The Space Merchants

by Wendie Nordgren

  "Yukihyo," I gasped. He removed his hand. "No, please," not wanting these feelings to stop, I tried to guide his hand back to where he had had it. He kissed me again. He replaced his hand with another part of himself. Yukihyo pushed against me. He felt too big, and I felt a moment of panic, but then I felt the draw of our bond. As the bond calmed me, Yukihyo pushed himself inside of me. There was a moment of sharp pain that caused me to cry out. Again, I felt him calm me through our bond.

  As he kissed my face, my eyes, and cheeks, holding himself still inside of me, he said, "I have ached for you, wanting you each and every night. Never have I desired a woman as I crave you." He began to move inside of me. A place inside of me he touched, I wanted him to touch again. I tried to move so he would reach that place. Feeling him there in that spot consumed me. We moved again and again until the place inside of me that he continued to stroke burst, carrying me away, rolling on waves of pleasure. My consciousness scattered. All I felt was pleasure and Yukihyo who had quickened and deepened his thrusts until he too lay dazed and breathless, his body gently held above mine. He kissed me passionately, pulling me over to lay on his chest. He used his fingers to brush through my hair. His heart pounded against his chest. Yukihyo's flesh felt heated and damp against my cheek and breasts.

  "I love you, Teagan," he said. His words made me fragile. "You have saved me from the emotional isolation that might have destroyed me where the Parvacs failed to do so physically. You have saved me from succumbing to a slow death at the hands of my enemies. With you I can survive." I couldn't feel his emotions, as he could feel mine, but I could feel the truth of his words through our bond. "I want to do something to show you how much you mean to me. Trying to express the magnitude of my feelings with words that don't come close...." I stopped his words with a kiss.

  "I love you, Yukihyo. In hearing you say to me that you love me and feeling the truth of your words, you have just given me everything that I have ever desperately wanted." He wrapped his arms around me.

  "My love belongs to you, Teagan." We held each other and slept.

  Chapter Twelve

  I groaned when the birds woke us much too soon. Yukihyo joined me in my shower. He insisted on washing my hair for me. He left my quarters wrapped in a towel. I could still feel him, a reminder of last night. The remnant effects of Yukihyo's love making reminded me of how I had felt with the pain patch behind my ear, relaxed and boneless. As if my thoughts had summoned him, Yukihyo entered my room. I slipped into my favorite green dress, while he picked up our discarded clothing. Yukihyo pulled my blankets off of the bed and removed the sheets as well. "I'll take care of these after breakfast," he said.

  "I can do it," I offered.

  "No, my lady. Please, allow me to do so." He took my hands, kissing my fingers. Yukihyo placed my hand on his arm. Starving, we went to the kitchen. Hiroshi greeted me with a cup of coffee.

  "Oh, thank you. I so need this!" We all helped ourselves to breakfast. While cleaning up afterwards, I caught Hiroshi grinning at his brother, who gave him what went for an innocent expression. I turned to Yukihyo, sat down next to him, but with my back to the table, and took his face into my hands and looked into his eyes.

  "Your eyes are completely white. There are no colors within them at all." Yukihyo kissed my nose.

  "It must have something to do with the love of a beautiful woman." Hiroshi cleared his throat. I stood and finished what I had been doing. Yukihyo and Hiroshi began to discuss their work for the day.

  First, Hiroshi and Yukihyo decided that we needed to check on Phillip at the hospital. When we arrived there, a noticeable change had occurred. The extra help, some food, and rest had the hospital running more smoothly. Phillip and the other doctors had moved a cot into the clean laundry room and were taking turns of two hour naps. They didn't need their own fatigue to result in harm to their patients. I checked their break room, and it was clean and food was on the table. "Another day and they can handle it on their own. I've provided enough relief, and the medical supplies we brought came just in time for us to save a kid. They had just run out of the coagulant to keep him from bleeding out. Lucky kid," said Phillip.

  "We will come back for you tonight," Hiroshi told him.

  Hiroshi drove us into town, parking at the general store. Yukihyo opened my door, placing my hand on his arm to walk me inside. "You really are a sweet man," I said.

  "You deserve my best behavior," Yukihyo responded. Hiroshi had entered the store and was being eagerly greeted by the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper sent two men with Hiroshi out to the transport.

  "Keep her inside. I've got this," Hiroshi told Yukihyo. The shopkeeper and Yukihyo went over his new order. I looked around the store. It contained practical items. The shopkeeper carried foods from different planets in one section, in another personal hygiene and cleaning supplies, and medicine and first aid were in another. There were work clothes and shoes in a corner, along with a long bench that must have been for sitting to try on the shoes. Next to the clothing, the shopkeeper had a great variety of items that were used by the miners. Hiroshi came back, and the shopkeeper put one of the men, who he had sent to help Hiroshi unload the cargo, in charge of helping customers. The shopkeeper went with Hiroshi to check off the merchandise and to pay him. The man who had been left in charge of the counter asked Yukihyo of news in the system, and they chatted away until Hiroshi and the shopkeeper returned.

  "As always it has been a pleasure doing business with you. You planning to head back here soon, I hope?" the shopkeeper asked.

  "We will return as soon as we can, but it may be a month," Hiroshi told him.

  The shopkeeper's expression turned thoughtful, and he said, "I should add a few things to that order, Yukihyo." We left soon after.

  Next, we delivered crates to the bars. I stayed in the transport during those transactions. Most of what remained in this load went to the restaurant. All of the medical supplies had already been delivered on the day of our arrival. I learned that the owner of the restaurant also owned the hotel so we had only one additional stop to make. The brothel was a two story stone building. I didn't want Yukihyo to go in there. I imagined naked ladies lounging around with seductive smiles on their red lips. I felt angry and jealous. My feelings seemed to please my new stupid alien boyfriend.

  "Maybe you can do some one armed push-ups, shirtless, while you're in there," I scowled at him. Hiroshi looked at Yukihyo.

  "Teagan is right. We might get a discount," Hiroshi said. I scowled at him, too.

  As soon as we entered, I heard a woman say, "Hiroshi, my darling. How I've missed you! Come give Laura a kiss!" He did. Laura appeared to be a bit older than Hiroshi, several bits. It turned out that the brothel belonged to her. Laura invited us to sit and have tea with her. Two of her ladies served us tea, little sandwiches, and tiny cakes. It was all very elegant.

  "Thank you for inviting us to tea Ms. Laura. This is all so nice. I've never been invited to tea before," I said.

  "Your company is a pleasure, my dear, and I hope you will visit with me again upon your return."

  "Thank you," I said. I stayed seated with Ms. Laura while Hiroshi and Yukihyo unloaded the last of the cargo from the transport and put it all away for the ladies.

  "I can tell being here makes you uncomfortable," Ms. Laura said. I blushed and lowered my eyes to my hands. I shrugged. I didn't know a polite way to agree. "The men who come all the way out here stay for years to earn enough credits to survive for decades. The money is good, but the work is hard, and they get lonely. We provide a necessary service." I shook my head from side to side.

  "It's nothing like that causing me to be uncomfortable. I know we can't all afford the luxury of living to please the high moral standards of the few. Real life can get in the way, and some choices might not be the best, but might be the best we can manage." Ms. Laura looked at me.

  "Well, what is it then?" She asked. I looked toward where Yukihyo had gone.

  "Oh, I see. You're wo
rried someone here might catch his eye?" Ms. Laura's eyes twinkled. I blushed.

  "Girl, there's a big difference between a man who has sex with a woman, and a man who makes love to his woman. Even with those eyes of his, I can tell the difference in him. You've got nothing to worry about."

  "You really think so?" I asked. "I guess you would know way more about that stuff than I." Ms. Laura chuckled. The door opened and four miners came into the brothel.

  "Hello, gentlemen! It's about time you came back to visit!" Ms. Laura said.

  "I'm glad we did. Who is this pretty little thing?" a big man with a build like a tree said.

  "Hello, sweetheart. How are you doing?" another said. I was shocked silent. The tree pulled me to my feet.

  "Leave her be. She doesn't work here," Ms. Laura interjected. The tree brought his face down toward mine, and I thought he intended to kiss me. I grabbed my shock stick. Before I could raise it, the tree flew across the room thudding against the stone wall and leaving a trail of blood behind as he slid down it. With my shock stick in my left hand and my eyes as large as the tiny plates we had used for our tea cups, I saw Yukihyo. He stood, his back to me corded in muscle, between me and the tree. Yukihyo had picked the tree up and thrown him away from me. His hands were at his sides and fury emanated from him. The tree staggered to his feet.

  "Yukihyo, why the hell'd you do that?" asked the tree.

  "The woman is mine. You will not touch her again and live." The tree put his hands up and moved aside and away. The other three miners did the same, slowly backing off.

  "I apologize. It was my mistake. I got the wrong idea with her here on the sofa is all. It won't happen again. I swear it." The tree's head was bleeding. Ms. Laura called to some of her ladies to take the men to the back parlor and give them some drinks.

  As she walked away, she looked at me and said, “I told you so." Ms. Laura gently laid her hand on Yukihyo's arm as she followed the others out of the room. I wanted to put my hands to his waist and pull his shirt up and over his head and trace all of his muscles. No one had ever protected me before. Yukihyo turned to me. He lifted my hands looking at them.

  "Did he hurt you?" Yukihyo noticed the shock stick I still held in my hand.

  "No," I said. "I'm fine."

  Hiroshi said, "Very good! I see you remembered your training and drew your weapon to defend yourself." Yukihyo released me. I put my shock stick back on its holder on my belt. "I think it is time to pick up Phillip," Hiroshi said. Yukihyo led the way to the transport. He sat with me in the back saying nothing, looking at nothing. "Wait here," Hiroshi said after we arrived at the hospital building. He went inside to get Phillip.

  "Are you angry with me?" I asked Yukihyo. His eyes whipped over to mine.

  "No, never," he answered.

  "Then, why are you acting like this?"

  "I am ashamed of how I have lost control and overreacted in your presence."

  "Don't be," I said.

  "My lack of control disgusted you. It still does. I can feel the emotion from you." Puzzled, I frowned at him.

  "That's not true. I don't feel disgusted. Maybe you don't know how to judge my emotions as well as you think you do."

  "Will you explain then? Teagan, I care more deeply for you than I can express. Losing your regard...."

  "You haven't. Yes, it surprised me, and I don't like violence or for anyone to be hurt, but you were so fast. I knew you were strong, but the tree must weigh over two hundred pounds, and you just picked him up and threw him across the room and into a wall hard enough to draw blood. Then, you were in front of me like you were ready to do the same to anyone who came near me."

  "His name is Devan. He and I have been friends for many years. I must apologize to him for my outburst. My actions have not offended you?"

  "No, your actions, truthfully, made me want to tear off your shirt." Yukihyo drew back in surprise. I stood up and then sat down in his lap, putting my right hand behind his head and my left palm against his heart. I whispered, "Maybe you have made a huge mistake."

  "What?"

  "I think you confused desire with disgust which is a pretty big mistake." I kissed him. Yukihyo ran his hands up my back and then down my thigh, deepening our kiss. Then, the door flew open.

  "Hey, kids! Did ya miss me?" Phillip shouted. "I just saw our old buddy, Devan. Patched up a pretty good bump on his head. One of Ms. Laura's ladies was treating him like a poor mistreated puppy though, so his night might well get better. I slipped her double her fee to ensure it," he said. I slid over to my seat. Hiroshi got into the driver's seat.

  "Thank you, Phillip. I will speak to him tomorrow," Yukihyo said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We were almost back to Tora when the land shifted under the land transport. I would have pitched forward onto my face had Yukihyo not caught me. Then, there was a loud boom, and the land transport seemed to lift and accelerate. "One of the mining facilities just exploded!" Hiroshi yelled. Sirens were blaring in town, and people rushed outside to look behind us at the distant facility. Hiroshi sped the land transport into Tora. "Teagan, go to your quarters and stay there," Hiroshi ordered. The lift opened upon the bridge. I went toward my room.

  I heard Yukihyo report, "Malta is under attack."

  Hiroshi said, "I'm taking us up. Lock weapons onto the attackers and fire at will."

  "Additional battle shielding is operational," I heard Phillip say. I entered my room and sat on my couch. I thought I could feel Tora shift, maybe from a recoil from her cannons, but I didn't know. I looked up to my skylight, but it was closed. I remembered my vid-screen. I used the control wand that I kept hidden between the cushions to pull up the menu and found the command that would show me the view from the bridge.

  Those recoils did happen each time Tora fired. Right now she fired repeatedly at a Parvac ship as it tried to dart around a huge Galaxic Militia ship that fired upon two other Parvac vessels. Tora flew between the back of the Galaxic Militia ship and the enemy ship and unloaded shot after shot repeatedly into it until it exploded. Tora shook. I held onto the arm of the couch. One of the two remaining Parvac ships attacked Tora. It flew above us so closely that I feared it would scrape us. Tora spiraled down. I couldn't feel it, but seeing it made me nauseous. Tora was under the Militia ship which had destroyed one of the Parvac ships and now fought the Parvac ship that targeted us. The last Parvac ship exploded. Pieces of metal pelted Tora's view screen, and I jumped back. Tora remained under the Militia ship for an hour. I didn't move from the couch. Then, suddenly a fourth Parvac ship became visible. Both Tora and the Militia ship surged forward surrounding it and firing. They destroyed the Parvac ship is seconds. The Militia ship flew off in one direction, and Tora veered in the opposite direction. The ships passed each other and continued to circle around Malta. I guessed they were sweeping for more enemy vessels. Eventually, we landed back in the docking area. The red light that had been blinking above my door had finally stopped. I managed to unclench my fingers from the arm of the couch. I had a headache and had to force my jaw to relax. I drew in a deep breath and then another. I got up and went to my bathroom. I was pleased that I hadn't peed myself. I washed my face. Feeling calmer I returned to my couch. The bridge view had closed when we landed, so I powered my vid-screen down. The light above my door flashed. It was Phillip.

  "Hey, Cupcake! You okay?" he asked. I nodded, not trusting my voice just yet. "Hey, don't worry. Everything is okay. We got all of the bad guys." Phillip left.

  Hours later Yukihyo came and got me. We met Hiroshi and Phillip in the kitchen. I heated up a big baked potato. Then, I found a cheese sauce and some chicken that I heated up and dumped on top of my potato. It proved to be a comforting combination. They filled me in on some of the details while we ate. The Militia vessel with which Tora had coordinated was under the command of Captain Espanoza. I remembered seeing her at the Union City Land Port. "Wow! That is so cool!"

  "What is?" asked Yukihyo.

  "That
you all helped Captain Espanoza. I think she's amazing. She is so smart and tough, has her own huge spaceship, and I just got to watch while her ship blew up three enemy ships, from inside a ship that fought and destroyed another enemy vessel while defending her flank! Yes, I felt really scared and almost threw up once when Tora started spiraling, but that was amazing. Tora just blasted away at those ships faster than I could see."

  "Well, Cupcake. Now you know how manly and dangerous we are," said Phillip. He puffed out his chest and flexed his arm muscles at me. I laughed at him.

  "We have much work tomorrow. We must refuel and begin repairs to the ship. I want full diagnostics on every system. Captain Espanoza has requested that we stay on Malta until another Galaxic Militia ship arrives. She has scanned for life signs at the mining facility destroyed in the Parvac attack. Those who were there are lost. The Parvacs seek to destroy our fuel reserves by destroying the mines," Hiroshi said. With that we all headed off to sleep.

  Yukihyo, instead of leaving me at my door, said, "Come with me." We entered his quarters. He drew me into his bathroom, where we undressed and showered. Yukihyo dried us both off with towels and then led me to his bed. I got in, and he covered me up before going to the other side and joining me. Yukihyo held me in his arms, and we slept. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone. Naked and panicking about it, I looked for my dress. Yukihyo had put my things in his laundry basket, but on his chair by his ice bear rug were folded clothes for me. I pulled on the undies and soft yellow dress. He had forgotten shoes, but then I remembered my exercise shoes and found them in his bathroom. I made Yukihyo's bed. Then, I picked up his laundry basket and took it with me to the kitchen. I was alone on Tora. I had coffee and breakfast, put all of our laundry through the cleaning unit, and began my other chores. Cleaning, and putting everything in order, calmed me and gave me a feeling of control. With no one around, I completed all of my chores. Tora's habitation deck was as clean as I could get it. With nothing to do, I got bored. I remembered the simulation program. Instead of driving appropriately, I sped the transport down streets and wrecked a few times when I tried to turn. I drove so fast down one long road that the transport lifted high above the ground when it hit a bump. I was spinning the transport in a circle, making rocks and dirt fly, while laughing gleefully, when Hiroshi entered the kitchen. He looked at the scene on the small vid-screen in the corner where I sat. He grunted at me.