by Vi Voxley
They would be the enemies as soon as Turian arrived. Kat had quickly become to think of them as the weak ones. She was a little Terran girl in a mess way over her head, but they had signed up to be led by Soros. And when they couldn't be the men he expected them to be, they’d blamed him instead of themselves.
The transition from blaring noise to silence was so sudden that for a moment, Kat thought she'd gone deaf.
They had stepped into a set of rooms, presumably Soros'. The commander – she couldn’t think of him as anything else at Dolon Hall – closed the door behind them.
"I warn you," she said, wondering what she could possibly threaten him with. "If you leave me here, I will never forgive you."
Soros smiled, coming over and bringing her in for a fierce, demanding kiss that left Kat gasping for air.
"You have more spirit than half the clan lords out there," he said bitterly. "They have no problem hiding behind their guards while you couldn't be kept away from a battle you have no place in."
"I can help," Kat repeated, adding in her mind, You stubborn gorgeous bastard. Sorry, Commander bastard.
"Yes," Soros said, sighing. "I know. I would much rather keep you here, safe and sound until I return. But I have a strong suspicion you would find a way to escape if I tried."
"Almost certainly," she answered, beaming a smile up at him.
Soros shook his head, but she could see he wasn't really mad at her, just insanely worried.
"So I think it's better if I know where you are, at least," he concluded. "And you are right. If you can lead me to Turian, this can all be over before he has time to do too much damage."
Kat smiled victoriously, cuddling closer to him and accepting another kiss, gentler and sweeter this time.
I don't know why I'm so glad to go and wander around in a battle. I must really be turning into a Corgan.
"I guess I should find a map of this place," Kat said when she pulled back, her lips hungry for more of him but her mind cautioning her towards reason. "I won't be much use if I can't tell you where I am."
"Smart," Soros said, pushing her back gently. "But I have a better idea of what to do with the time that we have."
Kat toppled over on the bed. For a second, the sight of Soros looking at her with a ferocious gaze robbed her of words. Then she smirked, spreading her legs in a gesture of agreement. The warrior bared his teeth in a grin, starting to rip his armor away.
"I need you not to take this the wrong way," Kat said breathlessly, watching in awe as Soros' flawless body was revealed to her once more.
It was so much better without freezing to death.
"But I have several concerns about the timing of this. What if Turian gets here before –"
"He won't," Soros said, holding his unflinching gaze on Kat as she started to undress despite her protests. "And he is the last person I want to think of right now. Great spirits, you are the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen."
Kat smiled at that response.
That is not an argument. Why is it working so well?
"I need to go and find a map. And you need to lead your army."
"No," Soros said, pushing her on her back and climbing on top of her. "I need to be here. They can handle themselves."
Any other objections Kat might have had were lost in Soros' kisses. They filled all the desires that the ice ocean hadn't allowed, touching without abandon, teasing with delight until Kat was close to begging.
Soros' body was hot and firm against hers, nudging her legs apart. He tasted her as deeply as he'd promised, pushing his tongue in her wet pussy, far enough to make her scream. Kat fisted her fingers in Soros' long black hair, gasping breathlessly as the warrior pulled back to lick and suckle on her clit. As soon as his tongue left her pussy, his fingers took over the job, scissoring inside her.
Kat bit her lip, wanting nothing more than to cum, or maybe stay on top of that high forever. She writhed on the sheets, her back arching off the bed with every twist of Soros' tongue. The heat she'd longed for was now almost suffocating and she was burning up in the midst of the pleasure that threatened to bury her.
This wasn’t in the job description.
"Soros," she gasped, "I... please, I need you –"
At least he was finally done with teasing her, even if Kat had enjoyed every last second of it. The commander pulled her up to sit on his lap and Kat sunk down on his huge cock, crying out with every inch. She held on to his powerful shoulders as she made her pussy take all of him, wanting to be filled to the brink by that cock.
Kat closed her eyes in ecstasy when Soros began to move, wrapping his strong hands around her body. She could feel his tongue and lips on her breasts, moaning as he picked up the pace with every thrust.
Kat whimpered when he hit that spot inside her, making sure to repeat that with every thrust that followed. She could no longer hear her own voice, but she thought she was calling his name. All that she knew was the divine feel of his cock slamming into her over and over again. She had been so close before that when Soros' fingers circled her clit again, Kat nearly blacked out.
The intensity of the pleasure was too much, the different sensations driving her wild. Soros' cock pounding into her as hard as he could, his lips sucking on her nipples, and his finger gently rubbing her clit... She was so close to cumming that she could almost see her orgasm coming.
Soros was losing control fast. The commander lifted her higher up into the air to give himself more room to move, pushing the both of them over the edge with his next thrust. Kat cried out, every nerve in her body trembling with the surge of pleasure that shot through her.
Soros followed her with a grunt, and she moaned loudly, feeling his seed spill into her pussy when she was still so tender that every drop of it made her shiver.
She rested her head against Soros' shoulder, the strength gone from her body. The commander lowered them to the bed gently, lying down next to her. With a sated smile, Kat curled up with him. It had become an instinct to her, and though she was no longer cold, her body sought his closeness.
Soros didn't seem to mind one bit, pressing lazy kisses against her neck. Kat smiled sleepily, wishing she could just stay there and rest, and enjoy the simple pleasure of being with him.
But as the noise outside started to filter into their quiet sanctuary, they got up and dressed reluctantly.
“Showtime,” Kat murmured, getting a confused look from Soros.
She didn’t stop to explain the little colloquialism.
Kat thought whether it had been a mistake to experience something so good if there was a very real chance that one of them might not survive the attack, but she knew it hadn't been.
Seeing the look in Soros' eyes, she guessed he agreed. It had simply showed them one more time what they had to fight for.
She was still smiling when the first bomb hit.
Chapter Eighteen
Kat
The impact sounded like it was far enough away, but it still made Kat wince.
Her first reaction was immense relief that they were both alive and unharmed. She was glad for that, because it showed she had her priorities straight. But right on its heels, another thought came, unbidden and unwelcome. Had she messed up?
Kat had never been in a real battle before. Fought, quarreled, dueled, sure, but not like this. There hadn’t been armies involved. War was for warriors.
Soros read all that from her eyes before Kat could push the doubts away.
"Little one," the commander said, his eyes telling her everything about his priorities. "I ask you this one last time. Would you promise me to stay away? I could have a shuttle carry you to safety in two minutes."
"No," Kat said, thinking it was one of those moments when a person's life was at a crossroads. "I will stay here, with you. I will help if I can."
She wanted to pick the right fork in the road. One that would allow her to live with herself after this was all over, for better or for worse.
Every l
ittle thing she'd read about the Corgans made her add, "And if you try to have one of your warriors carry me away against my will, my screaming will draw the attention of the enemy, I can promise you that."
She grinned, seeing the way Soros' lips twitched into a smirk.
"If we live through this, I will bring you back here and not let you out of my bed for weeks," he growled, sending a sweet pulse of pleasure through Kat's body. "Alright. I will let you fight. Stay away from the worst clashes. Not only for your safety, but because that is where I will be. And Turian will look for you by my side, thinking I wouldn't let you out of my sight."
Kat smiled even wider, seeing how right the clan lord was about Soros, since that was exactly what he would have wanted to do. To keep her right where he could keep an eye on her.
"I'll be fine," she promised him. "Get me a receiver and a gun and I'll be gone."
She didn’t intend to be in anyone’s sights.
* * *
Equipped with a transmitter with a straight line to Soros, Kat turned on her cloak and took off. She looked at Soros giving her last visible position a regretting look before leaving for the battle. Dolon Hall was shaking around them, and his presence was badly needed.
The new gun had a nice weight in her hands. Kat's fighting instructors had always recommended a heftier piece, saying that if it ran out of shots to fire, it could be used as a blunt weapon. She had never really tried that out, but the occasion seemed as good as any.
She ran down the halls, dodging the Corgan warriors, looking for a place to set up watch where she would have an overview of as much as possible. Trying to avoid running into anyone and making too much noise was like some very weird obstacle course, and Kat supposed it kind of was – only usually those didn't come with an actual threat of dying. This time, her prize would be staying alive.
As soon as Soros was out of her sight, Kat's mind became free of his presence. Being around the commander was like being under the influence of a drug. The entire world shifted into perspective with him in the middle. Her attraction to him was only a small part of it.
You’re in deep, Kat, she told herself with the slightest roll of her eyes.
Kat wondered if Corgan warriors actually felt fear like normal people did. They said that the two most militaristic species in the galaxy, the Brions and the Corgans, had scourged that emotion from their warriors. She didn't believe it entirely, but there had to have been a grain of truth to it.
The realization hit when she ran around the corner, having to stop so suddenly she almost toppled over not to run into a dying Corgan.
He was lying on the ground, three feet away from her, with another warrior's sword sticking out of his stomach. In her shock, Kat didn't even understand which one of them was on her side – the man dying or the one who’d put him in that position.
All she saw was the stony determination on the dying man's face, refusing to give in to the pain, or to the inevitability of death. He simply struggled until his final moment, and even his last breath was calm instead of an agonizing scream.
The other warrior pulled his sword free and hurried on without Kat figuring out which side had just gained a life and which had lost one.
She knew only two things. One, Soros had been right – the men fighting over Dolon Hall were not the crazed crooks or thieves she was used to hunting but the real thing.
Two, much better news for her, was that neither of the warriors had turned their heads towards Kat.
They hadn't heard her.
Palian technology is a wonder, Kat thought. None of them have it. This is my advantage. This is Soros' advantage. I need to find Turian.
Taking off again, Kat knew in her heart that she was being reckless, but she couldn't help it. Between the options of cowering in a corner somewhere, waiting for the bad men to go away and actually pulling her own weight – it was no choice at all.
I've had worse odds, she told herself as a joke. Hundreds of tons of ice is more than a match for any of these guys and I managed that. I'm fine. So fine.
She didn't believe half of it, knowing that all of the warriors at Dolon Hall had passes Soros' test, but it improved her mood.
"In a shitty situation," her favorite teacher had once said. "Despair is the first step towards dying."
Kat had always kept that in mind. It had helped her through the worst of her days, never giving up until every opportunity to fight had been exhausted.
Unfortunately for her, every corridor and hallway in the damn place looked the same. Kat sighed. Her body hadn't protested against Soros' idea to spend the last hour before the battle seeing how much they could exhaust one another, not one bit. But now she was wandering aimlessly, with no real idea of where to go, and her thighs were still quaking a little.
Sure, she'd studied the map of Dolon Hall for a bit when preparing to come after Soros. Kat had assumed that basic knowledge would be enough and that she'd have her ship provide more precise schematics if she needed them.
Now she was alone, without their support and far from Soros. Every second, there was a chance that someone would run or stumble into her, but Kat had never felt farther from the world.
And then luck struck.
Two warriors rushed past her. They had approached so quietly that Kat had only had time to throw herself flat against the wall to dodge them.
Both stopped.
"Did you hear that?" one of them asked, motioning for the other to be silent.
Kat resisted the urge to throw her hand before her mouth to muffle her breathing. That would have been a motion too and the Corgans were standing so close she could smell the sweat on their skin.
Fuck. I wish there was a way to will myself not to breathe for the next few minutes. Evolution got this breathing shit wrong. In danger, we should be able to be quiet, not pant like scared bunnies. This would be of major help right now.
But of course there was no way for her to not breathe. From under the long hood of her cloak, Kat watched the warriors stand so still she would have taken them for statues if she hadn’t known better.
Both looked even tougher than the average warrior, with wide shoulders and vicious features. They were tall and moved well together, that much was obvious. And again, she wasn't even sure whose side they were on. It was hard to tell, because Soros wasn't a clan lord whose allies wore his colors.
The hallway had somehow emptied, as if something was pulling the warriors away. Kat didn't want to think of what that was. It could only have been a major fight going on somewhere, which meant that Soros would be there as well. She forced herself to not imagine the danger he might have been in.
He can handle himself, she told herself. I know he can. I've seen it. He just needs to, one more time.
"It's gone, Romod," the second warrior said.
"Hush, Challen," the first snapped back, holding up his hand.
Kat tried to back away even more, but there was no way to retreat into the wall. Her body was beginning to shake from the exertion of trying to stand perfectly still. It was like the exercise where she had to simply hold out her hands in front of her without moving an inch. Seemingly simple, but not really.
And clearly, she had been overconfident. Not every warrior was able to hear her over the ruckus, but this hallway was almost empty and the men in front of her clearly weren't your ‘average’ elite warriors.
Just her luck.
It seemed like an eternity had passed before Romod lowered his hand, a deep frown on his face, when in fact it had only been seconds. Kat nearly let out a sigh of relief.
"You heard it too, right?" Romod asked tersely. "Footsteps."
"I did," Challen said. "What do you make of it?"
"I don't know," Romod admitted. "A presence we can't see. It stinks of Palian technology to me. Who would use that in Dolon Hall?"
So Turian hasn’t gotten the word out about me…
"The commander?" Challen offered, moving dangerously close to where Kat was standing.
She was inches from his body, close enough to smell his breath, for her cloak to almost brush against his dark, golden-etched armor.
"No," Romod shook his head. "He would never use such sneaky tactics."
The way he spoke of Soros… Kat had already opened her mouth to call out to them and say who she was, when he added, "That bastard wants to meet us face-to-face. You heard our lord. He isn't a man to stab us in the back or walk unseen. All the worse for him, then."
What? Kat was so stunned she nearly betrayed her position.
If she had understood them correctly, Turian had something sinister planned for Soros. Not that it should have surprised her. Were they going to use his warrior pride against him? Rage surged forward within Kat.
Those fucks. I won't let this happen. I will find Turian before you two find Soros.
"Might be one of his subordinates then," Challen offered.
"Perhaps," Romod said, still looking suspicious. "But we have no time to chase ghosts. Turian wants us with him. Time to go."
Turian, Kat's mind rejoiced victoriously.
Had fate finally smiled at her? Could it be that simple? All she had to do was let the two warriors leave and then, very carefully, follow them. She could alert Soros as soon as she had even an inkling of where Turian was.
Corgan clans were very much like a hydra. If you cut off their head, they were momentarily weakened, only to rise up stronger a moment later, two heads taking the place of one. But that period of confusion was all that Kat and Soros needed.
Romod and Challen started to move away from her, speaking between themselves with hushed tones.
Kat only dared to move when they were almost at the other end of the hallway. She shook her limbs and then ran after them on her tiptoes. The Palian device covered her body all the way to her boots. It was quiet, but not non-existent.
She had been afraid that she'd lose the warriors after they rounded a corner, but they were there, walking fast but not running. Kat slowed down, following with careful steps, trying to determine where they were. She felt like in a children's game where the pursuer could only see you when you moved. Every time one of them looked behind, Kat froze in her steps.
