Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 84

 

“He’s an assistant model. He can carry luggage in this form and travel a variety of terrain, or he can compact down and then work as a mech doing menial tasks like recording, errands, and act as a remote terminal when a comm isn’t good enough.” Ases walked over to the mech, and the guards tensed, but luckily for them they didn’t try to grab me again.

Tapping a sequence on the side, Ases reset the mode. The mech whirred and then compacted down. The central barrel slid downward, and the treads clanked as they folded in on each other as the arms retracted. A light flashed on the underside, and it stopped, a third of the size it had stood.

“It’s also voice activated. Follows me around like a loyal pet.” Ases patted it.

I ignored the murmuring behind me. “Your dad got that for you, did he?”

“He insisted, and I resisted at first, but it brought me around. You know how much I hate space and travel, but the mech is rated for planetary and space travel. It holds my luggage and operates as an assistant with limited AI capabilities.”

“How limited?” The gruff voice sent a chill down my spine, and I turned to see Garjah striding into the hold.

“Enough to follow directions, run errands, return to quarters to find me via a locator.” Ases held up a necklace. “This has expanding links, so it transforms with me.”

“We will check that.” Garjah barked out some orders into his comm, and a tech came in, the ridges on his head smaller than the ones the guards sported. He had an array of tools I couldn’t even begin to catalog.

“He won’t damage my mech, will he?” Ases’s hackles were literally rising. The color of his eyes shifted, and his shoulders stretched, twitching sideways as he tried to control it.

“No.” But then, because Garjah didn’t lie or fail to hide the truth, he said, “unless there is something you aren’t telling us about it.”

I leaned into Garjah who had stopped right behind me. “Of course there isn’t.”

 

The walk I wanted to take Ases on was delayed while we all waited for his mech to be cleared. The tech did his job carefully, casting several glances at Garjah who stood in his classic pose with legs spread, one pair of arms crossed. One of his arms was around my shoulders, and the other was petting Bouncer who had decided he was tired enough to lean on Garjah’s thick thigh and accept the stroking as his due.

“There was, ahem, a relay device to allow long-distance communication on the mech,” the tech reported. “But it was already disabled.”

“Can it be reestablished?”

“No,” said Ases. “I already told my father that I would go through official channels only, so when he included that feature, I removed it.” He flexed his fingers. “Manually.”

“Good. It seems Ellis’ trust in you was not misplaced. I am glad, but you understand my caution.”

“Building a new relationship takes trust, but that must also be built. I’ve shown my good intentions,” Ases said.

“Very true.” Garjah gestured to the tech and his guards. They all left the hold. “Thank you for your honesty. We have a few days of travel. Please feel free move about the ship. The crew has been made aware of your status, and you will be treated as a respected guest.”

I squeezed Garjah’s waist, then stepped away from him. “Great. Now, I know you still have work to do, but your men were nervous about the mech. I’m going to finish the tour I was taking Ases on, and you can meet me back in our quarters after your shift.”

He grabbed my hand and reeled me back in, our chests bumping together. “I won’t be that much longer. Don’t make it a long tour. You can show him around more after a rest period.” Claiming my lips, Garjah stroked his tongue between them until I opened my mouth and then he tasted inside, twining his tongue with mine.

Bouncer, ever jealous, broke us apart before the kiss could grow too heated and make walking difficult. Er… more difficult. My gaze was glued to Garjah’s rounded ass as he strode out of the hold until the door shut behind him.

“Stars… that was hot. You two are on fire.” Ases smirked when my face flared. He started laughing. “He makes you stupid, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, he kinda does.” I’d made fun of Ases for losing his mind over a pair of Arkeshion twins not long after we met, and he’d literally walked into a doorway while watching them. He might as well not even have been a shifter—he’d lost all grace as soon as they around.

Of course the rumors of what they did in bed—and out of it—would have anyone they showed even the slightest bit of interest in lose their minds.

“You never did tell me if you bedded those twins,” I teased Ases as he powered down the mech.

“Nope, and I never will.” We strode out of the hold together, Bouncer leading the way. “Where to?”

“Well, we don’t have a lot of time. We can wander this level, or I can show you the lounge and quarters on our level.”

“Lounge and quarters, please. I’d rather be familiar with where I’m going to stay. Then you can share more about how all this happened! I’m still dying to know how you met this great red beast and your Garjah.”

“Well, they didn’t happen too far apart.”

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Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 83

 

I was sure of Ases though. As soon as we’d gotten away from the planet and his family’s suffocation, he’d returned to the man I’d known. He’d sent so many questions via the comm.  Everything about him screamed someone who was ready to seize the joy of his new life with both hands.

And by the way Bouncer just rubbed along his side, he approved too. Traitorous little shit. Eses hadn’t even fed him. Was it the animal thing? Like calling to like?

I cocked my head. “Come on. I’ll take you for a short walk and a meal.” Pointing to the security officer, I curled my lip discreetly. “I still can’t read their language, so we’ll take this guy and maybe a friend along for guides.”

Like he’d believe that. Still, it was the polite fiction, and I knew as someone trained to be an ambassador, he’d believe in letting fiction—the kind that was polite and used to pretty up a situation that could only be described as hostile and weird—be the official line.

Ases didn’t stare like I had as we wandered around the small ship. He glanced, watched from the corner of his eye, and subtly turned his body in the direction he wanted to travel. He was good. We chatted about old times, well, he chatted, and I sort of bobbed along. His razor sharp gaze missed little, but I also wasn’t stupid enough to take him anywhere important.

We ended up getting food, which was another adventure for him. He enjoyed poking at the different dishes, but he appreciated the fork I gave him after he the others hold their food and flick off bites with their knives.

“Do they ever lose parts of their noses?” he whispered. His eyes were huge.

“Not that I know of.” I glanced around. “They have really good hearing though.”

He flushed, turning his dark skin darker. “Do you think they heard me? No one here will… get mad, right?” He eyed our guards who were sitting at the far end of the long table we sat at.  

Did he not realize the looks of amusement they all wore? No one had taken offense. I remembered how small Garjah’s smiles had seemed to me at first. Maybe he didn’t recognize them; Ases was a great diplomat, but he wasn’t a first contact specialist. Give him parameters, and he’d smoothly navigate the interpersonal waters of the craziest of situations.

“You’re not in any danger,” I said. Maybe I could be smooth too. I lifted my fork off my plate and the noodles on it went flying, splattering sauce across the plate, table, and floor where they landed with a plop. Bouncer had gotten tired of waiting for my attention and shoved his head between my arms. “You little troublemaker!”

Bouncer was happily slurping up the noodles he’d made me spill.

Ases was laughing and so were those closest to us. I didn’t really know anyone on this crew by name, but everyone had been friendly. They were all surprised to see a cerops on board, but Bouncer could win over others by .

We were headed back toward my quarters when Ases asked, “Do you want to see my ship? It’s been a while since I had a neat new gadget to share with you.” He did like his technology. Maybe that was why he’d jumped at this job; Garjah’s people had technology far more refined than any other species we’d come across—at least that I knew about.

I glanced at the guard behind us. He tilted his head toward the cargo bay. “I would like that,” I said. I turned in the direction the guard indicated, and Bouncer paused, confused. “We’re going this way to the ship.” His belly full, the lazy bones probably just wanted to take a nap. Too bad.

“You can go sleep by the door to our quarters or you can come with me.” Bouncer swung his head back and forth a few times, then he almost reluctantly turned toward me. I’d already started down the corridor, walking backwards. “I knew you’d come, you big faker. You’re so lazy.”

He snarled at me, swiping one of those big paws in the air. Ases and the guards gasped, but I laughed. “Oh, fierce beast, so cranky.” He snarled at me, but I pushed him.

“You’re insane.”

“He’s a baby.” A waist-high and lethal-to-anyone-but-me baby, but that was semantics. We entered the cargo bay, and the cylinder ship  was nowhere to be found. “Stars above, Ases, your ship transformed!” I’d heard stories about the modular tech, but I never thought I’d actually see it. I’d expected to see the same tube he’d slid out of when he first arrived, but it was completely different.

Now standing erect, it two treads on the bottom. The body wasn’t hugely different, still an ovoid shape, but it had extended arms with manipulative digits and there was even what appeared to be a head.

“This is why my father was fine with me coming without staff.” Ases stood next to his ship, and it dwarfed him. It was still more than double his height.

“It’s huge.”

The guards Garjah had assigned weren’t happy to see it either. They were murmuring to each other behind me, and one caught me by the arm when I stepped forward.

“Please stay here until Garjah arrives to ensure this is safe.”

I frowned over my shoulder. “Ases is my friend. He would never put me in danger.”

The other guard had a weapon out, the deadly end pointed at the deck. Still, it made me nervous. I didn’t like armed guards at my back. Bouncer snarled, and the first guard who still had a firm grip on my arm dropped it like it was on fire.

“There’s no danger here. The ship mech isn’t armed,” Ases said. 

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Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 82

  

The release of tension from getting out of the atmosphere and not being intercepted by anyone else, again, sent a wave of exhaustion through me. I’d been planning on stripping in the confined space, straddling Garjah, and teasing him until all four hands were stroking my aching skin.

Instead, the pulled me onto the bed and curled around me. Yes, he was touching me, but instead of revving me up and sending us over the edge into a streak of orgasms that would sate my need for him, he took it in another direction. The rumble in his chest vibrated against my back, his lower arms anchored us together, and his upper arms rubbed my shoulders until I was limp.

All over. Even the body parts that would normally be ready and willing were melted into the narrow, hard mattress. It wasn’t something I’d have been proud of if he’d given any sign he was looking for more. But all Garjah whispered was, “Sleep.”

Apparently future included sleep, because I couldn’t resist that softly rumbled order and closed by eyes on the view of vast solar system we were passing through to get back to the ship.

 

I swallowed, standing on the bridge of the ship and watching as they opened a single bay door and literally swallowed the oval Fertet ship carrying Ases. He’d never be able to keep up. Even his ship had lagged well behind ours, so I had time to shower, change, and feed Bouncer. It was a surprise how comforting the stronger gravity had felt as soon as we stepped back aboard, like an anchor tethering me to the floor instead of feeling like I was about to float away.

“They got it? It’s not damaged?” I asked Garjah nervously, twisting our fingers together. I was lucky he’d let me keep one of his hands trapped with mine. He was working at the security station, and all three of his other hands were sweeping across the console, flicking and touching the buttons and menus in sequences I couldn’t begin to keep up with.

The navigator, Marvud, glared at me but switched the screen to show the ship almost directly in the center of the holding bay; it was upright and the I could see the hatch at a reasonable distance from the floor. The doors were slowly irising shut behind it.

“I’m going to meet Ases.” I let go of Garjah’s hand.

“Alone?” He started to shake his head, placing one hand around my upper arm in a gentle grip to hold me in place.

“I’ll take Bouncer. And one of your security guys inside the bay.” There were four in the corridor outside the bay just standing around anyway. What else were the younglings going to do? “Ases was a friend. I trust him as much as I trust anyone.”

Which meant I knew he’d have orders above and beyond being an ambassador and bringing a treaty to get it signed by the Kardoval. Learning about Garjah’s people might also seem like a diplomatic mission, but if my mother got her claws into him, she’d treat this like one of her friend or foe first contact scenarios too. I wanted to try and figure out just what Ases had been up to, and how much of his disregard for the rules and hatred of form over the function of government held up to working in it. He wouldn’t have been the first youthful rebel determined to change how things were done to be be seduced into accepting how things were or convinced to lose their ideals altogether.

“Trust him as much as I would trust him,” Garjah said.

“Fine. I’m sure Bouncer will do that for both of us.”

Except, when Ases came out of his rounded little tube and dropped to his hands and knees on the ground, Bouncer was jumping right over to him and then jumping on him.

“Bouncer!” I shouted. He sprang off, then jumped completely over Ases sprawled from that had hit the cargo bay deck, chuffing his amusement. To my surprise, Ases rolled onto his back and laughed too, stretching his arms out.

“I can see your pet and I are going to have some tussles in the future,” he said. He didn’t even get up, just tilted his head back to stare up at me from his place on the ground. Bouncer was walking around him now, sniffing every inch of him from the shoulders down his side to his hip, leg, feet—he reared back there and coughed—then back up the other side.

“Don’t expect to win them,” I answered drily. I’d seen Ases’ shifted form before, and it was middling range. Large enough on almost every developed world to be safe, but small enough he’d be prey for something or another on wilder planets. His thicker lower legs and tail did help him climb very well though, so I thought he’d enjoy Garjah’s atrium. The sun’s beams in the central garden space would also warm his pale skin nicely, keeping him from going catatonic.

“How are you? I know how much you hate space travel.”

As sinuous as ever, Ases turned and flexed his arms a bare inch, pushing his whole body off the ground so he could get his large feet back under him. As a bipedal, he wasn’t that remarkable, but some traits of his shifted form stayed with him.

“I haven’t looked out a single window, I can’t tell how high we are.”

I snorted. “It’s space, Ases. Gravity doesn’t work that way in a vacuum.”

“It’s not natural, now is it? If ships or stations can be sucked out of space to fall onto planets, there’s a down. And we’re up.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Whatever you say, my friend.” I was not going to get into that conversation again. Not even to add days we no longer had on a task we no longer needed to do. 

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Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 81

  

“You can’t do that!” Sonez blustered. The Heeze whispered in his ear. “It’s dereliction of duty!”

“Watch me.”

Garjah had let me handle my former captain until that moment, but when he took another threatening step forward, he decided to get in on the action with Bouncer. He brought one thickly-muscled arm up and pointed right at the red-faced captain who thought he could bully me. “If you touch him, I will remove your arm. And since you only have two, I don’t think you will function very well.” He flexed his fingers and the muscles in his forearms bulged, so casually menacing that it was even more intimidating.

I’d felt the strength in those hands when Garjah held me, protected me, touched me everywhere… I almost hoped Sonez did something stupid. He’d deserve to have a body part ripped off. Not that a hand was the one he really deserved to lose, but it was a start.

Still… I was supposed to be a good influence on the relations between Garjah’s people and the Galactic. I buried my resentment and turned my glare on the Heeze who was not at all subtly trying to pull Sonez’s strings like the mad little man puppet that he was. “If you do not leave and take him with you, the treaty that you just sat in on will not get back to Garjah’s people. The Kardoval will not sign it. They will not accept any others’ use of Ardra. There will be an incident, and I believe I was perfectly clear about their level of technology compared to ours.”

I could almost feel the heat coming off him as the Heeze’s anger grew stronger than he could control. His blank expression and dark skin could only hide so much, but the hatred blazing out of his eyes was no longer hidden either.

“That planet was first discovered by my people. We claimed it for the Galactic,” he hissed.

“Ahh, so now I know why you were here.” The Heeze had a system of planets that were close to Ardra, and their sun burned hot. They were always looking for new worlds, better ones with more temperate climates, to colonize. “Your claim is null and voice. The Council already declared that.”

“As you said, the treaty isn’t signed.” His voice was sibilant, his fangs dropping with his fury and creating a hiss that he couldn’t hide. Garjah tensed, but I put a hand on his bicep, gripping it hard.

Now I saw what was happening. I smirked, shaking my head slowly. “Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky.” I tsked, clicking my tongue against my teeth. “But it won’t work.”

The Heeze had dropped to a crouch and Sonez’s hand hovered near his left hip; I wasn’t sure what he had there, but it was probably a micro projectile. Stupid, our suits would protect us.

“What won’t work?” Sonez scoffed.

“Garjah isn’t some mindless warrior who’ll be baited into attacking first. You have no grounds to hold me; my bond to him supercedes anything you might claim,” I told Sonez. “And you, whatever else you want, you will not get Ardra as a prize to be plundered and sold. We won’t break the treaty. But if you touch him, or me… well, Bouncer will make certain you regret it.” Bouncer lifted one paw and licked it, his long tongue getting between each of the finger-long curved spikes that were his nails. Eerie; it was like he knew what I was saying.

“We’ll be leaving now.” I fixed my stare on both of the men in our way. “Leave. Now. Or I’ll call a protection detail, and you can explain this public accosting.”

Sonez’s face was ruby red, but he moved. Slowly. He didn’t turn around until he’d left the room and had to move to go down the corridor. When we were alone, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Your people have many stupid aliens.”

“Your people have many stupid ideas,” I shot back almost as fast. Garjah didn’t bristle at the insult, he just thought it over.

“Yes, they do.”

I couldn’t even argue with him. “They’ll learn,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”

Garjah hustled us back to the landing pad, keeping his body at my back. It felt nice. More than nice. I was protected, cherished, and no one would get near enough to harm me. Not while my two protectors were on the job.

“How long until we reach the ship?” I asked when we fastened in to our seats and Garjah manipulated the controls. Alarms blared outside our skimmer.

“About five hours. We’ll have to meet it in orbit near the southern ring, then circle the planet and head back. From there, maybe four or five of your days?”

Definitely long enough to make a plan for when we got back. Maybe I needed to let Garjah worry about all that; he’d come up with a great plan to get us off planet, and he’d done amazing talking to the Council. I’d stressed over my parents and the Institute to the point of making myself almost feel sick, yet next to nothing had come from that. I’d declared myself no longer associated with them, and voila… it had happened.

I went from being my parents’ son to Garjah’s mate. Feeling the warmth of his hand on my back, I was more than okay with that.

“Is there anything we have to do during the skimmer flight?” I asked.

Garjah blinked slowly, his gaze meeting mine. “Once I lock it in, no.”

Sure the space was cramped, and I couldn’t shower or change afterward, but we’d be alone again, in the silence of space with the stars dancing around us. I couldn’t wait to turn my back on this planet and face my future with Garjah.

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Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 80

  

“I shall go back and prepare my people for your ambassador’s visit.” Garjah tilted his head, one fist over his chest in salute. I guess he respected the Fertet who’d agreed to come in place of the Glo’ots the Council had tried to send in the first place. I’d vetoed that immediately, ignoring my mother’s hiss behind me. They were a species long part of the Galactic, but they were stuffy, bureaucratic types who would not do well with Garjah’s people.

No, to foster a relationship, they’d needed a species who held similar values and who would appreciate the beauty and landscape that invaded the city in ways that most spacefaring species no longer prioritized. The Fertet were a shifter species who needed land to roam in their bestial form, and the Council member’s son was a trained diplomat, so he was a natural choice for ambassador.

Plus I’d known him while I’d trained at the Institute, so I wasn’t as worried about him being a spy. Of course he’d be reporting to the Council, that was his duty. But he didn’t need to pick around for things that weren’t his business.

We’d surprised many of the Council members over the two days of meetings. Not only that Garjah was as capable an envoy and stringent at setting terms, but that I was by his side and would remain there.

I should have known that wouldn’t last.

“Of course you should, but Essell Deray will be going nowhere. He is a Fleet assigned researcher sponsored by the Institute and assigned to the Rinta.”

In an instant, Garjah had one hand locked around mine, and Bouncer was standing at alert, his ears erect and posture rigid. He rumbled in his chest, it echoing strangely. I glanced sideways and realized that it wasn’t an echo from Bouncer, but that Garjah was also rumbling as he stared at the sanctimonious Fleet officer blocking our retreat from the Council meeting room.

“You stole a skimmer, among other things.” Sonez glared at me. “You will return to your post and answer for your actions.” He curled his lip. “And then go straight to medical.”

“He will not.” Garjah squared off against Sonez. “I have made my terms very clear. Essell is one of my people now, and we do not answer to you.”

“You would dishonor your Fleet contract?” Sonez asked, trying to look at me over Garjah’s shoulder. He looked ridiculous, straining to make himself taller. “Disgrace your family name?”

“I would have disgraced my family name far more if I’d agreed to sleep with you to be allowed to go on missions, since you issued a standing order to keep me on ship until I agreed.”

We’d moved to a smaller chamber to finalize the details of arranging Ases’ role as ambassador, but there were three Council members present plus several staff members. At least a dozen heard me accuse him of abusing his rank and coercing junior crew members.

Red suffused Sonez’s cheeks, and he spluttered. “I would never do such a thing.”

“Funny, the vid I have of you making just such an order, in person I might add, counters that. Should I broadcast it?” He’d been talking to one of his cronies in security, and they’d locked me out of all legitimate missions and even the lab I’d been given.

He spluttered, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. I knew he wanted to hit me; I’d seen him do it to another crew member. He was an arrogant, self-important bully, but I knew how to handle those. I had evidence on him, and I would use it.

Not that I needed to. The second he took one step toward me, Bouncer crouched and his rumble turned into a snarl that showed off his impressive fangs. His claws slipped out of their sheaths and clicked on the metal floor.

The captain’s ruddy complexion paled at Bouncer’s threat, and he didn’t even realize the glistening claws were coated in a poison that would mean his death in seconds. All it would take was a single scratch.

“I am, first and foremost, bonded to this male and this friend who protects us.” I squeezed Garjah’s hand and placed on one Bouncer’s front shoulder. Even crouched, he was nearly waist high. Huh, when had he grown? “My commission in the Fleet is over. I do not work for the Institute. I am working for Garjah’s people now.”

What were they doing to do? Arrest me? As far as I was concerned, as soon as we left this city-covered rock, I was never coming back. Retiring to play host to a Fertet ambassador while Garjah handled security was more than enough work for me. He and Bouncer would probably get along great. One time, at the end of our first year, Ases had shifted into his beast form and climbed halfway up a building before he got scared and stuck. They’d had to use a personal skimmer with a net to get him down.

He tended not to look before he leapt into situations, or he had. It’d been two years since I saw him last, but he’d agreed immediately when I’d asked for him today. I figured being a low-level adjunct to some other official his dad got him in with was probably boring him to death.

“Now move, or you will be moved.” I didn’t give an inch; whoever had tried bringing Sonez into this situation thinking I’d listen to him or his arguments was seriously delusional.

Bouncer advanced, and Sonez scrambled back and toward the Heeze who’d sat silently while we negotiated. Ahh, that made sense. With his ebony skin and tinted eyes, he had to be at least part Heeze, and they were a race of beings who could not see past their own superiority.

I don’t think I hid my smirk very well.

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