Ecstasy Bound

by Kerce, Ruth D.

  “The Initiation has been delayed. Nothing serious. Something about the drug levels being off in the injection they need to give Briggs. Laszlo said he and Leila will be able to fix the problem but it will take them a little while and further tests.”

  “When did this happen?” Braden asked.

  “Laszlo checked in after you left the control room. I meant to update you.” He shook his head. “My brain has been in a fog or something lately.”

  Braden sighed. What else could go wrong? No. He didn’t want to think about the possibilities. He had enough to think about already. “Let’s get back to work. Time’s going to pass faster than we think, especially if we run into more glitches.”

  “How’s it looking for the decontamination room?” Erik asked.

  “Torque’s pretty much got it figured out. It’s just a matter of refining the details and laying out the steps for the installation and programming now. Then we’ll need to test it, of course.”

  Torque nodded. “I’ll have everything finalized in a couple of hours or so. We can start the actual wiring of the control panel after that. Once the wiring is in place, the program setup will take some time though. Probably about as long, if not longer, than the orbiter programming.”

  “Then let’s get to it,” Braden said with a clap of his hands.

  “Wait.” Torque turned his chair fully toward Braden. “Before Erik leaves, do you want to tell us what you and Brianna have been up to?”

  Braden scowled. He shouldn’t have alluded to anything earlier with Torque, for nothing substantial had come of it. Though he did want to make sure Torque’s and Erik’s loyalty remained with him over Laszlo, in case he felt the need to overrule their leader during any phase of this mission. Now was as good a time as any to do that, while they were both here and ready to know more. And while no one else was around.

  “You and Brianna are planning something?” Erik asked. “Should we be insulted that we were kept out of the loop?”

  “Yeah, I’d like to know why,” Torque added.

  “I wanted more information before getting too many people involved so I’d know which way to plan and have more to tell you. I had Brianna check the deep space tracker to see if she could pick up Daegal’s ships heading toward Earth. I wanted some sort of confirmation on what Laszlo told us.”

  “And?” Erik asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Ah, so that’s what Brianna’s un-coded message meant.”

  Braden smiled slightly He should have known Torque would recognize un-coded code when he heard it. After so many years, he’d thought maybe the rhythm of the words wouldn’t register with him anymore. It hadn’t actually been necessary since no one else was in the control room when she’d reported in. But then, better to be safe when transmitting over a public comm, for anyone else in the shelter could have tapped in to listen and with the level of suspected deception down here, he preferred to keep their conversations contained within a small group.

  “Too bad.” Torque shook his head. “That means we know nothing one way or the other where Laszlo is concerned, as usual.”

  “Exactly.” Braden had no choice now but to go on instinct and hope for the best.

  “We’re going to have to follow Laszlo’s orders, without proof, because the outcome for Earth is in the balance if everything he’s told us is the truth. More than just Earth’s freedom actually is at stake if Daegal and the Egesa have their way. But since we didn’t find anything concrete, we also need to be aware that everything we’ve been told about Daegal and his current plans could be a lie or a—”

  “Cover for something even more nefarious,” Torque finished for him, a look of disgust on his face.

  “If so, we’ll need to be ready to shift and defend,” Erik added.

  “Precisely,” Braden confirmed. “You’re both with me and Brianna on this then? We follow Laszlo, with caution, unless I order otherwise.”

  “Of course,” Erik replied.

  “Goes without saying,” Torque agreed.

  “All right. Good. Torque, you finalize the details for the decontamination room. Get the installation and programming specs into the computer. Then—”

  A beep drew their attention. All three turned toward a panel beside Torque, where a red light blinked. Torque pulled his chair back around and punched up a colored graph on the monitor. “Shit. Look at this.”

  Braden studied the screen. “Perfect,” he muttered under his breath, seeing the bad news.

  Their oxygen supply registered a steady and significant drain.

  Maybe that’s why some of their thinking had been getting cloudy. He’d noticed a certain fuzziness in himself and so had Torque apparently, given what he’d said earlier.

  Now with the Initiation delayed due to something being off with the drugs that Laszlo and Leila were trying to fix, he couldn’t help but think that too might be related to cloudy thinking. Even Halah’s and Erik’s encounter earlier could have escalated beyond the norm because of the restricted air.

  With the drain, the system had automatically readjusted the levels to lower the oxygen output to save the supply, which was standard procedure for emergency shelters and rescue pods. Those levels could be overridden manually but if they couldn’t find and fix the source of the drain first, even more oxygen would be wasted.

  “Why is it only now alerting us?” he asked Torque. “Look at those levels. The system has to have been malfunctioning for some time.”

  “Who the hell knows?” Torque growled as he switched screens to get additional data on the problem. “I hate these systems down here. They’re older than dirt and about as useful.”

  Another possible sabotage? Braden had to wonder, given the fact that the primary alarm hadn’t registered. If it wasn’t for the emergency secondary system kicking in and alerting them, they might never have known about the oxygen problem. Not until it was too late.

  “Can we stop the leak?” Erik asked, leaning forward for a better look.

  “Not without knowing where it’s coming from,” Torque answered, throwing up his hands in frustration. “This fucking equipment doesn’t show the source.”

  “Do we tell the others?” Erik asked Braden, turning from the graph. A concerned look crossed his face.

  “Only those who need to know. No need to create panic with everyone. I’ll tell Laszlo in case he has any ideas and I’ll look into it myself. Maybe I can find out where the problem originated. If that can be fixed or even patched, then it should propagate throughout the system and cause a reset of the atmospheric levels.”

  “Even if it doesn’t reset,” Torque said, “I can override but the leak needs to be fixed first or the air won’t last us.”

  Braden now knew what he’d secured earlier had been the right thing to do. He just needed to put a rush on the setup. “Erik, I need to talk to you about something.”

  He pulled his friend to the other side of the room, not missing the frown on Torque’s face. He wasn’t purposely keeping secrets from his brother. He wanted to run something by Erik, hoping what he’d planned was possible. But specifically, he had another question for his friend, something he did want kept private. For Erik’s sake, not because he didn’t trust Torque. He lowered his voice and tried to sound casual. “Has Leila said anything to you about Laszlo? What’s her take on all this?”

  Erik seemed confused by the question and hesitated before answering. “Her take?

  You mean medically? She could fill you in on Laszlo’s condition better than me.”

  “No, in general. How does she feel about everything that’s been happening with Laszlo?”

  “Feel?” Erik visibly tensed and his eyes narrowed. “Are you asking me whose side she’s on, Braden?”

  Yeah, he supposed he was, but only because of what Laszlo said during the meeting. He had to be certain of loyalties here. “I’ll come right out with it, Erik. Did you know she was helping with the spinal fluid expe
riments?”

  Erik once more hesitated before answering, though he never broke eye contact.

  “Yes.”

  Yes. The word echoed in Braden’s head. He felt as if he’d been zapped by a pulse rifle. Erik should have told him about Leila’s involvement as soon as he’d found out.

  “I knew she was working on some secret project. I didn’t know what it was until Laszlo told us.”

  “Leila refused to tell you what she was doing?”

  “She said Laszlo would tell us in the meeting, with more details than she could provide, so I didn’t push her or say anything to anyone beforehand. I trust her and her judgment, Braden. This hasn’t been long-term on her part. She’s only been involved with the experiments since she’s been down here.”

  Well, that was good to hear. It meant she wasn’t a part of any ongoing schemes with Laszlo.

  “After the meeting she told me that Laszlo brought some of the manufactured spinal samples with him and was still trying to figure out why the artificially created fluid wouldn’t work. She did some tests and also looked over the modified Initiation procedure. Made some changes. The spinal fluid was still a bust when they tested the revised vials they prepared but she’s hopeful about the Initiation. You don’t need to question her loyalty, Braden. She only kept quiet because she felt it better that everyone find out at the same time about Daegal going after the human spinal fluid on Earth, instead of half truths getting thrown about before Laszlo could relate the whole story.”

  “If we’ve heard the whole story. With Laszlo, that’s always an unknown. I’m still trying to figure things out here.”

  “I know it’s a fucking mess, Braden.” He clasped Braden’s shoulder. “We are Xylon Warriors. Family, as far as I’m concerned. First and foremost. My alliance is with you, my friend. Always.”

  “Even over your mate, if she should side with Laszlo?”

  His eyes darkened and he shook his head. “That won’t happen. Ever. Believe me.

  Leila’s with you, Braden. I can promise you that. She feels she owes you for the sacrifice you and Alexa made for her during her re-initiation. She loves you two and those babies.”

  Braden could see the truth of Erik’s words in his eyes and he felt better. “I want to talk to you about something else.” He didn’t keep his voice as low, not caring if Torque overheard them now. He pulled a small black device from his jacket. “This is the transport-connector Briggs had on him when he arrived here. It contains a much denser power pack than our normal TCs. Can you reprogram it to transport four people?”

  “Four?” Erik took the device from Braden and pushed some buttons, studying the internal coding. Then he pulled off the back panel. “No. It was only wired for two maximum. Even with its additional power, the internal circuitry board needs a booster chip for increased multiples.”

  “Even if they’re not all adults? How about if it’s for one adult and three babies?”

  Erik’s head snapped up and their gazes locked. “You want this for Alexa? Why?

  There’s no place she and the triplets can go from down here. A ship would have to remain in a stable orbit with known, set coordinates. You’ve already explained that to her. It’s not powerful enough to reach any of the moons, even with a booster, so what are you thinking?”

  “With its power pack, it can reach Quadrant Port XST. I’ve done the calculations.”

  Erik’s brow wrinkled. “The old repair station? For what purpose? It’s abandoned and barely maintains its orbit around Xylon anymore. It has no working communications, no supplies.”

  “But it has oxygen and automatic temperature regulation. Listen, those babies have to live. They can’t live without Alexa. They all have to stay together. Given the scope of our mission and the danger, we can’t put them on the orbiter to the Ice Moon. The ship isn’t fully equipped with weapons for a sustained fight if the Egesa attack and we can’t get backup support. It’s just too risky. If we do make it to the Ice Moon, we can send back more heavily armed ships and troops to ensure the babies’ safety. Everyone’s safety, whoever is left behind. But I want a secondary plan in place. For even if some of us are able to get off Xylon and send back help, it might not be in time, especially now that the air is compromised. If the oxygen here does indeed last, a million other things could go wrong before rescue arrives. Alexa and the triplets need another way out in an emergency. The port will be safe if you can rig the transport-connector to get them there and also fix it so that, if she uses the device, it beeps my personal vid-cell. That way I’ll know she’s transported out.”

  “You should know anyway.”

  Breeder-mates held a special connection through a brand placed on the back of the female’s neck during a Branding ceremony, which occurred when two Xylons were officially joined as mates. The brand established a connection between the brain chips in both mates, allowing them to know the location of the other.

  Except their connection had failed when Alexa had disappeared from down here without warning. Braden had believed her dead. He didn’t know for certain how the connection had been broken but he’d spoken to Leila about it and they both suspected it had something to do with Alexa’s partly alien physiology not being completely compatible with the devices. He feared it might happen again. Braden didn’t intend to leave anything to chance this time. “I want a backup method. I went through not knowing once. I don’t ever want to go through that again. So is it possible to reprogram the transport-connector and for me to receive a signal if she uses it?”

  “Our vid-cells aren’t working.”

  “The vid-cells aren’t working for direct communications but can they send and receive pulses?”

  “Hmm. I don’t know. I’ll look into it. And into the TC reprogramming. I’ll figure out a way.”

  He clapped Erik on the back. “Thanks.” He squeezed his shoulder. “No mistakes, Erik. We can’t test it. My family is in your hands.”

  Erik nodded, a determined look in his eyes.

  Braden knew Erik would do his best. He reached into his jacket and passed his vid-cell to Erik. “Torque is going to handle the decontamination room. I’ll take care of the orbiter reprogramming. I worked as an engineer for a long time on those old ships. I know a few tricks to get the most efficiency out of the systems. You concentrate on reprogramming the transport-connector and my vid-cell. Bring them to me when you’re done, then we both can secure the orbiters. I’ll also look into the oxygen situation while I’m down in the hole.”

  “We need more people helping us. Let’s get someone else to look into the oxygen problem, at least, while you’re working on the ship. The oxygen is imperative but trying to find that leak is going to be a real time drain and very probably will lead to zero results.”

  “Suggestions?”

  “Brianna.”

  “No good. She’ll have to be pulled for the Initiation once they’re ready, which could happen at any time.”

  “Pitch?”

  “I don’t want to call Pitch away from Alexa. Just in case there’s trouble before we expect it.”

  “Then Kam.”

  “I’m afraid his headaches combined with the lower oxygen levels might severely interfere with his thinking. I’ve also noticed him rubbing his throat since he’s been down here. I think the implant is bothering him. We need someone who’s at the top of their game right now and who can work fast, especially as the situation worsens.”

  Erik puffed out a heavy breath. “It will have to be Halah then, as much as I hate to admit it. Everyone else is either involved with a project or doesn’t have the skills and knowledge to handle the situation.”

  “Agreed. Let’s get her in here.”

  * * * * *

  Briggs swallowed hard. Brianna. Naked. And she wanted him to stay. She wanted him to fuck her. A fantasy come true. His gaze eased down her body, memorizing every inch of her beautiful flesh.

  Her breasts caught and held his interes
t. Full and luscious. He loved breasts. Hell, he loved women. Pure and simple. Every inch of them. All the subtle differences and nuances of their bodies and minds.

  Her nipples were longer than the nipples of an average Earth female. Plumper too.

  And a lovely rosy color next to the beautiful creaminess of her skin. So sexy. He ached to lick and suck them.

  His gaze traveled farther down her body to her pussy, which he couldn’t see that well from her side position and how she’d draped her leg to partially cover herself. He did see a few black tendrils of hair peeking out, teasing him into sexual madness. He ached to stroke her pussy, to feel if the hair there was as soft as he imagined.

  His heart beat erratically. Her Warrior training was evident in the fitness of her body but she still retained enough curves to look touchably soft. In fact, she looked all woman to him. The slight flush to her skin showed she was definitely affected sexually by him. Just knowing that made his own need escalate.

  Watching her come earlier had been like a dream. Better than a dream actually.

  Another fantasy come true for him. She could have stopped if she’d wanted. But she hadn’t. In fact, she’d finger-fucked herself harder. She’d wanted him to watch her come by her own hand. Making her come, by more than simply his presence, would be even better. He could hardly wait. He intended to make her come until she had nothing left to give. Although… The thought gave him pause because of the pending Initiation but then he dismissed any doubts.

  Obviously Laszlo wanted them to fuck. Now. While in private. He wouldn’t have sent him in here to her otherwise. Maybe this was Laszlo’s way of making them feel more comfortable with each other, instead of their first time together being in front of others.

  He wasn’t about to argue with the decision. Apparently it wouldn’t adversely affect them for later or Laszlo wouldn’t have arranged this. So, Sam decided that he might as well relax and enjoy the ride, so to speak.

  “Would you like to stay with me for a while?” Brianna asked, a sexy smile on her face.

  “Hell yeah,” he answered without hesitation. It would take a whole troop of Xylon Warriors to get him out of this room now. His cock was hard enough to break stone. He wasn’t going anywhere until he fucked this woman—thoroughly.