A Courtesan and an Assassin

The shuttle noticeable slowed as it began its slow deceleration from light speed. Everyone looked slightly blurred for a millisecond as the ship's environment controls adjusted to the below-light speed environment. I noticed Alysha going slightly white during the announcement. Maybe she wasn't as tough as she made out. Maybe it was the thought of her marriage to the prince. Who knows, it only lasted for a second.

'So here's what we are going to do" said Alysha "Lyndsey, we are going to have you substitute for me until we are safely on the planet. We will need to cut your hair in my style, but apart from that, with the right clothes, a veil in front of your face and if you just act like the Elite Courtesan, nobody will see the switch."

'You will go in the official shuttle to the palace on the planet surface with Jen and Sam, while I will go with Andrew, and Araka-San in a secondary shuttle that the staff are using to ferry my belongings to the surface. OK? '

Nobody answered. Lyndsey smiled at the thought of acting as the Elite Courtesan, even if it was only for a few hours.

'Good. Let's get going. We have a lot to prepare.'

Whilst the ladies were getting ready I unpacked my rucksack, checked that everything was working and repacked it adding some water and food that I went to the galley to fetch. The ship was heaving, with personnel running in all directions getting ready for orbit and the unloading of all the passengers and materials. I saw Chef Leo along the way. He glanced at me then looked away quickly before hurrying off around the corner. I returned to Alysha's quarters and saw Alysha, or what I thought was Alysha lying on the bed. In fact it was Lyndsey and Alysha was now dressed in Lyndsey's clothes and she had long dark hair from a wig.

I sat down next to Araka-san and waited. Araka-san hovered over closer to me and whispered in my ear.

"I'm worried about my Mistress. She puts on a brave face but she hasn't been totally honest in explaining the danger she is in. We have received reports that there are no fewer than three death squads that have been sent to kill her. You had better be good Assassin or I will kill you myself."

'I'm good" I replied 'but Providence are well informed and have extensive resources. If she is to live for the next two weeks we will also need luck and whatever gadgets you have in that tin body of yours".

"Be careful Assassin - If we didn't need you I would kill you now you impudent humanoid".

We were interrupted by a knock on the door. Captain Henning walked in. Outside I could see 12 guards waiting to escort us to the shuttle bay.

'Elite Courtesan Alysha, we will be entering orbit in the next 10 minutes. I will personally escort you to your shuttle, if you follow me."

I picked up my rucksack and followed the now disguised Alysha out of the door. Lyndsey was enjoying her role as the "elite courtesan'. She had a veil in front of her face and Captain Henning who was leading the way did all the talking. Lyndsey only had to give one-word answers to satisfy the captain.

We arrived in the shuttle deck at the rear of the ship. There were security guards at all the entrances. It was surprisingly quiet as no shuttles were landing or arriving. Two small shuttles were on the left but they weren't being readied for take-off. I didn't like it. It was too quiet. I whispered to Araka-san if he noticed anything, but he said that all his scans were negative. I still didn't like it.

Captain Henning spoke into his communicator saying the elite courtesan was in the loading bay and her shuttle could now berth to pick her and her entourage up, and take them down to the planet.

"Well milady" he said 'it has been a pleasure having you on board as my guest, and I wish you a happy and prosperous life with your new husband. I have done my duty and delivered you safely to your prince."

"Thank you captain for your hospitality" replied Lyndsey.

A shuttle appeared in the entrance to the loading bay. Behind it you could see the Planet Marrakesh below - a harsh planet with wild fluctuations in temperature and violent winds that only the most hardy animals could survive in. In many parts humans would die within a day in such a climate without special gear and even then you had to survive the predators that roamed the prairies and the desert, as well as the jungles.

The shuttle was silver, about 50 meters long and had the emblem of the Marrakesh Royal Family on its side. It glided silently to a stop just ten meters away from where we were waiting. I looked at Araka-san, to see if he had scanned the shuttle. He hovered over so he was level with my ear.

"I can't scan inside" he said. "I am being blocked -- it could be a standard feature on this ship, but I don't like it"

Nobody else looked concerned. I leaned over to Alysha and told her to hang back, and not go towards the shuttle until I said so. The communicator on Captain Henning's arm sounded and a panicked voice didn't wait until the captain answered.

"Captain, the Royal Shuttle has just communicated that they will be here in 5 minutes -- the prince wanted to come and meet his future bride in person which is why they are a bit late. But I don't understand the shuttle is here already." said the deck officer. You could hear his voice tail off as the significance of what he said hit home.

Captain Henning went white. The door of the shuttle suddenly popped open and flying out came six splicers who headed straight for the security details at the three entrances. Behind the splicers came four men, but not men, they had extra limbs, and grotesque smiles that made a mockery of anything human and they wore the purple gowns of 'The Providence". They were wearing huge packs on their backs and were carrying military laser weapons that could penetrate the hardest alloy. The security guards having recovered from the shock of seeing the splicers coming towards them had started firing. Laser shots flew everywhere. The four Providence Assassins walked calmly in our direction guns aimed at Lyndsey and the Captain.

I grabbed Alysha and threw her to the ground, shouting at Araka-san to throw a protective energy shield over us. I pulled out my gun, taking aim at the first Assassin, and fired. I hit him between the eyes and he fell. The three that were left, opened fire hitting the Captain, and then Lyndsey, multiple hits tearing through her body. Alysha went white, started shaking and cried out "Lyndsey …' before I could put my hand around her mouth to stifle her cry.

Looking into her eyes I said calmly "When I say run, run as fast as you can towards that shuttle on the left. And don't look back" I told her.

As more shots flew from the Providence's laser guns Jen and Sam both fell to the ground, crying out, then silent. The three Assassins started to move towards us.

"Now run." I screamed.

We ran bent double hugging the wall; with Araka-san hovering above us with his projected energy field covering us. I knew his energy field was strong but didn't want to test it against the military laser weapons the Providence Assassins were carrying. The security guards had lost at least half their men but were managing to fight off the Splicers who were now either dead or writhing on the ground and no longer a threat. The security guards started targeting the three remaining assassins who were retreating towards the shuttle.

We made a last dash towards the furthest most shuttle from the assassins. I opened the door and shoved Alysha through the door, and dived in after her.

"I presume you can fly this thing" I asked Araka-san "my flying skills are a bit rusty".

"What do you think?" he replied sarcastically as he moved towards the cockpit. I turned around and checked on Alysha. She was staring vacantly through the shuttle window at the fire-fight going on outside and her three colleagues who lay deathly still in the middle of the loading bay, not moving an inch, and oblivious to the fight going on around them.

Alysha looked around at me, holding back tears.

'I think we need to leave now' she said.

I looked over her shoulder and could see the three remaining Assassins firing from underneath their shuttle. They were soon going to be overrun by the security guards and the reinforcements that were coming from the rest of the ship. I saw one assassin fall and another get hit in the shoulder. The last assassin ran behind the front of the shuttle, took of his pack and pressed a button.

I felt our shuttle shudder as it became airborne.

"Get us the hell out of here" I screamed "and strap your selves in."

Strapping myself in, our shuttle turned 180 degrees and shot towards the bay doors. Looking back I saw a blue light shoot from the pack of the assassin to the three other packs still on the other dead assassins' backs. For a moment the packs were all joined in a blue rectangle, then they formed the shape of the Providence Cross in the center of the four packs. The last assassin laughed maniacally as he kneeled in prayer toward the symbol. The security guards started to run for the exits. I knew what this was -- it was the prelude to a fusion explosion.

Our shuttle shot through the door and started to accelerate away from the ship. A few seconds more I thought, just one or two seconds more please…the whole sky lit up behind us and a shock wave smashed into us, and through our shuttle around like a rag doll. We were definitely going to die; this shuttle couldn't possibly be build to withstand a nuclear explosion.

Where was I? It was dark and I hurt all over. I was in a shuttle. What was I doing in a shuttle….oh shit I said to myself as my memory came flooding back to me. I should be dead. I looked around and saw Alysha on the other side of the aisle. She wasn't moving.

Chapter 9 -- A courtesan and an Assassin - The Island

The shuttle was moving. I couldn't see outside. It was dark, but the shuttle was definitely moving. I unbuckled my harness and stood up. I checked Alysha's pulse; it was still beating. I walked over to the cockpit. Araka-san was there but looked as though he had seen better days. He had dents all over his outer casing and he glowed a somber grey.

"Come closer" he croaked "I think my systems are shutting down. The electro-magnetic pulse was too strong for my defenses, and my core circuitry has been damaged. You have to save the Elite Courtesan. She must get to the Crown Prince. The wedding must go-ahead in two weeks, as it will bring harmony to the planetary systems."

"Can't I just plug you in somewhere to fix you?"

"Impudent to the end, aren't you Assassin. I need to get back to my creator on Planet Hannover. Even then I'm not sure if he will be able to recover my memories or my personality."

"Well it wasn't the best personality I have ever seen, so a change might be a good thing."

Before Araka-san had time to reply the droid's ambient colour turned a dark black and there was silence.

I felt someone next to me and then a hand was on my shoulder, gripping me tightly as though if she could grip tight enough it might bring Jen, Sam, and Lyndsey and even this tin-can of a droid Araka-san back. I didn't move. I enjoyed the feeling of being needed and her fierce grip on me. The shuttle shifted again. I strained to look out of the windows and saw with a bit of moonlight a canopy of trees stretching into the distance. We must be sitting on top of one of them. That's why we were moving. We weren't safe at all.

"Come" I said dragging Alysha out of the cockpit with me.

I opened the door and looked down. "We must be more than 30 meters up. We need to jump onto the tree and make our way down. There's no time to look for a rope. Jump onto my back and put your hands around my neck."

Alysha reached up and put her hands firmly around my neck, and jumped up. I reached out of the door, grabbed onto a branch and swung around until we were on another branch above the shuttle. Alysha let go of me and we side-stepped along the branch towards the main trunk. The shuttle shifted and fell, as if it knew that we had just left. It took an eternity to hit the floor of the jungle 30 meters below. We braced ourselves for an explosion, but none came, just the dull crash of metal on metal and then silence.

We moved silently down the tree reaching the base nearly 30 minutes later. I had my rucksack and enough food and water for one day.

I racked my brains to remember the geography of the planet Marrakesh. There was only one part of the planet that had this tropical ecosystem -- it was an island in the Atlasian sea about five hundred kilometers from the continent and the capital of Marrakesh. The island was approximately 50 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide with a single volcano in the center. Now I knew why I remembered this island. There had been an article in the one of those trashy travel magazines that I was reading when I was holed up in Leo's kitchen. The island was inhabited by a lost untouched race of humans that lived in the trees and kept some bizarre mating and rites of passage rituals, which weren't specified.

Alysha tapped me on my shoulder. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

"We have to check the wreckage of the shuttle, and then find shelter. Later we can work out a plan to get of this island."

The wreckage was spread over a surprisingly wide area with very little that looked salvageable. We found an emergency survival pack including food, thermal blankets, a flare gun and water. After about ten minutes we stopped searching. There was nothing else that would be useful.

"Let's get out of here." I said "the shuttle crashing can't have gone unnoticed. I don't want to hang around to see if the natives are friendly or not."

I took out my planetary map tracker which fitted neatly in the palm of my hand and started working in the direction of the center of the island. I wanted to find rockier terrain away from these trees and find shelter. Alysha followed looking less white than she did earlier. After five minutes we came to a clearing and we saw in the moonlight 3 tracks running of it. I drank some water and handed the bottle to Alysha, who drank quietly and handed the bottle back to me.

"We'll take the second track" I whispered "but be quiet. Something or someone has made these paths."

The night was suddenly split by a piercing scream that seemed to come from all directions at once. It sounded female. It came again, weaker this time and noticeably further away than originally I had guessed.

"Run!"

We ran to the second track, and started along it trying to keep as quiet as possible and not fall on any roots or shrubs or hit any overhanging branches. After 5 minutes we stopped and listened.

Alysha started to say something " Shh" I said.

There was silence. "What was that' whispered Alysha. She looked scared and tired. I needed to find somewhere for us to sleep.

"I don't know what it was, but it wasn't an animal. It sounded human and female. And she was clearly terrified."

"This place scares the hell out of me. I wish Araka-san was here. Somehow I would feel safer."

"I'm so sorry your 'eliteness', don't you trust me to look after you?"

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just Araka-san was like an elder brother to me and I relied on him a lot. I suppose I'll just have to start relying on you. Can you be relied on Assassin?"

I stared into Alysha's eyes which didn't blink. I turned away and started walking up the track. She followed.

One hundred meters on my torch light picked out a large tree with exposed roots that formed a sort of cave that had more than enough headroom for us. There didn't seem to be anything living there so we both went into the cavern in silence, spread out the thermal blankets on the floor and lay down side by side. I took my gun out of my rucksack and used the sack as a pillow. I stared into Alysha's eyes. They stared back. She shut them and was asleep in an instance. I watched her for a few minutes; the rise and fall of her breasts; her twitching like a dog does when it's dreaming, and the fantastic curve of her arse that was just asking me to reach out and stroke it.

'" Christ Andrew, anyone would think you were developing feelings for this lady. Stop it. She's going to marry a prince, and just look at all the trouble she's already got you into" I thought to myself.

Chapter 10 -- A courtesan and an Assassin - The Valkaryian Serpent

I felt lips brush my face. I opened my eyes slowly. Alysha's large eyes were inches away from mine and staring at me. I could smell her beautiful body and feel her hand on my chest.

She opened her mouth and whispered "I need to take the pain away. Take their faces away. I need to forget even if it's only for a few minutes."

She leant over and kissed me lightly on my lips and moved back looking into my eyes. I kissed her lightly back. She tasted slightly salty but immediately I could feel the effect on my body. The tiredness I felt and the aches and pains disappeared in an instant. I reached up and put my hands around her face and pulled her on top of me, kissing her lightly then harder as she started responding. Alysha was like a wild animal. She was raw with rage, anger, emotion. She didn't want to make love gently. She wanted it hard and rough, deep and fast, the more physical the better to take her mind off the deaths of her closest colleagues. I kissed her deeply thrusting my tongue deep into her mouth, my tongue searching out hers jousting, intertwining, kissing her lips, biting her shoulder as she dug her nails into my back.

We separated for a few seconds. I ripped my top off and undid my trousers as Alysha pulled down her pants. Pulling her down onto the blanket I began licking her breasts, circling her nipples which were already hard. I felt her hands on either side of my head, pushing me down between her legs. I thrust my tongue straight into her pussy which was already sopping wet. She let out a groan of pleasure holding my head in place, and thrusting her hips up to meet my darting tongue, grinding her body against me. "fuck me Andrew. Just fuck me now'. My dick was hard, but I wasn't going to fuck her just yet. I turned around putting my dick just above Alysha's open mouth, whilst I continued to stroke and lick her pussy. Her tongue started licking the head of my cock which was beginning to drip with pre-cum. She licked her lips - opened her mouth taking the whole length in, in one swift movement. I stopped licking for just a moment to enjoy the full pleasure of being totally eaten by this gorgeous chick as she began to move me in and out of her mouth and throat. Putting one hand under her buttock I glided two fingers into her pussy, all the while continuing to lick her clitoris. I moved my tongue down to her arse licking harder now, wanting her more, wanting all of her to part of me, to be so deep in her that we would never be able to be separated.

My tongue found her tight arsehole. I circled it as it twitched in response and Alysha squirmed with pleasure. I needed to be in her. Now. Before it was too late. Moving round I kissed Alysha deeply, gently moving her onto her stomach, placing my dick at the entrance to her pussy, just so she could feel it, but not pushing it in.

" Christ Andrew, just fuck me".

I slammed my now rock hard dick in with all my force, meeting no resistance, just feeling a beautiful wet, warm tightness that made me cry out with pleasure.

"Oh my god, that's fucking unbelievable" as I started to thrust in and out in rhythm with her hips. Alysha turned her head and started kissing me deeply as I continued to thrust feeling her body build towards its climax.

'Make me come Andrew, make me come'.

My dick was ready to explode and I couldn't hold it anymore and thrust harder and harder feeling the bucking body beneath me that thrust back against me that our bones were grinding against each other. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh" I screamed as I came, and came and came again. Our bodies were shaking as we lay exhausted on the blanket. Alysha leant over and kissed me gently on the lips, saying nothing, but meaning everything. I pulled her into my chest and kissed her hair and for the first time in my life I felt completely and utterly happy and complete in the arms of a woman.