Star Thrust Ch. 8

This will be the last chapter for a few days as I return to primarily focusing on wrapping up the following projects:

1. Fertile Valley 4

2. Trailer Park Bikini Vampires 2

3. Unbridled 1

4. Morphinizin' Chroma Corps 2

I will try to post at least two more chapters next week.

Toward the Rendezvous

Several hours after filing the incident report on Norad III, Hawke left Galadria in command of the bridge and made his way through the ship, ready to meet the rest of his crew face-to-face. With only fifteen people total aboard the Bruce Campbell, he figured he could shake hands with everyone in under an hour, which would be a welcome change from the massive crew he’d served under when he was a fresh-faced ensign.

The engineering crew turned out to be a diverse mix of species he’d never worked with directly. There was Vexara, a Kandorian who barely spoke but offered a respectful nod when Hawke introduced himself, and two Talaxians named Sira and Delmir who seemed competent and professional as they rattled off systems checks without missing a beat. Then there was Thomara, a hulking Grendari who had to duck through most of the doorways but broke into a shy grin when Hawke extended his hand.

He’d already met most of the maintenance crew the previous day, where Miaora, Lyria, and Tessa had been eager and nervous. He found Lyria again in the fabrication bay, this time elbows deep in a console panel, and when she looked up at his entrance, she pushed her safety glasses up before launching into a much more confident explanation of the ship’s repair protocols than she’d managed the day before. Her hands moved constantly as she gestured at various components, and Hawke nodded along while absorbing maybe half of what she was telling him, making mental notes to review the technical manuals later.

By the time he finished his rounds, he was back near his quarters, tired but satisfied with what he’d seen. His communicator chirped just as he was considering a quick shower, and he tapped it without breaking stride.

“Hawke here.”

Galadria’s voice back at him crisp and clear. “Captain, we have arrived in Sector Nine at the designated rendezvous coordinates. The medical officer will be beaming aboard within the next two hours. You should return to the bridge to greet her when the time comes.”

“Noted. Just let me know when she’s ready to transport.”

“Of course, Captain.”

He started to close the channel, then stopped himself. “Commander, I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t extend the new uniform design to non-bridge personnel.”

A beat of silence followed before she responded. “It would be illogical to tempt you away from the bridge crew, which is your primary focus.”

Hawke smiled to himself, already sensing where this was going. “Are the others right? Are you feeling a little possessive?”

The silence stretched out longer this time, and when she finally spoke, her voice seemed a bit shakier than he was used to.

“Captain, it is exceedingly logical for a woman to take steps to retain regular access to a sexual partner who provides competent climaxes and aftercare, especially when it is her literal mission to do so. I do not appreciate the implication that I am being judged for what is a natural response.”

Hawke couldn’t help but grin. “I wasn’t judging—”

“Moreover,” she continued, and her words started coming faster now, tumbling over each other in a way that was completely unlike her usual speech, “I would find it highly unusual if you were to tell me you did not wish to have frequent sexual access to my body, or to explore more with me in the near future. In fact, perhaps it would be premature for you to move forward with the other bridge crew just yet. Perhaps it is hasty of them to assume they should—”

She cut herself off abruptly, and the comm went quiet for a moment that stretched between them.

“I apologize, Captain. I am experiencing what humans refer to as ‘possessiveness’. It is an emotional response that I am having difficulty regulating. End transmission.”

The comm clicked off before he could respond, leaving him standing in the corridor and grinning like an idiot. That had been adorable, and the idea of Galadria getting flustered and possessive over him was also weirdly sexy. He filed the information away for later consideration.

He made his way to his quarters and dropped onto the bed, letting the door slide shut behind him and cocoon him in blessed silence. After a moment’s rest, he pulled up his personal tablet and accessed the crew files, figuring it was past time to review the medical officer before she arrived.

Her profile loaded on the screen within seconds. Lieutenant Kira Vess. Human. Age thirty-two. Medical degree from Terra Prime Medical Academy, with advanced certifications in xenobiology and cybernetic integration following her graduation.

The photo showed an attractive woman with dark hair pulled back in a tight bun that looked painful in its tightness. She had sharp, angular features and intense eyes that seemed to stare through the camera rather than at it, and her expression was distant, almost detached in a way that suggested she was present in body but somewhere else entirely in mind.

He scrolled down to her service record and stopped cold when he saw the designation.

Special designation: Reclaimed.

Hawke felt his heart skip as he sat up and stared at the screen. He’d heard of the Reclaimed, often read about them in briefings and medical journals, but he’d never actually met one in person. She wasn’t a cyborg in the traditional sense but something else entirely, something more complicated and tragic.

As he kept reading, the details of her capture emerged: Lieutenant Vess had been taken by the Droidians fifteen years ago during a border skirmish near the Outer Rim, where the hivemind race specialized in converting humanoids into near-robotic extensions of their collective consciousness, stripping away individuality and autonomy until nothing remained but obedient drones with no internal thoughts or sense of self.

Vess had been integrated for three full years before Star Force managed to mount a rescue operation and extract her along with several dozen others. The process of removing the Droidian technology and restoring individual consciousness had been long and agonizing, and the file noted that not everyone survived the extraction and rehabilitation process. Those who did emerged fundamentally changed, forever marked by their experience, and Star Force and the Confederation called them the Reclaimed.

The file went on to explain that she still carried some cybernetic components that couldn’t be safely removed without causing catastrophic brain damage: neural implants integrated too deeply into her nervous system, optical enhancements, and a subcutaneous network that continuously monitored her vitals and brain activity. But her mind was her own again, at least supposedly.

Hawke closed the file and set the tablet aside, staring at the ceiling as he processed what he’d just read. This was going to be interesting, to say the least, since he’d never worked with a Reclaimed before, and the psychological profile suggested that while she was competent and stable in her work, she struggled with emotional expression and social connection. Given what she’d been through, he could hardly blame her for that.

At least she wasn’t part of the breeding experiment, which was something to be grateful for. Impregnating a minimum of four women and a maximum of fifteen was already a lot to process, both physically and emotionally, and he didn’t need the added complexity of a sixteenth, especially one carrying that kind of trauma.

The door chime sounded, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Come in.”

The door slid open to reveal Moxie standing in the corridor, still wearing her revealing uniform, and her antennae twitched nervously as she stepped inside. The door whispered shut behind her.

“Captain. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all.” He sat up and set the tablet aside, giving her his full attention. “What’s on your mind?”

“I had some time before I need to be back on the bridge for the medical officer’s arrival, so I was wondering if you wanted to spend a little time together.” Her voice was soft, almost tentative, like she wasn’t sure how he’d react.

“Sure. What did you have in—”

She crossed the room in three quick steps and kissed him, cutting off his words before he could finish the question.

The surprise only lasted a heartbeat before instinct took over and he kissed her back, one hand coming up to rest on her waist while his other braced against the bed. Her lips were soft and cool against his, carrying that same faint sweetness he’d noticed before, and her antennae brushed against his forehead and temples like feathers while she pressed closer, her small hands coming up to rest on his chest.

When she finally pulled back, her antennae drooped. “Is this okay? I’m sensing surprise from you. If you don’t want me to—”

“It’s very okay,” he assured her with a smile. “I just didn’t expect you to be so quick to push things forward after you said you wanted to take it slow.”

She touched one of her braids. “I don’t want to be the last one to sleep with you. Galadria is really mission-oriented, and I just know Darla will get you alone soon, probably in the next day or two if I had to guess. And then it’ll be me and Shayden left, and Shayden is hard for me to read emotionally, so I don’t know if she’ll make a move suddenly or wait forever.”

“Why does it matter if you’re last?” he asked, keeping his voice gentle.

She looked down at her hands while her antennae drooped further. “It doesn’t matter. Not really. But it would mean I’m the slowest to really start on our mission, the one holding everything back while everyone else moves forward.”

“Moxie, you’re not—”

Her antennae perked up suddenly, cutting him off. “Wait. Am I the first to kiss you? On the mouth, I mean. Did Galadria kiss you?”

He thought back to his encounter with Galadria in the shower, where there had been plenty of other activities but no actual kissing—on the mouth, anyway. “She didn’t, actually. You’re the first one.”

Her eyes went wide with genuine surprise. “Really? I just assumed she would have. That woman seems so thorough about everything.”

“We were focused on other things at the time.”

“Wow.” She let out a breathless little laugh that seemed to catch her off guard. “That woman really is straight to the point, huh?”

“That would be a fair statement.”

She took a breath while her antennae swayed and she gathered her courage. “Well. I guess that’s something then. I want to make sure I push things forward at least one step every time we’re alone together. That feels right to me. A steady pace. Not rushing ahead recklessly, but not stalling out either.”

“That sounds like a reasonable approach to me.”

She looked up at him, and he could see vulnerability in those solid black eyes. “Can I show you my body? Just for a minute. I’ve never let anyone see me naked before, and that would be a big step for me, a meaningful one.”

His penis twitched in his pants like a Temurite Asteroid Worm trying to burrow out of a space rock. “Really? No one at all?”

“No one. Not even another woman, not even in a medical context if I could avoid it.”

“Is nudity considered taboo in your culture?”

She shook her head quickly, her antennae swaying with the motion. “It’s not a prudish thing, not like that. It’s just seen as uncivilized to be naked in most contexts because animals are naked, not people. But in a sexual context, it’s strange not to be naked. I know that probably doesn’t make sense to humans.”

“It’s not that different from old human culture,” he said, keeping his voice gentle and reassuring. “Cultural contexts are rarely universal. If that’s what you want to do, I’m definitely interested in seeing you.”

She gave a single nod, like she was committing herself before she could lose her nerve, and then she reached for the hem of her uniform top and pulled it over her head in one smooth motion.

Her skin was pale white all over, smooth and unblemished like porcelain, and her breasts were small but perfectly shaped, topped with pale nipples that were already hardening in the cooler air of his quarters. She set the top aside carefully and then moved to the skirt with trembling fingers that betrayed her nervousness.

The skirt slid down her hips and pooled at her feet in a whisper of fabric. She stepped out of it carefully, like she was crossing some invisible threshold into new territory.

Hawke stared, unable to help himself from taking in the sight. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath, no panties at all, just bare skin and the natural beauty of her alien form on full display.

She caught his expression and her antennae twitched nervously. “Galadria banned underwear for the bridge crew. She said it was inefficient and blocked easy access to our bodies for you.”

“I’m not sure whether to scold her or commend her for that particular executive decision.”

Moxie giggled, and the sound was light and seemed to surprise even her as it escaped. She stood there completely naked, hands at her sides, antennae swaying gently. She was nervous, but it also seemed like she was waiting for something.

Hawke took his time taking in the sight of her because he wanted to appreciate what she was offering him. She was beautiful in a delicate, almost ethereal way, petite and slender, with narrow hips and graceful legs. Her body was small but perfectly proportioned for her frame, and the intricate black braids fell down her back like a waterfall, the silver beads catching the light and chiming softly with each small movement she made.

He met her eyes deliberately. “You’re gorgeous, Moxie.”

Her face flushed pale pink. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”

“This is kind of a bad idea, though.”

Her antennae drooped and he could feel the shift in her emotional state radiating off her. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“Because now I really want to escalate things further, and I’m not sure you’re ready for that.”

She quickly bent down and started gathering her clothes with fumbling hands. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable position—”

“Wait, Moxie.” He reached out but stopped short of touching her, giving her space. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. That came out wrong.”

She pulled her top back on, then her skirt, her movements hurried but not panicked, like she was trying to regain control of the situation. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable. I just... I think maybe I should go before we both get carried away and I end up doing something I’m not ready for. But it’s probably best if you don’t tell Galadria about this visit. She’ll either be upset I didn’t take full advantage of the opportunity, or upset that I made a move at all now that’s she’s starting to get a bit attached to you.”

“I understand. Your secret’s safe with me.”

She headed for the door, then paused with her hand hovering over the panel before looking back at him over her shoulder. “I’ll come back after my shift tomorrow. If that’s okay with you.”

“That’ll be fine. I’ll look forward to it.”

She smiled and her antennae perked up. “Good. I should get back to my station and relieve Yeshka so she can take her break. See you up there, Captain.”

The door slid shut behind her with a soft hiss, and Hawke lay back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. His mind was still full of the image of her standing naked in his quarters, and his erection strained uncomfortably against his uniform pants as undeniable proof of just how much of a bad idea that particular visit had been for his self-control.

He groaned aloud to the empty room. “This mission is going to kill me.”