by Logan Jacobs
“What do you mean, Darry?” Grizz said and genuinely looked puzzled.
“Sponsors, Grizz,” he replied simply. Grizz growled low and shook his head.
“I had forgotten,” Grizz said.
“Did I doze off or did I miss something?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“The Forge of Heroes is big business, Marc,” Nova said and moved so that she could talk directly to Darry. “Am I correct, Sir Dar’Tor?”
“Oh, um, uh, yes,” Darry stuttered. Seemed like the old mantis didn’t talk to a lot of smoking hot babes who could crush him like a nut. “You can just call me Darry, Miss Nova Quark. And, uh, yeah. If I accept you guys, I might lose some other alliance contracts because their sponsors hate you guys.”
“What? What the hell did we do?” I blurted out. I was getting tired of being on everyone’s shit list. “We’re just trying to stay alive like everyone else.”
“Yeah, but it's the way you do it, kid,” Darry responded and took the gross cigar out of his mouth with his arm-claw-pincher thing. “No one knows if you’re a ringer, lucky, sold your soul to an Immortan, or a combo of all three. Some say you’re secretly an Aetheron Ozusti just playing with everyone to shake up businesses.”
“Pahh!” Grizz grunted. “I can tell you, Darry, on the spirit of your departed father, that is not the case.”
“Oh, I didn’t believe that nonsense, Grizz,” Darry said and popped the soggy stogey back into his mouth. “But you know what gossips champions can be. And sponsorship is big business, Grizz. That being said, the kid does have a certain flair that is damn fun to watch. Ah, to hell with it, if other alliances don’t like it, they can suck larva eggs. I’m getting long in the mandible and you can’t take it with you, can you, Grizz?”
“No, Darry,” Grizz said, suddenly very thoughtful. Almost wistful. “You cannot.”
“Send me your weapons and armor, and I’ll modify them so they are tip top for your next match,” Darry said with a grunt. “Aquatic, right?”
“Yes, Darry,” Nova answered.
“Alright, I’ll have them to you by the end of the day tomorrow,” Darry’s hologram patted Grizz on the shoulder. “Good to see you old friend. Drop by the shop sometime. We can tell stories about the old bug.”
There was a beep as the holo-call ended, and Darry’s image faded into nothing.
“Thanks, Grizz,” I said and walked over to our weapons locker.
“You are welcome, Marc,” Grizz said quietly. I could tell one of his melancholy moods was fast approaching. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him. The person I knew as Grizz, my trainer, was a download of the actual Grizz’s personality and memories until just before he was killed in the arena over a hundred years ago.
He was once one of the greatest champions the Forge of Heroes had ever seen until he was betrayed by one of his own alliance mates, a bastard lizard-guy by the name of Tyyraxx, and stabbed in the back. Digital copies of all great champions were apparently stored in some huge mainframe so they could come back later as trainers. The heartache of knowing that all those you cared about were long gone must have been almost unbearable. Grizz managed better than just about any creature in the galaxy could have, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t times when it overwhelmed him.
“Put the team's weapons in the far left matter transmit tube, I’ve already programmed it for Darry’s shop.” Grizz waved a hand toward the tube and walked off into nothing. “You and the team should rest up the remainder of the afternoon. Tomorrow we train hard for the next match.”
“Rough visit for him, huh?” I said to Nova.
“Marc, the depth of his sadness is one I cannot imagine,” she said, echoing my own thoughts. “Let’s get everyone's gear loaded up.”
“Yeah,” I said as I looked over the rest of our alliance mates who were still deep in their food comas. “I don’t think they’ll be moving for a while.”
Nova and I programmed the weapons locker to pull up our gear. It was a pretty cool device that could make just about any gun, knife, sword, armor plate, spear, or club of damnation you could think of. We grabbed everything we thought would be useful and loaded it into the matter transmit tube. By the time we were done, the pile was at my eye level.
“That is the last of it, Marc,” Nova said as she balanced her plasma cannon rig on the very top. Just as she removed her hand, and it looked like the whole mountain of gear was going to topple I hit the transport button and a plastic wrap like door closed, there was a swirl of multi-colored light, and the stuff got beamed to wherever the hell Darry’s shop was.
Nova and I turned and looked back over the oddly quiet gym. PoLarr, Aurora, and Artemis were still sound asleep.
“You wanna go get dessert?” I asked as the thought popped into my head.
“I thought you would never ask,” Nova responded and threw her shoulder into mine.
I wrote a note for Artemis and put it on her computer screen to let her know Nova and I had left so she wouldn’t worry. Last time Nova and I went out we ended up in a massive street fight with members of each of the five gangs that ran the cities criminal underground.
“This time I pick,” Nova said as we each put on a light jacket and walked out of the Hall of Champions. It was later in the after-night, and the pedestrian traffic was less.
“As you wish,” I said and winked at her. The famous line from Princess Bride was quickly becoming our little thing.
We were just about to cross the street when a group of what appeared to be alien teenage girls nervously approached us. They were shorter humanoid beings with pink skin and brightly colored hair and they wore outrageous outfits. A weird combo of intergalactic school girl and what humans from the nineteen seventies thought the future would look like. It was full of shiny chrome-like plaid neon knee socks, ponytails that would have made Coolio jealous, and jewelry that blinked with lights.
“Um, uh, yeah, hi!” the leader of the pack said as she came up to Nova and me with a pad and pen. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s actually you. This is like, so, totally, like, freaking amazeballs.”
“Oh, why thank you, it's an hon--” I started to say with a cocky smile. I was very excited to sign my first autograph.
“Not you,” the alien teen said in that dismissive way teenagers apparently across the universe had of ignoring you, “Miss Nova, ma’am, you are amazing. Like, so, totally badass. Sorry. I mean so, totally, awesome. Would you mind signing my book?”
“Oh, um, absolutely,” Nova said, more than a bit surprised. “What’s your name?”
“Xanthippi,” the teenage alien said. “My friends and I love you. You are so pretty, and strong, and are so good at laying absolute waste to those that stand before you. It is so freaking totes cool!”
The group of teenage aliens all burst out in giggles and affirmations. At first, my pride was a little bruised but when I saw how happy they were, I told that part of me to shut up and just smiled at them. Plus, I couldn’t argue with what Xanthippi had said. Nova was all those things and more.
Nova blushed a little as she signed the girl's notebook and handed it back to her. Xanthippi’s face exploded in glee, and then she turned back to me.
“I guess you can sign it too, Marc Havak,” she said almost in spite of herself. “We guess you’re pretty cool, too. Jaq-Uie even thinks you’re kind of cute.”
“Shut up, Xanthippi!” Jaq-Uie shouted and smacked Xanthippi on the arm. “I do not! But could you sign my book, Mr. Marc? Please?”
“Absolutely, Jaq-Uie, I would love to,” I said to the teenage alien and barely contained my giggles.
We spent the next few minutes signing their notebooks.
“You guys are so freaking cool,” Xanthippi said as the gaggle of girls was about to walk off. “Tell Aurora and PoLarr we love them too!” And in a cloud of “oh my gods” and “freaking amazings” they were gone.
“Well,” I started to say as I watched them go, “that was totes amazeballs
.”
“Agreed, Marc,” Nova affirmed. “Totes. Now, I crave dessert. Mightily. Let’s go.”
Nova strode off across the street, and I followed. She clearly had something in mind and was on a mission to get there. After a few minutes of rather brisk walking, we ended up at a small shop sandwiched between a hardware store and an alien pharmacy. It had a tiny, hand-painted sign above the door that read: Paladin’s Pride. Nova walked in like she’d been there many times before.
I followed her, and the inside of the shop looked like something from a Renfair. There was a small counter with a clear glass top over several wooden buckets full of creamy ice cream. There were elaborate coats of arms on the walls and banners that covered the ceiling. Two small tables with two small wooden chairs filled out the place.
An older orange skinned Paladinian stood behind the counter with a crisp, bright white apron on. He had bright green eyes like Nova but his hair was electric purple. He was also almost seven feet tall and as wide as a truck.
“Nova!” he shouted when he saw her and practically vaulted over the counter.
“Palomar!” Nova shouted back as the two came chest to chest. They grasped forearms tightly before he pulled Nova into a monster bear hug.
“It is good to set eyes on you, Nova Qwark,” Palomar said after the embrace broke.
“As it is you, old friend,” Nova responded with a warm smile that I had never seen before.
“I was wondering how long it would take you before you had a craving.” Palomar grinned.
“You know the soft spot I have for your concoctions, Palomar,” Nova shot back at the giant man.
“Your father would get so cross with me when I would sneak you extra dessert,” he said warmly, like a favorite uncle. “And it was always worth it to see your face light up.”
The two embraced again. Palomar held her out at arm's length and looked at her for a long moment and then sighed. Without a word, they nodded at each other as if some unspoken communication had just occurred. Then he turned his brilliant green eyes on me.
“So,” he started as he made no bones about appraising me with his eyes, “this is Marc Havak of Earth?”
“The very one, Palomar,” Nova answered with a smirk. Palomar crossed over to me, and I couldn’t tell if he was going to sock me into next week or hug me. Thankfully, it was the later. The mountain of a man wrapped his tree trunk like arms around me and literally hugged me off the floor.
“You fight well, human,” he said as he squeezed.
“Thanks,” I eked out. “You're crushing me with affection.”
“Oh,” he said and set me down and turned to Nova. “They are light and delicate.”
“True,” Nova said with a nod, “but they are surprisingly durable and inventive.”
“We take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’,” I joked as I checked to see if any of my ribs had broken. “Pleasure to meet you, Palomar.”
“The pleasure is mine, Marc Havak,” the big Paladinian replied. “You fight well alongside my former Sire’s youngest and that makes you family. Now, what can I get you two?”
He moved back behind the counter and opened the clear lid. Steam flowed from over the lip of the counter, and I felt a blast of cold.
“We’ll have two fried gorgrove fruits please,” Nova said firmly and with finality.
“Excellent,” Palomar said and pulled an oversized ice-cream scoop from behind the counter. With deft, practiced motions he scooped out two grapefruit-sized balls of an apple red and blueberry blue frozen substance. Instead of popping them into a cup or a cone however, he turned, tossed them in some kind of crunchy looking mixture and then lowered them into a massive fryer. The balls sizzled as condensation crackled and popped in the hot oil, and a delicious scent of carmel filled the air.
After twenty seconds, he used a wire strainer to remove the balls, which were now golden brown, from the oil and placed them on paper that absorbed the excess oil. Palomar sprinkled them with a healthy dose of what looked like powdered sugar, placed them in small bowls and handed them to Nova with two sterling spoons.
We sat at one of the little tables as Nova placed one bowl in front of me. She held up her spoon in front of her almost like a little mini sword and beckoned me with her eyebrows to do the same. I did, and she lightly touched her spoon to mine.
“Palomar was our family chef when I was a child,” she started, and I could tell that divulging personal memories was difficult for her, but she pushed through it. “Fried frozen custard was my favorite dessert and even when I was in trouble, Palomar would find a way to sneak me some. He was, and is, a close friend. I do not have many in this universe.”
She paused as the edge of a secret teased her lips, then said, “You are included in that list, Marc. Fight with honor, laugh with sadness, and cry with joy.”
Nova held my gaze for a long moment and then disengaged her spoon and dug into her dish.
There wasn’t much for me to say so I did the same. The crust of the fried custard crunched as my spoon cracked through the surface in the smooth ice cream like center that had only slightly melted. A burst of creamy sweetness exploded on my tongue that was reminiscent of mango only more exotic. The coating was firm and tasted like corn flakes.
“Holy shit, that’s good!” I exclaimed without meaning to, and Nova smiled at me brightly.
The next few minutes were spent in silence as we both attacked our fried frozen Paladinian custard. As far as I was concerned fried Earth ice cream could suck a dick. This beat it hands down. Soon, my bowl was empty, and I scraped the bottom loudly with my spoon as I tried to get the last melty bits of crust into my face hole.
Palomar came over and collected our dishes as we stood.
“Just like I remembered,” Nova said and clapped the giant of a man on the shoulder. “Better, even.”
“You have made my week, little bright star,” Palomar said, his voice full of emotion. “Please do not be a stranger any longer. Paladin Prime is light years away.”
“Thank you,” Nova whispered to him as they hugged one more time. I couldn’t be sure because her back was to me, but I thought I saw her wipe away a tear.
“Take care of the little human,” Palomar chuckled as he let her go. “It was a great pleasure to meet you, Marc. I hope to see the two of you again, very soon.”
“You’ll be lucky if I’m not here every damn day, Palomar,” I practically swooned. The Paladinian laughed heartily, and I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear because it was just that infectious.
Nova and I walked out, and she waved goodbye as Palomar watched us walk away through the large glass window of the little shop. I took Nova’s hand as we walked back toward the Hall of Champions.
The twin moons had started to set and the sky that could be seen through the alien skyscrapers was a melange of purples, oranges, and streaked with red.
“Thank you for sharing that with me, Nova,” I said as I kissed her on the cheek. Before I could pull away Nova turned and kissed me on the lips. She still tasted of gorgrove fruit.
“How about we head home and you can thank me for real?” Nova whispered. Her voice was husky and full of desire.
“As you wish,” I said back and hailed us a nearby hover-cab.
We hopped in and sat very close on the short drive to our apartment. Her hand rubbed the inside of my thigh as she stared up at me with a devilish grin.
“You’re bad,” I whispered.
“Not yet I’m not,” she whispered back.
Soon the hover-cab pulled up to the curb next to my building. I paid the driver-bot, and we walked very quickly into the building.
I tried to kiss her in the elevator but she pushed me back against the wall.
“Not yet,” Nova growled deep in her throat.
Thankfully, the elevator was quick, and before I knew it, I fumbled to get my thumbprint onto the little pad on my apartment door.
We practically burst in just as the door opened.
“Oh, hello sir and Ms. Qwark, would you care for--” Woodhouse, my butler bot, started in his charming British accent. He looked like an old canister vacuum stood on end with eight mechanical arms. His sentence was cut short as Nova threw my jacket over his head. “Very well, then.”
Nova drag-threw me down the hallway and onto my bed. Before I could utter a word of mock protest, she ripped off her shirt and shimmied out of her tight leggings.
While I’d seen Nova in her workout shorts and sports bra many times, it was nothing compared to seeing her completely naked for the first time. The moonset light that poured through my bedroom window played across the curves of her tight, muscular, yet round and soft in all the right places, body. Nova must have known what the effect was going to be because I could swear she posed for me for a minute as she took out the tie at the end of her warrior braid and slowly undid each and every tie.
Pure, unadulterated desire welled up inside me, and the anticipation nearly drove me mad.
As Nova shook out her hair, the long amber locks fell down past her shoulders and framed her face. She then bent and crawled onto the bed until her hands found the zipper of my jumpsuit and ripped it downward. Before I could even gasp she took me in her mouth, and her warm lips squeezed my tip as her tongue massaged the length of my shaft.
“Wow.” My hands grasped her hair as her head moved slowly up and down.
“Hmmm,” she purred as I felt my tip touch the back of her throat.
“Oh, fuuuuuuuuuck, Nova,” I heard myself say through a wave of pleasure that had me almost flying off the bed.
“As you wish,” she said with a smile as she looked up at me and licked her lips. It two fast motions she’d torn my jumpsuit off and slid her body up against mine until her magnificent breasts rested just above my face. Then I cupped them in my hands and in turn lavished each nipple with my tongue. She gasped in surprise when I gently bit down, and then she moaned when I continued to lick and suck while I alternated pinching the nipple I wasn’t making out with.
“I want you, Marc.” Nova reached down between my legs, and I felt her hand as she lightly gripped my cock. Then with a shift in her hips she slid me into her.