Orbital Academy XIII

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by MaddiroseX

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Missy was surprised at how well she was holding up. During her
first day at the Academy, on her first jog, she had collapsed in
a heap after three minutes of steady running. Now here she was,
on an uneven and dark jungle floor, and she'd been jogging for an
hour. She wasn't even the most out of breath of her teammates;
Aimee was huffing and puffing just ahead of her.
*It's because of how resolved I am to save Preston and my
squaddies,* she thought valiantly, but in reality it was probably
more due to the fact that Captain Appet had pushed her as hard as
she did. It had only been five months, but Missy thought of
herself as an entirely different person now. The type of person
who would risk everything to save the people she cared about.


Jackson drew up to a halt in front of them, reading a small
screen in his hand, and the squadmates slowed to a walk, catching
their breath. Missy glanced around to confirm they were all
there, Jackson, Aimee, Li and herself
"The beacons are saying they're just a km or so away," he
whispered, "we try to be quiet from here."
"If they have guards watching what do we do?" Missy whispered
back, "Terrans have always outfought Orbitans when we've engaged
in firefights."
"The drones have been able to catch Terrans by surprise on every
planetary run. They haven't ever had lookouts before, they won't
now."
"They've never taken Orbitans prisoner before either," Li
muttered.


It only took a few minutes of walking before the Terran village
came into view. Large buildings, all rough tan stone and wood,
sat in a ring around a clearing. Most of the windows were dark,
but there were lights flickering in a few, similar to torchlight
but in different colors.
"No lookouts," Jackson said quietly.
"Can you get a close enough signal to see which building they're
in?" Missy asked. Jackson looked at the screen, then pointed.
"Second floor. All together," he replied, "Alex was separate from
them for a little while, but she's back with the others now.
"You don't think they're being tortured do you?" Li asked, "taken
out one at a time to pump for information?" Aimee smacked his
head with a significant glance at Missy.
"Its alright," Missy watched the windows on the second floor
steadily, "whether they're being tortured or not, were here to
rescue them, so their suffering is over now. Let's move."


They broke from the treeline at a fast jog, staying quiet and low
to the ground as they went. Missy kept a sweaty hand on the butt
of her dart pistol, but the noise of weapons would instantly draw
the whole of the village down on them. If she needed to fire it,
chances were she would already be as good as dead. Even so, the
weight of the weapon on her hip made Missy feel just a bit better
as she flattened herself against the wall of the stone building.
Jackson, Li, and Aimee moved along beside her as she slowly slid
along the wall until she was next to the wooden entrance.


Missy's mouth was dry. It was an odd thing to notice at a time
like this, but it was uncomfortable.
*I don't know a thing about what's behind this door,* Missy
thought, silently lifting the beam that held it closed, *I could
be walking into a room full of Terrans right now. I could be
seconds away from my death.* She swung the heavy door open and
slipped inside. Bare of decoration, huge and stone, the room was
thankfully empty. Missy breathed a sigh of relief as her
squadmates slipped in with her, observing the building's entrance
hall. Doorways lined the walls, but there was only one stairway.
Using Academy sign language, Missy indicated that the rest should
follow her. The stairs were dark and quiet, and even though they
were trying to move silently, the sounds of four footfalls echoed
in the stairwell. Missy held up a hand to stop her squaddies when
they reached the head of the stairs, and she peaked around the
corner. Halfway down the hall, two guards flanked a large wooden
double door.
"Two hostiles," she signed to the others, and then before she
lost her nerve, before she gave herself the chance to chicken out
or back down, she moved into the hall.


Even as she hurtled down the hallway Missy tried to keep her
footfalls quiet. She drew her dart gun as she ran, hoping she
wouldn't have to use it and alert anyone else. The hallway seemed
to stretch out as she ran, it seemed like an eternity to close
the distance between her and the guards, and every second she
expected them to turn and raise an alarm. Clearly they hadn't
been expecting any action at all, since they didn't notice her
until she was almost on top of them. The closest guard only had
time to open his mouth in surprise before the butt of her gun
slammed into his cheekbone. Despite Missy's hope that her
momentum would bring both guards down, the other was able to skip
back to avoid the two bodies hitting the floor. He wasn't yelling
for help, but he was muttering something under his breath, words
that seemed to prickle on the inside of her ears without her
being able to hear them at all. Missy watched in horror as his
hand started to glow, but Li and Jackson both slammed into him
before he could complete the action. He struggled, twisting his
body to try to gain leverage, but Li wrapped an arm around his
neck to lock him into a hold, and it only took a few seconds
before the man slumped to the ground.


"Do either of them have a key?" Missy whispered. Aimee and
Jackson searched the pair roughly, digging into pockets and the
pouches at their waists. Aimee she shook her head, but she looked
pale.
"Missy, that purple thing the general had, that looked like
crystal...did it look like this?" The object that Aimee held up
was almost an exact replica, in dark blue instead of purple.
Missy wordlessly nodded.
"We can process what that means later," Jackson broke in, "right
now we need to figure out how to get that door open quickly and
above all, quietly."
"Typical Jackson behavior," Julia whispered from the doorway,
causing the squaddies to collectively jump, "trying to come up
with a complex plan without checking to see if the door is open."


***


Missy clung to Preston as if someone would try to tear them apart
at any second as the squaddies discussed their options in quiet
voices. He didn't seem to mind, keeping one arm firmly wrapped
around her waist as well.
"So as long as we can make it to the ships, they can't stop us
from leaving the planet?" he was saying.
"As far as we can figure, yes," Jackson nodded firmly, "as long
as we're headed straight up towards the fog and they don't
already have something in the air, we can get to the cloud cover,
and they probably won't follow us through. We can even leave for
the ships the same way we came, assuming there aren't any patrols
around the village."
"We're not very helpful there," Alex commented, "I'm the only one
who's been out of our cells, and I haven't seen much that would
be helpful."
"Then we'll need to hope we get lucky," Jackson said decisively,
"now, do we leave through the door or the window? We didn't run
into anyone on the way up, but there's no guarantee we'll be as
lucky going down."
"I won't be able to take the drop from the window," Tess said
quietly, gesturing to her leg, "I re-broke it in the crash."
"Then we can-" Jackson began, when a voice from the other side of
the door interrupted him.
"Tha? Kor? Where are you both? You'll catch hell if you're in
there with the PRI" *prisoners, trainees* The words hit Missy's
mind while seemingly skipping her ears, buzzing through her head
and almost knocking her over. Missy cried out in shock and
surprise, as did Jackson and Li. She covered her mouth but the
damage had been done; the door opened and a burly man with bright
blue hair looked inside. There was a split-second of hesitation
before Aimee sprang forward to hit him with her gun, but it was
enough time for him to pull his head back and slam the door in
her face. The man spoke a muffled word, and the edges of the
heavy wooden doors rippled, fusing together until the double
doors became one single piece across the doorway. Aimee sprang
back with a curse, and Missy gaped.
"They know *magic*?" she squeaked, as on the other side the man
shouted for help, "the Terrans can do *MAGIC*?"
"Not important right now," Jackson moved quickly, picking up one
of the furs from the beds nearby and wrapping his hand in it, "we
need to start moving now. If we're lucky we can hit the forest
before they catch sight of us." He smashed the window open with
his fur covered arm, clearing away bits of glass until there was
enough room to get through.
"It's going to be a really rough landing," Alex was already at
the window, giving advice over her shoulder, "tuck and roll and
hopefully we don't break anything-" she stopped, eyes wide in
horror. Missy followed her gaze and came to the same realization.
*Tess won't be able to escape that way.*


"It's alright," Tess said, her voice quiet but resolute, "I would
slow you down anyways, you need to be quick now that they're
after you."
"We can't just leave you here Tess," Missy protested, when
suddenly the sound of bells, deep and loud, began echoing through
the village.
"I'm sorry Tess," Alex's face was drawn and tight, "we'll try to
come back for you."
"Don't," Tess said, "after the first rescue mission they'll be on
the lookout for another. They'll kill you next time."
"We can't do this!" Missy said again, but even as she said it she
knew it wasn't true. There was no way to get Tess to the ships,
and trying would only force more of them to share her fate. Alex
leapt from the window, and a few moments later Jackson followed
her.
"Go Missy," Tess looked serene, her back straight, "Whatever they
have waiting for me, I can handle it if it means the rest of you
can escape." Marcus climbed to the window and jumped.
"I'm not going anywhere," Julia murmured, putting her arm around
Tess. First Aimee, then Li jumped from the window, leaving only
four of them left.
"Get the fuck out of here, even you Julia" Tess looked close to
tears, but Julia turned resolutely to Missy and nodded. Eyes
watering, Missy went to the window, pushing Preston up to the
window first. With a final backward glance at the two girls
standing alone in the large prison room, Missy jumped.


Even with the roll at the end, the pain blossoming in her
shoulder told her she'd bruised something. Missy pushed it to the
back of her mind as she looked around for her squaddies. Preston
was at the forest's edge, beckoning to her, and she broke out
into a full run after him. As soon as she hit the treeline a
sudden green light burst on a tree nearby, lighting the the
forest around her.
"They're on us!" Preston shouted, and the squaddies broke into a
full run. It was dark and the ground was rough, but Missy kept up
a pace she never would've been able to before. Mournful deep
bells continued to ring from behind them as she reached for
Preston and grabbed his hand. Her shoulder pounded with a dull
ache as they ran together, sometimes dragging him, sometimes
being pulled along as the terrain beneath their feet shifted. The
air was lit with a shock of blue light, and a tree in front of
them froze, it's swaying branches stilled and the leaves coating
with a thin layer of ice. Missy risked a glance over her shoulder
just in time to yank Preston down as a purple bolt flashed over
his head. It hit the ground with a muffled thud, kicking up clods
of dirt that drifted through the air in slow motion.


"Hold on! They're up ahead! They're cutting us off!" Alex's voice
came from further ahead than Missy thought, and she started to
slow. To her left, Alex ran past her, shrieking,
"It's a trick! That's not really me! Keep on straight!" Missy
couldn't tell if any of her squadmates had fallen for the fake
Alex voice, but she kept on forward, plowing into the darkness
and bracing herself for a trap at the same time. A green flare
shot above the treetops, hovering in place and casting an eerie
light down on the forest. On the one hand, Missy was glad for the
light; it let her see that all of the squaddies had kept on
running straight. Aimee and Li were holding hands a little ways
ahead of her, Alex, Jackson and Marcus had spread out and were
weaving nimbly through the trees. On the other hand, if Missy
could see them, the Terran's could as well. Her worries were
confirmed when a spear of blue light arced through the air and
buried into the ground a few inches from Alex.


*If they can see us, I can see them,* Missy reasoned. She let go
of Preston's hand and spun, dropping to one knee and taking
careful aim. For a horrifying moment she couldn't see anyone, but
a Terran with blue hair moved into sight, and Missy fired. The
gunblast echoed through the trees, and the Terran grabbed at his
chest where the dart had hit, barely able to grunt before the
sedatives shot through his bloodstream and dropped him heavily
onto the forest floor.
"They've got WE!" *instruments to fight with, dangerous
implements* "get those lights out!" Missy was scrambling to her
feet even as the Terrans shrieked their orders, helped by Preston
yanking her along. The green light above them winked out, casting
them in darkness again. Puffing a sigh of relief, Missy started
running again. The shooting and response had taken only seconds
to perform, but hopefully it would buy her and her squadmates
some small amount of safety.


The Terrans started conserving their energy after that, because
as the squaddies ran the bolts of light stopped. The crunch of
many footfalls behind them kept them running, and every so often
something silent and swift would fly past them close enough for
them to hear the splintering of branches as it went. Missy's
whole side throbbed from her shoulder onward, and she didn't know
how long she'd been running. *Shouldn't we have reached our ships
by now?* She thought suddenly, a knot of icy fear in her stomach.
Against her will, images of what the Terrans would do to them if
they caught up filled her mind. The prison hadn't looked that
bad, but Missy had no clue what her squadmates had been through
before they'd been rescued. Her heart pounded in her ears, and
she clenched Preston's hand even tighter. *At least, whatever
happens, I'll be with him,* she thought. A few seconds later the
squaddies broke into the clearing where the four heavy cruisers
had landed.
"Li and Aimee, far left," Jackson barked orders, and Missy was
glad they wouldn't all inadvertently scramble for the same ships,
"Missy and Preston, middle left, Marcus and Alex, far right."
It only took a few seconds for the squaddies to reach their
ships, and the canopies were up and waiting. Missy began hitting
switches before she had even settled into the double-wide seat,
sending the engines spinning up into emergency activation
sequences. It was horribly damaging on the engines, of course,
but if this didn't qualify as an emergency Missy couldn't think
what would. Preston settled next to her in the seat, hitting the
button to close the canopy as he did so.


The low light of engines lit the clearing, revealing Terrans as
they broke through the treeline to the clearing. Missy glanced at
the takeoff prep counter, relieved to see it had hit zero. The
heavy cruisers lifted from the ground, excruciatingly slow.
Spells rained onto the ships, some of them knocking their targets
and rattling the cruisers or pushing them backwards in the air,
but most of the spells glanced off, sending shafts of green,
blue, and purple light into the night sky. Missy's ship shuddered
with the impact of a handful of them, and then they were away,
blasting off into the sky as fast as the engines would take them.
"You'd think they didn't want us to leave or something," Preston
grinned, and Missy elbowed him in the side.
"I'm glad you think it's funny," she panted, "we almost died!"
"Please, as if a measly village full of heartless killer
magicians could stop my badass girlfriend," Preston leaned over
and kissed her on the cheek, and Missy begrudgingly forgave him.
"I was just bored," she teased, "it's not like I'm into you or
anything."
"Hmm that's too bad," Preston kept kissing her cheek, "because
I'm kind of crazy about you."
Missy tried to think of a witty comeback, but settled for
enjoying his kisses. The heavy cruiser entered the rolling green
fog, and the fear that had gnawed in her stomach eased.


"This is Jackson, I made it through. Report squaddies," Jackson's
voice crackled over the comms.
"Alex and Marcus here. They took out an engine, so we're limping,
but we're safe and sound."
"Li and Squadpet, safely in the fog," Li's voice confirmed.
"I fuckin' hate that callsign," Aimee grumbled from the same
channel.
"Preston and Missy, safely out," Preston responded, "you saved
our asses out there guys. We can't thank you enough."
"No thanks required Preston. The A squad sticks together." There
was a pregnant pause before Jackson continued, "I hope they'll be
okay."
"The Terrans won't kill Tess and Julia," Alex transmitted over
the comms, "I don't even think they'll torture them. They had
some plan in mind for us, but even though I don't know what it
was, I know it didn't involve hurting us."
"We have to come up with some way of rescuing them," Missy
reached across Preston and transmitted, "we have to make sure
they're safe."
"We need to make sure *we're* safe first, Missy. That's our top
goal right now," Jackson replied evenly.
"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.
"General Auspus meant for us all to die down there," Missy
explained, the flat edge returning to her voice when she thought
of it. Normally she had to force herself to be aggressive and
forceful, but when she thought of the General her emotions
settled into a cold rage. She took Preston's hand and squeezed it
hard as she continued, "He's to blame for all of this. Preston
and I saw him using a purple crystal that covered him in sparks,
and the Terran guards we knocked out were carrying the same
crystals in blue. Whatever that was, he decided it was worth us
dying for."
"I held on to one of them," Aimee interjected, "we can study it
later if we have the time. If we can get somewhere safe..."
"I'll keep us safe from Auspus, at least for a while squaddies,"
Jackson responded confidently, "I have a plan. Just lock your
ship navigations on me and set to autopilot, so we don't get
separated in the fog."


Missy flicked on the autopilot and leaned back in the seat,
closing her eyes but keeping Preston's hand held firmly in hers.
"God I missed you Preston," she breathed, and she smiled when she
felt his breath against her neck as he moved closer to her on the
seat.
"When I was down there, I wasn't half as scared about what would
happen to me as I was that I'd never see you again," Preston's
voice was soft, uncharacteristically gentle, and Missy looked at
him with surprise.
"I don't know how I could keep going without you, Preston" she
admitted.
"Um...you guys want to turn off the comms until we break the fog
cover?" Marcus coughed awkwardly, and Missy blushed.
"Aw, I wanted to hear thi-" Li's complaint was cut short as
Preston flicked the comms off.
"I'm sorry if that sounded a little clingy," Missy said
hesitantly, "but it's the truth."
"I love you Melissa." Missy's heart leapt in her chest at the
words. Preston was watching her expression, his face open and
honest, and she could only open and shut her mouth wordlessly.
"I've never said that to a girl before, but it's something you
should know," he continued, ignoring Missy's flushed, stunned
face.


"Preston I...you...I love you too," Missy spluttered, before her
stammering was silenced by Preston's lips. She surrendered to the
kiss with a tiny murmur of enjoyment, letting him wrap his arms
around her awkwardly as they sat next to each other on the
double-wide seat of the cruiser. His fingers ran through her hair
and massaged her scalp. Fingers still caressing her head, he
broke the kiss, looking at her longingly.
"There's not enough room in this cockpit to have sex," Missy
smiled, reading his intentions from his look.
"Unfortunately not," Preston agreed, "but that doesn't mean we
can't have some fun." He suddenly moved back and pulled her
gently by the neck, swinging her sideways. Missy squeaked, and
ended up with her head laying on Preston's lap, her legs resting
up against the cockpit windshield.
"And what exactly do you plan on doing with me like this?" Missy
teased, "my head is facing the wrong direction." Preston chuckled
and grabbed the sealing tab of her flightsuit, sliding it all the
way down to her navel. Missy gasped at the cold air on her bare
skin, but didn't complain. Preston slid the sides of the suit
apart, exposing her small breasts to the cold. Her nipples
hardened and she sucked in a breath. Smiling wickedly, he ran a
finger around one of them, making her shiver and sending
goosebumps along her arms.


"You're not usually so sensitive," Preston murmured, lightly
pinching her pink nipple. Missy gasped, pushing her chest forward
so he could have a better grasp.
"Well it's been a while," she murmured back.
"It's been barely a week," Preston chuckled, gently tugging at
her nipple while his left hand traced meaningless symbols along
her stomach.
"Maybe your magical member has turned me into a girl who needs it
more than once a week," Missy joked, trying to take her mind off
of the maddeningly slow tugging and pinching. It was proving
incredibly difficult to ignore.
"Damn, I'm good then," Preston grinned. He stopped tugging,
instead simply running a finger up and down between her breasts,
from her ribcage up to her neck, then slowly back down again.
"You are good, you're good, is that what you want me to say?"
Missy wiggled her hips helplessly.
"Oh...oh dear, was there something else you wanted me to do to
you Missy?"
"Fuck you, do you have to tease me like this every time?" Missy
tried to growl, but it came out closer to a whimper. Preston
leaned down over her, until his face was inches from hers and she
was staring deep into his green eyes.
"Yes," he whispered, at the same time unexpectedly grabbing both
of her firm nipples and pinching hard.


"Oh fuck, Preston," Missy breathed, arching her back and closing
her eyes, "I already said you're the best, please don't tease
anymore."
"I don't understand," Preston replied innocently, "what is it you
want?" His fingers brushed down her body, slipping beneath the
unsealed flightsuit to brush through her pubic hair, but then
they slid back up again.
"Preston!" Missy moaned, "if you don't fuck me with something
right now I'll do it myself!"
"Oh that's what you wanted!" Preston mercifully slid his hand
beneath her flightsuit again, moving his fingers further down
than before. Missy spread her legs wider, shuddering again as his
fingertips brushed gently against her clit.
"Are you too cold?" Preston asked, genuinely this time.
"If you dare stop I will make you regret it."
Preston began tugging her nipple again, at the same time slipping
a finger between her lips and moving it in slow circles around
her opening. Leaning back against his lap, Missy sighed with
frustration at his slow relaxed pace. She was wet enough that his
finger glided with no resistance, and she thrust with her hips
trying to slide it inside of herself. Maddeningly, Preston very
carefully moved his hand along with her, continuing to rub the
entrance to her sex without penetrating her at all. Missy grit
her teeth. Preston responded by flicking his thumb across her
clit in a steady rhythm, making her squirm against her will.
"Why are you being so mean?" she gasped. Preston stopped moving
his hand, and she whimpered. She tried to thrust, but he held her
hips firmly with his other hand, looking down at her with a
mixture of amusement and affection.


"Because it makes you cum so fucking hard," he replied with a
grin, and thrust his finger inside of her. Missy arched her back
as he ground his thumb into her clit again, moving his finger in
small circles against her g-spot. His other hand was at her
breasts, teasing and caressing, and every time she arched he
pinched her nipple sending a shock through her. It took her
barely any time to let the feelings wash over her and build her
to her peak. As promised, when she came she came hard. Missy
screamed as her entire body shook on Preston's lap. Her pussy
clamped down on his finger, but he kept up his assault, sliding
it in and out and continuing to rub her clit at the same slow
pace. His skillful attention to her tender nipples made her
orgasm heighten and fall in peaks, as soon as it started to fade
away he would lightly pinch or flick, and it would feel as if she
was starting to cum all over again. There was no thought in her
mind except for the pleasure, but she snaked an arm around
Preston's neck and pulled herself up to him, kissing him hard and
moaning into his mouth while he stroked the inside of her cunt.


He gently let her back down on his lap as the waves of pleasure
finally subsided. Missy panted, catching her breath, and gasped
when he slid his finger from her sex. Smiling down at her,
Preston ran his hand slowly up her body, leaving a trail of her
juices behind it. The action didn't do anything in particular to
turn her on, but she felt him harden beneath her head as he
looked down at the slick trail in her pubic hair and on her
stomach. *Well, since he went to so much effort to make me
happy,* she thought with a mental shrug. Missy grabbed his hand
and lifted it to her mouth, looking into Preston's eyes as she
flicked her tongue delicately over his fingers, lapping her
juices off of them.
"That...is either very cruel or very kind," Preston moaned, "I'm
not sure which yet." A small blue alert light lit on the console,
indicating an incoming communication. Missy reached up lazily and
flicked the comm back on.
"Alright squaddies," Jackson's voice on the comms interrupted, "I
just broke through the fog, so the rest of you should be breaking
fog cover as well. Radios back on."
"Very cruel," Preston sighed, and Missy giggled and sat back up.
"Sorry Preston. I'll make it up to you later," she winked and
smiled, and Preston gave a half-grin in return.


The green clouds faded away as Missy slid the toggle of her
flightsuit back up, shivering at the cold now that she didn't
have sexual urges to distract her from it.
"Orbital, this is Rookie Jackson Rade, heading a group of four
heavy cruisers with seven total rookies on board. Requesting your
clearance to land."
"He sounds so official," Missy murmured as she made sure her suit
was secured, "where'd he learn that do you think?" she glanced at
Preston. He was staring through the glass cockpit, a bemused
expression on his face, and Missy followed his gaze.
She'd expected to see the huge sphere of Orbital Academy in front
of them, its wide rings spinning around it. Instead, they were
approaching a large diamond-shaped structure, thin mechanical
arms on each edge. The comms crackled with a gruff,
official-sounding confirmation.
"Rookie Rade and company, this is Orbital Pivot. You are cleared
for entry."