Saved by the Alien Dragon

by Stella Cassy

  But when I realized her scent was no longer clinging to me, I felt a strange sadness. Ordinarily, I'd be relieved to be rid of it. Not this time, though. Something about her was different.

  No, she wasn't the one who was making me feel dirty. It was Ranel and Tarion. It was my own guilt and shame at how desperately I wanted to be with her again, even though I knew that giving in to such temptations would only put me at risk of losing my command.

  And I knew I couldn't just scrub those feelings off my scales, no matter how badly I wished I could.

  So I suited up and was just latching the last few notches on my uniform when the door chimed. “Come in,” I called out, knowing full well who would be standing there when it opened.

  Sure enough, Ranel strode in, his claws laced behind his back.

  “Have you come to berate me some more?” I asked.

  “Self-pity is unbecoming of a captain,” he growled. “Tarion's ship has disembarked.”

  “I assume that's not the only reason you decided to stop by.”

  “No. It isn't.” He paused, then went on. “One of our drop-shuttles was shot down near the N-3 colony. The Pax managed to rig a portable surface-to-air explosive cannon from salvaged mining equipment, and they fired it from one of the canyons. Lieutenant Krelgir was piloting the shuttle. He's dead, along with everyone else aboard.”

  The wind was knocked out of me, and I reached for the nearest chair, sitting down hard. Krelgir. He'd seemed so young, so resourceful, so full of vigor. And now...

  “When he'd told me of his plan to get us past the Pax outposts, I was so impressed.” My voice was trembling, barely above a whisper. “I remember thinking that with such a sharp mind and fearless heart, it wouldn't be long before he had a command of his own. I was going to recommend him for a promotion as soon as we got back. I can't believe he's gone.”

  “Well, he is,” Ranel answered coldly, “along with a dozen other officers who didn't have adequate time to impress you on a personal level. If I were you, I'd be a hell of a lot more concerned with the loss of the drop-shuttle and its weapon systems.”

  I stared up at him, feeling as though he'd slapped me across the face. “Ranel, how can you be so damn unfeeling?”

  “Because I'm a commanding officer in the Hielsrane fleet just like you are, and I've been given an important job to do,” he roared, his gruff voice filling the cabin like a sudden burst of flames. “We don't have time to mop up the mess from your bleeding heart right now. We don't have time for you to roll around on the floor whining and weeping like a hatchling. You want to be sad and introspective about the horrors of war? Fine, you can be as sentimental as you like...later, when we've won. When we return to Thirren, you can dedicate a monument to the slain and make a speech about the brave crew members we lost in our path to victory and blah-blah-blah. Until then, there's no time for that nonsense. The crew look to you to be their leader, not their mourner, so snap out of it before you're relieved of command.”

  I stood up, trying to keep my back straight and my expression neutral. “Anything else to report, commander?”

  “Yes,” he replied through clenched teeth. “The Pax insurgents are uniting and mobilizing in large numbers across the planet's surface. They've successfully hit about half a dozen targets so far.”

  My guts wriggled as though they were full of cold worms. “How many more losses have we sustained?”

  “None. They're not engaging our forces directly. They don't seem to have the offensive capabilities to do that, at least not yet. They're blowing up the mine shafts, igniting and destroying the mineral veins within. And they're focusing on killing the remaining slaves we've kept on the surface. They've exterminated roughly forty percent of them so far, with new reports coming in every hour.”

  I blinked, confused. “What? Why would they do that?”

  “Because those fuzzballs are smart little sons of bitches, that's why. They know our personnel are so limited that we have to dedicate them to hunting the remaining Pax down, rather than defending what we've already taken. So they're hitting us where they know we're spread the thinnest. They figure if they can't take us in a straight battle, they can make sure there's nothing left on this ball of rock for us to fight over—no more slaves, no more precious metals, no reason for us to do anything but abandon the place before we lose more shuttles and crew.”

  “And if we leave, it'll give them time to rebuild,” I said slowly. “But this time, with heavier planetary defenses, courtesy of their Pax Alliance pals.”

  “Exactly. Plus, they'd be a lot sharper about monitoring their outposts between here and Thirren, so we can forget about any cute tricks to avoid their sensors. No one gets that much free pussy twice in one lifetime.”

  I nodded. “Not that I'd be involved anyway, since I'd be relieved of my command for failing in my mission. Suggestions?”

  “Well, we're not leaving, that's for damn sure.” He thought for a moment, scratching his chin with a claw. “The way I see it, we need an edge, something that will give us a decisive advantage over the Pax. At the risk of bringing up an unwelcome subject once again, our best bet seems to be extracting information from the prisoner.”

  “She doesn't know anything useful,” I said quickly.

  “We don't know that for sure. With the right tactics, the proper motivation...”

  “I won't order her tortured, commander.”

  Ranel bared his fangs. “Just because you've had relations with her...”

  “This isn't about that. Torture isn't an effective means of getting accurate information.”

  “Neither is sex, but that didn't seem to stop you.”

  I did my best to control my temper. “Another answer will present itself. I'm certain of it.”

  “Very well,” he rumbled. “I'll return to my post and read more reports about our crewmates being slaughtered, while you sit in here waiting for a fairy to magically appear out of the bulkhead and give you the answer you're looking for. Sir.”

  He left, and I sank into my chair again. I was furious with myself for not being able to come up with a solid plan, but I refused to resort to torture. The Hielsrane were warriors, and certainly bloodthirsty on the field of battle – but we weren't sadists.

  Suddenly, I heard a soft scratching noise emanating from one of the panels on the bulkhead. I got up to investigate and the panel popped off, hitting the floor with a dull clang.

  Natalie emerged, her torn overalls still hanging from her body.

  “Did someone call for a magic fairy?” she asked, standing up and brushing herself off.

  9

  Natalie

  All of it – being captured by the Hielsrane, the threats I'd gotten from Ranel and Dashel, the grimy nightmare of making my way through the passages behind the bulkhead filled with grease, dust, and toxic coolants – was almost worth it just for the look on Dashel's face when I stepped out of the wall in his cabin. He gasped, then sputtered. I didn't know how many hearts the Hielsrane had, but for a moment, I was sure the one in his body was going to go into cardiac arrest.

  “How did you get in here?” he finally managed. “How did you get out of your cell?”

  “A bit of human ingenuity goes a long way,” I retorted smartly. I had no intention of answering either question. As we Earthers were fond of saying, a good magician never gives up her secrets.

  “Yet you seemed like such an easily conquered race due to your physical limitations, your primitive tech, and your inability to unite against a common foe.”

  “Yeah, well, you can't keep us down for long,” I smirked. “I'd ask how things are going for you on Nort, but I overheard everything Ranel just told you. Yikes. Sounds like at this rate, in a few cycles, you guys will be tucking your scaly tails between your legs and flying off.”

  “Is that why you came in here? To gloat?”

  “Actually,” I said, “if you really want to know, I came in here to blackmail you. You know, use what happened between us as leverag
e to make you release me and claim I escaped. When I came up with the idea, it seemed like a win-win scenario for both of us. Well, more for me than for you, I suppose, but...”

  “Am I to infer, then, that you've changed your plans since then?” From the grumble in his voice, he didn't seem particularly hopeful.

  “As a matter of fact, I have. Because they're executing the slaves.” I couldn't believe the words as they came out of my mouth. “Those people didn't ask to be dragged here. They didn't ask to be starved and beaten and worked to death in the mines, any more than I did. They're not enemy combatants, and those Pax scum are butchering them by the hundreds just because they're too cowardly to face you directly. While I was working for them as a supervisor, I thought they saw me differently from the rest. I honestly believed I had worked hard enough for them – been loyal enough to them, even over my own people – to earn their respect. To be rewarded, when the time came. But that wasn't true, was it? If I were down there with the others right now, they'd be doing their damndest to kill me right along with them. I was never different, never special to them. I was just another slave.”

  As I spoke, I realized my face was flushed and I was trembling with rage. Dashel was watching me, his expression inscrutable.

  “The worst part,” I went on, “is that it's not them I'm angry at. It's me, for being stupid and desperate enough to believe the lie they were feeding me. And then you brought me here, and Ranel wanted to torture me to find out what I knew, but you wouldn't let him. You could have – I'm just another human slave to you, after all, disposable, just like how the Pax saw me – but you didn't. Why? Tell me.”

  “Maybe you're not just another human slave to me,” he answered quietly. “Maybe I see something unique in you. Something to be admired. Not that you have any reason to believe such things from me, given everything you've just said.”

  “No, you're right. I should think you're lying to me too. And maybe part of me does. But there's another part of me that wants to believe – a part that wants to help you.”

  Dashel raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And how do you propose to do that?”

  “I wasn't deceiving you earlier when you were questioning me.” I paused, then added, “Well, okay, maybe just a little, when I said I didn't even know if the other camps existed. I did.”

  “Yes, that lie was somewhat transparent,” he said with a faint smile.

  “I don't have any useful information for you about their personnel, tactics, plans, or anything like that. But I do know everything there is to know about their equipment.”

  He sighed wearily. “Do you really think we'd attempt an invasion against an enemy force without first gaining a thorough knowledge of their personal armaments and planetary weapons systems?”

  “Of course not, but that's the thing: You've seized their caches of weapons, and they're still coming at you with makeshift devices they've assembled from their mining tools. Did you research that tech in advance too, or did you just rush in thinking you could catalogue it after you'd defeated them?”

  From his frown, I could guess the answer.

  “They'll keep hammering at you, and you won't know what to expect in terms of what they're using, how to detect it, or how to defend yourselves against it. That I can help with.”

  “And what's your price?” His voice was tinged with hope now. I was winning him over.

  “My freedom, of course, and freedom for any slaves on Nort who are still alive. An armed shuttle equipped with intergalactic engines, so I can go anywhere I wish and start a new life. Guaranteed immunity from recapture from the Hielsrane fleet.”

  He laughed. “You don't ask for much, do you?”

  “Plus, there's the thrill of helping you put the boot to these monsters, after all the years they spent caging and abusing me. After everything they've cost me.” I pushed thoughts of Daniel out of my mind.

  “I see. Is there anything else you'd like to add to your list of demands?”

  I grinned mischievously, taking a step toward him. “Hmm. Well, now that you mention it...”

  I put a hand on the back of his neck, bringing him down for a kiss. Memories of losing Daniel still hurt, but this seemed like the best way to make the pain go away, at least for a little while.

  10

  Dashel

  As Natalie kissed me, every rational part of my brain fought it, reminding me that this was wholly wrong – as her captor, as the commander of the Wyvern, as a leader who needed to keep a clear head during a crisis. I told myself I was choosing to take one more big and irreversible step toward losing my rank forever, and enduring a humiliating court martial before the Hielsrane fleet. I tried to let my germaphobia take control, so engaging in a sexual act would seem dirty and frightening.

  But none of these thoughts won against my powerful and unstoppable desire for her, and I gave in—loving it, hating myself for it, wanting to stop, needing more.

  Besides, we were alone this time, with no holo-recorders to watch over us. So no one needed to know.

  Right?

  Within moments, I was so swept up in her – her warm breath on my lips, the scent of her hair, the hardness of her nipples against my chest – that I no longer cared, one way or the other.

  We sank to the floor as one, our hands sliding all over each other's eager bodies with enough heat radiating between us to ignite a sun. My hand was on the small of her back, pressing her closer to me with a frenzied urgency, until it seemed like we might combine into a single form.

  Natalie straddled me, raining kisses on my neck and chest. She placed both palms on my shoulders, slowly pushing me down on my back and positioning herself on top of me. The long rip in her overalls revealed the soft folds and patch of short, silky hair between her legs. They were already glistening with moisture, parting for me, begging to be filled.

  She unlatched my space suit, and – freed of its confinement – my cock stood straight up like a rocket ready to launch. She reached down to stroke the shaft a couple of times, her eyes never leaving mine as her lips pulled back in an impish smile. Then she lifted her pelvis and lowered it over me. I was inside her, her warmth spreading through my entire body.

  We rocked back and forth in perfect harmony, our hips grinding together. She let out a moan that was somewhere between pain and pleasure, and I was suddenly reminded that the physical strength of my species far exceeded that of Earthers. I had to remember to hold back, or I might seriously injure her.

  Being inside her was like paradise, though, and it was impossible not to thrust deeper, deeper, until it seemed like I would fill every inch of her, saturate her every cell. I was throbbing, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I held onto her thighs tightly. Our eyes were still locked, hers growing wider as I took her harder.

  I had to be on top of her again.

  I wasn't sure why – maybe it was to prove to myself and to her that I wasn't being manipulated, that I was in control of my ship and everyone on board. I rolled my body to one side, trying to switch places. She fought it for the briefest of moments, then relented, moving in concert with me until she was lying on the floor again with me over her.

  Tarion's words echoed in my mind again. She was a wild and untamed creature when her back was to the floor, but I wouldn't be the target of her wrath. I would be its conduit, channeling her rage the way a laser cannon targets the deadly energy contained within its atomic battery, aiming and focusing it at the Pax to obliterate them all.

  The thought turned me on more than anything else ever had before – the two of us working as a single, well-oiled machine, bringing passion to each other and destruction to our enemies. I thrust myself into her more insistently and she cried out loudly, my name lost in a string of broken vowels as we reached a climax together.

  We were more than just lovers. We were survivors. And soon, we would be conquerors.

  The sweat from her body coated my scales, making them shimmer under the dim overhead lights in my cabin. This vessel was so old and o
utdated that for a frightful moment, I wondered how thin the walls and doors were – whether anyone out in the corridor had heard us.

  Well, too late to worry about that now. Just as it was too late to call it an isolated incident or tell myself I wouldn't let it happen again. I was enthralled by her, pure and simple, and I knew this had only been the second of many times we would find each other's embrace.

  If there were consequences to be faced, so be it.

  “Don't worry, I'll still keep our secret,” she said with a grin, as though reading my mind.

  “I'll focus on defeating the Pax for now,” I told her, “and worry about the punishment for violating sexual protocols later.”

  As if on cue, the ship's alarm began to blare, accompanied by the voice of Ranel: “Captain Dashel to the command deck! Red alert! We're under attack!”

  11

  Natalie

  Dashel reared to his feet with a speed that almost seemed supernatural, buttoning his space suit. “You stay here,” he growled.

  “The hell I will,” I snapped back, standing up. “If we're under attack, I'm going with you.”

  “You're a human and a prisoner, and Ranel already knows what happened between us the first time. I can't let you onto the command deck with me. The disturbance it will cause with the rest of the crew...”

  “...will be nothing compared to the 'disturbance' their mining weapons will cause when they blow a hole through the bulkhead. You wanted my help fighting them? You've got it.”

  “I don't have time to stand here arguing with you!” he roared, trying to intimidate me.

  “Then you'd better stop standing there and get me something to wear so we can get to the command deck before they blast us all to space dust!” I roared back.