Running Silent, Part 1

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Xu’s nostrils flared. He was perilously close to losing control, something he hadn’t done since he was a raw youth.  For Crystal Graei, losing control could be deadly.

His body, however, didn’t care what his mind said.  Neve’s scent filled the lift, her own mixed arousal and fear along with West’s cleanser.  Nothing was guaranteed to push his particular buttons like that combination.  The acrid musk of fear – a slight uneasiness, a wariness of him – was not so strong that the stink overpowered her arousal. The territorial threat of West’s scent slicked another layer of aggression over Xu’s lust.

It was fortunate that the majority of crew on the Mercy were human, and that he was not among his own kind.  The cracks in his control would be entirely too evident to Graei, especially of his own class.  Humans, fortunately, were astonishingly oblivious.

He needed a release, some way to bleed off some of the tension, but there was neither opportunity nor means for doing so. The next few hours required a delicate and precise balancing act.  Any mistake would be catastrophic.  At best, a mistake would result in the deaths of millions of New Juneau colonists. At worst, the Mercy could be captured, the crew slaughtered, the colonists allowed to die, and the ship and her contents giving the pirates the means to hold entire planets hostage.  The risks were enormous, and success hinged on Neve’s skill and focus.

He would not, could not, endanger millions for his own pleasure and pride.

He bit his tongue, hard enough to draw blood. The bitter mineral tang flooded his mouth, overpowering her more delicate scent. It was a desperate maneuver that was only partially successful. He’d sell his birthright for a few minutes to take the edge off.

The lift doors opened and Xu gestured for Neve to lead the way.  She’d been silent since leaving the command conference room, and she continued that silence. She was doing her best to ignore him, trying to convince him she wasn’t interested.  She had no way of knowing that her own body betrayed her to Xu’s heightened senses. Only his own barriers kept him from pursuing her. At least, from pursuing her directly.

It occurred to him that the station suits would provide another layer of distance between Neve and himself.  It irritated him how much relief the thought brought him. His own shaky control disturbed him more than anything Neve could do. She shook him down to his foundations. Xu drew a shallow breath, forcing himself to shunt his hunger for her to one side. There were much more important things to deal with just now.

Information buzzed through his complink, keeping him apprised of the situation in the remainder of the ship. Medical proceeded with the shut down, sliding crew members into stasis as they were released from their posts and returned to their bunks.  Only a skeleton crew would be aware through the change over, though Engineering and Security would maintain a full complement through the switch. The shuttle bay had been locked down and secured, along with Decks 28 and 29, the entertainment and health decks.  Within an hour all non-essential personnel would be in stasis and systems would shut off life support with the exception of the biotech garden areas on decks 24 and 25, which would maintain enough support to sustain the crops.

By the time Neve palmed the access plate for main propulsion, Xu knew the status of every deck. She finally broke her silence, but to talk to her complink, not to him.

“Lieutenant Yrtl.  Ah. No, Lieutenant Commander Enchev will not be resuming his duties at this time.”  She stalked into the propulsion bay, the lines of her body betraying her irritation and anxiety. “Yes, Lieutenant. I don’t want discussion, Lieutenant. You know the procedure. Make sure it is followed.”

She clicked off, shaking her head.

“Problem, Commander?”

Her shoulders hunched.  She answered without looking at him, swinging under a plasma converter coil.  “No, sir.  Lieutenant Yrtl will follow orders.”

Xu swung through behind her, his more limber Graei body doing what might be difficult for a human male of the same size. He’d once had a partner tell him he would be hard to beat in a limbo contest.  He’d had to look that up, and had only marveled at the strange games humans employed to entertain themselves.

“I’m sure he will.”

Neve headed straight for Lieutenant Reese. Reese had always struck Xu as a steady, even-tempered sort that performed well under pressure.

He looked up from the console to greet Neve. He dropped the stylus in his hand as he snapped to attention at the site of his first officer. Everyone in engineering froze, then followed suit, springing into crisp salutes.

Xu always found it secretly amusing, the way people dropped everything, as if he would throw them in the brig if they weren’t fast enough to salute. Nothing on his face, however, showed his dark humor at the discomfiture of the crew.  Instead, he returned the salute.  “As you were,” he said easily.

A quick look showed engineering personnel busily preparing for the shut down, already in station suits.  He nodded acknowledgment to the few people he knew personally before stepping into the stiff legs of his own station suit.  He pulled up the cross braces and shrugged into the sleeves.  He didn’t bother to seal the suit or flip the head piece up, since life support was still normal.  The one piece construction was designed to minimize the possibility of leakage in a minimal support environment, but not to be as contained as a true space suit. It made them lighter and more agile, allowing the crew to continue normal activities while the ship powered down.

The complink pinged in his ear. The tone had him answering immediately. “Captain.”

Neve’s head swung around, her eyes narrowed.  Ah. Neve was definitely shaken by the problems with her command.  She’d dealt with them, but she was still on unsteady ground.  He could use that, he would use that, to push her and to give himself a tiny measure of relief.

Fubar Part 3

Neve quickly took stock of the room’s occupants. Captain Tril Hruk from Medical, Commander Nigel Clary from Navigation and Lt. Commander Shawn Ellery from Operations all stood at stiff attention facing Captain Fielding. Enchev, the only other officer she’d expected to see, was absent. None of the men acknowledged her with more than a glance and a slight nod.

As Xu entered behind her, she sectioned him off into a remote segment of her brain and strove to dull her awareness of him. The feat wasn’t too difficult. She figured her inexplicable, inappropriate fear of/attraction to the Graei officer couldn’t be as bad as whatever had put the marble-hard expression on her captain’s face.

“Captain Fielding,” Neve said by way of greeting and reporting for service. She took up a post next to the British navigation officer.

Tania Fielding pinned her with a narrow look. “Commander.”

The room fell into silence. Tania directed her attention past Neve’s shoulder, presumably making eye contact with Xu. Neve slid a glance sideways. Nigel Clary wore a blank expression, attentive but betraying nothing. Neve wasn’t sure whether he knew what was going on and possessed an excellent neutral face or whether he was a bewildered as she. Past him, Tril Hruk was even harder to read. Even if he hadn’t stood so much taller than she that she couldn’t see his face from her position, she would have had difficulty because the body language and facial tells of his race had not been among her cross-species studies. Continue reading Fubar Part 3…

Fubar Part 2

After leaving the lounge, Neve fled to the engine deck where sound surrounded her and white noise vibrated through her feet to her ears, muffling the erratic thump of her pulse. Steadfastly refusing to give her brain permission to look back and denying her body leave to react to what her eyes had seen, she threw herself into the gears and bolts that made Mercy run. Uniformed members of the crew worked at their stations, monitoring performance reports and attending to minor repairs as necessary. They looked up as she passed but none stopped her or questioned her presence.

By the time she reached the third sub-level, Lieutenant Dhaji Reese and Lt. Commander Mari Ekehardt were already waiting. Both officers stood at attention when she cleared the stairs.

“Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander.” She pitched her voice to carry through the engine’s drone. “The timeliness of the propulsion upgrade has become critical. I’ve alerted Captain Fielding that we will begin the process immediately. The timeline should span five hours provided we encounter minimal problems. Without the hyper-drive engines, we will have limited life support and mobility since the plasma plant will be carrying the load. It’s going to be crucial that systems are restored as quickly as possible but not so quickly that we make a mistake. You were both briefed on the installation process?”

Ekehardt nodded more quickly than Reese, a sign of her quick habit of agreeing first and asking for details later. “Lieutenant Enchev–”

“Lieutenant Enchev will not be assisting,” Neve said, aborting Ekehardt’s statement. Reese’s features remained expressionless as she delivered the announcement. Ekehardt, however, betrayed her surprise with raised eyebrows. As if to counter the telltale reaction, she pressed her lips together in a tight line. Neve ignored their reactions. “Without Lieutenant Enchev, we are divided into three instead of four. I will supervise–”

Continue reading Fubar Part 2…

FUBAR Part I

She wanted a drink. Or two. Maybe three.

What she didn’t want was to be sitting across this meeting table from Shawn Ellery while he told her how badly he’d fucked up.

Tania fought to keep her face blank as Ellery searched her features. She knew he was searching for any reaction, something he could use to justify his stupidity. She wasn’t going to give it to him. He’d screwed up in a major way by bucking the protocol and not reporting the information he had when he received it. Granted, she understood that his reticence wasn’t technically insubordination, but it was definitely poor judgment. And, in this case, it put her ship and her crew in danger.

Ellery pressed his lips together, his nostrils flaring.

Tania remained impassive. While she wasn’t up to Xu’s standards, she was better than most, and she’d been working on her technique. Nothing like a Crystal Graei as an executive officer to help you perfect the art of blank face.  Still, she was going to have to do something if he didn’t get here soon.

The conference room entry hissed open.  Xu entered, ignoring Ellery completely.

Tania watched him take up a post at the corner of the table, ramrod straight and inhumanly beautiful. Xu was rarely less than perfectly turned out when on duty, but right now his uniform was just slightly off – the seams not perfectly straight, the edge of one sleeve tucked under. His smooth, dark skin was more blue than usual, and the tips of his ears curled back on themselves instead of standing upright. Hmmm.

“I apologize for any delay. I came as quickly as possible.”

Tania raised a brow at him. She’d paged him only moments before, and the locator had placed him in the Pleasure Lounge. She had the impression he had been…busy. Between the slightly mussed uniform and his physical characteristics, she was surprised the line of his uniform pants wasn’t ruined.

Continue reading FUBAR Part I…

The Next Best Thing Part 2 (Explicit)

Xu held Kevin’s gaze a little longer. “Good. Tell her to play with her breasts. Be sure she is watching those watching her.”

Kevin nodded, his lips brushing Xu’s with the movement and sending little pinpricks of heat along Xu’s skin, before turning back to face Valerie.

“Are your eyes open, Valerie?” Kevin’s voice was stern, at odds with his still trembling body. The contrast stoked Xu’s arousal even further.

“Y-yes.” Her voice quivered with arousal and uncertainty. Never before in a public scene had Xu allowed another player to give her orders. Xu found that tiny note of fear insanely erotic. It was that tendency his kind had to fight. The adrenaline spike that came with fear was an aphrodisiac to Crystal Graei. The fine line between apprehension and true terror was a delicate balancing act, and it was only one reason Graei control was imperative.

Kevin’s tremors eased. “Play with your tits. Watch them all look at you while you get your pretty little nipples all hard for me.”

Xu felt an unwilling surge of pride. Kevin either had experience dominating someone like Valerie or he had exceptional instincts. Since Xu didn’t think a trained dominant would have misread Valerie and entered this little charade, he’d bet credits it was instinctive.

Watching over Kevin’s shoulder, Xu’s gaze followed Valerie’s hands as they lifted from the table to her breasts. Though she was a small woman, her breasts were generous, with large nipples only a few shades darker than her creamy skin.

Xu put his mouth against Kevin’s ear.  His own sensitive ears brushed against Kevin’s skull, forcing him to control a shudder of pleasure.  “I want her to get herself off.  You need to tell her what to do.  She needs to hear the words from you.”

Kevin nodded his head slightly, the movement rubbing his short hair along the sensitive ridge of Xu’s ear.  Xu closed his eyes briefly, moving his hands further up Kevin’s legs so his fingers framed Kevin’s arousal without actually touching him.

Kevin’s breath caught, and he swallowed hard.

“Keep watching the crowd, Valerie,” Kevin instructed. “Slide your hands down between your legs.”

Continue reading The Next Best Thing Part 2 (Explicit)…

The Next Best Thing, part I (explicit)

Relief, at least some measure of it, eased the invisible tension from Xu’s shoulders. He’d updated the Captain and gotten her agreement not to interfere prematurely in the situation with Enchev. The Captain, however, had cut Neve’s window in half by putting the ship on stasis alert.

Still, Neve had six hours, which was plenty of time. It was also enough time for Xu to bleed off some of the sexual frustration Neve induced. He had a few hours before the Pleasure Lounge and other recreation areas began powering down, and he intended to use them.

He spread his arms along the back of the low couch and surveyed the lounge. Along the interior walls were privacy booths. The area along the hull wall was dotted with small tables and conversational groupings of furniture, constituting what Xu thought of as the spectator gallery. The middle of the large room, where he now reclined, was sunken below the level of the floor and boasted a variety of couches, chairs, benches and low tables. This was center stage.

Though he often preferred privacy, the throbbing in his veins demanded quick satisfaction. The need to control his partner and demonstrate that control to others beat at him.

Fortunately, he’d played this game often enough that nearly everyone on board knew the rules.

He allowed a small smile for the tiny blonde kneeling before him. He’d partnered with her before and her sense of adventure and sure self-understanding worked well with Xu’s more dominant style. “What are my rules, Valerie?”

He posed the question more for the benefit of the young man kneeling beside her than for Valerie herself. Xu hadn’t partnered with Kevin before, and Valerie’s answer would help Kevin understand the dynamic.

“To respect my own limits, to speak up if I am uncomfortable, to do as you ask, and to please you.”

“Very good, Valerie. What are your limits today?”

Continue reading The Next Best Thing, part I (explicit)…

Bad to Worse

“Buggerfuck.”

Cav looked up from the console to see Ellery run a hand over his close-cropped brown hair.  Shawn Ellery was the epitome of cool under fire. When he broke out the compound curses, things were not good. “What’s the problem?”

“I just received the order to start preparing for power down for the engine swap. Six hours.”

Cav’s spine went ramrod straight.  “Fuck.  Didn’t you talk to the Captain?”

Ellery ran his hand over his head again, his eyes dodging hers. Double fuck. He hadn’t.

Conscious of the crew members watching her, she chose her words carefully. “Commander, you have to tell her.”

His nostrils flared, but Cav refused to drop her gaze.  He knew she was right or he wouldn’t be so pissed.  He should have told the Captain as soon as he found out.  As far as Cav could tell, Ellery’s ego and need for control had convinced him to take a gamble on the arrival of the escort ship, banking on playing hero.  Now he was out of time and out of line, and he knew it.  Fortunately, though Ellery might be a bit of a glory hound, he wasn’t an asshole. She waited for him to come to that conclusion himself.

His breath hissed out between clenched teeth. “I know. I know I fucked this up. Shit.”

Continue reading Bad to Worse…

Goodbye Neutral Territory (explicit)

Neve stared after the executive officer. She’d had little opportunity for one on one contact with him, as they frequented different sectors of the Mercy and served different shifts. When he did have occasion to be involved in her business, he issued communication via complink or ensign messenger. She wasn’t sure she enjoyed the experience of standing face to face with him, no other distractions present. Staring was unprofessional and Xu Scholen commanded a visual awareness she hadn’t been able to shake since their first meeting. Worse, shortly after the perfunctory introductions Tania had performed upon Neve’s assignment to the Mercy, Neve had indulged her curiosity and taken a closer look at Graei culture. She’d also promptly locked the door on that curiosity. Xu Scholen’s world was a world of sexual excess and intrigue, so dark it left her feeling uneasy just reading about it.

The same unease simmered in her stomach now. She should not harbor such strange fascination for the man. Her immediate supervisor. More than that: a prominent figure among the shadow-enshrouded Graei royal caste. If she didn’t have the buffer of professional relations to shield her–if she had encountered the dark-skinned aristocrat at a space station bazaar or pleasure dock–she would have ducked her head, shied away, and prayed for invisibility. Graei notice was not notice she wanted…in a professional capacity or otherwise.

Seeking distraction from her brief meeting with Xu, and in the interest of granting Enchev a fair chance to set the upgrade course in motion, she gathered herself and left the meeting room. The previous shift’s reports were queued in her docket. By the time she examined the data for activity that would require closer attention, Enchev would have either followed her orders or decided to stand for the consequences. On the way to her station, she retrieved the complink from her pocket and tucked it back into her ear, hoping for good news.

Continue reading Goodbye Neutral Territory (explicit)…

Handbook of the Galaxy: 2

His Neve Problem

Xu Scholen stepped out of the lift into the corridor. Taking a deep breath, he walked toward the systems bay. His ears twitched at the droning hum of the engines overlaid with the quiet hiss of the backup systems. A quick check of his complink told him Commander Steesk was in TWR. Why she was there, he didn’t know, since they didn’t have any target world reps on board.

His ears also twitched at the thought of his upcoming meeting. Not only was Neve Steesk Chief Engineer, she was also his Chief Fantasy. With her oddly tinted hair bound in myriad tiny braids and secured at her nape, he wanted nothing more than to spend hours unraveling it: combing it through his fingers, winding it around his arms, draping it over his skin. She definitely aroused more than a professional interest. Given the Fleet Command attitude toward sex, he wouldn’t normally bother to dampen that interest, but this was a delicate situation.

His fascination with Neve ran deep. He wanted her under his control, sexually. Too bad she wasn’t ready for that sort of relationship.

Xu licked his lips, imagining the pleasure of training her, drawing her out to her limits. She wouldn’t roll over, it wasn’t in her nature. No, she’d fight him, and the challenge would be in bending her to his will without breaking her. There was nothing sexier than a smart, strong woman who submitted willingly.

Continue reading His Neve Problem…