Tarifa sat in the galley of EDEN Ground Control with the remaining members of her detachment. She had spoken with the human officer Admiral Wallace, for nearly two hours, and to say she had come away very confused and even more suspicious would be a complete understatement. She sat with her back against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest as the others of her detachment faded in and out of much deserved sleep. Tarifa however could not bring herself to close her eyes, for every time she did she replayed the same scene in her head; her attempted rape by the betrayer in her detachment and the subsequent rescue by the one she now knew as Martin.
The Admiral had told her that Martin had disobeyed his orders to remain unseen to rescue her and her troops. And in the few moments immediately after he had killed the second Alliance Assassin, Tarifa had been completely exposed for his eyes to see. Yet those eyes had never left her face for a moment. Tarifa remembered when he had pounced so fast she could not follow his movements and gotten so close to her she could feel his lips graze her throat, and even in that moment of terror, the touch of his lips on her skin had sent shivers through her.
Tarifa got to her feet slowly and after glancing at her sleeping soldiers she made her way out into the corridor. She followed it as she had earlier and came to the control room where she saw the dark skinned woman sitting at the console.
Julie didn't turn her head from the monitor, but she smelled Tarifa enter the room. "Are you going to stand there, or sit down?" Julie spoke.
"Forgive me." Tarifa spoke.
Julie turned and looked at her now. "Forgive you for what? I smelled you coming down the corridor sweetie. I'm just monitoring the action going on top side."
Tarifa came forward slowly, "Action?" She asked.
Julie nodded. "It seems the troops that entered the base after we snatched you and your friends are pulling back to the west." She explained.
Tarifa looked surprised. "They are leaving?"
"That's what it looks like." Julie replied. "We'll continue to monitor their movements, but they didn't leave anyone on the base that I can detect."
Tarifa lowered herself into the seat next to Julie. "I did not think Marcus would give up so easily." She spoke.
"Marcus?" Julie asked.
Tarifa looked at her. "He is a senior Commander in the Alliance; a cruel vicious man. I was his prisoner once, many years ago. I escaped. He relishes the day he captures me once more."
"Doesn't sound like a very nice guy?" Julie said.
"He is not." Tarifa replied. "He is a monster, just like those he commands." She watched Julie for a long moment, saying nothing. Julie finally turned to her with a smile.
"If you have something to ask, go ahead and ask." Julie spoke.
"You… you are not like your Admiral Wallace." Tarifa said.
"What do you mean?" Julie asked her, turning in her chair.
"Elves… all elves have increased visual insight. Humans… normal humans are seen by elves with a specific aura surrounding them; an aura that is light green in color. Your aura and that of your comrades is different." Tarifa explained to her. "It is darker, more earth tone in color. You and the others are not completely human like the red haired female."
Julie shook her head. "No we aren't." She said. "We are commonly referred to as Genomes. Ten of us here and another forty-two on EDEN were genetically engineered as soldiers. There was once thousands of us, but some issues came up with how we were created, and now we are all that is left."
"And that man… the tall one, he is your leader?" Tarifa asked.
Julie smiled. "You mean Marty? Yes."
Tarifa pointed to Julie's teeth. "Your teeth are similar to his, only not as long. Why is that?"
"When we were engineered, all of us had a very small portion of animal DNA fused with our cells. That DNA gave us our enhanced senses, speed and strength. One of the side effects was the teeth." Julie spoke grinning. "In moments of extreme emotion, they tend to lengthen, but for the most part they stay the same size. That animal was a wolf."
"And the one you… he is your mate?" Tarifa asked.
Julie chuckled. "Danny? I guess you could call him my mate in a manner of speaking."
"And your leader… what of him," Tarifa asked.
"The same as the rest of us, though I think they added large and grouchy traits to his mix." Julie answered with a laugh. "That's why he's always so grumpy."
Tarifa found herself smiling at the infectious attitude of this young woman. Julie leaned forward in her chair.
"Listen… we have been through a lot the last few days." Julie told her. "We are still trying to come to grips with the fact that we've come nearly five hundred years into the future. Everything, everyone we knew is gone. Just like that. Add to that, we come here to discover that there is a new species on the planet we called home, a species that in our time lived only in legend and myth. It's quite a bit to absorb. Martin is not usually as ill tempered as he is now. And you could stand to not be so arrogant yourself you know."
Tarifa sighed softly. "It is a trait that was passed to me by my grandmother, and one that I can't seem to get rid of. I do not like that part of myself, but when you are Queen to over nine million High Elves across the planet, it is a part that I need."
Julie nodded slowly. "Well I can understand that." She said. "I can also say that taking that tact with Martin is the short trip straight to his bad side. He disobeyed orders to come to help you, and I'll tell you something else." She waited until Tarifa was looking directly at her. "Martin has disobeyed orders only one other time in his life, and that was to save the lives of men he knew. I don't know why he decided to help you, but you obviously have some sort of pull on him."
"I do not understand how?" Tarifa spoke. "I do not know him, and I do not consider him to be an equal. He is nothing more than a soldier… perhaps a very good one, but a soldier none the less." Tarifa knew immediately that she had said the wrong thing.
Julie shook her head. "And that is why he doesn't like your tight ass!" She spoke forcefully. "Maybe you ought to consider that if it wasn't for him, you would still be getting raped by your boyfriend, and then gang banged by all of his friends, and maybe even worse. You know something, you may be drop dead gorgeous, but you don't have a lick of common sense about you. You don't know us! And we don't know you! But as far as I can tell, the only one judging anyone here is you!" Julie got to her feet.
Tarifa came to her feet as well, her face angry. "You have no right to talk to me that way! You know nothing of my people or me, or our… or our ways!" Tarifa snapped.
Julie nodded. "You're right about that. And so far I'm not impressed."
"I don't… I don't know him…" Tarifa spoke, her face a mass of confusion now. "Our… our law dictates I must… reward him for saving my life."
Julie looked at her. "That's why you are being such a bitch? You have to give him a reward?"
Tarifa shook her head. "You don't understand. I do not have a mate… therefore I must reward him… by allowing him to… allowing him to bed me."
Julie's eyes grew large. "Excuse me?"
"Our laws dictate that if the life of an unmarried Queen is saved by an individual, a man, she must allow that man to take her for a night." Tarifa explained.
"You're kidding right?"
Tarifa shook her head. "I wish I was. Several of my party has already asked if I planned on going through with it. They are younger like me, and do not agree with many of the laws that have been in place for centuries. Many of those laws were put in place to insure that our race never died completely, as barbaric as some of them seem. I have tried to change many laws, but my efforts have only been partly successful. As long as the Council of our Elders has as much sway over our people as they do, the old ways will continue."
"And that is why you act the way you do around the Skipper?" Julie said.
Tarifa nodded slowly. "He… he frightens me." She said softly, looking at her. "In… in the room, right after he killed Paler, the elf who was raping me, I was… I was exposed to him, yet his eyes never left my face. His eyes… I've never seen eyes like his. They were so expressive… so savage. He got close to me… so close to me… I thought he was going to hurt me… but he only took a deep breath. I still do not understand what happen, but in my experience… men do not just dismiss a naked female elf. We were made… we were made to be the ultimate pleasure slave for humans. It simply is not done. Men can not resist us."
Julie smiled. "Martin isn't just any man Tarifa." She said. "And as you have noticed, he is not totally human either."
"That is what frightens me." Tarifa said.
"Listen, why don't you just talk to him?" Julie told her. "You might be surprised at what you find. And I know for a fact that he will not do anything to you, regardless of what your law says."
"You sound so sure of that." Tarifa asked.
"I am." Julie replied. "Trust me on this. He's right down that corridor in the landing pad. Go talk to him."
"You will allow me to walk freely?" Tarifa asked.
"Why not? You are not prisoners here, and I'm too tired to guard you even if you were." Julie answered. "Right that way. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab some shut eye."
Tarifa entered the landing bay quietly, walking with her usual Elf ability to be very stealthy. She saw Martin working at a table against one wall of the bay, his back to her. Her eyes took in the large overhead doors that looked to be jammed open above the strange looking flying craft sitting quietly on the large pad. Tarifa was no stranger to flying machines, as the Alliance had many of them, but none looked as this one did. Most of the flying machines were used to hunt her and her people, but this machine looked much more deadly.
Tarifa stopped where she was and continued to gaze at Martin. He had unzipped his uniform, and the top portion was now loosely tied around his waist. He wore a black tank top, and even from where she stood, Tarifa could see the definition of the muscles in his arms and shoulders. She was also able to see the lines of tattooed flame that extended from under the shirt, down his arms and across his shoulders. He was so unlike the male elves and other human men she had seen. The male elves were lean, but no where near as heavily muscled and the majority of the humans she had seen were in relatively good shape but nothing like the sort of body Martin had. Tarifa could remember the books she had read as a child, and the bodies of the ancient gods, and as she gazed at Martin that is what she saw. The most perfect male body she had ever seen in her life. And for the first time in her life, Tarifa felt a powerful sexual rush of warmth pass between her thighs as she gazed at a man.
Tarifa heard a man's voice echo within the bay, and an older human walked down the ramp of the flying machine. He said something to Martin who spoke back to him. Tarifa watched the human then walk underneath the flying machine inspecting something under one of the short wings.
"You don't have to hide in the shadows." The voice said from next to her, causing Tarifa to yelp and whirl around, her hands coming up defensively. Her eyes went wide when she saw Martin standing only three feet from her.
"By the gods," She gasped.
"Sorry about that." Martin told her sheepishly. "I tend to walk rather softly."
"Softly…?" Tarifa exclaimed. "More like a ghost." Tarifa exclaimed.
"I smelled you the moment you came into the bay." Martin said. "I would prefer you didn't hide in the shadows. You look much better in the light."
Tarifa looked at him with surprise in her eyes as he motioned to the table he had been standing next to working at. "I… I did not mean to disturb you." She told him.
Martin shook his head. "You're not disturbing me." He said. "I was actually going to find you and apologize to you for the way I acted. We've had to deal with a lot the last few days, as I'm sure Admiral Wallace told you."
"He thinks very highly of you." Tarifa spoke as they reached the table.
Martin nodded and he pulled out the stool for her next to the table. "We've been working together for quite a while now." He said as Tarifa sat down, her eyes never leaving his face. He was very easy to look at, as he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His features were solid and strong; his skin was deeply tanned, very similar to hers. His cheeks were starting to show a five o'clock shadow of growth that Tarifa found so appealing in men. Male elves never had facial hair unless they had it grafted on later in their lives, and to Tarifa it was something unique and sometimes incredibly soft. And Martin's facial growth appeared to be at the incredibly soft stage. It was his eyes that Tarifa found so fascinating. Looking into them was like staring into a primeval forest that was daring you to enter and discover its forbidden secrets and pleasures.
And it's most horrible dangers.
"What can I do for you?" Martin asked her.
Tarifa had to shake her head to clear her thoughts, which were decidedly un-Queen like as she had been imagining herself wrapped around Martin's body and screaming in perverse delight.
"Hmmm… I'm sorry, what?"
Martin smiled. "What can I do for you?" He said again. "You wanted something?"
Tarifa looked at him, waves of feelings she had never before experienced washing over her. "I… I came to offer… I came to offer my apology." She finally was able to blurt out.
"Well… that hurt didn't it?" Martin said.
"My manner can be a bit terse at times." Tarifa replied, not able to look at him.
"I'm guessing as Queen you don't have to say you are sorry very often uhu?" Martin said, looking at her.
The way he said that caused Tarifa to look at him. His words were not spoken in a hostile or aggressive tone, but one more of questioning. She shook her head slowly. "No." She answered finally.
Martin had to grip the side of the bench he was standing next to in order to keep from taking the breathtaking elfin beauty in his arms and conquering her being. Tarifa was stirring sensations inside him that only Anja had been able to conjure, and it took every bit of will power Martin had to not let his animal instincts overwhelm him. Her peach scent was flooding his brain, and driving him nearly crazy with lust, and the way her sapphire eyes gazed on him made it even worse.
Unknown to Martin he was having almost the same effect on Tarifa, as she had suddenly become very warm, and her pussy was becoming wetter by the minute as she sat so close to him. The way his eyes gazed on her with a loving hunger caused shivers to course through her body. No man had ever looked at her as he did.
Martin took a deep breath and turned to the table in front of him. "I… I reworked some weapons from the armory for your people." He spoke, motioning to the dozen HK74 assault rifles and K12 automatic pistols laid out on the table.
Turning away from her and telling her about the weapons saved both of them. Tarifa blinked her eyes several times as the sensations he had caused to course through her began to subside. "I'm sorry… what?"
"The weapons your people are carrying are not very good with stopping power or range." He told her.
Tarifa took a deep breath and nodded. "We are only equipped with what we can buy from several human merchants and what we can steal. The Alliance has confiscated most of the other weapons, and they have factories to build more." Tarifa told him. "The human settlement in the west has a massive armory, but what they ask for in exchange for weapons is too large a price to pay."
Martin looked at her, "Slaves?" He asked.
Tarifa nodded. "They want female elves to work in their brothels and pleasure houses; something I am not willing to give them." She answered.
"Good for you." Martin spoke.
"You… you made these for us?" She asked, looking at him.
Martin nodded. "Did the Admiral invite you to EDEN?"
"You speak of your base on the moon? Yes he did." Tarifa replied. "I'm sure it will be a site to see. I've looked into the stars many times at night and wondered if life existed off earth."
Martin smiled gently. "I've asked myself that very question quite a few times."
"Is the trip long?" Tarifa asked him, her eyes open wide in wonderment.
"Just under fourteen hours." Martin answered. He looked at her, and seeing the way her eyes glowed in the dim light of the landing bay was too much for Martin.
Tarifa let out a soft female squeal when Martin lifted her into his arms, and covered her lips with his own. Her small hands went to his chest as his warm tongue drove past her lips to meet her own tongue in a blinding moment of delight. She felt a burning sensation ripple through her, as if every nerve in her body was lighting up, and her eyes closed slowly as she reveled in the blissful surges of pleasure that coursed through her. No man had ever kissed her before this moment, and Tarifa could not help the wetness that spread to her pussy. She was experiencing sensations that were unknown to her before now, all of them stemming from a kiss. Oh but what a kiss it was, as she clenched her fists in a fit of indecision on whether to wrap her arms around his shoulders and melt into his arms, or to beat him as hard as she could for taking her against her will.
Or was it against her will?
Martin made the decision for her. His eyes opened wide as he kissed her deeply, and he could smell her excitement. She did smell of peaches, and it was even sweeter smelling in her excitement, yet that was what triggered his mind to take over. He did not want to force himself on this stunningly beautiful woman, and if he allowed himself to swim in her scent any longer, the animal that he always kept in tight control would come out.
Martin took her face in his hands gently as he broke the kiss. He caressed the top ridge of her ear, tracing it up until it reached the point, drawing a sigh of bliss from Tarifa.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
Tarifa lowered herself onto the stool as she heard Martin leave the bay quickly. She could feel her drenched pussy even through her uniform, and she brought her fingers to her lips in shock. Her eyes were wide, not believing that a simple kiss had done this to her. She had come so close to responding to him with a wanton willingness that it frightened her. He had taken her breath away with a simple kiss, making her weak kneed and soaked between her thighs. She had never let any man kiss her before, as they usually smelled of alcohol or tobacco, yet Martin's tongue had tasted faintly of mint, and it had set her body ablaze.
Ben and Tina watched Tarifa from the ramp of the Raptor with large smiles on their faces.
"Wow! How come you don't kiss me like that?" Tina spoke with a mischievous smile.
Ben looked at her with a smile. "You mean the kind that leaves you weak kneed and dripping in anticipation?"
"Those are the ones."
Ben stepped over to her, pulling her close to him. "Then prepare yourself woman."