NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Hello again; thanks for reading!
This is the first of the "short" chapters, which is part of my plan to be able to release more digestible sized updates on a regular basis. That said, less content per installment means that each individual chapter won't have all the frills of the previous, much longer chapters.
So as a heads up, this chapter is pretty tame and plot-focused in order to help the pacing, but worry note: there are some kinky scenes regardless. Next chapter will have lots of good ol' lewd tentacle goodness for you all to enjoy, so thank you for sticking with it for so long :)
As always, thank you for your feedback and support!
~Nate
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Alarms blared, amber lights flashed, and the Brightdark's hull shook madly as the ship plummeted towards the Earth. The overwhelming butterflies in Sarah's stomach made her tense-up and clench her jaw, desperately trying not to pass-out from the g-forces slamming into her. Black smoke could be seen billowing past the windows, briefly blocking the view to offer a short reprieve from the sight of the solid ground that was rapidly approaching.
Sarah, Adam, Zoey, and Steven all held onto the edges of their seats, doing their best to remain stationary. A'luhr was still at the front of the ship, connected to the hanging control devices, and hurriedly pressing buttons on the control panel while doing her best to maintain a collected demeanor.
"We're gonna crash!" Steven yelled, doing his best not to pass out.
"Oh, thanks for the live updates!" Zoey retorted, "I was wondering why I was filled with the fear of imminent death! "
"My pleasure! Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"I would prefer if everyone just remained quiet and let me focus!" A'luhr grunted. " I can see an open field on the periphery of the city where the Krinis's corruption has yet to settle--if we are going to land anywhere safely, it will have to be there." Neon-yellow sweat poured from her brow as she frantically began to flip switches, which appeared to be powering down the various holographic displays and controls that decorated the console in front of her.
"You're turning the ship off!?" Adam gasped, panicking even more. "That seems like the opposite of what we want!"
"I said be quiet!" A'luhr snapped back. "If I kill all the onboard systems, the engine may naturally cool enough to momentarily ignite the thrusters before we impact the ground. It will be a hard landing, but one we shall likely survive."
"What!? That's insane! Why did you fly the ship so high up if you knew we were going to fall!?"
"This was not my plan; unfortunately we slingshotted out of the tentacles at a higher velocity than anticipated. Now. Be. Quiet!" A'luhr intensely enunciated each word through her gritted teeth before closing her eyes to concentrate. The rest of the group all clamped their eyes shut as well, dreading what was certainly an inevitable and fatal impact.
As the lights within the ship began to blink out, the clunky, whirring sounds of the thrusters died as well. For a brief, terrifying moment, all Sarah could hear was the sound of wind whipping past the hull outside, and her own pulse pounding in her head. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until she let out a gasp as she felt a large, warm hand tightly grasp her own.
She opened her eyes to see Adam holding onto her with one hand, and the side of his seat with the other. She felt a sense of comfort wash through her, and squeezed his hand back. If this was how it ended, then so be it. This may even be preferable to being reduced to nothing more than a living meat puppet for aliens to breed with for the rest of her life.
Suddenly, A'luhr's eyes snapped open, and she lunged forward, slamming a toggle on the dashboard as she yelled something in a language Sarah didn't recognize. The ship's thrusters roared back to life, and the entire hull screeched and groaned as if trying to tear itself apart as their descent was abruptly halted.
"Brace yourselves!" A'luhr cried out, this time very recognizable. However, the unexpected events had caught Sarah off guard.
"Ah..." Sarah gasped as the ship jolted, and her sweating palm slipped away from Adam's. She tumbled out of her seat into the suddenly illuminated walls of the Brightdark, before slamming her head hard against the edge of Zoey's chair. The last thing she saw before her world collapsed into darkness and pain was the horrified look on her young student's face.
***
"-Arah...! Sarah! Wake up! Please!" Adam's panicked voice filled Sarah's ringing ears as her vision slowly began to refocus. The darkness surrounding her melted away into blurry, colorful shapes, until soon she could make out the concerned faces of her friends looking down at her. She blinked her eyes in confusion and heard Adam let out a deep sigh of relief. "Oh thank God; I thought I'd lost you! How could I have let you go like that!?"
"Wha...?" Sarah groaned, turning her head to the side to take in her surroundings. She was lying on her back in the grass, with Adam, Zoey, and Steven kneeling on either side of her naked body. Nearby, she could see A'luhr carrying a small satchel as she exited the smoking hull of the Brightdark, which was covered in dirt and broken branches, but still appeared to be in one piece. "What happened?" A sudden burst of pain stung Sarah's forehead, causing her to wince and suck air in through her clenched teeth.
"A'luhr managed to break our fall enough to not completely crash," Zoey replied. "But you slipped out of your seat and banged your head. You've been out of it for a few minutes now... and bleeding pretty bad." Sarah felt nauseous as she reached her hand up to feel her throbbing forehead. Her fingers were met with a warm wetness, and she pulled them away to see them smeared with crimson blood.
"I found the medical kit," A'luhr announced, jogging over to the rest of the group, her full, milky-blue breasts bouncing freely. She crouched down next to Sarah, where she placed the satchel she had been carrying.
From within the bag, A'lurh withdrew a small thermos-like canister, and pulled an even smaller white cylinder out from an opening on the top of it. "I am hoping that the cellular structure of our species is similar enough for this to work. Try to stay still--this may hurt slightly." A'luhr pressed one end of the cylinder to the cut on Sarah's head, and then clicked the other end like a pen.