Disclaimer: Earth: Final Conflict and its characters belong to Tribune and Alliance and hordes of other folks, we mean no infringement. No money was made by us, (big surprise) this is for entertainment purposes only and it helps if you have a few before you read it.

Warnings: This piece is sexually graphic, but no Skrills were harmed in it's making. If you are underage or of delicate constitution, go read the "G" version on the Philosophy Sphere and stop trolling the Net for smut!

Notes: Thanks to BoredTech for hosting this, and the wolf thanks the ferret for getting on her case to finish this already! Love ya fuzzy. :-)

Title: An itch you can't scratch
Authors: Dot Ferret & MayaWolf
Rating: NC-17

Summary: I can't...it's just too bizarre..

AN ITCH YOU CAN'T SCRATCH
By MayaWolf & DotFerret

        Sandoval sat at his desk going over the security rosters. There had been a recent influx in the number of applications wanting to become Taelon implants. "Da'an will be pleased" he mumbled, as he absentmindedly scratched at his wrist at the main juncture where his Skrill joined into his skin and muscle.
        An hour later as he penned his name to the last of the applications, he noticed an inflammation at the point he had been abrading. *....What's this?.....* Opening his cuff he pulled his sleeve up and noticed several small dots almost like hives. Sandoval had experienced wild mood fluctuations recently and would have put this visit to Doctor Belman off indefinitely had not a physical symptom announced itself. Closing his eyes Sandoval remembered a raid at the Flat Planet Café where they had gone searching for Liberation sympathizers. He pictured the scene perfectly, the smells, the time on the wall clock, the idiotic looks of surprise on the patrons faces, oh yes he liked that most of all.
        Satisfied that his CVI was working properly he lifted his arm and directed a small energy burst at a dummy he kept propped on a chair on the far side of the room, a gentle sounding of whoom and the dummy toppled and hit the floor. "Sorry Mr. Doors." Well, the Skrill was working properly even though it itched now abysmally. Closing his cuff and putting on his jacket, Sandoval walked down the corridor to Dr. Belman's Laboratory.

* * * *

        After Forty-five minutes of scanning and blood testing, Dr. Belman could find nothing wrong. "It must be an unconscious psychological reaction on your part, Agent Sandoval." She put down the scanner trying to see if the Agent she had implanted could still be reached. She saw by the stiffening
of his posture that this was not the case.
        "I assure you Dr. Belman, I have no qualms about my position as a Taelon companion. Not before and certainly not now!" Swinging his legs over the side of the exam table, he hopped off and stalked away.

* * * *

        Agent Siobhan Beckett paced the floor of her workout room increasingly agitated she had been working out now for three hours. She glanced at the big clock on the wall. Seven o'clock. The Dojo she practiced her sword work in would still be open. Donning a light jacket she raced down the stairs of her apartment building and out into the cold of the night. The three blocks to the dojo were covered quickly and due to the hostile look on her face, everyone who caught her eye gave her a wide berth.
        At nine o'clock the sensei called it quits. "Siobhan what is the matter? You slice at me as if I were a dragon in your path."
        "I am sorry Sensei. All day I have been on edge, and it is unsettling me."
The older Japanese man took the sword out of her hand, and hung them on the wall carefully.
        "Perhaps you should try meditation instead of force, Siobhan. You are working off excess Yang, too much male dominated essence." The thought of meditation had never occurred to her, which put her on edge even more. The Runes that she counted on lay unused in her apartment. Siobhan's rich cultural heritage had always been a comfort to her and now it seemed trite. What was wrong with her?
        As she donned her street clothes she noticed the Skrill on her arm was luminescing a faint blue.          "What is this?" She had spoken to herself, but the Sensei had overheard. He walked over to her and gently took her arm.
        "Perhaps this is the cause of your agitation?" Siobhan gently touched the animal that had become such a big part of her life.
        "What is it little one, what is going on?" The Skrill seemed to pulse in response
        "Is the little creature ill?" Sensei did not possess the fear most people felt in the presence of Taelon technology.
        "I have never heard of such a thing, do you mind?" Siobhan pointed to a practice dummy in the dojo's corner. Sensei nodded and turned to face the corner as well. Siobhan leveled her arm and an energy blast streaked across the room, blasting the dummy into minute pieces. Her face showed the shock she felt.
        "I am so sorry I did not mean to do such damage, of course I will replace it."
The Sensei, still looking at the small, smoking pieces, turned to her.
        "Yes, definitely excessive Yang. You must see a doctor."
As she reached the street again, she thought to herself. *.....Doctor, yes in a little while. Right now I am hungry, ravenously hungry!...*

* * * *

        Two hours and three very rare steaks later, she sat in the laboratory of the Irish Companion being poked and prodded by a Taelon scientist.
        "I cant find anything wrong with you or the Skrill, Agent Beckett, but have you been taking any steroids to increase your muscle mass?" A withering stare was his answer.
        "Why do you ask?" Siobhan asked between gritted teeth. She wanted nothing more than to pounce on him.
        "There is a minute increase in the male hormone levels in your blood. Perhaps you should just go home and rest for the remainder of the day."

* * * *

        The Global communicator chirped again, as it had been for the last hour. *....Why cant you just shut up?....* Agent Sandoval impulsively flung the machine into his trashcan, then stopped and ran his hands through his thick hair. *....What is wrong with me?.....* He rubbed his face briskly, completely missing his Skrill luminesing faintly as he did so, but then it just as quickly returned to normal.
        "Agent Sandoval are you ill?" Accumulated papers from a once clean desk scattered as he jumped to his feet.
        "Da'an," he whispered as he faced the azure clad alien who had come in quietly behind him.
        "I have been trying to reach you, is your communicator malfunctioning?"
        "I...er, uh, misplaced it Da'an," Sandoval moved, placing his body between Da'an and the accusing trashcan.
        The Taelon tilted his head slightly and pinned him with a look. "It is unlike you to be so careless Agent Sandoval. Dr. Belman informs me you have concerns....."
        "Dr. Belman should mind her own business!" Sandoval burst out vehemently, then had the good grace to look embarrassed. The look of surprise on the Taelons face was absolute.
        "Compose yourself Agent Sandoval. Dr. Belman only informed me because you would be leaving the country." Sandoval blinked in confusion, but quietly waited for his instructions. "I wish for you to travel to Ireland and oversee security precautions for the Irish Companion at the Awards
ceremony."
        "But, the Irish Companion has his own protector Da'an," Sandoval bristled at the order. In his current emotional state Ronald Sandoval was looking for insults where none existed.
        Da'an gave a Taelon equivalent of a withering glare out the sides of his eyes. "As you know, not all of Ireland's people embrace the peace Taelons offer them. Awarding the Irish Companion humanity's highest honor may incite extreme negative reactions..." gesturing with his elegant hand,
Da'an tried to make his concerns known. "And, perhaps it will be best for you to occupy your time with something more diverse." Sandoval calmed down.  Maybe all he did need was some field work, get his blood pumping again. 
        "It is my wish that you leave immediately," said the pale alien with a ghost of a smirk, " And do locate your communicator. You will no doubt have use of it soon." With a downward look at the trashcan the Taelon glided out of the office.

Agent Sandoval hugged himself but found little comfort in that. Why was he so edgy? Retrieving the communicator and snatching his jacket off the hook he angrily walked out of the office to the shuttle pad.

* * * *

        Siobhan Beckett stood at attention in the audience room of the Irish Companion. "I do not understand Er'el, why is he being sent here?"
        "It is Da'an's wish, Agent Beckett. Since he will be attending the ceremony, he most likely wishes his own Agent to see to the security. You will assist him in any way he requires. There is no need for you to know more."
        "But Er'el....."
        "Enough Agent Beckett, please meet him at the shuttle bay and do as he recommends!" With a gesture of dismissal, the Irish Companion turned his back on Siobhan. Agent Beckett seethed with barely contained anger. Why was her command being turned over to an American agent? Striding through the smooth multicolored halls to the shuttle pad, Beckett tried to control her thoughts and to refocus on the Nobel Award Ceremony. This was a coup for the Irish Companion to arrange a peace that humans had been unable to accomplish. She found herself strutting as pride took over the angry thoughts. Let them send whom they will to the Irish companion, as she by proxy would receive the enormous praise after all was done. Unnoticed by Siobhan, her Skrill was pulsing continuously keeping pace with her strong emotions. In fact it preceded each emotional outburst with a luminescent blush.
        Agent Beckett rounded the corner absently rubbing her Skrill arm. The flashing light at the shuttle bay door announced the arrival of Agent Sandoval's shuttle. Siobhan straightened her military tunic and checked her reflection in the smooth walls of the alien composed building. She was
slightly taken aback by what she saw there. Her eyes were fever bright and she was sweating slightly, which added sheen to her normal pale complected Irish face. Her nostrils flared as she stared at her appearance.   *....Relax Siobhan, calm down this man is no threat to you.....* Her Skrill felt heavy as if it had swelled while she waited. As the door slid smoothly open, Agent Beckett came face to face with the most important human in Taelon-human relations. As Agent Sandoval's eyes rose to meet hers, she experienced a shock that rocked her, causing her to sway ominously. Agent Sandoval's arm rose to steady her and as he touched her, his own Skrill delivered a rush of endorphins to his brain. The two agents stood gaping at each other in surprise before they were able to control their own emotions, then each sprang rigidly to attention and glared at the other coldly.
        Sandoval was the first to recover his composure. "Agent Beckett are you ill, you look flush?" He had walked around her as he spoke, unconsciously adjusting his coat sleeve as he did so. The rush of pleasure he had experienced when he touched Agent Beckett had decreased tremendously, as had the itching. Perhaps this is the end of it, he thought. Siobhan stood rigidly in place; it had taken much more to subdue the intense desire that she had experienced at Agent Sandoval's
touch. She had never met Sandoval and had only seen him in their communication via the global's. As it was, she had never thought of him as devastatingly attractive. Yet here at his slightest touch she had reacted like a schoolgirl with a crush. Inwardly seething at her lack of control, she turned on him furiously. "I was simply out of breath Agent Sandoval, having rushed here to meet you."
        "If your implant is malfunctioning Agent Beckett perhaps you should see a Doctor," Sandoval was once again firmly in his role that of Chief Taelon operative, a role that brought him comfort and steadied his nerves.
        "I assure you Agent Sandoval, I am quite well!" Beckett adjusted the sleeve of her own uniform. "Shall we go Agent Sandoval? Er'el is expecting us." Sandoval gracefully performed a Taelon gesture and indicated for her to show him the way. Beckett stormed away, ever so self-consciously aware that he was following her.
        Sandoval followed with growing amusement; he had only dealt with Agent Beckett via the global communicators, who would have thought she was so temperamental and attractive? He shook his head as that thought entered his mind, trying to clear it and to think of business, aware that once again his Skrill had resumed its tormenting itch.
        As they entered Er'el's room and Agent Sandoval moved once again into Siobhan's personal space, she was swept by another wave of emotion. Gathering herself, she performed the Taelon greeting gesture and Sandoval mirrored it by her side.
        "I am pleased that you are here Agent Sandoval, Da'an was most gracious in allowing you to come and assist us," Er'el looked curiously at both implants. They both seemed emotionally highly charged, which was apparent to him, if not to them. While Er'el was used to the passion of his Implant, he had been under the impression Sandoval was reserved for a human.
        Sandoval's famous icy exterior was still in place, but on the verge of cracking. Moving away from Agent Beckett a few steps allowed him to regain some composure. "What do you require Er'el?"
        The opal skinned alien spoke in a firm, yet lilting voice. "There have been rumors that the Resistance plans a full scale attack during the Nobel Peace Prize Award, starting with the destruction of Ma'el's tomb." Silently, Siobhan's ground her teeth together. "We had arranged for the Award to be held there because of its great social significance to this country and its people. Please accompany Agent Beckett to the site and secure the tomb and surrounding area to insure the ceremony is without incident." Er'el dismissed them with a gesture, but watched their hostile reaction to each other as they turned to leave. Fascinating, another human characteristic to study.
        Beckett felt more in command as she took possession of the shuttle's control bars. This was her field of expertise; she had been the second person to train to fly the shuttles since Captain Marquette had perfected them for human use. As they moved away smoothly, Siobhan felt the rush of excitement that she always experienced with her CVI enhanced perceptions of time and space.
A sigh escaped her lips, unnoticed by her.
        "You enjoy flying Agent Beckett," Sandoval had indeed caught the quiet sound. The hair on the back of her neck seemed to rise at the sound of his voice.
        "Why wouldna I enjoy it Agent San-do-val," her Irish accent had come unbidden as her aggravation increased. "Tis the best in Taelon technology after all!"
        Sandoval adjusted his chair to make himself more comfortable. "No need to get defensive Agent Beckett. The Taelons do have marvelous technology and you are a capable pilot." Siobhan felt anger at being labeled capable, yet at the same time unaccountably eager to hear more praise from him. As she moved her arm to bring them out of hyper travel mode, she noticed her Skrill pulsating and luminescing slowly each beat matching her heartbeat. Pulling her eyes away momentarily from the control panel to observe this phenomena caused the shuttle to experience a hard shift to the right.
        Agent Sandoval chuckled at her loss of control. For some reason it made him feel more in control of his. "Perhaps you should take additional lessons Agent Beckett." Siobhan smoothly brought the shuttle back on course, fighting the urge to turn it upside down and dump this pompous ass on his head. Sandoval watched the back oh her red head, keenly aware of the anger she was feeling by the red blush that spread slowly around her throat. She blushed quite attractively he thought. Smiling lazily, he absently scratched his Skrill, unaware of the endorphins being released
into his system.
        They gently touched down in a grassy field near an encampment of Irish soldiers, each one handpicked by Siobhan herself. Her face still somewhat aflame, she rose stiffly to her feet and addressed Sandoval coolly. "This way Agent Sandoval." The Irish agent stormed off, a whisper of nylon and the clatter of sensible shoes all that remained of her presence on the shuttle. The other agent continued to smile as he pushed away the restraining bars of the passenger seat. Without his noticing, his enhanced senses enabled him to follow the motes of her very subtle perfume, even as
she disappeared from view.

Continued in part II