Smuggler's Luck

by S. W. Gunn

He laughed before saying, “Yes it did, but it was different with you.”

  “Different?” She asked with a confused look on her face.

  “Yes, it was much more intense. I think that whatever is going on with your abilities to use the Gift is directly affecting us both physically and mentally.”

  “I had no idea, but I do have another question for you.”

  He glanced back to her and asked, “Which is?”

  With a heavy blush she answered, “Can we do it again?”

  He laughed at her request and then pulled her closer before he started to kiss her.

  * * * * *

  The next morning Jarron awoke to the sound of rain tapping against the window. He slowly sat up to see that Elyse was gone. The sounds of her in the bathroom echoed from underneath the bathroom door. He slowly stood up and found his clothing. Right as he put on his pants she exited the bathroom.

  “Good morning.” She said to him.

  He slipped on his shirt and buttoned it up. As she glided up to him he gave her a big grin..

  After giving her a soft kiss his said, “Good morning to you as well.”

  Jarron could see that she was very happy, which he thought was a combination of their lovemaking and the upcoming trip to her home planet. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and hugged him tightly. He softly put his arms around her as she squeezed him.

  “I was thinking about last night.” She said.

  “And?”

  “I think its love.”

  She looked up at him. He could see hopefulness written across her face which caused him to grin.

  “I think you’re right that its love.” He said gently to her.

  He kissed her again, which she returned eagerly. There was a gentle rap on their door.

  Feligrin’s voice passed through, “Are you guys ready to go?”

  Jarron yelled back, “Yes Feligrin, we are packing our things now.”

  Turning back to her he declared, “I guess we should go.”

  She nodded at him. They both collected all of the items in the room that they owned and placed them in her bags. He had brought a duffel bag, which he packed with any excess items that would not fit in her bags. Once they finished packing Jarron collected the three bags and they started to head out of the room.

  “I can’t wait until the next time.” Elyse announced.

  “The next time?” He asked.

  She nudged him, which let him know that she was referring to a repeat of last night’s events.

  He chuckled as he commented, “Me either, although we’re going to have to be careful. It’d be embarrassing to be caught by Hain in the cockpit.”

  She laughed at him. Jarron opened the door and gestured for her to step out first. As soon as they both exited the room Feligrin grinned at them.

  “You two seem quite happy this morning.” He said.

  “I am going to put our bags on the Keg, then come back and eat.” Jarron announced.

  “Elyse, come with me.” Feligrin said.

  She nodded at Feligrin and then gave Jarron a wide smile before following Feligrin towards the dining hall. As soon as she was out of sight Jarron found himself immediately missing her. He sighed to himself and then moved quickly to put the three bags aboard the Keg. Once he finished putting her bags in the room for her, which he doubted that she would be in very much while aboard, he walked as quickly as he could back to the dining hall. As he entered the dining hall he could hear the laughter of Feligrin, Hain, and Elyse. They all turned to look at him as soon as he entered. It was clear that whatever they were laughing about was at his expense. He moved to the chair next to Elyse and took a seat. He felt greatly relieved to be near her again.

  As soon as he started to eat Hain said, “The lass was tellin’ me an interestin’ story about ya lad.”

  Trying to maintain a casual demeanor he asked, “What’s that?”

  “Well lad, she mentioned that ya had issue with my cousin. Ya remember right? The one I sent on a date with ya.” Hain said.

  Jarron was more than a little shocked that she would have so openly spoke about something he had talked to her in private about.

  “What do you mean Hain?” He asked cautiously.

  “Well, the lass here wasna specific, but she said that I should ask ya about it. I remember ya goin’ on a few dates with her but nothin’ ever came o’ it so I was wonderin’ if ya could tell us about it.” Hain replied.

  Jarron was relieved that she did not tell the story but he now began to suspect that she was probably as much of a trouble maker as Feligrin. No doubt she would keep him on his toes much more than he had suspected. He then remembered her words from last night that she was only the healer, not a nun.

  “Well Hain, to be honest that just didn’t work out. She was a little rough for my liking.” Jarron said coolly.

  “Whatcha mean rough lad?” Hain asked.

  Elyse snickered. Jarron subtly extended his right foot and gave her leg a gentle kick.

  With an indignant look on her face she asked, “Hey! Whatcha kicking me for?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about Elyse,” Jarron replied, “I was just telling Hain here how his cousin broke my arm.”

  “She broke your arm?” Hain asked with a bit of a shocked appearance on his face.

  “Ya, it turned out that she really liked me and I guess you Kalan play rough.”

  Hain chuckled before he stated, “Aye lad, Kalan women tend to be very aggressive. They have to be in order to attract a Kalan man since we tend to be stubborn.”

  With a mock serious tone Jarron said, “Stubborn you say, I don’t believe it.”

  His words caused everyone to laugh. Jarron felt Elyse’s foot stab back at him under the table. He chuckled because he was glad to know that she was as much a joker as everyone else in the crew. It was almost a requirement since they had many times found themselves in very dangerous situations. Humor had always allowed them a release that kept the environment light. Jarron could only imagine how bad it would have been on board without the light humor that all shared. He only needed to figure out her limits. The last thing that he would want to do is hurt her feelings but maybe some light practical joking might be in order. Perhaps he could even frame Feligrin for the crime, especially since Feligrin had recently made so many wise comments about him. He smiled evilly as plans began to form.

  “Whatcha ya smilin’ about lad?” Hain asked.

  “Nothing much Hain, I was just thinking about how pleasant Elyse is to be around.”

  “Awww,” She said with a sweet smile, “You’re pleasant to be around too.”

  Hain grunted before saying, “Too much pleasantness, are ya two gonna be this pleasant on my ship too?”

  Jarron decided to take a moment to gain some measure of revenge.

  “No Hain,” He said with a wicked grin, “We’re going to be much more pleasant.”

  With a tone that made his intentions to continue the lovemaking of last night he continued speaking, “Much much more pleasant.”

  Hain muttered something under his breath and Feligrin laughed.

  “Jarron!” Elyse exclaimed loudly as she blushed a deep red hue.

  She punched his arm, which caused laughter from Hain and Feligrin. Their response made Jarron even happier. While he was just planning to mess with Hain it was nice to get a little revenge on her back for bringing up Hain’s cousin. He did have to admit that she punched a lot harder than he would have expected from such a petite woman. It was another thing about her that was different because he was intensely curious about her Eal’tain half. He wanted to know how else she was different from a normal human woman. At this point he had only noticed a few things. Her ears were obvious but things like her frame, which was leaner and more athletic than any human woman that he had known. She seemed to have much more endurance and pain tolerance because no human could handle a Kalan shower on full heat. Every other woman he had been with always had cold fee
t and hands whereas Elyse seemed to radiate heat from her body. Other than those things, she just seemed like a very beautiful and normal human woman. He shrugged it off.

  Hain announced, “Well, we are ready to head off. We need to get this lass to her home.”

  She beamed a smile at Hain. They all stood and followed Hain through Dalain’s mansion and aboard the Keg.

  Elyse asked, “Will we see Dalain again? I wanted to thank him for being such a wonderful host.”

  Hain answered, “Naw he had things to do but he sent his well wishes.”

  “Most likely he grunted once or twice at you.” Jarron interjected with a chuckle.

  Jarron’s remark caused another outbreak of laughter. Even Hain laughed at his words.

  “Aye lad, Dalain can be a bit grumpy but he’s as fine a cousin one could ever hope for.” Hain stated sincerely.

  As they took their seats Jarron turned to Elyse and asked, “Would you like to learn how to fly a ship?”

  She beamed with excitement and nodded her head at him. He guided her to the pilot’s seat.

  “Alright, the first we need to turn on all of the ship’s systems.” He instructed her.

  She sat down and glanced at the controls. Jarron could see the immediate look of confusion on her face. She continued to sit quietly for some time examining the controls. He finally gently touched the activation switch to let her know which button to push. Moving cautiously she pushed the button, which caused the immediate response of the ship by it coming to life.

  Hain grunted loudly before saying, “Lass if’n ya want to be at your home planet someday ya might wanna pick up the pace.”

  Jarron could hear the mirth in his voice.

  Continuing his instruction he said, “Alright, next is the warm-up. A space ship is like a woman. You can’t just fire her up and get to flying; you gotta warm up her engines first.”

  They all laughed at his words.

  Feligrin started to say, “Jarron would know about wa..”

  Elyse cut his words off by applying a sudden and very fast poke into Feligrin’s side. He squealed and leapt from his seat next to the pilot’s chair. Jarron was impressed with her speed. She moved much quicker than he would have expected.

  “Hain you run the nav computer.” Feligrin said.

  Chuckling as he took a seat Hain shifted to examine the nav computer. The console beeped to let them know the ship was ready for lift-off.

  Jarron nodded and said, “Alright Elyse this is gonna be the tricky part for you. First you must fire up the engines for full thrust.”

  He touched the button that ignited the thrusters and the motioned to two control sticks.

  “Once you fired the thrusters you need to just hold these two control sticks firm and steady. It should be fine as long as you don’t jerk hard in either direction, the ship will just fly straight up and out of the atmosphere. Just lemme sit down before you start.”

  He could sense her nervousness but as soon as he sat down and she fired the thrusters she seemed to calm down a little bit. The ship responded by launching into the air. Elyse held the control sticks true and firm as the ship lifted skyward. It was not long before they had left the planet and into open space. Jarron unbuckled his seat and stood. Feligrin and Hain both stood up as well.

  Feligrin spoke first, “I need to get away before Jarron says something else that causes me to get pinched or poked again.”

  Elyse giggled at his words. Feligrin left, with Hain in tow. Jarron slid into the navigator’s seat next to her.

  “Alright this part is super easy,” Jarron announced as he pointed towards empty space that was far from any stellar body, “Just aim that way and wait until the nav computer lets us know it is time to start the fold.”

  Jarron quickly punched in the commands for a course to Cantua. He stood and moved himself next to her. Reaching out he softly placed a hand on each of hers over the control sticks.

  “Let’s have a little fun while we wait.” He said.

  He spun the sticks, which caused the Keg to spin wildly to the left. Elyse gasped at the sudden movement. Jarron had no doubt that she never flew on a space ship until she joined them. With a sudden movement he rotated the thruster toggles on each stick, which forced the ship into a tight roll, all the while keeping the wild spin going. After some time of having the ship move in wild looping the nav computer finally beeped. He straightened the sticks back out to fly forward.

  Pushing the comm button he announced, “Time to go guys.”

  Jarron sat back down in the navigator’s chair. He buckled himself in. Feligrin returned and took his seat.

  Hain’s voice crackled over the comm, “Ready down here.”

  Jarron nodded at Elyse and then gently tapped the folding lever. She reached out and pulled it softly. The ship lurched and then began folding.

  As he stood he said, “This is a long fold since your planet is a good six hours away. Let’s go organize your things while we have the free time.”

  She nodded at his suggestion and stood up.

  Feligrin announced, “I’ll watch the ship up here. Come and relieve me in three or four hours so I can get lunch and take a restroom break.”

  “Will do bud.” He told Feligrin.

  Jarron took her hand to lead her out of the cockpit and through the ship. They entered her quarters. Like all of the quarters of the ship, it was designed with the intention of being utilized by a being of any size. Hain was the second owner of the Keg. The first was a human gambler, who sold the ship to Hain to pay debts. As soon as they fully entered the room Elyse closed the door and clicked the lock shut.

  “Can I ask you another question?” She said as she drew herself closer to him.

  “What’s that?”

  “Does this urge ever go away?” She asked.

  He was very confused as to what she was referring to so he asked, “What do you mean?”

  “I thought for certain that once I had sex with you I’d be freed of this overwhelming urge, but it seems almost unrelenting.” She replied.

  He grinned evilly before saying as smoothly as he could, “Well I happen to be an attractive man so I can’t blame you.”

  She laughed at his words. He leaned forward to kiss her only to have her attack him passionately, even tearing off a button on his shirt in the process.

  Jarron was thankful that Hain must have patiently waited for some time before calling out on the intercom, “Lad I need to see ya once your finished cleanin’ the room for the lass.”

  They both laughed while lying on the small bed of the room.

  “He knows what we’re doing doesn’t it?” She asked.

  Jarron nodded at her while answering, “Yes, I think so.”

  She leaned her head back on his chest and said, “Oh well, since he knows he can just wait for a little longer.”

  Jarron nodded at her. He again found himself playing with one of her ears. They fascinated him intensely. Honestly he was just glad that she seemed to enjoy him slowly touching them.

  As they lay there he finally spoke, “I have to admit Elyse, you do seem to be a lot more voracious than any woman I’ve ever met.”

  She signed heavily before replying, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I used to think the entire idea of sex was a bit gross and now all I can think about is being with you. It’s a complete shift in my personality. Even now I want to do it again.”

  He laughed heartily before asking her, “Wow, are you serious?”

  She nodded at him.

  “Alright then I guess I better do my part to help you out.” He said as he pulled her onto him.

  She laughed at his response before kissing him.

  * * * * *

  It was quite some time longer before they finally dressed and went to search out Hain. He was sitting at the main terminal in the engine room. He turned as they approached.

  “Dang lad, ya took long enough.” He said grumpily.

  He pulled out two small metal de
vices and then passed one to Jarron and one to Elyse.

  “My cousin had these special trackin’ devices made for each of ya. They’ve got a small metal band that will clip around your wrist. They’re made o’ a tungsten alloy that kinna be broken. I want ya each to wear one, just in case we’ve got an issue. Dis way we can track ya down if need be.” Hain explained.

  Jarron was not really happy about the idea of wearing some sort of tracking device but he had to admit Hain’s words made sense. Elyse responded to his request by immediately placing hers around her wrist.

  “How do we secure it?” She asked.

  Hain reached out and clicked the panel on the device, which caused it to lock shut. Jarron sighed and then placed his around his own wrist and then repeated the action Hain did in order to secure it.

  “Hain what is the range on these things?” Jarron asked.

  “Well I can track ya easily over half the galaxy. The device emits a very low energy frequency that is undetectable by normal means, an since it looks an acts like an ordinary wristwatch anyone that might take ya will think it is just that.” He answered.

  Jarron nodded at him. It made sense to make precautions.

  “How would I track it?” Jarron asked.

  Hain nodded at him before saying, “Ya just need to set your sensors to code at frequency 20046. Should make findin’ one or both o’ ya very easy after that.”

  The comm nearby crackled and Feligrin’s voice came through, “Alright next person, I need a restroom break.”

  Jarron chuckled and then pushed the comm, “We’ll be right up.”

  Hain glanced over at Elyse and said, “Lass can ya go release him for a bit, I need to talk to Jarron here right quick.”

  She nodded at him. Reaching her hand out, she squeezed his hand before turning and leaving them alone.

  “What’s up Hain?” Jarron asked.

  “Lad ya need to tell me what the heck is goin’ on between ya an the lass. You’re not your usual self.”

  Jarron sighed before replying, “Well, it’s very confusing. I think I’ve fallen in love with her. The whole thing with her abilities has only added a whole layer of confusion on top of the fact that she is so damned beautiful.”