5.1 Missing You

Missy was surprised at how well she was holding up. During her first day at the Academy, on her first jog, she had collapsed in a heap after three minutes of steady running. Now here she was, on an uneven and dark jungle floor, and she'd been jogging for an hour. She wasn't even the most out of breath of her teammates; Aimee was huffing and puffing just ahead of her.

It's because of how resolved I am to save Preston and my squaddies, she thought valiantly, but in reality it was probably more due to the fact that Captain Appet had pushed her as hard as she did. It had only been five months, but Missy thought of herself as an entirely different person now. The type of person who would risk everything to save the people she cared about.

Jackson drew up to a halt in front of them, reading a small screen in his hand, and the squadmates slowed to a walk, catching their breath. Missy glanced around to confirm they were all there, Jackson, Aimee, Li and herself.

"The beacons are saying they're just a km or so away," he whispered, "we try to be quiet from here."

"If they have guards watching what do we do?" Missy whispered back, "Terrans have always outfought Orbitans when we've engaged in firefights."

"The drones have been able to catch Terrans by surprise on every planetary run. They haven't ever had lookouts before, they won't now."

"They've never taken Orbitans prisoner before either," Li muttered.

It only took a few minutes of walking before the Terran village came into view. Large buildings, all rough tan stone and wood, sat in a ring around a clearing. Most of the windows were dark, but there were lights flickering in a few, similar to torchlight but in different colors.

"No lookouts," Jackson said quietly.

"Can you get a close enough signal to see which building they're in?" Missy asked. Jackson looked at the screen, then pointed.

"Second floor. All together," he replied, "Alex was separate from them for a little while, but she's back with the others now.

"You don't think they're being tortured do you?" Li asked, "taken out one at a time to pump for information?" Aimee smacked his head with a significant glance at Missy.

"Its alright," Missy watched the windows on the second floor steadily, "whether they're being tortured or not, were here to rescue them, so their suffering is over now. Let's move."

They broke from the treeline at a fast jog, staying quiet and low to the ground as they went. Missy kept a sweaty hand on the butt of her dart pistol, but the noise of weapons would instantly draw the whole of the village down on them. If she needed to fire it, chances were she would already be as good as dead. Even so, the weight of the weapon on her hip made Missy feel just a bit better as she flattened herself against the wall of the stone building. Jackson, Li, and Aimee moved along beside her as she slowly slid along the wall until she was next to the wooden entrance.

Missy's mouth was dry. It was an odd thing to notice at a time like this, but it was uncomfortable.

I don't know a thing about what's behind this door, Missy thought, silently lifting the beam that held it closed, I could be walking into a room full of Terrans right now. I could be seconds away from my death. She swung the heavy door open and slipped inside. Bare of decoration, huge and stone, the room was thankfully empty. Missy breathed a sigh of relief as her squadmates slipped in with her, observing the building's entrance hall. Doorways lined the walls, but there was only one stairway. Using Academy sign language, Missy indicated that the rest should follow her. The stairs were dark and quiet, and even though they were trying to move silently, the sounds of four footfalls echoed in the stairwell. Missy held up a hand to stop her squaddies when they reached the head of the stairs, and she peaked around the corner. Halfway down the hall, two guards flanked a large wooden double door.

"Two hostiles," she signed to the others, and then before she lost her nerve, before she gave herself the chance to chicken out or back down, she moved into the hall.

Even as she hurtled down the hallway Missy tried to keep her footfalls quiet. She drew her dart gun as she ran, hoping she wouldn't have to use it and alert anyone else. The hallway seemed to stretch out as she ran, it seemed like an eternity to close the distance between her and the guards, and every second she expected them to turn and raise an alarm. Clearly they hadn't been expecting any action at all, since they didn't notice her until she was almost on top of them. The closest guard only had time to open his mouth in surprise before the butt of her gun slammed into his cheekbone. Despite Missy's hope that her momentum would bring both guards down, the other was able to skip back to avoid the two bodies hitting the floor. He wasn't yelling for help, but he was muttering something under his breath, words that seemed to prickle on the inside of her ears without her being able to hear them at all. Missy watched in horror as his hand started to glow, but Li and Jackson both slammed into him before he could complete the action. He struggled, twisting his body to try to gain leverage, but Li wrapped an arm around his neck to lock him into a hold, and it only took a few seconds before the man slumped to the ground.

"Do either of them have a key?" Missy whispered. Aimee and Jackson searched the pair roughly, digging into pockets and the pouches at their waists. Aimee she shook her head, but she looked pale.

"Missy, that purple thing the general had, that looked like crystal...did it look like this?" The object that Aimee held up was almost an exact replica, in dark blue instead of purple. Missy wordlessly nodded.

"We can process what that means later," Jackson broke in, "right now we need to figure out how to get that door open quickly and above all, quietly."

"Typical Jackson behavior," Julia whispered from the doorway, causing the squaddies to collectively jump, "trying to come up with a complex plan without checking to see if the door is open."

***

Missy clung to Preston as if someone would try to tear them apart at any second as the squaddies discussed their options in quiet voices. He didn't seem to mind, keeping one arm firmly wrapped around her waist as well.

"So as long as we can make it to the ships, they can't stop us from leaving the planet?" he was saying.
"As far as we can figure, yes," Jackson nodded firmly, "as long as we're headed straight up towards the fog and they don't already have something in the air, we can get to the cloud cover, and they probably won't follow us through. We can even leave for the ships the same way we came, assuming there aren't any patrols around the village."

"We're not very helpful there," Alex commented, "I'm the only one who's been out of our cells, and I haven't seen much that would be helpful."

"Then we'll need to hope we get lucky," Jackson said decisively, "now, do we leave through the door or the window? We didn't run into anyone on the way up, but there's no guarantee we'll be as lucky going down."

"I won't be able to take the drop from the window," Tess said quietly, gesturing to her leg, "I re-broke it in the crash."

"Then we can-" Jackson began, when a voice from the other side of the door interrupted him.

"Tha? Kor? Where are you both? You'll catch hell if you're in there with the PRI" *prisoners, trainees* The words hit Missy's mind while seemingly skipping her ears, buzzing through her head and almost knocking her over. Missy cried out in shock and surprise, as did Jackson and Li. She covered her mouth but the damage had been done; the door opened and a burly man with bright blue hair looked inside. There was a split-second of hesitation before Aimee sprang forward to hit him with her gun, but it was enough time for him to pull his head back and slam the door in her face. The man spoke a muffled word, and the edges of the heavy wooden doors rippled, fusing together until the double doors became one single piece across the doorway. Aimee sprang back with a curse, and Missy gaped.

"They know magic?" she squeaked, as on the other side the man shouted for help, "the Terrans can do MAGIC?"

"Not important right now," Jackson moved quickly, picking up one of the furs from the beds nearby and wrapping his hand in it, "we need to start moving now. If we're lucky we can hit the forest before they catch sight of us." He smashed the window open with his fur covered arm, clearing away bits of glass until there was enough room to get through.

"It's going to be a really rough landing," Alex was already at the window, giving advice over her shoulder, "tuck and roll and hopefully we don't break anything-" she stopped, eyes wide in horror. Missy followed her gaze and came to the same realization. Tess won't be able to escape that way.

"It's alright," Tess said, her voice quiet but resolute, "I would slow you down anyways, you need to be quick now that they're after you."

"We can't just leave you here Tess," Missy protested, when suddenly the sound of bells, deep and loud, began echoing through the village.

"I'm sorry Tess," Alex's face was drawn and tight, "we'll try to come back for you."

"Don't," Tess said, "after the first rescue mission they'll be on the lookout for another. They'll kill you next time."

"We can't do this!" Missy said again, but even as she said it she knew it wasn't true. There was no way to get Tess to the ships, and trying would only force more of them to share her fate. Alex leapt from the window, and a few moments later Jackson followed her.

"Go Missy," Tess looked serene, her back straight, "Whatever they have waiting for me, I can handle it if it means the rest of you can escape." Marcus climbed to the window and jumped.

"I'm not going anywhere," Julia murmured, putting her arm around Tess. First Aimee, then Li jumped from the window, leaving only four of them left.

"Get the fuck out of here, even you Julia" Tess looked close to tears, but Julia turned resolutely to Missy and nodded. Eyes watering, Missy went to the window, pushing Preston up to the window first. With a final backward glance at the two girls standing alone in the large prison room, Missy jumped.

Even with the roll at the end, the pain blossoming in her shoulder told her she'd bruised something. Missy pushed it to the back of her mind as she looked around for her squaddies. Preston was at the forest's edge, beckoning to her, and she broke out into a full run after him. As soon as she hit the treeline a sudden green light burst on a tree nearby, lighting the the forest around her.

"They're on us!" Preston shouted, and the squaddies broke into a full run. It was dark and the ground was rough, but Missy kept up a pace she never would've been able to before. Mournful deep bells continued to ring from behind them as she reached for Preston and grabbed his hand. Her shoulder pounded with a dull ache as they ran together, sometimes dragging him, sometimes being pulled along as the terrain beneath their feet shifted. The air was lit with a shock of blue light, and a tree in front of them froze, it's swaying branches stilled and the leaves coating with a thin layer of ice. Missy risked a glance over her shoulder just in time to yank Preston down as a purple bolt flashed over his head. It hit the ground with a muffled thud, kicking up clods of dirt that drifted through the air in slow motion.

"Hold on! They're up ahead! They're cutting us off!" Alex's voice came from further ahead than Missy thought, and she started to slow. To her left, Alex ran past her, shrieking,

"It's a trick! That's not really me! Keep on straight!" Missy couldn't tell if any of her squadmates had fallen for the fake Alex voice, but she kept on forward, plowing into the darkness and bracing herself for a trap at the same time. A green flare shot above the treetops, hovering in place and casting an eerie light down on the forest. On the one hand, Missy was glad for the light; it let her see that all of the squaddies had kept on running straight. Aimee and Li were holding hands a little ways ahead of her, Alex, Jackson and Marcus had spread out and were weaving nimbly through the trees. On the other hand, if Missy could see them, the Terran's could as well. Her worries were confirmed when a spear of blue light arced through the air and buried into the ground a few inches from Alex.

If they can see us, I can see them, Missy reasoned. She let go of Preston's hand and spun, dropping to one knee and taking careful aim. For a horrifying moment she couldn't see anyone, but a Terran with blue hair moved into sight, and Missy fired. The gun-blast echoed through the trees, and the Terran grabbed at his chest where the dart had hit, barely able to grunt before the sedatives shot through his bloodstream and dropped him heavily onto the forest floor.

"They've got WE!" instruments to fight with, dangerous implements "get those lights out!" Missy was scrambling to her feet even as the Terrans shrieked their orders, helped by Preston yanking her along. The green light above them winked out, casting them in darkness again. Puffing a sigh of relief, Missy started running again. The shooting and response had taken only seconds to perform, but hopefully it would buy her and her squadmates some small amount of safety.

The Terrans started conserving their energy after that, because as the squaddies ran the bolts of light stopped. The crunch of many footfalls behind them kept them running, and every so often something silent and swift would fly past them close enough for them to hear the splintering of branches as it went. Missy's whole side throbbed from her shoulder onward, and she didn't know how long she'd been running. Shouldn't we have reached our ships by now? She thought suddenly, a knot of icy fear in her stomach. Against her will, images of what the Terrans would do to them if they caught up filled her mind. The prison hadn't looked that bad, but Missy had no clue what her squadmates had been through before they'd been rescued. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she clenched Preston's hand even tighter. At least, whatever happens, I'll be with him, she thought. A few seconds later the squaddies broke into the clearing where the four heavy cruisers had landed.

"Li and Aimee, far left," Jackson barked orders, and Missy was glad they wouldn't all inadvertently scramble for the same ships, "Missy and Preston, middle left, Marcus and Alex, far right."

It only took a few seconds for the squaddies to reach their ships, and the canopies were up and waiting. Missy began hitting switches before she had even settled into the double-wide seat, sending the engines spinning up into emergency activation sequences. It was horribly damaging on the engines, of course, but if this didn't qualify as an emergency Missy couldn't think what would. Preston settled next to her in the seat, hitting the button to close the canopy as he did so.

The low light of engines lit the clearing, revealing Terrans as they broke through the treeline to the clearing. Missy glanced at the takeoff prep counter, relieved to see it had hit zero. The heavy cruisers lifted from the ground, excruciatingly slow. Spells rained onto the ships, some of them knocking their targets and rattling the cruisers or pushing them backwards in the air, but most of the spells glanced off, sending shafts of green, blue, and purple light into the night sky. Missy's ship shuddered with the impact of a handful of them, and then they were away, blasting off into the sky as fast as the engines would take them.

"You'd think they didn't want us to leave or something," Preston grinned, and Missy elbowed him in the side.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," she panted, "we almost died!"

"Please, as if a measly village full of heartless killer magicians could stop my bad-ass girlfriend," Preston leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and Missy begrudgingly forgave him.

"I was just bored," she teased, "it's not like I'm into you or anything."

"Hmm that's too bad," Preston kept kissing her cheek, "because I'm kind of crazy about you."

Missy tried to think of a witty comeback, but settled for enjoying his kisses. The heavy cruiser entered the rolling green fog, and the fear that had gnawed in her stomach eased.

"This is Jackson, I made it through. Report squaddies," Jackson's voice crackled over the comms.

"Alex and Marcus here. They took out an engine, so we're limping, but we're safe and sound."

"Li and Squadpet, safely in the fog," Li's voice confirmed.

"I fuckin' hate that callsign," Aimee grumbled from the same channel.

"Preston and Missy, safely out," Preston responded, "you saved our asses out there guys. We can't thank you enough."

"No thanks required Preston. The A squad sticks together." There was a pregnant pause before Jackson continued, "I hope they'll be okay."

"The Terrans won't kill Tess and Julia," Alex transmitted over the comms, "I don't even think they'll torture them. They had some plan in mind for us, but even though I don't know what it was, I know it didn't involve hurting us."

"We have to come up with some way of rescuing them," Missy reached across Preston and transmitted, "we have to make sure they're safe."

"We need to make sure we're safe first, Missy. That's our top goal right now," Jackson replied evenly.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.

"General Auspus meant for us all to die down there," Missy explained, the flat edge returning to her voice when she thought of it. Normally she had to force herself to be aggressive and forceful, but when she thought of the General her emotions settled into a cold rage. She took Preston's hand and squeezed it hard as she continued, "He's to blame for all of this. Preston and I saw him using a purple crystal that covered him in sparks, and the Terran guards we knocked out were carrying the same crystals in blue. Whatever that was, he decided it was worth us dying for."

"I held on to one of them," Aimee interjected, "we can study it later if we have the time. If we can get somewhere safe..."

"I'll keep us safe from Auspus, at least for a while squaddies," Jackson responded confidently, "I have a plan. Just lock your ship navigations on me and set to autopilot, so we don't get separated in the fog."

Missy flicked on the autopilot and leaned back in the seat, closing her eyes but keeping Preston's hand held firmly in hers.

"God I missed you Preston," she breathed, and she smiled when she felt his breath against her neck as he moved closer to her on the seat.

"When I was down there, I wasn't half as scared about what would happen to me as I was that I'd never see you again," Preston's voice was soft, uncharacteristically gentle, and Missy looked at him with surprise.

"I don't know how I could keep going without you, Preston" she admitted.

"Um...you guys want to turn off the comms until we break the fog cover?" Marcus coughed awkwardly, and Missy blushed.

"Aw, I wanted to hear thi-" Li's complaint was cut short as Preston flicked the comms off.

"I'm sorry if that sounded a little clingy," Missy said hesitantly, "but it's the truth."

"I love you Melissa." Missy's heart leapt in her chest at the words. Preston was watching her expression, his face open and honest, and she could only open and shut her mouth wordlessly.

"I've never said that to a girl before, but it's something you should know," he continued, ignoring Missy's flushed, stunned face.

"Preston I...you...I love you too," Missy spluttered, before her stammering was silenced by Preston's lips. She surrendered to the kiss with a tiny murmur of enjoyment, letting him wrap his arms around her awkwardly as they sat next to each other on the double-wide seat of the cruiser. His fingers ran through her hair and massaged her scalp. Fingers still caressing her head, he broke the kiss, looking at her longingly.

"There's not enough room in this cockpit to have sex," Missy smiled, reading his intentions from his look.

"Unfortunately not," Preston agreed, "but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun." He suddenly moved back and pulled her gently by the neck, swinging her sideways. Missy squeaked, and ended up with her head laying on Preston's lap, her legs resting up against the cockpit windshield.

"And what exactly do you plan on doing with me like this?" Missy teased, "my head is facing the wrong direction." Preston chuckled and grabbed the sealing tab of her flightsuit, sliding it all the way down to her navel. Missy gasped at the cold air on her bare skin, but didn't complain. Preston slid the sides of the suit apart, exposing her small breasts to the cold. Her nipples hardened and she sucked in a breath. Smiling wickedly, he ran a finger around one of them, making her shiver and sending goosebumps along her arms.

"You're not usually so sensitive," Preston murmured, lightly pinching her pink nipple. Missy gasped, pushing her chest forward so he could have a better grasp.

"Well it's been a while," she murmured back.

"It's been barely a week," Preston chuckled, gently tugging at her nipple while his left hand traced meaningless symbols along her stomach.

"Maybe your magical member has turned me into a girl who needs it more than once a week," Missy joked, trying to take her mind off of the maddeningly slow tugging and pinching. It was proving incredibly difficult to ignore.

"Damn, I'm good then," Preston grinned. He stopped tugging, instead simply running a finger up and down between her breasts, from her ribcage up to her neck, then slowly back down again.

"You are good, you're good, is that what you want me to say?" Missy wiggled her hips helplessly.

"Oh...oh dear, was there something else you wanted me to do to you Missy?"

"Fuck you, do you have to tease me like this every time?" Missy tried to growl, but it came out closer to a whimper. Preston leaned down over her, until his face was inches from hers and she was staring deep into his green eyes.

"Yes," he whispered, at the same time unexpectedly grabbing both of her firm nipples and pinching hard.

"Oh fuck, Preston," Missy breathed, arching her back and closing her eyes, "I already said you're the best, please don't tease anymore."

"I don't understand," Preston replied innocently, "what is it you want?" His fingers brushed down her body, slipping beneath the unsealed flightsuit to brush through her pubic hair, but then they slid back up again.

"Preston!" Missy moaned, "if you don't fuck me with something right now I'll do it myself!"

"Oh that's what you wanted!" Preston mercifully slid his hand beneath her flightsuit again, moving his fingers further down than before. Missy spread her legs wider, shuddering again as his fingertips brushed gently against her clit.

"Are you too cold?" Preston asked, genuinely this time.

"If you dare stop I will make you regret it."

Preston began tugging her nipple again, at the same time slipping a finger between her lips and moving it in slow circles around her opening. Leaning back against his lap, Missy sighed with frustration at his slow relaxed pace. She was wet enough that his finger glided with no resistance, and she thrust with her hips trying to slide it inside of herself. Maddeningly, Preston very carefully moved his hand along with her, continuing to rub the entrance to her sex without penetrating her at all. Missy grit her teeth. Preston responded by flicking his thumb across her clit in a steady rhythm, making her squirm against her will.

"Why are you being so mean?" she gasped. Preston stopped moving his hand, and she whimpered. She tried to thrust, but he held her hips firmly with his other hand, looking down at her with a mixture of amusement and affection.

"Because it makes you cum so fucking hard," he replied with a grin, and thrust his finger inside of her. Missy arched her back as he ground his thumb into her clit again, moving his finger in small circles against her g-spot. His other hand was at her breasts, teasing and caressing, and every time she arched he pinched her nipple sending a shock through her. It took her barely any time to let the feelings wash over her and build her to her peak. As promised, when she came she came hard. Missy screamed as her entire body shook on Preston's lap. Her pussy clamped down on his finger, but he kept up his assault, sliding it in and out and continuing to rub her clit at the same slow pace. His skillful attention to her tender nipples made her orgasm heighten and fall in peaks, as soon as it started to fade away he would lightly pinch or flick, and it would feel as if she was starting to cum all over again. There was no thought in her mind except for the pleasure, but she snaked an arm around Preston's neck and pulled herself up to him, kissing him hard and moaning into his mouth while he stroked the inside of her cunt.

He gently let her back down on his lap as the waves of pleasure finally subsided. Missy panted, catching her breath, and gasped when he slid his finger from her sex. Smiling down at her, Preston ran his hand slowly up her body, leaving a trail of her juices behind it. The action didn't do anything in particular to turn her on, but she felt him harden beneath her head as he looked down at the slick trail in her pubic hair and on her stomach. Well, since he went to so much effort to make me happy, she thought with a mental shrug. Missy grabbed his hand and lifted it to her mouth, looking into Preston's eyes as she flicked her tongue delicately over his fingers, lapping her juices off of them.

"That...is either very cruel or very kind," Preston moaned, "I'm not sure which yet." A small blue alert light lit on the console, indicating an incoming communication. Missy reached up lazily and flicked the comm back on.

"Alright squaddies," Jackson's voice on the comms interrupted, "I just broke through the fog, so the rest of you should be breaking fog cover as well. Radios back on."

"Very cruel," Preston sighed, and Missy giggled and sat back up.

"Sorry Preston. I'll make it up to you later," she winked and smiled, and Preston gave a half-grin in return.

The green clouds faded away as Missy slid the toggle of her flightsuit back up, shivering at the cold now that she didn't have sexual urges to distract her from it.

"Orbital, this is Rookie Jackson Rade, heading a group of four heavy cruisers with seven total rookies on board. Requesting your clearance to land."

"He sounds so official," Missy murmured as she made sure her suit was secured, "where'd he learn that do you think?" she glanced at Preston. He was staring through the glass cockpit, a bemused expression on his face, and Missy followed his gaze.

She'd expected to see the huge sphere of Orbital Academy in front of them, its wide rings spinning around it. Instead, they were approaching a large diamond-shaped structure, thin mechanical arms on each edge. The comms crackled with a gruff, official-sounding confirmation.

"Rookie Rade and company, this is Orbital Pivot. You are cleared for entry."

***

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