatever it takes. But I don't want him physically harmed. Just ensure his attempts with the Earth subjects result in failure."
    Biom had been in Leumas’ service for only a