Lin's Challenge

by Mara Jaye

  Her eyes narrow. “Do you know who would be alive if these two hadn’t let you distract them? Hundreds.”

  The number hurts my heart I resisted getting to know anyone but Turkh and later G’nar because a securbot could take anyone out at any time. Still, they were people, sort of, with lives and dreams beyond here. They didn’t deserve their fate.

  I walk backward until I’m behind the two men. “Fine. I am the distraction, and I deserve the punishment. Leave me here.”

  It’s a death sentence, Lin. Even now, the area is losing breathable air. Bionans or not, you couldn’t last an hour.

  Fine, I reply back to Turkh and cross my arms to keep my hands from shaking. “Go on, then, and leave me.”

  “Hold on.” G’nar steps between the director and me. “Tira, stop this. You’re angry, rightfully so, but we don’t have time to argue this while planetside. Let’s at least save as many people as we can, board the ship, and talk from there.”

  Her face paled under the Gharian bronze sheen. “Of course.” She focused on my waist and nodded. “KirKrell, get her to the infirmary. MacKrell and I will coordinate locating survivors.” She makes a follow me motion. “Come on. Let’s get PAF’s distributed before the radiation levels are too high.”

  Her mention of radiation distracts me from G’nar’s last name sounding like the word mackerel. The emotional dampers stop my laughter but not the worry about radiation poisoning. Turkh’s database, mine now, tells me about personal air filters, or PAF’s and yeah, radiation because the planet has very little ozone. I walk up the ramp with Turkh, half expecting to see a Star Wars character pop out at any moment. While the ship doesn’t look like a specific vessel from the movies, it would seem at home there.

  We’re alone in the hallway, and when my searched results are nothing, I ask, “Where is everyone?”

  “At their station. Each crewmember has their place.”

  Sure. Everyone would be at their battle stations or whatever the Gharians call the fighting stances. The surroundings here are so different from the gray and austere hallways of the mining colony. The smooth walls are reddish orange with a black stripe running at an eye-level meant for the Ghar height. Floor lights run along the bottom. When I ask my bionans, it’s dim in here because the ship is on land. A dull roar begins as we reach a closed door flanked by two hallways.

  “The flight deck is through there. I’ll take you in there once we’re headed home.”

  He turns to the left. When I pull up the ship’s general schematics, the functionality is to the left, quarters and recreation is to the right. Cargo is underneath as if the vessel has a basement. I didn’t see much of the outside for myself, but the entire thing is shaped like a giant metal kite. The information adds that each director has a ship like this. No wonder Tira was upset. She has a lot of responsibility. I’d like to dig in more and learn all about the command structure, but we’re at a closed door. “The infirmary already?”

  Turkh looks down at me and grins. “You were busy researching, weren’t you?”

  “I was,” I reply as the door opens into a bright and cool blue-hued room. “I’m sure you’re tired of answering my questions.”

  “Never.” He steps forward and brings me with him. “Doc. I have a new patient for you. How much do you know about Earther physiology?”

  One of the shortest Gharians I’ve ever seen steps out from behind a table. “Enough to help her.” She tilts her head while staring at my injury. “You’ve let her bleed all over her hip and leg.”

  “I didn’t let her.”

  “Hmph.” She motions at me. “Come here and lie down. Since you don’t have nanos, I’ll have to run scans the old fashioned way.”

  I look at Turkh. We should tell her.

  “Well, the thing is, she does have nanos.”

  The doctor stops much like one of those vinyl record screeches, and turns. “What? You gave an Earther nanos?”

  “I might have done worse than just nanos. She has bionans from me,” Turkh admits, and I have to give him credit. He doesn’t do anything but confess openly and without a trace of hesitation. I love how he’s militant in caring for me. No one can tell him to do anything less if I need more.

  Her jaw stays dropped for a couple of seconds before she closes her mouth and shakes her head. “Can’t blame you, really. A wound like that, I would have given a seventh worlder nanos.”

  I search seventh and try to joke around. “No wonder we’ve had suspicious tech leaps in human history. You people came down and gave us knowledge. Otherwise, we’d still be playing with sticks and rocks.”

  She laughed and waved a hand over me. A transparent display popped up showing my organs. “Not us. We can’t influence primitive worlds. You have to figure the universe out on your own or not at all.” She lifts up her hand and opens her fingers like a flower. A group of red dots expand but keep their roundish formation. “See the red? There’s been significant damage. Your bionans are trying hard, but they’re not enough to heal you.” She waved away my schematic. “You’ll need some time in the chamber.”

  “By myself?” I’m not claustrophobic, but still. The idea of being in a tube in a box in space is a little unnerving. Even after everything else that’s gone on in the past couple of months.

  “Of course by yourself. No one else can be as injured as you are and still live.” She turned to Turkh. “You may leave. From what I’ve heard, making yourself useful somewhere else might keep you employed.”

  He crossed his arms. “I don’t care. I’ll stay.”

  I wanted to hug him. Instead, I looked at the doctor. “Will it hurt?”

  “The chamber? Not at all. You’ll be asleep for most of the intense healing.”

  Turning to Turkh, I put my arms around him, and he hugs me back. “You might as well go and see if you can’t get on the director’s good side. I’ll need a handsome Gharian man to keep me in luxury until I find my own job, you know.”

  He tilted my chin up until our lips barely touched. “All right, but I’ll be back before you wake up.” He kissed me for a few moments before breaking off our contact. “I need to go, or I’ll end up in the chamber with you.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  The doctor cleared her throat. “No, both of you won’t fit. Go on, KirKrell. She has some healing to do.”

  Turkh gave me one more kiss before letting go. “Take good care of her, doc.”

  After sending some naughty thoughts to me, he gave me a grin and left. The doctor shook her head as soon as the door closed behind them. “He’s always been a rascal.”

  “You’ve known him a long time?”

  “A few sas. Come on, the chamber is this way.”

  I try to not be jealous. Not of her, of course, but of the extra time she’s had with him. The doctor had years while I’ve had days. She led me over to a tube similar to the translator one in the large gathering room. In this, a flat surface created a bed of sorts with a clear plastic pillow and blanket. Both would probably squeak across me when I used them. “I really don’t care for these small enclosures.”

  “But you’re not phobic.” She opened one end as if it were a mailbox on Earth. “Otherwise, you’d be hyperventilating already.”

  “No. I’m good. In the last tube I had to be in, the translator just hurt and there was no way to escape.”

  “Ah, understandable.” She waited while I crawled inside. “I’ll shut the door now to keep the hyperoxy and meds inside.” After closing me in, she said, “If you feel panicked for any reason, kick, and this door will open.” She went to the head of the tube and pressed buttons on a keypad. “The other side will too, but people like to use their feet for some reason.”

  A fine mist began surrounding me, cold, so I pulled the surprisingly warm plastic blanket over me. I lay on my uninjured side with my head propped up on the pillow. “How long will I be here?”

  She didn’t look up from her work. “Not too long. By the time you wake up, your mate
will be here and pacing the floor.”

  I had to smile because I could see him as if he were already here. “When should I go to sleep?”

  “Right about now I’d…”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lin

  Last thing I remember, everything stopped. Now, I hear talking. Was I back on the mining planet, asleep in the fields? I reach out with my innercom, but the words won’t form in my mind. Turkh’s voice comes across strong. “She’s awake.” I hear some tapping, too.

  “No, no, no, don’t tap on the glass. She’s not a zoo animal like those eighth worlders.”

  The doctor fusses and mutters some more while I try to open my eyes. There’s a sensation of moving and cool air around me. When I can finally see, I look around. The infirmary is the same, but I’m on the outside of the tube. “How?”

  “The bed pulls out of the chamber,” she said while Turkh helps me sit up. “Some people like to slide inside for healing. Others like to climb in on their own. I had you pegged as a climber.”

  I lean against him, grateful for his strength. “I suppose I am. Are we still on the planet surface? Where’s G’nar and the director?”

  Turkh held me close. “We’re headed home, and I’m not sure where they are. Knowing them, they’re probably fighting somewhere.”

  He smells so clean, and I relax against him. “How did you get a shower and I’m still filthy?”

  “No pain anywhere?” the doctor interrupts.

  After thinking for a moment, I answer, “No. Nothing at all.” I put a hand on where the wound should be.

  “You might have some tenderness.”

  I’m also still wearing my filthy clothes. Yech. “You didn’t need to take off my pajamas?”

  “Your pah jah mas? No. Thanks to the chamber they’re sanitary.” She began tapping on a tablet of sorts. “KirKrell, take Lin to your quarters and clean her up,” the doctor said. She looked up from the screen and smiled at me. “Come back if anything feels painful. This is a small ship, so I’ll keep an eye open for you.”

  “Thank you, doctor.” Before I can say any more, Turkh leads me out of the room and down the hall. I want to look around at everything, but he seems to be in a rush. “Is something wrong? Why do we have to hurry?”

  “Not much further.” He stops in front of a door until it opens and he pulls me inside. The room is comfortable. Looks like a modern hotel room but with puffier blankets, pillows, and chairs. There’s no television or telephone and an open doorway is to our right.

  Turk walks backward into what I can tell is a bathroom while taking me with him. There’s a floor to ceiling mirror on one side with a shower like enclosure on the other. The toilet is odd, but hey, it’s a toilet, and I’m thrilled to see it.

  Our eyes meet in the reflection, and I smile. “So you’re rushing me to a washroom? I can’t blame you. I must smell horrible and these pajamas?” My shirt is ripped in two places. The pants have worn spots between my thighs and fabric at the knees is thin. There’s a dirty joke in there, but Turkh is pulling off my shirt. I’d rather think about how to get him naked, too.

  He runs his fingertips over my upper arm’s damage first, then over my waist. “You’re healing very well.” His hands flatten over my skin.

  I watch what he’s doing as he turns us until we’re both facing the mirror. The blast I took on my left side isn’t noticeable at all. The way the burn hurt, I figured I was scarred at least a little. I’ve lost a lot of weight, too. There are dark circles under my eyes, and I really need a haircut. “I look horrible. Are you sure you want to bond with me?”

  He smiles. “I don’t look like an Earther, do I?” He takes off my shirt and nuzzles my neck. “Are you sure you want to bond with me?”

  “You’re perfect no matter what you look like, Turkh.” His light touch tickles as he slides his hands back to undo my bra. “But your appearance does help, though. I couldn’t imagine letting someone from Gleet undress me.”

  He caresses my waist, then hips and slides my pants off with my underwear. I step out of both. “Good. Keep it that way.”

  “Possessive much?” I ask, and he grins while wasting no time in undressing. His cock is ready for me, and I would have liked to have caressed him while removing his pants. I give him a fake pout. “No fair. I wanted to peel your clothes off, too.”

  “You’ll have plenty of chances later. I promise.”

  I let him lead me back into the shower stall area. “Oo, a Gharian promise. Now I know I’ll get to rip your clothes off with my teeth.”

  His smile fades as he presses a round, flat button in the wall. “Your bite is that strong?”

  A glass partition drops, sealing us in the smaller area. “No, but I can dream.” The smaller room fills with steam. “Are we in a sauna? I don’t think the heat will help me smell any better.”

  “Not right away, no.” He smooths the now damp hair from my face. “It’s a gradual process and gives me a lot of time.”

  I suspect I already know the answer, but ask anyway. “Time for what?”

  “This.” He kisses me with such a slow thoroughness, my toes curl against the smooth, warm floor. He picks me up, and my legs go around his hips. My arms go around him, too, as we make out in the steam. His body is slick already from the moisture. I caress his perfect skin. When I wonder how Turkh can be less hairy than I am, my search bionans start feeding me information about Ghar’s evolution. I turn them off. There is probably a way to program them to work in the background while I’m busy. But with Turkh’s erection pressing into my belly and ready to go? Nothing else matters.

  He moves and presses me against the wall. After breaking off the kiss, he says, “Part of me wants to take it slow. Make this last the entire trip home.”

  I wiggle my hips. “I think I know which part is impatient and is going to win.”

  “You’re right.”

  Turkh holds me still and brings his cock head to my pussy lips. I moan, wishing I had the control like I did back in the field. He’s teasing me but pushing a little more in then pulling out nearly all the way. The anticipation is excruciating, and I open my eyes to find him looking at me. “Please. I want all of you.”

  He doesn’t say anything as his cock slides in me to the end. I hold on to his shoulders, the muscles hard under my fingertips. He begins a gentle rocking motion, and I slide up and down the wall. His hands cup my ass, squeezing every time he’s fully inside me.

  “I’m close. The first time,” he says with each word punctuated by a thrust.

  His multiorgasmic abilities slay me, and I growl, “Give it to me, Turkh. Fill me up.” He shoved hard into me and stayed while heat blossomed within my body. “Oh, yes. That’s what I want.”

  “Ah, Lin,” he gasped. “you’re everything. My everything.”

  I’m close to coming until he eases us to the floor. Before I can protest how I liked things the way they were, he has me on my back. I smile and ask, “Were you getting tired?”

  “No.” He reaches a hand between us and caresses my spread lips. “I just wanted to feel you take me.” His fingertips caress my clit, and my body reacts. He grins when my hips lift up to his for more. “I think I found a good spot to linger.” He tickles my already sensitive bud, and I gasp as the pulses begin.

  “It’s the best place, yes,” I agree and reach down between us, too.

  “No, you just relax and let go.”

  I don’t listen to him. Instead, I make a v with my hand and press my palm against his stomach. Sliding down, I caress his cock with the side of my fingers. “How about now?”

  He nods and closes his eyes. “Good.”

  Before I can feel any sort of smugness over his reversal, he treats my clit like it’s a little blob of clay he can’t resist molding. It’s too much and I breathe in deep before I climax. My pussy squeezes him hard, pulsating. Each throb makes me gasp his name. “Come with me. Please, Turkh.” As my climax eases, he begins moving faster. My oversensitive clit is fo
rgotten as he braces himself against the floor for the harsh thrusts he’s punishing me with. The roughness drives me wild and closer to another orgasm. “I’m close again.”

  “I know. Almost there.” After a few more thrusts, every muscle in his body tenses. “Yes, so good.”

  His pleasure rolls through me, his cock giving me everything in him. I open my eyes to see the hot, sexy man pressing against me and I’m gone. He’s not moving fast enough anymore, so I lift my hips to his over and over.

  “My woman’s hungry for more?” he says against my ear. “I’d better give her what she wants.”

  I don’t know how he’s still hard, but every inch of him is as he’s making love to me. Our emotions are tied, and I can feel how satisfied he is. Yet, he’s still encouraging another climax from me. He’s giving me everything, and one last thrust pushes me over the top. My body starts orgasming so hard I can’t breathe at first. I can feel every centimeter of him as he slides in and out. We’re so hot and wet together. I can’t imagine anything better in the universe than being his mate.

  He relaxes only when I do. His eyes are a sparkling black as he says, “See what I mean? We were meant to be bonded.”

  “Yes. Perfect.” I yawn as he sits back on his haunches. He’s still grinning like he’s found a hidden treasure. “Do we need to be anywhere?” I hold up my fingertips so he can see. “I’m getting pruni— er, wrinkled from all the water.”

  He stands and pulls me up with him. “No. We have a meeting with the director later, but not until we reach Ghar.”

  The thought of the director punishing either one of us scares me. I try not to let it show, but my hand trembles as I comb my fingers through my hair. Turkh takes both of my hands in his. “She can’t hurt you. No one can.”

  “But you. Can she hurt you?” He doesn’t answer but pushes the button to open the shower. He steps out first, holding my hand to steady me on the smooth floor as I step out, too. “She will, won’t she?”