Page 90 of Sway’s Peace (Delivery Service #2)

Sway

“Marks?” Sway repeated, frowning at the Alred’s mini-light form that was walking across the console with a happy jaunt. “It’s going to take her a few marks to figure it out?”

Alred shrugged. “ It’s a very complex process. Lots of glands and chemicals and bio signals involved. It’s all very involved. ”

Sway made an understanding sound as he returned to his equations.

He didn’t really have the right to say how long something should or shouldn’t take to learn.

Not when he was still learning subspace mathematics and navigation.

Even now, he was trying to shorten their swing time using a few new calculations he’d learned recently.

If Goldie needed more time, he’d rather she take it than rush and harm Grace somehow.

It was a little disappointing though. The urge to breed his female was riding him hard. At this point, he didn’t really care about much else. He wanted to see his seed dripping from her, knowing her little womb was completely vulnerable to it and that she would soon be bearing his egg.

Sway had to pause then, gritting his teeth, as his cock ached painfully, pushing against his slit, trying to emerge.

It was not a good time for distractions, and he couldn’t lose focus.

Subspace math was volatile and ever changing.

He had to be working on the equations in real time or he’d lose control of them and have to start all over.

Luckily, Alred had been studying subspace math alongside him and so he was able to take over some of the more tedious, repetitious parts allowing him to take that moment to regather his composure and thoughts and get back to work.

Life in the ship was good.

Sway was working now because he had a purpose in what he was doing, not just because he was trying to buy time to escape from his thoughts and memories. More than that, he felt like something that had been blocking him from the others was gone.

As Grace said, his crew were his brothers. They were always going to have his back, and now, he was always going to have theirs as well.

Honestly, not much would really have to change. Their battle positions, if they were ever boarded, were pre-determined and purposeful. Tanin placed them in certain areas to play to their strengths, and Sway’s strength was here, in navigation.

His job, if they were attacked, was to avoid their attackers and, if he could not and they were boarded anyway, it was to be prepared to escape the moment Alred separated their ships again.

The cockpit was far away from the only logical boarding point – the side entry door in rear stowage – so his likelihood of being in the fight was low.

When they were boarded, Tanin and the twins would deal with it, usually stopping the invaders before they could even reach the first hall.

However, before, if they made it that far, Sway would either be locked in the bridge, or he would go to the shelter room with Rok and Goldie.

Goldie was the only member of their crew that absolutely could not defend herself, so the shelter room was the best place for her on the ship.

Rok, on the other hand, was probably the most destructive member of the crew, which was why he went with her.

If things were so bad the shelter room was in danger, he was the last line of defense.

Rok, like Sway, didn't like to kill or hurt people. However, unlike Sway, he’d never shied away from doing so if necessary. Tanin, like he had with Sway, respected his desires while still utilizing him in the best way possible. And that was in protecting their most precious, fragile crew members.

Goldie, and now Grace as well. Sway knew his female had no ability to defend herself.

He would teach her the basics soon, just so she could, at the very least, escape if someone ever tried to put their hands on her again.

But his goal was to make sure she was never in that position.

Garnet, unlike the other two, never went to the shelter room, but she was around the same line of defense as Sway.

She fought one-on-one against anyone that slipped past Tanin or the twins, but she wasn’t in rear storage fighting directly.

Honestly, Sway was pretty sure the captain allowed the weakest members of any boarding party to get away just so she could contribute, but he had no proof of it besides the fact that only the weakest males, one at a time, ever made it to her.

Sway could not imagine allowing anyone dangerous near his female. But then again, Garnet was considerably more feisty than Grace.

Though little was changing from that set up, Sway was more comfortable now, knowing that he was going to be doing his part to make sure no one reached the shelter room.

He was the defensive line for anyone who got past rear stowage and made it past Garnet and Trove.

Layer after layer of protection for his female.

And he was part of that line now. No more hiding in the cockpit. No more being torn up by the guilt of knowing he could help, he should help, but he was choosing not to.

Sway might not be a proper farasie anymore, but he was what the universe had made him into, and he was no longer apologizing or hiding that fact.

The new subspace crystals were working fantastically.

It made navigation a lot easier because the feedback he was getting from them was a lot more reliable.

It was also returning to him faster, so when he sent signals to the crystals, they reacted right away, not a few moments later.

Even the improved shielding made his life easier.

The shielding didn't just protect them from subspace, but it helped stabilize the crystals further.

Just another way Grace’s presence in his life had improved it.

Mini-Alred sat down on his console, watching as he worked. They chatted occasionally, when Sway wasn’t focused on particularly difficult or sensitive equations. Alred had some random questions for him today though.

What did the ship smell like? What did their food taste like? Were their beds comfortable? Could they feel it when he adjusted the UV dosage of the lights to maintain their health? A system Sway didn't even realize was in place.

“ I do a lot of things you don’t know about.

” Mini-Alred chuckled, his voice tiny to match his miniature light form.

“ Can’t really take full credit for it though.

Any regular AI would usually be monitoring and adjusting those systems. You may grovel at my feet in awe now if you wish, or you can save it for later if that’s more convenient.

I am a benevolent all seeing, all powerful computer after all. ”

“Are the females still working?” Sway asked, ignoring him completely.

Alred chuckled, but it was an oddly wicked sound. Earning a suspicious glance from Sway.

“What’s so funny?”

“ Oh, nothing, ” he snickered, tossing his head like he might have hair he was flicking over his shoulder - which he did not.

His light form had a face now, but it was as bald as ever.

“ Just thinking how nice it is to know everything, be everywhere, be in on jokes you can’t understand.

I can speak the females’ native tongue, you know. Be jealous. ”

“You’re hiding something.”

“ Blatantly. I won’t tell you though, no matter how much you beg. But try anyway, I might still change my mind. ”

Sway did not indulge him. “You didn't say if the females were done yet.”

“ They are. Grace went back to your room. ”

“Alright. I’ll bring her third meal when I’m done.”

“ Oh, she already has something for you to eat. ”

“Great. Tell her I’ll be there in a moment.”

“ I bet she gets there before you if you keep taking your time. ”

Sway frowned, confused, as he looked down at mini-Alred. “What are you talking about?”

“ Wouldn’t you like to know? ” He grinned wickedly before poofing away, a shower of sparks falling in the shape of a laughing face.

Dramatic, as always. But what was he talking about?

Sway finished up the calculation he was working on then stepped back, allowing Alred to take over control of the automatic swing path. It still required math, but it was the repetitive, predictable kind that was best left to computers anyway.

It was evening time, but Sway wouldn’t call it late.

Everyone was still working in their various spaces throughout the ship as he walked through, heading towards his room.

He’d consider it a bit too early to retire – or even to eat, if he was being honest. But if his female was waiting for him, he’d happily join her in their room.

And even if the females hadn’t succeeded in figuring out how to restore her fertility, he wouldn’t mind another day of practice. The delay was just making him more eager. Hungrier. A heavier ache in his belly for his female he imagined would never go away.

One that turned into a gaping inferno, burning away all rational thought, when he stepped up to his door and it automatically opened, allowing him to see what was inside. Immediately, his cock erupted from his slit, so quick and painful it made him dizzy from the blood rushing out of his head.

Grace had not just returned to their room. She had been there for a while, and she had been busy.

The nesting supplies that had been stacked up in a corner, waiting for her to have the free time to put them where she pleased, had all been spread out on the bed.

He hadn’t minded she hadn’t used them before.

Even if they were just waiting in the corner, if that’s where she wanted them, that was good enough for him.