What Happens in Orbit Pt. 08

A door opened, somewhere down the hall. Shit. Tor threw himself back into the access panel, swearing under his breath.

Raking a hand through her hair, Cora pushed herself into a seated position before picking up a pair of pliers.

Her legs were shaking. Shit. It didn't help that the wound on her back had begun throbbing insistently. Please don't be bleeding again.

The fellow from before walked up, asking her a question in Roshak. She recognized the word [help] and nodded, holding up the pliers. He frowned, and turned to Tor, asking another question.

Tor stuck out his hand towards Cora, and she gave him the pliers.

His voice echoed out from the access panel, weakly. "Cora, you should go."

Cora wasn't sure if she could even get her feet underneath her, much less remember how to walk.

Somehow, she managed to get out of the maintenance tunnel, willing her body to stop whatever it had started.

Cora still couldn't find Mar. She'd managed to calm down somewhat, but her heart continued to beat uncomfortably in her chest.

Checking their quarters again was pointless. The bed was empty, and very cold.

Cora wasn't sure if she wanted to wander the maintenance tunnels any more. That was likely where he was, but she didn't want to find out if he was like Tor. He probably was.

This could all have been handled with some communication- well, maybe not. The last time she had tried to handle things herself that way, Ray had to fake his own death.

If I knew more, I could probably help. Probably. She didn't like her odds.

Tai and Erie seemed friendly enough, to her at least. Leo, she wasn't sure about.

Erie was laying on the couch, legs slung up and over the back.

"Is that comfortable?"

He nodded as she sat down.

I don't even know what I don't know. Hm. This had to be handled like a stick of dynamite.

"I have a question."

Erie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"You said you knew what was wrong with Tor..." She trailed off, feigning uncertainty.

"That's not a question."

Pain in the ass. "Sorry. Why are Tor and Mar acting like that?"

"Oh, they didn't tell you anything about our kind?" Erie sat up, amused. "That's a shame. Did they at least tell you why they took you?"

I'm on thin ice, here. "Not... not anything I could understand. Ray didn't tell me much."

His sudden laugh was tinged with malice. It made Cora's stomach turn.

"What?" Did I fuck up?

[Tai, should we tell the human why she was abducted? She doesn't know!]

Tai walked up behind the couch, scowling at Erie. [Stop.] He gestured at Cora to follow him.

This time, when Cora entered his room, he shut the door behind her.

"What were you talking to Erie about?"

"He said he knew what was wrong with Tor and Mar, and why they're angry at me."

"Ah." Tai raked a hand over his head. "I really don't think you want to know. Especially not in the way Erie was going to tell you."

Frustration bubbled up in her chest. "It's not about want. I'm stuck up here, so I need to know when I do something wrong."

He hesitated, then sighed. "O-kay."

She settled against a crate, watching him intently.

"They're not mad at you. Tor is in heat, and Mar, as far as I can tell, is about to be. Heat makes us emotionally volatile. You didn't do anything, it's cyclical. Usually." Tai gave her a hard look. "And their mission, as well as our mission before it was canceled, was to make you biologically able to reproduce with our kind."

"Wait, 'our'? There was another mission to Earth?"

Nodding, Tai sat on the crate next to her. "Me, Leo, and Erie were supposed to meet up with Mission 12, your mission. I'm surprised you're not more worried about the fact that our goal was to breed you."

Cora felt herself blush clear down to her chest. "Well, when you phrase it like that-"

"Not like that. You're too small. It would have been- Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Cora tried to wipe whatever expression her face was showing. Her brain was fervently replaying the way he said breed you.

"It would have been accomplished artificially. Cora, is there something you want to tell me?"

Shit, what the fuck is wrong with me? "I, well-" She looked down at herself, holding out her arms. "Would I really be too small for- for that?" Thin ice, thin ice. "Unless you all have some different way of doing it, I can't imagine-"

Visibly uncomfortable, Tai shifted. "....No. I really don't think you want to find out- Wait a minute." He took a deep breath, slowly rising from his seat. "How long have your eyes been like that?"

Fuck, I forgot about my eyes. "Like what?"

He stood in front of her, studying her face. "Hm. Someone has been lying to me."

Oh, God. Oh, Jesus. Neither of them can help me now. I should run. As she tried to swing her legs to the side, Tai placed his hands on them.

"Cora."

She began to ramble. "I don't know what you're talking about, I- I'm just trying to not fuck up and it's very difficult-"

"I think I'm starting to understand." His hands remained on her thighs. "Did they act like this before, maybe even getting violent with each other?"

Cora nodded, looking at the ground.

"Did they ever get violent with you?"

The memory of Tor lunging at her resurfaced, sending a rush of blood downwards. "Um- maybe, but not- I'm okay. I didn't get hurt. Much."

Tai bent down to her level. Cora held her breath as he pushed her hair back. It had gotten long, down to her mid-back now, and was a lot to contend with.

"I thought that's what this was." Fingers brushed along her neck, where Tor had grabbed her earlier.

"Cora, I need you to tell me the truth." More gently than she expected, Tai took hold of her jaw, tilting her head up. "Please?"

She was getting dizzy. The ache that lived in the pit of her stomach was worsening. "Truth about what?"

"Cora," he whispered sternly.

She was getting really dizzy. The constant up-and-down of being terribly aroused and then forcibly choking it back down had taken a toll on her sense of reason.

His grip tightened. "Cora-"

Snapping her head to the left, she yanked her chin out of his hand.

"You want the truth?" Cora grinned, spreading her legs with a delirious giggle. "Fuck it out of me."

Tai's gaze darted to the door, then back to her. "What? Oh, no." Cora watched his chest rise and fall, unsteadily. "I really- Did they really-" His eyes raked down her body. "No. You mean they broke the one rule we were given?"

She didn't respond, instead watching him with amusement.

"If you're in heat, too, then- oh, no. Oh, no, no, no." He looked at the door again. "Cora, I- Let me- This is bad."

Cora hummed, then sighed. "If you don't want to..."

His thumbs pressed into her inner thighs. "I should not. But- Cora, I-" Once more, his eyes went to the door, staying there for a few seconds. "If I leave you like this, it'll- you'll set off the others. The entire crew."

"Oh, no." Cora's playful tone dripped with sarcasm. "That would be terrible."

"You don't understand- You're so small. They'd hurt-"

She cut him off. "Hurt me? I don't care."

Tai's expression was becoming less uncertain by the second.

Someone knocked on the door. Tai hissed, stepping away from Cora and crossing his arms.

[What?]

A familiar blue-gray Roshak poked his head in. [Crew meeting.] He gave Cora a funny look. [The human doesn't need to come.]

Tai scoffed. "Crew meeting. I'll see you later, Cora."

Outwardly, Cora was calm. "Okay."

Inwardly, her arousal had crossed a line it hadn't before. As she walked back to her quarters, she no longer wondered what pushed the other subjects to snap.