Orbital Academy IX

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by MaddiroseX

(Did you love this story? Hate it? Want a sequel? Please let me
know at maddirosex@gmail.com!)

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Tess wished she hadn't woken up the second did. She was
surrounded by pitch black, and there was so much pain she had
trouble for a moment identifying where it was coming from.
Blinking, she shook her head a few times, trying to remember
where she was. *The satflyer...we were on a planetary...* She sat
up at the memory, and the sudden motion caused a wave of further
pain to wash through her, making her almost vomit. *Leg...the
pain is definitely coming from the leg.* After the Drake attack
Tess' broken leg had been healing at a rapid rate, but the
mind-altering pain indicated that her two week healing process
had been for naught.


Careful not to move the damaged limb as much as possible, Tess
adjusted her seat, trying to make out her surroundings, hoping
that her eyes would adjust to the darkness soon. She could hear
faint muffled noises, but no matter how she strained all she
could see was blackness around her. For a heartstopping moment
she wondered if she had lost her other eye...but no, the pain
pulsing in her leg told her she wasn't numb, and her head felt
just fine. *Disoriented or not, I'd notice the pain from a
missing eye.*


Even in the haze of pain and the disorienting darkness, Tess
recognized Julia's voice when she started scream, even though it
was muffled.
"Oh my god, Tess? Tess! Where are you!"
"I'm here, I'm okay!" she tried to respond, but her mouth was so
dry her voice came out somewhere between a croak and a cough.
Sounds of metal and plasticine shifting echoed through whatever
chamber she was trapped in, and a shaft of weak light broke in.
"Tess? Please god Tess can you hear me?" Tess could hear the
others calling her now, but Julia's voice was frantic.
"I'm fine, I'm okay. I think I rebroke my leg but I'm alright."
"Oh thank god Tess, hang on we're going to dig you out."


It took the efforts of Julia, Marcus, and Preston to carefully
remove pieces of rubble and broken walling from where Tess had
been trapped. She barely recognized the twisted pieces of
wreckage as the radar station. Alex stood a little ways off,
clear of the junk, scanning the trees around them with a pistol
in her hand.
"Alright," Preston spoke as the three of them set her down with
care, "we're all safe at least, that's something to be thankful
for."
"Thankful?" Julia's panic seemed undiminished, but Tess tried not
to take it personally, "thankful? We've been planetside for two
hours, and we're *stuck* planetside! You were at the briefing
Preston, Terrans attack the ground team within the first handful
of hours, and the ground team doesn't have a fucking satellite
crash to broadcast their location! We didn't survive the crash,
we just postponed our deaths!"


Tess reached up to take Julia by the arm, but Julia shook her
off, jostling her leg in the process. Wincing and gritting her
teeth hard, Tess spoke.
"We're not dead yet Julia. The calmer we can stay, the greater
the chance we'll have to survive."
"That's fucking stupid," Julia spat, "the Terrans won't spare us
because we're calm."
*Don't let it get to you,* Tess took a few deep breaths in the
face of Julia's attitude, *she's not angry at you, she's lashing
out due to stress.* Shaking her head and keeping the hurt from
her face, she turned to the others.
"She is right on one count though. The crash is going to attract
them; we need to get as far away from her as possible, as fast as
possible."
"Agreed," Preston nodded, "Marcus and I have been salvaging what
we can get from the wreckage, but I think it's time to make
tracks."
"Did you find a crutch?"
"We found pieces. If your leg is rebroken one of us is going to
have to carry you."
"I don't want to slow us down," Tess looked around her, but there
was nothing in sight that would support her weight. Reluctantly
she let Marcus lift her onto his back, not complaining when her
leg was banged in the process.


Alex led the way, silently, followed by Marcus carrying Tess.
Julia and Preston brought up the rear, carrying two heavy packs
of supplies. The ground was uneven and rough, and every ten steps
or so Marcus would stumble, sending Tess' leg cracking into his
back, but she didn't voice her pain. Thick trees surrounded them,
cutting down their visibility, and Tess tried to gauge how far
away they would be able to see an attack coming. They had been
hovering almost directly over the ground team, but their scanners
hadn't picked up any Terran activity before they had crashed. If
hostile forces had started moving as soon as the satflyer's
scanners went down, they had about an hour from the crash before
they could expect company.
"How long was I out?" Tess murmured quietly.
"Took about a half-hour to find you," Marcus grunted, hoisting
her to a more stable position on his back.
"Supplies?"
"All the sleeping bags, three pistols, food and water for a few
days, emergency flares, a tent. Not much."
*Not enough,* Tess interpreted his grim tone, *not unless rescue
is right on our heels.*


***


They traveled in silence for an hour before they had to take a
break, ears straining to listen for sounds of pursuit the whole
time. Even with Preston, Julia, and Marcus carrying burdens, they
had been able to keep up a jogging pace, and Tess silently
thanked Captain Appet's required physical training routine. It
had kept them ahead of their pursuers.
*For now.*
"We'll take a three minute break, then get moving again," Preston
panted as the squaddies removed their loads and caught their
breath.
"We should take it in shifts to keep track of time," Tess
commented lightly, as Preston checked the time on his subdermal
clock, the numbers lighting just under the skin of his wrist,
"since we won't be able to charge them until we get back."
"We're not fucking getting back," Julia snapped, and Tess winced.
She knew they were all thinking it, but she had been trying to
keep spirits up.
"Look, Julia I understand alright? I'm just as scared as you are,
and even less mobile." Julia crossed her arms and leaned back
against a tree, but she wasn't interupting so Tess continued,
"but we can't just give up. If we're done, we're done, but I'm
not just going to lie down and die, I'm going to fight for as
long as I can."
Julia didn't respond, but she did seem a little calmer. Tess
counted it as a win.


"We should get moving," Alex had been pacing around the area they
rested in, peering into the trees. It was the first sentence Tess
had heard her speak since they had crashed, and the tension in
her voice was almost palpable. *I guess we're all displaying fear
in our own way...*
"Take my pack Marcus," Julia said brusquely, "I'll take over."
Grateful as she was to Marcus for carrying her as far as he did,
Tess was more comfortable as the group started moving again.
Julia held her closely pressed against her back, and being able
to bury her face in Julia's golden hair was somehow comforting to
Tess.
"I'm sorry," she whispered into the other girl's ear. Even though
they hadn't talked about what they were, and had only slept
together a handful of times, Tess liked to think of Julia as her
secret girlfriend, and she tried not to do anything that would
upset her. Some of her squadmates found Julia prickly or bitchy,
but Tess could see through the act she put on. Julia's
defensiveness was to hide how fragile she could be at times. Tess
tried to keep that in mind as she spoke, "I'm sorry Julia but I
just don't want to see us giving up here. Not when there's still
a chance."
"It's fine," Julia's response was terse and tight, clearly not
'fine', but Tess didn't argue.


There was no incident for the rest of the day, moving at a fast
pace through seemingly endless forest. The silence was
oppressive, but none of the rookies dared speak too much. *If
we're really going to die, it would be horrible if these were our
last moments.* Tess thought glumly, *Silent. Afraid.*
"We should probably make camp before we lose too much light," she
finally broke the silence.
"I was thinking the same thing," Preston agreed quietly, glancing
up at the dimming sky. Marcus slung the pack from his back and
began rummaging inside for the tent and supplies, while Alex and
Preston started a slow patrol around the clearing that would
become their makeshift camp.


Julia set Tess down near the closest tree and began fiddling with
the sealing clasp on her pants.
"What are you doing?" Tess winced as Julia's motions nudged her
leg.
"We have to do something about this," Julia replied shortly,
carefully pulling Tess' pants down and off. The cool air felt
good against her swollen leg, even though Tess noticed Marcus
glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She leaned back as
Julia wrapped her leg with sealant bandages that would harden
overnight, and tried to ignore that she was sitting on the forest
floor only wearing panties.
"You know I love you, right?" Julia said quietly. Tess looked at
the other girl in surprise, but she was focusing very hard and
avoiding her gaze.
"I...I mean, I suspected..." Tess stammered,
"Well now you know," Julia kept working, efficiently and quickly,
"and I know I act like a bitch, and I don't want us to die
without telling you how I feel." Tess felt her face grow red,
even though this was not how she pictured this conversation
happening.
"Julia, we're not going to die," she began, but Julia leaned
forward and silenced her with a kiss.
"I love you," she whispered, and Tess didn't argue any further.


The tent was small, but it held the five of them. Julia set up
the sleeping bags, attaching hers and Tess' together with a
defiant look as if daring anyone to make a comment. No one did.
"We'll keep watch in shifts," Preston was slowly starting to take
command of the group, but Tess didn't mind, "I'll take first
watch, then Julia, Alex, Tess, Marcus."
"Tess shouldn't be taking a watch," Julia protested.
"Sitting still with a gun? It's about the only thing I *am* good
for," Tess replied.
"We might as well conserve our energy," Julia sighed, "If the
Terrans attack when we're asleep we'd probably be better off just
dying without the moments of fear beforehand." Despite Julia's
vote of encouragement, the squaddies crawled into their sleeping
bags while Preston stepped outside to keep watch, a pistol in
each hand.


***


Tess woke up suddenly to Julia crawling into the bag, her skin
cold against Tess'.
"Sorry," Julia whispered, "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to
sleep."
"Why are you so cold? It was so warm earlier," Tess wrapped both
arms around Julia, shivering as she tried to warm her.
"That's what I thought, hence the decision to stand watch in my
sleep gear," Julia whispered, "but it really drops in temperature
during the night." She nestled her head under Tess' chin. The
action warmed Tess in a way that had nothing to do with the
temperature, and she haltingly began running her fingers through
the other girl's blonde hair.
"Mmm that feels nice," Julia's breath on Tess' collarbone was
making it very hard to fall back to sleep.
"I can hear your heartbeat," Julia murmured, "it's pounding."
"How long is Alex standing guard before it's my shift?" Tess
asked
"Enough time," Julia said, a smile in her voice. When Tess looked
down questioningly the other girl's lips met hers, cold and firm.


Tess melted into the kiss, all stresses and worries forgotten for
a time. Julia's mouth opened too eagerly, and Tess smiled through
the kiss. She lifted a leg over the other girl, meaning to climb
on top of her, but the action sent a burst of pain through her
leg, and she winced, drawing a sudden sharp breath.
"Don't," Julia gently pushed her back down on her back, "just let
me." Cold hands ran through her hair as the kiss resumed, Julia
leaning over her and pressing her body against her side. Tess
closed her eyes and relaxed, and Julia's kisses moved down her
neck and over the loose shirt she wore. It was pleasant, the
feeling of cold hands roaming up and down, caressing a clothed
shoulder, sliding across an arm, lightly scratching against her
bare stomach. Even so, Tess couldn't help but think of how much
more she wanted.


As if reading her mind, Julia lifted Tess' shirt, pulling it up
to her shoulders in one motion, then stripping it off when Tess
rose. The younger girl's hair, faintly shining gold in the dim
light of the tent, brushed back and forth across Tess' naked
breasts, and the light touches made her nipples grow hard.
"I don't want you to think that I..." Julia started, her face
showing more emotion than Tess could remember seeing before,
"...I don't want you to think I don't care about you. I love you.
I love you more than...more than I thought I could love someone."
"I love you too Julia," Tess murmured, reaching up and running a
finger down the side of Julia's face, brushing a lock of long
hair behind an ear. *I'd die for you,* she thought, but the other
woman had bent down, kissing gently between her breasts, then
lower on her stomach. Her gold hair disappeared beneath the edge
of the sleeping bag, lips pressing lower and lower on Tess's
stomach.


Tess glanced around the tent as the kisses reached the edge of
her panties. The others were all sleeping soundly, most even
facing away from them. If they were quiet, it would be alright to
relax and enjoy themselves. Just as she made the decision, Julia
slid a finger through the leg of her underwear, tugging it aside
as if she couldn't wait to get at what was underneath. Tess bit
her lip to keep from gasping when she felt the tip of a tongue
flick across her lips, quick and fleeting.  Her fingers clutched
at the sleeping bag while she waited for the flicking to
continue...but it didn't. She could feel her pulse pounding in
her own ears, and much more distracting, she could feel Julia's
warm breath against the exact place it should be going. Tess
ached and bit her lip harder, squirming her hips, and was
suddenly rewarded with another lick, long and slow, starting at
her mound and moving downward, swirling around her clit, ending
just around her entrance.


Again the pause, and Tess almost whimpered, lifting her hips off
the ground. Julia moved away, keeping her teasing mouth the exact
same distance from Tess' aching pussy. From beneath the fabric
Tess could swear she heard a faint chuckle, and in spite of the
torment she grinned.
"Bad girl, have you no mercy?" She whispered. She tensed as she
felt Julia lean in again.
"No. Mercy. At. All," Julia responded in a soft whisper, flicking
her tongue against Tess' clit with every word. For long minutes
they continued, Julia teasing, Tess hating and loving every
second of it. Tess laid in glorious agony while Julia alternated
between lying perfectly still, then suddenly licking, sucking,
and flicking her tongue places Tess wished it would stay. She
could feel an orgasm building inside of her, but every time it
felt as if she was going to spill over into ecstasy, Julia would
stop, and Tess would breath a shuddering sigh of mixed
disappointment and pleasure. Her legs were shaking, ever so
slightly, and she bit down on the edge of the sleeping bag to
keep her ragged breathing from becoming too loud.


Finally, Julia had mercy. This time the assault was unrelenting,
her long tongue swirling in patterns up and down, across Tess'
sensitive clit and then back again. Tess prepared herself for the
sudden stop, but instead Julia slid her tongue inside of her sex,
moving the tip up and down. After twenty minutes of teasing, the
feeling of Julia's tongue moving just inside her sex made Tess
cum so hard that her head swam, so hard that she saw stars. Her
pussy was on fire, her entire body was shaking, and the pleasure
kept going, Julia kept licking, and every second Tess felt the
other girl's tongue was like another mile of lust unravelling
inside of her. Tess didn't even realize that her back was arched
until she collapsed back onto the bed. Her leg throbbed achingly,
but in the afterglow of the teasing orgasm she hardly cared.
Julia was gently kissing her thighs and her mound, and it was
incredibly soothing.


Tess was startled when the kisses continued on, the sensation
dipping lower to brush against her outer lips. She would've
stiffened again, but the bed was suddenly so soft, and the kisses
felt so amazing that it was easier to simply lay back and enjoy
them. Julia was more gentle with her tongue this time, slow and
steady where before she had been quick and intense. It wasn't
teasing, it was like a relaxation gone nuclear. The pleasure
wasn't just sexual, it was as if every movement tickled in her
core. It was as if Julia had kept the first orgasm from ever
ending, sustaining it into a long note. More mellow but just as
intense, when the second orgasm gripped Tess simply let it wash
over her. Her muscles burnt, but to lay still as she felt it roil
within her was the hottest thing Tess had ever felt in her life.
"Bad girl," she panted in a whisper, "you are a bad, evil,
naughty girlfriend."


She felt her forgotten panties moved back, covering her
hypersensitive sex. Julia's head popped up from beneath the
sleeping bag, a half-grin on her face.
"We're girlfriends now?" Julia asked, her tone casual enough that
Tess knew the answer was important. She mentally cursed.
"If...if you don't like it we don't have to be," she breathed,
"whatever this is, I like it, I don't want to change it. You can
ignore what I just said, I talk all clingy after an orgasm like
that."
"Oh really?" Julia's fingers pressed suddenly against Tess'
panties, probing through the drenched fabric at an area that
still rang with sensation. Despite herself Tess gasped as Julia
continued, "what if I like you talking like that? Should I keep
being mean?"
"Oh God I don't know where you learned how to do this but I'll
say anything you want," Tess whispered in an incoherent babble.
Julia's hand slid beneath the hemline, and Tess spread her legs
apart to let the other girl have access.
"Say it again," Julia whispered so softly that Tess could barely
hear her, at the same time slipping a finger inside.
"O-oh you're my girlfriend you're my girlfriend," Tess whimpered,
as Julia made small circling motions inside of her. After two
orgasms, it felt as if the blonde girl's finger were made of sex
and lightning; every motion sent an almost painful shock of
gratification through her body.


"I think like that," Julia's face was close, her mouth was close,
her chin dripping with Tess' juices. When they kissed Tess tasted
the sweetness of her own fluids and could hardly bear to stop.
Another finger joined the first, gently probing and stroking, and
Tess threw her head back silently. Julia kissed her in the hollow
of her neck, and Tess moaned.
"Oh Julia, Julia I'm yours, I belong to you," she breathed, and
Julia looked up with the same evil half-grin. Her breath was warm
and smelled like sex as she leaned in close and whispered in
Tess' ear;
"Cum for me again, my love."
Tess would've orgasmed again even without the third finger that
Julia slid inside of her. Her body was no longer in her control,
bucking and shaking as Julia's fingers pushed deep within her,
grinding against her g-spot, penetrating deep, stretching her
sex.


It took a few dizzying, disorienting moments before the trembling
aftershocks of the orgasm finally faded way, and Tess looked
around to find Julia grabbing Tess' sleep pants from where they
were sitting by the bed.
"These are loose. They'll be a little cold, but you can slip them
on over your cast," she whispered.
"But what about you?" Tess panted, "you think I'll let you give
me three orgasms like that and not return the favor?" Julia
grinned and held up an arm. On her wrist, glowing faintly under
the skin, the clock showed three minutes till the hour.
"Almost your shift," Julia said smugly, wiping Tess' cum off of
her chin, "you'll have to owe me one."


***


The shift was boring, but time passed faster than it might have
with the memory of her orgasms to keep Tess occupied. Even as she
scanned the forest where Terrans could emerge, she couldn't keep
the smile off of her face. Although she knew the planet's moon
would reflect light from its star, she didn't know quite how
pretty the reflected light would make everything look; soft and
blue and beautiful. Even in this dangerous and frightening place,
it was strange how such little things, orgasms and reflected
light, could leave her feeling almost...happy. Content, anyways.
They had been on the surface for long after the supposed timespan
of danger, and they'd managed to avoid the Terrans so far. Maybe
they'd continue to avoid them until a rescue party was set down.
At the very least, they had survived longer than any planetary
ground team had before. Tess' mind drifted from topic to topic as
her gaze slid across the treeline. *I'll have to give her four
orgasms, next time,* she thought, idly running her thumb over the
butt of the pistol she held, *make her in MY debt. Maybe I could
buy a toy, I wonder if she'd like that?*


It wasn't quite a twig snapping, or a blur of motion, but Tess
was suddenly sure she wasn't alone. She rose to her feet with a
wince, mind racing, resting her weight on one leg. The forest
remained still, and she wondered for a moment if she had imagined
it...there was no sound or sight that would indicate the forest
was any different than it had been a few moments ago. *What has
me so rattled...* Tess tried to nail it down, even as she held
her pistol at the ready. It took a brief rustle of wind through
the leaves of the trees for her to connect her intuition to her
reasoning; the quiet but steady drone of animal life that had
been constant all night was hushed. No insects, no rustling from
forest creatures, no call of birds. Tess was already turning to
sound the alarm when she saw the figure emerge from the trees in
front of her, a little ways off. Before she could yell, the
figure raised both hands and spoke first.
"I shall not harm you."


The voice was surprisingly young, and female. Her accent was so
thick and strange that Tess couldn't process her words for a
moment, simply staring dumbfounded, pistol pointed at the girl's
chest.
"I don't want to harm you," the girl repeated, taking another
step, carefully and slowly. Tess was breathing hard, adrenaline
pumping through her, but she wasn't sure what action she should
take. If this girl was acting alone, shouting an alarm could
alert others who weren't so friendly...but what if she wasn't
acting alone? The thoughts pounded through her head as the girl
took another step.
"Stop! Don't come any closer!" Tess hissed, and the girl tilted
her head questioningly, but still stepped forward, into the
moonlight. Her hair was a shock of bright green, and the robes
she wore were dark enough in color that she could've blended into
the background of the forest simply by raising her hood. The
thought made Tess uncomfortable; she wanted to glance around to
see if there were others, but kept her eyes locked on the girl,
who was looking at her questioningly.
"You speak," the girl said falteringly, "but you have strange
words."
"I said don't come any closer! Stay away!"
Understanding bloomed on the girl's face, and she immediately
stopped edging forward.
"I mean no harm," she said, "I am FRE."


The word was strange and unknown to Tess, but it seemed to echo
inside of her skull, shaking her brain and forcing itself into
her mind. She was sure she had never heard the word 'fre' before,
but it settled and forced itself into meaning with a feeling that
was sudden and unpleasant. *fre, friendly. Helpful. Harmless.
Won't cause me pain.* the words were barely hers, even though
they appeared in her mind. Tess blinked and shook her head.
"What was that? What did you just do?"
The girl was smiling, smiling in a knowledgeable way that made
Tess' scalp prickle.
"I am simply SPE" *spe, speaking. Communicating, both verbally
and non-verbally. Passing on information.*
Tears sprang into Tess' eyes. Hearing the words was like having a
swarm of hornets in her brain, as if her very mind were being
forcefully impregnated with information.
"Stop that! Stop talking like that, whatever you're doing, it
bothers me!" Tess was beginning to panic, her ears were ringing.
There was something wrong, something horrifying and unnatural
about this girl with the green hair. *I should wake the others
up...*
"This is how speech works," the girl replied, her stillness
almost as disconcerting as her language, "it's not my fault that
it bothers you EX" *ex, exiles. Outcasts. Cowards. Forsaken.*


It was too much, the words ringing in her head as if some
spiteful ghost was screaming the definitions into her mind. She
lifted her pistol and squeezed the trigger, the shot ringing out
into the night and breaking the silence. The girl seemed to blur
and lifted her arm, and Tess' pistol burst into green flames,
scorching her hand before she could think to drop it.
"TERRANS!" She shrieked, turning to the tent, but suddenly and
impossibly the girl was there, shoving her to the ground. The
noises of her squadmates waking up came from the tent, but even
as she watched Tess could see it was useless. She was surrounded
by Terrans, robes swirling, different shades of green and purple
and blue hair brushing against the tent's door as they rushed
inside. Tess pulled herself to hands and feet, but a rain of
green sparks slammed her back into the ground. The girl with
green hair was standing over her, watching the tent. As if she
felt Tess looking up at her, she glanced down to meet her gaze.
"Till we reach town, none of you will be HA," the girl said
reassuringly. *ha, harmed. Caused physical hurt. No torture, no
pain.*
"What happens when we reach the town?" Tess shook her head
savagely to clear the buzzing information from her head.


The girl said nothing.