CaressoftheStars Page 7

  Yaedo's mental voice was almost as devastating as his audible one. Will you help us keep our promise to transform those who are willing?

  Of course. I am moving the planet back to its original placement. Shielding will be obtained to stop further interference from the natural world in the future. The satellites will be set to welcome newcomers to the area. When the planet is back in its heading, it will appear on scans once again.

  Huana tried not to laugh at the picture that she and Yaedo must have been presenting, frozen together, glowing like a new candle in the darkness.

  Huana asked her star the question that had been burning in her mind. I am glad that you are happy with the find. What will you do with your new people?

  I will take them as mine and make them into prime Hashka.

  Like you did with my people?

  Your people would not return to their own kind and could not survive here. You know it. You remember it.

  Yaedo was paying attention and she felt his calming touch on her mind when their star raised her ire.

  She sighed mentally, accepting the caress of her mate. I know it. It was a frightening time and I am glad you have blunted the memory.

  Dekkar caressed her mind in the same manner as Yaedo. Her star was fixated on his first planet, but he was a quick study. You kept them in control, Huana. You can lead this next generation through the process. Everything is still coded to your palm and voice print. It is why you were never altered.

  In the physical world, Huana unlocked her legs from the base of Yaedo's spine and lowered herself to the ground.

  She knelt and looked at the world being bound in rings of energy and watched the moon get smaller as Dekkar hauled the planet back into position. Planets moved in space, it was a fact, but changing location and seeing it with her own eyes was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

  "You see it, too." Yaedo knelt at her side, as naked as she was. Together, they watched the world of H'skar come back into Dekkar's control.

  "I do. Too bad the colonists don't have your stamina. They are all tuckered out." She smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her warm.

  The humans and others were all lying in exhausted heaps. Some were in twos, others in threes and more. It was quite the debauched image and Huana knew it would remain in her mind for a very long time.

  "You did an excellent job in bringing us here, Huana. You know that, don't you?"

  She exhaled slowly. "I know it and to see the world dead and dying, I am sure that I have done the right thing. Having you at my side has made it easier."

  She looked up when he didn't respond. He was staring at her with the flickering intensity of Dekkar behind his eyes. "I am for you, Huana. I have always been for you. Dekkar has explained why he waited to bring you back. It wasn't that he wanted to keep you for himself. He wanted you to be happy. It is quite the burden that he has passed on to me, but I am happy to have it."

  He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a slow kiss on her skin that rippled through her entire being. A warmth that had nothing to do with the radiating energy of the star burned through her and she began to believe that one day, she might just be happy instead of simply content with her place in the worlds.

  "I think it is time to get up, Yaedo. The natives are stirring." Huana was sitting in his lap and enjoying the dawn while feeling the happy presence of Dekkar within her.

  He grunted and shifted, moving until he was standing with her in his arms. "Let's find you some more appropriate clothing."

  "I will tell you where to go." She snuggled deeply into his embrace and enjoyed the sensation of being carried.

  "Into the facility and to the left. You will have to bend your knees a little so that I can reach the scanner pad."

  Her hair was tangled and matted by the wind, but when Yaedo gave her a smouldering gaze, she felt lovely. As she struck the access panel and the door allowed them into the staff segment of the facility, she blushed under the artificial lighting. "Stop staring, Yaedo."

  "You are truly an exceptional woman."

  "That is just Dekkar tinkering with your emotions. Although he waited until there was a man who would be my perfect mate, I think some of his own impulses are leaking into your consciousness."

  He chuckled and lifted her. "He feels more of a paternal affection for you. I assure you that that is not my current inclination."

  Her blush heated her entire torso as they entered the depths of the facility. "To the left again. There are lodgings and clothing storage. Since the facility had power, I believe that there should still be uniforms available."

  His sigh almost parted her hair. "No more skirts for you?"

  She laughed. "Not until this job is complete. All who wish for a change will get one. They will need help moving between the machines. That means I will need something a little more practical."

  "Practical is not a word I ever thought I would consider as a distasteful thing, but I am beginning to change my mind."

  Huana's giggle ran through the facility, echoing through the halls and waking the computers and equipment. She directed him to the staff quarters and squirmed out of his arms to take a shower. The shower was segregated with a chromosome screen and he was left to scowl at her while she soaped up, rinsed off and then soaped up again, just for fun.

  Giggling, she finished her shower and used the air column to dry off. Her hair was back to snow white and smooth as silk when she was finished.

  She carefully exited the women's showers and looked for Yaedo. He was nowhere to be found, so she crept to the clothing dispenser and dialled up a coverall. With the pack under her arm, she went and peered into the men's showers.

  As if he was waiting for her, Yaedo slowly turned and ran his hands over his body in a cruel mimicry of her earlier performance. When he started to stroke his cock in slow motions, his hands slick with soap, Huana bit her lip and quickly put her clothing on before she could do anything stupid.

  Yaedo continued to massage his cock until an arc of cream spewed forth, then he turned, rinsed off and walked to the dryer.

  Muttering about the burdens of duty, she dialled up a coverall for him, taking his height and the tempting breadth of his shoulders into consideration.

  When the whisper of the gender screen alerted her to his presence, she turned and smacked him in the chest with the package. "Here, get dressed. We need to get the folks into processing."

  "You make the transformation sound so clinical. It's a miracle of creation."

  She shook her head as he pulled the coverall over his thighs. "Not creation, alteration. The stars have never claimed to do more than design our species. We need to get to the main area before the colonists freak out."

  "Can't they just follow us?"

  "Nope. The door closed the moment we passed through it. Unless they were behind us, they wouldn't even have seen it."

  He grumbled. "So we are going to spend our time fully clothed?"

  "Until we have some time to spare…yes. After the changes are done, I am all yours. We can have naked day for an entire week if you can find someone to bring us food." She reached behind her and started braiding her hair.

  His laughter as he caught her around the waist and swung her into the air surprised her. "Done and done."

  She squealed and shrieked as he spun her around before setting her back on her feet. "Nutcase. Come here, you need to get the access pass to the facility or I will be the only one who can lead folks under."

  "Under?"

  "That is what we called it. Under." She cleared her throat and went to the entry pad on one side of the door to the upper facility.

  She pressed her palm to the pad and spoke. "Clearance addition for all levels requested."

  A female voice came through the speaker. "Palm print identified. Please submit the personnel for clearance."

  Huana grabbed Yaedo's hand and pressed it to the plate.

  "New personnel, please state your name and select a code for entry t
o the labs."

  "Yaedo Venthil. Code Helena One."

  "Code accepted. Investigator Marsh, please complete authorization."

  Huana took Yaedo's place and pressed her palm again, "Clearance code Dacca Morning Escape."

  The computer was silent for a moment. "New personnel confirmed. Welcome home, Investigator Marsh."

  "Thank you, Roxanne. It's good to be back."

  The door to above slid back as Yaedo touched it and he grinned as the computer obeyed his command.

  A colony of new, confused people were above and they were about to change everything that they had thought they knew about the Hashka. Huana was getting a headache just thinking about it, but she forged ahead, her mate at her side. Together, there was nothing that they couldn't forge through, even if they had to cheat.

  Epilogue

  "So, ladies, when you go into heat, you will become very sensitive to sound. The right male will arouse you simply by reading a grocery list." Huana was working on female orientation of the final batch of new Hashka.

  One of the women looked up, her earnest face and blank aspect typical of the newly transformed. Their previous lives were hazy memories and might never return.

  "Yes, Nora?"

  "How do we know which male is having the effect if they are all in a group?"

  Huana smiled. "You will know. He will be attracted to you by your scent. You need only stay in the vicinity long enough for your scent to catch and then you will walk away. The males that follow you will be the best candidates for you. The man with the voice that makes your knees weak will be the man to allow close to you. If you have a doubt, come to Yaedo or myself and we will consult Dekkar. He is very good at finding perfect matches, even if it takes a while."

  Another woman raised her hand.

  "Yes, Hanna?"

  "What if our match is not here?"

  "Dekkar is making arrangements for H'skar to be included on a trade route. There is nothing wrong with leaving your home in search of a mate, as long as you have the option of finding your way back if you wish it."

  Huana rubbed the back of her neck. Rain was falling in slow, fat drops outside and a planting season was already underway. H'skar was on its way back to life and the population had gone from pleasure seekers to a consolidated group of Hashka who wanted their planet to thrive.

  "If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask, but for tonight, go to the women's quarters and think about what trade you want to study next. You have a world full of possibilities at your fingertips. Choose something that appeals to you. No decision is set in stone. You can change occupations until you find something that fits." She grinned, "Now go have dinner. I can hear your stomachs from here."

  The women got up, their blue skin gleaming in the light of early evening. The women giggled and passed Yaedo where he was loitering in the doorway.

  Huana picked up the data pads and styluses, putting them into the storage bins. "Your class is prepared?"

  "As prepared as they can be after becoming a new species."

  She snorted and turned, only to find him smack against her. "Hello."

  "Hello, honey. How was your day?" His hands skimmed up to her neck and he started a slow massage, watching her face for indicators as to pressure.

  "Long. What is on for dinner? We should get going if we don't want to be last in line."

  Communal feeding had been instituted when the majority of the new Hashka forgot how to cook. The few who had the skill had been pressed into service.

  "You don't need to worry about that. We have a special meal planned." He lifted her in his arms and carried her out of the workshop and into the halls. Women and men alike smiled at them as he swept through the common areas and into the security space where Yaedo and Huana kept their quarters.

  "What kind of special meal?" She obligingly opened the door with her palm print and he continued on his determined path.

  Huana gasped to see their quarters. The bed was hung with panels of deep violet silk, synthetic candles burned in every corner and a small table had been set with one chair and enough food for two meals.

  "What is this?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "Our six-month anniversary as mates. Also…" His grin took on a mischievous intensity as he started to strip her out of her jumpsuit, a manoeuvre he was very good at considering all of his practice.

  "Also, what?"

  Stripped to the skin, she slowly turned so that he could view every inch of the body he knew so well. Dekkar had marked them both as high priests and emissaries, swirls and sparks covered her and her beloved Yaedo bore the echoes.

  He stripped his own jumpsuit off and approached her, running his hands over her curves. His touch heated her blood as it always did and the moment she was up on her toes trying to kiss him, he whispered, "The new Hashka are prepared, so my darling…it's naked day."

  Her shock was buried in his kiss, followed by a bubbling joy that would not be contained. As seeker, she had always found what she looked for, but having never dared to dream, she had never sought a man for herself.

  Fortunately, Huana was the beloved of a star and he had found her the man for her and that man had very talented hands.

  About the Author

  Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.

  Viola's fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.