Warhawk's Sacrifice - Ch. 3 - A Meeting With the Princess - Alpha (Patreon)

When the doors opened, his prediction was wrong. Seb stepped into his room and scanned the surroundings. The metal blast doors hid the crescent moon windows from view. The lights cast the room in a dim yellow light.

She wasn’t standing at the bar to his left, lying on the circular bed in the center of the room, nor sitting at his personal desk and terminal to his right. When his eyes followed the wall to the open bathroom door, he heard the soft rain of the shower. Seb wondered where she was bathing, given his bathroom’s virtual project system allowed the user to shower anywhere in the galaxy.

Rather than investigating, he walked over to his bar and poured himself. After grabbing a glass from underneath the counter, he turned around, scanning the multicolored bottles that lined the shelves of his bar. He snatched a brown bottle with no words on it and a cork stopper.

Printaghast liquor always hit like a truck and would leave him feeling numb, something he was looking forward to given his aching muscles. The black liquid moved with the viscosity of oil. He poured enough for a single gulp, as that would be all he needed. After downing the contents, he washed the glass and put the bottle back on his shelf.

With the drink already kicking in, Seb walked across his room to his desk. He started the long process of removing his armor from his skinsleeve. He started with his upper body, removing his chest and backplates. Once he got them off, he finished with his arms, then his thighs, and eventually his shins. By the time he finished, he no longer heard the shower running.

Instead, Zara replaced the subtle sound of falling water with a melodic hum. Seb froze when heard her voice. He didn’t think such a shrewd and ruthless business woman could produce such a soft, melodic sound. It clashed against everything he knew about her. And so he sat at his desk chair, listening and waiting.

When she stepped out of the room, Zara was in her human-like form. She was wearing two towels: one wrapped around her horns and red hair, and the second holding on for dear life as it wrapped across her massive breasts. It was barely long enough to cover her upper body, but barely covering her thick bottom and wide hips.

She must have felt his gaze because her humming stopped and she spun toward him. Her vertically slit, yellow eyes tightened into thin slits. They didn’t show fear; they foretold a predator who was about to make him regret getting the jump on her.

“Sorry to startle you,” Seb said, raising a hand. “But you are in my room.”

“Yes… well, the accommodations offered on your ship are lacking,” Zara said, tilting her nose up.

“Are they now?” Seb asked, crossing his arms. “How so?”

Zara gave a smug smile like he’d just asked the stupident question she’d ever heard. “Sebastian… I’m a princess of the Saladonus family, not some filthy commoner. When I travel, I expect a certain level of luxury. Military-style bunks and public showers are not sufficient.”

“Did you just call my crew filthy commoners?”

Zara scoffed, eyeing her nails. “There you go, not paying attention to a word I’m saying.”

Seb jumped to his feet. “You’ve got this all wrong, princess. You’re on my ship. This isn’t some holiday cruise liner where you can boss around the help to get what you want.”

“Are you done? I don’t wish to argue with you. You’ve got enough to worry about as is, and we have much to discuss.”

Seb clenched his jaw. He hated how she was right. He had enough on his plate, and whether he wanted to admit it, having her on his good side made for a valuable asset.

“Fine,” Seb said, sitting back down. “I don’t mind if you come up and use my shower when you want to. Just don’t don’t treat this like your own personal barge and we’ll get along great.”

Zara smiled and walked over to the room’s built-in closets and pointed. “Now, which one of these has your comfortable clothes?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I’ve been wearing the same dress since we left Benioff’s party, and I’ve never worn the same outfit more than twice in my entire life.” She turned with a slight grin on her face and slid her finger down the middle of her cleavage. “Or would you rather I forgo any clothes?”

“The farthest door on the left,” Seb said with a deadpan face.

Zara walked to the edge of the room and pulled on the two handles. She took a few minutes sifting through Seb’s clothes. Her flared nostrils and frown told him that she wasn’t too pleased with her selection.

“Sebastian, you really ought to let me take you shopping,” Zara said. “There’s nothing in here except sweatshirts and sweatpants. I mean… cotton? Really?”

“You asked for comfortable clothes. These are clothes for lounging around. I’m not trying to wear a suit to sleep in, Zara.”

“There’s always an opportunity to look your best. I could get you some pants in burain fur that’s more plush than cotton and smoother than silk.”

“And likely harvested with slave labor…”

Zara flicked her hand in his direction. “There’s no need to be so dramatic.”

The princess dropped the towel from around her chest and Seb jerked his head to his ceiling. He knew she did it on purpose. She wanted him to look, and he did too. He resisted as long as he could, his eyes bouncing from object to object that stood in his room. But his body betrayed him, naturally gravitating to the naked body of his former employer.

He wasn’t sure if it was a result of her magical transformation, but her skin was perfect. It shined with the room’s dim light, as if she bathed in the richest oils. Her curves gave her the body of a goddess, a calling for all warriors to pledge their devotion to her. When the princess caught his glare, Seb turned around after she smiled.

“I don’t know why you’re being so coy, Sebastian,” Zara said. “You’ve seen all of me before.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Seb said after clearing his throat. “Not this body, anyway.”

“It’s the same body, just a different form. One you seem to enjoy.”

“Sure… but it’s the attitude that comes with it that sours it.”

When Seb didn’t hear an immediate response, he wondered if he’d pissed her off. He straightened when he felt her footsteps approach from behind his chair. Her arms wrapped around his chest and his head slid in between her soft cushions.

“You have a wicked tongue, Sebastian,” Zara whispered in his ear. “If it wasn’t for my appreciation for your talents and your good looks, I’d rip it out.”

“Well, lucky for me.”

Her hands explored his body, teasing the front of his skinsleeve with her fingers. He found the pressure subtle, but it was her aggressive approach and warm breath upon his ear that had the hair standing up on the back of his neck.

He knew he was going to be in trouble as her fingers reached lower. However, the moment took a downward turn when Zara took one deep breath near his neck and then a few smaller ones. She jerked away from him, coughing.

“Varanidae’s breath, you’re rank!” She shouted.

Seb burst into laughter as he spun around. He never thought he would be thankful for his own natural body odor. However, his laughter seized as his eyes took in Zara’s nude body. While she waved her hand in front of her face, her breasts swung free, putting him in a trance.

Noticing his dropped jaw, Zara placed her hands on her hips, standing proud. “So, you do like this form, after all.”

“It’s… okay…” Seb said, trying to play it off.

Zara pointed down at Seb’s groin. “That’s not what your body says.”

Seb looked down at the growing bulge of his skinsleeve. He looked up and frowned. “It’s a natural reaction. It means nothing.”

“Oh it definitely means something,” Zara said with a sly grin. “I see how you look at my breasts. You know… you can touch them if you want to.”

She didn’t need to make a strong argument. He wanted to. It was as if the heavens parted and the Maker himself cast a holy light upon her perfect mounds. He wanted to shove his face between both of them and sleep the night away, using them as his own personal pillows. But before Seb could make another mistake he would likely regret, the elevator door opened.

The captain jerked his head to see Nalla enter, holding a tray with the dinner she made for him. When she looked over at him and Zara, her soft smile shifted into a horrible shriek. She screamed and dropped the food on the ground, covering her eyes with both hands.

“Oh my gods, I’m so sorry!” she cried.

“Nalla, this isn’t what it looks like!” Seb shouted.

“Oh, it’s definitely what it looks like,” Zara said with a smug grin.

“Will you be quiet! No, it’s not!”

“I should have knocked!” Nalla said, turning around. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

As Nalla sprinted back into the elevator, Seb lunged from the chair and chased after her only to have the door close in his face. He turned around and threw up his hands when he heard Zara’s laughter.

“Was that really called for?” Seb exasperatedly sighed.

“What?” Zara asked, shrugging. “It’s not like she caught us fucking.”

“You could have explained it was just a misunderstanding.”

“I will not lie to the poor girl. If anything, it would have been more exciting to have her stay.”

“I—just can’t with you right now.” Seb said, rubbing his head.

“Your crew knows we’ve slept together, right?”

“Yeah, but that was in the past.”

“It could be current too,” she said, batting her lush eyelashes at him.

Seb trudged his way into the bathroom, ignoring the princess as she eyed him with nefarious intent. He unclamped the skinsleeve around his neck and wrists, allowing for the skin-tight fabric to inflate like a trash bag.

After slipping it off, he turned on the shower, stepping into the instantaneously hot water. He braced his hands on the wall, allowing for the warmth of the water to cover him. Combined with the tingling numbness from his earlier drink, he no longer felt any pain.

After a few minutes passed, Zara moaned from the doorway. “Mmmm… I know you’d gotten fitter, but seeing it all in the open is quite a treat for the eyes.”

Seb straightened and turned around in the shower.

Zara leaned on head on the doorway wearing his sweatshirt and pants. Her eyes wash over him like a predator eyeing its next meal. If she hadn’t been leaning back, he was certain she would have salivated.

“You can go,” Seb said, pointing out the doorway.

“We still have business to discuss,” Zara said.

Seb pointed to the nearby closet. “Then make yourself useful and grab me a towel and washcloth.” When Zara did as he’d asked, he said, “Thank you. Say whatever you need to say. I’m exhausted and need sleep.”

“Very well,” Zara said, returning to the doorway. “Your virtual intelligence has kept me in the dark, but it’s easy to assume what has happened. Still… I’m going to ask you to tell me.”

“Arithor forces tried to arrest us on behalf of the GRC.”

“So the inora informed the GRC of the girls’ presence?” Zara said as she processed the information. “No doubt likely their queen’s decision after the deal fell through. Where are we headed now?”

“Into the Galactic core. Timura Station.”

“If you think the GRC won’t come after you in the Galactic Core, you’re mistaken. It may be a DMZ, but they’ll just send contractors after you.”

“We’ve escaped bounty hunters in the past.”

“I’m not talking about bounty hunters. I’m talking about private military contractors. Small armies and gangs on GRC payroll. Just like how I keep you off the books, these companies fight the shadow wars outside the light of the public eye. And the Galactic Core is the modern battlefield.”

“So, what are we supposed to do?” Seb asked, throwing his hands up. “Sister Mischa spoke about the Sisters of Nimora having churches in unclaimed space we could hide in.”

“If you run, you’ll always be running, and they’ll find you, eventually. You need to beat them at their own game and give them a reason to stop chasing you.”

“How?”

Zara held up her finger to her lips. She paced back and forth as she thought. When she stopped, she looked at him with a pinched brow, her eyes full of determination. “When we stop at the station, I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.”

Seb crossed his arms and leaned back. “And what’s that going to cost me?”

Zara gave a toothy smile. “Nothing… for now… But like all things in this galaxy, if I do find a way to protect you, it won’t come free.”

Seb smiled out of annoyance and shook his head. “How did I know?” He raised his finger. “I’m telling you right now, I’m not working for you again. Our contract is complete.”

“Yes. yes,” Zara said, flicking her hand at him. “As you’ve stated a dozen times over many days. But just note the ask won’t come from me.”

“It won’t?”

Zara chuckled. “ Of course not, darling. I don’t have the power to protect you, but the people who could will require something in return, and with the ask being protection from the GRC, it’s going to be something big.”

Seb sighed and placed his hands on his hips. It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it? he wondered. We’re never going to escape from being under someone’s thumb. One way or another, the ultra-powerful will always manage to keep their claws around our throats.

After turning off the water and drying off with a towel, Seb wrapped it around his waist and approached Zara. “Fine. Make the calls, but I’m not agreeing to anything unless I know the cost.”

“You have my word,” Zara said with a slight nod.

“Oh, and before I forget. You still owe us all that back pay.”

“Ah, yes,” Zara said, her smile shifting into a pointed scowl.

“And don’t give me any sass about not being able to come through. The ship needs repairs.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your money. Once we arrive at Timura Outpost, I’ll get you the credits owed.”

“Good.” Seb walked past Zara and trudged his way to his bed. He sat on the edge and leaned forward on his knees. “Anything else that you want to discuss? Otherwise, I think I’m going to get some sleep.”

Zara walked over, kneeled in between Seb’s legs. She ran her fingers underneath his towel, gripping his knees. As she leaned forward, she whispered seductively. “Well, since I ruined your dinner, why don’t I make it up with some desert?”

All of Seb’s brain cells fired all at once. The primal half wondered how sweet her lips would taste and feel on his body. He wondered if the glisten on her skin would taste like icing.

The other half was an aflame starship plummeting to a deserted planet. A screeching alarm warned of his impending demise. The battle between these two halves raged as he stared into her golden eyes.

It was in those eyes that the alarm won over. They instantly transported him back into the corporate apartments of Merovingian, where Zara presented herself on the bed, enticing him to take the deal that landed him ten years in prison.

“Hey!” Zara shouted, as Seb stood and dragged her by her wrists. He led her to his bedroom door, tapped the call button, and after a few seconds, the doors opened.

“Your room is one floor down,” Seb said, extending his arm to the door.

Zara’s face turned red, and she stomped into the elevator. “You know you can be a real jerk.”

“I know.”

When the doors closed, Seb leaned his head forward. He waited for a few seconds, wondering if he made the right decision. One head vehemently disagreed.

Undecided, he spun on the spot and looked at the spilled food on his bedroom floor. Realizing he was going to have to talk with Nalla about what happened, he let out a sigh and started cleaning. Nothing’s ever simple…