Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 ________________________________ This is a story about a sexual FANTASY
written for consenting adults.  If you're not both of those, don't read it.
Characters in a FANTASY don't get sick or die unless I want them to.  In
real life, people who don't use condoms and other safe-sex techniques do
get sick and die.  You don't live in a FANTASY so be safe.  The fictional
characters in my stories are trained and experienced in acts of FANTASY -
don't try to do what they do - someone could get hurt.

   If you think you know somebody who resembles any of the characters here,
congratulations, but you're wrong - any similarity between the characters
in this story and any real person is purely coincidental, since all of
these characters are figments of my dirty little imagination.

   This is my story, not yours.  Don't sell it or put it on a pay site. 
You can keep it and/or give it away with all of this information intact,
but if you make money off of it, you're breaking the law and pissing me
off. _________________________________ Lost Colonies:The Symbiotes
(F/alien, SciFi, oral, anal, caution) (C)Copyright 2004 - Shakes Peer2B
shakes_peer2b@NONOsbcglobal.net (remove 'NONO' from the above address to
contact me)
/files/Authors/Shakes_Peer2B/
http://storiesonline.net/library/author.php?name=Shakes_Peer2B

   ________ "No response to the hail, Captain." Bill, eager to repeat our
success with the planet Eden, had begun hailing CM21020225-1 as soon as the
Folder dumped us on the outskirts of the system.

   We had already come up dry on the first two systems along it's planned
trajectory, neither giving any clue as to whether CM21020225-1 had ever
been there.  Orbital surveys, however, seemed to indicate that those
systems had planets that would be pretty inhospitable to humans, so we
continued on as the crew of the CM must have done.

   Every day, for the month and a half it took to approach the orbit of the
most likely planet, Bill and Mary, the ship's AI, hailed and scanned for
signals with no result.  As we neared the planet, however, scanners showed
an object in low orbit around it.

   Sure enough, the CM module, apparently dead except for its orbit
stabilization systems, circled the planet.  The external cargo framework
was empty, so we assumed that the colonists had at least tried to make a go
of it here.  Surface scans showed no signs human occupation, however.  No
buildings, factories, or electronic signals could be detected.  The planet
was teeming with life, but from orbit, it was difficult to determine what
that life consisted of.

   The team I sent to check on the CM reported that while the colonists had
apparently left in good order, the condition in which they left the orbiter
seemed to indicate that they had no intention of returning.

   I sent a couple of AI probes to the surface, and while they reported
lush vegetation and abundant wildlife, they could detect neither humans nor
dangerous predators.  Meanwhile, from orbit, we detected a large
concentration of metal at one point on the surface, whose mass was
consistent with that of two shuttles like those carried on the colonization
missions.

   Determined to find out what happened to these people, I suited up and
went down with the survey team, landing in the sparsely vegetated area
where the sensors had told us the shuttles might be.  Sure enough, as my
skin tingled from the bio-shield and I made my way down the ramp I could
see the crumbling remains of what were, unmistakably, CM shuttles.

   There was steam rising from the scorching our shuttle's retro thrusters
gave the sparse vegetation, but it dissipated quickly.  I had just stepped
off the ramp when a naked woman, apparently in her thirties, came running
into the clearing.  Hands to her cheeks, she surveyed the burned flora
under the shuttle and cried, "What have you done!?  Oh my god they're
dead!"

   Her pronunciation was a little strange, but her speech was not as
unrecognizable as had been the Edenites.

   "I'm sorry, ma'am!" I said placatingly, though I wasn't sure what I
should be sorry about, "Should we have landed somewhere else?"

   Suddenly her gaze fell on my face.

   "You-you're from Earth?!" she gasped.

   "Yes ma'am.  I'm Captain Cecilia Barnes of the Golden Hind." I replied,
"We were sent from the United Federation of Earth Aligned Planets to find
out what happened to the colonial missions sent out in the 21st and 22nd
centuries.  I take it you are descended from the people who were on this
mission?"

   I waved my hand to indicate the rotting shuttles.

   "No, I am Rosemary Devins." she said, with an air of disbelief, "I AM
one of the people who were on this mission!"

   "I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood." I said, "I thought I heard you
say you were one of the people who were on the colonization mission."

   "You did not misunderstand, Captain." she said, "It is a long story, and
before I can tell it, I must first let Galadrak know what has happened! 
Please, come with me, but stay on the path!"

   I left a detail to guard the shuttle, and with a small squad of Marines,
followed Rosemary into the lush forest surrounding us.  On the way, I
signalled the ship to search the mission rolls for a Rosemary Devins. 
Mary, our AI, came back almost immediately with a picture and personal
data. The Rosemary Devins who left earth nearly twenty centuries ago had
looked, if anything, slightly older than the person before us.  The
pictures were identical in every other respect, down to the tiny scar on
the left cheek - the remnant of a childhood accident.

   We had walked about a mile and a half when one of my marines halted the
column and pointed to a nearby tree.  On a large root, at its base, lay a
seemingly unconscious man.  Roots or vines sprouted from every orifice in
his body except eyes and ears.  A fine network of tiny tendrils covered his
head.  His cock was rigid, and was made even more so by the nearly
half-inch thick tendril that seemed to be still working its way into his
urethra!  A much larger one had invested his anus, while a similarly sized
outgrowth had worked its way down his throat.  Two smaller ones writhed
into his nostrils.  He seemed to be in absolutely no distress.  In fact, as
we watched, he spasmed through what I could have sworn was an orgasm!

   "Sergeant!" I ordered, "Cut that man loose and get him to sick bay!"

   "NO!" Rosemary screamed, "You'll kill him!"

   "What are you talking about?" I said, "Can't you see that he'll die if
he's left like that?"

   Her head was shaking violently, and she seemed deathly afraid that the
sergeant would carry out his orders.

   "He's just communing with Galadrak!" She grabbed my arm, trembling, and
continued, "Please!  I will explain everything after I have reported to
Galadrak!  Just let him be!  In a little while those tendrils will withdraw
and he'll be as good as new!"

   Skeptical, but realizing there was something at work here that was new
to us, I cancelled my order and we moved out.  We had gone perhaps another
mile into the forest when we came to an enormous tree.  Rosemary left the
path, stepping carefully to avoid the patches of vegetation on the ground
and caressed the worn roots of the tree.

   "This is where I commune with Galadrak, Captain." She said, reclining on
one of the larger roots.  "Do not be alarmed at what you see.  This could
take a couple of hours so please, whatever you do, STAY ON THE PATH!"

   As she spoke, tendrils sprouted from the root beneath her, and Rosemary
sighed a blissful sigh as they invaded her body.  As with the man we had
seen, she seemed almost to become part of the tree.  Her head, too, was
covered by a fine network of fibers as her bodily orifices welcomed the
woody invasion.

   I ordered the sergeant in charge of the detail to post sentries while
the rest of us relaxed as best we could on the well-beaten path.  At one
point, as I sat in the dirt, I inadvertently placed my gloved hand on the
vegetation at its margin.  Even through the material of the hazard suit, I
could feel the plants writhing, withdrawing from the pressure of my palm. I
lifted my glove to watch the last bit of green crowd in amongst its
neighbors, leaving the spot where my hand had rested bare.

   Four times over the course of the next hour, Rosemary's body spasmed in
what I could only interpret as tremendous orgasms.  I discussed it with
Gail, our ship's doctor, and she agreed.  Whatever the hell this communion
was, the people doing it seemed to enjoy it immensely!

   The troops were getting restless, and probably horny, when the tendrils
finally withdrew from Rosemary's sated body.  She climbed langorously down
from the root and rejoined us, moving like a woman who's just left her
lover.

   "Galadrak wishes to commune with you, Captain!" she seemed excited about
that for some reason.  After what I'd witnessed, I had mixed feelings.

   "Who is this Galadrak?" I asked.

   "Galadrak is the planet, Captain." she replied, as if searching for
words, "It is the combined life force of every living thing on this planet,
with the exception of humans."

   "Why not humans?" This was getting stranger every second.

   "Because we are not native to this planet," Rosemary said, "we are not
part of the overall consciousness.  The only way we can become part of that
consciousness is through communion.  Once the communion ends, we are no
longer in direct contact with Galadrak."

   "So, what you were just doing - that was how you communicate with the
planet?"

   "Oh, Captain," she gushed, as if talking about a lover, "it's so much
more than that!  Galadrak feeds us.  It gives us immeasurable pleasure, and
it keeps us healthy, giving us much longer lifespans than other humans!"

   I was really puzzled now.  "So, how did this relationship with the
planet come about?"

   Rosemary's face clouded as she answered, "It took us many months to
understand the true nature of this planet, and many of us died in the
process.  We never realized the wounds we were causing by cutting down
trees to build our houses.  To protect itself, Galadrak sent hordes of
tiny, insect-like creatures to attack our food supplies, our buildings,
even our shuttles.  Funguses, corrosion, and rot attacked everything as
soon as it came in contact with the planet.  If we slept in a shelter at
night, by morning, the shelter and all our belongings would be rotting and
crumbling away.  No matter what measures we used to fight the incursion, a
new strain would immediately show up that was immune to our poisons or
fungicides or whatever else we threw at it.  The shuttles, once landed,
could not take off again.  We were stuck on what we thought was a hostile
planet with no way out."

   "So how did you come to THIS state of affairs?" I asked.

   "I guess I was the first." Rosemary replied, pensively, "I was starving,
my clothing, like everyone else's, had rotted away, and in my weakness, I
fell behind the others as they trekked through this forest in search of a
place of safety.  I was tired and weak, and couldn't go on.  I lay down on
that root to rest, and fell asleep.  As I slept, I dreamed of soft hands
caressing me, and a virile lover taking me.  The dream was so vivid, and so
out of place, that I awoke to find myself bound up in those tendrils.  I
realize now, that it was Galadrak that kept me from going into panic, but
at the time, I was just mildly surprised by the fact that I stayed calm.  I
could feel my body penetrated, but it felt SO GOOD!  Whatever was down my
throat was seeping something delicious into my mouth and stomach, and the
sensations from...  other places, were equally delicious!  As my mind
calmly catalogued all of this, I became aware of the presence of an
enormously powerful mind.  It apologized for taking me while I slept and
assured me, without words, that everything would be all right.  In that
first communion, I learned that we had been a blight on a planet that had
been, until our arrival, perfectly balanced.  I also learned that, if we
were to survive, we needed to become part of the planet's eco-system,
instead of trying to fight it.  Galadrak kept me for more than a day in
that first communion, and when it released me, I was once again healthy. 
My appetite and thirst had been slaked, and I was, for the first time since
coming to the planet, sexually satisfied."

   "Galadrak had converted a number of trees within the forest for
communion with us," she continued, "and my task was to convince the
remaining colonists to join Galadrak instead of fighting it.  Some, eager
to grasp at any straw, and swayed by the change in my health since they
last saw me, were easy to convince.  Others, skeptics, held out until the
first ones returned with tales similar to mine.  A few viewed the communion
process as perversion of the worst sort, and refused to try it.  They died,
hungry and miserable.  Of the original number of twenty five hundred
colonists, fewer than five hundred remained by the time we learned to
co-exist with Galadrak."

   "So are all the humans here original colonists?" I asked, "Have there
been no children?"

   "Occasionally, one of us dies by accident or some other circumstance
beyond Galadrak's control." Rosemary answered, "When that happens, Galadrak
allows one of us to get pregnant, but it is not done in the same way as on
Earth.  We do copulate with each other freely, but that never results in
pregnancy - that would upset the delicate ecological balance.  When
Galadrak wishes to impregnate a female, it allows a male to share her
communion.  Semen collected from the male is processed through the
communion tree and implanted in the female.  Children conceived in this
fashion are almost as much a part of Galadrak as the native species.  They
don't need communion to be in touch with Galadrak, only to tend their
physical needs."

   Rosemary shook herself as if suddenly remembering something.  "Come, we
must find your communion tree.  Normally, a tree is dedicated to one being.
Because of the unprecedented nature of your visit, Galadrak has modified a
communion tree that was set aside for a human to be born soon.  You will
commune through that tree, and your knowledge will be passed on to the
baby."

   We started back in the direction we had come, and as we neared the edge
of the forest, I noticed that the trees grew successively smaller, as if
the forest grew by spreading outward.  How Rosemary knew which tree to
choose, I don't know, but she stopped us at the foot of a tree that, while
still magnificent, would have been dwarfed by 'her' tree.

   "You need to remove your clothing Captain." Rosemary said, "Don't worry,
Galadrak will not let anything harm you."

   I consulted with Gail, and she confirmed that she could detect nothing
harmful in the surrounding atmosphere.

   It was with some trepidation that I stripped off my hazard suit, ship
suit, and undergarments.  Most of the crew had seen each other without
clothing, and many had shared each other's bunks, so I wasn't shy, but the
thought of subjecting myself to what I had seen Rosemary go through had me
both excited and fearful.  Ah well!  I had fought for this assignment so I
could experience something new, and experiences didn't come much newer than
this!

   I instructed Mary to monitor and record as much as she could through my
implants, but not to interfere unless I ordered it.

   The root, as I reclined upon it, felt cool, and surprisingly soft under
my back.  Almost immediately, I felt my arms bound - firmly but not
uncomfortably, as my legs, too, were wrapped with tendrils and pulled
apart. My heart raced, and I closed my eyes, only to have them fly open as
a thick, somewhat slimy tendril invaded my pussy!  This was NOT a shy tree!
That root, or whatever it was, plunged all the way to my cervix, then
insinuated its slender tip into the mouth of my womb!  The next thing I
knew, the thicker body of that rude root had bulled its way to the back of
my womb.  Then, like a million tiny fingers, it branched out and filled me
completely.

   At the same time, I felt another tendril invade my urethra.  Because I
had not had a chance to urinate since I left the ship, my bladder was
uncomfortably full, but the root seemed not to care.  I lost track of what
it was doing, however, when another tendril wormed its way deep into my
anus, and kept going!  That damned root just writhed and wriggled and I
felt it going past my colon, deep into my intestines!

   I had no time to worry about that, though, as another fibrous tentacle
pried my lips apart.  I thought briefly about trying to keep my teeth
closed against it, but a sap-like substance seeped from its surface, and
when I licked at it, the root slipped between my teeth.  To my delight, the
stuff exuded from the surface of the invading tendril tasted wonderful!  I
was so delighted by the taste, I didn't even marvel at the fact that my gag
reflex never activated as the root slid down my throat!

   Because of the bombardment of strange sensations from all over my body,
I hadn't noticed the growth of a fine mesh of tendrils covering my entire
head.  I did have time to wonder why I hadn't panicked as they invaded my
nostrils and apparently branched throughout my lungs!

   I suddenly became aware of a tremendous presence within my consciousness
- a vast, but somehow limited, intellect.

   'Galadrak, I presume.' I thought.

   'You are a new one.' It seemed not to have a sense of humor, or perhaps
didn't know the story of Dr.  Livingston.

   'Yes, I guess you could say that.' I thought, 'Where ARE you?'

   'We are everywhere,' the mind replied, 'We are composed of every living
thing on this planet.  The animals, the trees, the plants, even the
smallest of insects are joined together in this entity we call Galadrak.'

   'Yeah, but who's in charge?' I was fumbling with this combined mind
concept.

   'No one being is "in charge".' Galadrak replied, 'as your mind is
composed of individual cells, the mind of Galadrak is composed of the
combined minds of all living things on this planet, except the other ones.
They have not yet become fully attuned to us.'

   'Then why do you keep them around?' the question was intended to remain
private, but Galadrak picked it up.

   'The other ones are capable of doing things that none of us can do.'
Galadrak answered, 'They also have agile, powerful minds of their own, and
do not need to be in constant connection with us to do wonderful things. 
This is both a strain and a wonder to us.  Since they are not in constant
contact, we have to be alert, lest they inadvertently harm some portion of
us.'

   'But, if you're a single organism,' I mused, 'what do your parts eat?'

   'The analogy of a single organism breaks down when considering anything
but the combined mind of Galadrak.' it replied, 'Each individual part of us
has its own needs.  By sharing a mind, however, we can maintain balance
between the parts.  We sacrifice plant life to feed the animals.  Other
animals eat those animals.  Some animals die to feed the insects and
microscopic creatures like bacteria.  Their excretions and remains when
they die in turn provide further sustenance for the plants.' Galadrak
lectured, 'It is what your kind call an ecological cycle.  With this cycle
under the control of its collective mind, it maintains balance and
harmony.'

   'So, how do the Humans fit into that picture?' This was really getting
interesting.

   'At first, unknowingly, they destroyed large parts of Galadrak.' came
the reply, 'To try to maintain balance, we took from them the materials to
rebuild.  Then the one called Rosemary rested on the roots of a tree.  In
desperation, to try to learn what manner of creatures they were, we bound
her and used the roots of the tree to explore her organism.  In so doing,
we found that we could communicate with her.  It was only then that we
discovered that we had done them as much harm, if not more, than they had
done to us.  We, who live in harmony, were apalled that we had done such a
thing, and immediately modified more trees to accept Rosemary's kind in
communion.  We learned how to provide for them, and they learned how to
help us.  Now, most of their sustenance is provided during the communion
process, but occasionally, we sacrifice one of our parts so that they may
eat solid food, as this is how they are accustomed to eating.  In return,
they carry things from place to place for us in a short time, that might
take tens or even hundreds of cycles to move otherwise.  Those marvelous
"hands" help the plants to grow in beneficial ways, and construct "tools"
that accomplish wondrous things in a very short time.'

   'So they work for you,' I summarized, 'and you feed them?'

   I could almost feel this gigantic head nodding, 'That is how we achieved
balance with the others.'

   'Wow!' was all I could think to, uh think, 'Do you have anything you'd
like to ask me?'

   'The one that calls itself Rosemary believes that you will not stay.  Is
this true?'

   'It is true, although others may come here after I have made my report.'
I'm not an introspective person, and this kind of talking in the mind was a
bit uncomfortable for me.

   'This is not a good thing.  Our - ecology - cannot stand the strain.' I
could almost sense a frown as it continued, 'It has been difficult to make
a place for the first ones of your kind, but once they knew us, they helped
us in many ways.  New ones, especially ones that do not stay, will disrupt
the balance.'

   An idea suddenly occurred to me.  'What would you need, that you do not
have enough of, to manage your ecology better?'

   'There are certain minerals that do not occur here in sufficient
quantity and cannot be reproduced.  We reclaim as much as we can from the
waste of our bodies and those of the others, but over time, some is
converted to other substances and we cannot convert it back.  I believe one
of those is known to your kind as sodium.  Iron is another.  We also lack
sufficient sulfur to support a further influx of beings.'

   'What if visitors could bring large quantities of those substances with
them?' I asked.

   'This is possible?' See what I mean by limited?  This was a mind that,
while it managed an entire planetary ecosystem, didn't know about other
planets and the like.

   'There are many planets where these substances occur in large
quantities.' I replied, 'Are there things that exist in excessive
quantities here?'

   'There is a yellow metal that is soft and not useful for most living
creatures.  I believe your kind calls it "gold".  A similar white metal is
also abundant.  Your kind calls it "silver".' Galadrak replied, 'Why do you
ask?'

   It took a while to explain the idea of trade, but Galadrak understood
balance, so the concept wasn't too far-fetched for its comprehension.

   'Can these excess metals be taken from wherever they are in sufficient
quantities to use for trade?' I queried.

   'The trees that grow near those locations can be modified to excrete
those materials in almost pure form.  The ones like yourself can then
gather and transport them to the location where your ship landed.' Galadrak
was getting into it now, 'We will remove all living things in that area so
that ships will not injure parts of us as yours did.'

   'Sorry about that.' I thought.  I really was sorry, not realizing I was
landing on a conscious, sentient planet.  'If you wish to open trade with
other planets, I will notify my government of your needs, what you've got
to trade, and the rules for landing and trading on this planet.'

   Suddenly, I again became aware of my body as it was wracked with a
powerful orgasm!

   'Holy shit!' I thought, 'What was THAT all about?'

   I could almost feel a smile as Galadrak replied, 'This is how we reward
your kind for their help in keeping the planet running smoothly.  Is that
acceptable with you, as well?'

   'I'll say!'

   Twice more, I shuddered through uncontrollable spasms of immeasurable
pleasure.

   'There is one other thing we would ask of you.' Galadrak thought, into
the waning bliss of the last orgasm.  'The genetic material available to
keep the others viable is sparse and of insufficient variety to allow the
birth of many of the others without complication.  We have harvested some
genetic material from your body, but need more for the long term stability
of the others.'

   Of course - a mind that was accustomed to managing a planetary ecology
would understand gene pools.

   'So you want my crew to provide additional genetic material?' I
anticipated the next part of the question.  I had a feeling that we were
going to hear that request a lot as we found more of these colonies.

   'Yes.  We will prepare trees for their communion, if that is agreeable.'
Galadrak seemed relieved, 'We cannot allow too many new ones to be created
at a time, but we have found that it is possible to store the genetic
material for many cycles until it can be reused, by combining it with
certain other substances.'

   'I can't promise anything, but I will ask for volunteers.' I replied,
'My crew is pretty open minded, so I think you'll get as much genetic
material as you can use.'

   The roots embedded in my lower orifices writhed and trembled and I felt
an electric current shoot through my body as yet another impossible orgasm
shook me.

   Galadrak apparently wasn't much for long goodbyes.  Suddenly, it was
gone, and the woody tendrils of the tree rapidly withdrew from my body.  As
I slid from my perch on the root, I realized my bladder was no longer full
- the damn tree had apparently emptied it for me.  Of course!  Galadrak
needed sodium, and urine containing salt would be just the ticket!

   My knees almost buckled as I started walking, and I had to pause for a
moment and let go of the feeling of total satiation I felt before I could
return to my crew.

   Gail gave me a quick once over and proclaimed me to be in even better
health than when I first reclined on the root.  Apparently, a small cyst
that she had known about, but hadn't felt worth bothering me about yet, had
been cleanly removed from my ovary - from the inside!

   The vid crystals of my communion with Galadrak were a big hit with the
crew, and I had no trouble getting volunteers to contribute 'genetic
material'.  The vast majority of the first to try were women, for some
reason, but after the first couple of guys came back with tales of the best
sex of their lives, the men were lining up for the shuttles, too.

   I transmitted my trade recommendations back to the Federation via Folder
drone along with my report and a set of guidelines for future visitors,
including strict orders to land only at the coordinates we had used, and to
never, ever, damage flora or fauna without express permission from
Galadrak.

   As we broke orbit and headed toward the outskirts of the system, Bill
came to me with a portable terminal.

   "Captain," he began, studying the terminal, "Mary thought she detected a
signal at one of our Folder course correction stops during that last leg of
the trip here, but didn't say anything until she could clean it up.  She's
been working on it, though, and unless her noise reduction algorithms are
playing some kind of cosmic joke, we received a transponder signal from
CM20951212-2 while we were en route to Galadrak!"

   "How can that be?" I asked, "Can she still be in space after all this
time?"

   "Not likely, Captain," Bill replied, "It could be a signal that was sent
from her transponder centuries ago that just took that long to reach where
we were.  The puzzling thing is, neither Mary or I can figure out, if she
stayed on course, how such a signal could have taken that long to get to
that point in space-time."

   "Well, what say we go check it out?" I replied.  The flexibility to do
what I thought best was one of the things I appreciated most about this
command.  "Can Mary plot us a course back to that location?"

   "Yes Ma'am!" that was Mary, via my implant.  She, of course, could see
and hear everything that went on within her hull.

   "Then, to quote an old twentieth-century vid,'Make it so, Number One!'"
I quipped.

   Bill looked at me funny but turned to do my bidding.  Mary asked, "Who
is Number One?"

   I guess I further confused the issue by replying "We are, Mary!  We're
Number One!"