Alien Skin Market by Lizzy Bequin

CHAPTER 31: MAUREEN

Aloud boom shattered the tranquility of sleep and threw Maureen into a world of calamity. The impact hurled her body from the bed, and in the darkness of the chamber, she was utterly disoriented, unable to discern up from down. For a stomach-turning moment, there was no gravity, no point of reference, nothing at all except for Vaul’s massive body and protective arms holding on to her for dear life. Metal clanged, liquid spattered around them, and Maureen dimly wondered how it could be raining inside. In hindsight, Maureen realized it must have all transpired in a fraction of a second. But while it was happening, it seemed to last for an eternity.

Together, they slammed into the wall with a dull, metallic thud. Vaul’s body acted like a safety cage and absorbed the brunt of the impact. Then they were on the floor.

“Maureen? Are you okay” The Raksha’s deep voice was startlingly close to her ear.

“I—I think so?”

Powerful arms lifted her like she was a feather pillow and laid her onto the bed. A moment later, the lights clicked on, filling the room with painful brightness. Vaul towered over her, a mountain of purple, his worried eyes scanning her body.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Maureen’s system was flooded with adrenaline and her heart was trying to batter its way through her sternum, but she did her best to steady her nerves and performed a quick internal check of her body. She didn’t notice any sharp pains, and she had no trouble moving her arms and legs. Maureen knew that did not necessarily mean nothing was wrong. She had been in a car accident once during a high-speed chase, and it had taken several days before she started experiencing back pain and headaches. Still, she was fairly certain she had not sustained any major injuries just now.

“I’m good,” she groaned. “Just a little shaken up is all.”

The sheets were speckled with moisture, and drops of water were running down the walls. What the hell? Then she saw the rags and upturned basin in the corner and understood—it was the water Vaul had used to clean her.

Maureen’s heart jolted.

“Rawn!” she cried. “Where is Rawn?”

There was a commotion under the bed, and a moment later, a shaggy head emerged, followed by the rest of Rawn’s elongated body. His black marble eyes stared at her between the tufts of his blond coat.

“Oh Rawn, you’re okay!”

Maureen slid off the bed and hugged him. His tongue lapped at her cheek, and he let out a pitiful whine of concern.

“Rrrawn?”

“Yeah, I’m okay too,” she said. “Vaul saved me.”

Maureen’s eyes darted to the far wall. The metal paneling was deeply dented from the impact of Vaul’s body. In that moment, Maureen fully understood the extent to which Vaul had protected her. She stood up and embraced the big Raksha around the midsection. It was like hugging a tree trunk.

“Thank you,” she said against his chest.

“You do not need to thank me, little human. As long as you are okay, that is the only thing that matters.”

Her heart warmed a little at those words. And a moment later, other parts of her anatomy warmed as she realized they were both naked, and she remembered all the dirty things they had done together—the sensation of his long, hard cock sliding against her wet vulva and his warm sticky cum painting her burning skin.

But she quickly pushed those memories aside. Now was hardly the time for those kinds of thoughts.

“Vaul, what happened?” she asked. “Did we crash?”

“If we had crashed, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. No, it felt like the ship dropped out of the interstices. But that doesn’t make sense. We were not due to arrive at Rak for many spans yet. And Jrayk would not have brought us back to realspace without making sure everyone was secured.”

“A malfunction?”

“Maybe,” Vaul said, but he sounded doubtful.

Maureen heard a commotion in the outer corridor, running feet and voices hollering her name. By this point, Maureen was used to the no-knocking policy aboard The Longshot, and the current situation didn’t warrant knocking anyway. She didn’t even bother to move away from Vaul when the door to her room whooshed open, revealing Jrayk and Tristn, both of them dressed in loincloths similar to the one Vaul had been wearing.

“M’reen!” the two Raksha shouted in unison.

Their eyes widened in surprise at finding her and Vaul in a naked embrace, and they gave each other a quick glance, but neither one said anything. More than anything, they seemed to be relieved to find her unharmed.

“Is everyone okay in here?” Tristn asked.

Vaul nodded. “We are unharmed. But what the void happened?”

“No clue,” Jrayk said with a shrug. “It feels like we dropped out of the interstices, but I don’t know why. We’re still many lightyears away from Rak, I’m sure of it.”

“A malfunction,” Tristn said. “I’m hardly surprised, considering the state this junker is in.”

“Void off,” Jrayk snarled. “The nav system’s never malfunctioned before.” Then to Vaul he added. “Get some britches on and meet us in the cockpit. Make sure M’reen is secured.”

“Aye boss.”

After a quick departing glance in Maureen’s direction, the captain and the doctor headed off down the central corridor. Curious to find out what had happened, Maureen started to follow them, but Vaul held her back.

“Maureen, wait,” he said softly. “You should stay here.”

“But I want to know what’s going on,” she said.

Vaul gently guided her toward the bed.

“As Tristn said, it must be a malfunction with the navigational system. It should only take a blip to fix it, and then we’ll be on our way again. Now please, lie down and I will secure you for when we make our final jump to Rak.”

Maureen glowered at him. “Vaul, I want to know what’s going on.”

The big Raksha grunted and brushed the hair back from her face.

“I understand, but you cannot help us in the cockpit,” Vaul said sternly. “You will be safer in here. There is a harness built into the bed that will keep you secure when we jump again. Afterward I will let you know everything that happened.”

Maureen started to protest, but she caught herself.

She didn’t like being helpless. For as long as she could remember, she had always made sure she was in control of whatever situation she found herself in. Self-sufficient. Not reliant on anybody else. She had no interest in playing the role of damsel in distress, and she abhorred the idea of being dead weight.

But Vaul was right, she didn’t know the first thing about spaceships, and she would only get in the crew’s way.

It was time to stow her ego.

“Fine.”

She lay back on the bed and let Vaul strap her in with the harness, which was a kind of soft mesh the kept her body secured tightly against the mattress without causing discomfort.

“Now just try to relax,” Vaul said. “I’ll be back for you soon.”

Vaul went to the door and turned off the lights, then motioned to Rawn, who was panting next to Maureen’s bed.

“Rawn, come.”

The shaggy animal lowered his head and whined.

“You won’t fit in the harnesses properly,” Vaul said. “I’ll have to hold onto you when we jump, understand?”

Maureen couldn’t believe Rawn actually understood what Vaul had just said, but he turned his shaggy head toward her as if seeking her decision on the matter. She reached her arm through the mesh of the harness and stroked his head.

“It’s okay, Rawn. Do as Vaul says. He’ll take care of you.”

Rawn grumbled, but he complied. He followed Vaul out into corridor, trotting close behind the big Raksha. Before they departed, he cast one last forlorn look in Maureen’s direction.

Then the door whisked shut, and the room was submerged in shadow.

Alone in the darkness, Maureen let go a sigh and shut her eyes. She tried to do as Vaul had told her and relax. But for some reason, she couldn’t shake the creeping feeling that something was terribly wrong.