by Corin Cain
“Your senses will improve with each mating,” Aelon murmurs. “Every time we’re joined, the Bond will be amplified. You haven’t experienced even the slightest pleasure compared to how you will feel.”
His cock is hardening. His arousal is flowing through the Bond, teasing at my mind.
If I let him have me, I don’t know if I’ll be able to go through with our escape plan later tonight. The Bond is already pulling me closer to the Aurelian. I’m drawn to him like a moth to flame. My entire body reacts involuntarily – my desire for him enhanced through the Bond.
I ache to submit to him. It makes me feel weak to admit it – like, somehow only weak-minded women can be submissive – but I desperately want to get on my knees and feel his cock in my mouth while he looks down at me with dominance in his now-blue eyes.
I force that desire back to the recesses of my mind. I have control over myself. Me, not the Bond.
As if sensing that, Aelon warns: “You fight what you crave, Tasha.”
“I know what I need – not the Bond.”
He steps forward. His hand is still dripping blood on the floor from where he’d crushed that glass bottle. He’s so tall that when I’m sitting down, the outline of his swollen cock is directly at mouth level – already hard and stretching against the thin fabric of his shorts. I can see the outline of his manhood hardening and it makes my blood pulse faster.
“Aye,” Aelon purrs, “you know exactly what you need – but you resist it.” He bends down towards me. “There’s no need to resist, Tasha. We’ll conquer the universe together. Together, the four of us will do far more than you’d ever have believed possible.” His eyes flash. “Don’t you understand? Think bigger than petty theft and scams, Tasha. No one will care that you were once a criminal. You’re now one of the saviors of our species.”
I listen to his words.
I won’t have to run anymore.
All I have to do is accept his dominion over me. My body aches for it already…
…but I have to be rational. I can’t allow a man so bloodthirsty to be the father of my children.
I shrink back on the couch, moving away from him.
“Conquer the universe? What do you mean by that, Aelon? You mean kill a bunch of Toads? Teach our sons to kill Toads?”
He stands right above the couch. I can’t crawl any farther away. He’s blocking me from the door, too – trapping me in this room with him.
“They’re a scourge on the universe. Don’t you see that, Tasha? They have to be exterminated.”
“I see it, Aelon. I may be young compared to you, but I’m not stupid – but your own species is not so innocent. I’ve faced the evil of Aurelians. I was almost raped by a trio of Rogue Aurelians who…”
The rage surges up in his aura. It’s uncontrollable. He steps away from me, slamming his injured fist against the table. The wood cracks instantly, splintering beneath his fist.
“Who? Where are they?”
“What are you going to do? Hunt down everyone who’s ever wronged me and kill them?”
He snarls. “For a start.”
“Aelon, don’t you get it? You’re off the fucking rails! You have so much rage in you! How could I let my children be raised in a home of such pain and anger?”
That just makes him madder. I can feel the pain of his cut, bruised hand through the Bond, but he doesn’t even register it.
“Don’t play dumb,” Aelon snarls. “You’re a smart woman. You knew we might be Bonded before you fucked us. Don’t pretend you didn’t know what you were getting in to.”
I knew exactly what I was starting…
…and I’m as guilty as anybody.
I wanted thousands of years of life. I was being selfish. The other powers of the Bond were a welcome surprise, just like the enhanced desires were more… intense than I’d thought they’d be….
…but I was as mercenary as any Aurelian, wanting to take the gift of the Bond and spurn the three Aurelians who come packaged with it.
I look up at Captain Aelon.
“Aren’t you worried Toads are going to Orb-Shift in right now? You speak of conquering the universe together. How can we do that if they kill you? You can’t win every battle, Aelon.”
“So far, I have,” he snorts. “Toads are cowards. They won’t Orb-Shift. Too many ships have been lost to the rift lately, and their species doesn’t have the guts to take any unnecessary risk.”
I’d heard that rumor before, and now it’s confirmed. It means we won’t be able to Orb-Shift out of this system tonight, when Sawoot, Theme and I steal a Reaver.
But I don’t dwell on those thoughts, in case Aelon can detect them through the Bond.
“So, you have the guts, do you? You’d risk everything you’ve just told me about for something as cheap as revenge? Because killing those Toads from your hundred years of service didn’t bring back those sixteen women, did it, Aelon? If that didn’t give you peace, how is going on an endless quest for blood and vengeance going to do so?”
He suddenly stands stock still. Aelon’s blue eyes pierce me.
“You cannot change my nature, Tasha.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I nod. Then, I stand. “I’m going to go, Aelon.”
“Then go.”
He turns his back to me, brooding.
I brought up painful memories for him – but Aelon’s living in the past, reliving the same tragedy of those sixteen women he couldn’t save again and again.
My heart aches for him. How hopeless he must have felt, knowing that if he’d tried to fight the Toads alone, on board their own ship, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything except die alone and unremembered. His only chance was to get his General to agree to an attack – and he’d lost all his faith in the Empire that day, when his General had refused.
Now, I understand why Aelon works for himself and not for the Aurelian Empire.
I cross the room and slam the button to open the door. Garrick is waiting patiently in the hallway for me. The sight of him is welcome and comforting.
There’s no tension with Garrick. There’s no worry about what he’s going to do next. It’s not fair that we can’t choose who we’re Bonded to...
…but, then again, I’d still choose Aelon’s triad.
It hurts, but it’s true. Their pain is my pain, now. The worst part is that I’m going to contribute to it – and leaving them will put a scar on my soul as much as theirs.
I wish I knew how to help them. I wish I knew how to heal Aelon.
Garrick escorts me to my room. There are no Aurelians out in the hallways right now. Most have already left for the surface of the moon, to fight the Scorp, while the others are down on Tarrion preparing to ambush the Toads.
It’s eerily quiet on this old ship. The lights flicker, and I can see panels that are falling off the walls. This magnificent, fearsome ship is in disrepair.
I realize I forgot to thank Garrick for the escort as soon as I’m back in my room. My mind is just too full. I sit on the bed, waiting and plotting.
Rage is boiling up in Aelon – and I’ve only succeeded in making him want to kill Toads more.
Vinicus and Iunia have their own fierce anger lurking in their souls, and it’s just stoked by their leader’s obsession with vengeance. They weren’t there when he saw those women being tortured, but they must have felt his pain through their shared Bond. He must have telepathed what was happening to them. They, too, must have felt his frustration when he tried to get their General to rescue those women – and had their demands ignored.
That General was a real bastard. Some Aurelians are like him, though – too many. They view humans as nothing more than gnats. If he’d been a better commander, perhaps Aelon could have saved those women. He could have lived a happy life.
It just shows how important command is – and how it can affect lives just as the influence of a parent does. For Aurelians – most of whom are born without parents – that’s only doubly so
.
My heart aches for Aelon. Seeing those women… that sticks with you.
How could he ever shake it from his mind? How could he deal with the guilt of looking into their eyes and promising them he’d come back… and then failing?
Aelon’s right. Toads are scum. Even the best of their species will swindle you given half the chance. The worst of them are monsters far worse than even Scorp.
I understand Aelon’s thirst for vengeance. I just wish the Bond could have changed him. I wish he’d realize there are more important things that killing.
But the Bond doesn’t change you. It just enhances you. Aelon’s lust for vengeance will only grow fiercer through the Bond.
I’m going to get us away from the captain and his death wish. I’m going to keep the loyal members of my crew alive, even if I have to sacrifice any future with my Bonded triad.
My stomach rumbles. It’s hard to think about food right now, but I need to keep my strength up for tonight.
I step to the replicator. “AI. Food. A sandwich.”
There’s a hum as the replicator in the corner of my room makes a simple sandwich for me. It looks as bleak as the military rations that nourish us on the Wayward Scythe, but food is fuel to me right now. It’s always been like that. There’s never been a budget for a replicator on my own ship.
The Instigator is a battle axe – an old warhorse that’s fought a hundred battles and will face a hundred more under Aelon’s command – so it’s understandable that their sustenance is no more luxurious.
As I wait for my sandwich, I probe the auras in my mind.
I detect an eagerness in the auras of Vinicus and Iunia. Even rational, aloof Iunia is looking forward to killing Toads with that anti-air battery. Those two live for the fight. The only time I’ve ever felt them at peace was during our passionate mating.
I take the sandwich out of the replicator and open it up hopefully. There’s a greyish, meat-like protein in there, squished between two slices of hard bread – with a slime of white sauce to help choke it down. I take a bite. It’s bland, thankfully, but not nearly as bad as it looks.
New replicators are almost as good as a personal chef, but I can’t complain about this meal. If The Instigator was a new ship, there’d be no way for us to escape tonight.
It all relies on Theme holding under the pressure.
I know he will.
I just have to get us down the hallway and to the control room without being spotted. The bulk of the Aurelians won’t be back from their daily battles until later, and unless we have a stroke of bad luck, we’ll get there smoothly. The control room houses a collection of servers and AI processors and it won’t be guarded. Aelon isn’t expecting an attack from within his own ship.
I’m antsy. I want to go see Sawoot, but a captain cannot allow their crew to see them weak and stressed. I need to project confidence. Besides, there’s nothing more to discuss. The plan is solid. It’s just going to take a little luck to pull off. Luck, combined with Theme’s computer skills, and Sawoot’s seduction abilities.
That, I know she has down pat. Garrick and his triad might have treated me like a piece of furniture, but I’ve seen a few longing glances thrown in her direction. I know Sawoot can play men like a fiddle, and she’s done so constantly over the years.
She could get the roughest-looking bastards eating out of her hand with one flutter of her long eyelashes. I once saw a street brawler with a nose that had been broken at least three times break down and cry when we left a particular backwater space station; convinced that Sawoot was the love of his life, when he’d been little more than an entertaining distraction for her.
Garrick might be gallant, but he won’t be able to resist her charms when he realizes she wants him as badly as his triad want her.
And so, I wait.
I meditate. I stretch. I do yoga. The seconds tick by. My own emotions match Vinicus and Iunia’s impatience.
As the hours pass, I experiment with the Bond and test our auras, experimenting with how faint I can make them. I can block the three Aurelians out almost entirely, until there’s just a vague awareness that they exist within my mind and not much more.
If I’m right, this means that it’s going to be hard for them to track us – even with our telepathic Bond.
I finally stop fiddling with the Bond, not wanting to attract any attention from the Aurelians. As long as they don’t suspect anything for one more day, nothing else will matter.
I sit perfectly still in my room, but time keeps moving. That’s what it does best. In the end, it makes us all equal. I can’t help but feel like I’ve won a hand of cards against time itself by earning the thousands of years of extra life granted by the Bond.
Time might always win the war in the end, but I’ll have thousands of years to experience more of it.
I’m used to being chased, so I can handle the thought of three more men after me. I guess I’ll now have triad after triad attempting to bring me in – either from Aurelian Law Enforcement, to arrest me for my theft of those Orbs, or from The instigator, tasked with bringing me to my Bonded triad.
The Aurelian species was dying for tens of thousands of years before the Bond became active again, and only now are they gaining in numbers again. As a result, traditionally minded Aurelians will view it as their duty to bring me back to Captain Aelon and his battle-brothers, even if I’m kicking and screaming as they do so.
Is that how they would view me, if I stayed with them? Just a mating tool? A breeding sow? Just a way to reproduce? I want to be more than that. I want to be more than just a possession, to be used.
Once again, I explore the men’s auras.
Vinicus is… surprisingly complex. I thought he was a base beast, but now I have a window into his mind, I find there’s far more to him. He doesn’t speak much, and he doesn’t have the dry intellect of Iunia, but Vinicus has a stoic demeanor. Whatever comes to him, comes – and he accepts it without complaint. He’s prepared for everything. Of the three, he’s the happiest, and I know what sparks that joy deep within his aura.
It’s me.
It’s the Bond. I feel guilty that I’m going to rip his heart out.
It’s almost 20h00 now, standard time. The Aurelian home world of Colossus has days of nearly identical length to Old-Earth, and so the twenty-four code of timekeeping has become recognized as standard time. It’s used for interstellar space travel even if you’re orbiting a planet with forty-hour days.
Sawoot will be enticing Garrick and his men into her room now. She’s probably looking up at him right now, giving him doe eyes and thanking him from the heart for saving her. I truly hope she’s Bonded to them, even though it would be an impossibly unlikely coincidence. The Bond might be more common now than ever before, but to have two Bonds formed on the same ship would be an astronomical twist of luck.
Sawoot is busy. I think of Theme. He’s probably puking out his guts from anxiety right now. My own stomach is uneasy, and it’s not from the sandwich.
I take a deep breath. It’s time.
As soon as I decide that, my mind clears.
When you go from thinking to doing, everything suddenly becomes simple.
I get up and open the door to my room. The hallway is empty. Garrick and his triad are nowhere to be seen. I step towards the doorway and hear a little moan emerge from Sawoot’s room. Now, I know she’s got them well distracted.
On cue, Theme’s door hisses open. He’s as pale as an Aurelian. He’s trembling, but when he sees me he holds his head up with pride. He knows I believe in him – even if he doesn’t believe in himself.
“How far?” I whisper the words. You can never be too careful with Aurelian hearing.
“Not far, but we’d better run!”
We sprint together down the hallways, twisting and turning down corridors which are thankfully empty. There’s finally a nondescript door in front of us, bearing a control panel. Theme opens it and rips out the wires contained within
. I almost expect alarms to sound – but he pushes together three wires, waits for a spark…
…and then the doors hiss open.
“You’re a genius, Theme.”
“Save it for after I’m done.” He’s got a new confidence in his voice. It’s shaky, but it’s there. He’s grown since stepping out from Chris’s shadow.
“Are you okay?”
I freeze as I hear the voice inside me head.
It’s Iunia. He must sense something wrong in my aura. I’m not as good at hiding my emotions as I’d thought I was.
“I’m fine.”
“Huh?” Theme asks, distractedly, and I realize I said it out loud. Fortunately, Theme doesn’t pay me much attention as he fiddles with more control panels inside the room, moving wires left and right. He’s in his element.
“Nothing.”
I focus my mind.
“I’m fine,” I telepath. “Going for a little walk. Garrick is with me.” I telepath the message to Iunia, and it seems to relax him.
Theme mumbles: “Almost done. Almost there.”
Aelon’s not onto me yet. There’s no suspicion in his aura.
“How long?”
“I’m in!” Theme slaps the top of the control box. “I love these old birds.”
Suddenly, a holographic projection of the ship appears in the middle of the room. Theme swipes at the display, and doors close on the projection.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Aelon’s voice suddenly rings in my mind – angry and confused. He’s doing the equivalent of shouting at me through my thoughts.
I focus everything on shutting him out.
“I don’t…”
His voice fades away from my mind before he finishes that message.
I take a deep breath. I’ll be able to live with this, right? But it’s too late to back out now. Aelon’s aura is almost gone from my mind. There’s only a vague knowledge of where he is, back there in the recesses of my mind.
“Alright,” Theme tells me. “I’ve got the doors closed. Now, we just need to deal with the Aurelians in the loading bay.”
“You sure no one’s going to get hurt?”
“It’ll be okay. I’ll weaken the air-field so they get the alarm that they need to evacuate – but that’s it.”
