The Lecirri (chapters 1 and 2)

Chapter 11

Swoosh.2

The overhead hatch slid open.3

To hear that familiar sound in such an unfamiliar atmosphere was strangely comforting.  My eyes gradually adjusted to the light as I stepped into the forest I had landed in.4

Into the Forest and out of my ship.  My ship, The Maeceon.  It's an alpha class ET-34.  The ship once belonged to my  father, but he gave it to me years ago when he left Jadeph to fight against the Sharn.  The Sharn are the whole reason I am here on your planet.  Planet Earth.  5

My name is Iella Shatonith.  I am a trained warrior, and rank as Princess by Loyalties.  I belong to the race of Lecirris from the planet Jadeph.  If you've heard of Jadeph then you are as much an alien to the humans as I am.  That's because Jadeph isn't in your solar system.  Jadeph isn't even in your universe.  I come from another dimension.  6

When you hear about other dimensions, you are probably used to the idea of "alternate universes", where you would find an exact replica of yourself only opposite in spirit.  Perhaps the thought of dueling yourself excites you.  It shouldn't.  But that doesn't entirely matter, because our two dimensions are not alternate.  Every person -or creature- is it's own self and there never will be an alternate of my self or of anyone.  There are very definate differences between my dimension and yours, yet some things are relatively similar.  Both of these things you will understand in time.   Even I didn't comprehend all of this when I had landed on your planet for the first time.7

While still in orbit I had chosen this forest as my new home for several reasons.  First, it was about the same distance in all directions away from the nearest human settlements, which was far enough that I felt secure.  Second, there were enough resources here that I didn't think I should be forced to deplete my ship's supply.  Yet, ETs are always good to have around, for they include an internal artificial environment for whichever habitat you would program into the ship's computer.  The Globe, of course, has a Lecirri environment intact.  As long as the ship has fuel this area of Jadeph wildlife will live and thrive.  8

I pulled the manual remote from a pouch at my side, and activated the ship's hologram.  In an instant The Globe became invisible to all eyes that did not belong to a Lecirri.  I stepped backward a few paces and took in my surroundings with my third eye, while I closed the other two and concentrated.  In a few moments my brain had taken in all possible locations for a dome, then discerned which would be the  most effecient.  I opened my eyes again and nodded in approval of my own abilities.  Before nightfall I would have my dome built, and be ready to rest in near complete safety.9

(2 Hours Later)10

My dome's diameter equaled to approxamately 26 feet.  It protruted 1/2 foot above ground level, and reached 7 feet underneath.  I built it mainly by the use of my third eye, with which if I am calm enough, is capable of moving just about any object that is not kinetic or alive.  Unless humans think of slight rises in the turf of your forests suspicious and worthy of heavy examination, I had contructed my home to be completely camoflauged and unnoticable.  11

A small flock of birds flew above my head.  I focussed my concentration on a dead tree branch lying on the ground, and at the moment that the last bird passed overhead I imagined the branch being yanked into the air and knocking the creature out of flight.  I turned my head and saw the now unconcious bird land behind me.  A moment later, the tree branch fell on top of it.  I hadn't moved one muscle.  12

Long fingers of electricity sizzled from my third eye and danced on the bird.  The DNA from the creature relayed itself back into the eye, and emdiately was added to my mental collection of forms.  13

I prepared myself for the formation of  this bird.  I foccused.  I felt a falling sensation and saw the ground rush up at me.  It abrubtly jerked to a stop and I found myself still wholly Lecirri, but only 8 in. high.  Then the more bizarre changes began.  My entire face grew outward and began to harden as the beak formed.  Arms became wings.  Feet became three-toed.  An intricate pattern began to draw itself on my skin, and then popped into 3D and became feathers.  14

The third eye sucked itself into the bird's head, the head looked to the sky, and the bird took flight.15

I let the bird's mind take over so that I could dwell on my own thoughts.  The bird would unconsciously worry about the flying and the navigation for me.  I needed to think clearly, to relax.  Reflect.  So much had happened.  16

My mind went back to the day when the news reached me that my father's ship had been shot and destroyed.  I had taken my ship here only to find the wrecked remains of The Shatonith, and no survivors.  It was another great loss to me, for  both my father and mother had been killed by the Sharn.   But the pain has made me strong.  Losing them taught me many things.  17

Life will never be all that you dream it could be, yet you will cease to be anything if you can not stand and defend your dreams.  Whether dreams come true or not is irrevelant.  Fighting for the future is the only way to truly live.  This is the story of my fight.18

I trained as a warrior against the counsel of the Elders.  They said I was too young, too naive, too weak.  I was young, but I was neither naive nor weak.  Even before my advanced training I could out-duel any of the Lecirri my age and some of the Elders as well.   19

On account of the officials' disaproval I was fortunate to find as good a trainer as I did.  20

Jrejoris Rilt is a former Elder, was an un-beaten warrior in his standard adult years, and is a good friend.  I came to think of him as a second father through my late youth and pre-adult years.  He taught me more than how to fight.  He showed me many things about The Tarc that I would otherwise never have known.  21

The Lecirri have been slowly continuing to misinterpret The Superior Being Tarc for centuries.   The Tarc is our creator, the creator of everything in my dimension.   He exists not in form, but in spirit.  He isn't a creature.  He just is.  He exists.  Always has always will.  Not much else to it.   Infinite, all powerful, any being would be a fool to disregard his commands.  Lecirri being his first creations, have cultured themselves in the ways that The Tarc sets for them.  But some of these ways are starting to convert themselves to our own ideas; subconcious to the average citizen for the officials keep their activity strictly on a need-to-know basis.  And nobody needed to know.  22

If only that were true...23

Since the start of this disintegration of truth, the Sharn have grown more and more powerful.  Servants of The Superior Being Monva, they exist in a form that, unfortunately, no Lecirri has been able to identify.  Our only clue is that it is a form native to every known planet.  Hence, they are easier to find, and at the same time more difficult.    24

We know when the Sharn are either advancing or retreating because of what they advance upon.  Just as Lecirri are able to transmit signals of communication, the Sharn signal not just simple messages, but commands.  More commonly known as mind control.  Somehow these creatures are able to attatch themselves to a victim, and use their own brains' commands to control the victim's body.  And, also for an unknown reason, they perform this act exclusively on larger, sentient forms.  Such as humans.  Such as Lecirri.  25

To my eternal disgrace and dishonor, within recent years the Lecirri have begun to be taken over by Sharn.  The first was discovered five years ago.  A princess by the name of Avisoharnn disapeared leaving absolutely no trace and later began sending messages via astrology.  Since that time three other Lecirri have left in this manner.  One each year.   According to past accurences, that would mean one more Lecirri was due to be infested soon this year.  Since the second anual infestation, several of the more cowardly of us have left for fear of being the next victim.  I stayed, however, not willing to give up my honor in that way.  26

Yet it seems I was destined to leave.  Most planets inhabited by Sharn followed our pattern of one a year.  The humans however weren't so lucky.  Completely random and mass infestations were rapidly becoming more common on earth.  The ignorant Lecirri elders did see this problem, but were so "active on solving our own disapearance mysteries" that they chose not to interfere and let the "non-essential creatures" fend for themselves.  I have placed in quotations what the Elders repeatedly announced when questioned on earth's situation.27

Another mystery to us was that when a human is taken over by a Sharn, they can remain as they were previously.  They do not disapear, or change location, and to the average person no change is evident.  But they do send their messages to the stars.  The reason as to why these cellestial communications are sent only to Jadeph's skies, I do not know.  And from these messages Jrejoris, myself, and my fellow trainees, we have disiphered that some major event is preparing iteself to occur. The distance in time to this event is unknown, as is the nature of it.  Except that it will be disastrous and unchangable.  28

We knew the elders of Jadeph must sense this also, but because of their pride, or perhaps their fear, chose not to share this information with the public.  I took it upon myself to tell other warriors and friends and to give them as much knowledge as I was able on reading the constellations.29

Earth became the constant center of my attentions.  I was always the first to learn of any developements in its predicament, but that was not enough for me.  30

My father had been killed by the Sharn on that previous expedition to earth and I narrowly escaped destruction when I went after him.  As a result, the other Lecirris refused to let me leave a second time.  Based on what my past has proven, all their disaproval only more strongly affirmed that I would leave. 31

Jregoris knew that my training was completed and I was more than capable of leading an investigation on earth.  But not alone.  32

Unfortunately none of my comrades would accompany me.  On account of the simple fact that it was I they would be accompanying.  Though I can see this through their eyes as well as mine.  We are raised from birth to believe that anything challenging an elder’s abbilities or authority is evil and distastful to The Tarc.33

Jregoris offered to assist me, but we both knew it was impossible because of his age and failing health.  There had been rumors that previously departed Lecirri had fled to earth and were currently inhabiting it.  I took the chance that I would find someone there who could help me.  34

Even if I didn't find anybody, I felt ready to take on the entire Sharn empire myself.  I was a fool.35

I had my agility.  36

I had my strength.  37

I had my intelligence.  38

And I had the greatest weakness available to Lecirris.  I had my pride.  39

So here I was.  Feeling the air rush past my body as I soared through earth's sky towards the setting sun. Setting.  I took the hint and turned around, spotting my dome in the distance.  I needed to get as much rest as possible tonight, for tomorrow I would begin my search for the other Lecirris. 40

Chapter 241

(Frogcine Frallymoona)42

The automatic doors of the mall swung open, and I absorbed my atmosphere.  Girls gossiping, guys showin their stuff , a typical girl/guy watcher lurking in each corner; the usual mall scene.  This was my environment.  I adjusting my purse on my shoulder, and set off.  43

Mission : find a shirt that I can wear with my new pleathers.  44

Then came, An Obstacle.  This particular obstacle goes by the name of 'Kallie'.  Kallie spotted me a milasecond before I saw her.  45

She was at the other end of the food court, and standing on a table.  Standing on a table and waving her arms, and screaming.  Screaming my name.  "HI FROGGY!"46

I resisted the urge to grab some bystander's coke and shove it up Kallie's face, and instead resorted to trying to lose myself in the crowd.  47

Regardless, the pothole-in-the-road-of-shopping-success mannaged to catch up with me.  "Me and the girls are gonna grab a soda and then do the arcade.  Wanna come?"  I turned around, faced Kallie, and tried not to be too cold in my response.  "Kallie, you know how much I love hanging with your people.  You know, the ones that can't get their minds off of the latest Young and Restless, steryotype me, and drive me insane.  It's funny, that sounds a lot like you." 48

Turning my attention back to my mission, I purposed not to give my friend another glance.  "Ok, your loss!" Kallie shouted after me. 49

Alright, fine.  So maybe I could have been even less cold.  After all it's not like most people can put up with me and I don't usually make a big deal out of her antics.  But then, I've got something on my mind right now.  I didn't leave Jadeph to be further antagonised by the likes of Kallie and her ditzy crowd.  50

She's your typical blonde.  Just like this is your typical mall, Mickey D burgers are your typical road kill, and completely opposite from the way I am not your typical mall rat.51

Now, where to find a shirt? The Gap?  I'll check it out.  I ran my eyes over the shop windows, looking for sales.  There was a 30% discount on T-shirts, and a 10% discount on sweaters.  I'll look at the sweaters.  52

My slender figure maneuvered through a crowd of women gushing over a hat that looked like it had been run over by a bus.  Rolling my eyes at the women, I began investigating the shirts with my keen mall savvy.  (Hey- what's the use of being gorgeous and cool if you can't brag about it?)  53

I smiled and pulled out a black 3/4 sleeved cotton.  I glanced at the tag and threw the sweater down in disgust.  "They never have my size!" I yelled to the rack.  "Can I help you?"  A customer service person was talking to me.  "Yeah,"  I snapped.  "you can tell your manager to go get a life."  I stormed out of the The Gap.54

This babe needs something to calm her down, something she likes.  Ah.  Reebok.  I flipped my long glossy black hair behind me and walked into the shop.  I breathed deeply; the smell of good leather never fails to satisfy me.  55

I bent down to look at some sneakers, and happened to catch a glimpse of my watch in the corner of my eye.  56

Great.  Time to form again.   57

If you stay in a form other than your own for longer than 1 hour at a time, you'll get stuck in it and lose the ability to form again.  Unless you have access to one of the White Stones, and only high officials of Jadeph are given rights over those babies.  58

I ran to the nearest restroom and pulled off my outer clothing,  leaving only a skin-tight leotard.  It's extremely difficult to learn how to incorporate clothing into forms.  So I guess Lecirris can do it with bathing suits and stuff cause they're so close to the skin, it tricks the mind into thinking that they are part of the skin.  59

Taking a deep breath, I let my body deform.  60

I stared at my natural form in the mirror.  It's so totally different from the body that I'm more accustomed to, my human body.  I guess it sounds strange that I would prefer an "alien" body over my own, but this is what comes of spending so much time with the humans.  Seriously, besides the obvious benefit of wings and psychic powers, I can't see the point of Lecirri bodies.  61

We vary in height from shortest being 6 feet, and tallest being 10 feet.  Our build is the basic sentient build.  You might recognise it as the human build.  Our skin is irresdescant, but that's sometimes hard to see under our fur.  Our fur can be light brown, gray, white, black, or any mixture of those colors.  It's not long fur, but not short enough that it sticks out like fuzz.  It covers all of us excepting our wings. 62

Ok, get this, we don't have a nose or ears, and our mouths don’t perform any command but the display of emotion.  (There is one other use for mouths, but this is restricted information. Sorry, hun.)  63

How do we eat, you ask?  We don't, exactly.  We soak in the sun's ultra-violet rays through our third eye.  This soaking-up process also takes care of breathing.64

And what's a third eye?  65

A Lecirri face is a lot like a human face.  Except for the things like, it's covered in fur.  And we do have hair, if you were wondering, but both males and females let it go long.  66

Imagine almond-shaped eyes the size of mini-doughnuts.  That's the size and shape of our eyes.  67

And here's one awesome Lecirri trait: our eyes glow.  Glow, as in the stars on your ceiling, except it doesn't have to be dark.  Glow, as in a christmas tree lightbulb.  68

Our eyes show emotion more than anything else on our face.  When we're hyper or scared, they kinda...flicker.   Like a candle.  When we try to show compassion or love for something they glow softer.  When we're angry the glare is so bright it would blind a human.  They can be any color you could think of, and some colors that you can't imagine.  69

You still with me?  70

Our vision is also like, 2,000/20.  You can't read the street sign 10 yards away?  I can read the city limit sign 10 miles away.  And beyond.  Or, I would, except for the fact that earth is a round planet and there isn’t much left to see past the horizon.71

Back to the third eye deal.  You've seen pictures of the typical marsian with the one eye sticking out of the top of its head, right?  It's sort of like that, except the eye is an irrendescent sphere averaging the size of a ping-pong ball and it just floats up there. 72

You wouldn't believe the things a third eye can do.  It's the source of our psychics, creature trait bank, and contains the tools for aquiring those traits.  It can evaluate and interpret any type of landscape, language, writing, code, whatever, in seconds.  It's also how we communicate.  We send messages to eachother (and anything else alive) through brain-waves.  We can't actually "hear" anything, but the third eye senses what's happening around us and reports it to the brain.  Same as when other creatures speak to us.  The third eye converts the sounds to brain-waves.  Different brain-waves than the fellow Lecirri communication, so that we can tell the difference.73

Alright, so it's lame for me to say that I prefer the human body over Lecirri.  This is not totally my fault.  Most of the things my body should be capable of, it isn't.  I can’t fly.  I can’t move objects with my third eye.  I'm not sure why, but it ticks me off. 74

I  reformed back to human, left the restroom, and stumbled over some guy who apparently had been standing outside the door.  75

The door of the women's restroom.  Weird.  76

"Watch it."  I shot the kid what I hoped was a killer look.  77

He seemed embarrassed and uncomfortable.  "Oops...sorry," he squirmed and then hurried off.   78

He's cute... I thought as I watched him.  Doesn't he work at The Gap?  Who cares, Froggy, get over it.  I saw Kallie and her friends walking by at the other end of the hall.  Ok, there was no point in looking for a shirt when I knew there were none to find.  "Yo, hold up!"  I called as I ran to catch up with them."79