Daccia’s aura grows inside mine. He’s considering the possibility.
“Pheromones won’t affect us if we keep her in the brig,” he eventually nods. “We’ll give her an inspection once she’s out… or if she causes us more trouble.”
I lick my lips. I can just imagine Allie strapped down on the medical table, naked and restrained. Examining her for a pheromone implant – a hidden device that can release the hormones which drive the mating urge – will be like torture… for us.
Will we be able to restrain ourselves if Allie is naked and helpless in front of us? I shudder. It’s my deepest urge to take her...
…but I force the arousal back. Now that I understand it – that she might be using artificial pheromones to manipulate us – my desire becomes easier to control.
In fact, I snort. “Clever bitch. She’s using our very nature against us.”
At the helm, Daccia nods. As he stares forward into space, our leader murmurs: “She is. This woman is a clever one – but as long as we keep her out of reach, we’ll be able to take her back to Colossus without incident. She’s using every trick she has. We just can’t fall prey to any of them.”
Well, that’s easier said than done. I’m ashamed to admit that, if I was alone on this ship with her, I’d already be deep inside her wet, welcoming pussy by now.
Allie might be using pheromones to seduce us – a drug and hormone cocktail designed to induce the mating rage – but she can’t hide her own lust. I tasted that in her scent.
Allie is trying to make us crave her… But she herself already craves us. It’s clear she craves the dominance of our species...
A thread of worry suddenly pulses through the Bond. It comes from Daccia, and it disturbs me deeply.
I’m not used to my leader being nervous. We’ve served together for decades – throughout our hundred years of service to the Aurelian Empire, as part of their army, and our career with Law Enforcement that followed.
Together, our triad has survived countless Scorp attacks, and outwitted scores of criminals. I have no idea the number of times that I’ve saved Daccia’s life, or the number that he’s saved mine – only that I’d die for my triad…
…and I've certainly killed for them.
So, to sense this disquiet from my leader worries me.
"What is it, Daccia?"
Our leader pauses. He slowly turns his head, looking away from the consoles and the wide, empty space in front of us.
"New reports are coming in,” he gestures towards one of the side screens. “More Orb-Drives are failing. We lost two more Reavers in the gulf."
My body suddenly feels cold.
Perhaps the only thing that could cool me down after the thought of taking Allie – of ravishing and seeding her – is this news.
We’re facing the cold reality of Orb-Travel – a reality that’s shifting… evolving....
The mysterious substance known as Orb has long baffled both scientists and priests. The otherworldly substance powers so much of what drives our Empire – from the Orb-Weapons at our belts, to the might cruisers and spaceships that travel the universe with an Orb-Sphere providing them with nearly unlimited power.
The Orb-Drive is what helped Aurelians conquer so much of the universe, and establish our Empire. It’s the most reliable way to travel almost unfathomable distances in the blink of an eye.
There have always been occasional... accidents when it comes to Orb-Travel. When you Orb-Shift through space and time – from one corner of the universe to the other – it feels like you're disappearing from reality itself, if only for a second.
But in the past, you’ve always come back...
Occasionally, every decade or so, there’d be an isolated report of an Aurelian vessel shifting out of reality and then never returning.
But lately? It seems like every month a new vessel disappears. Orb-Drives are becoming less and less reliable – and more and more dangerous.
And now, according to the report on Daccia’s console, there have been two vessels lost – both in a single day.
I hate to imagine what happens to those ships that disappear. Are they trapped in that in-between place? For eternity? Or do the simply disappear, into atoms and void?
Who knows? And not knowing is terrifying.
“We could standard travel.” I’m shocked that the suggestion came out of my mouth – and I instantly feel like a coward for suggesting it.
Standard travel – using the impulse drives that powered interstellar transport before the discover of Orbs – still comes with its own set of dangers.
Not least of which is her.
We could resist Allie for a few days – but it would take weeks to reach Colossus using standard travel.
In that case, we couldn't legally confine her to the punishment brig – not for that long. Aurelian law is robust and heartless, but even it states that for escape attempts during arrest you can’t hold a prisoner in a punishment brig for longer than fourteen days.
According to protocol, Allie’s recent escape attempts have only earned her two weeks in the cell. After that? According to law, she'd be allowed in move to the official prisoner chamber – a slightly more comfortable bedroom, which offers limited access to the rest of the ship.
Access to us.
I remember the way Allie touched my chest – and I shudder at the memory of her soft touch. She knew exactly what she was doing. Allie knows how to pour gasoline onto the flames of lust, and if she had twenty-five days to use those seductive wiles, my triad and I might not be able to resist the temptation.
Daccia grunts, sensing my concern.
"We could – but our superiors have okayed us to Orb-Shift even with the increased risk. We can't give up a tactical advantage. If the humans and Toads think the agents of the Empire
