“Yes, your majesty!” Paress said and as before, he bowed his head with eyes closed.
“It was your transmission that we received that let us know of this treachery. Please explain.”
Paress was shocked that the Emperor would deem him worthy of a “Please”, but did his best not to dwell on that as he said, “Yes, your majesty. I and my Companion were in a system near the 40th Periphery in the 101st Frontier. We’d been stationed there to complete the destruction of the Midnight Group pirates that Space Knight Vogel had initiated. We had just found what we believed was giant a Space Monster that the pirates were using as a base and were making preparations to kill it. That was when we picked up a weak distress signal coming from a small outpost on Cymarus talking about a coup.”
Paress shook his head slightly. “The message was cut off as the traitors took the station but it was enough. Our own transmitter is more powerful, and we were just close enough to a heavy relay station, so we passed the message on, ultimately to Imperial HQ and immediately jumped here to render assistance.”
As Paress spoke, the Emperor’s eyes narrowed. “What happened to the pirates?”
Paress was caught off guard, “I’m sorry, your majesty, but I had to break off pursuit to come here.”
“You let them get away?”
“Yes, your majesty.”
The emperor stared at Paress for a long moment before his eyes softened. “You did the right thing, Space Knight. The lives of the people of this planet are more important than some pirates. I’m sure you’ll be back on their trail soon enough.”
“Absolutely, your majesty,” Paress said, trying not to sigh with relief too loudly.
“I’ve known many Space Knights in my life,” Siegfried said. “I’ll be following your career with interest.”
“Thank you, your majesty.”
“As a matter of fact, I think you shall serve as my honor guard escort to the planet’s surface. The fleet will remain here to guard against any further Aldonis opportunism.”
“As…as you command, your majesty!” Paress breathed. “I’m honored.”
“You saved my cousin and her people,” the Emperor said. “The honor is mine.” His screen went dark and the Brynwal moved to enter Cymarus' atmosphere and land. Paress hurriedly moved Allepexxis to a respectable distance behind and followed the royal yacht down. As he did so, troop transports full of Marines who would provide a larger security force until the entire planet was secured launched from the battleships and followed farther back from behind Allepexxis.
Casten’s screen lit up. “I’ve been watching the whole thing. Well, of course I have, but anyway... the Emperor! The Warrior Priest himself!”
“Yeah, that nickname is pretty fitting. Anybody who can scare off an enemy fleet using a yacht certainly puts the fear of God into a person.”
“No doubt. And now you’re his honor guard escort! That’ll be a nice addition to your record. Hey, maybe Miss Cassalindre will give you a special reward,” Casten said slyly.
“Don’t be an idiot, you know she’s totally Vogel’s. She’s completely committed to him as his Companion and then some,” Paress said.
“‘And then some’ is right,” Casten laughed.
“You’re ruining my moment by talking about dream girls I can’t have,” Paress said.
“You’re right. Sorry. I do wish I could be there with you right now. I’m jealous.”
“I’m sorry. I wish you were here too.”
“We did some pretty good work today,” Casten said.
“Yeah, even if I did run off half-cocked,” Paress agreed. “You were right about that, by the way. I’ll try to be more focused and plan ahead from now on before I jump out of my armored Hyper Battle Machine to run across a battlefield.”
“Well for what its worth, unpredictability can also be a viable strategy.”
Paress smiled, “I’ll try to keep that in mind too.”
Chapter Four
That night, Queen Artzia held a solemn event of to remember all those who had died during Ange’s uprising. The Emperor was the guest of honor but he demurred the status to Paress and Casten.
“I only showed up to glower at some Aldonis hyenas,” he was heard to say. “Those two did the real work.”
As Imperial Marines fanned out from the palace and secured the countryside, Army transports soon jumped into the system to land more troops on the planet. What had been the most dangerous planet in the Francescan Star Empire that morning had ironically become one of the most secure by the evening.
The young queen was stunning in a simple white gown with black mourning bands on her sleeves and Paress had to catch himself from staring. She moved gracefully through the event, talking softly with all who attended, Noble and Common alike.
After giving his blessing to the event and making a very short speech, the Emperor had retired to his yacht for the night. Francescan humans generally lived to be 150-175 years old, with Space Knights living a little longer. At 105, the Emperor should have had many more years ahead of him, but it seemed like he had burned too brightly too fast. The wars he’d been involved in had obviously taken a lot out of him, and although he looked and acted fit, Paress noticed more than a few worried glances from Artzia as her older cousin retired.
Many pretty girls had asked Casten to dance, thinking that he was the Space Knight, and not Paress. “I’m the one wearing the uniform,” Paress hissed to an amused Casten. “Not only that, but they can’t tell from your eyes?” he said, gesturing at Casten's face. All Mechanisms had eyes that carried small symbols known as Maker’s Marks that identified them as non-organic beings, and who their creator was. Casten’s deep brass eyes carried tiny stylized “M” designs, the insignia of the designer Glynnis Machten.
Under his shirt, Casten’s shoulders carried tattoos of the Francescan insignias and his name was tattooed across his collarbone. Paress figured that any girl who missed Casten’s eyes would likely be witness to Casten’s other features that marked him as a Mechanism as she got to know him more intimately.
“You know a lot these girls are Ladies in training,” Casten said, referring to the women of the Empire who, instead of the usual martial life of most Francescans, trained in the cultural, performing, and diplomatic arts. “Space Knights are already a rarity, I’d imagine none of them ever figured they’d actually meet one on a quiet planet like this, so they probably never put much thought into what one looks like.”
“I guess if it wouldn’t have been for Ange, they still might not have,” Paress said. “Still, they damn sure have Mechanisms here. Maybe not Companions, but come on. They should know based on that. You’re frankly too damn pretty to be natural-born.”
Casten flashed a winning smile, “Thanks for the compliment! But no, I suppose you’re right. They should know better.”
“Well, don’t get too puffed up about your looks,” Paress said. “I’ll admit that your creator is a woman who can really design beautiful people and has a mage who produces the best Glamours. But people like her…” he gestured at the queen gliding through the crowd, “…are still the most beautiful people in the galaxy and they’re like that naturally.”
“You won’t get any argument from me,” Casten said. “Although considering all the weird stuff that’s in her genes, ‘natural’ is a relative term.”
“Oh, you don’t think her ancestor living to be 259 is normal?” Paress laughed, referring to Gustav Francesca II, founder of the galactic empire that bore his family’s name.
“Aside from that, you certainly don’t seem to mind Cassie’s unnatural good looks,” Casten said.
“Well of course not. I’m not blind,” Paress said. “But really, why’d you have to go and bring her up? You know I’ll never get over her. Same as earlier. You brought her up then too.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I guess I can’t let it go because I’m also in love with her like you are.”
Paress looked out at the crowd. As the night wore
on and the alcohol began to flow more freely, an odd sort of levity had started to take hold. Maybe it was relief at surviving Ange’s violent revolt, or something else, but the small band started to play some slightly livelier tunes and some people began to dance.
“Neither of us ever had a shot, you know,” Paress said. “For one thing, we’re like children to her. She’s like, twenty years older than us.”
“Twenty-five,” Casten corrected. “I checked.”
“And on top of that, she’s Johnny’s Companion. And that guy…”
“The epitome of a true-grit space cowboy. A real man who just so happens to be a perfect killer,” Casten said about the pilot of Hyper Battle Machine #34 Denxeiter. “Yeah, no idea why an absolute goddess like her would choose a guy like him over a couple of totally awesome dudes from suburbia like us.”
“Do you think we’re only into her because she’s such a goddess?”
“Seriously? Of course,” Casten said. “Especially when she looks like the Golden Goddess of Porn. I told you from our earliest days together, her creator always made the best Mechanisms and how they oozed sexuality. But when it came to Cassalindre…he must have been watching some seriously good stuff to influence her design.”
“Pants-tighteningly good,” Paress agreed. “But it’s not just that. It’s her whole attitude. She’s just so damn self-assured in everything she does, and that’s also incredibly sexy. But I dunno…she was good to us.”
“Yeah, I don’t think we even registered on Johnny’s radar— a guy like that is always in his own mind searching for the next kill or something. So maybe she got something out of talking to a couple of guys who weren’t apex killing machines on downtime…for the all of two days she got to know us.”
“Maybe,” Paress said. “I kinda wish she would’ve just been a bitch to us. It’s almost like that’s how she should have been the whole time— experienced hot chicks, you know? But then she was so hot, and so confident, and then so damn nice to us on top of that…there went my heart.”
“Mine too,” Casten agreed.
“I wonder what she’s doing now?”
“Traveling the frontier with Space Cowboy Vogel of course,” Casten said. “They’re calling him the ‘Desert Whirlwind’ now.”
“Yeah, I heard,” Paress said. “So now not only does he get sexiest girl in the universe, he even gets a cool nickname.”
“Well, to be fair, they had to spend a lot of time battling monsters and pirates on sandy dustball planets in the middle of nowhere to get that nickname. While we’re sitting here sipping champagne, Johnny’s probably having to recycle his piss just to get some drinking water.” Casten raised his glass.
Paress laughed and tinked his glass against Casten’s. “I’ll drink to that. To not having to drink piss water!”
“Cheers!”
A few people around the room noticed Paress and Casten’s private toast and also raised their glasses in salute. Paress and Casten looked at each other and shared a laugh. “If they only knew what they were toasting,” Paress sighed.
But when Queen Artzia suddenly raised a glass, Paress and Casten clumsily stifled their laughter and rose to their feet. “A toast to our savior, Space Knight Paress Handrel. And to his excellent Companion, Casten,” the queen said in a clear voice.
“Cheers!” the crowd responded and the two found themselves touching glasses to people who had suddenly appeared nearby.
Among those who shared the toast were more than a few young girls who Paress hadn’t seen before and to his happy surprise, they were actually interested in him for once and not his Companion. It wasn’t that Paress was unattractive. He’d received more than his fair share of appraising looks from girls. It was just that next to the designer art that was Casten, he was usually outshone.
It seemed that girls also found Paress’ eyes too disconcerting. Over the past few years, he generally never made full eye contact anymore, because when he did, his ESPer abilities would start to flare up and something inside him would start to awaken. That’s when his eyes would start to do that boring-in thing that scared everybody away and he’d be left alone, cursing. Casten was the only person who was never weirded-out by the whole thing and for that, Paress was eternally grateful that there was at least one person he could always look in the eye.
Luckily, Paress’ Blessing hadn’t manifested in extreme super strength or anything like that, so he could be physical with some normal girls. The sheer nature of being a Space Knight still made him tougher than most humans, and somewhat stronger and faster, but a girl who was very physically fit could be intimate with him and not suffer any ill effects as long as they paced themselves with their sexual activities.
Johnny Vogel, on the other hand, Blessed with super speed, strength, and durability could easily kill a normal human during sex. He and Cassie had been lovers for almost as long as they’d been together, and in many ways it was because they had to be.
Companions were built with extreme durability so they could accompany their Space Knights anywhere they needed to, but Cassie had been given an even stronger body than usual so that she could be Johnny’s Companion in every facet of his life. In an odd sort of way, the two were cursed that they had to be together to live their lives. They both seemed quite happy with the arrangement and with each other, but Paress wondered if they ever had any doubts.
His attention snapped back when he realized that one girl in particular had lingered after clinking her glass against his: a small brunette with freckles stood close by and lightly brushed his hand with hers after the toast. Once again not wanting to make eye contact, Paress studiously moved his eyes around her face, taking her in, the overall almond shape of her eyes, the smooth skin, and the low flat ears wth points. An elf! Without thinking, his eyes snapped to hers, and she gasped slightly as he accidentally blasted into her consciousness with a barrage of psychic noise that bordered on an attack.
Her eyes were the deep green of a forest and while they widened at first, they soon softened and he heard, I’m sorry to startle you. I thought you would have met more of my kind being a Space Knight.
“I’m sorry, my only telepathic abilities are receiving,” he said aloud. “Whenever I try to send, it becomes a garbled mess to the person I’m sending to— as you likely just experienced. I’m a telekinetic ESPer, so I have the perception part…but I’m not a full psychic.”
“Ah, I see,” she said. “Although I’m technically not either. My abilities are thanks to a type of telepathic magic my people have.” As she spoke, he could also hear her in his head.
He averted his eyes, “I’m sorry to just sort of burst in on you like that, though. I was just kinda surprised to see an elf. You’re right. As a Space Knight, I’ve met plenty of elves. I’m from Wystra, so there were some elves in my neighborhood. It’s just that I’ve mostly seen humans here and that’s why I was surprised.”
She waved her hand. “No apologies necessary. I’ve heard of you, so I prepared myself just in case.”
“You’ve heard of me?”
“That is, I’m a Marine from the Tenzhek,” she said, naming one of the battleships who accompanied the Emperor’s yacht. “Gunnery Sergent Wyndred Ehrnin,” she saluted smartly, but before Paress could respond, she continued, “So yeah, I got to see a lone black dragon with flames blasting everywhere ready to defend this planet singlehandedly from an Aldonis fleet. So cool and brave. And I told myself that’s someone worth meeting, so I’ve been kind of stalking you through action and personnel reports. Seems you’ve always been somebody to watch. The youngest cadet to win the Space Knight Academy Competition Cup. And it all just goes from there…”
Paress had been so focused on the act of not looking directly into her eyes, that when she pressed her extremely lithe body against him, he nearly yelped in surprise. He quickly cursed himself for almost coming off like a stupid teenager but was relieved that she didn’t seem to notice. Or if she did, she was good at covering it up.
She was so impossibly pale and skinny with breasts that were almost nonexistent, like a small tree sapling, that he had to resist immediately running his hands over her to see if she was even real. Her gown was so thin and sheer that he realized she wasn’t wearing any underclothes.
“They’d just mess up my lines,” she breathed, as if reading his mind. Maybe she was? He didn’t really care.
“Are you really a Marine?” he asked, cursing himself for likely offending her. Well, it was good while it lasted…
But thankfully she laughed a small giggle, “Because I’m so little? Well, we’re not all big bruisers. Some of us are better suited for surgical precision.” And she adjusted her hips slightly so that he found his cock resting between the tiny cheeks of her bottom.
He looked around to see if anyone else was watching this, but luckily the crowd had drifted back to dancing and talking. He glanced at Casten who— big surprise— was chatting up four girls. But for once he wasn’t jealous because his little dagger of an elf was hotter than the doe-eyed humans hanging on his Companion’s every word. A part of him scolded himself for such thoughts, since any other time he’d be overjoyed to have the attentions of any of those girls. But right now, he had the best girl.
Wyndred started to pull him away. “Let’s dance,” she said. “And I’ll tell you right now: I’ve never fucked a hero before. But I will tonight, so buckle up.”
Paress wanted to ask, “Who talks like that?” but kept his mouth shut and let her lead him away from the table he shared with Casten and on to the dance floor. He found himself looking back at Casten, crazily thinking that he should ask him if this was okay.
Space Dragon Allepexxis Page 4
