."
"
And will SarJ'ant like it, do you think
?"
"
I think he will like it more than our current camp
," M'pel E'kmel said. "
He approved the new location
."
Tem'Ma'tel laid her hands against M'pel E'kmel's back and began to knead the long muscles. The older jZav'Etch purred, taking pleasure in the gentle contact. She leaned forward, her breasts dipping into the water, allowing Tem'Ma'tel to massage the muscles in her lower back, strong fingers found their way to the base of her tail. Light touches of claw tips pricked the skin there and M'pel E'kmel raised her head and squirmed rhythmically as the fingers danced. Tem'Ma'tel slid her hands up M'pel E'kmel's sides, over her ribs and around to the large breasts, cupping them and giving them a firm caress. She found the firm nipples and purred into her commander's ear. Beneath the water their tails swished and twined, a pleasure unto itself.
M'pel E'kmel eased back against the younger female, slipping deeper into the water until she sat between Tem'Ma'tel's knees and rested her head against the strong, flat muscles of her abdomen. Tem'Ma'tel continued to caress the large breasts and pinched the erect nipples between finger and thumbs, eliciting a moan of desire and gratitude. M'pel E'kmel stretched up and nipped the younger female's chin, her purr growing louder. She enjoyed the ministrations for a while, then rose away from Tem'Ma'tel and turned to lean in again and nip her neck, putting her hands on the firm, small breasts of the marine. They lay back against the sandy bank in the shallow water and caressed each other, lost in the act of lovers.
Here in the stream the two were no longer commander and marine. They were just females, one older, one younger, and the concerns of their lives were not as important as taking pleasure and giving it. Tem'Ma'tel leaned her head back arching so that her breasts pressed against M'pel E'kmel's hands more firmly. The commander was very experienced. She knew well how to take her time, how to build to the climax, how to make love to another female. Clot'ilda was sweet and energetic and always fun, but sometimes the slow approach was better.
M'pel E'kmel nipped her way down Tem'Ma'tel's neck, over the slight swell of breast to the large nipple and she licked it gently before taking it between her teeth. She worked her jaws softly on the tender flesh, gratified when the younger jZav'Etch moaned through her purrs. It was time to give her more. M'pel E'kmel slipped her hand up Tem'Ma'tel's thigh and found the swollen diamond at the top of her sex. In spite of the cool water the protrusion of flesh was warm and at her touch Tem'Ma'tel moaned again, thrusting her hips forward in reaction.
Tem'Ma'tel gently pushed M'pel E'kmel back and nipped her cheek, then kissed her lips. M'pel E'kmel stopped, confused by the strange gesture of affection. But it was nice. She relaxed again and allowed the younger female to turn her, laying her back against the bank so that Tem'Ma'tel was now on top. Tem'Ma'tel pressed her breasts into M'pel E'kmel's, their nipples rubbing together and gave the commander another kiss. Carefully she slid her thigh between the commander's until her sex rested on the commander's thigh and the commander's sex pressed against hers. Tem'Ma'tel began a slow, rhythmic undulation, stimulating both as she did. M'pel E'kmel responded immediately, placing her hands on Tem'Ma'tel's hips, regulating the pace, keeping the younger female from moving faster. The pleasure should be enjoyed, not rushed.
Tem'Ma'tel broke their kiss, sighing and glad for the control of the older jZav'Etch. It was good to have an experienced lover. She sighed again and leaned down to place her teeth softly on M'pel E'kmel's nipple. It was large and swollen and the commander's purr was loud and pleased. Tem'Ma'tel suckled like a babe for a long moment then gently pinched the nipple in her teeth and drew back, releasing the firm flesh before the pleasurable sensation could turn to pain.
M'pel E'kmel pushed Tem'Ma'tel back and rose, pulling the young female up onto the dry ledge of the boulder with her. Above them Clot'ilda looked down, admiring the contrast in the two larger females. One older, more shapely with large breasts and wide hips. The other closer to her own age, muscular and sleek, a battle scar upon her thigh, noticeable only by the lighter tone of the copper-colored fur. They looked like the legendary seductresses of N'har'an who had lured the ten thousand warriors of Kic't Lii to their destruction on the spears of Al'La'cab's three hundred.
M'pel E'kmel guided Tem'Ma'tel down onto the stone, nipping her reassuringly before she straddled her face and bent to nip the large diamond at the top of Tem'Ma'tel's slit. She had found female soldiers tended to have pronounced diamonds and she liked that. Tem'Ma'tel's was considerably larger than her own. It would be more sensitive than other females' of Tem'Ma'tel's age. She plied her tongue over the hot flesh, enjoying the flavor and scent. Now that they were out of the water, their scents could mix and drive their passions higher.
Tem'Ma'tel squirmed under the commander. She was always sensitive to the touch of a tongue on her sex, but the commander seemed to know exactly where to lick. Tem'Ma'tel tried to return the pleasure, knowing her lack of experience would betray her. And then she decided to surprise her lover.
M'pel E'kmel was truly enjoying making the young one squirm and thrust, watching her tail thrash, when suddenly she felt pressure on her other sensitive opening. The young one was clever. Tem'Ma'tel's finger slipped inside the tight opening, gradually easing in, knuckle by knuckle. M'pel E'kmel was ready for what would happen next and schooled herself to accept the pleasure without giving into it. Tem'Ma'tel crooked her finger, doing it properly, and the wave rebelled at the restraint M'pel E'kmel imposed. She shuddered and moaned into Tem'Ma'tels sex, but she did not climax. It was not yet time for that. Instead she lowered herself more firmly onto the younger female's mouth and ground her hips.
Tem'Ma'tel felt the commander shudder and then her mouth was covered by the scent and flesh of the commander's sex. She was not used to being the one on the bottom, but there was something very nice about not needing to be in control. It got even nicer when M'pel E'kmel nipped her on the diamond and plunged her tongue into Tem'Ma'tel's slit, sending an electric jolt of intense pleasure through her whole body. But the commander didn't stop there. She ran her teeth over the swollen diamond. Tem'Ma'tel's cry of pleasure was muffled by the commander's sex, but the commander heard it and delved her tongue deep into Tem'Ma'tel again. In response the young female twisted her finger inside M'pel E'kmel and crooked it again. This time she had taken the commander completely off her guard and the spray of fluid was matched by M'pel E'kmel's shuddering.
The commander slumped down onto her lover, glad and regretful at the same time. She panted her hot breath over the younger female's sex and nipped it gently before lashing it with her tongue. Tem'Ma'tel reacted instantly, arching her back and crying her gratitude into the morning air. Tem'Ma'tel's tail lashed the stone harder and M'pel E'kmel did not relent. Her tongue drove over the sensitive, swollen flesh and down into the scarlet slit, lapping the juices that flowed from it with relish. Suddenly Tem'Ma'tel bucked, forcing her sex onto M'pel E'kmel's mouth and a geyser of thick fluid sprayed hot over the commander's muzzle. Tem'Ma'tel thrashed under her and M'pel E'kmel pressed her tongue deeper. More spray coated her face and she reveled in the taste, the scent and the feel of it. Such was the way an experienced lover gave pleasure.
When they were spent the two parted and lay on the bank panting and caressing each other. Clot'ilda looked down on them and smiled. She anticipated Tem'Ma'tel's next visit to her nest, pleased to know another way to give and receive pleasure.
The large females finished bathing, washing all signs of their lovemaking from each other's fur and then Tem'Ma'tel took up sentry while Clot'ilda bathed. M'pel E'kmel waded into the stream with her spear and hunted the large, silver fish in the shallows downstream.
+>0<+
Once the women were gone Liam took his armor to the upper opening and began cleaning it. It smelled too much of his sweat for him not to wrinkle his nose whenever he put it on. He sponged it out and set the individual pieces to dry in the sun filtering down through the canopy high above. Once the breastplate was clean he opened the front, exposing the solar cell there and laid it in the middle of the largest sunbeam. The power cell wasn't depleted yet, it hadn't even dropped to half charge, but there was no sense letting it get any lower.
He took the back plate and examined it for wear. Nothing showed on the surface other than a few nicks so he opened the outer shell and examined the inner works. Everything was in order, apparently functioning properly. He removed the purge kit, the device that would be used to clean radioactive residue from the armor if he were ever exposed to a dangerous level, and almost cast it into the thicket below the tree. It was just extra weight to carry around and not essential to keep the suit operating. But he reconsidered. The kit didn't draw any power until it was activated and who knew what strange things they might encounter in the time to come? Perhaps they would run into some animal that used radiation to defend itself. He slipped the kit back in place and resealed the back plate before cleaning the rest of the suit.
His boots were next on the cleaning list. Tougher than nails and nearly as invulnerable as his armor, these had seen harder use than the suit. He removed the liners and washed them thoroughly with the disinfectant soap from one of his ration kits. That would prevent him from developing jungle rot, at least. The outer shells of the boots were in rough shape. He scrubbed away the layer of dirt and grit they'd accumulated and then set about inspecting the joints and fastenings, giving some attention to the various components that might work loose, as unlikely as that event might be. Once done, the boots looked much better. Good enough to pass inspection, even.
The EP 12s were broken down and cleaned next. Their magazines were depleted but he had thirty rounds in one and twenty-seven in the other, plus the spare magazines on his belt. He wondered how much ammo they had for the fero-plas weapons and decided to ask M'pel E'kmel if she had done an inspection of them. It wasn't as though they had fired them very often, but there was some sense in knowing what you had available and knowing the limits you could push to.
When the women called to him before climbing up the ladder they had made, Liam was sharpening his knife to a good working edge. He had been tempted to make it razor sharp so that he could shave, but that was pointless. In normal use a razor edge was a mistake. Razor sharp knives blunted to uselessness if they encountered anything as hard as the metal. A working edge was always better. Even blunted, a working edge could still cut and maim and restoring the edge took only a few strokes on his stone.
Reaching the top of the ladder Clotilda said in her improved English, "Commander has fish, Liam!"
She was grinning happily and leaned down to kiss him on the lips before going down into the tree. She had been on watch before he'd taken over and she needed sleep. Tem'Ma'tel was next up the ladder and she greeted him with her customary, "Hello, SarJ'ant. How are you today?"
"Doing just fine, Marine," Liam replied like he always did. She was still learning English and seemed proud of her few words. He had noted early on that she took great care with pronunciation, working hard, repeating a word over and over until it sounded exactly as the language guide said it should.
Liam noticed there was a distinct spring to her limping step. Something had happened at the stream to put her in a good mood. He glanced searchingly at M'pel E'kmel when she stepped onto the tree trunk with her fish over her shoulder and her spear in her hand. She too seemed invigorated and he suspected it wasn't just because she'd speared so many tasty looking fish.
"You enjoyed fishing, I see," Liam said with a knowing smile.
"I enjoyed the entire visit, Sergeant," she said, grinning unabashedly at his suggestive tone. "Did you enjoy your time alone?"
Liam considered that for half a second, realizing he had indeed enjoyed the simple task of cleaning and maintaining his equipment.
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "It was good to unwind without worrying if the world was going to start falling apart around me."
"Your armor smells much better," she observed.
"Cleaned it," he replied, nodding.
"Your boots seem to be less attractive to insects now."
"And they will feel much better on my feet," he grinned.
"Would you mind getting a fire going?" she asked, dropping the fish on the bark of the tree. "Best if I get these gutted and cleaned before they attract the insects your boots have shunned for the moment."
As they worked they spoke of the coming move. Their plans were more or less as complete as could be, but Liam wanted to make one more trip back to the old camp by the scout ship to gather up what scraps of metal they could and to recover the few items such as lengths of rope and shovels he and Clot'ilda had not taken the first time.
"Why do you wish to gather the scraps of metal?" M'pel E'kmel asked, cutting the head off another fish.
"Not much metal on this world and none of it is going to be processed," he said. "Never know when something like that could be needed. Even soft copper is handy to have. I'm also going to strip my life pod. Anything we could make use of should go with us."
"Just don't stray too close to the wreck," she advised. "The hull was intact and the reactor chamber sealed, but with the leak the whole thing might be dangerous."
"No worries," he replied blowing on the kindling as it began to smolder. "Most of what I want will be scattered around the debris field the ship cut when it hit the trees."
