She certainly needed a rest. What an amazing creature she’d turned out to be. The Hunger had not conquered her; if anything, she’d come alive for them. His cock was soft and shrunken, as it usually was after the spill, and the fallout from the orgasm was a deep sense of fulfillment, not emptiness, like he usually felt with the droids.
He rose, slipped on his pants, and went to find nourishment. His thirst was great, and he drank three glasses of water. How easy it was to slake that compared to the Hunger. In ten days, it would be back, tormenting him once again. The little thing lying in a heap of cushions next to his nestor would have to go through it all over again. What of him, and Kriss? Would the wait be unbearable now they knew what she was capable of doing? He’d have to bury his feelings deep and not let her know how close he’d come to losing control. It wasn’t simply his emotions that were under threat, it was the balance of power. She probably had no idea that he nearly spilled his seed inside her, right in her forbidden pussy.
The glass nearly cracked in his hand. He had to learn to hold that feeling in check. He wasn’t even sure what it was he was feeling, but whatever, it had to be contained, otherwise, he might break the rules.
Kriss stirred. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head. Standing, he joined Jago on the other side of the vast room, as far away from Shayla as possible. He too drank as if he’d been in a desert for days.
“My balls still ache,” Kriss said with a grin. “It’s like they’ve been hammered.”
Jago smiled. “I know.”
“She’s okay, I take it?”
“I assume. I’ll check soon. Let her sleep.” Jago scratched his chin. He’d grown stubble in the night. It was a bizarre side effect of the Hunger. His body was bursting with new energy.
Kriss dressed while Jago consumed nourishment. “The drone will be here soon to pick up the vessel,” Kriss said.
“It’s in the cooler.” Jago didn’t care to know what exactly they did with the liquid. He wasn’t a scientist or technician. As long as he performed his duties, it didn’t matter that some part of him would evolve into a new being, probably several, if they were lucky.
He noticed his nestor had gone a touch pale. “What is it?”
“Just... did you struggle to, how should I say, hold back?” Kriss asked.
It took a lot o
f courage for his nestor to admit to that weakness. He was equally troubled, so it seemed. “Yes,” said Jago. “Like my body and mind were split apart. My mind said hold it, my body said now, give it to her.”
Kriss nodded slowly. “Me too.”
Jago rested his hand on Kriss’s shoulder and squeezed it. “We should not speak of it to anyone,” he said quietly, glancing over to where Shayla slept.
“No,” Kriss said. “I will not speak of it.”
“Good.”
Jago cracked the stiff vertebrae in his spine. “Thank goodness it’s a rest day for all of us.”
“We should take her to the city, to celebrate. We have food vouchers, don’t we?”
Real food. They would sit at a table and be served food, stuff made from plants and cooked. Shayla would love it. She ate real food back on Earth, she’d told them.
“Good idea,” Jago said. “Once she’s bathed, we’ll take her to the city.”
“We’re spoiling her.” Kriss stared at her. Shayla was moving, her limbs unfolding.
“Perhaps,” Jago murmured. “Is that a bad thing?”
“I dunno.” Kriss rubbed his stomach. “I’m hungry.”
“She must be too. So let’s go feed her. It’s a natural thing to do, nothing special.” Jago wasn’t convinced though that he meant what he said. She was special, and they had a unique relationship with her, to think otherwise was foolish.
Chapter Ten
The Lakeland City wasn’t really as grand as it looked from the other side of the lake. A town by Earth’s standards. The population, compromised of male Hezara, predominately lived in high-rise blocks skirting the edge of the city, while in the middle, scooped out like a bowl, was the valley containing the amenities—the government of the region, businesses, a hospital, and the police headquarters. Jago pointed at the various buildings as they walked. Odesta was not one of Hezara’s key production planets. Other planets circling the cluster of stars had better resources than this mediocre world.
Shayla was surprised by the lack of vehicles. Everyone walked or used the public transport system, which resembled a monorail with zooming shuttles. As for people, the city required a large number of droids. Some, like sexdroids, were flesh forms and reasonably natural in appearance; others were robotic, metallic, and skeletal. Their function was to provide support to the city, whether as messengers, maintenance workers, or guards. They were ugly things for the most part, awkward and inelegant with featureless faces and plodding feet. Hezara ignored them, treating them with contempt. At night, they were shut down to refuel; housed in warehouses, according to Kriss. She was left with the impression he and Jago rarely visited the city.
The warriors had the privilege of living around the lake, whereas workers who toiled in the factories that made weapons and uniforms for the army lived in the high-rises. What little entertainment that existed were eateries, places to indulge in decent food and drink. Quite what else the citizens did in their spare time was a mystery. Perhaps they simply worked all hours of the day.