by Alyx X
"Doesn't seem that different.” She cut me off, all confidence. I glared at her, but she continued, “Give me a knife and I'll be fine." I looked at her face. She was grinning, already victorious.
Damn it. She had a point.
"You know, it's really hard to try to protect and pamper you when you pretend to be such a badass."
"I am a badass, Myro." She grinned, her wide smile stretching before she lifted up on tip toes and kissed my nose. "Now give me a damn knife."
Exhaling in defeat, I crossed to the large cabinet where we kept the weapons, flinging the doors open and pulling out the knife and sheath that I had picked up a few years ago. I don't even remember where.
"Still," I said, pulling the knife back when she went to grab for it. "Be careful."
"Always." She snatched the knife, belting it to her hip and hiding it in her pants as we made our way down the gangplank and into the massive bay that made up the outer ring of Io's space station.
"Holy fuck!" It was a phrase I was starting to hear a lot from her.
Not that I minded. Each time she said it, it came with a look of wonder, her eyes glittering as she looked from one corner of the bay to another.
Massive ships of every shape, color, and design sat in lines, stretching as far as you could see in either direction. A blue ship with very obvious laser scarring from some battle or another sat in the bay next to us, the grey Fironians yelling at the Io workers as they demanded repairs. Their shouts were drowned out as the taxis pulled another ship past us, the yellow behemoth emblazoned with a faded red rose.
Kylie's eyes went one way and then another, still wide and awed. However, as I turned to her, she shook her head, straightening her shoulders and tightening her lips as the wonder in her eyes faded to that hard light that I had seen a few times before.
It was as though she had slid a mask into place, going from a woman who was seeing miracles for the first time to a warrior who was not one to be messed with.
"You ready for this?" I asked, holding out my hand as I took a few steps closer to the entrance of the station, the doorway already swelling with species of every kind as they moved to and fro.
"Oh, I'm already two steps ahead of you." She grinned, blew me a kiss, and strutted past me, not even giving my hand a second look.
Damn. This girl was a force to be reckoned with.
And it was fucking hot.
16
Kylie
Do not look like you live in a fish tank. Do not look like you live in a fish tank.
There was so much to look at that I was really struggling not to whip my head around like a toddler when they see their first blue skinned alien. Which wasn’t too far from the truth. There were so many different shades of blue aliens I hadn't seen before that I was reminded of how vast the universe was. There were aliens with giant spikes jutting out of their shoulders, aliens as broad as I was tall, female aliens with three boobs. There was even an alien with a giant appendage that looked a little too much like a penis jutting out of their forehead.
And that was just the aliens.
The space station on Io reminded me of home in the most unexpected way. The smell.
It smelled like smog, and garbage, and the soot of a hundred years of fires and overworked boilers. It was pungent and sweet and sour and mixed wonderfully with the aromas of boiled rat and stewed who-knows-what that wafted from the restaurants we passed. It was familiar in a way that made Myro wrinkle his nose. He didn't even seem interested in a spicy type of food that proudly proclaimed itself as 'Ancient Chinese'. I didn't know what that was, but I wanted to eat it.
"This way," Myro whispered, tapping my shoulder and pulling me down another overcrowded pathway. Bodies slammed into each other, everything so clogged I wasn't sure how anyone was moving.
"Vidool!" Some massive green guy covered in tattoos grumbled as he slammed into my shoulder, the meaning of the unfamiliar words clear.
Instinctively I tapped the leather strap on my waist, and the heavy handle of the knife that was attached to it. It was still there, although the snap clasp was undone. Guess the guy had tried to take it. I’d be leaving my hand on the blade from then on.
It was hard to stay focused on the dangers around me when there was so much exciting stuff to see, but Myro was right, this place reeked of danger. It took me right back to growing up on the streets of the Smog City.
Yet another thing that was the same.
"Wait. It's this way," Myro grabbed my elbow then, pulling me as he weaved through the wall of bodies toward what appeared to be a wall of garbage. The sweet smell of rot grew, mixing uncomfortably with that spicy 'Ancient Chinese' that I had wanted so much to gorge myself on.
"Please tell me we aren't buying food from a garbage vendor." The thought made my stomach turn, and Myro looked back as though he had been caught.
"It's a space station, there isn't a lot of places to throw stuff away, so it piles up..."
"I'm not eating garbage, Myro."
"Don't worry, neither am I." He grinned, pulling me ahead of him as the crowd broke apart. "Oh good, it's still there."
The pile of trash stretched from the floor to the high metal ceiling that you could barely see through the smoke. There weren't as many people here, unsurprising given the smell, except for a large shop nestled right up against the garbage.
That shop was full.
"I'm not even going to ask what that says." I folded my arms, squinting my eyes at the curly writing above the door. It looked like scribbles.
"Hmmm it doesn't translate well," Myro said, now leading me toward the glass doors that were scrubbed extraordinarily clean. "But you will find the best clothes in the universe in there."
I had done a pretty good job of hiding my slack-jawed awe of this place, but the possibility of clothes flipped my stomach. I had never really been able to afford anything other than my uniform at the sewing center, and, despite my last few years in the Scarlet Feather, I actually really liked wearing clothes.
I liked soft things, and well-fitting pants that I could sling a few knives from.
One step into the store and all of those hopes were dashed.
"One question, Myro. How many legs do you think I have?" Everything here was made for every being except humans. It was all too big, had too many sleeves... "Or boobs?"
"It's set up by species. Humans would be..." he stood up on tip-toes, peering over the heads of the shoppers and the racks that were packed so close together that there wasn't much room between. Shoppers were shoulder to shoulder and ass to ass. "Come on."
Humans. Or, 'Dual-Bi-Peds, Standard' were in the back. It was the only sign that was in English. It was also the smallest section here. We had passed lines and lines of clothes for every other crazy alien out there, but back in the human corner were five racks. Three for women, two for men.
"That's a lot of grey..." I sighed, recognizing what this was at once. A place to dress your slave.
"There's got to be something," Myro was shifting through the clothes, but even his face was falling.
I, however, had turned away from the pitiful display. The clothes on the rack right behind me weren't that far off from human-sized. Whatever they were meant for had longer legs and maybe bigger asses, but I eyed the bright colors and interesting styles with hope.
"I can make this work," I said, pulling a red shirt and blue pants off the rack. Looking at them, I realized that maybe they were taller than I’d thought. These pants went up to my boobs. "I've tailored worse."
It wasn't a complete lie. When you're five and given an adult’s uniform, you have to figure something out.
"You have a needle and thread, right?" I asked Myro, who was now looking at a four-cupped bra in confusion.
"For cuts and stuff," he stuttered in a panic, shoving the bra back on the rack and sending the whole thing flying sideways. The clatter echoed over the muted music and mumbled conversations with a bang, and everyone turned.
Myro's
cheeks colored in embarrassment, his lips pulling tight as he waved sheepishly to everyone who had turned. They didn't turn away though, they stared, eyes wide before they began whispering again. This time more excitedly, pointing and giggling.
Geeze, and I thought the women at the Scarlet Feather were terrible gossips.
"If you want, I can stay here and find stuff. I know you've got your own list." I offered, but Myro turned, the same look of terror already back on his face.
I rolled my eyes and went back to the clothes. "I'm armed, I'm capable, I'm not twelve." I wasn't taking no for an answer. Screw me, I needed some time alone, because those guys liked to screw me every chance they got. I needed a break.
"I know you aren't twelve, and I know you are well familiar with killing humans." He still didn't seem convinced.
"Go, Myro." I grinned at him and turned away, pulling a few possibilities off the rack and draping them over my arm. "I'll be right here when you are done."
He stepped back, the step short and hesitated.
"Fine. If you don't go I'll stab you in the dick." I looked him right in the eye, my jaw tense as I challenged him. He didn't fight me back, he moaned and kind of wilted.
"God, you are so hot when you do that?"
"What? Stab you in the dick? Don't challenge me, I've done it before." I blew him a kiss and he closed the gap between us, his hand wrapping around my wrist as he pulled me into him, his lips collapsing against mine. His taste coated my tongue and I groaned.
No matter how much he restrained his power, I could always taste it when I kissed him. And it always drove me mad.
"Go, Myro, or I'm going to ride you right here." That threat would not have worked for Fey, but Myro stepped back, still watching me as he backed up.
"Stay here," he warned before finally turning and leaving me alone.
Took him long enough.
The store was a muddle of foreign noises, music, and whisperings in alien tongues, the metal grinding of hangers and racks punctuating everything. Still, it was bliss to be in my own head. It was also nice to select some clothes, even if they were two times the size I needed.
I held another yellow shirt up against me, trying to decide if I could trim it down enough to make it work. Too big. I don't think there was anything I could do to keep my boobs from popping out of that one. Not that the guys would mind.
With a sigh, I placed the hanger back on the rack and turned to the next one, some striped number with a built-in bra for a few too many boobs. Okay, next.
It was then that I saw the same ladies from before, the ones that had whispered and pointed at Myro, but now they were staring at me instead. Okay, not staring at me, they were holding up what looked like a grey metal square... a camera.
"Can I help you?" I snapped, not even sure if they were going to be able to understand me. They blinked and then giggled. Guess the answer to that was no.
"Mind your own fucking business you nosy alien cunts." If they couldn't understand, I might as well go for it. Again, they giggled and held the silver box closer. Yep, a camera.
So I flipped them off, they giggled again and came around the rack they had been standing behind, gesturing toward where Myro had gone and then waving their hands from their groin to their head. Was that the equivalent of flipping the bird in their culture? Okay, I didn't think that gesturing about a giant dick was offensive. I mean, it's not like they knew how big Myro was, he was pretty good at hiding it. So what the hell was their deal?
I gave them one last glare and went back to shopping, but the women didn't back down. They kept gesturing, and giggling, and asking something in their home tongue. The same phrase over and over.
God, could they go away already?
"I don't understand you," I said slowly, as though that would help them understand me. They asked the same thing again and I slammed the clothes I had back down, waving my wrist and ident through the air. "I don't understand you. It's broken!"
Man, these ladies would not leave me alone. I was trying to focus on my clothes, but now they were waddling over to me, grey skin rolling, purple hair flopping on top of their heads like some kind of nest.
"I really can't understand you, which is probably good because—" All of my excuses floundered as she held out that grey box, flipping it around so I could see the screen.
So I could see Myro sitting on the couch in the Scarlet Feather, his cock fully engorged as two of the ladies there serviced him. I had seen this before, back on Earth.
But this was not Earth.
I could have sworn that the air was sucked out of the room, that the moon stopped spinning and we were all sucked out into space. I stood frozen, watching the video as it played on repeat.
"Where did you get this?" I asked, even though I knew they wouldn't be able to understand me. They kept making gestures mimicking Myro's size. I knew what they were asking, and they weren't getting an answer.
"Where?"
I looked around. These ladies clearly weren't the only ones who had seen the video, pretty much everyone was still looking at me, or looking at the door after Myro as though he was going to charge back through completely naked.
Everyone had seen the video. The video that I had assumed hadn't made it off Earth. If it was off Earth though, and it obviously was, how had it happened? Who had shared the footage, and why?
"Excuse me," I spat, throwing the clothes down and hightailing it toward the door.
I know I’d told Myro that I would stay there, but I didn't have time for that. Not anymore.
If that video had made it through the solar system then those purple-haired women weren't the only ones who had seen it. Weren’t the only ones who knew that the Coxians had been on Earth; had been with a human.
We couldn't stay here.
I bolted out of the store and into the crowd that had only grown bigger, into the wall of people that included a few more golden skinned aliens than I had expected, all of them bolting in the same direction that I had seen Myro go.
So much for hiding.
I unsheathed my knife, keeping my body low as I followed them.
Now we would see how afraid of humans Coxians really were.
17
Fey
What in the ever living fuck was wrong with me?
"'I'll refuel the ship...'." Yes, I was mocking myself, but after the foul words that had left my mouth, I deserved it.
"I'll refuel the ship!" What the hell was wrong with me? Or rather, what was wrong with the human that seemed to have an iron coil around my cock?
"I'll refuel the fucking ship!"
"Yeah, we heard you the first eight times," the grey-skinned Monumat female who ran the fuel dock by our port grumbled, giving me a glare with lavender eyes that two months ago would have had me sending orgasmic waves of pleasure toward her. She would have been more than happy to follow me back onto my ship...
But no, I was locked up tight. Cock and lust belonging to one female only.
You know what was worse? I was fucking happy about it. Even if I was grumbling now.
"Then refuel the ship! Gah!" I threw my hands up in the air and stormed off to the large openness of the hangar. The massive spaces had always weirded me out, if only because of how small they made me feel. Towering ceilings blocked out the vacuum of space, and gave enough room for the spaceships that were often as large, or larger than the palaces that the siblings and their Harems occupied back home. There were hundreds of them, lining the walls.
It made me feel like a child.
A child that was head over heels in love with a human.
Love.
The fact that the word even popped into my mind shows how much that human had control over me.
"Get it together, Fey," I grumbled to myself, dragging my hand through my hair as I turned, ready to jog a lap around the outer hangar ring that circled Io.
Instead I froze.
There, at least ten bays down, was a golden ship almost identical to our ow
n. A sleek monster that was a glittering hulk of lines and angles. Gorgeous.
And unwanted.
Of all the times for us to land on Io, it would be the time that other Coxians would be here too. They couldn't be here; it was too dangerous. If they saw Myro and me—with a human—we were done for.
No hiding. No coup.
Just death.
"Shit." I hissed the single word between clenched teeth, turning on my heels. Thankfully the sassy Monumat female was already finishing refueling, and whatever Myro had purchased had arrived for loading, the human slaves taking it into the cargo bay.
We needed to get out of here, or at least hide Kylie until we could. She was buying clothes in the station, probably at that trash store that Myro liked. Cheapskates always loved their trash clothes. I would have to get her some better stuff later, but for right now I needed to get her out of here.
"Finish up! Great job!" I yelled at the two crews as I bolted into the inner rings of Io.
I didn't make it very far.
"Father?" I choked on the word, my throat catching as I nearly fell into the wall of golden skinned ruler and his entourage—if you could call it that.
"Fey." My name was a statement on his lips. He wasn't happy to see me, and neither were any of the dark eyes of the shirtless men that stood on either side of him.
My father never traveled very far without some sort of guard, usually consisting of his sons that had been the most successful in his fighting pits the last month. I recognized a few of them, but they had been little more than children when I had left, and with a lot less muscle.
I had been gone too long, too far out of practice. In the past, I would have been able to take all of these bastards down, but now I eyed them warily. I thought I might’ve been able to handle this entourage, but no more than that.
"What are you doing here?" I attempted to sound calm and casual, but my fear bled through. My traitorous voice even fucking squeaked. Like I was some kind of child's toy.
