by K. Aten
He looked confused for a second then smiled. “I suppose so.”
Glad the conversation was done, Castellan saluted her fellow officer and mentally scoffed at the people they let into Psi Security Corp. While they did well as local law enforcement, Security Corp members were not nearly as disciplined as Defense or Shield. Granted, her youngest sib served with Security, but he was more of an example rather than an exception. “Thank you for the information and I’ll see myself out. Good dae, Commander.”
Dendin hastily stood and saluted back. “Good dae!”
Back at their camp, Castellan gave a loud thumb and forefinger whistle at the same time she sent a telepathic nudge to her entire team, including Olivienne. Within two meens they had all assembled in front of her. The Connate looked at her curiously but waited to see what she’d have to say.
“I just spoke with the regional Security Corp commander and he said that we’re due for a big blow that will last two nights.” She pointed to the west where the sky was already turning black with flashes of lightning cutting jagged strips through the gloom. “As you can see it will probably hit within the next oor. We’re fairly sheltered here and rain won’t come in your cubes but we’re going to be pretty isolated in our camp until it clears. I recommend connecting them if you want some social time without getting soaked. Otherwise, everyone should have rations for two daes and a stone heater, one per cube. I apologize about the fact that we’re all going to get wet on the trips to the lavatory but at least we’ll have a full facility to use in the dorms. If you’re on guard detail, make sure you have your weather proof gear ready and dry it thoroughly after each use. Savvy?”
A chorus of voices all responded. “Yes, ser!”
“Did you ask about our charter?” Olivienne looked worried that they may miss their boat.
Castellan smiled in reassurance. “No boats will run during the storm because the rocs won’t fly and they provide the majority of the security from the Atlanteens. We should be able to head across to Mater the dae after tomorrow.” She scanned the group as a whole just as the first fat drop landed on her cheek. No one spoke so she circled her finger in the air twice to indicate they were dismissed. “Run then, get out of the rain. First detail starts now!” Once they were gone she turned to Olivienne. “I’m sorry your plans got delayed. What will you do now?”
The sovereign gave her a wicked smile and waved toward their sleep cubes. “I took the liberty and connected our sleep cubes. I hope you don’t mind.”
A lone pale eyebrow raised at the Connate’s words. “That’s a little obvious isn’t it?”
Olivienne laughed. “On the contrary, I told them I needed to confer with you about the coming mission.”
Tosh snorted. “And you think they believed that?”
“Does it matter? A third of the team was on the railer when we first began tupping. And I’m sure the team you put together is smart enough to have figured out what’s what by now. We are around them most of the time and the fact of the matter, dear Commander, is that I find you much too beguiling.” Olivienne smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Maman always said that while I have her coloring, my eyes showed my mind much like my papan. I’m a terrible liar and worse secret-keeper.”
Two more chilly drops splashed onto Castellan’s skin and she looked up at the sky. “I suggest we take our discussion on the merits of honesty someplace a little drier.” They ran across the grassy site just as the rain came down in earnest and for the sake of entry time, each went into their own cube door. As they had slightly larger than standard sleep cubes, both the sovereign’s and Castellan’s living space were seven foot by seven foot square with an inside height of eight foot. The cubes could be connected on the corners, which is what Olivienne had directed. Castellan’s sleep gear was still rolled tight and none of her other kit had been unpacked since she wasn’t the one who had set up her sleep cube.
“I’m soaking wet over here.” Despite being less than a yord away, Olivienne’s voice came back muffled amongst the drumming sound of rain. “I’m going to string a line and hang my things to dry over the illeostone heater. There’s plenty of room for your uniform as well.”
Castellan laughed from her temporary living space and began removing her weapons and gear. “That was decidedly unsubtle.”
The reply that came back was full of humor. “Well I’ve always heard that soldiers were a bit thick in the head so I figured I’d help you out a little.”
“Funny, I’ve heard the same about Service Corp...athletes in particular.”
The Connate smirked unseen in her cube. “Still jealous about that?”
“I was never jealous.” Tosh’s voice was unexpectedly loud as she stepped through the connector. The officer was gloriously nude and holding onto her wet uniform. “I believe you offered me a line?”
Olivienne made no secret of her blatant appreciation of Castellan’s form. “I’ll give you whatever line you need as long as that body is in my bedroll within the next ten secs.”
Instead of responding, Castellan strode the few steps to the installed drying line and turned to hang her things. The Connate visually devoured the strong back and tight buttocks that faced her way. “You are killing me over here, Commander. You should not tease a humble psera so.”
Castellan couldn’t help laughing as she completed her task and turned to face a decidedly heated sovereign. “You give such good advice and when I find a humble psera I’ll be sure to follow it.”
“You cad!” In less than two secs Olivienne grabbed Tosh’s arm and used her leverage to trip the officer onto her bedroll. Then the Connate quickly straddled Castellan’s hips and rested her hands on the firm shoulders below. “You surely deserve to be punished for your impertinence!”
The dashing officer’s pulse increased at the feel of their nude and slightly damp bodies pressed together. Her pale blue gaze was full of heat as she challenged Olivienne with a familiar raised eyebrow. “And who will dole out such a punishment? For I find myself more than a little wet, and perhaps dirty from our dae of travel. I hardly think the Royal Sovereign Connate Olivienne Dracore would want to sully her fingers with such a punishment.”
Her words turned to a gasp as Olivienne reached between them and ran her fingers through Castellan’s hot folds. “Oh, I plan on sullying so much more than my fingers.” Those were the last intelligible words spoken for many oors between the two women as they practiced their not-so-secret tupping well into evening. Castellan never did get around to laying out her bedroll.
The next dae didn’t dawn so much as get measurably lighter as each sun broke free of the horizon. Tosh had retreated to her own cube earlier to do some basic exercises. Her space was limited but she was able to get a solid oor in of basic strengthening with a little cardio thrown in. Olivienne did a much shorter workout, but only because she was bored and wanted to get her blood pumping. She would have preferred a much more pleasurable way to accomplish that goal but, ever the soldier, Tosh insisted she needed to complete her waking routine. The rain continued unabated into the morning and the grayness outside brought the Connate’s mood down as well.
Once her fitness routine was taken care of, Cmdr. Tosh used the voteo to check in with the team. She spoke with both Lt. Savon and Lt. Madlin, as well as the current guardians on duty. Nothing untoward had happened overnight and the team overall was getting a bit stir-crazy. Knowing that they would all appreciate a hot meal, Tosh once again voteod Cmdr. Dendin. “Commander, is there an eatery in this town that can seat and feed sixteen?”
Laughter returned over the small handheld communicator. “Are they going crazy already? It’s been less than twelve oors!”
“Yes, well I thought it would be good to take Connate Dracore and the Shield unit out to eat something that tasted better than field rations.”
“I hear that particular Dracore is a handful of an assignment. Gone through all her previous captains, right?”
Commander Castellan Tosh had spent her
entire career within the Psi Defense Corp before transferring to Shield. She lived and breathed the daily gossip that circulated about officers and civilians both. And it really didn’t matter which militia Corp one ended up in, they all had their share of gossip. She didn’t usually reprimand anyone for it unless it was detrimental to team or morale because people were people and were bound to speak and speculate. But hearing Cmdr. Dendin speak of Olivienne with anything but the highest respect left her feeling cold. She couldn’t explain her need to defend the sovereign, she simply reacted. With as much scorn as she could muster she spoke into the voteo. “Connate Dracore is our sovereign and the heir to the Divine Cathedra. You will speak of our sovereign with respect or not speak of her at all. Is that clear, Commander?”
There was a distinct pause of about six secs before the speaker crackled. “Yes, ser. I apologize for any seeming slight. To answer your question, there is only one eatery that will be open during the storm and that one is only so because the owners live above it. Look for the gray building near the clock tower in the center of town. If I were you I’d teleo ahead to prepare for your arrival but it should meet your needs.”
“That will do nicely.”
Dendin’s voice sounded strangely hesitant when he spoke again. “Will that be all, Commander Tosh?”
She smiled at the special privilege her black uniform afforded her. “No actually. First, I’d like you to teleo the eatery and tell them to expect sixteen for noon meal. Second, I need two of your Security officers stationed at our camp for the entirety of our noon meal. Savvy?”
A few sec pause again and the commander responded. “Yes, ser. I will tell them to be ready for you at twelve hundred oors and arrange for guards for the Connate’s camp. Dendin out.”
Castellan was satisfied that she got her point across to the Security Corp commander. It wasn’t really a dressing down but she took more pleasure than she should have in setting him straight. Rather than use the voteo to contact Lt. Savon, she telepathically informed him about the new plans for the team to take noon meal at the eatery, and that local Security Corp officers would watch the camp. He informed her that he’d relay the message to everyone else. Castellan’s thoughts were interrupted by a light mental nudge. She recognized Olivienne’s ‘feel’ in her head. “Yes?”
“I don’t hear you making friends over there.”
Tosh flushed at the notion that Olivienne had heard her words to Cmdr. Dendin. “The need for professionalism far outweighs the desire of friendship. Dendin was out of line.”
“Since when do you get so defensive of my sorry sovereign carcass?”
Castellan wasn’t sure she understood her own action, let alone be able to explain it to someone else. Especially the Connate. She strengthened the wall she had to prevent snooping of her deeper thoughts and responded. “Despite our dalliance, I do take my job quite seriously. Denigrating our nation’s sovereigns is offensive and rude and I will not tolerate it.”
The Connate smiled from where she reclined on her own bedroll, nude as she was the instant Tosh left to go back to her own cube. The tempyrature inside was elevated from the stone heater and she was tired of pouring over documents that yielded no more clues to the specific location of temple treasure. “Why are you still over there talking to me mind to mind? Why not just come back to keep me company?”
“Why not?” Castellan smirked at the other woman’s reasoning, because there was none other than ‘why not.’ At that moment there was nothing between them other than casual bedmates. But as much as Castellan enjoyed their dalliance together, she also worried that it would change and go too far if they spent too much time together. Just as she had told the Queen wekes before, she had no time in her life for things such as romance or the consorage it inevitably led to.
If she were promoted away from the Connate’s Shield unit in the future, it would be best for everyone if they were not too attached. For Castellan Tosh, her career had always been her compass in life. She wasn’t sure what she would do if she no longer had the goal of rising to the top whilst contributing to home and country.
Almost as if Olivienne could hear those private most thoughts, she changed her request. “Will you?”
“That depends.”
Violet eyes rolled in exasperation. “Depends on what, Commander?”
“On whether or not you are as nude as when I left you two oors ago.”
Olivienne grinned and responded with mock affront. “Of course not! What do you take me for, the pampered thespians in the Service Corp?”
No sooner had she finished speaking when Castellan came through the connector between the cubes. She was looking down when she cleared the opening and turned to re-fasten it again immediately. That was why the Connate’s nudity took her completely by surprise. “Sheddech! Why aren’t you dressed?” Tosh looked away from Olivienne’s laughing face and divine body, hoping to slow her pulse back to its normal pace.
“Oh, don’t be such a prude, Commander. You cannot convince me that you didn’t appreciate the view. Besides, it’s not like you haven’t seen me in every state imaginable by now.”
Castellan had come into Olivienne’s sleep cube in absolute professional mode and it was impossible for her to switch gears so fast. Not completely sure how to act, she kept her eyes fixed on the side of the Connate’s cube even as she heard rustling from the nude woman’s location. “I appreciate a great many things but we have noon meal plans at the eatery—”
“Noon meal is three oors away. Won’t you look at me, just for a sec?”
Olivienne’s voice was decidedly closer and Castellan shut her eyes to avoid the temptation. She clenched her jaw when deliciously smooth skin brushed against the knuckles of her left hand where it was clenched at her side. “I should probably return to my cube while you dress—”
A firm hand gently turned Castellan’s face to the left and she opened her eyes just as Olivienne brushed her lips with a kiss. The Connate backed away an ince when the kiss was done and met her heated gaze. “You don’t really want to do that, do you?” In a blink, Castellan found herself nude as well and watched as her clothes reappeared on a duffel next to the bedroll. Olivienne smirked and that was all it took for the commander to act.
Castellan turned and practically tackled the sovereign to the bedroll, pinning her instantly with her greater muscular bulk. “You are going to pay for that!”
Olivienne tickled her lover’s side, causing Castellan to squirm. “Oh yeah? And who is going to elicit this payment from me?”
As it had often been said, turnabout was fair play. And thinking of those words in that moment, Castellan used her telekinesis to completely pin the woman below her. With her channel rating, there was no way the Connate could break free and the look in those dark eyes said that she was well aware of the fact. Alternately, pale blue eyes twinkled with pent up humor. “Who indeed?” Then she adjusted Olivienne’s position so that her limbs were spread to all four directions. The throbbing pulse in the Connate’s neck increased with the knowledge that she was so exposed and completely at Tosh’s mercy. She had never been held so completely before, at least not by someone as powerful as Tosh. It was quite exhilarating knowing that she could not win free.
Instead of struggling, she stared straight into Castellan’s eyes and wet her suddenly dry lips. “Perhaps you should deal with your ‘handful’ of an assignment now, Commander.”
Tosh knelt between the prone woman’s legs and leaned over until she could whisper in Olivienne’s ear. “Oh, I will...” The officer’s voice trailed off as she moved her mouth down to lightly bite Olivienne’s neck.
The Connate writhed below her. “Don’t tease!”
“Who’s teasing?”
Castellan moved lower still and Olivienne stifled a whimper. The droning of the rain had quieted somewhat and it wouldn’t do for the entire Shield team to hear their goings on. Though she was hard pressed to stay silent when the woman above her took a firm nipple between her teeth.
Her voice was a desperate whisper. “Tosh...”
Castellan looked up at the light warning in the Connate’s voice. There were a multitude of things swimming in Olivienne’s eyes, none of which the officer could decipher. “Does it bother you to be so helpless below me?” Tosh’s grin was a little predatory.
Olivienne swallowed at the other woman’s hungry look but still answered the question. “It doesn’t bother me, per se. But I’m certainly not used to it.”
“Does it frighten you?”
Their eyes met and both women felt a moment of truth come over them. “No, I’m not afraid at all.”
Tosh cocked her head and peered down at her lover. “You trust me with your passion?”
Olivienne’s voice was soft and sincere. “Castellan...I trust you with my life. It cannot get deeper than that.”
It was but a mere thought that came back to her. “I suppose not.” Then before Olivienne could think to decipher either Tosh’s mood, or her mental words, she was besieged by a pleasure as the officer began stimulating her in multiple places at once. Tosh kissed her even as she took Olivienne’s breasts into her hands. If the Connate were capable of rational thought in that moment, she would have been truly impressed that Castellan could hold her down so thoroughly while engaged in other activities. Not only that, but a startling and titillating pressure had begun to rub along her clitoris. But rational awareness was lost as Olivienne spiraled higher and higher, writhing within the bounds of Tosh’s mental grip. It was a glorious way to kill a few oors’ time.
Chapter Sixteen
LUNCH WAS MUCH appreciated by the entire unit, especially Olivienne and Castellan. When the meal was finished, Olivienne took the opportunity to speak with the owners of the eatery. Murph and Sarae were a consoral couple, old-timers that had lived in Natus their entire life. She explained that she was looking for something that was only referred to as a treasure, and that she knew it was located on Mater Island. Sarae was striking with her carefully pinned white-hair and an oceanic-blue flowing pantsuit that was exactly the color of her eyes. Her shirt was open at the front, beautifully displaying the matching blue tattoo of consorage around her neck. She looked up from Olivienne’s unclassified notes with surprise.
