by Elin Wyn
Annie reached the top and he helped pull her over the edge and away. He was half dragging, half helping her away from the edge when I got there and rolled over myself. I scrambled from the edge of the crater and looked back, but saw nothing.
I heard the sounds of it retreating back into the hole, strange, terrifying. The massive size of whatever that was, at least in my imagination, was daunting.
I looked back at Annie to see her struggling to catch her breath, the intern stretched on his back next to her.
“We’re okay,” I said. “We’re okay. It’s gone.” I tried to catch my own breath, using the technique that Vrehx had taught us.
I cleared my mind, focused on Annie, and forced myself to take deep breaths. She had been watching me and must have decided to mimic me, for her own breathing slowed down, as well.
And as the panic, fear, and utter terror began to fade away, it was replaced with worry, anger, and this new kind of terror that I couldn’t describe.
The intern must have seen the look on my face change because he tried to scramble in front of Annie.
Not the brightest move.
“What in the name of everything were you thinking? How could you possibly come here alone and think that you would be able to survive if something was here?” I demanded.
Then, as they both opened their mouths to speak, I yelled at them again. “NO! No! No, I don’t want to hear it. No matter what excuse you have, it’s not good enough to justify this kind of action. I swear, if the two of you were part of my command, I would shoot you out of a rekking airlock for your stupidity. AHH!”
I got to my feet, untangled myself from my gear, and marched over to them. I stared the intern down, not difficult ,since he looked like the type of person that would do whatever you wanted in order for you to like him, and brought my voice down to just over a whisper filled with ice.
“You, my moronic student idiot…you will quickly gather together all the gear, place it neatly in my shuttle, and then take the shuttle you two arrived in and return it. Do you understand?”
I never knew a human could nod their head that fast. I thought he was going to shake his own head off.
“Go,” I said quietly. He extricated himself from Annie and rushed to do exactly as he was told. Meanwhile, I helped Annie out of her harness and checked her quickly for injuries.
“I’m okay,” she insisted as I did a quick field exam, but I wasn’t listening. I continued to look her over and, satisfied that nothing was broken, missing, or bleeding, I stepped back and looked at her.
“Are you okay?” I asked, wanting nothing more than to wrap her in my arms, refuse to let her go. “Really?”
She nodded. “Just scared. And a little freaked out.”
She watched as the intern raced through packing everything up, placing it in my shuttle. He moved faster than I would’ve thought possible and before long, he was in the air and flying away.
“What were you thinking?” I asked, back under control.
Barely.
She turned to look at me, chin up, ready for a fight. “I wanted to get more information. I was trying to help.”
“You can’t just do something like that without me. What if I hadn’t gotten here in time? What if those…” I stopped.
Annie looked at me, her face as perplexed as my mind. I couldn’t remember what had attacked her. I just knew she had been in the hole, then we were up here.
“I…I…” I stuttered.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“What attacked you down there?” I asked her.
She looked at me, then at the crater, then me again.
“I…I don’t remember. I remember going down for samples, then something grabbed me. You were there, then we were up here.”
“That’s what I remember. And that’s all.” As we stared at one another, each lost for words, my mind could only think of one question.
What did we just fight?
Annie
Karzin climbed into the transport unit and powered it up. I could practically feel the rage pouring off his body as he sat next to me.
We flew over the desert in a tense silence. It was unbearable.
“If you want to yell at me some more, you can,” I said quietly.
“I want to, but what’s the point?” Karzin snapped.
“It might make you feel better,” I shrugged.
Karzin fixed me with a piercing glare.
“Make me feel better?” His lip curled up in a snarl. “You know what would make me feel better? Knowing that you aren’t going to do something stupid and dangerous every time I turn my back!”
“I’m sorry I came out here alone,” I said. “I know it was a stupid idea. I know I don’t have the field experience to handle something like this.”
“It’s not about your field experience!” Karzin snapped. “Why didn’t you wait for me? I would’ve gone down there and collected samples for you.”
“That’s exactly why I didn’t want you to come,” I replied. “The last thing I wanted was for you to risk your neck again.”
“Your logic is flawed, even for a human,” Karzin groaned with frustration.
“General Rouhr sent you to Einhiv without me. I couldn’t just sit idly and wait around for someone else to tell me what to do. The moment General Rouhr said Einhiv had been attacked, I knew more people had died. I thought that if I flew out here and collected a few more samples from farther down, I might have a chance at figuring out what’s doing this to people.”
My thoughts doubled back and my words tumbled over each other as I tried to explain my reasoning. “I was running and hiding through the entire Xathi invasion. I’m not prepared to do that again, not when I might have the power to do something about it.”
Karzin let out a heavy sigh before guiding the transport unit back down to the ground. I looked around at our surroundings. We were close to Nyheim now, the forest was thick around us. I didn’t see any signs of civilization, though. We must’ve landed right between settlements.
“Why are we landing here?” I asked.
“I did not want to get distracted by our...discussion,” he answered.
“Too angry to fly and fight?”
He stared straight ahead. “I understand that feeling of uselessness. I probably understand it better than you do.” His condescending tone irked me, but I stayed silent. I wanted to mend the rift between us, not widen it. Besides, he was right. I saw how helpless he felt when he searched for his family back on the Aurora. “But that does not give you the right to put yourself at risk like that. You don’t get to do whatever you want in the name of your cause.”
“That’s exactly what you were doing when you refused to leave the Aurora!” I snapped before I could stop myself. “I admit that what I did wasn’t a smart idea. I’m sorry that I scared you, I’m sorry that I almost got you killed, but that does not mean you can act like a hypocrite.”
“That’s different,” Karzin said. “I wasn’t risking my life or anyone else’s on the Aurora.”
“I’m sorry!” I exclaimed again. “How many more times do you need me to say it? What more do you need me to do to prove to you that I’m sorry? Do you want me to throw out the samples? Will that make us even?”
“Of course not,” Karzin scoffed and looked away.
“Then what?” I snapped. “I’m sorry! I’ll say it a hundred more times if you need me to. I’m sorry I went to the crater without you. I’m sorry that I didn’t want to put you at risk on my behalf.”
“You should’ve let me,” Karzin replied. “I should’ve been down there with you.” He gripped the steering mechanism so hard that his knuckles went pale. I feared he would snap it in two if he didn’t loosen his grip.
“Why does this bother you so much?” I asked. “Is it because you had to rescue me?”
“No,” Karzin said through clenched teeth. “I’m happy I was there to rescue you.”
“Could’ve fooled me,”
I sighed.
“I’m angry because I’ve never felt fear like that before.” His answer caught me by surprise.
“What?”
“Knowing you were down there alone, hearing you scream, knowing how much pain you were in, was one of the worst experiences of my life. As I dove into the crater, I was consumed with fear that I wouldn’t get to you soon enough. That you would slip right through my fingers and be lost to me forever.”
His voice was quiet now, almost a whisper. Something inside me softened. I reached out and placed my hand on his arm.
“When that thing wrapped around my ankle, the only thing I could think of was that I’d never see you again,” I murmured.
Karzin turned to look at me, his brow furrowed and anxious. “Annie, I have feelings for you. Serious ones.” I felt my heart skip a beat. “And somehow all it means is I’m afraid, knowing that thing can pop up at any moment and take you from me forever.”
My breath caught in my chest as I tried to speak. “I feel the same way about you, Karzin,” I whispered. “Whenever I don’t know what to do, or if I feel afraid, I think about you. When I want to laugh, I think about you. You’re the first thing I think about in the morning.”
Karzin twisted in his seat to face me. I did the same. “Don’t ever do anything like that again. Understood?”
“I won’t. I promise.” I nodded vigorously.
“Good,” he sighed. “Now, come here so I can kiss you.”
I leaned across the seat and let him cup my face in his hands and bring my lips to his. He kissed me so passionately that if he hadn’t been holding me to him, the sheer force of it would’ve knocked me back into my seat.
I grabbed at his shirt to pull myself closer, but the center console was in the way. Karzin pulled away long enough to grab my hips and gently pull me across the console and into his lap. He pulled me in for another kiss. I opened my mouth, tasting his tongue.
My blood began to thrum in my veins as my breath quickened.
“I was so scared I’d never see you again,” I whispered between kisses.
“You never need to be scared of that,” Karzin assured me. He planted a trail of hot kisses down my neck that made my body tingle all over. I ran my hands along his chest, arms, shoulders, and back, marveling over the smooth planes and sculpted muscles of his body. I wanted to feel more.
I shifted so I could press my body closer to his. I felt something hard press against my thigh. I looked into Karzin’s eyes with a wicked grin, before taking my hand and pressing it against the stiffness in his trousers. Karzin let out a groan as his hands snaked up my shirt.
“I’ve had dreams like this,” he chuckled.
“This is better than a dream.” I gently nibbled his ear, watching the goosebumps appear on his skin. With a snarl, he lifted my shirt over my head and practically tore my tank off. My breasts were exposed to him and he immediately began kissing and caressing them, which made me shudder with pleasure.
“Let me take you,” he growled in my ear. “I need you, need to feel all of you. Now.”
My words caught in my throat, I could only nod. The transport unit was small, with a low ceiling. Not at all an ideal location, but waiting until we returned to the Aurora felt unbearable.
He turned me until I sat in his lap with my back against his chest. He pushed the waistband of my pants down until they were out of the way. His thick fingers stroked between my thighs, closer and closer to my wet folds, making me writhe in his arms. I lifted my body as much as I could, grabbing onto anything within reach to help me support myself.
He teased me until I was panting. My breath was ragged when I felt one of his fingers inside my pussy.
“Karzin…” I trailed off as another finger went in, stimulating me. I bit his ear and his fingers began to thrust in and out.
“Fuck,” I moaned.
“Let yourself go, Annie,” he growled.
His fingers drove harder, grinding into me, demanding a response.
I bit my lip as my pussy clenched around his fingers and I came.
Hard.
My vision clouded as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through me.
Behind me, Karzin undid the top of his trousers and positioned himself against me.
In this position, I couldn’t see his cock, but I felt every inch as he slowly pulled me down. Every bulge, every ridge hit against my sensitized clit as he stretched me, filling me completely.
Slowly, he guided me down until he was seated deep inside me. I shuddered at the sensation of him. He nipped and licked at the curve of my neck as, with one hand, he caressed my breasts, with the other lifting me at the hip, pulling me back down harder with each thrust.
The windows of the transport unit fogged as our breathing grew heavy and ragged. I leaned back against him, twisting my neck to bring his mouth to mine and kissing him deeply while he thrust into me again and again. His hand left my breasts and traveled down to play between my thighs. I arched my back, crying out in pleasure that was so intense stars appeared behind my eyelids.
Something deep in my core exploded, consuming all of my senses. He held me against him as he sunk deeper inside me, his breath hot in my ear. With a final thrust, I felt him reach his own height of pleasure.
I gripped a metal rung above me to keep myself upright as my muscles turned to jelly. Karzin wrapped his arms around me, holding me to him and kissing my back and shoulders.
“Are you still angry with me?” I asked, breathless and unable to stop smiling.
Karzin’s laugh reverberated through me.
“If this is how we solve our problems, I think we should fight every day.”
Karzin
“I don’t know what to do with you,” General Rouhr said as I sat in his office. “While you did right in rescuing Annie, you abandoned your assignment in Einhiv.”
“My sincerest apologies for disobeying your orders, sir, but I made a judgment call with the knowledge that the situation in Einhiv was handled.”
He was right, however. I had disobeyed orders and abandoned my post. Although, if I had not abandoned my post, Annie would surely be dead, and we would have absolutely no information about anything.
“I’ve always wondered what kind of general I would be, what kind of leader would I turn myself into to make sure I got the best out of my people.” He got up from his chair, walked over to a nearby cabinet, and pulled out two glasses and a bottle. He poured the dark amber-colored liquid about one-third of the way in each glass, put the stopper back in the bottle, and brought the glasses back to his desk, setting one in front of me. “I’ve been a military man for far too long, yet I’ve never been a stickler for the rules if my people could justify their actions. What you did? That was smart. You made the right decision, and I commend you for that.”
I was confused. “Then, if you don’t mind the question, why are you reprimanding me?”
“Who said I was reprimanding you?” He took a drink. “I was simply asking what I should do with you. Karzin, I know that you’ve been struggling lately, and I know that you’re angry with us for not making a priority of finding a way home. I’m not happy with it either. I’m really not.” He leaned forward on his desk, hands clasped in front of him. “I know you never wanted to be part of this work because it pulled you away from your search, but I needed the real Karzin back.”
Ah. This wasn’t a reprimand, this was Rouhr being a leader. “I understand that, sir, and…thank you.”
“For what?”
It was my turn to take a drink. It was good, smooth. The humans knew their alcohol. “For pulling me out of my own head. For making me realize that what I was doing was more harmful than helpful.”
“Well, about that. Your satellite scanning grid is fantastic.” I was a bit surprised. How did he know? “Fen filled me in on your search patterns and style and, while I’m not happy with how much it consumed you and changed you, I am impressed with how much space you’ve charted. Fen tells me that if and
when we get back into space, we’ll have a highly detailed map to start with.”
That’s how he knew. I should have figured Rouhr and Fen were in contact with one another. “Thank you, sir. In my obsession, I didn’t want to leave anything overlooked. I may have taken things a bit far in the process.”
Rouhr finished his drink, raised his eyebrow to ask if I wanted another and, when I shook my head, he nodded and put his own glass away. “You’ve changed, my friend. You’re not the same man you were a year ago.”
“Neither are you, if you don’t mind my saying.”
He laughed, a nice hearty laugh. “That is probably the most obvious statement either of us could have made. Who would have thought that we would end up on a mysterious planet and make friends with the people that lived there?”
“Not just friends, look at you and Team One.”
“Very true,” he said with a knowing nod. “And to think, not only has Team One found women to love that aren’t of their species, but one of them is about to become a father!”
“Yeah. I never had Vrehx down as the fatherly type. He was more military than you,” I chuckled.
“Well, that’s not hard to do.” He then looked at me with a face that made no sense to me. “What about you?”
“Sir?”
“What about you?” He repeated, emphasizing each word. “You left your post to go chasing after a gut feeling about Annie. Would you have done that if she meant nothing to you?”
And there it was.
The idea that I, much like Team One and the general himself, had fallen in love with a human woman. I had never thought it possible. I wasn’t a xenophobe, I had many friends amongst the other races.
I just never imagined that I would love anyone other than a Valorni woman. I had spent my entire life fully believing that any woman that wasn’t Valorni wasn’t worth my effort.
I had come to despise the human women for what they had done to Team One because of that belief. They were fantastic women, and much more capable than I had given them credit for. I respected them greatly, but they had ruined the men, according to my alcohol- and grief-addled mind.