Chapter Five

Hours had passed, or so it felt like to Nina. Currently, she was the only one conscious. Nancy had cried herself into an unsettled sleep, too afraid to function, and unable to accept their current predicament for what it was.

Nina was tempted to join her, but she knew any attempts at sleep would be in vain. When she was upset, she was too awake, too aware of her problems. It didn't help that she was remembering prior activities on the bed in the room they were locked in, feeling a burning shame as she recalled what got them into this situation to begin with. She had acted the slut, and had screwed over her friend too.

Now her mind was buzzing with ideas of escape, desperately flipping through different scenarios. She had tried everything short of smacking herself bloody against the wall. Nothing was working, and she was getting frustrated and a little scared.

Did the others realize what had happened? That they were missing? What exactly was going to happen to them?

Nina paced again, as she had been doing for the last several minutes with a few frustrated knocks against the door that sealed them within this room. Rescue had to come, eventually. In the meantime though, she would not just sit idly by and do nothing. She brushed a strand of hair from her nose, and cringed at the pain she felt from the smack she had endured earlier. The bastard had near broke her nose.

She was about to smack the door again when she heard the thuds of heavy feet coming down the hall. Nina quickly retreated back to the bed, standing protectively in front of the still sleeping form of Nancy.

It didn't take long for the door to zip open with a heavy thrum. A large form slipped into the room gracefully on long alien legs, and the door closed automatically when his shadow left the threshold.

Nina's breath came through her teeth in a hiss. It was him of course.

The sangheili shipmaster Voss looked her over, almost appraisingly. He was in full armor this time, and the shining pointed helm on his head only made him look more fearsome for it. Nina swallowed as his eyes met her own. He made a sound like a chuckle as he watched her shoulders close around her neck in a guarded posture. "I won't hurt you Nina." He said in a silky voice.

"Don't say my name you bastard." Nina snapped, her arms folding over her chest, eyes narrowed as he side stepped closer, unwilling to show any fear though her heart fluttered in her chest like a trapped bird.

"Ah. Not afraid to insult me this time around." He said thoughtfully, not sounding the least bit insulted to her chagrin. "I do not blame you. I would rather suffer death than capture at the hands of my enemy."

"Any way I can get you to kill yourself now?" Nina asked coldly.

He laughed again, his own arms settling across his torso, looking at her with something akin to amusement. "You are a fiery little creature, aren't you? I suppose I made the right choice."

This time, Nina did feel her heart stick to her throat. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue glaring into his bright alien eyes, though her breath was beginning to waver with each wild pulse from her rapidly beating heart.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, hating how her voice cracked a bit as she spoke, betraying her unease.

"I don't plan on returning either one of you." He replied calmly, and Nina exhaled quickly at this response. "Our goal was the collection of a… special, item that would further the plans of my people, but I was looking forward to collecting another prize on the side." This time Nina could not meet his gaze. Her eyes dropped to the armor at his neck, heart pounding in her ears as he continued to speak.

"There are groups of us in every race, but I like to think it is the fault of my nature." The shipmaster continued. "I find it pleasing to dominate weaker creatures, softer more fragile beings, those with a female countenance. Humans are rebellious, arrogant creatures, but they are not as strong as sangheili. For all their boasting, they are but soft nishum that seek to grasp onto what they must eventually relent."

Nina almost fell backwards onto the bed when he moved forward, but instead began to walk sideways around the contours of it, trying to create space between them, though he ventured closer at each moment she sought to escape him.

"You cannot run from me Nina." He growled with mirth, laughing again as she began backing up as he stepped ever closer. "It is better for you to accept this situation for what it is."

He then craned his neck to admire the sleeping form of Nancy, still in a fetal position across his bed. "I could scent another on her, raw and available. He had marked her loudly, and in my proud nature, I had to contest his claim. She is quite a soft looking woman too, I'm certain she will appreciate a strong male around her."

Nina stepped closer this time, nostrils flaring as she felt rage burn anew in her. "You won't touch her. She has nothing to do with this. Just let her go!"

Voss was already shaking his head before she had finished. He clicked his fangs together, making a pitying sound with his mandibles. "It is too late for that. I believe you humans say, 'the wrong place at the wrong time?' she is here now, and that is all that matters."

Nina could hold back no longer, and she felt tension coil in her like a mouse trap ready to spring shut. She sped towards him, kicking out with one leg, twisting a shoulder to keep herself balanced.

He stepped aside, almost a blur in her eyes, and she felt him lock a grip like iron around her ankle. She was promptly slammed backwards, air knocking free from her lungs as she was forced on her back against the hard floor.

She gasped wetly, black spots dancing in her vision, she could not fight him as she felt him bend forward to seize her by the shoulder. She was roughly hauled up, feet dragging, one knee slipping forward. She could smell something rotten on his breath, as he assailed her face again with a damp laugh.

She sought to twist away from him, but cried out as he trapped her wrist between his fingers, pulling her to struggle under his neck. Nina relented with a pained squeak when she felt him tighten his hold on her captured wrist.

"I don't want to break your fragile bones human, so it would be best if you stopped your foolishness now before you anger me." He said.

"You're the fool." Nina spat back, twisting her neck up to glare at him hatefully. "Do you really think the UNSC will allow you to kidnap two of its people?"

"It is already done." He said with a growl. "Did you not feel the shift below your feet? Even this environment is not without its artificial limitations."

Nina's heart stopped, sucking in a slow breath. What did he mean exactly?

No…

"We entered slip space an hour back. We are in the fringes of our own territory. I doubt your UNSC can find us easily, or will be willing to sacrifice so many other troops just to find two displaced female cadets."

"Fuck you." Nina hissed.

"You have once." He shot back with a wicked curl to his mandibles, and she recoiled as his hot breath hit her face again. "So eager to begin again?" Her breath caught in her chest with a hitch as she felt his free hand slip over her bottom. She didn't dare try to break away as she felt his fingers twitch against her hand. She would be better off for anymore escape attempts with all her bones intact.

Nina had closed her eyes, trying to ignore his fingers slipping over the line of her ass when she suddenly heard a sharp intake of breath. Eyes slipping open, she turned her head to see the other woman sitting up quickly, having just awakened.

"We have not met, I am in command of this vessel." Voss released her hand and started past Nina, and towards Nancy, who was too frozen in fear to move, her eyes widening like disks. "You must be—"

Nina slammed into him from behind, quickly moving to wrap her arms around his neck. Fingernails scraped leathery skin as she sought purchase, trying desperately to dig into something vulnerable.

He roared and she could feel the pulse of it through his neck, tendrils pulsing against her arms, resounding with the beat of his twin hearts. Nina's legs kicked against his back as he twisted around to grab at her.

He bucked back into her hard and Nina's face smacked into his shoulder and she gasped as she tasted iron. Blood ran from her nose onto her lips, and she tried to breathe through the pain, fingers contorting, slipping off smooth reptilian skin.

There was only so much energy, strength she could muster before Nina was dislodged, scratching out a final time, finger burning as a nail snapped against hard armor, and she fell solidly at his feet.

Nina landed on her belly, blood staining the ground under her face as she bent her spine, tried to push herself up off onto her knees. That was also in vain, as she felt a thick pressure at her back that forced her back down slowly but firmly.

"You are an arousing creature, Nina." Voss laughed above her. "I admire the fight in you. I hope you will not disappoint me tonight."

Nina didn't attempt to move. She was tired, and in pain. Her nose was bleeding, possibly broken, and she was missing a nail from her left hand. The rising nausea at her situation was not helping. What could be done?

Would they really not come after them? There was but the two of them, and they had no great accomplishments to their name, or riches, or connections. Would it be easier for them to be but smears on an official document? Easier dead than out there, lost…

This was all her fault. Nina was numb to the realization. Never had she imagined she could screw up this badly.

"You will not be harmed." Their captor's voice had her attention again. He was standing by the bed now, and Nina clenched her fists, feeling blood well up from her hurt finger, slipping wetly through her palm. She stiffened when she saw his fingers on Nancy's hair, petting her like a tame animal. The girl was frozen, her eyes closed tightly, uttering soft panicked breaths.

"You have a choice." Voss continued, looking now to Nina. "To surrender and be at peace, in my care, or to suffer long with your short bursts of defiance. This is my ship, my crew, and I am the only force keeping you from the cold space outside this vessel. You have this choice."

"Obey, or I will release you. Give you what you must desire."

Nina felt a sob burst free from within her, somewhere deep down where it had once been suppressed, by some stubborn will, a defiant spirit. Now she felt only shame, and fear. So much fear.

She felt his shadow fall over her then, and the familiar touch of him. The scent of leather, and his smooth powerful fingers running up her neck, one finger moving to push her chin up. She looked into his shining alien eyes, at the cruel jagged line of his pupil, swallowing at the sharp points glinting from the twin rows of his mandibles.

"There we are." His voice was soothing, in a way that terrified her. She did not try to move away as she felt him pull her close.

00oo00oo00oo00

Sheila groaned, blinking away the burning white light searing her pupils upon awakening. The light was familiar and she heard a voice nearby that confirmed her suspicions. She was in the medical lab…

"Are you feeling alright Sheila? You had quite the fall, well, you and…others." The doctor's voice was wavering." He sounded tired, it sounded unlike him. Usually so open and energetic.

"Doctor Peters, what happened?"

And then she remembered. All of it. Her heart sank when she recalled the prior events, before her fall into unconsciousness. The whole ship had rocked with the force of the alien's escape, a zip into deep space, a blip on the radar, and then nothing. Gone. Her friends, taken.

. "The ship…left." Sheila said, more to confirm it for herself. It felt like some sort of awful dream.

He was silent for a moment, but that was enough for Sheila. She sat up and allowed him to assist her to a seating position, legs sliding uneasily over the starchy sheets of the cot under her.

"I'm sorry Sheila." He pressed a hand onto her shoulder, but she felt no comfort although she appreciated the gesture. All she felt now was shame, and a sense of great loss. Nathan would be torn when he realized what had happened to his sister, what she had allowed to happen... Nina and Nancy were as good as dead if this organization was like others they had dealt with in the past.

Footsteps, heavy and a lighter tapping, had her looking towards the infirmary door. Two people entered, one alien, one not. Sheila could not help but flinch at the sight of the sangheili. All she could see was his jutting razor fine fangs, the shine of his alien eyes, and the overall bulging musculature of an alien killing machine.

Nancy…that poor girl. Nina was a fighter, but Nancy was soft. She had become stronger over the years, more confident, but she was still very impressionable.

Sheila closed her eyes, inhaling slowly. The pressure was everywhere, crushing her with the realization that her friends were probably dead, and that she had been able to do nothing to prevent it from happening.

"Sheila." Emilee stood nearby, her usually rosy skin, pale, her hair unkempt, blue shadow under both eyes. She looked as if she had been crying, and it was evident in the lilting in her voice. She didn't sound like the strong stubborn woman Sheila knew, but rather a young frightened girl who had just realized all her nightmares were real.

"Emilee." Sheila looked to her friend. She didn't have to say anything more, as soon as she opened her arms, Emilee ran into them. They sat on the bed together, stuck in a damp faced, and tired embrace.

The alien nearby made a gruff sound, sounding almost exasperated. "When you females are done with your rituals, I will await you on level three. Your commander has proposed a meeting, although I don't see much of a point in wasting time with talk."

Emilee of course chose at that moment to break free from their coupling, and to glare over her shoulder at Talos 'Idreem, their resident Swords 'associate'. She of course had yet to see what help he could offer them, but at this point, was willing to bet on anything if it meant seeing Nancy, and Nina, again.

The sangheili matched her gaze with his own simmering glower, and twisted his neck to the doctor, who seemed taken aback by the gesture, backing up a foot. "They are expected now, Doctor. I do not assume their emotions be stable, but they need to be present in body at the very least."

"We're present, in body and mind, right now." Emilee snapped, getting into his face, well, as high as her toes could place her, but mostly achieved chin level to his bony clavicle. "Can you not stop being an asshole for five minutes?"

"Profane woman." He snarled back. "You would do well to not test me. If we were on opposite sides, you would not be so bold. I could break you over my knee like a branch."

"Threatening now, are we?" Emilee looked smug, and Sheila felt angry at where this was going, and quickly stepped between them with one shoulder out.

"Stop it." Sheila almost shouted. "We mustn't fight, especially now. We need each other, we have to work together."

Emilee gave her an exasperated look, pulling her arms across her chest. "What? We don't need them, we were doing just fine without these aliens."

"That is a matter of perspective, on both counts." Talos grumbled, crossing his own thick arms.

"She is right." The doctor stepped in, nodding at Sheila. "Nothing good comes of arguing and wasting time, you should all see what the Commander has to say. Maybe we can still save them."

"Save them?" The sangheili's mandibles slackened. "You would pursue these traitors for two stray humans? The idea is mad. It is unfathomable to me, why you would waste time and resources for so few of your number."

"How dare you!" Emilee bared her teeth, and Sheila wisely stepped back to give her space. She could almost feel the heat rising around the other woman. Sheila herself was feeling a bit disdainful of the sangheili. How could he speak so freely about something he apparently didn't even want to understand? "They are our friends, and unlike you monsters, we don't leave friends behind because of some so-called 'honor.'"

The sangheili chuckled. "You speak again of what you don't understand, you have no concept of honor! You and your kind are bereft of any nobility."

"Oh, and I'm to take it that you shit gold? You fucking tool." Emilee hissed.

The sangheili growled and opened his mandibles to snarl back at the woman, but was stopped by a voice at the door.

"Brother, still having trouble with females?"

They turned to see another sangheili enter the room. They were more surprised at the second alien, the latter having to hop a bit to keep up with his much taller companion.

An unggoy. Sheila blinked as he jumped forward, his sangheili accomplice allowing him to move ahead of him. She had never seen an unggoy this close before, and she was taken back at how tall he was, certainly much larger than what she had seen in photos. He was probably about four and a half feet tall, and wore a mask with a breathing apparatus over the nose area and gray rimmed goggles.

"Nico." Talos said with a snort. "Of course they would send you to collect me, like some errant youngling."

This Nico merely laughed, and Sheila looked him over carefully. Unlike Talos, he was not wearing much armor, rather some thin leather looking orange plates at his thighs, chest, and upper arms. He wore a teal colored tunic with chain-link like brown patterns sewn at the edges of his neck and thin leggings.

He was also darker in color, almost coal black, with only lighter hues of mahogany around his green eyes, a color that was startlingly vivid in the clinical light. Another difference in traits were the mandibles. His were smaller than Talos's and seemed to turn more sharply at the joint ends. His expression seemed almost humored at rest, made more apparent by the shine of his oddly colored eyes.

"Let me guess, the better looking brother?" Emilee said with a smirk. Sheila fought the urge to sigh aloud, but she hid a smile behind a curtain of her hair. It was true. Nico's eyes were beautiful and there was something graceful about him as a whole. Talos carried himself in a leaned over posture, heavy and brooding, while Nico almost danced forward with each stride, light and graceful.

Talos glared at her, fangs turning in his mouth as he shook open his upper mandibles. Nico merely chuckled, stepping closer to look at her, while Emilee merely gazed back with an uncertain look on her face.

"I am Nico 'Valteem." The sangheili said cordially, craning his head slightly. "And no, Talos and I share only good humor, and of that I am being sarcastic."

Talos scowled outright at that, and turned to leave, casting one last dark look at Emilee. "If you want to save your friends, you should not tarry. I've heard the rogue shipmaster has…exotic tastes." His lower mandibles tucked in with something like disgust before he made his exit.

Emilee noticeably bristled, her shoulders going rigid. Sheila held her back with one quick hand when she made a move to pursue him. "Calm down Em. We will get through this, don't let him goad you."

"I apologize, he is not good with…talking." Nico explained with a sincerity that surprised her. Like Palo, this sangheili was not brutish, but rather very cordial. Sheila found his presence refreshing, and it wasn't just the way he held himself, but the genuineness of his words.

"Nope." A high pitched voice chirped. "He's mostly good at making sour faces and kicking everybody around. You know, the guys who can feel it the most…yeah our guys."

The unggoy had finally spoken up, and they all stared, even Emilee looking intrigued by his presence. Sheila wondered faintly when he had come aboard. Was it during the earlier chaos? Or had he been staying with them all this time, out of sight?

"That is awful." Emilee said, clicking her tongue. She smiled down at the unngoy. "My name is Emilee, this is my friend Sheila, and Doctor Peters. What is your name?"

"You are polite, thank you." The unngoy said agreeably." I am Tulip."

"Tulip?" Emilee's lips quirked into a smile, and Sheila couldn't help but turn up her own lips.

"Yup." The unngoy said. "Mother said it means 'brave watcher' though I'm not sure what's so brave about someone who just watches stuff. Ah well."

"On our planet, it's the name of a flower." Emilee said. "It's a very popular flower." She said quickly, realizing that maybe he would find it insulting to be named for something decidedly feminine in their culture.

The unngoy didn't seem disappointed by this information, merely excited that his name could be translated to mean something entirely different than what he knew. "Is it a strong stalky flower? Like really tall?" His voice rose in volume, almost hopeful.

"Enough Tulip." Nico chuckled. "Now, you two should be going." His face turned serious with his words. "I'm sure you are eager for action. Your commander awaits, I'm confident we may be able to act before this escalates further out of control."

"A voice of reason." Emilee said with a sigh. "Finally. Will the Swords be sending more men to help us? I don't care if you're aliens, just as long as you can help, and not be assholes about it."

Sheila sighed but was not surprised at Emilee's brassiness. She was upset, and she was not good with holding back her emotions, especially the fiery ones.

"The Arbiter has been contacted, and if he is willing, I see that as being a realistic prospect." Nico said. "He may even take personal interest. He has conveyed that much to me."

"You've spoken with him?" Sheila voiced her surprise. The Arbiter was famous. He had helped humanity with many battles, including the one that ended the war that had almost destroyed her whole race, and very speck of sentient life. Of course, he had also admitted to being responsible for billions of human deaths, but Sheila liked to believe in redemption. All she had now was hope, and if he could help them save Nina and Nancy, Sheila would put all her hopes on him.

"I am one of his messengers, if you will." Nico said proudly. "My family recently had a hand in large-scale trades with the Vadam clan. We have a strong relationship, and the Arbiter has much respect now for merchant clans like my own."

"So you sell things?" Sheila asked. "What sorts?"

"We can talk while we walk." Nico said. "I cannot waste much more of your or my own time, with respect, I am expected to send communication soon, and we must meet with your commander before the fact."

"You can ask anything you like about me." Tulip chattered. "I am an open book. Many pages. Oldest of nineteen brothers. Means I'm preeetty smart."

Sheila enjoyed the unngoy's personable nature, there was something innocent with how he carried himself, and Nico was gentlemanly, reminding her of Palo's more refined personality. Palo…she wondered if he had a part in all this. Surely they had gathered all the sangheili members on board and had questioned them…

She realized her concerns could be seen as almost racist, but she could not help her suspicion and her fear. An alien had cornered her in the elevator, boasting aggressively, and now a crew of sangheili had kidnapped Nina and Nancy, and stolen something of apparent vast importance to the UNSC and Oni…

Surely they could find a way to work together to fix all this. That was the best Sheila could hope for. She nodded to Emilee and turned to Doctor Peters.

"We'll keep you updated." She told him, and then looked to Nico. "Lead the way."

00oo00oo00oo00

Nina didn't know where he was going with this, but she had been ordered onto the bed again, and Nancy was made to stand to the side, casting a horrified look at Nina. She knew her expression was just as bleak, and Nina was certain that he was going to force himself on her in front of the other girl, possibly make her watch them. She shared a glance with Nancy who was still trembling where she stood, her hands knotted together in front of her, betraying the tremor of fear.

Voss was removing the last of his armor, dropping it to the floor with a hard clang. His alien body was sleek and powerful, cords of muscles tensing with each slight movement, his tall alien torso baring powerful abdominals. Nina tasted something sour on her tongue when she remembered how he felt under her hands, the catch of her nails on pebbled skin, and his hot breaths scattering beads of moisture across her flesh.

Nina reacted to his approach by kneading her fingers desperately into the cloth at her side, scooting back a bit until her back was flush with the wall. She was trying to remain calm in front of Nancy, but it was difficult, especially when she realized what was soon about to occur. She could see the lust in the shine of his alien eyes, in the way he swaggered forward, a wide line at his groin already betraying his intentions.

"I have something special in mind." He told them, hesitating at the end of the bed, leaning back on one of his legs, neck curving like a snake to regard them with a passion in his eyes that had Nina's heart racing again. "You work well in teams, I expect?"

"Just get to the point." Nina snapped, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her unease at the situation.

"Maybe it will be easier to simply show you." He said with a smug confidence that only made the women feel more fearful of what was to become. There was nowhere to go, they were completely at his mercy.

Nina drew in a quick breath, almost choking on it, as he began to crawl over the bed, his weight displacing her in a gently rocking motion as he moved towards her.

Soon she was looking up into his smoldering gaze, trapped in the heat of his eyes and that which radiated from his presence. Unlike reptiles she knew from her time on Earth, he was not cold-blooded, but warm, almost hot to the touch at spots. Nina had learned this from earlier, when they had lain together, and she had acted quite the whore for him.

She had never felt more shame in all her life, and prayed that this nightmare would end sooner than later. For now though, she had to survive, both she and Nancy. It was her fault that the other woman was trapped in this predicament. Nina had not thought about how this would affect Nancy, and the end result of her attempting to understand for herself, Nina's willingness to leave them all behind…had ended up with her being taken too.

She couldn't turn back time, but she could try her best to ensure their survival so that one day they could both return home, and send these bastards to their makers in the flames of their own ship.

His fingers sweep down her neck again and Nina's eyes shoot back to his own hot gaze. His mandibles sifted open and closed with each breath, and the woman recoiled as he exhaled, sending a bitter scent to her nostrils.

"Strip for me Nina." He ordered.

Nina hesitated, pulling her shirt over her head slowly. Once it was off, she pressed the bundle against her clavicle, looking back to the sangheili again who merely chuckled.

"If I have to remove them, you will not have them again. I will tear them from your body, and you will have to exist as you are…naturally." His voice was a dark promise and Nina needed no further prompting, as the thought of constantly being naked for them to devour with their eyes, made her feel physically ill.

Nina tossed away the rest of her fabrics until she was but as she was, naturally. Nude and vulnerable to the world. To him.

She crossed her arms over the swell of her breasts, glancing to see how Nancy was fairing. The girl was keeping her eyes down, but Nina could see the quiver of her lips and the moisture on her cheeks.

"It's okay Nancy." Nina spoke up, and Nancy turned her blue gaze onto her before her cheeks flushed, and the girl quickly looked away again. Nina hoped she wasn't as innocent as she seemed. She didn't want this ordeal to change her, to scar her totally.

"Chin up Nancy." Nina said with a fierceness that surprised even her. "It's alright."

Nancy kept her eyes up then, blinking away tears as quickly as they came. The girl nodded slowly, like a broken doll, in return. There was this hollowness in her deep blue eyes that scared Nina. What if by the time rescue came, it was too late? What if this experience broke her completely?

"Now, let us begin." Voss said suddenly, and Nina faced him again, swallowing back her fear. "You will start."

"What do you want me to do?" Nina asked coldly.

The sangheili wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him until she was flush with his hot body, her cheek forced against his chest. She could smell his leathery scent then, almost taste him on her lips, and fought back the urge to push him away. Instead, Nina tried to clear her mind, tried to keep calm, even as she felt the hand at her back begin to slip long fingers down her spine towards her bottom.

His hand did not stop, and as his grasp slackened at his other hand, Nina couldn't help but lean back away from him, though his hand was now firmly gripping her at the buttocks, trapping her.

Thankfully he paused in his reaching motions, but Nina's relief was short lived as she suddenly felt a presence slip between her legs. One of his longer fingers had managed to curl under thigh and was stroking her at a place that made her want to scream with the shame of it.

Nina bit back a cry as that digit began to prod at her sex, his other long finger grasping her thigh, sweeping the sharp tip of it against the soft flesh there.

He stopped then, but kept it there, and she could only breathe deeply, trying her best to ignore the sensations he was awakening at her core, Nina hating her body for wanting him. Unable to deny her body's reaction to the proximity of his finger at her entrance.

"Touch me Nina." He commanded huskily, his other hand moving to pet at her neck, sifting through the locks of her hair that had swept wildly past one ear. "I will allow you control, you may pleasure me."

All Nina wanted to do was claw his eyes out and run out into the hall, to somewhere else other than here, but she could but relent to his demands. There was nowhere to go, as he had said earlier, this was his realm, and there would only be one way out, and she refused to die yet. Surely they could hold on long enough for rescue?

Nina felt him prod her again, and took that to mean she was expected to act, so the woman reached out with her hands and touched him. She cleared her mind, quieted the screams within her, and tried to remember how she touched a lover, how she teased them like they weren't an enemy…

She allowed her fingers to play across the bulk of his abdominals, and to sweep down, down, to the apex of his pelvis. Nina leaned forward just as she felt him release her, remove his finger from her entirely, leaving her unmolested once again.

Nina continued, feeling more comfortable with her actions, and her fingers traveled lower, moving towards the growing bulge of the maleness between his legs.

"Wait." He suddenly ordered, and Nina looked up at him confused. She made to move back, to remove her hands, but he pressed her back to his groin.

"Wait." He said again, with a firmness in his tone that allowed no refusal.

Nina obeyed, silently watching him, suddenly aware of the turn in his posture, and the way his eyes switched to the third person in the room.

"Nancy." His voice rumbled warmly, and Nina saw the other woman twitch at the sound of her name, casting a doe eyed look at their captor. What did he want of her? Nina squared her jaw as she watched his eyes roll over Nancy. "Come here."

"I can—. " Nina started.

"You can, and will be, silent." His voice fell over her like a cold curtain, sharp, sobering. "I was not speaking to you."

"Okay!" Nancy said loudly, her voice cracking. She stood up on her toes and began to crawl across the bed.

"Here." Voss said, turning his shoulder, opening up room for Nancy to sit at his side. "You are less experienced than Nina, you will watch us."

Nina stared at him in disbelief and disgust. He was going to have her tutor Nancy, train her a whore to please him. She wouldn't do it…

"Please." Nina tried again. "Don't make her do this…you can have me. I'm enough."

His gaze found her again, and she could see something like disappointment in his expression. He snorted loudly. "Are you? You seem to have lost much of your spirit. Nothing would pleasure me more than employing the services of two females, more so than the weak attempts of you alone."

"I'm enough!" Nina almost shouted, and sought to gain control of her rising hysteria. "Please." She tried again, in a tamer tone, hating herself or how meek her voice sounded. "Let me do it, you don't need her."

"What use is she then?" Voss asked, almost growling. "But a leash for you then? Is that what you propose?" He laughed then, an unpleasant almost mocking sound. "Perhaps I will let my crew have her instead."

"No!" Nancy's voice erupted in a shrill cry, and they both looked to her in surprise. The woman's face was pinched, pale, and tear stained. Nancy gasped out a short exhale, and drew breath quickly. "I will do as you say, what you wish." She turned to lock eyes with Nina, who was surprised at the intensity of her gaze. "I am not afraid."

Nina could believe that now, in the severity of the other woman's expression. All now that betrayed her fear was the tremor of her lips, and the tears yet to spill down the girl's face.

"She speaks." Voss's seemed pleased by this, and reached out to pull Nancy gently the rest of the way forward, her knees slipping across the material of the bed. "Now, you will follow Nina's lead. She is talented." The look he cast at Nina made her feel ill with the sinful suggestiveness of it.

She could do nothing but continue here, on this stage where she was but an actress at his whim. Nina did not know how genuine her expression was, surely it could be nothing but a blaze of discontentment. Damn him and his games. Nina could tear into her own skin with clawing fingers, rake at the fool of a woman who had surrendered so easily into a stranger's lap.

Her mind flashed back in time. Thoughts of booze, smokes, lights blinding. Rebelling against the rules, the law, and any ideas of common decency. Rolling around on another stranger's bed, his floor, pushing aside to make room for their contorting impassioned forms on the rug in his parent's room.

This alien was right. She was nothing but a whore. She had screwed herself into this hole, now she had to lay in it. Allow him to bury her in his suffocating hold, wrapped in the death shroud of his embrace.

So she began.

00oo00oo00oo00

Nina gasped as she was forced on her belly. Fortunately, he had ordered Nancy off the bed, to watch them together. His hot breath made her hair stand up on end as he craned his neck over her, covering her in the warm shadow of his body.

Mandibles swept over the back of her neck, and she tried to calm her thundering heart as she felt the wet catch of his teeth lightly against her skin. Nina imagined him biting down, severing her head from her shoulders. The vision had her shuddering.

"There is nothing to fear." Voss breathed into her ear, her hair fanning over one cheek with the gust of hot air. "I will not mar you, but taste you."

Nina exhaled sharply as she felt his mandibles part slightly, and the points of his teeth draw over her skin. She couldn't hold back a whimper as she felt him drag over the bone at her neck. Panic took further control when she felt his jaws expand again. She felt ready to scream, but was too afraid to, as his jaws began to slip closed around her neck.

It was a loose grip, but she could feel the jagged point of one of his fangs touch the edge of her jawline, one sweeping dangerously close to her chin. He had caged her neck in his mandibles, wholly. Nina could only hope he was careful about whatever he had planned.

His intention was made apparent when she suddenly felt it, moving against the back of her neck like some lecherous slug. His tongue. Sangheili did have tongues, she remembered now. They kept them deep in their maws, so that was why he had to push her into his mouth, so he could do…this.

The hot wet organ lapped against the back of her neck, long enough that it curled over the turn of her shoulder. His breath gusted over her again, sending her hair prickling up on her arms at the closeness of him. Nina didn't dare move, much too afraid of the jagged teeth at her neck.

His tongue continued to curl and press against her skin, tasting her, sending chills down her spine at the heat of him in the coolness of the room. Nina felt him pause, and widen his jaws as he began to reposition himself above her.

He pulled back completely a moment later, but her relief was short lived as he crawled over her, moving to haul her up with one hand until she was on her hands and knees.

Once more she felt him settle his weight over her, and she sank a bit as his hands pushed forward, and she drew in breath quickly as she felt his skin brush her bare rump.

Soon enough she could sense him behind her, feel his intrusion as the point of him began to push forward. Nina couldn't help gasping softly as he entered her. He was sleek, and hot, and she could feel each ring of his cock brush up against her folds as he advanced.

Nina couldn't keep her body from reacting to him, and her heart began to pulse in time to her breaths as she was stretched around his thickness.

Soon he was fully unsheathed, and Nina felt as if she was pinned to him from all sides, his arms closing her in as well as the rest of him. He hesitated only a moment before he began to thrust, and Nina was taken surprise by the sudden urgency of him.

He slipped in and out her hotly, pulling out with more restraint than he had pushing forward. He easily disturbed her with each movement of his body, keeping her still only by the weight of him, framed in the crook of his shoulders.

Soon Nina was gasping and grunting with each thrust, unable to deny her body was reacting as it should to such powerful stimuli. She closed her eyes and could imagine him as another lover, albeit one with a much more apparent maleness, seizing and spasming over his member as he drove her forward to orgasm, and to his own climax.

"Fuck." Nina gasped as he slammed forward again, sending stars dancing in her vision. Her ears were full with the pounding of her heart, her breath freed in desperate quick pants that did little to restore much air.

Voss grunted against as he sped up within her, his thick body pushing her down more as he leaned forward with his weight, his clawed hands curling against the mattress as he continued to ride her.

"Come for me you little whore." He growled in her ear, and to her shame, she was unable to halt the course of it all. He would get what he wanted, and she could not deny him it, or herself.

Nina orgasmed with a shrill cry, pleasure bursting free from within her in white waves, her body contorting hard against the ebbing swell of him.

It didn't take long for her partner to thicken and contort within her in one final stroke of his sex, his hot seed shooting into her hard. Nina fell forward onto the bed, her breath coming out in wet gasps, hair sticking to her face by the perspiration making her feel sticky and disgusting, even more so when she felt him draw back, the remnant of his ejaculate slipping down her ass and the back of her legs.

She did not resist as he rolled her onto her back, and bent over her, his cock still leaking his spent seed across her naval as he regarded her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't read. Nina was still too lost in the fog of her orgasm, and did not resist as he lowered himself over her, brushing long fingers through the valley of her breasts.

"Nina." He growled. "Take air quickly, I am not done with you."

Nina did as he told her, knowing full well his plans for her in the glow of his alien eyes and the possessive grasp of his hands falling to her waist, squeezing and rolling over her smooth skin.

He moved again, forcing her hips up hard with two hands, and her eyes widened, lips peeling back in a sharp cry as he entered her immediately again.

Smut, I delivered. Sorry it took so long guys, I also added some new characters! Whoop. We have an unggoy character now, which I'm excited about that, especially because they are surprisingly fun to write about. I hope you guys enjoyed, I tried to add more length to this chapter for the long wait.

Leave a review and tell me how I did. Positive feedback is encouraging, but please let me know if I missed any edits. You guys have a very Merry Christmas, and stay safe. :3

Until next time…