by Tammy Walsh
“Why else did you think we came up here?”
“When you said ‘hop on a ship,’ I thought you meant get on one properly!”
“Keep hold of my hand and we’ll make the jump all right. Then we’ll head inside it and fly away from here.”
I was mesmerized by his eyes that commanded obedience.
“Okay.”
I kept my eyes on his face, even after he peered over the edge and said:
“Now!”
He leaped over the edge, and I jumped right alongside him.
I didn’t even know what was waiting for us down there.
Or if anything was.
Because I trusted him, totally and completely.
The fall seemed to last a lot longer than I expected and I began to feel a little nervous…
Then my feet struck something solid.
I stumbled but Ras was there to keep me upright.
We stood on the back of a large ship and it gradually floated toward the window leading outside.
“Over here,” Ras said, leading me to a large hatch door.
He took his hand from mine—I released it only because I had to—so he could grip the lock with both hands, turn it, and force it open.
It gave.
He extended his hand to me and guided me inside the ship.
I climbed down the ladder and didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until my feet touched the solid floor below.
It wasn’t really the ground but I could lie to myself and pretend like it was.
Ras shut the hatch door and scaled down the ladder.
He reached the bottom, hugged me, and took off down the hallway.
“Computer,” he said. “Prepare for dust off.”
“Order confirmed.”
We sprinted into the open arms of the elevator.
“Take us to the main bridge,” Ras said.
The elevator made a soft wiiiiiiing noise as it took us up, up, up.
I felt the pressure press on the top of my head.
“We’re getting out of here,” Ras said. “Nobody can stop us now.”
I grinned but it faltered.
The blood drained from my face.
“What?” Ras said.
“It’s Sar,” I said. “He’s heading toward us… Fast… I think he’s on his own ship and heading directly for us!”
The moment the elevator stopped, Ras was a man of action.
“Computer, take us off this planet and hit warp speed! Plot a course for the Rift!”
“Order confirmed.”
The ship turned and headed directly up.
Ras placed me at a computer terminal fully loaded with blinking lights and 3D holographic images.
“Uh…” I said, with no idea what I was looking at. “I hope you don’t expect me to actually do anything.”
“Just take a seat and relax. I’ll get us out of here.”
Suddenly, dark green blasts of plasma shot past us and across the front monitor.
“He’s firing at us?” I said, surprised at my shock. “I thought I was supposed to be important to him?”
“You are. But losing you to me is worse than you dying. To him, at least.”
Ras turned to the main monitor.
“Computer, divert all power to rear shields.”
“Diverting now,” Computer said.
“Load all torpedoes and fire at the ship attacking us.”
“There are multiple ships on our tail. Do you wish to attack them both?”
I could see the disappointment on Ras’s face.
Multiple ships.
He could defeat one Shadow ship, but two?
“Yes,” he said. “Open fire on them all. Target their engines. Maybe we can’t destroy them, but we can slow them down.”
The ship shuddered violently as we took incoming fire.
“Power at sixty-five percent,” Computer said.
“We just need to reach outer space,” Ras said. “If we can reach it, we can punch warp speed and we’ll get to the M’rora empire. We’ll be safe there.”
My fingers turned white they were gripping the armrests so tightly.
The monitor showed the atmosphere of the Shadow homeworld and the dark depth of space beyond.
The darkness turned lighter as we worked through each layer of the atmosphere.
“Why don’t we hit warp speed now?” I screamed.
“The gravity of the planet’s pull interferes with the technology. We have to get a safe distance away before we can hit it!”
Each second that passed, we peeled another layer of the atmosphere off until we were greeted with liquid black space and the only source of light came from distant twinkling stars.
Ras’s hand perched over a big red button that I assumed would launch us into hyperspace.
His fist quivered, desperate to punch it and speed away from our enemies.
The front screen turned almost completely black and I waited, desperate for Ras to hit that button too.
“Finally!” Ras said.
He brought his fist down on the button and…
The ship shuddered hard.
The lights flickered and the distant whine of the engines faded.
“The Core has been corrupted,” Computer said. “Warp speed is suspended.”
Ras slammed his hand on the button again and again.
But it was no good.
The final tendrils of hope slipped through his fingers and my own as we fell into the hands of his mortal enemy, the Shadow.
Ras
I had failed her.
My one mission in life was to keep her safe from harm and I had done the opposite.
The Shadow would board the ship and take her away.
They would take her back to the Citadel and the hellish experience she would be forced to endure would now be far worse.
They would make an example of her.
She would be passed to the very worst Shadows in the empire, the diseased crazies, and the empire would watch, enrapt, as would the other breeders, who were the real audience, to see what happened when someone tried to escape them.
Meanwhile, I would be tortured for days, possibly even weeks, if they thought my crimes were heinous enough.
I’d begun to hope we had done enough to escape this hell…
And instead, I had doomed us to an even worse fate.
I hung my head and awaited the arrival of the Shadow.
“Incoming message,” Computer said.
It would be my Shadow, come to gloat over his victory.
There was no greater shame.
“Onscreen,” I said.
Sar appeared on the monitor.
Psychologically, he was as different from me as black was to white, but when it came to our appearance, we really could have been twins.
“Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded, M’rora,” he spat.
Death was the best we could hope for now.
But it didn’t have to be slow and drawn-out, maybe it could be quick…
Did I have it in me to end our lives now, knowing what we would face?
One glance at Isabella told me I could never harm her.
I reached for the controls to lower the shields.
Isabella took my hand in hers and held me back from doing so.
“Turn the monitor off,” she said.
I did as she asked and it turned black.
“How long would it take for them to hack into the sysem and shut it down?” she said.
“I don’t know. Half an hour. An hour, maximum. Why?”
She took a seat in my lap.
“Because they’re our final few moments together.”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine.
She didn’t linger and drew back.
She worked her way down my neck and began to unbutton my shirt.
“I failed you,” I said, shutting my eyes and enjoying the sensation. “You’re doomed to a—”
She p
ressed a finger to my lips.
“Quiet. You’re spoiling the mood.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Computer, defend your systems to the best of your ability. Buy us as much time as possible.”
“Order confirmed.”
I scooped Isabella up in my arms.
“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right.”
I carried her across the bridge and into the captain’s quarters.
I headed directly for the bedroom.
“The bathroom,” she said. “I want us to be clean… before we get dirty.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It was small but functional and smelled brand-new from its recent refurbishment.
I put Isabella down, who turned the water on until she found the perfect temperature.
I tugged at my shirt to remove it but she took my hands in hers.
“Let me.”
She unbuttoned my shirt and kept her eyes firmly on mine.
Then she shoved it from my shoulders and reached for my pants.
Soon, they were on the floor too.
The briefs came last and my cock, that had ached for her since the very first moment I laid eyes on her, sprang to attention.
“Big boy,” she said, taking me in hand.
It was my turn to undress her.
I took my time.
Something so beautiful and tasty deserved to be savored and enjoyed.
I began by easing the collar of her blouse open and kissing her skin as I popped each of the buttons.
When I reached the bottom, I rose back up and pulled her blouse off, exposing her flat stomach and full breasts, caged by her inconsiderate bra.
I reached back and unclipped it.
I raised the cups and attacked her nipples with my tongue.
Within seconds, they turned even harder.
While I tasted one nipple, I pinched the other.
I pressed her breasts together and kissed down her stomach to remove her pants.
She was there instantly, her arms resting on my shoulders as I scooped her up.
She wrapped her legs around me and buried her lips on mine.
“What do you think of the horns?” I said, glancing up at them.
She ran her hands over them and I shivered, surprised they were so sensitive to her touch.
She sat up and kissed my horns.
For some reason, it was the most erotic thing she could have done.
My cock grew ramrod hard as I carried her into the shower and raised her under the hot water.
She giggled as it ran over her swollen breasts and down her thighs.
I lowered my lips to her nipples and savored them once more.
My God, she was delicious.
I couldn’t wait to taste her.
In fact…
I hefted her up, careful to ensure she had plenty of headroom and raised her to my lips.
She yelped and flayed in case she fell, but she must have felt my rigid muscles holding her pinned above me and relaxed.
I had her right where I wanted her.
She gripped my hands and groaned as I slurped at her juices.
She gasped when I slid my tongue inside her and jabbed at those soft ridges.
Her legs shook and I could feel her tighten around my tongue.
Then I returned her to her feet.
She stumbled but she didn’t let that stop her as she got down on her knees and took me in her mouth.
There was no way for her to fit all of me inside but she tried her hardest anyway.
I leaned back and enjoyed the sensation of her lips around me.
I placed my hands on her head and jabbed at the back of her throat.
Then she dropped and, with her hand jerking me off, took my balls in her mouth.
I didn’t need to guide her or tell her what I wanted.
She already knew what I wanted.
This was it, I thought. Finally, we got to enjoy each other.
It might be the last few moments of freedom we had but that didn’t matter.
I would live this moment a thousand times in the torturous hours to come.
And so I savored every moment.
I reached over and turned the tap off.
I wanted her.
I needed her right now.
She continued to slurp on my cock as I raised her onto her feet.
We shared a small but intimate kiss.
As I exited the stall, she smacked me on the ass.
I grinned at her.
Soon this moment would end and our enemies would crash through the doors…
I took her by the hand and led her to the bed.
She kept her eyes on me and my swaying cock.
She seemed nervous, apprehensive.
“I won’t hurt you,” I said. “I’ll be gentle.”
“That makes one of us. I don’t want you to be gentle. I want you to show me how much you want me.”
I wasn’t sure her small human frame could take that sort of punishment…
The lights dimmed and then flickered.
We shared a look.
The Shadow were getting closer to hacking through our defenses.
We didn’t have much time left.
But the enemy would still have to wind through the hallways to reach us.
And I intended on using every moment at our disposal.
Isabella laid back on the bed with her legs spread before me.
She lay there, and I took a mental snapshot of this moment.
I never wanted to forget it.
Her lying there, naked and open to me to use however I wanted.
And that look in her eye…
I could barely control myself.
I approached her and let my cock prod at her opening.
She reached down and rubbed at her clit before taking the head of my cock in her hand and guiding me inside her.
She nodded, that same look of apprehension on her face.
I eased into her soft folds, one inch, then two, then three, then I pulled back and dove in again…
Four inches, five…
Six, seven…
Eight…
She gasped, half in pain, half in pure pleasure.
I pulled back out again, her juices already coating my cock…
And back inside her.
Nine, ten…
Just a little more…
A little more…
Isabella tossed her head to one side, then the other.
She gasped and rested her hands on her stomach as I pulled out of her and then back inside in long, doleful strokes.
Her hands flew out and clenched the sheets and pulled at them.
I dove again, and she threw back her head and groaned with pure joy.
Back and forth, back and forth…
Each time with the same slow movement…
Probing deeper and deeper…
Her breath hitched in her throat at the bottom of each stroke before I pulled back out again and dove back in…
And when she began to get used to it, I sped up…
I leaned forward on top of her and reached under, cupping her ass in my hands.
I slid inside her again.
“Ohhhhhhhhhh!” she moaned as a shallow orgasm took her breath.
Her body broke out with hot sweat.
She eased up onto her elbows and peered at me in the eyes defiantly.
She ground her teeth as I moved faster, my hips pulling back and thrusting against hers, her pussy taking a pounding.
She leaned her head back and I pressed my lips to hers.
She sucked on my tongue as I ground inside her.
Her pussy clenched so tight she must have felt every inch of my cock inside her.
“Yes!” she screamed.
I pinned her legs back and dove deeper.
Her legs shuddered and I went to town.
As she sailed down the wave of her excitement, she placed a hand on m
y chest and tapped the blankets beside her.
I extricated myself and lay where she patted.
Then she climbed on top of me, taking her time as she slid me inside her.
With her on top, her gorgeous breasts were on full show.
She worked me hard, working toward her climax…
It was the most incredible sight I could imagine.
She rode me hard, taking every last inch, bucking wildly like a bronco.
I reached up and cupped her bouncing breasts in my hands.
Her body grew slick with sweat—matching mine.
She slid back and forth, her body writhing like we’d done it a thousand times.
She grasped her hair in her fists as she drove me deeper inside her.
She let out a scream as she brought herself to orgasm.
And seeing that spiked my excitement.
I spurted inside her, with her, at that same exquisite moment.
She must have felt me inside her, as she flopped forward and lay with her head on my chest.
We both panted, out of breath, my seed inside her.
“That… That was… amazing,” Isabella said.
“The best,” I said between gasps.
“Not bad for your first time,” Isabella said with a cheeky grin.
I smiled at her but was a little sad that this wouldn’t be my first time, it would be my last.
The lights flickered once more—or maybe they flickered many times only we’d been a little busy.
This time, it cut out for good and cloaked the room in darkness.
Only light from the nearby moon picked out the quarter’s skeletal details.
“What’s happened?” Isabella said.
“They’ve hacked into the computer system. They’ve taken down the shields and the engines. The ship is under their control now.”
Isabella was quiet for a moment.
We both wanted to luxuriate in this moment, the moment before our nightmares became real.
“I’ll never forget you,” Isabella said. “Even when… Even when they… I will think of you and this moment.”
I didn’t want to think about what they would do to her.
It broke my heart.
“I failed you,” I said.
“You did your best,” Isabella said. “You had amnesia! You fell from the sky! There was nothing else you could do.”
“I could have saved you. If only I could go back and live it again… If only I could remember what my mission was right from the start…”
It would be the last thing that passed through my mind when death finally came to claim me.