Transport Ship Arrowhead Ch. 05

"Admiral Hall was really jealous," Bonner said. "James broke all of the admiral's records and flight test scores. Hall didn't like that and took his displeasure out on who he saw as an upstart."

"There's another reason Mr. Barret is helping," Annette said. "We're going to find you a new ship."

Vas had listened to everything Bonner and Annette had told her about the mission, but it didn't make her feel any better. Even the promise of being able to spend a night with Barret before he left for Haven didn't help. Vas sat silently on her bed, trying to figure a way to accompany her mate on what could be the last mission he ever took.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything she could think of that would get her on whatever ship Barret was on. Until, that is, she saw the camera on the dresser. Even though holograms were commonplace, regular old photography was still practiced on Earth, and the Barrets had several pictures of fallen family members in the house.

"I may not be able to go with him myself, but I can be with him by proxy," she said to herself. "In fact we all can!" Vas quickly grabbed the camera and ran downstairs. "Jackie! Corva! I have an idea!"

The next day, Endira Vas was led into a room with a bed and a small adjoining bathroom. In that room was a sight Vas hadn't seen in several days; her bond mate James Barret. She was in his arms before the guard closed the cell's door. "I've missed you," she said in her native language, just so the guards watching over the security camera couldn't eavesdrop.

"Same here," Barret responded in kind. "This is going to be the last time I see you for over a month."

"A month?" Vas looked at her mate with sadness. "Why?"

"Because they don't want me to fly at top speed so the Verokk don't think there's something up," Barret grumbled. "The worst part is, they're right."

Vas reluctantly pulled away and sat on the bed next to where she set her overnight bag when she came in. "So we just have tonight." She looked up at the camera pointing right at them. "Shall we give them a show?"

Barret shook his head. "No. I really don't want those assholes watching. I'm tired of being their own personal entertainment."

"Jeeze, what's with that guy?" one of the men monitoring Barret asked. "He has a hot Muldaxian piece of ass sitting there, and he's not touching her!"

"I know!" his companion added. "I've got the system set to record this, too!"

"No you don't," Bonner said as he entered the room. "By order of Admiral Myers, James Barret gets privacy for the night."

"Bullshit!" one of the men exclaimed.

"You can take it up with the admiral all you want. But for now, that surveillance system is being shut off."

As soon as the light on the security camera went out, Barret got that look on his face that always made Vas weak in the knees. "Okay, now we can have all the fun we want."

Vas launched herself at Barret, practically shoving her tongue in his mouth and pushing him down on the bed. Barret's hands ran down her back and onto her ass, firmly grabbing the firm mounds, making her moan into his mouth. "You have no idea how soaked I am right now," she said breathlessly.

"I'm sure I can imagine." Barret unbuttoned her pants and slid his hand in. He smiled when he discovered she wasn't wearing any panties.

"I'm not wearing a bra either," Vas said with a sly grin when she saw the look on her mate's face. Her eyes closed and a soft moan escaped her lips when Barret's fingers found her clit. Her own hands had not been idle. She already had Barret's cock out and was slowly stroking its length.

She brought her lips to Barret's, kissing him gently at first until his lips parted, allowing her tongue to enter. Vas kissed him harder, showing him all the love and passion she had, and what he'd be missing during his absence.

Vas reluctantly broke the kiss, pulled her shirt off, and moved Barret over to the bed. She kneeled in front of him, pulled his pants down, and had him sit. "Now, let's see what I can do with this." Vas slowly licked her way up his shaft, and lingered when she came to the head.

Pre cum was already starting to run down his length. "Is all this for me?" Vas coyly asked before scooping the clear liquid off. She put her finger in her mouth and sucked it like she would a cock. "Almost as good as your cum."

Barret looked at Vas with half open eyes. "You've been watching Birran porn again haven't you?"

"Birran male on human female," she admitted. "Are you complaining?"

"Not at all," Barret said as he stood up to fully disrobe. "But I think you need some attention now."

Vas happily stripped her pants off and got on the bed. "I have a request," she said with a smile. "I want you to fuck my ass like you did Charlie's. I brought plenty of lube."

Barret rummaged through Vas's bag until he found the item in question. He also found a few vibrators. "Covering your bases, Vas?"

"Well," she said slyly, "I don't want my cunt to get lonely while your cock's in my ass, now do I?"

Barret had Vas lay on her back, took a phallic shaped vibe and, and turned it on. He rubbed it up and down her slit and let it linger at her swollen clit. Vas moaned her approval. He then slipped into her wet pussy and slowly fucked her with it while he ran his tongue over her clit.

"That's nice," Vas purred. "Keep doing that." Vas writhed in pleasure as Barret's tongue glided over her clit and the vibrator slowly moved in and out of her wet pussy. Before long, her skin had changed to lavender and her body convulsed in orgasmic bliss. She moaned and gasped as the pleasure surged through her.

Barret turned off the vibe and quickly discarded it. Vas was about to complain when she felt his cock enter her. "I love it when you cum," Barret growled.

"Keep fucking me and I'll do it again."

Barret lay over Vas and slowly moved his hips. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her deeply while he slowly made love to her.

"This is different for you," Vas observed.

"I want this to last," Barret panted as he began to pick up the pace. "This is our last night together for over a month. I don't want a quick fuck."

Vas smiled and nudged Barret to roll on his back. She straddled his hips, grabbed his cock, and slowly slipped it back into her. "Don't worry. You won't forget this." Vas reached behind her and fondled her mate's balls while she rode him. Barret, meanwhile, pinched Vas's erect green nipples.

"You've got fantastic tits," he groaned.

"Thank you." She leaned down and gave Barret a quick kiss. "Now I do believe I asked you to fuck my ass, didn't I?" With a coy grin, she dismounted Barret, grabbed a tube of lubrication from her bag, and covered her fingers with the slippery stuff.

She gently pressed her finger against her backdoor, trying to relax enough to allow her digits access. With her free hand she grabbed Barret's cock and started to stroke it while she finger fucked her ass. "I want this," she moaned. "I want this so bad."

"Then get up on your hands and knees," Barret said.

Vas was more than happy to comply. She spread her cheeks when she was in position, showing Barret that her asshole was ready. But Barret wasn't yet. Instead of his cock, he used his fingers to loosen her up even more. "Give me your cock," Vas begged. "Please. I want to feel you fill me up."

"How can I refuse a request like that?" Barret grabbed the lube and gave his dick a coating of the clear fluid. He slowly eased the bulging head into Vas's anus, making her grunt at the intrusion.

"Slower," Vas said. "Nice and slow." Vas reached between her legs and rubbed her clit, trying to help her relax. She'd had anal sex before, but not with Barret. "I've never had a cock this big back there before," she explained. "So go slow."

"I won't move till you're ready," Barret replied after he'd gotten in as far as he could.

Vas closed her silver eyes and tried to relax. She felt her sphincter loosen around Barret's cock, so she pushed back against him. "Fuck me," she whispered.

Barret went slow, knowing that he would cum sooner than he wanted because of how tight Vas's ass was. While Barret fucked her, vas reached for the discarded vibe and turned it back on. She slipped into her still wet pussy. "Fuck yes," she groaned.

Barret let out his own grunt when he felt the added pressure from the vibe. "I'm gonna cum soon," he warned.

"So am I," Vas replied, already feeling that tingle. "Cum in my ass.... fill me up. I've never had cum in my ass before. Cum for me, James. Cum for me....."

Barret picked up the pace, driving Vas over the edge. He felt her tighten around him, which was all he could take. With an animalistic roar he let loose, sending surges of hot cum deep into his mate's ass. He kept thrusting after the last shot, riding out Vas's orgasm.

Vas slowly removed the vibe from her pussy. "I think I want to try a DP with a real cock next," she panted.

Barret withdrew his softening cock from her. "I think that can be arranged."

The next day James Barret, Grant Bonner, and Admiral Hill were walking into the docking bay of the orbital Space Force shipyard. Specifically, they were approaching a ship shaped like a capitol latter T. "This is the Fool's Errand," Hall said.

Barret snorted. "Fitting, considering what you're making me do."

"We use this ship to infiltrate smuggling rings," Bonner added. "It's got the latest model faster than light drive, and it has the maneuvering thrusters and sub light engines of a Maximus class cruiser. This baby is fast!"

"You won't be going at full FTL to Tref," Hill said with a gleam in his eye. "Like we told you before, we don't want the Verokk getting suspicious."

"So that means it'll take me two weeks to get there," Barret groaned.

"Don't worry," Hill said with a sneer. "You'll have Bug to keep you company."

"Who's Bug?"

A large grin spread across the admiral's lips. "The ship's artificial intelligence. I know how much you love AI's."

Bonner tried to diffuse the situation. "We're giving you false credentials, James. You'll be using the alias of a smuggler named Gideon Price." He slipped an ID and a data chip into Barret's shirt pocket. "Everything you need is already onboard."

"Remember what I said," Barret told his old friend.

"I'll keep an eye on them. I promise."

"Be careful," Barret warned, "Vas can be really stubborn."

"Time is money, Barret," Hall snapped. "You're behind schedule."

Barret got in the admiral's face. "This better not be a setup."

"Are you making threats now, Lieutenant?"

"I don't make threats, Hall." With that, Barret slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and strode to the Fool's Errand.

"I hope you know what you're doing, sir," Bonner said.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Captain," Hill replied. "I'm making sure that we're ready next time the Verokk mess with us."

"Welcome back, Captain Price," a synthesized female voice said from a speaker grill over the pilot's station.

"Great," Barret grumbled under his breath.

"Course and speed for Haven is plotted and laid in. Awaiting order for final takeoff preparations."

"I can do it myself, Bug," Barret snapped.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but I have standing orders from Admiral Hall implicitly stating that I am to control all facets of the journey."

"Fine," Barret sighed as he took his seat. "Whatever. Let's just get going so we can get this over with."

"Affirmative."

With that, the Fool's Errand came to life. It's anti-grav thrusters kicked in, lifting it from its docking cradle and carrying it towards the opening bay doors. James Barret looked at the image in the rearview monitor, showing the orbital station, and the Earth itself, shrinking into the blackness of space.

Barret reached into his duffle bag and took out the gift Vas had given him last night; a photograph of her, Jackie and Corva. The smiling faces of Barret's family brought a sad smile to his face. This was going to be a long trip.

"I'm glad you decided to meet with me, ladies," Bonner said to Vas, Jackie and Corva as they were seated at Bonner's favorite restaurant. Over the last ten days, Vas had ignored every call Bonner had made.

Vas was in no mood for small talk. "Don't thank me. Thank Jackie. She's the one who convinced me to show up."

Bonner rubbed his forehead. "How many times do I have to say that I had no idea what Hall was planning?"

"I'm over that," Vas said in an icy tone. "What pisses me off is that you were part of shipping James off on the exact same suicide mission under a different admiral!"

"We're trying to help you," Bonner protested.

"No new ship is worth James's life!"

"Vas," Jackie said in a soothing voice. "It's okay. Let's just hear him out."

"James is in less danger because of the safety protocols we snuck aboard Fool's Errand," Bonner calmly said. "I had my people go over that ship with a fine toothed comb. There was some funny stuff going on. Transponders that shouldn't have been there, and shadow programming in the AI. Hall's up to something, and whatever it is, it isn't good." He saw the skeptical look on Vas's face. "James was my best friend when we were in basic training. I love that man like a brother, and not just because he saved my life."

The surprised look on Vas's face told Bonner that he had her undivided attention. "I'll bet he never told you that did he? I'm not surprised. Has he ever showed you his Medal Of Courage?"

"He never showed it to me," Vas admitted. "I happened to see it hidden in a drawer after we got settled in with his sister."

Bonner smiled as their drinks and appetizers were delivered. "The System Patrol Fleet spends most of its time going after smugglers and drug traffickers. Right out of basic, I was assigned to the Sagittarius, and James was on board the Taurus, serving under Admiral Hall.

"We were pinned down by three heavily armed attack ships out in the Kuiper Belt. James came in flying like a madman! No one had ever seen anyone pilot a ship like that before. He was waving the Taurus around those drug ships like no one's business, letting the gunners take out their engines and weapons arrays. At the end of it all, we got the whole syndicate, we had only minor injuries on the Sagittarius, and James was a goddamned hero!"

Vas just smiled and took a sip of her drink. "So he saved not just you, but everyone on your ship."

"That he did," Bonner replied. "And he's so damn modest that he doesn't even tell his wife about it." Bonner reached out and took Vas's hand. "Look, Vas, we are doing everything in out power to make sure James comes back in one piece, but we have to know what Hall is up to. It's dangerous, but that can't be avoided." He released Vas's hand and took out a small data pad. "Now, I want you to take a look at this."

Vas's eyes grew wide as she looked at the image on the screen. "By the goddesses......."

"I thought you'd like that."

Barret had been an over glorified passenger for the whole trip since Bug, the ship's artificial intelligence, was running everything. The voyage from Earth to Haven took just over two and a half weeks; longer than it was supposed to.

The Fool's Errand may have had a state of the art propulsion system, but the drive core built up a lot of heat that the environmental systems weren't able to deal with. Every twelve hours the Fool's Errand had to drop out of FTL to dump that excess heat, otherwise Barret would have been cooked alive.

Luck, it seemed, was finally with him, though. Unlike his last visit to Haven, this time he arrived while the planet was out of the path of the parent pulsar's radiation streams. He could dock immediately.

Barret looked much different than he did when he left Earth. He had let his beard grow and, at Bonner's suggestion, had died his hair and beard black. Combined with the contact lenses that make his ice blue eyes brown, as well as masked his retinal signature, his face looked much different. Enough, he hoped, to fool anyone who didn't really know him.

As he came down the ramp from the docking cradle, he saw a welcome sight waiting for him. There was Larik'Ni wearing a distinguished looking suit. Her bearing made her look like the leader she truly was. And he could tell that, despite his disguise, she recognized him.

"Captain Price," LarikNi said, trying not to let the surprise into her voice. "Welcome to Haven."

"Thank you Governor," he said, lowering his voice a bit to add to the deception. "I'm here on behalf of the Combined Terran Alliance to deliver a special guest to Earth."

"She is waiting in my office, Captain," Larik'Ni said graciously. "Come, and I will introduce you."

As soon as they were alone in the elevator, Larik'Ni gave Barret a crushing hug. "What are you dong here? Do you not know that the Verokk are after your head?"

"All too aware of that," he said, enjoying the feel of the Birran woman in his arms. "I wasn't given much choice in the matter." Barret pulled back and looked the governor in the eyes. "Can this woman be trusted? The last thing I want is to have my brain turned inside out halfway back to Earth."

"You need not worry. Zira is quite trustworthy."

"I hope you're right."

"Gideon Price, may I present Lakett Zira."

The hooded woman stood and turned around. When her hood was lowered, Barret saw the nearly perfect features, as well as pale eyes that gave him a blank stare. When she extended her hand, he saw the shimmering material on her sleeve. Barret immediately knew that she had that same material covering her whole body.

"A sensor netting?" he asked.

"That is correct, Captain," Zira said. "I am quite blind. This netting allows me to get around without walking into things." Zira lowered her hand when she realized that Barret had no interest in pleasantries. "I can understand you're unwillingness to trust me, Captain, but you have nothing to worry about from me."

Barret quietly sat in the chair directly across from Zira. "You'll forgive me if I don't believe that."

"Do you wish me to stay...Gideon?" Larik'Ni asked.

"Yes," he said. He needed to be sure she wasn't being mind controlled. He was still expecting to feel the pain of that mental invasion.

"Then let me put you at ease, Captain," Zira said. "I have no wish to further the agenda of the Imperium's leadership."

"Why?"

"Because they will lead us to extinction." Zira took a deep breath. "Tell me, how much do you know of my people?"

"Next to nothing."

"Which is by design." Zira stood and began to pace; trying to work off her nervous energy. "We have become very secretive. We Verokk are a very divided people. I am what is called Low Born. You see, I was conceived the old fashioned way. My parents, who were not selected to breed due to their genetics, fell in love, made love and conceived me. That is why I'm blind. It wasn't screened for and repaired while I was in the birthing chamber."

"Wait, your whole species is genetically engineered?"

"Yes," Zira answered nervously. "The leadership are what is called High Born. They are designed from the DNA up. They are striving for genetic perfection, and do whatever they can to give other High Born any advantage over other races. The latest addition to the genome was telepathic manipulation. That is something I do not have."

Barret still wasn't sure if he believed her. "So they're genetically engineered. Big deal. Jolek said they were all sterile."

Zira slowly returned to her seat. "The High Born are. They've engineered themselves to the point that their DNA can't recombine properly for reproduction."

"Which is why they have targeted the Muldaxians," Larik'Ni added. Zira had already told her this story.

"Okay, I'm confused."

"Then let me ask you another question. How much do you know of the Muldaxians?"