THE HITCHHIKER by Scavanon

Tags: (MHuman x Fxeno (x4) (insectoid, shortstack, hips/ass/thighs, carapace+soft-skin, bug eyes, antennae, pheromones/scent, bellies, alien vagina) pheromone-induced sex, pair-bonding, cute/wholesome, group sex/harem, M/F nudity, semi-incest, size difference (Mf), female oral, erotic belly rubs, womb penetration, creampie, M/F cum, minor male/femdom) (sci-fi, space adventure, lore-heavy, violence, blood/gore)

“The hitch-hiker stood up and looked across through the windows. “Could ya give me a lift, mister?”
The driver looked quickly back at the restaurant for a second. “Didn’t you see the No Riders sticker on the win’shield?”
“Sure—I seen it. But sometimes a guy’ll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker.””
												John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

	“No, no, no!” Dave groaned as the automated warnings flashed across the holographic screen. They painted the cockpit of the ship a deep red, informing him of the true severity of his current situation. “Don’t do this to me now!”
[WARNING: NON-CRITICAL ENGINE FAILURE]
[ENGINE OUTPUT AT 40% AND DROPPING]
[ALL OTHER SYSTEMS NOMINAL]
	The human turned his head toward the window. The distant stars that crept by as the ship sailed its way through the galaxy now halted as the ship slowed itself. The radiation and errant dust particles began to coat the window in a fine, transparent soot.
	With gusto Dave switched off the classic rock that blared from the ship's speakers and hopped from his seat, leaving the cockpit and rushing through the main living area. He reached the door to the small engine room at the other end, just as the loud and steady hum of the machinery slowly faded, like the final gasp of a dying animal.
	As he entered, he found the compact room awash with carmine emergency lighting. The engine itself encircled the small enclosure, leaving only a tight floor down the middle to walk through. Dave cast worried glances at the metal engine blocks with their blinking lights, the intricacies of which were entirely lost on him.
	His footfalls as he squeezed himself into the small space were loud as ever now that the engine was dead silent. Nothing was leaking, sparking, smoking, or on fire; that was as good a sign as any. Dave moved toward the only familiar sight—a small holo-panel at the far end.
[ENGINE OUTPUT AT 0%]
[RUN DIAGNOSTIC?]
[Y/N]
	Dave confirmed the action and the ship’s computer worked its magic. He sighed as he leaned against the body of the engine that lined the left wall, steeling himself for the worst.
[DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE]
[PRIMACIUM CORE DRAINED]
[CYLINDER 2C DAMAGED]
[SUGGESTED ACTION: RECHARGE CORE, REPLACE DAMAGED CYLINDER]
	Dave stared at the instructions as if they were written in another language. His eyes darted around the room. He didn’t know what a Primacium core looked like, or where it was located. And what was a cylinder? A long, circular object, maybe? He took another superficial look at the engine, and found nothing of the sort.
	The human leaned back again, the back of his head making contact with the right engine block with a dull thud. He cursed himself for his short-sightedness. He really should have done some more research before setting out. He knew nothing about engines, always leaving the repair work to professionals. Now that he had a dead engine on his hands, he was starting to come to the realization of how incredibly unprepared he was.
	Dave pushed himself off his back and made for the exit, leaving the assorted buttons and panels that lined the engine alone out of fear of making things worse. The living area was fashioned similarly to a medium-sized RV, with a couch that pulled out into a bed, holo-screen, a small kitchenette, as well as a booth with a table and padded benches. All the small comforts of home, as if he never left Earth.
	Returning to the cockpit, Dave punched a few keys on the main holo-screen, bringing up the ship’s status menu. What he saw left him slightly relieved—main power was at eighty-seven percent, life support at ninety-nine. According to the man he purchased the ship from, the batteries would last for several weeks at most. Considering the fact that any possibility of engine failure was left unmentioned, Dave started to wonder exactly how honest the guy really was.
	That was the last time he would trust a stranger on the internet.
	After navigating through the plethora of menus and commands, Dave managed to activate the ship’s emergency beacon. The pulse would disperse at about a half light-year radius in all directions and would most likely be picked up by any ship travelling nearby. Luckily, Dave was on a highway of sorts, made up of a trail of electronic buoys spaced several parsecs apart, which guided ships through the nothingness of space.
	The route had regular traffic—mostly UIGS military vessels and merchant ships. One of them was bound to spot him and offer assistance. He was just one of many denizens of the galaxy, travelling through the ether to their respective destinations.
	His trip had no purpose, however. His destination? No idea.
	With nothing left to do but wait, Dave fell back into the leather cockpit seat, reclining his feet on the dashboard. He leaned forward to switch on the music that had been stopped mid-song. A power ballad reverberated through the ship’s speakers just as the guitar solo began to kick in.
	Dave stared out into the vacuum as his fingers danced along the invisible neck of his air guitar, pretending he knew how play for real.

[8 HOURS LATER]

	The human was jolted awake by repetitive beeping coming from the cockpit’s display.
[INCOMING SHIP: NO REGISTRY INFORMATION, CLASS UNKNOWN]
	“Ugh, finally…” he sighed as he roused himself from his chair. The cockpit was darker now that he had shut off the overhead lights in order to conserve power. He twisted the sore muscles of his neck as he leaned over the dashboard to look out the window.
	A blocky silhouette blotted out the stars behind it as it slowly approached Dave’s ship. The craft was about as large as his own and distinctly capsule-shaped, with a long rectangular body and curved cockpit. As the ship drew closer, Dave peered further through the glass, analyzing the vessel’s finer details.
	Anxiety welled in him as he took a closer look. This ship had none of the sleek, angular designs of the Union’s military craft, or the monolithic, brutalist frames common in the merchant navy. This vessel looked like it was barely holding together. The body was bent and crooked in several places. The exterior hull was a patchwork of steel plates sloppily welded together. It had the appearance of one of those rusty beater vans, except made for the vacuum of space.
	He shouldn’t have been surprised. Space travel had become so commonplace due to the recent technological boom that anyone with the right resources could do it, even amateurs like him. Aside from adventurous tourists and independent traders, this also brought about less savory elements, namely smugglers and pirates.
	Dave began to sweat. He was getting nothing on the radio. He had a feeling occupants of this ship weren’t here for a social call.
	The rust bucket came to a sputtering stop, its cockpit slightly facing his. Without warning, a bright spotlight switched on from the top of the ship. Dave’s eyes squinted shut accordingly and he dove behind the dashboard. The intense beam painted an outline of the window along the back of the cockpit and illuminated the rest of the compartment in a dull light. It hung there for a few moments before sliding to the left and disappearing, coating the cockpit in shadow once again.
	The ship was moving. Dave peeked over the dashboard, catching the tail-end of the vessel creep past the cockpit and trail along the left side of his ship. Dave switched positions, moving over to one of the side windows. He watched as the ship came to a halt again, lining itself up with his portside airlock.
	His eyes widened. Dave scrambled to the cabinet underneath the foot of the couch, retrieving his pistol. It was a pre-war gun, one that still fired bullets, but it would have to do in a pinch like this.
	Dave took several glances out the window as he fumbled with the weapon. A metallic tube had extended from the mysterious ship, branching outward in segments and connecting itself to his airlock. It was small, but enough for boarders to pass through.
	Dave looked at his pistol, now fully loaded with a round chambered and ready to go. He had never fired a gun before. That might change in the next few minutes 
	The silence was pierced by noises outside the airlock door; the whirring of a drill, metal clanking, and small electric zaps. Dave quickly searched the living area for adequate cover. He soon found some within the small bathroom, the wall hiding him partially out of view.
	His body went stiff as the airlock swished open and allowed entry for two individuals. Light poured in from transfer tube, capturing the two forms in perfect silhouettes. The first thing Dave noticed was how incredibly small they were, no more than three feet tall, he estimated. Luminescent eyes glowed in the darkness, large and red, as the two looked around the cabin.
	Dave soon came to the realization as to what they were. The yotje were one of many alien species stranded on Earth after the war. There were billions of them, hive-minded in nature and forming large enclaves in the abandoned buildings in most of the planet’s urban areas. They were insectoid in appearance; comparisons were made to Earth’s crickets and locusts, which was mildly appropriate, as many humans considered the collectivist species to be a real nuisance in more ways than one.
	The antennae above one of the yotje’s head twitched, and its head swiveled in Dave’s direction. “Who’s there?” it called out in high pitched, feminine voice.
	The human’s heart beat twice as fast in his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, suddenly noticing how dry his throat was.
	“I’m armed,” he managed to croak out. He kept his gun hidden behind his right thigh. “Keep your hands where I can see them, and I won’t do anything drastic.”
	The yotje’s hands shot up to the sides of her shoulders, her partner following suit. “We’re sorry, we thought this ship was abandoned,” The alien made a slight side-step, placing herself in front of the other yotje. “You weren’t answering any of our radio hails.”
	Dave shot a quick look at the cockpit before turning back to the strangers. Fantastic, he groveled inwardly. Was his radio busted, too? Or maybe he was an idiot and forgot to switch it on.
	The second yotje, who had remained silent up to this point, peeked out from behind its friend. Its scarlet eyes beamed.
	“You’re a human!” This one was also a she, if the voice was anything to go by. She maneuvered herself around her partner, stepping forward towards Dave with her hands still in the air. The other yotje attempted to stop her, to no avail. “Don’t be afraid,” she said assuredly. “We won’t hurt you.”
	Dave’s free hand travelled to the nearby light switch, increasing the intensity enough so he could see properly. The light was dully reflected off of the yotje’s purple carapaces. Their kaleidoscope-like eyes had lost their luminosity now that the room was lit, and were now a darker shade of red.
	The two aliens were dressed in a varied assortment of human clothes. Pieces were either cut off halfway or rolled up in order better suit their tiny statures. Height-wise, they were no different than two human children, but further glances betrayed that notion entirely. The yotje sported rather womanly figures, apparent even through their clothing. Thin shoulders and upper bodies gave way to wide hips as Dave’s gaze trailed downward. This inverted hourglass shape began to thin out mid-leg, both of which were bent in such a way as to allow the aliens to delicately balance on their four toes.
	The yotje looked at him apprehensively. Dave then realized that he was staring at them for nearly half a minute. He tucked his gun into the waistband, out of sight but still within reach, just in case. Dave held his hands out to show that they were empty, and the aliens relaxed, putting their own hands down.
	The yotje who was now in front took another brave step forward, the chitinous plates that made up her mouth curving upward into a smile. “My name is Maz’lii,” she then gestured to the yotje behind her. “This is my sister Tre’saa.”
	Dave smiled and nodded to them. Tre’ssa finally spoke up. “Your emergency beacon was active. Is there something wrong?”
	“Yeah. I, uh…” Dave scratched his head, all of a sudden embarrassed now that he found himself here. “I had a little engine trouble.”
	“What kind of trouble?” Tre’saa asked him. As Dave conversed with her, he began to notice the finer details of her attire. Her simple work shirt and pants were covered in grime and a pair of oversized goggles hung from her neck. Wrapped loosely around her bountiful waist was a leather belt laden with tools. Her entire look screamed ‘mechanical savvy’. Just the kind of person he needed.
	“Not sure,” he replied, shrugging. “One moment, everything was fine. The next, power to the engine was at zero. Now I’m here.”
	Tre’saa’s large eyes blinked a few times, her antennae moving this way and that as she surveyed the ship. She planted her eyes on the engine room door and moved toward it, as if she already knew what to do. She turned back to him.
	“Do you mind if I take a look?”
	Dave motioned toward the door. “Go ahead.”
	The door parted as she approached, allowing her entry. “U20X Primacore engine, standard in civilian craft,” she noted without even a second’s glance. Tre’saa crouched down beside a large panel at the far end, unclasping her belt and setting in on the floor beside her. She turned back to him. “I’ll need a few minutes.”
	Dave stood by the door, watching the tiny alien as she got to work. She got on her knees, peeking her head into some unseen part of the engine. From where he was, Dave now had an unobstructed view of the yotje’s backside. Tre’saa’s prominent hips were framed around a small yet plump rear-end, forming a perfect heart shape even through the thick denim of her pants.
	The alien woman maneuvered herself left and right as she searched the crevice for who knows what, her buttocks shaking tantalizingly back and forth. Dave tried not to stare, not knowing if that was also considered unbecoming in their culture as well. At the same time, he couldn’t help but take quick mental snapshots of her feminine form, having been starved of the company of the fairer sex for nearly a week and a half now.
	He sensed a presence to his right. He looked down and saw Maz’lii standing a few inches away from him. She craned her head upward to look at him, softly smiling. Her blood-red eyes regarded him with a certain air of friendliness, a little too much, considering how close she was to him already.
	His first inclination was to take a few steps back, but he decided against it, not wanting to seem unfriendly. He smiled back at her, watching her antennae move about curiously and praying that she didn’t notice him ogling her sister.
	“What’s your name, human?” she asked him.
	“Dave,” he answered plainly.
	Maz’lii’s smile grew wider. “Day-yee-vuh…” she repeated, articulating the name even though it was only one syllable. “That’s a pretty name! Where are you from, DAVE?”
	“Uh, Providence. Rhode Island.”
	“We were on an island, too! In a city called Toe-Key-Oh,” her eyes fluttered rapidly and then stopped, her focus still on him. “You look different than the humans we saw there.”
	Tre’saa had since emerged from the engine and moved to another access panel, unscrewing the metal cover with an electric drill. “Maz’lii, don’t be rude.”
	“I’m not!” she replied defensively. “I’m just curious,” She turned back to him, her antennae continuing to dance above her head. “Why are you out in space?”
	“I don’t know, actually. I just bought a ship, and now I’m drifting, seeing where the galaxy takes me.”
	“We’re travelling back to our homeworld—me, Tre’saa, and our two other sisters,” Maz’lii had now inched even closer; either this was how yotje established friendships, or Maz’lii had no concept of personal space whatsoever. “I was excited to travel through space, but now it’s boring! We have nothing to do on our ship...”
	“I think I found your problem,” Tre’saa called out. Dave turned to her just as she removed a sizeable object from the engine block. It was round, black and about the size of a football. It looked large and burdensome to the small alien, who cradled it gracefully like a newborn.
	“This is the engine’s Primacium core battery,” she explained to him. “Normally, they’re capable of sustaining an engine like this for months on end, but this model is defective. It was recalled a year ago.” Tre’saa carefully placed the battery on the floor.
	She then moved to the open panel on the left side, the guts of the engine now exposed. “Also, see this cylinder? It’s integral to the engine’s functionality. Cracked right through,” She traced a slender finger along a fairly noticeable gash in the machine’s inner workings. “You said you purchased this ship? Where from?”
	“It was used,” Dave answered. “Some guy on the internet.”
	“You didn’t know this person?”
	“No…”
	“Well, that was your first mistake, I think. The engine probably has a slew of other problems, but the ones I showed you are what’s keeping it from running.”
	“Okay…” Dave ran a hand over his face. “So, what do we do?”
	Tre’saa gave him an apologetic look. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any parts to spare. If we did, I could fix this. Maybe you could—”
	“You should come with us!” Maz’lii piped up out of the blue.
	“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Maz’lii…” her sister muttered.
	“We can’t just leave him here, Tre’saa!” Maz’lii whined. She reached up and grabbed Dave’s arm with both hands, the human looking bewildered at the sudden physical contact. “We could tow his ship, too! Ours is powerful enough to handle loads twice its size.”
	“And you know that, how?” Tre’saa questioned skeptically.
	“I pay attention! Sometimes…”
	The yotje mechanic sighed. “Even if it is possible, Toh’maa will be less than copacetic,” She looked up at the human. “She’s not the most…diplomatic of individuals.”
	Maz’lii shot a pleading look at Dave, expecting him to chime in and take her side. The last thing he wanted was to start an argument between siblings, but he didn’t really have a lot of options.
	He let out a soft exhale. “Look, I have money, if that’s what you’re worried about. Is Toh’maa in charge of your group? Maybe I could speak with her.”
	“She’s not in charge,” Maz’lii commented, still holding on to his arm. “She just thinks she is.”
	“Well, you’re welcome to try. I can’t promise anything, though,” Tre’saa warned him. She turned around and started walking back towards the airlock. “Let’s go.”
	Maz’lii giddily hopped up and down, taking Dave’s hand in her own and quickly pulling him along. Unlike the tough-looking carapace, the palm of her hand felt incredibly soft, almost like a human’s hand. Dave felt something else, like a cellphone vibration, resonating through Maz’lii’s touch. Was that what yotje did when they were happy or excited? These aliens were pretty strange.
	It was a short walk through the transfer tunnel from his ship to theirs. Tre’saa led the way and Maz’lii followed with a pep in her step, still tugging Dave behind her. From his position, he had a full view of yotje’s figure from the back. She was built identically to her sister—short and supple with defined curves along her lower body. The lower half of her outfit—what were essentially a pair of frayed yoga pants, clung snugly against her natural hips.
	Suffice to say, the pants left little to the imagination. Perfectly captured within the skin-tight material were two plump cheeks separated by a very obvious crevice. The glutes shifted and jiggled with Maz’lii’s every step, and microscopic holes in the fabric expanded slightly as the pants stretched with her movement, threatening to expose what was contained within. Dave couldn’t tear his eyes away. It would have been an ass to die for, had Maz’lii been human.
	The friendly yotje looked over her shoulder and smiled at him just as they stopped at the ship’s airlock, forcing him to bring his eyes to hers. He smiled back.
	The airlock door creaked open, allowing entry into the main area of the ship. It was about the size of the living quarters of Dave’s own ship. The only difference was that there was no furniture, and a majority of the floor space was taken up by large, wooden crates, stacked all the way to the ceiling, with unreadable Japanese calligraphy stenciled on the sides. The boxes and crates were tightly packed, leaving only a series of tight corridors to maneuver around in. The yotje were probably accustomed to tight spaces due to their size, though it might be a bit troublesome for a human.
	At the center was where the space was widest, serving as a common area of sorts. Rugs and blankets were strewn across the floor and small boxes served as tables and seats.
	In the far corner sat a third yotje, busying herself on a collection of holo-computers and datapads. She was dressed more professionally yet still possessed the same ragtag bearing as her sisters, wearing a lab coat that looked as if moths had eaten through it.
	She looked up as Tre’saa and Maz’lii entered the room. Her antennae perked as she saw Dave squeeze himself between two boxes.
	“I had a feeling the ship wasn’t empty,” she mused as she set her tablet down. “Who’s this?”
	“This is Dave, and he needs our help, Ple’sii,” Maz’lii said, placing a hand on his lower thigh as she introduced him. “We’re going to tow his ship. I’ll go get the cables—"
	“Hold it, not another step,” Another yotje emerged from a room beyond, probably the cockpit, wearing green cargo pants and a leather bomber’s jacket, as well as a stern expression on her face. She looked less than thrilled to see a human on her ship.
	Maz’lii’s smile faded and her antennae drooped. “Toh’maa, please don’t be like this…”
	“Even after we leave Earth, Maz’lii, you manage to bring a human on board,” Toh’maa’s palms came to rest on her curved hips. “That’s impressive, even for you.”
	Maz’lii’s cheerful personality started to fade. “He means us no harm, we can trust him…”
	“Trust him? You don’t even know him,” Maz’lii hung her head in defeat as Toh’maa looked up at Dave. “No offense, human, but your kind have caused us enough trouble as it is. We cannot—"
	“Toh’maa, Dave’s offered to compensate us financially for our help,” Tre’saa interrupted. “All we have to do is tow his ship to the nearest station…”
	“Tow his ship?” Ple’sii interjected. “Can we even do that?”
	“Technically, yes,” Tre’saa explained. “We can pull that weight if we set the thrusters at maximum, but it’ll drain our fuel considerably. Where’s the nearest refuel point?”
	Ple’sii turned toward one of the many computers surrounding her. “Our next stop is Sol-Centauri. It’s an auxiliary station on the border of human and yotje space. Two days away, by my estimate.”
	“We’d be running on fumes by the time we get there,” Tre’saa hypothesized. “But I’m sure Dave here would be more than happy to pay for a full tank once we’ve honored our end of the deal, am I right?”
	“Of course,” Dave nodded. He offered a reassuring smile to Maz’lii, which seemed to lighten her spirits a bit.
	“Fuel is at fifty credits a gallon, last time I checked,” Toh’maa explained to him. “A full tank would cost upwards of a thousand credits. You can shell that out?”
	“Not a problem. It wouldn’t even make a dent in my expenses.”
	“I see,” She let a pregnant pause fill the air before firing back. “Double it, then.”
	“Toh’maa!” Ple’ssi groaned.
	“Excuse me?” Dave asked, taken aback.
	“See all this?” Tohmaa gestured to the boxes that filled the room. “It’s what you humans call ‘hot cargo’.”
	“You mean it’s stolen.”
	“They were left abandoned in warehouses after the war. No one’s going to miss them. Whatever the case may be, it wouldn’t be very fortunate for us if someone found out we were hauling this stuff around.”
	She paced the floor as she continued. “Also, since those misers in the UIGS denied our visas, we had to purchase fake papers, as well as bribe a customs official to look the other way so we could leave Earth in the first place. We’re taking a big risk, and tugging your ship will only slow us down.”
	 “All of this trouble, just to get back to your homeworld?” Dave looked around at the mess of crates, curious as to what was really inside them. “All these risks can’t be worth it.”
	“Spare me the lecture, human,” Toh’maa replied, her tone crass. “The system works against people like us and we’re doing what we can to get by. Now, triple your amount or you can go back to your ship and let us be on our way.”
	“You said double last time!” Maz’lii whined.
	“Like I said, big risks,” Toh’maa said calmly. “What’s it going to be, human?”
	Dave couldn’t believe the situation he was now in. The better part of him told him to turn around, go back to his ship, and wait for the next ship to stop and offer assistance. But when would that be? A stalled ship out in the middle of nowhere was an easy target for pirates as well, who would rob him at gunpoint rather than through shrewd negotiation, like what Toh’maa was doing.
	He looked down at Maz’lii again, who returned his gaze with sad-looking eyes. For some reason, He didn’t want to leave her, after she had vouched for him so strongly. Maybe her kindheartedness was having an effect on him. You didn’t find these kinds of people that often in the galaxy.
	He sighed, extending his hand to shake. “Three thousand credits.”
	Toh’maa looked at his hand for a few moments before bringing up her own. The exchange lasted barely a second, the yotje pulling away quickly and wiping her hand on the side of her jacket.
	“Maz’lii,” Tre’saa called to her sister, whose smile had returned. “Get the cables.”

[…]

	Dave sat in the common area on a small box, waiting for the yotje sisters to complete their work. Tre’saa and Maz’lii had left ten minutes ago, entering the vacuum of space to attach the industrial-strength towing winches to his ship.
	Toh’maa had retreated to the cockpit, probably wanting to be as far away from him as possible. This left only Ple’sii to keep him company. She was occupied in front of what looked like a small distillery, the machine bubbling and hissing.
	She turned back to him with two small cups in her hand, offering one to him. He took it, nodding in thanks. He stared at the strange liquid that steamed within. It was bitter-smelling, dark brown yet still watery. Probably tea.
	“I wanted to apologize,” Ple’sii started, tapping her fingers against the cup. “For Toh’maa. She’s difficult to work with, even for us, but she’s driven. We wouldn’t be where we are now without her.”
	“I understand,” Dave replied. He took a look around the interior of the ship. It was dirty and dilapidated, just like the outside. “It doesn’t look like things have been easy for you.”
	Ple’sii took a seat at her work station in the adjacent corner. “We’re trying to find the rest of our family. Our parents and four brothers. Lots of yotje died in the war, so we can’t really be certain as to where they are,” She took a drink, then set her cup down. “Human nuclear families are smaller, I’ve noticed. Tell me about yours.”
	Dave sipped the contents of his cup. It tasted pretty foul, truth be told, but he forced it down with the straightest face he could in the interest of being polite. “My parents…disappeared when the war started. The lawyers wrote them off as dead and doled out their inheritance to me and my two sisters. I bought my ship with my share and have been travelling since then.”
	“Travelling? Where to?”
	“Not sure yet.”
	“Well, I hope you find what you’re looking for,” Ple’sii said, smiling. “And you have our thanks for sacrificing so much for us. We couldn’t even begin to repay you…”
	Dave held up a hand. “Getting me to that station to get my ship fixed is thanks enough. Don’t worry about it.”
	Their attention was soon diverted to the opening of the airlock door. The two yotje entered the ship in full-body spacesuits, their faces obscured by opaque visors. One of them skipped over to him, feeling along her neck for the releases to the helmet.
	He knew it was Maz’lii before he saw her face. As she removed the helmet her antennae sprung back up to their upright position. She looked ecstatic, grinning widely and her eyes squinting with glee.
	Tre’saa removed her own suit and called over to the cockpit. “Toh’maa? We’re good to go. Keep it steady,” She turned to Dave. “Did you know about the six-foot-long puncture in the hull along the top of your ship?”
	Dave’s eyes widened. “No…is it bad?”
	“It’s not deep enough to pierce through completely, but if it was hit by any debris, you’d probably be dead now.”
	He brought his hands to his face.
	“Don’t worry,” the mechanic said to him assuredly. “I’ll have the wrenches at SolCen give it a full once-over when we get there. It’s the least I can do.”
	“Thanks.”
	The ship lurched as its thrusters kicked in and it began moving again, his ship pulled along with it. His eyes travelled over the Maz’lii, who still stood near him. The yotje was peeling herself out of her spacesuit. She gave a roll of her shoulders, which caused the upper half of the suit to drop behind her and down to her waist. She then hooked her tiny thumbs into the material that bunched up around her middle
	Dave stared in silence when Maz’lii shimmied the rest of the suit downward, wiggling her hips back and forth almost hypnotically as she did so. As she bent down to free her ankles from the boots, she was angled away from him enough for him catch a glimpse of her posterior, raised slightly in the air. Her pear-shaped ass filled itself within the confines of her thin pants, her cheeks, hips, and thighs shifting with every subtle movement on her part.
	A flash of two red orbs out of the corner of his eye indicated that she was looking at him again, a natural warning sign that he should bring his focus back to more appropriate places. His eyes met hers at lightning speed. He normally wasn’t this perverse. Maybe he had gone without the company of a woman for far too long, but on the other hand, he never expected these bug creatures from another planet to have such feminine features.
	Still, neither reason was an excuse for his behavior. Why couldn’t he control himself?
	“I’m so glad we were able to help you after all,” Maz’lii said as she folded her suit up and placed it on top of one of the crates. “And now you’re helping us too. It seems like it was fated this way, doesn’t it?”
	“Yeah,” Dave agreed. “But I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t suggest it.”
	Maz’lii’s antennae curled and uncurled a few times as she looked away, smiling shyly. She then quickly climbed up next to him on the crate, sitting crossed-legged and facing him completely, with very little space between them.
	“Can I tell you a secret?” she asked him.
	“Sure…?”
	“I didn’t really want to leave Earth. I mean, my family is important to me and all, but I enjoyed being there. The air is so clean, and you can actually see the sky! It’s really beautiful, your Earth. I wish Kor’ten was more like it.” She twiddled her fingers on her knees. “Being snatched away from my home was terrifying, of course, but I was able to see a wonderful place that I never would have seen had I stayed. Is it strange? To think this way?”
	“I wouldn’t say so. It’s probably just your curiosity at work.” Dave shifted his position, turning and bringing a leg up horizontally so he could engage her fully. “I’ve seen plenty of yotje stick around on Earth.”
	“Humans have been kind to us,” Maz’lii stated. “We were at war, but once that was over, you gave us food and shelter and medicine,” She cast a worried glance toward the cockpit. “Most yotje don’t trust humans, or any of the aliens, really. They say you’re too brutish, too greedy, or that you want to take advantage of us...”
	“You don’t agree,” Dave concluded.
	“Of course I don’t,” she exclaimed. Her hands shot up and took ahold of his own. Dave’s heart skipped at the sudden sensation of the alien’s soft palms. “I like humans. There are good ones and bad ones, but you could say the same about yotje. I can tell you’re a nice human, Dave. That’s why I brought you aboard,” Dave noticed that her antennae were moving more erratically than usual, twitching in all directions. “Plus,” she continued, “Now I have someone interesting I can talk to!”
	“What about your sisters?”
	“Well, yeah, but…” Her antennae made a slow, upward motion, almost like a shrug. “They’re my sisters. I love them, but even they get tiring sometimes.”
	“I think I see your point,” Dave replied, having more or less the same relationship with his own siblings. “So, from what I can see,” He searched the common area for the rest of the family, but then noticed that they had gone elsewhere. “Toh’maa flies the ship, Tre’saa fixes things, Ple’sii strikes me as some kind of doctor,” He turned back to Maz’lii. “What do you do?”
	“Me?” she asked, a surprised tone in her in her voice. “I, uh...” She broke their eye contact and began to look around the room as if her answer was hidden somewhere. “I…I don’t really have a ‘role’, really,” Her usually cheerful demeanor started to fade. “I help with chores, but I’m not good at anything.”
	“I don’t believe that. What did you do before the war?”
	“I had a job filing documents for the politburo on Kor’ten, but I wasn’t even good at that,” Her vermillion eyes returned to meet his. “The Hivemother teaches that each yotje is born with a purpose, and it’s Her who guides us to find it. I haven’t found mine yet.”
	Dave thought for a moment. “Well, the first thing I noticed about you was how friendly you were,” Maz’lii’s antennae perked at this. “Maybe your purpose isn’t a material one. Maybe you’re meant to help people.”
	“Help people?”
	“Remember back on my ship, when you first found me? You approached me and let me know that you weren’t going to hurt me. Then you offered to help me. You have people skills—that’s important for a lot of jobs, like, uh, waitressing, business, social work…’
	She cocked her head. “What’s ‘social work’?”
	“Uh…it’s where you help people in need. The homeless, addicts, broken families, things like that.”
	Maz’lii’s trademark smile returned. “That sounds really nice! Do you really think I’d be good at that?”
	Dave smiled back. “You’d be a natural.”
	Maz’lii could now barely contain her excitement. She was bouncing up and down in her seat. “The Hivemother sent you to me, to help me find my purpose!”
	Dave felt a tight squeeze on his hands. He looked down and noticed that she was still holding them. Hers were half the size of his, with less digits than a human—only two fingers and a thumb. The yotje’s characteristic violet exoskeleton covered the tops of her hands, but her palms were noticeably softer, like the paws of cat or a dog. He felt that weird rumbling from her again, like he was holding an electric back massager. He let his hands melt in hers, finding the sensation oddly coaxing.
	Dave noticed something else, too, a sweet-smelling aroma hanging in the air and filling his nostrils. He had smelled it before, when Maz’lii was near him, but he assumed that it was the yotje’s natural smell. All of a sudden his clothes became hot and irritating against his skin. Dave adjusted himself in his seat, but it only added to the discomfort.
	“Dave, I…” Maz’lii started, looking flustered. Her antennae movement was increasingly chaotic, and her eyes fluttered at an alarming rate. She was focused on something above him, holding up a shaky hand. “C-can I touch it? T-the fur on your head, I mean…”
	He found himself lowering his head automatically. Maz’lii brought herself to her knees in order to reach better, and dipped her hand into the black strands that covered his head. Her tiny fingers combed through the tangled mess, digging down to the scalp then running their way to the top.
	“Humans…they look strong, but they feel really soft…” she commented, her voice barely a whisper.
	Dave was practically in a trance, the pleasant odor surrounding him as the alien woman continued to groom him. He focused on her hips again, which hung in place in front of him as she balanced herself on her knees. Her perfect triangular waist beckoned him, to touch those convex curves that looked like they were made for his grip.…
	“You’re hands…” he muttered.
	“My hands?”
	He reached for her free hand which rested on his leg. “They’re soft, like a human’s...” He trailed a thumb along the skin-like texture of her palm. It was a lighter color than her carapace. A softer purple, like lavender.
	Maz’lii’s hand retreated from Dave’s head and cupped his cheek instead. “Our exoskeletons protect us where they need to, but yotje also have an underskin, so we can experience touch…” Her other hand moved to his fingers, lightly pressing her own digits against his. “It’s not just our hands, though…”
	“Really…?” Now Dave’s interest was piqued. “Like where?”
	Maz’lii held her arm out, palm up. “We have it…” she guided his hand along a section of skin along her forearm. “Here…” She then brought his hand up to her neck, letting him feel the softness in that area. “Along the neck…here…and on the soles of our feet, and…” she hesitated. “…and…”
	“Where else…” Dave asked in a low voice, almost as a command rather than a question.
	Maz’lii faltered, breaking eye contact. “I shouldn’t say...”
	They were unbearably close now, their faces only inches away. Dave was mesmerized by the natural mosaic of her insect-like eyes, which glowed softly in the low light. Her antennae quivered, threatening to tickle his face. Maz’lii slowly rubbed her thighs together, relishing the human’s gentle touch on her most intimate places.
	“Maz’lii, are you over there?” a voice called out from the maze of boxes.
	Dave’s focus snapped back as if he had escaped from a hypnotic spell. The air was fragrant but felt extremely heavy. The human tried to regulate his breathing as he noticed his proximity to the alien in front of him. His conscious thought returned and he separated himself from her.
	Maz’lii’s expression saddened, the yotje looking hurt that he had pushed her away. Tre’saa emerged from a gap between two boxes.
	“Maz’lii, what are you doing?” she asked, seeing the two sitting so close to each other on the crate.
	“N-nothing…” Maz’lii responded, her head low. Dave shuffled in place, his clothes now feeling incredibly tight.
	Tre’saa regarded them both for a few moments, before stepping toward her sister. “Do you think you can help me run a maintenance check on the engine?”
	“We just did that a few days ago.”
	“Yeah, but that was before we were towing another ship. We need to make sure the engine isn’t overexerting itself.”
	Maz’lii seemed conflicted, looking back and forth between Dave and her sister. “But I—"
	“Are you alright, Dave?” Tre’saa asked, bringing her attention to him. “You don’t look well.”
	“I don’t know, I’m feeling a little out of it,” he replied, wiping some sweat that had accumulated on his brow. “Probably just tired, that’s all.”
	“Okay, well, our bunks are back there,” Tre’saa said, pointing to a nearby door. “Don’t worry about taking up space, we sleep in shifts. Let’s go, Maz’lii. It’ll be faster if we do it together.”
	Maz’lii looked up at Dave one last time, with what may as well have been her species’ version of puppy-dog eyes. She reluctantly slid off the crate and followed Tre’saa. Dave stared longingly at that magnificent butt as it strode further and further away, out of his reach...
	He slapped himself twice on the side of the head. Why was he acting this way? One minute they were talking innocently, the next he was just about ready to grab her in places he had no right to be grabbing.
	“What the fuck is going on…?” he whispered to himself.
	Dave stood up and made his way to the bunks, sporting an erection he wasn’t particularly proud of.

[…]

	Ple’ssi strode into the cockpit, not taking long to find her sister. Toh’maa was at the helm like she always was, staring straight out the window in silence as the distant stars passed by.
	The ship mostly flew itself, running on an autopilot system that tracked the trail of buoys laid out along the interstellar highway. Toh’maa insisted on taking the wheel regardless, taking breaks only to eat and sleep. It seemed dull, but fit her personality pretty well, always wanting control over everything.
	Ple’sii hopped into the copilot’s seat. Toh’maa barely acknowledged her, her attention fixed on the array of buttons on the holo-panel in front of her.
	“How are we doing?” Ple’sii asked.
	“Everything’s fine,” Toh’maa grumbled, casually pressing a button.
	Ple’sii rotated her seat—made from an old office chair bolted to the floor—and faced her sister. Toh’maa kept her eyes straight ahead.
	“You have that look again.”
	Toh’maa finally faced her, her eyes narrowed. “What look?”
	“THAT look,” Ple’sii said, extending her index finger. “The one you have when things aren’t going your way.”
	Toh’maa turned back to the window. “You know why.”
	“Toh’maa, I know that you don’t like humans-“
	“I don’t TRUST humans.”
	“He’s only going to be with us a few days. We’ll get him to SolCen, he’ll pay us, and then he’ll be out of your life forever.”
	“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Toh’maa nodded toward the door. “Are we keeping an eye on Maz’lii?”
	“Tre’saa’s keeping her busy. Why?”
	“I don’t want her near him for longer than she needs to be,” Toh’maa said sternly. “She’s gotten way too friendly already, and it wouldn’t take much for her to do something she’ll regret.”
	“What do you mean?” Ple’sii inquired. Toh’maa gave her a knowing look, and the gears started to turn in her head. “That’s ridiculous.”
	“It’s happened before, Ple’sii. Back on Earth, humans and yotje…I don’t even want to get into it,” Toh’maa paused, her fingers danced across the holo-panel as she observed the ships readouts and configurations. “And it almost happened with her. You want to know why I wanted us to leave so quickly? This is why.”
	Ple’sii had heard the stories; she was in the medical field, so it was her duty to know. Yotje mating habits had come as a surprise to the greater galactic community. It wasn’t just humans that were affected, but other aliens as well. Biology certainly had a strange way of doing things.
	Ple’sii got up from her chair. “I’ll…go check on everyone.”
	“Remember what I said,” Toh’maa replied, not taking her eyes off the void that lingered outside.

[…]

	Dave awoke from his slumber in a daze, feeling like his entire body was on fire.
	It was that smell again. The fragrant aroma permeated the air of the cramped sleeping quarters, leaving him no choice but to take more into his nostrils. It was as if someone had combined every flower, every fruit into one intoxicating cocktail. It did more than please his olfactory senses. He felt invigorated, yet uncomfortable in his own skin.
	He blearily looked around the dimly-lit room, sensing another presence. His gaze reached the foot of the bed, where he found two red orbs staring back at him.
	“Maz’lii…?”
	“Dave…” the yotje breathed. She began to crawl slowly toward him, stopping at his waist and planting a hand on his pelvis. His skin burned at her touch even through the fabric of his pants, which had become more and more burdensome and constricting.
	“What are you…?” he managed to utter, unable to form complete thoughts. His gaze lingered on the alien woman looming over him, her incandescent eyes shone like two rubies. She was in a kneeling position in between his legs, her pose unintentionally erotic. Dave lost himself in the sight of her shapely hips and plump thighs. His imagination began to run wild, what he could do to a body like hers…
	She looked as restless as he probably did. Her antennae made schizophrenic movements atop her head. Her eyes flapped open and closed. “I’ve been thinking about you…the last time we talked…” She pulled at the bottom hem of his shirt, lifting it upward and exposing a tiny portion of his stomach, beaded in sweat. “I couldn’t think about anything else…”
	Maz’lii dipped her head downward. Tiny buds at the ends of her feelers began to trace lines along his belly. Dave’s brain went ballistic. The yotje pushed his shirt up further, rubbing her soft palms along his abs as she did so. The human gasped for breath as Maz’lii continued her ticklish ministrations on his torso.
	Her bubbly ass hung high in the air. The same ass that had tortured him with its very existence for the past few hours. It shook tantalizingly, like it was taunting him. No longer.
	Dave sat up without warning. Maz’lii gasped as she wrapped her arms around his torso to keep herself from falling over. With firm resolve, Dave’s hands landed on the alien’s buttocks, triumphant slaps echoing through the room. Maz’lii yelped salaciously as his hands sent ripples along her supple cheeks. He cupped one in each hand and immediately began to knead them through her thin pants. She buried her face in his chest, taking in more of his scent as he massaged her intimately.
	Dave entered a sublime high as he drowned himself in the plethora of sensations. The smell, the perfect ass that he now held in his hands, the high-pitched moans and the tickles on his chest. He had entered a physical an emotional nirvana and he craved more.
	Dave’s hands snaked into the waistband of her pants, grabbing hold of her bare cheeks. They had the same skin-like texture as her hands, soft and extremely malleable. He squeezed the doughy glutes, pulled them apart as far as they would go, then released. He felt them jiggle back into place like gelatin, earning him a stifled cry from Maz’lii, who dug her fingers into his chest. Her pelvis wriggled against his, rubbing unbearably against the tight bulge in his pants.
	He took in another whiff of the sweet aroma. He couldn’t take anymore. He needed release. Needed her.
	With an animalistic fervor he overtook the tiny alien, setting himself atop her and flipping her over. He grabbed the sides of her pants and pulled them down and off her ankles entirely, huffing intensely as the object of his attention now lay fully exposed to him. Her magnificent ass was a light purple color, like the rest of her underskin, contrasted against the dark violet of the carapace that covered her back and most of her legs. Maz’lii lay with her face down on the mattress and her ass in the air. She shook her backside enticingly as she cast her scarlet eyes back at him in a pleading manner.
	“Take me…” she whispered desperately. “Make me yours…”
	It was all the encouragement Dave needed. He reluctantly took his hands away from her hips to shed his own clothing. The refreshing chill of the recycled ship air blew against his exposed skin, yet did nothing to cool the heat that stirred within him. His cock sprang free as he removed his pants, standing at attention dangerously close to her nethers. He felt her heat radiate onto the head of his dick, beckoning him to take the treasure that was nestled between her thick thighs.
	He shuffled forward, grabbing handfuls of her butt as he guided himself into her. Maz’lii cried out as her virgin walls were separated; she squinted her eyes shut and grabbed handfuls of sheets as he went deeper. She was incredibly tight, the tightest he had ever experienced.
	He was almost hilted inside her when he met some sort of resistance. His cockhead brushed against it and Maz’lii gave a pleasured scream. “M-my womb…” she stuttered. “P-please…more…”
	Dave pulled himself from her a bit, looking down and seeing his length coated in her juices, clear yet thick like a nectar. He slowly thrusted forward again, hitting the edge of her alien cervix once more. This time, however, he nudged himself further, his crown pushing past the gateway to her fertile chamber. Maz’lii squirmed beneath him in a pained yet pleasurable fit, biting the collar of her shirt as he stretched her to her limits.
	Dave grunted as his shaft rubbed against the tunnel leading to her womb. He repeated the action several times, reveling in the way the cute alien girl writhed at his intrusions. After a minute he began to pick up the pace. Maz’lii’s moans filled the room as Dave pistoned against her, hypnotized by the sight of her butt cheeks slamming against his torso.
	The human leaned forward and took hold of the yotje’s shoulder, pulling his alien lover closer so that her back met his chest. He peeled off her shirt, leaving her just as nude as he was. Lined along her spine were several small divots in the violet carapace that covered her back. As he fucked her from this new position, he observed the small holes expand and contract. A new wave of that heavenly odor hit him straight in the face. He was suddenly awash with renewed energy. Conscious thought left him and was replaced by his baser desires. The desire to fuck this little alien tease, to empty his balls into her waiting pussy.
	Dave sped up, gyrating his hips at a pace he didn’t think was possible of him. His cock had long since breached Maz’lii’s cervical entrance and was now battering what felt like the very back of her womb. The yotje uttered heated moans each time the tip struck home. She leaned her head back, her gleaming eyes meeting his and her antennae tickling his collarbone.
	“Dave…my lifemate…” she sang in between moans. “I’m so close…p-please…b-breed me…”
	He heard her speak, but the intricacies of what she was saying were lost on him. His only focus was the tight, wet hole he pounded into oblivion as the air became heavy with the perfumed scent. He felt his own climax approaching, his balls churning as they swung along with his thrusts.
	He wrapped his arms around Maz’lii, one around her neck and another encircling her prominent waist as he jackhammered her with furious intensity. He clasped a hand on her belly, feeling the same soft texture of her nether regions. Maz’lii’s body tightened at his touch. She wailed in ecstasy—her vaginal walls clamped down on his intruding member and she dug her fingers into the forearm that head-locked her.
	Dave felt a gushing of juices spray against his pelvis as her womanhood constricted him painfully. He grunted in anguish, hilting himself within her as his orgasm wracked his body. His ejaculate fountained into her womb, painting it white and drowning the head of his cock.
	Maz’lii craned her neck to look up at Dave once more. There was something else in her eyes as they seemed to pulse in the darkness, yet Dave couldn’t define what it was.
	Their knees gave out and they collapsed forward onto the bed. He remained in her, feeling their mixed essences flow down his length and stain the sheets.
	The human and the yotje lay still, nearly comatose from post-coital bliss to move, or even speak.

[...]

	Toh’maa emerged from the cockpit after nearly two hours at the helm, believing a well-deserved break was in order. Unfortunately, the cramped conditions of the ship offered little in the way of peace and quiet. The yotje prepared herself to deal with the incessant chatter of her siblings, as well as Maz’lii gushing over her new pet, but to her surprise, she found only one of her sisters in the common area.
	Tre’saa was seated atop a large crate and reclined against another, her face buried in one of those picture books she had brought from Earth. She paid no attention even as Toh’maa crossed the room and began preparing some tea for herself from the brew.
	“All systems look normal. We should have enough fuel to make it to SolCen, even with that piece of junk weighing us down,” Toh’maa reported casually as the liquid poured from the still and into her cup. “ETA is a day and a half, I’d say.”
	“Mm-hmm…” Tre’saa mumbled, lazily flipping over a page.
	“Did you check the engine? No problems?”
	“...Yep…”
	Toh’maa stepped over and peeled the book from her grasp. “Hey--!” Tre’saa cried out, her arms flailing forward in an attempt to take it back. Toh’maa glanced at the contents as she played keep-away—it was a paneled story book about humans, drawn in a goofy-looking art style and written in the same calligraphy they had seen everywhere in Tokyo.
	“You actually read this stuff?” Toh’maa asked dismissively, turning the book over in her grip. “What’s the appeal?”
	“It’s called ‘MANGA’, Tre’saa insisted, “and it’s a sophisticated art form back on Earth!” She managed to grab hold of the book again, taking it from her sister and holding it to her chest possessively. “Humans cherish it. They have entire shelves in stores dedicated to works like this.”
	“If there’s one thing I learned while on Earth,” Toh’maa commented, “it’s that you can make a lot of money selling useless crap.”
	Tre’saa scoffed. “I don’t expect a baka-gaijin like you to understand.”
	Toh’maa ignored her sister’s nonsense, searching the room. “Where’s Maz’lii?”
	“Ple’sii’s watching her.”
	“Watching who?” Ple’sii appeared from a cranny in between two boxes, her focus on a datapad in front of her.
	“Maz’lii,” Toh’maa repeated. “where is she?”
	Ple’sii tore her eyes from the datapad and pointed at Tre’saa with her electronic stylus. “Wasn’t she with you?”
	“Hey, I looked after her for the past hour,” Tre’saa claimed. “I thought this was a team effort?”
	Wait a minute,” Toh’maa interrupted, her voice panicked. “Where’d the human go?”
	Tre’saa gave a shrug with her antennae. “He said he was tired, probably went to sleep.”
	All three yotje sisters stood there in silence for a few seconds. Their gazes travelled to cabin door, then back to each other in realization. They moved towards it in haste.

[…]

	The next few minutes aboard the ship were absolute pandemonium. The three discovered the stupefied pair, naked and glued to each other in a sticky mess. Dave and Maz’lii began to sober up as they were peeled off of each other. They heard shouting, mostly from Toh’maa.
	Maz’lii whined in protest as she was separated from her lover. The tiny alien fought off her sisters as they tried to pull her from the bed. She desperately crawled back to Dave, embracing him again and digging her face into his chest.
	Dave looked down at Maz’lii just as he was beginning to resurface from his own stupor. The yotje’s antennae twitched discordantly as they traced crooked lines across his breast. Her eyes shimmered like red disco balls, the mosaic tiles pulsing and fading in irregular patterns. Dave felt that weird vibration reverberate from her body again, but it was softer and came in relaxed intervals, almost like a heartbeat.
	The human’s brain was racked with everything that was happening around him. What the hell did he just do?
	After managing to get the two into a decent state of dress, they were dragged back into the common room. Dave sat on a low crate, dressed in only his T-shirt and boxer shorts. Maz’lii still clung to him, naked but wrapped in the bedsheet, which was still soaked in traces of their lovemaking.
	Ple’sii’s stared at both of them concernedly with her arms crossed as Toh’maa angrily paced back and forth. Tre’saa kept her distance, sitting on the far side of the room yet still looking conflicted.
	The silence was deafening. Dave decided he would be the first to speak. He searched his head for the right words in an attempt to explain himself.
	“Listen, I—"
	“I don’t want to hear anything else from you!” Toh’maa shouted, spinning around to face him. “We show you the smallest amount of kindness, human, and this is how you repay us? By mating with my sister?” She brought her attention to the yotje that held onto him. “Maz’lii, did he force you to—"
	“W-what? No--!” she replied, her face halfway hidden behind his arm.
	“Toh’maa, calm down,” Tre’saa called out from the other side of the space, trying to reign her sister in. “You’re not acting rationally—"
	“I am being COMPLETELY rational!” Toh’maa spat back. “We didn’t ask for any of this, Tre’saa. To be taken from our home and dumped on some planet, forced to be around these…alien savages!” She looked back at Maz’lii who was still glued to Dave, the disgust in her face readily apparent. “What are our parents going to say about this? The rest of our family?”
	“That’s assuming they’re still alive—" Tre’saa started.
	“They are! We’re not having this discussion again!”
	The argument went back and forth between them. Dave was grateful that the heat had been taken off of him, if only for a few moments. Ple’sii remained silent, standing off to the side and regarding the interspecies pair, looking lost in thought.
	“Stop it!” Maz’lii barked, every head in the room swiveling to her. “The Hivemother brought Dave to me, to help figure out my purpose in life,” She straightened her posture and turned to him, reaching down and clasping his hand with both of hers. “Are you surprised he would become my lifemate as well?”
	Dave stared back at her, unsure of what to say. “Lifemate’? What the hell was she talking about?
	Ple’sii finally broke her silence. “Something like this was bound to happen, sooner or later…” she mumbled.
	“What are you talking about?” Toh’maa questioned derisively.
	“I mean, we should have expected it, really, given the circumstances…” Ple’sii’s voice was quiet, as if she was speaking to herself.
	“Would you like to share with the rest of us?” Toh’maa asked, getting impatient.
	Ple’sii ignored her. “Dave, when you started travelling with us, did you notice anything strange in regards to the air, like it was harder to breathe, perhaps? Or maybe any strange smells?”
	Dave sat there a moment, considering her questions to him. “Well…yeah. When I spoke to Maz’lii, there was this weird smell in the air. I breathed it in a few times. When we were in that room there…” he pointed to the ship’s cabin. “…it was stronger. The air was thick and heavy.”
	“I see…” Ple’sii mused. She grabbed one of her datapads sitting on top of a nearby crate, tapping away at it with her fingers. “Dave, do you know what ‘pheromones’ are?”
	“Not really.”
	“They’re biological chemicals that are released into the air by certain plants and animals, designed to illicit a response from those that are exposed to them,” she stated matter-of-factly. “You see, Dave, when a yotje, male or female, encounters a potential mate, someone they see as attractive, pheromones are released from special glands along our backs. It’s an involuntary reaction on our part, we often have no control over it.”
	She turned the datapad over to him. Displayed was a picture of a yotje’s armored back, showing off the shallow dimples that lined the center, where the spinal cord would be, the same ones that Maz’lii had.
	“The pheromones are invisible, yet can alter the behavior of the affected individual in a number of ways. For reasons unknown to us, our pheromones are able to cross species barriers, humans included. They are extremely potent to your kind, acting as a…what was that word…” She thought a moment. “Aphro…aphrodisiac, that’s it.”
	Dave looked at Maz’lii again. She wore a mixed expression, part bashful, part guilty. “So…what you’re saying is…”
	“In short, you possess traits that Maz’lii found attractive in a mate. This triggered her pheromonal glands to activate, and you were affected by said pheromones. It most likely caused a number of changes to your body, like an increased sexual libido, heightened sensory awareness and stamina, loss of higher mental faculties like self-control—“
	“Yeah, okay, I get it,” he interrupted, cutting off her long-winded explanation. He sighed. “Look, I’m sorry for causing so much trouble, I really am,” he said, looking ashamedly at the aliens surrounding him, especially Toh’maa. “We’ll get to SolCen, and then I’ll be out of your way.”
	The yotje looked at each other for a few moments, then back to him. “I’m afraid that’s no longer an option, Dave,” Ple’sii said.
	“What do you mean?”
	“Let me explain,” she slid a smaller crate over and sat down. “Yotje are a monogamous species…”
	“Most humans are, too.”
	“Not exactly. Humans tend to gravitate toward monogamy through religious and cultural tradition, but for the most part, they are a polygamous species. An individual human may go through multiple partners before ‘settling down’, so to speak. Yotje are different; we only have one partner our entire lives.”
	“So, I’m Maz’lii’s,” Dave concluded, looking down at the yotje curled up next to him, who smiled innocently.
	“Yes,” Ple’sii confirmed. “You are her lifemate now.”
	“What does that mean?”
	“Exactly what it sounds like. When yotje mate, a physical and mental bond forms, and the two partners enter a codependent relationship. One cannot function without the other.”
	“A bond?” Dave asked, confused. “I don’t feel anything.”
	“Well, you wouldn’t, you’re not a yotje,” Ple’sii responded, pointing out the obvious. “But Maz’lii is bonded to you, for life. Therefore, you have no choice but to stay with us.”
	“What??” Dave exclaimed, not believing what he was hearing.
	“Out of the question,” Toh’maa snapped, “This human has done enough damage. I won’t allow—“
	“We have no other options, Toh’maa,” Ple’sii’s words were firm, the doctor trying her best to remain civil. “You know what happens when yotje lose their lifemates. If we allow Dave to leave, Maz’lii would enter a catatonic state, go into withdrawal. She would cease to function, and she could die.”
	Toh’maa locked eyes with Dave. Her fists clenched and her crimson eyes narrowed at him. If he didn’t know she was pissed already, it was obvious now.
	“Listen, both of you,” Ple’sii came between the two of them. “What happened, happened. All of us are just going to have to deal with it.”
	Toh’maa said nothing. Instead, she whirled around and stormed back toward the cockpit, visibly fuming.
	“Tre’saa, go keep an eye on her,” Ple’sii told her other sister. Tre’saa simply nodded and strode out of the room.
	Dave sat there, still struggling to process what Ple’sii had told him. He felt like he had been forced into a marriage by the end of a shotgun. Was he really stuck with Maz’lii for the rest of his days?
	A hand stroked his cheek. Maz’lii gently turned his head toward hers. “Don’t listen to Toh’maa, Dave. I wanted this, wanted you,” She pressed her forehead against his, her antennae dancing along his hairline.
	Dave regarded the tiny alien, his ‘lifemate’. He didn’t exactly dislike her. She was a bit eccentric, but not entirely unappealing to be around. Could he spend a lifetime with someone like her? An alien, no less?
	Technically, he didn’t have to stay. He played out multiple avenues of escape in his head: Maybe he could sneak away at SolCen, while their backs were turned. But if Ple’sii was telling the truth, his departure would be a death sentence for Maz’lii. He wasn’t completely heartless—he couldn’t bring himself to do something like that, in good consciousness.
	He decided to roll with things. It’s gotten him this far in life, for whatever that was worth.
	He wrapped his arms around her miniature frame. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I can handle her. I’m not going anywhere.” His answer seemed to lift her spirits somewhat. Her face beamed and her body made that strange rumble again.
	“Alright, you two,” Ple’sii interjected. “I know this is probably a strange time, but I’ll need to conduct a medical examination on both of you.”
	Dave cocked his head. “Really? I feel fine.”
	Ple’sii unloaded a medical bag buried among the crates. “Cross-species intercourse isn’t uncommon nowadays, but we still don’t know what effects it can have, long-term or short. I’d rest easier knowing my sister and her lifemate were healthy.”
	“If you say so,” Dave shrugged.
	Ple’sii ceased digging through the bag, closing it. “Let’s go in the cabin, for privacy.”
	The alien doctor led the way with Dave and Maz’lii following. Her hand still clasped his while the other held the sheet wrapped around her body.
	The couple sat on the bed while Ple’sii placed her bag on a nearby chair. “Dave, we’ll start with you. I’ll need you to strip.”
	Dave gave an apprehensive look at Maz’lii before standing and pulling at his clothes. “D-do I have to leave…?” the yotje asked nervously.
	Ple’sii had her back turned. “This won’t be anything you haven’t seen before, Maz’lii. That won’t be necessary.”
	She turned around just as Dave kicked his shorts off his ankles. She stopped dead in her tracks, her glowing eyes pulsing as she beheld the nude human standing before her. Her mouth was agape, as if she was about sat something but the words got caught in her throat.
	He didn’t escape Maz’lii’s gazes either. She took in his uncovered figure for the first time, having caught only glimpses of it when they mated. Her antennae frolicked excitedly as she admired him, like she was studying a marble statue in a museum.
	Dave shuffled back and forth, slightly uncomfortable with the four buggish eyes now set on him. “Ple’sii?”
	She broke out of her trance at the sound of his voice. “Huh--?”
	“Something wrong?”
	“N-no, everything’s fine…” Her calm, professional demeanor was now gone, replaced by and air of anxiousness. “Forgive me, I’ve never seen a human…in this state.”
	“But you’re a doctor, aren’t you?”
	“Not officially. I received only basic training, helping out in a medical facility, though most of my patients weren’t…” Her clinical tone returned for only a few seconds, but disappeared once she brought her focus back to his body again. “Anyway…let’s begin.”
	She took a few tentative steps toward him until she was only a few inches away, her head at waist-height. Ple’sii took his wrist in her hands and placed her two fingers underneath his palm. She counted his pulse for a few seconds, all the while bringing the occasional glance to his groin.
	“Heart rate is normal for adult human male, this is good…” she noted, taking her hands away. “Have you felt differently since your…copulation?”
	Dave shrugged. “Not really. I felt dizzy afterwards, like I was going to pass out.”
	“That’s normally the case during post-coitus. The release of endorphins combined with the effects of the pheromones most likely overwhelmed you,” Ple’sii remained close to him as she gave her prognosis, tilting her head upward to speak to him. “Have you felt any chaffing in your genitals? Or a rash?”
	“No.”
	Ple’sii’s gaze came down to his exposed member once more. After a few moments, she moved back to her bag, retrieving some latex gloves. “I…I’ll need to examine your…your penis,” she fumbled as she pulled the gloves onto her hands. “Please let me know if I’m making you uncomfortable.”
	Dave straightened his pose, bracing himself for what was to come. His body tensed as he felt her rubbered fingers lightly touch him. He stared upward at the ceiling to alleviate the awkwardness.
	Ple’sii’s small digits were dwarfed by the specimen even in its non-erect state. With one hand she gently examined the shaft, pulling back the foreskin and brushing her thumb against the head, feeling for any irregularities. Her other hand gracefully cupped his balls. She delicately felt the valuable organs through the fleshy sack that contained them. Dave exhaled deeply as he let the doctor do her work.
	Suddenly, he felt another hand brush against the right side of his stomach. He looked down and saw Maz’lii lightly touching him. His partner was now in a kneeling position on the bed, the sheet draped loosely around her shoulders.
	“You have a beautiful body, Dave,” she sweetly told him, bringing her other hand to rest on the side of his torso while the other continued to move along his stomach. “It’s so soft, yet you’re so strong!”
	Her words brought a flush to his face. He had a pretty average physique, in his own opinion, so he didn’t really see what she was so impressed by. Still, he took her compliments in stride. It wasn’t every day that he was called attractive.
	Maz’lii proceeded with her soft caresses, her left hand moving along the muscles of his lower back while her right stayed on his flat chest. “Do male yotje have this?” she asked Ple’sii. “Soft skin on their bellies?”
	Ple’sii tore her focus away from what she was doing. “No, only females do. The abdomens of our males are armored, for extra protection. Only their pelvic regions are soft.” Dave noticed that Ple’sii was taking an unusual amount of time down there. From his experience, examinations like this took only a few seconds. Dave payed it no mind—she was probably just being thorough.
	“Oh…” Maz’lii sighed. “I’m glad I’ve been blessed with a soft-skinned lifemate,” She brought her head closer to his chest, her antennae tickling his ribs. “It feels so nice!”
	Dave was overwhelmed at the affection he was receiving from Maz’lii. He brought his hand up cupped her cheek. The yotje titled her head into his palm as she stared lovingly up at him with her saucer-like eyes.
	He wasn’t ready to admit it yet, but Maz’lii was starting to have an effect on him, in more ways than one. The sheet that covered had fallen off of her shoulder, giving him a peek at her nude form. The want from earlier had returned, the desire for her company. He mindlessly took a deep inhale of her flowery scent, his body invigorated.
	Ple’sii gasped. He looked down and noticed that he had become stiff as a board in her grasp. His length cast a shadow over her face, her eyes wide and pulsing. Dave looked down at her with the same lustful stare. A small remnant of his conscious mind still hung by a thread, telling him to step away before this got out of hand. He ignored it.
	Ple’sii didn’t take her hands away either. Instead, she moved her gloved hand along the underside of his shaft, pulling the foreskin along with it. Dave sighed contentedly as the alien beneath him massaged his cock in slow pumps. She released him, only to remove her gloves and begin again, barehanded. He felt that low rumble radiate from her as well, coursing through her touch and adding to his pleasure.
	Maz’lii noticed what was happening and didn’t seem to care. She focused exclusively on Dave, touching his naked body wantonly. She stood on the bed to give herself a better vantage point, the sheet falling off and leaving her just as exposed as he was. He wrapped his arm around her generous waist and grabbed a handful of her bare ass while her antennae swept themselves all along his upper chest.
	Ple’sii continued to stroke him, her own scent joining Maz’lii’s and filling the room with a thick, invisible cloud. The yotje lifted his cock upward so that it nearly touched his stomach, and she buried her face into it. The sensory nodes of Ple’sii’s antennae delved into his entire length, her body shuddering as her brain was wracked with the intake of his musk.
	Dave grunted loudly as her antennae teased his balls, shaft, and the sensitive frenulum on the underside of his head. He buried his face into the crook of Maz’lii’s neck, pecking aggressively at the soft skin there. She let out a mix of a giggle and a moan, hugging his head as a signal for him to continue.
	He became weak in the knees and let himself fall backwards onto the bed while attending to Maz’lii. Ple’sii watched the two lovers in their embrace for a moment. Tempted to join, she began removing her own clothes. She shrugged off her lab coat and hastily pulled away her turtleneck sweater and skirt, adding herself to the naked fray.
	Dave and Maz’lii turned to her when she crawled into his lap. For the first time, Dave was able to take in a view of an unclothed yotje from the front. The two aliens possessed small, pudgy bellies, consisting of the lovely lavender-colored underskin, which continued down to their genitals and inner thighs. Looking upwards, he saw that the smooth tissue ended at the midriff, transferring into the same hardened carapace that made up the rest of their bodies.
	Dave then noticed that they didn’t seem to have breasts of any kind. The chitinous armor that decorated their upper chests curved outwardly in a slight bump, which gave off somewhat of an illusion of less-than-A-cup mammaries. He had just assumed that female yotje were naturally flat-chested, having seen only a faint curve through their clothes.
	This sexual handicap did little to stave off the hunger that burned within him. The two sisters stared back at him lustfully, Eager to please both them and himself, he was able to push the abnormality aside.
	His cock spired between him and Ple’sii, twitching for attention. Without a word, she shuffled forward, holding onto his shoulders to position herself correctly. Warm juices dripped onto his waiting head, fueling his desire even further. Grabbing her hips with both hands, he gently lowered her down.
	Ple’sii’s moans turned to screams as she felt the monstrous human girth split her entrance open, the pleasure-pain paralyzing her even as he went slow. Eventually he hit her cervix—the yotje leaned into him, snaking her arms along his back and using his shoulder to muffle her cries. They remained still once he bottomed out inside her, allowing her tunnel to relax itself and adjust. After a few moments she began to move her hips on her own accord, his cockhead popping out of her womb and then back in again.
	Maz’lii came up behind Dave and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his right shoulder as she watched her sister go to town on her lifemate’s dick. She turned to his ear and whispered:
	“Her belly, Dave. Touch it…”
	Dave did what he was told and moved his hands from Ple’sii’s hips to the center of her abdomen. As his fingertips brushed against the yotje’s sleek stomach, Ple’sii gasped out a panicked moan and her body tensed. Dave eyes widened while Maz’lii grinned wildly, clearly amused by what she had just caused.
	“B-belly…!” Ple’sii yelped, too overcome with pleasure to form articulate sentences like she usually did. “Ero…erogenous zone…in f-females…”
	Dave absorbed this new information and rubbed it some more, each individual fingertip creating an electrifying current across the multiple pleasure centers contained within. He received the appropriate reaction from Ple’sii, the alien uttering loud and blissful moans as she greedily bounced in his lap.
	He turned to Maz’lii, looking into the tessellated eyes of his lover. An idea sprang into his head.
	“Lie down,” he commanded. “On your back.”
	Maz’lii did as she was instructed, her antennae bouncing curiously. Dave reclined himself so that he was resting on his elbows. He payed mind to Ple’sii as he adjusted his position, gripping her sides so she wouldn’t fall over.
	Maz’lii lifted her head up. “What are you…oh--!”
	Dave lowered his head down and planted his lips on her belly. “D-Dave--!” she cried, holding the sides of his head with both hands as her body curled into him. Dave gave her belly kiss after kiss, moving his focus to random spots to keep his alien lover guessing. He began to bring his tongue into the pattern as well, making long strides along the surface of her belly. Maz’lii writhed beneath him like she was possessed.
	Dave made a daring journey lower, towards her core. Yotje womanhood certainly felt different than what he was used to; he took a few seconds before making the plunge to see what he was working with.
	There was an entrance there, surely enough, but not a simple vertical slit that human females possessed. Maz’lii’s vulva resembled more of a compass rose shape, engorged in the middle and flaring out in four cardinal directions. Between the mauve-colored lips he could barely make out three tiny nubs along the top, left, and right sides.
	Relying on guesswork, he removed a hand from Ple’sii’s belly and placed his thumb upon the topmost nub, brushing it upward. Maz’lii screamed, throwing her head back and locking her knees around his head.
	Just as he thought. Dave attacked her dripping pussy wholesale, licking at her northern clit then alternating to its counterparts on the left and right, sometimes burying his tongue down her entrance entirely and inserting soft kisses on the surface.
	D-Dave, I--!” Maz’lii attempted to speak but was shocked with pleasureful fits before she could get a word in edgewise. “I-ah…! Yes…l-lo…love yo-ah…!”
	Turning half of his attention back to the yotje on top of him, Dave brought his hand down to Ple’sii’s folds. After some searching, he found his target, pinching her flared clitoris between his thumb and forefinger. Ple’sii gave a sudden shriek, her wall clamping down on his cock.
	The three had trapped themselves in their own private euphoria, too enraptured in their pleasure to notice the door swish open and another individual step inside.
	Tre’saa had taken a sip of tea from the mug she held, casually strolling into the room, only stopping once she had laid eyes on the revelry taking place. Her jaw dropped as she saw Dave and her sisters, naked and engaging in acts she had only read about in the most pornographic of literature. She dropped her mug in her shock, which shattered and spills its contents on the floor.
	The trio heard the noise and turned their heads toward her, barely stopping their lewd activities and making no effort to cover themselves. Ple’sii had slowed her frantic humping to a steadier pace, looking over her shoulder at Tre’saa out of the corner of her eye.
	“Ple’sii?! What are you--?” Tre’saa shouted. She watched in horror as her sister, who was normally quite reserved, gave herself to Dave, who was supposed to be Maz’lii’s lifemate! The whole situation was bizarre. Tre’saa wanted to protest, but no words escaped her mouth.
	For who knows what reason, she couldn’t bring herself to step forward and stop this madness. Eventually they resumed their romp, seemingly unperturbed that they now had an audience. Ple’sii quickened her pace and Dave went back in between Maz’lii’s legs. Tre’saa simply stood there. Her brain screamed at her—to turned around a tell Toh’maa, to do SOMETHING.
	Dave began to move his hips underneath Ple’sii and slammed his cock into her furthest reaches. Tre’saa watched the hypnotizing spectacle, observing the impressive human member drive itself in and out of Ple’sii’s sex, his balls slapping against her buttocks and creating subtle ripples along the muscle. A chorus of moans echoed through the room.
	Finally, Ple’sii gave one final scream as her folds squeezed Dave’s length, her entire body convulsing in haptic seizures. Maz’lii followed suit—she hugged Dave’s head and pulled at his hair as her orgasm rocked her. Soon after, Dave let loose a guttural groan. His cock spasmed inside Ple’sii, the human reaching back and gripping her butt cheeks in a vice-like grip. In the chaos his member fell free from her and painted her outer lips a pure white. The remaining drops were deposited onto the bed below.
	Tre’saa felt like her heart had stopped as she watched the scene unfold before her. Any reservations she had vanished long ago. Her insides were awash with heat and the craters along her back pulsed, filling the air around her with her sweet scent. She began to unbutton her shirt.
	Ple’sii collapsed on top of Dave, pressing her face to his heaving chest and lightly poking his breast with her antennae. Maz’lii lazily crawled over and inserted herself on Dave’s right side, splaying her arm over top of him and connecting her head with his.
	Through the post-orgasmic haze, Dave noticed movement to his left. He turned his head and saw Tre’saa climbing onto the bed. She was as naked as her sisters. Dave looked her up and down, appreciating the way the yotje’s skin and carapace seem to blend together perfectly.
	Tre’saa stopped where she was as she came under Dave’s scrutiny. She looked uncomfortably nervous—head bowed slightly and antennae drooped low. Her arms came down in front of her perfectly smooth belly, hands fumbling. Her luminescent eyes peered at him in a lustful expression that betrayed her shyness. What she wanted was obvious, but the words to express it never came.
	Dave extended a cautious hand to her, placing it on the side of her torso and then trailing down the curve of her hip. She tensed at his touch at first, but then allowed herself to melt into it. The human then laid his palm flat on the yotje’s belly. She yelped, shrinking into herself and covering her mouth with her hands.
	Her body vibrated and she released more of her pheromones into the already clouded air. Dave had grown to love the smell, inhaling more of it into his nostrils. Within seconds, his cock stiffened between Ple’sii’s legs, brushing briefly against her folds which earned him a tired giggle from her.
	Maz’lii’s antennae perked as she lifted her head up, noticing Dave’s member stand at attention beyond Ple’sii’s rear. She looked at him and then at Tre’saa, softly smiling. She lifted herself up, climbing over Dave’s prone body and approaching her nervous sibling. Placing comforting hands on Tre’saa’s shoulders, she turned back to her human and shot him a knowing look, a look that told him that she had something naughty on her mind.
	Dave needed no motivation, lifting himself up. Ple’sii gave a small whine as her now-lifemate disturbed her rest and moved out from under her. Dave’s essence leaked from her core as she shuffled along the bed.
	Maz’lii moved aside when Dave approached, allowing him and Tre’saa to close the distance between each other. The exchange was entirely wordless; Dave wrapped his hands around Tre’saa’s prominent waist. She placed her shaky hands atop his chest, feeling the gentle thump of his heart.
	Maz’lii remained at their sides and began positioning their bodies like a stage director. She lowered Tre’saa down and onto her back and then maneuvered Dave over top of her. She positioned herself behind Tre’saa, sitting cross-legged and placing her sister’s head in her lap. Their antennae nodes tangoed with each other as they made their upside-down eye contact. Ple’sii had taken up her own spot to the left of Tre’saa, reclining on her side.
	Tre’saa spread her legs open as wide as she could to allow the human in. “Please…g-gentle…” she whispered. Dave looked up at Maz’lii, who nodded at him to go ahead. He rubbed the crown of his cock along her entrance before slowly pushing in.
	Tre’saa uttered a breathless cry at his intrusion, covering her face with her hands. Maz’lii continued to coax her, whispering unintelligible words to her while she gestured at Dave, urging him to go on. He inserted another half-inch, feeling her tight walls open up to their guest. Tre’saa writhed and moaned painfully beneath him. A small part of him felt bad for hurting her, even through his lust-addled state of mind, yet Maz’lii spurred him on. He kept going.
	After several minutes of pushing, he hit the now-familiar cervical entrance. Tre’saa squealed and her entire body shook. Dave felt a torrent of juices flow around his cock and her walls constrict. The human’s eyes widened. Did she just…?
	Her pained cries soon gave way to pleasureful giggles. Tre’saa peeked out one eye between her fingers, staring back at Dave with gleeful content. Dave offered a soft laugh as well, looking up at Maz’lii, who did the same, tightly squeezing his hand.
	With the tension in the room fading away, Dave began to make love to Tre’saa in slow but firm thrusts, who cooed softly underneath him as she started enjoying the experience. She was supported by both her sisters—Maz’lii continuing to embrace her and Ple’sii holding her hand while the other reached down in between her own legs. With some struggle, Dave pushed past Tre’saa’s cervix, leaving her fertile womb to be fucked without limitation.
	Dave gazed up at Maz’lii as he worked, who reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm. There was something in her expression, like a mixture of happiness, love, and pride all at the same time. Even as he gave himself to her sisters, the feelings she had for him didn’t seem to go away.
	He reached over to her mid-thrust and planted a kiss on the chitinous plates of her mouth, his own way of saying that her feelings were reciprocated. This had the desired effect, it seemed. Maz’lii’s eyes squinted giddily and her antennae went wild.
	Tre’saa’s moans intensified her second release rapidly approached. Dave sensed this and quickened his thrusts, pushing her along. Tre’saa gave one final scream as her orgasm quaked through her. He continued to fuck her even as her body went limp from exhaustion, her eyes half-lidded and mouth agape. He pushed in one final time, touching his forehead to Tre’saa’s as he came.
	He collapsed onto the bed beside her. He pulled out of her, allowing their mixed love to spill out and pool onto the already sex-mopped sheet.
	The room fell silent for the first time in a while. The only noises came from the steady creaks of the bed as the yotje adjusted their positions. Maz’lii gently set Tre’saa’s head down and moved towards Dave, leaning herself on her elbow and stroking his hair. Ple’sii moved up and took Maz’lii’s place, offering post-coital comfort to her near-comatose sister.
	Dave’s breathing returned to normal, resting levels as he took in the aftermath of the bacchanal orgy that had taken place. “That was…” he started. Words couldn’t even begin to describe it. He exhaled deeply. The alien women around him offered similar sentiments, contented sighs and soft laughter.
	“Maz’lii…” Ple’sii spoke up. A look of concern upon her face. “Dave…your lifemate, we…”
	Maz’lii combed her tiny fingers along Dave’s scalp thoughtfully. “I don’t mind sharing,” she remarked, causing everyone else to look at her. “I love Dave, and I know that he loves me,” Her face trailed closer to his, the bulbs of her antennae brushing his nose. “Nothing will get in the way of that…”
	“I thought yotje were monogamous…?” Dave pondered aloud.
	“We are,” Ple’sii responded. “Two yotje that mate are bonded to each other for life, but as I said before, you’re not a yotje.”
	She sat up and drew herself closer, her plump thighs mushing together as she knelt before him, continuing her explanation. “When a yotje mates with an alien, the bond is formed from the former to the latter, but not vice-versa. Humans, as well as other species, lack the crucial brain chemistry that yotje have, and thus, the bond is a one-way street.”
	“So, that’s how I was able to…mate with all of you?” Dave asked.
	Ple’sii nodded with a smile. “Correct. We have bonded ourselves to you, but not you to us. Therefore, nothing was stopping you from having several lifemates at once.”
	Dave looked at the three sisters, who all seemed unfazed by this arrangement. “And this doesn’t bother you? Doesn’t it go against your nature?”
	“Well, it is pretty strange…” Ple’sii mused. “Don’t human males do that? Take several female partners at once?”
	“Very rarely,” Dave answered. “I’ve never done it before.”
	Maz’lii giggled. “You have now, silly!”
	Dave chuckled. “I guess so,” He brought his gaze back to her, hypnotized by her rubied eyes that glistened in the low light.
	“Ple’sii? Tre’saa!” A voice called out from beyond the door. The private world that the four lovers had created for themselves instantly shattered and reality came rushing back.
	Toh’maa sprinted into the room in a flash “We have a—” She froze when she saw the group in their state of undress. The faint smell of sex still lingered in the air. “…problem…”
	They could only stare back at her, with no way to explain away or cover up their deeds. They were trapped.
	“What?!” Toh’maa yelled in a high-pitched scream. “Why?! How?!”
	Ple’sii stood and slid off the bed, approaching her sister. “Toh’maa, I can explain everything—”
	“Get away from me!” she yelled, backing away and averting her eyes, visibly disgusted by her sister’s nakedness. “Am I the only sane one left in this family?!”
	She sneered at the mess that became of the bed before her intensive glare landed solely on Dave. “YOU!” She lunged at him, only to be held at bay by Ple’sii. “I should’ve never let you aboard! First, we slow ourselves down towing you ship, then you turn my sisters into your own personal concubine! And now? We’re being attacked by pirates!”
	“What??” Tre’saa exclaimed, quickly sobering up from her post-orgasmic high. “Pirates?!”
	“Oh, fuck this!” Toh’maa spun around, pushing Ple’sii out of the way and hurrying out of the room. The four exchanged dumbfounded glances before scrambling for their clothes. Each article was strewn in random places about the cabin, forcing them to clumsily pass shirts and pants back and forth to one another.
	Once dressed, they all filed out through the common area and into the cockpit, where Toh’maa was busy unloading a pistol from a side compartment.
	Dave approached the window and looked out into the void of space. Surely enough, another vessel was on an intercept course toward their own ship. He would have mistaken it for a large, carnivorous fish if he hadn’t known any better; the angular craft sported dagger-like fins that tapered out from the top and sides. Streaks of red paint adorned the hull and the bow featured a decal of a white jawbone, jagged teeth bared in a vicious display.
	“They don’t look friendly…” Dave muttered. Maz’lii came up next to him, standing on the very ends of her toes to peer out the window as well. The ship was closer now. Four small compartments began to open up along the side, revealing mechanical appendages with flat, metallic drums at the ends.
	“What do they want from us?” Maz’lii asked.
	“They’re PIRATES, Maz’lii,” Toh’maa groaned. “They’ll either rob us, rape us, or slit our throats and toss us out of the airlock. Maybe a combination of the four.”
	“So, we fight back,” Dave suggested. He pulled the hammer back on his pistol to see if it was still loaded.
	“There’s only five of us, and who knows how many of them!” Toh’maa exclaimed. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you! One ship towing another? At our speed? We were an easy target from the start!”
	The yotje’s ship suddenly lurched as if it was dragged off course. All eyes were out the window as the two ships drew closer and closer together. A wavy, grey-colored energy was being emitted from the drums on the crane-like arms.
	“They’re pulling us in!” Maz’lii gasped. Hollow, metallic bangs reverberated through the interior of the ship. The magnetic arms latched on, two on the top and two on the bottom, encasing the wayward vessel in its grasp.
	A figure emerged from the top of the hostile craft, then two others shortly after, thin cables snaking from the backs of their pressure suits, tethering them to the ship. The three were of stocky build, tall yet hunched over. Thick, reptile-like tails swung around as the aliens maneuvered themselves on top of their vessel. One gave pointed gestures to the other two, and it pushed itself off the curved roof of the ship towards their catch.
	Dave had only seen a few seriket since first contact. A war-driven species whose home planet lay within the Kepler Expanse, they joined the UIGS only out of necessity, requiring assistance to travel back to their homeworld and rebuild. Truthfully, it was an alliance in name only—many seriket were unfriendly or openly hostile toward aliens, humans in particular.
	Dave turned back to Toh’maa. “Do you have any other plan? Because I’d love to hear it.”
	“I have an idea…” Tre’saa murmured, her head down. Her crimson eyes worriedly peeked at him. “You’re not going to like it, though…”
	Dave looked at her expectantly. “I’m listening.”
	“…If I can get on board your ship, I’ll be able to supercharge the drive with enough power to make a hyperspeed jump. The ship will obliterate anything in its path. I’ll angle it at the pirate’s vessel, and…well, you can guess the rest.”
	“Absolutely not!” Toh’maa yelled. “There will be no self-sacrifice on my watch!”
	“I’ll set the jump on a countdown, so I can escape the ship before it goes, no sacrifice necessary,” Tre’saa offered. “It’s a two-person job, though. I’ll need some help.”
	“I’ll go.” Maz’lii piped up.
	“What? Maz’lii…” Dave started.
	His lifemate took his hand in hers, looking up at him pleadingly. “I want everyone to be safe, this is the only way.”
	“Then we need to move fast,” said Toh’maa. They all rushed as one to the common area. “It looks like they’re getting ready to board. The rest of us will stay here and defend.”
	Tre’saa and Maz’lii retrieved and unfolded their yotje-sized spacesuits. Ple’sii approached the distillery that sat off to the side in the common room. She began fumbling with it, turning knobs and unscrewing bolts from its chassis.
	“Ple’sii, what are you doing?” Toh’maa asked her.
	“I have an idea, just give me a second,” She reached up and ripped open a piece of rubber tubing that ran along the top of the machine.
	Dave was busy checking and rechecking his pistol. He hadn’t fired it even once, so it was safe to say it was in working order. That didn’t stop his paranoia; he pulled the hammer back again—still loaded, same as a few minutes ago.
	“Human,” Toh’maa called to him. He broke free from his routine and watched as she approached him. Her eyes narrowed at him in scrutiny. Her grip tightened on the gun at her side.
	“Do you care for them?” she asked him, her voice even yet firm. “My sisters? Your lifemates?
	The human looked around the room at the alien women. The alien women that he had met, befriended and bedded all in the span of a few hours.
	‘Lifemates’. The word echoed in his mind. It seemed that sex wasn’t just a casual affair like it was for humans. For yotje, it was a commitment. To be joined with one partner forever. The three sisters could have continued on to Kor’ten and found males of their own species, but instead they chose him.
	What were they to him in human terms? His wives? He couldn’t be certain. Pheromone-induced libido or not, these women had pledged themselves to him. It was only fair that he did the same.
	His gaze lingered on Maz’lii, who had just fastened the suit tight around her body and was beginning to don her helmet. Her insectoid, yet incredibly gorgeous eyes fluttered when she saw him staring. Her pleasant smile returned, and his heart skipped.
	He turned back to Toh’maa, who was impatiently awaiting his answer. “I do,” he said confidently.
	“Then you’d better prove it.”
	“We’re ready,” said Tre’saa, helmet obscuring her face and muffling her voice. “They’re bound come through the airlock. Maz’lii and I will take the auxiliary hatch.” The two suited yotje climbed atop a stack of crates to a small mechanical door in the ceiling.
	“Remember what I said, no heroics,” Toh’maa called up to them.
	Ple’sii joined the group at the crates. “Don’t forget, you’ll be separated from Dave. You have about ten minutes until withdrawal symptoms start to kick in.”
	“Don’t worry,” Tre’saa assured them. “We’ll be back soon.”
	Maz’lii spun around and pulled Dave into and embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. He returned it, caressing her upper back through the thick material of her suit, Tre’saa joined the hug as well.
	“Be careful, okay?” he whispered to her.
	“I love you…” she told him softly, the volume of her voice lowered by the helmet.
	Harsh, metallic bangs resounded from the direction of the airlock. Their time was up.
	The three reluctantly separated. Tre’saa and Maz’lii quickly ascended through the hatch, closing the door behind them and blocking them from sight.
	The noises continued, followed by the cycling of the airlock’s systems.
	“They’re here,” warned Toh’maa. “Everyone, get behind something. You too, Ple’sii.”
	“One second,” the doctor called from across the room as Toh’maa and Dave settled themselves behind two large crates. Ple’sii turned to the machine one last time, cranking a large knob twice. The still emitted a high-pitched, yet quiet whistle, and Ple’sii sprinted over to them, taking her hiding place beside Dave.
	No sooner had she removed herself from sight, the airlock door opened. Three seriket stepped into the ship with weapons drawn. They had removed their helmets, revealing their dark grey skin, along with assorted scars covering the leathery surface of their faces. Their golden, snake-like eyes searched the room for their prey. Splayed atop their heads and extending down their necks was a thin dorsal appendage similar to a mohawk.
	“Looks like we hit the mother lode,” one of them remarked in a low, guttural voice, scanning the numerous boxes and crates about.
	Another lowered his weapon and turned to his cohorts. “Start opening them, see what’s inside. Flek, let’s search for the civilians, they’re probably hiding somewhere.”
	Toh’maa raised her pistol, levelling it at the aliens as they moved about the common area, unaware of their presence. Dave did the same, taking aim at a seriket who was absent-mindedly checking a box.
	“Wait…” Ple’sii whispered, grasping Dave’s forearm.
	The subtle whistle from the still gradually became less subtle, the shrill noise echoing through the room.
	“What the fuck is that?” one of the pirates questioned. It didn’t take long for them to find the source; The still’s main canister was now glowing red-hot and began to rattle, the needle of the pressure valve twitching erratically at its precipice.
	The still burst before the pirates could even process what was happening. A literal geyser of steam erupted from the machine as it violently cracked open.
	The seriket standing closest was doused in the scalding liquid. He screamed in agony, dropping his weapon as his hands shot to his face, the piping hot mixture melting the skin.
	Toh’maa took advantage of the distraction. She popped out of cover and fired, hitting another pirate while he was occupied. Dave followed her example.
	The groupings of orange tracer shots and bullets hit him square in the back. He grunted, stumbling forward but quickly recovered, pirouetting around to face his attackers as if nothing had happened. Either his suit had armor or the seriket were extremely resilient.
	“I see them! There!” he bellowed. He brought up his rifle and fired a salvo back, narrowly missing Toh’maa and Dave as they bounced back into cover, the laser shots burning into the wall behind them.
	“How many?!” the third pirate called out. The injured seriket was out of sight but his pained groans could still be heard.
	“Two, maybe three!” The pirate fired again, aiming at the crates that served as cover for the counter-boarders. The shots tore holes into the wood but not enough to penetrate fully. Dave recoiled and hugged the edge of the adjacent crate, shielding Ple’sii as best as he could.
	The seriket’s focus switched to Toh’maa’s side. More shots hit her crate or zipped past toward the back wall. Dave brought his pistol out and blind-fired a few shots, unsure if he actually hit anything. He heard the seriket growl, either in pain or annoyance.
	Dave saw a flash of grey out of the corner of his eye. The seriket had taken cover, on the other side of Toh’maa’s crate, now positioned diagonally from him. A medium sized crate sat loosely on top of the one the pirate took cover behind.
	A plan started to hatch in his head. The human moved fast, acting even before the exact details could be worked out.
	He threw himself from the safety of his cover, squeezing off a few rounds in the pirate’s direction while transferring himself to Toh’maa’s side. The tiny alien narrowly dodged out of the way of the human barreling toward her.
	“What are you doing?!” she asked him brazenly as his back hit the wall. He didn’t answer, and instead gave the perched crate a firm shove.
	The container toppled over the other side, hitting the unsuspecting seriket across his upper back. Dave heard the alien fall while the contents of the crate—batches of Japanese manga, oddly enough—spilled onto the floor.
	Dave made his move without hesitation. He jumped out of his new cover, finding the seriket buried underneath the mess, his gun arm jammed beneath the crate. The alien looked at him in a mixture of anger and surprise, attempting to push the crate off of himself.
	Dave gave him no opportunity. He raised his gun and fired with reckless abandon. The rounds hit the seriket in his unprotected neck and head. Yellowed, reptilian eyes pulsed as the large alien went limp under the crate.
	“You piece of shit!” Dave heard behind him. He turned, seeing the other seriket raise his weapon, what looked like a shotgun. The injured seriket was nowhere to be seen.
	Dave’s eyes widened and he dove out of the way. An ear-splitting boom filled the ship as the pirate fired, blowing a decently-sized hole into the crate that trapped his comrade.
	Dave heard the raking of the alien’s gun as he crawled frantically on his stomach back toward his yotje allies. Ple’sii exited her cover in order to pull him back into safety.
	The enraged seriket caught up quickly. “You’re dead! You’re fucking dead!” he growled, and fired another blast. The plasma pellets obliterated the metal floor where Dave’s legs were less than a second before. The human rolled back behind the crate, throwing himself over top of Ple’sii as another shot hit, the corner of the box coming apart in splinters.
	Toh’maa attempted to return fire. Her initiative was halted as the seriket turned his attention to her, sweeping his shotgun to the right and firing once more. Toh’maa managed to squeeze one shot off before being forced back into cover, hitting the pirate in the lower chest. The seriket began to advance on them, seemingly unfazed by his wound. He concentrated his fire on both sides of the corridor, switching back and forth, the blasts destroying what little protection they had.
	“Scatter!” Toh’maa shouted. The three doubled back before the pirate had them cornered. Dave pushed Ple’sii into a small gap between the piles of crates before squeezing in behind her. Toh’maa climbed up into a small hole situated in the crates on her side. She turned around and fired a few potshots at her adversary, hoping to draw him to her.
	Ple’sii and Dave sidestepped their way through the tiny corridor as it snaked left and right. Dave eventually saw light ahead; the path emerging on the other side of the room, near the cockpit.
	“Hang on,” he whispered to Ple’sii, hand on her shoulder. They awkwardly switched positions in the confined space. Dave now took the lead, pistol in front of him as he exited the crevice.
	His senses suddenly went haywire as something solid struck the side of his head. He faintly heard Ple’sii scream as he flew forward, his weapon falling from his grip and sliding across the floor.
	Dave barely had time to register what transpired before the seriket was on top of him. It was the one that got caught in the still explosion, if the state of his face was any indication. The leathered flesh had been completely seared off on the left side, exposing muscle and tendons underneath.
	The pirate brought the steel pipe he was wielding back down upon him. Dave made a last-minute block with his forearm, pain shooting up through the entire limb. The seriket then tossed the pipe aside and went for Dave’s neck, clasping his hands tight around it and making his revenge much more personal.
	“I’ll pop your fucking skull, monkey!” the alien rasped, baring his serrated teeth through his half-melted jaw. Spittle rained on Dave’s face as he struggled against the onslaught. He saw his gun on the floor behind him in the far reaches of his vision. He desperately reached for it, his fingertips barely brushing the surface. 
	His attacker didn’t make things easy for him. One of the pirate’s hands left Dave’s throat and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling his head up and then slamming it back down, dazing him.
	Dave saw a flash of red behind the seriket through the stars in his eyes. Ple’sii leaped onto the pirate’s back, wrapping one dainty arm around his neck and bringing the other across his mangled face. The seriket garbled in surprise as the yotje hooked her fingers between the gaps in his teeth and started to pull his head backward by the upper jaw.
	The seriket snarled in rage. His hands left Dave and went behind his shoulders, grabbing his lightweight assailant. He pulled her off of and him tossed her to the side with little effort.
	The distraction offered Dave some leeway to move. He brought his leg up and planted the sole of his foot on the alien’s chest, pushing him off. Now free from any constraint, Dave wormed his way backward and threw his arm out, his fingers finally finding purchase on his target.
	The seriket swiftly recovered and charged him again with a blood-curdling roar. Dave turned to meet him, swinging his pistol to the forefront. He fired.
	The bullet entered the underside of the alien’s chin and exited the top of his skull. The pirate’s eyes dilated as purplish spatter mixed with chunks of brain tissue sprayed the ceiling. The seriket collapsed forward on top of Dave, the immense weight of the body nearly crushing him.
	“Fuck—!” Dave exclaimed as the seriket’s elongated neck fell over his shoulder, the perforated head landing next to his with a sickening plop. Now trapped, Dave struggled to lift the fresh corpse off of him.
	“Dave? Are you alright? Dave!” Ple’sii crawled to his side, her face struck with worry.
	Dave grunted as he tried to free his arms from underneath the seriket’s chest, to no avail. “More or less…” Ple’sii moved to help him, lifting one of the pirate’s shoulders with both hands, just enough for Dave to liberate one of his arms. With the extra leverage, he managed to roll the lifeless pirate off to the side. Thick, purple blood pooled slowly from the alien’s head wound.
	Commotion echoed from the other side of the room. Gunshots, clattering sounds, followed by high-pitched screaming.
	“Toh’maa!” Ple’sii gasped. She and Dave sprang to their feet, crossing through the common area, hoping to find the source of the noises.
	“That was my friend your human killed, you bitch,” they heard the pirate yell.
	“Fuck you!” Toh’maa spat back, her voice strained. “You think you can just rob my ship, my family, and we’d do nothing about it?”
	The seriket let out a furious roar. A smacking sound came next, followed by a pained shriek. Dave and Ple’sii hurried through the narrow maze of boxes, trying to locate the yotje through sound alone. More screams, and then a metallic bang.
	“You might as well kill me,” Toh’maa dared him through choked gasps. “Because I’ll give you nothing.”
	“Kill you? No…” Their voices were on the other side of a wall of crates. “That’s way too easy. I’ll be taking my time with you…”
	Dave rounded the corner and finally caught sight of the confrontation. The seriket held Toh’maa against the ship’s bulkhead with one hand, four long fingers clasped around her throat while holding the shotgun at his side. The pirate bled profusely from unseen wounds on his torso, drops of blood pattering to the floor.
	Dave wasted no time, levelling his pistol at the larger alien’s back. He squeezed the trigger.
	*CLICK*
	His heart sank.
	The seriket heard the noise, his thin pupil rotating in Dave’s direction. Dropping Toh’maa, he brought the shotgun up into both hands, aiming it at the helpless human.
	Toh’maa made a grasshopper-like leap onto the pirate’s face, throwing off his aim just as he fired, sending the shot several feet off to Dave’s left, impacting the side of a crate.
	The yotje screamed angrily as she scratched and clawed at her adversary’s face, causing him to stumble. He took his hand from the shotgun’s pump and wretched the tiny alien free, throwing her backward as if she were a pillow. Toh’maa’s slammed into a large crate back-first, before sliding down to the floor.
	The seriket trained his weapon on the prone yotje, sliding the fore-end back to prepare another shot. Dave charged forward and tackled him before he had a chance to pull the trigger, throwing all his weight into sending the alien off his feet. The shotgun flew from the pirate’s grasp in the scuffle—it was heard clattering and sliding across the floor, out of their reach.
	Dave brought his right fist down on the seriket’s face, aiming for places he thought most vulnerable while doing his best to keep the large alien pinned to the floor. After two or three blows to the head, the seriket growled and caught Dave by the wrist, pulling him forward. Dave howled in pain as the alien brought razor-sharp teeth down on his forearm. Deep crimson trickled as the knife-like incisors sunk into his flesh.
	The seriket followed this up with a forceful knee to Dave’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The pirate threw the stunned human off to the side. Dave clutched his bleeding forearm as he struggled to regain his breath.
	The pirate sprang to his feet. His reptilian mouth curved into a sadistic grin. Human blood dripped from his fangs as he let loose a fiendish chuckle, stepping forward to continue the melee.
	A thunderous boom echoed throughout the room, causing Dave to jump. The seriket flinched as well, his laughter cut off and smile fading as a sizeable portion of his torso disappeared in a flash of light.
	The alien wheezed as his hand slowly felt at the dinner plate-sized hole in the side of his chest. Dave looked on in horror as shaking fingers grasped the butchered organs within. Loose entrails hung along the outside of the grievous wound, still throbbing, with unmentionable bile fountaining down his side.
	The seriket loosed one final, weak breath as his legs gave out from under him, the rest of his body tumbling to the floor. Dave looked past the bloody heap to see Toh’maa sitting across from him in a daze. The pirate’s shotgun lay in her lap, still smoking from the barrel. The heavy kickback from the weapon had flung the tiny alien backwards into the crates, which were now broken inwardly from her impact.
	Ple’sii rushed forward to join them, her heart racing. She knelt down next to her lifemate, tearing off a piece of her lab coat and pressing it against the bloody bite marks on his forearm. She brought her other hand to his cheek, clearly flustered. He responded in a shaky nod, letting her know he was alright. He began to stand while Ple’sii moved to help Toh’maa. His whole body ached.
	He then heard something, like muffled radio chatter. He crouched beside the dead pirate. There was a small device plugged into his ear, or what Dave assumed was an ear. He reluctantly pulled it from the tiny slit on the side of the alien’s head, the transmission becoming louder and clearer.
	“Sark! Are you there? Respond!” another seriket’s voice boomed through the earpiece. Ple’sii and Toh’maa heard it too, just as the former helped the latter to her feet. “Sark, Nails, answer me!” A pause. “Something ain’t right…you three! Get geared up, find out what’s going on!”
	The three looked at each other with dread. “We’ve got more coming,” Dave warned, stating the obvious.
	“Oh, no…” Ple’sii muttered nervously. Dave took a huge step over the seriket’s corpse, reaching down for the shotgun that lay on the floor.
	“What’s taking Tre’saa so long?” Toh’maa asked.
	More chatter came over the radio. “What’s that sound?” Alarms could be heard blaring. “Mayday! Hull breach! Seal the—”
	Static followed, and less than a second later the human and two yotje were thrown into the air by some invisible force, along with any boxes or crates that weren’t secured. A shrill alarm sounded as their bodies flew over a wall of containers and into what remained of the common area. They kept going, crashing into the far wall that separated the room from the cockpit.
	The force kept pushing them backward into the bulkhead. Dave grabbed Ple’sii and tore her from where she had landed just as a wayward box flung itself against the wall and shattered.
	“What the hell’s going on?!” Dave yelled, still cradling his alien partner to protect her from the debris that flew at them.
	“Blowback, from a hyperspace jump!” Toh’maa answered, slamming a button on the wall, which opened the cockpit door. “Hang on a second! I’ll slow us down!”
	The yotje pilot rolled herself through the door frame, flying through the cockpit as if she was falling horizontally. She collided with the control console violently, desperately reaching underneath as she seemed to float in midair. She pulled a large crank handle situated under the dashboard.
[GRAVITATIONAL INERTIA DAMPENERS ENABLED]
[YOU MAY NOW UNFASTEN YOUR SEATBELT]
	The alarms stopped and gravity returned to normal within the ship, sending everyone to the floor. Ple’sii and Dave exchanged looks of relief, still in each other’s arms. They got back up and entered the cockpit. Toh’maa was sprawled beneath the pilot’s seat, one leg hanging over the console.
	“Everyone alright?” she asked blearily, pushing herself upright again.
	“What was that?” Dave inquired as he and Ple’sii helped her up.
	“Your ship…” Toh’maa said to him. “It did its job. Look…”
	She pointed to the window. Dave turned around and ventured a look. They were now some distance away from the pirate’s ship, or at least, what was left of it. The vessel had been cleaved in half, the bow and stern drifting in separate directions with assorted pieces floating in between. A cloud of radioactive particles danced amidst the wreckage, the remnants of his ship’s hyperspace jump, no doubt.
	Dave briefly mourned the loss of his spacecraft—hundreds of thousands of credits down the drain. It probably reached the furthest corner of the galaxy after the jump, or maybe its death was quicker, burning up in some random planet’s atmosphere…
	His mind snapped back to the present. “Wait…” his heart skipped. “What about Maz’lii and Tre’saa? Did they—” He glanced out at the wreck again, fearing the worst.
	Then he heard it. Dull thuds and cries coming from above. He ran back into the common area just as the ship auxiliary hatch snapped open. The two spacesuit-clad yotje fell from the shaft one after the other, bouncing off the crate below and landing on the floor in an undignified fashion.
	Dave rushed to them, kneeling down to the closest one, helping her to her knees and feeling around the neckline to unclasp the helmet. He soon found the latches along the side, the headgear coming loose with a hiss.
	It was Maz’lii. She looked confused and disoriented, like she didn’t know where she was or what was going on. Ple’sii had said that yotje go into withdrawal when separated from their lifemates. Maybe the symptoms had started to manifest.
	“Hey…” he whispered softly, lifting her head upward so that she could see him. Her rose-colored eyes blinked a few times, then that familiar smile returned, her antennae bobbing up and down once she realized who held her.
	She jumped into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. Soft vibrations resonated from her body; a sensation Dave found himself starting to enjoy.
	Tre’saa crawled over to him as well, clumsily pulling her helmet off and tossing it aside. She buried her face into Dave side, overjoyed to be reunited with her lifemate again. “We did it!” she cried. Dave wrapped his arms around the two sisters, pulling them closer to him.
	Ple’sii joined them, circling around the group hug and placing herself between her siblings, her arms on their shoulders. She and Dave exchanged satisfied smiles.
	Toh’maa kept her distance, watching everything from the doorway, still unsure about the future, or even the present.

[…]

	Once the reunion had died down and Ple’sii had tended to everyone’s wounds, everyone set to work returning the ship to its previous state. Toh’maa and Tre’saa consulted each other on the ships condition—it had fortunately sustained no major damage during the incident and Toh’maa began piloting the ship back on its present course.
	Maz’lii, Ple’sii, and Dave were on clean-up duty, picking up spilled cargo and placing boxes and crates back in their original positions. The more grotesque job came next—cleaning up the bloodbath that had transpired.
	Dave took it upon himself to move the bodies, being the only one aboard with the physical strength to do so. Seriket were taller than the average human by at least a foot and a half, and heavier to boot. He began to drag the first pirate away by the armpits as Maz’lii scrubbed away at the blood that had accumulated.
	After nearly forty-five minutes of work, Dave managed to pull all three seriket into the airlock for disposal. He set the corpse down, taking a moment’s respite from the nauseating ordeal. He inspected his injured forearm, now properly bandaged by Ple’sii. He tried to ignore the numbing pain coursing through it.
	He looked back up and saw the last person he was expecting to see. Toh’maa had removed her leather jacket, leaving her in a white tank top and her olive-colored cargo pants.
	She stood at the edge of the corridor for a few seconds before approaching the corpse pile. She lifted one of the seriket’s legs that stuck out in the pathway of the interior door with both hands, carrying it as she would a large log, and set it back down inside the airlock proper.
	Dave nodded in thanks as he stepped over the bodies and they both exited the small chamber. Toh’maa tapped a series of buttons on the side of the doorframe. The airlock door snapped shut, the inner mechanisms cranking as it sealed itself.
	The two stood there in silence as they listened to the airlock’s systems equalize the pressure within. Dave stole a few glances at Toh’maa in the meantime. The yotje was built similarly to her sisters, her pear-shaped waist filling out her baggy pants. The tank top left her arms and neckline exposed, revealing the dull, violet sheen of her carapace as well as traces of lavender underskin here and there.
	Overall, the alien woman had a very domineering vibe to her despite her size. She knew what she was doing and was confident in that fact. Dave would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t find her the least bit attractive, even with her disagreeable attitude.
	She noticed him starring at her, bringing her gaze to him only slightly, to which he quickly looked away. He expected her to chastise him for undressing her with his eyes, but she didn’t.
	“A shame about your ship,” she said, eyes going back to the door.
	Dave shrugged. “It was a piece of junk anyway.”
	Toh’maa casually bobbed her head, with what looked like traces of…a smile? He couldn’t tell.
	He decided to change the subject. “Are we still headed for SolCen?”
	“Yes,” she replied. “We’re down to less than a quarter tank in fuel. You still owe us that refill, after all.”
	Dave nodded, not forgetting his deal with her. “That and more, I remember.”
	The airlock completed its cycle and the exterior door opened, sending the doomed pirates to their vacuumed graves. He turned to leave before Toh’maa grabbed him by the wrist.
	“About that,” Toh’maa starred at the floor as she spoke. “What I said earlier, about tripling the price…just forget it.”
	“Huh? But you said—”
	“I SAID forget it,” she repeated, more insistently, not letting go of his wrist. “Listen, I wasn’t ready to trust some human, since so many of them mistreated us back on Earth. But you…you helped us with those pirates, and…”
	She paused, struggling to find her words, as if saying these things was the hardest thing she ever had to do. “My…my sisters are your lifemates now, I suppose I’ll have to get used to that. All those things I said, I take them back…I apologize…sorry…”
	She had crept closer to him and her hand was now holding his. She still refused to look at him yet Dave could sense that her facial expression was softer now. “Toh’maa…?”
	She let go suddenly and pushed herself back. “Look, I apologized! Can we drop it already?” The yotje put her hands on her hips, now back to her usual self. “You may be with my sisters, but I’m still in charge of the ship. Whatever I say goes, understood?”
	“Yeah, sure,” Dave answered. Toh’maa eyed him with her tough-girl persona for a few seconds more before spinning around and leaving.
	Dave followed her back to the common area, where all three of his lifemates were waiting. They had all finished their respective tasks and were now resting. They all noticed his return and their overall mood began to warm.
	He approached Maz’lii, who was reclined against a number of pillows piled on the floor. She greedily extended her arms to him, beckoning him to join her. With a curl of his lips he obliged, throwing himself down next to his alien lover, leaning against the side of a crate. She immediately snuggled into the crook of his arm, her antennae lightly brushing his neck.
	“I’m so glad that everyone’s alright…” she whispered. “The Hivemother was right to bring you to us, to me.”
	“It’s still new to me, this whole ‘lifemate’ thing,” Dave bashfully admitted to her. He never thought he’d have multiple partners at once. “Are we really bonded? For life, I mean?”
	His other two lifemates got up and added themselves to the intimate setting. Ple’sii took the unoccupied space on Dave’s right while Tre’saa situated herself into Dave’s lap.
	“You’re not the first human to be bonded with a yotje,” Ple’sii said to him with a hand on his chest. “I realize it must be quite a shock to your kind, to be thrusted into a lifelong commitment so spontaneously.” Her hand moved to his cheek to comfort him. “But yotje don’t fear these commitments, we embrace them. We see lifemates as a blessing, granted to us by the Hivemother Herself. They exist to bring us joy and purpose in life.”
	“You’re part of our family now, Dave,” Tre’saa chimed in. “We’ll take care of you, and you’ll do the same for us.”
	It really sunk in then, how much Dave’s life had changed over the past few hours: One moment he was a drifter, travelling alone through the galaxy with no destination with no destination in mind. The next, he was practically married to three bug girls.
	Could he commit to this sort of lifestyle? He had no prior obligations; no close family, no career, no long-term goals whatsoever. He glanced at the tiny aliens that surrounded him, who looked at peace and content from his very presence. It was safe to say that he enjoyed the affection they gave him.
	Travelling the galaxy with three alien lovers under his arms? He could think of worse fates.
	“I think I’d like that,” he finally answered. Maz’lii happily tapped her mouth-plates against his cheek, the absence of lips making a proper kiss difficult. Tre’saa and Ple’sii inched themselves closer, embracing him fully.
	Dave looked up and saw Toh’maa on the other side of the room, watching the group intently. Had she been there the whole time? The lone yotje shuffled in place, looking extremely uncertain. Gone was her confident façade, instead replaced with a look of envy, of longing.
	“Screw it…” she said aloud. Toh’maa closed the distance and attempted to insert herself into the mass cuddle, Tre’saa scooting over to allow her room. The eyes of her sisters were on her now as well as Dave’s, all of them equally surprised at her sudden change of heart.
	“What?” she asked indignantly, kneeling in Dave’s lap. “It gets lonely out in space, okay?” Her antennae frolicked as she ran a hand along the human’s broad chest. Her sisters smiled coyly, simply sitting back and letting her explore.
	Toh’maa lifted the bottom hem of Dave’s shirt as she looked at him with that unamused stare. He followed her lead, raising his arms and allowing her to removed it with the help of Maz’lii and Ple’sii. Toh’maa’s hands began to trail along his bare chest in full, stopping at random points to poke and prod at his flesh and muscle.
	“Humans are so weird,” she commented almost dismissively. “How do you protect yourselves without an exoskeleton?” She caught one of his nipples between her thumb and forefinger, twisting it curiously.
	Dave didn’t answer, offering a smug grin instead. A draft of that intoxicating aroma wafted in his direction from his front. He saw through all the masks and emotional walls Toh’maa was putting around herself. He could tell she was starting to enjoy this, and soon, so would he.
	Dave’s nerves felt overcharged as the scent entered his nostrils. His pants immediately felt tighter from the effects of the pheromones. His more primal desires took the lead, his hands landing Toh’maa’s shapely hips. The yotje drew her face closer to his chest, her antennae titillating his neck and collarbone.
	Now an expert on yotje pleasure centers, Dave’s next move was obvious to him. His hands came along her front and snaked underneath her tank top, finding her soft belly. Toh’maa moaned softly into his chest and began to squirm against him.
	“St-stop--!” she yelled suddenly, grabbing Dave’s wrists and pulling them away, her face a strange mixture of annoyance and arousal. “R-remember what I said! I’M in charge.” She attempted to put on her more dominant personality; she was failing miserably. “Now lie down.”
	Dave humored her, laughing internally at her pathetic act. As he sat back, Toh’maa peeled her tank top over her hand, revealing the synthesis of carapace and soft skin that the miniscule garment had teased. She shuffled atop him as she removed her pants as well, almost losing her balance as she pulled off the second pant leg. She shrunk into herself as she felt his eyes on her exposed form, bringing her arms in front of her and hiding her smooth belly and genitals. She would probably be blushing if yotje were capable of doing so.
	Her bravado returned, and soon she was upon him. Toh’maa leapt forward in one graceful motion, trapping the human’s head between her legs. Dave’s eyes went wide in surprise as everything darkened around him. He heard gasps from the other yotje, but they did nothing to stop it.
	“You want to be my lifemate so bad? You’d better work for it,” Toh’maa’s groin shifted as she smothered him, her plump ass cheeks resting against his chin. “Start licking,” she commanded.
	With no other choice, Dave started with a long lick across her foreign entrance. She shuddered, her body giving off the subtle vibrations in heartbeat-like intervals. Dave let his tongue feel around the sopping entrance due to his line of sight being impeded, slowly getting a feel for what he was doing and where everything was. He flashed back to when he tested the waters with Maz’lii, remembering all the tricks he had learned from their little experiment. He got to work.
	His tongue dove straight in, reaching into her canal as far as it would go. He came back up again, licking her upper clitoris in a circle. Toh’maa tried to stifle a moan but failed, making her arousal apparent to everyone. Dave moved his tongue to the button along her rightmost folds, teasing it for one second before moving back to the top. It felt like he was playing a competitive game with her, making sudden moves to keep her on her toes.
	Dave felt multiple hands at his hips, working to unfasten his pants. With teamwork they succeeded, pulling them down and off his ankles. His erect cock sprang free, much to his relief. Within his lewd prison, Dave heard muffled noises, giggles and ruffling of clothes. The hands were on his member immediately—one at the shaft, another circling the head and a third delicately cupping his balls. They worked him in slow ministrations, urging him on as he worked to complete his own goal.
	Dave continued his work on Toh’maa, alternating between her three erogenous centers. The yotje above him struggled to hold her pleasure back, letting out hiccupped cries as the human’s oral stimulations electrified her. Her legs clamped down tighter, the plush skin of her inner thighs squishing the sides of his head.
	Dave brought his hands up to her belly like before, his victim too enraptured to protest. He began to knead the soft pudge of her belly like dough. Toh’maa went wild, squeezing both of his shoulders as her orgasm ripped through her. The yotje spasmed as a torrent of juices poured forth from her tunnel and drowned Dave in her arousal. Her small hands pushed down on his forehead, riding out her climax which died down in quick spurts.
	Her body went limp over top of his head, relaxing itself from the tiring ordeal. Dave, however, was left entirely unfulfilled, with the hands upon his cock teasing him. He brought Toh’maa to release with nothing in return; it was time to change that.
	With renewed strength brought on him as a result of the pheromones that clouded the room, Dave threw himself off of his back as his captor was caught off guard. Toh’maa yelped as the invigorated human braced his arms around her body, lifting her up with him. His lifemates jumped backward in shock as the large alien rose to his feet towering over all of them with their sister in a deadlock.
	He swiftly spun her around in his grip and brought both her legs up so that they were parallel with her head. She started to struggle against him—her efforts were futile.
	“W-what are you doing—?!” she stuttered. Her sisters watched the spectacle in awe. Her sex hung tantalizingly above the human’s stiff cock, like bait for a predator.
	“What I should have done hours ago,” he responded. He curled his arms around her juicy thighs, locking her legs in their upward position. Toh’maa squirmed as she tried to free herself from her compromised state.
	“Put me down THIS INSTANT!” she shouted, craning her head back to glare at him, the fury apparent in her scarlet eyes.
	“I don’t think so,” Dave’s grip on her tightened as he lowered her onto his shaft. The head of his cock broke through her opening and Toh’maa gave a half-pained, half-pleasured scream.
	Little by little he entered her, choosing to go slow as a small act of mercy. Dave shot a few looks at his lifemates as he slowly eased his way into their sister. They sat around him with their clothes removed. Dave realized how similar the yotje looked to one another, with very little physical differences between them. Earlier, he was able to tell them apart by how they were dressed. In their naked state, however, very little separated them in terms of looks; he might mistake one for the other if he wasn’t careful.
	On his left was Maz’lii, her delightful smile becoming increasingly familiar. The two other yotje sat side by side—one of them was Ple’sii and the other was Tre’saa—he couldn’t tell which at the moment. The siblings watched in excitement as their human penetrated Toh’maa. They either found the situation extremely erotic or were enjoying watching their sister being taken down a notch.
	Dave finally bottomed out inside her. His member stretched the mouth of her womb, earning another moan as he pulled out slowly. He speared himself back into her, more forcefully this time. He started to quicken his pace, continuously raising and dropping her on his cock. Toh’maa drowned out the room in a chorus of her cries.
	“Ah-! I-ah! That…y-you…” she managed to sputter out, too overcome by the intense fucking the human dished out to her. Dave watched as her antennae bobbed with each of his thrusts. Maz’lii sat with her legs curled up, hand in between them and her fingers plunged into the depths of her core, hungrily watching as Toh’maa’s vaginal juices drenched her lifemate’s balls.
	Dave started to thrust harder and faster, holding Toh’maa in place as he felt the familiar churning within his gonads. He fucked her at an animal-like speed, pushing himself to completion. Toh’maa screamed again, her arms shooting up to grasp at her lifemate’s neck. Her walls closed in, practically begging him for his seed.
	The human let out a roar as his cock twitched inside the alien snatch. A chorus of pleasured moans and hums came from the spectators. “He’s doing it!” Tre’saa cried enthusiastically as Dave filled Toh’maa’s womb. The foreign invasion brought her to climax once more, her come mixing with his.
	Dave stood there heaving as the results of their intercourse flowed from her engorged sex and down his shaft. He collapsed from exhaustion, falling back onto the pile of pillows and rugs, bringing his lover down with him. The other yotje surrounded them quickly to provide aftercare. Maz’lii took up a spot behind Dave, cradling his head between her legs. She bent her head down and her antennae lovingly grazed the contours of his face.
	Ple’sii and Tre’saa knelt on either side of Toh’maa, who was still reclined on her back on top of Dave, too fatigued to move. With care, the two yotje rolled their sister over onto her stomach so she could rest more comfortably.
	Dave observed the tiny alien laying on top of him; Toh’maa vibrated peacefully as she lightly rested her head on his collarbone, the buds of her antennae touching his neck. The tempting curve of her butt rose up from her prone form like two hills. Dave made a daring move and rested a hand firmly on the left cheek, mostly out of affection to her, but also one last dominant gesture, to claim what was now his. She gave no argument, giving a slight wiggle of her hips at his touch.
	“Toh’maa?” Maz’lii called to her sister softly.
	She gave only a tired grunt in response.
	“Is there anything you would like to say?” Maz’lii asked her. She shot a heartwarming smile at Dave.
	Toh’maa was silent for the longest time, the gentle hum of the ship’s systems providing the only noise. Finally, she gathered enough energy to lift her head, her half-lidded, insectoid eyes meeting human ones.
	“…You win, human…” Her head dropped back down and her body curled into his as she drifted into unconsciousness. “…for now…”
	Ple’sii and Tre’saa giggled quietly as they lay down on both sides of Dave. The human’s eyelids felt heavy. Maz’lii coaxed him to sleep. Dave felt complete, surrounded on all sides by his four lifemates, basking in the warmth that their bodies provided.
	He could definitely get used to this.
	The vessel continued onward through the vast emptiness of space, a new chapter of the hitchhiker’s life unfolding.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT—FOR OFFICIAL EYES ONLY—SECURITY LEVEL 5
GALACTIC COALITION OF POLICE (GALAPOL), UNION OF INTERGALACTIC SPECIES (UIGS)
MEMORANDUM TO: CHIEF COMMISSIONER SYLVIA BYRNES (GALAPOL HEADQUARTERS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA)
FROM: SENIOR AGENT WILLIAM DRISCOLL (UIGS SPACE, ABOARD UNION MILITARY VESSEL “TECUMSEH”)
SUBJECT: FULL REPORT ON INVESTIGATION OF PIRATE ACTIVITY WITHIN UIGS TERRITORY (DATED MARCH 10, 2032)

Madame Commissioner,

I have completed my investigation and am now en route back to Earth from nurcozan-controlled space. I should arrive at HQ within the week. I will go over my findings within this memo so that we will not need to waste time when we meet face-to-face.

As we’ve discussed, pirate attacks on civilian and commercial craft have been steadily increasing since the dawn of long-distance space travel. This is to be expected; the UIGS is still in its infancy and therefore unable to feasibly cover every inch of galactic frontier at once. The widespread availability of Primacy technology is also a factor. UIGS citizens of all races now have unregulated access to spacefaring vessels which can be bought and sold on the free market or replicated by anyone with the expertise to do so. This has resulted in high traffic along the Aldrin Interplanetary Highway. Thus, criminal elements have surfaced to take advantage of this new phenomenon.

However, I must disagree with your assessment that the seriket are solely to blame for the increase in piratical activity. While it is true than a large majority of pirate crews consist of disenfranchised seriket warriors with grudges from the war, it is my understanding that space piracy has attracted opportunists from all species of the galaxy, including some of the worst specimens humanity has to offer.

I will share what I have learned while travelling along the interstellar routes that connect the homeworlds of the Union’s member species, as well as how they are affected by these pirate groups.

A) SOL-CENTAURI / KEPLER-CENTAURI ROUTES

Sol-Centauri is the well-known pathway that runs between human and yotje-controlled space. The route has seen a large amount of traffic in recent years due to the close relationship between the two species, as well as the general proximity between Earth and Kor’ten. Independent merchants travel between the two planets at regular intervals, while aid vessels are sent from Earth to assist with rebuilding and modernization efforts on the yotje homeworld. The abundance of activity along this route have made it easy pickings for small to medium-sixed pirate crews, who have memorized the gaps in our patrols and rob these craft of valuable cargo.

I have spoken personally with High Constable Jar’kis Da’Ser’raa’Sor’kin during my visit to Kor’ten several months ago, and he shares our concern with these frequent pirate attacks. It is his opinion that the yotje in particular are targeted due to their short stature, which makes it difficult to adequately fight back against species that are far larger than them.

He has also expressed concerns regarding the Kepler-Centauri route, which travels between Kor’ten and Cemet, the seriket homeworld. Traffic on the route has waned to a trickle due to the yotje’s reluctance in dealing with their hostile neighbors. Humanity has experienced trouble on this route as well, with pirate vessels and small-scale hideouts concealing themselves among the asteroid belts that fill the Expanse. The High Constable claims that the seriket have taken little initiative to police their territory, and fears that they harbor or even protect these outlaw elements.

The High Constable has made a personal request to you, Madame Commissioner, that drastic action be taken against these pirates, in respect to the otherwise fruitful relationship between our two species.

B) ALTAIR-KEPLER ROUTE

This is the section of highway that runs between the zatusian and seriket homeworlds, respectively. My investigative efforts on Cemet have been less than ideal, having been confined to the demilitarized zone for the entirety of my stay. Policing on Cemet is enforced by the seriket’s Order of Nonpartisans, who act as a neutral party overseeing the planet’s warring factions. The Nonpartisans I had met with were largely uncooperative, stating that no pirate activity occurs within their sphere of influence. According to radar data gathered from the Tecumseh, it seems that the seriket do very little in protecting the interstellar pathways surrounding their homeworld, which more or less confirms the yotje’s suspicions. This type of lax law enforcement would allow pirates native to Cemet to come and go as they please, making seriket space a venerable hotspot for criminal networks.

Zatusian security on Byn’salia is much more like one would expect on Earth, with regular patrol routes along the highways and security checks with every ship that touches down on the planet. However, due to heavy-handed economic practices which lead the zatusians to value profit above anything else, bribery is a common occurrence in their culture, rendering their security measures practically obsolete. I suspect Byn’salia to be a favorable point of interest for pirate groups, due to the wealth of shady economic opportunities and under-the-table dealings, as well as the zatausian’s liberal attitude towards alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. Any attempts on my part to investigate these areas were met with stonewalling and bureaucratic red tape.

Further investigation into these sectors of UIGS space is necessary if we are to fully uncover the extent any organized pirate networks, which may require methods outside the bounds of regular GALAPOL methods of operation. Furthermore, an incident occurred upon my arrival on Byn’salia, in which a zatusian customs officer attempted, and succeeded, to extort me for a large sum of credits in exchange for entry (see the full list of expenditures for details).

C) ALTAIR-ERIDANI / SOL-ERIDANI ROUTES

Both of these sections of highway cross into nurcozan territory. Surprisingly enough, piratical operations within this sector are practically non-existent. Nurcozan military records provided to me show that nearly two dozen pirate-affiliated vessels had been neutralized by patrol fighters within the span of the last three months. Military culture on Nurcoza is also extremely regimented. Ten years of service is mandatory, and instills a sense of duty and desire to protect the homeworld in every nurcozan.

Pirates may also be reluctant to hunt prey and establish networks in nurcozan space due to the constant presence of the Grand Marshalcy. A clandestine group of warriors who are trained to kill from a young age, they have become legendary figures who are known to terminate anything and anyone they deem as a threat to the Imperium with extreme prejudice. This was illustrated fairly recently, when nurcozan outlaws attempted to establish a black market on the homeworld with the help of zatusian organized criminal syndicates. The Marshals apparently discovered this and the ringleaders of the gang were murdered gruesomely. Their zatusian contacts were eventually hunted down as well, sparking diplomatic troubles between Nurcoza and Byn’salia.

D) PROPOSED SOLUTIONS TO COMBAT THE SPREAD OF PIRATE OPERATIONS IN UIGS SPACE

Based on the information and statistical data I have gathered during my investigation, I suggest that GALAPOL and the UIGS at large take the following actions:

1) Increased patrols (both police and military) along the Aldrin highway system. Any ship without registration must be boarded and searched. The vessel should be seized and forfeit of ownership if any stolen or illicit goods are present.

2) Establishment of an organized task force dedicated to the pursuit and dismantlement of pirate gangs and networks. The team should include participants from every species to facilitate galactic cohesion and ensure that each Union race pulls their weight to eradicate this problem.

3) Employment of independent bounty hunters ('privateers' in naval terminology) to track and capture known criminals and fugitives. These individuals or groups will be required to carry official UIGS documentation and will undergo careful psychological screening before undertaking this work.

4) Impose military and economic sanctions and trade embargos on any UIGS member species that is complicit in the protection of, or an accomplice to, pirate activity. It has become clear during my investigation that certain elements within the UIGS do not adhere to the standards and ideals that the Union was founded on. Said parties should face consequences and possible expulsion from the galactic community if they fail to uphold their end of the bargain.

5) Locate possible pirate bases or nerve centers. Throughout my investigation I have heard rumors of a grand hideout hidden somewhere within UIGS space. Its location is a closely guarded secret, as is the identity, race, and gender of its leader, an individual known only as 'Crossbones'. This person seems to subscribe to the ideology and guidelines of pirate ships and communities of the so-called 'Pirate Golden Age' during the early eighteenth century on Earth. The establishment of a 'pirate utopia' is a common theme in this lore (see: Nassau, Libertalia, the Barbary Coast) and it is entirely possible that the concept was recreated here. Though my only evidence at this time is circumstantial hearsay, I firmly believe that it is an avenue worth looking into. Resources should be diverted to locate this hideout in order to strike at the heart and deprive the pirates of any leadership and organization.

6) Attempt to contact the nurcozan Marshals or a representative thereof. The Marshals have proven themselves effective in quelling organized crime and hostile actors within the Imperium. However, they are an elusive group that operates in secrecy (the nurcozans have a saying: “You don’t find the Marshals, the Marshals find you”.) I have my doubts about requesting their assistance in this matter. The Marshals have become reclusive in the past few centuries and no longer participate in contemporary nurcozan society. As a result, they take orders from no one, even their own monarch. They also operate with a brutal efficiency that many in the galaxy would consider extreme. Because of these reasons, this measure should be our 'nuclear option' should all other efforts fail.

I will return to HQ and meet with you as soon as I am planetside, during which I will be able to elaborate on these subjects in further detail, as well as discuss our plans moving forward.

Yours,
William Driscoll
Senior Agent, GALAPOL