by A. C. Ellas
Gossip is proof of faster-than-light travel.
When war breaks out, the Laughing Owl is sent on a mission to discover, if they can, the system of origin of their mysterious rolling adversary.
Dying of boredom while waiting for something to happen, Captain Nicholas Steele and Astrogator Cai are not as discreet about their relationship as they should be, and soon, the whole ship knows. Certain to face the Guild’s wrath for their actions and dealing with a foe that has turned out to be tougher than they expected, will the pair manage to fly clear of their adversaries long enough to find a solution to the problems besetting them?
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Ghost Fleet
Copyright © 2015 A.C. Ellas
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0203-7
Cover art by Carmen Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Ghost Fleet
Astrogator Book 4
By
A.C. Ellas
Chapter One: The Rock
There was a quality to the sound of space that Cai found entrancing. It wasn’t sound in the conventional sense since sound waves don’t propagate in a vacuum, but it felt like a song to the Astrogator. He thought of it as the siren song of the stars, streaming patterns of energy—light—across the electromagnetic spectrum of being. Each gravitational source had its own signature, its own voice, which added to the symphony that was the Milky Way galaxy.
There were the somber, heavy notes of the singularities set athwart the susurration of the quantum soup of the big bang’s remnants like the beating of drums—or hearts. The stars were lighter notes, but with infinitely more variety—supergiants as bold as brass, main sequence stars thrumming like strings, pulsars rapping along like bells, and the woodwind voices of dwarfs and other remnants rounding out the composition.
There was a singularity at the heart of the Laughing Owl. All jump ships carried one, trapped in the gravitronic and magnetic fields even more complex than those generated by a small planet. Three fusion reactors provided the power to contain the singularity as well as provide for the rest of the ship’s functions. Cai’s singularity made music also, but only he could hear it.
The Laughing Owl, like all space-going vessels, had a double hull. Normally, the dead space between the hulls was nothing but a honeycombed safety buffer for the fragile humans within. But in the Laughing Owl’s case, as with all ships in the top-secret, non-existent Fourth Fleet, the space between the hulls was filled with equipment designed to hide their song. When all systems were active, the Laughing Owl had the electromagnetic signature of a rock. A dead, uninteresting, non-metallic rock.
After returning to Earth from their mission to Brahe, they had divested themselves of passengers and had flown with all haste to Hevetich. While they had been busy forging an alliance with a friendly alien race, other aliens had made their distinctly unfriendly presence known. The same spherical ships that Cai had encountered at Tarasch, and Nick had encountered even earlier, while still a lieutenant, had dared to attack the Eridani colonies.
The aliens had been dubbed the Rels, by what means Cai didn’t know, but several of their ships had been captured and studied. The contents of the ships had shocked the corps to the bone, and the data had instantly been classified at the highest levels of secrecy. Upon seeing the data, the congress of the United Republic had declared war on the Rels, something they hadn’t done since the last Q’Kathi war a century prior. The Laughing Owl had been tasked with discovering where these Rels came from.
After considering the systems the Rels had already hit, Cai selected several systems as likely places to pick up the trail of one of the stealthy spheres. With Nick’s help, they’d narrowed it down to one system and informed the Fourth Fleet flagship, Velociraptor, of their system of choice. The admiral had given them the green light to explore their system of choice along with a note that other ships were being deployed to investigate the remaining systems in that sector, proving that admiralty was placing a high priority on tracing these Rels to their system of origin.
Cai exited the Chamber with a feeling of dissatisfaction. Nothing had changed since the last time he’d Chambered. They were alone in this system as they had been for weeks now. He was beginning to second-guess himself. Had he picked the wrong system? Were the Rels even now jumping into the systems he’d disregarded?
He strove to be patient. They hadn’t been waiting all that long when the scale of space and the time it took to travel those immense distances was considered. He consoled himself also with the thought that Nick was waiting for him.
* * * *
They had been adrift in a sea of stars for three weeks. Not by misfortune or sheer happenstance, but by design. Nick grunted as he stared at the viewscreen, programmed to display local space as seen via the Laughing Owl’s main sensors. They drifted, with no more energy signature than a rock exhibited, in the sparse but sufficient asteroid belt of Luyten’s Star, a red dwarf system with a primary a third of the size of Sol that linked Pollux to Procyon and Sol. Both Sol and Procyon were visible on the screen, and his eyes automatically sought out the faint white gleam of the home system’s star.
Nick stared at Sol and grunted again. Above and behind him, Cai shifted position, driving his cock even more deeply into him, and Nick gasped in pleasure even as part of him wondered why he’d agreed to this. Not that he had any objection to letting Cai dominate him, he was just worried that someone might walk in on them because they weren’t in his quarters or Cai’s chambers but in one of several small viewing rooms attached to the off-duty lounge. Not only were they in a semi-public locale, Nick was strapped to a large, custom-made cushion, immobilized with his ass in the air for all the world to see, should anyone walk in. What was I thinking to agree to this? Has the boredom reached a terminal level?
But then Cai thrust again and all thoughts of mutiny fled Nick’s mind. The onslaught was exquisitely pleasurable. Cai’s long tool hit all the right places as it pistoned in and out of Nick’s clenching hole. The longer Cai used him, the more he wished it would never end. He tried to show his appreciation for Cai’s efforts by pushing back into the Gator’s thrusts, but the straps didn’t have a lot of slack for him to take advantage. Every so often, Cai would give one of his buttocks or thighs a slap to encourage him to work harder. Nick loved it when he did that. He found his gaze returning to the stars as Cai pounded him with a lusty will. He found himself hoping that someone would walk in on them, just so long as that someone would then join in.
The sweet strokes increased in depth and urgency, and Nick felt his balls, already tight and ready, being squeezed in Cai’s hand, the sharp edges of the crystal embedded in Cai’s palm digging into
his sensitive flesh. Nick orgasmed, shooting thick strings of spunk nowhere. Cai had his cock wrapped in a towel for just this reason. Now, Cai grabbed his hips and pulled him back hard as Cai thrust deeply into Nick and let loose his hot, sweet cum. He backed out slowly, and Nick groaned with every twitch and throb of that pulsating cock as it filled his rear with Cai’s essence. Cai slipped out of him, but before Nick could mourn the loss, he felt something cool, hard and large being slipped into his well-greased hole.
“It’s a plug,” Cai told him. “So you can keep my seed in you. I want you to leave it in until I say it can come out. Okay?”
The plug felt good, and the idea itself was an exciting one. Nick felt his penis stirring to new life. “Ohh, yeah, okay,” he agreed then tugged against his bonds. “You gonna untie me now?”
“Not just yet,” Cai responded and stroked Nick’s firming shaft with his hand. “I wouldn’t want to send you off unsatisfied.”
He grinned down at Nick, an expression Nick saw fleetingly before he closed his eyes as his entire body was rolled over so that he lay on his back, his limbs still strapped to the cushion. Nick felt like a turtle on its back but far more vulnerable. Cai had designed this cushion specifically for him, and it fit against him perfectly. Once the basic design was in the computer, it was the work of moments to select the material and send it to the formulator to be made.
Something soft and heavy pressed against his lips, and the scent of male musk filled his nostrils. Nick opened his eyes and his mouth, looking up at Cai’s tight, perky ass while his tongue slid up to caress Cai’s scrotum.
“Mmm, that feels nice.” Cai pressed his package more firmly against Nick’s mouth and moaned happily when Nick slurped his sac into his mouth. Cai rested his hands on Nick’s knees and kept himself perfectly balanced over Nick’s head while the bound man suckled on his balls.
Nick could feel the cool hardness of the crystal digging into his left knee as Cai rested his hands on Nick’s knees, which were strapped to the sides of the cushion. The Gator’s sac was a filling mouthful, but the salty musk of it tasted so good. Nick sucked with a will, trying to get every last bit of flavor from the treat, ignoring the wet, little slurping noises he was making and the drool leaking out of the corners of his mouth. Cai’s erection pressed against his chin and the base of his throat, an unsubtle hint of what he’d be doing next.
When Cai tugged upward, Nick allowed the balls to escape the clutches of his mouth. Cai shifted, without moving his hands, to look down at Nick beneath him. He smiled. “Did you like that?”
“Mmhmm,” Nick agreed, licking his stretched lips.
“Want some more?”
“I want your cock,” Nick replied.
The head of Cai’s erect pole brushed against Nick’s lips.
He licked it as it went by, tasting the remnants of their lovemaking still coating the Gator’s tool.
“This? You want to suck this?”
“Oh, yes, please. Very much.” Nick strained to reach the prize, which was tantalizingly held just out of his reach.
Cai’s chuckle was soft but perfectly audible to Nick. The Gator shifted, leaning forward to rest his torso against the cushion, bringing his cock into position for Nick to worship. And worship it he did.
First, he licked every trace of their lovemaking from the hot, firm flesh. Next, he covered the shaft with kisses to show his love and submission. Only then did Nick part his lips over Cai’s shapely head, his tongue flicking across the crest and the salty slit before undulating against the sensitive underside. He sealed his lips around the head and sucked in, taking Cai’s moan as evidence of his lover’s pleasure.
Cai pushed at him impatiently, and Nick acceded to the demand, allowing more of Cai’s meat into his mouth. He used his tongue to massage every bit of that shaft that he could reach, bobbing his head in time to Cai’s short thrusts. He alternated this with periods of intense sucking, during which Cai would remain relatively motionless. The invasion of Cai’s cock continued until Nick popped it past his uvula and down into his throat. Cai thrust in the rest of the way, until his soft scrotum buried Nick’s nose and his blond pubes rubbed against Nick’s chin.
“Your mouth feels so good,” Cai told him as he started rocking in and out of Nick’s throat.
Nick was entirely too occupied to reply with anything more sophisticated than a moaning sound and some grunts. Cai leaned over further and Nick gasped around his mouthful as he felt Cai’s soft lips and hot tongue playing on his erection. Cai swallowed him and Nick’s back arched involuntarily from the stimulation, and he almost choked on Cai’s cock as it plunged back down into his throat. Nick forced himself to pay attention to what he was doing and not on what Cai was doing to him. He sucked and bobbed his head with a will, trying to keep his moans of pleasure to a minimum as Cai mirrored him.
The Gator came first, flooding Nick’s mouth with his hot spunk, and Nick gulped the salty-sweet protein down. Cai pulled away from his mouth then turned around to kneel between Nick’s legs as he went down deeper on Nick’s cock, and now, the captain was free to indulge in his own pleasure. He whispered, “That feels so good. Your mouth’s so hot, so wonderful. I love you, Cai.”
Cai tapped a finger on the base of the butt plug, and a shock of sensation raced up his spine then back down to his balls. Nick cried out in orgasmic ecstasy, and his cock went off like an ancient machine gun, explosively spewing his milky load all over Cai’s mouth and face, for the Gator couldn’t contain all that Nick gave him.
Cai looked up at him, completely unconcerned by the facial he’d gotten, and laughed in delight. “There, my dear. Isn’t that better?”
“Much,” agreed Nick cheerfully, and he felt the bonds release. Cai had enough telekinetic power for that—and to rescue the occasional dropped item before it hit the floor. He was limited by the weight he could carry and the distance he could act at—unless he was pulling on the singularity. Then, all bets were off. Nick sat up, stretched then gathered Cai into his arms for a cuddle.
The Gator snuggled against him with a sigh of contentment. Cai’s awesome psionic powers, most notably his telepathy, which had an unaugmented range of a hundred klicks or so, kept him apart from others. Nick was an anomaly in that he possessed a natural dense mental shield, so he was relatively safe from the enormous raw power of Cai’s mind even in the throes of passion. And anyhow, Cai was worth the risk. His arms tightened around the warm, hard body of his love. His eyes remained on the sight of Sol, his mind and heart on the man beside him.
Chapter Two: The Game
Another week slowly passed, and now, Nick was so bored he’d taken to pacing the corridors whenever he wasn’t harassing the bridge crew. His snap drills were so frequent that the crew was starting to mutter. As much as he loved Cai, he didn’t think it would be wise, or even possible, for them to spend all of their off-duty hours in bed together. People would notice, for one thing.
He decided to make a virtue of his pacing—he studied everything. He opened every door, poked into every cabinet and access panel. He learned every corner and odd angle of the ship in far more detail than required of a captain. He even had Cai pull of the schematics for the shipnet and the navnet and learned to recognize the various conduits and nodes for each. It wasn’t enough.
Cai had plenty to do. He was the Astrogator, which meant that he was the ship. He spent long hours, way more than strictly necessary, in the Chamber, linked to the ship, soaking in the data from the sensors and long-range probes they’d scattered about the system’s perimeter. Nick thought that if he were the Gator, he’d be spending just as much time in the Chamber as Cai was. Unfortunately, he wasn’t an Astrogator, so he lacked that route of escape.
By the end of the fifth week, Nick was ready to climb the bulkheads. He’d memorized the entire ship from bow to stern. He’d studied the file of every one of the three hundred souls aboard and spoken with each individually. He’d conducted a full-on battle sim
ulation drill during the late watch, rousting the entire crew from their bunks just to see how long it would take. The muttering had gone up several notches after that, and finally, the XO stepped in.
“Captain,” Juan said casually as they sat in easy camaraderie in the off-duty lounge, matching each other beer for beer. “Have you tried the sims yet?”
“Can’t say that I have,” Nick replied and signaled for a refill. “They any good?” Most ships had simulation scenarios used for training, and they were usually pretty bad. Most Astrogators didn’t devote a lot of processor time or memory to them, leaving them slow, flat and listless. Plus, the scripts were usually badly written.
“Best I’ve ever seen,” Juan told him. “Apparently, our Cai’s a history buff, and when the science team asked what sort of appreciation gift they could give him, he asked for good history sims.”
It was traditional for a civilian team to give a thank-you gift to the ship that had supported their mission. Nick had received a very nice collection of antique books from those same scientists and the rest of the crew had received a pay bonus from the institute that had funded the mission. Nick hadn’t asked Cai what he’d gotten, and the Gator hadn’t divulged the information to him, either. It surprised him that Juan knew about it and also a little hurt that Juan knew and he didn’t. “How did you find out about this?” he asked casually.
“The lead scientist, what was his name—Darwin? He gave me the data cube to pass on to Cai, told me what it was so I wouldn’t worry they were trying to attack Cai or something.”
Nick relaxed immediately with a feeling of chagrin. It was entirely appropriate for Dr. Hull to give the gift to the First Officer to vet before passing it on to the Astrogator. It wasn’t something that the ship’s captain need be troubled with, either. “Of course,” he murmured to himself.