The Kiss: An Anthology About Love and Other Close Encounters

by C. A. Newsome

  It took another half an hour to sort out all the details including getting her registered with the Unified Federations as a probationary recruit but he sighed with relief when they were stepping into his transport again.

  As soon as they were alone she beamed at him.

  “Thank you. I've always wanted to go into space.” He chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I promise you won't regret buying me. I'm going to work very hard. What do you want me to do for you first?”

  There was no hint of suggestiveness to her question but it didn't sound as innocent to his ears as it should have and he found his cheeks flushing.

  “You've been set free, Auraylia. That means you're not a slave any more. Now you work for me, like a job, so you only have to obey me and your other superiors in the crew when it's related to the work we do.”

  “So I can do what I want when I'm not working?”

  “Exactly. When you're not on duty you can do as you wish, within reason. There are certain rules of conduct for fleet crew but you get a wage and spare time just like everyone else.”

  “I get a wage?” Her eyes went wide.

  “Yes. It's not huge, but it's enough to live on when you're not on the ship.” Every second that passed made Dylan more comfortable with his decision. Her delight in being free to earn and do as she pleased only some of the time was beyond anything he'd expected. Using up most of his savings wasn't something he'd thought he'd enjoy.

  “How soon would it add up to eleven hundred credits?” she asked a minute later. At first he wasn't sure what she meant but he soon realised her intention.

  “Many months but you better not save it all up to pay me back. I don't want your wages. You'll be earning them for you.”

  “I'd like to pay you back. If I am free you get nothing for the credits. Let me give you some, please.”

  “How about a small percentage of what you earn while you're on my ship? If you work hard and get promoted you will pay me back even faster so I know you will be a crew member I can count on.”

  She nodded vigorously at his suggestion and gave him the largest smile he'd ever seen. He knew this was one of his best moments since he'd become a captain.

  Once a Slave always a Slave

  As Auraylia sank into the cafeteria seat she sighed. Her feet hurt from all the running about. So far she'd mostly run messages from one area to another as well as tools and equipment. If it needed taking from one place to another it was for her to move it. In three days she'd learnt the entire contents of every hold, cargo space and engineering room all over the ship so whatever was needed could be fetched.

  The work kept her occupied and all the while they travelled in space, somewhere she'd dreamed of going. On top of that, the food was the best she'd ever tasted.

  While she munched on the macaroni cheese several of her crew mates sat down next to her. So far most of them had been busy with their own tasks but they were being allowed time to grab food and rest before they would be called to stations again.

  “Hello, gorgeous,” Ben said as he scooped the first forkful of his lunch into his mouth. She gave him a small smile. So far he'd been friendlier to her than any of the others, but she wasn't used to having people talk to her like he did. She found him attractive and being unguarded towards men was new to her.

  With him came many of the crew who were friends. So far she found most of them hard to talk to and wasn't sure how much effort to make.

  Ben pushed the book she had aside so she couldn't read it and put it out of her reach.

  “You need to read less. It's anti-social. We want to hear your pretty voice.” As Ben spoke another man sat down opposite her and she had to suppress a shiver. She recognised him from her dormitory and knew he was in charge of the Crime and Punishment division but no more. Beside him sat a bulky woman. Auraylia couldn't remember ever seeing her smile. She shifted in her seat and tried to think of something to say in reply.

  “So what do you think of being in space?” Ben continued and gave her a grin.

  “It's not what I expected. I thought it would be more... calm.”

  “Not in enemy territory it's not, but don't worry, you're safe with me.” He put his arm around her shoulder and leaned in so close she could feel his breath on the side of her face.

  “She's a slave. We'll be sending her into combat first,” the nearby woman retorted. Auraylia sucked in her breath. The Captain had told her no one should know she was a former slave and promised no one would find out from him.

  “Really? Our Auraylia is a slave? Why didn't you tell us? I've got some things I'd love you to do for me.” Ben's eyes roved over her body. “Maybe when we get some down time we can have some fun.”

  “I was a slave. I'm not any more.” She returned her attention to her food, not sure she wanted to go down this route of conversation, especially with what Ben was implying. On her second day someone had caught her looking at him and made a comment about her stare. Not knowing what to say, she'd flushed red. Everyone had taken it as a sign of her interest and the news had travelled straight to Ben. Ever since he'd been flirting with her. Only now he seemed to want more of a slave and master relationship. Being bought by Dylan was meant to save her from that sort of forced usage.

  As soon as she'd finished eating she got up to go. Ben grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the table.

  “Going so soon, sweetheart? Why don't we go find somewhere private so you and I can get better acquainted. You can show me some of those tricks slaves get taught.”

  “I've got work to do,” she mumbled, but he didn't let her go. A second later the canteen door opened to admit the Thorian officer who was acting Captain when Dylan wasn't awake. Immediately, Ben lifted his hand off hers. Not wanting to give any of them a chance to say or do anything else, she hurried off.

  It took her several minutes of walking through the ship's corridors for her heart to slow to its normal pace and along the way she almost crashed into the logistics officer, Trell.

  “Oh, hello Auraylia, are you enjoying the book?” Trell asked in her usual overly cheerful manner.

  She nodded before she remembered she'd left it in the canteen in her haste to get away from Ben and his friends. Both him and the Crime and Punishment overseer had looked at her like she was a toy to be handled.

  Fortunately for Auraylia, Trell didn't notice anything wrong in her response and moved off along the corridor towards the bridge. Auraylia took several deep breaths and continued on her way to the engineering area. The Third Officer had mentioned something about needing help with the security commands for one of the storage rooms off the laboratory there. For now Trell's book would have to wait.

  An hour later she stood outside the storage room pressing the buttons on the door's key pad as she was directed to by the officer.

  “There, that seems to be the problem,” Beth said as she read the information on the device connected to the wiring. “It thinks it's locked from the inside by a member of staff.”

  “Is that fixed easily?” Auraylia asked, hoping the answer was yes so she could go back and fetch the forgotten book.

  “Very. I have a higher rank so I can override it.”

  “That's all it takes?” Auraylia tried to hide the shock from her voice but wasn't sure she'd succeeded.

  “Yes. Anyone can lock a door, but to be on the safe side, everyone of a higher rank can open it again. That makes it harder for crew to do anything out of regulations.” No sooner had the Third Officer finished explaining than the door shot open. Inside, the walls were covered in the black gun blast marks of errant fire as well as several repair bots working on a shielded hole on one edge.

  “What rank am I?” she asked, a few minutes later when their tests of the door were done and it appeared to be functioning as normal again.

  “I think you're probationary. It's not technically a rank, but if it was I guess it would be the lowest.”

  Aware her task was finished, Auraylia asked to be dismissed and hurried away
almost before she'd got her affirmative. Ever since her first moments on board this ship and finding out that low ranks all slept in bunk beds built into the walls of a common room, she'd lost her ease at being on a Unified Federations Fleet ship. The bunks had a metal panel that slid across to give the sleeper privacy and some sound proofing and there were a few cupboards built into it for possessions, not that she had anything besides the three uniforms she'd been given, but it wasn't private enough for her liking.

  As soon as she'd realised where she was expected to sleep and the sorts of people around her, she'd decided she needed to find somewhere else. It hadn't taken her long to settle on a small half-empty cargo hold off the edge of the rear engineering room. While she thought she could lock herself in it had seemed like the perfect safe haven. Now the thought of being discovered and... She shivered and pushed the memory from her mind before it could fully form. Dwelling on the past wouldn't help her live through the present.

  When she reached the empty canteen she searched every table, seat and aperture for the book she'd borrowed, but it was gone and it didn't take long to search the small room enough to be certain it must have been moved by someone else. She just hoped Trell hadn't found it abandoned there.

  Before she could think of another place to search, the battle alarms sounded throughout the ship. Once she had gathered her thoughts and rubbed her shin where she'd banged it in her jolt, she hurried out of the canteen and back down the corridor to the engineering room, her official station in battle.

  Two seconds later the Thorian charged the other way. When he reached her he stopped and handed her a small gun.

  “Do you know how to use it?” he asked. She nodded. “What about hand to hand combat?”

  “I've been in plenty of fights. I grew up rough.”

  “Good, come with me.”

  Without waiting for her to reply, he jogged onwards down the corridor and she had to sprint to keep up, his long legs taking two-thirds of the strides she had to. They reached the edge of the ship in time for them to duck down behind two supports and avoid the weapons fire of the alien race attacking them.

  Until now she had only heard stories of the Myreen race and their grey skin, tusk-like protrusions and brute strength. They weren't like she imagined but were still ugly. The Thorian waited for a lull in shots and popped his head out to return fire a couple of times before she got the hang of what he was doing and joined him.

  Each time she looked at their foe she saw more of them and her shooting did little to slow them down. Even when her blasts hit the creatures they rarely stopped their advance, their armour absorbing the energy or their tough skin blistering and charring but not causing enough pain or damage to slow them.

  This exchange continued for several minutes, until the Myreen weaponry ran out of cells and they charged the defending pair. The Thorian came out of hiding, handed her his much larger gun and drew two large swords from the sheaths on his back.

  As the enemy came pounding towards them she shot off as many blasts as she could into the mass of bodies and waited beside the Thorian for the aliens to get close enough to fight hand to hand.

  Several Myreens dropped down, too injured to continue, but it wasn't long before the remaining were too close to shoot. The Thorian joined the fray, making it even more difficult for her to aim without risking hitting him.

  For a few seconds she watched him fight and block most of the corridor with the blades he wielded, but her attention was stolen by a single Myreen as it snuck past and charged at her.

  She used the gun as a club and swung it up under the creature's jaw, sending it over onto its back before it could stab her with the short blade it had. Before it could recover she slammed the butt down into its face using her body weight to give it extra momentum. The force of the blow knocked the alien out, as well as splattering most of its nose across its face.

  Its dagger became hers and she got to her feet again. The Thorian had pushed the Myreen back, giving her room to advance before she re-joined the fray. Armed with a blade she did more damage, but the aliens kept coming through the hole they'd created in the ship's hull, their own battle-pod just visible behind it. Soon she and the Thorian forced to retreat through a nearby doorway.

  As soon as they were clear he locked the mechanical door and informed their Captain of their predicament, calling for reinforcements at the same time.

  It took over a minute for the Captain to reply and by then the Myreen were bashing on the door to the dormitory they were in. Auraylia also noticed the Thorian had a shallow cut down his left arm that was dripping blood onto the floor. She grabbed the first aid box off the shelf by the door, something every dorm had.

  “Understood, Varl. We've two other security breaches. Will send crew your way as soon as I can. Try to hold them off.”

  The Thorian didn't bother to respond but grabbed the few tables in the room and Auraylia rushed forward to help him push them up against the doorway. Behind that they placed anything else that could be moved.

  With that done and nothing else to do but wait he allowed her to bandage his arm and then they sat down on the floor, with their backs against the far wall.

  “You can fight better than I'd have thought,” he said after another couple of loud bangs as something slammed into the other side of the door. She gave him a wry smile. Growing up in the area of Lantock planet where her parents had lived had prepared her well for fighting, and it had only got worse once her parents had died. Being a slave had saved her from the fights but brought other problems of its own.

  If his genetic code hadn't been manipulated to make him stronger and faster than the standard human breed she came from she'd probably be a match for him. None of this was information she wished to share, however, so she kept quiet. As he offered no other attempt to start conversation they waited with only the regular loud bangs of their enemy to break the silence.

  Twenty minutes later the door was a mushed shape of metal that looked nothing like it should. Several dents littered the surface and the lock mechanism shook and rattled each time another blow was struck. The Thorian got to his feet.

  After taking a couple of deep breaths to try and steady her heart rate Auraylia stood up as well, the dagger she'd stolen still gripped in her right hand.

  “We need to hold them off long enough for help to get here,” he said, glancing at her but focusing back on the door less than a second later.

  “We can do that, right?”

  “Of course.” He gave her a slow nod as the final bang caused the lock to shear and the door to give way. It slammed into the tables but already Myreen body parts could be seen pushing at the opening and shifting the mass of objects on the inside back an inch.

  Both her and the Thorian rushed forward and used their blades to cut off body parts. Howls of anger came through the door and more shoving pushed the tables back even further, causing a table-leg to almost knock her off her feet.

  The Thorian steadied her and then the Myreen were in the room. She ducked a swing but needn't have bothered. It caught on a Thorian sword before it would have reached her head and turned harmlessly away from both of them.

  The next fifteen minutes disappeared in a whirl of fighting as she used every scrap of her knowledge and experience from her childhood to defend herself and kill the aliens. She tried not to think, allowing her body to react on its own and anticipate the situation without needing her brain to instruct her body.

  Tiredness crept through her limbs and made her more clumsy. A stroke from a smaller Myreen drew blood from a light cut on her arm but the pain barely registered in her mind. Adrenaline flowed through her too much to feel the full extent of the damage.

  She pulled back anyway, allowing the Thorian to defend her alone for a few seconds while she gathered herself. Just as she entered the fray again and launched herself at a Myreen side, dagger first, she heard the sounds of running feet out in the corridor.

  The Captain and Trell came rushing around the
corner and shot the last four Myreen in the backs of their heads before any of them could realise their opponents had doubled.

  While none of them were looking Auraylia slid the dagger she carried into her boot and got to her feet again. The Captain reached for the first aid box she'd raided earlier as soon as he saw her wound and the Thorian's collection of battle mementos. Although she didn't think her scratch warranted a bandage, she allowed it to be cleaned and dressed and took the opportunity to sit and let her body rest.

  “We're out of enemy territory now and into the neutral area they have over here, so I'm hoping that will be the last we see of the Myreen this journey,” the Captain said once he was finished. Trell was still trying to get the Thorian to sit still long enough to treat his wounds.

  He helped her to her feet again and the Thorian joined them.

  “I'll heal soon enough,” he said in a gruff manner and waited for their Captain to give them more commands.

  “I need the ship checked over and her integrity confirmed before we can rest. Get the crew split into groups of four and have them take a sector each. Our repair bots are over-taxed so we may need to fix some parts ourselves.”

  Dylan strode off as soon as the Thorian nodded. For a few seconds Auraylia didn't know what to do with herself, but the Logistics Officer soon handed her another small handgun and took her along to check the hull breach nearby.

  A barrier already formed over the opening and gave an orange sheen to the view outside. She gasped as she got her first glimpse of stars and planets. So much blackness lay between them that her eyes were overwhelmed. Trell's chuckle broke the enchantment and brought her back to the lower deck on the Sapphira.

  “First sight of space?”

  “Yes. On Lantock we never saw the stars or space because of the shield. It made everything dark blue at night.”

  “And you never left the planet?”

  Auraylia shook her head and gazed at the universe outside, taking a step closer so she could see more. A few seconds later the sound of scraping metal made her jump.