Claimed by the Conqueror

by Alyx X

  “Good morning,” Qui said gruffly, and my heart almost beat out of my chest as my face flooded with heat.

  “Uh, hi.” I looked up at him, then fought to bring my breathing back under control as I reached for a cloth to mop at the purple liquid staining Roe’s top. Luckily, it had cooled while I’d taken time out to fantasize about Qui tying me up again.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Oh, uh, I was thinking about chains.”

  At his quizzical glance, my face heated further, and I stumbled over my thoughts to correct myself. “Oh, I…I mean, I was looking out of the window at the moon and thinking about space travel. This isn’t really it, right? I mean, we’re still in Earth’s orbit. The exciting stuff is out there.” I gestured beyond the moon. “Way the hell out there.”

  “Uh huh.” He sounded almost bored. “Shall I fill in the words you haven’t used? You want to explore. You want to—” He gestured wildly. “—see the stars.” He rolled his eyes but tucked my hair behind my ear in an almost absent-minded gesture as he sat on the bench behind me. I turned to face him better. “Let me tell you. They’re just old balls of expanding gas. Once you’ve seen one star, you really have seen them all.” He rolled his eyes. “There’s really not much up here worth sneaking aboard a spaceship and risking your life in a hold of cows for.”

  I reached up and aimed a light fist at his upper arm. Not to hurt him. I probably couldn’t have done that with ten years of training and all my weight in it. I just liked touching his skin, and the way his muscle tensed hard even at the fleeting brush against it.

  “You go ahead and roll your eyes right across space for all I care. It’s only boring to you because you’re so used to doing it. You’ve probably been flying in space all of your life, seeing all the sights and the different planets. I’ve lived in one place my whole life. I just want to see something new.” I shrugged. “And if you can’t try to understand that, I don’t think I can help you.” I could only explain it to him so many times and in so many ways. If he didn’t understand by now that being dropped off on the moon was a colossal disappointment, he was never going to.

  “I guess I can see that.”

  I returned my attention to watching space, and he didn’t move from behind me. His warm presence was oddly comforting, and I fought to keep myself from leaning against him. I edged slightly closer, instead, until I felt him nudge against me every time he inhaled.

  “We’ve travelled a lot, I suppose,” he admitted. “It becomes ordinary after a time.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve just called actual space travel ordinary.”

  He chuckled, the sound gentle, and a shiver ran across my skin.

  “You know things I don’t know about,” he countered, and his pants made a shushing noise as he seemed to press closer.

  I scoffed but it was mostly giggle. “Like what?”

  “Farming.”

  I wanted to keep him talking just to listen to his voice, but I knew it was important to keep him here for other reasons too. If he truly planned to dump me at the moon settlement, this was my moment to convince him otherwise.

  “I know nothing about farming.” He said.

  “Like exploding cows?” I teased as I glanced over my shoulder, meeting his smiling eyes. “Yeah, I didn’t know that cows couldn’t handle high speeds, either. They aren’t exactly known for travelling faster than sound or light, but do you want to know about farming?”

  “No.” He chuckled again. “I like my life.” He dropped his voice and it took on a mischievous note. “I get to travel, explore, see the stars…”

  “Hey now!” I shot him a mock glare. “I don’t mind sharing, but that was plain boasting.”

  His smile turned sad as his lips twitched downward. “I guess maybe a little.”

  “Or a lot.” I laughed and looked at the moon again until it was all I could see. “I really don’t want to be left there,” I whispered. Sadness stole my next words. I’d be all alone. I’d never been alone in my life.

  Qui moved from behind me to stand beside me, and he touched my arm. I turned to face him and something gentle in his gaze drew me in. His gray eyes darkened like a turbulent storm, and a shadow of raw need passed through them.

  I sucked in a quick breath that lodged in my chest as he bent toward me, the movement slow like he was giving me a chance to back away, even though I had to hold myself back from grabbing his head and yanking it toward me. I wanted this. In this moment, I truly wanted this.

  I closed my eyes and relished the knowledge I was about to be kissed. The sound of his breathing changed, and the heat of his lips hovered above mine. Then my mouth parted at the softest of touches—just a whisper of skin.

  “Captain.”

  I opened my eyes at the voice from the door, and Qui was already standing two steps away, as if he’d never been next to me at all. My moment was gone, and with it, my heart cracked.

  “Yes, Gan?” His tone was all business, leaving none of the softness he’d just displayed with me.

  “We’re closing in on the moon, and you’re needed on the bridge.” The crewman turned and walked smartly away, his leather boots tapping a quick, efficient rhythm on the corridor floor as he left.

  Qui looked at me briefly, his gaze filled with regret, but he didn’t say anything as he turned away and followed his man. I returned my attention to the moon, but I could only see a wavy blob through my tears as I tried to blink them back.

  But no. I straightened my back and flicked the tears away. This was a moment, not my moment. I just had to work out how to get close to Qui again so there could be many more moments.

  I walked away from the moon. It was just distracting me from thinking properly. He’d almost kissed me. Our lips had actually met—briefly. Frustration filled my chest. Qui would have kissed me properly if Gan hadn’t interrupted. Everything about the way he’d looked at me told me that. And I’d seen more than simple desire. The only way I could describe his expression was yearning.

  I nodded to myself, more certain than ever that Roe was right about an effect I had on him. I just needed to capitalize on that. And I needed to do it fast—I was about to be ejected unceremoniously from the ship, after all. It wasn’t like I had lots of time to rest right now.

  I took an accidental glance at the moon I was trying to avoid as I walked away. That overgrown rock meant the end for me, so whatever I needed to do to change Qui’s plans, it was now or never.

  I walked to the kitchen pass through and drummed my fingers on the counter there. If I never saw any more of that weird bacon brain meat, it would still be way too soon, but I wanted to stay with Qui. The idea of travelling with him filled me with excitement and anticipation.

  I’d ride the skies at his side and conquer planets, whatever that actually meant.

  I walked back to the window one last time, but no clever ideas to get him to let me stay popped into my head. Roe had said it would be impossible, but I didn’t believe in impossible, only things I hadn’t figured out yet.

  I didn’t have time to put together an intricate plan, though, and I couldn’t pull off a master deception at this late stage of my ride.

  Fuck it.

  There really was only one option left. I had to go to Qui and tell him… No, demand that I stay with him. I wouldn’t ask him to let me stay, because he could turn down a request, but a demand didn’t leave him that wiggle room. It was all in the semantics.

  While I was at it, I could demand that he admit he liked me. Everything about him said so—his heated skin, his vibrating fingers and needy cock, and the longing in his gaze. Maybe he was just tossing me at the moon to get away from his feelings for me. As soon as he admitted it in words, he’d lose all of his arguments for leaving me at the settlement’s curb like yesterday’s trash.

  It was time for this conqueror to get a taste of his own medicine.

  17

  Qui

  My hands gripped the back of my chair as I looked out a
t the moon. The settlement was covered in a great glass dome, not unlike the way TerraLink divided the human species on Earth into those who were worthy and those who weren’t. Emma and her family provided value to TerraLink, so they sat in the gap somewhere between those with privilege and those without.

  By leaving her here, was I offering her a life of privilege? I shook my head. There was no way to know. If the computer simulation’s trajectory of the Earthless moon was correct, it would only be a brief privilege, anyway. Perhaps simply long enough to witness the destruction of Earth before she also perished.

  “Do you want me to communicate for permission to land, Captain?” Fin’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

  “I need exact coordinates. I can’t see their landing strip.” Gan spoke from his console as he flicked switches. “Slowing thrusters in accordance with approach.”

  I walked to the enormous floor to ceiling windshield and looked out, pressing my fingertips to the glass as I tried to work out the best course of action.

  The touch of her lips still lingered on mine from where I’d nearly kissed her, and I could smell her delicate scent as if her back was still pressed against me. But it was her words, her quiet, whispered plea when nothing about Emma was quiet nor whispered that echoed through my head.

  I really don’t want to be left there.

  I didn’t change my mind. Ever. I drummed my fist lightly on the window, matching the rhythm of my pulse as it pounded blood through my ears. I conquered. I was never conquered myself, and I certainly wasn’t…bewitched. Somehow, this one puny human had gotten inside my head, and her thoughts and opinions, her desires, mattered.

  Gan was watching me as I turned around, his finger ready to flick a final switch, but it was almost like he sensed my hesitancy to make a decision.

  “What am I doing, Captain? Do I make contact with their control hub?” Fin asked his question, a note of tension in his voice. I understood his uneasiness. We couldn’t maintain a slow approach forever without looking as though our intent was nefarious, and I didn’t want them to become suspicious for no reason now. Our ship had hidden behind the moon successfully, but if the humans leading the settlement poked around in their shadows with too much interest, they’d find the anomaly of our mass, cloaked or not.

  “No. Abort the decision to land.” I issued the command tersely, holding back my own disbelief at my change of mind. Fin glanced at me, his eyebrows raised.

  “We need to continue on. A stop now will only delay our journey to our ship and attract unnecessary attention to our presence.” I said. Fin nodded slowly, like I hadn’t quite convinced him of my motives. “We can always send the human on a shuttle later,” I added.

  I needed more time with her. One night should be sufficient. In my bed. Just one more night, and then she’d be gone. Out of my bed, out of my life, out of my fucking head.

  I nearly growled with the frustration of being so divided. My skin heated. “I just want to get this done,” I ground out. I walked back to Gan, standing over him as I issued further instructions. “Amend our course. We divert, flying around the moon to unite with our warship. Fin—” I looked his way. “Be ready to cloak us as soon as we’re out of range of any settlement observations.”

  I clenched my fists. I needed the stress release of finishing this mission, and my men seemed to understand that. As soon as I finished talking, there was a flurry of activity from each of them.

  “Thrusters back to low power,” Gan said. “Initiating turn.” I nodded, satisfied.

  “Cloaking readied for use at a safe distance. Anyone on the ground will believe we entered hyper speed, sir.” Fin bent over his console, tweaking instruments and outcomes.”

  “Good.” I nodded again. “Now get Tir on the screen. We need to finalize details with him.”

  A crewman on the other side of the room immediately pressed his finger against his listening device and spoke rapid fire commands to his colleague aboard the warship. Within moments, Tir’s grinning face appeared on the large screen in the bridge.

  I didn’t even give him the chance to greet me. “Is everything still progressing as it should?” I asked.

  Tir nodded. “Yes, there are no problems at this end. We’re refining our simulations daily to take into account sun activity and the effects of the heaviest flares on our equipment, but those tweaks are minimal, and each simulation gives the same result as before—a perfect iron core extraction.”

  “Show me again.” I wanted to see the computer render of the planet’s destruction.

  Gan and Fin watched the screen and the bridge door clicked open as one of my crewmen entered, late for his shift. But Arp was always late. Without taking my eyes from the vid Tir was sharing on his screen, I waved my hand behind me, indicating for Arp to sit.

  “We’re on track for an early arrival, Tir,” I informed him as the simulation started to play. “Will that make any difference in our plan?”

  His voice sounded tinny when he replied because he’d gone to audio only to support the quality of the simulation. “No difference, Captain. As I said, the tweaks we’re making all result in the same perfect outcome. You can see from the simulation that the target farm you selected to lock the laser onto is still in an optimal position for us, and the initial borehole phase will be complete in seconds. Extraction of the solid iron core will take a little longer, but everything is academic at that point. What was once a planet will power our way forward to Xten.”

  Xten. It would be the jewel in my crown and the means to provide for my people for generations. Unexpected doubt nagged at me. I opened my mouth to speak—

  “You’re fucking destroying my planet?” Emma’s enraged voice suddenly cracked like a whip behind me. I spun around. Apparently, Arp was later than usual this morning, and the person I’d motioned to sit was also the person I least wanted to witness any of this. Every head on the bridge whipped to face the furious human.

  “How could you!?” She slammed instruments and devices off the nearest console, sending my equipment and a few crewmen’s’ personal items scattering.

  “Cut the comm,” I said to Fin. The screen with the simulation went black, but my mind buzzed with horror. Was that… fear I felt? Nonsense. Emma was angry, but there was no reason to fear her.

  “You’re using my farm? Killing my dad? You would have fucking killed me?” Emma’s eyes welled with unshed tears, and I knew that her human emotions were getting the best of her carefully controlled composure. I opened my mouth again to deny her accusation, but I couldn’t. Everything she’d gleaned in the short time she’d been on the bridge was true.

  “If I wasn’t onboard now, you’d be planning my death, along with that of everyone else down there.” She jerked her thumb behind her like she was indicating the planet we’d left. “How? Why?” Her face grew redder with fury, and I took a step back as she advanced in my direction. “Change it!” She screamed. “Fucking change what you’re going to do, you big, red fucking coward! My dad was right. You really are space filth.”

  She shoved something else off a desk, and a siren began to wail on the bridge as the lights flickered between the usual bright white color and a fiery red. I tore my eyes from the raging woman, worried for my ship. Gan and Fin scrambled to their emergency posts to maintain control of the ship, and the sound of rapidly marching boots echoed up the corridor toward us as men headed in our direction to address the emergency situation with our controls that Emma had created.

  I grasped her upper arm, dragging her off the bridge before the men began to stream in through the door. “Come with me,” I growled. “What are you doing, smashing up our equipment like that? You could kill all of us.”

  She curled her upper lip in a sneer. “I might as well already be dead, since you’re planning to destroy my entire home anyway!” She shook her head. “Fucking space filth.”

  At her second use of the slur she’d used in front of my men, my fury rose, sending waves of burning heat washing through me. He
r behavior and her attitude made it look like I had no control. It was bad enough that she’d stowed away and escaped punishment—thanks to Roe—but now she was on my bridge, destroying it, questioning my actions, making me look weak in front of the crew I led. My rage increased as I considered how she’d made me look, and I backed her into a corner as she continued to mutter profanities and human curses. Her tears had not yet fallen.

  “You’re planning to destroy the entire planet? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t Roe tell me? You’re a murderer. If I hadn’t managed to get aboard your ship, you would have murdered me, too. How dare you do this? How dare you keep so many secrets and even act like I was important to you? How dare you make me care!?” She broke off and gasped a deep breath like she was reaching deep inside herself for control. Her eyes shone, pulling at an unfamiliar sense of empathy within me, and she blinked rapidly.

  Then, she shoved me, pressing her hands against my chest. The movement was unexpected, unbalancing me as I leaned over her. Still, I hadn’t decided what to do with the human who was causing me so much trouble, so I just stared at her.

  “Tell me exactly what you’re going to do. I want to know all of it, and I want to hear you say—to my face—that you’re going to kill everyone I love down there and destroy the only life I know.” Emma glared up at me, hands on hips, invisible smoke coming from her ears.

  I took a deep breath, reminding myself how soft humans are. “The Earth’s core holds value to the Euquanian people,” I said, my voice calm and measured in the face of her outburst. “We plan to extract it and use it to power our warship to reach a planet across the galaxy.”

  She stamped her foot at my confirmation of our plans. “Just like that? Even after all the time I’ve spent on board, you’re going to blindly continue like you have no knowledge of Earth and its people? Even after your sister counts me as a close friend, you’re happy to destroy my planet? The inability to change your mind in the face of new information isn’t strength, Qui, it’s weakness. It’s cowardice, and it’s not leadership.” She took in another big breath and her eyes narrowed with spite. “Dad was right. Euquanians might think themselves a big, red conquering race, but you’re just a giant blushing cock.”