The Flare

The Space Station

Chapter 5

When Salona arrived at the space station, a naked human was not what she expected to see. At the very least a clothed human.[HR1] 

The plan was for Salona to arrive before the human, giving her a minor tactical advantage if she chose to eliminate him immediately. At the very least, Salona would have been able to prepare herself or perhaps even find a way to escape this nightmare without committing an atrocity.

Instead she was greeted by a low keening sound winding through the corridor leading to the living quarters. Clearly, she did not get there soon enough. Someone was already aboard.

It could be the human. But it may be someone else. Someone worse. Before she left, Geb allowed her to see her brother as a resource on all things human. In addition to Earth trivia, Leinad told her about space privateers taking whatever they wanted in the galaxy with no one to stop them. Including derelict space stations.

Dex squealed, his little body shivering against her in fear. Her little riki was scared since they left the shuttle, Salona unable to calm him down. The grating noise was not helping.

“Shh…it’s going to be all right, chakre,” she whispered, using the Naronian endearment ‘little angel,’ as she patted his shaking body. 

The disembodied voice chose that moment to emit a high note, sending Dex in a scramble off her shoulder and down the corridor in the opposite direction.

“Coward,” Salona muttered, wishing she could run away with him.

"O’er the laa-aannddd of the freeeee…"

Salona winced as the voice took a sharp turn off tune. And whoever it was had no idea anyone was listening or didn't care. Once the shock and disgust passed, fear replaced it. Who else would be here? It sounded like Earth language, but who was to say the Earthlings weren’t pirates? It would certainly explain why the Commander despised them.

Nearing the entryway, Salona pulled a meager weapon from its hiding spot beneath her bodysuit. The weapon was a gift from her father on the eve of her departure. The small particle beam generator was just a precaution, really. The damage it could cause was minimal, but it provided some defense.

Salona stood outside the door listening to the sound of running water mixing with the voice. Its source was apparently in the process of cleansing. Good, she thought, if she acted soon, she could take him by surprise. Salona mustered every nerve she had and took advantage of the intruder's current state of disarray.

"Don't move!" She screamed, pointing the particle beam generator in the direction of the lavatory. She shot. She missed. Salona could not help but believe this was an intentional error. I could kill this man, not knowing who he was, and maybe everything would go back to normal. I would go home.

The singing stopped instantly. For several heartbeats she heard only the sound of the shower spraying against the tile wall.

"Should I turn the water off or are you feeling dirty too?" The voice sounded amused and not afraid.

"Who’s trespassing here?" She screamed at the top of her lungs, jerking the weapon at him even though he could not see her, praying her voice id not quake. Where was Dex? Were there others hiding on the station? What if they captured her pet? The human was not scheduled to arrive for two millicycles. This had to be an intruder.

"Whoa there, little lady."

The owner of the voice stepped from the shower. He was tall, a good portion over her. And he was naked. Blonde hair was matted against his skull, streaks of it trailing down his chest to a patch surrounding his maleness. Every inch of body rippled with sharp edged muscles. The moisture clung to them, rippling into the crevasse in his chest and abdomen, the sheen tarnished only slightly by the matting of his hair. His skin was beaded with droplets of water trickling down to puddle on the floor. His arm was covered with what looked like large streaks of black paint, but nothing was dripping from the wetness. It must be a permanent mark of some kind. Whatever it was, it was gorgeous, making Salona’s heart pound harder, her breath coming quicker.

When he stepped out of the shower, the behemoth threw up his arms in the universal sign of surrender. He was bigger than the typical Naronian male. Though admittedly, she had never seen a Naronian male naked. His size did not faze her as much as the color of his hair. As a rule, her people had black hair and the men were no taller than the average female. The newness of his body fascinated her, making her want to touch it, a sensation that surprised her and scared her at the same time.

Salona looked up to his face. His bright blue eyes sparkled; his lips curved in amusement. A small divot bore into his left cheek making her breath catch. Her fingers itched to feel the little dip.

She stood still, not knowing what to do. The sight of his body sent Salona's body into overdrive. Raw flames licked down her limbs. She stood still, trapped by the sight of him. Turbulence vibrated through her body. At that moment she wanted to become a single drop of water sliding down this man's naked torso above all else.

He was like nothing she had seen before. Naronian males were slight, avoiding a muscular build because of its association with manual labor and therefore considered obscene. But this man looked like he could have worked in the algae fields, sowing the planet for regenerative food. And the muscles twitching beneath his skin were anything but obscene. They were hard but not indecent; they made the tips of she breasts clench.

Salona shook herself out of her aroused stupor. "Don't you 'little lady' me; I am quite large for my age. Who are you?" she stammered, shaking her weapon at him to compensate for her obvious weakness.

"Lieutenant Jacob Robertson, UCN #802369, from the planet Earth. But you can just call me Jake." The man's lips twitched at their edges, amused. His eyes danced with light, filled with laughter. Salona felt out of control. "Can I get a towel now?"

Slowly she holstered her weapon, nodding her acquiescence. His apparent amusement infuriated her. "Why are you here? The Earthlings aren't scheduled to be here for another two millicycles!" She was relieved her voice sounded calm. If she could sound like she was in control, she might be able to maintain her composure. She had to stay calm. The instant she let out any of the flame igniting her body, she would be consumed.

Dex chose that moment to scramble into the room and use Jake as his new play toy, climbing up the now towel laden body to perch on a shoulder. The deserter snuggled up to the man's neck and practically cooed. Salona stood, shocked. Never had Dex shown interest in another being besides her. And he had to pick now to become less shy, she thought. Her eyes narrowed to small slits. Salona was jealous of her little pet; what would it feel like to rest her head on that broad shoulder?

"This is the space station 24, right?" He asked, scratching Dex's chin.

"Yes, of course it is," Salona barked.

"Well, then I'm here from Earth to prepare the station for a diplomacy mission between our two planets. And I have to say, if you're the Naronian they sent, you're not being very diplomatic."

Jake's smile caught Salona off guard. She did not know how to interpret his apparent amusement. Was he disrespecting her? Or was this a strange Earth custom? Dex chose that moment to chatter quite loudly in the man's ear.

"Yes, I do believe so." Jake turned and responded to the little creature, feigning conversation.

"Do all humans believe they can understand riki?" Salona asked, her tone implying Jake was either crazy or stupid.

"Do all Naronians fail to acknowledge others when they’re clearly speaking to them?” Jake smirked, Dex raising his little fist lifted in what could be agreement. “It doesn’t matter what I say, just that he knows I acknowledge him.”

Salona angled her chin up, her voice filled with pride. "I apologize for my lack of a proper greeting. I was surprised. I was told the human would not be first to arrive." That was as close to groveling as she intended to get. "May I have my riki back?" she asked, holding out her arms.

Salona was surprised at how capable the human was of conversation. He seemed to understand whole sentences, as well as basic body language. The rumors of human behavior on Naron had either been exaggerated or were in err.

She had learned English on her trip to the station. It was an easy language to master, only taking her the duration of the centecycle journey to speak it. Based on Geb’s descriptions she had not planned on needing more than the most basic understanding of their language. According to the Commander, humans were not efficient communicators.

"Well, the human, is me," an edge had entered his voice. "And I came early because of a transportation snafu. Is that any reason to threaten me with…what the hell is that thing anyway?" He made no attempt to give Dex back. Instead he let the little creature snuggle into his shoulder as he waited for her response.

"No, that would not be sufficient reason to harm you on my planet. But then again, we are not on Naron," Salona said, hoping the veiled threat carried across. This man would do well to remember their people were not on friendly terms. "When I heard the wailing sound, I suspected that you may be a ruffian taking lodging here without permission."

"Wailing? I don't think so!" Jake choked. "That was the national anthem of the United Countries of America!" Jake stated proudly, his lips quirking in an amused smile.

"Well," Salona began, "I would not recommend you sing for a large audience. Or any audience, truly. It is quite grating."

Jake did not know if he should be amused or insulted at the woman's honesty. "That's no reason to wave a gun around. You took a few years off my life when I saw that thing."

Salona's eyes rounded into huge saucers, her mouth forming a shocked 'O'. "I am terribly sorry to have caused such a scare. Is it common to have your lifespan so arbitrarily cut short?"

"I only meant that you startled me, showing up here with your little gun," Jake laughed but she only scowled further.

Jake sighed, dislodging the small creature from his shoulder. Dex resisted, obviously content on his perch. He took his time assessing the scared little Naronian before him.

Translation barriers had been anticipated. Naronians and humans had a bad history of miscommunication. During one session of the ISC, President Kennedy suggested the Naronians should be given a taste of their own medicine. They were demanding access to information while simultaneously refusing to provide their fair share. The Naronians interpreted this as a threat to poison them.

He expected this to be difficult, but he had to admit, he found her confusion over Earth colloquialisms cute. He was surprised she was female--a Naronian female had never been seen off world. At least not in any of the records on Earth, of which there were extremely few. Wait, Jake thought, better not make assumptions…better be sure she is female.

"You have me at a disadvantage ma'am. You know my name." When she remained silent, not taking the hint he continued, "Care to share yours?"

"I am Salona Turah, daughter to Yavon of the Turah family." Salona straightened her back, lifted her chin and stood tall.

Jake heard the ripple of pride in her voice when she said her father's name. Daddy's girl, he thought. Must be nice to be proud of one’s father. That feeling was alien to him.

He was distracted by the way her pert little breasts pushed forward in her skintight black bodysuit. It did nothing to cover them. He closed his eyes and shivered, his body noticing as well. His cheeks burned a little as his c**k rose to the occasion, tenting the small towel he pulled across his hips.

"Under the circumstances it seems necessary to say, 'nice to meet you.'" Normally, Jake would not be embarrassed over his body's response. But it felt wrong to lust after Salona so in such a banal way. He was on a mission representing his people after all, not his third leg.

Salona was not what he would call his type, either. Jake was surprised at how his body responded. He always ended up with the blonde, busty ladies wearing short skirts and lots of makeup. She was a bundle of legs and arms, very slight but almost as tall as he was. Her hair was dark and pulled back into a severe bun leading him to wonder how long it was. If she let it down, would it go down to her waist or just her shoulders? Would it cover her n*****s if she were naked?

"I wouldn't say it has been ‘very nice’ meeting you, Jake Robertson. You scared me and I scared you. How is that nice?" A look of genuine confusion settled on her face and Jake enjoyed her refreshing honesty. There was no pretension in this woman. She had no expectation of double meanings or political maneuverings. Why would they send someone like her on a mission like this? Maybe they make their women do the manual labor on Naron.

"It's a polite thing to say on my planet," Jake chuckled, keeping his thoughts to himself, waiting to see where this went. "Especially under the current circumstances." As far as he could tell she did not notice his erection, probably a good thing. If they got wind of him hitting on the Naronian, or she reported back some slight indelicacy on his part, who knew what would happen to his career?

So why was he secretly disappointed?

"Can I please have my riki back?" Salona held out her hand and beckoned impatiently.

Jake forgot about the little animal snuggling into his shoulder. "What's this little fella's name?" he asked, peeling the animal's paws off his neck.

"Thank you," she said as Jake handed the little monkey over, running her hands over the guy’s little body, assuring herself he was safe. "This is my companion, Dex. We have been friends for over five cycles."

"It's nice to meet you, Dex," Jake feigned aplomb, holding out his one finger to shake the little guy’s paw. Much to Salona and Jake's joint amazement, Dex grabbed Jake's finger and wiggled it. "You're one intelligent little monkey!"

"Monkee? What is a monkee? He is a riki from Naron." Salona said, the bridge of her nose wrinkling.

"They're small primates on Earth. He looks like a rhesus monkey I saw in a zoo once. Except no hair. Wonder if he gets cold." Jake smiled as he scratched behind the little monkey's ears. Salona would not have been surprised if Dex cooed in response, his delight was palpable, as he moved his chin sideways to get more of the gentle ministrations.

Salona pulled Dex out of Jake's reach, a frown marring her face. "I must go find my quarters. I am tired from my journey."

"Around the corner," Jake pointed, "The station is actually very well designed. I expected more of a tin can. Even though it does need a ton of work."

"As you will find out, Naronian technology is much more advanced that yours," Salona sniffed.

"I thought this was Denaaren technology," Jake said, knowing he caught her. How would she respond, being corrected by a human?

She said nothing, but her shoulders went stiff and her eyes became little slits of annoyance. "We will brief at rations." Salona stated, her back straight, attitude returned in full force as she turned around and stomped out of his quarters.

Little spitfire. The woman sure had a bolt of lightning running through her body. It shot right out at him when their eyes met. What the hell got her all riled up? Of course, the bigger problem was how damn sexy she was when she got riled.

"This ought to be an interesting few weeks." Jake muttered to himself, heading back into the shower to finish what he started, and the additional problem that developed after meeting his new teammate. Namely, his stiff d**k. He hoped the little firebrand didn’t come back and demand he snap to attention and salute her. Though that would be fun, Jake thought. He laughed, wondering what he would say if she did. Probably something confusing to see her face scrunch up with that adorable look of consternation.

He knew little about the people from Naron, even less about Naronian women. None were ever seen off planet. There were even rumors that Naronians were asexual. He could certainly put that one to rest.

His other research into the planet revealed nothing useful. They were the most technologically advanced society second only to the Denaarens with large resources of Naronian ore. Naronian ore changed the face of space travel, powering ships twenty times beyond light speed. The Naronians held their resources close to their chest, not allowing it to spill out of their grasp for less than the most exorbitant amount of money. Of course, if the Ceres mission panned out Earth may very well become a competitor.

Because of their foothold in the ore market, they were a close-mouthed species; few were allowed off planet. Considering their level of advancement, secrecy did not surprise Jake. They maintained their scientific superiority through carefully controlling any information leaving the surface.

Jake rinsed off the remaining soap and toweled his body dry, smiling over the memory of surprising Salona naked. Now that he had met his partner, Jake was a little uneasy for more than one reason. Salona may be Naronian, and she may not be his type, but his body did not know that. He was not expecting his partner to be even remotely human looking; physical attraction was supposed to be a nonissue for both of them.

Jake had always been a breast man. He thought longingly to Salona's firm ass as she stomped out of his quarters. It was round like a warm summer peach, enough to fill his big hands. His mouth watered thinking about grasping the perky cheeks in his hands, massaging them until she squealed. She would be an amazing lover, he knew. He wondered if all Naronian women were as feisty as this specimen.

Jake shook his head. He doubted the General had his f*****g abilities in mind when she sent him on this handyman mission. Though it was ironic as it was f*****g that sent him here in the first place. If he could get back to Earth without screwing up this mission, or screwing that little Naronian number, he may get his career back on track and still get on the next mission to Ceres.

Jake was beginning to feel like a diabetic working in a chocolate factory. She may not be made of chocolate, but Salona sure did look like a box full of treats.

 [HR1]Jeffrey thinks this could be removed, and it would flow better.