Raven felt her eyes go round. “This tin can can’t stand up to a bullet?”
Daagiis snorted and handed her a piece of metal that didn’t look anything like a magazine but obviously fit into the gun’s grip. “Shove the charge pack in its dock. When you shoot at one of us, the simsuits will react wherever the gun was aimed.”
Raven slapped the magazine in. She heard it click into place.
Daagiis handed Vendeen a charge pack and readied his own weapon. “Laser pistols would obviously be a danger on a space vessel. To answer your question about our standard firearms, which are not laser powered, each ‘bullet’ they shoot is actually an explosive. It detonates on impact. We don’t shoot to wound, we shoot to kill.”
Raven whistled. Explosive bullets. “No shit.”
Vendeen smirked. “No shit. Let’s get this done.”
Daagiis nodded. He called out, “Activate program Daagiis Armed Fight Seven.”
The empty room disappeared in an instant. Raven found herself on the roof of a building in the middle of a metallic, futuristic-looking cityscape. A black star-spangled alien sky stretched overhead, relieved only by the surrounding buildings’ bluish lights. Flying vehicles zoomed in orderly lines far above.
“Fuck me, Flash Gordon,” Raven whispered. She felt as if she’d wandered into a science fiction film. “Just when I think things can’t become any weirder.”
She was eager to take in the sight of spired, looping, and arched buildings that looked nothing like what she’d seen on Earth. However, Daagiis wasn’t wasting anytime on letting her virtual sightsee.
He said, “Get ready. Remember, your primary objective is to protect Vendeen as we escort him off the roof and into the building. You have point.”
Raven immediately moved in front of Vendeen while Daagiis fell behind him. She put the judge slightly to her left since her right hand was the one she shot with.
“Begin program,” Daagiis called.
Raven swept her gaze from side to side, looking for assailants. The other buildings weren’t close enough for trouble. Her programming told her that short of war weaponry, nothing shot from the windows of the closest structure would reach them. Seeing nothing moving on the shadowed rooftop, she began walking, keeping to tall protuberances that stuck up intermittently. They were all different shapes, heights, and widths. Raven couldn’t begin to figure out what they all were, though she thought some might be vents and housings for pipes. She wondered if this fake city was a representation of a real place or if it was one Daagiis had imagined for training purposes. She’d have to ask later.
She neared a small, domed structure with a door. Raven decided it might be access to the building itself but didn’t know for sure. She hunkered down beside a huge candy cane shaped pipe and motioned for the two men behind her to also get low. Looking back, she saw them comply.
“Door ahead,” she said in a quiet voice.
“That’s the way into the building,” Daagiis confirmed.
“Stay here. I’m going to check it out.”
Without waiting for an answer, Raven held her sim gun in front of her, ready for trouble. If someone waited to attack, it would be there. Actually, if her only objective was to get Vendeen through that door, this exercise was way too easy so far. She fought the instinctive urge to look back at the two men hiding in the shadows to see if she was missing a sneak attack. The program that fed her strategy insisted that she rely on Daagiis to guard Vendeen while she scouted their escape.
The closer Raven got to the dome-shaped building access, the more she felt sure she would be hit just as soon as she reached the door. No, she wasn’t liking this one bit. Anyone could be just out of sight around that circular shape. Shadows thrown by the big pieces scattered on the roof were excellent hiding spots for assailants. She kept sweeping her gaze, trying to discern any sign of movement, but there was none.
They could be wearing camosuits. That thought froze Raven under an overhanging duct. Fuck, how could she guard Vendeen against what she couldn’t see? Certainly if she was supposed to fight camouflaged attackers he’d have given her a set of those thermal goggles he mentioned, right?
The trouble was, Raven wasn’t so sure about that. She took a deep breath and thought about what she should do.
My main mission is to protect Vendeen. To get him off this roof and into the building. No one said a single word about keeping myself alive.
Of course. By drawing fire, Raven would accomplish two things: show Daagiis where the enemy hid so he could attack or avoid them, and allow him the distraction to take Vendeen off the roof.
That son of a bitch is so not worth the sacrifice. He’d better be glad this is only an exercise.
Even as she thought that however, the idea of Vendeen not surviving, of dying and disappearing from her life, made something ache inside. Raven shook her head a little, wondering at that strange idea.
Raven diverted from the path she’d been taking towards the building access. She ran instead to her left, staying low and in the shadows as much as possible. Her route took her away from both escape and Vendeen.
She moved around, sliding from one hiding spot to the next among the tangle of pipes and ductwork and who knew what else. Her course eventually took her to where the access door in its little dome had almost disappeared. She still saw no sign of the enemy, no sign anything at all lay in wait for her master.
Raven grimaced. She was left with only one option, and it sucked to the very marrow. She found a snarl of pipes that reached up as high as her head. It had many gaps that allowed her to see the door and any potential danger. Those gaps would also allow a lucky shot or two to find her if anyone fired.
So be it.
Raven took careful aim with her blocky sim gun, just in front of the door where she would stand if she was invisible and waiting for a potential target to blunder up to her. She pulled the trigger.
Fire exploded from the barrel of her piece. There was the sound of someone’s cry, then another explosion sounded. As detonations went, it was rather disappointing, almost as small and unimportant as a distant firecracker. However, the aftereffects…
Suddenly, visible body parts went flying into the air as the door’s camosuited guard blew apart. Raven was at least ten yards from whoever she’d hit, but warm mist fell on her bare face and hands anyway. Her program quickly informed her it was blood and perhaps miniscule pieces of the man she’d just killed.
There was no time to react to any of that. Even as bits of simulated humanoid continued to drop back to the ground, return fire lit up half a dozen different areas in front of and to the left of Raven. She ducked behind the pipework, hearing the explosive bullets clang against the metal. Then she was off and running to avoid the blasts as they detonated, weaving in and out of the wild maze of rooftop pieces, shooting wherever she saw the telltale signs of someone trying to fire on her.
Much like when she’d taken on Vendeen and Daagiis in hand-to-hand fighting, Raven noticed but didn’t have time to enjoy the instinctive way her body moved. She knew without consciously thinking when to run, when to stop and crouch, when to crawl, and when to roll. She kept those shooting at her busy, even drawing them away from the building access. Sometimes there were screams, and sometimes the explosions sent identifiable human parts her way, their blasted camosuits failing. She never paused for an instant to appreciate or be horrified by the bloody battle she was engaged in. There was only a constant change of tactics, adjusting to the enemy’s attempts to catch her, and the neverending impetus to keep them from discovering Vendeen before he could escape.
How long she exchanged fire with the enemy, she had no clue. They just kept coming no matter how many she took out, and she knew it was only a matter of time before someone landed a shot. It didn’t feel like a simulation in the least, either. Raven’s artificial heart thundered with adrenaline as she fought and waited to die.
Then all at once, the shooting stopped. Absolute silence descended. Even the
fake flying machines could no longer be heard.
“Are we done?” she called out.
“Come on over to the building access.” Daagiis’ voice sounded far away.
Raven had no idea how far she’d run as she’d attempted to lead the attackers away from Vendeen and his path to the door. She’d had a look at the simulation room when they’d entered, and it hadn’t seemed nearly large enough to account for how distant Daagiis had sounded. Apparently, the room mimicked the acoustics of whatever world the computer generated.
A light jog towards where she’d heard the face-changer’s voice soon brought her within sight of the access dome. Raven slowed when she saw only Daagiis standing there. Her mouth went dry. Had she screwed up? Was Vendeen ‘dead’?
“Where is he?” she asked as she neared.
Daagiis opened the door that went into the building, and Raven blew out a gust of relieved air when Vendeen stepped out.
She grinned as she joined the two men, delighted with herself. “My ruse worked.”
Daagiis grinned back. “Almost.”
His gun came up fast, the barrel right up against Vendeen’s skull. Raven moved quicker than she knew she could and without thought. Before Daagiis could squeeze the trigger of his own weapon, she fired pointblank into his face.
Instead of disintegrating, Daagiis dropped his arm back down to his side and grinned at her. He nodded approval. “Very good. Very, very good,” he told her.
Vendeen cocked an eyebrow. “I’d say the program works perfectly well.”
Raven stared at the pair. As far as the exercise was concerned, she’d just killed Daagiis. She hadn’t hesitated for an instant.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. Then, in a fit of anger, she threw her sim gun to the ground. Glaring at Daagiis, she snarled, “This is some fucked up shit, you know.”
He shrugged. “It’s a fucked up universe. You never know when friend might become enemy. End program.” The rooftop cityscape vanished, leaving them in an empty room once again.
Raven was too pissed off to form a coherent thought, though she wasn’t quite sure why. All she could do was vent the spike of rage that slammed through her brain. “Damn it. Damn you both!”
Vendeen started for the door as if she wasn’t spraying spittle as she ranted curses. He told Daagiis in a mild tone, “I think that’s enough for sim training.”
Daagiis snickered at Raven as he caught up to their master, picking up her sim gun and the case in which it and the others were stored as he went. “Chill, Raven. You did what you were supposed to.”
There was nothing to do but trot after the men and take up her usual position guarding Vendeen’s back. “Yeah. Trying to kill you makes me feel real good,” she snarled.
“Glad to know you care.” Daagiis hurried to take point and walk out of the room ahead of Vendeen.
Raven couldn’t remember ever being so angry. She kept up a constant litany of curses under her breath the entire walk back to their quarters. The people they passed took one look at her and gave the trio a wide berth.
Chapter 11
As soon as they reached their quarters, Vendeen went to the bar and fixed himself a drink. Raven snatched it from his hand and took a sizeable gulp. It burned like fire going down her throat, but she enjoyed it just the same.
She handed the drink back to Vendeen. “Safe. Enjoy it.”
He raised an eyebrow at his now half-empty glass. “I do believe our Raven is pissed off with us, Daagiis.”
The face-changer leaned decoratively against the bar and regarded her. “She’s stunning when she’s angry.”
“True, but it seems she’s almost always in a temper.”
“Talking about me like I’m not in the room doesn’t help my disposition,” Raven grouched.
Vendeen chuckled and drained the rest of his drink. “Maybe you’d be a little less ferocious if one of us was a bit … softer?” His black eyes raked over Daagiis.
The Paatiin’s brow raised. His tone careful, he told Vendeen, “I’m not so sure she works that way. There has been no evidence of it.”
“Maybe she only lacked the opportunity before.”
“It might be too much. If you really want to try it, maybe something a little in between?”
Vendeen’s grin was the widest Raven had seen it yet. “Oh, you know I like that.”
Raven folded her arms over her chest, scowling for all she was worth. “I would appreciate it if the two of you would talk some sense.”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you.” Daagiis abruptly stripped his simsuit off, getting deliciously naked.
Raven didn’t want to be aroused. She preferred to wallow in her pique at the two men, but Daagiis looked just too yummy to not affect her. Damned sexy alternate-dimension alien.
She did manage to keep her tone cool. “I’ve seen it already.”
“Not like this,” he smirked.
He suddenly transformed before her eyes. His face softened, his cheeks going rounder, lips plumping, jaw thinning. The chameleon hair lengthened to drape over his shoulders, which became less broad. His chest swelled until Raven was looking at breasts as voluptuous as her own. Last, Daagiis’ hips rounded a little.
The Paatiin kept his sizeable cock. Even without it, he would have still been masculine for a female, but he was definitely too feminine for a male. He was the epitome of androgyny.
Raven backed a step away, though she couldn’t take her eyes off Daagiis. It was fascinating to see him as both sexes at once, if disconcerting. She swallowed. He was beautiful but strange. She wasn’t sure what to make of him.
They were expecting her to have sex with him like that?
Daagiis’ much more feminine face smiled at Raven. “What do you think?”
She couldn’t stop staring. “Um. That’s definitely different. And way out of my comfort zone.”
Vendeen said, “Good. Comfort zones lead to boredom. Clothes off, Raven.”
She immediately started stripping. The flash of anger she felt allowed her to finally unlock her gaze from Daagiis. “You are such a bastard,” she told Vendeen.
He gave her a bored expression. “I think we’ve covered that. Get on the bed.”
Raven’s legs carried her to the large sleeping space. She sprawled over the billowy cover and waited for the inevitable, looking at Daagiis again. Holy hell, what was this going to be like?
Vendeen poured himself another drink. “Daagiis, she is yours to enjoy.”
Daagiis stroked his erect cock, his pretty girl/boy face lighting. “Which I most definitely will.”
He came over to the bed. Raven’s heart slammed in her chest. She’d never had the slightest interest in women. Daagiis couldn’t precisely be called female, but he was definitely not entirely masculine now. Raven eyed those plump breasts with far more trepidation than the thick cock he would probably spear her with.
Daagiis climbed over her. He slowly settled his weight on her body. Now those breasts lay on Raven’s, softness to softness. It was strange, but not unpleasant. Not unpleasant at all.
Daagiis kissed her, the more pillowy lips tender. He rubbed against her as his still-demanding tongue took possession of her mouth. Except for the hot, hard length of his cock, his flesh was so much more yielding than before. Raven had never experienced such smooth silkiness as what greeted her skin.
She had not been ordered to lay still. Her hands cupped Daagiis’ velvety shoulders and slid down his back. He was sleek. Supple. Her fingertips traced the gentle curve of his spine as her palms brushed over his ribs. Lower still to test the sweet malleability of his ass.
His mouth released hers, and he sighed. “That’s nice, my darling. Very nice to be touched so tenderly. Now what do you think?”
Raven considered. He hadn’t taken on a woman’s sex, just more of the softness of her gender. His cock was still an eager thing, nestled in the crevice of her pussy. She was wet, but suspected it wasn’t due strictly to the male part of Daagiis. H
is male/female blend of a body was actually a delight, if she would be honest with herself.
That didn’t mean she had to be totally honest with him. “The jury’s still out.”
Raven allowed herself to explore the breasts he’d assumed, and he lifted so she could test their weight and fullness. Damn, he was so soft in texture and feel. Were hers as soft? She cupped one of her own to compare. Yes, she was as supple as he.
Her thumb rubbed over her own nipple, bringing it to erect attention. She did the same to Daagiis’, again comparing the two.
“Modeled on yours, in case you haven’t noticed,” the face-changer said. His eyes were half-closed, delighting in her touch.
“I hadn’t,” Raven admitted. So this was what she felt like to others.
The bed next to her sank. Raven would have said she was far too engrossed in her explorations of Daagiis’ amazing body to care about anything else. Nevertheless, her gaze was immediately drawn to Vendeen. He looked at her with that slightly mocking half-smile of his, looking too delicious for consumption. Raven immediately released Daagiis’ breast to trace over Vendeen’s bronze face and to trail her fingers through his golden-blond waterfall of hair.
Daagiis’ voice was as sweet as honey, but it had a dark undercurrent to it. “It’s happening. You’ll have to give her the option soon.”
Vendeen sighed. “So quickly. Tomorrow, then.” He caught her hand and set about kissing each fingertip.
Raven had no idea what they were discussing, nor did she care when Daagiis cupped her chin in his palm and turned her face towards his so he could kiss her. The other hand moved between them, his now delicate fingers stroking over her slit. The touch sent a lightning strike of arousal through Raven’s core, and she cried out in his mouth.
His tongue plunged in, silky and sure as he tasted deeply. His fingers traced over the petals of her pussy, the touch softer and lighter than any she’d ever had there. Raven’s thighs spread open of their own accord, encouraging Daagiis to thoroughly plumb her depths.
He did so, the slim digits entering her, stroking with firm but tender pressure against the knot of nerves inside that felt best. At the same time, his thumb drew lazy circles around her clit, bringing it to rigid attention. She gushed over his hand, inviting deeper and deeper explorations.
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