Chapter Six
Aubrey was carried to a part of the station she barely remembered. The shuttle area. The VIP transport she had arrived in had taken her to an empty berth near medical.
Being cuddled off the station was strange. “So how long can you be away from your worlds before you feel you have to return?”
“I have been gone for decades at a time. We do have long-range communication, you know.” He smiled slightly.
“Ah. Sorry. Industrial but primitive over here. We had just sent exploratory vessels into space and managed to bring most of the pilots home alive.”
“Interesting. I will look up your world and its accomplishments.”
They settled in the Hmrain seat on the shuttle, and he eased her onto the seat next to his. The ladies were escorted to other seats.
The crew confirmed that everyone was fastened in and nodded to the pilot. Aubrey listened to the clearance request. To her surprise, the door opened again, and station staff came through to verify them all.
Vress smiled. “Your kind are being frequently stolen. They are verifying the life signs match the shuttle count.”
When the inspectors were done, they bowed low to Vress and again to Aubrey. With that done, they left the shuttle, and the crew resealed the layers that would stand between them and space.
They got the clearance, the crew settled down, and then they were dropped out of the bay and fell into a field that caught them and released them as the station rotated.
When they were clear, the engines hummed, and they saw Earth for the last time as they pulsed toward the huge warship waiting for them.
Aubrey had to know. “So the uniform your crew is wearing, is that because of your hair, eyes, and skin?”
Vress nodded. “It is.”
“Nice.”
“When you and I have arrived and I have introduced you to my people, any guards or crew or staff you have will have the same uniform with stripes of pearly white and black.”
“Classy.”
He chuckled.
“So is this the standard parking method? Bring the warship and then use a shuttle to get around?”
“Yes, many worlds only let their own vehicles land on the surface. You dock your shuttle at a station and then get to a shuttle that takes you to the surface. You coordinate to leave the same way.”
“Okay. Useful information.”
“I will be with you if you choose to travel.”
“I would really like to see Aten. Harwin and the big gold goof have called me every other day, if not every day.”
“Ah, because the oracle appeared.”
“Yes. It has made me wary of medical devices.”
“I don’t understand.”
She explained about the medical units and people being near death and the heavy reprogramming that ended in the alterations of the sort she had.
“Harwin is one of the transformed. She and a friend were crushed by cargo that one of the crew released too early. Harwin got tremendous strength, and her friend is pyrokinetic. Harwin can also fly now, and she can clap and shear objects a good distance away in two.”
He smiled. “Then we shall visit Aten. I believe the ladies with us would enjoy seeing a world with their people alive and whole.”
Aubrey twisted around in her harness. “Hey, does anyone want to go to a world that has an ancient Hmrain named Ra and his Terran queen consort, Harwin? There are a few thousand humans there as well. Oh, and a few giant pyramids.”
Whisper asked, “Are there tourists?”
“Just us, I think.”
She nodded. “Yes, please.”
The other ladies nodded with smiles.
Vress nodded. “We will have to get some designs from home for the fabricator so you are all comfortable. Aten is very warm.”
“How far is it?”
“It varies from moment to moment. In my vessel, it is about ten days.”
“Varies?”
He smiled. “The planets are not fixed in space. A system works together and moves together, but they are never in the same place moment to moment.”
“Oh. I am going to have to look into stellar cartography.”
“Part of your education?”
“Absolutely.” She smiled. “I will add it to my list of things to learn.”
He laughed. “It is a good thing you have a long lifespan.”
“Yes. That is rather handy.”
From behind them, she heard, “Aubrey, what happened to Avery? She just left?”
“She was taken to her new home by her grandmother-in-law. This is her Hmrain descendant. He’s a superhero.” She brought the image up and held it so the ladies could see it.
There were a few oohs, and Aubrey pulled her tablet back. “I needed her settled before I could relax. She tends to use me for her focus, and I am done with that. Now, she has a new focus, a new life without me as her distorted mirror.”
She settled as the warship got larger. Vress took her hand and said, “Circumspect answer.”
“Thank you. I avoided using the words ‘focused, raging bitch’ so I am congratulating myself.”
There was a snicker from behind them. Vress smiled. “Only a few minutes to the ship. The crew has been warned about your people.”
“Warned?”
Vress looked at her. “I was woefully unprepared, so I thought it only fair to give them some warning.”
She covered her mouth and smiled. “Wise. We are like untrained puppies. Everything is new and interesting. That will make for some interesting hybrids with some of the ladies and the guys for that matter.”
“Will we have little hybrids?”
“If we do, they won’t stay little for long.” She smirked.
“Have you seen children?”
She looked at him and smiled. “All over the place. Your population is very active.”
“Our children.”
She leaned toward him. “Ask me when we are alone.”
The bulk of the warship loomed, and the humans got quiet. This was when shit got real. Spaceships, new species, and no Earth to hide on. Even broken and dead, the Earth was the devil they knew. Now, they were in for a whole new range of devils, and they had to learn fast.
Inside the ship, the walls were lined with crew. For the first time, Aubrey looked at the species with pewter skin and black hair on average. There were other races in the mix, like Alyssa’s likely bondmate.
Alyssa was looking intently, and she paused and blushed when she saw him. His eyes were glowing as he looked at her, and Aubrey smiled. “Vress, is there someone who can take the ladies to a fabricator?”
The crew gasped at her informality.
She put her hand on the back of Vress’s wrist. “My lord.”
He snorted. “I am going to have to address your etiquette, Aubrey.”
“That is Lady Oracle to even you.”
He stared and snorted. “Just so.”
“Sounds like you need remedial lessons.” She kept her head high and her smile polite.
He laughed. “We will take the courses together.”
They began to walk toward the crew, and everyone snapped to attention. They paused near the captain. Vress said, “We need a few crewmen to take the ladies to the fabricators and get them wardrobes, and then they need quarters close together.”
Alyssa’s male said, “I volunteer.”
Aubrey whispered. “Wow. Shocker.”
Four other males volunteered, and one of them was the captain. Aubrey smiled in greeting. “Captain Asu-ra, it is delightful to meet you. I have been hearing about you for minutes.”
The man grinned. “You speak frankly, my lady.”
“I try to. Lying is too much trouble.”
“Will you join me at the captain’s table tonight, Lady Aubrey?”
“Yes, and I will bring my accessory.” She leaned her head against Vress’s shoulder.
The Hmrain looked at her in astonishment. She fluttered her lashes.
He wrapped an arm around her waist. “We are going to discuss deportment. We will see you in five hours. He lifted her and walked through the ship halls with long strides. “Set course for Aten.”
“Yes, Lord Vress.”
Aubrey kept track of the pathway to Vress’s quarters, which were now going to be her quarters.
She was a little nervous. Seeing him over, next to, and inside her was different than feeling it firsthand.
The visions were annoying in their detail, with no sound or subtitles.
She was assuming she and Vress were lovers.
He could just have repeatedly been tripping and falling on her naked.
Vress shifted her in his arms and palmed the lock. When the doors opened, he walked inside the large chamber, continued until they were next to the bed, and he eased her to her feet.
“Now, Aubrey, I would enjoy seeing you unclothed.”
She looked at him and inclined her head. “Yes, Lord Vress, or would you prefer Overlord?”
He smiled as she eased the dress off her shoulders, and it slithered to her hips.
He blinked. “You have a mark.”
“Stamped from the factory the long way round.” She worked the dress off her hips and was standing in front of him in her little princess shoes.
She toed off the shoes and stepped out of the fabric.
“Turn.”
She slowly rotated, and he gripped her shoulders when she faced away from him, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck.
She shivered, and he moved from her neck to her left shoulder, licking and sucking his way over to the right.
“Overlord?”
“Vress. Address me as Vress.”
“Vress, then. Are you tasting me?”
He chuckled and turned her to face him. “I am. Objection?”
“No, simple clarification.”
He kissed her, and her body began to tingle across her shoulders. Heat was spreading from the path his mouth had taken, and she inhaled against his lips.
He lifted his head and smiled. “It is nice to know that the effect still works.”
She whispered, “Effect?”
“The designers provided me with a nerve agent to arouse my lover in a hurry. I was busy defending several worlds when I began my time in the universe, and I needed speed to gain the benefits of pleasure.”
“Oh. That’s unfortunate.”
“I wish to take my time with you, Aubrey, but not the first time.”
“Very well, what would you prefer that I do?”
“React. That is all I ask of you.”
Aubrey looked up at him and nodded. “All right.”
He smiled and shrugged out of his outer robe. “Let’s see how far we can get.”
He gripped her waist and set her at the edge of the bed. He went to his knees, lifted her feet to his shoulders, and she learned what his mouth felt like a second later. It was a helluva first date.