Galaxy Under Siege

by Tristan Vick

  Dakroth didn’t reply at first but merely raised an eyebrow and looked over at the girl. An impressed grin spread across his thin lips and she felt a huge sense of relief that he wasn’t angry with her. “I somehow doubt that, Lieutenant. Jegra fucks who she likes, and right now she seems to like fucking you. I won’t stand in the way.”

  “Really?” Brei asked, half beside herself in astonishment. When Callestra shot her a harsh look, she corrected her mistake, “I mean, thank you, Lord Emperor. Your understanding and compassion is unrivaled.”

  Panic flooding her chest, Brei didn’t know how to respond when, suddenly, Dakroth offered her his fist. She looked over at it, not quite understanding the gesture at first. But then she remembered something Jegra always did. She had called it a “fist-bump.”

  Timidly, Brei reached out her fist and gave him a light, awkward tap. He smiled at her and she smiled back. At the same time, she began to feel the fuzzy feeling of her molecules begin to transfer into energy.

  Callestra Van Morgan merely watched with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression on her face. Then, in the next moment, all of them gradually dissolved into light and were whisked away to the ship.

  When they re-materialized aboard the Shard, all of Brei’s nervous jitters came back up in the form of a vomit explosion. She lurched off the teleportation pad and bent over the garbage canister in the corner and hurled right in front of Emperor Dakroth and the Vice Admiral.

  Dakroth didn’t pay any mind; he simply strolled off the pad and out of the teleport room. Callestra, however, held back and threw her hands up on her hips and watched Brei continue to puke out her guts.

  “It all makes sense, now,” Callestra said, throwing up her hands in a revelatory fashion. “She has taken pity on you. That’s why she tolerates you.” Callestra put her hand on Brei’s back and started rubbing. “Do you need me to call a medic?”

  “No, ma’am,” Brei, said, wiping saliva from her chin with the back of her hand. “I just got extremely nervous in front of the emperor. More than usual.”

  “Oh,” Callestra said, sounding confused. “I see.” Of course, she didn’t see. She didn’t understand much of anything that was happening right now. “Well, I have things to do,” she said. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right, Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Brei replied, straightening up. She saluted, and the vice admiral returned her gesture.

  “Make sure you head to sick bay and get yourself checked out. That’s an order. You may be coming down with something and we wouldn’t want anybody else getting sick, now, would we?”

  “No, ma’am. And thank you, ma’am,” she said, as Callestra strolled over to teleportation room’s exit. “I will.”

  After Callestra had left the room Brei placed both hands on her knees and retched all over again.

  25

  Shortly after returning to the ship, Brei found herself standing in front of Jegra’s quarters, hemming and hawing, uncertain as to whether she should ring the chime or not. Determined to debrief the empress as ordered, however, she took a deep breath and pushed the button.

  She drew back, almost as if in fright, when the door chime rang. Soon enough, the door slid open and Jegra stood in the entrance. She looked at Brei, then looked up and down both directions of the corridor and then reached out and grabbed Brei and pulled her into the room.

  Before Brei had time to react, their lips were mashed together and Jegra’s tongue was probing her tonsils. A half a second later Jegra pulled back, and smacking her lips and making a sour pucker face, she asked, “Did you vomit recently?”

  “Yeah, sorry,” Brei answered. “I just got back and have been so busy preparing this report I haven’t had time to freshen up.” Thumbing over her shoulder in the direction of Jegra’s bathroom, she said, “Maybe I should go and brush my teeth first?”

  “Please, do that,” Jegra answered. As Brei headed into the bathroom, Jegra went over to her standing bar and rinsed her mouth out with a glass of whisky.

  After Brei finished brushing her teeth, she fidgeted with her hair in the mirror. Her white uniform hung open and she gently tugged on the collar, separating it even more so that her cleavage showed. But her smallish breasts didn’t do her any favors.

  She let out a dissatisfied sigh, puffing at a tuft of hair in disappointment as she eyed her chest disapprovingly.

  It’s not your tits she’s into, Brei told herself. It’s your kindness and your ability to listen and maybe the double flicker thing you can do with your tongue.

  She fiddled with her hair some more and then decided that none of it was working. Inhaling deeply, she quickly peeled off all her clothes except for her Salmon colored lingerie and kicked the pile of garments into the corner. Looking back in the mirror one last time, she clenched her butt and then, doing her best to keep them as tight as possible, walked with an uneven gait back into the bedroom.

  When she appeared in the entrance, she paused to gather herself, took a breath, and then tried her best to sashay over to Jegra’s bed with a seductive swagger. Almost as soon as she’d set off, however, she nearly tripped over her own feet.

  She stumbled forward, throwing her hands out like a person balancing on a tightrope to stabilize herself, and then, having caught her balance, slowly stood upright again. She swiftly kicked off her work boots, but she’d given the second kick a little too much power and one of the boots flew across the room and knocked over Jegra’s reading lamp.

  Jegra startled at the lamp and when Brei’Alas scurried over to pick it up, she extended her hand and gestured for Brei to ignore it.

  Disheartened by the fact that she was failing to pull off anything that resembled sex appeal, Brei gave up on the notion of trying to seduce the empress and just walked normally the rest of way across the room.

  Brei felt herself growing excited as she drew closer to Jegra’s bed. To her pleasant surprise, it appeared as though Jegra had changed into something more comfortable too. She had on a gossamer evening gown made of a tangerine fabric so transparent that it left little to the imagination.

  With one knee on the bed, Brei began to crawl across the covers with catlike nimbleness when she noticed the mascara stains on Jegra's cheeks that looked like a watercolor painting melting away into the canvas. “Have you been crying?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the mood, but you were there. You saw my baby,” she sobbed, and then she clutched Brei so forcefully that Brei thought her arm might break. Burying her head into Brei’s breast, Jegra let it all out in torrents of tears.

  “It’ll be okay. I don’t know how. But we will get through this.” Brei tried her best to console Jegra but, all things considered, her words seemed inadequate. She had no idea how to cope with such a heart-wrenching revelation. She wrapped her arms around the broken-down mother and just held her to her petite bosom.

  She held Jegra until the empress fell asleep in her arms, and then, feeling awkward that she was in the empress’s room half naked without any official purpose for being there, she slowly slipped her arm out from under Jegra’s sleeping head and slid to the edge of the bed.

  “Please, stay,” a dreary voice called out and she looked over to see Jegra staring at her through half open eyes. She reached her hand out and took Brei’s and gently drew her back into her embrace. Brei curled up beside Jegra, this time becoming the small spoon, and let the empress wrap her arms around her.

  “That’s nice,” Brei said, as Jegra cupped her breast with one hand and the other resting on top of Brei’s abs.

  “It is, isn’t it?” Jegra answered sleepily.

  They lay there holding one another until Jegra’s gentle snoring filled the room. Brei didn’t go to sleep though. Too many things were running through her mind. In fact, she barely remembered falling asleep at all when, all of a sudden, her bracelet’s ringing aroused her from her half-slumber, alerting her to the time.

  “What is it?” Jegra murmured.

  “
I have to get ready for my shift.”

  “So soon,” she said, sounding somewhat disappointed.

  “Should I come back later?” Brei asked, looking into Jegra’s smoldering brown eyes.

  “I’d like that,” Jegra said. She leaned forward and gave Brei a peck on the lips, enticing a grin.

  Brei, not knowing what to do in such a situation, since she’d never really dated girls before—not that she didn’t like girls; the opportunity simply hadn’t ever presented itself—she leaned in and kissed Jegra awkwardly on the upper lip.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized, missing her mark. “I can do better.”

  “Show me,” Jegra said, a sleep laden smile forming on her full lips.

  Brei kissed her again, this time hitting her mark. It was long and sensual and Jegra even licked her lips when she’d finished partaking in the most delicious kiss she’d ever shared with another woman.

  “That was much better,” Jegra said, touching her lips with her fingers as if in shock.

  “I have to go,” Brei informed the empress, still hesitant on what she should do. But for whatever reason, she felt drawn into Jegra’s lips again, and before she knew it, they were making out like a couple of teenagers.

  “I thought you had to go,” Jegra stated between kisses.

  “I do,” Brei replied.

  “Mmm...” Jegra moaned, leaning into the kiss.

  Slowly pulling back, Brei laughed. “I’m normally not like this,” she said, withdrawing from Jegra’s embrace.

  Jegra just leaned back and watched her.

  “What?” Brei’Alas asked, brushing her hair back over her shoulder.

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit. Underneath that meek facade is a gorgeous woman.”

  “I’ve never felt all that beautiful,” Brei replied.

  “You are, though. Don’t sell yourself short.”

  Another chime sounded from Brei’s bracelet and she looked down. “Shit, I’m going to be late.”

  Before she could scurry off, though, Jegra shoved her onto the bed. “Wha—” Brei gasped out, uncertain as what exactly was happening. When Jegra’s hands slipped off her panties, however, and she looked down as the empress buried her face between her thighs, she kicked her head back and gasped, “Oh, my...”

  Eyes closed, Brei took in every sensation. Jegra worked her to climax and, legs clamping tight as she orgasmed, Jegra slid up and kissed Brei on her thin blue lips.

  That’s when the comm came on and Barrion alerted her to the fact she was late for her shift. “Brei, what’s going on? You’re late, and you’re never late.”

  “Sorry, I was just...I um...”

  Jegra winked at her and then spoke up, even as Brei was waving her hands and pleading her not to. “She was just enjoying some morning breakfast with her empress,” Jegra informed.

  “Apologies, Your Grace,” Barrion replied, feeling bad for having interrupted the empress’s breakfast. “I had no idea, I’ll, um, inform the captain.”

  “Please, do that.”

  “And Brei, please, feel free to take your time. I’ll cover for you as long as you need.”

  The comm cut off and Brei hit Jegra in the arm. “You’re terrible.” They both laughed and then Jegra slowly slid back down.

  “What are you doing?” Brei asked.

  “You heard your boyfriend. We have all the time in the world.” She kissed Brei’s thigh and then looked up into her amber eyes.

  “I can’t,” Brei said, using her arms to sit up. She met Jegra’s gaze and then said. “If this is turning into something serious, I can’t let it interfere with my job.”

  “I understand,” Jegra said, bending down and dappling kisses along Brei’s other thigh. “You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.”

  “I’m serious!” Brei laughed, taking Jegra’s chin in her fingers and gently guiding her eyes back up to hers.

  “I know,” Jegra answered. Slowly spreading Brei’s legs apart, Jegra put her lips right up to Brei’s wet sapphic lips and French kissed her long and deep. Pulling her tongue out, she rose up and kissed Brei on her mouth.

  “Satisfied?” Brei asked, smiling at her precocious girlfriend.

  “Very,” replied Jegra, licking her lips and smiling brightly.

  “Good,” Brei said, climbing out of bed. When she tried to saunter away with a seductive swivel of her hips, she tripped on the rug and crashed to the floor.

  “Ooh!” Jegra gasped out in shock. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” Brei said, bouncing back up.

  “Haven’t really got that swagger thing down yet.”

  “Nope,” she said, feeling embarrassed.

  Jegra watched as Brei scrambled to get her clothes on and then race out the door.

  Brei paused in the open entrance. She turned back and smiled at Jegra, who was still watching her with those smoldering brown eyes of hers. Brei blew a goodbye kiss and then slipped out into the corridor.

  Her hair a mess, her body odor lingering on her from the lack of a shower, and a hickey on her neck that she had no clue how she was going to explain to Barrion, caused an abnormal amount of stress, but since she couldn’t put it off any longer, she ignored her disheveled appearance and headed off to start her shift.

  Brei’Alas popped up her collar to try and hide the hickey best she could, put her shoulders back, straightened her posture, and confidently strode onto the bridge. “G’morning, everyone!” she chirped in her usual manner.

  Lianica looked over at her from over her cup of steaming tea, the tea-bag still hanging out over the lip of her mug, and watched the disheveled, yet strangely confident, Brei’Alas take her post.

  The moment Brei had settled into her seat, a proximity alarm chirped. “Captain,” Brei said, looking up at the main viewscreen. “The Galliforn flagship has just entered the system.”

  “If you’d be so kind, Lieutenant, please hail the Chiron and give them our greetings. And send them the coordinates for the ground teams. I’m sure they’ll want to begin teleporting their people up ASAP.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Brei’Alas replied as she carried out her orders. Not even a few seconds had gone by when the expression on Brei’s face turned to one of absolute horror.

  “Sir, they’re aiming their plasma canons at the surface,” Lieutenant Commander Barrion shouted.

  “Bring the Shard in between the Chiron and the surface. Now!”

  The Shard moved into position, acting as a shield and began taking a heavy pounding from the heavily armed Chiron.

  “Our shields won’t be able to take much more of this,” Brei shouted above the hiss of electrical sparks igniting in the background.

  “Shields down to fifty-six percent,” Barrion relayed.

  “Start teleporting the remaining ground teams into the cargo holds. We’ll worry about overcrowding later.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Brei’Alas shouted and she jumped up from her station and sidled up to Barrion. As she leaned over, he glanced down at her neck and his eyes widened.

  “Is that a hickey?” he asked, somewhat shocked.

  “Now’s not the time,” Brei said as she frantically worked the controls to get a lock on the ground crew. The computer bleeped, letting her know the lock was good, and she ran her fingers up the teleport pad. “Activating teleporters now.”

  “Drop the shields,” Lianica shouted above more electrical explosions and another flurry of sparks.

  The ship’s lights dimmed as all energy from the shields went to the teleporters. The plasma blasts from the other ship glanced off the hull of the Shard, barely scorching it, and the areas that did get singed moved like a gelatin blob and healed themselves before hardening again.

  Even though the Shard was designed to take on direct plasma cannon fire, the high yield disruptors of the Chiron were powerful enough to do some real damage if they stayed in the line of fire too long.

  It was like sitting under a tin roof during an acid-rain storm.
The tin would protect you for a while, but eventually the acid rain would eat its way through. This was true with the hot plasma blasts and liquid korridium alloy as well.

  “Structural integrity is down to thirty-three percent,” Barrion said.

  “I got them all,” Brei’Alas shouted. “No, wait,” she corrected. “All but for one.”

  “Who is it?” Lianica demanded to know.

  Lieutenant Brei’Alas turned to her captain. “Grendok, ma’am. He’s teleported himself to the Chiron.”

  “Then may Pan be with him,” Lianica said. She turned to T’Zera and ordered, “Get us out of here, Lieutenant.”

  T’Zera slid out of her seat and into Brei’s seat, situating herself at the navigation station, and dialed in the coordinates. She glanced at Captain Blackstar for confirmation and, with the captain’s nod, she turned back to the controls and activated the slipstream drive.

  26

  The iridescent ship flew alongside the massive Nyctan battle cruiser as both ships made their way toward the Correll system and the Seyferrian Republic for peace accords.

  Onelle stretched up and out of her chair and then went over to the teleportation pad at the back of the flight cabin. She stepped onto it, brushed down the pearl-white cocktail dress she wore, which emulated the lustrous quality of pearls exactly, and then took a deep breath. She tapped the small opal pendant she wore and it chimed, doubling as a communicator. “I’m ready,” she said, wondering why teleportation pads made her so nervous.

  Almost immediately, the red Nyctan light of the queb beams danced around her and her vision blurred, faded, then came back into focus again. When her eyes had finally re-adjusted to the new environment, she found herself standing aboard the Nyctan ship with a black-eyed Nyctan girl staring at her from across the room.