by Calista Skye
She drew it halfway out and dropped the multigun onto the deck, then advanced towards the person lying on the floor.
It was Crixael. Her heart jumped, both from fear and excitement. All kinds of excitement. She shook her head in wonder. How did he arouse so many things in her just by lying down?
He was asleep or unconscious, and his face was so unspeakably beautiful she longed to touch it. It still had that otherworldly glow to it, and she was sure that meant he wasn't dead. She took a couple of steps closer and bent down to check on him.
"Even in that you look amazing," he said.
She almost jumped out of her skin and drew her sword nearly all the way out of its scabbard. "Fuck! Dammit, do you want me to cut your head off?!"
He opened his eyes, and the stars inside them glittered. But, Dani thought, not as strongly as before.
"You know, if anyone were ever to cut my head off with a sword, somehow I'd like it to be you."
She took in his face for a moment. Was it a little paler than before? "Are you injured?"
He lifted his arms and legs in turn and looked down his spectacular body. "I seem to be mostly intact."
She ran her gaze over him, a very pleasant thing to do. "Mostly?"
"Well," he said and pointed to the deck of the saucer right under him, "I have to assume that that comes from somewhere."
Dani looked closer. "That's blood!"
"Ah," he said. "That's what it is."
He stood up easily, and his extraordinary shape towered over her. He half turned, and she gasped when she saw the wound in his back. There was something sticking out of it.
"Not good, I presume?" There was no fear in his voice, just a mild amusement.
She looked closer. "You got impaled on something. I don't know how far it goes." The blood was still seeping out from the wound.
He smirked at her and ran his gaze down her body, stopping at her crotch. "Really? I usually like to do the impaling myself."
The double meaning of it got Dani to feel her cheeks heat up a little. She glanced at his metallic black pants. The bulge was there, big and enticing. She wouldn't mind a little impalement. Now she knew what he could do.
She ripped the first-aid pack from her utility belt. "How about you hold the impaling and take a seat."
He sat down on an alien piece of technology and she took a closer look. It was a sharp shard of the saucer's hull that must have been knocked off and then gone zooming around inside the saucer until it hit his back. It was very sharp and thin, like a knife blade.
"You want me to pull it out or let our medics handle it? Actually, I think you can expect some real VIP treatment, so an actual surgeon isn't out the question."
"Oh, I'll trust your nimble hands to perform the surgery," he said. "Am I to understand that you intend to turn me over to your superiors?"
Dani pulled her gloves off and dabbed at the wound with a sterile pad, thinking furiously. Anything she said here could be dangerous. But she didn't have much of a choice. He was an Ethereal, and her squad was waiting outside. He had to understand that.
"Turn to the right a little," she said and gently wound a roll of gauze around the shard to get a good grip on it.
"I suppose that is out of your hands now. And I suppose it's my own fault for crashing this thing. Or rather, for being shot down."
"Not a great idea coming here," she agreed. "The planet is a Vlon stronghold, so Space Force has a serious blockade around it."
She got a hold of the shard and pulled it out of his flesh. She could feel it scrape against a rib.
"I'm so used to disregarding anything done by dust that I'm afraid that never registered," he said, completely unaffected by what had to be a very painful procedure.
"Dust?" The shard hadn't penetrated too deep into him, and the rib had stopped it from going further in. Still, she had the feeling that no human man would be carrying on a conversation like this under these circumstances.
"You," he said. "The Vlon. The stars. The planets. Everything that isn't Ethereals. And now possibly including me."
She showed him the shard, slick with his blood. "Here's your trophy. Meanwhile, didn't you heal a wound of mine a couple of days ago?"
"Thanks for noticing," he said drily. "I'm afraid my sphere of abilities has shrunk very slightly in recent days."
"What, you can't do it anymore?" She peered at his broad chest, where he had cut a deep gash in himself with her machete only a couple of days before. There wasn't even a scar there now.
"Oh, this little trifle will be completely healed within an hour. But for me, that is a scandalously long time."
His eyes glittered and he placed a hand at the small of her back, pulling her close. His scent threatened to overcome her again. Images from their last encounter flashed before her eyes and sent delicious tingles straight to her sex. She wanted it again.
The relief and surprise to find him inside the saucer and not some insect-like alien who wanted to murder her made her giddy. And probably reckless, she knew. But he was like ice cream. One scoop wasn't enough.
Oh shit, she thought. Am I addicted to this half-god now?
He held a hand behind her neck and bent down. His full lips brushed against hers.
She looked up, towards the rift in the saucer. It was very dark outside.
"The squad-"
"Time passes differently in here than outside," he said. "They won't think you've been gone for long."
She glanced around the crashed saucer. "Yeah? I'm not sure this thing works like it's supposed to anymore."
"Oh, it is broken," he said. "But its basic properties can't be changed. Like a glass bottle. Even if it you break it, its temperature doesn't change much. The shards are still transparent, and together they will weigh the same as the bottle did. I'm sure you noticed that any imaging or recording equipment stopped working as soon as you came in. It can't handle the different physical conditions inside. It's like a sliver of another universe with other rules."
She wanted him to be right, so she decided that it was okay. It would just take a moment, anyway. She was as ready as she had ever been. It felt like there were only she and he. Nothing else existed.
She unzipped her battle suit and stepped out of it, wearing only panties and a sports bra.
She greatly enjoyed his approving eyes on her, seeking out her girly parts in a way that should have feel invasive, but just felt great. She made sure to turn half around when she bent over to unfasten her boots. She had the biggest butt in Space Force, she was pretty sure, and if he liked it, well...
"Your shape is remarkably enticing," he said into her thoughts, and she could hear that he was just as turned on as she was. Damn, how could he heat her up like this in just a couple of minutes?
"Let me just say," she replied in a mouth that was dry from horniness, "that so is yours."
She shed her bra and walked over to him across the alien deck. She still had a good amount of adrenalin in her, and she felt daring.
She cupped his bulge as if she owned it, and he let her. She fumbled with the waistband of his black pants, trying to find something she could recognize as a fly.
"Shit. How do you do this?"
"Usually like this." He took a step forward and the pants remained behind, as if they were suddenly only air. Then they fell to the floor, and she admired his hard manhood, standing straight up and looking dangerously hard and thick.
"Okay," she said. "Whatever works."
He slid his hands down her sides and she stepped out of her panties. He kissed her again, and his lips were soft, but firm.
She pushed him down in the seat, then placed one leg on each side of him and lowered herself until she felt his cock at her slit. She could both feel and smell that she was wet enough.
She positioned the head of his manhood at her opening and lowered herself further, gasping when she felt it penetrating her.
He groaned too, and the control made her relax. He might be a monster, but
right now he let her be in charge.
She slid all the way down on him, looking into those spectacular eyes as he filled her up completely and wonderfully. She had been wrong; they were still as bright as ever.
She raised herself up, but even in the lower gravity in the saucer, she knew she couldn't do that too many times before her legs got tired.
She placed her arms around his neck and hoped he got the message.
And he did, holding her close and getting to his feet. He placed his hands right under her butt and held her up as easily as if she weighed only an ounce or two. She curled her legs behind him and let him carry her whole weight. His hands moved her up and down in the same rhythm as before
"We're crazy," she said into his ear. His golden hair stroked her face, and it felt wonderful. She just wanted to feel every part of him.
He lifted her and let her down in a steady rhythm that she knew would be impossible for most other men. She had never before had sex standing up, and she had never heard good things about it. But this... yeah, this was great. But of course sex with Crixael would always be.
His cock hit her in all the right spots, and he moved his body so that her clit rubbed lightly against his hard stomach muscles with every thrust up or down. And then the climax washed over her and she shook all over, whimpering and moaning, while he incredibly and impossibly increased the speed of their fucking to match her orgasm perfectly and draw it out.
"You... are... in... cre... di... ble..." she groaned, riding the ecstasy high and far. He grunted in her ear and his moves became a little less perfect, and she felt him spray her cervix with his boiling juice in the most intimate embrace she had ever experienced, completely held by this remarkable half-god.
A thought erupted in her mind: I can trust him.
- - -
He held her until her aftershocks subsided and her breath returned to normal. Then he gently let her down on her feet, and made sure to steady her while she tried to remember how her legs worked.
She nuzzled his neck. "I have to get up before Singh takes a look and sees me fraternizing with the ene-"
The whole saucer suddenly shook, and the sky outside wasn't black anymore.
She frowned. Thunder? But the sky was green.
"Interesting," Crixael said and looked past her out of the rift in the saucer's hull. "That was a big one. I wonder who they're gunning for. I have to say I hope it isn't me."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "But I also suspect it might be you."
16
She stuck her head up over the edge of the crack in the saucer's hull. No one was standing on the rim around the crater, where she would have expected the squad to wait for her.
She retrieved her helmet and put it on. It seemed to be working fine.
"Sarge?" she said. "One prisoner to bring back to camp."
There was no reply, not even static.
"Sarge? Singh? SkyEye One?"
Nothing. Just silence. And the sky was still glowing an unhealthy green.
She set the helmet to maximum range and tried again. "Epsilon Base, this is Smith from Squad Avrukevich."
Nothing.
She switched to Omni, where she would receive every radio transmission sent by anyone within two hundred miles or more.
Nothing. Not even static. That worried her. The radio did seem to be working. It just wasn't receiving anything at all.
Crixael climbed easily out of the saucer and stood beside her. He knocked playfully on her helmet.
"Anyone home? Hah hah. No, see, there won't be anyone alive on most of this hemisphere after a blast like that."
She took the helmet off, but turned the external speaker on so she would hear if anyone was transmitting. "Nuke?"
He nodded slowly. "Not really. I don't actually know how it works. I just know that we use it on civilizations when we tire of them and want to move on. Or when they figure us out and ask us to leave. It kills and destroys, but it leaves no radiation. Unless we want it to. We often want it to. But not this time, it seems."
The green glow seemed to get brighter in the direction of Camp Epsilon. "You're saying the Ethereals nuked the camp?"
"If you insist," he said. "It's not the worst analogy in the world, completely wrong though it is. I don't think the Vlon do things like that. And I'm quite sure they don't know how. I smell some royal mischief here."
Dani stared in the direction of the camp. "As our leading expert on what is and isn't a nuclear weapon, would you say that it's worth the trouble to check if anyone is still left at the camp?"
He arched his eyebrows, amused. "Not for me, certainly. I think you recently referred to me as a prisoner? I can't think of any reason why I'd want to go over there under any circumstances."
"So you think there might be someone there? I mean, we're still alive."
He scratched his chin again. "Did I tell you about the saucer and the physics and the sliver of another universe? Just a few minutes ago? Yes? It would of course shield us perfectly from the banger."
"Banger?"
"From lack of a better word, that's what we call those things. The bombs. The civilization-levelling explosion."
"Is that what they used on our Moon colony?"
"I don't know. I never knew Denibael, and I don't think I'd want to."
Dani climbed up the side of the crater to get up and check for herself. Even in her battle suit with its embedded exoskeleton, it was a hard climb in the high gravity. The loose sand and rocks kept giving way under her feet, and when she finally got up, she was panting and sweating.
"These your friends?" Crixael said, not even breathing harder.
Seven battle suits were lying scattered around on the rocks and sand. Dani went over to the closest one. Duffy, the name tag said.
She nudged the suit with her toe, and the tough outer shell crumbled to a gray dust, revealing empty space underneath.
"Reduced to individual molecules, if I remember correctly," Crixael said. "Suddenly I'm somewhat interested in knowing how those explosions work. Possibly it's because now I've been on the wrong side of one."
Dani looked at the remains of her squad. She hadn't known them that well, but still she felt tears burning in her eyes. They had been good marines. And she had been safe, while they had died meaningless deaths.
"Damn."
She wasn't too worried about herself. She had her suit and her sword and her multigun, and Space Force would get here soon enough to pick her up.
She nudged Duffy's helmet with her boot again. It crumbled, too.
She reached inside her helmet and activated the distress beacon. When Space Force arrived, at least they would find her right away. It would be better if she stayed close to the camp. Or where the camp had been. But if someone bombed them again...
She looked up at him, feeling small and exposed. "Mind if I stay in your saucer for a little while?"
She had expected a smirk and a suggestive remark. Instead, he placed one hand on her shoulder.
"Your companions are dead. I'm sorry, Princess Danai'a. With my human half, I feel that it must be distressing. I would be honored if you would stay in the saucer for as long as it's needed."
Something caught her attention, and she looked over his shoulder. "Great. Tell me, how vulnerable are Vlon to that giant bomb that you assure me is definitely not a nuke?"
He frowned. "I don't know, specifically. The Vlon appear tough, and I doubt if conventional nukes would make much of an impact. But I've never heard of any species withstanding these ones."
"Okay," she said and intensely wished she had her multigun in her hands. "I only ask because there are about ten thousand of them coming right for us. And you know, they're coming pretty fast."
17
They were surrounded by Vlon on three sides. The only horizon that wasn't a black mass of movement with a chitinous sheen was glowing green with the exotic nuke the Ethereals had dropped on Camp Epsilon. The tank-sized insects ran five times their own le
ngth per second, which meant that the spot of desert where they were standing was shrinking very fast against a boiling sea of angry and aggressive aliens.
Crixael looked around, still with that amused look on his face. "Indeed they are. Ten thousand seems about right. In the first wave. I suppose we'd better get our weapons."
Dani was way ahead of him and was already scrambling down the side of the crater. Her multigun was still inside the wrecked saucer.
Even so, Crixael was there when she dived into the crack in the alien craft and got her hands on the hard grip of the multigun.
She knew that some marines said that feeling their heavy weapon in their hands calmed them down and made them feel invincible. Dani had never felt anything like that. Whenever she felt the weight of the gun in her hands, she knew that things were bad and about to get worse. She had never liked that sensation. But this time, it did make her feel safer. Marginally.
"If you'd prefer to stay here in relative safety, I'll go and eradicate some insects," Crixael offered. "I don't think I can force you to remain here, but I would if I could."
"Forget it, phantom boy," Dani said, trying to tap into both the usual Space Marine mindset and her warrior instincts that were usually slow to awaken. It wasn't working – she only felt cold and small. "You're about to witness war the Space Marine way."
She felt faintly ridiculous saying it, but he didn't smile at her aggressive demeanor. He must realize that she had to do something to mobilize some courage and aggression.
"Very well," he said. "I look forward to the display. Still, there's no shame in retreating. Sometimes the shame lies in not pulling back. I would absolutely suggest that you not get in my way. Kindly keep in mind that I'm slightly more than you are."
He hefted his golden staff, a two meter long pole that appeared cut off sharply at each end.
He must have noticed her skeptical look. "It's no more than it looks like, this thing. Or I certainly hope that it isn't. I'm not sure I've fully realized how many of my talents are mine and how many belong to the- to someone else."