Affairs of State

Seeing Kitsune so close in now left little doubt in Arys's mind. Her gamble seemed to be paying off. In fact, with the destruction of the Gerburon forces things might go even better than she had dared hope. Humanity had always intrigued Arys. In more ways than one. Arys could remember countless times she had urged her mother to reach out to the remnants of humanity. Humanities push for equality amongst themselves and their singular focus on improving the quality of life of all humanity. Not just those in positions of authority. Had been an inspiration to both Arys and her mother in their quest to pull their people from not only endless barbarity, but extinction.

The other factor in Arys's desire to build relations with the human remnants was something she did her best to avoid thinking about. The baser desires that drove it were shameful, if hard to resist. Attraction for Zerbanians was a strange thing. Their society had been one of the strong leading the weak for as long as it had been a society. In this violence became the fastest and surest way to positions of power and esteem. People skilled in said violence became the measure for attraction in the majority of Zerbanians.

Not long into the Human Gerburon war a video of a group of human commandos assaulting a position held by Zerbanian mercenaries showed up on the net. The brutal fighting shown in the video had shocked much of the galactic community. The stunning display of violence had a much different effect on many Zerbanians. Including a young Arys. Arys would often find herself remembering the way the young man had shouted "FIX BAYONETS!". Just the thought sent a thrill down her. She pressed her thighs together as the memory flooded her core with heat.

Arys started, quickly pulling back to the camera view as she realized how badly her mind had wandered. The figure seemed to be searching for something now. Arys could just see enough of the room to tell that the usurper was not inside. It seemed he had slipped away when he realized the base was under attack. Waiving their hand over the walls of the room in a steady pattern, Kitsune made their way throughout the chambers. Arys watched as the mercenary covered every surface before starting on the floor. Even dragging bodies aside to more thoroughly cover the floor. After long minutes of watching, Arys saw the figure freeze over a spot on the floor.

Arys watched as Kitsune knelt down and pulled something from a compartment in the side of their armor. It was a small tube from which poured a strange metal powder. Arys didn't recognize it, but it presumably was important because as Arys watched Kitsune made a circle with the powder on the floor. Before covering the dense circle with another powder from a different tube and nestled a small metal object in the circle. Kitsune moved back behind the doorway they had entered the rooms through. Just as they cleared the room, the circle they made started to glow. Barely noticeable at first, but whatever the mercenary had set down there was starting to burn with terrible violence. Arys watched as a brilliant flash of green flames quickly turned into a hellish glow that overwhelmed the cameras sensor.

Just as the burning died down, Arys saw Kitsune blur into motion. They threw something Arys hadn't seen them take hold of through a hole they had seemingly burnt into the floor. Another explosion rang through the compound. This one much more muted than the previous, and a blinding light flashed inside the hole. Kitsune followed the explosion themselves. Leaping through the hole the instant the explosion had cleared. Out of Arys's sight in an instant.

"Where the fuck did they just go?" Arys asked her empty rooms now thoroughly flustered. She did not understand what might have made The Kitsune think it necessary to cut their way through that floor. She had never heard of any chambers directly beneath it. Flickering through more camera feeds, Arys couldn't find Kitsune anywhere either. Pulling back to the camera they had been watching the Primarche's rooms through, Arys waited as seemingly nothing happened.

*******

Kitsune's mind and body roared with the hunt. They could tell that their target was cornered, afraid. They tore down the cramped tunnels that they had detected under the Primarche's chambers. Using their suite they could effectively see around corners using echolocation. They rounded corners at a near sprint, counting on speed and aggression to win any fights they might come across. The escape tunnel was empty. The Primarche seemed to have left any guards he had to hold his chambers as he made his escape.

The Zerbanians spoke of courage and honor like they were unbreakable parts of them. Kitsune knew differently. The Zerbs were good fighters, to be sure, almost a challenge. Like any fighting force though they would break and run if the right pressure was applied. It seemed Kitsune was right in thinking word of their assault had reached the Primarche. It also seemed that he was familiar with their reputation.

Flying around another corner, Kitsune noticed the waiting figure almost too late. Throwing themselves into a slide on their back, they barely dodged a blast from a shotgun as big as their leg. The blast and flash of what was essentially a cannon in such a confined place stunned Kitsune for a second too long and they felt something enormous pick them up and smash them bodily through the wall. Rolling as they hit the ground, Kitsune sprung to their feet. Going to take a shot at the hulking Primarche now charging towards them, Kitsune realized they had lost their gun when they had been thrown into what looked like a kitchen. Again the delay proved costly as a sledgehammer blow caught Kitsune in the side, smashing them hard into an oven they had landed next to.

Kitsune ripped free of the oven they had been lodged inside of with a shriek of metal on metal. Slipping away from another blow. The Primarche roared as he missed, burring his fist in the now tattered remains of the oven. Tiro'Q was in a frenzy, throwing himself at Kitsune without thought. He was so out of control he had thrown his weapon to the ground as he charged after Kitsune to close in for personal combat. Spinning, Kitsune dodged just outside another blow which demolished more of the kitchen, sending Zerbanian kitchenware flying.

The Primarche was even bigger than Kitsune had expected. They had only fought a few Zerbanians of truly high authority, and Tiro'Q dwarfed the lot of them. His skin was a blood red instead of the more standard orange shades of Zerbanian men, and he towered over Kitsune in both height and breadth. His arms alone were nearly as thick as Kitsune's armored torso.

The previous rush of chasing prey faded as Kitsune started to trade blows with Tiro'Q. Darting in to lash out at any opening, before dancing away from Tiro'Q's frenzied retaliation. Dodging a rapid-fire series of blows, Kitsune skipped between counters in the sprawling kitchen area. Tiro'Q rampaged through trying to get to them. Smashing anything in his way. The cold precision of training was finally settling back in for Kitsune. It was time to stop playing with their food.

Tiro'Q charged again, trying to finally smash Kitsune. His inability to land a blow and the constant taunting of Kitsune's own strikes only driving him further into rage. An animalistic roar of pure rage accompanied each strike from the hulking Primarche. Kitsune saw their opening and took it. At the last moment Kitsune dropped themselves down, throwing themselves between the Primarche's legs as his arms closed on air. A blade of pure energy flickered out of their forearm. The directed plasma parted the thick plating of the Primarche's armor as well as his flesh without even a hint of resistance. When Tiro'Q spun to grab at Kitsune again, his foot came free from his leg and he began to fall. Kitsune was there to meet him.

*******

#

Arys didn't think she had ever been this hot in her entire life. The Kitsune's fight with the Primarche had been a work of art. She had been cycling through the camera feeds to try and find them when Kitsune had flown through a wall and into the kitchens just as she was about to look away. Watching Tiro'Q smash Kitsune around at first had Arys's heart in her throat. It seemed like he was going to simply smash them to pieces like he had many rivals, but then Kitsune started to move. It was like Kitsune knew every move he was going to make before he did.

The fight had been nothing like the brutal brawls that a fight between two Zerbanian men was. Kitsune had danced with the Primarche, flowing around his strikes before killing him in an instant. That weapon too! Arys had never seen anything like it in her life. The Primarche's armor had been made to stand up to nearly anything, and it did less than nothing when Kitsune opened him up. When Kitsune took his head, just as Arys had requested, she had nearly climaxed. The raw power of the mercenary was intoxicating and she couldn't reign in the inferno now raging in her body.

Arys groaned as she ran her hands across her own naked body. She had been stuck in her in her chambers so long she had stopped wearing anything. A fact she was now thankful for as she traced her fingers over her burning skin. She felt her nipples tighten, almost painfully hard. Her core was thrumming as she basked in the afterglow of Kitsune's battle below.

The world spun as even the gentle caress of her hands brought Arys to a dizzying high. Grazing her fingertips across her stomach, feeling her subtle abs flex under her touch. Arys brought her wandering hands to cup her breasts. Her breath caught at another wave of sensation rushed through her. Gently squeezing her small breasts, Arys let her fingers brush her now aching nipples. The touch was electric and drew a quiet gasp from her lips. Her dark nipples grew even harder as she continued her gentle touching.

Arys could feel her horns digging into the bed as she arched her back, squirming under her own ministrations. She couldn't bring herself to care, the heat and aching need now flooding her was driving everything else away. It was almost scary how turned on she was. No one had ever had her so worked up before. In that single fight though, Kitsune had set her alight. Arys slipped one hand back down her body, cupping her sex. The incredible wetness wasn't surprising. The feel of it only drove her further. Arys needed this so badly. Kitsune would come for her soon if they were following the mission she had given them and Arys didn't want to get caught in such a state.

Sliding two of her fingers into her soaked folds, Arys groaned, no longer able to hold back the sounds of her pleasure. She started to pinch and pull on the nipple she still held in her hand as the other hand worked. Sliding back and forth over her soaked, heated core, Arys stiffened. She could already feel herself building towards something enormous. It was coming so embarrassingly fast, but she could no more hold it back than she could stop herself.

The heat and electric tingling grew and grew inside Arys as she stroked herself higher and higher. The incredible sensations seemed to grow without bounds as her arousal ran rampant. She started breathing hard as she stroked herself with long firm strokes, running her fingers over ever over-sensitized inch of her womanhood.

With a shudder, Arys felt herself fall over the edge, a rush of ecstasy pouring from her core. With one last stroke she shoved her fingers deep inside herself, grinding them hard against the nub near her entrance. Her pleasure spiked as she did so and with a guttural moan she exploded. Long moments of blinding pleasure washed through her in waves. Her body going stiff before melting.

"Holy fuck." Arys panted. Still not having caught her breath from the mind melting orgasm. Slowly drawing her fingers out of herself with a quiet gasp, she brought them to her other lips before sucking them in. Swirling her tongue around them to gather up her own flavor. A vision of sliding her fingers into Kitsune's mouth in stead filled her mind and Arys felt the twinges of new arousal already starting.

She wanted to lie back and soak in the glow of her self-induced pleasure for hours. It had been ages since she had felt so good, but with the death of the Primarche Arys knew that the final moments of the mission were underway. She rose and started readying herself. She knew that Kitsune would be at work preparing the compound for destruction before coming to escort her to safety. It wouldn't do to not be presentable.

*******

The client's hooves clacked on the tiled floor as Kitsune escorted her into the compound's hangar. The last bit of their mission had been a blur. After the rush of taking on the Primarche hand to hand, it was all so routine. They had broken into the compounds reactor room, killing a few more Zerbanian goons in their path. It was short work to rig the fusion reactors to start to building towards a rather violent end. It helped that Zerbanian engineering was scarce on safety features. That done, their final mission objective was to escort their client from the facility and rendezvous with the cruiser in orbit. This presented Kitsune with a minor problem due to the fact that the Gerburon's cruiser was now a gutted scrap heap. That would be the client's problem to figure out though. Kitsune still had to worry about getting clear of the Primarche's palace before it became a radioactive crater.

Their client was not what they had been expecting. A photo and general description of them was included in the mission brief Kitsune had been given, but her presence and demeanor were nothing like Kitsune had experienced from a client before. They weren't sure how to deal with it. If they hadn't been on the job and instead of Kitsune, they were Akari they would know how to handle Arys's flirtations. It was driving Kitsune wild that the Zerbanian woman was getting to them, a woman shouldn't be able to get through their mask so easily.

When she was Akari and allowed herself to relax, she would occasionally pick up women from bars or events she went to. Nothing serious, she couldn't let herself get attached in her line of work. It wasn't like she didn't know how to have fun. When Akari donned her armor though, The Kitsune took over. When they were working, they couldn't allow this kind of tension to dig into them.

Kitsune caught themselves staring again as Arys sashayed into the hangar. Her digitigrade legs made her ass sway in a way that drew in Kitsune's gaze against their will. Kitsune mentally shook themselves, forcing themselves to focus on the mission instead of Arys's admittedly incredible body. Arys was tall and her body had a lean muscular look that gave Kitsune an undesired thrill. Her dark wine red skin was almost mesmerizing as it blended with the deep blacks of the snug outfit she had been waiting in.

When Kitsune had made their way to Arys's chambers, the doors opening for them and Arys waiting with a bag on her shoulder had surprised them. It seemed she had been expecting them. She was clad in a pair of dark leather pants that hugged her full thighs and wide hips and a tight black top that showed off her flat stomach and full breasts. Her tail peaked out from under her jacket, twisting and curling on itself as she took in Kitsune. It was the same almost purple as the rest of her and Kitsune had found themselves wondering what it would feel like. Arys had simply smirked at Kitsune before telling them to lead the way.

Kitsune kept themselves between any possible threats and their client. Arys assured them that the hangars were empty. She had apparently been orchestrating everything from her holo feed. Still, being a professional meant not taking chances when you didn't have to. Arys lead them down the enormous area, past various small shuttles and transport craft. Any of which would have been sufficient to escape, but it seemed Arys had something in mind and the short diversion would not place her at risk.

They crossed nearly to the end of the hangar area before Arys pointed out a ship. It was about the size of a fighter-bomber, built in a blunt lifting body shape it had a pair of stubby wings at the rear with even smaller stabilizers. The whole ship was the matte grey of a stealth ship and it seemed like nearly half the ship was just engines. Kitsune caught themselves grinning. This thing was clearly custom, and clearly very fast. As Arys approached the vessel, a ramp lowered for her. She strutted up and Kitsune was almost sure she was purposely making her hips sway even more than usual. The sensual sight dragging their focus away from the mission yet again.

Kitsune boarded the ship when Arys had cleared the ramp, quickly walking backwards up it to watch for threats. Once the ramp had closed behind them, sealing them inside with Arys, Kitsune relaxed slightly. They turned to take in the ship, glancing around for Arys. She wasn't in the small storage area that Kitsune found themselves in. Continuing deeper into the ship, Kitsune could hear and feel the ship's reactors coming online and its gigantic engine cluster spooling up.

The whole ship felt like it was pulling in on itself, like a sprinter waiting for the signal to go. The ship was laid out in a linear fashion. Not much room had been left for occupants compared to most FTL capable ships this size, as so much of it had been dedicated to the massive engines and appropriately massive reactors. Kitsune made their way through a lounge. It was luxuriously outfitted, yet still understated. Warm reds and deep blacks suffused the room. Arys had left her coat over the arm of one of the couches.

Kitsune worked their way to the cockpit. They felt slightly restricted in the small space in their armor, but there wasn't much to be done about it. Settling in beside Arys, they felt the seat form to them, straps settling around their armored form. Arys worked various holo consoles around the cockpit, bringing up views of the hangar on a display. There were no windows in the pilot area. A common feature in military style craft, less so in what seemed to be a luxury craft.

"I'm passing the weapon systems off to you. You should be able to sync them with your armor. I'll be coming out of here hot, but I'd rather be ready for interceptors." Arys said. The flirty undercurrent missing in her now serious voice as she worked through what she needed to do before take off. Kitsune's armor alerted them to a connection request a moment later. Accepting it they were hooked in to the ship's systems. It seems Arys had given them free rein over the whole ship. Kitsune brought up the weapons and countermeasures and grinned again. It wasn't often they had an excuse to use ship mounted weaponry, and this thing was armed to the teeth.

"This is a fine ship. Did you have it built yourself?" Kitsune asked. Still confused that they were so interested in more details about the woman. The client. The whine of the ship's engines grew louder as they spoke.

"My mother had it made for me. She wanted something that would keep me safe." Arys's voice was somber as she recalled her mother.

"Emergency launch initiated." A synthetic voice from the ship cut in.

"Launching in 3.. 2.. 1..". The next events happened in a fraction of a second. Several dull thuds echoed through the ship as the docking clamps released. The engine cluster roared up to full thrust, the flames of its fusion exhaust directed out of the hangar by a flame duct. Another dull thud echoed through the hull as the launch bay door for Arys's craft blew itself free from the hangar with a series of explosive charges. Throwing the thick steel shutter hundreds of feet into the air. The ship shot forwards with such violence Kitsune thought something had gone wrong for a second. After getting their bearings though they could see the compound rapidly shrinking away as Arys rocketed them up into the sky at nearly 10gs.