Transport Ship Arrowhead Ch. 07

The voices continued to drone on, grating on Larik'Ni's nerves, and making her wish that she could turn off her hearing. This wasn't a meeting, it was an argument. It had started in the late afternoon, and had dragged on until the evening hours. News that the Arrowhead had arrived early to pick Larik'Ni up only made things more tense.

Haven only had a population of roughly nine hundred and fifty, spread through a single underground city. There had been plans to hollow out another thousand or so kilometers to either expand the existing city, or build a new one. That was where this fight started. Unfortunately, it didn't stay there.

As governor, Larik'Ni oversaw the Haven Council, which consisted of five people; a Maylogi, a Korulam, a human, a Muldaxian, and a Birran. It was the Birran, a man named So'Rit, who was causing the most trouble.

Larik'Ni had to admit that this man was gorgeous. He was tall and muscular; he wore tight fitting tunics that accentuated his three pectorals. His hair was immaculate, a deep red that framed his teal face, joining with the beard that flared out from his cheeks and chin like the manes adorning the male lions of planet Earth.

Larik'Ni had heard from the women and men So'Rit had bedded that he had the kind of cock a lover would dream about, and that he knew how to use it.

So'Rit was also belligerent, abrasive, and, as the humans would say, a fucking asshole. He had been a sycophant of Larik'Ni's predecessor, and hadn't forgiven her for being elected to the position he coveted when Jolek's crimes were revealed. He was also an adherent to the orthodoxy of their homeworld, and hated Larik'Ni for no other reason than she was clan-less; a fact he reminded the council of almost daily. In fact, he was about to do so again.

"I would expect a clan-less like her to just abandon us!" he spat with a voice full of venom and contempt. The argument had now gone from expansion to Larik'Ni's upcoming conference.

The human councilor, a woman named Lorraine Hastings, had finally had enough. "For fuck's sake, So'Rit, she's not abandoning us! Governor Larik'Ni is going to a conference to help us forge our own future! And she's taking a quantum comm with her, so we'll be in constant real-time contact. So knock it the fuck off!"

Larik'Ni usually preferred a degree of decorum during these meetings, and kept the profanity to a minimum. In this case, she appreciated Lorraine's defense of her.

"Thank you, Councilor Hastings," Larik'Ni said. She turned her attention back to her fellow Birran. "We have been cut off from the galactic community for too long."

"By design!" So'Rit spat. "And because no one will have us."

"At first, that was true," the Maylogi councilor, Agav said. She stood up, and used her towering height and semi armored body to intimidate the abrasive Birran. "This world has been colonized for eighty-four years. I have been here since the beginning. We have survived by going it alone, but we will thrive with allies."

"Besides," Larik'Ni said, "with the Verokk constantly harassing those who are trying to come here, we need help. The Coalition patrols can only do so much."

"And whose fault is that?" So'Rit demanded.

"Your old friend Governor Jolek," Hyst, the Korulam councilor said. "He made that deal with Lady Riv to capture that human freighter captain and the Muldaxian he was with."

"Who escaped," So'Rit said. "Had they not-"

"Had they not escaped, then two innocents would have been lost!" Larik'Ni snapped, cutting him off. "Is that what you wish? For innocent lives to be lost?" The other Birran kept quiet. "No more can be accomplished today. We will adjourn until tomorrow."

"Do you think he's pissed that your ride got here ahead of schedule?" Agav asked after the others filed out of the council chamber. Like all Maylogi, Agav had plates of chitinous armor covering most of her body. Only her face was exposed. She had four bright green eyes that sat wide on her face, an artifact of her species evolving from a herbivorous ancestor, and twin nasal slits instead of a nose. Her mouth was a thin line.

"Possible," Larik'Ni said. "He schemes more than anyone I have ever met. I fear he may try to seize power in my absence."

The Maylogi woman gave Larik'Ni a worried look. "What are you going to do?"

"I am not sure yet." Larik'Ni was not a political animal by nature, but it wasn't politics with So'Rit. It was a fight. He was going to learn that Larik'Ni knew how to fight back.

We clan-less always have to fight for our survival, she thought. So'Rit is in for a rude awakening.

----

The original Tref star went supernova billions of years ago, leaving behind a super dense neutron star. Jets of radiation blasted from the star's poles; radiation that could fry a ship even when its shields were at maximum.

The star tumbled end over end, like a pinwheel. From a distance, and when viewed from the direction those jets shot out, the light looked like it was blinking on and off, hence the name these stars were given. Pulsars.

"I couldn't be lucky twice," James Barret groused. Last time he came to Haven, when he was undercover as Gideon Price of the Fool's Errand, he arrived in Haven's orbit when the planet was out of the path of the streamers. He was able to dock immediately, meet his passenger, and spend a lovely evening in Governor Larik'Ni's company, and in her bed.

The Arrowhead was at station keeping, waiting to rendezvous with Haven. Barret sat in the pilot's seat in the cockpit, staring at the Tref pulsar.

The Arrowhead's forward viewports weren't glass, but a transparent metal. That metal could be polarized to block out certain wavelengths of light. It was set to filter out the harshest light from the pulsar, while leaving Tref itself still visible. The star was close enough that Barret couldn't see it spinning through the empty night.

"You know," Endira Vas said, coming up behind the pilot's seat, "watching Tref isn't going to make Haven come out of the streams any faster."

"I'm just lucky Haven makes a complete orbit in just a few days. That makes this a lot easier," Barret said. "Otherwise we could be stuck here for months, and not just another three hours"

Vas sat down at her nav station. She was wearing a long red robe, a gift her sister Tanlin had given her before they left the monastery on Covilax three days prior. Her hair was still damp from the shower.

"We're still early, James," Vas said. "We weren't technically due for another week. Even after spending a few days with Tanlin." She grinned at her mate. "Or are you that impatient to see Larik'Ni?"

Barret let out a small chuckle. "Maybe a little. Of course, you're the one who spent the last hour masturbating in the shower, and I'm sure I'm not the one you were fantasizing about."

"Guilty as charged," she said. "I'm still disappointed the shower's not quite big enough for us to have sex in. Neither is the tub."

"The new Arrowhead may be bigger than the old one was, but she's still a transport ship, meaning there's only so much room. And that includes the captain's quarters."

"I know," Vas conceded. "I just really enjoy shower sex, is all."

Barret reached for Vas's hand and took it. "We won't be here long, so we won't have accommodations when we land. Meaning we'll have to stay on the ship, so shower sex is off the table until we get to Nova City. We can recreate the last time we were there. That amazing blowjob you gave me, and me pinning you to the wall."

"I'll hold you to that." Vas smiled, thinking about the first woman she ever had sex with. "Maybe we can have Larik'Ni join us."

"Now who's impatient to see her?" Barret chuckled.

"You got to see her more recently than I did," Vas protested.

"You've got it bad for her," Barret said.

"Then I'm in good company. We're both in love with her." Vas shook her head. "I'm still surprised by that. I'm a Muldaxian! We're not known for being polyamorous."

"I guess it's a good thing Birrans are known for that, then."

----

Haven was safely out of the radiation jets at 2322 ship time, or 2122 hours local. Larik'Ni's body clock would only be two hours behind the ship's clock, which was already set to Nova City time.

Despite the late hour, the Arrowhead was permitted to dock. Haven's space traffic control was an around the clock operation, as was the spaceport. Barret was just glad to be safely in the underground docking bay, and not out in the open where a Verokk warship could pick him off.

Vas had gone to bed over an hour ago. Since the flight controller had taken control of the Arrowhead to guide the ship in, she wasn't needed. Truth be told, neither was Barret. A migraine had been threatening to take root in Barret's skull for the last few hours, and he was glad he wasn't needed to land the ship.

Docking was almost anticlimactic. The Arrowhead was brought in smoothly. She was connected to the docking bay's umbilicals, and that was that. Barret shut down nonessential systems, and decided to retire to bed.

His brain felt like it was shifting in his skull, and light caused daggers of agony to shoot into his eyes. At least sound wasn't a problem yet. The last thing he needed was for every little noise to become a sonic boom.

"James?" a sleepy Vas murmured when Barret sat on the bed after he undressed. "Are we docked?"

"We're docked." His voice was strained, something Vas noticed immediately.

Vas quickly sat up, the covers falling away from her bare breasts. On nights they didn't make love, Vas usually slept in just panties. Tonight she was totally nude, never putting on underwear after her shower, partially due to feeling lazy, and partially because she wanted to take her mate for a ride when he finally came to bed. All thoughts of sex were gone now, replaced by concern over Barret's health.

"Is it your head?" she asked.

"Yeah. It started to get bad an hour ago, but we were so close to docking that I decided to stick it out."

Vas turned the lights on, but kept them dim so as to not make Barret's migraine worse. "I'm getting your medicine." She got out of bed and dashed into the bathroom.

"Thank you." Barret had never been prone to headaches or migraines before his first trip to Haven all those months ago. Unfortunately, repeated psychic attacks from a Verokk named Nadora Riv did their damage. Barret now suffered from periodic, nearly debilitating headaches.

Vas came back with an analgesic patch. "Lie back," she said gently. After Barret got settled, she placed the patch on his forehead. She turned the lights down, and pulled the covers over them. "Can I hold you?" she asked, knowing he was sometimes sensitive to touch.

"I need it," he said.

Vas snuggled into her mate, enjoying the way his bare skin felt against hers. "I love you," she told him. "Sleep now. Let the meds do their job."

"Love you," he mumbled, sleep already overtaking him.

Vas was more than concerned. Headaches were an uncommon occurrence for her people, and migraines were completely unheard of. Of course, these were no ordinary migraines. The doctors on both Yegvid - where she and Barret were taken following that first encounter with the Verokk - and Earth had no idea what to do for the pain and sensitivity, so they threw painkillers at it and hoped that would work. It seemed like that plan was starting to fall apart.

----

As governor, Larik'Ni had access to a palatial estate. She had never set foot in it. Instead, she lived in a small apartment she already owned, one that was not paid for at the expense of the citizenry.

For Larik'Ni, it was a lonely existence. She had to keep professional distance from those around her to ensure there were no perceptions of impropriety. She had learned what not to do from the corruption of her predecessors.

It was late, nearly midnight Haven time, and the teal skinned woman sat alone in the bedroom of her home, wondering how Barret and Vas were doing. Were they sleeping? In bed talking? Making love?

That last thought sent a jolt through her. She had only been with Vas once, and it had been a hurried affair. They coupled quickly, breaking Vas free of the Verokk mind control so they could rescue Barret.

She had spent more time with the human captain. She'd made love to him once, when they first found each other again. Then, on his last trip, they'd spent the entire night together, having sex multiple times. Larik'Ni smiled at the memory. She and Vas had some serious catching up to do after they departed for Nova City.

Larik'Ni wanted to call them, to see their faces on her comm screen. She had been informed that the Arrowhead had docked, so they could speak with no distractions.

Larik'Ni sighed. No, my loves, she thought. I can wait until morning.

Her clit was still tingling at the thought of her human and Muldaxian lovers in the throes of passion. She peeled off the thin shirt she was wearing -- and that was all she wore; Larik'Ni never wore undergarments -- and let her hands roam over her three breasts.

The Birran third breast developed over what was called a nutrient sack. Thelst, the Birran home planet, supported three dominant species, and resources were not always plentiful. Because of this, Birrans evolved that sack to help sustain them during the lean times. The third breast in females, and the so-called third pectoral in males, were the outward manifestation of it.

Larik'Ni pinched her nipple, imagining it was the fingers of James Barret and not her own. Her other hand drifted down to her pussy and brushed her clit. She wished it was Endira Vas exploring her folds. Larik'Ni imagined the purple skinned woman probing her depths with her fingers before bringing her tongue to Larik'Ni's clit.

Larik'Ni stopped her ministrations, sat up, and opened a drawer on her bedside table. She took out a vibrator that was the same shade of teal as she was. It was long, and the head was rounded. It was shaped exactly like a Birran cock.

She also pulled out a small control unit, thumbed a few commands, and activated her holo-projector. An image shimmered into view of a bearded human with a Birran woman kneeling before him. Her hair was almost white, and her breasts were large and proud, her blue nipples standing at attention.

She hungrily took the human's monster of a cock down her throat, and he eagerly face fucked her. He grunted loudly as he thrusted into her willing mouth, his balls hitting her chin.

The woman had one hand on her partner's hip, the other between her legs, furiously frigging her dark blue clit, working herself to a release.

This was one of Larik'Ni's favorite porn holo-vids. Human on Birran sex was definitely a fetish of hers. Since meeting Vas, lesbian Birran/Muldaxian porn had been added to her favorites, as well as human/Birran/Muldaxian threesomes. She desperately needed to be in that latter situation aboard the Arrowhead.

Larik'Ni turned the vibe on, and kissed her clit with it. Then, she grabbed one of her outer breasts, pinching and tweaking her nipple. The pain added to the pleasure, and she audibly groaned. If only it was a lover's teeth pulling her blue nip.

She fucked herself faster, feeling the pressure building up in her pussy. Larik'Ni forced her eyes open, and watched as the Birran woman continued to take that human cock down her throat.

The human's grunting grew louder, and the Birran was making muffled moans as she began fisting herself. Larik'Ni knew that the human was about to burst, and wanted to see if she could cum at the same time.

She pulled her nipple, turned the vibe up to full, and buried it to the hilt in her cunt. She felt pulses of euphoria begin to shoot from her pussy to the rest of her body.

Her body tensed and relaxed as she came. Larik'Ni forced her eyes open just in time to see the human pull his cock from his partner's throat, stroke his length, and shoot creamy white jets of spunk right into her open mouth.

Larik'Ni allowed her eyes to close. She imagined that she and Barret were the ones in that video, and that he was showering her with his cum. She imagined that Vas was the one fucking her with the vibe and tweaking her nipple.

As quickly as it had begun, her orgasm ended. Larik'Ni sighed, and pulled the vibe from her still ravenous cunt. She thought about going for another orgasm, but decided against it. She had an early morning, and needed to sleep.

Larik'Ni turned off the holo-vid, and got up to clean her toy. The edge had been taken off, but only just. She couldn't be reunited with Barret and Vas soon enough.

Tomorrow night, I will make love to you both, she thought. A devious glint came to her solid yellow eyes. First separately, then together.

----

Barret awoke feeling extremely groggy. He carefully pulled the now useless patch from his forehead, and sighed. The frequency of these headaches had increased in recent months, and that was more than a little worrying. He also hated how he felt after using the patches. He always felt like he'd been hit by a starcruiser.

"Time," he croaked.

"Ship time 0631 hours," the ship's computer said. "Local time 0431 hours."

"Lovely," he groaned. He hated waking up earlier than he needed to. Barret glanced over at Vas's side of the bed and found it empty. She's either in the bathroom, or in the galley getting a drink. He realized he was parched. Another side effect of the meds was how thirsty they made him. A glass of water sounded really good.

He was about to get up and go to the galley when the comm chimed. Barret lamented the fact that, during the ship's night watch, the computer automatically routed communications to his quarters. The ship's "day" wouldn't start until Barret took the pilot's seat, or 0800, whichever came first, meaning he was on call at all hours of the night whether he liked it or not.

Barret sat up, turned up the light, made sure the comm was set to audio only, since he was practically naked, and opened the channel. "This is Captain Barret."

"This is Hevist Loriv, Haven's dock master," was the reply. Her voice was stern, yet personable. "Sorry to call so early, Arrowhead, but Governor Larik'Ni would like to come aboard and stow her luggage."

Barret furrowed his brow. "Um, yeah. Okay. Give me a minute, and I'll meet her and her entourage at the airlock."

"No entourage, Captain, just the governor."

"Okay. Like I said, give me a minute. Arrowhead out." He closed the channel, stood up, and looked for a pair of pants. The clothes he'd taken off last night were gone. Vas probably took them to the ship's laundry when she went wherever the hell it was she went.

As if on cue, a very naked Vas walked into their quarters with a glass of water in each hand. She gave one to Barret, who downed it in a few large gulps. "I figured you'd be thirsty. Those meds always dry you out."

"Thank you." He set the glass down on the end table. Then he went for the dresser built into the far wall, opened a drawer, and pulled out a plain T-shirt and a pair of lounge pants. "Larik'Ni's coming aboard to drop off her luggage. I'm meeting her at the airlock. You might want to put something on."

"Why?" Vas asked. "She's seen me naked before, and she'll see me naked during the trip to Nova City."

"Yeah, but if we're meeting her at the airlock, it might be advisable to not have the goods on display. Haven is more lenient than some places, but there are still public nudity laws here, and those come with really big fines."

"Point," she said, and grabbed her robe.

A few minutes later, they were at the airlock. The door hissed open, and Vas got her first look at Larik'Ni in months. She had a small floating trunk following her.