Author's note:
Thank you all for the support you have shown with the first installment of '
The Kineticist
'. As I posted in the comments on the previous chapter, I welcome any and all feedback on my work. If you feel there is something major you would like to discuss, be it stylistic choice or artistic vision, please feel free to message me directly. I read all comments and I would like to reply to them individually, but that doesn't seem to be the case unless I'm missing something.
I will be trying to keep a consistent publication schedule, as it stands hopefully every 7-10 days (4-7 days of writing, 3 for pending publication). If anything changes on my end, I will be communicating through the most recent chapter's comment section.
_________________________________________
Kara settled back in her chair, her fingers drumming erratically into her desk. She kept her face schooled into an impassive mask as Dessorosa's dark eyes bored into her from halfway across the system.
"So, to sum up this whole escapade, you succeeded in capturing the Imperial ship," Dessorosa started lamely.
"Correct," Kara replied tightly.
"But the entire crew is dead," He continued, his voice even and unhurried.
She nodded. She hated these drawn out impromptu debriefs. It was one thing to be lectured, another to have the whole event combed over in excruciatingly fine detail. It was like nails on a chalkboard for Kara, and Dessorosa knew that all too well. Maybe this was his way of putting a damper on her willful behavior.
"But not by your team," He folded his bridged fingers, pressing his thumbs against the bridge of his nose. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath before continuing, "You freed an Imperial slave, who just happens to be a Kineticist, and you let him rampage through the ship."
"I told youβ" Kara began to protest before Dessorosa's raised his hand to stop her.
"Not only did he repaint the interior of the ship, but also destroyed six shuttles, wrecked the entire portside hydraulics, and fried the entire internal electrical system," His voice was strained, the irritation seeping through the mask.
"The electrical system was already fried before we got there," She replied hotly.
"Well, that just wipes away the rest! The ship was already fried, so fuck it right?" Dessorosa exploded. "Why the fuck didn't you stop him from eviscerating up my new ship?!"
Kara's fingers froze mid-beat, her temper flaring dangerously, "I did! What in God's name was I supposed to do? He wrecked a warship! I'm a pretty decent Kineticist in my own right, but he was in a whole new league. I had Mercy pull up the schematics for the ship, he didn't just fry the systems, he
was
the system."
The call went quiet as Dessororsa sat back in his chair. While his face was in shadow, Kara knew him well enough to see the working of his jaw as he struggled with this new piece of information. Minutes passed in strained silence before he collected himself, "Whatever you do keep the ship secured and the Kineticist under control. It looks as if the Imperium has changed the rules of the game, this could have ended badly."
"What are you going to do?" Kara asked quietly, her body sitting rigidly on the edge of her seat.
"I need to report this to the brass. This just got way too hot for our hands. How long until you return to Elysium?" Dessorosa's face looked drawn. His chaotic beard did little to hid the deep lines etched into his face, or the dark circles weighing down his eyes. He didn't like involving Coalition brass nearly as much as she, but he was right. This new development now concerned the Coalition as a whole, not just a single system.
"We'll be back in a month. The Imperial Kineticist is in surgery now, hopefully we can get something out of him before we arrive," Kara's fingers resumed their endless battering of her work surface; she wanted to go check in on the golden eyed man. There was something lurking deep beneath the surface that had kept calling to her.
"I'll contact you if anything develops on our end. Report to me immediately once you arrive. We'll figure out what to do with your guest once you arrive," Dessorosa fixed her with a pointed stare that brokered no arguments before closing out the call.
Kara forced her fingers to still, fresh waves of agitation rolling over her. Ever since the golden eyed man had clashed with her hours before, her heart hadn't stopped hammering inside her chest. She chalked it up to fear, to the vast powers at his command, but there was something more. Her whole being vibrated as their wills met, wild instinct lashing out before a much more profound set of emotions that seemed to be lurking just behind that wall.
The buzz of the intercom on her desk drew her from her thoughts, "Kara, is everything alright?"
"Yes. Come in, Mercy," Kara smiled as the meadow skinned Komodous slipped quietly through the door as it slid open.
"How pissed was Dessorosa?" Mercy inquired, moving to perch on the edge of her desk.
Kara sat back and let out an exhausted sigh, "Pissed. He is pushing this up the chain. Our guest appears to be making ripples, and we aren't even back home yet."
Mercy rested a slender four digit hand on her thigh, "Things are changing. I can feel it."
Kara couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, "Is that good or bad?"
The Komodous spun Kara in her chair, the deceptively strong hands moved to massage the stiff muscles around Kara's neck. She leaned in close to her ear, a long forked tongue gently caressing the sensitive curvature as she breathed, "Change is change. Good and bad are subjective to the individual. Embrace it before you are trampled as it passes."
Kara shivered at the delicate tongue's ministrations, an involuntary groan escaping from between her lips. The tension eased from her shoulders as Mercy's expert fingers kneaded her flesh. Her fingers moved up Kara's neck, stroking the delicate angles of her face and throat. Soft lips trailed cool relief down her sensitive skin reverently, before fitting smoothly into her own.
"How can you be so blasΓ© about this?" Kara murmured when their lips parted.
"Your duty is to run the ship and watch out for its crew, mine is to watch out for you," Mercy smiled warmly.
"And the ship," Kara reminded her, reaching up to cup the Komodous' face in her hands.
"Yes, and the ship," Mercy agreed distractedly, as her hands drifted lower to running over the grey strike suit that still encapsulated Kara's body. Her dexterous fingers deftly undoing the fastenings down the center seam before slipping under to explore the heated skin beneath.
Warmth blossomed between Kara's thighs, dewy wetness soaking into the suit as her thighs ground together. She moaned into Mercy's lips as her sensitive breasts were teased and toyed with. Kara pulled Mercy astride her in a smooth and practiced motion, pulling her head forward to crush her lips back against her own. With her free hand she desperately pulled open the rest of the constricting fabric to grant unhindered access to the questing fingers. Her hips twitched as Mercy pinched her sensitive pink peaks, sending jolts of pleasure ricocheting between her head and thighs.
Kara's tongue darted out to taste soft reptilian lips, the surprisingly soft skin tasting of blackberries and the warm gusting winds of spring. The scent of Mercy's own arousal reached her nose, the spicy musk flooding her mind. Their tongues dueled against each other, soft mewling noises emanated from Mercy's throat as Kara's teeth sank into the leathery scale-like flesh of her neck.
Kara's own hands found new hunting grounds on the Komodous' fleshy mounds, the taut skin coalescing into dark brown nipples that grew stiff under her thorough attentions. The mammalian reptile squirmed as the wetness from her own sex skated across the hard planes of Kara's stomach. Taking one of Mercy's nipples in her mouth, her tongue languidly licking over the stiffened skin, she let one hand drift down to stroke inquisitively against the slick lips of her lover.
"Please, Mistress," Mercy whispered, her hips grinding insistently onto her fingers.
Kara slowly pressed her index finger deep into Mercy's core, the tight walls undulating around the invading digit, trying to suck it deeper into its heat. The Komodous' hips jerked as Kara's finger found the delightful bundle of nerves that elicited a breathy cry of passion. She flexed her finger over the nodule, pressing and stroking relentlessly against Mercy's channel as it constricted and convulsed around her dancing finger.
"Mistress, don't s-stop," Mercy groaned into her ear, her body beginning to tremble as she rapidly rose to a thunderous release. Kara felt Mercy's fleshy tail dig energetically against her own arousal, rubbing the fabric over her heated lips.