by Calista Skye
A thought occurred to him: An Acerex warrior and an Earth female was the perfect match. In bed, anyway. Both were giving, both truly loved the intimacy and the unmatched closeness of sex.
And he loved being close to Ava.
Her eyes were half closed and her breath was fast and shallow, with a thin, impossibly feminine “ah, ah, ah” with every thrust into her. She made him feel like a conqueror, but a wanted one. He was conquering her body with each move, and she loved being conquered.
Being the conqueror of something as alien and precious and mind-bogglingly wonderful as Ava was too much for him. He wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. But at the same time, he wanted her to be first.
The vibrations started. He could stop them, but they had to start by themselves to give the woman the fullest experience. Ava's eyes widened under him.
He fucked her faster and her dark, mysterious eyes opened fully. Her mouth formed an O, she went silent for a moment, and then she screamed.
Her thin yell resounded through the forest, and her thighs were trembling on either side of him. Her spine arched under him, and she screamed again, clawing his back and writhing in the first waves of climax.
He grunted in relief and sped up further, jackhammering her sex with his sensitive cock.
The heat started at the base of his spine, then filled his mind as he let his own orgasm take over.
“Wrrraaaaarhhhh!” A roar made its way out of his throat, and he felt his cock jerking in the depths of Ava's delectable body, felt the spray of juices shooting into her.
He slowed down to let her enjoy her whole ecstasy, then laid down beside her on the soft grass, holding her tight.
She stretched and yawned, then curled up with her face on his chest, giving him an impish smile. “Acerex war cry.”
- - -
They made their way through the rest of the forest. The door on the other wall had a similar mechanism to the one they had entered through, and they found themselves in a corridor that was a mirror image of the one they had seen before. The Solp had been here too, and everything was dark and stripped bare.
“Looks like the only place they never got to was that biodome,” Ava observed. “Just as well, if you ask me.”
“Let's keep it as a secret,” Xark'ion said on an impulse. “No one else need know about it. It will be ours.”
Ava gripped his wrist and squeezed. “I like the way you think. Our own secret garden. For all kinds of activities.”
“All kinds,” Xark'ion agreed, feeling happier than he had in a long time.
They made their way around the whole station, through endless hatches that the Solp had broken through and then not bothered to close again. Then they finally found themselves at a closed hatch, but there was an airlock leading off to the right. The Solp who had opened the hatch for them was nowhere to be seen.
“Probably sitting in a corner somewhere and admiring his new treasure,” Xark'ion said and put his eye to the little peephole. “Our shuttle is there, as well as the docking tunnel. Shall we?”
They floated over to the shuttle, got in and started the engines. The ventilation system cleansed the air of any particles that might have been passed from the station.
“Let's fly around the station, just to check it out,” Ava suggested.
There was no sign of the huge transparent roof anywhere. “Either it's camouflaged so it can't be seen from the outside, or it was an advanced illusion,” Xark'ion concluded.
“Camouflaged,” Ava said. “I don't think that sun was just a projection or a recording. That was real.”
They put the ruined station behind them, and Xark'ion started to calculate the travels back to Acerex. “I'm starting to think that the species that made that station did not destroy their own civilization. This smells of Enemy 55.”
“They have to be the Kunuru, right? It would be too much of a coincidence if the Solp knew both the Kunuru and Enemy 55.”
Xark'ion nodded. The thought had occurred to him, too. And it opened some interesting possibilities. “We'll have to assume that they are.”
“Is anything known about them? I mean, Enemy 55?”
“Not much. We had a brief battle with their machines on Krok, before they killed all the Ysal.”
“And you lost the battle.”
“Yes.” There was more to say about that. Much more. But this was not the time.
Ava looked at him, as if she sensed that he wasn't telling her everything. “Okay. So now we know that the Kunuru are at Bosh, the Fire Planet. In that star system, at least. I can't imagine they're actually on the Fire Planet. Only Acerex are crazy enough to go there. And certain Earth chicks, I guess.”
“Acerex warriors and Earth females have a lot in common.”
Ava looked out into space. “Yeah ... Xark'ion, I've been meaning to ask you something. I mean, I know it's not common for Acerex warriors to have much to do with women who ... well, what I mean is-”
“Are you my Mahan,” Xark'ion completed her obvious question.
“Yes,” she said, surprised. “That's what I wanted to ask. I don't mean to pry. I know it's a private matter. It's very personal, and of course-”
“I don't know,” he interrupted, but gave her a little smile to take the edge off. “It can be hard to tell sometimes. From what I know about Mahans, and how you know that someone is your Mahan, you're not. The usual signs aren't there. Not yet. But I'm not sure. They say it can take time. The idea that my Mahan is an alien is an obstacle in my mind. I don't know if it will happen. And I don't know if you are my Mahan. What I do know is that I want you to be.”
She stared at him for a moment, then leaned over to kiss him. Her sweet scent was more intense in his nose than ever before.
“You know, that's probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. And I appreciate your honesty. We'll just see where this takes us.”
“To the Fire Planet, I suspect.”
“That's right. If you still want to. Hey, I'm not going to force anyone to come with me when I go to meet the Kunuru. I know you Acerex are very emotional about that planet, and I sure as fuck don't blame you.”
“If you go, I go,” Xark'ion said, almost laughing at the absurd idea that he would ever let Ava go to Bosh alone.
To his relief, she didn't make it a big issue. “Okay,” she said.
He keyed the shuttle ready to make the jump to the Acerex system and the Friendship at the push of a button. “So we've established that you are probably not my Mahan. Not yet, anyway. It's my turn to ask. Am I your fated mate?” He asked the question in a light tone to disguise how much the answer mattered to him.
Ava thought about it. “We don't really have the fated mate thing in our culture. Or in our minds, I guess. Our lives, our hearts. At least not officially. But right now, I'm as close as any Earthling can get to having a fated mate. And Xark'ion, I'm afraid you're it.”
Maybe it was the quiet way she stated it, making her vulnerable after they both knew that she was probably not his Mahan. Or maybe it was just deep relief that what he suspected was true. His eyes filled with sudden tears and he had to look out the side window for a moment.
He pushed the button. “I can live with that.”
24
- Ava -
“Such a cliché,” Ava said and tossed the medicine ball at the wall of the gym. “The girl who falls for her bodyguard.”
Harper hefted a pair of small, pink dumbbells and started doing bicep curls. “Or just the girl who falls for a great guy?”
“Yeah, well. He's a bodyguard. Aren't I supposed to keep some professional distance? And the first thing I do is jump into bed with the guy. Before we turn a diplomatic mission into some kind of sex trip.”
“A very successful mission,” Harper reminded her. “As long as he is still doing his duties as your bodyguard and diplomatic partner, then I see no problem with it. It's not like you picked him to use as a sex toy. He's responsible, too. If he didn't want it, he
could have withdrawn.”
“I guess. He did kiss me first. Well, not first, maybe. But a good second. Gah, I never saw such lust in a man. Directed at me! It was totally ...”
“Intoxicating?” Harper suggested. “Incredible? Mind-bending? Soul-changing?”
“Yeah,” Ava sighed. “All those.”
Harper put the dumbbells down and posed in front of the mirror. Her tight exercise outfit showed off her large bump, like she was carrying a beach ball around. “That's what a good Acerex can do to a defenseless Earth woman. All four of us have been there. You and I and Lily and Charlotte. Huh. We've been in here for ten minutes. You'd think I'd have some muscles by now.”
“I know, right? I heard someone say that it can take up to an hour before they show,” Ava played along with fake outrage. None of them were gym rats, but the regulations on the Friendship prescribed a certain amount of time exercising. “It's a total scandal. Yeah, I guess we've all been there. Or rather, we're all there every night. Stars, are they all like that? I mean, their ... um... equipment?”
“They're well endowed,” Harper agreed and got down on a mat. “Pretty addictive, those things.”
Ava put the ball down and started doing step-ups on a plastic box two feet tall. “Tell me about it. Ever since we got back from that Solp thing, we've been going at it every night. As in, multiple times. He only needs fifteen minutes, then he's ready again. And so am I.”
Harper did a half-hearted leg raise. “Not sore at all, I'm sure.”
“Oh, don't get me started. I was genuinely walking funny for three days. Now I guess I'm all widened out for him. So if this doesn't pan out, and I have to go back to Earth to find someone, I better hope that guy's hung like a redwood tree.”
“And otherwise? Any Mahan talk between you two?”
“Not much. I'm not it, probably. But he sure seems to like me fine, even so. Do we really need the fated mate thing as icing on the cake? I mean, sure, it would be nice. Knowing for sure that I'm his one and only for life. But I'm okay with an ordinary relationship, too. That's all I could ever expect from an Earth man, after all.”
Harper rolled over on her side and started lifting the upper leg. “Just love and a life together through thick and thin with no guarantees for anything, no magical outside force that tells one of you that you're his fated mate. Just making it work through the ups and downs, staying together because you want to, not because one of you is compelled to. Sounds just as nice, actually. Better, even.”
The step-ups made Ava breathe heavier, and she supported herself on her knees while catching her breath. “But of course before we get to that point, there's the whole Kunuru thing to handle.”
“You don't have to handle it,” Harper said. “We know where they are, we suspect they've downright eradicated several entire civilizations and we're pretty sure they're behind all the attacks on the Acerex. Yes, you're the most experienced interstellar and intercivilizational diplomat we have. You're in charge. But please consider bringing a larger force. More people. Some with better weapons than just swords.”
“I'll be careful,” Ava said and took a sip of recycled water from her bottle. “But this is what I've been working towards all along. I will do this my way. Not because I have any special rights to determine Earth's whole policy. But because just approaching them alone, in a friendly way, has usually worked with all the aliens I've met with so far. Earth agrees. It is the best way. And it's the way I'll try first.”
“Alone? You'll bring Xark'ion, I hope.”
“Yes, I'll bring him to the star system. Whether or not we'll let the Kunuru see him we'll have to play by ear when we get there. But this is pretty great, Harper. We'll do something nobody else has ever done: we'll talk to the Kunuru. As friends. If it works, we can solve every problem the Acerex have. Imagine: no more wars! They can start using their energy and brains on other things that will improve their lives infinitely. And we prepare the ground for Earth's own friendly and safe expansion into space. We're just as advanced as most of these species. But we'll be friendly with everyone. Even the Kunuru. We'll be unique!”
Harper smiled. “You're really fired up about this, aren't you?”
Ava laughed. For the first time, she was pretty sure it could all succeed. With Xark'ion by her side, how could it not? “Oh, you have no idea. Heck, I'm fully aware of why I'm the one who's doing this. Earth hasn't had the time to get any other diplomatic group going. We four girls from Gideo Station have such a head start on everybody else. I mean, when it comes to meeting and dealing with aliens. We're the tip of the spear, so to speak. We're the only ones with experience. They have to use us.”
“I'm sure they'll give you support if you need it.”
“There's nothing they want more than that. And that's kind of them, I'm sure. But every time I talk with Earth, the conversation always turns to weapons and military force. And that's exactly the wrong approach. No, we'll get this thing with the Kunuru done before Earth sends a large army to deal with it in the only way Goanesi knows.”
Harper flopped down on the mat, arms and legs spread. “For what it's worth, you have my support. Shit, I'm beat. After just twenty minutes. And we're supposed to be here for an hour. Fine, I'll just flash the pregnant card to get out of this exercise stuff. Just carrying this belly around is exercise good enough.”
Ava put down the dumbbells she'd reluctantly picked up. “Does that card work for the friends of the pregnant woman, too? Has to, right?”
“Of course. Just look at me! Of course I desperately need you to support me while I waddle back to my cabin.”
Ava wiped the sweat off her face with her towel. Harper was extremely pregnant, but she obviously didn't need anyone's help with that or anything else.
“Of course. And you need someone to help you open doors, too.” She opened the door out of the gym and held it open for Harper in an exaggerated way, as if the queen was some kind of immense transport aircraft needing room.
“Oh, definitely. No pregnant woman ever opens doors. I think it's against the law.”
They left the little gym and walked towards Harper's royal quarters.
Harper grabbed Ava's wrist in the friendly gesture they'd picked up from the Acerex. “So when is your excursion to the Kunuru?”
“Tomorrow. No need to wait any longer. I've rested for a week after the Solp thing. In the daytime, at least. And I'm actually really excited to see what the Kunuru look like.”
“Just be fucking careful. Hey, I know you've met all kinds of aliens before. But these guys ... I have a feeling they'll be different.”
“Aren't they all? I won't take any chances. With Xark'ion with me, I don't think I could, even if I wanted to. We'll hammer out the final details this afternoon. And then he's invited me to his village.”
- - -
“This is pretty great. I've never really looked at the stars from down here. They're totally beautiful.”
Ava leaned back, supporting herself on her arms. The stars were different from the sky seen from Earth, but still she recognized some of the constellations. Acerex and Earth weren't that far apart.
It was springtime in Xark'ion's village, and the air was still warm enough for them to sit outside his large tent after the sun had set. Xark'ion had given Ava a thick fur to sit on, and then he had placed an even thicker one around her shoulders. He himself wore only his leather pants, as usual.
He had grilled meat and vegetables over a crackling fire, and now they were just sipping a hot beverage and enjoying the togetherness.
“It's been a while since I have, too,” he said. “And even then, they never seemed beautiful to me. Exciting, perhaps. Sometimes threatening. We all knew the aliens came from there, and that our own warriors went there and sometimes never came back. As we also would.”
“Did you avoid looking up when you were a kid?”
“I don't think I avoided it. There was excitement, too. Going to the stars to fight for Acerex. But as I grew old
er, and the Trials approached, one of them filled my mind most of the time.”
“Which one?”
He studied the sky and pointed. “That one. Right between the big, red one and those two that look so similar.”
It was just a small point of light among all the others, twinkling innocently. But Ava knew what that had to be. “The Fire Planet.”
“Most of the boys who went there never came back. But when you're young, you can't imagine that you yourself won't make it. I only saw those who came back, some with honorable injuries, all celebrated and given the fire tattoos. It was all I ever wanted to be. Groti'ax and I spent many evenings planning and speculating about it. It's forbidden to talk to the untested boys about the dangers there, so that everyone has the same chance. But we picked up enough little pieces of information to make guesses. About some things, anyway. Some were right, and probably saved our lives. Some were ridiculously wrong and almost killed us.” He smiled at the memory.
“And both of you survived.”
“It was either both or none. Already then we were as one. If Groti'ax had died there, I would have stayed with him. As would he for me.”
“He must have been a good friend.”
Xark'ion drew breath to say something, then changed his mind and just sighed. “Yes.”
“How did he die?”
“Oh, the same way most warriors die. In battle.”
It was an attempt at brushing her off, but Ava wasn't having it. “That much I knew. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I will respect that.”
Xark'ion sighed and looked into the fire. “I am the captain, the leader of our squad. I was a good leader because Groti'ax led the squad with me. Not in name, but in reality. A squad should only have one leader. But ours had two. Certainly he would defer to me in front of the others. But he knew me so well, he would give suggestions in secret ways. And I always followed his suggestions. I'm not saying that he led the squad. If he had, I would have stepped down and recommended him for the captaincy. Our cooperation was a natural thing. We'd done it since we were toddlers. I have a gift for seeing the larger picture and finding the enemy's weak spot. Groti'ax was gifted with a command of the sword that few had seen before. He was extremely well liked among the squad. I'm more ... aloof. It is a fact that our squad had two leaders.”