Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

by Melisse Aires

  "Won’t be a moment," a male voice said.

  Boots scraped on the floor. She wished she could peek but that would be silly. She could hear him breath. She mustn’t pant, mustn’t move. Her body ached with tension.

  "Hurry the fuck up", muttered a muffled voice. "If Ludovic catches you…"

  "Keep yer shirt on." The fellow in the room.

  A muttered ‘ah’. A rustle, some soft scraping noises, a pop. Water ran in the sink. Swallowing. The door closed and the lights went out.

  Allysha slumped against the wall for a moment to let the weakness drain away. A moment’s indulgence and she went back to the shelf. She’d have to hurry. How about K for kartek? Yes. She took the first of a row of bottles with a list of instructions on the front and shifted the others to fill the gap. She skimmed the instructions. She’d need a few other things; she grabbed antiseptic, synthskin, salve. She adjusted the inventory and checked the security system before she ventured out again. Guards in the control room, the kitchen, the store room. And some patrolling the corridors. She was about to move on when two more guards’ IDs appeared on the screen, as though they’d materialized from nowhere. Oh, buckrats. Her heart pounded again. They’d been searching the Ptorix tunnels and just reappeared in the human sections, in range of the sensors.

  She crouched in the first aid room as they prowled past, waving their laser rifles from side to side. Hurry hurry hurry. Get on with it. At last they disappeared. She ran, sprinting for the Ptorix tunnels and back to the lift. On the way, she closed the rock door behind her and activated the seal. Even if they found the door, they wouldn’t be able to open it. She hoped.

  ***

  Brad was asleep, lying on his back on the floor. He looked so relaxed, so peaceful. Oh, shit. He wasn’t dead? She shook his shoulder. His head flopped from side to side. She’d have to be quick.

  She knelt beside him and eased his pants down to his thighs, revealing grey undershorts. Blood had darkened the rent where the talon had scored through the material. She pushed his undershorts down as well.

  The kartek slash was ugly, deep and ragged.

  "I’m sorry, this may hurt a bit," she said, just in case he could hear. She soaked a swab in strong antiseptic solution and delved deep into his flesh to swamp the wound. No reaction. She bit her lip. Not looking good.

  She checked the instructions one more time and winced. This would hurt even more. She loaded up the applicator with antivenin and forced it down into the tissue as the directions stated, pressing on the plunger to release the tiny medibots which would destroy the venom. That done, she brought the two sides of the gash as close together as she could and covered the wound with synthskin. It stood out pink and stark against his dark flesh; he’d have a spectacular scar until his own skin grew back.

  The instructions said he’d wake up soon; if he was going to. She sat with her back against the wall. She was tired; so tired. And she’d love a drink of water and some food. Brad lay unmoving, his facial muscles relaxed and peaceful. It seemed an age before his eyelids flickered. She crawled to his side. His lips twitched.

  "Are you okay?"

  His eyes opened, black as pitch. He breathed deep; in…out…in…out. After a moment, he spoke, his voice ragged and rough. "It feels pretty good. Thank you. I’ll need to rest a little, I think. What’s happening out there?"

  "As you said. They’re searching the tunnels. The store rooms are guarded so I can’t get any food or anything and they’re starting to go into the Ptorix tunnels, too. I’ve sealed the tunnel I went along to get the antivenin. Maybe nobody knows how to open it again."

  He nodded. "We need to lie low for a time, so they’ll give up looking for you. At the very least we’ll need water. Where is this place you talked about? The mountain garden?"

  She looked at the ceiling. "Up there a ways. Can you manage?"

  He made to sit up, noticed his pants down around his thighs and pulled them back over his genitals to where they should be. She helped him to his feet, his weight on her shoulder for a moment as he leant against the wall.

  "Are you sure you’re okay?"

  Brad’s eyes flicked over her and then he looked away. Her hair hung lank around her shoulders and the damp shirt clung to her body. She must look a sight.

  He forced a smile and stepped over to the lift. "It feels better already. Is this safe?"

  "It didn’t give me any trouble."

  "Can you hide this place? Change the data on the graphic so the searchers won’t easily find it?"

  "Yes. Good idea." Wondering why she hadn’t thought of that, she altered the codes, removed the lift and the mountain garden from the graphic and shut down the techpack.

  Brad stepped into the lift. Lights came on, filling the small space with a soft glow. "Well, come along my lady. Let’s see what this mountain garden looks like."

  He held out a hand to her. He was so much a gentleman, so polite. She grinned and joined him.

  He pressed the topmost of the three buttons. The car rose, smooth and silent, but again with that slight jolt when it stopped.

  "Where to now?" Brad stared around the richly-decorated lift foyer, the pistol in his hand.

  "Straight ahead through here." She pressed the pad to open the door to the tunnel. Stone grated on stone as the panel slid away into its recess. Faint light appeared, a gleaming luminescence that transformed the swirling designs on the walls into joyful, leaping images that made her spirit soar. For a moment she just stood and absorbed the ambience.

  He gripped her hand with strong, warm fingers. "Come. We need water, at the very least."

  He led her along a level, open drive. A few meters in, a pile of debris halfway to the ceiling blocked the path.

  "Looks solid enough," Brad said, playing the light of his torch over the cavity in the tunnel roof. He clambered cautiously over the rubble, sending pebbles clattering. On the other side, he waited for her while she scrambled across. Ten meters away the tunnel ended in an apparent wall. She found the door release in the decorations, a blue circle within a yellow swirl. The door whispered outwards and across. Light slanted in, bright in comparison with the pale illumination in the tunnel.

  Brad edged out, head turning from side to side. Squinting against the relative brightness of daylight, she followed him. Even now, not long after dawn, the air steamed, but a breeze stirred the leaves on the boughs overhanging the doorway. The sky was as invisible here as it was on the ground but rays shining through the thick canopy left a dappled trail along a path leading off into the undergrowth. Dust motes danced in the spotlight beams.

  She stood beside Brad, listening and looking around, tense, ready to run. Nothing but cheeps, chirps, whistles, an occasional rustle or snap. But something else, a soft, background murmur.

  "Sounds like water," Brad said.

  Holding the gun in one hand, he took her hand in the other, and set off along worn flagstones littered with debris. On each side a low-growing plant formed a wider space like a lawn between the path and the boles of the trees. The jungle seemed almost tended, not so thick and tangled. Mountain garden. Yes, that made sense.

  The path curved left around a massive tree trunk and passed over an ornately decorated bridge that crossed a busy stream. The water flowed down from the right, gurgling and chuckling in a rocky bed. She stopped, caught Brad’s arm. He’d seen it, too. A dome between the trees on the other side of the stream.

  Tense, cautious, he crossed the bridge and approached the building, Allysha at his heels. She’d seen buildings like this in books; a Ptorix pleasure pavilion.

  Six circular pillars held up a domed roof. A wall joined the pillars, except for the opening that faced the path. In front of the pavilion another path crossed at right angles, going downhill to the left and uphill to the right.

  The closer they came the more obvious it was that the pavilion had been deserted for many years. Stains marred the designs decorating the dome and the pillars, a testament to the frequent rain storms.
Bright paint had faded and peeled, revealing bare stone. Inside the building, debris and animal droppings covered a raised platform, the carvings on its base blurred by simple plant life that had colonized the crevices. Brad pushed aside some of the accumulated litter on the floor with his toe to reveal a fresco, ornate and intricate, worn with age. Figures danced an interweaving pattern around the circular edge and in the center, a band played golden instruments.

  She stared around her, at the dancing images on the dome and the pillars. Once-beautiful paintings of Ptorix at play had been transformed into ugly, leering parodies. She shivered. Despite the brightness of the day, she felt cold under the dome. "It feels like… like a monument to the dead."

  "In a way, it is," Saahren said. "I expect no one has been here for thirty years."

  It certainly gave him a different perspective to how he usually saw the Ptorix – in a battle ship ready to shoot. He knew, of course, there was another side to them but he’d rarely had an opportunity to see it.

  "First, water." He went back to the stream, clambered down beside the bridge and scooped water up with his hand. It was cold, tracing a track through his body into his stomach and reminding him he was hungry. Allysha did the same and let the water drizzle down into her shirt. It was all he could do not to look at her nipples. He splashed cold water over his face, instead. At least the wound in his side wasn’t aching any more. The pain had reduced to a throb. He could live with that.

  She gazed up the stream splashing down over the rocks. "There must be a waterfall."

  "Yes. Let’s go and see." Maybe they’d find something they could eat, too. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday and neither had she.

  A path disappeared uphill under the trees. They followed it, meandering between the trunks, the murmur growing louder with each step. Beyond the last trees a towering cascade plummeted into a pool of crystal water, held there by a dam with an overflow that fed the stream they’d crossed. The waterfall’s glittering column flowed over the rock, almost like translucent glass, while the susurrus of water droplets merged into a background murmur. The pool was edged with stone and shallow, flowing steps descended into the water.

  "A swim would be nice," she said.

  "It would. After we’ve checked the rest."

  He peered into the forest. It seemed safe enough; animals wouldn’t be able to get here; nothing like a kartek, anyway. Ah. That looked familiar. Food at last. He strode over to a massive tree and gazed up at globes of red and purple fruit resembling festive decorations. A lazy insect fluttered its wings as it drifted around one of the ripest. "At least we’ll be able to eat."

  She hurried up behind him. "Oh, now wait a minute. How do you know we can eat them?"

  He smiled down at her. "They’re mamangs. These trees are grown on many planets with jungle areas. My father used to grow them." Interesting. He hadn’t thought about his father for years.

  She eyed the fruit hanging well over her head and his. "How do we get them down?"

  "I’ll help you get into the tree and I’ll catch the fruit when you throw it down."

  He made a stirrup with his hands. "Here. I’ll hoist you up to that first branch."

  Balancing herself with her fingers resting lightly on his shoulders, she put her foot into his hands and pushed down. She slipped sideways. "I don’t think this is going to work." She leant into him and started to giggle.

  The scent of her invaded his nostrils; her breast pushed against his chest and set his pulse racing. Fruit. Think about fruit. He dropped his hands and straightened up. "I think you’d better turn around."

  "Okay. How’s that?" She stood next to him on one foot, one hand on his shoulder as he made a stirrup again, her foot grasped between his hands. She shoved down, trying to use his hands as a step but she ended up staggering against him, giggling helplessly. "That’s not going to work, either."

  He sighed and knelt down next to her, leaning forward a little to hide his erection. "Sit on my shoulders."

  She hesitated. "Are you sure? It won’t be a strain for you?"

  "There’s not much of you. It won’t be a strain." And at least he wouldn’t be in such intimate contact with her.

  She swung a leg around his neck and settled herself down, hooking her knees under his arms. He stood, muscles bunching under the weight. "Okay?"

  "Yes. You?"

  "Fine." He wished he was. He could smell her, female and alluring, his hands on her smooth skin, her parted legs around his neck. "Climb into the tree." Please.

  She grasped the branch and scrambled onto it, lifting herself with a foot on his shoulder. She turned around awkwardly and sat on the branch looking down at him.

  "Go for the deep orange ones. Throw them down to me." He raised his hands, ready to catch.

  She reached up, wrenched the nearest off and tossed it to him. The over-ripe fruit splattered as it hit his hands.

  "That’s one we won’t be eating." He shook the sticky fragments away. "Do it gently or you’ll have to suck the fruit off my fingers."

  She chuckled. "Interesting thought."

  Far too interesting. He imagined her lips around his finger, her tongue… Concentrate, Saahren.

  She dropped the fruits more gently this time. He caught them carefully and put them in a little pile under the tree.

  "That’s enough," he said when six of the glistening orbs lay on the grass. "Come on. I’ll help you down."

  "Er. Yeah."

  She twisted around on the branch and felt for a foothold on the trunk with her toes. Her groping foot found a nodule. She pushed down gently, testing it and reached out with her other foot. Her toes caught a twig. Still holding on, she carefully committed her weight to her feet. The twig snapped. Allysha’s feet slid away from the trunk. She swung in the air, legs dangling high above the ground.

  She looked so funny, wriggling around up there in the tree. The chuckle became a laugh.

  "Don’t just stand there laughing like a fool. Get me down."

  Still chortling, he stood underneath her and put up his arms. "Let go."

  He caught her and let her slide down his body. Her shirt, caught between them, rode up and her breasts and belly, warm and damp, stuck to his flesh. Her face was at the same level as his, her hands on his shoulders. His body quivered, ached with longing. Allysha. I want you. I love you. He gazed into her eyes.

  She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him, open mouthed and passionate. Her tongue slid between his willing lips and twined against his. He tasted her, drank her in, his arms locked around her.

  She disentangled herself and unfastened her shirt. Her breasts pointed at him, milk chocolate nipples on creamy flesh. He slipped his hands around her waist over warm, smooth skin. She leaned toward him and he sucked her nipple into his mouth, flicking with his tongue. She moaned, fingers flexing in the short hair at the back of his head.

  She shrugged out of her shirt and started to unfasten his as he unclipped his utility belt and let it fall to the ground. He ripped his shirt off, boots, pants, watching her as she let her trousers slip to the ground at her feet. She stood before him, naked and beautiful.

  Hot with lust he pulled her down with him on the lawn and entered her, sliding into smooth, warm wetness. Allysha. She wrapped her legs around him as he thrust into her. Deep. Hard. His blood roared and he came, his hot semen pulsing into her. Her fingers stroked his shoulders, wove into the hair at the back of his neck and her lips brushed his chest.

  The tension drained from his muscles. She lay beneath him, her skin stuck to his. How close was that to rape? Still panting, he lifted himself on his elbows, to move away from her. "I’m sorry. I…"

  "Sorry about what?"

  That wariness, that hunted animal look came back into her eyes and he stopped, gazing down at her.

  "No. No, don’t misunderstand. I’m not sorry I’m here. With you. Far from it. But… It was too fast. I should have controlled myself."

  Shame scolded him. Saahren. The Iron Ad
miral. Ice-cold in a crisis but put him in the arms of the woman of his dreams… Fool.

  Cool fingers framed his face. "Has it been a while? Since you were last with a woman?"

  "Yes." A high-class whore on Malmos, over a month ago. Since then, he’d made do with the online entertainment on his flagship. If she knew how inexperienced he was she’d probably laugh.

  "Well, I expect you’ll do better next time, then." She chuckled. "But I hope it doesn’t take too long for you to reload. I’m only just getting warmed up."

  "I expect not." No, not long at all. The sooner the better. He felt as randy as an eighteen year old.

  Weak with relief, he rolled over and gathered her up beside him with her head in the hollow of his shoulder, her breasts against his chest. She didn’t mind. He hadn’t made a complete mess of it. This time, this time he’d do things properly. This time, it mattered. Allysha, I love you. The words danced in his mind. And with them came a niggling whisper. Could she love Chohzu the destroyer?

  ***

  Allysha let him regain his breath. She hoped he didn’t think she was easy; it had happened so fast. It had been months since she’d last had sex and it had been a hurried encounter with a half-drunk Sean. Brad certainly did seem to be out of practice. A man in a hurry. But right now she needed that closeness that sex brings, to feel wanted.

  She teased one of his nipples, then the other, with her finger tips; her nails brushed down over his chest and down to his navel, then she traced the outline of each abdominal muscle with her tongue, tasting the salt on his skin. He lay back, relaxed and eyes closed, clearly enjoying the caress. Soon, her exploring hand slid lower, caressing and fondling until he was stiff and ready.

  He stirred, made to sit up but she pushed him down with a gentle hand. "Let me drive for a while."

  She straddled him, guided him into her and then eased herself down. Oh, this was nice. What a man, what a delicious man. Her hands gliding over his body, she rode him, wriggled her hips. His lips parted in a moan of pleasure, while his fingers flexed on her thighs. Allysha leaned over him and rubbed her breasts against his chest. He kissed her, flicking her tongue with his own, his fingers in her hair.