Dark Empire Book One: Shadows Approach Chapter Two Scene Five

 

Piras is put in his proper place in today's excerpt. The ebook releases Friday!

"Tracy St. John's writing style is nothing short of exceptional. The way she effortlessly blends action, suspense, and romance is a testament to her talent as a storyteller." -Amazon review

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“Specialist Nath, report to your quarters.”

Hope smirked at Kila’s gruff tone on her com. She was awareher shift, as well as his, had ended nearly an hour ago, but she’d been busyassembling a nanospy program sure to knock her clanmates’ socks off. She wascertain it would come in useful on Earth II.

Was she okay when it came to spying on her own people on theKalquorian Empire’s behalf? Given her history of living in the presence ofreligious zealots who’d stopped at nothing to hold power, hell yes. She had noproblem where keeping tabs on potential dictators was concerned.

“On my way, Captain.” She sat back in her hover chair in hertiny cubicle in Engineering and stretched. Her spine crackled satisfyingly.

She rose and headed for the corridor, waving to theengineering crew as she passed them. Lokmi had already left, excited tocelebrate their leaving Bi’is for the last time. Hope was thrilled too, but herprogram was close to completion.

Another hour, and I bet I would have been done. Shesighed wistfully as she stepped into the elevator-like conveyance waiting tobring her mere steps from her clan’s quarters. Oh well, tomorrow was soonenough to finish her latest project, test it, and check it off her list.

Life was good.

Hope entered her clan’s quarters moments later. Three bronzefaces swung in her direction, and a thrill shot through her. Elegant Piras,feral Kila, and stunning Lokmi, so different in looks and personalities, butequally exciting. Her heart throbbed overflowing love for the trio who’d savedher father from execution, her sister from being the child bride of a monster,and herself from an uncertain future years before.

“Hi honeys, I’m home.” She beamed at them.

“You took long enough,” Kila groused, but as usual, a smileplayed at the corner of his lips. “It’s no fun coming in second to a bunch ofminiature robots.”

“You never come in second. You just get momentarily delayed.I seem to remember you being late on a few occasions after visiting Engineeringtoo.”

“And me being late because I had to undo what he’d done.”Lokmi joined in, wearing a pretended scowl at Kila. Or maybe it wasn’tpretended. Kila was a born tinkerer, son of a race shuttle team, unable toresist the urge to make his ship faster. Engineering was Lokmi’s domain,however, and the pair locked horns over Kila’s clandestine modifications whenthey were discovered.

“Okay, okay, we’re all a bunch of workaholics who love whatwe do. Let’s put duty aside for a few hours and toast to our change ofaddress.” In a dramatic flourish, Piras produced the biggest bottle of leshellaHope had ever seen. She clapped in approval.

“Party time!”

One of the men had picked up dinner from the mess hall andbrought it to their cramped quarters. They picnicked on their vast sleepingmat, which took up much of the floor space.

“Pilchok always tastes so decadent. I feel I’m eatingdessert ahead of the meal,” Hope said, licking the flaky pastry-like meat offher lips. She swallowed a healthy mouthful of leshella to wash it down. ThePlasian wine went down easily, and she was already feeling quite mellow.

Lokmi popped another morsel on her tongue. “I’m a firmbeliever in decadence. In fact, I request extra helpings. Less work, moreplay.”

“For you, work is play,” Kila chuckled. “If you don’t havean engine to fuss over, you hate life.”

“I’m sure that’s why you fuck with my ship on an ongoingbasis, out of concern for my joy.”

“Your ship?” Kila’s ever-present grin took on its dangerouscast, his teeth gleaming through his dark beard.

“Okay, your ship. But they’re my engines.”

“If they’re part of my ship, then it makes them—”

As they commenced their usual debate, which ignited at leastonce a week, Piras offered Hope a bite of wedi-sauced niria. “At least no onefights over your nanobots.”

“Good. I’d hate to put any of you in a medi-bed.”

He chuckled, and Hope looked at him in undisguisedadoration. The “Terror of the Fleet,” as Piras had been called before his spyactivity had made him a pariah among Kalquorians, wasn’t known outside of hisclan for smiles. Having given up his home, friends, and an open relationshipwith his family to save the Kalquorian Empire from the treasonous Dramok Maf,he’d had damned little to be happy about. Hope had made it her mission to givehim as much pleasure in life as was in her power.

Fortunately, their pleasures meshed quite satisfactorily.

When he offered her another bite…Kalquorian mentraditionally fed their Matara clanmates…Hope brushed his arm aside. She leanedforward to claim a kiss. Piras yielded to her command, his lips parting toinvite a deeper embrace. She accepted, kissing him until he was left gasping.She was gratified to spy how his crotch bulged in interest. The spicy scent ofhis arousal mixed enticingly with the food.

She tapped his wrist, as he still held the fork aloft. Heswallowed hard and fed her, hunger for something besides pilchok and niria inhis gaze. She patted his thigh and held out her glass to Lokmi, who smirked ashe refilled it.

She didn’t dare tease him as she did Piras. He and Kilaweren’t to be toyed with, unless she was in the mood to be taken underparticular circumstances.

She was, but only after dinner and leshella had beenconsumed. And maybe Piras, as well.

Life was great.

“Any word on what we’ll find when we reach Earth’s AlphaStation?”

Kila’s question snapped Piras into his in-charge persona.“Rear Admiral Hobato and Admiral Tranis are to meet us there. They’ll bespeaking to the station’s commander and the head of Earth’s on-planet securityprior to our arrival, to make sure they’re willing to work with me ascommanding officer of Earth Space Security.”

“Admiral Tranis, huh?” Kila’s dangerous grin had returned.“His Nobek won’t be there, will he?”

Piras regarded him levelly. “He isn’t part of Fleet Command,so I see no reason why he would be.”

Hope wondered why Kila was so jealous of Piras’ previousrelationship with Admiral Tranis’ Nobek. Piras never brought him up, butanytime Admiral Tranis’ name was spoken, Kila immediately mentioned NobekLidon.

She’d asked for clarification on their past. Kila wouldn’tanswer her questions. He acted as if he didn’t hear her ask them. Piras merelyshrugged and said it was ancient history. Lokmi had no idea what had happenedexcept Piras and Lidon had been in a long-term relationship, supposedly once destinedfor a clanship. Dramok Tranis had shown up, and Lidon had clanned with himinstead.

Lokmi opined Kila was territorial when it came to Piras, andsomehow saw the other Nobek as a continuing rival.

It was a mystery, and Kila and Piras were determined to keepit so. Hope wondered if she’d get the opportunity to ask Tranis for the story.She wondered if he’d answer her, a stranger and the Matara to his former rivalfor Nobek Lidon.

Probably not.

Piras’ expression was closed off as he offered Hope a forkfulof food. Kila appeared sullen, his smirk more of a snarl. The clan’scelebratory dinner was quickly fading into a pout party. Hope and Lokmiexchanged a glance. His eyes rolled.

“You know what we need?” she suggested brightly. “Or atleast, what I need? A naked man. Piras, make me happy.” She pushed his nearlyempty plate away.

He blinked at her. A flush crept up from his collar.

“You heard her.” Kila’s voice was a growl. “Strip or getstrapped.”

There was a hesitation as Piras weighed whether he wantedpunishment or not, then he pulled the resealable seam of his one-piece uniformapart. Hope ogled him as his defined chest came in view, then his shoulders andbiceps. He shrugged the top of his formsuit free.

Piras got off the mat to pull the uniform the rest of theway off. Then he stood before them, his twin cocks gleaming wetness and thickfrom arousal. His head was bowed, but Hope saw the gleam of his purple eyessneaking a peek at her through the fall of his long, black hair.

She pointed at the surface of bed beside her, aware Kila waschugging the last of the leshella directly from the bottle and Lokmi wasclearing the remains of their dinner away. “Kneel. Hands behind your back.”

The most demanding admiral of the fleet, the brute who’dcowed the nastiest Nobeks who’d dared to refute him, was nowhere in evidence.He was a Dramok, a breed that backed down in no way to no one…but Piras was ararity of his kind when it came to sex. He was as submissive in bed as he wasinsurmountable everywhere else.

Though he stood around six-and-a-half-feet tall, toweringover Hope, he was hers to dominate. She enjoyed doing so as much as she enjoyedsurrendering to their clanmates, who were as domineering as Piras was not.

Piras climbed onto the bed again, kneeling next to Hope, hisarms behind him. She grasped his secondary and pumped it, looking away as if hebarely rated her attention. “So, about my nanobots…”

She spent the next few minutes discussing her new programwith Kila and Lokmi, masturbating Piras’ cocks in turn with seeming casualnegligence. However, she was tuned to his reactions, subtle and otherwise. Hewas hot on her palm, his shafts jerking when she squeezed the base of either,where he liked it best. He trembled as the seconds ticked by, growing excitedby both his helplessness to evoke his will and her pretended indifference tohis increasing arousal. Being treated as a mere plaything was high on Piras’list of enthralling carnal activities.

After her discussion with Kila and Lokmi, Hope flicked a glanceat him. He kept his head down. His gaze through sleek black strands waspleading, as if he didn’t know the night’s trials were only beginning.

 * * * * 

A new planet. A newenemy. Is the end coming for the Kalquorian Empire?

In the aftermath ofthe Kalquorian civil war and the defeat of the Bi’is invasion fleet, the empirehas enjoyed peace. A new Earth has been born. A Kalquorian leads the GalacticCouncil of Planets. An era of harmony seems assured.

However, new dangersarrive on the horizon. Governor Stacy Nichols finds herself at odds withpowerful opponents who want Earth II to return to the old ways that led to thedemise of their original planet. They’ll do anything to stop her, especiallywhen they discover her newfound romance with Clan Rihep of Kalquor.

After five years and aterrifying encounter with an unknown entity, Clan Piras is finally leavingtheir spy duties in Bi’is space. Now they must face enemies closer to home: thefamilies of those they sacrificed while on a secret mission during theKalquorian civil war.

A new threat to theexistence of Kalquor and the entire Galactic Council of Planets arrives in themidst of these challenges, a dark menace unlike anything faced before. Oneyoung, inexperienced spyship ensign is all that stands between the galaxy andutter destruction. Can he warn the empire in time…or is it already too late?

DarkEmpire 1: Shadows Approach releases Friday! Pre-order now at Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, and print.