Enemy Lines Ch. 09

The backblast shattered what was left of the window, as the Sha'dee dove for cover and the Arbiter seemed puzzled for a fraction of a second before the warhead exploded. Nate was just barely able to turn around and press Ketri close to his chest to shield her from the blast. The room was ablaze with fire and the roof was begining to collapse. Nate couldn't see the Arbiter, but the remaining rebels were emerging from the dust cloud as a dropship descended and slowed to a hover just outside the window behind him, the doors sliding open to allow the rebels to leap inside.

"Come on!" One of them yelled, beckoning him to jump into the vehicle after her.

Mustering the last of his strength, Nate got a running start and lept from the side of the building, just barely landing inside the vehicle, which bobbed and swayed from the impact. The last surviving rebel landed just after him, and the ship turned and began to climb.

"Is he dead?" Nate yelled to her.

"I don't know, but I'm not waiting around to find out." She panted, sitting down heavily next to her compatriots.

"Better safe than sorry." Nate muttered, handing Ketri over to one of the seated Sha'dee. "Hold her."

He stepped back over to the door and leaned out, making sure to get his left shoulder well clear of the vehicle. He couldn't see anything moving in the rubble behind them, but decided there was only one way to be sure. He deployed the launcher and fired both of his remaining warheads into the ruined face of the administration block. The dropship's occupants cheered, pumping their fists and hissing as the explosions rang out and the building began to collapse.

Nate lurched backward and sat down heavily on the deck of the dropship. He managed to remember the series of tongue clicks that would open the suit, and breathed a sigh of relief as he tore off the helmet and let the chest open up, exposing him to fresh air again. He had barely managed to disentangle his arms when Ketri pounced on him, hugging him tightly as they sat together atop the smouldering armor. The noise of battle slowly faded, blending into the sound of the dropships' engines as they soared off into the setting sun.

***

*Epilogue*

He woke to a skullsplitting headache. His body felt heavy and tired all over.

Nate groaned, and opened his eyes. He was lying in a clean bed with bright white sheets, in a small room with white walls and soft lighting. Letting his head flop to the side, he found himself looking at Ketri. She was lying back in a chair next to his bed, snoring softly with a water bottle cradled loosely in her arms. Food wrappers on the table next to her meant she must have been sitting by his side for a while. Someone had thought to give her some proper clothes instead of the prison suit, some nylon cargo pants and a fluffy (if severely ugly) zip-up sweater. Nate smiled. She would probably be embarrassed to be seen like this, but he thought she looked adorable. Rather than wake her, he just lay there for a while, staring lovingly at her and grinning like an idiot. Although that last bit might have been down to all the morphine in his system.

After a few minutes of silence, Ketri sneezed, allowing the water bottle to slide through her fingers. Nate reached out instinctively and managed to catch the bottle right before it hit the ground. Ketri blinked owlishly, then recognized him and broke into a smile.

"Hi sleepy-head." Nate said softly, smiling back at her.

"Oh I'm so happy you're OK!" She gasped, hopping to her feet and looking as though she was about to pounce before hesitating. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. But alive. Which is pretty remarkable after the beating I took."

"You did take that beating pretty well." Ketri giggled.

"That's about all I did." Nate scowled. "Someone else planned the whole escape. The other rebels did all the real fighting. I just followed orders and got my ass kicked."

"You got your ass kicked by a 500 year old, near-immortal cyborg who conquers entire systems for a living. That's more than most people can say. And you chose to do it. Which I think is pretty fucking brave." Ketri blushed. "I know about that hacker from the Old Guard who was helping you. She didn't make you do any of that, she just told you how."

"Old Guard?" Nate asked.

"Oh come on, I don't want to talk about rebel politics right now. I will say, though... If the rumors are true, she wasn't just helping us because of Thoros."

"Oh?" Nate cocked his head.

"Let's just say she might have a reason to be sympathetic to our particular plight." Ketri smirked. "Speaking of unexpected sympathy, do you remember who pulled us out of there?"

"Was it... Marshall Sisters, right?"

"Close, very close." Ketri's face was brimming with poorly suppressed glee.

"No..." Nate shook his head slowly in disbelief.

"The exact same one."

"I refuse to believe that." Nate crossed his arms.

"It's true! They were tipped off that the Prime Arbiter might be there, and ran into us looking for him. I don't think they expected him to be in armor though, but luckily you had that Overlord suit with the mini nukes."

"Is he dead for sure?" Nate asked.

"Well... We haven't seen a body. But you shot him like three times with that casaba howitzer thing, which seems like it would kill anything." Ketri scowled.

"I dunno. If anyone was going to survive being nuked, it would be him."

"Well, one way or another you beat him. And he's not going to be our problem anymore. My post no longer exists, so I'm not technically a rebel auxiliary anymore. And you don't have any obligations to anyone. But you bloodied the Conglomerate's nose pretty thoroughly back there, so the rebels have agreed to drop us off anywhere along their route in rebel space or the frontier as payment for services rendered."

"That's amazing." Nate whistled.

"I think she had something to do with that." Ketri speculated.

"Who?"

"The Marshall Sister. You know the one. She actually apologized for being a bitch to me. She's been fighting this war her whole life, so she saw us being all lovey-dovey and was curious. I think she'd never seen Sha'dee and Humans do anything other than kill eachother before." Ketri said.

"That's pretty sad, actually..." Nate frowned.

"I never thought I'd feel bad for one of them, but it's true." Ketri shifted in her seat and looked pointedly at the bed next to him, then back at him with puppy-dog eyes.

Nate smiled, and lifted the comforter. She snuggled up against him, resting her cheek on his chest and hugging him like she always did. He returned her embrace, pressing her close and causing her to purr softly.

"What about you?" He asked, patting her head.

"A little shaken, and some minor radiation poisoning. Ship's doc gave me some pills and said I should be fine in a day or so. Might not be able to have little ones, but it's not like that was an option anyway given my choice of mate." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Maybe we can adopt some." Nate said, half-joking, as he kissed her back on the lips.

"Maybe." Ketri beamed. "Little Sha'dee are quite the handful though, and I wouldn't even know where to start with a Human baby."

"Well that's a long way off regardless. Have you thought about where we should go?" He inquired, stroking her cheek delicately and eliciting more purrs.

"I wanted to talk about it with you." She bumped the tip of her nose against his.

"Well, what about a planet that's nothing but beach? I can buy a boat to take people fishing for alien cod or whatever to make money, and we'll just lie in the sun and drink margaritas all day."

"Ehh, I hate water. Sha'dee can't swim, we're strictly desert monkeys, not water monkeys like you. How about a nice warm planet with lots of tropical jungle?"

"Don't those have a shitload of bugs? Maybe a planet with nice mountains?"

"Won't that be cold, though?" Ketri asked, nuzzling closer.

"Not if we buy a house with good heating and snuggle up tight in a big pile of electric blankets every night." He gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Mmmmm... I could be convinced to like that..." She purred, rubbing her cheek against his.

"Oho, and how would I go about convincing you?" He asked, pinching the tip of one of her ears teasingly.

"Well..." Ketri blushed "you could always tell me what you'd do to me in a cozy little house in the mountains..."

"I think it would be shorter to tell you what I wouldn't do to you in a cozy little house in the mountains." He chuckled.

"Humor me." She pouted playfully.

"Oh fine." He grinned. "Well, I'd come home from whatever job I find, with a bottle of wine and some food."

"What kind of food?" Ketri chirped, rolling ontop of him and nuzzling her face into his collarbone, her tail curling possessively around their intertwined legs.

"Marshmallows and hotdogs."

"Marshmallows and hotdogs?" She cocked her head inquisitively.

"Marshmallows and hotdogs." He affirmed.

"What's a marshmallow?"

"You've never had a marshmallow before? It's like a puffy sugary treat in the shape of a little tiny barrel. When I used to go camping in the woods as a kid we'd put them on sticks and roast them over an open fire. They get all hot and gooey and delicious." He explained, cradling her head in his arms and scratching behind her ears.

"It's making *me* all hot and gooey just thinking about it." Ketri grinned wickedly.

"Mmm, I can tell from how much you're squirming. Then we'd sit in front of the fire..."

"A fire in the house? That sounds dangerous..."

"It's in a fireplace. Humans have been doing it for thousands of years, your people probably did too. We didn't always have electric heating. Anyway, we'd snuggle up in a big pile of pillows and bundle an electric blanket all around us, while we roast our food and drink wine. I'd tell you about my day, and you'd tell me about yours. Then we'd eat as much as we wanted, until we're nice and full and happy, and the fire dies down. Then I'd pick you up in my arms, blanket and all, and carry you up to our little nest upstairs where..."

"I think you could just show me this part. You know, if you're feeling up to it..." Ketri grinned.

He grinned back, and looped his index finger through the pull ring on her sweater's zipper as he leaned in to kiss her hard on the lips. He slowly pulled the zipper down, letting the sweater fall open and exposing the soft flesh of Ketri's plump chest inch by inch. Apparently nobody had thought to give her a bra, which suited Nate just fine. She blushed, her face turning an even deeper crimson as he leaned in and began to kiss his way down her neck, nuzzling the little divot in her alien collarbone with his nose while reaching behind her to pull the sweater over her shoulders and off her arms. She wriggled happily, crossing her arms coyly over her breasts and hugging herself in anticipation as he shrugged off the hospital gown he was wearing.

Rid of the garment, he gently pushed her over onto her back and straddled her legs, bending over to kiss her navel and rub his checks against her soft tummy. She giggled and reached down to cradle and pet his head as he licked her belly and started undoing her belt. He pulled the pants down over her wide, gorgeous hips, being careful to reach behind and guide her tail out of its sleeve so he wouldn't hurt it. Ketri whimpered happily when he touched her tail, so he spent a few moments massaging the base of it with his thumbs, feeling the supple muscles underneath her velvety skin.

"Mmmmmmmm... That feels good..." She purred, then winced as he worked his way farther down the appendage.

"What's wrong?" He asked, startled.

"Oh it's nothing..." Ketri looked away. "Just a little bruise, go back to touching my belly!"

Perturbed, he leaned around and peered at her tail. To his horror, there was a series of nasty bruises around it about a quarter of the way down. The shape was unmistakable; the finger pads of an Overlord's gauntlet. Someone had picked poor Ketri up by her tail. If it felt bad to be hauled around by the arm by an Overlord, he could only imagine how painful it must have been to be lifted by her slender, delicate tail. He ground his teeth instinctively, wrapping Ketri up in his arms and pressing her close. He held the little alien girl tightly, but gently, murmuring comfortingly and patting her head. She squeezed him back and began to purr.

"Never again. I'll never let anyone hurt you again, not ever." He whispered in her ear, squeezing her shoulders.

"Awww, it's ok sweetie, I know..." She purred, bumping her nose playfully against his.

Smiling and comforted, he reached down and gently pushed his fingers into her lines. She squealed softly, arching her spine back and whimpering with pleasure as he massaged the thick clusters of nerve tissue up and down her soft flanks. Letting her fall back onto the mattress, panting from the sensation of having her lines stimulated, he leaned in and kissed the slope of her left breast, running the tip of his tongue up the side and around her dark red areola before kissing her nipple. He repeated the procedure on her other breast, gently fondling the first one with one hand while the other reached down to stroke her hips and butt.

Ketri wrapped her plump thighs around his waist, giving little involuntary squeezes in time with her pants as he suckled on her perky nipples. He switched breasts and ran his newly free hand down and around her outer left thigh, giving her soft buttock a little squeeze before sliding his hand down between her legs. His fingers found the tender, dripping wet slit of her pussy and began to stroke it, lightly grazing his fingertip across her sensitive lips as she moaned with anticipation and squeezed him even tighter between her thighs. He pressed the fingertip against her slit, as though about to push it in, then went back to stroking, repeating this motion several times and coming closer and closer to penetrating her each time.

"Please..." She gasped breathlessly. "Please put it in... S-stop teasing me and put it in..."

"Mmmmm, are you sure? I'm feeling kind of tired, maybe we can do this later." He grinned wickedly as she pouted at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"N-no! No please, please put it in me! I'm so horny I can't stand it!" Ketri whimpered pleadingly, biting her lip and wiggling her hips in an attempt to push herself down onto his finger, but he pulled it just out of reach.

In his time with Ketri he'd learned a few things. One was that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Another was that she never came so hard as when he edged her first. The more she pleaded and begged, the more she'd sing when he finally give her what she wanted, and the more she'd purr when he snuggled her and fondled her afterwards. He teased her lovingly, stroking and rubbing every inch of her quivering mound as she squirmed helplessly, begging him to touch her insides just a little. She tried to snake her tail-tip around his hand to thrust it into herself, but he cupped his hand around her pussy, blocking her. Ketri whimpered desperately, attempting to push her tail between his fingers but to no avail.

There was, of course, always a risk involved when it came to denying Ketri her penetration. A risk he was suddenly reminded of when she sank her long, thin fangs deep into his neck and the warm tingling feeling of her venom spread through his body. Weak and startled, he was caught off guard when she pushed him over and mounted him, planting her hands triumphantly on his chest.

"Hey, careful now..." Nate grinned weakly. "I'm all beat up, remember?"

"You should have thought about that before torturing my poor pussy with your teasing." She said playfully, licking her lips and grinding her soaking slit against him.

She reached down and gently curled her slender fingers around his shaft, pushing back the foreskin and guiding his tip into the warm, wet embrace of her eager pussy.

"Ooooooooooh..." She gasped, pushing herself down onto him. "Ohhhhh that feels so good..."

He couldn't help but agree. Ketri's insides were warm, familiar and inviting, the soft folds of her tight red pussy caressing him as she slid up and down, taking more and more of him into her with each thrust. She started to move faster, gasping and moaning with each bounce of her hips.

"Oh Ket! Oh Ket!" He gasped as she rode him eagerly, swallowing him over and over with the tight lips of her throbbing pussy.

Her tail curled tightly around their legs, digging deeper into his flesh as it tightened with every pleasure-induced squeal. She collapsed atop him, still pounding him with her hips as her hot breath tickled his chest. He held her tightly, thrusting back into her hot, squishy tunnel as they panted and whimpered, moving in unison with each other until the line between who was thrusting began to blur. They were like one being, drenched in sweat, gasping and moaning and kissing between breaths.

Ketri's squeals became more urgent, her pussy clenching tighter on him as her muscles stiffened and her tail started to go limp. Telltale signs that she was close to orgasm. He grasped her heaving, dripping flanks and dug his fingers deep into her lines. Ketri screamed with pleasure, burying her face in his chest to muffle the noise. She began to lose coordination and he picked up the slack, holding her still and thrusting his shaft into all the right parts of her insides until neither of them could stand it anymore more.

"Am guh... Kyaaaaa! I'm guh... I'm gu-guhna c-c-cum! Ah! Ah! Ah! Unf it feelsh sho ghuuud! It feelsh sho ghuuuuuuud!" Ketri slurred, her tongue lolling from her mouth, eyes rolled back in their sockets, insides clenching and releasing erratically.

"Ah! Unf! Uhmmm me tooo! Ahm guhnna cum too!" He could barely speak she felt so good.

"Lesh cum togethur!" Ketri gasped.

They held each other tight and kissed, beaming into each other's eyes as they finally came together.

It seemed like an eternity before either was able to think or move again, laying entangled with each other and gasping for breath. But one way or another, Ketri found herself curled up in Nate's arms, and Nate found himself caressing the tender body of his sweet little xeno girl, gently kissing her forehead and nibbling her ears to the sound of her deep, contented purrs.

"Mmmmmmmmm... Oh Ket..." He groaned, curling his legs around hers and hugging her tightly. "I love you soooo much..."

"I love you too, sweety." Ketri purred, smiling at him with a face that shone with happiness and affection.

"I love you more."

"No, *I* love *you* more."

"Noooo, **I** love **you** more!" He bumped his nose against hers like he'd seen her do so many times before, and she kissed him.

"I'm so glad I met you..." She cooed, nuzzling her cheek against his.

"Me too." He murmured. "I can't wait to see what our life together will be like."

"I think it'll be a wonderful one"

THE END