Forever's Not Enough (Galactic League of Planets) (15 page)

Pointing around the field littered with thousands of bodies she tried again, “But…”

“I agree. They may look like Zandill Death Warriors, but they certainly don’t know how to fight like one,” and she heard him chuckle with pride.

Finally she found her voice, “But why are they here?”

“Ah, that is the question, isn’t it? And you’re not going to like the answer. Come, you must help me get into the castle. I’m afraid that fool of a father of yours will shoot first and ask questions later.”

* * * *

The laser canons had been silenced and the castle cleared. She fidgeted in her seat at her father’s right hand and, on the verge of tears, tried to stifle the purr that was ravaging her chest. She could tell the danger had lessened, but he still wasn’t safe.

She had watched the two men puff their chests and prance around for a moment and had quickly stepped in to put a stop to it, “I’m sick and tired of this! You’re both going to get us all killed if you don’t stop this stupid posturing, now sit down.” She shoved her father away before continuing, “And listen to what the premier has to say!”

“…a spy close to the chairman since the raids on Meline started about six months ago. She was able to follow what was happening, but could never discover why.”

She thought she’d pass out from the anxiety and bit her lip until it hurt.

“She finally got the information from someone named Crenshaw. Ultimately, the Corporation needs both our planets to complete the construction and fueling of ten mega starships, each designed to house a billion people, each to be sent in different directions in search of more civilizations that can be brought into the fold, so to speak.”

Her fidgeting was becoming distracting and her father looked at her strangely before asking, “Brought into the fold?”

“Brought under contract. The Corporation wants to spread their beliefs before someone else tries to force theirs on them.”

Somehow, in spite of her distraction, it all sank in, “But what do they need our planets for? You did say the entire planet, right?”

“It seems that Zandill’s surface composition is a rare mix of clay, other non-organics, silicates and zinc, that when processed correctly, creates the perfect ceramic for beam-ship shielding. Not only that but it seems that over fifty years ago they poisoned our atmosphere, a kind of eco-warfare, to strip the planet of anything organic, to make the processing easier.”

“But why strip the whole planet to shield some beam-ships. They could have made a contract and bought the stuff from you.”

“Not just any beam-ships, princess. These things are massive. Each ship is a quarter the mass of the earth’s moon with a surface area that would nearly cover Zandill completely. Then you must multiply that times ten.”

She couldn’t begin to imagine something that big hurtling through the vacuum of space.

He father asked, “And what of Meline?”

Zad tented his fingers before answering, “You have to imagine the amount of energy needed to bring a mass that size up to speed. And once they get it going they have to power it, and then when they finally find a place to stop, they have to stop it. With that kind of mass they can’t risk gravity rides around a planet for braking. They could risk throwing the planet out of orbit and wreck the solar system.”

“That’s why they’ve been mining our moon,” her father ventured. Then he asked, “But why invade the planet?”

“The helium 3 from your moon only services their existing population and fleet, but ten years ago they did a clandestine mineral survey of all known planets and discovered that Meline has a band of helium 3 fifteen miles below its surface that is thirty miles thick. More than enough for their needs.”

When no one spoke Zad continued, “They don’t care about the helium 3 on the surface of your planet. That’s not enough. Your moon either. They plan on breaking the planet open which will, of course, destroy your solar system, mining the helium 3 using asteroid mining techniques, and telling the rest of the galaxy you were wiped out by the Zandill.”

Peenzan struggled to speak clearly around her purr,
“And what about us? What about our people?”

“That thing your Sergeant Hillsborough found a few nights back and had blind-transported into space was a biological warfare weapon. They planned on decimating the entire population and blaming it on us. Their most recent invasion in the guise of Zandill Death Warriors was a second attempt to do the same.”

And I told him I hated him!
Jumping to her feet she fairly screamed, “And where is he now?”

Zad smiled and it infuriated her, “Why, he’s doing what any truly loyal mate to a Meline would do. He’s gone off to save you.”

Chapter Six

“We have to remove the chairman and force a change in the board of directors.”

Is this lady crazy?
He was sure she wasn’t talking about a vote of no confidence. Favoring his side, he found a chair and fell into it. Blake struggling against his bonds didn’t even register.

“And how do we remove a chairman and force a change in the board? I mean, I don’t think a memo’s going to do the trick.”

She moved around the cramped quarters rifling drawers and going through Blake’s closet. “According to the charter, if the chairman and three board members become incapacitated, there has to be an emergency vote within thirty days and the new chairman gets to appoint his own board.”

“Something tells me incapacitated is more than a broken leg or bloody nose.”

“You got it, Sherlock.”

He felt tired and the wound Lucy patched up throbbed. His shoulder was still sore from his tussle on Meline with that faux Zandill Warrior, and most of all he was going crazy worrying about Peenzan.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, it’s just that he didn’t think he could. Running his big hand across his face and trying to dip into his well of reserves, he finally asked, “Okay, how we gonna do this?”

She smiled and said, “That’s the spirit cowboy! Now put this on.”

He looked at the strange black thing that looked more like a shiny vinyl jockstrap than a piece of clothing and laughed, “You’re kidding. Aside from being way too small, what the hell am I going to do with that?”

“It’s the only way I can get you onto UC-1. I’m taking you back as my sex slave.”

“And what the hell is this?” The shiny chain attached to a black leather full head mask slipped through his fingers. He gawked at the zipper that ran up the back.

“Your D image is all over the place. It’s the only way I can get you to my quarters.”

“Yeah.” He was sure he sounded as uncertain as he felt. “This other thing will never fit. No way.”

She looked at the crotch of his pants and said, “They stretch.” Looking again she added, “A lot.”

* * * *

Peenzan stepped out of the transporter with Pran following close behind. In spite of her deep inner strength and courage, it was daunting stepping into the lion’s den.

She had come to plead again for the Corporation’s help. They’d deliberately cut off all outside communications from Meline, and she was confident the UC would believe her when she said the Zandill had brutally murdered the queen and king and were holding the Meline people hostage on their own planet.

Chin up, defiance written all over her face, she headed straight for the Meline diplomatic quarters and silently dared Crenshaw or anyone else to challenge her right to be there.

Her chest was riff with the rippling reminder that her mate, her love, was hurt, but at the moment, not hurting. Safe for the time being.

She had no real plan beyond getting an audience with the chairman, and wondered if she’d kill him then and there, in front of the board with her bare hands, or find some other place and time to do it.

She stopped mid-step and Pran bumped into her. “What is it, Princess?”

Her purr had settled. She could feel it. Feel him. He was close. He was onboard UC-1 and it drove her mad not to know how to find him. Zad had refused to give her any information.
Too dangerous
. She could compromise them all. Besides, he’d insisted, I don’t really know what their plan will be.

* * * *

He felt stupid and the black vinyl jockstrap was driving him insane. He wanted to tug at the strap in the back, but his wrists were cuffed together in front. And his field of vision was limited.

“Damn, Lucy, that one’s cute. Where’d you find him?”

They’d come through transport and taken the staff lift down to the Corporate staffer’s level and were wandering the hallways on their way to Lucy’s quarters.

“Oh, you know me, Debbie; I’ll go to the furthest planet in the galaxy to get laid.”

When a hand caressed his cock and squeezed his balls, he wanted to run. When the hand dug at the vinyl covering and slid inside he realized a truth Peenzan hadn’t explained about Meline love. No other woman would ever excite him again. Her clumsy fumbling just felt uncomfortable.

“Wow! And that thing’s limp as a noodle. That must be something else when you get his motor revving.”

“Oh,” Lucy replied and thankfully tugged his chain so he’d follow, “It is, sweetie. Believe me, it is.”

“But you’ll bring him tonight, won’t you?”

“Count on it!”

Once they were in her quarters, she unlocked the cuffs and he dug at the zipper, ripping the mask off and taking a deep breath, “Jeeeze, I’ll never do that again!”

Lucy was already dropping clothes. “Sorry, slick. You have to make one last appearance as king stud. Don’t worry, it’s a quick one.”

He looked around and decided her quarters were about as utilitarian as his. When she ducked behind a glass door in the corner of the room and started showering he found the refrigerator and foraged. He’d been hungry before the medication and now, with his body kicked into repair and rebuild mode, he was burning calories like crazy.

Before he could find food, he decided he’d had enough of the fucking black vinyl jockstrap and struggled to shove the thing down and off. Damn! Much better.

“You’re a Meline mate, aren’t you?”

He was beyond caring who saw him naked and tossed over his shoulder while he pulled a covered dish from the fridge. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

When he turned and found an equally naked Lucy dripping water on the floor gaping at him, her breasts bigger than he’d guessed and the top of her thighs accented by a small bare apostrophe, but the only thing he wanted to know was where she kept the silverware.

“Are you deformed or something?”

He didn’t know what the hell she was talking about and started pulling drawers to find a knife and fork. “Where’s the silverware? I’ve got to eat something.”

He grunted and kept looking when she quipped, “How ’bout me?”

“Sorry, not interested.”

“Too bad,” Lucy said grabbing a towel. “I’d sure love to play with that for a day or two. Maybe even a lifetime.”

Finally finding what he was looking for, he turned and sat at the small table, “No can do. Not yours to play with.”

Crossing the small room to a closet, she replied, “You sure know how to kill a girl’s ego.”

* * * *

Peenzan smiled. In spite of the situation, in spite of the chairman putting her off until tomorrow, in spite of the harsh words she’d said the last time she’d seen him, she smiled.

Sitting at the dressing table in the cleaning room in front of the mirror, she felt a warm rush start between her thighs and blossom in her chest, up her neck, and right to the tip of her nose which she saw had blushed brown.

He’s thinking of me. More importantly, he’s starting to believe. She smiled again and watched the tip of her nose darken even more.

Leaving her robe hanging on the wall, she left the cleaning room and crawled into her bed beneath the sheet. No, she corrected, rolling to the next pillow and sniffing hungrily, our bed.

The soft vibration of her chest comforted her. With a kick the sheet was at the foot of the bed, and she buried her face and spread her legs.

“I can smell you,” she whispered, her hand sliding between her stomach and the mattress.

“Um…” She closed her eyes, finding him in the dark. When she could feel the rough skin of his palms sliding on her back, she let her middle finger push gently between the swollen lips of her pussy.

The mattress fell away and she could feel the warmth of his broad chest beneath hers. His eyes, big and gentle, watched while she raised her ass and let it fall, riding her erect digit.

“Yes,” she whispered on a sigh.

Then his lips, his beautiful wet swollen lips, were on her mouth, and she opened her legs obscenely and took another ride, the tip of her finger pushing in just enough to find the warm wetness before sliding back out to spread it around.

His tongue found hers and she squeaked, bringing another finger along for the ride. When his big wonderful hands found her ass and played in her back-fall, the ride finally took off as she writhed and moaned, riding her fingers hard, with purpose.

She watched him smile and felt his hands move to her hips, and her movements became frantic, her other hand grabbing a handful of pillow while she waited for the lightbeam ship that was going to slam through her.

Eyes shut tight, mouth open in a silent scream into his pillow, a sheen of sweat glistening on her back, her breath caught, her purr stopped, and she exploded on the tips of her fingers.
His fingers
.

Frantic, she raised her ass again and slammed back into the mattress. Curling her fingers inside her cunt she rolled, pulling the pillow with her, and in quick jerking motions fingered herself past oblivion into nirvana.

“Princess? Are you okay, Princess? I heard something…”

“Shhh, Pran, he’s here with me.”

Reaching for the side of the bed she found Pran’s hand in the dark and tugged. It was something they’d often done, sharing each other’s warmth, talking and giggling. Tonight there’d be no talking or giggling.

The mattress shifted and she searched for the button at the top of Pran’s nightshirt. With a tuck and a push Pran’s naked body rolled onto the mattress beside her.

“I’m going to share him with you,” she whispered, rolling Pran away onto her side.