Drelix

Station X42 is a broken-down hulk of a place. Ancestors know when it was built, but the mere fact it hasn't broken apart has to be down to luck rather than judgement. Regardless, it's a bustling station hub filled with the dregs of the universe. And now a Sarkarnii warrior.

The administrator of the station did not sound keen to let me in, but when I flashed the credits, he readily and greedily agreed I could have one nova-day to complete my business.

I open up my gyik flyer to a scent I find familiar and enticing, the notes of it high above the stench of too many bodies crammed into a place with not enough oxygen scrubbers. I shake my head and let rip with some flame to clear it.

No distractions. I've not had any for all the time in the Kirakos and beyond. Once I've tracked down the quantum booster, I can seek out the information on the Habosu I need. It won't be difficult to carve out the time before I have to get the weapons to Draco and the Golden Orion.

My feet stick to the metal gangway as I make my way into the spaceport. The entire place is a death trap. The port itself leads out, through the customs area, into what appears to be a market dome. It's well-patched, most of what would have been a view of the stars now obscured by metal. So far, so unpleasant.

It's then there is the unmistakable sound of a disruptor discharging. I immediately look for the dome because if it is breached, we're all going to be sucked into space.

And freezing in zero atmosphere plays havoc with my scales.

Fortunately, other than every species in the place dropping to the floor, nothing happens to the structure.

The only creatures not dropping? A pair of Habosu and something small which is racing to the port.

Her scent hits me again, and my body goes into motion as the disruptor wave hits her. She's fired into the air, breaching the barriers to the port and catching on the limited gravity cushion used to keep the ships afloat. I shift easily into my usual Sarkarnii form, reaching out a wing to catch her before scooping her into a clawed foot.

It is a human female. She sees me, sees my shifted form, and terror crosses her face. The smell of her blood hits me like a pulsar bolt between the eyes.

Nev it to the ancestors!

I release a sheet of flame at the Habosu, stopping them in their tracks as what remains of the station force releases a couple of half-hearted pulsar bolts which simply ricochet off my hide and disappear harmlessly elsewhere.

The female's eyes close and she goes completely, utterly limp in my grip.

"Sarkarnii!" The voice of the station administrator. "This was not our agreement. I expect you to vacate the station immediately."

Another cohort of guards appears, this time with pulsar cannon in hand.

A different situation altogether. I don't want a cannon injury. Not only do those hurt like a nevver, but I'll take too long to heal. I'd much prefer to get to the Habosu, as well as obtain the weapon we came for, but it can wait. I've been patient this long after all.

"As you wish," I reply, my wing beats slowing as I retreat back to my flyer, female still unconscious in my grip.

This is an annoyance, nothing more. I place the female in the cockpit and return to my biped form. Behind me, I hear the disruptor discharge again, which means I activate the comm line to the administrator.

"If you want your astro-hole of a space station to remain intact and not damaged by Sarkarnii who can survive in the vacuum of space, I suggest you deal with the idiots holding the pulsar disruptor before I do."

The comm crackles and a pulsar cannon booms. I don't stop to check but I hope all that's left of the two Habosu is red and green mist as the cockpit door closes and I pilot the flyer out of the spaceport and down to the lush moon below us.

What I need is some time to determine my next course of action, if the station is out of bounds. Although nothing as decrepit as Station X42 is ever going to be completely out of bounds, even if I have plenty of credits.

In the seat next to me, the female groans, her head rolling, her eyes opening.

Such beautiful eyes, sparkling like jewels, deep green which contrasts with the fiery nature of her long hair.

Hair I'd love to have wrapped around my hand as I sink my cock deep into her. The nevving thing is even pushing at my pouch in a bid to be free.

What the nev is going on? I don't rut. I'm not in rut for this tiny human female. It's not possible. I do not have the time, no matter how deliciously fragrant she is. I growl out loud and her eyes fly open.

She's out of the seat before I can do anything, collapsing on the floor and crawling away as fast as she can go, whimpering in agony as she does and leaving a red streak of blood behind her.

"Nev!" I'm about to leave the controls when the pulsar bolt slams into the flyer, and we go into a flat spin.

Fortunately for the female, she's managed to wedge herself under one of the storage cabinets, and it takes all I have to pull the flyer back into some semblance of a straight line. My console is lit up with too many warning lights.

"Hold on," I call back at the female. "This is going to be a rough landing."