Dante’s Command: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Science Fiction Alien Romance) (Survival Wars Book 1) (4 page)

It came all at once, a brilliant flare of sunlight that
slashed across space and slanted right into her eyes.  Groaning in pain,
Mariella put up her hand to shield her eyes and turned her head away to hide,
but the light continued to hit her no matter where she looked.

“Damn,” she grumbled, and opened her eyes.  Had she fallen
asleep at her desk or something?  Was that why her back was so sore?  However,
when she looked around, the strange reality came rushing back in and she
remembered exactly where she was and why, and that this wasn’t just a matter of
the morning sun shining in through her window at the perfect angle.

Still shielding her eyes, she looked out at the screen and
saw that its entirety was ablaze with frothing sunlight, as brilliant white as
fresh-fallen snow.  And somewhere in the midst of it all was a tannish discus
of shadow, which could only be Venus.

Wait,
she realized. 
Sunlight.  And it’s so
bright, so we have to be even closer.

Light meant that at least for one moment, she could see all
that which she missed before.  And so she took a look around now to take in all
the details which had been unavailable mere minutes before.  The ship was no
longer simply shifting patterns of dark and light.  The keyboard buttons,
though not lit up internally as they might previously have been due to Dante
cutting power to save on fuel for this last leg of the journey, were various
shades of orange and green.  And she saw now that there actually was very
little color, and most of that was with the men themselves.  Their clothes, she
saw now, were matte and purple, with more accents of orange and green. 
Truthfully, the outfits were hideous.

But the men themselves?

Their skin was darker than she previously thought, bordering
on dusky, and their dark hair ranged from rich brown all the way to black.  And
their eyes were all golden as honey, though some were nearer to liquid sunlight
and the others held the feel of old nectar left at the edge of the hive. 
Nevertheless, they were all beautiful in a way she hadn’t had a chance to appreciate
until now.

And the sight of Dante, truly the most beautiful of them
all, made her loins ache.

He approached her shortly after her awakening.  “We will be
home in a matter of an hour,” he informed her, and then hummed a little
worriedly.

“Is something bothering you?” she asked, rubbing her tired
eyes.

Dante glanced around at his working men, who all seemed to
be revived by the fresh light, and then he nodded.  “We have but only a drop or
two of fuel left.  I pray it gets us beneath the atmosphere, or else we will
not survive the friction of the descent.”

Part of her wanted to be worried too, but she couldn’t
really manage the trouble.  At best, she felt sympathy for his predicament and
nothing more. 
Just too tired…

As it was, she just barely managed to nod in the hopes that
he would get the message.  He frowned a little, thoughtfully.  “Perhaps we
should get you in the suit now,” he suggested.  “The rest of us are very
capable of dressing quickly but I feel you may need some lengthy adjustments.”

Not knowing what else to do or if protesting was even an
option –did this mean he would see her naked?- she just shrugged and then let
him lead her out of the command room and down through the darkened halls.  By
now, she knew her way around merely by the amount of steps it took to get
somewhere, and she followed him easily to a room she hadn’t quite found a use
for yet.

Looking a little grudgingly at the ceiling, she watched as
Dante reached out and flipped a knob on the wall at just the slightest degree
so the lights came on dimly.  After the power of the sun she had to struggle to
adjust again.

He approached one section of the wall and it opened for him,
far wider than the automatic door by the command room had.  The entire wall
slid in on itself, and Mariella saw at least two dozen hanging suits.

To her surprise, they resembled the old scuba diving gear,
with bulbous helmets and clunky exterior.  “Does this stuff actually work?” she
asked, brushing past him with a bit of her old curiosity.  Their hips touched
and he stiffened, shuffling away a little.

“Of course it does,” he replied, sounding a little
offended.  “Of course, it is never wise to linger in an unfriendly atmosphere,
but these are serviceable enough for short jaunts across the surface.  Each is
equipped with a miniature reactor,” he tapped a bulky panel placed directly
over the heart, “and is entirely rechargeable once that fuel drains.  But, we
don’t often go to the surface anymore.  We’ve not a lot of fuel left to replace
what is lost.”

“Of course,” she replied, and then stepped back as he
reaching in and pulled one of the suits off the hook.  It was made from the
same gaudy, shimmering material as the Drones’ clothes, and every bit as
painful on the eyes. 

Dante began to undo the various hooks and straps which held
the suit together.  Her eyes widened as she realized its true complexity and
how many layers there actually were.  As he seemed to completely unfold and
disassemble the entire thing, she caught sight of wires and tubes and little
mechanical parts the purpose of which she couldn’t fathom.

When he was done and the suit in his hands was completely
unrecognizable, he held it up to her.  “This is the smallest we have, I am
afraid.  It may not quite fit you but it shall suffice.”

“If I’m wearing one, what happens to the original wearer?”
she asked.

Dante laughed a little, seeming glad to be able to put her
at ease.  “He waits on the ship until we send his suit back for him.”

“Right,” she muttered, turning her head a little to hide her
embarrassment at being so slow on the uptake.

However, Dante just grinned encouragingly.  “You will feel
much better after you put this on, I promise you.”  He paused and then tilted
his head.  “May I assist?”

“If you didn’t, I’d be here forever,” she said quickly, and
truthfully.

But, perhaps even more than that, she just wanted to feel
taken care of.

Dante nodded understandingly and then draped part of the
suit around her shoulders.  Very carefully and respectfully, he lifted her arms
out to the side.  “Keep them there, please,” he requested, and then set to work
folding the suit back around her body while rehooking all the hooks and
securing all the straps.  The material was heavier than she thought it would
be, like being dragged down by the weight of wet clothes while swimming, and
she could hardly feel his hands through it.  That was disappointing.  She found
herself craving his touch, and the distorted pressure just barely on her skin
didn’t really satisfy. 

It was better than nothing she supposed, and his breath on
her skin at times was even better.  She shivered several times.  Each time, he
asked what was wrong but she only shook her head and said it was excitement.

It’s excitement alright,
she thought, fighting to
keep herself under control.  This would be a very bad time to get horny,
especially if this thing was going to monitor her vitals like she thought it
would.

After that, she was just in a hurry for him to back off.

Eventually he did, and then he glanced down at the helmet by
his feet.  “Does that feel okay?” he asked shyly.

Taking a few experimental steps, she decided it would do. 
Still heavy and cumbersome, and no matter how tightly Dante adjusted the
straps, it was just obviously meant for a bigger guy, but it would do.  “I
guess so.  How does it work?”

“The helmet has to be on,” he said apologetically.  “It will
feel strange and unpleasant but I assure you that as soon as it is secured, I
will give you more air.  You need it, and I apologize for having withheld it.”

You should be,
she thought, but deep inside she
understood.  He was only thinking of the remnants of his entire civilization. 
Soon, she would be too.  Comfort was very low on the list in order of
importance.

Dante’s smiling face was the last thing she saw as he
settled the helmet over her head, and the first thing she saw through the
blurry front visor.  He still smiled, encouragingly, and she held onto it as
her breath started misting up the glass.  It quickly grew hot in the helmet,
her breath souring what little air was trapped within, and short jabs of panic
started to jump up and down the base of her spine.  The urge to start gasping
was almost unbearable.  What if she ran out of air in here?  She couldn’t feel
anything, couldn’t hear anything.  What if all of this had been a trap all
along and he was killing her?  What if…

Suddenly, a pure hit of oxygen filtered in her lungs.  The
relief was so immense and euphoric that she started gasping anyway, almost on
the verge of passing out.  The taste of the air was canned and metallic, and
so, so sweet.

Dante was speaking to her and she could hear him now but she
was lost on a high, no longer starved of air, no longer needing anything but
this brilliant moment of pleasure.

Very gradually however, the high lessened.

In the back of her mind, she figured that Dante was
adjusting her personal atmosphere to a mixture more resembling Earth’s air, but
she just closed her eyes and breathed.  At intervals, her lungs and throat
ached.  Other times, she could hardly feel anything over the tingling numbness
of her adjusting body.

Distantly, he said, “There.  How do you feel?”

Experimentally, trying to focus now, she inhaled.  Still
canned and metallic, but now the mere act of breathing didn’t send her into
hallucinations.  In fact, she might have mistaken this air for being from Earth
if not for the knowledge otherwise, and a bit of heaviness.

“Much better,” she sighed.  “Thank you so much.  But if I
wear it like this now, won’t it drain the power too fast?”

“That will be a risk we have to take,” he said simply.  “It
should be fine.  And if we must, we can hook you up to the computer for a bit
of charging before venturing out.”

Like I’m nothing more than a tool,
she thought, and
then sighed again.  Of course she was a tool, and not really a woman.  That was
the whole point of this, after all.

“If you think you will be able to make it back, I must get
my men in their suits as well.  Landing is going to be tricky, as I have
explained, and I want everyone prepared in case of an emergency.”

“Of course,” she replied, listening to the tinny sound of
her own voice filtering through the helmet.  The alien buzzed appreciatively at
her, and then back away to leave her alone with the wall of suits.

There was nothing left for her to do but to follow him
back.  Progress was slower now, the addition of the suit throwing off her
balance and sense of placement, but she was being constantly passed by the
other aliens as they headed away from the command room to receive their own
protection.  All she had to do was follow where they came from, and sure enough
she found herself back in the control room.

Dante was watching, waiting for her.  “Come over here,” he
said, laughing a little.

Glaring as best as she could, but delighting in the sight of
his smile anyway, Mariella trudged over to him.  His smile only grew wider, and
he reached out his hand to help her up the last few steps of the ramp.

“Perhaps I forgot the differences in our strength,” he said,
still smiling.  “Are you okay?”

“It’s cumbersome,” she admitted, but his amusement was worth
it.  She didn’t say that part out loud, however.

His eyebrows drew together thoughtfully.  “We do not have
any extra seats in here.  Each ship is built to very exact specifications.”

“Does that mean I’ve been sleeping in someone else’s bed?”
she interrupted.

“Well, yes,” he confessed.  “Mine.  But that is not the
issue here.  Landing is not a very good time to be standing up.”

Looking out the screen at the scene before them, she had to
agree.  Venus loomed large, covered with an infamous layer of poison cloud. 
“So, what should I do?”

“Sit up here with me,” he instructed, and slid over slightly
on his seat.  It was hardly enough room for her hip to rest on, and their butts
would be touching.  She leapt into the chance, and cuddled herself as close to
his side as she could without bonking him on the head with this huge helmet. 
“When we land, I will be able to hold onto you secure.”

“What about your suit?  Should I get up so you can go get
it?”

Looking around, she noticed that all the other men were
dressed now and returning to their computers.  The realization hit that
he
meant
to be the suitless man chilled her a little, but she knew he wouldn’t let her
argue about it.  They were just strangers after all.

“I will be fine,” he said simply.  “It will delay our walk
through the colony together, as I must be there to present you to the Queen,
but it should be a wait well worth it.”

I hope so,
she thought, but very quickly there was no
more time for conversation.  She watched with uncomprehending admiration as
Dante began to work, reaching around in front of her to tap at some buttons, so
his arm brushed over the material on her chest.  His fingers flew with purpose,
always adept and ready.