Veiled Vixen: Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Harem Station Book 6)

by JA Huss

  “They… wrote comics about us?”

  “After you boys came here to ALCOR Station they were about you specifically. Before that they were different. Just kind of generic names. There was AI-Man, and Bounty Hunter, and Bot Boy.” She laughs. Glows a little brighter too. “Stupid kind of superhero names like that. But then after Corla, you know… Once you guys left the station they used your real names.”

  “What were the comics about?” I’m intrigued now. I hate to admit that, but it’s sorta creepy and flattering at the same time.

  She does that hand wave again. And I’m starting to wonder what’s behind that gesture. Is she dismissing things? Or something else?

  Regardless, she continues. “You and Luck were always doing crazy things on ancient stations. Looking for AI parts and old tech. Salvaging things.”

  “Hmm,” I hum. “That’s what we really did.”

  “I know that now. But I didn’t back then. I didn’t think you were real at all. Not until I left the system and found out for myself. So I wonder how much was true?”

  “No clue, lady. And this subject change you’re doing right now? What do you take me for? Some two-cocked fool? I mean, look. You’re the most accomplished liar I know, Veila. Congrats, by the way. I mean, I’ve met all kinds here on Harem. It’s nothing but liars and cheaters all day long. You’re the best. But here’s the thing about being a liar, Veila. Eventually no one believes you. So I don’t know what you’re trying to pull with this whole pregnancy thing, but leading me down this little path of childhood myths and comics to gain my trust or lower my defenses is just—well, insulting. OK? It is. I’m happy to go down to the lower levels to see Luck. I miss him. So I’ll do that. But here’s something you should know about me, OK? I’m not one of those people who give a lot of fucks. I’m not someone who eats the guilt of others. So if you think you can talk me into believing that suffocating those three point seven million people here on Harem will be my fault?”

  I pause to guffaw out a, “Ha!” which elicits a scowl from her.

  “It’s not gonna work. I don’t operate like that. I’m not a guilt eater. I don’t have this inner desire to fix things, or save people, or whatever. And Luck isn’t like that either. He’ll come save your ass if he’s your friend or whatever. Like he did Jimmy. But that’s because he’s arrogant. Really. That’s all it is. He’s just an arrogant asshole who likes to swoop in and be heroic because it makes him look good. So you threatening him, or me, with this ‘gotta save the station’ bullshit? No, Veila. It won’t work on us. Crux?” I nod my head. “Yeah. That’s more his style. But the rest of us? We’re just a bunch of outlaws. So if you want to kill everyone on this station?” I shrug with my hands. “That’s all you, baby.”

  She inhales deeply and again, she glows a little. Rose gold. Not silver. Which I kind of hate and love at the same time because the silvers remind me of cold. Like cold, dark space. And the golds are like warm blankets in a drafty stargazing room. They have heat to them.

  Even Nyleena creeps me out with her silver persona. I know she can’t help it, but I just don’t see the attraction.

  Is Veila beautiful? Sure. Do I want to fuck her? No. I don’t care how excited my cocks get, my boys are not interested. There’s no love behind the way she gets me hard. That’s just engineered biology.

  “Are you done?” she asks, her brows tilting in towards the center of her eyes.

  “Sure. I’m done.”

  “So you think I’m lying?”

  “About the baby? Or about killing all the people?”

  “We can start with the baby, if you’d like.”

  “Yes, Veila. I think you’re lying.”

  She stands up, straightens her long skirts, and says, “Fine. Come with me and I’ll prove it.”

  Her bright, flashing eyes lock with mine as she approaches me, some weird mixture of colors I’m not sure has a name—silver, and gold, and pink—so that they almost look… violet. Then with one hand on my chest she pushes me back as she slides past and heads towards the door.

  “Come with you where?”

  “The medical facilities. Presumably you have an imaging machine up there somewhere?”

  “I… have no clue.”

  She stops and looks over her shoulder at me. “Trust me. You do. I’ve already used it to verify the pregnancy. But we can do it again.”

  Then she beckons me with one crooked finger, turns around, and walks through the door.

  CHAPTER THREE - VALOR

  Up in the harem medical center the Cyborg Master is none too happy about being used to verify Veila’s pregnancy. His slash of an eye races back and forth across his forehead in an expression I’ve seen enough times over the years to recognize as anger.

  But he says nothing. He’s never liked me much. Serpint and Draden were always his favorites after Crux. The rest of us… not so much.

  “Remove your garments and lie on the table, please,” he tells Veila.

  I sigh and rub my hand over my eyes. “Should I give you some privacy?”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Veila says. “But you can give me a hand with this zipper. If it’s not too much to ask.”

  She turns her back to me and lifts up a few stray tendrils of hair, bending her head forward a little, which elongates the line of her neck and I get a little lost in the way her dangling jeweled earrings brush against the top of her pale shoulders.

  I sigh and pull the zipper down, then back away and lean against the wall, directing my gaze to the Cyborg Master as we both pretend a silver princess isn’t undressing in front of us.

  “So how’s things?” the Master asks.

  I shrug. “Can’t complain, I guess. Could always be worse.”

  “True,” he agrees. “There’s always that.”

  I glance at Veila, who has removed her outer skirts and is placing them carefully over the back of a chair.

  “Where is Tray?” he asks.

  I huff and nod my head at Veila. “Ask her.”

  “I have no idea,” Veila answers. Her back is to us as she fusses with some buttons on the front of her gown, so the Master and I both relax a little. “He escaped.”

  “He did?” I ask.

  “He did. So did Brigit.” Veila slips her underskirts down her legs and steps out of them, once again placing them neatly on the back of the chair. “But I don’t really understand how that happened. So…” She looks over her shoulder at me and purses her lips. “I’m afraid I don’t have any other information for you.”

  “How did I even get here?” I ask.

  “Don’t you remember?” She’s taking off her bodice coat now, slipping one arm out at a time. “Tray saved you. Or”—she chuckles, placing the coat on top of the skirts—“he tried. He negotiated with me to put you in that pod and shoot you out into space.”

  She’s only wearing lingerie now. A tight pink bustier that barely reaches her hipbones and matching lace panties that show a lot of ass.

  The Cyborg Master rolls his head at me in a gesture that says, Can you believe this woman?

  I fold my arms over my chest and roll my eyes back in agreement. Such balls.

  “But of course, your pod has a tracker. So I tracked you down after the battle and picked you up. So here we are.” Her voice lifts up at the end of that sentence. Like this is all good fun. She reaches a hand over her shoulder and taps a shoulder blade. “Do you mind unhooking me, please?”

  “If you need help undressing,” I say, so annoyed at this request, “why do you even wear shit like this?”

  “Because it’s pretty,” she says. “And I like it.” She shoots me a side-eyed glare.

  I motion to the Master to see if he’d like to—

  “Uh, no,” he says quickly. “She’s all yours, Valor.”

  I reluctantly walk forward and start unhooking the seventy-four million hook and eye clasps of her bustier, sighing and fuming the entire time. Because like it or not, we are soulmated and each time my finger
tips brush up against her skin I feel my cocks jump in my pants.

  When I get to the button in the middle of her back she lets out a long breath.

  “Oh, God. Feels good to breathe again.” Her shoulders quake slightly as she enjoys her new freedom and this sends a shiver clawing its way up my spine.

  I hold my breath and force my fingers to finish, then back away as the bustier slips down her body and falls to the floor at her feet.

  She bends, picking it up. Then places it over the coat.

  At this point I wouldn’t be able to drag my eyes away from her if I was trying—and I’m no longer trying. She hooks her fingers into the waist of her panties, tugs and inches them over one hip at a time, until they fall down her legs and land at her feet.

  I turn away before she bends over to pick them up. Staring straight at the door.

  Nope. Nope. I will not let this shrew entice me with her womanly wiles.

  “OK. I’m ready.”

  I turn back and find her lying on the medical table, breasts round and firm, nipples peaked up towards the ceiling.

  The Master jolts out of his self-imposed stillness, walks over to the controls on the wall, and starts the scan.

  This is… not a scan I’ve seen before. A single ring emerges from the wall, beaming light down onto Veila as it traverses down the length of her body and stops at her feet.

  I wait for it to travel back up, but it doesn’t.

  “What’s happening?” I ask. “Is the scan done? Why isn’t it retracting?”

  “This is a real-time scan,” the Master says, pointing at the wall screen. “There they are.”

  I turn away from Veila and look at the screen.

  And sure enough, there, in perfect 3-D color, are two babies.

  Two. A boy and a girl. Because that’s how it’s done with our species.

  But… “What are they? Akeelians? Or Cygnians?”

  If they’re Akeelians then before that boy can be born it will drain all the nutrients from the girl and she will die. And Veila will probably steal her mind and turn her into…

  “Can you give us a moment?” Veila asks.

  “I’ll be right outside,” the Master says.

  I barely notice him leave. I’m too busy looking at the tiny children on the monitor. Wondering how such a fucked-up reproductive process even evolved.

  “Well?” Veila says. “Are you convinced now? The scan was performed in your presence and it’s a live feed.”

  There are hands. And feet. And two human faces. Eyes tightly closed, little puckered mouths. They are too large on screen, so the scan must be magnifying it. “How far along?” I ask without turning around.

  “Nine weeks.”

  “Nine,” I mumble, running through a list of possibilities who these children belong to.

  Not me. If I’ve been asleep for six weeks, then nope. They are not mine. But if not me, then who?

  None of us were with her nine weeks ago. We were all here on Harem dealing with normal shit. I guess maybe it’s possible that she farmed genetics out of Jimmy when she had him on Lair Station. But then how did she get pregnant? If he’s not her One and I am?

  I don’t want to face Veila. Her naked body is doing weird things to me. Shivers slide up my spine like bubbles and there is a deep desire in my gut to fuck her.

  It’s just biology, I tell myself as I close my eyes tight. It’s engineered biology. Not feelings.

  “Do you want to hear the heartbeats?”

  “What?”

  “Press that button on the control there.”

  I look at the panel in front of me, trying to figure out which button she’s talking about.

  “The black one with the speaker icon.”

  I press it. A soft whooshing sound fills the room. And then the twins inside her diverge and it doubles into two rhythmic, soothing heartbeats.

  I press it again and the room goes silent.

  “There,” Veila says. “Are you happy now?”

  “Happy? I wasn’t specifically unhappy about this, so no. I’m not suddenly happy. I’m… confused.” I turn to face her. “Who?” I ask, and for some reason my voice is low and filled with anger. “Who got you pregnant?”

  She lies there on the table just staring up at the ceiling. No expression on her face. Not some smug smile or some cunning grin. Just… nothing as she looks up at the lights above her. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve been pregnant many times before.”

  “What? I thought—”

  “Oh, it’s not hard to get pregnant. But it is extremely difficult to stay pregnant. Bringing a true Cygnian princess to term in the womb is… impossible.”

  She glows a little when she says this. And something inside me responds. Not my cocks getting hard, but something else. Something new that I don’t recognize.

  “Then how did Delphi get here?”

  Veila purses her lips. “Do you mind?” She points to the wall panel controls. “Can you press the return button so I can get out of this machine and put my clothes back on?”

  I blink at her, then turn and press the button. I stay facing the panel until I know she’s up and out of the machine and slipping her panties back on.

  “I’ll need your help with this.”

  And when I turn back she’s facing me, holding the bustier to her chest. She turns away and bows her head.

  Reluctantly I walk over to her and begin buttoning her up. And again, each time my fingertips touch her bare skin something inside me… swells.

  A want. A need to touch her all over. To fuck her.

  But then I think about the babies and some of that feeling ebbs back.

  “How did Delphi and Tycho get here, Veila? What you’re saying doesn’t make sense.”

  “Corla went somewhere special to ensure her babies lived. They need… they have… issues, Valor. Immune issues. They don’t belong here, and while we were able to genetically change the embryos—that’s how the Cygnians have been breeding all these years—when we engineer them they are just not the same as when they are born naturally. They are a different species altogether. I am not the same species as those babies inside me. They are true Angels.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “And that is why it’s so hard.”

  Angels.

  Angel Station.

  The other galaxy Tray and I went to.

  Earth.

  “You know I’m not a real silver. They changed me into this. Leveled me up, I guess they call it. So I have all the right parts, I even have the right hormones. But they don’t work right.” She sighs. Like she’s tired. Of this topic, or this struggle, or maybe even this life. “I can carry them for a while, but then they die.” She pauses, then adds, “They always die.”

  I look back at the monitor as I continue to button her up. It’s not a live feed anymore. Just a still shot. “I don’t understand. Is that boy in there—inside you—is he Akeelian? Or Cygnian?”

  “He’s both. They are both. Because that’s what Angels are. The original Akeelian and Cygnian races were once merged. Surely you know what ALCOR did to ruin us?”

  I don’t answer her, just finish the last button and take a few steps back, wanting to create distance between us.

  She keeps her back towards me as she fastens her underskirts, then outskirts, and finally slips her arms through her jacket. Then she turns to face me, her jacket open so I can see her perfectly round breasts cradled in her bustier, her whole body flushed rose gold once more. And when she takes a deep breath I can tell it’s strained. Like her bustier is too tight and she can’t fully inhale.

  “What about Nyleena?” I ask. “Can she…?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. It’s doubtful though. She was probably pregnant dozens of times before she ever left the Cygnian System. And if she were able to carry full-term Angels then they would never have let her leave with Lyra. So my guess would be no.”

  I’m still focused on the words ‘pregnant dozens of times’ and can’t really process the rest. “Wait,”
I say, rubbing both hands down my face. “They…”

  “Yes,” Veila says when I don’t finish. “Yes. That’s what they do to us. It starts at age eleven and I’m sure that’s what Nyleena’s life was like until she was assigned to a suicide mission with Lyra.”

  “But they were sending them to Earth,” I say. “Lyra told us that. To blow it up.”

  “Oh, please.” Veila laughs. “They can’t even find Earth. And if they did, the last thing they’d do is blow it up. Not when it’s the secret.” She huffs. “Valor. Earth is where we’re from. Don’t you get it? The reason we can’t reproduce naturally is because we need to be there. The children here, in this galaxy, don’t have the right receptors for the hormones necessary to bring the pregnancy to term. It’s that simple. And the solution is simple as well. We need to go back to Earth because it’s our home.”

  “Oh,” I laugh. “Oh, yeah. That’s good.” I point at her. “You had me going for a minute there.”

  Veila is scowling at me. “What are you talking about?”

  “Earth.” I huff. “Right. I get it. You need to get there. You know we have a spin node here on the station. And somehow you’ve figured out that Luck is in control of it. Fine. I’ll admit to all that. But if you think I’m stupid enough to fall for this…” I pan my hand at the still shot of the babies on the monitor. “This pregnant woman bullshit—”

  “What?” she huffs.

  “No,” I say. “Nope. Not gonna happen. You’re… you’re… you’re the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in my life. And those babies inside you?” I point to her stomach. “They’re better off dying inside you. Oh, God.” I turn away from her and grab my hair. “I can’t even imagine what kind of mother you’d make. Just… gross.”

  When I turn back her face is blank.

  No emotion there at all.

  “You stole someone’s genetics, right? To make those babies? Who did you take them from? Some ten-year-old Akeelian boy?”

  “How dare you,” she snarls.