Page 10

She was exquisite. The thought repeated itself as he explored her folds with his fingers and tongue. He never would have guessed that under the buttoned-up scientist was a woman who enthusiastically responded to every touch, every lick.

He studied her pants, her moans, her movements, wanting to be an expert in giving her pleasure. He took his time, his control in full force now that he had her beneath him. His hands roamed her body, exploring her soft skin and luscious curves.

She was perfect.

After she came a third time he gave her a brief respite as he kissed his way up her body, shucking his pants along the way. He paused, the head of his cock poised at her entrance, everything in him wanting to surge forward into heaven.

“You’re sure?” His nanites cursed his hesitation, but he held fast.

In response, she grabbed both his ass cheeks and yanked as her hips came up.

His eyes crossed and he swore to the stars that his brain and his nanites stopped working for several moments.

She giggled beneath him; the movement causing her pussy walls to flutter.

“Did I break you?”

He managed a strangled, “Yes,” before his body instinctively took over and he began to move. He tried to hold back, to linger over their first time together, but the need pent up over the last weeks had other ideas.

“Touch your clit, Razili. I’m not going to last.”

He felt her hand snake between them and lifted more of his weight on his arms to give her access. In moments, her head went back, and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her walls gripped tight as she came, and his orgasm thundered through him, blanking his brain in its intensity.

He had the presence of mind to roll them so he didn’t crush her when he collapsed. He surrendered willingly as the release, coupled with the exhaustion of fighting rhun, took him under.

He woke to the sounds of Razili speaking softly and Irul cooing in response. He sat up and watched as she rubbed her nose along its cheek. Whatever gene evolved in human women that allowed them to see all manner of creatures as friends was beyond him.

She smiled at him. “Good morning.”

He startled. Surely he hadn’t slept a full day?

She laughed. “In a manner of speaking. It’s actually late evening, this planet’s time.”

“You should have woken me.”

“Why? You needed the rest. Besides,”—she waved at the monitors—“nothing new to report. Just the same few plant species over and over again.”

He studied the screens for a moment. “Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe instead of looking at the surface, we should focus above… or below it.” He stood and sent the scan in reverse over the previous area. “There,” he pointed to a dark, misshapen oval.

“A cave of some sort?”

“It would make sense. This is near where we first saw Irul, and one animal I believe to be a genetic ancestor, the rhurzi, make their nests underground.”

She nodded. “Let’s hope there is different plant life underground.” She stood and grabbed her pack but he stopped her.

“We’ll go at first light.”

The heavy backpack landed with a thunk . “Right. Okay.”

She looked so crestfallen he couldn’t help but laugh. Before she expressed her outrage, he picked her up and tossed her onto the bunk.

She squealed. “What are you doing?”

“Tiring you enough to sleep.” He gave her a wicked grin and watched as color bloomed in her cheeks.

Then he made her squeal and moan until she was too tired to move.

The brief rest he’d had earlier energized him, so while she slept he studied the presumed cave and readied their supplies. They would dress warmly and pack light. He couldn’t be sure how quickly the cave would narrow.

Once he was satisfied, he sent the sensors north, to the Scozid outpost. Activity suggested it was still a skeleton crew, and they weren’t aware of his and Razili’s presence.

He wouldn’t linger on the surface longer than necessary.

He felt sure they would patrol this sector eventually.

They needed to find what she was looking for before the Scozid caught wind of them—or Kiran sent a search party after them.

Razili woke as purple tinted light filtered through the trees that shielded the fighter from view. They donned their packs and struck out for the cave with little fanfare. He felt a new urgency, and from her demeanor he surmised she did as well.

Irul silently flew beside or above them until they neared the cave entrance. Then he grew more excited, chattering and swooping and randomly disappearing in shadow before emerging on silent wings.

The temperature dropped several degrees as they stepped into the dark interior. Calyx reached in his pack for a light, but stopped when Irul let out a high, clicking whistle. The walls, ceiling and floor of the cave exploded in a myriad of colored lights.

Razili stared in wonder as she spun to take it all in. “It’s bioluminescent.” She darted from one color to the next, taking small samples of each. “This is more fungi or moss-like than plant, but it seems to have a silicate… skeleton, for lack of a better word. Like a giant diatom.”

He nodded like he understood, and his nanites were valiantly trying to keep up with the science but he quieted them. It was enough that she was excited.

Irul disappeared into the depths of the cave before reappearing and flying off again. He repeated the maneuver several times before Razili said, “I think she wants us to follow her.”

Calyx was unsure. If the cave had a sudden drop or chasm, it would be unwise to continue on.

Razili had no such qualms and barreled past him.

“Razili, wait! We need to be cautious.”

She slowed, but didn’t stop. Every time the lights dimmed, Irul would whistle-click and brighten the way ahead. Until, after several minutes of walking deeper into the cave, she let them extinguish completely.

Calyx rooted in his pack for a light, but before he switched it on, Razili laid her hand on his forearm.

She leaned into him and said, “listen,” in barely a whisper.

Then he heard it. The distinct murmur of Scozid conversation.

Her eyes adjusted and Razili could see the faint outline of a curve in the cave that blocked them from view. Together, she and Calyx crept forward. She could see Irul’s shadow pacing them from the corner of her eye.

Calyx pushed her low as they neared the edge and both held their breath as they leaned for a view.

A dozen Scozid were scattered in a large, open cavern, chipping at the walls with lasers and metal tools.

She hadn’t seen one since the attack on the Shangris .

Their large bulbous heads and lanky arms atop tentacles truly did give them the appearance of squid.

The cave walls turned bright purple where they struck, the bioluminescent fungi lending them the appearance of bleeding.

Razili covered her mouth to hold in her gasp of shock. Irul’s shadow fluttered nearby and anger surged in her chest. She’d never felt a depth of hate so strong. This species took without regard for anything but themselves.

One of the Scozid let out a shout and the others stopped, rushing to its location. A small cavity had been discovered. After what seemed like a debate, one of the Scozid reluctantly sent a tentacle inside. It screamed and pulled back a nub.

The others backed away and another argument ensued. One threw up several tentacles and then left down a passage Razili hadn’t noticed. There must be another entrance to the cave.

Calyx tugged on her shoulder, but she shook her head. She wasn’t leaving until she saw what they were after.

The Scozid returned with a long metal pole. It shoved the pole into the hole, twisting it until the opening widened enough to fit. A high-pitched squeal caused the Scozid to back away again.

Irul’s shadows flickered, and Razili heard a tiny whimper.

Whatever was in that hole was alive .

She turned to Calyx, who shook his head with an expression of sadness.

Her muscles locked. She could not—would not—sit by and watch them torture the creature.

Red haze blanketed her vision and a fury she’d never felt coursed through her veins.

Watching them torture whatever was in that cavity was too much.

It called up all the feelings she’d carefully repressed when hearing tales of the suffering Brak, her friend Anela’s rhun, endured at their hands.

Of hearing Torvid, Cora’s preuvret whimper and whine in her sleep as she dreamed of what they’d done to her.

Of the countless other horrors she’d learned had been committed by the Scozid.

She yanked Calyx’s grajz from its holster before he could stop her.

She stomped into the main cavern and yelled, “Hey!”

All twelve Scozid turned in shock and she opened fire. She heard Calyx cussing behind her, but she never let off the trigger. She swept the rail gun from one side of the cavern to the other. A sick satisfaction bloomed every time one of the Scozid exploded in a rush of goo.

She was dimly aware of Calyx going after a runner, while she focused on the other side of the area. When the gun finally spun down, she thought she must have gotten most of them. Her hands shook and her breath sawed in and out of her lungs.

Calyx reappeared, clearly furious. “That was incredibly stupid, Razili! You could have been injured, or,” his eyes closed, “or killed.”

“I couldn’t let them.” Her voice cracked on a sob. “They were killing it.”

Tears ran down her face. Her fingers went numb and sent the grajz to the ground with a clang that echoed. Then she was wrapped in Calyx’s arms. She clung to him; her face buried in his chest as the bravery of the moment turned into full body shakes.

His hands moved up and down her back, and he whispered soothing words in her ear. He stopped and pushed her back, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at the cave wall.