by Jamie Hawke
We were advancing again, Darnell’s yellowed eyes on me for a moment before he snarled and I looked away. I let Charm and Rand take the lead, while pulling up my screen for a quick check of my own skills. Level thirty-four and badass. No need to switch back and forth between powers anymore, as a recent upgrade had taken care of that hindrance. On ‘paper’ I looked about as badass as they came, at least in my opinion. Space dragon paladin with the ability to heal, travel through materials, shoot lightning, and more. Fuck, I almost felt sorry for anyone who got in my way.
Giving thought to my team, I used my troubleshooter skill to add a new window. It popped up as we turned into the bridge. Charm had taken out the pilot before the rest of us could even react, and then Darnell had ripped apart a guard while Letha and Rand took care of another. I blasted the last of them with a shot of my tempest lightning, while looking over my new screen—a screen that showed my team.
It was crazy to see the ladies listed on one window like that, complete with images of each. The screen mostly represented what I knew or thought of them, but was fun to see regardless, and read:
Charm: Space Kitsune, it would seem. Ability to charm, cloak, and use light. Thought she was a supervillain, but it turns out she was just undercover. Her charms work on herself as well as others, which can sometimes be a negative, or at least confusing. Loves to experiment.
Twitch: Super hacker with the ability to alter reality, in a sense. Was guilt ridden over having thought she destroyed the planet Harang with a black hole, but later found out it was actually just transported elsewhere. Recently she used her powers to adapt herself, so that she can fly and use a voice like Harp but in an EMP way, as well as taking on powers like ice spears from Gale and blue energy shields from Andromida. Possibilities in this regard seem endless, but might come with a price. Sometimes likes it rough.
Gale: Formerly with the Citadel military, thrown into prison for fraternization and then losing her temper, to put it lightly. Abilities include ice, wind, and lightning manipulation. Plumper than most, in a fun and tasteful way.
Shimmer: Military leader from the planet Harang, ability to make powerful illusions. Sweet, while not taking any shit.
Andromida: A blue-skinned beauty who put herself on the space prison in order to hunt down those who had been involved in the destruction of her home planet. Hadrian’s daughter. Latching and portals. Ability to manipulate metal and otherworldly souls that drag enemies through the ground, or out of our dimension—hard to be sure.
Aegriss: An android taken from one of the Paradise Planets, but as alive and real as the best of ‘em. Shares a link with me, and can hack into systems of ships, mechs, and more. Currently in recovery from the fight against Muerta. Can share her pleasure.
Laurel: Former lover of Charm, but current status unclear. She has a connection with nature, and the ability to read thoughts, it seems.
Harp: Former lover of Charm, but current status unclear. Can fly with her wings, and her voice acts to disorient enemies, maybe doing more that I’m not yet aware of.
Interesting that Laurel and Harp were listed, as I hadn’t meant to include them. They were with us, yes, but weren’t as with me as the rest of the team. Meaning, we weren’t intimate. This whole sharing a bed aspect of the team brought us closer, gave us more reason to trust and be there for each other.
Those two, however, had been Charm’s lovers from long ago. What that meant for the future confused the hell out of me, but so far, it hadn’t become an issue.
“You with us?” Letha said, hand waving in front of my face.
“He does that sometimes,” Charm said. “Figure he’s likely fantasizing about me—a bit of a perv.”
Letha turned her way with an arched eyebrow, and laughed. “Nothing wrong with multitasking, when it’s done right. We have the ship, let’s make it count.”
She took the controls, kicking us off toward the big ship that she said was where her sister would be. I continued my scan as we went, but most of the ships were out of range to find supers even if they were there. As we drew closer to the target ship though, blips started appearing.
“She’s certainly not alone,” I said, registering mostly lower-tier supers with powers such as enhanced strength, speed, and a couple of elementals.
“Good thing we brought the muscle.” Letha glanced at Charm and me. “You kick their asses, I get my sister.”
Charm rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Works for us,”
“What’s the situation with your sister?” I asked Letha.
She scrunched her nose. “Honestly, my memory’s a bit clouded still, but—”
“Oh, Breaker can fix that.”
“What?” I turned to Charm, confused.
“Use your troubleshooter skill. Hell, if I’d known I was missing memories before, we could have tried it on me, but… well, it all worked out. And here’s a good opportunity.”
Letha looked a bit sick, but nodded. “If you think there’s a chance, it’s better than riding in with this fog of confusion.”
“I haven’t really tried it that way,” I admitted. “But… no reason not to.”
“Maybe,” Darnell grunted, struggling to get the words out, “you could try it on me, too? Not for memory.”
Letha looked pained by that but held my gaze, clearly not wanting to say he needed fixing, but hopeful.
“Let me try both,” I said. “No promises, and we don’t have much time.”
First, I scanned Letha with my troubleshooter screen, noticing some irregularities for sure. It was like someone had input little patterns on her brain, a thought that sent a chill down my spine. Clearly, she was being fucked with, or had been, but changing it worried me. What if something in there was helping her stay alive, or if I changed it she would forget the past X number of years?
“We’re sure about this…?” I asked, voice betraying my hesitancy.
“Breaker,” she stepped toward me, eyes fierce. “Judging by the tone of your voice, you’ve found something. I refuse to go on with this, whatever the fuck it is. Please.”
I nodded, drew a deep breath, and then started maneuvering through the troubleshooter code. Sure enough, the strange patterns on her brain began to vanish, and soon I had it cleared out.
Her eyes, fierce one moment, went wide, filled with tears, and she collapsed to one knee. Hand out to stop her guys from helping her up, she sat there, shoulders heaving.
“Are you… okay?” I asked.
After a few heavy breaths on her part, she stood, wiped at her eyes, and said, “Fuck.”
“That bad?” Rand asked. “Did he hurt you?”
“Break you?” Darnell added.
“Neither,” she replied. “Healed me.” Turning my way, she gave me a quick embrace, then turned to the display again, taking the controls, and said, “Now do Darnell. And fucking hurry. I need to get this over with.”
“Letha…?” Rand stepped up, a hand on her shoulder. “You have to tell us.”
She sniffled, debated, then nodded. “Remember… Orion? I believed it all about my sister, but now the memories are fully back. How she betrayed me at the death of our parents.” She stared blankly, shaking her head. “I was supposed to take over. I was the heir to the fortune. She stole it all, had my mind manipulated, and threw me on Planet Kill. Likely expected me to die there, but I didn’t. I thrived, made it this far, and now I’ll have her fucking heart on a platter.” She spun, eyes wild. “That bitch took everything our family had, and is using it to betray our kind—all so she can have power.”
Her family owned one of the largest privatized militaries out there, and therefore a huge fortune as well.
She pointed at Darnell. “See what you can do, then Rand, too. Why not?”
“Maybe I do this on everyone, just in case?” I said to Charm.
She considered it, then nodded. “Worth a shot. Maybe do me when we’re done here, in case there’s anything left to fix. Oh, and try scanning my brain, too.�
� She grinned, and winked when she saw I’d caught on to the joke.
Turning to Darnell, I scanned him, then frowned. “It’s different. His body has changed, adapted. I can make adjustments, in the sense that there are still outside forces in play.”
“Do it,” his gravelly voice said.
“Here goes.”
I made the adjustments, like picking away at rotten food in teeth, and a moment later closed the screen to see him shaking. He looked at me with worry, then suddenly morphed. Where before there had been a green monster, now he was still huge, but almost his normal color but with a green tint. The monster look was mostly gone, giving him the appearance of a half-orc, if I had to look at it with my nerd goggles on.
“Check downstairs,” Rand said with a chuckle, and Letha glanced back, eyes going wide. She smiled, laughed, and then said, “Fuck, now I want to live just so I can fuck his brains out.”
When I turned back to see what she meant, Darnell had his monstrous cock out—but there was nothing monstrous about it. Shit, I’d never been the type to look at a dick, but had to admit I was damn jealous in that moment and had to stare.
“Breaker,” Charm said, hands on her hips. “Do I have to worry about you?”
I laughed, averting my gaze and glad to see a very proud Darnell putting himself away. “No, just wondering if I should be adjusting myself, you know.”
“We’ve talked about it,” she countered.
“But… come on.”
She walked over, hand on my bicep, and said, “Don’t you dare change yourself one bit.”
“You wouldn’t want an extra inch over there?” Letha asked her, playfully. “A bit more girth, maybe?”
Charm frowned, shaking her head. “This is the man I fell in love with. If he got hurt, mutated, whatever, I’d still love him. But changes for the point of change? No, and not necessary in the slightest.”
“Thank you.” I turned to the display, then back to Letha. “Let me guess, sex talk as a defense mechanism?”
She grinned but said, “Fuck you.”
“We’re being hailed,” I noted, indicating the flashing icon on the display.
Turning back to it, she frowned, leaning back. “If they don’t get an answer, they’ll likely attack.”
“And if they do, they’ll attack.” Rand leaned against the seat, arms folded. I knew we were in the midst of an attack, possibly about to get our little stolen ship blown up, but I had to wonder at his sense of security—any other man sharing a woman with a guy now as well-hung and fit as Darnell had to have a fairly high view of himself. Good for him. Or maybe it was more confidence in his woman, knowing that wouldn’t be something to worry about.
As much as I wanted to think highly of myself, I didn’t know if I’d have it in me. I never planned to find out, and considered myself lucky that my ladies weren’t the type that would try and make me.
“Answer,” I said, stepping forward and using my illusion skill on all of us, so that we suddenly appeared to be the same soldiers we’d just dealt with. “I got this.”
Letha looked up at me, appearing like the pilot who had been there before. She opened her mouth to say something, decided against it, and nodded. Her hand swiped to answer.
A man’s face appeared an instant later, frowning. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Spotted a problem,” I said, voice harsh to sound like maybe the soldier I was impersonating had a cold. “We’re checking in to report. Hope it’s nothing, but better safe than sorry.”
The man on the other side leaned in, eyes darting across us. “What problem?”
“We think,” I leaned in, hand on the back of the pilot seat, “we think there was something out there, cloaked, listening. Hence the need to check in like this. We didn’t want to give away that we were onto them.”
For a long moment the man considered this, then actually smiled. “Smart thinking, Captain. We actually picked up something, too, so you might well be right.” He leaned back, saying something to someone off-screen, while my heart thudded. I couldn’t believe it was actually working.
“Report in,” the man finally said, and the screen vanished. In its place, the display showed a path for us to take, and then the autopilot took over, guiding us in.
“Damn,” Rand said, giving me a nod. “Quick on his toes. Nice.”
“That’s why we keep him around,” Charm said. “That, and a few other reasons.”
“Way he was looking at my cock, I have to wonder what those are,” Darnell said, voice smooth like chocolate.”
“Fuck.” I waved him off, not looking his way. “When an artist sculpts the perfect sculpture, does staring at it make him want to fuck it? No.”
“He was a bit jealous,” Charm explained. “But trust me, I know where his sexual interests lie.”
Darnell laughed again, holding up his hands. “No judgment on my part.”
I rolled my eyes, continuing to stare at the on-screen display.
“Maybe if you showed him yours, you could see if he stares,” Letha offered. “Then you’d be even.”
“Fuck, Letha.” I glared at her. “This defense mechanism of yours could get annoying.”
She chuckled and waved at the display. “We’re getting closer—it’s only going to get worse.”
“I bet.” Shaking my head, I added, “And it’s not gonna happen. So back to this sister of yours—you sure you want to kill her? I mean—”
“She’s my sister. Yeah, I know. But I’m sure. After what she’s done, it’s the only way forward.”
“But maybe—”
“No, no maybe. There’s more to the picture, more that I’ve been putting together… and I’m positive that she was the one who killed our parents.”
“Damn,” Rand said.
“Yes,” Letha agreed. “Damn. Damn her to hell.”
“Well then, we’ll do what needs to be done.”
3
Turning back to the display, we all watched in awe as our ship was guided into the one Letha believed her sister to be aboard. It wasn’t as pleasant as it sounds. Other ships were coming and going as we entered this massive opening, a dark, oppressive feeling taking over as if all eyes were on us. I had my sensor on, and it was going crazy with supers popping up.
Our best bet was to go in cloaked, but they already expected us. My ploy sort of backfired when I noticed a soldier standing at ease, watching us. It was the man who had just challenged us over the airwaves, with a team of four others. They didn’t look hostile, but clearly expeced an actual debriefing.
“What do we do here, big guy?” Charm asked. She glanced back at Darnell. “To be clear, I didn’t mean you.”
He chuckled, huge pecs shaking as he laughed. Damn, I’d turned the monster into a sex god. And… I really needed to stop thinking of it in that way. A laugh escaped my lips, and everyone turned to me.
“Sorry, just…” I turned to Letha. “You’re sure your sister is aboard, right?”
“Only what the intel says, and… a hunch.”
“Ah, a hunch.” Eyeing the area, I shook my head, trying to talk myself out of what I was thinking.
“You want to charge out, guns blasting, don’t you?” Charm said.
“How’d you know?”
“Because I’m having the same thought.”
I chuckled, nodded, and glanced around. “Why, not the best idea?”
“It’d be suicide,” Rand said, although he didn’t look like he hated the idea.
“Only if we lost,” I pointed out. “To be clear, we’re fucking badass. These amateurs?”
Charm laughed, then ran over and leaped onto me. “Damn, I love you.”
I held her up as we kissed, her tails wrapping around me too as if they were extra arms. Meanwhile, Letha continued to bring the ship in for landing, although the autopilot seemed to be doing most of the work.
“Need me to stall, or you two think you can do it in under thirty seconds?” she asked, possibly joking but
I wasn’t sure.
“While normally I’d say we accept that challenge,” Charm said, crawling down from me, “I get the severity of the situation, and think you were joking.”
“I was.”
“Ah. Rain check then. When this is over—thirty seconds. It’s on.”
Letha scoffed. “Bullshit. Both of you to climax?”
Charm held out a hand for her to shake. “Oh, it’ll get done. Count on that.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Letha said, bracing as the ship landed. Instead of shaking Charm’s hand, she gave her a sort of high hive, motioned for the doors, and said, “Let’s go with Breaker’s plan.”
“Guns blazing?” I asked, unable to believe we were really doing that.
She grinned, wide. “Fuck yes.”
I started to smile, but then thought of a better plan. “Let’s do it if all else fails, but first—try not to.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning Charm goes cloaked, I use my illusion powers to try and make the rest of us unseen. If they scan us, our cover will be blown, but if not, we get as far as we can without causing trouble.”
“Why not just blow the whole ship?” Rand asked. “To be clear.”
“For one, I think Letha here wants some choice words with her sister,” I said.
Letha nodded. “And the second reason has to do with why Breaker’s idea of going cloaked is smart—because if and when we take out my sister, the rest of the survivors might choose to fight under me. No point in killing off my future army.”
“Might being a big word here,” Charm pointed out. “They’re already moving full-stream ahead, so—”
“Steam,” Rand said. “It’s full steam.”
“What? Why the fuck would anyone move with steam?” Charm laughed, looked at me like Rand was an idiot, then turned back to him. “You know, like a stream, or river—moving with it. Or you could say like a stream of piss—moving full-stream ahead, like as fast as piss.”
“I don’t think…” Rand looked at me, confused.
“Maybe, just maybe, the Earth saying and the one used in the Oram system are different,” I tried. Then had to laugh. “Really, Charm? Full-stream of piss ahead?”