15. Claire

CHAPTER 15

CLAIRE

I wake up slowly.

My entire body aches in the best way possible. I am deliciously sore. The sheets feel cool and nice, and I take a deep breath and stretch myself out.

The memories come rushing back to me. God, what a day. I can still feel Gromnyr's hands on me. His touch was heavenly.

I look around, but my orc is nowhere in sight. I'm all alone. He must be off doing captain things.

My stomach flutters as I think back to my ‘training'. Shall I get in trouble again, just to feel his touch? To be spanked, groped and used?

What's gotten into you, Claire?

Well, by my reckoning, about a gallon of fertile orc cum, if not more!

I laugh at my own crude joke. Even my inner-critic is smiling. All things considered, I haven't gotten it so bad. Still, I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Before I fall head over heels for this orc, I should figure out what kind of man he really is.

I drag my sore butt out of bed and head towards the computer in the back of the room. I turn on the terminal and access the database. The amount of data on here is astounding. I instantly find a treasure trove of info on pirate hideout's across the galaxy.

If the Federation got their hands on this info, it could deal a massive blow to pirate fleets all across the universe…

Can I do that to Gromnyr? Should I do that? I'm not sure.

This information is still in the back of my mind when I gain access to the on-board cameras. I switch around, looking for Gromnyr. I find him on the command deck, talking to some of his crew. I switch on the audio.

"They are ripe for the slaughter, my king! Say the word!"

The one speaking is a younger orc with a mohawk, the sides of his green head neatly shaven. His face is adorned with all sorts of piercing, and his voice is dripping with bloodlust.

"How many people on-board?" Gromnyr asks calmly.

"One hundred and twenty-seven, my captain."

"How many women and children?"

"Does it matter, Grom?" The mohawked orc grunts. "They are defenseless!"

"How. Many?" The captain growls.

The smaller guy scowls. "Sixty-nine women and thirty-seven children, my captain."

Gromnyr turns towards his crew. I can see he has their respect. They all look up to him. He's their natural leader. When he speaks, his voice is powerful and clear.

"Our prey is not a Federation warship, but a passenger liner. There is no honor or glory in slaughtering defenseless innocents. Our code demands we show mercy, and we will. We will board this vessel and take the tribute owed to us for passing through our territory, but no woman and no child will be harmed. Do not kill the men unless forced to. Do I make myself absolutely clear?

A chorus of affirmative grunts follows.

"Good. Let's go."

I'm surprised by Gromnyr's calm nature. This is not what the Federation news says orcs do. They say they slaughter freely, revel in blood, drown themselves in guts. An undefended passenger liner is like a feast to them.

But that's not what I'm seeing. These are not wild, savage brutes. They are pirates, sure, but with honor.

Have I been lied to?

My heart is pounding as I watch the raid live through the orc's feeds. Their sleek and agile fighter jets intercept the luxury passenger liner easily. I pray that no one does anything foolish.

Gromnyr is on the frontline, barking orders, and luckily the liner's guards don't dare to defy him. The orc raiders return an hour later, their coffers filled with riches and fresh food, without a drop of blood being spilled.

I have spent that time browsing the orc database, reading all that I can about orc history, their exploits, and their fight with the Federation. The accounts I find shock me.

The story that all humans have been told is that orcs are simply monsters from the deep, dark reaches of space. Wild and savage beasts who simply appeared one day in their rickety ships, come to pillage our lands. They are a scourge meant to be eradicated.

But what I read is an entirely different story.

According to the books I find it was the Federation who made first contact with the orcs, over a century ago! They gave the orcs weapons, ships and technology, and used them as expandable shock-troops to fight their wars on the fringes of the universe.

This way, no humans died, and they didn't have to answer any difficult questions from grieving mothers. Until the orcs became too damn good at fighting, and the Federation, fearing the monster they created, tried to wipe them from the face of the universe… by blowing up their homeworld.

The Federation nearly succeeded in their plan to eradicate all orcs. Only a couple thousand of orcs survived this planned genocide, and it was these orcs who turned to piracy to survive.

I sit back in my chair, my brain buzzing with all this new information. If even a glimmer of this story is true, then everything I've been told by the Federation has been a lie.

What else have they been lying about?

On the camera feed, I watch the pirate king's vessel approach the mothership, and my stomach flutters. I cannot wait to see Gromnyr again. I want to talk about all of this with him, but even more than that…

I want him to punish me.

I don't know why, but when he had me tied up and was using me as he saw fit, I just felt so alive, so relieved, so at peace. It was perfect. And with all the anxiety running through my mind with all this shocking new information, I really need some of that peace.

Before I can stop myself my hand moves across the keyboard. I send an alert to the Federation with the location of Gromnyr's vessel — sloppily enough that even the most boneheaded orc engineer could pick up on it, and vague enough that no orc is ever in any real danger.

But just bad enough to earn me a punishment.

As I watch the SENT signal, my heart hammers in my throat.

Claire, what have you done?