Shalia's Diary Omnibus

by Tracy St. John

  I shrugged. My case was already a matter of record for researchers and bio-weapons experts. Besides, Meyso would catch any problems a general medic such as Tep may have missed. “Copy away.”

  I got a big, entrancing smile that made me feel warm all over. “Thank you. While we’re talking shop, I hope you don’t mind me asking a few questions about your mother, Matara Eve. I have all the reports from Dr. Nayun and Tep, but I’d appreciate a few observations from someone who has a long-term history.”

  We spent about five minutes on Meyso’s questions, during which Aslada and Jaon waited patiently. They studied me and Anrel. I was glad their expressions warmed over those few minutes. I supposed they grew accustomed to my wan state. As for my baby, her every motion and chirp were greeted with smiles. Even Jaon couldn’t help but flash wide grins in her direction.

  Once Meyso finished quizzing me about Mom, the imposing Nobek gave me his complete attention. “I have begun inquiries into all available channels as far as this Dramok Nang is concerned. Hunting down men is my specialty, and I’ll exhaust every possible trail he may decide to take. I have connections throughout the known galaxies. He’ll be spotted at some point ... and he will be stopped.”

  The hair on the back of my neck rose at the unspoken threat in Jaon’s tone. I had the feeling his definition of stopping Nang didn’t necessarily mean slapping cuffs on his wrists and bringing him before a judge.

  Me being me, I found such power exciting as well as scary. I have to laugh at myself and my wanton urges.

  We discussed far more pleasant subjects, such as my former career as a vid producer. “I can anticipate many opportunities for you here on Kalquor,” Aslada enthused. “I am always looking for the best way to promote important legislation.”

  “And yourself during the election cycle.” Meyso winked.

  “Of course, of course. With her woman’s intuition and feeling, Shalia will be able to bring across the emotions of many issues instead of just boring facts and figures. We can move beyond the practical and into the true guts of my causes.”

  I liked the idea of flexing my creative muscles again. Sitting around playing hausfrau was not my idea of happily-ever-after. I missed the work I’d done on Earth. “As long as I agree with what you’re up to, I’d be thrilled to be a part of it.”

  The Dramok grinned as his clanmates chuckled. “There is nothing wrong with having to convince someone of my worth in order to win her support. I look forward to finding out where we agree and on what matters we’ll debate.”

  We talked for about an hour before I felt myself starting to flag. Mindful of my condition for a change, I arranged to speak to Clan Aslada again before the transport left wormhole access behind.

  They are without a doubt a steady, self-assured clan. Maybe they are more reserved than Clan Seot, but I sensed underlying warmth. I appreciate that Aslada views me as a potential partner in his work. Meyso would certainly take outstanding care of me and Anrel. And Nang would be a billion times an utter fool to fuck with Jaon, no matter how obsessed he is. A girl could do a hell of a lot worse.

  I’m looking at two viable options to spend my life with. It’s giving me a spark of happiness. I look forward to discovering how this all shakes out in the end.

  I returned to my quarters, ready for a nice long nap. I had surprises waiting for me.

  Half a dozen boxes were on the low table before my sitting room’s lounger. On top of them was a vase filled with vibrantly colored flowers. Fresh flowers on a ship? Where the hell had those come from?

  I saw a handwritten note lying on the small stack of packages. I picked it up and recognized Betra’s writing. For a moment my heart leapt, thinking perhaps he had decided to mend the issues between us already. Instead, the note read, Gifts from Clan Seot. They send their apologies that it’s not as much as they would have wanted you to have, but our ship’s stores are limited. They’ll try to do better at our next shore leave on Alneusia.

  I wonder how Betra had felt about bringing me goodies from my prospective clan. Poor Betra. I felt a stab of guilt that as my liaison, he was forced to be a link between me and the men making him jealous.

  There was no help for it, however. It wasn’t my fault Clan Seot had decided to send me presents. It was just bad luck that Betra was caught in the middle.

  I first looked at the flowers, examining them. Oh my gosh, I could hardly believe it. They weren’t actual blooms. They were crystals, grown in the shape of flowers. Such arrangements had been all the rage on Earth before Armageddon. Just one crystal, carefully coaxed into the shape of a rose, daisy, or the like, would set the buyer back the price of a weekend vacation. A bouquet such as that in front of me was on par with a private shuttle. This arrangement was all extravagance, though I had no clue what price the acquisitions department of the Pussy ‘Porter had put on it.

  I ran my finger over a delicately shaped petal of an iris, the fabulous color shading from indigo to lilac at its tip. The arrangement was stunning with several crystal irises, along with sprays of white and gold arum lilies and pink roses. Even the leaves were detailed, with deep green veins. My mind boggled at the time and care it had taken to make this bouquet.

  Avaricious excitement took hold of me. I prefer to think I’m not greedy, but I couldn’t wait to discover what else the guys had given me.

  I opened half a dozen boxes, gasping at the contents of each and every one. The first was full of chocolate confections, made by the transport’s kitchen. With a bunch of Earther girls on board, the mess crew had gotten quite adept at making our favorite treat. I couldn’t keep from sampling one. Oh glory ... it was so delicious I had to sample five more. After I lectured myself on self-control ... and ate three more chocolates to bolster that self-control ... I moved on.

  The next few boxes held purely luxury items, the kind of treats I was not about to spend my allowance on. Earrings dripping diamonds, sapphires, and rubies. Cologne that one of my monthly paychecks on Earth would have bought about an eighth of an ounce of. A gold bracelet for Anrel that was half the size of my wrist but wouldn’t fit her for a few months. She could almost wear it as a necklace. There were also a couple of small vid projectors for photos and memories.

  The last box I opened had another note, again in Betra’s writing but from a member of Clan Seot. I’ll buy you a better device once you’re on Kalquor, but meanwhile, this will keep you in practice. I think you could use your skills to assist me with my family’s cruise line. We’ll discuss it when you wish. Imdiko Cifa.

  I opened the final package and gasped for the hundredth time. It was a professional vid recorder, the latest (and I guess last) in Earther video technology. Even my governmental department, with its extensive budget, hadn’t purchased that model, though we’d all drooled over the promotional material on it. I and a few others had talked the recorder’s specs in tones reserved for worship. Man, how we’d wanted to get our hands on one of these. Now I had one.

  I switched it on and settled the grip in my palm. I brought up the view vid and panned across my quarters. My arms were weak enough to wobble holding the lightweight recorder, but the motion it showed was smooth as silk. The readout was crisp, making the scenery look almost hyper-real.

  I must have played for an hour, zooming and recording my quarters, myself, the corridor and others I found. I showed anyone who would listen how wonderful my new toy was. I saw eyes glaze over as I rhapsodized over aspect ratios, settings, and in-vid editing. Okay, so I was the only person thrilled over it. Only a vid geek would be this entranced over a recorder. This was AWESOME.

  I couldn’t contain myself even after I’d exhausted everyone else’s patience. I hooked the recorder into my com system and rang up Clan Seot.

  To my delight, a beaming Cifa answered. “Shalia! What a nice surprise. How are you?”

  “I’m wonderful! How is the picture? You may need to adjust it for max definition on your end. Not that I want you to see me in all my post-invader takeover awfulne
ss right now—”

  “Stop that.” Cifa’s tone managed to be firm and gentle all at once. “You are a lovely woman who will be even lovelier as you recover. You received the vid recorder? Do you like it?”

  “I love it!” I squeal-shouted. “It’s amazing! Thank you! Oh, and for the rest, too. It was terrific and so sweet of you and your clan to give me all this.”

  He chuckled, his face beyond adorable. I wished I was recording him instead of me. “You could do with some indulgence. I wasn’t sure the recorder would count as that, since it was what you did for work on Earth—”

  “Are you kidding? I love shooting vid and creating through it. Occasionally, the work I did stunk in that regard, but it beat any other career.” I blinked, thinking about that. I’d been thrilled when Dramok Aslada had talked about me making vids for his needs. “I didn’t realize until today how much I missed doing that.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I don’t know if Earthers did luxury ocean cruises or similar—”

  “The ones with money did,” I affirmed.

  “Then you’re probably familiar with how vid can promote such excursions.”

  “Oh yeah.” My excitement built as I saw where he was going with this. “Not only promotion. Recording memories for your passengers. Stuff such as weddings. Or in your case, clannings on board your ships. Celebrations. Training for staff. Recruiting new hires.”

  “Exactly.” Cifa fairly bounced with enthusiasm. “We’ve talked about moving such a service in-house rather than having contractors come in and deal with those matters. Sometimes our guests hire companies to record their events, and the vendors turn out to be not so skilled. Even though it has nothing to do with the cruise line, our reputation tends to suffer in those cases.”

  “Because one wrong thing puts all of it in a bad light.” I knew what he was talking about.

  I saw opportunity in the idea beyond the cruise line itself. Travelogues. Documentaries about far-flung places and their histories. Restaurant reviews for foodies. The possibilities were endless.

  Cifa and I might have brainstormed decades’ worth of shows, but Seot and Larten appeared in the feed. “Look at this pair with happy expressions on their faces,” Seot grinned.

  “They appear entirely too pleased with themselves,” Larten agreed with mock suspicion. He winked at me to make sure I knew he only teased. “How are you today, Shalia? It’s a joy that you’re happy.”

  “I was comming to thank you all for the wonderful gifts. You were too generous.”

  “Hardly.” Seot pulled a face that did nothing to diminish his rampant gorgeousness. “There wasn’t much to choose from. Your ship’s acquisitions officer did not expend a lot of effort to gather goods before leaving Earth. Especially when it came to things for the baby.”

  “I think us Earther girls might have left a few dents in the inventory,” I laughed. “Particularly me. I cleaned out everything I could for Anrel before she even showed up.”

  “We’ll do better on our next attempt,” Seot promised.

  How sweet of him. Of all of them. There they stood, glad to speak to me even though I was a wreck. As usual, they looked amazing enough to wallow all over. That sent my thoughts where they had no business sneaking off to. All at once I warmed down below, happy feelings trilling through my girlie parts.

  Thank heavens they weren’t there. If Larten is half the Nobek Oses is, he’d have smelled my sudden arousal.

  Embarrassed to be feeling amorous with these three near strangers – no matter how gorgeous, muscled, mouthwateringly delicious they were – I hurriedly tried to erect a barrier I didn’t want. “I should let you get back to whatever I interrupted. I just wanted to thank you. I appreciate the gifts.”

  “You weren’t interrupting anything,” Seot smiled. “We have plenty of time to talk if you wish. Larten’s trainees didn’t destroy themselves too bad after all, so he’s not wasting away in the camp’s infirmary.”

  Larten appeared worried. “Are you all right, Shalia? You’re suddenly quite flushed. Perhaps you should summon a medic.”

  “Um, no, I’m okay,” I stammered, growing even more flustered. “I guess I got overexcited.” (Ha-ha, if they only knew.) “The vid recorder was something I’d wanted back on Earth, and I’ve been running around testing how it works.”

  “Sit down,” Cifa urged. “You’re still recovering from that horrible organism. You need to rest.”

  What I needed was to run to my bedroom and grab that dildo Katrina had given me for Christmas. Despite my humiliation, I had visions of naked Clan Seot dancing in my head. The more concerned they acted, the more I visualized being surrounded by them, taken care of by them, soothed and loved by them.

  My imagination had slammed into overdrive. Moving toward my lounger, because it was something to do, I turned my back on the tempting trio and tried to take a few deep breaths. I walked slowly, giving myself as long as possible before having to gaze at them again. I sat down.

  I glanced up at the clan and almost groaned. Why did they have to be so damned yummy? I could have wallowed on those three bodies for days on end.

  I crossed my legs, as if that might somehow shield my pussy from the overwhelming stud-storm I was enduring. I gave them what I hoped was reassurance. “Okay. I’m relaxing.”

  They returned my smile with triplicate interest. My heart boomed. Seot’s unabashed handsomeness, the rampant adorableness of Cifa, and Larten’s dangerous magnetism ... how the hell was a girl supposed to not end up horny staring at that?

  Then Seot added fuel to the flames heating my core. “We talked about a great many things yesterday. Maybe I’m moving too fast, especially considering what I’ve heard about Earthers.”

  “Not to mention she’s two months from Kalquor,” Larten said. I had the distinct feeling he didn’t like where the conversation was headed.

  Seot gave him a glance. Larten scowled but went quiet. There is was again, that control that managed to not be overbearing. I was again impressed with the Dramok. Then my naughty head wondered if I would ever be on the receiving end of that gaze. My crotch spasmed, and I tightened my thighs together. Damn those sexy beasts.

  Seot returned his gaze to me. “It is early, and yet maybe it’s best to have everything out in the open before we meet in person. Perhaps we could discuss sexual compatibility.”

  If I hadn’t been sitting down, my knees would have given out right then and there. “Sexual compatibility?” I repeated, my voice wavering.

  Seot gave me an uneasy look. “It’s not a big deal to Kalquorians to talk of such things. Given that you told us you’re not a strict adherent to Earth’s official religion, and you’ve had relations with other Kalquorians, I thought perhaps you’d be willing to have a conversation about it.”

  Cifa made a sort of waving gesture with his hands that I assumed meant not to get upset. “If not, we can respect that. Let us know what you’re comfortable with, and we’ll remain within those boundaries.”

  I restrained the urge to bray hysterical laughter. Here I was with my crazy libido, and these three were worried that talking about sex would send me running away. Ha! I would give anything to fuck their brains out. The irony of the situation was almost too much for me to handle.

  My fists clenched under the concealing folds of my skirt as I tried to hold onto my composure. I still heard a giggle in my tone. “It’s all right. I am fine with discussing what our mutual limits might be.”

  Seot nodded and then exchanged an uncomfortable glance with his clanmates. “Good. Great. Because I don’t know what your previous lovers were like. Kalquorians can be very, um...”

  “Passionate,” Larten supplied. Nobeks don’t squirm, but he appeared as if he wanted to.

  “I’ve noticed,” I said in a dry tone. I was ready to die of laughter, however. I wondered if I should make them more uneasy or let them off the hook.

  “Yes, well, um, we’re pretty typical for our kind.” Seot was no longer meeting my eyes. No
ne of them were.

  “Oh?” I couldn’t resist the opportunity to maybe startle them. “Does that mean I can earn a spanking by being either a really obedient or really naughty girl? And after that, maybe you big, strong fellows could hold me down while enjoying me all the ways you want?”

  Ha! Didn’t they look me over then!

  Larten’s face went dangerous in an instant. “It sounds like intimate compatibility will not be a problem,” he said in a slow, knowing voice. He no longer seemed the least bit uncomfortable. Instead, he gave the impression that he was ready to pounce.

  My panties were drenched. I so wished I was there in person to be pounced on.

  “Oh, ancestors.” Cifa’s eyes were wide, and that too-cute face held a world of anticipation.