A Soldier for All Seasons

"And now you see why they wanted me so bad." Cora smiled thinly.

Nate just blinked, taking in what he'd seen. He was holding a biogel pack to his neck. Ana had rushed them from the airship to Sheila's, who'd called in a favor from an old

customer.

The man had been red-faced the whole time, but he'd patched him up with a host of gels and stitches. Nate was lucky it had been a clean shot — it'd still leave a scar. "How did you even get this?"

She shrugged, staring at a spot on the floor. "Jarek met with my boss, looking for a hitter. A shadow in the night. I wasn't meant to know anything about my targets but I always investigate, to make sure they...well, not deserve it, but to make sure that I'm not taking out innocents."

She ran her finger over her thumb, face dark. "When I found out it was to open the path for bugs, I couldn't stomach that." She shook her head. "Working for the bugs, that's not something...I mean, how would I sleep at night?"

"Play it again, Isabelle."

Jarek, unmistakable, wearing a smug smile. "The pieces are in play. This time tomorrow, the girl will be in the hands of the bugs. And then, the dominoes fall. The Lunari will crumble at our demands and the Federation will follow."

"I don't love the teammates." Another voice said. Cora said it was her boss, a crime lord by the name of Naru Pelar. "But the final domino, well, that's a game-changer."

"Worth the cost, considering the alternative." Jarek agreed. "This has been a long time in the planning. You're sure you have the right tools?"

"We have the finest shadows." Naru Pelar grinned, tossing a bottle back and downing its contents. "It won't be easy, but with this early of an embed, and you providing the distraction..."

The video cut off.

"How'd they find you?" Nate spoke into the subsequent silence.

"Found one of my recorders, traced the upload link. Thought I'd routed myself enough times across the galaxy, but I guess not." Cora pulled her knees, wrapping her arms around them as she swayed in the wheeled chair. She looked lost.

"With this, we can get Jarek removed as a Judge." He hummed. Would he have to present to The Council again?

"And maybe stop whatever plans the bugs have." Ana said darkly, staring at the screen that now showed the stars outside.

"What do I get for it?" Cora winced. "Not that stopping the bugs isn't important, but I've kind of lost my whole life and put a giant target on my head."

"I'm sure the Federation will give you a reward." Nate said.

"Tiny amount, I'm sure." Cora huffed.

"Well, the Cipher will offer more for it if you think you can contact him without getting into another trap." Nate smiled innocently.

"Fine." The pink-haired girl sniffed. "I'm not a complete bitch, you know."

"I get it." He said, voice softening a little. "Gotta look after number one."

"How do you want to do this, Captain?" Isabelle asked from the console, projected in her best Federation outfit, although the regulation skirt was higher than allowed, her beret tilted.

"Send a message to The Lady. Text only — it should read 'Feeling homesick, gonna go see our parents. This time, they'll be thrilled to see me.'"

Isabelle blinked back at him. "One to one comms are pretty secure, Nate."

He shrugged. "Can't be too careful. If we want to start playing on this level, we need to up our game. Although, if all goes well, this is the end of our involvement."

Ana nibbled on her fingernails in his periphery.

"Set a course for Orbis." Nate declared, settling into the Captain's chair. "Bring up the navigation route, too."

"I've already optimized it." Isabelle said defensively. "It's three days quicker than the most popular—"

"I know, smartie." Nate assured her. "But since you saved the day in that club, I feel like I should know more about all the cool stuff you can do."

"I'll get started on dinner." Ana perked up.

"This ship is so weird." Cora muttered.

***

This ship is so weird, Cora thought to herself again, pressing her face even harder into the cool pillow. The bunk was small and thin, probably meant for a ship's technician doing overnight repairs, but

she

was small and thin, so it didn't matter.

It didn't help her sleep.

Not with a supremely smart ancient AI at the helm, one that had apparently been integral to rescuing her.

Then, there was the fact that Cora had finally put two and two together and realized that Ana the busty Lunari was

Princess Anariel

, heir to arguably the most powerful throne in the galaxy.

Instead of a retinue of hundreds, private security and a palatial starship, she instead hummed happily as she made some curried chicken, making little contented moues as she decorated the plate with coriander.

Nate's plate was, Cora noticed, twice the size of hers. Ana seemed like a reflection of the Captain — when he grimaced and rubbed his patched up shoulder, she grimaced herself. And when he finished his plate and settled back with a happy sigh, so did she.

Cora knew of the rumors about the attempted kidnap of the Lunari and the subsequent rescue, but the who and what of it all hadn't made it to the news. The

who

was apparently a forty-year old military Captain who had gone all action hero, and she might have reason to doubt it if she hadn't seen him in action. The what of it essentially boiled down to

what the fuck

.

He'd taken a bullet for her, like in the holo-movies. He'd rescued her and she flew on his ship.

That bought him a lot of lee-way.

It did not, however, make her any less frustrated as she tried to sleep while the man watched very loud porn.

"For fucks sake, doesn't he have any headphones?" She muttered to herself as she pressed a pillow over her ear.

A woman shrieked a shrill cry, the sound of flesh hitting flesh loud in the tiny ship. Her incessant moans were obviously faked — Cora was no stranger to watching pornography, but she liked porn for women. Porn for men was just a girl moaning at the slightest of touches for thirty minutes.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Inside of me, breed me, oh sir, thankyouthankyou—"

Cora rolled her eyes. The Captain was into the faked shit, it figured. Typical man, fantasizing about a slavish adoring fucktoy.

Her squeal hit a particularly high note and Cora spun to her feet. "That is it!" She growled.

It didn't matter how heroic he was if he wasn't going to let her

fucking sleep.

She pulled open her door and stomped to the Captain's room.

"Would you fucking stop—" She threw open his door.

Her jaw dropped low.

Ana was being held up by two arms under her knees, wide and exposed, folded in two like a lawn chair as the biggest cock Cora had ever seen pulverized her wet, plump lips, pussy stretched obscenely wide. Ana faced her with closed eyes, squirming, hands skittering as she tried to find support, first clutching at Nate behind her, then joining his hands on her, then just reaching out loosely in the air as Nate bounced her, man-handling her easily, all while she

gushed

and

gushed,

squirting

.

Over Ana's shoulder, Nate just grinned, eyes mad with lust, pulling her up and leaving the evidence of his cream and hers on his glistening cock and then, dropping her down, making the Lunari spasm and cry out.

"I-wha-sorry—" Cora stammered out, but she wasn't sure she was even heard over the

squelch

and splatter of Nate's cock working Ana's pussy mercilessly. She was frozen, stuck, feet not moving as she took in the minutiae; the stretch of Ana's pussy, her skin, visible as it held tightly onto Nate's cock as he withdrew, unwilling to let it go, the sight evidence of just how tight she was around his monstrous cock.

Nate took her legs and crossed them and held her up with one arm under her knees, holding her aloft by just one arm and the pillar of support that was his cock. All so he could land loud smacks against the Lunari's ass cheeks, and if it weren't for Ana's flush cheeks, glazed eyes, loud squeals and her creaming cunt, Cora might have thought it was too hard.

"Beg." Nate ordered and for a moment Cora flinched like he was talking to her, until Ana stammered out a breathy litany of submissiveness. "Please sir, cum in me use me change me love me fuck me, use your princess—" Nate roared and buried himself deep, switching back to two arms and staggering forward, closer to

her,

Cora realized in growing horror. He unloaded and she couldn't help but stare in fascination as she could see the shape of his bulge inside of Ana as it throbbed and spurted.

Ana wailed, trembling, vibrating, and squirted as she felt his hot load stream into her, her smile wide and silly, her squirt ejecting out forcefully. Cora snapped back as she was splattered, feeling juices hit her tongue.

"That's my princess slut, fuck—" Nate cut himself off, nibbling on Ana's neck as he pumped and pumped, loving her warmth and wetness as he filled her, flexing his hips, desperate for more of her depths.

Cora knew she should go but

what

was this, as Ana's stomach filled, so much it inflated, and this wasn't a quick cum or a sudden moment but a prolonged ejaculation, Ana held there for what felt like minutes as Nate poured into her, eyes lidded, lounging back against his embrace, head lolled back to meet his kisses, grinding her sodden, gaping, creamy mess of a pussy around his cock.

Finally, it was over and with it returned sanity. Nate just looked a little awkward, but Ana's smile was loose and languid, the smile of a woman who had it all, and recently.

"Sorry, Cora, we were a little loud." Ana stroked her new belly as Nate put her down on the ground, slipping out of her.

Cora just wiped her face clean with one arm, suddenly realizing what it must look like, let out a stammered apology and sprinted back to her bed.

###

Ana knocked gently on Cora's door when morning rose. Nate was the type to never mention it again, but she thought Cora deserved an apology. They had been a little out of control last night, Ana desperate to remind herself that Nate was okay, Nate still carrying the adrenaline and pent-up feelings from the club.

When she'd woken, her body having processed much of his load, she'd let Nate sleep away. Even though the medics had cleaned him up, he'd lost a lot of blood and then had a lot of drugs injected into him. She could, she thought, give him his morning blowjob later.

Cora opened it uncertainly.

"You look so cute in my pajamas." Ana beamed at the sight. Cora was practically swimming in them, fingers barely sticking out the sleeves and feet lost completely in the bottoms, but the silky blue cloth looked good.

Cora stayed silent, offering a weak smile.

"Sorry. Good morning, I mean." Ana brushed her hair back — Nate's load meant it was always silky, glowing, wavy. She barely even had to brush it, these days.

Nate made her how he wanted her. She beamed at the thought.

"Morning." Cora sounded tired, wary.

"I wanted to apologize for last night. Can I come in?"

"Uh, okay." Cora swept back and Ana jumped onto the bed, feeling the bounce of it. She was always so full of energy and life after a night with Nate.

She bowed her head, face blanking as she gave the formal apology of a royal. "We disrespected you last night. We should have been much quieter. We've asked Isabelle to explore options for sound-proofing, perhaps pumping ambient noise into your quarters, but regardless, we'll resolve to be much more quiet going forward." Ana blushed. "We were still feeling a bit of a rush and well, Nate wants what he—"

"It's fine." Cora cut her off suddenly, grimacing. "I, yeah, whatever. Shouldn't have come in, thought he was watching porn loudly, actually. Stupid."

Ana flushed and then giggled. "Yes, I see. He does things to me and I don't really have much control of my mouth or well..."

Cora sat on her bed gently, primly, even though there was nothing prim about the girl. "Was kinda shocked to see the Lunari Princess reduced to taking human cock, no offense."

Ana stopped herself from wincing at the crude terms. They had been raised very differently, but she didn't see malice in the girl's eyes. "My man isn't just any man." She paused and decided to return the jab. "I think you saw that for yourself."

Cora snorted, taking the shot for what it was. "All men are the same, don't really matter how big they are."

The Princess settled back against the wall, kicking her feet as they lounged in the air. Even her toenails were cut precisely, like she'd had a pedicure — Nate was very exacting, even if he didn't know how he did it.

She rolled her neck around, feeling the delicious ache down below, the slight soreness. Even whatever magic Nate loaded her with couldn't erase the fact that she'd been pummeled by his rod incessantly.

"Not all men would take a bullet for a stranger." She pointed out.

Cora sighed as she sat back against the wall herself, drawing up the legs of her overly long pajama bottoms to see her own toes. Her toenails, Ana noticed, were the same shade of bright pink as her hair. "I guess not."

"It's not a debt you need to repay." Ana said sharply, feeling the weight settle on Cora. "That's how I knew he was different, though." She smiled at the memory and it felt like a lifetime ago, even if it was only weeks. "He saved my life. He came to rescue me, disobeyed orders, stole a ship and settled in the middle of bug carnage and busted me out. We escaped into the jungle of Tallaris and he took a shot from the bugs before we jumped into the river."

Cora shook her head. "Can't believe that's all true. I'd heard things but social media's always got so much bullshit. Still though, even for a, well, a—"

"A massive cock." Ana quipped, giggling at the look on Cora's face.

"I can say it but you're a Princess. It don't sound right." Cora glowered at her, smiling despite herself.

"Sorry. An impressive endowment." She corrected herself.

"Yeah, even for

that

, the Princess life is a lot of life to give up."

Ana thought about it for a moment, and it truly only took a moment. "Honestly, it wasn't hard at all."

Cora sneered at that, jaw set. "Maybe 'cos you've not had it hard."

She shrugged, not taking it personally. She hadn't suffered in the same way others had. "Perhaps not. I was sheltered, dictated, directed, never with a sight of freedom. But you're right, I was never hungry."

Cora stiffened, fidgeting, idly digging her fingernail into her palm, like she was testing its sharpness. "It's no fun having your movements dictated, but try having your fucking organs dictated."

Ana heard her own intake of breath. "How?"

"My old lady was a whore on Vio-Vio, didn't last long. Luckily, I was too young, even for those sick fucks." She shook her head. "Vio-Vio was like Orbis for bad people. Lot of them would end up dead or captive, so Naru Pelar ended up with a pretty collection of cybernetics."

She ran one human thumb over her other metal one. She flexed her thumb and a claw shot out of one knuckle. "Good for opening tin cans." Cora said sardonically, laughing at her own joke, the laughter dying as she saw Ana didn't join in.

She shrugged. "The boss wanted to test what they did so I became the guinea pig. You know the old saying — never put something in your body if you don't know what it does and how it works. So he didn't — he put them in me instead." She idly unscrewed a finger, blew air in it and then screwed it back on. "I had a hundred different eyes before I was thirteen. Now

that

changes the way you see the world." She quipped, rolling her eyes when Ana just stared at her.

"I'm so sorry, really—-" Ana said honestly.

Cora held up a hand to stop her. "Don't bother, really. Wasn't all bad, got some cool eyes. Doesn't help me when I don't remember to use them, like last night. Could have looked at the thermals — I've even got a pair that have a sort of x-ray style, though not as good. Pretty cool, right?"

"Right." She said diplomatically.

Cora twisted her neck, trying to remove away some sort of ache, though Ana didn't know if metal cybernetic necks

could

ache.

"Want to see something cool?" Cora's eyes lit up. Ana nodded and then Cora's head turned...and kept turning. All the way around, even more than an owl, until her head faced Ana normally.

"That was..." Ana paused.

"Disturbing as fuck?" Cora finished, nudging her with her shoulder. "I used to do that in the bar as a party trick. Made this guy throw up once. Went everywhere." She smiled at the memory.

"When did they start with your limbs?"

Cora's smile dissipated. "Once they realized I was useful as more than a testing bed. Biotics, implants, you name it. I used to have a machete I could pull out of my spinal cord — baby, you ain't known pain until you've used your own spine as a sheath for a hidden machete."

"I believe you." Ana's mouth was dry.

Cora stared at her seriously, like she was trying to ensure the Lunari believed her, before nodding in satisfaction. "Got some more leverage once I started running missions, so life was better. Enforcement at first, then straight hits. They weren't good people," Cora said, at Ana's look. "One good thing about living in a cess-pool is that pretty much everyone else in there is a piece of shit."

Ana played with her candy necklace. "Well, on the bright side," Ana gave her a shaky smile. "You totally win the 'I've had an awful life' contest."

Cora giggled, and it was such an incongruent sound from the hardcore girl that it set Ana off too, until they were swaying their feet off the bed, nudging each other gently with their shoulders.

"Look at your feet,

batistata.

"

"

What does

batistata

mean? What's wrong with my feet?"

"

Nothing, girl, that's the point. Batistata is slang from my planet, I guess — it means like

fuck,

like this food is so good,

batistata!

"

Ana tested the word out, laughing.

Cora smiled. "Even if the rest of you was butt-ugly, your feet alone could make you a mint where I came from."

"You're a cutie too, you know. Your hair really works on you. I could never pull that shade off."

Cora rolled her eyes. "You were brought up too well. Can you even take a compliment without returning it?"

Ana thought about it. "Probably not." She bit her lip. "I did mean it, though."

"That just makes it worse." Cora grumbled. "I'll take it. Guess we can't all be beautiful princesses. Look at your skin, fuck." She traced her finger over Ana's arm. "It's so soft! And those titties."

The Princess blushed as she pulled her skimpy night-robe closed, well aware the robe didn't do much to cover her up, barely reaching her thighs. It was meant for Nate!

"Can I touch them?" Cora asked mischievously.

"No!" Ana exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?!"

Cora shrugged. "Nothin' wrong with me. Just want to give them a squeeze. What's the matter, did Nate bruise 'em?"

"No, of course not. I'm, well—" Ana flushed, her own hands coming up to trace them. "I guess I'm protective. I've only just got them.

Nate

gave them to me." She sat up straight, proudly.

Cora stared at her, wide. "Fuck off, those are fake? No way."

Ana went red, spine straightening. "They aren't

fake.

" She said defensively. She took a deep breath. "The truth is that ingesting his semen has a transformative effect—"

"Fuck off."

"No, really."

"Fuck off!" Cora's jaw dropped.

"It's true!" Ana traced a hand down her stomach. "I'm taller, bustier, with a thinner waist, curvier...thicker thighs, certainly. The ass is mine...mostly. I'm pretty sure he did something to my hair, too."