Chapter 17
- Krix’vorr -
We leave the wreckage behind, but my thoughts remain there.
The possible existence of a second female from Nora's species should dominate my attention. The evidence is now beyond dispute. The Gzet found the scout vessel first, and if the female survived the crash, she is almost certainly in their possession.
That discovery changes everything. It strengthens Nora's claims about her civilization and makes the hunt for her home world far more promising.
But as we make our way through the dying Harrower's corridors, my attention keeps drifting elsewhere.
Nora walks beside me wrapped in her absurd green armor, asking questions of her machine and studying everything she passes.
The vessel is dying around us. Biological systems are failing.
Dead crewers fill chambers and passageways.
None of it appears capable of holding her attention for long.
She keeps examining details, asking questions, and looking ahead as though she expects another mystery around every corner.
Several times I catch her looking at me. Each time she looks away a heartbeat too late.
The memory of the command chamber returns uninvited.
I remember her standing near the observation lenses during the battle.
I remember the scent of her growing stronger in the warm air.
I remember the way she pressed her thighs together while watching me guide the Beast through combat.
I noticed, because my mind was both on her and on the battle.
Mighty Swarm, I notice everything in battle mode, with my senses heightened to a feverish degree. Her arousal was thick in the air.
By the time we cross back into the Beast, my body is far more interested in Nora than in strategy, politics, or slave-trading Gzet aliens. That fact should concern me more than it does.
The Beast carries us away from the battlefield while reports begin arriving from every level of the ship. I listen because I must. The enemy Harrower is dead. Dri'puxz has withdrawn. Salvage crews are recovering useful biological material. Damage to the Beast remains minor.
She did well, and I will reward her by putting her back on her preferred nutrition schedule earlier than decided.
Everything is proceeding exactly as it should.
I issue orders. Receive confirmations. Review findings from the wreckage. Underlings come and go while tablets accumulate around me. Normally this part of command is satisfying. A battle has been won. Information has been gained. Future opportunities are emerging.
Today my attention keeps returning to Nora.
She remains nearby while reports are delivered.
At first she studies the activity around her.
Then she studies me. Whenever I glance up, I find her watching.
The awareness between us continues growing, fed by battle excitement, shared purpose, and memories of what happened after the furnace.
Eventually the final underling completes his report and withdraws. The chamber grows still.
Nora looks at me across the room. I find myself studying the curve of her mouth before I notice what I'm doing. Then she smiles.
The pressure beneath my chest plates tightens immediately, as does the groin shield.
I lower the tablet in my hands and consider the situation. The Gzet have returned to their planet, and if they have the female, then… well, she likely won't be intact. Whatever the case may be, she won’t escape.
I think the Queen can wait a few more hours for her reports.
I rise from my seat. Nora's eyes follow me. For a moment neither of us speaks.
Then I gesture toward the exit. "Come with me."
The words are simple. Yet judging by the expression that appears on her face, she hears far more than the invitation itself. And she’s not wrong.
She rises without argument and falls into step beside me. There are no negotiations. No attempts to conceal where her thoughts have gone. Mine are not hidden particularly well either.
We move through the Beast's corridors together while crew members flatten themselves against the walls to let us pass. I barely notice they exist. My attention remains fixed on the female beside me and on the anticipation growing stronger with every step.
The membrane seals behind us and the noise of the Beast fades into the background.
For several moments neither of us says anything.
Nora remains standing near the center of the chamber wrapped from mid-thigh to collarbone in layers of green repair tape with my scorched banner trophy protruding from various places.
After everything we've survived together, after battles, furnaces, and impossible discoveries, the sight is so absurd that I find myself studying her in silence.
Nora notices immediately. "What?"
I fold my arms across my chest and study her. "It suits you."
One eyebrow rises immediately. "The tape?"
"You required protection. My crew provided it."
A smile appears on her face. "That sounds suspiciously like a compliment."
I take a step closer. "It does, doesn’t it? It wasn't intended as one. But I’m starting to wonder if you might look good in anything."
"Oh, is that it? You give me ridiculous items from your ship to wear just to test that theory?"
I go closer, towering over her. She doesn’t withdraw, and that sends a nice surge to my midsection. “What did you say?”
Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t retreat. “First you stripped me naked, then gave me a transparent film to wear. Then some kind of silly packing material, and then tape for repairing starship hulls. What will be next? Iron filings? Glass shards? Engine tools?”
I let my gaze travel over her again. The material follows every curve of her body. When she'd first wrapped herself in it, I was impressed by the ingenuity. Now that we're alone, I find myself noticing entirely different things.
“Perhaps,” I play along, delighted at her defiance. “Perhaps I will give you sand to wear. Icicles. Flower stems.”
She scoffs. “Imagine a Chief Harrower without clothing for his captive.”
“Captive?” I ask. “You’re a rescued castaway, not a captive. I would have taken you home to your world if only you’d say where it is. But you remain curiously stubborn, and I have ways to deal with that. Have you healed from your injuries?”
The sudden change of topic takes her by surprise. “I think so– oh. I’m not sure.”
I take one bare arm and examine it. Any injury she had in the furnace appears gone. “We know you can’t have sustained any injuries during the battle, because you’re perfectly protected by the tape.”
“Is that why?” A soft laugh escapes her.
I run a knuckle up her rib cage outside the tape. "The tape protects what is valuable."
Nora's eyes return to mine. The expression she gives me is entirely different now. "And why exactly is this valuable?"
My pulse quickens and I touch the upper end of the tape, picking it loose from her smooth skin. “Let’s find out if anything valuable needs more healing.”
“Be careful,” she pleads and takes a step away. “The tape pulls out hairs.”
I let go of the tape corner. “Ah. I’m unfamiliar with that feature.”
Nora pulls a finger’s width of tape off her skin and winces. “I don’t even have any hair there, but…”
“But it sticks to the skin itself,” I observe. “Hopefully you’re not doomed to keep wearing it for the rest of your life. Indeed I hope you won’t be wearing it as much as a heartbeat from now.”
She winces again. “The glue is too strong. It sticks like…”
“Like repair tape,” I complete her sentence. “Yes, it’s meant to stick to the outside of the Beast. It would need to be extremely sticky. May I?”
I bend down and set one antenna to vibrate at about the right frequency, then touch it to the tape.
I fine-adjust the vibration and the tape suddenly drops off the female all at once, ending up in a little heap on the floor.
“I’m told it took generations of our Brood before the breeders were able to make a tape that would lose its stickiness like that. ”
Nora looks down at the heap at her feet. “So next time, I need you nearby if I’m going to get it off?”
I bend down and sniff her hair. “Do you object to that?”
She looks up at me. “No.”
I reach out to stroke her soft, smooth chest. “Neither do I.”