A Viper's Nest

Gunnery Sergeant Helki opened an emerald eye and hissed. The red light above her nest flashed on and off, and the sound of her pad's emergency alarm filled her nestroom. Rolling out of bed, Helki groaned as she stood up, used her tail to grab her pad, and stumbled towards the door before her. The Gunnery Sergeant hissed again as the door opened. Stepping into the bright yet cramped room, Helki sighed as the heat from the light above bathed her naked, muscular body in warm light. Then, as the door to her small nest room closed, four sets of basking lamps switched on. Each set consisted of five basking lamps, installed vertically on a rotating arm and attached to a motor above the light that the Gunnery Sergeant was standing underneath.

"Fuck, that feels good," she said. A cursory glance at the pad and Helki knew that a space battle was looming. Swiping left, the Gunnery Sergeant read the briefing from the ship's Tactical Officer. A small fleet of Ericius ships had been detected, and the Matriarchy patrol was attempting to warn Border Station Five. Helki's Staff Sergeant and the rest of her gunnery crew were also being woken early from their scheduled sleep cycle.

A whining noise broke the Gunnery Sergeant's concentration as the basking lamps around her slowly began to rotate. Keeping her eyes closed and tilting her head towards the light above, Helki tried to absorb as much heat as possible. Helki's primary scale colour was light blue, covering most of her body, and her secondary colour was white. The white scales started from the front of her lower jaw, travelled down her neck, across her ample breasts, past her muscular stomach, over her most private areas, and ended on her inner thighs. Helki's bioluminescence was green, found in random locations all over her primary scale colour. As the basking lamps spun, the light emitted from her body intensified. When the Gunnery Sergeant stepped out of the small room, pad in hand, and into the corridor beyond, the off-grey walls reflected the vibrant green.

"I doubt I will ever get tired of that glow," said a voice to Helki's right.

Standing a few feet away was the Gunnery Sergeant's Second, Staff Sergeant Naltla. Like Helki, the Staff Sergeant was an eight-foot-tall mountain of muscle. Her claws click-clacking on the corridor floor echoed as she approached Helki.

"You see it every time there is a battle," the Gunnery Sergeant replied.

Looking at the Staff Sergeant, Helki noticed the lines of red bioluminescence on her thick and muscular thighs were shining brightly. The light made her charcoal black scales almost appear a deep crimson. Then, moving her eyes up Naltla's body, past her visible six-pack and impressive breasts, Helki stopped when she made eye contact with the Staff Sergeant.

"While true, I wish I could see it more often than I do," Naltla smiled as she flexed the muscles on her arms.

The Gunnery Sergeant rolled her eyes as the sound of opening doors pulled her attention away from the walking mountain of muscle that was her Second. The rest of The Matriarch's Blessing's gunnery crew was emerging from the remaining nine doors, five on each side of the short corridor. Each Viper had a similar physique to both Helki and Naltla.

"Have you read the briefing?" Helki inquired, and Naltla nodded.

"I have. Knowing the Captain, I would say that she wants to perform a rearguard action," the Staff Sergeant replied, "have the faster vessels run back to the station while the rest of us keep the enemy at bay," Naltla looked at the Vipers nearby as she finished.

"Form up!" shouted the Staff Sergeant as she stepped before Helki, "I want you all suited up and fed in ten minutes," Naltla ordered.

A series of affirmatives came in response as the gunnery crew lined up behind each other and slowly made their way through the door in front. Helki rolled her shoulders as she walked behind Naltla, and she could see the rest of her crew doing the same. As Helki stepped through the doorway, her armoured collar was on a shelf to the Gunnery Sergeant's right. The small rectangular room the gunnery crew had entered glowed neon blue as each Viper activated their heavy, armoured collars.

"Is it me, or is there something sexual about armouring up?" Naltla asked as she turned to face the Helki.

The skintight thermal layer of the Staff Sergeant's Nanosuit had finished covering her body from the shoulders down. Next came the first of several armoured layers. A neon blue glow emanated from Naltla's collar as the Nanos inside rushed across her body to create a flexible, resilient layer of armour.

"I am not entirely sure what you mean," replied Helki.

She raised her left arm and watched as the Nanos quickly made their way along its length. The Gunnery Sergeant flexed her fingers when they had finished covering the tips of her claws. The glow of Helki's collar dimmed as the last part of the thermal layer formed over the end of her tail.

"Are you sure?" Naltla asked. She jerked suddenly, bent forwards, and stood up again a few seconds later. The Staff Sergeant smiled when she noticed Helki was frowning at her.

"Trust you to enjoy that," the Gunnery Sergeant replied.

"We can go months without a proper release," she said as the first armour layer began to cover her head.

Looking at the Staff Sergeant, Helki watched as the next reservoir, attached to Naltla's armoured collar, activated. This new layer built sections of thick armour in specific locations: armoured boots protected Naltla's digitigrade legs, stopping just below the knee, Cuisses plating covered the Staff Sergeant's thighs, and a flexible cover appeared before her groin. Due to the average length of a Viper's tail, banded plating formed over the first third, with the subsequent third receiving wide bands, enabling the tail to keep its dexterity.

"Considering what you did to the last male who released inside you," the Gunnery Sergeant said as she flexed her armoured fingers, "having to wait months is probably a good thing," Helki finished with a smile.

"Ha, Ha, very funny," Naltla replied.

Looking at her Second, Helki watched as the Nanos built the Staff Sergeant's breastplate. Like all Vipers, herself included, Naltla's breasts were an impressive size. Usually, this would not affect a Viper's ability to do their work; however, when it came to Nanosuits, especially the armoured type, Engineers had to find creative ways to keep the wearer comfortable while maintaining the required protection. Adjustable banding protected Naltla's midriff, sides and lower back, with thick armour covering most of the torso. In addition, each armoured Nanosuit had a Gorget. Its purpose was to protect the Nanosuit collar and prevent any potential blows to the neck region.

"How do I look?" Naltla asked.

"Like someone ready for war," the Gunnery Sergeant replied. "Did you remember to adjust the shoulder pads?" she asked.

"Yeah, the Engineer adjusted the settings of my collar," she replied.

Attached to both shoulders were large oval pads. Their original purpose was to deflect incoming shots; however, due to the gunnery crew's line of work, they were just as effective against debris. Naltla tapped away at the console attached to her left wrist. It functioned identically to the pads used by all Vipers; however, this version was attached to the rear of the left armoured gauntlet. After a few more taps, the Staff Sergeant's helmet retracted. Starting from the end of her blunt nose, the Nanos opened up and rotated backwards, eventually stopping just above her collar.

"Did you change the open helmet setting again?" Helki inquired.

"Yeah," Naltlai replied with a smile, "I asked the Engineer to install all of them, and I have it on random," she then laughed when the Gunnery Sergeant rolled her eyes.

"Trust you to waste inputs," she said.

A klaxon sounded, interrupting their conversation, and the whole gunnery crew formed an orderly line. Stepping forward, the Viper at the front retrieved her requested glowing paste and then stepped through the armoured door in front of her. When it was Helki's turn, she picked up her bowl of black paste. The Gunnery Sergeant's foot-long tongue snaked its way out of her mouth, scooping up a large amount of paste before returning inside her mouth.

"It is a shame that we do not share a nest," Naltla said, "I think I could put that tongue of yours to good use," the Staff Sergeant smiled at Helki as her helmet formed around her head.

"Perhaps when we are back at the station," the Gunnery Sergeant replied, "for now, everyone, get to your turrets!" she ordered.

Helki stepped into the maintenance bay for Destroyer's laser turrets and looked around. Engineers were darting between workstations, machine shops, and turrets, and the air smelled of oil, grease, ozone, and Viper musk. Thankfully, the Gunnery Sergeant's helmet protected her ears from the high noise levels of the maintenance bay.

The eleven-strong gunnery crew rushed towards their designated laser turrets. Each one was sitting within its reinforced lifting cradle. In two rows, the Destroyer's turrets were positioned along the top of The Matriarch's Blessing's hull, with the ninth laser turret behind the reinforced bridge. Reaching their assigned turret, each member of the gunnery crew picked up their turret's power cable and securely plugged it into the rear of the cabin.

Helki and Naltla jogged past the gunnery crew and headed towards the two armoured doors on either side of the ninth turret.

"Do you ever get used to this?" Staff Sergeant Naltla asked. Her voice appeared inside Helki's helmet as though neither was wearing one.

"I doubt anyone gets used to fighting in a vacuum," the Gunnery Sergeant replied.

The armoured doors slowly swung open shortly after they had scanned their respective palms. Then, stepping into separate airlocks, Helki and Naltla waited for them to cycle. Once completed, the door in front of them opened into the corridor ahead. Both passages were identical and led to the final door. However, unlike the previous occasions, the two Vipers had to unlock them manually.

*****

Flight Lieutenant Nuki woke to the sound of John screaming. He had been asleep on top of her for the last few hours, and thankfully, the noise had been muffled by the fact that his head was in between Flight Lieutenant's breasts.

"John, what is it?" Nuki asked, concerned that she had hurt him while they both slept.

She sat up and pulled John away from her chest. Despite the gloom of her nest, Nuki's ability to see had not diminished. Looking at him closely, the Flight Lieutenant could see that John was still asleep.

"John? Wake up," she said, gently shaking him.

A few seconds later, John opened his eyes, looked up at the pair of glowing red eyes and shouted.

"Get away from me," he demanded, pushing himself away from the Flight Lieutenant.

"John, it is me, Nuki," she replied with a notable tone of concern.

She turned to face him as he moved to the other side of her nest and breathed in. Nuki picked up his body's hormones, confusion with a hint of fear, while her ears also picked up his rapid heart rate. Concerned, the Flight Lieutenant reached out to touch John, but he swatted her hand away.

"Where am I?" he demanded.

"John, you are confused," Nuki replied, "Calm your breathing. If it helps, I will stay here," she said calmly.

As the minutes passed, the Flight Lieutenant was relieved to see John's confusion disappear. When she thought he was back to normal, Nuki crept forwards on her hands and knees, stopping just before him.

"Nuki, what's going on?" he asked. Nuki sighed and then laughed.

"You screamed and then acted confused when you woke," she replied, "now you are back to normal and confused again," Nuki smiled at John as she finished.

"I think I was having a nightmare," John replied, "all I can remember is smothering," he then returned the Flight Lieutenant's smile.

"Perhaps we should change our sleeping position?" Nuki suggested.

"A good idea," John replied, "I'm not a fan of nightmares," he said. "How about we spoon?" John suggested.

"Spoon, what is that?" Nuki asked.

"Lie on your side, and then I'll put my back against your chest," John replied, "it's great for snuggling, too," he said.

"Oh, I understand," Nuki said with a smile.

*****

With the door locked tightly behind her, Gunnery Sergeant Helki turned around and looked at the heavy laser turret. Similar in design to the standard laser turrets, however, the heavy variant had four barrels instead of two. Everyone knew that when fired, a laser did not produce any recoil. However, they do make a lot of heat. Therefore each barrel had been designed to move backwards and vent the generated heat into a large heat sink at the rear of each barrel.

Additionally, heavy laser turrets had two firing modes. The first fired each barrel one after the other, and the second enabled the Gunner to increase the turret's firepower by firing all four barrels simultaneously. However, this firing mode generated dangerous levels of thermal energy. Experienced gunnery crews knew how many shots their turret could fire before any irreparable damage occurred.

Helki stepped forward, bent down and lifted the heavy power cable in front of her. The muscles in her arms and legs bulged as she picked it up with an audible grunt. A familiar voice appeared inside her helmet as the Gunnery Sergeant pulled the cable towards the turret.

"I swear these things get heavier," Naltla said through gritted teeth.

"You need to keep up with your weight lifting," Helki replied as she pushed the connector into the turret's power socket. Three clamps locked into place shortly after she rotated it ninety degrees to the right.

"Considering we share the same gym, you know that is not true," Naltla replied.

"Power cable locked," the Gunnery Sergeant said.

"Power cable locked," replied the Staff Sergeant.

"Make sure you run a proper diagnostic test before you give the okay to the bridge," ordered Helki.

"Yes, Ma'am," replied Naltla.

Helki stepped over the power cable and hurried to the Gunner's Cabin at the rear of the heavy laser turret. Identical in size and shape to those attached to standard laser turrets, the Gunner's Cabin contained all the necessary controls and monitors to operate it. Opening the reinforced door, the Gunnery Sergeant stepped in and squeezed herself into the oversized padded chair. Initially intended for Vipers of average size, most of the gunnery crew found the chairs to be a tight fit, thanks to their overly muscular bodies.

"I once heard a story about a gunner who tried to get a male inside one of these cabins," the Staff Sergeant said, "he almost suffocated when she sat on him," Naltla stifled a laugh as she finished talking.

"I am surprised that story was not about you," Helki replied, "starting the diagnostic test," she said.

"Heh, I have yet to find a male who wants a hulking mass of muscle to sit on his face," Naltla replied, "my test is already at fifty per cent," she boasted.

"Just ensure you do it properly," the Gunnery Sergeant warned.

"Understood," replied the Staff Sergeant.

*****

Captain Astet, leader of the Ericius ambush fleet, walked onto the bridge of her Cruiser and looked around the cramped room. Hot pipes, cables, and bulky monitors filled each wall of the rectangular room. The largest monitor filled the wall to her right, and the room stank of oil and sweat. As she took in the view of the bridge, the Captain noted several pairs of eyes looking up, and then just as quickly, the crew resumed their assigned tasks. Finally, Astet walked over to the raised dias to her left and sat on her throne. Unlike the Warmaster's throne of Viper bones, her's was made from steel.

The quills on the back of Astet's head rattled as she adjusted her sitting position, and appearing from the darkness, the Captain's assistant presented her with a tray of drinks. Glancing at the selection, she picked a glass of bubbly green liquid and downed it in one. Placing it back onto the tray, Astet looked at her assistant.

He was taller than the average male. At six feet in height, the Captain's assistant was a foot taller than most of the males aboard her Cruiser. His body was also muscular. She often enjoyed running her claws down his visible muscles, tracing their contours. Lastly, the colour of his skin and fur reminded Astet of the Warmaster. Thankfully, the Captain had kept him in her quarters when the Warmaster had last visited the Cruiser. She had heard the rumours about the Warmaster's voracious appetite for males and did not want her assistant to suffer the same fate.

Captain Astet watched as the Matriarchy ships attempted to flee. She had successfully kept her small fleet undetected as they traversed the Arroganza System. However, the Cruiser Captain was in a bad mood. No one had expected a scout patrol to appear along their planned route. Astet had considered warning the Warmaster and the rest of the Ericius fleet; unfortunately, she could not warn them due to their chosen method of travel.

"Status of the Viper fleet?" the Captain inquired.

"Their two Corvettes appear to be heading towards the enemy station," replied one of the female bridge Officers. "Our sensors indicate increased engine output," she pointed out.

"The remaining Destroyer and two Frigates have yet to come about and engage us," replied another.

"Tell our Corvettes and Scout ships to intercept them," the Captain ordered, "if we allow any enemy vessel to warn the Matriarchy station, the Warmaster will skin everyone," Astet warned. "Remind Engineering to keep an eye on our shields. We don't want them failing again," Astet ordered.

Outside, the three Scout ships and two Corvettes increased engine speed and slowly gained on the Matriarchy patrol. At the rear, the three Cruisers opened their gun ports, large laser turrets powered up, and fifty-meter-long missiles were loaded into their launch bays. The two Ericius Frigates behind the advancing smaller ships brought their laser batteries online. While they were not as powerful as Matriarchy laser turrets, the sheer volume of fire made them just as deadly.

*****

Nuki was cold. She opened her eyes, looked around her nest and noticed that John had rolled away from her as they slept. Reaching out with her right arm, the Flight Lieutenant pulled John closer and hugged him tightly against her body. Nuki gently placed his head onto her chest once more and curled the end of her tail around his legs.

"Try not to suffocate me," John said, surprising the Flight Lieutenant.

"You are awake?" she asked.

"Hard to stay asleep when a nine-foot-tall bipedal alien snake pulls you into her eager embrace," John replied, and Nuki could tell he was smiling.

"I was cold," she replied, "I doubt you realise how much of a difference your body heat makes," Nuki then pushed her blunt nose against the top of John's head.

"Oh, I think I do," he replied, facing her.

"How so?" Nuki asked.

"Every time I share a Viper's nest, they always comment on how warm I am," John replied.

"I see what you mean," the Flight Lieutenant replied with a smile, "I suppose you would not be surprised if I said that there are not that many warm-blooded species within The Matriarchy?" she queried, and John shook his head.

"I can imagine some of them have tried their best not to become a Matriarch's Steward," John replied.

"There is talk amongst some of the crew that one of the Matriarchs assigned to the Ruination has her eye on you," Nuki revealed, tightening her grip on him.

"I'm not sure if I want to spend the rest of my life as a sex toy," John said, which made the Flight Lieutenant laugh. "Hopefully, I can make myself useful elsewhere within The Matriarchy. Do you think they'd let me join the Navy?" he asked.