Miranda's Destiny - the unexpurgated edition

by Candace Smith

  Ethram sat on a chair on the bridge. “I have some preparations to make.” He tented his slender fingers under his chin. “This is a delicate matter, Ballion. She has been raised for centuries by barbarians and primitives.” Ethram’s nose wrinkled with distaste as he thought of his visit to the outer world. “They have destroyed their planet, and it will be swallowed very soon.”

  Ballion gasped in alarm. “Then, we must act now to procure her. Zulien has waited beyond his time for her, and if she is absorbed with the planet he will be devastated.”

  “We have to be careful, Ballion. The outer worlds do not even know of our existence. I have no idea how she ended up on this planet, but her lineage has me curious. I sense great power within her, and this is why I choose to act with caution. We are not telling Zulien until she has been secured.”

  “How did you know to come here? No mates have ever been discovered on the outer worlds.” Ballion had been almost frantic since Ethram informed him they were leaving the relative safety of the inner worlds.

  Ethram leaned back in his chair and sighed. “When I was training with my grandfather, he told me a story of finding a derelict ship at the very edge of the inner worlds. He thought it was abandoned. All on board were decayed with the exception of one Ancient male.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I do not remember the specifics, or even who the race was for that matter.” Ethram’s voice dropped to almost a whisper, as though he was divulging a secret. “The Ancient told him they had placed their last genes in the outer worlds.”

  Ethram looked at Ballion as if searching for understanding. “You and I were so close when we procured from Prameton, I thought it was worth the chance. We have been honored with the mission to find the mates, and every one is precious. If there was even a remote possibility...” Ethram left the statement unfinished. He was still overcome with emotion at his discovery.

  Ballion listened attentively. His teacher, the Commander of Isotant, was unparalleled in success. Ballion remembered standing before the Imperial Magistrates and learning he was to be Ethram’s apprentice. Ethram’s request came at a price. It was a two edged sword, because Ethram’s mate was discovered decayed on a small planet already scanned and rarely visited. He would have no son of his own to carry on his work, and thus he issued the request to the Magistrates for an apprentice. Perhaps, his own experience was why the old man filled with emotion and drove himself to extremes to secure every destined mate.

  A procurement chamber was prepared for the young woman containing the sparse furnishings for her temporary sleep, along with comforting scents and sounds of her planet. He made sure he plugged Zulien’s genetic sexual profile into the enhancers. The Commander continued to search the knowledge banks for information about her, and after exhausting all known data sources concerning the Ancients, he finally admitted he needed her on board to study her further. “Ballion, it is time.”

  “Her compartment is ready. Shall I collect her?” the green Minoc asked hopefully.

  Ethram stood. “She is to be the mate of a primary warrior.” He adjusted his cloak. “I must collect her myself.” Ethram noted the slightly dejected lowering of Ballion’s shoulders. “I leave you with the important duty of guarding the ship and the other three mates on board.”

  I am to be trusted with three of the precious procurements? Ballion’s chest puffed out, dark ribs etching his scaled skin with pride, and the green antennae protruding from his forehead stroked across his chin, displaying his obvious pleasure at the trust Ethram had bestowed upon him.

  Ethram noted Ballion’s reaction and decided to prolong the moment. “Are you prepared for this responsibility? Do you have any questions?” Ethram had no doubts. He knew Ballion was as impassioned with their commitment as any student he had ever met.

  Ballion’s antennae made an embarrassing frenzied motion across his chin as he fairly burst with emotion. “I have no questions, Commander. I will care for the ship and our precious cargo, and await your return.”

  Collecting mates was a lonely trade. It was, perhaps, one of the highest honors, but ships could travel many, many years and come back with the news of no found mates, or worse. There were mates who had not been discovered in time, such as Ethram’s, leaving their other half to settle for centuries of lonely emptiness, or never feeling complete by settling for a mating of convenience with another who had no true mate to procure. Every mate secured was the highest of rewards, and resulted in a hefty boon financially and earned promotions.

  Ethram stroked a comforting thumb along Ballion’s quivering antennae, and then dissolved with a sweep of his cloaked arm. Having scented the woman, he found himself in a small wooden structure in the woods. He smiled at her sleeping friend. “You have brought much comfort to this Ancient. May your remaining days be filled with the same.” He gently lifted Miranda’s small form and issued a feeling of peace, and she shuddered slightly as she curled into his chest.

  For all Ballion’s pride and emotion, Ethram was gone less than ten minutes in Earth world time, and he returned with one of the most unique creatures Ballion had ever seen in his arms. Her hair, spilling half way to the floor in shimmering waves, was the color of the suns, and her pale skin was the color of the moons. “She is of Celestial lineage,” he said in awe.

  “I also see the signs of this.” Ethram gazed down at the little Ancient. “So many of those worlds have been swallowed. It will be a challenge of great magnitude to find which of them she was from.”

  “Zulien has been honored.” Ballion bowed his head in respect.

  Ethram glanced again at his procurement. “Have you read his sexual profile? Zulien will rip her apart if we do not prepare her. See how fragile she is? I trust our gods with their decision, but to mate such a small woman with a warrior?” He shook his head, bewildered.

  Not to be distracted from practicality, Ballion reminded Ethram, “The boon on her will be high. We may get recognition from the warrior as well.”

  Ethram smiled. Yes, the rewards for this Ancient would be large. She was worth more than the other three procurements tallied together. “Locate Commander Zulien while I secure her, but tell him nothing.”

  “Yes, Commander.” Ballion began searching star charts for the location of Zulien’s battleship, the Quillant.

  Ethram laid Miranda on the pallet in the sleeping chamber. Here, she would sleep and dream undisturbed in her suspended state, while her genetic sexual profile was enhanced to meet her mate’s needs.

  The Procurer removed her clothes and brushed his thumb across her forehead when she quivered, relaxing her into deep sleep. He placed the enhancers on either side of her head and attached probes to her nipples and clit, and he inserted the vaginal wand. He noticed with interest that even in deep sleep she lubricated pleasurably, and she pulsed her walls against the wand as the enhancers fused the warrior’s sexual genetic profile to her. At least she will sleep in comfort until Zulien arrives to claim her. Ethram turned once before leaving the chamber, and he studied the beautiful creature. “Lucky dremont,” he muttered, and closed the door.

  When he returned to the bridge, Ballion proclaimed, “The stars are with us. The Quillant is in Stanquest Three. We are just within communication distance and our ships can rendezvous in two days.”

  Ethram confirmed Ballion’s information, though he was still nervous about turning over the fragile Ancient to the warrior. Reluctantly, he decided this was the gods’ business and the decided mating was not his responsibility. “Get him on screen.” Ethram’s fingers strummed the arm of his chair. Warriors always made him anxious, because they were ruthless strategists and somewhat explosive in nature. Ethram had once met Commander Zulien on planet, and he knew he had a good reputation. Still, he was a warrior, and Ethram hoped he would be good to the little Ancient.

  While the ship was contacted, Miranda lay on the pallet feeling like she was floating in darkness until she eventually settled on something soft. She was so weary, but the sounds of a rippling broo
k and a breeze through the trees could not calm her. She was frightened as she lay alone in this dark void, and she wondered if she had died and how to find her way out of the pit to the goddesses’ realm of the Summerlands.

  She felt pinched feelings on her nipples and sensitive bead, and a soft cool bar was inserted in her channel. In her mind, she whimpered in fear until her thoughts began to fill with the man of her visions. His strong golden hands caressed her, and he murmured assurances as impulses traveled through the probes and wand arousing her.

  Miranda felt the desire and passion building to frightening aspects, and she was frustrated to be limited to merely the squeezing of her core to satisfy her need to thrust. She felt as though she was being held on the edge of the precipice of release, and struggled against the trance that was denying her.

  After an eternity, a strong hand brushed across her forehead. “I will come to you, my little Ancient,” a deep voice echoed. She reached out into the blackness, blindly searching for comfort. Sobs wracked through her as she continued to lubricate and throb in frustration, and she realized she was once again alone. Perhaps it was most frightening because she knew it was all in her mind.

  The Quillant had finished securing the planet Fleighten after small skirmish had erupted concerning land boundaries, and they returned to space, scanning the planets for their next mission.

  Zulien lay back against the headboard of his heavy wooden bed, waiting for the Parina to arrive. With three unmated warriors on board, they were allocated one of the unique androids to relieve their sexual urges every third night.

  These androids had been designed with a long split tongue, and tiny suckers gripped and released as their sensors ordered. Full breasts were tipped with nipples that stood alarmingly stiff when suckled, and their clean-shaven mound excreted a sweet musk when stroked or licked. The Parina would gasp, moan or coo appreciatively, and her arms would hold and comfort while her lips continued to whisper and kiss.

  Zulien despised them. No, it was more than that. He despised the need for them. Warriors were a lusty bunch, their cocks stiffening with little provocation… and the cocks needed to be satisfied and milked, or rational judgment of the burly men was jeopardized. No one needed the Commander of a battleship fighting in the midst of sexual frustration.

  As with any man, Zulien yearned for his mate, the one woman in creation with a gene matched to his. Over the centuries, he watched his crews' mates board the craft, and he waited for the day a procurement ship would contact the Quillant to announce his own mate had been secured.

  It had been a century since a procurement vessel had hailed them, and the three remaining warriors were reluctantly admitting their mates had most probably decayed. The thought ripped at Zulien's heart, and he could not quite let go of a tiny bit of hope she was still out there, longing to be wrapped in his protective arms.

  The door to his quarters opened, and the Parina entered his chamber. "Commander," she said in her low, overly seductive voice. Zulien would not let her call him by his name because it seemed too personal. He waved her in.

  She pulled her shift over her head and swayed her hips with exaggerated movements as she approached him. He rarely spoke to her. It was not her animated words of comfort or desire he wanted to hear. She merely knew how to please him, and she used her red mannequin-like arms to spread his thighs.

  "Oooh, Commander." She trailed a slender finger down his length and lightly squeezed his sack. Her eyes blinked rapidly as the data was digested for the next appropriate response. "I see you have great need for me. My tongue salivates over the thought of your..."

  "Voice off, dammit." Zulien wanted to grab her by her white hair and rip the speaker from her throat. She was nothing more than a masturbation toy. He lay back again, and her tongue stroked his length, splitting to coat both sides with its suckers as he closed his eyes.

  The slow pumping of her head finally relaxed him, and he let himself get swept up in her rhythm. He wondered if, when he finally spilled his seed deep down the Parina’s throat, he would again have the vision of the tiny goddess lost in the darkness and searching for him. It had happened the last three times.

  He had meant to communicate with his mother about this, because she might be able to decipher the meaning of these visions. Things on the ship had been hectic though, and he kept putting off the call. Zulien began squeezing his muscled ass as he thrust his cock deeper down the Parina’s throat. Soon he would cum, and, vision or not, he could send the horrid machine back to its closet.

  Her fingers tightened around his balls and a finger traveled the sensitive skin between his sack and anus. His sperm left him in violent spurts as he once again saw his goddess, and this time she was sobbing with fright.

  Zulien ordered the Parina to leave, and he dressed to go back to the bridge. He decided to let Taliquant have her for the rest of the night, if he desired. When he arrived on deck, Lieutenant Letang was leaning towards the communicator screen. “Who calls Battleship Quillant and for what purpose?”

  “This is Commander Ethram of the procurement ship, Isotant. I wish to speak with Commander Zulien.”

  Communicator wristbands spread the news quickly through the battleship that a procurement vessel had signaled, and crew and mates rushed to the bridge. It was possible, though unlikely, they were seeking transport for a mate. More likely, was the possibility that someone on the Quillant was about to learn of their mate’s discovery. Of the nine warriors on board six were mated, and these were very good statistics for a regiment. So good, in fact, that the three unmated warriors had begun to give up hope many, many years ago.

  Two of them were planning to mate with unattached females. These matings usually culminated in frustration, as even with enhancers the female would not totally accept a substitute partner’s sexual profile. This was especially true for the domineering warriors who required a truly submissive partner.

  Berslan was to join with a member of royalty whose true mate had been murdered for political reasons. It was quietly discussed among the crew that he was mating for ambition, because a royal would never subject herself to satisfy a warrior’s needs.

  Taliquant was deciding between two warriors’ widows, and everyone was in agreement that his joining might stand a chance. He would never experience the fulfillment of claiming his true mate, but at least a female destined to be with a warrior would understand a warrior’s demands.

  Zulien sometimes quelled his sexual frustrations with a serving girl when he was on planet, but he remained promised to no one. Resigned that his mate was most probably decayed, he decided he would not distract himself with the frustration of a substitute.

  The Parina serviced all three of the unmated warriors. Her data banks contained their genetic sexual profiles, and her sole function was to provide climatic release for the men.

  When he was young, Zulien had asked his mother how he would know his mate, and she closed her eyes to raise her golden head towards the northern stars. A few minutes later, she looked at her son and relayed her vision. “She will be your suns and your moons,” she smiled. Living in space, Zulien had never noticed the phenomenon, but trusted his mother’s vision and had remained unattached.

  Zulien switched on his screen. If the mate was for Berslan, it could be messy trying to disentangle himself from his fiancée, but if she was for Taliquant, things would be much less complicated, and he swore an oath under his breath that the mate would enrich Taliquant. The battleship had been through some rough conflicts lately.

  “This is Commander Zulien, I understand you have news?”

  Ethram eyed Zulien cautiously. His long dark hair fell well below his broad bronzed shoulders and his black leather vest was tight across his muscled chest. For the first time in his many centuries of procurement, Ethram felt unease at revealing his prize. “Yes, Commander. We have procured a warrior’s mate from the outer worlds.” Ethram wanted to make sure Zulien understood the extra effort on his part to procure the young woman. W
arriors could be generous.

  “I did not realize procurement ships searched the outer worlds,” Zulien replied, with a hint of suspicion.

  “As usual course, we do not, Commander, but I had previous information concerning this mate." Ethram was slightly irritated the warrior would question his motives.

  Zulien sat back in his chair. “I see. Tell me, Commander, which of our warriors have benefited from your efforts?”

  Ethram smiled. “You, Commander. It is your mate we have procured.”

  Zulien was speechless. It had not crossed his mind to hope it would be his mate. The gathering warriors stood in shocked silence. Seartock regained his senses first and recognized his Commander’s stunned reaction, remembering his own emotion when his precious Ebonisha was located. He spoke up, ignoring formalities. “You have located Commander Zulien’s mate?” They needed this news confirmed.

  “Yes, Captain, and we would like to arrange a rendezvous. We are within two days of your present location.”

  The Lieutenant spoke up. “We have locked onto your position, Commander Ethram.”