Hearts of Indesh

by S. J. Sanders

  Apparently they had been waiting on her, because as soon as she joined the throng of women, the peacock-teal aliens sporting the funky crests began to escort the lot of them into the ship. The girls giggled and waved to the crowd like they were already royalty. Nikki resisted rolling her eyes derisively--barely--but made it clear by her expression alone that she was not one of them. However, the daggers she glared at the alien guards escorting them into the starship guaranteed that no one so much as put a webbed hand on her. She wasn’t a bitch, and she felt a bit bad for their escorts who were just trying to do their job, but she was determined to rebel any small way she could.

  She did give the act a bit of a rest when they were escorted into a luxury common room. Nikki was impressed with the high tech used to make their travel between galaxies comfortable. She couldn’t even identify what half of it was for. But everything screamed high-class comfort of the likes she had never personally experienced. Or the other girls, if she went by the groans of pleasure coming from them.

  A series of comfortable overly-plush chairs faced a large viewing-screen that came close to putting a cinema screen to shame. To the left was a wide counter separating a bar and the galley. A slender pearl-gray male, whose tiny fish-like scales shimmered under the lighting, was just behind the counter, ready to serve. Unlike their exotic escorts, this guy was pretty easy on the eyes. He looked rather close to human in stature, though a bit taller and built with a lot of lean muscle like a swimmer. With all that beautiful golden hair swept up in a series of ornate braids and glowing purple eyes, he immediately became a favorite of the ladies on board.

  Nikki extricated herself from the crush of women around the bar as the captain came into the room. She was most empathetic with him as he grimaced at the chaotic mess of bubbly young women. None of whom even noticed he was in the room. The captain cleared his throat loudly, drawing the reluctant gaze of the females giggling over the bartender.

  She was close enough to hear one of the younger women--probably no older then nineteen, twenty tops--mutter to another beside her, “Gawd, what is with the horrendous lizard escort, why couldn’t we get a crew of dreamy guys like this one?” The whole contingent of women stifled giggles and muttered their agreement with ditsy nods of their heads.

  Nikki’s eyes darted over to the captain, praying he hadn’t heard the little twerp, or noticed the bobble-heads agreeing with her. A vivid bluish color crept into the teal scales of his cheek and she wanted to throttle each and every one of them--starting with the chick who opened her fat mouth.

  Brava ladies, great way to collectively represent the women of the human race.

  She could just feel a migraine trying to make itself happen behind her eyes. She didn’t think she was going to survive the three days traveling to Caysta with these women--or they wouldn’t. One of the two. Though, given the disgust painting more than one pretty face, chances were getting higher on the latter.

  She honestly didn’t know what their problem was. The Lorgor may not be the most human looking species, but they were hardly anywhere near the most disgusting or even the least humanoid of species. All women who registered for the Mate Index had access to an index of males from species registered under the Intergalactic Union. Despite their sharp narrow faces, webbed fingers, finned tails, and the broad webbed-crests they sported rather than hair, the Lorgor were pretty humanoid. They weren’t even what she would call unattractive either, especially with their pretty neon-blue eyes. Yet these girls were acting like they were having to socialize with the creature from the Black Lagoon.

  The captain stiffened and regarded the women with a look of cool indifference. “Mistresses, our Calysii staff member Cador, whom you have met, will be here in the lounge to see to your every need. Along the hall to the right you will find your cabins. Each cabin sleeps four.” Instantly a murmur of a decent rose about sharing a room--huh can share a man but not a room?--which the captain summarily ignored, much to Nikki’s delight. “At this time, however, as we need to prepare to exit Earth’s atmosphere, we ask that you seat yourselves in the lounge. Each seat is designed for maximum comfort and safety. You will find safety belts secured to each of them. If you need help Cador will assist you.”

  The sea of faces petulant about having to be belted during take-off, turned to one of glee as every single damned one of them summoned Cador to help, with their little pouts and helpless whimpers. Nikki had the feeling that most of the brides selected for the Calysii prince were a bunch of pampered spoiled brats, likely selected more for their profile photo than their personality. Nikki wasn’t bad looking, though she had to fight with with kinky cursed red hair, and was a bit curvier than some of the other ladies, but she did wonder how she managed to get into this selection. She liked her body, but was under no illusions about what kind of women wealthy and famous men liked to surround themselves with.

  Not that there was any sense of uniformity among the women selected, other than being beautifully. They came in all sizes and shapes, skin tones and hair color. The youngest one, who had sneered at the captain, in fact had bright pink hair. Nikki hoped that the prince knew that color was not natural and kept a stylist on hand, or he was going to be pretty disappointed when it grew out.

  Nikki strapped herself in and sat back to watch the show as Cador, his milky scales flushing a pale pink, helped each girl--many of whom shamelessly copped a feel a time or two. Classy. Nikki was hoping that one or two of the cat-fights that started would have given her a bit of entertainment, but Cador was good at his job. He got the women mellowed and seen to in a prompt manner that suggested he dealt with spoiled clients regularly.

  When he finally turned towards her, he flashed her a small startled smile when he noticed that she was patiently strapped in and waiting for departure. Patient, if one didn’t count the nervous bouncing of her left leg. Nervous twitch--everyone has one of some kind. A grin curved her lips at his obvious relief as he nodded his thanks and left to secure himself in the galley.

  Nikki, now settled, pulled out her tablet and brought up her latest romance, determined to ignore the bridezilla-squad. Engrossed in the story of a golden space warrior captivated by his human love interest, Nikki was barely aware of the starship leaving Earth’s gravitational field. She simply sighed her pleasure and got more comfortable once the automated seating-restraints withdrew. While the other women talked--loudly--amongst themselves, ordered fruity drinks and nibbled on snacks, Nikki was thoroughly engrossed in what the huge cock of Commander Dizblif was doing to his human captive.

  Chapter 3

  Three very, very looong days later…

  Nikki stood by herself in the early hours of what they called ‘the day cycle’ on the starship, looking out the observation window at the shining green planet in the distance with its three moons, relieved to have finally made it. Not because she was looking forward to meeting her new mate, but more because she was looking forward to having her own room away from the bridezilla-squad--their official designation as far as she was concerned.

  Three days of trying to tune-out their salacious gossip, and nights of trying to ignore the grunts of Cador servicing yet another of the women. She didn’t honestly think all the ladies were tapping that, but a fair portion clearly were.

  Poor guy, he was on constant call, but never complained--though by that morning she could see the exhaustion setting in around his eyes. When he wasn’t serving food and drinks, the ladies had him otherwise occupied after finding out that he was on a medication that prohibited his little swimmers from swimming.

  She grimaced in distaste. That this was a requirement for any unmated male in service to the royal family of Caysta meant that it was expected for them to be on hand to “put out.” When she had caught him during a quiet moment, late one night when the other women were sleeping, after assuring him that no, she wasn’t looking for a bit of company; she asked him how he felt about being put in the position of having to service the women in ways she considered way above
any reasonable pay-grade.

  At first he had looked at her like she was crazy, but then laughed and informed her that it did not bother him. He was unmated, and with how few females there were on Caysta, his only option for female company would have been to pay for it at one of the brothels that imported females from other planets. He didn’t always like not having much in the way of options of who he laid with, but normally he didn’t have much to complain about. This trip, having so many females, was a highly unusual one that just would require a few days of recuperation after they arrived.

  For her part, though she didn’t use Cador for sexual gratification, she found she really enjoyed his company. It was nice to be able to sit down and have an intelligent conversation with another being on the starship. The women didn’t bother talking to her anymore after they quickly learned that she wasn’t really in the same head-space regarding this mating stuff as the rest of them.

  In fact, she was pretty much snubbed by every single one of them, not to put too fine of a point on it. All of them acted like there was something wrong with her, just because she wasn’t eagerly anticipating joining with the prince. Never mind that most of these women so excited to finally see their mate were taking turns riding Cador’s dick.

  Speaking of which, Nikki mentally applauded the skill of her new friend when she heard one of the girls wail out in ecstasy. Just hours away from meeting her prince charming, and one of the girls was getting a final ride on the Cador-express. Not that she can blame her--seeing what they had to look forward to.

  Unlike the other women who were dreamily talking of how romantic it all was--getting ready to be married to a prince and all--and how gorgeous their mate was, Nikki did her research during the voyage. She was particularly interested in the fact that, not only did this guy order twenty mates, he had a harem of nearly a hundred mistresses. So unless a girl was getting bred, her pussy was probably going to be gathering dust in between visits. She hoped each and every one got a good work out before they landed. Yeah--very romantic that.

  One things was for sure, Nikki was making her backup plan. She didn’t have much of one yet, but there was no way she was going to be one out of over a hundred females that prick was going to be bedding, with the only thing to distinguish her would be dependent on how many heirs she could pop out. Hell no. She may have had to play along up until this point, but she was going to do everything in her power to get out of the mating ceremony. She wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life being a pussy at hand for prince slime-ball.

  Even as she fumed, she smiled at a shirtless Cador , wiping a moist towel across his belly and chest as he came from the hallway connecting the cabins.

  “Last minute service--full oil change?”

  He looked at her blankly for a moment, until the joke dawned on him and he laughed. “Mistress Denise was requiring some assistance before we land.”

  “I just bet,” Nikki said dryly. “Hey Cador, do any of these ladies realize that they are going to be just one of a great many more? I am laying my credits down that none of them have a clue his highness has an enormous harem.”

  A pale pink flushed over his scales. “Mistress Nikki, it is not something that his highness wishes them to be aware of just yet. Truly, you are not supposed to know either.”

  “Intraweb darling--it tells me everything.”

  “Yes, so it seems,” he sighed. “You are not going to tell them, are you?”

  Nikki snorted. “Yeah, that is a big negative. It is not my job to inform them of anything.” She didn’t miss that his shoulders slumped in relief.

  “Thank you Mistress, the prince would not be happy with me if he found out.”

  She grinned at Cador, “Most guys would be a bit more worried about another guy fucking their women, and less about what their wives thought of them.”

  Cador looked at her askance, “That may be true among some species, but with the Calysii it is a noble female’s legal right to enjoy the company of males in service. We talked a bit of this before, but I don’t think you understand the full magnitude. Because of the large harems the males keep, the females had such rights legalized during the Great Strife of the Legora when the queen took loyal troops against her mate for the insult of restricting her authority to the harem.”

  “Are you telling me that each of us will have completely right to have at any unmated guy in service to the household?”

  Her friend paled and cleared his throat nervously, “Ah, no. I forgot that you aren’t supposed to know about that legal ruling. From my understanding, once the mating ceremony has secured you to him, you will be cloistered with the other females. The rights of Calysii females will not be extended to you. I am to see to your comfort and pleasure until then.”

  “You are the bait to get us to ceremony you mean.”

  Of course he was! Nikki had to have been blind to not have caught on earlier. He was the only Calysii on the starship. Why would he even have been necessary? The guard could have fed all the women at regular intervals. No, he had been planted to entice and keep the women interested. To woo and romance all the women into imagining how great it would be once they joined with their own Calysii mate. After all, he was charming, an enthusiastic listener, and easily a passionate lover who showered his affections generously and equally to all the of them. Cador was--to be blunt--chick bait.

  “He is afraid that they will kick up a fuss if they find out, isn’t he?”

  “It would be a most embarrassing situation for his highness to have his human mates be forced to the mating ceremony.”

  “Wait--forced?”

  “Of course Mistress, after all you are under contract and in all legal ways are already his mate. The ceremony is for the populace to celebrate.”

  Nikki’s jaw dropped. She hadn’t known that. She had figured that there could be some way to maneuver her way out of being mated. According to all the paperwork though, she already was. That was not good.

  She struggled to find some sort of sensible reply to offer rather than just gape at him aghast--instead the entire starship shook violently, sending both of them flying across the room. Nikki was fortunate that all she hit was a thick-cushioned chair. Cador grunted painfully as he landed on something far less forgiving. With the way the lights were flickering, she couldn’t discern exactly what he hit. She was, however, aware of the panicked screams of women coming up from the rear cabins.

  What the fuck just happened?

  She didn’t have long to wonder. To her horror, within minutes a blue beam pierced the wall and began to cut a large doorway, revealing a trio of males armed to the teeth. At first she couldn’t make sense out of just how exactly they were there, until she realized that they were standing in a metal tube sealed against the side of the starship. They were being boarded.

  At the right, a large burgundy cat-like male--a Forad she recalled-- with green eyes aimed his rifle at Cador, his knee-length tail swishing as ears tilted to the Calysii, in a manner of deadly alertness. Even his growl sounded like a deeper version of a feline yowl. He looked…almost cuddly, in Nikki’s opinion. If a cuddly kitten could also look like a deadly threatening motherfucker--but then, many street-hardened stray tomcats managed to look a bit that way.

  At the left, a giant red four-armed beast of a male, with a thick mohawk, tusks that would put a wild boar to shame, and a do-not-fuck-with-me gleam in the eye, held a blaster in each of his hands, covering the room. She remembered reading about his kind. She believed his species were called Vrooduk, there seemed to be some debate whether or not they were extinct, but had a red notation on their listing that they were a particularly aggressive species, mate with caution.

  Which meant that the big son-of-a-bitch in the center surveying the room was the leader. The male had large, heavy scales plating his body of a vivid light green that she could only describe as a peridot. Which made a starling contrast with his deep violet eyes. Just above these, he sported a rather elegant pair of horns that looked li
ke they were carved from diamonds, behind which he had a fall of pearl-white hair. If it weren’t for the leer on his face, she would have almost pegged him as one of the “prettier” alien species. Not one she was familiar with though, certainly not one she recalled seeing in the Mate Index. Maybe an unregistered species, or one not a member of the Intergalactic Union. He truly was a visually interesting specimen, equipped with a tentacle-like tail whipping behind him that was something out any girl’s hentai fantasies from their youth.

  From just behind her, Nikki heard a girl scream, and looked over her shoulder to see the pink-haired chick go out for the count with an audible thunk. She stared at her in disbelief--the girl passed the fuck out! She risked a quick glance at the…uh pirate?…and noticed that he wore an almost identical look of disbelief. That was until he turned his gaze to her.

  A broad grin stretched across his face as his eyes swept over her, noticeably lingering in her more intimate places. “My lady, I am here to save you from misery, and grace you with the honor of being my mate. You have permission to suck my cock to show your gratitude.”

  Nikki once again found herself, for the second time that night, staring at an alien male in aghast. That seemed to be her look of the day. Brain-to-mouth, zero filter, she said the first thing that came to her mind..

  “Are you fucking high?” she yelled.

  It is not that she wouldn’t appreciate a rescue, but she really wasn’t interested in exchanging one mate for another. Especially not one who just announced the fact to her like she should be grateful that he wanted her as his mate. Conceited much? She needed that like she needed a hole in the head.

  The male in question just laughed loudly, and swept her up in his arms, ignoring the elbows she thrust into his chest viciously, or even the bite she tried to deliver to his hand. Frankly, that first one hurt her more than anything else. She was additionally surprised that she didn’t break her tooth on his skin. He yelped a bit, but suffered no damage at all from it. He did frown a bit at her though as if confused.