The scent of her filled his senses and he couldn’t think straight. He knew he mustn’t want her as his duty was to marry a half breed to keep his race as pure as possible, and he’d been reared to put duty first at all times; so he tried to avoid her, but as she was nursing the women kept on the starship it was inevitable that he would bump into her.
He had just come off watch and was hurrying to his quarters, looking forward to a shower and getting his armour off; as Acorus’ son he had slightly larger quarters than his soldiers, with a large comfortable bed and his own shower room. His Escorri batsman would be waiting to assist him and food would also have been laid ready. Suddenly he collided with something soft and small, which squealed as he knocked it to the floor. Looking down he discovered his nurse, flat on her back on the floor, a position he’d often dreamed of having her in.
“Are you alright? I’m so sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going”.
“I can see that,” the girl snapped “you knocked me flying, you big lump!”
Allorus was shocked, he’d never been spoken to like that before and he didn’t like it. Removing his helmet he growled “You weren’t looking where you were going either or you would have avoided me”.
“Oh, Captain Allorus,” she stammered, scrambling to her feet.
Putting out his hand he took hold of hers and pulled her up; too hard as he misjudged his strength and pulled her against him, causing her to yelp as she hit his armour.
“Be careful you idiot” she snapped again and he couldn’t help himself; holding her tight he bent over and kissed her, ravishing her mouth with his need. As he held her effortlessly against him his aching shaft tried to escape through his armour causing him to groan in pain. The girl’s little hands pressed against his chest trying to push him away, even as her mouth and body responded to his kiss. Eventually common sense prevailed in his mind and he reluctantly let her go.
“How dare you treat me like that? I’m not a tart, I’ll report you to your superior”.
Once again her attitude annoyed him “At the moment no one is my superior, I rule here until my father returns. You may not be a tart but you have been leading me on”.
“What! I wouldn’t look at someone like you,” she shouted, starting to go red.
“What do you mean someone like me? What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re a beast,” she was starting to cry now and angrily brushed her tears away.
Allorus didn’t know how to react; he desired this female completely, knew he shouldn’t but couldn’t help it.
He sighed and said “Look, let’s start again. I’m sorry I knocked you over, but not sorry that I kissed you. I’ve admired you since I first saw you and would like to get to know you. I don’t even know your name”.
Having successfully controlled her tears the girl frowned and looked shocked. “You shouldn’t have kissed me like that. I’m a decent girl and expect to be treated with respect. Anyway my name is Rebecca, Becky to my friends”.
“I’d like to be counted as a friend, so may I call you Becky?”
She sighed “I suppose so but what can I call you besides Captain, Sir?”
Allorus laughed “Sir works well for me!”
Becky flapped her hand at him and said “Typical” then she turned and walked away. Turning round before she moved out of sight she said “Then Sir, my name is Rebecca”.
Was she flirting with him? Allorus had heard how human girls liked to tease males; his half sister Jacki was a flirt and had Sceriae males by the score lusting after her, but he had never been flirted with before. His size and position made females nervous around him; however Rebecca didn’t seem to be frightened of him. He liked that, she was feisty under her shy demeanour.
When he reached his quarters he gratefully handed his armour opener to his Escorri, and blew out a breath as he stepped out of his armour. His engorged shaft felt almost bruised; the Sceriae armour moved and expanded with the wearer’s body but not as quickly as his lust had.
After a cold shower his body felt better but his head was in a spin. He’d never experienced the reaction he’d had to Rebecca. Like all young Sceriae males he had made use of the prostitutes that Jo had introduced to Scerior. Near an attractive female body he’d reacted as any heterosexual male would and had enjoyed many nights of sexual activity, but he’d never felt such lust or felt like he did when near Rebecca. He wanted her and was determined to have her. As he ate his food he mulled over his dilemma; he couldn’t just take her, more’s the pity as the humans were under his protection. If he courted her his father would put a stop to it. Acorus was determined that all Sceriae males, of the same generations as his sons, would mate with the half breeds; the plan to save their race had been worked out carefully and any deviation wouldn’t be permitted.
For the first time in his life Allorus was unhappy with the constraints that ruled his life. Jo had changed many things on Scerior but couldn’t change the way males of Acorus’ age felt about duty to their race. Muttering to himself Allorus thought “It’s alright for him, he got the female he wanted. What would he have done if it had been declared that Jo wasn’t the right female to be his queen? Would he have just kept her as a concubine?”
Jumping to his feet he left his quarters not really knowing where he was going but needing to be moving; he headed towards the crew’s canteen, wanting male company; he’d find someone to train with. If he was lucky he’d be worn out and fall into bed to sleep.
Sure enough the crew’s canteen was full, of Sceriae and humans. To his surprise he saw Rebecca sitting with two other girls and a human male. Frowning he couldn’t stop himself making his way over to them. Was the male with Rebecca? He might have to kill him if he was!
Unfortunately as the Sceriae noticed him they all stood up and slapped their chests. Waiting for them to stop he said “No don’t get up, we are all off duty so no ceremony please”.
By the time he reached Rebecca he was wishing he hadn’t come; For some reason he felt angry with her, but didn’t understand why. As he reached her table the human male stood up and watched him cautiously.
“Please sit, may I join you?” he said trying to look casual.
“Of cause sir,” Rebecca replied caustically.
Her friends looked at her in surprise, she was usually so laid back and friendly.
“If I’m imposing, I’ll sit elsewhere”. Allorus was feeling foolish so spoke stiffly.
“No, of course you’re not imposing. Would you like a drink? Oh by the way I’m Mark and these ladies are Rebecca, Justine and Hilary”.
“Thank you a drink would be nice. Pleased to meet you all and please call me Allorus. We’re all off duty and trying to relax, so no ceremony”.
Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t say anything and gradually he relaxed. Mark turned out to be a doctor and they had been discussing the rescued women. All three of the girls were nurses and were worried about their patients.
When Allorus enquired about their health, they all sighed and told him that physically the women were improving daily, but mentally they were so damaged that they probably would never be able to lead normal lives. Mark told him that the doctors had tried human psychological aids and also Sceriae techniques but there wasn’t a lot of improvement with either. Allorus listened carefully, aware all the time of Rebecca’s closeness; when he looked up her eyes were on him and she was frowning slightly.
“Don’t you get reports about the patients?” she asked at one stage.
“No, Lady Joanna has taken over their care. I’m afraid that I am otherwise occupied with the army and discussions with your leaders”.
“Oh”.
“It’s not that I don’t, care but your world has so many urgent problems, I’m afraid I can’t get involved in medical situations. With my father away I have the whole of your
planet to watch over”.
“Of course you do,” Mark put in. “We medics only see our patients as the most important, although we do know what is happening in our world”.
“Hopefully we are finally flushing out the remains of the Xenorrii, and then it will be just a case of rebuilding and helping your people to live a normal life once again”. Allorus said, adding “And then we’ll be able to go home”.
Mark looked at him curiously “You miss your home?”
“Yes Scerior is so calm and peaceful; I didn’t appreciate it enough until I came here”.
“What will happen here if you all leave?”
“We will not all leave, a starship, fighters and some soldiers will be left; hopefully your leaders will finally get together and take care of the weaker nations”.
Mark looked sceptical “That’ll be a first”.
Allorus raised an eyebrow “Of course we’ll leave a governor here to help keep your leaders on course”.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if the Sceriae just took over?” the nurse called Justine asked.
“It isn’t our way, we’ll help any planet, but we don’t want to have to fight the indigenous species in order to make peace. Each species has a right to run their planet as they see fit. It will be difficult to start with, but I think you humans will be alright in the end. Most of the humans I have met are decent and hardworking; with fewer of you it should make things better. Scerior was originally peopled by many races but they finally came together to become the Sceriae we are today”.
The group around the table looked at him sceptically, each remembering all the bloody wars fought on Earth between nations. Only the attack by the Xenorrii had brought the remaining nations together to fight against an alien foe.
“Let’s hope you’re right!” Mark said. “Well I’m for bed, it’s been a long day”.
As he stood up the girls did too, agreeing that it was time for bed. Allorus stood also and said “I’ll walk you to your quarters, Rebecca. I’d like to discuss something with you”.
“There’s no need, it’ll take you away from your room”.
“I’m going to the flight deck to make sure that everything is alright, so I’ll pass your room”. Allorus said waving the others ahead of him. Mark and the two girls took the hint and left the two together.
Rebecca hesitated and said “Oh alright, what did you want to talk about?” She only came up to his shoulder but was not intimidated by him.
“Two things really; I’d like to get to know you better, forget the bad start we had. I would never expect a female to call me sir. Especially one that I admire as I do you. Also, I want to know about Reed’s wife. Lady Joanna is fond of Reed and is desperate to find a way to help her improve. I had a fleeting idea and I’d like to run it past you”.
“I couldn’t believe that you were the prig you came across as, so yes let’s start again. As a nurse I shouldn’t divulge a patient’s problems but as you are `ruler of the world’ I expect you could click your fingers and get her medical file in seconds”.
Allorus grinned “Ruler of the world; not me, that title belongs to my father. I’m just a simple soldier who’s been left nominally in charge, but the older officers would raise their eyebrows at me doing anything without their agreement. And my father would be ashamed of me if I overstepped the mark. One day I may be king of Scerior but I’d still have the council keeping an eye on me”.
“So your world is really about equality for all?”
“Yes, basically we all have the same standard of living. Respect is worked for not just given because of one’s lineage. Obviously the army has to have officers to give orders and soldiers to carry them out but we respect each other for who we are not what we are. We all train together and work together; if one of us has a problem we talk about it and get advice from older Sceriae”.
“It’s like communism, only purer, I doubt whether it would work here”. Rebecca said sadly.
“One day with our help it may. Now what about Reed’s wife?”
“She is mentally unstable; some days we have a little hope and then suddenly she is screaming again. We have to restrain her to stop her hurting herself but that makes her even more terrified. She lashes out, even at Reed, he’s got two black eyes and is scratched to pieces, I just don’t know what will become of her. The doctors have healed her body but we haven’t got a psychiatrist good enough to help her”. Rebecca had tears in her eyes and without thinking Allorus pulled her into his arms to comfort her. The feel of her soft body against his made him groan and when instead of resisting him she snuggled into him, his rampant cock stood to attention. Her wet face was against his chest and the fluttering of her eyelashes nearly tripped him over the edge.
The scent of her hair and the soap she’d used mingled with her own unique perfume to drive him wild and he almost swept her up into his arms and carried her to his quarters. With extreme difficulty he restrained himself and patting her back he put her away from him.
“I’m sorry to make you sad, that wasn’t my intention. I just want to help those damaged females”.
Rebecca sniffed and wiped her eyes “Oh god I didn’t mean to cry all over you, but today has been difficult. Your doctors are starting to suggest that the kindest thing would be to put them out of their misery. Our doctors are holding out at the moment, but I can see that some agree. If we had another medical crisis I fear that those poor women would be allowed to `slip away quietly’. It’s not fair, they survived a horrific trauma and deserve a chance,” then she started to cry again.
By now they were at her door and Allorus pushed it open and led her inside. “Don’t cry, let me tell you my idea”.
Shocked to be in her room with this large male Rebecca felt nervous but told him to carry on.
“The Escorii males have fantastic mind control over all species. They are trained to take over a person’s mind for interrogation; nothing can resist them not even the Sceriae. What if they could take over these females’ minds and erase the memory of their cruel treatment by the Xenorrii? Everything else they would remember, like being Reed’s wife for example”.
Rebecca looked at him in amazement “Why hasn’t anyone else thought of that? The Escorrii are nursing the women, surely they know what their men are capable of?”
“Male and female Escorrii have nothing to do with each other, except to mate, and that takes ages as they have to learn to shut off their minds from each other, or they could cause damage to themselves. I have never seen a male Escorri spend free time or talk about things other than work with a female”.
“Oh”.
“Do you think Reed would permit it?”
“He’s desperate so yes I think he’d try anything. But is it a good idea to erase their memories?”
Allorus shook his head “Good, I’ll approach the chief interrogator; he used to be father’s batman, so is loyal to my family. He’ll know better than me what is possible. I hope that they will be able to erase just the memory of the Xenorii, but I don’t know”.
Rebecca turned to him, eyes shining and smiling happily “Thank you, it’s so nice to know that you are on the women’s side”.
Before he could stop himself Allorus had cupped her face in his hands and lowering his head kissed her deeply. As she responded and her arms went round his neck he restrained himself with some difficulty; he didn’t want to frighten her with his need.
It had been so easy for his father, Jo had been kidnapped and had no choice but to be taken by him, in the days when humans were thought of as a lesser species, but Allorus couldn’t just take Rebecca and ravish her as he wanted to, he would be punished and never forgiven for disgracing the Sceriae.
Before he could think his hands left her face and moved to her buttocks, pulling her against him. He felt her sudden doubt in her kiss and the movement of her
hands to his shoulders, so he took hold of her hips and gently lifted her away from him, releasing her mouth at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise and to his delight her mouth quirked into a grin.
“Well sir, you certainly know how to kiss a girl” she said laughing up at him.
To his surprise he found himself grinning too “I could say the same for you, after that you may call me Al, Becka”.
Suddenly he felt embarrassed, she must have felt how aroused he was, but hadn’t commented on it. Then he thought that it obviously hadn’t frightened her, so he grinned again.
“You’d better go, or I’ll get into trouble” then she laughed and said “I mean um... You know!”
“Yes I’d better go; I’ll see what I can do about the sick women and let you know. Um, maybe we could eat together tomorrow evening, if you are off duty?”
“That would be nice, I’ll see you in the canteen, shall I?”
“Good, hopefully I’ll have some news about the Escorrii idea, see you tomorrow Rebecca”.
“Goodnight Allorus,” Becka stood on tiptoe and quickly brushed her lips over his.
Smiling to himself Allorus headed to the flight deck, dreaming of having her in his arms, in his bed.
Chapter 7
As soon as he awoke the next morning Allorus sent for Kheta the chief interrogator. He was on the flight deck when the Escori found him, so excused himself and led him to a quiet cubicle he used as his office. Once he had explained his idea he stood quietly while Kheta turned the idea over in his mind. He took his time and Allorus waited patiently knowing that he would not be rushed. Finally Kheta grunted and said “It is important to you that these females become healed, I can sense that; the question is are you doing it for the females or to impress the one you lust after?”
Scerior Part II Page 8