Harbinger, page 5
“He’s, uh…fine,” Mysha replied, her tendrils swishing oddly. “You seem to have repaired most of his internal damage.”
“Sometimes, I even impress myself.” Kaya experimentally dragged her fingers over her own bare midriff. The skin didn’t appear bruised anymore, and it only hurt if she pressed hard. “Though if I had known it was going to hurt so much, I might have just left him writhing in pain on the deck of that hangar.”
Mysha gave her a sour look. “You did the right thing. I don’t know why that seems to bother you sometimes.”
“I’m a complicated girl,” Kaya said, shifting her gaze back to the terminal and the floating image of the Thursk cyberneticist. “Too complicated for her own good, sometimes.”
Mysha’s cranial tendrils swished again as she reached behind her head and ran her fingers across the back of her neck. The explosive chip on her brainstem was buried too deep to actually feel a bump, but the tiny scar was still a persistent reminder of its presence.
“Every few minutes, I stop believing this thing is gone,” Mysha whispered. “I keep expecting someone to trigger it again…”
“If the Echo still had any control over it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Kaya said. “And Dorian mostly seems to know what he’s doing.”
“Absolutely…”
Kaya arched an eyebrow at her partner. There was something strange in the Velothi’s face, like excitement and embarrassment rolled into one. From her body language—especially the casual flicks of her tail—she almost seemed…titillated?
“And to think, you didn’t even want me to kidnap him,” Kaya said, sliding her arm around Mysha’s waist. Her partner’s normally smooth skin was covered in tiny goosebumps. “It’s a good thing for you that I’m so wise and worldly and always know what’s best.”
Mysha snorted. “You only brought him along because you thought he was cute.”
“No, I fucked him because I think he’s cute—I brought him along because it was the only chance of salvaging our mission. And I was right on all counts.”
Mysha rolled her eyes, but that only made Kaya chuckle. She pulled their mouths together, and as always, she appreciated just how warm and affectionate Velothi kisses could be. Kaya swore she could almost taste the contentment and relief on her Mysha’s lips…but then she suddenly realized she could taste something else, too.
“Wait,” Kaya breathed, leaning away and rolling her tongue in her mouth. “Is that…?”
Mysha’s tendrils curled anxiously. “What’s wrong?”
“I never forget a man’s taste,” Kaya said, beaming. “By the stars, you…you fucked him, too?”
“No!” Mysha protested as she shot to her feet. Her blue skin paled at least three shades, and her tail curled around her calf. Somehow, she was even cuter when she was embarrassed.
“Don’t be upset. This is great news!”
“We didn’t…I didn’t…” Mysha closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “We just fooled around a bit. I don’t know what came over me.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Kaya insisted, standing. She sauntered over and placed her hands on her partner’s shoulders. “You’ve no idea how happy this makes me.”
Mysha still hadn’t opened her eyes. “It was probably a mistake. I should have just come in here to check on you right away, but…I don’t know, I just couldn’t help myself. There’s something about him…”
“I know,” Kaya said, and meant it. “But I guarantee it wasn’t a mistake. You’re allowed to have fun, honey, and you know I don’t mind sharing.”
Mysha smiled, but it took her several seconds before she was willing to make eye contact again. It was in moments like these that Kaya had to remind herself just how inexperienced and vulnerable her partner really was. Mysha had never been with anyone else, man or woman. Her original owner had treated her like a rare collectible, isolating her to drive up her value as a slave. No one had ever been allowed to touch her, let alone “spoil” her.
Kaya would never forget the first time they had kissed…or the first time they had made love. It had been the most beautiful, soul-healing intimacy she’d ever experienced. She had promised herself that she would never take Mysha’s bond for granted—the Imprinting process was permanent, and Kaya was determined to live up to her end of the bargain. She would forever be Mysha’s protector as well as her lover.
Still, with her rare genetic condition, Mysha could technically Imprint herself upon another. Though presumably she would need to know him a lot longer than a day to make that kind of commitment…
“Give me all the juicy details,” Kaya said, pulling their bodies together. An electric thrill raced through her as she felt Mysha’s breasts press against her own, separated only by the thin fabric of a shirt and bra. “Knowing you, I’m going to assume you didn’t just drop to your knees the moment you entered the infirmary.”
Mysha flushed and shook her head. “I put some gel on his ribs and then…I don’t know, I just felt like I had to kiss him.”
Kaya grinned as she gently slid her fingertips beneath the other woman’s shirt. “And then?”
“And then…” Mysha shrugged and glanced away. “I wanted to see if you were exaggerating.”
“About his…?”
“Yeah.”
“So how did you…?”
“I used my tail.”
Kaya laughed and kissed her partner again. Velothi tails were notoriously agile, and Meesh had gotten her off with solely the tip more times than either of them could count. She had given Kaya a few “tailjobs” over the years as well, usually to help resuscitate her cock between tumbles, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine how much Dorian must have enjoyed it.
“This is incredible,” Kaya breathed. “The three of us are going to have so much fun together…”
“I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking, but I’m sure it’s ten steps ahead of reality,” Mysha said. “We barely even know him!”
“That just makes it more exciting.” Kaya chuckled again and cupped the Velothi’s face in both hands. “How about I give you some practice so the next few steps are easier? I can make myself look like him…”
Mysha groaned. “No! You should be resting. And if you’re serious about Cira Narn, we need to change course.”
“This won’t take long, I promise,” Kaya said. “You’ll thank me when we’re done.”
“But—”
Kaya kissed the other woman so hard she almost knocked her over. As their tongues swirled together, Mysha’s body instinctually responded to the presence of her bonded mate. She became butter in Kaya’s arms, tension draining from her shoulders while her nipples hardened through her shirt; it took only the slightest nudge to push her down onto her back. Her white mane spilled across the pillows, and she gazed up, panting with delight.
Stripping her partner naked had always been one of Kaya’s not-so-secret delights. She could always feel the excitement humming through Mysha’s blue flesh when her shirt was pulled over her head or her pants were pushed down her hips. Her submissiveness was so ingrained and powerful it made it even more shocking that she had taken the initiative with Dorian. She must have been so randy she could barely see straight.
And she still was. Her bald quim was puffy and glistening by the time Kaya ripped off her panties—the dark fabric warm and soaked through—and pushed open her knees. The sight of her sapphire labia, petaled open just enough to allow a glimpse of bright pink, set off an explosion of heat in Kaya’s core. Normally, the metamorph would have happily plunged in for a feast, but they were both way too hot to bother with foreplay. Mysha needed to get fucked. Hard.
And Kaya had the perfect tool for the job.
Closing her eyes, she pushed her own panties down her hips, then knelt on the bed and positioned herself between the Velothi’s slender blue legs. She was seriously tempted to try and copy Dorian’s appearance even though she had never practiced with it, but her sore ribs reminded her that a full shapechange would hurt like hell and spoil the mood. Fortunately, she only needed to change one part of herself to give Meesh the pounding she deserved.
“Recognize him?” she asked wryly as a perfect copy of Dorian’s thick, majestic member replaced her quim. “Why don’t you give him another tail tug for luck?”
Mysha bit down on her lower lip as her tail flicked up and coiled around the throbbing shaft. “By the stars…”
“Genetically engineered and everything.” Kaya said with a smirk—that instantly became a moan at Mysha’s first stroke. She had almost forgotten just how smooth Mysha’s tail could feel. If she kept stroking, she probably could have earned herself a hot shower in a matter of seconds.
Not yet. Not until after she sees what she’s missing.
Grinning, Kaya hooked her hands beneath Mysha’s knees to hoist the other woman’s legs up and spread them wide. The Velothi was eager to help: she grabbed hold of her ankles and pulled her feet nearly all the way against the headboard. She whimpered when Kaya’s swollen tip nuzzled between her folds and gasped when it pushed inside…
“Fuck!” Kaya hissed, nearly overwhelmed by a wave of ecstasy as the Velothi’s warm, wet walls enfolded her new stem. Kaya had fucked Mysha many times with many different cocks, yet somehow, she was never quite prepared for how tight and perfect her partner’s cunt could be. No man in the galaxy deserved such a prize.
“Nhhh!” Mysha cried out, her teeth sinking into her lip as she watched Dorian’s cock penetrate her. With her hands still holding her ankles, her tail darted up to curl around her nipples. Her breath hitched when Kaya bottomed out. “Fuck me…please!”
For a brief second, Kaya sincerely considered taking her partner as slowly and torturously as possible. They had so much to celebrate—after years of indentured servitude, Mysha was finally free from the Echo’s leash.
She deserved a long, slow pounding. She deserved to spend the entire afternoon surrendering to any and all carnal delights she could imagine.
But even if they weren’t in a rush, there was no way in the galaxy that Kaya could control herself. Not when she was this hot—and not when her beautiful partner was literally begging to get fucked as hard and fast as possible.
“Beg me for it!” Kaya demanded, holding her cock in deep, giddy at the feeling of her tip pressing into the soft circle of Mysha’s cervix.
“Fuck me!” Mysha blurted out. “Please!”
“Now beg him for it!”
The Velothi’s glowing eyes blinked, refocusing with effort. “W-what?”
“It’s his cock,” Kaya growled. “Beg him for it!”
Mysha moaned and glanced back down as the long, familiar stem withdrew one painful, glistening centimeter at a time. “Fuck me,” she pleaded breathlessly. “Fuck me, Dorian!”
Kaya happily obliged. Driving her hips down, she slammed her cock back inside Mysha’s cunt, prompting a full-body scream that practically shook the bulkheads. The Velothi’s tail squeezed her own tits so hard they almost turned white, and her moans promptly turned to gibberish as Kaya began taking her in earnest.
Stars, she feels so damn good. It’s almost as hot as when Dorian held me down and fucked me until—
“Oh, shit!” Kaya blurted as an unstoppable climax swelled within her like a tsunami. There was nothing she could do to contain it now, so she decided to just give in and pump even harder. She’d never been able to last long in any of Mysha’s holes, but this time she wasn’t just going to spill—she was going to detonate.
As tempting as it was to pull out at the last instant and cover the Velothi’s face and tits with thick white ropes of cum—then sit back and watch her clean herself off with her tendrils and tail—Kaya yearned for something more. So she hilted herself as deep as she could, slamming her hips into Mysha’s and burying herself within so much heat it filled the world…
She screamed in glorious release as she lost control, flooding her partner’s womb with a tide of pent-up seed. Mysha whimpered at every spurt as if each one triggered a separate shuddering orgasm. Her back arched, her tail spasmed around her breasts, and her glowing eyes rolled back into her head.
Once she had spent, Kaya slumped forward, drained and delirious. Her entire body tingled with delight even as a wave of lethargy crashed over her.
“Oh, honey,” she breathed, her hands cradling the Velothi’s soft blue cheeks. Mysha smiled contentedly as she released her ankles and let her legs fall, her body going so limp she practically melted into the sheets.
“That was…so good,” Mysha whispered, barely able to muster the energy to speak. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Kaya kissed her partner deeply, passionately. Mysha was the most important thing in the galaxy, and nothing—not the Echo, the Widow, or even a cold, indifferent universe—would ever change that.
Her cock had changed back into a cunt by the time she leaned away, and she couldn’t help but smile down at the viscous white beads now seeping from Mysha’s folds. There was something so powerful, so primal, about filling up her mate…it was easy to understand why men found it so satisfying.
But Kaya wasn’t a man, and she was ready and eager for another round. Her quim was slick and yearning for the teasing touch of a tail or tongue, her walls aching for some kind of stretch…but it was already too late. Mysha’s head had rolled to the side, her eyes closed and her breaths slow. Kaya didn’t understand the specific biological reason, but Velothi females practically went into a state of hibernation after sex with their Imprinted lover. It was one of several reasons Kaya almost always targeted a different hole first…
But Mysha had earned her rest more than anyone. After a lifetime of slavery, she was finally free.
“I won’t let anything happen to you ever again,” Kaya whispered as she slid down onto her side and wrapped her partner in her arms. “I promise.”
Interlude
“Report.”
Vestri unclasped her breathing mask and allowed the crisp recycled air of her ship’s cramped bridge to fill her lungs before she answered. The chemicals being pumped through the filtration systems would have been unpleasant and even toxic to most other sapient species, but that was one of the many benefits of traveling alone. This ship was the only place in the galaxy she could breathe without aid.
“The mission was a complete success, master,” she said. Her unfiltered voice sounded strange to her ears, small and smooth and flat; she couldn’t recall the last time she had spoken aloud without a mask or breather. “I destroyed the corpses and wiped the data from the station’s computers.”
The tiny hologram hovering above the helm console flickered slightly. The hooded figure had no visible face, but she could still tell that he was surprised by her progress. He truly had expected her to fail—he might have even hoped she would, if only to give him an excuse to wipe her mind and repurpose her as a Drone like the other failed experiments.
“What about containment?” he asked.
“As you suspected, Minister Drathir has ordered his men to work with the local authorities rather than assume direct control over the investigation—at least until his arrival. I have ensured that all station personnel with firsthand knowledge of the situation have either been terminated or had their memories altered accordingly.”
“And what of Drathir himself?”
“The Minister of Intelligence is scheduled to arrive on the station in three hours, but there is nothing left for him to find. The Eclipse is secure.”
“Good,” the projection said. “Very good…”
Vestri smiled—at least until she caught a glimpse of herself reflected in one of the control panels next to her. She had just watched two women who looked exactly like her dissolve into piles of goo, and the memory sent a dark shiver skittering down her spine.
She closed her eyes and drew in another deep breath, thankful for the relative quiet of the ship’s bridge. The tac-holo was still dotted with hundreds of tiny blips representing all the commercial ships encircling Talinus Station like a cloud of fireflies, but she had drifted far enough away that her mind no longer had to contend with the random emotions of total strangers.
Then again, at least the incessant flood of mental chatter kept her focused on the task at hand. Out here in the void of space, her only company was the abyss of her own thoughts. That may have been the worst fate of all.
“I have already sent word to our other operatives throughout the sector,” the projection went on. “The metamorph will likely attempt to flee the Belt as soon as possible, but her ship will need to refuel at least once beforehand. It is absolutely imperative that we contain her here before she can rendezvous with Union forces in the Far Rim.”
“I will find her, master,” Vestri promised, her eyes flicking back open. “But I do not believe that she will attempt to flee the sector. Not yet.”
The faceless head in the projection tilted noticeably to the side. “The Seventh Shadow knows that we will pursue her,” he said coldly. “And more importantly, she fears us. She will not risk the safety of her bonded mate for anything.”
“With all due respect, sir, I understand her better than anyone,” Vestri said. “She may not understand what the Shadows are, but she knows that we all share the same face. Even if her memories remain suppressed, she will still have many questions. She will not leave the Belt until she learns the truth.”
“How can you be certain?”
“Because I wouldn’t.”
The projection remained still and silent for several moments, and Vestri couldn’t help but wonder what her master was thinking. He had doubted her capabilities from the very beginning—that was one of precious few things she still remembered about her training. Of all the types of Shadows, he seemed to hold the Nines in the lowest regard. To him, she was just another failed iteration of a flawed genome. The only reason her powers had even been discovered was because she should have died during maturation but miraculously hadn’t.
But Vestri knew that her struggles had only made her stronger. What she lacked in natural gifts she made up for in raw determination. Her telepathy, her telekinesis, even her physical conditioning—they had all lagged behind her “sisters.” But those challenges—those failures—had forged her into the weapon she was today.
