by Lace, Lisa
As the ship's engines started to rumble, a light flashed on the main view screen. The hairy little face of Tul filled the screen. "This is the captain of the Ceichis. I demand to know who is attempting to take that ship. I hope it's not two disgusting Kerdim."
"Ignore him," said Tev.
"No problem," said Rev. "What's keeping us from taking off? Is it the docking clamps?"
"Yes, we're still attached to them. If you retract ours, we'll pull away from their ship."
"Doing that could damage the hull," pointed out Rev.
"Leave and live. Stay and die."
Rev sighed. "You always make things so black and white, but you're right this time."
Tracy felt a small lurch as the clamps released.
"What's that guy's name?" asked Rev.
"Tul, his name is Tul," said Tracy. "He was the first officer before Kor died."
"Captain Tul," said Rev with a sneer, "this is Ar-Reven and Ar-Teven, trackers for the Enforcement Wing of the Aligned Worlds. You are charged with several crimes: kidnapping a nonaligned world sentient, kidnapping an Enforcement Wing officer, and assault on an Enforcement Wing officer. If you refuse to release the docking clamps, your sentences and the sentences of those under your command will be correspondingly increased."
Tul laughed. "You trackers think that you can make everyone in the galaxy obey your commands simply by mentioning your title. You know we’re criminals, right? Why shouldn't I just kill you where you are?"
"Do it," a voice croaked in the background. "I want them dead. I don't care about the bounty."
Zywth pushed Tul away from the screen. The blue skin on his face was scored with jagged black streaks. Lower on his body, dark blood welled through wounds. "You fuckers!" he spit. "You are going to pay for this! I told Quargan not to trust you, you bastard. If I don't get you, he'll hunt you down!"
"Good," said Tev. "That will make it easier to arrest both of you. Don't worry, Zywth. Once my testimony is recorded there won't be a place safe for you in this galaxy. We'll have you in a nice prison where you belong."
Tracy wasn't paying attention to the posturing. Instead, she studied the lime-green screens that floated above the control panels. In the corner of one screen, there were rotating images of the exterior of their ship. Motion there caught her eye.
"Guys!" said Tracy. "Eyes upper right. See that?"
Space suits were swarming out of another hatch of the Ceichis and headed straight towards them.
"Fuck," said Rev. "They’re going to try to breach our hull."
"We went by the book, Rev," said his brother.
"You're right." Rev tossed a glance in Tracy’s direction. "Hold on. We're about to put a lot of stress on this ship."
"Just hit it,” she said. “I've had it with these people. Let's get out of here."
"As you wish. Let's get out of here before company shows up, Tev."
Tev pulled back then pushed forward on the stick, rocking the ship. It jolted at each movement, and the engines strained.
"Hit it harder, brother," urged Rev.
Tev rocked the joystick more forcefully. The engines roared and complained. Their ship was trying to break free, but the bigger ship was holding on tight. Tracy hoped these two knew what they were doing. She remembered Rev's comment about having only emergency flight credentials and hoped Tev had more training. As the two brothers tried to rip away from the clamps of the Ceichis, she became nervous.
A horrible wrenching sound ran through the ship, and suddenly the transport spun crazily away from the Ceichis. Tracy felt bile rise through her gut.
"Rev, see if you can stabilize the ship magnetically," Tev said harshly. He struggled to trim the ship to a stable flight line.
Rev's mouth was a tight line as he jumped from his seat and ran to some panels behind Tracy. Twisting, she couldn't see what he was doing, not that it mattered. Even if she could see it, she would have no idea what was going on.
Rev fell to his knees and ripped away a panel. Sparks flew as he touched different flowing red lines, but finally, he sighed in satisfaction when the lines ran blue. "Got it!" he called out.
The ship stopped jerking, and Tev relaxed his grip on the joystick. "Good job."
Tracy's head turned towards Tev's voice, but something on the screen made her stop. "I think something is happening to the big ship out there."
Both Rev and Tev instantly looked to the screen.
"They’re powering up to chase us," said Rev.
"We're going to be caught. There's no way this little ship can outrun them," said Tev.
"I have an idea," Rev said. He returned to the console and dropped into the second pilot's seat. "Give me the conn, Tev. Let me show you a trick I learned."
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tracy swallowed hard. She knew he hadn’t “learned” any maneuvers in their previous space flight. A more accurate description would be that Rev had made them up on the fly. They had been successful, but did he really want to do it again?
Rev gently nudged the ship around until it was heading back towards the Ceichis. Tracy watched as the Ceichis got larger and larger. In space, it was difficult to accurately determine distances with your eyes alone, but even Tev was growing nervous.
"Brother?" Tev said.
Rev smiled, and Tracy saw that familiar hint of daredevil spirit shine through his eyes.
"Just a little bit longer....now!" said Rev.
He accelerated with a push of the joystick. They rushed towards the Ceichis even faster. At the last moment, Rev adjusted their course. Their small ship avoided a collision with the Ceichis, and a wave of exhaust washed over the larger ship. The stars in the screen crushed together in streaks of blue, white, and red. The transport shuddered. This time Tracy didn't faint. The sound of the engines changed from groaning and whining to a whirling sound.
Whop. Whop. Whop.
The sound echoed through the ship. On the screen, the streaks of color slowly disappeared until the view became totally black. Rev eased off the joystick, and the noise from the engines settled to a gentle thrum.
Tev looked thoughtful. "I see what you did. You collapsed their jump field. What led you to think about doing that as a trick? We were told in flight training that it was dangerous."
"With any luck we'll be well away before they can recover."
"That doesn’t answer my question."
Rev was quiet. When he answered, his voice was soft and without his usual swagger. "At the time, I was thinking I'd do anything to not be separated from my mate." He spoke these words without looking directly at his brother.
Tracy watched the reactions of the two Kerdim males. Tev looked back at Tracy with a contemplative stare. A shadow fell over his face, and then he turned back to the controls. "We have much to discuss."
Rev nodded and turned his gaze to his own controls. "Yes, brother, we do."
An uncomfortable silence settled in the cabin, and Tracy didn't like it. "Is there a problem?" Her voice came out more sharply than she intended, but her question turned both males' heads towards her. "Well?" she said when no answer was forthcoming. She crossed her arms.
Rev looked at Tev. "I'm going to talk to her in private, if you don't mind."
Tev nodded. "Of course."
Rev unlatched his seat belt and motioned for Tracy to do the same. "Come with me," he said.
One good thing about being on a smaller ship was that it was much more difficult to become lost. Tracy followed Rev down a narrow corridor and stopped behind him when he opened the first door on the right and looked inside.
"This will do," he said, ushering her in.
What is going on? Glancing over the small cabin, she decided they were in crew’s quarters, based on the bed inset in the metal wall on the right.
Rev started undoing the latches of his suit, beginning the laborious removal process. In the excitement of their escape, they had not found a moment to remove their space suits. "We can take these off now," he sa
id.
"Fine," she said, removing her helmet and trying to unzip her own suit. "While we're doing that, can you tell me what went on with your brother back there?"
Rev cleared his throat. He seemed reluctant to talk. "My species has a very sharp sense of smell."
"Yes," she said.
"He smelled my mating bite on you." Having extracted himself from his own suit, Rev worked the fasteners on Tracy's suit with singular interest. "I did tell you that we gave up the old ways." Rev found one fastener particularly interesting.
"Spit it out, Rev."
"It's obvious he does not approve."
By now, Rev had gotten all the fasteners open. He peeled the suit from her shoulders, and it fell to the floor.
Tracy sighed and sat on the bed. "Is that all?" she said.
"All? All?" Rev's voice rose slightly, and Tracy realized Tev's approval was necessary for Rev on some fundamental level.
"Rev," said Tracy, "sit down."
He sat next to her on the bunk.
She took his hand. "I get it," she said. "He's your big brother, and he's important to you. I see it. I really do. You took pride in showing off to him back there."
"Yes." Rev nodded. "He's always been there for me. That's why when he went missing, I had to be there for him."
"I understand, and you've told me that your people don't use the mating bite anymore. To your brother, it must look like you've taken a step backward, following traditions that have little place in your society."
"I suppose you are correct," he said with a sigh.
"Not to mention that using the mating bite is illegal for your people under the Aligned Worlds government, and for professionals like you and your brother, enforcers of the law, that has to be a big no-no."
"No-no?" said Rev with a slight grin. "Sometimes the way you speak is strange."
"This whole thing from beginning to end has been very strange for me. You can put up with my eccentricities of speech."
"Yes, Tracy, I am more than willing."
"You are," she said with smile. "But here's the thing. From what you've explained to me, there is nothing you and I can do about the mating bond between us. Neither of us wants to anyway. If we can't do anything about it, Tev certainly can't. Everyone is just going to have to get over it."
"Over it?" asked Rev with a perplexed look. "I don't understand."
"Accept it."
"That might be easy to say, but it definitely will not be easy to do."
"Why? What can happen?"
"Between you and me? Everything will be the same. But I would hate if things changed between me and my brother. We have always been close."
Tracy put her arm around Rev and snuggled into his chest. "I know," she said. "But if he loves you—"
"Love?" said Rev. "There's that word again."
Tracy shook her head. She still couldn’t believe love was untranslatable in Rev's language. "Okay then, if he has warm feelings of affection for you, he'd be happy that you found a mate. That's what brothers do for each other. Good brothers at least."
Rev nuzzled her head. "You know what we haven't done for a while?"
"What?” Tracy chuckled. “I don't know, but I can guess."
Rev pulled away from her. "You didn't tell me what happened in that pirate's cabin. Did he touch you? Hurt you?"
"No. The Jer'hym said Kor was some sort of racial purist. That he wouldn't touch a woman of another race."
"Then why did he want you there?"
"Oh, well, apparently the Jer'hym males can only sing with a female present to inspire them. Race does not seem to be a factor for the them. Kor used the Jer'hym's song to get off while he masturbated."
"And what about you?"
"My hands were tied; I couldn't get myself off."
"Tracy!"
"I thought about you. With the Jer'hym's song, that was enough to give me an orgasm."
"Thinking about me? That's all."
"Apparently that was enough."
Rev kissed the back of her neck. "I think our bond is even stronger than we both realized." He said the words in a breathy whisper that sent chills through her.
She turned fully towards Rev and fumbled with the fasteners on his pressure suit. "I think you should get out of your suit too."
"On one condition," he said.
"What's that?"
"Take off your clothes."
"You are always wanting me to take off my clothes."
"Well, when we get to my planet, I'm going to make you walk around naked."
"Over my dead body."
"No," said Rev, shimmying out of his suit and clothes. "Over your naked body, over and over again."
"I bet you say that to all the Earth girls."
"Only one Earth girl. The only one I’ll ever want."
Rev pulled her closer and kissed her hard, holding her around her waist. She slid her arms up around his neck. The spicy scent and taste of him clouded any thoughts besides getting closer to him. She broke away from his kiss and slid down to his chest, her tongue tasting every inch as she moved to his nipples. Tracy sucked one between her lips, teasing the nub with the tip of her tongue.
"That drives me wild," gasped Rev. "I never knew that could feel so good."
She pinched the other with her fingers. Between them, Rev's cock hardened. The ridges that ran the length rose, growing darker the more she caressed his nipples. Moving her lips and tongue down his torso, she teased his belly button.
"Wicked woman," he growled. "Stop that and let me at you."
"I'm not going to stop you, but if you do, you'll miss out," she said.
He groaned. "You're not," he said as Tracy took his cock into her mouth. "Oh, sweet goddess, how you do that."
Tracy ran her tongue around the head, lapping at the underside. Rev moaned, and she pushed him down to lie on the bed. His left leg bent at the knee was firmly on the bed, but the other dangled off, giving her a good view of his balls. Kissing and nibbling down the length of his shaft, she reached them and took one of the globes in her mouth, sucking on it gently.
"Fuck," said Rev.
She lashed her tongue on his flesh. His spicy, salty taste filled her mouth and nose. It tasted so good she moved lower to under his balls and licked the sensitive skin there. Rev muttered. His cock was rock hard and leaking pre-cum. She took his cock in her hand, palmed the sensitive head, and rubbed it while licking his balls.
"Stop, it's too good," he said.
"What if I don't want to?"
"I'll come," he said.
"Good," she said. She took his shaft into her mouth, savoring his taste, loving the feel of his hard cock in her mouth. With these thoughts, her nipples hardened, and her clit tingled. She loved doing this, giving him this pleasure.
It was so hot to take him with her mouth. Her tongue did things to him that other body parts couldn't. His hips jerked under her. "Close, so close," he gasped.
She took as much of him as she could, one hand at the base of his shaft. Feeling her own excitement rise, she used her other hand on herself, digging her fingers in on either side of her sensitive clit. She bobbed her head on Rev's cock, matching the rhythm with her fingers, demanding satisfaction from her body.
"Fuck!" uttered Rev as he erupted in her mouth. He spurted his seed in four different shots. The cum filled her mouth. She swallowed it down then released him. Her own orgasm came over her at the same time.
"Rev!" she cried. "Oh God, I love you!"
She collapsed her head on his stomach, and Rev tenderly put his arms around her shoulders. "You continue to amaze me each day."
Tracy had thought that one go-round would be enough for Rev, but she was wrong. He attacked her again with a ferociousness that approached the fervor of the Staukub at the mining camp. Only this time, there were no mating bites, which was slightly disappointing since they added to the intensity of her experience. Rev had told her that Kerdim males only used their mating bite once.
Exhaus
ted, they held each other while Rev kissed her hair and neck.
"Where do you get the energy for that," she said groggily. "I just want to sleep."
"If we are near each other, I should take every opportunity to touch and kiss you," he said.
She moved in closer and lay her head on his chest. "Best pillow ever," she sighed.
She closed her eyes. As soon as she fell asleep, an alarm started ringing throughout the ship.
Tev's voice came over the intercom. "Brother, come to the cockpit!"
Rev grumbled and retrieved his clothes. Tracy watched with appreciation as his muscles rippled when he pulled his shirt over his head. She realized that at some point she had stopped thinking of Rev as "that green guy." He called her "mate." But what would she call him? “Boyfriend” hardly covered it. “Mate” sounded stiff and formal, and they weren't married so she couldn't call him “husband.”
A voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Get dressed, Tracy."
"Can't I sleep here?"
"Later. With all the danger around us, I want you with me at all times. Later you will sleep safely in my arms."
Tracy thought she'd rather chance sleeping alone if it meant actually getting some sleep, but the look of resolve on Rev's face removed any further thoughts of protest from her mind. Tracy quickly got dressed, then together they walked forward to the pilot's cabin. What they saw made Rev stop in his tracks.
The face of Counselor Ja-Idin Du filled the screen, the driving force behind getting Tracy returned to Earth and the reason Tracy and Rev had fled from the Enforcement Wing.
"Tev, what has the counselor told you?" Rev asked uneasily.
"I had to at least check in and report that you were safe. The counselor has been enumerating the crimes you have been convicted of." Tev whipped around in his seat. "Rev, would you like to explain your actions?" he said sharply.
Rev moved forward to the empty pilot's chair. "I only did what I had to, brother. I may have been convicted of crimes, but I assure you there were good reasons behind my actions."
"Ar-Reven, there is no good reason for your acts of treason against the Enforcement Wing and the government," Ja-Idin said. "Be advised that—"
