Gateway to the Stars

A surge of fear squeezes your heart and you bolt down the stairs, following the familiar twists to the basement. To the bathhouse beneath the castle.

The lanterns here cast a dim light but the glowing ruby on your wrist illuminates the thick steam, filling the space with faint pulsing red lights. You press yourself against the wall, ears straining for any trace of your pursuer but all you can hear is the gurgling of the water in the bathhouse and your ragged breathing.

"Took you long enough." Isla says as she glides through the steam, completely naked, water dripping to her curves.

"Isla?" You ask, but you know from the distortion of her words that she is not. Or she something more.

"How am I here? What is going on?" You call after her.

"Come on in, the water's perfect." She beckons you and vanishes backwards into the steam.

"Is this a dream? Or a memory?" You ask, pulling the white shift over your head and dispensing with the panties. You go to remove the bracelet but think better of it.

"Is there a difference," she asks, her voice warm and melodic, "Between a dream and a memory?"

"Riddles again." You sigh, soaking into the warm spring water and wading after Isla. "Hold up, I'm trying to reach you." You can see her lithe shape, enticing, amongst the steam.

"I told them this is where you'd be. They didn't believe me but I know this would be a place you would want to return." Her voice echoes in the steam filled bath.

"I'm sorry it is taking so long. I'm trying to get to the Abhaile Cluster, I just keep getting delayed but I think I will be there soon."

Isla turns to you, gliding over and wrapping her long legs around your waist.

"Your journey is far from over. There are many trails to the top of the mountain but no matter your path, you will reach the summit. The other one needs you. We cannot wake him without your help."

"I'm sorry, I'm coming as quickly as I can." You apologize again but she is pressing her pert young body against yours and you lose your train of thought.

"There are more dangers than you realize, within and without. Be careful." You hear a heavy splash from the other end of the bathhouse and like a breath suddenly leaving your lungs, Isla is gone.

Your bracelet, once shining bright, is now a dim flicker on your wrist. The sloshing gets closer, angry and forceful.

You crouch down, peering through the steam, and then you see him.

Droust. Fully clothed, carrying some sort of pistol in his hand, stomping through the waters, searching. His face is a cold mask, his eyes flinty sharp.

"Shit." You mutter. How the hell is he here? You take a quick inventory of the exits and then, as quietly as possible, glide towards the alcove where you know the back door is. Pulling yourself out of the water, you pray the steam covers your escape as you snatch a gray towel and pad towards the door. You slip out through the doorframe and...

ACK! You feel his fingers wrap around your throat. Droust! He's there in front of you. He doesn't say a word, just begins to squeeze as you kick and claw at his hands.

"Found you." He says as the light begins to grow dark and you are falling, falling, falling.

THUMP!

Your world jolts as you tumble out of Arven's bed. Bleary eyed, you grab a nearby throw blanket, pulling it around your shoulders and go to the floor to ceiling window in the corner of his quarters. The stars are no longer a twisting blur, the jolt must have been coming out of gyrospace.

There, hanging in the middle of your view like a giant peach, is a dusty yellow desert planet. Twee Bon. Pockmarked with deep canyons, craters and sand dunes so big they are visible from orbit, you can see a steady flow of smaller ships descending and ascending from the planet's orbit.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Arven says, coming up behind you, pressing his muscular body against yours.

"Mmmmmm." You sigh, enjoying the feel of his nakedness.

"It's a brutal planet on the surface. Temperatures get over 17 Kwitalts."

"Is that hot?" You ask, playfully.

"Incredibly. Not much lives up there aside from the scavengers of fallen ships and predator creatures. The real excitement is down in the caves." He points to the cracks, like black scars, that stretch across the northern hemisphere.

"There are deep caverns throughout the planet's surface and down there, it is cool and the minerals in the rocks block most surveillance and sensor equipment, making it a very popular destination for troublemakers like us." He rests a hand on your hip and you reward him by pressing back into his growing erection.

"I do like your trouble. I'm going to miss it." He nuzzles your neck. The last three days have passed in a blur. The ship has been in gyrospace almost the entire time and after the big blow up, most of the crew has spent the time studiously ignoring each other.

Which suits you just fine since you have spent the days hopping from one bed to another savoring your lovers like a buffet.

"I'm sure you will find plenty of trouble on your own, my artist girl." You spread your legs slightly and bend forward, putting your hands on the window.

"Let's make sure I get a little more before we land." You give him a salty look and he lines up his cock with your sex, easily gliding inside of you as you are already wet from earlier that night.

"Oh fuck, Brenna." He moans, pulling at your hips with his hand. You thrust back against him, enjoying the sensations, the deep thrusts of pleasure and watching the planet grow closer and closer as the Silent Leopard descends into the desert planet...

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As Above, so Below