I jump up to greet the others, only to be met with enormous and heavy crates being thrust into my arms. Behind one of them is Reeta. “Stack these,” she says, out of breath. “What’s with all the fire?” I ask.
“No time. We have to get out of here,” she answers, passing me another crate.
“Get those engines running,” Gallik barks as he rushes aboard with Falax. I barely have time to say hello to him before they buckle up in the cockpit.
“Are we being attacked?” I shout over the thrusters. Falax turns around in his seat. “We may have stirred up a little trouble while we were in there,” he says. “You might want to buckle up.”
The ship rumbles as it takes off, and I stumble back from the force of the liftoff. Reeta grabs my arm and helps me into a seat. "Safe and sound," she says as she buckles me up. I feel like I'm in a strange dimension, where I'm no longer Becca the smuggler and instead I'm Becca the fragile human. Nevertheless, I hunker down and try not to puke my guts out as we blast off to our next stage of the mission.
CHAPTER FOUR: FATHER FIGURE
FALAX
Gods, it feels good to be back with the old team again. And now Becca can be a part of it, though for some reason she's been acting odd about this mission. We've never been on the planet Muran, except for Gallik, who doesn't talk about it much. The entire landscape is covered in rusty red clay with thick flat-topped mesa that shoot up from the ground like ancient skyscrapers. The people of this planet tend to make their homes in them, which is an efficient use of space if you ask me.
Muran is also known for its complicated railway systems that transport everything from people to our super secret cargo we’re loading up now. Rissa’s got us hooked up with a state of the art speed train. They’re sleek, fast, and have roomy sleeper cars.
Luckily, Becca and I get to load up one of the cars together, which gives us a moment of much-needed alone time. I hoist one of the crates into the large empty car, while Becca slides them across the floors into a secure place. I catch a little glimpse of her ass each time she bends down, and I find myself wishing for even more alone time with her. "So, do we know what's actually in here?" Becca says wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. "Not sure," I say. "Rissa won't even let the rest of the team open it, not even Gallik."
“What’s the story with you and him anyway?” She asks. “You guys seem to be thick as thieves.”
"Huh, I like that expression. Gallik's always kind of been a mentor to me. Before I was basically a slave to the King of Kellion's army, I was just learning how to be a smuggler. He saved me from a drugged-out junkie on a casino planet when I was trying to score my first client. I was the second to last one to join his band of smugglers. Nemi and Meni were next. For a while, we were a ragtag family of outcasts just trying to survive."
"I see," Becca says, deep in thought. "What made you guys split up?" I'm not particularly fond of this part of the story, but basically, a job went wrong when the five of us landed on the lava planet, Krellus. I had to stay behind while the others loaded up the ship with our client's product. Before I knew it, we were under attack, and instead of going with the rest of the team I offered to stay behind so they could get away. It wasn't easy getting out, but like always, I managed.
After I explain this to Becca, I can’t help but study her worried face. “Is something wrong?” I ask. “Is it the baby?”
She absentmindedly holds onto her stomach but shakes her head. "Not quite," she says. "I just think it's weird that we were attacked when we were picking up the shipment back at that factory. Shouldn't they have known we were coming?"
I can only shrug my shoulders since I know just about as much as she does. Gallik did stress how stealthily we had to be picking up the crates, but he definitely didn't say why. "They probably didn't know Gallik was the guy coming and might have confused us with someone else," I suggest. "But he definitely caused the commotion while we were there. He has his own way of doing things."
"I guess so," Becca says. Again, she has a strange demeanor about her. I reach out and hold her for a moment, wrapping my arms around her waist and leaning my head against hers. "These guys are professionals," I tell her. "They'll keep you safe, and the baby too. It's like you said, once we finish this last job, we'll get out with our pockets full and have an awesome life for the little one."
She relaxes under my touch, turning her head to look up at me with those soft eyes that I always find myself falling for. "I love you," she says before kissing me softly on my lips. I give a slight moan in return as I bury my fingers in her hair. "Ahem," someone clears their throat behind us, and I turn to see Meni holding a crate. "Look alive, you guys," he says. "This isn't some pleasure ride." To our surprise, he smiles at us. Becca leans down to grab his crate, but he turns away before she can touch it.
"I got it," she says. "I've been carrying crates for the past hour." Meni shakes his head. "No way, miss," he says. "You're carrying something even more valuable. Don't want to risk you getting hurt or anything."
But Becca doesn't give up. She lashes forward, grabbing the crate from Meni's hands. "Hey! Careful!" He warns but holds up his scaly fingers in defeat and steps back outside. "Why so feisty?" I ask. Becca shakes her head as she pushes the crate across the floor. "Sorry," she says, frustrated. "I'm tired of everyone babying me here. I'm the lookout, then Reeta buckles me in since there's a baby on board, and now I have Meni giving me grief. It's a little demeaning honestly."
"Hey," I say. "You're still Becca the smuggler to me. Everyone just doesn't know you like I do yet. They'll warm up to you."
"I guess. We still have plenty of time to get to know each other," she says as she goes back to work.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Gallik asks as I watch another mesa pass by us through the endless wall of windows. I turn to look at him, noticing that he's been watching me instead of the view. "What's that look for?" I ask him.
"You look so…grown up," he says. "I never thought you'd turn out to be such a renown smuggler." He actually sounds…proud of me, like he would after I’d help him pull off a big heist. His words are comforting, making me feel like I’m doing something right with my life.
"Becca's been an amazing co-pilot," I say. I know Becca was feeling insecure earlier, so I really want to stress her great qualities to the team, to let them know she's not a threat. Gallik smirks at me like he knows something that I don't.
"She's lovely," he says. "She doesn't mind you going on these missions?"
"Clearly not," I say. "She's saved my ass on nearly every mission we've done. She's a registered badass."
“That’s good,” Gallik puts his hands behind his head. “Good to have a lady you can rely on. The question is, can she rely on you as a father?”
My stomach does a little flip. I would hope Becca would rely on me once the baby is born. Then again, I know nothing about being a parent. "What is this? Some kind of dad talk?" I joke. Gallik shrugs, his face unsure. "I'm only trying to say that you should weigh some of your options more is all. I saw you come alive when we were escaping that factory. At some point, you may have to ask yourself what's more important. Better yet, what suits your life the best?"
"Becca suits me," I say, straightening up a bit. "I can't be a smuggler for the rest of my life."
“I sure did,” Gallik says as he turns towards the window. “Best thing that ever happened to me.”
I sit with him in silence, watching one of the suns sink below the red horizon. I look over at him every now and then. Gallik isn’t just my old mentor, he’s a glimpse at what I could be if I stay on this path. I’m met with a strange stomachache and a bad taste in my mouth. If, hypothetically, I was a smuggler forever, would that mean I’d have to give up my life with Becca as well?
CHAPTER FIVE: LONELY
BECCA
"Why don't you go ahead and take a peek?" Gallik says as he comes down from his rocky perch, handing me a pair of binoculars. We've been on the train for a couple of days now, and it'
s clear that we needed some time to get out and stretch out legs for a bit. I'm not sure why Falax wanted me to spend time with Gallik this afternoon.
I'm standing on top of a large hill overlooking Muran's flat, red wasteland with the train waiting in the valley below us. I don't know what Gallik is expecting me to find with these binoculars. It's been the same view for days. However, as soon as I raise the device to my eyes, things become more clear.
In the distance is a village. Houses are made of hollow-looking clay, and I can make out several pockets of people with feathery garments going about their ways of life. Their faces appear strange, almost like birds, with small beaks. I watch as women weave baskets and sharpen knives, while children chase around a small desert creature.
"Where're the men?" I ask Gallik. He points skyward, and I follow him with the binoculars. Flying down from above are several dark specks, men with enormous wings outstretched as they dive gracefully down towards the village.
"Fascinating, aren't they?" Gallik asks, and I nod. "The Avates are quite the fighters," he adds. "But don't be fooled by their innocent hunter-gatherer façade. They're the main threat out in these parts." He lowers the binoculars from my eyes and gestures to the thick scar on his face. "Got this from an Avate male last time I was here," he explains. "Should have seen him afterward, though. Poor savage got what was coming to him."
I cringe at the word “savage." Sounds like Gallik's got some personal issues in need of reflection, and I take his statement as my cue to leave. Before I do, though, I take another peek at the village. Sitting off to the side is a woman holding a baby, it's feathers barely coming in. She smiles tenderly as she holds it, and a ghostly wave shudders through my own stomach.
Once night falls, I finally have Falax all to myself. Luckily, since we're the only couple on board, we have a sleeper car all to ourselves. I look out of our window at the still desert, stars peppering every inch of the sky. I hear the door slide open as Falax enters. "What a day," he sighs, patting himself down with a towel. He's still glossy from a recent shower, his pecs gleaming in the glow of our train car. "Nemi and Meni were pains in the ass while fixing the cooling cores today. We should be back on track tomorrow."
I feel his sturdy chest pressing against my back, his entire body enveloping mine as his arms stretch around my waist to hold me. He sighs as he takes a deep breath into my neck. “That tickles,” I say.
“How about this?” He teases as he kisses my neck, and I try not to laugh. “Or maybe this?” now his hands leave my waist, his fingertips trailing softly up the sleeves of my silk robe until they come to a stop on my shoulders.
"I missed you today," I say, tilting my head to rest it on his hand. "Oh, really?" He says. "Tell me about it."
"It's so lonely on this train," I sigh dramatically. It's partially a joke, with a hint of truth to it. It's lonely not seeing Falax as much, not to mention it's been a while since we've been intimate. As he touches me, nuzzling my ear with his nose and breathing next to me, I'm definitely feeling an ache between my legs that's absolutely killing me. One that certainly needs to be satisfied. I turn around to face him, running my finger along his stubbly cheek.
“I need a big strong man to keep me company,” I add, pouting my lips at him.
"Well, it just so happens that I'm a man. Definitely of the big and strong variety," he says, pressing my back to the window. He presses a button on the wall to dim it until it's completely tinted with a black hue. His forehead, still a little damp, presses against mine as he slowly slips my robe off from my shoulders. The fabric drops to my arms, where he bends down and kisses my exposed skin, all the way back up to my neck.
I sigh at his touch. Finally, I can get some satisfaction. I let my robe fall, exposing my naked body to him, pressing my heaving breasts against his chest as his hands curve around to knead into my ass. It steams up pretty quickly once I look up to kiss him, our lips interlocking in a passionate exchange while he lifts me against the window. My legs latch around his waist while he holds me, still clutching my ass and slipping his tongue past my teeth.
I'm getting wetter now as my clit is gently caressed by his stomach. Falax turns and gently lays me down on the silky sheets of our mattress, spreading my legs apart, a plot forming in his light green eyes. He nuzzles his nose against my knee, planting sweet kisses along my inner thigh until he's just inches from my vulva.
Just barely, he runs his tongue along my lips, then encircles them with the rest of his mouth. I lay back, biting my lip and stifling a moan from the twitches of pleasure his lips are giving me as they curl around my clit. I can feel myself seeping into his mouth as he inserts his tongue a little further inside of me, getting a full taste of me. I grab his head in between my legs, holding tightly to him as my hips gyrate. His tongue flicks against me in fluttering movements, driving me wild.
“I want all of you,” I tell him. His head emerges from in between my thighs. “Are you sure?” He asks. “It’s not going to, you know…with the baby…”
"It's fine," I say, impatient and hungry for his cock inside of me. Falax promptly climbs onto the bed, pulling me onto his lap and inserting his massive muscle inside of me. He sucks on the buds of my breasts, one after the other as I bounce tenderly on top of him, grinding further against his erection. His hand latches on the back of my neck, and I arch back to let him in deeper. He glides me up and down until I can feel my walls giving in around him, contracting and undulating as I spiral up into a climax.
Falax exhales deeply as he throbs inside of me shortly after, his member pulsing until he removes himself and finishes on my tits. I kiss him one last time before I roll over onto my back, relishing the remaining waves of tingles and leftover sensations from our lovemaking.
“You didn’t want to finish inside of me?” I tease.
"Couldn't risk getting you pregnant," he says between breaths. I get up to clean myself off, hoping that now I can have a chance to maybe bring up the strange things that Gallik was mentioning about the Avates.
Before I do, I notice something in the mirror. I turn from side to side, inspecting the larger bump that was once my stomach. "Hey honey, do I look bigger to you?" When I step back into the room, I'm crushed to find my husband dead asleep. I have no choice but to lie on my side of the bed, curling up to his tired body and trying not to think about the baby and the risks of this mission. Babies don't grow that quickly, do they? Suddenly the room feels just as empty as if Falax weren't even in it. These worries fog up my mind, providing a staggering cloud that follows me even into sleep.
I wake up feeling nauseous and I can't help but to panic. I've heard the horror stories about things that go wrong in a pregnancy, and my mind swells with an endless list of fears. What if I can't have children with a Kellion? What if taking this mission is too hard on the baby and me? I could only picture that delicate pulse of life that Rissa revealed to us just days ago. Are we even ready to be parents?
I feel like I'm going to puke. I run for the small bathroom in between our car and the next and sure enough, I hurl my guts out. I can't help but look at myself again, swearing that there's a slight curve to my stomach now. I think I've been cramped in this car for too long. I need to get some air.
The nights are cold on this planet. I threw on some sweatpants and a hoodie, and wrap a blanket around my shoulders before stepping out into the night. The moon is enormous here, taking up a quarter of the sky. It feels good to get the bracing air through my lungs, and I gulp up several deep breaths of it just to calm myself. I brought a bottle of this disgusting brew out with me to hopefully keep my stomach at bay.
As I choke down the liquid, I hear a scuttling noise from nearby. Isn't everyone asleep right now? I climb down the small stepladder from the train as I locate the source of the noise. Instinctively, I reach for my baton, now the size of a lipstick tube, hidden in my pocket.
I hear voices, several of them speaking in hushed but foreign tones. Intruders. I rip out my baton, blue light si
zzling as it charges up. I can see the shadowy figures just ahead of me, and I'm about to attack and call for help when suddenly I find out who's sneaking around. Freezing in the spotlight of my weapon is a small group of Avates, all of them young children or early teens. They stare at me like deer in headlights, their small wings crimping behind their backs in fear. One of them is a young woman, perhaps college-aged on Earth. A bundle hangs from her shoulders.
I definitely don’t speak Avate, but I gesture my best to tell them I’m not going to harm them. The young ones relax, one of them pointing to his beaked mouth. I begin to understand. The bundle hidden on the young woman’s chest begins to stir, and the beginning whimpers of a baby’s cry emerge from it. The woman desperately tries to quiet it, and we all know how bad it would be if the rest of my team wakes up.
Without thinking, I take the blanket from my shoulders, placing it on the bare shoulders of the smallest child. He wraps himself gratefully in it before I gesture that I’ll be back in a moment. I emerge quickly with another blanket stuffed with food and medical supplies. Rissa has certainly given us more than enough for the journey. I don’t see the harm in helping out just a little.
A cautious boy takes the parcel and whispers to the rest of his group. They smile at me, bowing politely, though they’re still nervous. They bend their knees, their wings flapping wildly, whipping up dust around them as they take off. The only one that remains is the young woman with the baby, who quickly shuffles towards me. She holds out her wrist, yanking a beaded bracelet from it and opening my hand up to place it on my palm.
I try to tell her it's not necessary but she insists. I gesture to my belly, then to her baby, and for a brief second, we share a moment of understanding. She smiles at me, placing her hand on my belly and giving a slight bow before she takes off and flies alongside the others.
Forbidden Territory (Galaxy Smugglers Book 3) Page 3