by T. J. Quinn
“Commander, they are powering up their star drive and arming their weapons,” said the gunner.
“Target the star drive and weapons,” Rareton repeated. “Shut 'em down.”
Momentarily, the gunner fired lasers. It only took three barrages to disable the clipper. Raptor One was fast, but this clipper was modified with a more powerful star drive than regular clippers. It could jump into FTL faster than the Raptor, and they might have lost them.
“Pilot, take us in and lock on for boarding.”
“Good job, Commander,” Marrek said. “I'm going in with the boarding party. “We're filling the brig today,” he grinned.
All too familiar with the Tenzari slave ships, the pilot easily found their main hatchway and clamped on the Raptor's docking tube. The raiding party waited in the docking tube on the Raptor side, clad in body armor and armed with assault weapons, while the demolitionist blew opens the hatch. There was a total of thirty Tenzari in the slaver crew. They surrendered without a fight confronted by the armed Alliance Enforcers.
Tenzari were a cowardly bunch who preyed on weaker or unsuspecting beings, taking them by surprise without a fight. Marrek almost wished they would fight. He would have liked a reason to pound on them just because they were slavers.
But he turned and walked away, heading down to the slave cells. The captives would be scared because they wouldn't know what was going on. Marrek knew a couple of Earther languages and could talk to them hopefully.
There were twenty-four captives in six cells, all women. Marrek stopped at the first cell, and one woman was lying motionless on the floor. He crossed the room in two strides and squatted down beside her, touching her throat to check for a pulse. As he touched her, he felt a frisson of deja vu. Her pulse was strong and steady. The bump and small cut on her forehead told him she'd probably was knocked out when they had disabled the ship. He decided to pick her up and take her to sickbay himself. She didn't seem heavy to him because his home planet Narova had higher gravity than Earth. One of his Lieutenants approached him. “Captain, you don't have to carry her back to Raptor, we can take care of the abductees.”
“Not this one,” Marrek told him. “She is meomee.”
“Understood, sir.”
Meg didn’t know how long she had been sleeping when she was awakened after being thrown to the floor from her bunk. The landing hurt, but she wasn’t seriously injured. Her mistake was trying to get up again. The room shuddered again and pitched her into the bunk frame and knocked her out.
When Meg roused sometime later someone was carrying her. She felt his warmth against her cheek. His scent was masculine and alluring, but the jostling made her head hurt, and she lost consciousness again
The next time she awoke, she was in what looked like a treatment room with some kind of device attached to her forehead. An unfamiliar woman was standing over her. At first, Meg thought she was human, then noticed she had cat-like eyes and slightly pointed ears. The woman smiled at her and spoke to her in a language that might have been Russian or German.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Meg said, shaking her head.
The woman touched the commlink in her ear and spoke in the unfamiliar language. Then she patted Meg’s arm and removed the device from her forehead. Momentarily, a tall, handsome man with dark blue hair and amber catlike eyes came into the room and stood by the treatment table. He was wearing a snug fitting green uniform that accentuated his powerful, muscular body. Even with his catlike eyes with their pointed irises, he was incredibly attractive.
“I am Captain Dargan Marrek of the United Alliance of Planets Law Enforcement,” he said in moderately accented English. He held out his hand, and Meg took it then jerked hers back at what felt like a static shock. Captain Marrek’s eyes widened in amazement even though he was expecting it, he swallowed and took her hand again.
“That was… not unpleasant, I hope.”
Meg shrugged. “It was just a static shock.”
The Captain was still holding her hand and closed his other hand over it. “It was so much more than that… and I will explain in a moment. We’ve been after these Tenzari slavers for months. Slavery is illegal in all sectors of the Alliance, especially from non-space faring worlds like Earth. Your world has been under Alliance protection for about 400 years. We started tracking the Tenzari soon as we got word they were kidnapping Earthers,” he said, “I’m sorry that you and some of the others were injured when we disabled their ship. When they wouldn’t surrender, we fired on them to disable their weapons and star drive.”
Meg watched his mouth moving and heard what he was saying, but she found herself thinking about how it would feel to kiss him and feel his arms wrapped around her. Her female parts were clamoring for his male parts to join them.
“Wh-what will happen to us now?” Meg asked, trying to curb her growing desire for this gorgeous man she just met.
“All of the abductees will be offered the choice of asylum on Narova, or to be returned to Earth,” he said unevenly, trying to maintain his train of thought. “But I hope you will decide to stay. Can you tell me your name?”
“Meg Casey. You hope I will stay? You don't know even me,” she frowned. She almost wanted to say she would stay. She felt all shaky inside and aroused at his nearness. Her thoughts flashed an image or her having sex with him. Her nipples tightened and tingled for male attentions as did her feminine core. The feelings seemed to grow in intensity with each passing moment.
She wanted to ask what was happening to her, but she needed to tell someone about Liz. She had been getting worse day by day; the longer she was away from her family. She took a deep breath and let it out to help her focus her thoughts.
“Captain, I’m a nurse practitioner, and I’m worried about Liz Carson. Those bastards snatched her away from her husband and four-month-old baby. She was still breastfeeding him. I’m worried she is suffering from postpartum depression made worse by this whole ordeal. She needs medical attention and possibility psychiatric attention. If none of those medics speak English, they might not know what to do.”
Dargan sighed and said in his own language, “Computer com Lenna.”
“Yes, Captain,” the medic who treated Meg answered.
“Meomee is a medic on her world. The one called Liz Carson was a nursing mother when she was taken, and meomee said she has become depressed. She wants to make sure she gets proper care.”
“Yes, Captain, I will see to it myself.”
“Thank you, Lenna, Captain out,” Dargan turned back to Meg. “Lenna will see to it.”
“How long will it take you to get us back to Earth? That’s what Liz really needs---to get back to her husband and baby.”
“About a two weeks Earth time…but I would really like you to stay.”
“You said that before, but why? You don’t even know me?”
“But, I would like to,” Dargan raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, watching her eyes as he did.
Meg sucked in her breath as a frisson of desire shot straight to her female center, and she felt her nipples harden. “What's going on? What are you doing to me?” she asked as another wave of arousal caused her vaginal walls to clench. She pulled her hand from his and sat up on the padded table and let her legs dangle over the side. She was still dressed only in her bra and panties.
Dargan took her hand again. “We are meomee. We have connected on a biological level. You are my genetic complement. That static shock as you called it was the sign that tells us we have found our biological mate---meomee.”
He moved in closer and slid his arms around her, leaning in close, so his mouth was only inches from hers. “As we speak, my body is sending out pheromones to arouse you so that you want to mate with me.”
And it’s working.
Meg sucked in her breath as his lips locked onto hers in a gentle kiss. She ran her hands up the taut muscles of his arms, and shoulders then to the back of his neck, leaned in, and pressed her breasts against his
hard chest to ease the throbbing of her nipples. God, he felt so good! But this was crazy.
Her buttocks propped her against the edge of the table, and he moved in so that his blatant erection pressed deliciously against her crotch. That only made things worse. She moaned. Dargan's arms tightened around her, and he deepened the kiss, caressing her tongue and the inside of her mouth. Meg pressed harder against his cock, and it was his turn to groan.
Oh yeah! It's working. I've never felt like this with a man before and certainly not one I just met. His kiss seemed to be sapping all her strength to resist the clamoring heat rising in her body. It was nearly impossible to think of anything but how much she wanted him inside her. How could this be?
She reluctantly pulled her mouth from his and pushed him away. Panting with desire, she whispered, “I can’t do this! I don’t even know why I feel so needy for you. We just met. I can’t just screw you because it will feel good!”
“We are meomee. I felt it the moment I picked you up off the deck in your cell. At first, I thought I’d imagined it.”
“Let me get you a wrap, and we can go to my cabin. It's much more private,” he went to a vertical cupboard and took out a thin folded robe. He held it opened and Meg stood, turning her back to him to slide her arms into the sleeves. It reached below her knees and the front closed and held as one of the two sides was pressed over the other. Then he got out a soft pair of ballerina style slippers. He set them on the treatment table and gripped her waist with his large hands, lifting her to sit on the table so he could slip them on her feet. They seemed a little big when he slipped them on, but they shrank to fit her feet snugly without binding.
“Won't your crew think it improper for you to take me to your cabin?” she arched a brow.
“No, because I reported our recognition as meomee to the Chief Medical Officer. I'm off duty for a few days for our bonding,” he explained. “Bonding is far too distracting for me to perform my regular duties satisfactorily.”
“What if I don't want to be bonded to you?” she asserted calmly, looking up into his unusual amber cat’s eyes.
“Come with me, we'll talk.” he took her hand and drew it toward him, urging her to follow him. “I promise I won't force you to do anything you don't want. But we will need to mate sooner than later.”
He paused holding her gaze steadily, and she believed him. With the blatant desire crashing through her body, she couldn't think of anything but getting naked with him, despite what she said. She was sure he wasn’t telling her everything. She allowed him to take her hand and lead her out into the corridor to the lift tube that took them to a lower level. His cabin was just a short walk from the lift tube.
The door slid opened as Dargan thumbed the ID plate. Once inside, he commanded the lights to a low level. His cabin was modest for a captain, she thought, but it looked comfortable. The door opened into a sitting area with a white round pedestal table anchored to the floor with a padded bench surrounding three-quarters leaving an opening to slide in. There were a small sofa and two cushioned chairs perpendicular to the sofa, which faced a large flat screen on the opposite wall.
To the left was an open doorway into the bedroom that was dominated by a large oval bed with lush pillows and a silky lavender sheet on the top. The door closed behind them when they walked inside. Dargan turned to her and framed her face in his hands reverently and stared ardently into her blue eyes.
“Meg Casey, you are even more beautiful than I could have wished for,” he said fervently. “This is not just a ploy just to have sex with you. This reaction we are having to each other is how we find our true mates. Narovian feline humanoids mate for life.”
Already, she realized she liked the feel of his hands on her. What she didn’t like was feeling out of control. Her body was clamoring for sex, and her mind was telling her to flee. Mated for life to an alien with eyes like her cat? It was just too crazy!
“Are you telling me I don't have a choice?” she murmured unevenly.
“We don't have a choice. It's biological. Our bodies choose for us, but we will grow to love one another through our mating.”
“You seem like a nice guy and way too sexy for my own good. But I had a life on my world---a home and a medical practice.”
“Do you have a mate waiting for you?” he growled.
“No. He found someone else, and we divorced five years ago.”
“Then he wasn’t meomee---your true mate.”
“Craig was a mistake.”
“Then why must you go back?”
“My parents and siblings are there. If I don't go back, they will think I am dead and will never know what happened to me,” she protested even though her body still clamored for his to join hers. “They will mourn for me.”
“Possibly you can visit them when we return the others to Earth. Then you can tell them whatever you need to so they won’t worry,” he caressed her cheeks with his thumbs then lowered his mouth toward hers, but she turned her head to the side, so he kissed her cheek instead.
“No, Captain, I can’t!” she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed back from him.
“I understand your reluctance, meomee, this is a surprise for me as well. I was not looking for a mate. My career had been the center of my life until now, so I think I understand how you are feeling,” he explained. “I’m afraid we have no choice in the matter. Once there is physical contact, and the pheromones are released we must mate soon. We will be in a mating frenzy for about a week to ten days.
“So, what if we don’t mate? I’ve never heard of anything like this?”
“Your pet cats go into heat, do they not?”
“Sure, if you don’t get them spayed.”
“Well, our mating frenzy is much like that. If we resist, we will become ill within a day---queasy stomach, lost appetite, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, and increasing sexual longing…” he continued. “It could even lead to death.”
“Oh, come on! That sounds a lot like what teenage boys might say to get a girl have sex.”
“Meg, this is not a mind game. It is a biological reaction that basically makes us addicted to each other sexually. I know you feel it.”
“But I don’t want to make such a commitment based on a biological reaction. Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“Have surgery to become sexually neutral?”
“I still don’t understand how I can be your genetic mate. We are different species!” she groaned.
“Very simple. My kind has been coming to Earth for hundreds of years. Some were stationed there for extended periods and mated with humans. We are not all that different. Most of the offspring appeared completely human even though they carried feline genes. Considering what is happening to us, I suspect there is a feline in your ancestry a few generations back.”
“How do you know all this?” Meg frowned at him.
“I’m not the first Narovian feline to find a sapien meomee from Earth. In fact, the matchmaking service on Narova set up a branch of their genetic testing lab on Earth. They offer genetic testing for ancestor origins and disease markers. They do the testing and use the results to match Narovian felines with Earth homo sapiens that have feline markers in their genes.”
“I never had one of those tests,” she said skeptically.
“I’m only in the Narovian genetic database. The Earth-based service is quite expensive, and I wasn’t ready to settle down. I don’t know if I am yet, but my body is telling me you are meomee.
And my body is telling me I want you to fuck me senseless. Meg drew in a shaky breath. “Oh, my God---Oh my God!” she muttered, turning and pacing across the room and turning back to look at him.
He gave her a sympathetic smile with a look in his eyes that was almost reverent. “Meg Casey, I can’t change what has happened between us. I will call someone to take you to our guest quarters if you would like some time alone to think it over,” he paused for a moment caressing the lines of her face with hi
s eyes. “I want you to know that I would be honored to become your mate.”
God, why did he have to be so damn sexy? In all the time they were talking, it seemed like her whole body was throbbing with desire, for him. She had never wanted sex so badly. Not just sex, she wanted him.
In spite of that, she decided to take his offer of time alone to sort her thoughts. Some time away from him would either help or not. Meg felt like she had to know for sure. She drew in a calming breath and let it out.
“I think I would like a little time alone if you don’t mind.”
Captain Marrek spoke a command in his language, and a voice responded. Less than a moment later, a series of beeps announced a presence at his door. He spoke another command, and the cabin door slid open for a young human woman in the Kelly green uniform of the Alliance Law Enforcement Corps.
“Ensign Che’May will show you to your cabin. If you need anything, speak my name and the AI will give you direct contact.”
Meg nodded and followed Ensign Che’May to the door which opened automatically. Within a couple of minutes, the Ensign showed Meg into a smaller cabin like Marrek’s but with a smaller bed and sitting area. As soon as the ensign left her alone, she started pacing, trying to weigh her options.
It was hard to concentrate with the constant ache between her legs and throbbing of her core. The robe rubbed her sensitized nipples as she moved, just making everything worse. She felt like her brain was in a fog. After everything that had happened to her now this. She felt nauseous and shaky, and she was starting to sweat. Suddenly the room seemed too hot. She ripped off the thin robe and tossed it on a chair, pacing some more. Minutes later she was shivering cold.
She snatched the robe off the chair and put it back on, suddenly tired, she went and sat on the bed. Anger and despair threatened to overwhelm her. Surely a race that could travel the stars could find a way to stop this---this heat she and Marrek shared---some kind of hormonal serum. Then, again, why would they when it was a phenomenon they embraced.
This love potion pheromone caused this---this mating frenzy with a genetically compatible mate. Meg lay down and curled into a fetal position and started to cry. It would have been hard enough to go back to her life after being kidnapped by aliens to sell into slavery. But now with this heat between Captain Marrek and her, it would be impossible to go back to her old life. She put her hand between her legs and pressed against her mound, trying to quell the aching there.
