“Okay, everyone stand back,” Jolene said, adjusting her wrist computer and activating a protocol to move the ship’s furniture. They watched as the couches, end tables, and other pieces were gently floated by anti-grav systems. Jolene cleared the room, placing them all against the wall for now, leaving a wide-open space before the luxury ship’s expansive main viewport.
“Fancy,” Kurt commented, “what’s a ship like this set you back?”
Jolene snorted, “a favor from the Zetan Empress, I don’t want to even think about what this thing costs retail, let alone all the customization the old owner did on it.”
“Who was that exactly?” Telma asked curiously as they watched the furniture move.
“Zetan crime lord,” Jolene said, “I haven’t named the ship yet, but given its history I’m half thinking of calling it the Tony Montana.”
“The broadcast equipment is ready Miss Jolene,” Meana said eagerly, leading the group of Zetans as they approached, hovering drones behind them.
Zenya frowned, looking at Kurt’s scar, “umm, excuse me, Mister Kurt? I can fix that for you, we have some cosmetic grade medical nanites on board and-“
“Don’t you dare touch it,” Nea said, moving close to him and giving him a quick wink.
“R-Right,” she said, quickly joining the rest of Jolene’s crew as they guided the hovering drones.
Kurt saw glassy panes on the front, cameras, he realized. The four Zetans were ushering Kira and him to the center of the room, adjusting the drones around them almost like it was a movie shoot.
“Why do you have all of this stuff?” Kurt asked curiously, watching Tolith type in commands on his wrist computer.
“Well, the ship’s got some high-end broadcasting gear because the gal who owned it wanted to be able to talk to her underlings anywhere in the galaxy,” Jolene explained. “The cameras are uh… well, those are mine. I went through a bit of a phase where I wanted to make… movies, with my crew here.”
“What, like art films?” Joey asked obliviously.
Jolene fought a chuckle, “not the kind of art you pin on the fridge, but sure.”
“So how far is this message going to go?” Kurt asked, looking down at the planet nervously.
“I’m going to send it out on law enforcement and government frequencies,” Jolene said, “nobody planetside is using them for anything useful right now anyway, but I’ll bet a message from the Princess will get picked up and bounced around all the civilian communications systems. Some of the hyperlane beacons are still up, so you might get picked up by other systems. Who knows? it could go all the way to Earth.
“So can I just stand behind Nea or…” Kurt let the question hang in the air.
“No, you’ve got to say something,” Joey said, “someone’s got to tell them she’s not still holding us hostage or whatever.”
“An appeal to any in-system humans for help may also carry more weight coming from a human,” Telma said, “try to be… emotional.”
“Right,” he muttered.
“Kurt, relax, you look exactly like the kind of guy I’d want to get behind in this situation,” Joey said.
“I always let you take the lead when we went out to bars or got into crazy shit!” Kurt protested.
Joey just chuckled, “is that how it was? Man, I’d have never stuck my neck out on anything if I didn’t know you’d be there to pull my ass out of it.” He gave one of those heartbreaker smiles, “now go on, save the universe.”
“And we are live in three,” Jolene began, “two, one!”
…
Alrec was in a state of chaos, everyone knew the Cephalo fleet would arrive soon, there was no hiding, no shelter, nothing but the inevitability of approaching death. Despair had set in, some Zetans gathered their children, simply returning home to await the inevitable with loved ones. Others imbibed their drugs of choice, still more indulged in carnal pleasures in what they thought were there final hours. Fires raged unchecked, a few more short-sighted individuals committed acts of theft, ground transports clogged the streets. While Zetans were a mostly secular people, the temples to various ancestral gods were filled to capacity, and the few Earth native missionary organizations with a presence on the planet suddenly had their own sites of worship swarmed with Zetans who were suddenly very interested in saving their souls.
Of the humans in system, most had retreated to their spacecraft. When the governor’s coup announcement had gone out, they had read the writing on the wall and hid themselves. Some were in space, hoping to elude the Zeta Forever fleet in the asteroid field, others had submerged themselves in the planet’s toxic seas. The planet’s few permanent human residents had either barricaded themselves in their homes, weapons ready, for no human lived on Alrec unarmed, or they had taken shelter with trusted Zetan friends. When word of the Cephalo attack had come, they despaired in the same manner as the Zetans did, turning to physical pleasures, prayer, and… acceptance.
Most wrist computers, viewscreens, and holoprojectors were set to pick up any official transmissions, so when Nea appeared, in her regal dress and with a calm face, it caught the attention of most of the planet immediately. They recognized her, their rogue princess and would-be empress, and across Alrec the throes of pleasure and sorrow paused as they waited to see what should we say.
“This is Princess Nea Brightstar,” she began, “Daughter of Empress Tetra Brightstar of the Zetan Empire.”
There was confusion all over the planet as a human stepped into frame, a young blond man, with a facial scar down his cheek. Some of the humans recognized him from Earth broadcasts, Kurt and Joey’s faces had been plastered across all manner of news coverage, along with tearful interviews with their family members pleading for their return.
“I’m Kurt Miller,” he said with a nervous smile, “Of uh… Iowa, United States, Earth.” He paused, “Agricultural Department. We’ve got a few things we’d like to say, Nea?”
She nodded and looked at the camera, “I will begin by saying that I had no part in the attempted assassination of my mother, Governor Lenais crowned me against my will, and I hereby renounce all claims to the Zetan throne, now and forever.” She paused, sighing, “To the people of Earth, to humanity, I committed an act of unspeakable barbarity and foolishness against you, and I am truly sorry.”
Kurt cleared his throat, “I also want to make it clear, the princess isn’t holding me against my will, not right now anyway. Joey- Joseph Atchinson is fine too, wave for the camera Joey!” The camera swiveled suddenly, focusing on an embarrassed Joey and Telma, who waved nervously. “Anyways,” he continued, the camera focusing back to him, “I know there’s no way for you guys at home to… verify I guess, but the princess is sincere.” He sighed, “that’s not really the main part of what we need to talk about though.”
“By now you have all heard that a large Cephalo incursion is coming for Alrec,” Nea said, “I will not lie to you, our situation is dire.” She paused for effect, “but it is not hopeless.” She looked out the viewport, allowing the camera to see the planet, along with the ships in orbit around it, sleek grey and white dots from this view. “Our people are unshakable, even in the face of such terrors,” she said, “we have built mighty fleets, conquered a vast empire, and now we stand here with the tools of war in our hands!” She turned back, a fierce expression on her face, “As your princess, I will not quietly allow myself to be slaughtered like some animal. Following this message I will transmit coordinates; I am ordering all Zetan military craft to report to them and await my commands. We will destroy this enemy fleet, and teach them what it means to wage war against the Zetan people!”
She turned to Kurt expectantly, and he nodded and stepped forward, “She’s said her piece,” he began, “I guess it’s time to say mine.” He sighed, “I’ll start with the obvious, we can’t fight these things on our own, neither can they. That’s the bill we’ve been looking at for the last forty years, most of us only thought about it in the same way we think about all the other political shit, taxes are too high, someone should outlaw that thing in the news, Zetans are assholes,” he chuckled a little at Nea’s glare, “today that’s not how it is, we don’t get to say a politician or an Empress made that decision for us, we all get to, have to, make it ourselves.”
He paused, trying to think of what to say next, this was the harder part…
“I know plenty of people are saying, ‘good, to hell with them,’ to the idea of the Cephalos killing us all, getting the satisfaction of knowing they died too… I’ve had my own thoughts about that, a Zetan killed my grandad, my dad’s still got nightmares about them, and almost everyone on Earth has their own story about that kind of thing.”
He looked at Nea, at Telma, then back to the camera, “I’m sure everyone knows by now what happened to Joey and me in Clearwater… What Nea did to us I mean…” He shifted, unsure how to continue, “I think… I think that she, all of them, they fell for the same kind of stuff people fell for on Earth, the kind of thinking that gets you to do things you know are wrong, but you say it’s okay for whatever reason, that person’s evil, hell that’s not a person at all, maybe you even feel good about it.” He shrugged, “some of them aren’t sorry, and never will be, some of them are, and they’re doing their best to fix things, even if they know they really can’t. My point is I think they’ve been acting a lot like how we would… I’ve seen them do all the same things we would otherwise, they’ve got friends, families…” He fumbled, trying to put his ideas to words, “I guess what I’m saying is, when I look down at a planet of a billion of them and ask myself, do they all deserve to die? No, I really don’t believe they do, so if I can do something to save them? I’m going to.”
He took one final deep breath, “I don’t have anything else to say, Nea’s going to send out the coordinates for the Zetan ships, to all my fellow men and women from Earth, we’d love it if you could stop by and give us a hand.”
Jolene nodded at him from behind the camera, as did the four Zetans who gave thumbs up. Telma and Joey were holding hands, grinning at him. He breathed out slowly, then looked at Nea with a smile.
“How was that?” he asked quietly.
“Wonderful,” she replied softly. He leaned towards her, and they embraced in a kiss.
“And cut!” Jolene called.
Kurt’s eyes went wide, and he parted from Nea suddenly, “What do you mean cut!?” he exclaimed, “I thought you were done when I finished talking!?”
“No, we kept broadcasting,” Tolith explained, looking up from his wrist computer in concern, “did you want us to stop?”
“Did you broadcast the kiss!?” Kurt asked, eyes wide.
“Of course, it really tied the whole thing together,” Jolene said with a chuckle.
“Oh stars,” Nea said, her green face growing pale, “you didn’t…”
…
The current directive was that everything out of Alrec was to be blocked on all frequencies, banned from broadcast. The statements that rebels on Alrec had been destroyed by the Cephalo attack had already been written, edited, approved for publication, from the Cultural Department’s perspective Alrec had already fallen, and the stern warnings against the folly of xenophobia and rebellion were prepared, the talk show hosts and opinion columnists scheduled, booked, and paid for.
Adam had been informed of the decision to let the planet die, and it had been troubling him. Of the relatively few Cultural Department employees in the loop, there were mixed feelings. Some were ecstatic, while the department’s employees generally had a friendlier view of Zetans than the public, plenty were still leery of them. The thought of a Zeta Forever controlled world being snuffed out by squids for their anti-human rhetoric? That made some of them positively giddy.
For Adam’s part, he was morose, staring out his window in thought. It seemed… a failure somehow, on his part, the whole Cultural Department’s part. The rational part of his mind knew there was nothing he could do about it, but the idea of simply letting an entire planet be killed to prove a point? It unnerved him in a way he couldn’t describe.
His door swung open, and he swiveled his chair to see Kira entering excitedly, “Adam!” she said, “I’ve got something you’ve got to see!”
He raised an eyebrow, “More bad news?”
“No,” she said, pairing her wrist computer to the screen on his wall, “I was reviewing intercepted transmissions from Alrec, seeing if there was anything useful in there. Most of it is pretty upsetting, calls for help, threats, ranting… but this just came in!”
Adam’s eyes went wide as Princess Nea and Kurt Miller appeared on his screen. He watched their impassioned pleas to both of their people, and crowed in triumph, pumping his fist when the two embraced in a passionate kiss.
“That was spectacular!” he crowed. He looked to Kira with a smile on his face, “Has anyone seen this yet?”
“No,” Kira said, returning his grin, “like everything else out of Alrec it’s being censored, but you know what would happen if people saw this?”
“They’d want Alrec saved,” Adam said, realization dawning on him, “there would be a public outcry! The fleets would have to move.” He thought a moment, “do we know if any of the Zetans and humans in that system are working together?”
“Not yet,” Kira said, “we won’t know for a few hours at least, but we could start broadcasting Nea and Kurt’s video across controlled networks, the combined Zetan-Human fleet is practically on their doorstep! They could enter the system and-“
“Let’s leave the tactics to the military to decide,” Adam said with a happy grin as he stood up, “come on, we’re going straight to the director’s office!”
…
Director Manford was a portly man, late middle aged and balding slightly. He watched the video in silence with Kira and Adam, the screen in his office reflected on his spectacles as his mouth became a thin line. As Nea and Kurt kissed, he tapped a button on his own wrist-computer and shut the video off.
“Well, what do you think?” Adam asked excitedly, “I was thinking we can start having the usual sources push it and then work our way through the B-list celebrities before it officially “breaks” and-“
“Adam,” Director Manford said with a sigh, “we’re not going to allow this to be broadcast.” Adam started in surprise, looking to Kira, then to the director, stunned. She was as confused as he was, and the two of them stared at the director, speechless. He sighed, “I’m afraid the decision has been made, and at this point the story both Earth and the Empire need right now is one… retribution if you will.”
“I understand the public is angry,” Adam said hesitantly, “but don’t you think seeing these two come together like this… rallying both of our peoples together? You don’t think that might change some people’s minds about things?”
“It might,” Manford admitted, “and that’s precisely why it will not be released.” He looked to Kira a moment, “Kira my dear, you know I harbor no resentment for your people, but you must understand that others do.”
“Of course,” Kira said quietly, looking down.
“I heard about the unpleasantness in the market,” Manford muttered, “terrible stuff… I’m very sorry that it happened to you, but it only highlights what I’m saying.”
“And what are you saying?” Adam asked, anger rising, “that we’re going to let a billion people die for what… revenge?”
“That there is a segment of our population that isn’t placated by Alliance Day, or reparations money, or free technology, or any other well wishes and bribes, there is a segment that wants a little justice,” Manford said, his own voice rising, “a little retribution, a little blood Adam. For forty years humanity has been rubbing its jaw, wondering when we would get the chance to hit back, well today we’re going to let one of their planets die, we’re going to watch it happen, we’re going to celebrate it.” He grimaced, “and then every time a Zetan thinks, ‘I’m better than those earth monkeys, I should shrink one,’ she’ll remember the billion people who died on Alrec because of that belief.”
The Director glanced at Kira and sighed, “and maybe there are some humans, who will see a Zetan walking alone, and then be able to let some of it go, knowing that some of the suffering they endured was avenged in some way.”
“This is monstrous,” Kira whispered.
“Is it?” Manford asked, “We’ve talked it over with the Zetan leadership, the Princess Kavrala herself approved this plan.” He gave a small smile, “I do believe she’s of the same mind as the generals who recommended the plan in the first place, in fact I don’t think that human and Zetan leadership has been so united in forty years.”
“That video of the princess and the boy from Iowa will get out,” Adam said, a mix of shock and anger on his face, “maybe not before Alrec falls, but-“
“How many other things are we already keeping off the public’s radar in the name of promoting Human-Zetan friendship?” Manford said with a shrug, “It will go onto the same communications hubs with the footage of war atrocities, anti-Zetan crime reports, technically always available but never widely viewed or discussed, I can live with that.”
Adam and Kira looked at him, stunned. The man had been a trusted and respected colleague, a work superior… Adam swallowed, searching for the words.
Manford seemed to guess their thoughts and sighed, “Look, it’s not anyone’s ideal outcome, but in time you will realize this was the right thing to do.” He tapped a few buttons on his wrist device, “I’m approving you both for two weeks of paid leave, effective immediately. You’ve both been working too hard, go home, relax… shut off the news for a few days and simply unwind.”
“I…” Adam sighed, “Yes sir.”
Kira looked at him in shock as he got up to leave, “Adam? What are you-“
“Kira,” he said in a low voice, “come on, there’s nothing more we can do here.”
She looked at the Director, who gave her a final nod, before she numbly got up to follow Adam. The sound of their shoes echoed on the tiled floor of the government building as they walked through the halls. Neither of them spoke as they passed through the front double doors. Finally, they reached Adam’s ground transport, entering together in silence.
“What was that?” Kira asked angrily, finally ending the quiet, “you just gave up the argument?”
“How long have we known Manford?” Adam asked in a defeated voice.
“Years,” Kira said, “I met him before he was director even, but what does that have to do with-“
“Has he ever disagreed with anything from a higher up?” Adam asked, “ever changed his mind? Deviated from orders?”
“No,” Kira said, beginning to understand. It would have been a waste of time… “So, what now?” she asked, “do we simply accept this? Try to start some kind of media storm about him?”
Adam gave her a sad smile, “No… I think if we’re going to make any difference, we’ll have to take more immediate action.”
Kira frowned, “Adam… what are you implying we do?”
“Well,” he said, starting the vehicle and programming his apartment in, “do you remember when we talked about leaving Earth? Running away?”
“Yes,” she said nervously.
“I’ve got an idea,” he said with a nervous chuckle, “and after I do it… I’m going to probably have to leave Earth for a while. Would you still be interested in coming with me?”
Kira blinked, “Why Adam,” she said, a smile coming over her face, “any planet you’re on is the best one in the galaxy, I’ll just have to help you with this ‘plan’ so I have to leave Earth too!”
“It’s settled then,” Adam laughed, “let’s go commit some treason, then run like hell.”
“Don’t think of it as being fugitives,” Kira giggled, “think of it as… a vacation that never ends, with new hotels every week.”
…
Admiral Entyl had long been involved in Zeta Forever, keeping her sympathies quiet professionally as she’d climbed the ranks of the Zetan military. As the highest ranking official in the group of fleet ships that had planned to betray the Empress, command had fallen to her by default, and reluctantly she had ordered all ships to meet at the Princess’s coordinates. She didn’t want to follow this princess, who had abandoned Zeta Forever in its hour of need, nor did she want to work with the humans, a boorish and primitive people who, whether or not the rest of the government wished to admit it, were rivals.
This alliance will never last, she thought, looking out at the stars, one of us must conquer the other, it is the way of things. For now they were doomed, the humans were not going to come out of hiding for them, and why should they? If their situations were reversed Entyl would have watched from afar, and enjoyed the fire of her enemy’s death even as her own came.
Still, she had come, there was nothing else to do. Their rebel flotilla of twenty-five ships had followed her, the largest in it her own Blade, an impressive battleship of two hundred plasma cannons and a crew of two thousand. The rest of their ships were a mix of light and medium sized craft, a force that would be able to overwhelm the normal system garrison on Zeta Prime, had things happened the way they were supposed to… Sensors had indicated that one hundred and sixty Cephalo ships were coming, the largest gathering of the squids since the initial alliance forces had done battle with them forty years ago.
“W-Where are the humans admiral?” her first mate asked hesitantly. The other woman peered out the main viewport, “there were supposed to be some-“
“They aren’t coming,” the admiral muttered, “this was a fool’s errand, wasting time when it’s the only thing we’ve got left-“
“We have an incoming ship,” the communications officer called, “civilian class, tagged from… Earth? They’re trying to reach us.”
“Put them through,” Entyl said curiously.
“This is captain Tremblay of the freighter Stan Rogers, am I speaking to the person in charge?” a voice came through their intercom.
“Uh,” Entyl cleared her throat, “Yes! This is Admiral Entyl, of the Zeta Forever… of the Zetan Fleet, are you here to… assist us?”
“We’ve got a crew of sixteen, and we’re willing to board one of your military craft and give you a hand,” Tremblay said, “we’ve got a few conditions though, first no shrinking, second, we keep our guns.”
Armed humans? On my ship? She scowled, and not even the tame ones from their military, but dumb, drunk, hairy ones right off a starfreighter… Still, they had come, that had to be respected… it was an almost Zetan show of bravery.
“We can agree to this,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll send you a docking code… I… thank you for coming Captain Tremblay, even if it is just you, I must admit that it’s more a show of faith than I expected.” She paused, “were you by chance military?”
There was laughter, “No Admiral, I was hauling maple syrup through this system and got stuck, and I’m not alone.”
The admiral’s brow furrowed, “Y-You’re not alone?”
“No, we all agreed me and my crew would come out first, to see what you would do,” he chuckled again, “and that makes me an idiot I suppose…”
“We’ve got other ships approaching,” the communications officer said excitedly. From hidden caves within asteroids, the depths of the planet’s seas, and the dark side of the planet’s moons, dozens of human ships popped up on radar, the ragtag group of ships slowly approaching the Zetan fleet.
The admiral felt something swell in her chest as more ships kept appearing on sensors, was that… hope?
…
Jolene’s ship, the name given to Admiral Entyl as Tony Montana, docked with the Blade, the massive pleasure yacht being forced to use a boarding tube rather than parking in the ship’s bay as a more reasonably sized shuttle might. The ship’s lounge was crowded, the massive throng of humans rescued from the governor’s party had been restored to full size, and Jolene was standing on top of the coffee table, trying to get everyone’s attention.
“Okay look, I’ve emptied out my armory and I have one gun for every two of you, so pair up!” She paused, “I’m going to expect those all back! Some of them are very important to me!”
“Is this wise?” Nea asked, looking over the mob of now armed humans. She’d come around to trusting Kurt and Joey, but so many humans armed, especially those with a grudge against Zetans? That made her nervous…
“I guess we’ll find out,” Kurt muttered.
For their part, Jolene’s four Zetans, at their full sizes for a change, stood armed by the door, matching nanofabric uniforms on as they stood at attention for the bounty hunter’s approach. Her power armor clanked on the floor, a large plasma weapon in her hands and an earth made style with a curved revolver style grip strapped to her hip.
“Okay princess,” Jolene shouted, “I think we’re ready.”
Telma leaned over, “Nea… it really makes me happy to see you leading others like this, I always knew you were destined for great things.”
“I really wish it hadn’t happened like this, but… it’s nice to hear,,” Nea said with a sad smile. She sighed and faced the main door of the ship as it hissed open, Telma, Kurt, and Joey on one side of her, Jolene and her crew on the other, a mob of armed humans at the backs of all of them. A row of Zetan soldiers, power armored and visors down, appeared on the other side. They started when they saw the crowd, and a few gripped their weapons tightly.
The tension in the air was thick, and for a moment Kurt wondered if it would all end in a volley of plasma fire both ways. He heard his heartbeat, and wondered briefly if he should be reaching for his own pistol.
“At ease soldiers,” Nea said, stepping forward, “escort us to the admiral.” Her voice was calm, commanding. The soldiers didn’t hesitate, lowering their weapons and saluting her as they parted. Nea walked onto the ship, her head high, as her entourage and the humans they had rescued followed her.
…
The situation had taken a good hour of talking to sort out, and finally Nea sat at the head of a traditional Zetan war table, a group of human captains along one side, the Zetan captains and the admiral on the other.
“So that is our situation,” the admiral explained grimly, “we are well outnumbered, with no way to escape the system. Our best bet is to fight as close to the atmosphere as possible, we can reroute the planetary shield to give us a little extra cover, and use ground based and orbital defenses to our advantage.”
“You really think they’re just going to walk right into a hardened spot like that?” a skeptical human captain asked, “my dad said they’re natural cowards, run at the first sign they’re losing.”
“Cephalo ships need to… eat,” Nea said grimly, “this many of them together will be low on food, eager to harvest the planet.”
“I suppose we’re stuck then,” the human captain muttered, “We’ve got a list of technical specialties, you can assign our engine people with yours and-“
“You will simply be assigned randomly in our most critical sectors,” the admiral said dismissively, “for boarding actions a group of marines will accompany and protect your-“
“Now look here,” the human captain said angrily, “we can fight or fix a blown coil just as good as-“
“You’ll only get in the way!” the admiral snapped, “we only need you for the protective effect!”
“The humans will serve in their areas of expertise,” Nea said loudly, cutting the discussion short, “to the degree that this offers an ideal spread of protection.” She looked at the two who had been arguing, and they both glanced at each other and nodded.
“I will make it so,” Admiral Entyl said with a short bow, “I will collect information on the human’s… expertise, from their captains.”
“Then I think we have no more to discuss,” Nea said quietly, “we have sixteen hours remaining before their first ships will arrive, I am going to retire to my personal quarters on the Tony Montana rest and prepare for battle.” She stood, giving a final imperious gaze to the table, “see to it my instructions are carried out, consort!” she snapped at Kurt, “with me!”
He raised an eyebrow, and she gave him a strained expression, “please,” she said in the quietest voice she could manage. It was still heard by everyone in the room. A smirk spread like wildfire among the human captains, the Zetans shot her some disapproving looks, a few smug ones, and some… envious?
Barbaric though they are, for that one at least I can understand the attraction, the admiral thought to herself as the embarrassed princess and her… consort? Left the room. The rumor going around was that he’d taken the scar protecting the princess from a Cephalo, or a dozen Cephalo depending on who told the tale. She regarded the ragtag group of human merchants, mercenaries, and smugglers that had shown up to aid her fleet. Hopefully the rest will have as much mettle as that one…
…
“Well, we’ve got a fleet, we’ve got humans,” Kurt muttered, pacing the room, “I guess all we’ve got left to do is wait and hope for the best.”
“Hardly,” Nea muttered, “we won’t be alone for forty-five minutes before some fool runs to us to make us fix some asinine dispute, I’ve seen how it is with mother, stars they even do it to Kavrala.”
Kurt raised an eyebrow, “So why did you ‘retire’ to rest?”
“I wanted forty-five minutes alone,” she said with a grin.
Kurt’s eyes went wide as she reached for her shrink ray, returned by Jolene hours ago. He barreled at her, and her eyes went wide and she squealed in playful surprise as he tackled her to the bed. She giggled and tried to bring her hand down to aim the device at him, but he caught her wrist, using his other hand to pull her head into a kiss.
“Kuurrmppph” she tried saying his name, but he kept wrestling with her on the bed, his lips locked on hers. He managed to click the nanofabric collar off, grinning with satisfaction as watery fabric oozed into storage mode, falling off her neck with a *clank*.
He felt the sensation of liquid over his skin as his own nanofabric slipped away, and he realized that at some point Nea had managed to reach up and deactivate his clothing as well. He broke the kiss, and they looked at each other, panting, red faced, and naked. He was hard, and as his tip made contact with her, he felt how wet she was.
They both glanced at the shrink ray in Nea’s hand, then made eye contact. Nea grinned wickedly, and he grunted as he struggled to hold her arm from bringing it to bear on him.
“I’m… not getting… tiny, today!” he grunted.
“Give it up!” Nea hissed, her arm shaking as she slowly gained ground, “I’m stronger than you! I know it!” She giggled, “you’re going inside me Kurt!”
“If you insist,” he grinned. He thrust forward with his hips, causing her to gasp in shock as she dropped the shrink ray. He gave a victorious growl as he slid his other arm around her soft back, pulling the amazon into his embrace as he pushed again, causing her to moan with pleasure as their movements caused the device to tumble to the floor, safely out of her reach.
“H-Human bastard,” she moaned, embracing him in return and pulling him down into her. She felt him enter her again and again, picking up his pace as she responded to his motions. “YES!” she shouted, “faster!”
His heart rate picked up, he’d never had such an enthusiastic woman before, and it made his blood run hot. He gave an animalistic growl as he ravaged the alien princess, savoring her moans, the writhing of her smooth body against him as she feebly mixed attempts to take control with involuntary spasms of pleasure.
Her long, powerful legs locked around him like powerful jaws, locking him in place as they entered their final throes of bliss. Kurt felt sweat roll down his forehead as he summoned every ounce of strength he had, a warrior’s fury building in him as he drove the princess before him and over the edge of orgasm.
“STARS TAKE ME!” Nea gasped, her head arching back as Kurt finished inside her, furiously thrusting until the very end.
He held his place above her a moment, suddenly exhausted from the effort of making love to the alien princess. It truly had been a battle, and damn was she strong, he had no doubt that if their contest over the shrink ray had gone another moment, she would have won. He grinned, seeing the mess he’d reduced her to, hair mussed, panting, face flushed and smiling.
He collapsed next to her with a sigh, “Whew,” he laughed as he hit the mattress, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now too…”
“It was certainly something… new,” she whispered.
He frowned, “really? Your first time?”
“With a male at natural size, yes,” Nea muttered, “and you were so commanding! I felt helpless, it was wonderful…” She stood up, letting him see her nakedness as she walked around the bed. He frowned as she leaned over to pick up something.
Ah hell, he thought as he saw the shrink ray in her hand, “Uh, I need a few minutes-“
“I have great faith in your stamina,” she said, slowly aiming it at him with a smug grin, “I’m sure that after being so overwhelming, perhaps being the one overwhelmed will help you… ready yourself.”
He wanted to slap himself as he realized she was right; her threats were already making him hard again. She always looked beautiful, but now? With a slight sheen of sweat on her, a mix of his and hers, her hair mussed and frayed around those pointed ears… She looked wild.
He heard the zapping sound, and his vision went white. He blinked as quickly as he could, letting his vision clear and trying to see what size she’d made him. The world shook as the green titaness got back on the bed, and he scrambled back against a house sized pillow as she reached for him.
“Nea,” he said nervously, licking his lips as her tree trunk sized fingers curled around him, “remember, someone will probably come to bother us in less than an hour-“
“Neither of us are going to need that long,” Nea giggled as she lifted him up.
As it turned out the first message demanding she arbitrate a dispute came over Nea’s wrist computer thirty-four minutes after they’d retired to the bedroom, and she was right, neither of them needed that long.