by Hana Starr
And after that…
Well, Nelly didn’t want to think about that. The thought of her parents getting a mysterious call from her workplace, a number they had programmed into their phone but had never seen show up on the screen before, and being so hopeful about it only to be let down so ferociously…
Stop it! she scolded herself, and then turned back to pay attention to Rory. “Okay,” she agreed, and he took her back to what amounted to little more than a store room guarded by none other than Takla.
“Oh!” Nelly said, a little surprised. “Hello! Do you all share duties, then?”
Takla nodded wordlessly, though not quite unkindly, before bowing to her leader and shuffling aside. Opening the door, the alien led Nelly inside.
The store room resembled a cellar, with bundles laid out upon a variety of stone shelves. There were vents in the walls, and again she felt that impression of a sharp cold that she could not feel.
A freezer, of sorts.
“Preservation?” she voiced aloud as Rornak peered down at the bundles and handled them, opening a cloth wrap or two before placing them back down.
He said absently, “Yes. Unfortunately, I do not know what it is that humans normally eat.” He glanced up, his eyebrows furrowed together.
Technically, she had no idea either. “I’m sure whatever it is, I’ll eat it. It’s not like I don’t understand the situation.”
An endearing look of relief passed over his face and he nodded, grabbing one of the bundles that he’d already picked up. “This will have to do, then. Come.”
She wondered where they were going to eat, but he just took them right back to the big central cavern again. A few dragons lounged about, lifting their heads as she entered before lowering them again. Rornak didn’t stop however, and headed over to that high ledge they’d been passing every single time they walked through.
She was just opening her mouth to start asking him what he was expecting to do, when suddenly he put his hands up against the wall and lunged up and over the edge in one smooth motion. A few seconds passed, and then his head popped over. “Are you coming up?” he asked.
Amusement gave her a wry smile. “I’m not as strong as you are.”
“Ah!” he answered, then dropped back down again without a hitch. “This is my perch and position, as is fitting of my status, but eating with my guest is a more important obligation.”
They both sat down on the hard stone flor and she finally got to try out what was hidden in the bundle.
The answer to that question turned out to be very thin little tuber-like vegetables with bulbous tips. Texture crunchy and yet stringy, the flavor was distinctly earthy. It wasn’t the best or worst thing she’d ever eaten, but as she chewed on the tuber she felt some of her hunger return and knew she’d been right to make herself eat.
Rornak seemed to be enjoying himself, gnawing along the length of one and swallowing great mouthfuls of root. A little smile played around the edges of her lips as she watched. Somehow, this was like seeing a puppy sloppily devouring a treat.
After a moment, she asked, “There are still some things I’m not sure about. Can I ask you some questions?”
And that was how they spent the time until the expedition returned much later in the day, simply speaking of insignificant things as they occurred to her to ask. She hadn’t really had any questions she wanted to ask, at least none of the scientific variety that were terribly important, but she found that she hated to see him breaking off into silence like he had a habit of doing. There was a certain vibrancy about him that she found herself wanting to see more of, for a reason that she couldn’t quite pin down. If it had anything to do with that arousal she kept feeling when he looked at her exactly the right way, that didn’t necessarily mean there was anything wrong with it if they both managed to be cheered up by it.
At least, she had to hope so, anyway. He was an annoying animal, but there was a sweet side to his temper whenever he became excited to answer something.
That being said, the side of him which she was beginning to take a liking to disappeared immediately the moment they heard a series of quick, light footsteps approaching. Rornak stood up to greet them as they charged into the room, rapidly shifting from their dragon forms to humanoid. Their members bounced as they walked, and she glanced away with a blush as she noticed that.
“Did you manage to find our information libraries safely, Horule?” Rornak asked, greeting the leader of the expedition, who was weighted down with a number of bulky, featureless objects.
Horule said blandly, “Yes. They are gone lax with their patrols, for now. It was no issue to avoid their guards.”
“Good,” Rornak purred. His rear gave a delighted wiggle, which probably meant he would be wanting to wag his tail if he was transformed. “If you wish to deposit those in the wing where the humans sleep, you may help yourself to double warrior portions for your meal tonight.”
Some of them seemed refreshed by the idea, which worried Nelly a little. There really hadn’t been that much in the way of food, which made sense. This would really deplete the larder.
Judging by the look on the silver alien’s face, he agreed. However, she suspected that was just another of their customs that he refused to drop.
“I suppose I should go then and get started with my reading,” she said finally.
Rornak nodded absently, and then tapped his fingers against his shoulder. “Yes. Perhaps that is best. I will have writing materials and cloth brought to you shortly, so you may begin with your designs.”
She wanted to correct him that he couldn’t reasonably expect something from her so soon, but she kept her mouth shut and just agreed to make him feel better. That decision would probably come back to bite her later, but she didn’t think she would ever really regret it. Without even having wanted to, this was a sacrifice that she was prepared to make: her own well-being in return for his uplifted mood. After all he’d been through, it was only fair.
Chapter Six
Three days later, it was done. The design was rough and covered in jagged question marks scrawled in far too many areas for her to be comfortable with, but it was the best that Nelly could do in such a short time. Rory left her alone for the most part, but he also constantly checked in on her when she was bent over her bed, hard at work balancing a sheet of thin drawing cloth on a stone tablet. The writing utensil given to her was impossible to master, like a hollow shaft of ridged stone that constantly bled out a thin stream of colored liquid, and she had not wanted to bother them by asking for a replacement cloth to write on, and so the sketch was also covered in ugly mistakes.
Setting the stone pen down so that it bled muted brown wetness against her legs, Nelly raised her arms over her head, stretching and thanking her lucky stars that no one would have to try to figure any of this out but her. She had read through all the records brought to her, or rather skimmed them, and had mostly figured out what materials and tools were available. However, she still needed some parts and equipment that she wasn’t sure where she would find them. That would be the hard part, not like this wasn’t already hard enough. Still, she was confident that the Akait would be able to assist her with the missing aspects.
The good thing was that the gravity on Pluto was very low, which meant ascending through the cold atmosphere would be easy enough if she could obtain a useful power source. That was another important question of hers, and the first one which needed answering. The fuel would determine any modifications to the prototype design.
The craft was triangular in shape, bulky and furnished with several decks, with wide windows and broad engine ports. She didn’t quite have many interior specifics laid out just yet beyond rooms and their designations, seeing as she still didn’t quite understand all of the technology here.
Still, she hadn’t slept in the entire three days. No matter how eager she was to show Rornak her design, she was impossibly tired. Her vision was swimming, and she was very nearly hallucinating from
exhaustion.
What were a few more hours to him, she tried to reassure herself. Climbing up onto the cot and curling her body around her drawing, she fell very rapidly asleep and was out for twelve solid hours.
Upon awakening, she felt his heat more than she heard him. As she opened her eyes, she heard skin rasping over fabric and knew that he was examining her schematics.
Nelly sat up in a panic, suddenly terrified that in her whirling exhaustion she’d made a real mess of everything. Surely her design couldn’t be anything but meaningless squiggles after three solid days of nothing but learning and work. The human mind didn’t operate like that and she knew it, and yet ignored it so foolishly.
“Rory,” she said hurriedly, and reached out to snatch the cloth away. “I’m sorry. I…”
She stopped abruptly when he looked up at her. His mouth trembled, and she thought she could see tears on his face. “Rory?” she pressed. “What’s going on? I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to waste your time…”
“I do not know what you are speaking of,” he said in a shaking voice, “but you do not have to apologize for anything. Nelly, you are a brilliant mind.”
Still holding herself very still, she reached out to push his hands down gently so that her design was draped over his lap. Relief nearly made her faint as she realizing that it still looking exactly as she thought it had before falling asleep: messy, but with details and size parameters neatly outlined, and each room clearly labeled along with entrances, exits, storage areas, fuel holds, and anything else she’d been able to think of.
Still, there were all those blank spots where she didn’t have enough information. “Are you sure?” she asked uncertainly.
“Yes!” he said, practically wiggling in his seat and pulsing with warmth. She saw his member rising, erect with excitement, and felt her own loins flush in response. Swallowing hard, she tried to look away and found that she couldn’t. Not this time. He was too close, and she was caught off-guard with having just woken up.
The tip was large and swollen, flushed with white veins and thick all the way down. As she watched, he continued to swell and she suddenly knew that he was aware of her watching.
Swallowing hard again and watching his cock throb at the provocative sound, she said with a dry mouth, “What’s so special about it? There are so many blanks…”
It was his turn to swallow, now. His throat clicked and his adam’s apple bobbed, working up and down. There was such raw masculinity in something so simple that she didn’t even know what to do with herself as her pussy lips swelled and pressed slick against her panties. The flaring of his nostrils seemed to indicate that he could smell the distinctive scent of musk, of arousal, and she squirmed around with embarrassment. Unfortunately, all that did was rub her thighs around her clit and make things that much worse. A shiver ran up her spine.
“The blanks do not matter. I hope I am understanding from your fear that you think this is not a perfect design. No, it is not. It is an idea.” He tapped one finger against the fabric. “And rather a brilliant frame on which we will adapt.”
“Good,” she said, feeling nearly in tears from the relief that wanted to fight with her tingling pussy. Her brain felt stretched to the brim, swollen painful and heavy with new knowledge of what metals lay at Pluto’s core and the mining processes which they were harvested by, and the shellfish which dwelled in nitrogen ice. She had learned much of the history of the Akait, although she felt very doubtful that she would be able to recall any of this when pressed for it. It was all simply too new, and would fly out of her mind even if she had it memorized. “And thank you. It means a lot.”
Compliments had never stopped meaning things to her, and that was especially true of something like this.
“What do we do now?”
He lowered his eyelids thoughtfully. “Are you prepared to head out for an expedition immediately?”
She replied primly, “I will be if you prepare me.”
A surprised and delighted laugh pulled through his lips. “Very well! Let us summon a party and leave. I believe we may have things which will surprise you yet.”
As it turned out, that was closer to the truth than she could ever have imagined. Within minutes, Rornak had gathered up two other men, one of which was the brute Horule, and quickly briefed them. “This will be an expedition the same as all the others. We will be there to observe and gather any food and useful supplies which might be easily obtained. However, this time we are also to detour by the labs and pick up the mechanisms needed to craft a battery pack.”
Horule gave an oafish frown. “Like that of the wormhole generator?”
“Exactly, but much larger. As enormous as we can make it. It will be the beginning of the engine for our spaceship.”
“So, you have completed the design, then?” Horule asked rudely, turning his head away from his leader to stare Nelly down. She took an uncertain step back, a quiver in her legs. The last remaining moisture in her pussy dried up very quickly with fear; Rornak moved slightly in front of her.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “She has.”
“Might I see?”
You didn’t exactly seem like an engineer or an architect, Nelly thought, but then just shrugged and handed over the fold of cloth crumpled up in her hands. She watched with raised eyebrows as Horule deftly unwrapped it and then scanned it with a startlingly adept gaze. “You know much about this kind of thing?” she asked.
Rornak looked suspicious, but the look of dull blandness crashed back down over Horule’s face so quickly that Nelly had a hard time imagining she’d seen anything else. “It makes no sense to me.”
Rornak snapped, “It does not have to. We are wasting time. Come, Nelly.”
He strode off down the same tunnel where the last expedition had traveled, forcing her to sprint to catch up. The other two aliens fell in behind, and Nelly felt that distinct sensation of cold. This time, it was joined by a dragging sensation around her lungs. Every footstep bounced with low gravity as they reached the end of the tunnel and stepped out into the open.
Very far away, along the side of another mountain and above it, Nelly saw strange, wared structures mingling amidst the peaks. “Your home,” she breathed silently, but no one seemed to notice. They were all headed away from her, towards a small outcropping of boulders which looked to have tumbled down the side of the hiding place’s mountain.
What’s over there, she wondered, and leapt along behind them.
Horule and the other Akait grabbed at the topmost boulders and shoved them hard off the pile. She was about to be incredibly impressed when she reminded herself that the gravity really was very low here. Then she saw what had been hidden beneath the boulders and gasped.
They were sleds, for all intents and purposes. Made of slick, dark-colored metal which did not reflect any light, they were attached to odd harnesses designed for four-legged creatures.
Horule and the other alien shifted into dragons. Nelly blinked, a little startled at Horule’s transformation. It wasn’t the process which surprised her because it was as instantaneous as all the rest, but rather the fact that his darker coloring stayed true. His scales rippled with shadow, and his eyes were nearly impossible to distinguish from the darkness around them. There was absolutely no reason not to trust him, but his blank gaze was just so unnatural. Of course, Rornak often had that look and so did the other dragons, but when Horule wore it, she didn’t trust him.
Reaching out for her, Rornak guided Nelly by the arm over to one of the sleds and helped her sit down. They both seemed a little surprised at the touching, but neither of them said a word about it.
“We will take you there to our old home,” Rornak said, blinking his two pairs of eyelids. “We use these sleds to ferry supplies, but I imagine that you might be able to ride one instead of running along beside.”
Just as she was pondering whether or not he knew he’d made a joke, he shifted into a dragon. Sunlight shimmered prettily along his spine,
and then he slid into one of the harnesses while the Akait whose name she did not know took the other. Horule, who was probably slowest best of his bulk, slithered along to bring up the rear. And with that, they were off.
Up until now, she had never seen one of the dragons fly. It made sense in theory, what with the low gravity, but it was another thing entirely just to see it in action. Their wings swept out to full length, fifteen feet at least from tip to tip. With a synchronized series of flaps, the harnessed dragons lunged forward and churned their claws across the ice. The sleds lurched and bobbed so shakily that Nelly grabbed onto the sides with a panicked cry, and then the dragons were flying with their dangling toes skimming the stone. Sparks flew, racing past her with dancing light and heat in complete defiance of the nature of the planet.