Rig Runner

"I...don't know much about Borealis," Eriksen admitted, "is the Patriarch your leader?"

"No," she snapped, then her tone softened as she elaborated. "He's the ruler of Elysia, one of the great territories of Borealis, the Alpha of all Alphas in the lands he rules. The planet is split into what you would call countries, much of the surface is desert and so civilization springs up around the scattered lakes. Over the eons, the tribes and clans competed for control over them. In recent history the territories became less concerned with fighting impractical wars and more so with development, Elysia emerging as the largest economic and military power. When the Coalition made contact, the Elysians rapidly gained favor with the UNN. They trade their soldiers and resources for ships and weapons. Now they have access to technology that's hundreds of years more advanced than anything that their neighbors have, and they rule the planet in all but name."

"Sounds like you don't think much of Elysians."

"I don't. I'm from a territory called Rask, there's not much to say about it besides that our people have a history of banditry. We used to raid trading convoys that crossed the deserts, we harnessed the winds to carry us over the sands on great vessels, sailing the dunes like they were the waves of an ocean."

She sounded proud and melancholic, that era of their history must be over.

"Now our Matriarch scrambles to provide troops to the UNN in exchange for technology. The Elysians have started a landslide, all of the territories must follow suit or risk being conquered and oppressed by those who carry more favor with the aliens."

Eriksen was starting to get the picture now, beginning to understand Nazka's strange motivations as she told him her story. She wasn't insane, from her point of view she was resisting the changing times, preserving the free spirit and the ancient customs of her people. Like the stubborn Samurai of the Satsuma rebellion, she was ready to put her life on the line if it meant staving off the advance of time, feeling that there was no place for her in the new order.

"That's why I choose to be a pirate," she concluded, "that's why I choose the thrill and danger of a life of banditry and fighting. Borealans aren't supposed to live comfortable, safe lives, we're supposed to struggle and bleed. I live life on my own terms. I won't curb my instincts, I won't trade away my dignity for trinkets or meaningless status."

Eriksen wasn't sure what to make of it. He wanted to resist seeing her in a sympathetic light after everything that she had put him through, but it was hard not to empathize with her. While her actions were entirely her own, and it made her no less of a criminal, the UNN had played a part in creating her.

"Well," he said, returning his hands to her back and resuming his rubbing. "As far as excuses for being a murderous pirate go, that was one of the better ones that I've heard." She relaxed as he kneaded the knots in her firm muscles, and he reached up to retrieve the shower head, playing the soothing jets of water over her skin. "But if you impose your culture on me, how is that any better than what the UNN tried to do to you? Don't you see a parallel there?"

She didn't answer for a moment, then she blurted a reply that sounded more like a dismissal than a refutation.

"Like I said, we both have our own way of doing things. There's no point arguing about it anymore."

Eriksen wasn't ready to press the issue just yet, but it sounded like the seed of doubt had been sown. With a little more time he might be able to whittle her down. He kept up his massage, easing the tension that she had built up during their conversation, warm mist filling the room as the water splashed on the tiles. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned widely, Eriksen taking it as a sign that she was done.

"I'm beat up and tired, but damn if a near-death experience doesn't get my blood flowing. What say you and me go to bed together?"

"Are you...making a pass at me?" Eriksen stammered. He was used to her taking what she wanted. Giving him any kind of choice was new, and he didn't really know how to respond.

"Yeah, I'm making a pass at you, you want to come to bed with me or not? I'm too tired to fuck you ragged, but maybe you could show me how humans do it. Sex in a bed sounds pretty comfy right now."

"You've never had sex in a bed before?"

"Well yeah, but only because it was the nearest available surface, not by intention."

"I...why the sudden change of heart? I thought you said that what happened outside hadn't changed anything between us?"

She seemed almost embarrassed, her ears flicking perhaps with irritation or indecision, and she scratched her head with her claws as she mumbled.

"Listen, as much as it fucking kills me to say it, you've earned my respect. I would never have imagined that a human could be so stubborn and tenacious. You've resisted all of my attempts to break you so far, and you've come close to killing me more times than I care to admit. You could have just let me float away when I tripped on the hull, but your honor didn't allow it. Those are admirable traits. I guess what I'm saying is...you're growing on me. If you somehow escape or find a way to best me and I can't make you a member of my crew, I'll consider it a terrible loss."

Eriksen wasn't sure what to say, but the prospect of sleeping with her in a manner that didn't end in him nursing new wounds was an attractive one. Like one of his old drinking buddies used to say, God had given man a cock and a brain, but only enough blood to power one at once.

"You promise you won't carve me up again?" he asked skeptically.

"I'll try not to be too rough with you this time, I think I got a gauge of what you can take."

"Yeah alright, why not. I'm not going to be bunking with another Borealan any time soon, might as well make the most of it."

"You don't hate me then?" Nazka asked with a grin.

"Hate is a strong word," Eriksen replied, "you're not all bad. I guess even the Devil takes a weekend off every now and then."

She stood and stretched, letting the water run over her for a few more moments, then she walked out of the cubicle and retrieved a towel that she had hung beside her clothes. It was human-sized, wholly inadequate for her exaggerated stature, and she ran the fluffy fabric over her skin with one hand as she dried herself off.

"No need to get dressed," she said with a smirk as Eriksen stepped out of the shower, "I'll be waiting for you in the bedroom across the hall. Don't be too long."

She sauntered out of the room, the mist parting as she went, Eriksen mesmerized by her rolling hips before the automatic door closed behind her. He already knew her body intimately, but there was something about doing things the normal way that made this feel new, like they had only just met and this would be their first time crossing this boundary. His prior sexual encounters with her had been so confusing, intense and pleasurable beyond anything that he had ever experienced, yet muddled by his indignation and their antagonistic relationship. It was a strange feeling to be made to come against your will, enjoying every pulse of wracking pleasure, but hating where that pleasure was coming from. Now they were going to do it on his terms, more or less. He doubted that she would be able to curb her innate aggression and her desire to dominate, but she wasn't pinning him down as he tried to fight her off, so it was a good start.

He dried himself off and then slipped out of his damp shorts, hanging them up to dry on the rack beside Nazka's leather getup. He felt oddly self-conscious without his clothes on, but there was no point returning to his room to find something to wear only to remove it moments later. He left the bathroom and crossed the hall, standing in front of Nazka's door hesitantly, his heart throbbing in his chest as his finger hovered over the panel.

Why did he feel so nervous? He wasn't afraid of her, even after all that she had done, but he suddenly cared about what she thought of him. He steeled himself and hit the panel, the door sliding open with a whoosh of air, and it closed behind him as he stepped over the threshold.

CHAPTER 9: CHEMISTRY

The lights in the room had been dimmed, and Nazka was sitting on the edge of the bed, her long legs crossed as she watched Eriksen with her reflective eyes. They shone like those of a cat, like two gold coins embedded in her dark face, even the dull glow from the solitary table lamp enough to give her skin a reflective sheen. Light and shadow danced across her body, their waltz accentuating the feminine curves of her figure and highlighting her bulging muscles with all of the care and artistry of a painter's brush.

After a few more moments of him standing in the doorway, Nazka patted the bed beside her with a furred hand, inviting Eriksen to sit. He walked over to her stiffly, planting himself on the sheets next to her, not sure what was going to happen next.

"So...what do we do now?" Eriksen asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the wall opposite them.

"I don't know, we're going to do it like humans, right? So you tell me, what would two humans do in this situation?"

"I've never really had to think about it before now. Usually when I get...friendly with someone, we've had a few drinks, and we're raring to go by the time we get to the bedroom."

"Do you only court drunk?" Nazka asked.

"No, at least, that's not what you're supposed to do. It's hard for people like me to find a long-term partner. People who live and work in space are always moving around, pilots and spaceship crews have to make the best of it whenever they dock at a port or get some shore leave. Most encounters are brief, two people getting together because they're both available rather than because of any real romantic connection."

"So how is it supposed to work?"

"You're supposed to meet someone somewhere, it should be organic and spontaneous, maybe through a friend or because you share a common interest. You hang out for a while, get to know one another, build a relationship. Then one of you, usually the male, confesses how they feel and takes it to the next level. You go on some dates, try to show each other a good time, and then when the moment is right you sleep together."

"All that trouble just to reproduce?" Nazka scoffed.

"Not even, that's just to get someone into bed. If you want to reproduce, then you're supposed to date for months or even years. Then you get married, move in together, start a family..."

"How have you spread across the Galaxy with such a slow and inefficient method of reproduction? Don't humans number in the billions?"

"What society tells us we're supposed to do and what we actually do are usually two different things. Humans have a habit of saying one thing and doing another."

"I've noticed," she added, "most of the time I'm not sure if you even know what you want."

"Take me for instance. I never even knew my father, my mother had unprotected sex with a UNN pilot when she was working as a waitress on an orbital station. She was young and impressionable, he was making the most of his shore leave while their carrier resupplied, then just like that she was landed with a kid and he was never to be seen again. I don't hate him for it, he probably had no way to know about me, but it's a good example of how we propagate as fast as we do."

"Is that why you became a pilot? To honor your father?"

Eriksen laughed at that, and she cocked her head at him curiously.

"I wouldn't say that, but he probably has something to do with it. Like father like son as they say. I guess you and I are alike in that sense, we both appreciate the freedom that comes with space travel. The void calls to us, and we answer."

"Sounds lonely to me," Nazka replied. "You spend months completely alone, and your encounters with other humans are brief and unfulfilling. You talk about the things that you want but you never make any effort to achieve them, you just keep moving."

Eriksen scowled at her, not appreciating her commentary. She was pretty much on the money, but he wasn't about to admit that.

"What are you, my shrink? You're a pirate, you have no right to lecture me. Most of your sexual partners had to be beaten into submission beforehand."

"You've seen the way we do things firsthand," she said, her tone salacious. She dragged one of her pointed claws up his thigh, light enough that it merely tickled, and he shivered in response. She smirked, seeing that he was starting to blush, and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Isn't there something to be said for it? Being taken by someone, completely overwhelmed, the raw violence and passion of it?"

He crossed his arms over his bare chest and looked away from her pointedly, both to express his disapproval and to hide his reddening face. She was right of course, some part of him had relished what she had done to him, a self-destructive lust that still longed for the sting of her teeth on his neck. No human ever came on that strong. In a way it was addictive, and he worried that he might try to seek out that thrill once she was gone, as if a seed had been planted in his subconscious. Would he find himself pulling the tails of UNN auxiliaries in an attempt to get his fix? He thought not, but he had been criticized for having too high an opinion of himself in the past.

"I said we'd do this your way," she conceded, "so give me the ideal human experience."

His expression softened at the prospect, the fruity scent of her shower gel rising to his nose as he turned to face her, the giant woman peering down at him expectantly as he cleared his throat.

"We go slow, okay? Let me set the pace. If you want romance, then it has to be a slow boil, savor all of the little moments and don't make a dash for the finish line. It's all about the journey, not the destination."

"I didn't say I wanted romance," she chuckled, "but you clearly do. Go ahead, I won't stop you, it's cute."

His face burned, and he waved for her to keep quiet, the unruly alien covering her mouth with her hand in mocking compliance as he went on.

"Be conscious of what your partner is doing, be considerate, communicate. I can't know what you want unless you tell me, understand? Above all this is a mutual thing, that means two people working in tandem. The best way to achieve that is to do your best to make your partner happy and then assume that they will do the same for you. Think you can handle that?"

"I can give it a go."

"It usually starts with a kiss."

"How convenient for you," she said as a toothy grin spread across her face, "but I'll take your word for it."

Suddenly he felt her silky fur on his cheek, Nazka cradling his face in her hand as he looked up at her in surprise, then she leaned down to press her puffy lips against his. She kissed him softly, waiting a moment before slipping her tongue into his mouth, gentle and considerate of his human limitations as the slippery organ glanced his own. Wet muscle intertwined, her copper taste filling his head, the alien teasing him with slow licks that tickled the roof of his mouth and drew shapes on his inner cheeks. Her deft strokes sapped his strength, his body going limp in her arms as she leaned him over, her other hand supporting his back as she drew out their embrace.

She broke off for a moment, letting him catch his breath, Eriksen gasping as her tongue slid back between her lips like a pink snake. His heart was thudding in his chest, and his legs had turned to jello, the way that she gazed down at him made him feel like he was going to melt into a puddle.

"How am I doing?"

Before he could stammer his answer, she drew him in again, her fingers delving into his hair as she resumed her embrace. She was a little more aggressive this time, piling more of her inhumanly long tongue into his mouth, coiling and writhing like a creature in its own right. Eriksen's brain fizzed and popped, he felt as if someone had replaced his brain fluid with soda, bright points of light dancing before his eyes as she lowered him down onto the bed.

She loomed over him, smacking wetly, his spine arching off the sheets as she ran her claws down his back. He couldn't think straight, she was invading his mind as much as his mouth. It was as though she was digging her claws into his very nervous system in order to wrest control of his senses from him. The tip of her tapered tongue tasted the back of his throat, his eyes watering, that rough organ exploring every inch of him with wanton abandon as his head lay in her massive palm as if it were a fluffy pillow.

He found himself sinking his right hand into her furry forearm, his left seeking out the smoothness of her face, caressing her warm cheek as the waves of tingling pleasure washed over him. That raw passion was there, that bestial vigor that made her so overpowering, yet she reigned it in enough to spare him her more violent impulses. He knew that she must be riding the edge of her self-control, that every cell in her body must have been screaming for her to sink her hooked claws into his flesh and force his submission, but that just made her gentleness all the more endearing.

She pulled back, her lips linked to his by a strand of saliva, and he opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back as she hovered over him. They were both breathing hard now, every subtle movement of her body begged for his gaze yet his eyes remained locked to hers. She peered back at him with her yellow orbs, feline pupils dilated into black circles, Eriksen unsure of whether it was because of the gloom or her excitement.

"I don't want to fall for you," he stammered, surprising himself with the sudden outburst and immediately regretting it. Why had he said that? The last thing he needed was Nazka knowing how much she had gotten under his skin, the kind of power that she might have over him. Showing weakness to her was like exposing his belly to a rabid dog. He expected cruel laughter or a crude remark, but none came.

"We're terrible for each other," Nazka chuckled bitterly, "but I've never wanted somebody so badly. Maybe because you fight me so hard, I don't know..."

"What...do we do?" Eriksen asked, his fingers leaving her face to comb through his still damp hair in a gesture of exasperation.

"Let's pretend this is gonna work," she murmured, leaning closer to kiss his neck. He bucked, her merest touch dizzying him, her warm breath tickling his skin as she crawled her lips towards his ear. "Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're different people under different circumstances."

She was right of course, they were terrible for each other. They mixed about as well as oil and water. All of the animosity and antagonism, Nazka being a fucking alien, all of the times that they had tried to kill one another. They had nothing in common besides the fact that they had nothing in common.

So why did he want her so badly? Where were these feelings coming from? It was like some cosmic contradiction designed to torment him.

His thoughts were popped like a bubble as Nazka roamed downwards, planting sucking kisses on his chest and belly, moving lower to pause with her hot breath blowing on the tip of his erection.

"I do my best to please you," she muttered, "then you do the same for me?"

"Y-Yeah, that's the idea."

He lurched as he felt her long, sinuous tongue curl out of her mouth and slide down his shaft, wrapping it in wet muscle like a boa constrictor capturing its prey. Her saliva was warm and slippery, easing the passage of her monstrous organ as it enclosed him almost entirely, his member pulsing and throbbing in a tunnel of slippery flesh. She squeezed, surprising him with her tongue's strength, then began to slide it up and down his length with all of the skill and dexterity of her fingers. The underside was smooth and soft, the upper covered in her feline barbs, but they were dull enough that once coated with her thick saliva the sensation was intensely pleasurable.