Hero (28 page)

Kyra fought back her tears. "Trag, you better do what he says," she said, punctuating her words with a sniff. "I don't know what... I mean, if anything ever happened to you..."

"I'll be careful," Trag promised. "You take care of things around here. I'll be fine."

"You aren't still mad at me, are you?"

For a moment, Trag didn't get what she was talking about. "What? Oh, that--!" he said with a dismissive gesture. "You were right. How could I be mad?"

"Well, I think it may be a moot point anyway," Kyra said with a glance at Micayla. "But still, be careful."

Trag saw no reason to hide his feelings. Pulling Micayla up against him with one

arm, he said, "I'm always careful. Besides, if I screw this up, Jack will kill me."

***

cockpit was spacious enough to have accommodated a Darconian. The command controls had a translator on them, making it obvious that the ship had been designed for use by different species, even though it was a Nerik ship belonging to a Nerik.

"Must be willing to sell to anyone these days," Trag muttered. "Wasn't always like that from what I hear."

"Who could blame them?" Micayla said. "In a war, you wouldn't want your opponent to have equal technology--and this stealth mode is quite a strategic advantage to anyone who has it, as we've seen."

"Still can't imagine why anyone--even Grekkor--would be stupid enough to give these ships to the Nedwuts," Trag grumbled. "They're enough trouble as it is."

"Desperate, I guess," Micayla said with a shrug. Taking a seat at the comstation, she tapped her fingers on the console. "Better com system than Leroy's too," she added.
"And scanners! No wonder he wanted some collateral for this ship! It must be worth a fortune. Wonder why he didn't show up for the launch?"

"The Great Mother only knows," Trag said as he adjusted the controls. "Probably hiding out in The Shrine with Shentuck so we wouldn't make him come with us."

"That would still be the best idea," Micayla said. "He's more familiar with--"

"Are you saying I can't fly this thing as well as he can?" Trag demanded.

"Well, it is his ship," Micayla pointed out, "and he's used to it. All ships have their little quirks, and he didn't tell you a thing about how to fly it."

"I can do it," Trag said with calm assurance. "No sweat."

"I'm sure you can," Micayla said warmly, "but that's not the only thing I'm concerned about. Neither of us have ever been to Nerik, and he's bound to know more about his own world than any of us possibly could--no matter how much research Curly did."

"Veluka is such a wuss." Trag grinned. "A little trouble with Grekkor and he's off somewhere humming."

"Which means he obviously knows a few things about our opponent that would be worth knowing. I was up against Grekkor briefly, but let me tell you, he's not only ruthless and cunning but a little crazy too. Not a good combination."

"Sounds like your typical villain," Trag commented. "Aren't they all like that?"

"Maybe so, but he's got an awful lot of people working for him. I felt as if the entire station had turned against us after he spotted me. We couldn't trust anyone--except maybe the hookers . He's a very powerful man."

"That'll just make bringing him down that much sweeter," Trag said as he put the ship through a pre-flight test. "Besides, he'd have been dead meat a long time ago if Jack had known what he'd done."

Micayla didn't argue the point, the truth of which was patently obvious. "Speaking of Jack, I need to lock in her ship's frequency."

Trag watched her out of the corner of his eye as she adjusted the controls with

nonchalant efficiency. No doubt about it, she knew her job well.

"I'd hate to miss it if Jack ever does meet up with him," Trag said. "I just hope we can find him before he heads off to some other world. He might not be as easy to find the next time."

"What happens if we miss?"

"We'll try again," Trag replied. "There is no way we can just let him go on with this vendetta against us. Too bad we didn't find out about all this a little sooner. There might have been a lot more of us left to start over again."

"Do you really think it's possible?" Micayla asked. "Starting over, I mean. There are so few of us..."

"I know," he said. "But I promise to do my part."

Micayla laughed. "Am I going to be pregnant for the rest of my childbearing

years?"

"Possibly," Trag admitted. "I won't be able to keep from trying if you're anywhere around." Giving her a meaningful look, he added, "You're irresistible, Mick. You know that, don't you?"

"Me?" she exclaimed. "I thought you were the one who was irresistible."

Trag shook his head. "Not really--not to you, anyway."
Micayla looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean? Trag, I've never wanted

anyone before in my life. Now I can't--"

"Keep your hands off of me? Seems like you can. You're focused on the mission, whereas I'm sitting here wishing Grekkor would just up and die of the damn plague and save us the trouble of going after him so we can fuck continuously for the rest of our lives."

Her slow, seductive smile had Trag's fingers fumbling on the controls. "Well, we can do that after we catch him."

Trag wasn't sure he believed her. "You mean it?"

Micayla nodded. "I have to make up for lost time."

Trag groaned and gave his hair a yank. "Don't say things like that when we've got a mission to accomplish!"

"Just a little incentive for you to pay attention to what you're doing."

"I pay attention!" Trag insisted. "I just don't--" He broke off there as the cabin alarm lights began flashing and smoke curled up from a nearby control panel.

"I don't think you are--unless that's normal behavior for a Nerik ship."

"How the hell would I know?" Trag muttered as he reengaged the safety lock.

"Never been on one before."

"My, that's very encouraging," she said. "It's not too late to get Veluka to come with us, you know."

"Like I said, I don't think he intends to let us try, or he'd have been here."

"I don't suppose there's an operator's manual, is there?" Micayla said as she got up to look around the cockpit. Unfortunately, if there was any flight information to be had, it wasn't lying about in plain sight.

"It's probably written in Nerik anyway," Trag said. "I'll get this figured out in a minute. I always do."

Micayla chuckled. "I wish I had your confidence. I'm not stupid, but jumping into a strange ship and trying to fly it isn't something I've ever considered."

"That's because you aren't a pilot. You can work the com system, can't you?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"Same thing," Trag said with a firm nod. "Just be patient. I'll have us flying in no time."

Micayla leaned over his shoulder and pointed to a blinking switch. "What's that?"

"The self-destruct sequencer," Trag replied.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely. First rule of flying a starship: Never flip a blinking switch." Trag paused for a moment. Turning his head, his nose encountered her hair and he inhaled deeply. His cock sprang to attention so quickly he thought it would pop right through his shorts. "I'm not purring, Mick. What gives?"

"Must be your manly piloting skills," she murmured in his ear. Giving it a lick, she began purring. "I never knew this purring thing could feel so good. Sort of comforting and arousing at the same time."

Arousing was right; Trag let out a yelp as his cock seemed to fold in half as it

strained against the confining fabric of his pants.

"Not hurting you, am I?" she asked, tugging at his earlobe with her fangs.

"Mick, you're killing me," he said frankly. "I never knew you to be... like this."
"The aggressor, you mean? That's funny, I thought I did that the first time I bit you."

Trag considered this for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I suppose you did.

Damn! This is getting more complicated all the time. Cat just told me to purr... but it seems like there's more to it than that."

"What can I say?" Micayla purred. "You're irresistible--and you know it."

Trag took a brief moment to savor this revelation before commenting on it.

"Maybe, but enticing female Zetithians was supposed to be really hard to do."

Micayla shrugged. "Perhaps it's because I don't have the cultural background that the others did. I've been around boy-crazy girls my whole life. Just because I didn't feel the attraction to men doesn't mean I didn't want to. I wasn't taught to resist the impulse, and I tried, Trag, believe me, I tried very hard to feel it! You're just the only one it ever worked with. I think it was the hissing thing that threw me. I thought it meant I couldn't stand you rather than the other way around. It was very confusing."

"Means you like me, doesn't it?" Trag said smugly as he began purring himself.

"Means I want to suck your dick," she replied, licking the tip of his ear. "Now, get this ship into space so we can engage the autopilot, and I'll suck you all the way to Nerik."

The thought of Micayla sitting on the floor between his legs and licking his cock while he flew the ship nearly had Trag choking on his own spit. He tapped a few more spots on the console and the engines responded instantly.

Patting him on the shoulder, Micayla said, "See, you just needed the right

incentive."

"What? You mean you--? Well, maybe so," he admitted. "But I'm going to hold you to that promise."

Blowing him a kiss, Micayla returned to her station. "Looking forward to it, Trag.

Keep your dick hard for me."

"I'll do my best," he promised.

"I want lots of cock syrup too," she said before turning her attention to a hail from the Jolly Roger. "Jack says bon voyage."

"It will be," Trag said with conviction. "I just hope it's a really long trip to Nerik."

"Jack said it would take us three weeks."

Her tone of voice wasn't lost on Trag. No doubt about it, she was as pleased with the prospect as he was. "My dick will be worn out completely by then," Trag said. "But I'm certainly not going to complain."

"Hey, Trag," she began.

"Yeah, Mick?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being so irresistible. I never thought I'd find someone like you. I thought I'd be alone forever, but you changed that. I just want you to know how much I appreciate it."

Trag had never expected this. "Fuck buddies forever?" he asked hopefully.

"Fuck buddies forever."

***
She meant it too. It was becoming increasingly clear that Trag was more than just

another Zetithian. He'd said that what they were feeling was only chemistry, but it was a chemistry she'd never felt with a man before. And she liked it. He was fun. He was sexy.

He made her laugh and made her feel emotions she hadn't known she possessed. It might not be love, but whatever it was, she had no intention of giving it up anytime soon.
Chapter 21

After takeoff, Micayla did a few quick communication checks with the Darconian

spaceport authority while Trag played around with flying the ship. One nice thing about that kind of flying: out in space there wasn't a whole lot to crash into. She knew that Trag was just getting a feel for the ship, but looking out the porthole at the rapidly diminishing planet as it spiraled off behind them was almost enough to make her spacesick.

Trag was like a kid with a new toy, which his occasional exclamation of delight

proved. She could hear him talking to the ship and to himself as she set out to explore the rest of the vessel. Veluka had made a big mistake by not coming with them; Micayla suspected that Trag might conveniently forget to return his ship.

The Okeoula was laid out much like any other starship; command stations in the

forward compartments with the galley and the common rooms in the middle, the crew quarters aft and the cargo hold below with the engine pods on either side. Even though one man could fly it, it had accommodations for a total of six. The largest compartment was obviously Veluka's--which Micayla had no intention of using--but whoever had

prepped the ship for their voyage had fixed up the two next largest cabins, one with Trag's belongings and another with her own--not that she had very much. Giving us the benefit of the doubt, she mused. It was nice to know that she and Trag could sleep separately if they wished, but she, for one, had no such intention.

The night she'd spent with Trag out on the portico had been a real eye-opener for Micayla. She had enjoyed every bit of it--from the fabulous sex, to falling asleep with him beneath the stars, and then waking up with him in the morning--and she was

definitely looking forward to doing it again.

"Who'd have thunk it?" she muttered as she headed back to the galley. After peeking into a few cupboards, she found a number of utensils she couldn't identify, as well as some of the more familiar sort. As she might have expected, the stasis unit was filled with Darconian produce. Some of the other less recognizable provisions she took to be Veluka's. Not knowing much about Nerik cuisine, she made a mental note to leave them alone.

Sitting down at the table, she consulted the information module Curly had given

them. The climate on Nerik was similar to that of Earth with a variety of biospheres, and though most of the vegetation was harmless, there were some dangerous animals. They would have to be careful. The natives she and Trag each knew something about, though certainly not everything. Not for the last time she wished Veluka had been with them.

Still, being alone with Trag for the next three weeks had its appeal, and Micayla had no doubt that her promise to suck him all the way to Nerik was at least possible, if not very feasible. Smiling to herself at the prospect, it occurred to her that the things that other women talked about made sense now--like referring to a man as being "hot" or

"sexy" or a "hunk." Trag was all of those things and more. It had simply been a matter of finding a man of the same species. Simple, yes, but also unlikely as hell. The odds against having landed on the one ship that contained Trag were astronomical, and their friendship was even more so.
Micayla was still reviewing Curly's info when Trag sauntered in.