by Bianca D’Arc
They’d complied with Clem Argoth’s negotiated terms to this point, but now was the time they needed to make their own decisions. They had to figure out where they were headed and how to get there. This was something that shouldn’t be decided quickly or by just one or two people.
“Your passengers are going to want a say in where we’re heading,” Roxy told Chiron, turning to him as she sat at the main board in engineering. “Most of them probably still think we’re going to Earth, but if we aren’t, they should at least be told why.”
Chiron frowned. “I suspect you’re right, but this isn’t something we can stop and discuss, right now. We have to get away from the nebula and as far from the aliens as possible before they change their minds and vaporize us.”
Roxy pursed her lips, finally nodding. “Okay. I can see that. But you’re going to have to stop somewhere and have a ship-wide meeting. This isn’t a military crew. The people you have on board here will need to be told what’s going on. They won’t just blindly accept anything you guys decree. Things will go a lot smoother for all of us if you keep everyone informed and give them at least the illusion of having a say in their own fate.”
Chiron nodded solemnly. “I understand. Probably better than you realize. Free will is very important to us, Roxy.” His tone lowered, as if he was imparting something important. She had the sense he was revealing a deeply held belief. “We may not be able to give our passengers a lot of choices, but we can at least explain our reasons for making the decisions we have to make and give them a chance to speak their minds and give any input they might feel could be useful.”
She’d been monitoring the conversation on the bridge, even as she’d talked with Chiron, and they were about to make a mistake. She reached out to touch Chiron’s arm.
“I have some of that useful input. Tell your friend on the bridge that heading toward the gamma cluster is a bad idea,” she said urgently. Chiron didn’t waste any time. He used that instantaneous comm the cyborgs had to alert the captain.
The cyborg captain sighed and looked directly at the camera Chiron had hacked. “What is it, Miss Roxy?”
“I came into the station from that heading a few weeks ago. There are ion storms that will screw with the systems on a ship as old as this,” Roxy said into the comm, after opening a channel to the bridge. “I recommend avoiding the gamma cluster entirely. Giving it a nice wide berth would be a really good idea. I only just got these engines working, again.”
The captain sat up a bit straighter and seemed to lose him impatient demeanor. “I see. Thank you for the information, and thank you for your excellent work on the engines.”
She could see he wasn’t used to thanking anyone for doing anything on his ship, but she had to give him points for the effort.
“You’re very welcome, Captain.” Roxy cut the connection, gratified to hear the next thing out of the cyborg Captain’s mouth was a ship-wide comm.
He very wisely requested that, if anyone had been in transit recently to the station and had information about possible hazards, they report it to one of the cyborg soldiers. Roxy knew that, with their near-instantaneous communications among themselves, that would be as good as telling the captain in person. Smart move.
Within a few minutes, data began to fill in the nav screen, shading some systems red and others yellow. A few were marked green before all was said and done, and finally, they had some information to work with. Roxy didn’t stop watching until Billie, the young woman on the nav station, had come up with a viable route.
The captain had chosen to navigate three systems out from the station, away from any other jump points, just in case there were more enemy ships coming in at the other locations. Smart. He also wasn’t making a straight line for Earth. If the jits were going to come after them, being a bit unpredictable was probably also a wise thing to do.
The compromise was an interim destination three systems inward on the spiral arm of the galaxy. Earth was on the other side of the galaxy, on an entirely different arm of the spiral. They were far from home, but there was other life out here. Other habitable planets. They might yet find sanctuary.
“The captain wants to know the status of the jump drive,” Chiron told her.
“There was nothing wrong with the jump engines. It was the in-system drive that had been treated badly on the way into the station. I did take a cursory look at the jump system, and it seems intact and useable, but we’re going to need to refuel at some point if we stay on the move,” she replied.
“We’re already scanning star charts, looking for a suitable gas giant,” Chiron said. She knew her report had already been sent to the captain over whatever comms the cyborgs were using among themselves.
“Most of this region isn’t charted in much detail,” Roxy reminded him. “But there are a lot of gases we can use to fuel our system. One thing about this ship—the older models weren’t as picky on fuel purity. This baby will take a number of different mixes and still work just fine.”
“Good to know,” Chiron said, smiling at her. “I’ve relayed the information, and the captain would like your input when we find any candidate planets.”
“Good. I’d be happy to help. Tell him we can go to light speed whenever he likes.” Roxy sat down and strapped in.
Each compartment had seating for jump safety. It was rare that anything happened, but on occasion, the ride could become a bit rough. Chiron didn’t sit, but she did notice he planted his feet and probably magnetized them to stick to the floor. He wasn’t going anywhere.
A moment later, the bridge made the announcement to brace for the jump to light speed. And a few minutes after that, Roxy got that queasy feeling in her stomach that let her know they’d made the transition from normal space to jump space where they were going faster than light.
It was a bit of misnomer that the wormhole terminuses were also called jump points. Jumping to light speed was a lot different than jumping into a wormhole and arriving in a distant galaxy on the other side. Traveling at light speed was still traveling in space, but doing so at a speed where light couldn’t outpace you. Traveling through a wormhole was a whole different experience.
It was something Roxy had never done and never felt the need to seek out. Only a few human explorers were brave or crazy enough to jump into a wormhole and not really know where they were going to come out. Those explorers had mapped the terminuses found to date, but occasionally, a new terminus would be discovered, and the crazy folk would vie for the chance to be the first ones to try to find out where it led.
No. Thank. You. The Milky Way was enough galaxy for Roxy. She would much rather continue exploring her home galaxy than face the unknown dangers of a whole new place.
“We’ll be in jump space for a while,” Chiron reported, moving finally.
Roxy released her seat restraints and stood. The queasy feeling had subsided, as it always did. She checked the boards, but the jump engines were functioning well. Nothing for her to do until they returned to normal space and the in-system drives.
“I’d like to get something to eat, but I don’t want to leave the engine room,” she said, hinting broadly and hoping he’d pick up on her unspoken request.
Chiron didn’t disappoint. He sighed and came over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead.
“Would you like me to go get some food for you?” he asked gently.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” she replied softly, liking the way he was looking at her. As if she was some kind of priceless treasure.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When Chiron returned to the engine room with a meal for Roxy, the place had been transformed a bit. The lighting was set low. There was a utility table set up in the area near the bed he’d provided. And there was music playing in the background.
“Roxy?” he asked, not sure what was going on at first, then the memories from his first life kicked in, and he recognized a scene of seduction. Had she do
ne all this for him? He was truly touched.
“Come on in and lock the door behind you,” she called out, her voice sounding sultry to his interested ears.
She’d been busy while he’d been fetching the food. She must’ve made a dash out to the storage area because he spotted new sheets on the bed and a blanket that hadn’t been there before, as well as another pillow. She’d made up a fresh nest for the two of them and had set the lights low, to alter the mood of the entire place.
Chiron put the carryall that contained their meal on the table, glad now that he’d brought enough for two. He didn’t have to eat as often as she did, but his organic systems still needed to intake calories on a regular basis to stay in prime condition. He remembered dating in his first life, and he remembered sharing a meal had always been a big part of that ritual. It usually came before the sex, but they’d been a bit rushed for time. He hoped she would forgive him for doing things a bit backwards, but from the looks of the preparations she’d made, he had nothing to worry about.
That didn’t mean he was taking anything that passed between them for granted. Roxy was special. His time with her—from the first moment he’d seen her in their shared hallway back on Eagle Nest Station to the moment she’d accepted him into her body—was precious to him. Each and every second was burned into his memory forevermore.
She came into view from one of the storage cupboards, and he could see she had already loosened her neckline, dropping the closure to lay somewhere between her ample breasts. He wanted to bring it down farther…with his tongue. And then, he wanted to kiss every last inch of skin he uncovered, licking her into a frenzy. He already knew how much she liked it when he kissed her skin. A repeat of that experience was most definitely in order.
“Sit down,” she told him, his lascivious thoughts screeching to a halt.
He immediately remembered his resolve to let her lead in their next encounter—if he was lucky enough to have one. They’d been rushed that first time, and he’d promised himself that, if she blessed him with a repeat, he’d let her set the pace. They didn’t have alien fighters breathing down their necks or emergency repairs under way that demanded a tight deadline. They weren’t stealing time away from important tasks, this time.
No, this time was for them. They could take as long as they wanted, within reason. They both still had to be on shift in a few hours, and if an emergency cropped up, they’d have to answer the call, but for these few minutes—the next couple of hours, at least—they were off duty and could spend some time away from their responsibilities.
Chiron sat in the chair she’d set up around a packing crate she had turned into a table. Her seat was across from his, and she took it, delving eagerly into the carryall and bringing out the heated dishes he’d so carefully packed and brought with him from the mess hall. She made little sounds of enjoyment when she found the box with the slices of cake meant for dessert.
“You thought of everything,” she complimented him as she set out the food on the flat surface of the packing crate.
“I can’t take credit,” he admitted. “The ladies in the mess knew what to pack. I just asked for two meals, and they did the rest. They’ve got the kitchen humming, from all accounts.”
“That’s good,” she replied. “We all need something to occupy our hands and minds, and it’s important to have good food available when everything else about this voyage is so stressful.”
Her expression darkened for just a moment, but she brightened again as she began opening the containers and serving the main meal. He’d asked for a little of everything that was ready since he wasn’t sure what would appeal best to Roxy. He could consume just about anything edible. If he didn’t like the taste, there were commands he could issue to his neural net that would essentially block sensory input from his taste buds or olfactory sense for a short period. Cyborgs weren’t picky eaters.
They ate the meal, chatting lightly about their experiences, travels and the things they liked and disliked. Basically, they spent the time getting to know one another. Chiron realized this was an important part of the dating ritual he’d skipped over before. He knew a lot about Roxy’s habits from being her next door neighbor, but he was intrigued and enchanted by the revelations she made as they ate their meal.
They lingered over the dessert, Roxy leaning forward to feed him a bite of her cake. There were two different kinds. She’d chosen the red velvet cake with vanilla frosting, leaving the chocolate to him. But, as the evening progressed, he found her real intent was to share both slices, feeding each other alternate bites in one of the most playful intimate encounters he’d ever shared with a woman.
By the time the cake was gone, he was more than ready for the next course. He fully intended to feast on the taste of her, but she seemed to have other ideas. Roxy led him over to the bed, reaching up to put her arms around his neck. She pressed her soft body to him, a full-body caress that made his cock stand up and take notice.
When she moved back, he realized her fingers had been busy opening the closures of his ship suit. She pushed it off his shoulders, her palms caressing him as the soft fabric retreated. His chest was bare, and she leaned forward to place nibbling kisses along his sternum.
Then, she did something that made his breath catch. She dropped to her knees in front of him and pulled the ship suit slowly…oh, so slowly…down over his hips, freeing his erection.
When she took him in her hands, he might’ve blacked out for a split second. He wasn’t sure. Either way, when she began to use her lips on him, he knew he started making uncontrollable sounds at the back of his throat.
Roxy loved the groans coming from Chiron as she sucked him down. He’d had a long dry spell, and she was pretty sure no one had given him head since before he’d been changed into a cyborg. She wanted to give him something special. Something that would let him know, without words, how much he meant to her.
Judging by his stunned reaction to her seduction, she figured she’d hit the ball right out of the park. And by pleasing him, she also pleased herself. She had the sense that, even if he came right now, he wouldn’t leave her hanging. Their earlier encounter had been necessarily short and oh-so-sweet because they’d been on a tight deadline, but even as she left the bed, she’d seen he was ready for more.
Whether it was the long abstinence or some quirk of his cyborg gear, his recovery time was quick. She was counting on that as she squeezed him, wanting to make him explode with passion…for her.
A moment later, she got her wish. He pulled away as his cock let loose. Her ship suit was the main recipient, but she didn’t mind. She’d already secured new clothing for them both when she’d gone in search of clean sheets. Roxy had planned ahead. She had every intention of thoroughly debauching him for as many hours as they could steal, then reporting to duty in clean ship suits with the bed cleaned up so that nobody would ever know what had happened between them except the two of them.
When he was done, she pushed him back gently onto the bed. As he lay there, she stripped off her ship suit in full view of his dazed eyes. He licked his lips as she lowered the fastenings on the front of her suit, and she’d never seen anything sexier, especially since he didn’t even know he’d done it.
She peeled the suit back over her shoulders, one at a time, freeing her breasts to his gaze, and they immediately puckered into points. Eager points that wanted his touch. She found his expression endearing as he followed the motions of her body, seemingly unable to tear his gaze away from her curves.
Talk about an aphrodisiac! She could literally see in his expression how much he wanted to be with her. She could see it in the renewed vigor of his cock, as well. As she’d suspected, his recovery time was way better than that of the average human male. Score one for science and cybernetics.
“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed as she stood before him, naked and wanting. She swayed, showing him her body, feeling like some sort of primitive sex goddess. She’d never felt quite so wanton
in her life, but she was enjoying this.
“You’re not bad yourself, cowboy,” she told him, lifting her right foot to place it on the bed, opening herself to him so he could see what was waiting for him in the not-too-distant future.
His hand rose, and one long finger unerringly found the opening that wept for his possession. She started a little, unused to such a direct approach, but apparently, when Chiron saw something he wanted, he went after it with single-minded intensity. As the beneficiary of that intensity, she couldn’t complain at all.
His finger speared into her, parting her, sliding into the place that wanted so much more. She would have it, but this was really nice, too. He began to fuck her with his finger, watching closely as she moved with his motion. Damn. That was so good.
But she knew what would be even better.
She moved more fully onto the bed, and he stayed with her until he figured out what she was trying to do. Then, he helped her, removing that tantalizing finger and using both hands to steady her hips as she came down over him. When she was close to her desired objective, he removed his right hand from her hip and used it to aim the hard shaft that she wanted so desperately.
Between the two of them, they managed to make the connection. She sank down onto him, taking him deep. Oh, yeah. That was just what she needed. Only one thing would make it better…a bit of motion.
Putting her thoughts into action, she began to ride him. Sliding, squeezing, altering her pace, she soon had herself on the precipice of bliss. His hands went to her hips again, guiding, holding and moving around to cup her butt cheeks. When that cunning finger slid between to toy with her back entrance, she cried out and came, her body making jerky movements in the pleasure-pain of completion.