by Calista Skye
Cori'ax smiled. “I can't quite follow your reasoning, Warrior Ererox. But I'm sure it makes sense to you. To the rest of us, we understand that the king's decision stands and that he has his reasons. And I'm sure he would prefer not to have them discussed by drunken, rust-bladed grunts like you. Drink another glass, warrior.”
They all laughed again, but Ererox wasn't placated. “It's an alien conspiracy! Ever since those Earthlings came – I beg your forgiveness, Pilot Charlotte, you are not to blame, but these things must be said – the king and his best men have had their judgment clouded. End the Fire Trials? That has served us so well for centuries? It spells doom for our planet, mark my words.”
“Coldness can be as bad as heat,” Cori'ax said and placed his stein down on the table in a decisive gesture. “Now let's talk no more about it. Who slayed the most Xoth today? I have you down for eighteen, Vuri'ex.”
The conversation turned to other things, but Charlotte knew that many warriors were uneasy about Earthlings and their ideas. For a species which had always been at war with all the aliens they met, it was understandable that the Acerex would take a lot of convincing. And Charlotte was happy to be part of that.
Even with combat-hardened warriors, the post-battle celebrations tended to last for many hours, and long before the end, Charlotte left and went to her own tent. She was as happy as anyone about the squad's good performance, but there were limits to how much brey she could drink and to how many of the same jokes she could take before she started rolling her eyes.
She had a good, new tent made from Earth tech. All the Acerex had been offered those, but only a couple of squads in the whole army had accepted them. The Acerex skepticism of everything that was alien would be hard to turn, Charlotte realized. Well, if they didn't want to sleep in perfect temperature and breathe carefully scrubbed air, then that was their own problem. Charlotte herself didn't want to go without those things. Being on combat duty for the Acerex was demanding, and she needed her small luxuries.
She got out of her flight suit, hung it in the locker where the garment would be perfectly cleaned by nanoparticles and slid between the sheets. She knew that Cori'ax would soon be there, and her girly bits were heating up a whole lot.
They were usually both very much in the mood after a successful mission, after the worst of the stress hormones in their blood had subsided and the pleasurable stuff took over. The brey helped, too.
The sheets were cool and soft against her naked body, and she wondered how he would take her tonight. She liked everything he did to her. Lately he had taken to lifting her up with her feet against his chest and then lowering her onto his raging erection, fucking her standing up and holding her whole weight in his arms. She loved that, too. No one else had ever done that with her, and she doubted any other man was strong enough to do it. Only Cori'ax could fuck her like that.
The thought sent a hard tingle right through her sex, like a lightning bolt, and she moaned in the silent tent. Sex with Cori'ax just got better and better as he got more and more familiar with her body, and her orgasms just got stronger and stronger. But that could also have something to do with ...
She stroked her stomach, feeling the bulge. All that sex had definitely had some results. From pretty early on, too. She was trying to hide the morning sickness from Cori'ax, because she wasn't at all sure how he would take it.
She hadn't told him. She hadn't even gone to the medics to check for sure. She wasn't impressed with the Acerex medical facilities anyway, and she had promised herself to go to the Friendship as soon as possible to get it confirmed once and for all by Earth doctors.
Of course she would tell Cori'ax first, ideally in perfect Acerex and in the formal High Warrior dialect. She'd been practicing in secret, so that she could tell Cori'ax about the pregnancy in his own language, as flawlessly and elegantly as she could get it. She thought he'd probably appreciate that. Becoming a parent was common on Earth, but much less so on Acerex, because of the shortage of women.
She'd kept telling herself 'just one more mission'. But time was passing fast, and leaving now would mean staying away from the squad for weeks. Possibly even until the baby was born. She was pretty sure the Acerex military, consisting only of males, didn't have any policy to deal with a pregnant warrior or pilot. Probably they would just tell her to stay away from active duty until she would be less of a headache for them.
But she was still fully capable of flying missions for the squad, and she would remain so for a good while yet as the pregnancy developed. If anything, her reflexes were even faster now.
She turned over and peered at the tent flap. What was keeping him? Usually he would impatiently let a couple of minutes go by before he would follow, just to not make it too obvious to the other warriors where he was going and what he was planning. But this time it seemed to take him longer.
Well, whatever. She wasn't going to go get him, like some lovesick teen.
She laid back and yawned. Of course, if she was taken off active duty because of the pregnancy, then Cori'ax would have to find another pilot. That someone else would take her place for a while didn't worry her. But she hated the thought of Cori'ax and the squad she had started to feel such an important part of being in the hands of a less competent pilot than her. And all the Acerex were less competent. Much less, even. Some of the advanced moves she had insisted the squad drill during deployment and extraction would fail miserably if another pilot was flying the dropship, and no Acerex flyboy knew how to give the squad real fire support. That was not something they trained, but it had been a vital part of Cori'ax's tactics for many weeks now, after Charlotte had shown him what she could do. If he were suddenly left without a good pilot, Charlotte feared what could happen to him.
Still she smiled into the darkness in the tent. She was happy, happier than she had been since she left Earth to go into space. She was flying combat missions again. She was the best pilot in the army. And she had the best boyfriend she could imagine.
No, she corrected herself; she hadn't even imagined someone like Cori'ax before. He was like something straight out of some ancient legend about a mythical hero, like Hercules or something. And he fucked like a damn god. And alien god. And she was pregnant by him.
All of that made her happy. So maybe it would make him happy, too?
She made a decision right there. She would tell him tonight. After sex, of course. She didn't want him to hold back, and there was no better time than afterwards, when she was resting in his arms and feeling like her whole body was a warm, sparkling liquid. Yep, that's what she would do. She would tell him in the formal dialect, the High Warrior one, that he was going to be a father. He'd appreciate that.
She grunted in frustration and tossed the covers off. Where the hell was he? Did he want her to come to his tent this time? She'd never done that. He always came to her.
She sat up rubbed her eyes. She was at that level of sleepiness where sex was just a little tad better than otherwise, because it could sometimes take on a dreamish quality. But fine. If he wanted her to come to him, she wasn't too precious to do that. But she was clearly too horny not to.
She got up and tossed on a pair of pants and a top, then stuck her head out of the tent and looked around. There was no one, but she could see that there was a small stripe of warm light visible right under the flap of Cori'ax's tent. She smiled and felt another spark of hotness shoot through her pussy. He was clearly up and waiting. Maybe he had something special in mind for tonight. It had been a very fine victory they'd shared.
She ran lightly over to his tent, then stopped right before she was about to lift the flap. He was not alone in there.
There were voices, and even through the heavy fabric of the Acerex-made tent she could hear that at least one of them was not from the squad. It was an older man, and the voice was rough, but so firm and confident that she realized that it had to be someone from high up in the command structure.
“... will be of the greatest impo
rtance. We get a single chance. It cannot go wrong.”
Charlotte understood a good amount of the Acerex language now, and this man didn't speak like the squaddies. He used different words that sounded old-fashioned. It was the High Warrior dialect.
“There are no guarantees in war.” That was Cori'ax. But he sounded different than usual. Curt, annoyed. As if he was struggling with a difficult thought.
“I am aware of that, warrior. And yet we must guarantee that this will succeed. We are doing our parts. Are you doing yours?”
Charlotte frowned. That gravelly voice was familiar.
“I have done my part all my life,” Cori'ax growled. “And more, some would say.”
“Indeed many would say that Warrior Cori'ax has performed invaluable services to our people. But is it not the way of the world that those who give much are always asked to give even more? No one questions your patriotism or willingness to suffer for the cause, warrior. But you have been silent. I have not heard from you for weeks, and I must check that you are still in. Surely you understand my concern. We must succeed in this. We must.”
Charlotte's hand flew to her mouth. That voice – that was Bandi'ex, the legendary Chief of the Dirt who had accepted her into their army. Why was he there?
“We must,” Cori'ax said, but to Charlotte it sounded like a reflexive response, and she couldn't hear any of his usually unshakeable confidence in it. What the hell were they asking him to do? Whatever it was, he clearly didn't like it.
She looked around quickly, but the camp was quiet and dark. The air was cool and fresh, and her bare feet were cold on the damp grass.
“Warrior Cori'ax,” a new and younger voice said from inside. “I am not as diplomatic and wise as the rest of our brotherhood. I must say that I do detect some hesitance in you. And I wonder if you are now having second thoughts about the whole thing. Does it have anything to do with the Earthling that you have piloting your squad? Are you developing some affection for her? There are rumours that you're spending nights with her.”
Cori'ax rumbling laughter was low, but unmistakable. “Oh, the alien? She's a pleasant enough bed warmer, certainly. Nothing more, of course. Far too alien for me to actually feel affection for. My stance on anything that's not our own should be well known. Would I feel affection for a lesser being? But thank you for sending her to me, Bandi'ex. My nights are indeed enjoyable now. She's a fair pilot, too. When she's not busy falling out of her own shuttle.”
The men inside chuckled, and Charlotte felt the bottom fall out of her life. She felt her face go cold and her stomach turned to ice.
“I'm glad you could get some utility out of her,” Bandi'ex said. “I suppose she has served her purpose for us by now. Then our plan still goes ahead. And hopefully that pilot will have the sense to stay inside his craft when it's airborne.” The men laughed again, Cori'ax too.
Charlotte had heard enough.
She stumbled back to her own tent on unsteady legs, stunned by disappointment and shock.
She stood in the middle of her tent, just staring into nothing as the world fell apart around her. Of course he couldn't love her. Of course it had been an act from the start. Of course he had just been using her.
Bed warmer. She clasped her forehead. How could she have been so stupid?
The tent seemed to be encroaching on her, growing smaller and sucking the air out.
Charlotte cupped her stomach with the little bump. And of course she was carrying his child.
Her knees turned to jello and she collapsed onto the floor, which immediately softened to dampen her fall. She tried to hold back the sobs, but it was no use.
It had all been fake. Being accepted into the Acerex army, Cori'ax's appreciation of her skills, the camaraderie with the squad, their relationship. And the feelings she thought he had for her. All pretend and falsehoods. And she had believed it was true. All of it. Especially the feelings. She could have done without those other things. But the love she thought he felt ...
Had he been truthful to the other men when she had eavesdropped? Guys would often exaggerate and say stupid things that weren't true in order to seem cool to other guys.
But she knew that wasn't it. Cori'ax was too honest, too straightforward. It was one of the things she really liked about him. Trying to seem cool was totally unnecessary for him. He just was coolness itself. He knew who he was. And his voice, and that little chuckle ... no, he couldn't have faked that. Not he.
She had known he was wary of aliens. But she also thought that she had felt a change in him, a softening about that. But the truth was he still hated them. And that included her.
Fuck. This was becoming too much to bear.
In a flash it became clear: she had to go. Now.
She was technically on leave for five more days, so leaving now didn't make her AWOL. But it would give her ample time to withdraw from Acerex duty. She was not going to try another unit after this. She was clearly not welcome in their army.
She stiffly got to her feet again. In a daze, she put on her flightsuit, collected her few personal items and mechanically straightened everything out with military precision.
She threw her backpack on and marched to the dropship. That belonged to Earth's Space Expansion, and she had every right to take it with her. No one else in the Acerex army could fly it right anyway.
The grief gave way to a white hot anger as she initiated the engine start.
A fair pilot, huh? These idiots clearly didn't know a pilot from a hole in the ground. Well, they had just lost their best one. She had racked up so many alien enemy kills that only a handful of warriors in the squad had chalked up more. And she had done it in just a few months.
The dropship whined as it powered up, and Charlotte gave it a little extra power as she took off and zoomed over the camp, gaining height. She wasn't going to go quietly. Everyone would know that Pilot Charlotte was gone. She pushed the power slider all the way forward and aimed straight up. She would be at the Friendship in a couple of days, and she would see Vrax'ton and resign.
She wasn't sure yet which reason she would give him. This whole thing seemed too personal.
The acceleration forces pushed her back in the seat. The base grew smaller on the screen that showed the rear view.
Somewhere down there was the love of her life.
Because of course she still loved him. More than she had never loved any man. Ever.
That he didn't love her back was the hardest thing she'd had to face.
She had been so sure, too. Even without the Mahan thing. She hadn't needed that, and she was sure he didn't need it, either.
Shit. Was she being rash? Should she give him a chance to explain? If he was in fact the love of her life?
She snorted. That would have been a weird conversation.
'Hey, so, do you consider me just a bed warmer?'
'No, of course not.'
What could she say to that? The doubt would always be there.
Or, since this was Cori'ax, the only man she'd known who'd never lie: 'yes, of course I do'.
She didn't know which would be worse.
She had been so close to trusting him, too. And then this.
Well, it was probably better that she found out before things got more serious.
The planet was a disk on the screen, and it would soon be time to start the interstellar travel.
She cupped her belly again. “But don't you worry. I love you. And I have a plan for you.”
16
- Cori'ax -
He stood and stared into the fire, his evening ruined. The visit from the conspirators had been very unwelcome. It had completely taken away his good mood, even after the celebration. His plan to go to Charlotte's tent and take her in that way she liked the most, from behind after a spanking that was just hard enough for her to be pleasurable, was now not going to happen.
Over the past months he had almost been able to forget that secret mission he had committed to, blowing up
the Friendship, and how he wasn't sure if it was the right thing after all.
How could Charlotte and the other Earthlings be bad? He had detected absolutely no pretense in her. She had done her best for the squad to the point where he had come to truly admire her devotion and her immense ability. She risked her life every time.
With the skills she had displayed, surely Earth could have conquered Acerex with their flying machines and guns in a very short time if they'd wanted to. So that begged the question: did they want to? Yes, certainly they would save many lives on both sides if they were able to gain power by subtle, sneaky means. But still-
He looked up. There was a sound on the air, one that he knew well. But it was far too loud.
He ran out of the tent and then reflexively ducked at the intense, otherworldly howl from a dropship passing directly overhead.
His jaw dropped. Was someone stealing the ship? It couldn't be on legitimate business. Flying directly over the base was frowned upon, especially at night. And with a noise like that, it had to be going at close to full power.
The flashing red lights on the craft disappeared straight up, and the ghostly blue glow from the engine illuminated the base.
Blue? Only Earth-made ships had drives that gave off a blue light. That had to be Charlotte's dropship!
More warriors came running out of their tents, their hands on the hilts of their swords. “Are we under attack?”
The dropship gained height faster than Cori'ax had ever seen. Whoever was flying that thing knew what he was doing.
A sudden coldness settled in the pit of his stomach. Or she.
“I don't think so.” He sprinted to her tent and tore the flap open.
Empty. Just standard military issue things, perfectly squared away, and a bed made with such cold perfection that it sent a message all of its own. She was gone, and she was not planning to come back.
The world spun around him as the realization set in. She was gone.
For a moment he was stunned.
“No, no, no ...” He searched the tent wildly, throwing bedsheets and objects around, desperate for a sign that he was mistaken.
