Transport Ship Arrowhead Ch. 04

Vas happily kissed her mate when he walked in the room. Jackie was sitting behind several holographic screens with strings of numbers flashing across them. "Your record keeping is atrocious, little brother," Jackie said.

"Good to see you too, sis," Barret quipped. "And you're only seven minutes oder than me, so don't go pulling that 'little brother' crap." Barret looked at the mess Jackie had in front of her. "You don't have to do this."

"Sure I do," Jackie replied. "Just to show you that you need a damn accountant, if nothing else." Jackie leaned back and rubbed her eyes. "I have at least three years worth of invoices and statements to go through, and my brain is fried. I'm gonna call it a night. We set you and Vas up in your old room."

The house Jackie was living in had belonged to their grandparents, who took her and her twin brother in after their parents died. "Are you sure it'll be big enough for us?"

"We expanded it out," Corva said. Corva was an architect, and the remodeling of the Barret house was one of her masterpieces. "You even have your own bathroom."

"Just don't be too loud," Jackie teased. "I have to be up early to finish cleaning up your mess."

When Corva said that she they had expanded James's old bedroom, she wasn't kidding. Now it was bigger than his quarters on the Arrowhead had been. Barret sat on the bed and quietly started to undress. Vas had already stripped down to just her panties and quietly slipped into the large bed. Once Barret was in nothing but his underwear, he turned out the light and joined her. He let out a tired sigh when she cuddled into him.

"Don't say it," she said.

"Don't say what?"

"That you're sorry. Don't say it. You always apologize for things that couldn't possibly be your fault. This is one of those things."

Barret closed his eyes. "I don't know what to do, Vas. I really don't. The Arrowhead was more than a ship. I bought her shortly after Alu passed away. I bought it because she passed away."

Vas reached for the lamp and turned the light back on. Sleep could wait. "You never told me that before." Although Barret had no problem talking about his first bond mate, this was a story he'd kept to himself.

"I didn't buy her to start a business," Barret said slowly. "I bought her to hide from the universe. I let my enlistment in the Space Force lapse, and then I just.... ran. That's one of the reasons I bought such a small ship. So I'd have to be alone. The delivery thing was just to make sure that Jackie and Corva didn't think I was going to fly straight into a gamma ray burst or something. But after a while, I don't know, I guess I started to enjoy life as a space bum. I never expected to find someone who actually made me want to live life again."

Vas brought her lips her Barret's. "I'm not going anywhere if I can help it, James."

"Maybe this if for the best," Barret sighed. "If we don't have a ship, we can't go out into space and keep getting attacked. Maybe we can finally just get those Verokk bastards to leave us alone."

"That's not you talking, James," Vas insisted. "You never give up."

"I just lost my ship, Vas!"

"And your brain is still a little scrambled from Haven," Vas argued. "Remember what the doctors on Yegvid said? Because of the repeated psychic assaults..."

"I'll show all the classic signs of depression until my brian chemistry readjusts," Barret said, finishing her sentence. "It's just, this isn't easy."

Vas turned the light back off and held Barret tightly. "Life never is, baby. Life never is."

James Barret often did his best thinking in the shower. He felt that letting his mind go while his body was held in the streaming caress of hot water raining down on him fully unleashed his mind's full potential.

But whenever he let his mind wander like this, he left himself completely unaware of what was going on around him. It wasn't until he felt a hand firmly gripping his hardening cock that he knew he had company. "About time you noticed me," Vas snickered.

"Sorry," he replied. "I was thinking."

"And leaving your poor neglected bond mate in bed unsatisfied. You didn't make love to me at all yesterday."

"We had sex yesterday," Barret protested.

"We fucked Charlie together," Vas said. "Threesomes are fun, but I don't count it as making love. That's when it's just you and me." Vas gripped Barret's cock tighter and started to slowly stroke it, causing him to let out a low groan. "I love how vocal you are," Vas giggled before nipping at his neck.

Barret couldn't take it anymore. He spun around and, in the blink of an eye, had his mouth clamped over Vas's and was wrestling her tongue with his. Barret's hands glided down Vas's slick body until they came to the tight mounds of her ass. He gripped her cheeks, and gave one of them a light smack.

"You're a bad boy," Vas teased.

Barret smacked her ass even harder, making his mate moan. "And you're a bad girl. You love the rough stuff." Barret leaned down and took an erect green nipple between is teeth. "Still call this making love?"

"Who said lovemaking can't be intense?" Vas moaned. She started to get on her knees when Barret stopped her.

"I still owe you for that blowjob back in the shower in Nova City." Barret nudged Vas to the back of the shower, and kneeled in front of her. He slightly brusher her quivering clit with the tip of his tongue. Vas whimpered at the contact. Barret extended his tongue and gave her slit a long lick. Vas grabbed the back of Barret's head and held him to her mound. He smiled before diving in.

He lapped at her pussy like her juices were the nectar of the gods themselves. His tongues flicked and circled her swollen clit, driving Vas mad with pleasure.

"Too bad..... this shower isn't as big as the one...... back at Nova City..." she gasped.

"It's big enough," Barret growled before attacking her slit again. This time he slipped a finger inside her, and pressed his thumb against her clit. Vas's body jerked and trembled as she tried to stay on her feet. "You like that?"

"Yes," Vas sighed.

"Are you gonna cum for me?"

"I'm getting there......." Vas's voice trailed off. She tried to steady herself by pressing her hands against the walls of the shower stall. For once Vas was glad they were in a stall and not a bathtub. "James," she mewed, "fuck me..... make me cum with your cock........"

Barret stood and pulled Vas to him, kissing her hard and probing her mouth with his tongue and sharing her juices with her. "Turn around."

Vas smiled and turned her back to her mate. She leaned forward and braced herself against the back wall of the stall. She reached between her legs and spread her moist lips. "You know what I want."

"Hard and fast?" Barret asked with a smirk on his face.

Vas's only answer was a wicked smile; a smile that got wider as Barret slowly eased his cock into her. He slowly buried himself in her, then pulled out, only to reenter her just as slowly as before. "Stop teasing me," she begged.

That made Barret go even slower. This time, after he withdrew, he rubbed the head of his cock down her slit, pulling back when his cock head made contact with her clit. "Please, James," Vas panted.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to fuck me... need you to fuck me....... please....."

Barret grinned and slowly inserted himself back into her hot pussy. Without warning, he slammed himself into her, making Vas scream at the invasion. "Is that what you want?" Barret grunted. "For me to fuck you like a wild animal?"

"Yes!" Vas shouted. "Fuck me hard!"

Barret unleashed his primal lust, and repeatedly thrust into her, his wet skin smacking loudly against hers. Before long Vas's inner walls were clamping down on Barret's cock, trying to milk it. Vas's moans got louder, and her body started to quiver. "Don't stop," Vas begged as her skin changed to lavender. "Don't stop!!!!!"

Vas's body quaked violently as she came. It was all she could do to keep her legs from buckling from the pleasure. Barret leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her waist so he could hold her closer to him and keep her standing. Vas shook and quivered for a small eternity, losing herself in the pleasure now coursing through her body.

"I love it when you cum," Barret growled. "You don't hold anything back."

"Only with you," Vas panted; temporarily winded from her hard orgasm.

Barret pulled out and guided Vas down to the floor of the stall. "That's why we don't fuck standing up that often," he joked.

Vas rolled onto her back and spread her legs wide. "I've had mine, now it's your turn."

Barret kneeled between Vas's legs and slipped his cock back into her slick tunnel. He didn't hold back; he gave Vas the hard fucking she'd been craving.

Vas put her arms over her head and braced herself against the back wall. "Yes," she panted over and over.

Barret was starting to growl as he leaned over his wife's prone form. Vas wrapped her arms and legs around her mate and held on for dear life. She could feel another strong orgasm knocking on her door.

"Vas," Barret groaned. "I'm almost there...."

"Cum for me," Vas moaned. "I want you to come for me!!!!!" Vas came again, gripping Barret tighter with her limbs and pussy. She dug her nails into Barret's back and scratched at him like a cat.

That was all it took for Barret to blast surge after surge of hot cum into Vas's waiting tunnel. He nearly howled in pain and pleasure as he deposited his seed into Vas's eager body.

Spent, Barret nearly collapsed on his mate, who held him close to her still trembling body. "I think that will get me through most of the day," Vas giggled.

"I don't know if my back can take it," Barret grinned. He withdrew his now semi-hard member from her and rubbed his hand over his shoulder. When he examined his fingers, he saw ribbons of crimson. "You broke the skin this time."

Vas sat up and made Barret turn around. She saw eight jagged lines going from his shoulders to the middle of his back. "I'm sorry! I'll get you all patched up after we dry off."

Shortly after lunch, Barret was getting ready to leave for a meeting between Freighters Guild representatives, the Planetary Coalition, the System Patrol Fleet, and the ambassador from the Verokk home world.

"I don't see why I can't be there," Vas protested again.

"No non humans will be there," Barret told her. "The Verokk are too used to getting their way in everything, and we don't want them getting away with trying to kill us." That logic didn't sway Vas's determination to go. "Look, Vas, the Verokk could get into your head again and make you say what they want you to say. They can't do that to me, or any other member of the human race. Besides, this is just a preliminary hearing. We're planning on bringing you in later through a holo-conference, or something. It's safer for you to just say here."

"That doesn't mean I don't want to be there," Vas grumbled. "I was attacked, too."

Barret leaned over and kissed Vas's cheek. "I know. But you're also the person the Verokk have been trying to get their hands on."

"He's right," Jackie agreed. "Besides, I'll need your help to go through some of these financial records."

"Call me the moment you know something!" Vas demanded.

"I promise."

A male Verokk with shoulder length gold hair shining against his flawless marble toned skin stood flanked by two Geddryn bodyguards. His solid grey eyes were boring into James Barret's mind, trying to read and control his thoughts. Barret, recognizing the dull throb starting behind his eyes, knew what was going on.

"Not gonna work," Barret warned him. "We humans are immune to your mental control. All you're going to succeed in is giving me a migraine and pissing me off!"

"Calm down, Mr. Barret," Jason Archer, the Freighters Guild representative warned. "And you, Ambassador Iril. I can feel you poking around in my head, too, and I don't appreciate it. For the record, I ask the Verokk ambassador to stop!"

"Agreed," the Earth ambassador to the Planetary Coalition, a woman named Megan Espinoza, said. "We have a full report form the Yegvid station, as well as Mr. Barret's medical records. We know your secret, Mr. Ambassador, and we know it doesn't work on us."

Iril only growled at the human in front of him. "I am here," the Verokk hissed. "What do you want of the Imperium?"

"We want to know why you had warships hiding in Earth territory, and why you launched an unprovoked attack on a civilian vessel," Ambassador Espinoza said.

"The Verokk Imperium does not recognize Earth's claim to the asteroid belt between Sol 4 and Sol 5, therefor, we have claimed it as sovereign territory of the Verokk Imperium."

Ever human being in the room scowled at this. Earth's first contact with an alien race still left a bad taste in humanity's mouths centuries later. "I would advise the ambassador from planet Veroxx, not to say that too loudly among a group of humans," the holographic image of the Coalition arbiter, a semi armored grey skinned female from planet Maylog said. "You know as well as I do that the Rullyde attempted to invade Earth and exterminate the human race three centuries ago. That act led to severe sanctions against the Rullyde, including the loss of their council seat. It also led to Earth petitioning for Coalition membership. Ever since then, this entire star system has been recognized as Earth's domain! I am afraid, Ambassador Iril, that the Verokk claim on the Sol asteroid belt cannot even be considered."

"Fine!" Iril spat. "The fact remains that James Barret has fired upon Verokk ships on no less than two separate occasions. The first was over eight months ago when he illegally invaded Verokk space, and the second was in the Tref system mere weeks ago."

"That's not entirely true, Madame Arbiter," Archer said. "In the first incident, Mr. Barret simply returned fire. In the second, Mr. Barret's ship didn't fire a single shot. He engaged his FTL drive under the Verokk ship wile in the gravitational boundary of the Tref system."

"Why was this, Mr. Barret?" Arbiter Thes asked.

"Self defense," Barret answered. "The first time, I was returning a Muldaxian dignitary home at the request of the Muldaxian high chancellor. We were still outside of recognized Muldaxian space when we were attacked. The second time, I was captured on planet Tref 2, also known as planet Haven, by a Verokk named Riv. She caused me severe mental trauma by trying to control my mind. We barely escaped."

"The human lies!" Iril shouted. "He abducted the Muldaxian he speaks of! And he did violate our space. We annexed the Muldaxians' home system in accordance with our laws."

"That annexation has not been fully recognized by the Coalition," Ambassador Mendoza stated. "Earth's representatives on the Coalition high council have not given the necessary votes to recognize the Verokk claim on Muldaxian space."

The Verokk ambassador growled at this. "You humans have been holding this up for months!"

"Be that as it may," Thes intervened, "Earth is within its rights to do so. Now, speaking of this Muldaxian dignitary, where is Endira Vas?"

"At my sister's home," Barret said. "It's been shown that Muldaxians are especially vulnerable to Verokk mind control."

"Ms. Endira's account was transmitted to you via subspace, Arbiter Thes," the Earth ambassador said. "As has the marriage license filled by Admiral Janice Hu from the Aquarius. Endira Vas holds dual Earth and Muldaxian citizenship, in accordance with the laws and treaties of both our worlds."

The arbiter found the files she was looking for and skimmed them. "So noted. Ambassador Iril, why have your forces been so eager to retrieve Ambassador Endira?"

"She has knowledge of various cultures," the Verokk said. "Her experience could be useful in future dealings with these previously unknown races."

"Now, Mr. Archer," Thes said, turning her holographic gaze to the Freighters Guild representative. "What is the Guild's interests in all of this?"

"Mr. Barret and Ms. Endira are members of our guild in good standing," Archer replied. "They have been targeted by the Verokk time and again. We are here to inform the Verokk ambassador that, as of now, under Paragraph 3, subsection 45 of the Interstellar Commerce Accords, that any and all contracts between the Verokk Imperium, or Imperium aligned interests, are now null and void. No members of the Freighters Guild will do any business whatsoever with the Imperium."

"That is outrageous!" Iril spat. "You cannot do that!"

"We can and have," Archer replied in a smug voice. "You attack one of us, you attack all of us. Also, we are seeking restitution and damages on behalf of the Barrets from the Imperium."

"What for?" Iril snarled.

"Loss of business, near loss of life, loss of livelihood, and the wanton and willful destruction of the Arrowhead."

"Is the Arrowhead you ship, Mr. Barret?" Thes asked.

"It was," Barret sighed.

"We have also transmitted the inspection reports from the salvage crew of the patrol ship Libra, and the findings of Charlene Ross and her crew at Artemis station on Earth's moon."

"I see that." Thes read over the reports. "A type 688-T disruptor? Really ambassador?" The Maylogi woman looked at the Verokk through narrow eyes. "If this is true, the Imperium could be looking at severe sanctions, and possible sentient rights violations. Things do not look well for you, Iril."

"We were defending our interests," Iril spat again. "We are done here. If all you are going to do is throw accusations at me, you can go through our embassy."

"Only you have no embassy here," Ambassador Espinoza pointed out. "You never allowed one to be opened here, or for an Earth embassy to be built on Veroxx. Which I believe is a violation of your Coalition charter."

"Good day, Ambassador!" the Verokk huffed before leaving the conference chamber.

When Barret retuned home that night, he found Vas, Jackie and Corva all with huge smiles o their faces. "What?"

"We finished going through the books," Jackie said. "And all those years of you living like a space bum paid off!" She handed her brother a data module. "You see that number there, the big one at the bottom? That's your net worth."

Barret's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "No."

"Yes!" Vas happily said.

"But how?"

"Because you're a fucking cheapskate," Corva laughed. "And because you forget you actually have money."

"Not tonight though," Jackie smiled. "Tonight, Mr. Moneybags, you are treating us all to dinner at the Chez Marcus. And I am ordering the steak and lobster, as well as a bottle of their most expensive wine."

"Being a little free with my funds, aren't you, Jackie?" Barret asked in an annoyed voice.

"I said it was okay," Vas said with a deviant grin. "It's my money too, you know. And then tomorrow, we're going to see Charlie about a ship."

"I don't know, Vas," Barret started to protest.

Vas put a finger to his lips to shush him. "You love the stars, James. In fact, I think they were your first love. I'm not going to let you give that up. Besides, I've gotten used to life in space."

"It won't be the same, Vas," Barret finally admitted. "The Arrowhead was one of a kind."

"I know. And I know that we can't replace her. You bought that ship in your grief. Maybe it's time to by one now that you're happier, and have happier memories to go with it. Maybe the Arrowhead was only meant to bring you this far on your journey, and then give you to another ship in order to go further."

"I don't believe in fate, Vas, you know that."

"I know," Vas conceded. "But I do, and I believe there are still things for us to do and see out there. Now come on, let's go. I don't know about you, but I'm curious to sample this lobster that Jackie keeps raving about!"