3.1 Planetary Prep

"Sir, can I speak freely?" Captain Jane Appet spoke through clenched teeth, staring across the desk at the commander of Orbital Academy.

"Permission denied," General Auspus replied cooly. His fingers flicked across the screen he held, comparing it to a page of notes on his desk, the picture of distracted business.

"Yes sir," Jane turned and walked toward the door, fuming, mind spinning.

"This is why I like you Captain Appet," the General's voice stopped her at the door, "any other person to ask that question would give me a piece of their mind regardless of my answer. Of course that means, ironically, that I am far more willing to listen to your rants than theirs. Yes you may speak freely."

"This is stupid, dangerous, reckless and entirely ill-advised," the General's compliment barely registered in Jane's mind as she turned back to him, "my squad is an excellent rookie team, but there's *no way* it's responsible to send them on a full planetary run!"

"I must admit I'm surprised to hear you say that," the General smiled wryly at his screen as he spoke, "you spoke so adamantly at the last meeting. About the abilities of your rookies, about the need for the orbital to stop coddling first years, about how we faced a threat that would need a strong crop of pilots."

"That was when they were going to be fighting a flamer Drake, this is entirely different!"

"I see it simply as a natural progression Captain Appet. Your team is the model by which other rookie squads are measured, but right now everyone else is catching up. After the excellent way they handled the exothermic Drake, the next step is to get them experience with a planetary run."

"Two of my squad almost died handling that Drake!"

"Captain Appet," the General set aside his screen and turned to Jane for the first time. Even after a decade serving under him Jane wasn't used to the look of utter control in General Auspus' face. The age and wisdom of seventy years stared at her from a face that didn't look a day past twenty. He was usually so level-headed that it was easy to forget he could stare her down in a heartbeat.

"Orbital Academy's pilots 'almost die' on every single mission they undertake," he continued, his attention fully on her, "we have an incredibly dangerous occupation, without question the most dangerous of any of the orbitals. The brave men and women who are here on this orbital have volunteered their lives towards the goal of keeping the entire orbit safe, and they have done so with the full knowledge that they place their lives at risk. To prevent the exceptional rookies in your squad from engaging in a mission because they might get hurt is a disrespect I refuse to show them. That is all, you are dismissed."

Jane stared at the General. His words left her feeling cowed and immature, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow...wrong.

"You're putting these kids in way more danger than they can handle General Auspus...how can you not see that?"

"Captain Appet, I said you are dismissed."

She left the room in a daze, head spinning, wondering how she would break it to her squad.

***

"This is so awesome!"

"I *knew* we impressed them with the Drake"

"I wonder if they'll let us substitute this mission for our Pilot-level test?"

"Does this make us the first Rookie-level squad to go on a planetary?"

Jane stared at her nine rookies. Their reactions were doing nothing to help the feeling of disorientation that had been following her since her meeting with the General. *This is not how any of it was supposed to happen,* she thought vaguely, watching them chatter excitedly at the news.

"You don't seem very excited Captain," Jackson noted perceptively. The others slowly settled as Jane tried to collect her thoughts.

"It's...it's just a somewhat dangerous and difficult task, that's all..." she stammered. *No, that's no good, I can't slip back into the weakling captain I used to be.* Before this year Jane had spent a good portion of her time hating herself; with this squad things had been different. Better. She was proud of her rookies, proud of herself, and she would be damned if she changed back, even if the world felt as if it were turning upside-down.

*What would the other Captain Appet say, the one that keeps them respectful and skillful and amazing?*

"...and it's about time we have you Rooks exposed to some real challenge. So, first things' first, you all probably have some incorrect ideas about what's involved in a planetary run. We should clear up some misconceptions. Meet me in the lower ring conference room in ten minutes, and I'll give our first briefing as a squad." The ten minutes would give her time to collect her thoughts, and she could tell from the bright faces that most of them were excited about the prospect of a real mission briefing. Preston and Missy didn't seem as enthusiastic, but Jane didn't let herself dwell on the fact, instead turning and leaving the barracks with head high.

***

The room was dark, and Jane sat at one end of the table, head resting on her arms. *Why would the General send these rookies on a planetary? He was nervous about letting them deal with the Drake, what changed his mind?* She snapped into an upright position as the rookies began filing in, thumbing the lights up to an acceptable level.

"Alright Rooks, best to go ahead and lay it on me. What insane rumors are people spreading about planetary runs that I need to correct?" Jane had a pit in her stomach as she spoke, letting her gaze travel across the squad as they sat. She felt strangely guilty, as if she had no business talking to them and pretending nothing was wrong.

Julia raised her hand, and Jane stopped herself from rolling her eyes.

"For the last time, Julia, you're not in Pre-Academy anymore. Stop raising your hand."

"I've heard that the atmosphere on the planet is so thick that you can't breath or fly a cruiser through it," Julia lowered her hand and spoke in a rush.

"Partially true. The fog that you see surrounding the planet is toxic, but it only goes down to within a hundred or so feet of the planet's surface. Some of the higher hills can be dangerous, but you can breath on most of the ground. If a cruiser couldn't take off how do you think people would get back from planetaries?"

"Just what I've heard," Julia mumbled, face falling. Jane softened.

"It's alright. Back in my rookie year there was a rumor that the fog would eat away at our suits like acid..." *Of course we would have years to learn the truth about the planet before we were sent down there* "...but anyways. We should probably go over this from the beginning."

The screens blinked to life, and Jane forced the doubts and reservations down into a hard pit in her stomach, pulling the image of the strict Captain around her like a protective shield.

"A planetary run consists of two teams. The first team will be in a satellite recon skiff, a 'satflyer', about ninety feet above the surface, just below the fog. The second team will be on the ground, set up in a temporary bunker. The satflyer team will be relaying information, giving forward warning of dangers, and general topological data. More importantly, they'll provide relay extenders for the ground team, boosting their range. The ground team will be controlling a squadron of drones; the same drones you've been training with for the last three months. The drones will navigate to coordinates provided by the air team, collect resources, and destroy the nests."

Even through the worry in her chest, Jane felt a bit of pride. Her students were all bent over, focusing on the diagrams in front of them. Focused, attentive, alert.

"Who's on the different teams?" Jackson asked, leaning back and folding his arms.

"Li, Aimee, Missy, and Jackson, you'll all be on the ground since you've got the best handle on drone control." Jane was grateful for Jackson's nudging; she was finding it hard to focus on the briefing, "I'll be with you on the ground. Marcus, Julia, and Tess will be up in the satflyer, due mostly to their tech, nav, and diagnostic scores. Preston, Alex, you'll also be up there, manning the satflyer's weapons."

A chill ran through the room at the mention of weapons. Jane could see them all thinking the question, but it took a moment before one of them actually spoke it.

"Captain Appet..." Aimee's voice was quiet, somber, "why will we need weapons? Everyone says planetaries are dangerous, but...I've never heard anyone talk about why. This seems...really simple. Just in and out with drones. I don't see what makes it so tricky, is that just me?" She looked up and down the table, but her squadmates were also shaking their head.

Jane took a deep breath. It was the moment of truth; they had to know the full story.

"On the smoothest planetaries, it is as simple as in-and-out. Unfortunately, they rarely go smoothly. There are going to be several obstacles that we can expect." She kept her voice dispassionate as she spoke, careful not to allow any emotion or quiver into it.

"The reason we schedule planetary runs right after Drake attacks is so that we are assured of not running into one on the mission. Drakes are dangerous out of atmosphere, on the planet they are capable of shredding us within minutes. Now that the Drakes are attacking off-schedule, we might not be guaranteed to avoid them on this run." Jane watched the rookies closely as she spoke, paying special attention to Julia and Tess as she mentioned the Drakes. They both seemed sober, but not panicked, so she continued. "The smaller flying creatures though, those *will* most likely sniff us out before the mission is done. In every case where a flyer has reached a satellite without being shot down, one or more members of our entire air team has been killed. Don't let them reach you."

Jane's mental wall faltered for a moment, remembering how it had sounded. The screams had only filled the radio for a few seconds before she had shut it off. In her memory they had lasted for ten years.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat, uncomfortably aware of the nine pairs of eyes on her, "it usually takes five to ten hours for the Terrans on the planet to locate the ground team. Usually the air team should be able to give enough advance warning to pull the drones back and pack them up. If not, the temp bunker has fuel and supplies enough to fire up into orbit to be picked up by an orbital rescue team, and the drones will self-destruct. We know very little about Terran weapon technology. Mostly because anyone who has encountered it has died. Data from the air groups indicates that it's either much better than ours, or the Terrans are much better at using them."

Silence stretched through the room. The rookies' enthusiasm had deadened into a serious quiet.

"How often is there an injury during a planetary run Captain?" Missy asked quietly.

Jane had to clear her throat twice before answering.

"Typically there are no injuries incurred on a planetary run. Those who sustain injuries of any kind are usually lost soon afterwards," Jane stared resolutely at the screen in front of her, refusing to meet any of her rookies' eyes but knowing she couldn't sidestep the question, "typically runs are made up of nine lieutenant-level and a captain level. There's a reason there are so few captains as opposed to rookie and pilot levels. We tend to...to lose a large portion of our lieutenants to planetary runs."

She couldn't bear to look at any of them, to see the same question in their eyes as she had in her mind; *why us?*

"It's a testament to how confident the General is in our abilities as a squad," Jane lied. *Okay, that didn't sound convincing even to me. If I'm going to keep my new reputation, I need to get out of here.*

"I've uploaded a list of resources you'll all need to your personal screens, as well as a detailed breakdown of team duties. It will take us roughly a week to get the temp bunker and the satflyer ready to launch. In the meantime your other duties will be completely suspended." She let herself briefly scan the rookies' faces, to make sure they didn't think she was giving them a vacation. The assembled squad was focused, intent. Jane didn't have to tell them to spend the time focusing on training their individual job descriptions; their faces told her it wouldn't even occur to them to slack off. She nodded once to herself, and left the conference room. There wasn't anything more to say.

***

Jane found herself wandering through the halls of the academy, running a hand along the polished cold walls and headed nowhere in particular. Lost in her own mind, she barely noticed the world around her; perhaps that's why her feet led her along a path that had been ingrained into her subconscious, never quite forgotten no matter how long it had been. When she arrived at the door to the Flying Mettle she looked up, surprised, as if she was waking up from a dream. She hesitated, but after a moment she shrugged and activated the door. *What better way to forget about all of this for a few hours?*

The warm air and the noise hit her at the same time as she stepped into the well lit bar; the body heat and murmured conversation of fifty people that filled the room. Scent synthesizers worked in each corner to deodorize and sanitize the smells of human and alcohol, replacing them with something non-offensive: as Jane walked over to the bar she caught a hint of oak. *Same as ever.*

Jane was already feeling better, and she hadn't even had a drink yet. For anyone living their lives on the perpetually cold orbital, the warmth of the room was a treat enough by itself, and the murmur of friendly chatter made her feel safe and comforted. *I've always loved this place,* she mused idly, waiting for the bartender to get to her, *Why don't I come down here more often?* Her eyes wandered across the clientele, different ranks, different professions, all gathered and drinking, smoking and laughing together. It reminded her of older times, times when it was easier to smile and laugh, sitting at the old table in the corner with the old group. As if drawn by the memories her gaze roved to the table in the corner...and there they all sat, as if they had never left.

"What can I get you miss?" The bartender's question was barely enough to break her out of her reverie. Sure they were all older now, some a bit pudgier, some with unexpected speckles of grey in their hair, but the way they were laughing and smiling was exactly the same.

"Nothing, thank you," Jane took a breath that hitched in the middle, watching them sitting there, and her answer to the barkeeper was quiet, "I was just leaving." For a moment, just a moment, she let herself pretend that things were how they used to be. She let herself pretend that she was about to walk over to join them, and they would all grin and budge around to make room for her, and they would talk and joke. She let herself pretend that Patrick would be joining them.

"Sorry for the trouble," Jane's voice caught, but the bartender simply shrugged and turned to the man behind her.

"An' what about you?"

Jane turned to leave, tearing her eyes away from the table as if by force, head bowed to keep tears from forming in her eyes. A tug stopped her suddenly. The man standing just behind her had her by the arm, his grip gentle but firm.

"I'll have what she's having, and she's having a plat-shot with ice," Jane didn't need to look up to identify the mellow voice.

"Evening Professor," she smiled in spite of herself.

Arthur Proferton returned her smile and then some. His grin was so wide it seemed to take up his entire face. As soon as he saw that she recognized him he let go of his grip, turning it seamlessly into a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"Go ahead to the table," he spoke lightly, as if it had been nine days instead of nine years since they had last spoken, "I'll bring the drinks when they're ready." A strange feeling was building in the pit of Jane's stomach, half excited fluttering and half sick dread.

"I would absolutely love to Prof, but I'm afraid I'm on a date," she lied smoothly, extracting her arm from his light touch, "but it was wonderful seeing you!"

"Mmm," Arthur nodded thoughtfully, "makes sense why you were leaving then."

"We're...um..." Jane blushed, "we're actually on the date somewhere else, I just stopped in here to get us drinks," she tried to save herself, realizing her mistake even as she stammered.

"That's why you left without them. Makes sense, makes sense."

"Well no, they didn't have the kind of drinks he likes so-"

"Jane," Arthur said kindly, taking the small tray offered from the bartender, "even if you could lie worth a damn, you know you couldn't lie to me." He tapped his temple with a smile, and Jane thought she could hear the soft purr of the CPU in his head.

"You know I fucking hate that thing right?" Jane lapsed into honesty with a growl, "it's unfair and I hate it. I always have." Arthur laughed aloud.

"Of course I know," he chuckled, "you hate not being able to hide. You hate that I can read off your expressions to tell what's really going on in that secretive, closed off mind of yours. But I think most of all you hate that I know just how to make you forgive my sorry ass." He reached forward and flicked her earlobe with a grin, and just like that it was as if no time had passed between them, like he was the same mischievous and boyish friend who she couldn't bear to be angry with.

"Fuckin' chip-head," Jane tried hard to keep from smiling, but she knew it was useless. Even knowing that his enhancements made it trivial for him to pick up on social cues, more than even the most perceptive of normal people, she still found it hard to resist his charm. She barely noticed his hand resting lightly on her shoulder again until he began lightly guiding her towards the corner table.

"Seriously Prof, I really just want to be alone right now," Jane protested, even though she knew his chip would pick up on the lie as easily as she had spoken it.

"Bullshit again. Something's hurting you Jane," Arthur grew serious, "hurting you enough to come here even though you knew you'd find us here, even though you're worried being around us will hurt worse. But we can help, I promise you."

"I'm going to need about five more of those," Jane called over her shoulder to the bartender, but she reluctantly allowed herself to be led.

The table's chatter faded when they reached it, and Jane's stomach did a flip. They were all there; Lily, Acren, Jack-pip and Center, along with another man she didn't recognize. Their expressions ranged from shock to pleased surprise, expressions on faces so familiar it was as if she had been kicked in the throat with nostalgia. Jane managed to keep from staring as the one she didn't recognize spoke,

"Hey Professor, we were wondering if you'd gotten lost," he said jovially, "who's your friend?"

"Oh you've definitely heard of my friend Sam," just as she had fantasized, the group budged over good naturedly to make room for Jane as Arthur introduced her, "may I present the long-absent and much-missed, Miss Jane Cripshaw."

"Appet," Jane mumbled, as she slid into the booth next to Jack-pip, "it's Captain Jane Appet now."

The mood at the table shifted almost imperceptibly.

"You took his name," Lily murmured. Jane looked down at her drink to avoid the woman's gaze. Whatever was there...pity, sympathy, anger, Jane didn't want to see it.

"Alright," Arthur broke the small silence, "we're not going to pretend we aren't thinking about him, so I'm going to make a toast. But then we're all going to talk and laugh and have a good time, like we used to, because we all know that's how he liked it."

Jane was grateful to him. The mods may have let him see that it needed to happen, but that didn't make the gesture any less genuine. Arthur raised his glass, and the rest at the table followed suit.

"To Patrick Appet. Hell of a pilot, hell of a friend, hell of a lover, or so he liked to say. Hell of a man."

"Patrick Appet," Jane and the other five repeated. The emotion they filled the two words with caught her by surprise. There was a fervor there still, even after so long; the toast hadn't just been for her, they all still felt the loss. The knot in Jane's stomach loosened by the tiniest fraction, and for the first time all day she felt just a little bit better.

"A *captain* now huh? Finally started fucking the right people I see," Center slipped easily into the friendly ribbing with his typical inappropriate candor, and Jane felt better still.

"Took me long enough, didn't it?" She joked back with a half smile, "I suppose if you try enough people you're bound to find the right one eventually."

"But the wrong ones are so much more fun," Lily winked, and just like that, they were all back together again, just like in the old days.

When the bartender brought her tray of drinks around, Jane distributed them among the table to grins and cheers. The alcohol was loosening the worry in her shoulders a little, and the camaraderie that slipped back around her so easily was loosening it even more. She pulled her personal screen out and tapped out a few lines, setting them to send automatically later, then leaned back to enjoy the night. The banter and childish jokes, the sudden topic changes and the rapidfire teasing seemed to pull her out of time. Sure it was slightly different; she didn't know some of the inside jokes, and sometimes they had to backtrack in the conversation to fill her in on this detail or that, but as the hours passed Jane felt more at home than she had in many long years.

"You have enough luxury chits to pay for all these drinks ma'am?" The bartender asked delicately when he brought the sixth tray of drinks to the table.

"Paranoia is a fine qual'ty," Jane slurred cheerfully, fishing out her keychain and transferring enough to cover her tab and six more trays to receiver in the table. Jack-pip whistled,

"They are clearly paying captains far too much these days," he noted, in the clipped and enunciated tone he took on when sloshed.

"Eh, I don' use luxury chits hardly at all," Jane waved a hand vaguely by way of explanation, "don' need much, pretty content wi'out all that."

Even half-drunk, Jane saw the look that passed between them. She knew they were about to ask, and that they'd let Arthur do that asking.

"You've been pretty content, but you haven't exactly sought out your old friends for the last...oh, eight, nine years," he said. His tone was offhand and casual, but Jane could see the tension in the others that Arthur was hiding so well. "It's been amazing to hang out and catch up with you Jane, but I get the feeling it was the alcohol you came here to find, not us. What's happened?"

*They're being careful, think they're gonna scare me away,* Jane realized through the liquor haze. She wasn't entirely sure when the change in her mind had happened, but the thought of never seeing her old friends again was unbearable.

"Got assigned a planetary th's evenin'," she mumbled. Her typically demeanor, cheerful but always at arms-length, was being worn away by the alcohol. All she wanted right now was more liquor and perhaps hug.

"Aw hey, that's always rough," Arthur murmured, throwing a sympathetic arm around her shoulder. *He always knows. Damn chip-head,* Jane thought, but she smiled and rested her head against his arm in spite of herself.

"'s my first one since Patrick," she added, so soft it could barely be heard. She saw the reactions of sympathy around the table, the ones she had been dreading to encounter. Instead of making her angry it almost seemed...sweet.

"No planetaries this whole time?" Center asked, and Jane didn't miss the warning look that Arthur shot him, "how'd you manage that one?"

"Not hard," Jane shrugged and reached for the tray that had just been set down, "made captain-level as soon as I could. Volunteered to teach the newbie Rooks every year since then."

"Probably what I'd do if I could stand busting my ass up to Captain-level," Acren had been nursing the same glass since the beginning of the evening, and he was nodding sagely, "so why send you down now? I thought they didn't pull instructors from leading Rooks mid-year."

"They don't," Jane downed the entire glass in one swallow, and reached for another, "they're sending the rookie team down. I'm leading a team of rookies on a planetary."

There was a moment of stunned silence, then a flurry of exclamations and questions, some outraged and some simply bewildered. Jane was too far gone to make any single question out among the cacophony, so instead she simply grabbed another glass.

"Guys, guys, hold it down," Arthur's voice cut through the noise, and his arm tightened protectively around her almost imperceptibly, "it's pretty clear Jane doesn't want to talk about it alright. Yea she's pretty obviously getting screwed for some reason, but I'm sure she's doing all she can to get out of it, and she sure as hell didn't come to a bar so she could remember her problems. I think the more serious issue we need to address is that this woman still, to this day, carries a T-320 pistol instead of the clearly superior R-500."

Jane grinned as the familiar debate was rekindled, Lily gesturing wildly with her glass with Jack-pip backing her up, while Acren drily quoted firing stats and Center made random stabs at various randomly-selected arguments.

"Thanks," Jane said softly, nestling a little closer into the crook of Arthur's arm.

"Don't talk to me, T-320 user," Arthur replied snootily, with a dramatic sniff, but he grinned.

***

Another few trays had passed by the time the bar had emptied and the lights were starting to go out. Everyone in their group but Acren and Arthur were completely drunk, and all of them were cheerful as they stood from their table and walked or stumbled away, shood by the bartender in a good-natured but firm fashion. With mumbled and slurred goodbyes the crew parted ways, Center, Sam and Acren heading down one corridor and the rest in the opposite direction.

"Don' be vanishin' off again, Jane," Center hicced on his way.

"I won't. I won't again," Jane promised, the gravity of the words seeming to counteract the slur. The rest of them walked on in silence for a few hallways more.

"It was really good seeing you again Jane," Lily smiled when she reached her door.

"You should come by again some time," Jack-pip nodded exaggeratedly, "we missed you quite a lot." The two of them entered the room together.

"Wha-?" Jane asked dumbfounded, "when did those two..."

"They've been together for about a year now," Arthur replied, steadying her as they walked, alone, down the corridor to her room, "they're really good together. I think they balance each other well."
"'ve missed a bunch, haven't I?" Jane said quietly.

"You don't have to miss a bunch more."

"This's me," Jane indicated the door to her room. She stared at the door for a moment, reluctant to give up the strong chest she was leaning against. "Listen," she said carefully, "you wanna come in for a shot o' coffee or synth or somethin'?"

"Mmm, I'm not particularly thirsty after this evening," Arthur replied. Jane squinted at his face; even if he had been a normal man he would know what 'come in for coffee' meant, but his modifications should've made it obvious what she wanted even before she had asked. He was grinning down at her, and Jane blushed as she realized that he was perfectly aware of what she wanted, he just enjoyed teasing her.

"Oh, okay," Jane said innocently, "well in that case you wanna come in to fuck my brains out or somethin'?"

Arthur threw his head back and laughed, and Jane chuckled along with him as he palmed her door open. To her surprise he let go of her, leading her in with one hand but staying outside the room himself.

"Much as the offer sounds tempting, I'm afraid not Jane," he said gently. At her look of confusion mixed with a little bit of hurt he continued, "you're intoxicated right now. Having this," he tapped his temple again, "makes consent a bit of a tricky issue at the best of times, but alcohol makes things pretty clear-cut."

"Are you kidding?" Jane pouted, "'m offering some no-strings-attached, come-and-take-me, any-hole-you-want-it wild sex and you're turning me down?"

"You're drunk Jane. Very very drunk."

"Well sure," Jane winked, "I'd only offer two holes if I were sober." Arthur grinned, but shook his head.

"I want very much to say yes Jane, but-"

"Wait!" Jane remembered and pumped a fist in the air, "Yes! I am a genius!"

"That's debatable. What am I waiting for?" Arthur leaned against her doorframe, an amused smile playing on his face as he watched her.

"Oooh jus' you wait. 'ts gonna be awesome. Gonna be amazing," Jane crowed.

A few minutes dragged bye, but just as Jane started pondering whether or not she had set the message to send, Arthur's screen pinged an alert. Jane did a small drunken victory dance as Arthur read the message.

*If I'm timing this about right with the time the bar closes, I'll probably be throwing myself at you about now. And if memory serves me right, you'll probably be being a stick-in-the-mud about it. Consider this advance-consent, so you'll know I actually want this. You have my express sober permission to engage in whatever crude and disgusting acts I'm drunkenly proposing to you right now. ~Jane*

"I'm'a genius," Jane slurred again, while Arthur chuckled and stepped inside her room, closing the door behind him, "and I'm'bout to be a happily fucked genius."

"I'm still not fucking you, genius," Arthur smiled, and Jane cocked her head in surprise.

"Wha? Bu' you saw th'text," she mumbled. Suddenly she was in the air, Arthur was carrying her. *To the bed? That's good, that's where it should happen,* she thought vaguely, as her stomach lurched for a moment. First heavy blankets and then strong arms wrapped themselves around her, warm and reassuring. *So comfy. His arms are really strong. But why isn't he taking my clothes off? How's he going to bang me if we're both dressed-*

***

A steady pounding in her head was counterpointed by the pleasant aroma of coffee, providing an oddly mixed wakeup. Jane smiled, keeping her eyes closed as she listened to the sounds of Arthur moving around the room. She typically set the lighting in her room to remain pitch-black when she awoke, but he had overridden them and bathed the room in a soft natural level, like sunrise. She stretched, long and luxuriously, revelling in the quiet noises, taking stock of each muscle as she stretched them. *I'm surprisingly non-sore for the morning after. Did good old Arthur lose his touch in the last few years?* Nestling back into the pillows, she began slowly restringing together the memories from the night before. They had gotten to her room...she had pleaded a little more than she liked to admit...he had taken her to bed...and then…

Jane's eyes snapped open.

"Did you drug me without fucking me you asshole?" She asked, outraged. Arthur set two metal cups down on the table at her bedside, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. He was shirtless, and Jane was slightly distracted from her outrage by his heavily muscled chest. The speckled grey on his scalp was also present in his chest hair, and she couldn't help but picture her fingers running through it.

"If you count the truly impressive amount of alcohol you had, I would say you did a perfectly good job of drugging yourself," he grinned, handing her one of the cups, "drink this, it'll help."

"What kind of guy are you, turning down a perfectly good girl who's throwing herself at you like that," Jane grumbled, taking a sip and wincing at the bitterness of the black coffee, "I hope you're happy, preventing me from getting my drunk satisfaction."

"Pretty happy," Arthur took a long draught, "especially since I'm sure we'll both enjoy your sober satisfaction much more than we would've the sloppy half-conscious drunk version."

"Oh?" Jane lifted one eyebrow as she gazed at him over the lip of her cup, "You turned me down when I was vulnerable and horny. That kind of thing can make a girl self-conscious. Are you entirely sure you'll get the chance to give me sober satisfaction?"

"'Course I am," Arthur tapped his temple with a knowing smile, and Jane leaned back on her pillow with a sigh.

"It's not fair," she groaned, "taking the mystery out of everything. Have I ever told you how much I hate that chip?" She closed her eyes. Even though she griped, her mouth curved in a half-smile. Complaining aside, Arthur did have a way about him; half mischievous boy, half charming gentleman. A girl could get in trouble with a guy with that sort of power.

Even now, she wanted his lips on hers, and she knew that he would be able to read that desire all over her face. All she had to do was wait and...

*Oh,* a small shock ran through her when she felt his kiss, light and feathery on her neck, *that's...unexpected.* The surprise caused a tingling in her chest that wasn't going away, as further unexpected fingers brushed through her hair. Jane kept her eyes closed, but reached up and ran her fingers across Arthur's chest. He made deep rumble of approval, one that curled Jane's toes, and then suddenly he was on top of her, his body warm and firm against hers.

Breathing fast, Jane opened her eyes, pulse quickening. His fingers were still running through her hair, brushing along her scalp as he leaned forward. The room was still except for their breath, and Jane swore she could hear his heartbeat. Smiled up at him, she met his eyes, inches away, her expression coy and playful. Of all the games she played in bed with all her partners over the years, there was one she could only play with Arthur, and the anticipation was making her giddy.

*I think I want his hands to run from my chin to my belly,* she decided. She had no clue what had changed about her body language, what imperceptible cues she had given him, but Arthur shifted almost immediately. His hand traced down the side of her face, fingers resting gently on her chin and then sliding down her neck. Fingertips caught on the edge of the blanket on their way down her collarbone, dragging it off slowly as they made their way down between her breasts, down to her stomach. The cool air against her bare body made her smile.

"Oh, you won't nail me when I'm drunk but you'll strip me naked in my sleep?" She teased. *I want kisses all over my face,* she decided at the same time.

Arthur didn't answer her, but he leaned forward, lips grazing against her cheeks and forehead and softly on her lips. The motion moved his chest against hers, and the warmth against her skin after the cold air felt more amazing than it had any right to. *Now lower...my neck and chest,* she thought, but the kisses continued to rain down on her face. She enjoyed them for a few moments more, but then gently pushed upward so that he stopped and leaned back, so he could see her face. *My boobs need attention,* she thought again, meeting Arthur's eye. With a wicked grin he leaned down, and Jane gasped as he took a hard nipple gently in his teeth. His other hand skimmed up and down, from her navel all the way up, over her other breast, to her neck and then back down, swirling in intricate meaningless patterns is it went. His tongue flicked back and forth distractingly; as soon as she got used to the feelings on one side he sent a shock of pleasure down the other.

*No more foreplay,* the thoughts were so intense that her lips almost moved along with them, *no more teasing, fuck that. Fuck me. Now.* Arthur's lips pressed against hers with ferocity, and the blankets were ripped from her legs with a suddenness that made Jane shiver in anticipation. She arched her back to press against him, lifting her hips off of the bed. Somewhere in the teasing he had gotten rid of his loose uniform pants. She could feel him, warm and hard, pressing on her leg.

He shifted, and Jane shivered as the movement pushed him against her, between her legs. Her arms were wrapped around his back, and she rocked her hips back and forth, the feeling of him rubbing against her slick wetness driving her crazy. She broke the kiss with a gasp, catching his eye again. Arthur was making almost imperceptible movements of his hips that rubbed his member against and over her clit with an achingly slow rhythm. One motion away from filling her completely, sliding across her opening, just one shift away. *Stop teasing,* she thought, *thrust in, thrust in hard.*

Arthur lifted his hips, and Jane braced herself to feel him inside her...and then gasped out a whimper when instead he slid back down again. The feeling of him grinding against her clit, moving against her but not inside, felt so good but at the same time so frustrating. She yanked her head back, fixing him with a look full of lust and longing. Leaned up on her elbows, Jane focused on her thoughts so hard that she felt like she was mentally screaming at him. *Fuck me Arthur, fuck me! Your foreplay duties are complete, I'm ready, take me!* Jane distractedly wondered if his mods just couldn't handle her anymore, even when it was painfully obvious what she wanted. *I could always ask out loud I suppose,* she thought, but it felt like a shame to lose out on their special game.

She decided to try one more time, placing a hand on his chest to still him as she stared right into his eyes. *Shove. Your. Cock. Into me,* she thought, giving him a look that even a robot could understand. Arthur's hand came up and cupped her chin, then moved gently down to brush at her throat. His voice, quiet as it was, broke the silence.

"Don't. Tell. Me. What to do."

His hand clasped around her throat, and he suddenly slammed her back into the pillows, holding her against the soft material. Jane was paralysed with shock, heart racing, the heat between their bodies intense and pleasurable and frightening. When she felt him hard against her opening again her body stiffened. His hand was still wrapped around her throat, holding her beneath him. Was he going to take her whether she wanted it or not? Was he about to take her by force?

As soon as the thought crossed her mind Arthur froze. His hand was still at her throat, but his stillness was complete and clear. She didn't even need to tell him to stop, he would be able to tell the instant she wanted him to. The adrenaline still coursed through her, but the fear subsided, and she took the opportunity to gather her thoughts for a moment.

*What the hell was that?* Jane wondered, trying to ignore the aching just beneath her mound and think clearly. She was normally the one in control, she called the shots. For Arthur to pin her like this, holding her gently but firmly around the neck, pinning her to the bed, dominating her body, was...

*...really fucking hot,* she realized with surprise. She wouldn't have guessed that she would be intrigued by that sort of thing, but the way he was subduing her was making her pulse pound. Even though she knew he would stop if she wanted him to, the thought of him taking her like that, in control, using her body however he wanted...she was very, very turned on by the idea.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind Arthur began moving again, his hand releasing her throat and instead grabbing a handful of her long brown hair, much rougher than he had before. He yanked her head back, and Jane cried out at the slight pain and the unexpected thrill of lust it drew from her. He moved, shifted himself up her body, and suddenly his member was against her lips, his grip on her hair holding her head in place. She took him in her mouth with relish, mind racing at how much she was enjoying herself. The intensity as he thrust into her mouth was sending electricity coursing through her. His warm length tasted of her own juices, and the dirtiness of it was exciting. He reached behind him, sliding two fingers into her without warning. Slick with her wetness they went deep into her body with no resistance, the heel of his hand pressing into her clit as they entered her.

He was forcing himself deeper and deeper down her throat, pulling her head by the hair while rubbing circles against her g-spot with the other hand. Jane could never remember feeling so dominated, so thrilled and restrained, so utterly lost to desire. When his member left her mouth and his fingers left her pussy at the same time, she gave a strangled cry of disappointment, *no no no please I'm so close...* Her thoughts were disorganized and disordered, but after all this if she didn't get to finish Jane thought she would explode.

She gave a tiny shriek when he lifted her bodily off the bed. Involuntarily she grabbed at him, wrapping arms around his shoulder and legs around his waist without realizing what she was doing. Arthur's hand was firm on her right butt cheek holding her up, while the other held her pressed against him from behind. Jane barely had time to process the feeling of his hard member between her legs before he thrust into her.

It only took the one, glorious, hard thrust to make Jane cum, and it was all she could do to keep from screaming into Arthur's ear. She squirmed and shook, her whole body shaking with the pleasure. She felt so full, so wonderfully used and stretched and satisfied even as her pussy quivered around his length. He drew back and slammed into her again, and the orgasm seemed to envelop her all over again even as her body tried to adjust to the waves of heat and intensity of the first. He was releasing while buried within her, she could intimately feel it, and the twitches of his cock inside of her felt deep and acute and somehow so *right* that Jane stopped thinking and simply rode the wave of orgasm until its very end.

Words like "tired", "satisfied", and "worn out" barely described how she felt as Arthur gently laid her back down on the bed. She lay limp, pleasantly sore and weak, looking up at Arthur who seemed to tower above her, a smug smile on his face. Her head was no longer pounding, but she could feel her pulse in her fingertips and her nipples and between her legs.

"You know, you're not the hot shit you think you are," Jane panted.

"No?" Arthur asked, unconcerned. He leaned over her, planting a kiss on her mouth. Jane struggled to stay silent, until he pressed a single finger against her tender and sensitive clit. She moaned into his mouth, softly, but loud enough that he grinned before he pulled away.

*This would be the perfect time for a late morning nap,* Jane thought, closing her eyes. The lights dimmed within a few seconds, and the bed shifted as Arthur crawled between the covers with her.

"Fuckin' chip-head," Jane yawned, already feeling herself fall asleep as she nestled back against him. His bare skin against hers felt warm and delightful.

"Why yes," she could feel him smile against the back of her neck, "yes, I believe you are."

***

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