The three pressed through the jungle, coming out onto the edge of the shoreline. The sand was great for being quiet, but they had to drag their feet along as to not leave clearfootprints in the white grains.
Hearing a loud noise, the three of them ducked, but when Layla looked up, she could see the reason for the sounds. They were right below one of the main highways that went over the ocean and jungle. A road would surely lead to a blood tower.
Nella was the smallest of the three of them, so Layla and Orion helped hoist her up the nearest tree so she could survey the area. "Be quick so you aren't seen," Layla warned in a stern voice.
"There's one straight ahead, on a tiny island just a few yards out into the water. We could easily swim it," Nella reported, coming down from the treelike an acrobat.
Layla didn’t like the odds of being seen if they swam out there. Someone was sure to notice three people who were not Arkun in the water. But maybe if they could get a vehicle, they could ride the road over and back a few times without being detected.
"Oh no, I don't like that look on your face, Layla," Orion said. "It always means you have a crazy idea."
"Just shut up and listen," she ordered, getting quite irritated with Orion’s attitude. "We're going to steal a vehicle," she told them, plain and simple. It was the only thing that would give them cover and she knew it.
Chapter 3
"Just one more load, Orion. We can easily fit one more. No one hasany idea we are here," Layla begged as Orion pushed her to get in the vehicle so they could drive off and back to Nella. Nella had waited at the edge of the beach where she could receive barrels of blood to guard. She already had three down there. And two more were waiting on the vehicle. She knew how precious this would be to the Zulas and wanted to be sure they would be stocked for a while.
Orion nodded with a tight lip, and Layla turned around and ran back down the slope that led her to the top most storeroom in the tower. But just as she dared to look back, she saw that Orion was being pulled out of the vehicle as he struggled to put it on autopilot and send it back to Nella.
Layla pulled out her radio. "Nella, come in Nella."
"Yes, Captain?" her fuzzy voice came back.
"A vehicle is coming to you on autopilot. They are about to capture us. I need you to get the ship to come pick up as much as you can and get off this planet. Do you understand?" Nella was the youngest member of the crew. If Layla could trust anyone to follow a direct order, it was her.
"Yes, Captain. God speed." The line went dead, and Layla saw that she had two choices. She could dive into the water and try and escape with the rest of the crew, or she could fight and let herself possibly be captured along with Orion.
Layla was used to choosing the selfish thing, but something held her back. It felt like Orion would be killed if she didn’t step in and find a way to get them out. So, she ran towards the action; sword in one hand and gun in the other. She would fight until they were taken away, and then she would come up with another plan to get them both out of there safely. It was the least she could do for not listening to Orion’s advice that entire day. No matter the insubordination, she couldn’t have blood on her hands.
She shot and swung at the translucent blue creatures that were a little less than a head shorter than her in her high boots. She aimed for their ears and horns that protruded from the sides of their heads that made it look like they had two sets of ears, knowing it would be the most sensitive hit. She took down one after another, but then a larger one approachedlooking angry and deadly. If she had to guess, he was the commander of the royal army; only second in hiskind in importance to the king. His eyes were the piercing, swirling green of the seas that covered a good portion of the planet. She knew as he began to circle in a fighting stance she hadmet her match.
She fought hard anyway until it was too late. She bowed to him and he had her clasped in their version of cuffs made of a special rubber that was unbreakable. Orion was taken too, and they were pushed ahead on the side of the highway in silence, forced to walk miles to where they would be held as prisoners.
They were taken into a huge dome that sat halfway in and halfway out of the water. It was surrounded by reinforced glass so that they got the full view of the ocean and the strange creatures that swam in it. If it were under any other circumstance, Layla would have loved the view. But she doubted the dungeon would allow them to see anything asbeautiful.
She was right as they were led into the direct center of the building and put into cells. The bars were white, and either side was transparent so they could see their neighbor, though Layla found that the sound was a bit muffled. She doubted any tools she had left hidden on her person would get her out of such a contraption, but as the commander left, his eyes lingered on her, giving Layla a brilliant idea.
"You were a formidable opponent," she called out to him, leaning against the strange rubber bars that felt like stronger versions of the cuffs they had put on her.
He turned around and looked at her strangely. He probably didn’t get a lot of compliments from prisoners, even female ones. Though, Layla had to admit he was pretty attractive compared to some of the others.
"As were you," he said back, revealing a deep tone she didn’t expect. She certainly wasn't going to mindwrapping this one around her little finger. He was pretty damn sexy. He looked shocked that he had said anything to her, and she flashed him a smile.
"Thanks." He walked away, shaking his head, but she knew she had caught him off guard. It was the first nail in his coffin and their first step out of there.
"What the hell are you doing?" Layla was taken aback by the sound of Orion’svoice coming through the invisible wall. He was screaming at the top of his lungs so she could hear him loud and clear.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him like he had a bug crawling on his face. "I'm trying to get us out of here, Orion. I don’t think you want to die as a prisoner of the Arkuns," she told him.
"I'd rather that than watch you sell your body to an Arkun commander. And that's if it even works. I can't watch that, Layla. Ican’t watch him with you." Layla was taken aback by his anger and desperation. She didn’t understand it at all. Why would he care what she did with another man if it got them out of there safely?
Unsure of what to say, she turned around and faced the other wall, watching some female alien she couldn’t place the race of picking at her tentacles. What had Orion meant about not being able to watch her with the commander?
Layla shook her head and sat down, knowing it was irrelevant. It was the only way for them to get out. She would do it regardless.
Chapter 4
Layla couldn’tbelieve her luck as she looked up from dozing off and saw the Arkun commander standing in front of her cell and watching her. She glanced over at Orion's cell for a moment and saw that he was passed out. She hoped it would stay that way because she couldn’t have him interfering with what she needed to do.
Layla smiled up at him and got to her feet slowly, giving him the nice, slow motion view of her body. "Fancy seeing you here," she said sweetly as if sugar was dripping off of her tongue. "How can I help you?" she asked, looking him over. He was without his weapons this time, making him appear much more vulnerable. Though, his well-defined muscles were nothing to laugh at. He could probably easily kill anyone he wanted to with his own bare hands. But Layla planned on being someone on his list of not wanting to kill.
"I came to let you know that they are considering a trial for you and your friend there," he jutted his neck out towards a sleeping Orion, and she looked to him for a second. A certain sadness came over her that she couldn’t explain before her eyes met with the Arkun's again. They seemed to swirl like they had a moving substance inside of them. "If you play your cards right, you'll get labor instead of death. Though, I am unsure about your friend since he clearly sent blood off to someone else."
Layla rolled her eyes, knowing the commander had no reason to come tell heranythinglike t
hat personally. As a prisoner from another planet, she probably didn’t even have any rights. He was all too obvious.
"That can't be the only reason you came," she told him slyly, raising an eyebrow. "Anyone could have told me that."
He nodded slowly, so easily admitting how right she was. This was too damn easy. It was almost laughable. She would deal with whatever Orion’s problem was once they were safely on Earth or back on the ship. He would thank her later for this, and she knew it.
"Honestly, I find you intriguing," he said with a shrug as if he were trying to play off the obvious attractionbetween the two of them. "I've heard about you and what you do," he added. Ah, so that was it. He knew who she was. It felt kind of niceto have a reputation after all these years of doing all that dirty work.
"So, I take it, you're a fan?" she asked, leaning up against the bars so that her hip was sticking out seductively as if daring him to reach in and feel her curves.
"I wouldn’t say that. What you do is illegal," he snapped back. It was like he was trying to convince himself that he couldn’t like her. "But you could easily have asked to negotiate a deal with us so that you could take resources wherever they were needed and make a trade the legal way. We have had many dealings like this in the last year." It was news to Layla's ears and it made her think slightly differently of the translucent blue warriors that had always been portrayed to her as mighty and greedy.
"I didn’t know that, actually," she admitted. "But it doesn’t make much of a difference. A lot of the people I help wouldn’t have much to give you that you would need." A planet with nearly as much water as Earth that was all clean, accepting water for payment was like a bad joke.
"We are not heartless," he told her, leaning up against the bars himself now, his face only inches from hers like he wanted to tell her a secret.
"Now, that surprises me," she said in almost a whisper, watching the swirling in his eyes again. It was fascinating. "I became a space pirate because every race that had enough to give was so heartless." Layla wasn't sure why she said that. She had never really admitted to anyone her bitterness or her general care for others. But there was just something about this commander.
He leaned in and kissed her on the lips, and his lips were wet against hers like they stayed permanently hydrated. It felt icy and warm at the same time, and she melted into him. He was a good kisser for an alien. He pulled away and smiled, starting to walk away like he needed to get somewhere before he was caught kissing a prisoner.
"Wait!" she called, "What’s your name?" she asked, needing to know it.
"Kraordis."
Chapter 5
Layla had no way to keep track of time, so she had no idea how long it had been since Kraordis walked away when she got another rude awakening, finally finding a way to fall asleep and get some rest.
Feeling not at all well rested, she looked up to see what the racket was about and was met with the sight of two very large and unappealing Arkun guards, trying to wake her up. One of them held keys in his hands and she wondered why.
Looking next to her, she saw that Orion was also awake and curious, watching to see what might happen. The guards could very well be there to take them to their trial, but she wasn’t ready for that yet. She still hadn’t guaranteed Kraordis was her ally. His word was the only way she might get out of a sentence she couldn’t live with.
Layla stood up as the guards unlocked her cell and grabbed her by the arm, grunting things in their own language. She was fluent in several alien languages at this point, but not theirs. Kraordis seemed to be able to speak English, which was often true of any aliens who traded with Earth. So, whatever they were saying, they didn’t want her to be able to understand it. That just served to put her more on guard.
She was certain they would be grabbing Orion as well, but as they began to lead her away from the cells and back to the main hallways where they had come in, she glanced back at him with a worried expression. He shrugged but also looked terrified. Why were they leaving him behind?
She was half-carried through the large structure that extended further than it looked like upon first glance, taken down several flights of stairs so that they were completely underwater now.
A hall extended in front of her, looking whitewashed like a psych ward in a hospital back on Earth and there were rows of doors all around. She was taken to one at the end of the hall, even more confused than before when she heard the commander's voice coming from within.
"Bring her in and set her on the bed," he said. The two guard did as he said, though Layla noted that they didn’t look too happy about it. Then, they just left. Layla found herself staring over at Kraordis in confusion, watching him for his next move, like a cat ready to spring. She didn’t know what to make of the encounter or if she was in any danger. He could easily finish her off right then and there and no one would miss her. And then Orion would either become a slave or be taken out as well.
"You don’t need to look tame like that," he said finally, looking her up and down as if he were studying her as well. "I brought you in here because I couldn't imagine you being out there in that cell. I don’t think you're the definition of a criminal," he admitted, waiting for her reaction.
Had it really been so easy to convince him? Layla felt a slight pang of guilt at trying to use him; not that it would stop her. It was just harder now that she realized he was a good guy instead of some selfish brute like she expected.
"I don’tunderstand," she said, shaking her head. It was too confusing. Layla had confidence in her prowess but not so much that one conversation would save her.
"I take it you haven’t come across a whole lot of kindness in the pirating business?" he asked in a teasing manner with a chuckle. It was the first time she had ever seen an Arkun laugh or even smile for that matter.
Layla shook her head. No, she truly hadn't. Mutual needs usually meant for a great working relationship, but kindness for no reason wasn’t something she had seen. And she still doubted an Arkun, even this one, was capable of it. So, she kept her guard up as she pretended to warm up to him.
"So, what am I doing in your room?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at him.
"I thought you could use a break from the cell and we could talk. I might be able to help you at your trial. Why don't you go get cleaned up and then we'll see if you're more in a mood to talk about a negotiation." Layla was feeling surprised and glanced towards the bathroom. It wasn't quite like a human bathroom; alien ones never were. But she knew there would be a shower, which is what she needed most.
"What about my second in command?" she asked, referring to Orion.
"We can talk about that too."
Layla nodded, not waiting to see if he would change his mind as she took to the shower, stripping her clothes off without an ounce of modesty. She really didn’t feel the need to be so bundled up all the time. Her body was nice and she knew it. But even if it wasn’t, it was just something natural. Most of her crew had probably seen her naked at least once.
What shocked Layla was that Kraordis didn’tseem to havefollowed or even snuck a peek as she got into the odd shower, trying to figure out all the strange controls. Finally, spritzes of warm liquid began to hit her skin in several places, chipping away at the dirt and sweat that covered her body like a film.
The warmth of the water was perfect. You couldn’t take such a clean and warm shower like that on Earth anymore. The water often smelled of sewage and didn’t stay warm long enough to enjoy anything. but this, this was heaven.
Layla began to moan at the loosening effect on her muscles and the fact that she was getting truly clean for the first time in a while. She had gotten lost in the sensation and pretty much forgotten about Kraordis being just feet away.
A knock came at the door, and she turned to see that Kraordis was standing there, trying to avert his eyes. She made sure he got the full-frontal view, leaning on one side of the wall.
"I am sorry, but you were making some stran
ge sounds and I wanted to be sure you were all right." Layla couldn’t help but laugh at Kraordis's assessment of her moans.
"It’s a sound humans make when something feels really good," she told him as she continued to grin at his worry. "The water is just really warm. You want to join me?" She asked him that question before she even had a chance to think about it.
Kraordis had about a million emotions cross his features over the next minute ranging from scared to bashful.
"I won’t bite unless you ask me to," she added with a cheeky grin. That seemed to snap him out of it, and he removed the Arkun idea of clothing, which wasn't much. It was a wonder their skin stayed pale blue and didn’t burn to a crisp in the sunlight.
She noted his muscular body from head to toe as he stepped into the jets of water with a look of determination. "See," she said, looking at him but careful not to be the one to make the first skin contact. It had to be his idea. "It does feel good."
Kraordis nodded and turned to her with a strange gleam in his eyes before pressing her up against the wall with his own body. It felt rubbery and slick but warm against her, and she swore she could feel his heart beat as his lips pressed against hers.
Layla relaxed into the sensation as water dripped down their entwined bodies. She felt his shaft, a little longer and more muscular than a human’s, creep up her thigh and sighed. This was going to be an interesting night, and her body was so ready for it.
"So, as long as I find a way to blend in and I stick with you and follow the rules, Orion and I will be left alone?" Layla asked, looking up at Kraordis. He had just come back from a training exercise and a meeting with the leader and high council. The leader, Braunis, was not delighted to have two human space pirates in his midst, but whatever Kraordis had said about Layla had been convincing enough to allow them to not have to go to immediate trial or be punished in any way.
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