by T. J. Quinn
“Yes, please come. My brother and I like to welcome all our guests organizing a feast for them. Due to the Dreshanians rules, we can’t be all together, so we decided to organize this one for us women,” Sarya added, with her best smile, doing her best to convince the other woman.
Knowing that rejecting her after that would be considered too rude and might lead the Mitauri woman to complain about her, Caisys finally accepted, and they joined the rest of the women in Sarya’s chambers.
The Mitauri female had organized a lavish feast for the women. There was more food on the table than the women had seen in all their lives.
Sarya had also invited some of her friends, and soon they were all sitting at the table enjoying the meal. At first, the Atheans felt clearly out of place, unsure of how to act, but Sarya quickly made things easy for all of them by choosing topics and including them in the discussion.
By the end of the night, they had had a great time and even better food. They were taken back to their rooms, and the men joined them only a few minutes later.
Ethan closed the door behind his back and looked at Neela, lying in bed, against a pile of pillows, with a pleased smile on her face. She was still wearing her tunic.
“Did you have a good evening?” he asked her as he approached the bed, smiling.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” she said, with a smile, getting on her knees and looking at him. “Sarya, Krug’s sister, invited all of us for dinner. It was like a feast, the first any of us had attended. The food and the conversation it was all amazing.”
Ethan smiled, though there was a slight frown on his forehead. “You had never been to a feast?”
“No, never. Our people only hunt and collect enough food to keep us fed and nourished. Feasts didn’t happen,” she explained.
“Well, I can’t say I attended feasts while I was a soldier, but I’ve been to a few ever since I’ve started doing this job.”
“I had never seen that much food in the same place,” she confessed, chuckling.
She was so cute smiling, Ethan smiled too. It was the first time he had seen her so relaxed, happy even.
He closed the distance between them and cradled her face before he claimed a passionate kiss from her delightful lips.
“I’m happy you had a great time,” he said, combining his words with little kisses.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer to her. “Yes, it was a great time,” she agreed, kissing him back. “This trip has proven to be a good thing after all,” she murmured, against his lips, before she kissed him one more time.
“Oh, yes, you can say that again,” he agreed, sliding the tunic off her shoulders and making her fall back on the pillows again, eager to make her his one more time.
A long while after, Ethan jumped out of bed leaving a sleeping beauty there. He wasn’t sleepy, and he wondered if he could find Krug still up. A bit more information wouldn’t hurt him.
With one last look at Neela, he put on his clothes and left the room. Krug was waiting for him, not far from his chamber , leaning against the wall.
“Were you waiting for me?” Ethan asked with a grin.
Krug chuckled. “Yes, I was. I was told you enjoy night walks, so I decided to wait around and be your guide,” he replied, with a broad smile.
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Shall we?” he straightened up and motioned Ethan to follow him.
They didn’t talk much until they were far from the palace and from any possible unwanted ears.
“So, you’re part of the colonizers’ secret organization,” Ethan said, with an ironic smile.
Krug chuckled. “You could say so. In fact, my father initiated it when he first arrived here. Like most colonizers, his people were desperate to find a safe place to settle down, and Dreshan sure looked like the right place.”
“Yes, I can understand that. Perfect atmosphere, fertile soil, more than enough water and hosts that don’t ask that many questions,” Ethan concluded.
“Exactly and one that didn’t demand that much in exchange for a small piece of paradise,” Krug agreed.
“Your father got here a hundred solar rotations ago, right?”
“Yes, give or take.”
“And even then, your father felt the need to organize the colonizers.”
“Oh, yes, he could see right through the Dreshanians, and he knew they were a lot more dangerous than they let on,” he explained. “He figured they would need some kind of organization to counteract their power.”
Ethan nodded. “I heard your people were shifters, is that correct?”
“Yes, we are. We can shift into an animal,” Krug said and stepped aside from Ethan quickly shifting into a big black wolf, not someone even a cyborg would like to meet unarmed.
“Do the Dreshanians know about this?” Ethan asked.
Krug shifted back to his humanoid form. Ethan was amazed to see how his suit shifted along with him.
“No, they don’t. We’ve told them we don’t usually shift since it’s painful for us and they bought it. My father knew they might not accept them if they knew we weren’t that easy to control or annihilate as they thought.”
“And he was right, of course.”
“He sure was.”
“The Cetians seem to be sure they would never demand female slaves from their people. What about you?” he asked.
Krug’s expression changed slightly, becoming a bit harder. “I’ve considered that, believe me. Unlike our Cetian friends, the Dreshanian have shown interest for our females. The king himself insinuated he would love to make my sister Sarya one of his concubines.”
“I’m guessing your sister rejected the offer.”
“Of course, she did. She had no trouble in realizing the kind of man he is. But that incident told us they found our females attractive, so yes, the possibility they would demand slaves from us has crossed our minds.”
“And have you thought of what you’ll do when the time comes? They’re already demanding slaves from the poorer colonies. I doubt it will take them long to start asking all of you,” Ethan pointed out.
“We’re aware of that. And yes, we have a few strategies in mind, but with no weapons, any action would be doomed.”
“You have factories. You can build all the weapons you might need.”
Krug shook his head. “There are at least two guards in each of our factories to check everything we produce.”
“There has to be a way.”
“We can’t buy them either, since we can only leave the planet with escorts and our vessels are thoroughly checked when we return, in search for any kind of weapons,” Krug added.
“You’re little more than prisoners here.”
Krug agreed. “The only people that still have some freedom on the planet are the Athean tribes. But they have no means to use that freedom.”
Ethan took a few steps in silence while his extraordinary brain processed all the information Krug had given him.
“Their radars are pretty good. The Dreshanians detected our presence the minute we entered the planet’s orbit, but I’ve heard of people with sophisticated camouflage technology that might be able to cheat them,” he explained. “With one of those, a vessel would be able to come and go unnoticed.”
“Yes, but we would have to hire someone from another planet. Our vessels have all kinds of trackers on them,” Krug replied.
“Of course, and you would need at least one of the tribes’ consent to set up a campsite in the woods, far from the Dreshanians’ domains.”
“That wouldn’t be that hard to get. They live with what they hunt and collect, and during winter, things aren’t that easy for them. I’m sure we could buy their consent with food,” Krug said, with a scowl.
“So, you would be willing to go against the Dreshanians?”
“Of course, if the conditions were right and believe me, most of the colonizers would too.”
“Have you considered wh
o would replace them in the control of the planet and the colonies?”
“The logical thing would be to create a council per continent, with members from each colony and each tribe.”
Ethan nodded. “That could work.”
“But these are just conjectures. We have no way to get the vessel we need.”
There was a short silence between them.
“I have one,” Ethan announced.
“Would you be willing to help us? Why? What would you gain with that?” Krug asked, with a slight frown.
“I was created to fight for justice. What the Dreshanians have here is clearly a tyranny. They take advantage of the people’s needs to get the colonizers they know will bring them only benefits, one way or another,” Ethan replied, shrugging. “But unfortunately, I don’t have the means to fund a thing like this.”
“That would be the least of our problems,” Krug assured him.
“We would have to set a meeting with all the colonizers interested,” Ethan pointed out.
“We meet once in a while, but I could organize a gathering before you leave the planet and invite all the members of our organization,” Krug suggested. “We would have the means to talk privately during the event.”
“Are you sure? Vlyse is always around. How would we manage to keep him away?” Ethan asked, with a slight frown.
“I have my ways believe me,” Krug assured him.
“Then, go ahead. I’ll be waiting for the invitation.”
Krug nodded, and they returned to the palace.
Chapter Thirteen
Neela was still sleeping when he returned to the room, so he checked to see if any of his men were awake. He wanted to share the news with them. They all were.
“Let’s meet outside in the gardens. Be discreet, and we’ll only use this channel to talk,” he warned his men.
Once outside, they took a seat on the ground, under some trees. They would allege doing some sort of religious ritual if questioned by one of the Dreshanians.
“Why did you summon us here?” Jared asked, with a scowl. “It’s a bit cold out here, and I have incredibly warm arms waiting for me in bed,” he protested in a teasing way.
The men chuckled. “I know, but I wanted to share this with you before we leave this place in the morning,” Ethan explained, with a smile.
Quickly, he explained the whole situation to his men, giving them all the information he had gathered ever since they had set foot on the planet.
“I already knew some of that. I was able to take it from Caisys, the woman they sent to me,” Conrad said when Ethan finished.
“I hope you didn’t share information with her. I was told they are trained spies,” Ethan warned them.
“I realized that the moment she arrived at my room. Believe me, I didn’t tell her anything, but I was able to get a few things from her,” Conrad assured him.
“I know we’ve been in too many wars, but these people could use our help. Initially, we would only serve as transporters. They can’t leave the planet without being followed by a guard. But this could easily escalate to a war.”
“We should help. These guys have no right to enslave the Athean women the way they do,” Jared said, and all of his men agreed.
Ethan nodded. “Krug will set up a meeting with all the colonizers interested before we leave the planet. Let’s see what comes out of that.”
His men nodded, and they were about to get up to return to their rooms when Vlyse showed up, clearly dragged out of bed by one of the guards. The man wasn’t very pleased.
“Let me do all the talking,” Ethan warned his men through their private channel, ignoring the other man’s presence.
Vlyse rapidly closed the distance between them and pasted a fake smile on his face. “Good morning, Citizen Ethan. Is there a problem?”
Slowly, Ethan turned to look at Vlyse. “Problem? No, why would you think that?” he asked in an even tone.
“Then, why are you all gathered here?” Vlyse asked, not pleased with Ethan’s reply.
“Oh, this is part of our religious ritual. Once every seven days, we gather at this hour and summon the forces of the universe,” Ethan explained, lying so blatantly he could hear his men chuckling through their private channel.
Vlyse’s frown became even more profound. “I didn’t take you for a religious man, Citizen Ethan.”
“Having faith in something superior is good for the soul,” he replied, giving little explanation. “Do your people have a problem with that?” he asked, challenging the man to admit his real problem with their little gathering.
“No, no, of course not,” he denied, immediately.
“Then, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind allowing us to continue,” Ethan asked, as politely as possible.
“Not at all,” he assured him, but remained there a few moments longer, until he realized they were waiting for him to leave to continue.
Though furious, Vlyse was finally forced to leave, and Ethan turned his attention to his men.
“There goes a very frustrated man,” Conrad mocked the councilman.
“Yes, I don’t trust him, not even a little bit,” Ethan stated.
“I’m guessing you won’t suggest this place to Gyeon,” Daniel said, with a sigh.
“It all depends on what we’re able to do here. If we can get rid of the Dreshanians, this planet is a real paradise,” Ethan replied.
“Exactly, and Gyeon is the kind of snake that would certainly ruin it,” Conrad pointed out.
Ethan sighed. “You have a point there. When we get back to Ilea, we’ll contact Khalil and James to see if they have news from the other vessels. With a bit of luck, they have found the perfect place for our special client,” he said, scowling.
“When do you think we’ll be leaving this place?” Jared asked with a frown.
“In a few days, I guess, why?” Ethan replied.
“I heard the Dreshanians have sold some of their slaves to visitors,” he muttered, sounding a bit unsure, something quite unusual on the man.
“Yes, I’ve heard that too,” Ethan said, with a slight frown.
His intuition told him the point his man was trying to make. He had been considering the same thing, the longer he stayed with Neela. The idea of leaving her behind didn’t please him at all.
“I would like to buy the woman I have been with,” Jared finally said, confirming Ethan’s suspicions.
“You’re aware she might be using you to get her freedom?” Ethan pointed out unwilling to see his man hurt by the woman.
“Yes, of course, but I don’t care. The idea of leaving her in Dreshanian clutches twists my bowels.”
Conrad cleared his throat. “As a matter of fact, I feel the same way,” he admitted.
That would certainly complicate things for them.
“Anyone else?” Ethan asked his other men.
The rest shook their heads. “I feel sorry for them, but certainly not to that point,” Daniel explained.
“If we succeed, we’ll free them all,” Ethan pointed out.
“That’s not good enough for me,” Jared assured him, and Conrad agreed.
Ethan nodded. “Very well, we’ll see what we can do.”
With that, they finished their meeting at dawn and returned to their rooms.
Neela still slept, but she opened her eyes the minute he slid naked, in bed next to her. “Hi, where were you?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” he replied, stealing a kiss from her lips.
“You should have told me so,” she whispered when he finally allowed her to breathe, her body so aroused her heart was beating in a frantic rhythm.
“You needed the rest,” he assured her, kissing her again.
With a naughty grin, she pushed him closer, making him roll over her. “Why? Are you planning to make me work?” she asked in a teasing tone.
“I wouldn’t call it work, but I surely intend to drain you,” he replied, kissing her again and again.
His har
d cock was already pocking her soft belly and she slid her hands between them to take it, stroking it as soon as she reached it.
“Then, let’s not waste any time,” she said, smiling, as she pushed him away to get on top of him.
But to his surprise, she didn’t straddle him. Instead, she covered his chest with small, fiery kisses until she reached his thick cock.
Her first kiss felt like a jolt of energy rushing through his whole body, ripping a loud grunt from his lips.
Encouraged by his reaction she kissed him all over, leaving no inch untouched and paying particular attention to the small hole that bled with the evidence of his pleasure.
Her tongue finally came out to play, and when it poked his tiny hole, he almost lost his self-control. She licked and kissed him for a few moments before she took him in her mouth. He was too thick for her to take much of him, but feeling her sucking his head while stroking his shaft, felt like nothing else.
“I’m too close,” he warned her, through ragged gasps.
But his words only made her suck him faster and harder. She wanted him to come, she wanted to give him a bit of the pleasure he always gave her. And when he finally came in her mouth, pouring his essence down her throat, she felt heavenly.
Still breathing hard, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a hunger he was starting to think would never be satisfied. His cock hardened again and eager to have her, he had her get on her hands and knees as he stood behind her.
“Are you ready for me, little elf?” he murmured in her ear as he leaned over her, his cock poking her buttocks.
“Always,” she assured him, pushing her hips against his.
He grunted and slid his hands down her back, resting them on her hips. His cock slid easily inside her, and soon he was thrusting in and out of her stoking her passion each time he drove his length into her. As he felt his orgasm growing from low in his back he reached around to her mons to rub her clit and ensure she would be right there with him when he found his release.
It only took him a few thrusts to send them over the edge, swirling in the turmoil of rapture as the waves of pleasure crashed over them.
They collapsed in bed, and Ethan pulled her into his arms.
