Countless Stars, Unending Possibilities (The_Gladiator & darkangel76)

Countless Stars, Unending Possibilities Journal for The_Gladiator & darkangel76

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The sirens from the alarms were blaringly loud, the lights flashing an obnoxious shade of red and yellow as it sounded again and again and again. Just what was happening? And, all so suddenly Laela had no idea. Then again, she never paid attention to how the ships ran. That wasn't her place or station and never had been. Besides, her mind had been too preoccupied with the fact that she'd finally been leaving her home planet of Helios...

It had been at least ten years since Laela had seen her cousin, Hal—ten long years of lonely isolation. She looked back upon her childhood, that time with her cousin, so very fondly. Hal had always been so kind to her, so fun. Though quite a bit older than herself, he'd never seemed to mind her tagging along and playing with him. And oh how she'd appreciated that! It wasn't often that she'd had any playmates as a child, at least none who stayed for any length of time and Hal and his family had stayed with them for a better part of a year before moving off planet to Themis. She'd cried that day when he had to leave, though—interestingly—Hal had not. She'd admired the boy for being so strong, but then that was why he was now an Illuminati Representative, was it not?

She often times reminded herself that it was.

Laela had always wondered how Hal was doing, had always missed him and inquired after him. But, her parents had always told her that Hal was busy doing good for both Helios and Themis, learning about the Lumos System and the ways of his bloodline within the Illuminati. Then, that fateful day had arrived when she'd heard word through whispers she'd overheard while lingering a bit too long in darkened corners. And eventually, her parents saw fit to tell her: Halmir Quinn is the newest Illuminati Representative for planet Charon. Oh, she was proud of him for earning a station within the ranks, though her parents had seemed a bit put out. Why? He'd earned a station, was proving himself to all just how capable he was.

Wasn't he?

Oh, Laela knew she wasn't overly versed on all the political nonsense of the Illuminati. Her family had kept her too occupied with other things...

Time to dance, Laela. Have you practiced your instruments, Laela? Are you ready for your art lessons, Laela? You must get ready for the party, Laela... Truly, it was always the same. She lived and breathed refinement, constantly 'bettering' herself for another, for that fateful day that she knew would soon be upon her. Her parents often whispered about it, though they never spoke directly to her regarding the matter, and it frightened her terribly. To be so alone, yet destined to be given away to whomever gave them the best offer. Too many times she'd wake up with nightmares of where she'd end up and with whom. It was why she needed to get off planet, to see more of the Lumos System than merely Helios. After all, she hadn't even seen Themis and it was practically next-door! Such a sad existence...

"Warning. Warning. Entering atmosphere." The ship's internal AI voiced the warning, the ship itself almost toppling as it began to literally fall from orbit into the atmosphere of the planet they'd been circling.

Charon. It was practically a desolate wasteland. Cold this time of year, so Laela had heard. Her blue eyes went wide as she looked over at where her parents were sitting, their own faces frantic as the ship's AI voice spoke in cool calmness. She swallowed hard, her mind a swirl of panic at not knowing what to do.

"Get to your seat, Laelestra!" Laela heard her father, Jareth Quentin—renknowned Illuminati official of Helios—shout at her. Her mother, Sherylindria, eyes seemingly wet with un-shed tears looked over at her only child, hands pointing toward an open seat.

Laela smoothed out her coppery gown, the skirts billowing as she began to move across the room. Just then there was a jolt.

"Warning. Warning. We have entered Charon's atmosphere. We have entered Charon's atmosphere."

The very idea that soon they'd be crashing sent Laela's thoughts into a whirl of panic. Instantly, she began to run, her feet trying their best to move. Unfortunately, as the ship jolted and jostled, she tripped on her skirts and fell to the floor with a hard thud and letting out a tiny howl as she landed. Wincing, she pushed her dark hair out of her face, her eyes connecting with those of her father's.

"No time!" Jareth shouted. The ship was falling fast. Faster, faster. All too soon they'd have to brace for landing, crashing upon the rough and harsh terrain of Charon.

Without further hesitation, Laela found a small nearby nook and crawled inside. It was next to what looked like some sort of control panel. But then, she was never any good with buttons, systems or technology. Not caring what it was, she hid inside the nook, her hands moving to cover her head, her face. As the ship continued its descent, falling... falling toward Charon's surface, she just let out a shrill scream. All sorts of things began to fall from overhead—gear, equipment, everything. Then suddenly...

CRASH!

"We have impact. We have impact."

The impact was hard and Laela felt her entire body shake and tremble, her teeth rattling within her skull as the ship struck the surface of Charon. Her thoughts ran wild and she wondered if Hal would ever find them. Would he know to look for them? As the ship seemed to skip along the desolate terrain, she could hear things banging, crashing about her. More things were falling, closing her in. Again, she screamed and her thoughts suddenly turned to her parents. Were they all right? Were they...?

Finally, after the ship settled, Laela focused on her breathing, desperately trying to calm herself down. At least she'd managed to live through the ordeal. Now she just needed to somehow get in contact with Hal, if that was even possible. Licking her lips, she turned to the side and began to push at the debris blocking her way. It was tough at first, but eventually she managed to free herself from her hiding place. Once out, her eyes went wide at the mess before her. Everything was in disarray, seemed broken or worse. As her eyes scanned the area, she noticed the injuries. No... deaths.

Deaths?

Just then, Laela choked on a sob that suddenly bubbled up from within. "No," she whispered half to herself. It couldn't be, but there it was, plain as day. Her parents were both dead and impaled in their seats, their bodies limp and lifeless. Tears streamed down her face, her tummy going queasy. She needed air.

Clutching at her stomach, Laela raced out of the ship. The air was startlingly cold, then again she was used to the warmth of Helios. But she wasn't in a state of mind to dwell on such things. Once outside, she fell onto her knees, her hands pushing back her dark hair. She dry heaved a few times before she finally vomited, feeling more alone than ever. As she finally stood up, she wrapped her arms about herself, her eyes watering. The smoke from the wreckage of her ship was billowing upward into the sky like a homing beacon, no doubt a call to anyone and everyone. She just hoped those who came were 'friendly'. Surely, once they saw that she was Illuminati they would be. Wouldn't they?

Of course they would, she rationalized. But even that thought didn't stop the tears from falling.

“You’re fucking kidding me right? By my great uncle’s cahoonas are they really that stupid?” These and other explicatives rang in the air falling like water from the wide open mouth of Captain Jason “Jace” Benson of the Ladywind, a freelance interplanetary freighter. The answer to these and other questions was yes, the idiots he was watching firing on an Illuminati civilian star ship, Envoy class, were just that out, crazy. “Crazy, bat shit, out of their ever-loving minds crazy.” Jace growled even as he threw his ship into a dive and barrel roll taking it swooping closer to the battle. “And, looks like I’m just as crazy as they are.” He grunted as he found himself about to get involved.

This was not Jace’s fight. He should just turn around and walk away, pretend he hadn’t seen anything and go about his own business. This was what Jace’s inner thoughts screamed at him, and it was pretty much what Rafael “Raff” his co-pilot was screaming at him as he barreled towards the fight. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing man… good mother of Dragonia, it’s one of Ironhand’s ships, you actually want to piss that son of a bitch off by interfering with it? Really?” The longer Raff talked the higher his voice got rising in panic.

Jace ignored his co-pilot’s rant completely focusing on his flying. “That’s an illuminati vessel they’re firing on, envoy class…. For fuck sake Raff that thing isn’t even armed.” Of course its two escort fighters had been armed, however they had been scrubbed first, a pair of well-aimed missiles taking out the unsuspecting escort fighters – amateurs—should not have been caught so unawares. “The last thing we need out here is more Illuminati trouble, we have enough with that prick who calls himself the governor, halibut or whatever his name is.”

Raff cleared his throat, “His name is Halmir Quin you heathen.”

“Excuse me; I didn’t know you were such a fan.” Jace’s retort to Raff’s correction was quick and biting.

“I’m not…”

Jace only snorted at that. “But you get my point, we don’t need Illuminati trouble, and I’m not just going to ignore a distress signal, no matter who is sending it.”

“And you don’t think that that Ironhand battle ship out there won’t have something to say about that?”

“I’m perfectly within my rights to aid a civilian. I mean come on; the passengers are probably rich, just think of the reward we’ll get for rescuing them.”

“Yeah, you can’t spend a reward when you’re dead…”

“Quit being such a baby.” Jace said and flicked his eyes over at his co-pilot and best friend. “Now, get to the gun turret, just encase.”

“Aye aye captain asshole sir….” And after flipping Jace off Raff rose to head up the access tunnel to the gun battery. Jace could see the signal that meant that Raff was in and the guns were online. He took remote control of the belly guns and the tractor beam, this was going to be a difficult rescue as even now the disabled envoy class vessel was falling into Charon’s outer atmosphere, sparks beginning to form as its outer skin began to heat up from the friction.

As Jace maneuvered alongside the Envoy, a ship whose AI transponder identified it as the Helios Pride – could they be any more obvious from where they came – the Ladywind suddenly jolted. “Uh boss, I’m pretty sure those pirates out there are really not thrilled that we decided to get involved…”

“Yes, thanks Raff, now, do you mind telling me something I don’t know?” Even as he let fly his biting retort Jace threw the ship into evasive maneuvers. He was only partially successful as a grazing laser blast punched through the ships shields and struck the ship a glancing blow. The whole ship rang like a bell and then there was a crash followed by the hiss of the ships internal fire suppression systems. “Alright, that’s it you stupid fucks, now you’re just pissing me off.” Jace growled as he changed the Ladywind’s course. “So Raff, about those guns, mind using them?”

“You want to start a war with Ironhand?”

“They shot first and now they’re going to pay. Do you seriously plan on questioning my every goddamned order?”

“Only the ones I think are stupid.” Came Raff’s reply, somewhat muffled as he opened up with the dorsal canons, darts of ruby light lancing out at their attacker. Jace tightened his fingers on his yoke’s triggers as well. Even though the Ladywind was a freighter, Jace had had its controls outfitted with a steering yoke that would be more commonplace in a fighter. It gave him greater manual control during dogfights and the sorts of dangerous maneuvers he loved so much.

The ship they faced was a boxy construction, slow and less maneuverable than the Ladywind, yet heavily armed. Even though it was heavily armed, it was no match for the Ladywind’s speed and agility, nor was its pilot up to the skill level Of Jason Benson, as within minutes the ship split in half blown open wide by a pair of well-placed missiles courtesy of Jace himself. “I got him.” Jace crowed.

“Yeah, you got him. But it doesn’t look good for the Lumes.” Raff said using a fringe slang term for the Illuminati. Raff had slid into his seat next to Jace again and had been able to spare the appropriate monitors the attention Jace had not been able to afford. By this point the Pride was falling fast through Charon’s frigid atmosphere.

“Pull up; they need to pull up, at least level off, what kind of wackjob novice is flying that thing anyway?” Jace swore as he pushed the Ladywind into the atmosphere diving towards the falling Envoy Class Passenger ship. After a pause Jace answered his own question, “Probably a computer, whoever thinks an AI can fly better than true flesh and blood is a fool.” Jace just hoped these people’s foolishness did not cost them their lives. “An AI cannot adapt to stuff like this, it has no instincts,” Jace continued his swearing rant as Raff stayed silent as the two watched the impact and secondary explosions as the doomed vessel impacted the snowy wasteland surface of Charon. “Wonderful, just wonderful, so much for my reward….life signs?” Jace snapped at Raff even as he brought the Ladywind down to a landing some distance from the still burning wreck.

“Inconclusive, there’s too much heat distortion from those flames to get an accurate reading.”

Jace only grunted, “I knew I should have installed better sensors.”

“I think you lost the money in that game of cards…”

“Did I ask for a lecture Raff? Holy hell, what are you, you’re worse than an old lady…nag nag nag, all you do is nag.” He sighed and only chuckled as Raff flipped him off again. “Watch it boy, I’ll stick that finger where the sun don’t shine.” Clearing his Throat Jace’s tone got more serious, “We’ll have to investigate the ship on foot. There was a time and a place for jokes, and Jace and Raff had learned if you didn’t laugh about stuff like this, laugh when you could life would get to you and you’d go off the deep end. That being said, it was a sobering sight when the two filed down the lowered ramp of the Ladywind and they got their first look at the warped and twisted metal of the crashed Pride. Parts of the vessel were still burning, and both knew it was only a matter of time before the whole ship blew. The crash looked bad, could anyone have realistically survived that?

Jace made sure that his blaster was clear in its holster, which rode low on his right thigh. Raff held the portable life scanner, and had a rifle slung over his shoulder from a thick strap, within easy reach. “Keep the ship safe.” Jace told the ships AI, a reprogramed battle droid with delusions of grandeur. The robot gave him the bird, and Jace couldn’t help but wonder if it had learned its impertinence from his partner.

Seeing the wreck from close up was a sobering experience. As bad as that first glimpse from the foot of Ladywind’s ramp was, close up it was worse. “We could die if that thing blows you know.” Raff griped.

“We can’t just abandon any survivors. Now shut up. Does the scanner show any life?” Just then Jace had his answer as a figure crawled out of the wreck.

“Yeah… one life sign.” Raff said, stating the obvious. Jace only snorted not really having anything to say to that comment.

Jace and Raff approached the ship slowly, circling it, gaging time they thought they had before it blew, the extent of the damage, was anything salvageable, and other important details, as well as if there were any other survivors other than the obvious one. As to that survivor, it seemed to be a young woman, a young noblewoman judging by her dress. More and more details came into focus as the pair of spacers approached.

As Laela stood up, she wiped the back of her mouth with her sleeve. Her lips turned into a frown as she brought her arm away and then about her middle. The air was freezing, a wind licking against her flesh as it blew through the wreck that had once been a beautiful ship, a sight to behold. It was still clearly Illuminati-make, anyone who happened to come by would surely know that those who'd been on board had been important, people of stature, of wealth, of...

Just then, Laela could feel her pale eyes prickling with tears. No one... no one else was emerging from the ship. Not a soul. Even the AI voice stopped its infernal dialogue, ceasing to warn or advise. Not that it had mattered. She'd seen what had become of her parents, their impaled bodies stuck fast to their chairs where they'd been sitting in wait for the vessel to crash-land upon this godforsaken planet! The gruesome vision was all to ingrained in her mind, the way her mother had looked, her father... and even the chair that had been meant for her. It too had been broken. To think she'd almost...

No. No, she wouldn't think on it. She couldn't. She'd go mad.

Laela walked around the smoking debris of her ship, pieces still falling from the sky like snow. She tilted her face upward, her arms hugging herself tightly—hands rubbing at her body for warmth as the wind began to howl. What was to become of her now? Would Hal hear of what had happened? They hadn't been due for another couple hours at least, or so she thought. It could be a while before he bothered to send someone. Anyone. And what then?

What then...? What now?! Laela's eyes widened as she heard something loud rumbling in the distance. Almost instantly she felt her muscles tense. Pushing her dark hair away from her eyes, she stared in awe at another ship as it made its way toward her location. It was clear that whomever it was that flew it had seen what had occurred—maybe they'd even been a part of the reason as to why her ship had gone down. That thought didn't set well. So many uncertainties swirled through her mind—were they friendly, hostile, something else entirely? And she had no idea of knowing and like it or not would more than likely be at their mercy in the end. Now that was a first for her... Squinting, she tried to make out the markings on the ship, but it was too far off for her to make out to even remotely discern its origins, not that she'd know if she could anyway... To think she'd finally gotten the chance to leave Helios, to have the luxury of seeing her beloved cousin—the one person she recalled having been kind to her all those years ago—and now this. Chaos and mayhem! Was that what life was outside the comfort and warmth of the Inner Sanctum?

Both Jareth and Sherylindria Quentin had always reminded Laela—and all too often at that—at just how fortunate she'd been to be born into the world she was. Ah, such a life to be Illuminati-born, destined for a life where she'd want for nothing. Yet...

A part of her had always questioned. A part of her had always doubted. It seemed so foolish now as Laela stood in the billowing smoke on a planet so cold and remote.

Blinking hard, Laela forced back the tears and watched the new arrival, its engines roaring so loudly she felt the urge to cover her ears, land in the distance. A part of her was morbidly curious as to whom it was that had found her, another part—a larger part—felt that wave of fear, a fear of the unknown. Panic began to course throughout her body, prickling at her flesh and causing it to break out into goose bumps. She whimpered for a moment before letting out an audible gasp, though quickly she sucked in a breath so as to find her composure. After all, she was Laelestra Quentin. Illuminati-born, resident of Helios. Daughter to Jareth and Sherylindria Quentin. She had connections, pull, sway... didn't she?

Oh Hal...

Suddenly, the door to the ship opened and Laela caught sight of what appeared to be two men de-boarding. They certainly didn't look Illuminati. No Illuminati would dress in such... such... She shook her head in dismay and shivered. No, they were not of her kind. Were they pirates, rebels, assassins? Oh, the possibilities were endless and each thought seemed to bring her deeper into a nightmare she could only hope to wake up from. Her hands clutched at her shimmery brown skirts, knuckles white from the hold. Oh how she wished she hadn't indulged in her desire to visit this abominable planet!

"H-hello?" Laela called out, not knowing what else to do. There was nowhere to hide and even if she tried, she knew it would only be a matter of time before being found. The smoke was getting worse and the flames higher. Soon, she'd have to run away from the ship if she wanted to ensure her own safety. She might not be knowledgeable about technology and many things, but she was hardly stupid. Besides, didn't she want to be found? As the two men approached, she found herself becoming desperate, facing the inevitable, her mind convincing herself persuasively.

Yes! She wanted to be found, needed to be! Laela needed to get to Hal. He was expecting her. What was more, she was Illuminati. Surely anyone who found that out would be more than eager to assist. Surely... surely...

Biting down on her lip, Laela awkwardly moved through the obstacles of debris, her tiny hands reaching for her shimmering skirts laced with metallic objects—an Illuminati trait, especially those of the wealthier and more prestigious families—so as to more easily make her way toward towards the newcomers approaching the wreckage. She eyed them carefully. And though naïve, her mind swirled with the rumors she'd heard about the Barbaric Rim. Were they true... were they? No. Of course not. Those were mere fancy and fairy stories.

"I am Laelestra Quentin," Laela then announced without much thought that perhaps her name might be recognized... hated, despised, linked to the cousin who was wreaking havoc on the planet she now found herself standing upon. Oh how little of the world she truly knew... Her heart beating fast, she licked her lips and shivered, her mind going into a slight panic. Deciding to bold, her pale eyes shifted toward the man who appeared to be the leader and then asked, "Are you here to rescue me? Did Hal send you?" With hopeful eyes, she began looking back and forth between both men and awaited their answer, but eventually her eyes came to linger on the one she thought to be the leader and sighed heavily. "Well, did he?"

“One life sign, female… height 5 feet weight…” Rafael’s words broke off as Jace smacked him in the back of the head.

“I got it you idiot. Would you look up and around for a second? I could have told you all of that without the damned computer.” Raff looked up and laughed a little and gave a sheepish smile.

“I guess maybe you’re right…this time…”

“This time? I’m always right you dolt.”

“Riiiiiiiiiight.” Raff made sure to draw out the single word, “This is coming from the guy who didn’t know the Governor’s name.”

“Yeah I did its Hamlet or something like that.”

“It’s Halmir you uneducated plebe… don’t you read a goddamned news report every once in a while? Something tells me the answer is no.” here he made a jerking motion with his right hand, “Too busy for trivial things like the news.”

“Oh, that’s right…” Jace snorted, “I’m the one who spends all his time greasing the meat stick….At least I don’t do it in the ship’s com center listening to my wife scream for me. At least I have the decency to take my porn into my cabin.”

Raff actually had the decency to blush at that, “I wouldn’t if you’d play fewer card games, and actually bought more equipment for the ship…”

“Back to the nagging’ again are we?” Jace quipped to Raff’s rather defensive comment. Raff only responded with his customary one fingered salute.

By this point they had drawn closer to the young woman who proceeded to announce herself. “Quenton, quenton… why does that name sound familiar?”

“It would if you watched a news program. The Quenton family is high ranking illuminati officials from Helios.”

“I could have guessed where they were from, did you forget the ship was called the ‘Helios Pride’,” Jace muttered under his breath.

“Do you want to learn something or not?” Raff groused.

It might look to the observer that Jace, the captain was stupid, having answers like that fed to him by his second in command. However, Jace feigned ignorance most of the time, and the times it was not feigned, he just did not give a damn. Half the time he feigned ignorance just to piss Raff off and watch him get on his all-knowing high horse.

Jace shot his smart mouthed first mate one last glare as he approached the young noblewoman. “Good,” here he paused to look up at the sky, “Afternoon Lady Quenton. My name is Captain Jason Benson of the freighter Ladywind, and this is my first Mate.” Here he paused to wave at Raff, “Rafael Talise.”

“Of House Talise of…” Here Jace cut Raff off with a sharp gesture.

“No need to bore the young woman with your pedigree, it’s not as good as hers anyway.” He could have kicked his first mate. Was Raff going to go all mucky-muck on him, just because he was married to a senator on Thalassa, didn’t mean he should tell this woman all about his life’s history. They didn’t know who this woman was – well ok they knew who she was – but they didn’t know what she was about, where her loyalties lay…alright they could probably guess that too.

Turning his attention back to Laela Jace spoke, “No, we were not sent by anyone, we intercepted your distress signal and came to help.”

“For a price.”

“God dammit Raff shut the fuck up. Can’t I have one conversation without you throwing in your two cents?” After spewing those words at his best friend Jace turned back to the noblewoman, “I apologize….we don’t get out much so our manners aren’t what one such as you probably expects.” Here he bowed awkwardly. This was a gesture that almost looked comical coming from the rugged spacer before her, wearing warn black pants, boots and leather vest over a shirt that had probably started its life as white, but now had been worn so much it resembled more of a dirty gray. He was however clean shaven, and clean. Raff was also dressed mostly in black, however his shirt was a pale blue, and a color that matched the watery color of his eyes. The shape of Raff’s eyes, and the way the clear inner eyelid kept flicking down over his eyes in nervousness, it was obvious that Raff was one of the genetically altered human settlers of Thalassa, the water world. Those eyelids were meant to protect the eye so the Thalassans could see under water. It was rumored that they also had gills that they could use if necessary. However if Raff Had Gills, they were by no means apparent. This meant other than his eyes and the more graceful fluid way he moved, he almost looked normal. His long hair was green, however.

Before Jace could say anything else to Laela both his and Raff’s com units squawked with an incoming transmission. The captain yanked his off his belt and flipped it open with a flick of his wrist and barked “This is Benson, go.”

“Yo, captain asshole we got incoming.” Jace glared at his Com and then glared at his first mate, as he listened to his AI’s robotic voice coming from the hand unit.

“What are you looking at me for; I didn’t teach it to talk like that.”

Jace muttered something unintelligible and then spoke louder to the Com, “Roger that Tin Can…and its Captain Asshole Sir to you, you smart mouthed bucket of bolts.” Jace flipped shut the communicator and looked back to Laela. “Sorry to be rude darling, but you can stay here and blow up with your ship.”

“Which doesn’t sound fun…” chimed in Raff.

“Or you can run away and probably get picked up by Ironhand’s pirate gang, where you are likely to get raped, tortured and god knows what else.”

“Not my idea of a fun day either….” Again, commentary by Raff.

“Or, you can come with us and get the hell out of here.” Jace continued as if Raff had not spoken. “I’d advise you to take option 3.” Jace finished as he turned back towards his ship. He could see the exhaust trails of at least two ships coming down in the distance. Raff had his own com out by this point his voice filling the crisp cold air.

“CC you got ID on those ships yet?” Jace nodded at the sensible question by his first mate as the Thalassan addressed the Ladywind’s AI by as close as the thing came to having a name.

There was a burst of static before the mechanical voice of CC came back over the line, “Corsair class fighters.” Jace could feel his blood run cold. Ironhand wasn’t fucking around, why did he want this ship that badly, what or – flicking his gaze at Laela – that was that important to warrant this? “And one IIAF troop lander as well.” Great, just great, thought Jace. He knew that lander wouldn’t have IIAF soldiers, not that those would be good news at this point either, but would disgorge hardened pirate thugs out for blood for their destroyed light cruiser.

“You heard him.” Jace barked, “Shit’s about to get deep around here and I for one don’t plan to stick around and savor the smell,” and with that rather smelly Metaphor Jace began to start back towards the Ladywind at a rapid pace, Raff falling in beside him. Jace caught Laela’s upper arm as he passed her, almost yanking her along. “C’mon, we ain’t got all day,” the spacer almost growled the intensity of his brief gaze showing her that this was no joke.

Based on appearances alone, the two men were definitely rough around the edges as they bantered back and forth for a time before finally even acknowledging her presence. Laela was quite mystified and stunned that the two would carry on in such a fashion as it was. After all, she was standing there freezing and frightened, smoke billowing from her ship, which had just crashed and who knew what else lurked out there in the black... Yes, it was all quite astonishing to say the least.

Still, it was quite clear to Laela that neither of the men were of Illuminati blood, but seeing as they hadn't taken up their firearms that they donned for any casual passerby to see, she was certain that neither had taken up with the rebels either. She didn't know much about the rebels and their cause other than what her parents had told her—that they were wrong and misguided fools who coveted what they couldn't have and clearly didn't understand, that they had no vision and were consumed by their jealousies and hatred to see past the red haze clouding their judgment. She had always taken that to mean that rebels were the enemy, bred to hate them and kill them upon sight if they could. If only they could be reasoned with, if only they'd listened. But it was difficult to reason with anyone willing to stick a knife into your heart.

Just then, a shiver ran along Laela's spine. Though she felt confident that these two weren't part of the rebels bred to detest the Illuminati and what they stood for, she wondered just what it was they intended. Men on a planet as remote as Charon surely had to have an agenda of some sort and more than likely it was the kind of thing the Illuminati would not look favorably upon... would they?

Laela tilted her head as she watched the men chat, introducing themselves amidst their jabs at each other and use of obscenities. She could feel her cheeks burning as they spoke, their manner and talk making her a bit uncomfortable as she stood there. Her hands gripped her shimmery skirts tightly as she shifted from foot to foot, her body trembling from both cold and nervousness, her mind swirling with confusion and uncertainty. If this was the sort that wandered the rim, the sort that was considered helpful, she hated to know what the true pirates were like. Just then, another shiver shook her body and she bit down on her lip.

"I..." Laela began, about to speak. But her words were cut off when a muffled voice interrupted them all. Before she knew it, the man who called himself Jason, the one who was captain, the leader, grabbed her arm and dragged her along toward their ship that had landed in the distance.

Laela wasn't sure if she should struggle or just follow along. If pirates truly were the cause of her ship's downfall, then she knew she had to leave. She'd never survive or keep her honor if they got a hold of her, that much she knew to be true. Her eyes shifted to where the captain's hand encircled her arm and she realized that her feet were already falling into step, following along as she was being pulled along.

"I don't need an escort," Laela chided as she followed the captain, her arm tightly in his grip. "I understand my odds better than you think." She could feel her cheeks burning as she moved closer to the ship in the distance. "This might be my first time off Helios, but I'm hardly stupid, you know!" Her lips pursed into a pout, but she continued to follow along in the captain's grip.

Of course, Laela knew deep down that she had no idea what her fate would have been had this captain and his first mate not arrived when they had, had not taken the time to explore the wreckage or look for any survivors. Truly, she knew she should be grateful. But the way she was being yelled at, treated like a child... It reminded her of those lonely times back on Helios, those times when she wasn't good for anything other than something to remain silent in a corner.

Laela spoke chastising Jace for his treatment of her. He spared her a glance even as he guided her towards the ship, “What are you talking about?” he said, “Do you want rescued or not?” As he spoke he guided her around a rock that would have tripped her, catching her as she stumbled, “And that’s why I was guiding you.” He added with a slightly acid tone. However he released her, assuming that’s what her rambling words about not being stupid meant.

The trio approached the ship, a sleek vessel that was wedged shaped in the front, flaring out to a boxy cargo compartment in the middle with a flaring engine compartment with backward sweeping wings. In Jace’s eyes his ship was beautiful, despite the fact that parts of it looked like it needed repainted, portions of the hull scarred with scorch marks and the like. Its styling was definitely not Illuminati made. The Illuminati vessels with rare exceptions favored more harsh angles, not the sweeping more fluid design of the Ladywind. “Dragonian construction.” Jace remarked shooting a glance at Laela. The design in some ways did resemble a creature of flight, as was customary of Dragonian construction.

“You know because in this moment, where your ship was constructed is exactly what is on her mind.” Raff said, verbally jabbing at Jace yet again. “Just because you’re proud of it doesn’t mean…”

“Shut up Raff.” Jace said offhand as they rushed to the ship, whose ramp was already lowering to meet them.

“Move it meat can’s…” CC, the AI called from the top of the ramp. “Scanners show the fighters will be in range in moments. Jace glared at the robot but said nothing just picked up his pace.

Jace looked back at Laela and then to Raff, “Get her highness strapped into a seat, it’s gonna be a rough ride. With those words Jace rushed off towards the cockpit, the low thrum of the idling engines ratcheting up to a growl as Jace threw the throttles forward and lifted the ship off.

“God dammit Jace, you could have let us get to our seats first you insane bastard.” Raff Cursed even as He and Laela were thrown against the far wall, pressed there by acceleration. Raff did manage to be the one on the bottom so his body caught hers keeping her from hitting the bulkhead. The Thalassan’s clear inner eyelids flickered down over his eyes once again a clear sign of agitation. His hands were gentle on Laela as he steadied her and began to lead her forward towards where Jace had gone. CC, the AI, hovered near the two, “Also Mr. first mate asshole sir?”

“Really Tin Can? The joke was funny the first time, when I used it, now it’s just annoying… that being said, what do you want… can’t you see I’m just a little busy helping the lady Quenton?”

“Excuse me for trying to tell you your wife called, she left a message, she sounded irritated that I took the call, I’m not sure she believed when I told her that you were in the bathroom…you might want to call her back soon.”

Raff actually stopped to stare at the AI for a second, “You lied to my wife?”

“Well, I would consider it a colorful distortion of the truth…I mean you are almost about to shit yourself…”

Raff actually raised an eyebrow at that, “Are you delusional?”

“Well no, odds are 70 to 1 that Captain Benson’s flying will force some involuntary bodily function to occur.”

“Throw up?” Raff said not sure if he should laugh or glare at the AI, “You mean throw up. I’m pretty sure that Jace’s flying won’t make me crap myself, but throw up has been known to happen.” Raff meanwhile steered Laela into the cockpit where Jace was blaring some kind of loud music, thick with screaming guitars and a singer screaming over the thumping rhythm. “12 hells of Lumos Jace could you turn that shit down?”

“Hey, that’s how I wanted to roll.” The captain said after he turned down the volume so they at least did not have to shout to hear one another. “Seriously, you’re going to nag me again?”

“Seriously dude, the Lady Quenton has no desire to listen to what you call music…” It was Jace’s turn to give Raff a rude gesture as he focused on his piloting.
You got this or do you need help?” He asked actually offering her a chance to do it rather than just doing it for her.

After He got her seated Raff took his own seat to Jace’s right. His eyes swept over the screens and swore softly. “So yeah CC about that question of bodily functions? If Jace’s flying doesn’t do that, I’m pretty sure these fighters are enough to make me shit myself.”

“What’s this shit about my flying?” Jace interjected, “I’m a damned good pilot…”

“Yeah yeah, coming from the guy who’s never had to fly as a passenger on some of your crazy stunts.” Raff Muttered. “By the way, hurry it up; I’ve got to call Meriel back.”

“Oh yes, because I can just radio these Pirate assholes and tell them this is a really inconvenient time to try to kill us, my first mate needs to call his wife back. Twelve hells buddy, can you say whipped?” he made a whip cracking noise. Raff blushed just a touch, the color visible against his pale skin, the red contrasting with the slightly bluish tinge to his skin.

“There’s nothing wrong with respecting my wife…” Raff said defensively.

“No, but you take it to eeeeeeeeextremes.” Jace said drawing out the word extremes.

“Are you mocking my culture asshole?”

“It was a joke dude, lighten up…shiesh…” Jace snickered and changed the subject, his next words addressed to Laela, “You all strapped in back there your highness?”

~~~

“Oh yes. Oh fuck yes. That’s it, just like that...” His hands twined into her red hair, one hand tugging slightly the other cupping the back of her skull as he pulled her down his shaft. His thick cock split her full red lips. He could feel them sliding to the base of him as he urged her to take his hardness deeper into the heat of her mouth. Yes this was good – exactly what he needed – before his spoiled cousin got to Charon, his aunt and uncle in tow. She was so needy, attention seeking, she would spoil all of his fun. A sly smile split his lips, turning the cruel thin line of his mouth into a wicked smirk. Well perhaps not all of his fun, only time would tell.

This was the sort of distraction he needed, a tension release before he was forced to play host. “Oh gods.” He groaned, he could feel her skilled mouth was driving him crazy. He honestly could not think of a better way to spend his time, even planning for his future, scheming and plotting could not beat the feeling of this. This was good, he deserved this, for wasn’t he Halmir Quin? He was Governor of this wasteland, he worked hard, who would begrudge him this brief interlude with the fiery haired beauty who was his latest fascination, his latest distraction meant to make the hell that was Charon just a little better. She was just a taste of the lap of luxury he missed from the inner sanctum. Then again, this hellish barbaric region did have its pleasures, and to Halmir Quin, the goddess on her knees before him was a prime example of these pleasures.

Huffing and scowling, Laela followed the captain as he pulled her along the frozen terrain and finally aboard his ship. He seemed proud of the thing, especially of its Dragonian make. Was he from that barbaric planet? She had to wonder given how proud he seemed to be of the ship's origins. Never having been off Helios before, she knew little of the planet save what her parents had told her. Even the whispers and rumors that sometimes flitted about court were rather tight lipped. Though she supposed it might have to do with possibilities of potential infiltration. One thing her parents had drilled into her since her days as a child, was that rebels were everywhere and their hatred ran deeper than she'd ever be able to comprehend. The mere thought of that was enough to cause her many sleepless nights, dreams filled with frightful visions of stoic faces that turned into horrific monsters that wanted nothing but to see the blood of family... her own blood... spilled for all to witness and relish.

Chattering from the frigid cold, Laela just shook her head. Her rescue was hardly glamorous, definitely not the sort of idyllic scene she'd imagined in such scenarios. Growing up as an only child, being left alone most of the time, she'd had much time daydream, to read and conjure up romantic notions under the most tragic of circumstances. Of course, she knew it was nothing more than the dreams of a silly girl. But even Illuminati nobility such as herself was entitled such indulgences. After all, she was left to her own devices with no one else to really talk to. She needed to occupy her lonely days with something delightful, something that could make her perfect lips smile as the inevitability of her future loomed in its approach.

But this... this definitely didn't come close to the thoughts Laela's own mind had managed to conjure up as she'd sat there alone in those silent halls on Helios. Then again, this was reality and not a fanciful story. Men and people in such stories just didn't exist...

The next thing Laela knew, she was shoved against the strange looking man, the right hand of the captain. The one who'd introduced himself as Rafael. For as odd as he looked, at least he had some sense of manner. Though she wondered if all men out beyond the Inner Sanctum were crude. For a moment, her blue eyes blinked as she stared at Raff's strange looking eyes. She remembered him mentioning—before getting cut off by the captain—that he was of House Talise, clearly of upper class society. Licking her lips, she wondered if he was from the water planet. His colorings were reminiscent of the rumors she'd heard of the beings that resided there, but she'd never seen a Thalassan for herself. Was she actually looking at one now? Was she actually this close to one she could feel his breath upon her skin as he looked back upon her with those strange eyes?

Blinking, Laela caught herself staring and averted her gaze. Knowing it was probably a bit late for that, she could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Not wanting to cause further embarrassment for herself, she bit down on her lip and followed Raff into the cockpit and found her seat. The music inside the cockpit was loud and for a moment, she contemplated covering her ears, making a haughty remark. But she stayed her tongue as Raff and Jason resumed their banter—something they seemed to do quite often. She was feeling rather out of place as she sat there, small and alone, just like she had back on Helios.

Suddenly, Laela heard the captain address her. Her head perked up and she tilted it to the side. Nodding, she answered, "Yes, I am." She paused a moment as the ship flew through space, maneuvering in ways she had never known a ship could fly. "And why are pirates after us?" she then asked, curious if they might be the reason as to why her ship had gone down in the first place. "Did you do something to anger them?" she then added, her tone innocent rather than accusing.

As Laela looked out the window toward the open black before them all, her thoughts began to swim and muddle. Her life had turned upside down the moment her ship crashed. But more importantly, what of Hal? Wouldn't he be expecting her? Surely, he would be worried, his first priority and concern her welfare seeing as her ship lost contact with his people on Charon about an hour or so before the crash. It would only be a matter of time before he sent people to explore and scavenge the wreckage, to search for her and anyone else who might have survived. Soon, he'd be looking for her. Soon this nightmare would be over.

~~~

Ariana's mouth slid up and down his hardened shaft, her lips parted wide to accommodate its girth. Already she could feel her saliva pooling about the corners of her lips, the droplets dripping down her chin as she swallowed his length down her throat until she gagged. Her crystalline eyes peered up to meet his... they were supposed to be golden, liquid metal as they glared back down upon her as she sucked him off.

But they weren't. They were hazy, a blurry mist as he stared back, his voice resonating as he shouted out his approvals. Smiling, Ariana snaked a hand upward, her fingers curling about the base of his shaft as she began to stroke him hard, her mouth sucking, tasting, lavishing his cock with all her attention. Her other hand boldly dared to cup his balls as her fingers began to play with them gently—first one, then the other—tiny grunts rolling from her mouth as she sucked and slurped.

Trying with all her might, Ariana tried to make out the face, his features so clear yet muddled and murky as she nuzzled against his crotch, gagging as the tip of his cock struck the back of her throat. Almost instantly, her hand that had been fondling his balls moved to squeeze his hip, fingertips trailing lightly over his flesh in between moments where she kneaded his taunt muscles. Again, her eyes sought out his, looking for gold, but finding nothing, finding...

Without further thought, trying to push the face from her mind, Ariana's tongue began to lavishly lick along his hardened shaft, her lips leaving wet kisses from base to tip and back again before she took him back into her mouth. Her tongue swirled about his tip, teasing and taunting, daring him to fall over the edge or push her further. Would he? Could he? She wondered if he'd dare, if she'd let him... Her body was aroused from the actions, the sounds—the squelching and lewd sounds as her mouth worked wonders on his cock. For a brief moment, she recalled an instant from her past, but quickly, she shoved it to the dark corners of her mind, locking the memory up tight as her body began to respond to her own ministrations of the moment.

Peering upward again, Ariana could hear herself whimpering as she sucked, soft needy moans leaving her mouth as she did her work. Oh that face, that man, the pools of gold were gone and another held her head and guided her hand. Closing her eyes, she panted and sighed, her tongue licking and tasting, pleading for a taste of cum or something more as she continue to blow him right there, as he demanded. Yes, for that moment she was lost in reverie and for that moment she could succumb to the ecstasy and forget that she was with Halmir Quinn.

Even though the captain and first mate gave each other a lot of crap, it was obvious that they operated like a well-oiled machine. They seemed to read the mind of the other and Jace would start a task and Raff would finish it. Sometimes this extended to sentences. A common one was Jace: “Angle the.” Raff, “Deflector shields, got it.”

Jace navigated them through the hail of ruby and verdant laser bolts. The ship juked and jinked moving fluidly through dips, loops, and barrel rolls. Jace could see the two fighters closing in trying to get them in a pincer maneuver, while the converted Illuminati Interplanetary Armed Forces shuttle was dead ahead. “Watch it, that shuttle is readying a tractor beam.”

Jace nodded at Raff’s words, “Yeah, classic maneuver… amateurs…”

CC, the AI admitted a burst of static that sounded like he was clearing his throat, “A classic maneuver it might be but studies have shown that the tactic is affective 72 percent of the time.”

“You don’t think I’m in that top 28% of pilots CC? Seriously?” Jace said as he jerked the ship up on its side to avoid a blast of fire. “And really, why are you spouting your military tactic jargon at me?”

“Because, that’s why they pay me the big bucks, sir…” the Robot responded.

“Dude, you don’t get paid, you’re a droid.”

“Oh don’t tell me that, it makes my poor heart just burst.” CC responded. Jace and Raff just snorted. Finally Jace seemed to remember that he had been talking to Laela. He then addressed her, answering her questions.

“”They’re after you. I didn’t do a goddamned thing to them.”

“Right, cause they were totally ok with the fact that you blew up their battle cruiser.” Raff said dryly.

“I told you they shot first. The bastards shot at me for trying to rescue the damned Lumes…Excuse the term your highness, old habits die hard.” Jace said, at least showing some decency to realize that he was using a rather derogatory term for her people, even if he made no apology for the slightly mocking term “your highness” which was how he seemed to address her. “With luck we’ll get out of this.”

“If not, it was nice meeting you Lady Quenton.” Raff said, somewhere between sincere and joking.

~~~

“Oh fuck.” He groaned. Hal was sure that if they gave awards for such things as she was doing to him, she would win, hands down. It was so good it almost made him forget about the dreaded visit from his cousin. His cousin was a tool, the trying part was she was unaware she was a pawn in his glorious chess match and so he had to pretend he cared about her, feign interest in her, when in all honesty he just wanted to tell her how she was just a wrung in his social ladder.

He was drawn back out of his inner thoughts as she took him all the way, her soft gagging noises exciting him getting his attention. He let his smile widen as his hand forced her farther, relished the noise of his cock burying itself into her throat. He was in control, but he did not hinder her movements completely, this was still about her pleasing him, so when she pulled off his cock to lick and kiss down the shaft he let her. After all, she was the expert cocksucker here, not him, if she thought he would enjoy it, so much the better.

Hal could feel himself growing close when suddenly there was a knock on his door. His face darkened with his growing ire, who would dare to interrupt him, what was their reason. “Enter.” He barked even as he pressed the woman’s head down his shaft once again, making it very clear that she was to continue to service him even through this interruption.

A young woman pushed open the door, one of Halmir’s secretaries, it was clear that she was the one selected to interrupt his fun for her face was already red with embarrassment. Her stammering words only confirmed the suspicion. “Your pardon, sir, but General Tholl believes that you should see something on the news.”

“One moment…” he seemed to try to focus on her nametag, but was unable to read it from across the room, “Miss… this will only take another minute.” With that Hal let the moan he had been holding back escape his lips. He had felt her continuing what she was doing between his legs and he was ready to explode. His smile only widened as the poor administrator stood there, her cheeks flaming red as she watched the lewd display as Halmir Quinn, her boss obviously experienced a sexual release into the mouth of a red-haired woman’s mouth right in front of her. It was customary for Illuminati officials to indulge in such… activities; however in the inner sanctum such displays were kept behind closed doors. However out here on the rim, who would dare to frown on Hal for what he did, who would care. He was Governor Halmir Quinn, lord of the outcasts and criminals.

When he was done he slowly let his hands slip from the long red waves of hair, at last letting the woman up off his cock. He pulled his pants back up and tucked himself away, Ariana’s body blocking most of his actions sparing the poor administrative assistant the full view of her boss. Hal finally settled himself back in his large leather desk chair and wheeled to face his monitor on the extravagant wooden desk, that he had had flown in from Humera, it was actually real wood not a synthesized version of it. He flipped on the screen and adjusted the news. The static cleared to show what appeared to be a space battle. A freighter was being swarmed by two fighters and a shuttle. “Just what am I seeing here? That looks like an IIAF Shuttle, but those corsairs, they’re not Armed forces.” Taking his questions as an invitation the assistant walked further into the room. “Tholl didn’t notify me about any military engagements. Not to mention, you expect me to believe anything this news program puts up on the air? It’s nothing but lies and garbage anyway.”

The young woman gulped and cleared her throat, “General Tholl asked me to come and explain to you what you are seeing.”

“Then explain it to me for god sakes quit yammering on about nothing and just tell me.”

The woman wrung her hands for a second before explained her eyes flicking briefly to Ariana and then back to Hal, almost asking if Ariana was privileged to hear such information. “That is an IIAF shuttle, sir. However, it is not one of ours. If you look closely.” Here she boldly took a step forward, tapping Hal’s screen freezing the image, enlarging the image of the shuttle. “You can see here, that its colors are wrong. It…”

“It isn’t in IIAF gray and white.” Hal finished for her. “So mercenaries or pirates?” The intelligent governor assumed. The woman nodded, glad that he was catching on. Hal continued, filling in more of the details without the woman’s input. “That appears to be a Dragonian Freighter.” The design was instantly recognizable, both because of its distinctive Dragonian grace, but also for the sheer commonness of the sight, they were everywhere, Dragonia designed most of the ships outside the inner sanctum. Their orbital shipyards churned out hundreds of these ships a year. “So, there’s some kind of pirate mercs out after a shipper. Why the hell do I care? Why am I seeing this? Tell Tholl that if he’s so angry about them having one of his shuttles he shouldn’t have lost the damned thing in the first place.”

The woman seemed to shift from foot to foot in her nervousness, “You misunderstand sir. It’s just that he feels this is of concern, he feels something is afoot seeing as we lost contact with the Helios Pride almost an hour ago, now a reporter has captured footage of pirate activity….well sir, he feels they’re connected and that…well something might have happened to the Pride…”

There weren’t words. He would kill someone. He stood up, untangling himself from Ariana where he had been still petting her hair as she sat next to him now. He stalked over getting right in the other woman’s face. “What did you say? You lost contact with my family’s ship an hour ago and I am just hearing about it now? Just…why…is… that?” he growled through his teeth, punctuating each word with a stab of his finger at the woman.

“Well uh… You know how fickle technology is out here, sir. We honestly thought nothing of it at first… they were not due to land for another half an hour. And well, you were uh…” here her eyes flicked again to Ariana, “Occupied, and we did not feel it was necessary to, interrupt you for -- such a trivial matter – as fickle equipment.”

Hal snarled and shoved the administrative assistant away from himself, “Fine, fine, as you say. I want answers I want to know what is going on out there, and find my cousin’s ship, or someone will pay!”

Laela felt a sharp sting go through her body when the captain accused her—and her family—of being the sole cause of the mess they'd suddenly found themselves in. As far as she knew, her family's vessel hadn't initiated any trouble with anyone. They'd merely been on a voyage to Charon so that she could visit her beloved cousin, the one man who'd shown her any care over her short life. Her thoughts drifted then. She wondered if Hal was aware of what had happened, aware that her ship had gone down, that she'd been fortunate enough to survive...

Suddenly, Laela felt a sob bubble up in chest. Her parents. They truly were gone and she didn't even really know them. Not once had they truly spent time with her, dared to learn her favorites or come to know her secrets. Not once had they truly tried. Giving in to this indulgence, this trip as it was, was the first time they'd shown any true consideration for her feelings. But even then, she knew deep down, it had been laced with ulterior motive. They had hoped to indulge her, allow her to get the last of her urges out of her system so that they could marry her off and see to it that she was no longer their burden to bear... but someone elses instead.

As the tears pricked her crystal blue eyes, Laela snapped back into the moment as the ship jolted and jostled with another evasive maneuver. Her body shifted and she let out a tiny groan. She looked over at Rafael who seemed to defend, in his own way, though perhaps more of that was him making jabs at his captain and friend. She couldn't be certain. She was unused to such travel, such manners... the crude behavior was unsettling and the mockery!

"Your highness?" Laela muttered under her breath, a scowl on her face as she glared at the captain. "Lumes?" Her eyes flashed as her blood boiled with heat. "Of all the..." her voice trailed as she searched her mind for the words to describe this man who was supposed to be rescuing her. But all he could do was mock and insult, lay blame on those in dire straights! It was absurd! Ludicrous! "Petulant... ridiculous..." She stammered and sputtered, unable to put her words together as she sat there, holding on as the ship seemed to toss about as it flew through the blackness of space. "If we get out of this," she then added, looking first at Rafael and then at Jason, "I will be thoroughly amazed. Your ill-tempered, unmannerly captain who seems to like to lay blame on anyone but himself is going to get us all killed with the insane and reckless way he seems to fly this... this... this contraption!"

Laela felt her cheeks go hot as she shouted, her knuckles white as she gripped at her seat. Her heart was racing beneath her breasts as they all flew, hoping like hell they made it out in one piece and away from the pirates that were hot on their tails.

~~~

Ariana heard the knock and then the door and finally the sound of a woman's voice as she entered the room where she was currently in the middle of giving Halmir Quinn one of the best blow jobs of his life, her mouth working him up into a frenzy, almost animal-like state as her lips parted and moved, her tongue swirled and licked. The more she tasted his flesh, the harder it became to make out his face, the haze between reality and fantasy blurring completely until everything became muddled and murky rendering things to almost indistinguishable. But that was as she liked it, as she wanted it... as she needed it to be.

His cock was hard and throbbing, so good as it filled her mouth and her throat. And that woman, she just stood there watching, his hips continuing to buck against her face, his balls slapping her chin. She gagged and drooled, tiny grunting whimpers filling the air as she blew him right there for their visitor to see. Just then, a tiny pang of arousal caused her clit to swell and ache knowing they were being watched. Was she enjoying what she saw? Oh, she had no time for that... not now... he was close. So close. His length was hard and pulsating in her mouth as she gagged and sucked, loud slurps resonating, making her body hot, filled with urges when suddenly...

Ariana felt the twitch. She could feel him on the brink of release, her mouth frantically begging for the cum he was ready to spurt into her wanting mouth. Whimpering, he suddenly delivered, the load thick and luscious as it filled her mouth, its heat dancing on her tongue before she swallowed each delicious drop down her throat. "Mmm... mmm..." she panted, her body in such want. But he had that visitor. And that would be the end today. So as the end came the haze of fantasy began to swirl, coming together, she soon found herself looking up into the face of Hal. Those golden eyes staring down at her as she let her tongue dart out to lick the cum off the corners of her swollen lips.

Ariana sat there like a good little pet as Hal moved to adjust himself, his hands releasing her long, red tresses, his face twisted as he listened and took in the news this woman delivered. She listened intently to each word the woman muttered while Hal stalked away from the bed and over to the desk, his anger growing by the second and with it the tension in the air. It was heavy and thick, just like the cum she'd swallowed down not long ago, the taste still clinging to her tongue. Finally, she stood up, making her way to pick up the slinky robe that had been tossed to the floor—liquid silk—as if it were nothing, just another barrier that had kept him from viewing her flesh though all he'd wanted was her hungry and masterful mouth.

After slipping on the black robe, Ariana made her way over to Hal, kneeling on the floor by his side, her head resting against his lap as he watched the footage on the screen. She watched it carefully, eyeing everything, not missing a mark, and storing the details carefully away in her head for when she knew she'd need it most. A most interesting find seeing the two ships zigzagging through space—and so close to the savage planet Charon. Surely one or both had something to do with the missing Pride. She wondered just what became of the ship exactly. Losing contact on the fringe wasn't something to be taken lightly, especially for a ship with Lume markings. The Lumes. They thought they held power out there on Charon—truly that was a laugh. It was the mercenaries, the criminals. They held the true power, not the Illuminati in all their courtly manner and stuffy politics. Her thoughts were vile, wrought venom as she thought them, twisted with poison as her heart longed to be somewhere other than where she was. Though, she hoped whatever happened to the Pride, those who met death—assuming death came—met it swiftly.

Ariana continued to eye the footage, staring at the ships giving chase. She recognized the flying style of the one, something she hadn't seen in years. Curious, she tried to look at it more closely, but the visual. She needed to scan the images better, take a look at things herself, without... others around.

"They will pay," Ariana then spoke, her blue-green eyes flashing as she looked up into those golden depths of hate. "If anyone has caused your family harm, they will suffer for their crimes." She nodded, her hand moving to caress his leg, slowly rising upward in graceful, languid movements. "Now, why don't you rest a bit. You look tired. I can take on some of this burden for you and look more closely at the footage and any files associated." She stood up, her hands not once leaving his body. Walking behind him, she began to massage his shoulders, his neck and then leaned forward so that her breasts pressed against him, her lips brushing his ear. "I will look at everything. Let me handle it. And soon, your cousin will be where she belongs. Right here before you."

At that, Ariana nipped Hal's ear, her eyes closing as she let herself get lost in the moment, her mind going elsewhere as the haze threatened to cloud her vision. She hoped the man would see things her way, let her work on things for a little while. As it was, things seemed off, not quite right. There was something about one of those ships in that footage she'd just seen. If she just had a bit more time with what was delivered, she knew she could find the reason as to why.