The Owl Initiative

by A. C. Ellas

  Nick sat frozen. He couldn’t believe they were talking about this. He’d never told Cai about his father, none of it. It was too painful, even now.

  “It seemed odd to me that you would take them into your home. Adopt them.” Cai raised a hand before she could speak. “But now that I’ve met you, I understand. You have a big heart and enough latent empathy that it must have about killed you to realize how badly the system had failed them.”

  “It seems odd to me,” Gilly countered, “that an Astrogator would even care why I chose to take in two orphaned, abused children and treat them as my own. I am also surprised that Nick spoke of... the incident. We all have things we don’t like to remember, Nick more than most.”

  “He didn’t. Speak of it, that is.” Cai squeezed Nick’s hand again, shot him an apologetic glance, then told Gilly, “I am a level five telepath, and Nick shares my life and my bed.”

  “So you’ve read his memories? Isn’t that unethical? Don’t you actually have to exert an effort to do that?” Now, it was Gilly that was glaring.

  Nick was astonished. He didn’t mind the thought of Cai reading his past, but he’d have thought Cai would have at least asked first.

  “I’ve never intentionally read him,” Cai snapped. “But he has nightmares, and I can’t block them out any more than he can.” The Gator took a deep breath, clearly steadying himself.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Nick asked, barely above a whisper. The thought of the torment he must have put Cai through, still put him through, almost every night... he wished desperately for some way to fix it so Cai wouldn’t have to be dragged through his personal hell on a nightly basis like he was. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair and he felt tears threatening to spill the more he thought about it.

  “Because it wouldn’t have done any good. It would’ve just made you feel guilty, like you’re feeling now.” Cai turned enough to look straight at him. “Stop it. I love you enough to tolerate your bad dreams.”

  “I’m sorry,” Gilly said.

  “Don’t be, it was a fair question,” Cai replied. “Ethics are important, especially for me. It’s all too easy to slide down the slope of letting the ends justify the means, and I could really hurt people if I let my control slip.”

  “Aren’t we just the cheerful crowd tonight,” Evie muttered after she’d taken a drink of something a bit stronger than tea. “Wasn’t this supposed to be a happy occasion?”

  “Yes, it was, and it will be,” Nick said firmly. He suppressed his unhappiness, much as he’d done as a child, and turned the conversation to a lighter topic, aiming to keep things cheerful.

  Chapter Four: Interlude

  Nick’s attempts to keep things light and cheerful weren’t fooling Cai, not for a minute, but he went along with it. Gilly was a more complex, interesting person than he’d thought she’d be, and he simply liked Evie, so dinner wasn’t the onerous chore he’d been dreading. They talked too much, drank too much and got to know each other pretty well over the course of the evening. Once they admitted their exhaustion, Cai had his adjuncts show the ladies the way back to their temporary quarters, and he steered Nick into his bedroom.

  “Cai,” Nick turned to face him halfway to the bed. “Do you really have to suffer through my nightmares?”

  “I see what you see,” Cai said slowly, trying to explain it in a way that would let Nick understand that he didn’t need to feel guilty. “But the emotional impact isn’t there for me. It’s like watching a holo as opposed to living it. You relive it, and that’s what bothers me.” He gently steered Nick to the edge of the bed.

  “Oh.” Nick sat down and looked up at him. “What about you? Do you have nightmares?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. I haven’t had that many bad experiences, Nick. Not that I remember. God only knows what my childhood was like, though I seriously doubt I was in the dire straits you were in.”

  “Would you even know it now if you had been?” Nick raised his eyebrows.

  Cai thought about it. It was a fair question. “I don’t know.”

  Nick’s arms went around his waist. Nick rested his head on Cai’s stomach. “I don’t want you to have to suffer through what that bastard did to me.”

  “You did the right thing. Don’t blame yourself.” Cai ran his hand through Nick’s short black hair. “I certainly don’t blame you. I’d have done the same thing.” Since he couldn’t pull Nick up, he went down, ignoring the immediate protest of his still-healing knee. He cupped Nick’s face with his hands and pulled him in for a kiss.

  It was meant to be a gentle, loving, simple kiss, but it didn’t stay that way. Nick’s mouth fastened onto his with a deep hunger. Their tongues met, writhed against one another, stroked one another, until Cai’s knee spasmed so hard it left him breathless and shaking in Nick’s arms.

  “Your knee,” Nick whispered and pulled him up onto his lap. “Don’t strain it.” Nick lay back on the bed, drawing Cai with him. Nick rolled, half-pinning Cai to the mattress, and their lips met again.

  Cai closed his eyes and just enjoyed Nick’s exploring, stroking tongue. Tonight, he wasn’t in the mood for dominance, and neither was Nick. He knew that. His hands sought the fastenings to Nick’s clothing, unbuttoning, unzipping, until he was able to tug the garments free.

  His hands wandered over Nick’s body, stroking the warm, soft layer protecting the hard, strong muscles beneath. He reached down and stroked Nick’s balls, held for him in the locked cuff that declared Nick’s love and submission. Nick groaned, his hips bucking from the stimulation. Cai curled his still-clothed body around Nick’s naked frame and ran his tongue up Nick’s engorged shaft from base to tip. He slid the heavy head of the long, thick cock between his lips and gave it a swift, strong suck.

  Nick’s hands were now pulling at Cai’s clothing in an insistent manner, so Cai let up on his husband long enough to allow himself to be undressed and his lower half pulled into the position Nick wanted. Once they were both naked, Cai returned his attention to the fully erect pole waving at the junction of Nick’s muscular legs. Cai went down on it, pressing himself into it with jaws wide open. Nick’s cock filled his mouth, pushed against the back of his mouth, and with an effort, Cai pushed it even deeper down his throat to the point where his air was cut off and his nose pressed against the leather and steel of the ball cuff.

  He gasped, or tried to, when Nick’s hot, wet mouth slurped and sucked his scrotum. He could feel Nick’s mouth pressing and working against his nuts, the hard-ribbed palate on one side, the writhing muscle of the tongue on the other, the hardness of teeth just barely touching... it was intense and wonderful and almost distracted Cai from his growing need for air.

  Cai bobbed his head up and sucked in a breath, exhaled as he went back down. He worked Nick’s cock faster, moaning in pleasure at what Nick was doing to him in return. Several minutes passed while Cai plunged Nick’s cock down his throat over and over and Nick sucked his balls like they were going out of season.

  What felt like an explosion of fluid, salty and hot, filled Cai’s mouth, and he valiantly tried to swallow it all but failed. He could feel Nick’s cum all over his lips, dripping down his chin. He licked the excess off Nick’s softening shaft, enjoying the flavor.

  Nick released the suction from his balls and swallowed his cock instead. It was too much. Within moments, Cai’s climax thundered through them both, and he did his best to paint Nick’s face with as much cream as was on his own.

  They relaxed together, changed positions languidly just so they could snuggle in one another’s arms, until rising energy levels eventually allowed them to move on to the second, main course for the evening.

  Cai rolled Nick first, lubed himself up and gently entered his spouse. He thought about throwing Nick over a piece of furniture, just because he could, but the bed was comfortable and they were already on it, and it was far too much trouble to relocate just for that. His thrusts grew in vigor as he deepened hi
s penetration, and he let his telekinetic ability loose to play with Nick’s balls, crackling electricity over the sensitive orbs in a mental caress.

  Nick moaned beneath him. “Feels good,” he breathed.

  Encouraged, Cai pumped faster and deeper, rocking his tool over Nick’s G-spot over and over until his man was panting as he worked his ass in needy counterpoint. “Like this?”

  “God, yes,” Nick groaned. “More, please.”

  Cai continued to pump, holding back his climax through sheer force of will. He wanted to see if he could get Nick to come before he released, just from the stimulation inside him. Each inward thrust was like sinking into a velvet-lined hose, tight and hot, constricting and wonderful. The slap of his balls against Nick’s body was enjoyable in a different way, as if each impact of flesh on flesh said, “You belong to me.” The cuff locked around Nick’s scrotum was the tangible reminder of that.

  He whispered into Nick’s ear, “I found out how to give you a baby. There’s a surgical procedure; it’s routine, easy, gives you an extra hole and a uterus built from your own cells. The lab takes samples from us both, uses one of your female sperm for the DNA to make an egg, one of my sperm to fertilize it, then the egg is implanted into your womb and the baby develops naturally from there.”

  As if excited by the thought of this, Nick cried out and orgasmed powerfully, his ass clenching tightly around Cai’s impaling shaft as his own cock let loose like a firehose.

  Cai caught the ejaculate in a mental grip then closed his eyes and soaked in the pleasure that suffused his spouse even as he continued to pump. Mirthfully, he sent the sample to one of the machines here in his bedroom, the one he was required to use once a month or so himself, for the Guild’s baby program. It had been noted, many years ago, that Astrogators rarely had children. They were kept separate from normal people both by tradition and by their talent-driven desire for mental space.

  As a result, the Guild feared the abilities would be bred out of the population. To combat this, they created a program that paid young women a handsome salary to conceive and bear babies for the Guild. These women also received educational benefits and had the option of either keeping their babies or giving them up at birth—their choice, freely. Cai had been told that a young woman could set herself up for life just by bearing two Guild babies. She’d not only end up with a fully paid university education, she’d have enough in the bank to live on for the rest of her life if the money was managed wisely. The sperm for these babies came from the various Astrogators, participation in this program was mandatory. Because of this program, Cai already had the equipment to safely store sperm samples. The Guild collected whenever they were in port, so currently, his sample bay was empty. He tagged this first sample as being Nick’s.

  With a sigh of satisfaction, Cai allowed himself to orgasm, filling Nick’s tight ass with his cum. A new wave of pleasure, this one Cai’s, swept through them both, and Cai relaxed atop Nick, not seeking to extract himself, half wondering if he was in there deep enough to stay. It seemed that he was, for he didn’t feel himself slipping out, and Nick continued to lie still beneath him, his legs submissively spread for Cai. It was a wonderful sensation, and Cai indulged in it until he sensed Nick’s interest stirring. Amazed that his mate had anything left after two strong climaxes, Cai eased out of Nick’s ass and laid beside the man, spreading his own legs in silent invitation.

  Nick entered him, stroking him inside and out in a wonderful conflux of sensation that went on and on until Cai was wallowing in the pleasure of it and sharing that pleasure with Nick so fully his husband was moaning for him. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, Nick whispered in his ear, “I want to bear your baby.”

  Chapter Five: Hevetich

  The crew was back aboard; all hands were accounted for and at their stations. Not one medical or personal emergency had arisen, which was remarkable in and of itself, and Cai was impatient to break orbit and head for Hevetich. Gilly’s visit had extended almost until the end of shore leave, and Cai had enjoyed getting to know Nick’s mom, but the enforced idleness of planetary orbit grated on him. He was happiest sailing the void, far from any planet. Dancing between the stars was his love and his life.

  On the bridge, Nick was taking forever to work through the departure protocol checklist. Cai’s engines were hot; it felt like an excess of energy was crackling over his skin as he waited for permission to actually engage thrust and move... fly... away from this place. Nick glanced up at the main sensor array on the bridge. Through the shipnet, Cai heard him say, “Relax. It won’t go any faster no matter how hard you fret.”

  “How about I just break away and set my course?” Cai shot back.

  “Admiralty would have my balls and your ears for trophies if you pulled a stunt like that.”

  “But not my balls?”

  “I think the Guild would claim those, leaving admiralty with the second-best prize to nail to their bulkheads.” Nick’s lips were twitching suspiciously. Aloud, he said, “Astrogator, please confirm that all airlocks are sealed.”

  “All airlocks are sealed, Captain,” Cai managed to reply, but he couldn’t resist adding, “all crew is accounted for, the engines are ready and I am standing by.”

  “Very good, Astrogator,” Nick said mildly, and Cai noted the poorly concealed grins all over the bridge. “Since you are ready, you may take us out. Our destination is Hevetich.”

  “Understood; destination Hevetich,” Cai said without snarling somehow. The redundancy of the procedures was irking him today; he knew damn well where they were going, he’d actually been the one to upload the orders sending them there. He contacted Orbit Control on an open channel so that the bridge crew could follow along, also per protocol. “Orbit Control, Laughing Owl requesting clearance for departure, destination Hevetich via Tarasch.”

  The newest protocol concerning the insane system Tarasch was to mention it in the course if it would be used so that, as the joke went, admiralty would know where to send the rescue ships.

  “Laughing Owl, Orbit Control, clearance for departure granted. Please use outward channel Space Corps Beta Nine.”

  “Orbit Control, Laughing Owl, understood Beta Nine.” With a great deal of satisfaction, Cai cracked the seals holding them to the tug and applied a hard upward thrust, relative to the plane of the ecliptic. Since he wasn’t attached to the station and he wasn’t thrusting toward any structure, he didn’t have to be gentle. Laughing Owl shot upward with ever-growing momentum. Cai killed the upward thrust as he applied forward thrust, which had the effect of sending them further upward but at an angle now. He’d continue to rise until he exactly matched and canceled the initial upward thrust, and all he’d done was turn off that thrust since he already had sufficient upward motion for his purposes.

  He started to apply downward thrust as he engaged the ion engines, and by the time he was cruising at point five, he had canceled all the stray motion he could detect other than the course line he’d set for the Tarasch marker. Though all his tasks were done, he remained in Chamber, just reveling in the freedom of spaceflight. There was nothing better in all existence.

  The physical pleasure he shared with Nick really was a pale second to this, in that his Guildmaster had been correct. But there was so much more than just physical pleasure between him and Nick. The ancient Greeks had recognized several varieties of love and eros, the physical love, was the least important of those. The love Cai bore for Nick was transcendental. He’d love that man even if they never had sex again. He didn’t think Nick would care for that, however. Nick was downright earthy when all was said and done.

  Nick was right outside the Chamber now, waiting for him. The man was beautifully nude but for his ball cuff and collar. Cai admired him through the sensors before he allowed the linkages to collapse. Returning to his physical body was always a letdown, made tolerable mostly by the presence of the man out there. If not for Nick, Cai thought he might try to
merge himself permanently into the navnet. It was theoretically possible, just impractical for entirely physical reasons. Bodies were soft, mushy and prone to odd failures and breakdowns. Cai did not approve of this. There just wasn’t anything he could do about it. Yet.

  Eleven days and three jumps later, Cai approached Hevetich Station yet again, but this time, he noticed an usual number of frigates trailing the station. “Captain,” he said over the net, “it looks like an Owl family reunion out here. Every ID transponder is registering as an Owl-class frigate.”

  “Interesting,” Nick replied. “I’m sure we’ll find out what’s up soon enough.”

  The Fourth Fleet used the Owl-class frigates exclusively, while the other three fleets used the Hawk and Falcon classes of frigates. No doubt that Nick was right, Nbuntu wasn’t likely to keep them in the dark for long, but in the meantime, Cai felt like the curiosity was eating him alive. He contacted the station, received an orbital berth assignment that put him right in with the rest of the Owls, and once he was parked on station, he contacted Pol, the Astrogator for the Horned Owl, and a friend he’d gone through training with.

  “Hiya, Cai, we were wondering when you’d get here; you’re the last to arrive.”

  “The last for this mission, whatever it is?” Cai did a rapid count. “We’re all here? All the Owls?”

  “Yes, and yes,” Pol said cheerily. “Let me tell you, the rumor mill has gone into overdrive.” Pol proceeded to regale him with some of the more wild ideas for why they were gathered, though Cai doubted they’d be asked to take the station in tow to relocate it from L5 to L4 or used to patrol home system or tasked to plant mines in the systems that bordered the Rels. Pol then changed the subject. “So, did you really marry your captain?”