by Presley Hall
I chuckle as I lean back with my head in his lap, gazing up at him. “That’s adorable. You’re this big, tough warrior, but you’re also such a softy. I love animals, but even I’ve never gone vegetarian.”
“I didn’t have much choice, once I joined the Alpha Force,” he says with a laugh. “After that, you eat whatever you’re served. But I’ve never liked the idea of becoming a farmer again. I get too attached to the animals. I do miss gardening though. I miss growing plants.”
“Maybe we can have a garden in the back yard of our house,” I say, smiling up at him. “What do you think? Should we get a house in Jocia, or outside of it, somewhere a little more rural?”
“What do you want?”
“I like cities,” I admit. “But Kalix is fairly small. It’s not like we couldn’t go back into the city often, especially since you’ll still be part of the Alpha Force.”
“I hope so,” he says quietly.
“You will,” I assure him, squeezing his hand. “When Tordax and Khrelan find out what you’ve done for Kalix, they won’t punish you. You’ll be celebrated.”
“So will you,” he murmurs, a hint of pride in his voice. “My brave Irisa.”
Neither of us says anything to suggest that we won’t be going home. I’m terrified of dying, but I put it out of my head as best I can. I’m even more terrified of losing Tycran, and at least this way, we’re together. Nothing else matters. And there’s no point in dwelling on the very real possibility that we might not make it out of the mission alive.
So, over the days that pass, we plan out our future together. We decide on a small house just outside of the city, and Tycran says he has plenty of his wages stashed away to buy it. “A lot of the warriors spend theirs on drinking or gambling or females when we’re off-world,” he says dryly. “But I haven’t had much to spend it on, since I haven’t indulged in those things.”
“My monk,” I tease him, reaching up to touch his face, and he frowns down at me.
“Monk, hmm? We’ll see about that.”
He sweeps me up in his arms and carries me to our cabin, then spends the next several hours showing me how very un-monk-like he can be.
We spend a lot of the week in bed, memorizing each other’s bodies, touching and kissing and reveling in the pleasure that we give each other. I’ve never known such perfect, complete happiness with another person, such satisfaction in every part of our relationship, and it’s a comfort to know that even if we only have it for a short time, we’ve both gotten to experience it.
We talk about children, and how many we want. Tycran says he’ll love as many as I choose to give him, and I know that for a Kalixian, repopulating their planet is a big deal. I was never sure if I wanted children before, but the idea of tiny versions of myself and Tycran running around fills me with a warm glow that I didn’t think I’d ever feel.
“At least two,” I promise him. “After that, we’ll have to see. If you’re off fighting wars all the time, I don’t think I can handle more than two kids.”
“If this goes according to plan, I might not have to fight so much,” he tells me, pulling me close. “Maybe, if we’re lucky, not ever again.”
I’m not naïve enough to believe that last statement. There will always be a war somewhere, some threat that he’ll need to be ready to face in order to defend his planet, his people, and his family. But if we succeed, the threat will diminish. Tycran can have some peace at last. And we can have a future together.
I cling to that thought for the rest of the journey.
After what seems like both forever and not nearly enough time, the Orkun planet comes into view.
“That’s Bastu,” Tycran tells me as we stand at the control deck, and I look at it with mingled curiosity and dread filling me. It’s bigger than Kalix, but nowhere near as lush. It’s been developed to the point that there’s almost nothing natural left—hardly any bodies of water, nothing green to speak of. It looks gray and dusty and dull, and although I try to find some sympathy for the people there, it’s hard for me to conjure any up.
As our ship curves around it, Oryn comes into view. Tycran activates the cloaking device, angling the ship so that we’re just out of range of any radar they might have. For the first time, I begin to see how skilled of a pilot he really is. The model of the moon is displayed on the control deck, and he’s focused on it with utter concentration as he skillfully flies the ship in a zig-zag pattern, dipping and curving to avoid being picked up as he angles us toward the service tunnel entrance that we’ll use to gain access to the heart of Oryn.
The most nerve-wracking minutes of my life pass as the ship slips inside and Tycran begins to navigate the tunnels.
It’s pitch-black, so he’s flying blind, using only the map in front of him to navigate.
If any of it is wrong, we’ll crash.
I watch him fly with utter concentration, and even though my heart is in my throat and I feel nauseous with fear, I can’t help but be impressed. He’s so fucking skilled. He barely moves except for the flick of his eyes and the twitch of his hands as he manipulates the steering, his breathing steady and even, a picture of absolute control and focus.
It’s time for me to go to the back, where the payload is. I want to kiss him, knowing this could be the last time I ever see him, but I know better than to break his focus. We did all of our kissing this morning, and I keep that memory close to me as I switch on my comms device and walk through the engine room to the hatch at the back of the ship where we’ve rigged up the apparatus to drop the bombs.
Now it’s my turn to be the one who’s calm and focused.
God, I hope I can do this. My heart thuds heavily as I move the scope into place.
Our pitch-black surrounding lighten as we come out of the service tunnels into the massive open space in the middle of the moon. The core reactor that powers the entire weapons base comes into view, and as the ship flies toward it, I focus on my breathing, trying to stay relaxed as I wait for Tycran’s signal. I’ll use the scope to look through and aim at the target, then pull the trigger on the release apparatus to drop the bombs.
I imagine I can feel the seconds of my life ticking away, and a cold sweat springs out on my forehead. I never thought this would be how I might die, in a fiery ball of flame while blowing up an alien moon.
Still, as deaths go, that’s a pretty bad-ass one, I tell myself reassuringly.
And I’m doing it for a good reason. This mission, whether we survive or not, will save thousands of people. More, probably, all across the universe. And I’ll be accomplishing that with the warrior I love more than life itself.
Tycran navigates into position, piloting the ship smoothly between the catwalks that crisscross the massive open space.
“Get ready, Lucy,” he says, his voice sounding even deeper than usual over the comms. And then, “I love you.”
I press the button to open the hatch doors, leaving the bombs suspended above the opening.
“I love you too,” I whisper. My finger is on the trigger, my eye pressed against the scope as I breathe. In and out.
Through the scope, I can see the reactor drawing closer and closer as Tycran slows the trajectory of the ship, angling it so that I can drop the bombs on the mark that we’ve practiced again and again.
“Now!” he says.
Just as my finger twitches, about to drop the payload, I hear the sounds of blaster fire.
Fuck!
I yank my finger back, my pulse skyrocketing as I realize someone is shooting at us. We’ve been spotted. The ship jerks as Tycran evades the fire, and I keep my finger away from the trigger, not wanting to accidentally initiate the bomb drop. If I do it now, they’ll go wide. It’ll damage the base—and probably kill us—but it won’t destroy the moon.
For the first time, the very real possibility that we might fail entirely occurs to me. Not just that we might die, but that this really might all have been for nothing.
No. I can’t let that
happen.
I won’t.
26
Tycran
Desh it all. Somehow, we’ve been spotted.
I can see a contingent of Orkun guards on the catwalk leading to the reactor, firing at us. They will have raised the alarm by now—it won’t be long before a full force of their military comes in to destroy the ship, us… and any chance we might have had of blowing Oryn to pieces.
Thankfully, Lucy was quick enough to not take the shot. I’m going to have to evade the Orkun while getting the ship back into position though—there’s only one spot from which we can drop the bombs in order to hit the reactor’s core. Anywhere else, and there will be damage, but not enough.
“I’m going to try to angle the ship back into the right spot,” I tell her over the comms, swerving to avoid another round of blaster fire. “We’ve got to do this before they bring a larger force. Otherwise we’re deshed.”
“If that means ‘we’re fucked,’ then I agree,” Lucy says, and I can hear the strain in her voice. “I’m ready to fire. Just give me the signal.”
I tilt the nose of the ship down, firing the ship’s blasters at the attackers on the catwalk to hold them off. One of them drops, screaming, and I feel a small spark of satisfaction.
Well, I’ve taken one out, at least.
It takes every bit of focus and self-discipline that I’ve ever cultivated to keep my mind on the task in front of me, to not think about the fact that my Irisa is in the back of the ship, her finger on a trigger that will deploy a payload of bombs that could kill us both. To not think about how I might have already laid eyes on her for the last time, or that her soft voice over the comms unit might be the last connection I have to her.
It feels like the most important battle I’ve ever fought, and in many ways it is. Success could mean an end to the Orkun’s vast power, an end to the battles we’ve fought for so many years. It could change everything.
I grit my teeth as I evade another round of fire, shooting back and taking out two more. I draw a bit closer to our target, and then a bit more, the ship bobbing and weaving in the air as I try to both angle it correctly and avoid getting hit. One round could knock us off course again.
The battle lasts for what feels like forever. Each time I’m almost there, each time I tell Lucy to be ready, I have to dodge another volley. Another group of guards joins the first, and my heart sinks.
But then, after I succeed in taking out a handful of them, they have to pause to regroup. And I manage to swing the rear of the ship into place, holding it there for a fraction of a second.
“Now, Lucy!” I shout into the comms. “Do it now!”
I feel the ship tilt forward as she drops the payload, the weight of it falling away. I have a matter of seconds to get us out of here—there’s no time to see if the bombs landed correctly. Whatever happens, it’s done now.
I hit the throttle, speeding forward and away from the reactor as I hear the screams of the guards, the impact of the bombs shaking the entire ship. I hear Lucy’s footsteps as she runs through the engine room and onto the bridge, up to the control deck with me as we careen through the tunnels at top speed, explosions rocking everything around us. I’m comforted knowing that no matter what, she’ll be up here with me. We’ll be together.
“I did it!” Lucy cries out, gasping as she reaches the deck. “I hit the reactor! I’m sure of it!”
Relief floods me. Oryn will be destroyed then—the majority of the Orkun weaponry, materials, scientists, and engineers, along with many of their warriors, gone. This is the part where we still might die, if I can’t get us out of the tunnels and out into space in time. But for a brief moment, even knowing that, I feel peace.
We’ve succeeded.
I’ve fulfilled my purpose. It wasn’t all for nothing. Not even our deaths, if it comes to that.
We race through the tunnels at breakneck speed, Lucy’s eyes wide and her face pale as she stays next to me. Her knuckles are white where she grips the edge of the control panel, leaning forward as the ship twists and turns through the collapsing moon. Things are exploding all around us, the moon folding in on itself, and falling debris is everywhere. Chunks of it hit the ship, denting the metal and slowing us, but nothing has broken or failed… yet.
I can see the exit ahead, the blackness of space in front of us, but the tunnel is collapsing, our escape closing up. In a few more seconds, we’ll be trapped in here, and then we’ll burn up like everything else.
Lucy gasps, and I chance one look behind me to see what she’s seen. Fire from the bombs’ explosion is barreling toward us from behind, licking along the crumbling tunnel walls and rushing up to consume us.
Krax.
I take a deep breath and punch the throttle, forcing the ship to give everything it’s got.
27
Lucy
We burst out through the collapsing exit into space, zooming away from the moon as it explodes in a thunderous crash.
For a second, flames seem to engulf us, and I’m certain we’re about to be consumed by the explosion. But then the billowing licks of fire recede as the ship shoots through space, moving so fast that I swear I can feel every nut and bolt in the small vessel vibrating.
The relief that floods me is so great that I think for a second I might pass out. I turn to stare through the small window that gives me a view of Oryn, seeing its surface break apart as the pressure inside it builds. Then a blinding flash goes up, and the entire moon explodes outward.
I get one last glimpse before the shockwave rocks our ship, throwing both Tycran and me to the floor. My mate manages to leap up just in time, hitting the throttle again as he weaves through space, barely avoiding being hit by flying debris from the destroyed moon.
“Are we going to be followed?” I gasp, looking out at Bastu as I pull myself up.
“They won’t be able to find us in all this debris,” he says. “And by the time they figure out what’s happened, we’ll be long gone. But we better move fast, just in case.”
Neither of us says anything for several minutes as he focuses on racing away from the cloud of rocks and debris that was once Oryn, getting us as far out as possible. I sink to the floor, gasping, hardly able to comprehend what just happened. Waiting to drop the bombs, staring at that reactor through the scope as Tycran struggled to avoid the blaster fire and get us back into position, I just about resigned myself to the idea that we were going to die. I made peace with it.
But we got out. And we succeeded.
I keep turning the thought over and over in my head, trying to make it feel real, until finally we get far enough away that Tycran is able to set the controls for the ship to continue on its current path, and he kneels down on the floor next to me.
He reaches out, hauling me into his arms, and kisses me deeply. The kiss is wild and fierce, his hands burying themselves in my hair as his tongue plunges into my mouth, tangling with mine so that he overwhelms all my senses.
I breathe him in, inhaling the sweet almond scent of his skin and the tang of sweat. My hands rove over him as I realize with a wave of giddy, dizzying relief that we’re alive, we’re safe, and we’re going to make it back to Kalix. I don’t have to be afraid anymore. I don’t have to wonder if I’ll have a future with Tycran.
We’re flying toward it right now.
We did it. I did it.
He pulls back from the kiss, smoothing my hair back from my face as he tilts my chin up so that my eyes meet his.
“You’ve kept an entire generation safe from the Orkun,” he tells me, relief and pride shining in his face. “That base housed ships, weapons… blasters and bombs and ship cannons and all sorts of things, and tech beyond anything anyone else in the universe has, like the bio-weapon they used on Kalix. It’s not going to be easy for them to replace all of that, and without their former military might to intimidate people, it will be difficult for them to find others to trade with them. They’re hated throughout the universe.”
&nbs
p; He smiles down at me, that brilliant, broad smile that I love so much. “Earth too, Lucy. They’re safe now. The Orkun won’t have anything to offer in exchange for female slaves. And any other planets they might have conquered or terrorized… they’re safer as well. The scope of what we… what you have achieved… it’s incredible.”
I reach up, framing his face with my hands as I blink away tears of joy, my emotions washing over me in an almost overwhelming wave. “We got the third option,” I whisper, smiling through the sheen of tears. “We lived. So does that mean I get to keep you?”
He laughs, a sound that seems to come from somewhere deep inside his chest. “Yes. Yes, you do. Forever.”
He leans down and kisses me, and it’s slow and sweet. We have a lifetime now, so there’s no need to rush.
I reach for his hand and slowly stand up, pulling him up with me. “Is the ship okay on its own for a bit?”
Tycran laughs. “Oh, it definitely is.”
With that reassurance, I lead him to the cabin, shutting the door firmly behind us as I turn to face him. Slowly, I strip off the silk top, pulling it over my head so that he can see my breasts come into view. Tycran groans as I toss my hair over my shoulder and throw the top aside, then push the linen pants over my hips inch by inch. I turn and bend over as I work them down, like a slow, silent striptease.
“When we get back to Kalix and have more room,” I murmur huskily as I kick the pants aside and walk toward him, reaching for the ties of his loincloth, “I’ll give you the full club experience. A lap dance and everything.”
“I’m not sure I could keep my hands off of you long enough for… whatever that is,” he says, his eyes burning.
“Oh, but you’ll have to.” I grin up at him wickedly, letting his loincloth fall to the ground. “There’s no touching allowed.” I encircle his already rock hard shaft with my hand as I say the last words, licking my lips as I sink to my knees in front of him.
