Persephone

The next time I commandeer a spaceship I’m coming up with a plan that doesn’t involve hiding in small, cramped spaces.

I may never be able to stand fully upright again.

It’s been hours since I hacked into the Alvarium’s security systems and snuck inside, hours since I made my way to the small room just below the bridge that contains all the wires, buttons, and circuit boards that make this pretty bird fly, and wedged myself into a corner to wait.

I had barely managed to make it beyond the cargo bay before the comm from Sarina scrolled across my wristpiece warning of the captain’s imminent return.

> Sarina: Hurry! He’s on his way back now. You’ve got less than ten minutes.

>

> Persephone: What! Did the guy have space dick? Two thrusts was all it took for him to get off world?

>

> Sarina: No. The good captain refused my advances.

>

> Persephone: Fucking stars, I don’t believe it.

>

> Sarina: It was very disappointing. I have heard…interesting things about Hunerae anatomy. I was eager to find out firsthand.

>

> Persephone: Wait, what kinds of things?

>

> Sarina: Another time. Hurry!

I hadn’t even had time for a proper panic before I was racing to patch a connection between the Alvarium’s mainframe and my wristpiece and then wriggling into my hiding place. Barely an hour into my plan and the “good captain” nearly ruined all my hard work by proving himself the one man in existence resistant to Sarina’s substantial charms. The nerve, honestly.

But now I’ve been hiding for what feels like days (my wristpiece insists it has only been three hours) and I’ve had all the time I need to have a silent, delayed panic, more time than is probably healthy to ponder what Sarina heard about Hunerae anatomy, and not enough time (or space) to properly celebrate the fact that I fucking made it.

I made it off New Earth and didn’t die. Not yet anyway. I may have only completed about a third of my plan but already I feel an almost dizzying sense of freedom coursing through me. I clutch my bag tighter against my chest and close my eyes. Soon, I promise myself, soon I’ll see the stars and fulfill my promise and all of this will have been worth it.

Above me I can hear the captain and the two drones moving quietly about the bridge. They don’t speak, at least not out loud, they could be having a raging debate in Hunera for all I know since they’re one of the races that mostly speak to each other in hand language. It should be eerie but instead it’s rather peaceful and I find myself dozing off to the sounds of the engine despite my cramped position. However, when my wrist buzzes I jolt upright, my body on high alert, and look down.

I’ve been tracking the course of the ship and after having taken two backwater galaxy navs and one semi-illegal jump to get distance between the Alvarium and New Earth, they have finally flown past a security checkpoint. My wrist buzzes again indicating the file containing my life insurance/blackmail has been deposited into the checkpoint’s archives—which is exactly where it will stay unless my soon-to-be new friends on the Alvarium don’t do exactly what I say.

Reaching into my bag I pull out the illegal blaster Sarina managed to smuggle onto New Earth for me, take a deep, bracing breath and slowly, painfully stand up.

It’s time to commandeer a ship from one of the most fearsome species in the galaxy.

What could possibly go wrong?

----------------------------------------

Zohail

It’s been hours since we left New Earth and I can’t seem to stop my mind from returning to Sarina Valetine-Whiting’s brightly colored apartments and the feel of her hand on my thigh…and the complete lack of feelings it inspired. My wings rustle, the sound vaguely metallic as the prosthetic, false one rubs against the other and I absently reach up to touch the patch covering my left eye. Perhaps the war left me more broken than I thought.

I look at Mazai and Alim sitting at the navigation panel in front of me, both of their broad shoulders are relaxed and even chatty, reckless Mazai has an air of calm about him that is telling. They must have spent their time on New Earth at the Temple of Ashise. I envy them that peace and again my mind loops back to those apartments on New Earth while I try to imagine having taken a different course.

Perhaps it is the distraction of those thoughts that keeps me from hearing the sound of approaching feet until it is too late. The unmistakable high-pitched whine of a blaster charging cuts through the quiet stillness of the bridge.

My body goes stiff as do Mazai and Alim, their eight hands freezing above the ship’s navigation controls and a smooth, warm voice like the sweetest melvitae pours in to fill the silence.

“Captain Zohail, I’m so glad to meet you at last. I realize pointing a blaster at someone’s head isn’t the most friendly of greetings but if you and your drones wouldn’t mind putting your hands up and spinning around slowly, there’s no reason anyone needs to get hurt. All I need is a ride and as long as you take me where I want to go, there’s no reason we can’t end this exchange as uncomfortable strangers.” There’s a brief pause and then the speaker adds a firm, “Please.”

It is the politest threat I’ve ever heard and I am overtaken by the absurd urge to grin. Amusement is a warm spark in my chest and for the first time in ages, some of the restlessness inside me eases. Perhaps this is what I’ve been missing: a challenge.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Do as she says,” I say to Mazai and Alim, careful to keep all traces of amusement from my voice. There’s no need to provoke her by making her think I am not taking her seriously. For all her politeness, there is still a blaster pointed at me. I lift my hands over my head and then slowly turn my seat.

And without her firing a single shot, I feel like I’ve endured a critical blow.

The woman currently holding me and two of my crew members hostage is lovely. Small, as all human women are, she is still undeniably fierce. She is glaring at me from eyes as dark as a Hunerae’s despite their strange white edges and her square jaw is clenched hard, a sharp contrast to the fullness of her lips and broad, round sweep of her nose. I quickly scan the rest of her and find she is full of such delightful contrasts. Her hips are as wide and lush as any Hunderae princess but the arms holding the blaster out in front of her are surprisingly toned and muscled. They are also completely sleeved in tattoos in the New Earth style, the ink shifting and moving beneath her skin in fantastic, realistic moving pictures. From where I sit, I can see lightning and storm clouds roiling over bright splashes of color that I can’t quite make out. Most enchanting of all is her hair, it is a glorious mix of purples, as if a nebula has settled amidst the strands and crowned her queen of the universe.

And just like that my body starts to hum and my cock gets hard.

The hum is not loud but neither is the room and I am sure Mazai and Alim can hear it. Zekef. I haven’t spontaneously hummed since I was a youth. Where was this several hours ago when I was alone with a willing female? From behind me, I hear a surprised intake of breath and a snort of amusement that I am positive has come from Mazai.

The woman, our would-be thief, clearly hears it as well. I can see her body grow even tenser and I notice for the first time that although her arms are holding strong and steady there is the slightest tremble in her hands.

“What the fuck is that sound?” she asks, her voice harsh but the tremble is there as well and I feel a tightening in my chest. This woman is clearly frightened but she stands here, resolute and determined and I cannot help but admire her bravery. Of course this only makes the humming in my body grow louder and I close my eye trying to calm it while also fighting back the heat of embarrassment. Where is my control? I am a warrior for Queen’s sake.

“Do not be alarmed, my lady, male Hunerae simply hum when they are…agitated.” I can hear the mirth in Mazai’s voice as he answers my thief, “And it would seem Captain Zohail finds you particularly agitating.” He snorts again and without turning around I flip him a rude gesture with my upraised hands.

The woman in front of me is similarly not amused. Her eyes narrow at me and she pushes a button on the side of the blaster, ratcheting up the weapon’s intensity with another sharp whine.

“Don’t fucking try anything. I’ve got a plan and you’ve already deviated once.”

Have I? Interesting. Of course at the moment I find everything about this woman interesting. Perhaps later I will have an opportunity to learn all about her. For now, however, the most important thing is to stall. When I respond, I keep my tone mild but there is no stopping the intensity of my buzzing…or the obvious hardness of my cock. Hopefully she does not pay attention to either.

“My apologies, my lady, if I have caused you any inconvenience. However, I confess to being curious about your plan. You cannot truly hope to hold the three of us at blast point for the entirety of the trip? It is my understanding that humans require a great deal of sleep as well as food and water.”

An odd look crosses the woman’s face and she tilts her head in a way that is entirely adorable.

“You know, I think Sarina was right about you. That apology sounded sincere.”

At her mention of Sarina, a few pieces of the pattern become clearer. The other human woman’s sudden interest now makes sense—it was part of this plan. My fascination with the woman in front of me grows. She gives the blaster in her hands a small, terrifying jerk and shrugs.

“This was just to get your attention. We passed a security checkpoint a few yaren back and while it was in range I took the opportunity to drop a rather large file of evidence about your melvitae smuggling operation into its archives.” A slow, cheerful grin begins to spread across her face and the sight of it is even more breathtaking than the words she’s just said, words that could easily lead to my execution and the lifelong imprisonment of my crew on a hard labor planet.

“Don’t worry, as long as you do what I say and I’m able to keep checking in with my contact, those records will never see the light of the stars.”

The woman is so focused on me that she does not see or hear the Hunerae walking silently up behind her. There’s a blaster in his hands but he meets my eye and then flicks his gaze to my hands where I make the barest twitch of movement.

Wait.

He stills and out loud I say, “I am happy to hear your demands but I must insist you put down the blaster.” I keep my voice calm, my eye steady on hers. I know the thoughts racing through her mind as she looks critically over my body. I am half a dozen hands taller than her and built like a soldier, with muscles and spikes and wings. I know what she sees when she looks at me: danger.

She is not wrong even if I already know I could never be a danger to her. I think I might protect this woman with my life, which is another feeling I have not had in a very long time. But she cannot know that, which is why I am unsurprised when she slowly shakes her head and I see grease-smudged fingers grip a little tighter around her weapon.

“Not yet. There’s still three of you and one of me and I’m not risking any more bruises today.”

Smart. My thief is smart. I smile ruefully at her and spread my hands a little further apart in wordless apology.

“Then I am afraid I must apologize again because you’re wrong…There is not three of us.”

The whine of Riaz’s blaster is a harsh punctuation to my words. Her eyes widen, the blaster in her hands dips, and she swears.

“Suka, blyad.” She points an accusatory finger at me. “You deviated again! What kind of Hunerae are you? You lot are all about fucking patterns and yet here you are, breaking routine and fucking up my plans.”

Her cheeks are flushed and her chest is rising and falling quickly with her breathing. She’s beautiful and with her fiery display I fall just a little bit in love.

I lower my hands and try another charming smile, it feels stiff and rusty on my face. “You still have us at a disadvantage, my lady, if what you say is true, you could expose us to the authorities at any moment.”

She’s scowling. “You can cut it with the “my lady” crap. My name is Persephone.”

Persephone. It’s an odd name and feels soft and round as I roll the sounds across my tongue. Then I wonder if her body would feel similarly soft and round rolling across my tongue and the buzzing of my body, which had begun to quiet, renews its urgency.

Behind Persephone, Riaz’s eyebrows raise as he hears it and a sharp smile flashes across his face.

“Captain, should I disarm this little thief?” he asks and despite her fearless expression, I see the shaking in her hands spread to her shoulders. I stand abruptly and give him a hard look.

“Do not touch her,” I say, because for some reason the thought of Riaz or either of the other two males touching her makes my blood rush with an altogether different sort of hum, this one cold and violent and much more familiar.

Slowly, I move closer to this small, strange, beautiful female and gentle my voice, “Put down your weapon, cerinthi. We will go and discuss the terms of our surrender as equals, smuggler to thief. We will not harm you.”

She scowls and mutters, “That was supposed to be my line,” and I feel like grinning again. Instead of giving in to the urge though I give my crew a stony look.

“I am going to take our guest to my quarters. Riaz has the bridge while I am gone.”

Riaz still has a smirk on his face when he signs to me,

Are you sure you can handle negotiations, Captain, when all of your blood is currently residing below your belt?

Mazai laughs and even Alim wears a small smile. I throw an incredibly rude gesture back at him that only makes Riaz and Mazai laugh harder.

Persephone gives an annoyed huff of breath and then, slowly and deliberately, signs,

I can zekking understand you.