The Seductress of Andromeda

by Callista Hawkes

  “You’re too soft for this line of work.” Eris berates you, stepping over his prone body. You shrug and follow her out into the corridor, the others falling in behind you as you make your way to the doors of a turbolift.

  “We’re so close.” Aki murmurs to her sister as the doors part and you all step inside. “This heist will be celebrated for all time.”

  “Just keep your focus.” Mariko tells her. “We’re not out of the woods yet.” Aki nods just as the turbolift slows to a halt and the doors slide open. You peer cautiously into the wide corridor beyond. It’s empty apart from two sentries standing either side of a thick blast door at the far end.

  “That’s the vault.” Eris whispers, glancing at the map on her wrist mounted computer.

  “We might just do this.” You murmur, glancing over your shoulder and flashing a smile at the others. You peer again down the corridor. The two sentries look undisciplined, both leaning back against the wall, their rifles propped up next to them.

  “We can pick them off before they even realise we’re here.” Eris tells you. “I’ll take out the one on the left, you take out the one on the right.”

  “Or I could remotely open the doors.” Aki suggests. “Distract them.”

  “They don’t need distracting, they need shooting!” Eris replies impatiently. They both glance at you.

  Use the element of surprise and shoot the guards

  Have Aki open the vault doors to distract them

  “Open the vault doors.” You tell Aki. She nods and taps away at her wrist mounted computer, her fingertips nimbly sliding all over the screen until with a final tap, she looks up and nods. You hear a low rumble echo up the corridor as the heavy vault door slides open. You peer out of the turbolift, the guards glancing over their shoulders in surprise as the vault yawns open behind them. They quickly pick up their rifles and you silently curse. If they weren’t alert before, they certainly are now. One of the guards enters the vault while the other begins to walk along the corridor towards you. You quickly pull back into the turbolift.

  “Let us deal with them.” Vaxia tells you, gesturing towards her husband.

  “Shoot them, for fuck’s sake!” Eris tells you impatiently.

  Shoot the guards

  Let Vaxia and Drazix deal with them

  “Okay, let’s take them out.” You murmur to Eris. She nods and you wait for the approaching guard to reach you, his footsteps growing louder as he draws closer. You step out and shoot the guard at point blank range. He lets out an agonised shriek before slumping to the floor. Eris opens fire on the guard in the vault, but alerted by the cry of the first guard, he takes cover inside the vault, peeking around the doorway and taking pot shots at you both, forcing you back into cover yourselves. Moments later, klaxons sound and the corridor is bathed in red strobing lights.

  “So much for the element of surprise.” Drazix mutters. Eris peeks back out into the corridor, a plasma blast fizzing past her head as the remaining guard keeps you all pinned down. She tries a couple more times, but the guard restricts her to blind firing in return.

  “Shit. What now Trent?” Eris asks you, desperation creeping into her voice. “Maybe if we all rush him together?” You hear a door open at the other end of the corridor and several sets of boots approaching. A whole squad of guards wearing body armour spill across the entrance to the turbolift, their guns all trained on you.

  “Fuck.” You hear Mariko murmur behind you.

  Surrender

  Go out fighting

  You’re not about to go down without a fight. While there are several guards, only two or three have their weapons aimed at you, the rest targeting the others. With a furious war cry, you raise your blaster, the muzzle arcing up towards the nearest guard. The guards open fire before you can even bring it to bear, plasma bolts tearing through you. They fire indiscriminately, shots fizzing past you as they cut down the others too. You drop to your knees, noticing Aki and Drazix staring lifelessly up at you. You keel over, slumping down to the deck on your side and finding yourself gazing into Eris’s face, dark blue blood trickling from the side of her mouth.

  “You fucking arsehole, Trent.” She rasps, coughing up more blood. You can hear Mariko and Vaxia moaning in agony behind you before being abruptly silenced by a single shot each. You see the boots of one of the guards as he looms over you and squeeze your eyes shut as you await the coup de grâce.

  THE END

  Go back a few moments and rethink your actions

  “Okay, you’re up.” You tell Vaxia, stepping back. She smiles confidently and waits in the doorway of the turbolift as the guard’s footsteps grow louder. You can feel your body tensing up as you wait for him to reach you, your hand grasping your blaster. You see his shadow on the deck and with one more step, he appears, his amber eyes widening as he sees the open turbolift door. Before he has a chance to react, Vaxia’s arms dart out, stretching elastically and wrapping around his throat before snatching him back into the turbolift. It all happens so rapidly, like a frog catching a fly with its tongue. She releases him and he drops to the floor, his neck broken. Drazix has already moved into the corridor. You peek around the edge of the turbolift door and watch as he glides fluidly and silently down the corridor towards the unsuspecting guard. The guard still has his back towards Drazix as he examines the interior of the vault. You watch fascinated as he dispatches the guard just as efficiently as his wife.

  “Let’s get that dylatinum!” Eris grins, stepping out into the corridor. You all hurry towards the vault as Drazix drags the corpse of the unfortunate guard out. The vault yawns open and your heart thumps in your chest, so close now to the prize. As you step inside, your excitement is immediately punctured.

  “Where’s the fucking dylatinum?” You snap at Eris, the large chamber conspicuously empty. “There’s nothing in here but fresh air!”

  “Have you ever actually seen dylatinum?” Eris replies coolly. She stoops to pick up a small silver case from the back of the vault. She passes it to you and you lift the lid. The case is filled with ten gleaming red crystals, neatly arranged in two rows. “Those crystals are worth two million credits each.” She grins. “Each one is capable of powering a small city for a year.” You feel your face burn with embarrassment. You had always thought dylatinum was some sort of precious metal, like gold or silver. You had expected a vault full of several tonnes of metal bars.

  “Well, I’m glad we’ve got that straightened out.” You reply, snapping the case shut and flashing Eris an apologetic grin. You hear a rumbling behind you, the thick vault door beginning to slide down. Klaxons sound and red lights strobe around you.

  “They’re on to us!” You yell. “Quickly, get out!” The tiny box in hand, you throw yourself at the rapidly closing gap between the floor and the closing door, rolling beneath it just as it closes with a solid thump. You get to your feet, finding yourself alone on your side of the door. There is a small window in the door and you see Eris thump the glass in frustration.

  “Quickly! Get us out!” She yells, though her voice is muffled by the thickness of the vault door. You study the vault controls before glancing at the small case of dylatinum clutched in your hand. Twenty million credits would stretch a hell of a lot further if it was split just two ways… You see Eris studying you through the window, her eyes narrowing as she sees the conflict on your face.

  “Don’t you fucking dare!” She thunders.

  Leave them imprisoned in the vault

  Break them out of the vault

  “Sorry.” You tell her through the vault door. “There’s no time. Good luck!”

  “You’re a dead man, Trent.” Eris growls, the others matching her glowering expression. You shrug apologetically and turn away, hurrying from the vault and retracing your steps back towards the lowest deck.

  With the ship on full alert, the Aurigan crew scurry about, searching for the intruders. With their attention on the vault, you manage to avoid the patrols, stealthily working y
our way deck by deck. As you reach the final corridor, you break into a jog, the hull breach in sight. Vanessa is nowhere to be seen and you hope she hasn’t already departed. Just as you reach the jagged circular hole in the deck, a guard appears at the far end of the corridor and raises his blaster. You dive to one side, a plasma bolt streaking past you. As you hit the deck, the case of dylatinum crystals slips from your fingers, the red crystals spilling out all over the floor. More guards appear behind the first, plasma bolts smashing into the walls and deck around you.

  “Trent!” You hear Vanessa’s voice behind you. She has emerged from the hull breach and returns fire on the advancing guards. “Come on!” You glance from her to the priceless crystals scattered just before you. “Leave them Trent!” She calls out to you. “They’re not worth dying for!” But they’re so close!

  Leave the dylatinum crystals

  Retrieve the dylatinum crystals

  “Cover me!” You yell at Vanessa. “I’m not leaving without those crystals.”

  “Leave them, you stupid son of a bitch!” She shouts back, returning fire while the guards advance on your position, knowing their greater numbers will overwhelm you. Phased plasma bolts fizz overhead as you scramble about on the deck, picking up the tiny crystals, knowing each one is worth a fortune. As you collect the last one, you look up, realising the guards are nearly upon you.

  “Halt!” One snarls, aiming his blaster at you while the others lay down a suppressing fire, forcing Vanessa back into cover. The guards are still some distance away and the hull breach is just behind you. Perhaps if you are quick, you could dive into it before they can shoot you. It’s either that or surrender. Your shoulders slump. Not much of a choice…

  Surrender

  Dive into the breach

  Hoping you can dive into the hull breach before they can get a shot off, you twist and throw yourself towards it. You hear blaster fire and cry out in agony as a blast hits you square in the back. You drop to your knees, clutching your chest, your fingers finding a burn mark. As the smell of burnt flesh fills your nostrils, you allow yourself a rueful smile. The Aurigan military are clearly better shots than you had given them credit for.

  THE END

  Go back a few moments and rethink your actions

  With a final rueful glance at the millions of credits worth of dylatinum crystals glinting tantalisingly close on the deck, you throw yourself down through the breach, closing the hatch behind you. Vanessa is already in the cockpit, firing up the systems.

  “What about the others?” Vanessa asks you as you slip into the pilot’s seat.

  “They won’t be joining us.” You reply distractedly as you disengage the docking clamps, the vast underside of the Vault ship disappearing from the cockpit window as you drop away. You fire the boosters, getting well clear before spinning up the hyperdrive. The starry expanse of space disappears to be replaced by the swirling crimson hyperspace conduit as you make your way back to the rendezvous planet.

  An hour later, you have returned to the Eclipse and left Aurigan space as quickly as the bulky freighter will allow. Once clear, you breathe a deep sigh of relief.

  “So let me get this straight.” Vanessa mutters next to you. “After all that, we’ve come away empty handed?”

  “I wouldn’t say completely empty handed.” You grin, pulling a single red dylatinum crystal from your pocket. Her eyes widen and her lips curl into a grin.

  “Trent, you son of a bitch!” She chuckles as you casually toss it across to her. She holds it up between her finger and thumb. “Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend clearly didn’t see one of these.”

  “Two million credits.” You grin. “That should keep you charged up and me in Andromedan ale for a few years.”

  “That it should.” She murmurs. “Feel like celebrating?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.

  “I certainly do.” You grin. “You ever been to Alpha Centauri?”

  A few hours later, you streak through the atmosphere of the fifth planet in the Alpha Centauri system. You fly low over huge lakes surrounded by colossal mountain ranges, the peaks tipped with snow. You set down on the edge of one of the larger lakes, the Eclipse sinking slightly into the lush red grassy bank.

  “Beautiful.” Vanessa comments as you descend the boarding ramp, gazing about you at the idyllic landscape. There is no sound other than the trickle of a nearby waterfall and a gentle breeze blowing through the red leafed trees on the fringe of the bank. Above the mountains, the violet sky is clear and the sun is hot. You sit down on the bank and set down an ice bucket. Vanessa sits next to you and holds up two champagne flutes as you pull the cork from the bottle. It pops loudly and fizzes up slightly, dribbling over your fingers. You grin and open your mouth to speak.

  “Don’t say it!” Vanessa tells you. You chuckle and pour the champagne, impressed that she knows you so well already. “Siriusian Champagne. You sure know how to spoil a girl.” She comments dryly, glancing at the label.

  “Now we’re rich, I guess I can buy a few bottles of the genuine article next time.” You shrug.

  “It’s not too bad.” She adds, taking a sip. “Tastes strong though.”

  “Can you get drunk?” You ask.

  “I’m programmed to simulate the effects.” She replies, before glancing at you and smiling mischievously. “Why, are you intending to take advantage of me Trent?”

  Yes

  No

  “No, of course not!” You reply.

  “That’s a pity.” She smiles, getting to her feet and walking towards the water. Her back to you, she quickly strips off, her long blonde hair cascading down to the middle of her back, her slender waist broadening to her firm buttocks, her legs long and toned. “You ever been skinny dipping?” She asks, glancing over her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. With that, she wades out into the lake, her legs and body quickly immersed as she moves further out. She turns back to you, the water up to her shoulders.

  “The water’s perfect.” She calls out. “You joining me?” You climb to your feet and quickly strip off, throwing your clothes down in a pile next to the ice bucket and discarded flutes. You step into the lake, the water cool but pleasant.

  “First it was a shower, now a bath.” You grumble as you wade out towards Vanessa, who is treading water a little further out. “You trying to tell me something?” You theatrically sniff at your armpits. She chuckles before her smile vanishes and her eyes widen. She is violently pulled under the surface before emerging again.

  “Trent!” She gasps, her arms splashing wildly. She disappears under the surface again and this time does not reappear.

  “Vanessa!” You call out, swimming towards her and peering into the cloudy water. You reach the spot where she disappeared and duck your head under the water, peering through the mass of seaweed for her, suddenly fearing for your own life as you wonder what it was that pulled her under. At that moment, you feel something clamp around your ankle, dragging you beneath the surface. You panic, lake water flooding your mouth. You kick out against the creature which loosens its grip and you push away, gasping for air as your head bursts from the water. Vanessa appears before you, laughing uncontrollably.

  “You bitch!” You snap. “Not fucking funny.” She laughs even harder, brushing long, wet strands of her blonde hair behind her ears. As your heart stops racing, you narrow your eyes at her and smile witheringly.

  “Don’t pout Trent,” She chuckles, “I’ll make it up to you.” You feel her fingers wrap around your flaccid cock and begin to stroke it. You gasp, feeling it begin to harden in her grasp.

  “You’d better.” You reply as her hand swiftly brings you to full hardness. A smile crosses her face and she leans towards you.

  “I’m yours to command, Captain.” Vanessa breathes, her blue eyes smouldering. “What would you like me to do?”

  Have her suck you

  Pull her towards you and slip inside her

  “I want you.” You t
ell her, reaching for her. Vanessa squeals with delight as you lift her up and pull her towards you. Her long legs wrap around your waist and she reaches down between your bodies, guiding your hard cock inside her. You groan as you sink into her warm depths, the contrast between the hotness of her pussy and the cool water on your balls feeling incredible.

  “Yes, fuck me.” She breathes, wrapping her arms around you. Your pulse races as your gaze meets hers and you see the wild lust in her blue eyes. Gripping her pelvis, you begin to thrust up inside her, her moans of pleasure joining your grunts. She throws back her head, her large breasts floating on the surface, rivulets of water running down her soft curves.

  “Damn, you’re beautiful.” You murmur, leaning forward and kissing the tops of her breasts as you continue to thrust inside her. She moans thickly, her fingers digging into your back as she gyrates her hips, thrusting down onto your rigid shaft.

  “I guess I’m forgiven then?” Vanessa pants. You nod before kissing your way up her chest and throat and pressing your lips to hers. Her tongue fences with yours and you pull her body tightly to yours. The excitement of being inside her in the middle of a lake on this beautiful and exotic planet has your pulse racing. You pull away, your breathing quickening as the pressure rapidly builds in your balls.

  “I’m getting close.” You gasp.

  “You going to fill me with your thick, creamy seed?” She breathes, her eyes glinting. “Or would you rather come all over these?” She adds, squeezing a breast.

  Come inside her

  Come on her

  “I’m going to come inside you.” You tell Vanessa, driving up into her with wild abandon. She moans sexily, the water churning around you as your bodies move together.

  “Oh, that feels so good!” She moans. You pull her closer, her breasts crushed against your chest, your fingers in her long wet hair. Your lips meet, kissing hungrily as you both close in on your climaxes.