“Yeah, thanks for that.” Stephanie said dryly with a dramatic eye roll. “Couldn’t you have waited another twenty four more hours before letting your snatch think for you?”
“I would say sorry if Oliver hadn’t blown my mind with his perfect date.” Renee shrugged as they went inside. “And it seemed everyone knew it was going to be inevitable by the pool going around the crew. It seemed no one made a bet I wouldn’t fuck Oliver silly, just how long it would be before I caved. I just want to know why no one believed it wouldn’t work.”
“Sweetheart,” Jessica laid a hand on Renee’s knee. “it was clear when after the Stingrays attacked as you two sat together in the mess. You were more easier to set off than usual, but you couldn’t stop looking at him. Anyone who had been in love before knew that look. Plus when you two were together you would move and he would follow and vice versa. Plus when you normally walk you look like a rigid soldier ready to kick ass, but ever since he arrived your hips sway more and you have added a little bounce to your step to make your boobs jiggle more for his viewing pleasure.”
“Bullshit.” Renee denied that entirely.
Jessica’s own wolfish grin was near exactly like her niece’s as she pulled out the solid gem tablet. “I thought you would be in denial and wrote a program during the splicing procedure to do a side by side comparison of recordings of how you walked for the past decade to the last month you’ve been recorded in or around Oliver. Here.” She tapped a few insubstantial buttons and transferred the program.
Her eyes shut for a moment then began to see through her chip exactly what Jessica meant. The side by side gait of herself was inflexible verses sultry. Rigid against feminine. Deadly to sexy. “Why didn’t I notice?”
“You wouldn’t. Those were unconscious physical signals of attraction. You hadn’t responded to anyone sexually for so long that when he came along people were bound to notice your own change.” Jessica turned to Oliver. “And don’t fuck this up. She’s a good girl if you don’t push her hot buttons, but if you hurt her I’ll end you.”
“I’m not the mate who raped her for being mentally unstable and was unable to take change well. I know Sparky has his claim on her, but she is mine as well. I do not feel the need to compete with him for her. She knows she is mine. He knows she is his and she knows we are hers. It is not complicated. The only scream I like to make her have is in bed. I will not make her scream in pain.”
Sparky simply watched and listened.
“Speaking of, how was your first sexual experience? Was it awkward? Did you fumble around like all teens who go to the sex centers to learn the art of making love in a healthy way?” Stephanie was merely intellectually curious.
“Nuh uh. Remember our deal, Babe.” Jessica waved a finger in her face.
Stephanie fired right back. “Tell me you aren’t the least bit inquisitive how a man with memories a little over a month old would be between the sheets. Go ahead and lie. Who was it again who said her own niece would be forced to teach like she was in the sex centers? That she might sedate him if he got too handsy? Hmmm?”
Jessica blushed nearly as bright as Renee.
Renee though lifted her chin proudly. “Well I worried about it too, but shouldn’t have. He was no amateur last night for certain. I’ll let you know later if he can give me a repeat performance.”
“Tease.” He bantered.
“Idiot.” She stuck her tongue out.
They then reached the exit nearest the med bay when Renee added “Jessica, you mind if I do a scan and take a blood sample to see if your procedure was bound properly and is permanent?”
“Sure.” She turned. “Babe, go to the mess and get us a private dinner for the two of us to celebrate since we had to put our own date on hold… and grab something for our little girl too.”
“Little? I’m taller than both of you by a good twelve centimeters.” Renee quipped. “But I haven’t eaten since dinner last night and a few drinks of water.”
“I’ll be back soon.” Stephanie came closer and kissed Renee’s cheek. “Hold on a little longer. I’m just glad you’re back home, Kiddo.” And then she went back to the elevator as the rest returned to the med bay.
Waiting just inside was the burgundy scaled female Drake Rose who’s long flat tongue darted out and licked Renee’s cheek and she continued to ride. “We’ve been so worried.” Tears fell from Rose’s large and emotional eyes.
Renee wiped her slick cheek and dismounted to hug her friend’s chest as she too reared back for a deep maternal hug. “Thank you for worrying, Rose. I’m back.”
“My mate already showed me what you’ve seen and endured. I would kill those responsible for this, but having you return to the nest is all that matters.” Rose nuzzled before finally letting go.
“Let’s get started.” Renee popped her knuckles and made three beds slide from the walls along with three hovering scanners from the white ceiling.
Oliver, Renee and Jessica laid down for a few minutes for a full bodily scan down to the genetic level before rising and having painless blood samples taken and analyzed.
The redhead’s eyes were unfocused and were going through the results. “Auntie, looks like the Splicers did a splendid job in the rewriting of your bone and muscle density with the stabilizing and building hormones needed for the augmentation.”
“Whew. Your opinion makes me feel better than the other medic I saw. She’s a blunt battleaxe compared to even you.”
“Then I must learn her secrets.” The two women laughed.
Moments later the door slid and in walked Stephanie carrying a covered tray. “Babe, we need to hurry back to our room before our food gets cold. Renee, I chose a porterhouse steak done on the rarer side as you like. I still can’t stand red meat that looks like it still has a pulse.” Renee withheld a giggle. “I also got fried potatoes, crunchy green beans and two pints of beer for you and your new boy toy.”
“Steak sauce too?” She asked.
“What am I? An animal? You can’t have steak without the tangy zing of Vanessa’s homemade sauces.” Stephanie sat the large tray on the desk. “Recuperate and we’ll start fresh in the morning. I know if I just had made the jailbreak of the century I’d be in need of unwinding. We can talk about everything first thing.”
“You’re right. It can wait. I can relax knowing you both are back safe.” Jessica stood and the couple left the med bay.
“We will go as well. If you need us we’ll be in our nest. I will tend to my mate. You do as well, Renee.” Rose said privately and then she got Sparky’s attention with a flick of her tail. Reluctantly he went along.
“Alone at last.” Renee said as she lifted the plate covering and took a big whiff of the food that had her stomach cramping and mouth flooding with saliva. She grabbed her fork and sharp knife on the tray to begin cutting chunks and dipping in the cup of dark brown sauce which had her moaning on strong flavor.
Oliver grabbed the large mug of beer and sipped before saying “Renee, you smell mildly worried. Something wrong?”
She glanced, finished chewing and swallowed thickly “Olly, I didn’t want to say anything with my aunts in the room, but you’ve changed…” she started cutting another piece.
“Changed how?”
Her hands stopped and he noticed them shaking. Her sweet scent gone sour with fear. “Your scan just now just reported you’re now a class four user and I’ve detected Beast DNA being metabolized into your own. It’s being assimilated… adding and recombining into something else. Your DNA now has a triple helix.”
“What does that mean?” He asked with a hint of concern.
She put her fork down and turned to face him to say “I need you to promise me something.”
“Name it.”
“I’ll need you close to continuously gather day and night, even as you sleep to keep this secret from everyone. As a class four user it won’t be easy, but you can do it. Before I go explaining further I need to see how much you can
gather and sustain.”
“I’ll wait till you finish eating.” He took another sip.
Hunger made her stomach growl again so she chuckled and went back to her meal. Oliver watched and allowed her to gain her bearings and settle down. Work in cutting tough meat was the minor battle she needed to calm the nerves. Good food really did make her minor headache diminish and was long enough to get comfortable as she read what he could not.
Renee massacred her dinner plate and dropped it through another hidden slot in the wall where it would be sent back to the mess and be cleaned on the way there. She grabbed the handle of her half finished pint of frothy goodness and stood. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
He followed her to her room and watched the med bay become completely empty, beds sliding back into the wall near seamlessly and chairs disappearing up in the ceiling. It had gone pure white aside from the citrus smelling plant that gave the room a gentle and soothing fragrance.
She went inside the open bedroom door and Oliver got a good look inside for the first time. It was far from clean and rather large. A large rectangular bed about five meters long and three wide made for spacious sleeping arrangements. The sheets were wrinkled and one long body-pillow laid haphazardly. Clothes lay strewn all over. “Renee, has someone ransacked your room?”
“Nope. Just messy.” She grinned.
“Uh, what is a thong doing dangling off the ceiling fan?” He said and pointed.
“Thanks. I’ve been looking for those.” She planted a foot on the firm mattress and leapt up to take the lacy pink garment down. “Yeah, that first time I held you upside down and kissed you I barely made it back to my room to masturbate. I think I’ve never undressed out of my flight suit so quickly before.” She grinned.
Oliver then turned to the left and was still for a moment before going to the far wall to realize it actually was a clear sapphire window out to space. Right now it showed the empty port level the Dorgenox moored in, but further out was the vastness of space in all its splendor. Every now and then there would be another road of light, but otherwise the view was uncongested.
“My room’s looking pretty good now huh? Better than yours?”
“What a great view.” He turned as she stood beside him, still holding the pink g-string. “To fall asleep with this at the foot of your bed must be perfect.”
“After my last mate, I had insomnia and had bad nightmares of being raped. For months I had to sleep with Sparky and Rose… I always loved the stars and plugged into the ship to strip the wood away and leave just sapphire as it is durable so I didn’t feel so closed in. I should also explain why I had nightmares of the rape. You see, I first went to the sex center when I was late in my sixteenth year and it was where I finally popped my cherry physically and emotionally. I know you already know the centers were established for proper education on healthy sexual relationships and on how to leave a mate without making either bitter. It came as people no longer aged so guidelines were made to make sure the young and inexperienced didn’t get burned by those with centuries under their belt. We learn all kinds of sexual techniques and fetishes there. Most kids hit puberty early and go in their early teens, but I was a late bloomer as Papa says from the old days.
“Before meeting Sparky, my first mate took me. The fourth mate I took was him. I don’t know why, but he liked to sodomize and dominate me. I had an anal phobia for as long as I can remember and he knew it. That last time he did it intentionally just to put me in my place and it hurt so bad I couldn’t get him off till Sparky came to my rescue.
“The view of space always calmed me. I know it’s violent and deadly, but I’m drawn to it anyway… Like you. I just don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I know I’m rambling, but I can’t help it. You’re the first man to come in my room in a decade. Not even Papa has come in.”
Oliver scratched his nose and sniffed. “I already know. Only Sparky has, but that was weeks ago.”
“I just hope my farts don’t send you into shock.”
“Doesn’t really bother me. Only onions make my eyes water… that and Steven’s noxious ass.” Renee chuckled. “So what about the problems you found?”
She sobered up and moved to the bed to pat beside her. He joined her. “Olly, first, gather for me. Afterwards I’ll speak. I can’t afford a telepath learning this. We can tell no one. No one at all.”
He imagined the lever and it came easily, but he was shocked to find how much further and smoother the pull was. He was flooded with the stream, before getting resistance. “Whoa.”
“I’ll say.” Renee was struck mildly breathless as she felt his output quadruple. “You remember how to take what you gathered and focus it to a point on your body?” he nodded. She grabbed his hand and touched the center of his palm. “Focus on this point and send the vibrations flooding you right here. The surface area of the human palm is ideal to gather and condense for discharging a kinetic blasts and arcs. Do it now.”
Oliver imagined and the full bodily vibration funneled down his left hand and remembered the feel that Scythe and Renee sent through him, the sensation was neither comfortable or uncomfortable. The point hummed and Renee held a finger over the point and what looked like a barely noticeable constant static electricity shock jumped the tiny distance she made between them. He kept it up for five minutes before needing to stop and that entire time they sat completely still.
“Not bad at all for your first psionic manifestation and discharge. It stung, but you’re far from even shocking someone into submission or singing the skin. We’ll work on levitation later. Now though I want you to open the valve to just the bare minimum to feel a full bodily vibration. And hold it like I do day and night, even sleeping.”
“How do you manage that? The moment my concentration diverts, it closes.”
“When you are as familiar with it as I am, the feeling is natural. It eventually acts more like our hearts… or breathing would be a better analogy. We breathe even in sleep, but can take a deep breath and hold it to go under water. Practice is the key as with anything we must learn. Classes nine and up can read minds, but only if you stop gathering. Right now I’d need sixty percent to glimpse your mind right now and my eyes would give me away. Me personally, I’m gathering at near the same level you were doing to shock me and have been constantly doing so for years. And I never let go. Or should I say, I can’t without thinking on it. Since I discovered something that could threaten my unrestricted life I’ve done it. Now only a Drake can read me.”
“Just tell me.” He cupped her cheek. “I can take it.”
“You know the splicing experiments we found in the lab today?” He nodded. Hard to forget. “They were trying to achieve something you and I already do naturally.” He blinked, not following. She took a deep steadying breath. “You and I both have more than a normal double helix. Nobody else I have ever met does.”
“Hold on. What does this mean?”
“Look. I don’t have all the answers and I’ve been trying to figure it all out secretly on my own since I was fourteen and was learning genetics for my medic career. Someone must have found the same correlation to Beast and human psionics I did. What I’ve never told another living soul is I have a helix of ten strands. A decuple helix that has made me completely immune from all known viral and bacterial infections and all sickness. I’m psionically the strongest human woman in existence. Only few know the full extent of my power.”
“What does that have to do with Beasts?”
“You picked that out and not that I’m the strongest woman living?”
“I already knew. Your scent today was stronger than the thousands of women we passed by today on our way to Galicom. Now what do Beasts have to do with us and you more specifically?”
Renee blinked and decided not to get angry. It was just who Oliver is. He didn’t sweat the small stuff. “Well I kind of…” She became embarrassed. “hunted Beasts without anyone knowing when I took down my first at the a
ge of seven up till fifteen.”
“You what?! Renee, are you serious? Hunters don’t even send their own kids till ten years old and they always hunt in threes with an experienced adult to keep an eye. And you went alone without anyone knowing?”
Her chin lifted and dropped. “It’s why I’m not disgusted seeing you eat Beast brains and meat raw. I actually wanted to be there next to you and eat my fill with you, but that’s the whole problem. Eating Beasts altered my DNA and enhanced my psionic abilities. It’s why I had to stop. I’d eat normal meat right off the still bleeding bone if it didn’t freak people out. You saw Stephanie earlier. She found it wrong, gross. My sense of smell might be barely above human, but I’ll never forget the taste of raw Beast. So damn delicious. Hell, I wanted to lick the blood off your chin after you took down the Salamander… I stuck to E and D-Rank Beasts using kinetic blasts so no one knew what I did in my spare time. But people soon began to notice how rapidly my powers grew. So I made sure my chip couldn’t release my private and personal research without my intent and kept gathering day and night from mind readers ever since.
“My ears” she rubbed the sensitive points. “I wish I could say this was done by Splicers. They changed on their own when I hunted every day for a month vacation out of sight from the Phantom program. When I finally saw my ears change I completely stopped hunting. And it has only gotten harder since you came into my life… and eat in front of me. Normal food is dull and I need strong spices just to taste anything.”
“Then why do you smell afraid? I would think me being like you would be great. We would not need to hide anything from each other.”
“You would think like that. You didn’t grow up around children who bullied you because you were the star student and got into more fights than in all of the program’s history. I’m surprised they didn’t make me go in for retraining, but I did get my ass spanked weekly growing up.” She at last cracked a smile. “Olly, the problem is that you and I likely aren’t even fully human.”
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