by Luna Hunter
“I have no idea what they did to you, and I probably never will,” I say. “But that doesn’t matter. Maybe they wiped your memory because you rebelled before, and they needed your brilliant mind to build their weapons. They might be able to erase your memories, but they could never change your heart. That’s what matters. And that’s why we will win: They underestimate the power… of love.”
Lily chuckles. “That’s the sappiest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“I know. Didn’t expect me to say that when you first saw me, did you?”
“Can’t say I did,” she admits. “It’s nice to hear, though. Really nice.”
“You know what else is nice?”
Before she can answer I lean down and kiss her. Lily freezes instantly and closes her eyes. She lets my tongue explore her lips leisurely. Time flows on by, and we enjoy this moment in all its tranquility.
“We’ll make plenty of new memories,” I say as I grab her hips and lift her onto the counter.
She wraps her arms around my neck and returns my kiss passionately.
For the first time in forever… life is good.
Chapter Nine
Lily
Marcas’s tongue is in my mouth. His arms are wrapped around me, my legs hooked around his waist, and I feel weightless.
I feel… blissful.
His warmth helps me forget all about the laboratory, about Onyx, about the fact that my own past is a mystery to me.
Right now, none of that matters. It’s just me and him. And he is right — we can make plenty of new memories.
A siren blares in the distance.
The lights on the ceiling flash bright red.
And then — a shiver runs through the entire ship. The metal itself groans.
“Intruder detected,” the ship’s automated voice says.
The hair on my arms stands up instantly. I knew it. I knew Anik would rise from the grave! I knew this damn ship was haunted!
Wait — the ship wouldn’t recognize him as an intruder, seeing as its his ship and all. Then, if not him, then… who?
Together with Marcas we race towards the command center. I plop down behind the screen and it feels like a brick lands in my stomach when I see the screen.
Red dots. Everywhere.
We’re totally surrounded.
“Onyx?” Marcas says. “Did they track us?”
“No,” I say, as I bring up a visual. The ships are small and unsightly. It looks like they’re cobbled together from spare parts. It’s a miracle they are even flying at all.
We dropped out of warp, and our engines are disabled — I have no idea how they managed to pull that off. According to our coordinates, we’re only a few clicks away from the Vagreon sector. Marcas right, this ship is fast as hell!
“There’s a group of them headed right for us! They’re on the third level now!”
Marcas rises from his seat. “I’ll give them a Zoran welcome.”
“I can close the doors,” I offer. “Lock them out.”
The Zoran warrior shakes his head. “No, they’ll just disable our engines, break us down part by part. Best to face them head on. Let them come.”
His fists are balled, his teal eyes narrowed. He looks like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey.
Footsteps in the distance. My heart is racing, and I grip the control stick just to keep my hands from shaking.
They round the corner, a whole pack of them. The stench hits me before I can even see them.
It smells like a sewer.
They’re about five foot tall, with hairy bodies covered with seemingly random scraps of cloth. In their tiny paws they clutch cattle prods that spark menacingly.
“Marca—”
He’s already gone.
My Zoran bodyguard moves with incredible speed, his pink body merely a blur as he pounces on the first alien. He rustles the cattle prod from his hands, bludgeons him across the face with it and then whirls around, striking at the hairy alien behind him.
The group comes to a screeching halt as Marcas snaps the cattle prod in two on his powerful knee.
“Who is next?” he bellows.
“A Zoran?!” one of them screeches. “What’s going on here?!”
“Are you their leader?” Marcas asks.
“Yes, I am the God King!”
“Listen here, I don’t give a rat’s ass about the little criminal enterprise you’re running here.”
“Little? Little? Why I oughta — I’ll let you know I run this sector!”
“Really? Sahr run Vagreon now?” Marcas asks.
Ah, so that’s what the intruders are — Sahr. The name vaguely rings a bell.
“We do!”
“Then I have a deal for you.”
The rat-man lifts his nose up high. “Sahr don’t make deals with Zorans! You’re untrustworthy! Bad for business. Learned that the hard way from one of your silver friends.”
The man spits out the words like they’re poison.
“Silver?” Marcas says. “That means… Kane? You know Kane?”
My Zoran bodyguard runs up to the ‘rat king’ and grabs him by the throat.
“Start talking right now,” Marcas threatens. “I swear to Zora, if you hurt him, I’ll—”
“Hurt him?” the rat wheezes. “He hurt us! Yes, hurt us he did! He’s gone, long gone!”
Marcas lowers him down to the floor.
“Gone?”
“Long gone! And thank the stars for it!”
My Zoran warrior cracks his knuckles.
“We’re going to make a deal, you and I, and that’s final. I will give you this ship. I’m sure you noticed it’s an Onyx flagship, top of the line. Strip it for parts, sell it, whatever. I don’t care. All I need is a cruiser. The fastest and cleanest one you got. Type VI or higher. Deal?”
The hairy alien rubs his sore neck. The pack of them huddle together for a moment and chatter amongst themselves.
“Deal!” the Sahr leader says. “On one condition! You leave, and you leave now!”
“Gladly,” Marcas says. “Vagreon is the last place I want to be. Well, I know one place that’s worse, but it’s down at the bottom of my list for sure. Don’t worry, little man. We’re going to hightail it out of here.”
Chapter Ten
Lily
“Do you think we should have told him?” I say.
“About what?” Marcas asks.
“Uhm, the dead guy in the basement? “
“They’ll figure it out soon enough. Doubt they care,” Marcas answers as he straps himself in.
I run a final pre-flight check. We’re ready to go. The ship the Sahr sold us is quite nice, actually. It’s a cruiser, Type VII. This is Admiralty class stuff. I have no idea where they stole this from.
I’m not about to ask, either.
“Where should we go?” I ask.
Marcas stretches his arms above his head. “Could go for a vacation, to be honest,” he answers. “Sonne II is supposed to be good this time of year, right?”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t think a pleasure planet is in the stars for us right now.”
“Worth a shot. Set a course for New Exon. How long will that take us?”
“With these engines? About a week.”
“Good.”
Marcas leans back in his chair. It barely fits his large frame, much like the rest of the cozy ship barely fits him. It’s kinda cute, actually.
I set the destination and the ship takes off, the engine humming quietly and contently. I turn to the pink warrior.
“What do you want to do?” I ask with a yawn. “This ship runs itself pretty much.”
“Do you want to take a nap?”
Ooh, that does sound good.
“If you don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” Marcas says. “I’ll send an encrypted message on a frequency only my squadmates know. If they’re out they’re somewhere, they’ll get it and they’ll find us. All we have to do is wait. You go ahead
and sleep, I’ll keep watch.”
“Thank you.”
I leave him at the front of the ship and retire to my bunk. As soon as I hit the bed I’m out like a light. My dreams are filled with naked, floating Zorans…
I awake hours later, my mouth dry and my hair a mess. I take a quick gulp of water and head back towards the front of the ship, where I find Marcas hunched over a video screen.
“Morning,” I say. “How long was I out for?”
He quickly closes the screen. “About three hours.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You were sleeping so peacefully. Want something to eat?”
“Do I!”
“I’ll make something, wait here.”
We switch seats, and it’s my turn to watch the ship’s vital signs. Everything is as it should be, and soon, I don’t think we’ll have to watch her at all. I feared those Sahr aliens might have sabotaged it in some way, but she’s purring like a kitten.
“Ready!” Marcas calls out for me.
I head towards the ‘mess hall’ which is actually a cozy kitchen with a table that would struggle to fit more than three. To my surprise, Marcas has set the table.
He hands me a glass of wine.
“Cheers,” he says as he clinks our glasses together. A white apron, two sizes too small for him, hangs over his jumpsuit.
“What’s this?” I ask.
The smell of freshly-cooked pasta fills the room, and my stomach growls.
“A human meal,” he says. “You don’t like it?”
“No, I love it! I’m just surprised.”
He puffs out his chest proudly. We sit down and he serves up a delicious looking meal.
I take a sip of the wine. It’s fruity and delicious, the simply magical aftertaste lingering in my mouth. “They had this on the ship?”
“I found it hidden away in the captain’s quarters,” he says. “It’s no kuhla, but it’s good, right?”
“It’s delicious,” I say as I finish my glass. “Is there more?”
Marcas grins. “There certainly is.”
He pours me another glass before he cuts to the chase.
“I think we have a conversation that we didn’t quite finish.”
I lower my knife and fork and avoid his teal eyes. I know we have to have this conversation, but I’d rather not. I just want to pretend I’m normal. I don’t want to face the facts.
Onyx did something to me. I don’t know why. I don’t know what. The only thing I know for sure is that I like Marcas’s company. I like his lopsided grin, I like his intense eyes, I like his humor.
I like the way he kisses me. I like the way I feel in his arms: weightless.
Why can’t we talk about any of those things?
“Do we have to?”
“I think we do,” he says.
And I know he’s right.
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
I close my eyes and focus. I concentrate as hard as I can, but I come up with… nothing. It’s like there’s a veil in mind, a blackness that I can’t peer through.
“I don’t remember anything,” I admit. “Not since I met you. I talked to Siya briefly before, but anything beyond that, feels like… nothing is there.”
“Do you remember your birthday?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“So it might be… today?”
I shrug. “ I guess.”
To my surprise, he leans down and grabs something from underneath the table. It’s a wrapped gift!
“What?” I stammer as I look at the brightly colored paper.
“Happy birthday!” Marcas grins. “I don’t know a whole lot about human culture, but one thing I do remember is the importance of celebrating birthdays to you kind. I thought you could use some happiness after everything that happened. So… happy birthday, Lily.”
I’m so moved I could cry — so I do. Tears stream down my face like they’ve done before, but now, they’re happy tears.
“What did you get me?” I ask. “How could you find anything here?”
“I asked the Sahr to throw in a little extra for me when we changed ships,” he shrugs. “Go ahead, open it.”
I unwrap the paper with my hands trembling. Inside is a small box — I open it to find a beautiful, brown, smoky topaz.
“You got me a jewel?” I say.
“The color reminded me of your eyes,” he says. “You don’t like it?”
“No, it’s beautiful,” I say. “This… this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
The jewel is attached to a small gold chain. I take it out of the box and Marcas helps me slip it around my neck.
The feeling of his fingers touching the back of my neck makes my entire body flushed with warmth. I might not remember everything, but I know one thing for sure.
I’m going to make some new and amazing memories — right here and now.
“What do you think?” Marcas asks he takes a step back. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed; he really cares how I feel about this gift.
I stand up. “I think I’m going to kiss you now,” I say.
I press my lips against his. His arms wrap themselves around me as he returns the kiss passionately. His tongue enters my mouth and I let all the stress wash away.
All my worries, all my fears — they fly out the window at the touch of his tongue. My eyes are closed and a blissful sigh leaves my lips.
I feel like I can finally relax. Marcas sent out a message to his squad. All we have to do now is wait.
His strong, powerful hands roam my body. I savor the feeling, drinking in his manly scent. He lifts me up easily, and I feel absolutely weightless in his arms.
With one hand he holds me up easily, as the other one clears the table with a single swipe. The plates crash on the floor, and my glass of wine tumbles over the side of the table.
I catch in the air in a reflex. “You’re wasting good wine,” I laugh.
“Am I?” Marcas growls. His teal eyes have a look in them… a look that makes my cheeks blush and my body grow hot.
He lowers me down onto the table, grabs a hold of my shirt with two hands and rips it open, the buttons popping off. The Zoran warrior snaps my bra open, takes the glass from my hands, and pours the cold wine all over my naked chest!
I shudder at the cold touch, the drops sliding down my body. Marcas leans down and licks it up, growling, his hands pawing at my thighs.
“I’m ticklish,” I laugh as I try to push him away.
My laugh turns to a moan when his lips find my sensitive nipples. As his tongue flicks against them he rips my skirt right off.
I’ve never felt this wanted, this desired, this… perfect.
Marcas looks up at me, his eyes clouded with lust, and I kiss him hard, my hands looking for the zipper on his jumpsuit. I want him to be naked.
I want to feel his hot skin against mine.
Finally, I find the zipper, and I furiously yank it down. His pink, naked, broad, muscled torso comes into view, and my heart beats even faster at the sight. I sink my teeth into his collarbone as my fingertips graze his hard abs.
In response he growls into my ear and tears my panties off with one fell pull.
I won’t have any clothes left if we keep this up! We’ll have to spend the rest of our journey in a permanent state of undress… I’m not complaining.
The daze we’re in, the passion we both feel, is nothing short of amazing. I’ve never felt so, so alive.
Marcas takes a step back and lets his suit drop all the way to the floor, revealing his hard, naked cock to me. I sit up straight and my fingers find his teal hardness right away.
“I’ve missed this,” I say between kisses.
The length.
The hardness.
It’s absolutely perfect.
I run my fingers up and down his length, following the throbbing veins, all the way up to the head. His cock just radiates power to me.
Power I want to feel — everywhere.
He returns my kiss, taking a step forward and I surrender myself to him the moment his cock brushes against my pussy.
A soft, involuntary moan leaves my lips as he places the head at my entrance.
I want him inside of me. More than I want to breathe. More than I want to see the sun rise in the morning. More than anything.
I want to feel all of him.
Without protection.
Just me and him — as nature intended it.
His strong hands moves to my hips as he thrusts, spreading me, filling, giving me what I desire most. The moment I feel him sliding in, my very world itself changes.
This is what nature intended.
This is what we’re meant to do and be.
Mating. That world fills my mind. Mating. That’s what we’re doing. He’s my mate, my soulmate, my lover, my… chosen.
“Marcas!” I cry out with a whimper as his cock slides into my wet pussy. He’s so big, so thick, but it feels so good at the same time.
He shuts me up with a kiss. His eyebrows raise in a question, but I nod with a lopsided grin. Yes, you perfect man. Continue. Give it to me.
All of it.
The Zoran warrior thrusts his hips again, and now, he’s all the way inside of me. Every throbbing inch of his alien cock is inside of me, and as he flexes, I see stars. When I first saw him in all his glory, I never would have thought he’d fit inside of me.
However, it’s like my body was made for him.
Marcas kisses me as he pulls out and thrusts again, and again, and again. His hips become a blur as he fucks me, beads of sweat dripping down his broad chest, and all I can do is throw my head back and moan as the alien warrior takes me.
The entire table shakes and creaks, the sounds of our lovemaking filling the entire ship.
As I look back up, I see that his teal eyes are focused on me and on me alone. I forgot everything around me. There is only him. No, there is only us. I no longer know where he ends and where I begin.
We are one.
Marcas pounds me with all his might, every thrust of his hips filling me with bliss, and suddenly the table simply gives away. It gives one final creak and then collapses in a heap of worn metal. Marcas’s hands catch me before I clatter down onto the floor.
