Devil May Care Ch. 04

"A black box?"

"A black box," Moon Two said. "And the techs on the Biden let me and Anubis take a crack at it first before they got their fingers onto it. Anubis cracked it and we've got some basic telemetry. This ship has escorted the Cascading Ice Crystals -- the Huntress ship -- from Persephone II to an unexplored system in the Bootes Constellation to the Perseus Mumblers...to a point interstellar space between Sirius and SOL."

Dey blinked.

"A secret research base," she said.

"That it is," Moon Two said. "The fighter craft went that way. But with its size, it won't get there before we do. But it's message will."

Dey grinned. It was a wolf's grin.

Moon's grin was just as feral.

"I believe that Squadron 229 needs someone for their third wingslot," he said. "The Raging Bulls."

Dey looked at the image of the hanger bay. She looked at the X-frames of the starfuries.

She looked back at her commanding officer.

"Fuckin' A, sir."

###

Dey had to give the Biden one thing. It felt like a fucking spaceship. Big enough to have corridors you could walk down and with doors that opened by hissing upwards into the ceiling, the whole thing thrummed with power -- literally, the decks vibrated under her feet. When your ship was powered by two nuclear reactors and had supplemental energy drawn from a quartet of G2 batteries, there was enough angular momentum buzzing in the engine room to give the whole ship a feeling of being alive.

Being a civilian, and thus, unwanted and unloved, Marin had been tucked into the convalescence room nominally set aside to keep an officers privacy intact while still letting them sit around and recover within easy gurney distance of the medical bay. Because every kilogram of the ship cost the taxpayers five dollars -- a big improvement over the pre-DV drive price of twenty thousand bucks, but still ruinously expensive if you started to add in pointless rooms.

"Nice place," Dey said, looking around. If she lifted her arms, she was pretty sure she'd bump them into the walls. Most of the room was a bed -- and Marin laughed as he slid his fingers behind his neck and reclined as much as possible on the bed.

"Thank you...DeShane," he said. Smugly. Because of course.

Dey's eyes flicked from his eyes to his chest. The scar from the knife impact was nearly invisible. The collection of monitoring patches on his arm were various bright colors, to make it harder for the doctor to forget to take them off -- apparently, a big problem when they were transparent. But then she found herself just admiring the shirtless man's musculature. Marin may have worked from a computer console for a good chunk of his adult life, but he had definitely not let himself go slack. She counted a full six pack.

Marin looked more smug.

Dey scowled at him. "So, I'm here to tell you that you were a fucking idiot. Untrained civilians don't get involved with death battles with genetically engineered alien super-soldiers. Point in case." She stepped forward and prodded his scar with her finger.

"Ooof," he grunted, mock-pained.

Dey prodded him again. "And you should be on a shuttle out of here."

"Hey, hey!" his hand closed around her wrist. Her palm spread against his chest -- and she could feel the steady thump of his heartbeat. Dey tensed and tried to not think of how the last few people she had touched with her hand. She didn't want to think about exploding people right now.

Oh, yeah, like you did that, Loki purred in her ear. I'm the one who makes the warp bubbles.

[Shhh-]

Also, shame on you, getting the flutters over a civilian.

[SHHH!]

Marin was still talking. "-ault that Colonel Atty said any shuttle launches might get picked up by the bad guys. Or the Chinese. Or the Russians."

Dey's brow furrowed. "Whoa, whoa, the Ruskies are sticking their nose in?" She found herself sitting down on the bed, turning slightly to the side. Her hand was still in Marin's hand. She pointedly didn't think about that.

"I may have been listening at a door for that," Marin said. His thumb rubbed along her knuckles. "Well, not a door, more of a 'laying in bed with my eyes closed while being totally awake' sorta thing."

"Ass," Dey said.

"Granted." Marin winked. Dey smiled. "But still, I heard that the Trappist war has started to spread to their colonies in Sirius. Not in any major way, but a few ships on both sides are angling to get there and start snapping up smaller colonies. The Biden was already on its way towards this big bad research station...but launching a shuttle might look like launching fighters and sending them off to interfere. And the last thing we want are some jumpy commies showing up, eh?"

Dey snorted. "That's adorable, you think the Chinese are communists. They're as communist as we are."

Marin grinned. "That's adorable, you think that we aren't."

"Socialism isn't communism," Dey said.

Eh, there's some overlap.

[Shhhhhhhhhhhh!]

You cannot shush the voices in your head, Dey. Loki sounded amused. So, are you two humans going to kiss?

He didn't sound amused there. He sounded...

Eager?

"You okay?" Marin asked.

Dey blinked. "W-What? Oh!" She snorted. "My AI buddy is just being an asshole."

"AI buddy?" Marin asked, his brow furrowing. "You...oh holy shit, you've got an AI in your head?"

Dey snorted softly. "Yeah. That's not classified, though I don't usually tell people I just met. But I suppose I can trust you." She paused. "Thanks. For being an idiot, I mean."

"You do know, explorers run into danger too, right? And the USAF isn't always around to pull my ass out of the fire." Marin gently placed his other hand on her hip. Dey didn't move it. Embolden, his hand slipped along her side, caressing her gently. Feeling her. Dey bit her lip again. The old instinct, the urge that came after risking death and dismemberment was fighting its way out of the fugue that debriefing and medical examination brought on. "I've seen black holes and alien battlefleets. I've fought pirates and seen monsters out there. So, yeah, I'll put a few rounds into a whacked out battle dolphin for a pretty girl."

"Pretty?" Dey arched an eyebrow.

"Fine." Marin's hand dipped. His fingers -- firm and strong -- cupped her ass. Dey shifted to give him better access. "One damn fucking gorgeous girl who gets me hard enough to beat through a bulkhead."

"Mm, better," Dey said, leaning forward. Her mouth and Marin's met. He kissed confidently -- his tongue pushing into her mouth, his hand cupping her hair. As he kissed her, Loki's hands slithered up and cupped her breasts. He squeezed her with confidence and casualness, and in a single invisible grope, Loki proved that he was utterly certain of their relationship. It made Dey's head spin and she closed her eyes as she dove into the kiss with even more abandon. Loki's hands left her breasts in time for Marin to take up the job of groping her.

He was strong.

He didn't quite know her tolerances, but rather than going for something too soft, he was just slightly too eager.

Dey had to admit, the variation was nice.

Loki's hand slapped her ass and she rocked away from the kiss, panting. Wordlessly, she took hold of her shirt, undoing the ties and buttons that kept her uniform on. As her dark breasts bounced free, Marin caught one nipple in his mouth. As he sucked, Loki's tongue started to slide up and down her sex. Dey bit her lip, hard, and tried to not moan Loki's name.

Naughty, naughty. Don't want him to know I can do this? Loki's tongue and fingers played her sex like an instrument. Dey bucked her hips and started to grind against Marin's hardon. He was tenting the sheets and she purred softly. "Nice..."

Not as big as me...

[Horses can't match you, Loki.]

Mmmhmm. Loki's tongue circled her clit.

"Can't wait," Dey gasped out. Her hands grabbed the sheets and flung them aside. She spent a few moments just admiring Marin. His skin was a few shades darker than her, and his body showed that he wasn't lying about having fought. There were scars she recognized -- scars that came from battle. Her fingers traced his broad shoulders and she dipped her gaze to his cock. Loki was right. He wasn't as big as him. But Dey thought she could forgive him for it.

Marin smiled at her. "So, your AI buddy...does he like to watch?"

Dey lifted her hips above him. Her palm cupped his balls, reaching behind her back, then found his cock. She angled him -- felt his tip against her sex. Her eyes met his and he looked as eager as she felt. All smug grins and wry smiles were gone. In their place, he was biting his lip and vibrating ever so slightly, clearly holding himself back from just grabbing her and slamming into her. Dey laughed softly -- then laughed louder as she felt Loki's cock teasing her ass. She leaned forward and dropped her hips down -- Marin filling her with a slick sound that was music to her ears. Loki slammed home at the same time, the edge of pain from his immense cock filling her ass

"Fuck that's good," Dey hissed.

Marin grinned at her. "You're gonna have to do, mm, all the work." He gestured vaguely towards the place where he had been stabbed.

"Used to it." Dey purred, her palms resting on the pillows to either side of his head. She started to raise and drop her hips, her ass cheeks clapping together slightly -- and Loki started to drive into her, adding to the movement of her body. Her skin started to gleam with sweat as Dey panted, her cheeks flushed, her eyes half closed. Marin cupped her breasts, leaning his head up to suck on one nipple, then the other. Her breath caught as Marin's free hand dipped to where they joined -- finding her clit, caressing her.

The sensation of Loki's breath on her neck drove her even more wild. Dey's hips started to move fast enough that the slap of their flesh meeting was louder than her panting. Almost. She leaned forward and kissed Marin's ear. His head turned, catching her lips. His hands squeezed her ass and Loki's cupped her breasts as Loki's cock provided a perfect counterpoint to the member filling her sex. Dey's climax was sharp and sweet, her back arching as she moaned loudly.

Are these walls soundproofed?

[Don't...fucking...care.] Dey was out of breath even in her mental conversation. She closed her eyes and savored the sensation -- and savored the feeling of being cleansed as Marin shuddered under her. His balls pumped spurt after spurt of hot, hot cum into her sex. She closed her eyes and didn't try to analyze the feelings surging through her. She just felt clean and dirty at the same time and loved it. She shuddered as she felt his cum dripping from her -- and moaned as Loki let himself remain inside of her ass, not thrusting. Just...

Being.

"That was good," Marin said, panting. "F-Fuck, Dey...you screw like Jane Bond..."

Dey snorted. Her hips lifted and she laid herself flat on the bed, turning and resting her belly on Marin's belly, coiling herself forward. She cupped his cock, stroking his slickness lazily, her lips kissing his tip, licking his base. She tasted her own juices and his salty maleness and -- soon -- felt him growing hard under her ministrations. She grinned.

"Like we're done," she purred. Marin's hands caressed her back and hips and his voice sounded wondering.

"Damn, girl..."

Enjoying physicality?

[Mmmhmmm!] Dey thought -- and said aloud. Well, as aloud as she could, considering she was sucking the head of Marin's cock into her mouth. Her tongue swirled around the head of his shaft, feeling his retracted foreskin, sucking on him as her palm cupped and squeezed his balls. He definitely felt up for a second round.

"So...mm...can I ask what the fuck happened to you?" Marin asked, his hand squeezing her ass. Dey tensed, drawing her mouth back just enough to speak. Her tongue flicked along the slit at the tip of his cock for a moment before she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you broke me out of the cell, you were covered in dayglow goo," Marin said, his voice remarkably controlled considering he was getting a handjob by, if Dey was going to be honest, the finest lover in the Orion Arm.

Loki spanked her warningly. The fact that Marin was utterly unaware of every little caress, thrust, and squeeze Loki put her though made Dey wetter and hornier than she liked to admit. But remembering the cell -- remembering the tentacles. Remembering Mordin's grinning face. Remembering the fact she liked it. Dey turned her head to press against Marin's thigh and she nuzzled him.

"Ya know." She said, quietly. "Spy stuff."

Marin remained quiet for a bit. "You...want to talk about it?"

Loki didn't speak. He just slid his arms around her. The moment wavered between the fun of a free fuck and something different -- and then Dey felt the tension shatter as she laughed.

"I'd have thought you wanted my mouth busy doing something else," she said, her tongue darting out -- demonstrating as she licked up a drollop of his pre-cum. The salty taste buzzed on her tongue. A human taste.

Marin was quiet for a moment. Though she couldn't see his face -- her belly and butt were in the way -- Dey got the feeling he was thinking. She was doing her best to make it hard for him, her hand gliding up and down his shaft as her tongue flicked across his cockhead again and again. But when Marin spoke, it was with gentle levity.

"Now that you mention it? Yeah."

And reaching over her shoulder, his fingers barely able to caress her head, Marin pushed her forward. Dey's mouth slurped along his cock and she managed, despite having not done this on a physical cock for months, to get her lips all the way to his hips. Marin grunted, low in his throat, and started to gently buck his hips. Dey moved her head in time with the movement, the wet sound of her slurping filling the small cabin.

Dey drew her mouth back to get a breath in, panting. "Wanna cum on my face?" She gasped out.

"Fuckyes." Marin's voice was tight as a whirler wire.

Dey slid off his belly. Marin grabbed onto the wall, hauling himself up -- wincing slightly. He settled into position and grabbed onto his cock, jerking it quickly as Dey planted her palms on the bed. She opened her mouth, looking up at him, her eyes hungry. Loki caressed her sex, then plunged three fingers into her. His thumb caressed her clit and as he finger fucked her, he purred in her mind.

My pretty little devil...

Dey shuddered and came at the same time Marin did. His cock twitched and a thick stream of cum slapped her cheek, then another landed directly on her mouth, coating the roof and dripping onto her tongue. She moaned and closed her eyes as another warm splash painted her forehead. She felt it dripping along her face, warm and sticky and making her feel...

Marked.

Naughty.

Clean.

She closed her mouth. Her throat bobbed and then she opened her mouth, sticking her tongue. Look, she seemed to say. I got it all. Loki's fingers slowed their thrusting -- but didn't stop. Marin hissed quietly, then leaned forward. He scooped cum from her cheeks with his fingers. She sucked on those fingertips as eagerly as she had sucked on his cock. Once her face was cleaned and she had swallowed the last drop, Marin leaned forward to kiss her. His arms enclosed Dey and the two of them lay to the side.

In the buzzing glow that came afterwards, Dey let her palm splay across his chest, tracing the lines of the muscles. The scars.

"So," Dey managed to say, her limbs feeling limp. Noodly. "Have I opened any old injuries?"

He snorted. "Dermal resealing is better than stitches, I'll tell you that."

Dey found his nipple, caressing it.

"Did your AI friend enjoy watching?" Marin asked -- sounding faintly self conscience.

If you call that watching, Loki snorted.

"Yeah," Dey said, quietly. She turned her head to nuzzle into Marin. But she sent a quiet mental signal to Loki.

[Sim yourself on him. I want to snuggle you both.]

Already done, Dey.

Loki's voice was warm.

Dey grinned and licked some salty sweat off Loki and Marin at the same time and marveled at the wonders of the modern age. But sleep didn't come. Instead, she traced Marin's belly button with a finger and murmured.

"How did you meet Mordin again?"

"Well, uh, remember the ghost ship?" Marin chuckled. "It knew my name -- and that was weird enough that I made sure to check the computers before I booked it. And, well, there were two real weird things I noticed."

"Mmmhmm."

"The first?" Marin's hand caressed Dey's head. "The ship had a bunch of FimSims running on it. World of Warcraft. Third gen, I think. The one where you needed to have a specialized headset to jack into the simulated space?"

Dey sat up at that, looking down at him.

"The second was that it had been in V616 Monocerotis just two days before," he said. "It had visited the Perseus Mumblers. I figure the Mumblers would know what the hell had happened -- and how to get the damn ghost out of there."

At Dey's look, he held up his hands.

"Whoa, it was a Subaru Kokyu -- those things go for half a million at any of the chopshops," he said.

Dey closed her eyes. "You got dragged into this fucking mess for half a million and a junked Subaru? That's..." she laughed and rolled onto her back. "That's severely fucked, i'll say that. Why'd you say it involved saving the galaxy?"

Marin opened his mouth. "Mordin..." he paused. "He told me that Mumblers trade in secrets -- information for technology, usually, but sometimes, information for information. I had to tell him some...pretty serious shit to get anything at all."

Dey nodded.

"I got a receipt for the last purchase the Mumblers gave out," he said. "The bitch of it is, I wasn't able to understand the damn thing. That's why I wanted to talk to Mordin -- why he was meeting me there. And, before you ask, yes, I told the Colonel all this shit. They had the Biden's crypto-teams take a crack at it, and it didn't work for shit. They barely know what it is, let alone how to crack it."

Dey blinked. Loki roused -- and he seemed interested too.

"Can I try?" she asked.

###

The receipt didn't look like any receipt that Dey had ever seen. Since they were dealing with aliens that lived beyond the veil of a black hole, this wasn't entirely surprising. Rather than being paper or a data-chip, the receipt looked like a small knot of blackness that coiled around itself, the contours of the wire visibly by the faint distortions it left in the air. It floated in a small containment beaker in the middle of the hottest room on the ship. But dozens of powerful cryptocomputers sitting around, trying to crunch their way through data tended to make a lot of waste heat.

Captain Two and Colonel Atty were both crammed in the room with her and the science tech. A brown haired intersex CPO with the delightful name of Willowwind sat at the desk with a small vial of pale gray liquid. Zi looked at Dey.

"So, uh," zi said, zir voice soft and androgynous. "Can I ask where you got this chemical compound?"

Once again, all the credit goes to the squishy human. Not like you could isolate and remember the chemical make up of Mordin's tentacles. Loki scoffed. No, you were too busy living out hentai fantasies.

[Diiiiiick! Trying to trigger me in a fucking high end briefing?] Dey shot back -- mentally pushing him. Loki snorted.

I have a full psych profile on you. And access to your brains. I know what'll trigger you and what won't. Also, you know, not an asshole.