The creature eyed him with rage and tried to reach for him with both long arms. Its body stretched out of the opening until it seemed it would snap from the effort. Its mouth opened, showing row upon row of jagged, deadly teeth. It reared back its domed head and roared in frustrated rage.
Malcolm opened the box, extracted a metal ball from the case, found the place where a slight indentation indicated he should press, pressed it, then he casually lobbed the device inside the portal, right over the creature's bulbous head.
“Here's a little present for you. Give my regards to the family!” he retorted as he pulled another ball out, depressed the trigger and laid it on the console. Then he ran for the tunnel and hoped his friends were recovered enough to run with him. He didn't think he could carry them all, but was willing to try.
After he jumped through the grate opening and spotted them all sitting with their backs against the wall, rubbing their heads. He found he actually felt the human emotion of relief. A genuine smile spread over his face. His first real smile, one that wasn't simulated. He smiled again.
“I have no idea how long it will take for that atomic device to go off, but I think we should run right now,” he said, helping them stand and urging them to move. He still smiled.
Tal staggered, grabbed Cea's arm as she wobbled and steadied her as best he could. “Holy shit! Atomics? Let's get the fuck out of here!”
He immediately began to run as fast as he could down the tunnel. When he passed Penny, he glanced at her, paused, stumbled, shook his head then stared ahead and kept going, dragging Cea along behind him.
Malcolm took one of Penny's long arms and helped her move down the tunnel behind them. “You okay?” he asked her as they ran, her long legs and rounded feet handy for fast running. All six breasts jiggled and vibrated. Malcolm's smile got bigger and broader.
“I'm just fine, cupcake,” Penny's melodious voice answered. “Do you like the real me?” What sounded like a sucking noise followed the question.
Malcolm laughed, suddenly filled with strange new human emotions and liking them. “I'll have to tell you later. There's no time to really check it out right now, but I promise you I will first chance I get.”
Her laugh was a mixture of music, water lapping on a quiet seashore, and a bird's cry. The sucking noise reminded Malcolm of a baby with a bottle of really fine warm milk.
Malcolm liked it. His mouth stretched as wide as it could get.
Chapter Thirty Three
Ferret watched as four figures erupted from the foliage that covered the hidden tunnel. He turned and rested his hand on the airlock button, ready to hit it when they arrived at the loading ramp.
“Yeah! Come on you guys! Run! No time! No time! The black bastards are circling us, can't ya see ’em? They'll be here any minute now. Come on! Get a move on!” he shouted inside the ship as he watched them stumble down the side of the hill.
Four small fighters were buzzing overhead, shooting lasers at the four of them as they scrambled down the hill toward The Europa. Small bursts of fire shot up into the sky from the ground around their feet, forcing them to run in a zigzag pattern. One fighter zoomed down, aiming its gun directly at them just as they approached the ramp.
At that moment, Penny glanced up, stopped in her tracks, ripped the front of her coveralls off and dropped the garment to the ground. She stretched to her full height of well over seven feet, pulled an enormous amount of oxygen into her great chest, expanding the breasts hanging on the front. She opened her great mouth into a rounded O and waited for the ship to get near. When the ship was close enough to fire, she bent her back, thrust her head forward and a roar that almost shattered eardrums erupted from her throat. Along with the roar came a jet of viscous green fluid which combined with the atmosphere's oxygen. It flared into the sky high enough to engulf the ship in a white-hot spout of fire. The burning ship spiraled out of control.
Tal, Cea and Malcolm all froze in place, staring at Penny. Their attention split between her and the ship as it roared overhead and crashed into the main entrance of the complex, where it exploded in a whitish, green ball of fire.
“Hurry! We don't know how much time we have left,” Malcolm barked, breaking the spell.
Tal pushed Cea toward the ship, urging her up the ramp. Malcolm waited for Penny and followed her as she, too, ascended. The airlock door opened and they rushed inside. Ferret stood by the door, his hand frozen on the button, his mouth hanging open and his beady eyes bulging from his head as his gaze locked on Penny. His head swiveled, following her figure as she made her way into the ship.
Tal, Cea and Malcolm rushed to the command cabin. Penny stopped in the cabin's doorway and gazed at Ferret, her large eyes blinking with amusement at his stunned stare. “Close the door Ferret,” she chirped. “We just set off some atomics, and we don't have much time to get out of here.”
The message sunk in and Ferret's jaw snapped shut. His hand slapped the button, the door slammed shut, and he ran down the passageway like all the demons of Mars were after him.
Penny chuckled and stood at the hatch window, watching the shattered complex become smaller as the ship lifted off. The small fighter ships hit The Europa with their lasers, jolting her with minor blasts, but none of them could give any real chase.
Within moments The Europa had left the artificial gravity of Crowe's moon and headed as far away from it as possible. The fighters buzzed over the surface like angry flies without fresh meat to land on. A flash from the hollow moon briefly lit the sky right above the complex as an object jetted out of the atmosphere, trailing a comet tail behind it.
“What was that?” Penny asked, watching the object shoot off in the opposite direction and disappear into the star field. “Did you guys see that thing lift off the planet?”
“Yes,” Malcolm answered from his navigation chair. “I think it was an escape pod.”
“Figures Crowe would have a way off if things turned ugly,” Cea snapped as she scanned the readouts and communed with Mother. “He wouldn't give a second thought to leaving his men to die either.”
“Except I don't see how he could get out of that room. He was unconscious before Mal took us out,” Tal said, manning the guns, just in case any of Crowe's pirate ships appeared. “He'll be just as dead as his men this time,” he added with a satisfied tone.
“He wasn't in that room when I went back and set the atomics,” Malcolm commented in a matter-of-fact voice.
“What!” Cea shrieked. Temporarily distracted from her tasks, she turned to stare at Malcolm. “He was out cold. How could he get out?”
“His body was gone when I went back. If I had to make a logical guess, I'd say Raven used a secret way into his lab and got him out when I carried Tal out. He was gone when I came back.”
“Why Raven? She didn't show her face the whole time we were in there. I'd think she would've tried to kill us,” Cea said.
“On the contrary, Captain. That's just what she wouldn't do. She'd wait her chance. She wouldn't risk taking on the four of us, knowing she'd lose. I long ago learned women are very sly that way,” Malcolm replied. “Besides, her sexual needs would come first, wouldn't they? And Crowe had what she wanted, so she'd think of saving him before she'd think of revenge, wouldn't she? Pussy before posse?”
Tal roared with laughter, but didn't say a word.
Cea shot him a dirty look then glared at Malcolm. “How could she have moved him? She's not that strong. It must have been one of his men.”
Malcolm glanced at her with a smile. “Captain, if it's that important to you that she be blown up, then I'll concede it might not be her in that pod with him. Either way, it's a certainty that Crowe got away and that worries me.”
Cea snorted and returned her gaze to her screen, mumbling. “Damn men!” She tapped the record key and said, “Mother, record and analyze events on Crowe's moon.”
“Yes, Captain. Recording,” the central computer brain replied.
Suddenly the rece
ding moon erupted into a giant ball of white light. The Europa's interior lit up like a disco ballroom.
Cea put a hand up to block the glare, but tried to watch what was happening through the viewscreen anyway.
Undaunted by the light, Malcolm reported, “The moon just exploded.” After a brief hesitation, he added, “Wait. There's something strange happening there.” He peered through the screen with a rapt expression.
Tal and Penny leaned over Cea and Malcolm's shoulders, watching a halo of rainbow colors shimmer around the rounded blast of pure white. Then the white center began to pull the colors inside as if a vacuum was sucking them down into a vortex. Faster and faster, the lights swirled into the center, giving the illusion of a rainbow disappearing down a giant drain. The blast area became smaller and smaller, and the colors intensified becoming darker and more saturated. Within minutes the rounded blast area was so small and the colors so intense they hurt the eyes of the watchers.
“What's happening to it?” Cea asked in a breathless voice.
“It's just a guess, but I'd say the moon is imploding. Somehow, that alien device is sucking in all the energy of the explosion and taking the moon and everything around it with it,” Malcolm reported.
“Everything?” Tal asked, cocking an eyebrow at Malcolm.
“Everything it can reach, I assume,” Malcolm replied, punching buttons on his console. “But don't worry—we're well out of the blast zone now.”
Penny, now back in her human form, pointed at a sun on the view screen. “Isn't that the small sun Crowe used to power his phony moon? Is that inside the zone?”
At that moment the small sun spiraled into the dense center of the vortex and disappeared. Seconds later, only a pinprick of light was left of the area. It glimmered, sparkled, flared, then finally disappeared.
“Yes, apparently it was in the zone,” Tal replied with a burst of laughter. “If that alien device was connected to that monster's world and the moon, atomics and the sun were sucked into it, then I'd hate see what's happening on that world right now.” He laughed again.
“Well, at least the bastards won't be thinking of invading us again. That's for sure,” Cea said, matching Tal's smile and deep laugh.
“What about that escape pod? Shouldn't we track it down and make sure Crowe doesn't get away?” Penny asked with eyes still slightly too large and turquoise for comfort.
Cea shrugged. “Nah, let ’em go. I've had enough of Crowe for the moment. Let him drift in space, alone, without air or food. Serves him right,” she said while inspecting Penny's slightly altered appearance. “But I would like to know what happened to you back there. That was you, wasn't it?”
Penny laughed and nodded. “Yes, it was me. The real me, that is.” She ran both hands over her breasts then her hips. “But I like this form much better, so I think I'll keep it.”
“Oh, I don't know. The other one looked interesting to me. I think some research is called for, some comparison and analysis of data,” Malcolm quipped.
“Hey! I think old Malcolm is developing a real sense of humor. How did that happen, buddy?” Tal asked with a grin.
“Too much interaction with humans is bound to degrade my brain circuits, but I'm learning to adjust,” Malcolm retorted with a grin of his own.
“Oh please!” Cea blurted, throwing both hands into the air. “Can we get serious here? We still have to figure out what to do about Gains back on the council and...”
Tal grabbed her shoulders, pulled her out of her seat, wrapped both arms around her and clamped his lips onto hers, locking her in a passionate embrace.
“Now, that's what I call an effective way to shut up a woman who doesn't know when to relax and have fun,” Penny said, unzipping what was left of her jumpsuit.
“Does this mean it's time to go to warp speed again?” Malcolm asked, standing and stripping off, also. His erection already throbbed in time with the engines.
Cea broke the kiss with a gasp, pushing Tal back with both hands, but he refused to let her go.
“We still have work to do!” she protested when Malcolm and Penny grasped each other's buttocks and began to walk down the passage toward the rear of the ship.
“You two have work to do, Captain, not us. Although, if you're smart, it won't be work at all.” Penny snickered and squeezed Malcolm's butt, before adding, “Remember? Only you and Agent English can get this baby into hyperspeed. Mal and I are overdue for a bit of recreation, so have fun working!” Penny chirped over her shoulder.
Tal leered down at Cea's face. “Wanna work with me here, Captain?”
Mixed emotions crossed her face, ranging from irritation to resignation then, finally, to jubilation. “What the hell!” she squealed, reaching for the opening of her clothes. “I'm tired of pretending I don't want you. I do. I want you inside me. Always,” she murmured, licking his earlobe and removing her clothes at the same time.
His hands helped her then quickly turned to shed his clothes before finding their final home on her warm breasts and hard nipples. His lips and tongue nuzzled her nipples, making sure both stayed hard and rigid, while his hips ground slowly against hers.
As they sank to the padded floor, ready to abandon themselves completely to each other fully for the first time, Tal gazed into Cea's eyes and said, “I love you, Cea Knight. I have from the first.”
She lay under him, raised both arms above her head, thrust her breasts up against the matted hair on his chest, spread her legs and felt him rock hard, pressing into her. She smiled a dreamy, contented smile and gazed back at him.
“I love you, too. I was just too stubborn to give in. You'll have to get used to that about me.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and felt him slide into her, driving deep then pausing. “I promise you. I will stubbornly hold onto you, just like this.” She clenched her vaginal muscles, gripping him and holding him in place.
His grin lit up the cabin. “You'd better.” He thrust a fraction deeper. “And I plan on showing you there's always more to come.”
The alien transporter, forgotten on the shelf at the back of the cabin, began to hum, vibrate and throb. The star field outside the viewscreen began to blur. The only recognizable piece of space was a milky white spout erupting from the back engine port of The Europa as it briefly made its way through the Milky Way.
A panicky voice screeched from behind some packing crates in the cargo bay. “Where the hell are you people taking me now?”
Ferret's beady, frightened eyes peered out a side porthole, noting the unnatural speed at which they were moving. He groaned, whimpered, put his hands over his eyes and collapsed back behind the crates where he'd made a makeshift bed.
A shiny chain with three, sparkling geometrical objects dangling from it shimmered on the black blanket where he lay. He picked it up and dangled it in front of his eyes, admiring its unusually opalescent colors and shapes.
“At least I got something from Crowe before he died,” Ferret chuckled, determined to ignore his situation or what might happen to him with these strange beings. “Wonder what Raven was doing with this thing?”
He swung the object around, admiring the way the trinkets on it seemed to change shape. He sighed, placed the chain around his neck and clasped it in his tight fist. Then, he tucked it inside his shirt to make sure of its secrecy and sighed. “Mine. All mine.”
He settled down on the blanket and let his mind and body drift. His hand wandered down to the small lump under his pants, and he began to rub it, smiling like a small boy doing something naughty and secret. “Ummm. At least I still have my old buddy five fingers,” he murmured, rubbing harder.
The necklace around his neck began to hum.
THE END
About The Author
Sydney Morgann loves space, all kinds of space-big rooms inside Victorian houses, which she likes to restore, lots of space inside a huge closet where she can hang the unique designer clothes she sews for herself but most importantly, deep space, a place she hopes
to visit one day.
An exotic dancer by night, fulltime student during the day, studying for a degree in forensic psychology, and hitting every Star Trek, Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 conference she can find on the weekends, gives Sydney more than enough raw data to write her novels, which she does every spare moment on a laptop that is her constant companion, along with her Giant Schnauzer, Bonz.
When asked what motivates her to write comedic sci-fi erotica, Syd laughed and replied, “Space travel is excitement and hope for the future but sex with the right partner and laughter are timeless and necessary for a healthy mind.”
* * *
Visit www.atlanticbridge.net for information on additional titles by this and other authors.
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