Orbital Academy 18

"Tell them to sit tight while you go to hell." Hunter roared, slamming his fist so hard into the disconnect button that something crunched beneath his fingers. "Report."

"The live stream confirms what they're telling us." Errisa's new rasp grated on Hunter's ears.

"Could it be a fake?"

"Could be. It'd be hard to fake, but if it's real it would take me more time to prove than we have."

"They're not likely to give us a fake feed, sir." Chief Pepper said quietly. "It's not as if we'd give our word and then give up control if nothing comes out of that fog."

"How long have we got?" Hunter asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"About an hour before they break the fog."

Hunter was right. He didn't want to know.

***

"I'm supposed to inform you that all of our flyers are going to die." Chief Exla's voice crackled in Hunter's ear as he wordlessly pointed out on a set of blueprints where the engineers should be moving.

"That doesn't sound like our pilots. They're usually more cocky than that." He muttered.

"It was one of the Academy rookies. I told him that I'd pass on the message."

"Remind me again why we let them on the damned Orbital in the first place?"

"Because you're a sucker for a sob story?" Hunter grinned. "At least it's another nine ships we can get in the air."

"How many flyers does that give us in total?"

"Twenty ships. Not all of them are trained well, but they should be able to fly at least."

"It's not enough."

"It's what we've got sir."

Hunter nodded, even though Exla couldn't see him. He turned to Chief Adamsly to continue his conversation.

"Errisa's telling me we have eighty to a hundred minutes. Can you get it built?"

"We'll push hard." Adamsly used his stylus to make a few marks on the blueprints. "We can definitely make it if we don't include this section." Hunter looked the changes over. As it was drawn, the shielding could slam shut in a nanosecond, locking the innermost handful of decks shut so tight that a Drake itself couldn't tear them out.

"How long after this thing shuts do we have?"

"Run out of air in twenty-four hours. I suspect we'll cook alive in twelve though."

"Encouraging."

"I didn't invent heat dissipation sir."

"Get your men on it. I'll take cooked and suffocated over...whatever the Terrans want with us."

"Captain, we've got visitors." Chief Kathryn's voice sounded strained, which actually frightened Hunter.

"FUCK," he shouted, "we were supposed to have longer! We were supposed to have an hour!"

"It's not the Shrike team sir. It's a transport from Basura. The Red Forces."

"Oh, I forgot. Thank you Kathryn. I was expecting them."

"I think that's for me." Errisa whispered through his earpiece, as Hunter turned on his heel and marched toward his quarters' elevator.

"Are you ready for them my love?" He muttered into the comms.

"Ready as one can be to die, my dear."

"Aren't you so fucking funny."

"Sorry. You're a little stressed right now, I guess."

"You think?"

"Goodnight my darling. Give 'em hell from me, and I'll see you on the other side."

Hunter reached the elevator that led to his quarters, where two covered gurneys lay. He could've had someone do this part, but it seemed more appropriate for him to handle them himself.

***

He met the Red Forces halfway between the hangar and the elevator, in a long carpeted hallway. Two men and a woman, all dressed in neat red uniforms, their frank expressions curious and bored at the same time.

"You tracked my chip, you could've seen I was coming." Hunter snapped.

"We wanted to see more of the station, you ended up walking less. No harm done." The woman at the head of the group stared frankly at the two gurneys that Hunter dragged behind me. "Are those the offending synthetics?"

"My Chief of Information and the other frame she brought with her." Hunter glared at the three in red.

"Why'd she bring the frame? It was empty."

"She didn't say. Maybe she thought you'd only take one back."

"Hmm. Here's your replacement." The woman stepped aside, revealing a figure Hunter hadn't seen hidden behind the Red Forces.

She was small and short, her long hair falling down in braids to her knees. Her skin was pale, and her hair was snow-white.

"The Marshal appreciates what a sacrifice this is to you."

"Seven years." Hunter couldn't help but interrupt. "The sacrifice of a marriage of seven years."

"Indeed. As a concession, he's provided you with one of Basura's very latest models."

"That's...considerate."

"A blank slate in physical appearance, her hair color and length are adjustable, as is her skin tint." Hunter felt bad for the girl. No one should depend on the Red Forces for an introduction.

The Red Force woman was showing her off like the latest piece of technology, which technically she was, but he could see the blush rising on the girl's cheeks.

"Alright, I get the picture." He shifted from one foot to another.

"You can even configure her pubic hair to match-"

"I get it!" Hunter growled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm a little busy preparing for the Shrike Team."

"We heard about the incoming Shrike team. We understand you have an option to get Orbital Academy to assist?" One of them men asked, speaking for the first time.

"An option I won't take."

"That seems unwise. Perhaps you should reconsider."

"Are you taking this frames or what?"

"We were told to check them first."

Hunter winced as they removed the sheets from the gurneys. He hadn't had time to grow used to the middle-aged man, but his wife's Chief bodyframe laying cold and lifeless on the second gurney made the pit in his stomach gnaw at him.

"Your third frame? The second your wife used?"

"I'd prefer to have my technicians transfer my new wife into that frame. It might make the transition easier."

"Of course. We'll leave this one, and let you have use of both." The awkwardness stretched as the Red Forces dragged the gurneys away, leaving Hunter alone with the small woman, who stared silently at her feet.

"Listen, um...what's your name?"

"They didn't give me one."

"I'm sorry to have to...wait, really?"

"They said you would give me one that pleased you." The woman seemed close to tears.

They couldn't even do her the courtesy of being okay with it? Hunter thought angrily. Instead of just forcing her out here to be mine? He should be busying himself with preparation, but instead he sighed and held out a hand.

"I'll take you to our room, there's someone there who can explain things better than I can."

"Don't you have more important things to be doing?"

Hunter let his mind shift for a moment. A shrike, a drake, no ships, no time, his wife in danger, his Orbital in danger, all of the problems loomed around him. But here, in the girl who needed comfort, there was at least was one tiny, insignificant problem that he could overcome.

"Nothing comes to mind." He said kindly, and took her hand.

*** Part 3 - General of the Shrike ***

Gre lounged in his cushioned seat, idly twirling his finger around a lock of hair of the woman who sat at his feet. She leaned her head against his knee, subservient and compliant.

"Do nerves plague you, GEA(*great master and commander*)?" She asked. Gre liked how she charged her words; hesitantly and timidly, like a child. The meanings didn't spring into his mind like a charged word normally would, instead they brushed against it.

"Nerves?" Prince Gre chuckled at the suggestion. "I am the first Prince to lead the ARA(*trained soldiers and warriors*) of all three tribes to the stars, why would I waste my time with nerves?"

"The first?" The girl looked at him with surprise. "We have sent Shrikes to the stars 'fore now, no?" Gre smiled again. The way she avoided long words was adorable, trying to escape the rasping feeling of magic against one's throat. It was a harsh feeling to get used to, but most adults had overcome their reluctance long ago. The childlike innocent in one he slept with should have turned him off, but although he would never admit it, her naivette made her even more enjoyable to him.

"The tribes have sent their Shrikes to the stars, yes." He clarified. "But ALO(*separate and disjointed, weak and divided*). But now we three tribes have at last been CONBI(*unified and aligned in our purposes, united for one cause*). One tribe's Shrikes had not touched the star-born, our Drak(*dracori) could not pull them from the sky. Now...now we may yet break them. And the HOI(*great gift and honor of leading*) has been made mine."

"Such a great gift is fair for one of your PEO(*strength and power*)." The woman said, and Gre rolled his eyes. Her flattery was as unsubtle and transparent as her burgeoning magic. "But since when do the tribes work TSA(*alongside another*)?" Her brow furrowed, as if she should know the answer but couldn't remember it. "What could make them...us...let go of our DIF(*those things which separate*)? Why don't I know what made us change?"

"You should be proud, Jia." Gre continued twisting the strand of her blue hair around his finger, tugging affectionately. "You were a part of that change."

"Me? How?"

"You were a gift, from the blue tribe to me. Well, to the green tribe and thus to me. In that gift they showed that ALL(*an alliance and joining together*) can help us both."

"I was a gift?" Jia furrowed her brow in deep thought. "Then...did I come from the blue tribe? Why can't I remember?"

"RE(*remember and recall*)." Gre corrected, frowning. "Speak PRI(*properly, with the decorum of a lady*)." She was still lost in thought, and Gre tugged at the lock of hair still in his hand. She looked up him with wide eyes, and his annoyance evaporated. How could he be angry at the little vixen, with her innocent face and hair that shone of blue? He tugged again, pulling her head a little closer. When she realized what he wanted, his little pet grinned.

"But sir! The Shrikes! Don't they need us soon?"

"They won't break through the clouds for an hour." Gre stroked her hair, twisting his fingers through it as he pulled her head closer to him. "Plenty of time for you to distract me."

Jia was already standing, and Gre leaned back against the cushions as she straddled him. She had taken to wearing loose clothes, easy to slip off of her, and Gre appreciated the ease of access he had to her body. He pulled with a rough disregard, and the top of her robes slipped off of her shoulders, revealing her milky skin and large breasts. Her shining blue hair fell and obscured the sight, and Gre impatiently flicked it aside.

"How do you wish me to be for you, my lord? How do you wish me to act?" Jia leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face in to press against her chest. Gre enjoyed the feeling of smooth skin against his cheeks, thinking the question over. She had shown herself to be quite the actress, able to give him the shy and innocent, the vulgar and experienced, even, when a dark mood took him, a play-acted reluctance. But today he was impatient, already ready to take her. He yanked at her robes, and she lifted to let him pull them off of her completely.

Leaning back, he took in the sight of the woman straddling him. Jia leaned back, giving him a complete view of her whole body, her long neck and slender arms, the new piercing in her navel, the pouting lips of her sex. She hadn't been using the crystal for long enough for the patch of hair between her legs to match the blue of the hair on her head, so he had made her shave it completely. Although he knew he would enjoy it when it grew back in, she wore the shaved look well.

He reached down and ran a thumb over her bare mound, layering a buzz of magic through the skin of his finger.

"Oh!" Jia gasped, and Gre smiled. The magic would be working through her loins, exciting nerves and stimulating senses. "My lord wants me soon, it would seem!"

"Your lord wants you *now*." Gre growled. He slid a finger experimentally inside of her, and nodded approvingly when she pushed her hips forward, moving it deeper. Her slit was already accommodatingly wet, but he shot another surge of magic through his fingertips, a lance of lust that would take her from the inside, moving from toe to head. Jia shivered and wiggled her hips, moving his finger around inside her.

"If my lord wants me now, then take me now." She said breathlessly. "I am yours." Gre untied the lacings of his pants, and she lifted obligingly to let him slip the fabric down his legs. He watched her face as she looked down at his exposed member, and the hungry look in her eyes was enough to erase doubts he might have. The Dukes wouldn't like it if they knew he was taking the girl's body, but at the moment he didn't particularly care.

Jia was rubbing her shaved sex against his cock, but he didn't have any patience for teasing at the moment. He grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him, and taking his suggestion she reached down and guided his member between her legs. Breathing heavily, Jia lowered herself down on him, taking him inside her inch by inch. Impatient as he was, Gre let her move at her own pace. She was wet, but she was so tight that he didn't dare thrust like he wanted to; he didn't want to risk actually hurting her. Her snatch squeezed at his shaft with every motion, and her hands were clenched into fists on his chest. It was nearly too much, the expression on her face and the tightness of her cunt, her willingness and her naked body on top of him.

"Oh fuck." Jia whimpered through clenched teeth. "Fuck, your cock is too big for me." The dirty words in her sweet little mouth almost sent him over the edge, and Gre pushed her away, grunting as his length slipped out of her. The Dukes would only be *displeased* if they knew he took her body, if he came in her and got her with child they would have his head on a pike. Jia looked worried as he held her at arm's length. "I didn't mean you had to stop, my lord, I can try to take it all." She said.

"No need." Gre brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "If you are in pain, you can please me in other ways." He brushed his thumb over her lips, and she smiled and slid down between his legs.

She was awkward and inexperienced with her mouth, but her efforts at riding him already had Gre hovering on the edge of orgasm. When she took his dick between her lips and began to suck he leaned back and breathed deeply. Her tongue slid back and forth across its head, and the knowledge that she was licking up her own juices made him even harder in her mouth. He grabbed a handful of her beautiful blue hair and pulled her head further down, thrusting his member deeper into her throat. She gagged, but staunchly bobbed her head up and down, taking him in her mouth all the way down to the root and then sliding him out to take a breath again.

After the pleasure of penetrating her, it took less than minutes to push him to the edge once more, and Gre clenched the arms of his chair and let out a sigh as he came. Jia moved her tongue more slowly as he filled her mouth with his cum, and he forgot his reservations as he enjoyed the feeling of suction and warmth that she provided.

"Oh Jia! Gods JIA(*my darling gem, my little jewel*)." He charged the word involuntarily, letting the orgasm get the better of him. His cry turned into a moan as he slowly came down off of the high of it. Jia looked up at him, her smiling mouth full but a question in her eyes.

"Swallow it." Gre ordered. Jia made a face, as if she would stick out her tongue at him, but she obediently gulped, then opened her mouth to show him it was empty. "Good girl."

"Thank you, my lord. I am glad to have pleased you." Jia wiped her mouth and reached for her robes, and Gre began adjusting his own.

"You do please me. You were a fine gift."

"My lord..." Jia seemed pensive as she slide her robe back on. "What was that you called me, just then? JIA(*my darling gem, my little jewel*)?"

"What of it?" Gre began preparing for the Shrikes' assault, using a tongue of magic to heat the container of water that stood on the table nearby. "You may not have earned your NEA(*honorable second name, charged name*) yet, but in times like that...well.." He shrugged. It was no strange things to call out a lover's name with a magical charge, in a moment of passion. Not that Jia would know that, of course.

"It's just...I feel as if I have heard that name. But DIF(*changed a tiny bit, the smallest fraction*). Not JIA(*my darling gem, my little jewel*)...but JIA(*my darling gem, my little Jule*)? Or JIA(*my darling gem, my little Julia*)? I don't know..." Jia suddenly clutched her head in her hands, "...those aren't even words. I don't understand what I'm feeling right now."

"UN(*fully comprehend*)." Gre snapped the correction, startling her out of her reverie. "You don't UN(*completely grasp all of the details*) what you're FAE(*experiencing within your heart*), Jia you are full grown, it is EMB(*makes you look childish, makes me look foolish*) when you use such words. And as for what names you have heard." His voice was cold, and his lip curled with disdain. "I have no want to hear of your past bed mates and what they called you."

"Oh gods, my lord I did not mean-"

"I know, you mean no harm, but guard your tongue Jia, else you bring harm REG(*without intending to*)." Jia looked at her feet, then went about preparing the rest of the tent, arranging a small pillows on the floor of the warm tent, crushing herbs in a bowl at the table. Gre almost felt guilty, steamrolling the poor girl into ignoring her own memories, but the more he let her remember, the longer it would take for the magic at work in her mind to take effect.

It had smoothed over most of the wrinkles that the past had left, but the work was fragile yet. Overt memories like family and friends, lovers and home, had been locked away. Her name was more primary to who she was, and it was foolish of him to call her by something so similar.

"My Lord." One of his men called from outside the tent. "The Shrikes will slip from the clouds soon."

"You may enter." Gre glanced at Jia, but she was decent and covered, and had even pulled her long hair back into a ponytail to hide how dishevelled it was. Of course, his men would know or assume what he used her for, but Gre appreciated decorum. His Linkers entered, all of them dressed in robes of deep green.

"I hope you are all PRE(*ready to witness and be a part*) of this day." Gre said gravely, as Jia walked among the Linkers, handing each a small clay cup of the tea. "The first day we win a Shrike, the first day we set foot on the stars."

"So say all who lead a Shrike." One of the Linkers seemed weary, although he met Gre's eyes steadily. "I have heard this speech before."

"No more words then." Gre stepped over to his cushioned chair and settled in it, letting the Linkers settle onto the cushions on the ground and accepting his own cup of tea from Jia. "You have heard the speech? Then let us live it."

***

Gre smacked his lips and grimaced. As usual, the tea had tasted foul, but it had acted quickly. Though he could still faintly see the walls of his tent, his ethereal visions was becoming stronger by the second. He moved his head from side to side experimentally, and although his physical body stayed still, his vision swam as the view changed.

"I have SEA(*merged and slipped within the mind*) with my Drya." He said casually, as if he wasn't proud about being the first.

*Just another reminder whose magics are the most powerful.*

"I have SEA(*dipped into the thoughts*), my lord."

"As have I."

One by one his Linkers around the room called out, and Gre mentally counted them off. Seven minds, all connected with the minds of the far-off animals. He turned his head, and thousands of leagues away the previously-dumb Drya turned his in response, looking back and forth through the fog at those around him. Gre felt the creature's muscles shift like his own, he felt the heavy weight of its scales on his back. He turned to watch the giant Dracori that flew with them, and around it the rest of the Drya, smaller versions of the same creature.