A Soldier For All Seasons Ch. 26

And every day, Cora changed a little more, fed with almost all of his loads. Each morning, he'd wake to her eager lips and milking throat, her hands kneading his balls, wild eyes soothed once he released her, filled that stomach. And throughout the day, she'd either find him and simply drop to her knees, or she'd magically appear as he pulled out of Ana and Lunar.

"I'm just a janitor and I don't even get paid." She'd grumble as Ana pressed her down into her dripping pussy, but she seemed happy enough when she re-appeared, face glistening.

He didn't press her for sex, even when Ana told him that Cora would happily give it to him. For some reason, that felt like it crossed a line, asking something in return from the transformational changes that were sweeping across her.

And it was the changes that were the hardest part for him. To simply watch the pain, cables falling out of her, red raw flesh pressing them out, organs new replacing technology old, the painkillers not enough. Ana sent him to acquire anesthesia from the medbay as she nursed her, and when he returned, a whole wired, ticking, glowing cyber-organ might be on the floor, the skin already reformed around her abdomen.

There was still more to do, but each day she awoke a little happier and closer to the sketch she'd drawn him — that badass cyber ninja girl, a childhood hero brought to life.

Nate still felt like perhaps there was a chance she could be independent of him, but he couldn't deny he didn't want that. When she looked up at him with those beautiful pink eyes, a tongue that seemed longer lapping down his shaft and mumbled, "make me a real girl, Nate,", his heart broke and he just wanted to keep her forever.

He healed much faster than she transformed and soon he was rolling his shoulders and swinging his arms. In the dojo, Nate even sparred against Pelridge, for old time's sake.

It took seconds.

"You're fucking fast now, boss." Pelridge grunted from the ground, his lips souring as Clara's encouragement from the side died in her mouth.

"Sorry, man." Nate pulled him up. "Old dog, new tricks."

"You're a dog, that's for sure." Pelridge joked as Ana sashayed in with a tray of drinks.

Nate didn't know if he had tricks enough, not as the holo-news showed the Jubilee preparations, not when he knew he'd be arriving with no intel except the certainty something bad would happen. The Lady had told him they'd secured it as best they could. Major General Kanu replied to his message to tell him they were taking his concerns seriously.

But it still felt like the galaxy was about to fall apart and he was the only one who could stop it. Maybe he'd just spent too long playing the hero that he'd convinced himself he really was one.

It was a relief when the intercom buzzed. He joined the throngs of people heading to the hangars — that was always the best view.

And what a view it was.

Planet Regalia.

Swarms of cruisers, fighters and meka made up a spider-webbed blockade over the area of the planet where the celebrations would be taking palace. Small passenger transports passed from ship to the other, letting siblings and loved ones visit each other if they were deployed on different ships.

And under the spider-web, in the planet's atmosphere itself, the high and mighty of the galaxy. Pleasure ships, often painted a blinding white, all more ostentatious than the text, a gimmick in each. A tree growing through a ship's hull, a frozen waterfall slipping out of another's ramp, a fully transparent ship made from some strange material that emulated glass.

The ships tried and failed to outshine Regalia itself. Nate took a breath despite himself.

The floating palace. A green landmass, soil and all, a chunk of earth held up by four huge ships with the purest of white cables, like a marble pillars. And on that landmass, a palace vast and glittering.

Nate had heard that they moved the palace each day, so that the sun would always shine down in such a way that it would glitter endlessly, like the stars above.

It simply gleamed.

And around it, adornments — drone pots with hanging flowers, colors peach and purple, spiralling into the nothingness, drones artfully placed around the palace, the petals picked at by white doves that flew from drone to drone.

And amongst those, drones that carried hanging waterfalls, thick and large and pouring water down on the palace below, or simply into the void — an optical trick, Nate assumed, where the water was sucked up as it fell, to fall once again. The drones rotating slowly, a dancing vision of water gardens, just a brush stroke against the palatial canvas.

"It is magnificent." Ana murmured, eyes alight.

Around the palace grounds, Nate saw Jubilee preparations, enormous tents made of mandala designs, bright turqouise making one circle, pinks the larger, orange the largest, until the pattern repeated once more. A different mandala for each tent.

"My little sis worked on these tents — each one took six months." Someone bragged. "They let the light through but still provide shade in the first and third rings, so they can choose whether to receive the sun or not."

Cora snorted. "How awful it would be not to have a choice."

The man glared at her. Nate glared back.

A red-shirt cleared his throat from behind. "Princess Anariel, General Hall has arranged a suitable passenger transport for you down to the palace so you can avoid the security tribulations. It is in the private hangar."

"Thank you." Ana said crisply.

Nate took Ana's arm and enjoyed the mild look of alarm on the red-shirt's face.

"I could not attend the party without my date, of course." Ana said lightly.

"Of course." His face betrayed only a hint of bitterness as they swept past.

Into the ship, the nicest General Hall could muster and yet still with military-style camo netting, squad-seating and rigs in behind. Cora and Lunar joined.

"The invitation I received only gave me a plus one, I'm sorry." Ana told them. "But I'll get you into the outer courtyard — it'll have food stalls and markets and entertainment, of course—"

"Girl, relax." Cora smirked. "We'll keep an eye on things for outside. We'll look out for Nate doing his hero thing. And of course, we have these—" She tapped her ear piece. The Lady's gift for them all. Ana had taken it with pursed lips, but she couldn't deny how useful it would be.

"I shall patrol vigilantly." Lunar promised him. He gave her a big kiss until she melted against him, her soft protestations disappearing as he held her tightly.

"Be careful, don't be a hero." He told her sternly.

"I should be telling you that—" She squeaked as he pinched her bottom. She tugged at his lip, nibbling in revenge.

"A squad is stronger together." She told him seriously. "Yours is to lead, but a leader does not always lead from the front."

"I don't know any other way." He told her honestly.

Lunar took his hands and pressed them against her cheeks, and then against her heart, at the top of her bodice that contained and framed her modest breasts. "When you return, I shall show you that you have a lot to lose when you lead in such a way." Her eyes lidded with promise, gaze sultry. "And when you have finished with sister Cora, you shall provide me enough seed to make me an even mightier warrior."

A kiss to his chin. "And a more worthy bondmate." She added shyly.

"I promise."

"Sister Cora?" Cora frowned when they'd finished their moment. "Don't make me part of your weird emperor harem roleplay—mmmph!" Nate kissed her to shut her up, tasting the lips that grew sweeter by the day, kissed her until the resistance left her and he realized he'd bent her so back it looked like the cover of a romance novel. She was left limp and swooning in his arms.

"I'm not finished with you." He told her, flint-eyed.

She dipped her head and just nodded into his chest as he held her. "Be careful, please." She urged. "I—I...yeah, I'd never get Ana to have any fun with me with you gone."

He understood what she couldn't say.

"And I really don't want you gone." Cora surprised him.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

*A lot of promises, Nate.* Isabelle mused from his mind.

*I haven't forgotten about my good girl in my head, either.* Nate told her. *But I'm going to need your help to help me keep them.*

*You'll have it.* She told him.

They landed in a floating field that Nate imagined had been brought up specifically to hold the landing ships. A line of them, fancy brands mixed with military sleek — the party where the famous mixed with the Federation.

Ana disappeared into the side room with a bag Nate hadn't even noticed she was wearing. Nate resisted the urge to follow her — watching her get dressed made him feel like a teenager again, and they really couldn't walk in with her looking pregnant.

He shifted uncomfortably as he pulled on his own black suit that Ana had bought him. It was soft and expensive and fit him alarmingly well.

"Did you hear that Mena Zaki is coming with Emily Mason?" Ana called from the other room.

"I don't know who either of those people are."

He could almost hear her roll her eyes. "Mena's the handsome olive skinned actor, you know the one from Prince of The Dunes."

"They played it on the hangar movie nights once, I think I was in the medbay."

"Fighting?"

"Food poisoning." Nate grimaced. "Levitsky came back from leave, brought back some of his people's delicacy. Some sea-shell wriggling worm thing."

"You couldn't be impolite, I suppose."

"Oh, no, Statten said he'd give me 50 credits."

Ana giggled. "You're meant to set an example, Captain."

"50 credits would have—fucking hell." Nate gaped as Ana stepped out.

She wore a cream dress of shimmering silk, sleeveless and strapless, a tight bodice that quickly descended into a wide skirt, flowing to the floor. She was a Princess, hair lush and down to frame an anxious smile.

"You look incredible." Nate said simply. She showed neither leg nor cleavage and in doing so, showed why she needn't. "You're a flawless beauty."

Ana flushed red and redder still when Isabelle chimed agreement from his armguard.

"I wanted to wear something for you, to show a little skin. But I'll need to dance and talk to so many creepy men, and I want them to know that only you're going to see what's underneath this dress." She said, holding both his hands.

"I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have you on my arm tonight, and you'll be the most gorgeous lady there." He kissed his words into her lips.

"Mmm, you look very handsome yourself, hot stuff." Ana kissed him, hands roaming over him, fixing a tie that didn't need fixing. She pinched his ass, making him jump and her giggle.

"Hey, pinching is my job." Nate joked.

"Nope," Ana nuzzled him. "We're mixing things up. Tonight I'm the dirty pervert and you're the horny stripper. Can't wait to get you home safe tonight, for post-party celebrations. I'm going to make you dance for me."

Nate coughed out a laugh. His Princess never failed to surprise him.

She kissed his neck. "It's okay, I'm a generous and rich sugar mommy."

"You have to stop talking to that Lauren girl—"

Ana laughed, pulling out a single credit coin from somewhere and stuffing it into his pockets, 'accidentally' brushing against his cock.

"Dance for me, baby." Ana teased.

"A single credit?!" Nate said, mock-affronted. "For me?"

Ana jogged ahead of him, laughing freely until he caught her, squeezed her, kissed her as the ramp descended.

"I'd pay all that I have for you." Ana promised him.

He squeezed her hand in response, conscious they were about to have an audience.

"I thought I'd be waiting for you for hours." Nate said as they descended the ramp.

"It makes it easier when you do my makeup for me." Ana said mischievously.

"What do you mean—oh," Nate realized as Ana fluttered her long eyelashes and ran her tongue over red lips.

They were awaited by a team of sashed uniforms and a hover-shuttle.

"Good evening, Princess Anariel, Captain Clancy."

Nate blinked, a little taken aback. Ana simply smiled in response.

"My name is Donovan, I'll be your liaison for the jubilee. If you'd like to enter the shuttle, there are refreshments inside for the short journey into the palace grounds. People are already mixing in the ballroom already, but don't worry, you're far from late."

"Thank you, Donovan." Nate said.

"But of course, sir. And if you haven't brought your own, you'll find a selection of masks inside the shuttle."

"Masks?" Ana paused. "Is there an illness spreading?"

Donovan smiled, betraying no hint of levity. "No, your Majesty. Were you not informed? It's such fun, the ball...it's a masked ball. Everyone will be wearing masks for the first two hours until the big reveal!"

Nate turned to Ana, the same word on both of their lips. "Fuck." They chorused.

Donovan choked.