5. Questions
FIVE
QUESTIONS
Vivian
We haven’t had so many people watching us before.
Not many are privy to Dr. Ursula’s research, let alone to Syasku’s existence, and those who are aware of him know better than to let any information slip out. Still, it makes me wonder why today is different besides me leading the session.
No one, not even me, is going to get the naga to speak unless he wants to.
I finish prepping the machine while Muffin and several other assistants collect their data. With how many tests are being run daily, samples are gathered every morning and every evening. No human, not even a full-grown healthy man, could survive what the naga has been going through. Thankfully he’s been allowed to regenerate over the night shift, which means someone has given him food and water. And although the scales on his arms and upper chest haven’t grown back yet, his skin has. Seeing him mending lifts my spirits though it might only be temporary.
Ursula’s not stupid. Even the plastic cushion beneath him has been replaced. It would be idiotic of her to flaunt his torture.
He can handle a lot. If there was nothing else we’ve discovered about his species, it’s that they can endure . It’s something I can relate to.
Flicking my eyes over Syasku’s unconscious form, evaluating the amount of strength his body exudes even while he’s passed out, makes me hopeful he’ll survive this too. We’ll both survive this.
In the corner, standing upon a platform that looks down into the laboratory, are Ursula and Father. They’re speaking quietly with Commander Pierce, who talks to them from below.
I catch them looking at me.
Straightening, I glance at the two additional soldiers by the door. We’ve been guarded since the beginning, and today is no different.
I shake off my paranoia because that’s what this is. I’ve slept well and have reviewed the questions Ursula wants me to ask. I just hope I don’t get my throat torn out for asking them. But the scenes running through my head give me hope that I can handle whatever comes. If I experience the worst possible scenario in my mind, experiencing it for real won’t come as a complete surprise. Taking a settling breath, I know I can get through this.
Muffin steps back and calls out. “All set. He’s ready.”
Ursula leaves the platform and joins us. Donning the same clothes and slicking back her silver hair as always, she’s dressed like any other day.
She eyes me as she accepts the chart I hand her. “I assume you’re ready, Vivian? If you’re nervous, he’ll know.”
“I’m ready.”
Her cold blue eyes roam over me. “Good. Your father is expecting results. Take that pressure and put it to use. Remember what’s at stake.”
I swallow. “Of course.”
Lives. Lives are at stake.
The next several minutes pass in a haze. The additional research assistants leave while Muffin and I triple check the naga’s restraints. I reposition his medical podule so he’s mostly upright and facing me and those on the platform.
Clutching my screen, I sit down across from him. If he’s faking being unconscious, he’s doing a great job.
I thought he was unconscious yesterday.
“Waking him in three, two?—”
Ursula returns to stand with Father and Pierce. The lights behind me darken.
“—one,” Muffin finishes.
The room goes silent, waiting for Syasku to open his eyes.
He’s lounged, his head back and at an angle, like he’d succumbed to exhaustion. His mouth is closed, and he appears peaceful, blissfully unaware of what is about to happen. He’s been cleaned too, the dirt and dried blood washed away, and even his hair, once crusty and greased with bodily fluids, has been scrubbed and brushed out, the silver-white strands now appearing soft where they curve behind his pointed ears. He’s bent at the waist, where he’s been made to sit, almost giving him a human countenance if it weren’t for the long, winding tail bound in front of him. The tip is bent under the seat and out of my sight. He’s strapped by a half-dozen bands to his seat, ranging from his shoulders to where his tail hits the floor. His arms are pinned to his sides, and there are large leather gloves encasing his hands.
I’ve never seen him so trussed up before. But then again, we now know our tranquilizers and paralytics haven’t been as effective as we thought.
As my gaze flicks back over him, heat rushes my cheeks.
He’s the most exotic creature I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I remember the way his body felt beneath mine. Sitting across and forced to look straight at him, has never made me feel more vulnerable.
His eyes peel open, and in a cool sweep of the room, his gaze freezes on me. His body strains briefly, clearly checking his restraints, but then he relaxes as his eyes flick over to me once more. He takes me in.
I suck in my stomach and greet him. “Hello, Syasku.”
His eyes narrow.
“Today, you and I will be talking.” Gaining composure, I try to keep his attention on me. He hasn’t hissed or bared his fangs yet, which I take as a good sign.
This is… okay—I can do this.
“If you would only work with us…”
Anger flashes across his features, and he releases a low hiss.
I swallow the rest of my words. “I won’t hurt you.” I keep my eyes glued on him, avoiding Ursula or Father. If I can make him believe it, maybe I can believe it too.
As Syasku continues to stare at me, my guilt amplifies. To him, I’m no better than Ursula, Father, or anyone else. I’m just as terrible as they are. He’s taking in every inch of me and judging it.
I clear my throat, knowing the longer I stall, the worse this will get. “You told me your name yesterday. Do all nagas have names?” My voice strengthens. “Do your names have meaning?”
Nothing.
“Have you always lived on Earth?”
“Do you have ships? Technology of your own design?”
Still nothing.
“Where do you come from?”
“Where are the others? Why do you live separately rather than together?”
One by one I ask the same questions in a variety of ways, and one by one he gives me silence in return.
“Do you have a leader? Someone you take orders from?”
“Do you have a family?”
“Children?”
“Do you have a… mate?”
He jerks forward at that last question. After nearly an hour of silence from him, I glance at Ursula and Father to see what they want me to do, but neither is looking at me. Straightening, I face Syasku again, only hesitating long enough to scan the next question.
As our eyes catch once more, my breath stalls, finding his gaze darker and more intense. Pressure squeezes my chest as a flash of heat warms my cheeks.
Lips parting, I tear my eyes away only to notice the muscles along his tail twitching. When my core clenches in response to his flex, I frown, nervous something is off. His tail muscles shouldn’t be twitching… They’ve never twitched before…
Someone coughs, and I shift in my seat. “Do you know who we are and why we’re here?”
Other than his eyes roaming over me, he doesn’t respond.
I swallow. “We’re here hoping for our salvation,” I tell him. “We’re searching for weapons and technology to help us in the fight to come. Instead, we found you.”
Still nothing, nothing except his gaze traveling along my body.
“Do you know who or what the Ketts are? Have you spoken to or encountered a Lurkawathian?”
My fingers curl into themselves, and his eyes drop to my hands.
Curious, I loosen them until they are stretched out and my palms are open to his scrutiny. When his focus sticks, another tactic comes to mind. One that could get me in trouble if it doesn’t work.
I flip my hands over so he can see the backs of them. “My name is Vivian, and I’m a medical research assistant, but my main goal is to maintain the integrity of what is left of my ancestors’ medical machines here on The Dreadnaut , as well as its AI and software. Most of which was lost centuries ago. Technology like my family’s is on Earth, waiting to be rediscovered and returned to our species. It would help me do my job and accomplish my goal.” I feel my father’s gaze on my back. “It’s technology we hope you can help us locate and possibly retrieve…”
His gaze drifts back to mine, and I’m emboldened to say more.
“We are not so different, you and I,” I say, my voice softening into a whisper. “You’re a survivor. So are we. And we want the same things. A home, peace, a life without the threat of annihilation. Medical technology…”
If this doesn’t work, I’m in trouble.
No one stops me when I continue, “Help us find what we’re searching for, and we can help you. We can share what we know, and protect you and your family…” Help him with what, I don’t know. Maybe the inevitable fight against the Ketts when they finally make their way to this side of the galaxy? The longer I watch him for a reaction, the more certain I become that there is something he wants other than his freedom and his vengeance.
Maybe he does have a family back on Earth, one he’s desperate to return to.
Resisting the urge to wipe the sweat from my brow and cross my legs, Syasku’s lips part, and a low vibration fills the room.
It turns into a soothing hum that sends prickles up my arms. Unlike anything I’ve heard before, it settles my anxiety. Like a lullaby, his hiss cascades over me in gentle waves, calming my frayed nerves and quieting my scattered thoughts. Easing into my chair, the tension seeps from my limbs, fading into the background.
There’s a stillness around us like there’s no one else but him and me, no one else anywhere.
“Please, let me help you,” I whisper.
His humming deepens, growing richer, and thicker, and the rest of my guard drops, subduing me completely. As my eyes hood and my body melts into the chair, a slit opens in his tail and a long, thick appendage emerges.
Like a sword being brandished from his pelvic region, his girth curves toward his chest, his cock’s tip lodged in the air, leaning into him. The underside of it bulges outward, faintly knotted into a ball that ripples downward to his base, the creases becoming more rigid the closer they get to his tail. The length and thickness larger than any human man’s.
I press my thighs together, horrified and completely bewildered.
Tearing my eyes from his cock, our eyes catch, and his soothing hum stops as he tries leaning toward me. The predicament I’m in comes crashing back, and I jerk. Stunned silent, my gaze flicks back to his cock and then to everyone else around me.
My mouth opens and closes, and I’ve never been more thankful that a mask hides the majority of my face. Because despite my shock, my body is still reacting to his. Clenching even more, I start anticipating penetration. Tingles play across my sex, growing into frantic, needy pulses. Torn between horror and embarrassment… The need to walk over to Syasku and press my body to his consumes me.
“Good job, Vivian.” Ursula’s voice cuts into me as she descends from the platform to Syasku and grabs his cock. “You’ve done well.”
He growls and strains against her touch, and it’s enough to drop me back to reality.
“Well?” I choke, blinking the fuzz from my head. “We’re done? Wait, what?” My attention zeroes in on where Ursula grips him, and my brow furrows, sick swelling my throat.
“We are. You got something out of him, even if it didn’t happen to be answers.” Syasku bares his fangs, his hissing returning with violent intention as Ursula wraps a band under his knot, tying it tightly around him, constricting his blood flow.
Syasku roars, fighting his restraints with increasing fury.
I jump to my feet. “Stop! What are you?—”
“Up the sedatives,” Ursula orders Muffin, unfazed. Father and Pierce stride forward at the same time, conversing about something I can’t hear.
“You’re not needed for this next part.” Ursula looks at me with frustration as I rush forward. “Step back.”
Next part?
As Pierce and Father step in front of me, my inability to do anything helpful hits home. I tried to help before, and this happens. I don’t know what would happen if I tried again with everyone watching.
Hearing his struggles, I do what Ursula says before I can make matters worse. Rejoining Muffin, he’s already dosing sedatives by the time I push him aside and take over.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Ursula coos at Syasku. “You could still talk. If you do, I won’t need to use this against you.” She doesn’t wait for him to respond and instead turns and addresses Father.
Father.
Nausea cramps my stomach as they speak. Ashamed, I turn away as Syasku’s thrashing wanes. He’s going to think I tricked him.
This is my fault.
His body slumps as his chair returns to a bed and shifts back into the podule.
“You better know what you’re doing,” Father warns Ursula, indicating Syasku’s erection with a wave. “I was expecting today to end in cooperation, not… this.”
“He won’t work with us. If this is all Vivian can get out of him, it will have to be enough. He’ll have no choice but to take a mate, especially if we make it easy for him. Once he’s possessive of her, he’ll tell you whatever you want to know. They are fiercely protective of their mates. This is the collateral we need.”
Feeling faint, I try to come up with a reason to excuse myself or an idea to stop what’s happening.
I want to scream and slap Syasku for speaking to me at all. Why did you have to tell me your name?! Panting harder, I can’t seem to get enough air into my lungs. I curl my fingers into my palms and pin them to my side, stopping them from tearing off my mask.
My eyes hood as they shift over him.
This is because of me. His cock released for me.
I straighten away, shivering with the knowledge.
Ursula escorts Father and Pierce out of the room, giving neither Syasku nor me another glance. The soldiers follow after, and with Muffin taking charge, I peer back down.
Thankfully his features have softened into slumber.
I swallow and close my eyes. When I reopen them, I look at his cock. Bound up so it can’t return to his tail, his appendage has only thickened since its emergence.
Consequences be damned.
I untie the restraint around it. As his cock drops to rest against his body, a gush of seed releases from the tip to trickle onto his stomach.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
Gently cupping his base with one hand, I spread open his slit with the other. Once I have it parted around his base, I slowly push his cock back into his tail, working it harder when his knot makes it a struggle. Huffing with the effort, and not wanting to accidentally hurt him any more than he has been, sweat beads across my skin.
“Leave it,” Ursula snaps, returning to the room and coming up behind me.
I face her. “I was just trying to?—”
“Show him dignity? Of course, I know you. This is the second time that you’ve been compassionate. You’ve already disobeyed me once. Do so again and you’ll be in solitary without a bed—or a light.”
She forcibly takes my spot beside Syasku. It occurs to me that Ursula knows more about his kind than I do, and it makes me wonder what else she might be keeping from me and her staff.
I move to reattach the rest of Syasku’s IVs when she waves me away. “Don’t bother. He’s coming off the Yulen.”
“He’ll wake up if we don’t keep him medicated.”
“Yes, he will. Though not for long. Your father has ordered it.”
Right then, Pierce returns to the room with more soldiers. One of them is holding a large black collar and a small black device. Ursula steps aside to allow him space to fit the collar around Syasku’s neck.
“Your services are no longer needed, Vivian. You’re dismissed. You can return later for the machine.”
She takes my arm and leads me out of the room, shutting the door in my face.