by Lisa Lace
“Once his father died, he immediately pulled back his troops and tried to negotiate peace with the Wescra. Unfortunately, by that time, our people had suffered much at the hands of the Greli, and some wanted nothing more than revenge.
“Our government struggled to reconcile the warring factions. The peace talks went on for many years. We had to prevent civil war here, and Fel was under constant threat of assassination. Once he was badly wounded in an attempt, which left him with gruesome scars on his face for the rest of his life.
“Despite all the obstacles, we managed to create and maintain a fragile peace. We knew it wouldn’t last, though. It was too late to undo the past. Many Wescra and Greli hated each other deeply and irrevocably. There was a constant tension, even in times of peace.
“Our best war strategists analyzed the movements and predicted when the war would break out again. Fel did a good job of making sure his children and grandchildren ruled as he had – with peace foremost in their thoughts. That could only last so long, though. Barely twenty years ago, the last king of peace died. His son wanted nothing more than to defeat us. Thus, the cycle started again.”
Leanne stared at him, appalled. She could hardly begin to fathom the death and destruction left in the wake of hundreds of years of brutal wars.
“What are you going to do?”
Resek’s face darkened. “The only thing we can do. We’ve been fighting a defensive war for too long. This time, we’re taking the war to them. We won’t rest until every last Greli is defeated.”
His words made Leanne’s blood run cold. She understood that no war could be won defensively, but Resek was talking about genocide.
What right did she have to judge, though? If it was Earth, what would she do? Would she do whatever it took to save her people?
Chapter Seven
Every time she started to warm to Resek, he did something that made Leanne want to punch him. She’d thought she’d understood him better, after hearing about the history and the war. They’d even been cautiously getting along.
All that ended during training the next day.
Resek always pushed her hard and brushed off any requests to go slower or to take a break. Leanne just thought that maybe he’d be a little nicer now.
“Get up.” Resek held a hand out, and she snatched it, letting him pull her to her feet. She wouldn’t be surprised if her legs collapsed. They’d been at it for three hours, and still, he wasn’t satisfied.
“Again.”
Leanne lifted the gun towards the moving target and tried to follow it as it zipped through the air. Her arms felt sluggish, and when she fired, the bolt went way wide, hitting a tree off in the distance.
“Not good enough. You are not improving fast enough.”
“Give me a break, alright! I’m tired! Just let me sit down and rest for a minute.”
“No time to rest. Up, shoot.”
Leanne tried, but after a few moments, she let the gun fall to the ground. “I’m too tired.”
Ignoring Resek’s outrage, she started plodding back to the house. He followed her, harassing her with every step. “You need to put in more effort! Your skills are nowhere near where they should be!”
“Leave me alone,” she mumbled. He only stopped following when she got to her room and slammed the door in his face. She half expected him to come bursting in after her, but was grateful when he didn’t.
She had managed to make it to the bed before she collapsed. Her muscles were throbbing, but she knew from her previous training experiences that however sore they were today, they would be eight times worse tomorrow.
Resek seemed more understanding with his soldiers than he was with her, and that really bugged her. Was she so unlikeable that he couldn’t muster a little compassion for her exhaustion?
She spent the rest of the day sulking in her room, and Resek let her. She finally ventured out only to get some food. Resek had laid the table and was waiting for her. He seemed to have gotten over their fight earlier and was smiling. Of course, it was easier for him to get over the fight because he was the one with all the power in the situation.
Leanne ate in silence, and when she was done, she tried to go back to her room, but Resek intercepted her. She was still mad and refused to meet his eyes. He tilted her face gently backward, and his lips met hers.
Leanne fully intended to push him away. No way was she making out with him while she was still angry about training. She meant to. Then his tongue flicked against hers, and she was lost. Any intention of pulling away left as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
Resek kept kissing her but went no further. It wasn’t enough. Leanne moaned into his mouth and rubbed herself against him. She could feel his hard cock pressing into her stomach, and his fingers clenched in her hair as she rubbed against it.
She reached a hand down to stroke it through the fabric of his pants. Resek’s breathing was becoming a heavy pant, and his kiss was hot and fierce.
He swept her into his arms and carried her to his room, laying her gently down on the bed. Leanne squirmed as he pulled her top over her head and let his fingers trail over her breasts through the fabric of her bra.
Her nipples were hard and straining against the material, and Leanne wanted it gone. She fumbled with the strap behind her back, but the stupid thing was being stubborn. She moaned in frustration as Resek caressed her breasts again, still over her bra.
He seemed to see her frustration and flipped her over in one quick movement so that she was lying on her stomach. He made quick work of the bra, unclipping it and pulling it out from under her. Leanne was aching to roll over and expose her breasts to him again, but Resek had other ideas.
He grabbed her ass and squeezed, making Leanne wriggle against him. One hand trailed down slowly and came across the wetness rapidly spreading outwards from her pussy.
His fingers trailed tantalizingly downwards between her thighs. She spread her legs, allowing him better access. Goosebumps emerged on her skin under his touch. Finally, Leanne couldn’t take it anymore and turned herself over. Instead of going for her breasts, Resek focused on undressing them both. She had no problem with that.
Her pants and panties went first, then his shirt and pants. His cock sprang up, and Leanne reached forward to touch it. There was moisture beading on the tip, and she slicked his shaft with it.
Resek couldn’t hold back a groan at this, and he stilled his movements, letting Leanne touch him as she wanted to.
She experimented, moving her hand faster, then slower, trying to see what he liked. She ran her thumb over the tip of his cock with every stroke, which had him panting and encouraging her with murmured noises.
Leanne wondered what he tasted like. She’d never liked giving blowjobs, but Resek’s cock was calling to her. Before she could think better of it, she enveloped him. He tasted sweet and salty all at once, nothing like human guys. Leanne eagerly lapped up the precum and swirled her tongue around his cock.
Resek thrust into her mouth, and she choked slightly, trying to take him all in, but pleased at his reaction. She could feel the tension in him building up, and she was sure he was going to come.
Before it could happen, Resek pulled her off him. His face was flushed and his pupils blown wide. He gently pushed her, laying her down on her back, and his hands finally went back to her breasts.
He rolled her nipples between finger and thumb, making them harden even more. He was hovering over her and pushed one knee forward, and she opened her thighs for him. His thigh pressed against her pussy, and she could feel her juices soaking him. She rubbed against him, managing to get an angle that put pressure on her clit.
Leanne felt like she would explode with need. She had to have his hands on her clit. Now. If she didn’t, she might go insane.
“Commander, please.” She was breathing hard, taking his hand and guiding it down to where she wanted it. Resek teased her entrance for a few moments, getting his fingers soaked, befo
re finally moving up to her clit. Leanne was caught by surprise as she cried out, the orgasm rocking through her. Resek worked her clit, riding her through it until she was limp with pleasure.
His fingers moved down to the entrance of her pussy again. He pushed one inside her, and despite the fact that she had just come, Leanne felt the beginnings of desire stir in her again. Resek started pumping slowly in and out. By the time he had three fingers inside her, Leanne was panting again.
Resek leaned down and flicked his tongue over her still sensitive clit. Leanne gasped at the sensation and pushed her hips towards him. He took the hint and started lavishing her clit with his tongue. She knew she was going to come again, and she didn’t want it to happen yet, not until he was inside her.
She pushed his head away and tugged at his hips. Momentarily stymied at being pushed away, Resek quickly realized what she wanted – what she needed – and wasted no time in positioning himself above her.
Their eyes met, and he pushed into her. His cock felt huge inside her, and she was so wet that he moved in and out easily. Leanne held onto his back, anchoring herself. Being the muscled warrior that he was, Resek somehow managed to hold himself up on one hand and use the other one to play with her clit.
Ready to burst, Leanne couldn’t wait any longer. She didn’t know which one of them came first. All she was aware of was their sounds of pleasure, the feeling of their bodies against each other.
The world shimmered before her eyes for a moment, then Leanne fell back, panting. Resek managed to angle himself so that he fell to the side and didn’t crush her. For a few minutes, there was no sound except for their breathing as they both recovered their breath.
Leanne knew she was supposed to be angry at Resek, but after two mind-blowing orgasms, she was finding that emotion hard to hold onto.
“Why are you so hard on me?” She was feeling brave but still couldn't look at him. “You’re so much nicer to your men. I’ve seen you with them.”
Resek looked at her curiously, as though trying to gauge whether she was serious. “I care about all of my men, but if one of them were to die, they could be replaced. You… you’re not replaceable. I need you to be strong so that you won’t get hurt. You haven’t had military training like they have. You’re starting from the bottom and leaping right into battle.”
His words made sense, but Leanne couldn’t help feeling downcast. “I’m an iluni, whatever that is. I’m necessary for you to win the war. That’s why I can’t be replaced.”
“Yes – but that’s not all. Leanne, you – if anything were to happen to you…”
She’d never seen Resek struggle to express himself like this.
“You’re more than just a faceless woman destined to help us win the war. I know you now. You’re – you’re more.”
Leanne realized she was holding her breath and forced herself to exhale. She wanted Resek to continue, but he seemed to have said everything he was going to say. She was grateful to have gotten even that much. Communication wasn’t exactly one of his strong suits. It made her feel warm and gooey inside to know that she wasn’t just a means to an end for him.
They ended up falling asleep together, but Leanne was chicken enough to sneak out before Resek woke up. She showered and grabbed something to eat out of the fridge. Since Wescra were biologically similar to humans, most of their food was similar as well, for which she was grateful. They didn’t seem to have discovered the art of deep frying yet, but it could be worse.
She avoided Resek, trying to come to terms with her thoughts. She couldn’t deny the fact that she was melting towards him – and from what he said last night, it seemed like he was melting towards her as well.
That didn’t mean that she wanted to give up on the life she’d had on Earth, or give up on her friends. She had to try to escape again. The communicator was sitting untouched under a pile of clothes. She didn’t have a plan yet – clearly trying to fly off herself had been a bad one – but a plan wasn’t going to invent itself. She needed to start brainstorming.
In her bleaker moments, Leanne wondered what she really had to go back to on Earth. She hadn’t spoken to her family in years. She didn’t like her job, and all of her friends were here. Sure, they were in pods, but that could probably be remedied more easily than getting them back to Earth.
Would it really be so bad to stay here?
That thought lasted exactly as long as it took her to remember that the Wescra were at war. She’d seen enough horrifying things to give her nightmares for the rest of her life.
Resek surprised her out of her musings by knocking, and once given permission to enter, presenting her with the strangest gift she had ever seen.
It was blue and had little tentacles on it that waved in the air. It glowed slightly and looked semi-alive. Leanne thought it was disgusting, but not wanting to offend Resek, she cautiously took it. She promptly shrieked and dropped it as the tentacles tried to attach themselves to her.
“It’s ok. That’s what it’s supposed to do.”
“Why is it supposed to do that?” Leanne squirmed further back on the bed, away from the waving tentacles.
“It’s a body monitor. It will turn red when you are physically exhausted and need a break. I want you to be happy here, Leanne. If I’m pushing you too hard, this will tell me so.”
He didn't say any more, and as he left, Leanne was more torn than ever about her escape plans. Resek cared about her. But she thought she would rather work herself to exhaustion than let those tentacles latch onto her. She shuddered as they waved in the air, searching for her.
The next day at training, Resek looked so disappointed when he didn’t see it on her, that Leanne quickly pretended she’d forgotten and dashed back to her room to fetch the little blob. Telling herself it was the least she could do to protect Resek’s feelings, she allowed it to latch onto her arm.
It wasn’t as terrible as she expected. She was still a bit squeamish about those tentacles, but once they’d latched onto her and stopped moving, she couldn’t feel them anymore and managed to forget they were there. For the most part, anyway.
Two hours later, she was glad of his gift, however freaky. It made an annoying beeping noise and went from blue to red. Resek looked at it in surprise but didn’t argue.
“Sit, drink.”
He handed her a bottle of water, and Leanne sat right down on the ground where she was, trying to catch her breath. It took a good ten minutes for the blob, as she’d nicknamed it, to turn blue again. She was by no means full of energy, but she at least didn’t feel like she was about to faint.
Training lasted longer than usual since they kept taking breaks, but it was better that way for her. Leanne just hoped that all of this wouldn’t be necessary. She may want the Wescra to prevail, but she had no desire to enter battle herself. Hopefully, she’d be out of here before Resek decided she was advanced enough.
It was that, the fear of having to fight and kill, that finally prompted her to take out the communicator. She was lucky Resek hadn’t discovered it yet.
The time had come to make a plan, and to get herself and her friends home. She hoped that the Wescra did manage to end the war, but if they did, they’d have to do it without her.
Chapter Eight
“Are you sure? You looked like you were going to be sick the last time you helped with the healers.”
“I think it’s important,” Leanne insisted. “So what if it’s hard. I need to learn.”
She tried not to let Resek’s look of pride get to her. To be honest, she didn’t want to go back to the healers, no matter how important it was. That was the only place she could think of where she may be able to talk to people and find out the kind of things she needed to know if she was going to get out of here.
Olia seemed pleased to see her. But Leanne wasn’t sure if that was simply because they didn’t have enough healers, rather than she’d done anything particularly well the last time she was here.
Once s
he was there, it was almost impossible not to get drawn into everything. She had a plan, and she needed to implement it, but it was hard when there were people all around her in pain.
Finally, she made a small start. “Do you know of any way to get off-planet?” she murmured quietly to a soldier whose arm she was bandaging.
She’d originally planned to be stealthier about it, leading into the question, and gauging first who she could trust not to tell anyone. It quickly became apparent that she didn’t spend enough time with any one person to do that. She’d have to hope that the soldiers she asked were either too out of it to remember, or would hesitate to sell out the woman who patched them up when they were hurt.
“No, not with Greli ships everywhere,” he answered. “Do you know how much it took to get the ship with you and your friends in undetected? We can’t afford to expend those kinds of resources regularly.” Leanne tried to read from his expression whether he was going to tell Resek about her question. But his face was covered in blood and soot, so she couldn’t tell.
She repeated the question with the next soldier she helped and the next. She got a wide variety of answers. Many said there was no safe way around the Greli ships. Some said that a Wescra strike force could probably get through. Of course, that wouldn’t help her, as she doubted Resek would allow his men to form a strike force for her escape, but she didn’t tell them that. If she could avoid raising their suspicions, she would.
Her best lead was a badly injured man who said that some off-the-book parties may be able to get someone out. Leanne asked him to elaborate, but he passed out before he could say anything else. Then one of the more experienced healers took over helping him.
She didn’t hear anything else useful, and by the end of the day, she had a head full of nightmarish images and very little information to go on. Olia said that she was improving and would make a good healer one day. Leanne had never wanted to be a doctor and wanted to be a battlefield healer even less, but she kept those thoughts to herself.
