What Happens in Orbit Pt. 08

Cora snuck down the hall, brushing at her clothes.

It looked like everyone was sleeping. There was no sign of Tor or Mar, so she returned to their room. She found them both in bed.

Carefully, Cora climbed between them. Tor silently wrapped an arm around and pulled her closer.

One of his hands slipped under her shirt, trailing down her stomach. Oh. She relaxed into his embrace.

Mar opened his eyes, blinking slowly before poking Tor in his arm.

[No.]

Cora recognized that word. "What's wrong, Mar?"

"We can't do that here. I already told Tor, he's just bad at listening."

She patted at Tor, feeling him tense up. "No fighting. You didn't tell me. Why can't we do that here?"

Mar gave her a sour look. "You can't be quiet."

"And because they don't know about the eggs?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to explain what happened to these guys. It wouldn't go well."

"What if something happens again?"

Tor pulled her back against him, sighing.

"I doubt it. They're all on very strong suppressants."

Tor spoke up. "We were on very strong suppressants." Cora nodded in agreement.

"Well, do you feel like you did before?" Mar sat up, observing her.

"No, not at all." At least, I think so. She remembered the discomfort and chills. Uncertainty bled into his expression.

"Then it's fine." Bullshit.

"If you're sure." Cora reached out, smoothing a hand over his hair. He huffed, turning over.

A hand returned to her stomach, fingers slipping under her waistband.

This is gonna be a problem.

Cora woke up, alone, to a deafening screech. When it happened again, she threw herself out of bed.

Is that supposed to be an alarm? It went off again, the pitch making her eyes water. The door to her room was pulled open, and a bulky figure stood in the doorway. It looked like a robot, all metal plating with goofy cylindrical arms. Cora didn't like the way it moved. She had to get it out of the room, away from the eggs.

"Who the fuck are you?"

It didn't answer, instead moving towards her quicker than it should have. It was holding something sharp.

"No!" Throwing herself to the side, Cora charged for the door. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!"

The figure lunged for her, but she was already out of reach.

Falling into the main area, Cora looked around. "What the fuck?! Mar!"

She whipped around, facing the intruder as Mar slammed into it.

"Cora, move!" Someone screamed at her from across the hall. It sounded like Tor.

She turned to look for him, just as a ray of white-hot pain shot through her, radiating down her back. Reflexes that weren't hers kicked in, seizing a metallic arm. Another intruder was behind her, holding a knife. In her grasp, the arm crumpled. There was an unpleasant squish beneath it, telling her more than she needed to know.

Like tofu, her unhelpful, overwhelmed brain suggested.

She snatched the knife from its now-limp hand. The intruder stumbled back and Cora lunged, burying the knife in its face. She wrenched it free, doing it once more. It stopped moving.

There was a loud scraping noise from behind her. Alarmed, she turned to check on Mar, only to see him holding one of the intruders aloft. His guttural snarl was drowned out by the shrieking of metal as he ripped it in half.

Oh, damn. Cora leaned against an overturned table, somehow managing a weak giggle.

Mar whirled to face her, eyes wide. "Cora?"

The back of her shirt was uncomfortably wet. "I'd let you do that to me."

His concern turned to exasperation, then to dread. He reached for her, but Cora shied away. One of the crewmates was charging towards them, followed by Tor. "Hey, guys." She shifted, trying to take a more casual pose against the table. Her foot slipped, and she found herself on the floor.

"Whoops." There was a purple substance pooling beneath her. Her shirt was tossed next to her, also soaked in purple. It was getting cold. Her brain finally made the connection.

"Question..." Her voice sounded like it was coming from another room. "Why is my blood purple?"

"It doesn't matter what color it is. It's not supposed to be outside of you." She recognized Tai's voice.

Cora took a ragged breath. "You sound angry. It already hurts so much. Please don't be angry at me."

There was a nasty prickling sensation coming from her back.

"Feels like stitches."

Someone was talking. It sounded like Tor.

"I can't hear you," she mumbled. "You have to get closer."

She strained to listen, but everything was getting quieter. "I'm sorry, I'm... so tired. Can I rest?"

Her body didn't wait for an answer.

When Cora opened her eyes again, she found herself looking at Tor. He was nestled against her, fast asleep. There was a gash across his cheek, with a few neat stitches in it.

I wonder what medical school is like for them.

She reached up, thinking about running a hand over his hair, but the minute she moved, she regretted it. Her back screamed in protest. Biting back a whine, she shifted.

"You're awake." Mar spoke from behind her.

She gingerly rolled to face him. "I think so." He sat across the room, on a crate. Oh- The eggs sat in their own crate, unharmed. "How long was I out?"

Mar rubbed at his face. There were deep purple shadows under his eyes. "Only a few hours. You didn't lose that much blood. It just looked like a lot."

"Hm." She eyed him, noting that he hadn't cleaned up since the fiasco. He was splattered in what looked like motor oil.

I want to ask him why he's not resting, but I bet I know the answer.

"What were those things?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. Never seen anything like them. And we have no idea how they got on the ship."

Cora didn't like how calmly he said this. "And does that happen often, that the ship is invaded by mystery meat robots?"

"No."

She tried to sit up, failing her first attempt. Mar moved to help her. "No, no, I got this."

Her shifting woke Tor, who grumbled and opened one eye. "You shouldn't be moving," were the first words out of his mouth.

"You two are going to stress yourselves to death. I'm fine." Cora didn't feel fine. She felt dizzy, the pulling sensation from her back making her nauseous. "Is the rest of the crew okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Those creatures weren't too much of a challenge."

"Good, so I'm the only one who got fileted."

He gave her a funny look, so she pointed at the wound on her back. "I mean that."

"Ah."

Cora was becoming antsy, so she stood. "I'm-" A stronger wave of nausea hit. "Oh, yuck. I need to eat something." Tor placed a hand on her shoulder.

[I'll go with her. You should get that shit off you.]

Mar shot Tor a dirty look.

"Hey-" Cora pursed her lips. "None of that. Mar, you're really tired. You deserve to rest, too."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Okay."

As they entered the kitchen, someone Cora hadn't been introduced to ran up to Tor. He stopped, visibly irritated.

She went ahead to the cooler. Inside, there was a small bowl with a lid on it, surrounded by several larger, identical bowls. I think that's for me?

It contained the same meal as all the other bowls, just a smaller portion. Cora-sized, even.

Okay, I'm really sure that this is for me. Am I supposed to eat this cold?

She turned to Tor, who was now in a heated argument with the newcomer.

"Hey, Tor?"

He paused, holding a hand up. "Yes?"

"Do I- Should I eat this cold?"

Tor nodded. "Cold tastes better. I have to go fix something. Are you okay by yourself?"

"Yes? I'll be fine, Tor."

He left the kitchen, dragging the other fellow behind him.

Opening the bowl, Cora realized she needed a fork. "Darn," she whispered. It would hurt like hell to get out of the chair she'd just got situated on.

She considered eating it with her hands. No. That's gross. Her eyes burned. Oh, great. I'm crying about being hungry.

Someone sat a human-sized fork beside her bowl.

"You'll need that." It was Tai.

"Oh, thank you." She tried to blink away the tears.

There was only silence, so she started eating. After she'd taken a few bites, she realized he was still standing behind her. "Is something wrong?" Cora didn't want to turn around. It would hurt.

"No. Can I look at your back?"

"Sure."

Tai lifted her shirt, pulling it away from the stitches.

"I've never done these on a human before."

Cora scoffed. "I hope not. You'd have some explaining to do."

A finger brushed down her spine.

"Hm." He sounded distracted.

"What? Not funny?"

A warm, soft hand came to rest on her waist, and her heart rate shot up. Be normal, be normal.

"You're healing quicker than I expected. It wasn't deep enough to hit any organs, but it's still... a lot to heal."

He has his hand there for a totally normal reason, Cora. Stop it.

"I wouldn't know," she mumbled, taking another bite.

Tai continued inspecting her wound. "Would you like a fun fact?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Our bones can regenerate, even our teeth."

"Really? I don't think humans can do that." Chewing, Cora wondered if it were possible for her. "Hm."

"Please don't try to find out if you can, too." Tai leaned into view, releasing her shirt. "I wouldn't be able to fix you." Just as he sat down next to her, someone yelled from the main room. "Oh, what now?"

He stalked out of the kitchen, leaving Cora to her food.

After she finished eating, Cora returned to their room. She was relieved to find Mar there, laying on his back. Is he asleep? She eased herself into the bed, snuggling up to him.

He shifted away from her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Where's Tor?"

Cora scooted back, laying on the other side of the bed. "He went to go fix something. Why don't you want me near you?"

To her dismay, he turned his back. After a few seconds, she heard a harsh sigh. Okay, then. She'd never done well with rejection of any kind. Especially the kind with no explanation.

She checked on the eggs, turning them over before retrieving her tablet from a crate. I'll need this if he's gonna be like that. Without saying a word to him, she left the room.

Only Erie was in the main area, reading a book. Fighting back her anxiety, Cora sidled up to the couch he sat on.

"Do you- can I sit here?"

Erie gave her an odd look. "Why?"

She cast a glance at the door she'd just come out of. This was all getting a bit much for her. Her back began to ache. "I- Jesus. Will you be annoyed, upset if I sit here? I can't be in there right now and I need to rest."

He tilted his head, staring at her. She felt like she was about to cry. "Please?"

"That's weird. Don't ask. Just do it." Erie turned, making enough room for her to lay down. "You don't have to ask. And you're injured."

"Thank you." Gingerly, she sat, trying to find a comfortable way to lay down without getting too close.

"Why are you over there?"

"Hm?" Cora lifted her head, wincing at the stabbing pain that followed. Erie looked offended. "Personal space?"

He leaned forward and poked her in the arm. "Personal space is for the dead. You are not. Come here."

"Oh- okay." Before she could move, he slid an arm under her legs, pulling her closer. He was careful, eyeing her expression. She settled against him. They're all so warm.

"You're cold. Mar is still in a bad mood?"

"I think so," she sighed. "I don't know why."

Erie shook his head. "He has bad moods all the time. You can rest here."

She dozed off, waking up partially when Erie shifted, moving her gently into a horizontal position. Too sleepy to care, Cora mumbled a thank you.

Oh, I think I'm in his lap. Will Tor have a problem with that?

Opening one eye, she looked around the room. Tor was seated in a chair across from her. She immediately recognized his expression. Oh, hell. He's pissed.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Cora waved to him. "Don't go in there. Mar is in a really bad mood."

He didn't respond, instead shooting a venomous glare at Erie.

"There must be something in the water," Erie spoke softly, clearly unbothered by Tor.

What a mess. Carefully, Cora turned over. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hm?" Erie looked down, lowering his voice. "What?"

"How long has he been sitting there, doing that?"

His eyes darted up, then back down to Cora. A smile crept across his face. "Long enough for me to know what his problem is."

"What is it?"

Erie raised his voice, his smirk widening. [Feeling hormonal, tunnel boy?]

Tor let out a nasty snarl. [Fuck you.]

Cora heard him get up, but Erie remained relaxed. A door slammed open, then shut.

"What did you say to him?"

Erie laughed. "Something rude. I won't tell you."

She didn't know how to navigate a situation like this. There were too many unknowns.

She decided to stay quiet.

I'll have to talk to him later. If he'll talk to me.

Cora woke up later, laying on someone else. Oh, jeez-

Judging by the black-and-gray arm wrapped around her, it was Tai. He smelled faintly like pine. I shouldn't be here. But- it's so comfortable. Part of her felt petty; spiteful, even. She hadn't done anything wrong. It was cold on the ship, and she regularly saw the other crew members nestled together.

Stop trying to make yourself feel better, Cora.

"You're awake?"

Brushing the hair out of her face, Cora sat up. She tried to ignore the fact that she was now straddling him. "Yeah."

Tai was holding a tablet, reading something on it. "Humans sleep for such a long time."

Something distinctly familiar twitched under her, setting off a painful wave of need. Oh, hell, why am I on him like this? Bad, bad, bad.

Feigning nonchalance, she moved to get up. Tai looked up at her, then looked back to his tablet.

"Can I look at your back again?"

Nodding, Cora waited for him to sit up, then sat with her back to him. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't hurt as badly as it did when she laid down.

"Does this hurt?" He pressed a finger into a spot on her back. It ached faintly.

"A little bit."

"Hm. I could take these out now, if you want. You healed faster than I thought."

It would be nice to not have stitches catching on her shirt every time she moved. "I'd like that."

"Can you take this off?"

Cora sat in Tai's room, her back to him. He had a small white box open on the crate next to her, and was wiping down what looked vaguely like a pair of scissors. Swallowing her nervousness, she pulled her sweatshirt off and put it in her lap.

"This is going to be cold." Before she could process his words, Tai patted at her back with something cold enough to make her squeak and shy away. He stopped.

"Sorry- that was really cold. You can keep going."

Quietly, he chuckled. "I told you. But I can't have you moving like that when I have something sharp in my hand."

"I'm sorry. You can hold me down if you need to." The wrong part of her brain had taken charge of her mouth again. She felt heat wash down from her ears to her neck.

"Okay."

Cora had to bite her tongue, hard, as he slid two hands down from her waist to her hips. His fingertips pressed firmly into her skin.

"Is this okay? I don't want to hurt you."

I want you to hurt me- God damn it, Cora. Stop it.

A weak, breathy yes was all she could manage.

"I only had to put stitches down here, where your ribs didn't stop the knife."

She was only half-listening. I hate not having any concept of time. It's probably been less than a week since I've been fucked. Why am I like this?

"This is going to pull, okay? It shouldn't hurt." Cold metal pressed into her back, followed by a tiny snip.

There was an uncomfortable sensation bordering on pain, but it didn't worsen. "Yeah, it just feels weird." The discomfort wasn't enough to distract her from how he was holding her.

Cora looked around, trying to find anything else to think about.

Y'know, these crates are the perfect height to get bent over and fucked on- Cora, what the hell?

She let out a shuddery sigh.

"All done!" Tai wiped down her back one more time, releasing his grip. Darn.

She put her shirt back on and hopped to the ground. "Thank you."

He closed the door behind her.

I need to talk to Tor. Mar was nowhere to be found. Considering the layout of the ship, Cora walked down the wide hall opposite their quarters. Hm. She reached a hand toward the ceiling. Her fingers dipped into the pool of heat collecting there. The engine room was definitely nearby.

Cautiously, Cora opened the next door on her right. It was a maintenance tunnel.

This is fine. There were no signs on the door, so clearly it wasn't dangerous. Is there OSHA in space? Maybe.

A faint tapping noise echoed down the tunnel. She took a deep breath through her nose. That's Tor.

She found him in less than a minute, halfway inside of an access panel.

Surprising him seemed like a bad idea, so Cora took a few steps back and sat down. As she tried to get comfortable, he stiffened, and began to slowly extricate himself from the panel.

His eyes immediately snapped to hers. He didn't look happy.

"I got my stitches taken out."

"Good. Now go away. I'm busy." Tor dragged a toolbox around to his side, digging through it.

"Tor?" Cora looked down at her hands, interlacing her fingers. "Did I do something wrong? Both you and Mar seem really angry with me."

His expression softened, and he turned, looking both ways down the hallway. "Come here."

She stood, walking around the toolbox, and stopped between him and the wall.

"We're not angry with you. I can't speak for Mar. But I can speak for myself."

"Okay," Cora whispered, hopeful.

"You know how our people see territorial behavior, right?"

She nodded.

"And you remember how easily you set us all off, back on the other ship?"

She nodded again, relaxing. And then she found herself pinned to the wall.

Her eyes focused on Tor, now nose-to-nose with her. She hadn't noticed before, but his eyes had darkened considerably. That's not right- oh, no.

His nails dug into her shoulders and waist where he held her. "I need you."

Cora looked up and down the hall, her heart in her throat. "There's- there's no one here-" The minute she hit the wall, her brain began an insistent chant of fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, and it was starting to drown out her more sensible thoughts.

Tor slammed a fist into the wall next to her head. "I can't." His voice was coming apart again.

With a bit of effort, she wrapped her legs around him. "Please."

He seized her thigh with enough force to make her cry out. There would be a bruise. She didn't care. His breathing had gone ragged. "I-" Cora bucked her hips, pressing into him. "Cora, I can't-"

She hit the ground, hard. Tor was on top of her, pinning her legs back. His remaining two hands were on either side of her head.

"Tor-" He pushed his hips down, grinding against her. "Tor, please-"

Every exhale was a snarl. "No. No. No." His nails scraped against the floor. "You're mine."

She bucked again, harder, whimpering. "Come on, then, please."

His expression was one she'd never seen before. It was hard to tell if he wanted to fuck or kill her.

Cora's pulse pounded in her head as he slammed her hips back down to the floor. "Tor- I'm- I'm yours. Please!"

[Fuck.] His eyes burned into hers, his teeth bared. [Mine. You're-] "mine and I fucking need you. But I can't have you."