What Happens in Orbit

When the resonant

clang

of the secondary ship docking sounded, Cora was in the kitchen. Chatter echoed from down the hall. Nervous, she peeked around the corner into the main room. The mood was dark.

Uh-oh.

Mar, entered, followed by Tor. Both were unharmed, save for smears of what looked like ash and a nasty-looking burn on one of Mar's arms.

Nervously, she went up to them. Mar looked up at her, then shook his head. He began to laugh.

"Hey, Cora?"

She grimaced, recognizing that tone. She'd fucked up, somehow. "Yeah?"

"Add 'started an interplanetary war' to your list of accomplishments."

Tai ushered Mar into a chair, inspecting his arm. "Why are you blaming Cora for the Sheevae declaring war on us?" He asked, amused.

Both Mar and Tor turned to her with a frosty glare.

Cora winced, shrinking back. Tai turned to her as well, mounting concern visible.

"Cora? What did you do?"

Rubbing at the back of her neck, she fumbled for an answer.

"Well, ah, y'know- Back on Earth, you could participate in an orgy with no political consequences-"

Slowly, Tai turned back to the others. [She didn't.]

They nodded in unison. [She did.]

"Okay, no, I call bullshit." Cora crossed her arms. "Don't blame me because the queen found out about your people's shenanigans... through me. And then I fucked her, and several others... at the same time. But that's not relevant."

Mar winced as Tai started bandaging his arm. "You're right. It's not entirely your fault. But I want to know what were you doing outside Amola's ship without us."

"Mitri told me that Amola was nesting. She snuck up behind me at one point and I got scared. Ran right through the airlock. Danger, the one that came up to us at the restaurant, found me. Told me I had to come."

"She named herself Danger?" Mar snorted.

Cora nodded.

Tai motioned for Tor to sit down. "Amola. That's the name of that Noxis scavenger Erie got himself into trouble with, right?"

Erie called from across the room. [Tai, shut the

fuck

up.]

"No way." Cora bit back a laugh. "That was him?"

Mar shook his head. "I told them about that." He turned back to Erie, who was briskly approaching. "Don't worry, Cora went through the same thing."

She blanched. "Mar, if you don't shut up-"

"Twice!"

"Asshole!"

Erie swatted at the back of Mar's head. [Stop that.] He leaned against the back of the chair. "Twice? What did you do?"

Cora huffed, flopping down into another chair. "I didn't

do

anything. The first time, Mitri asked, and the second time, I volunteered."

Tor clapped his hands together. [Called it! Pay up, Mar.]

Mar shot him a dirty look.

"You... volunteered." Erie was staring at her in disbelief. "You volunteered for that?"

"Yep. Yeah. What was all that about?"

"I refused to believe that you

wanted

to go through that again. Tor told me I was an idiot and bet me a decent amount of currency that you volunteered for it." Mar was tapping at his tablet, scowling.

"I told you, Cora would never pass up an opportunity to make a whore of herself."

Erie snorted, muttering something under his breath. Mar's hand shot up, seizing him by his throat.

[Repeat that for me.]

"Oh, Jesus, Mar. Don't-"

His gaze snapped to Cora, and he squeezed. Erie made a hoarse squeak, scrabbling at Mar's hand.

"Mar, you're doing the thing you didn't want to do, remember?" Growling, he let go.

Erie dropped to the floor, coughing and heaving. He rolled over, glaring at Cora.

"

No, he won't,

she said.

Fuck me,

she said," he mocked her hoarsely. "I should have known."

Cora frowned at him. "Hush. You knew better."

Tai had become extremely interested in his medical kit, staring like he wished he could hide inside it.

Erie rose to his knees, scooting away from Mar. "Tai, you're being

so

very quiet over there! Would you like to say anything?" A knife stuck in the floor between his legs with a metallic

thud

, inches from disaster. "Ah. Understood." He got up, retreating to his quarters.

Cora reached for the knife, wiggling it loose. "Tai, do you want this back?"

Tai nodded, motioning for her to pass it. She turned it around, passing it handle-first.

Mar was watching this. "Cora."

She didn't look up. "Yes?"

"I hope you remember the conversation we had, before I left."

Her voice went up several octaves. "Yes! Yes, I do."

Tor leaned back, eyeing Tai. [Did you two have fun?]

Tai put the lid on his kit, looking around. [I have a lot of work to do.] He made a beeline for his room.

Tor's attention returned to her. "Both of them. Why did I bother controlling myself?"

Mar crossed his arms, a faint smile on his face. "You still have to."

Both Cora and Tor gave him a look of dismay.

She held up a finger. "Now, hold on. I could have sworn that I was threatened with- with, ah,

something

. Was that just talk?"

"I wasn't thinking straight at the time." Mar shifted in his chair, lowering his voice. "You know there's already three, we don't need more."

Tor scoffed. "She's already taken that risk."

"No, she hasn't. The entire crew of this ship is on mandatory suppressants. All of us but you."

Cora bit the inside of her cheek.

The ice just keeps getting thinner.

Tor's eyes were horribly bloodshot, and he bared his teeth when he spoke. "You don't know that."

Visibly annoyed, Mar snapped at him. [If you would just take the damn suppressants, it wouldn't be so bad.]

"Cora," Tor growled. "I need to talk to Mar."

He stood, dragging Mar out of his seat by one of his uninjured arms.

Oh, no. I'm gonna have to break up a fight again.

Cora slipped into the room behind them, narrowly missing getting shut in the door. The lights in the room were dimmed.

They hadn't even noticed her. Tor stood nose-to-nose with Mar, speaking quietly. His movements were aggressive, but Mar wasn't reacting. He looked away, clearing his throat before speaking.

[I don't want Cora finding out.]

Tor took his shirt off. [Why?]

Cora understood them easily, but remained confused.

She considered announcing her presence. Then, Tor tackled Mar, pinning him face-down into the bed. She recognized his expression.

Wait a damn minute.

Oh.

Oh, jeez. I should-

Cora sidled towards the door.

Mar noticed her. [Tor, wait- Cora's-]

"Hm?" Tor looked up. "Oh, good. Come here, I need your help."

Her ears burned. "I, uh, you sure? Because I can, y'know, I can give you two some privacy-"

"Yeah, come here."

Mar had buried his face in the blanket, but Cora could see him turning a concerning shade of purple.

Tor motioned for her to sit by Mar's head, then went to his crate.

She sat where he told her to, running a hand over Mar's hair.

"You okay?" Cora whispered.

His reply was muffled. "Yeah, but I'd be better if you weren't seeing this."

Tor returned with something in his hand.

"No, no, it's fine. Lots of humans do... this," Cora reassured Mar, keeping her gaze firmly on him. He sighed, turning his head back to the side.

Tor laughed. [You ready?]

Mar sighed again, shifting his knees under him.

Cora wasn't sure who was more embarrassed, her or Mar, who now had his ass in the air.

"We wouldn't have to do this if you would just take your fucking suppressants, Tor."

Tor grinned, gesturing at Cora.

Watch this

, he mouthed. The hand he gestured at her with was slick with... something.

Ah, jeez. I should have just stayed out there and minded my own business. This is what I get.

Still, she liked seeing Mar like this, vulnerable and yielding. He shivered, pushing back against Tor's hand with a faint gasp.

"No, we don't

have

to do this." Tor stopped, tilting his head. He glanced up at Cora, amused.

"So," she chewed at her lip, watching Mar bury his face back into the blanket, muttering. "You two do this often?"

Tor rose to his knees, pouring the contents of a small bottle into his hand. "It's common in colonies. You have one female and up to ten males. Someone always gets left out."

Cora watched as he stroked himself, his hand making a slick noise against his cock. "But Mar's not from a colony, is he?"

Mar groaned. "No. This asshole was in heat for the first few cycles of our mission. I told him I would help. Now, here we are."

"Oh. That was nice of you, Mar." Cora ran a finger along his jawline, imagining how that conversation went.

He looked up at her, his eyes suddenly rolling back. [Shit-]

A glance up at Tor told her why. He'd leaned forward, pressing into Mar. "Cora, cover his mouth. I don't want the whole ship hearing him."

She moved closer, letting Mar put his head in her lap. He took a deep breath, frustration apparent.

[Just fuck me.]

Cora raised her eyebrows, looking back up at Tor.

Oh, damn.

Tor laughed, taking a hold of the base of Mar's tail and slamming his remaining length in. Cora's hand barely muffled his feverish cry in time. He mumbled against her palm, something that sounded suspiciously like [

yes

]. Tor hissed quietly, getting rougher. Mar had gone limp against her, letting Tor pull him back into every thrust.

If Cora wasn't using both her hands to keep him quiet, they would have been elsewhere.

Fuck.

She liked seeing Tor like this, too.

"Oh, Cora. Let me flip him over."

He pulled away. [On your back.] Mar turned over, his face and ears turning purple again. Cora knelt back down next to his head, savoring his reaction as Tor slid back into him.

"It should be easier to keep him quiet."

She nodded, resisting the urge to grind against her thighs.

"I like seeing you like this, Mar." Cora spoke softly, watching him fight back a whimper. Tor was being as rough as he always was, his pace becoming frantic. The muffled noises from under her hand were becoming more and more shameless.

He's close, too.

Mar reached for his own cock, growling in frustration when Tor swatted his hand away.

[No. Not yet- Fuck, Mar-] Tor shivered, his nails digging into Mar's thighs.

Kind of wish that was me.

Almost knocking Cora over, Mar tore free of her hand. [You son of a bitch,

don't stop-

]

Tor, out of breath, waved at Cora. "Help him, please, before he kills me."

Help him?

In her moment of confusion, Mar kicked Tor off the bed. Cora found herself pinned face-down, her pants being tugged off.

"Oh," Mar exhaled, circling her slick opening with a finger. "You

really

liked that, hm?"

She nodded, as well as she could while being pushed into the bed. "Yeah. But Mar, I distinctly remember you promising to break me."

"That's right, I almost forgot."

Cora was forced to bite back a yelp as he grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her back slightly.

"Don't worry about being quiet. I

want

them to hear you."

"No, you don't." A disgruntled Tor stood by the bed with his arms crossed, watching them.

"Tor, shut up."

Tor began to speak again, but was cut off by Mar yanking Cora by her hair,

hard

, back onto his waiting cock.

She bit down on her tongue, stifling a strained cry.

"Oh, fuck-

Cora-"

Mar snarled, releasing his grip on her hair. She collapsed to the bed, held up only by her knees. He doubled over, wrapping one set of arms around her.

She giggled, realizing that Mar was already about to cum. His other two hands were on either side of her head, curled up into tense fists. She pushed her hips back and up, burying her face in the blankets. The crew would definitely have questions later. His hold on her tightened, his pace becoming focused. Dizzily, Cora realized that something was different. She could feel him twitching inside of her as he came, but he didn't relax.

"I'm not fucking done with you," he growled, wrapping a hand around her throat and jerking her upright against him. Another hand went to her mouth, fingers roughly pushing past her lips.

Fuck, yes.

Tor sat on the bed across from them, visibly amused.

Cora arched her back, pushing against him. His fingers twitched, digging into the thin, sensitive skin over her jugular.

"Impatient little whore."

Holy shit-

As he thrust upward, he slammed her down onto his cock, still keeping her gagged with his fingers. Cora started to understand what he meant by

break

. She didn't care about the mess dripping down her thighs, or her face. Her vision blurred as her eyes crossed, enough to hurt but not enough to matter. Mar was insatiable, knocking the breath from her lungs with every stroke.

Cora gave up on pushing back against him, going limp in his hands. It didn't make a difference. He had her exactly where he wanted her.

Mar shifted under her, changing his angle. It was almost too much, but her body didn't seem to care. Without warning, Cora came hard and fast, her entire body spasming in Mar's unrelenting grasp.

He waited for her to calm down before he pulled out, laying her on her back. They both eyed her quietly, watching as she caught her breath.

Tor looked up at Mar. Mar shook his head, a cruel glint in his eye. "Only once, Cora?"

Oh, no.

"What?"

"You only came once. That's not right." Still on his knees, Mar seized her right thigh, rolling Cora onto her side.

Tor flopped over, propped up on an elbow. "Someone else took care of her."

His nails dug into her thigh. "Is that true, Cora?" His expression was dangerously calm, a smile playing on his lips. She chewed at the inside of her cheek, unsure.

Trying to keep her tone innocent, she whispered her reply. "No, I'm just- you just wore me out. That's all."

Mar gritted his teeth. "Tell me something."

"Hm?"

"How many times did you let someone else cum in you today?"

Reflexively, Cora shook her head.

"That's not an answer, Cora."

He tightened his grip on her thigh, spreading her legs open.

Oh, no.

This position had always been too much for Cora normally. There was no way she'd be able to handle it now.

"Answer me."

Cora scoffed. "How many times do you think?"

Oh, that wasn't very smart of me.

Tor leapt forward, clamping a hand over Cora's mouth as Mar shoved his cock back inside of her.

"

I think

you're going to cum again for me, no matter how

worn out

you are."

Well, when you say it like that- Holy shit.

He was going deep, at an angle Cora thought she hated.

It was

amazing.

[Oh, she likes that.]

Mar tilted his head at her, curious. [Move your hand. I want to hear her.]

Now no longer held in place by Tor, Cora pushed against the bed, struggling to find purchase. "Mar," she gasped out. "Please don't stop."

He laughed, his pace slowing. "What do you want, Cora?"

She whined, her voice cracking. "Damn it, what do you think I want? I just told you!"

Mar raised an eyebrow at her, then smirked. "No. You didn't." He pulled out completely, keeping a firm hold on her thigh as she writhed underneath him, swearing. "Tell me what you want."

Cora tried to sit up and give him a piece of her mind, only to have her shoulders pinned back down to the bed by Tor. "Damn it! Just- Just fuck me! Please-"

"Good." He plunged his cock back inside her, savoring the obscene cry that followed.

Tor reached for her mouth. [Should I-]

[No.]

To her credit, Cora was trying to stay quiet. She was failing, of course, but she was trying. Mar pulled her hands away from her mouth, dropping down to his elbows to kiss her.

Cora strained upwards against him, mumbling a plea against his lips and cursing the awkward height difference. "Please don't stop, please don't stop, please- oh,

fuck-

"

Mar was in her ear now, his breathing ragged. Through the blood rushing in her ears, she could hear him gasp out her name before burying his cock as deep as it would go.

He collapsed against her, panting. [Shit, Cora.]

[Mar, you're gonna squash her.] Tor poked at him disapprovingly.

He laughed, releasing the weight from his elbows.

"Agh, Mar-" Cora wheezed, shoving him off her.

He rolled over, splaying out on the bed.

Tor huffed, and Cora heard a soft

fwump

behind her as he followed suit. "We'll clean this up later."

It was cold when Cora woke up.

It's always cold, Cora. Stop making yourself nervous.

Her head felt like it was full of cotton, her thoughts echoing faintly. She stretched, wondering when the ever-present ache in her bones would go away.

Shit. I'd kill for some ibuprofen.

Trying not to wake Mar, Cora rolled out of bed and got dressed. Tor had already got up at some point, but his spot was still warm. In the main room, the Roshak with tusks was sweeping. Cora stepped carefully around the small piles of dirt he'd created.

Someone Cora hadn't been introduced to was in the kitchen. He was the only other one on the ship with long ears like Tor and Tai. He'd also been the one watching her when she first arrived at the ship.

Cora racked her brain, trying to remember if she'd heard his name in passing. He was at the stove managing several boiling pots.

I hope he won't be annoyed at me being in here.

As quietly as possible, she sat on one of the stools in the kitchen.

I swear I heard Tai say his name earlier.

Of course, that didn't help. All their nicknames were other words in Roshak.

He turned to the side, eyeing her. His tail twitched.

Yikes.

"Hi," Cora said, quietly panicking.

He turned back to the stove, retrieving his tablet from a pocket. He squinted at it and mouthed something.

Cora tilted her head, watching him. His eyes were already a dark green, making it difficult for her to tell if they were normal or not.

Oh, I forgot I can use my tablet.

She set it on the table, finding the translation software.

He was still squinting down at his tablet, his blue-gray ears darkening.

Nervous?

After typing in a greeting and a thank you for the food, Cora turned the tablet and slid it across the table.

He looked back at her and the tablet, uncertain. When he finally walked over, he set a bowl of food and a small fork in front of her before reading the tablet. He had barely finished reading it before he scrambled out of the kitchen, and returned a few moments later, dragging a groggy Leo behind him.

"Cora?" Leo dug his heels in, stopping short of the table.

She turned, her mouth full of food. "Hm?"

"Uh," He faltered, waving a hand at the blue-gray Roshak that was now removing pots from the stove. "Della wants to talk to you?"

Della was hurriedly portioning food into containers, his tail thrashing nervously.

Cora finished her bite. "Is he okay?"

Leo nodded. "Yes? I think he wants to ask you about-" He cut himself off, whipping around to check the doorway. "About yourself."

She narrowed her eyes, trying not to be obvious as she looked for a dark ring around his irises.

Oh, boy.

He normally had soft blue eyes, identical to Erie's. They were now much darker than they should have been.

"Okay. I have a question, too." Leo nodded. "Is Erie your brother? I just noticed that you two have the same eye color."

He frowned at her.

Cora, you fucking idiot.

"Yes. You've...

met

my brother." Cora chewed at her lip, trying to meet his gaze calmly. She failed, turning dark red the minute Leo cocked an eyebrow at her.

Shit. This is awkward.

Della stacked the containers in the cooler, his gaze occasionally darting between them. [What are you two talking about?]

Leo shook his head, moving to help Della put the food away. [Nothing yet.]

Cora finished eating, cleaning her dishes and putting them away. "So, what did you-"