Red Planet: The Revolt (Tamarians Book 2) Read online

  Jensen braces his feet on the lip, and I can hear it in his voice, he's breathing heavily, he's near muscular exhaustion. I'm a lot lighter than he is, I haven't been tortured or dosed with Cascade, and I'm tired. Still, he's brave. “What's up?”

  “We find rest here,” I reply, shimmying down the shaft. It sucks to go feet first, but I'm no contortionist, I can't turn around right this moment. “Find a room, get some rest. You're about ready to go all the way down the shaft without stopping.”

  Jensen's so tired he doesn't argue, but just slides in after me, panting softly. “Okay... can you see?”

  “There's some light up ahead, filtering in from a vent.”

  Jensen huffs, taking a deep breath. “Then lead the way.”

  It's difficult, working my way backwards towards the light, trying to be silent. Thankfully I can twist onto my back, my palms pressed flat against the upper side of the air duct, my feet lifted so that just the back of my tunic and my ass are touching the bottom of the duct. In this sort of strange dying bug position, I'm able to slide until my head is even with the grate. It's a bedroom of some kind, whichever level we're on must be some sort of housing level for the workers. The door looks thin, but it's closed, and the room looks like it hasn't been used in a long time. “I'm going to give it a try.”

  It takes two hard knees to pop the first corner out of the grate, and I'm worried as the sound echoes through the ducts. If anyone's on this level, they'll know something's up, but Jensen can't do this anymore. Considering the amount of torture that he's been through today, I'm surprised he's even conscious.

  The second corner comes easily, the grate opening quickly after that. I wiggle through and take a safe if not quite graceful somersault onto the floor, the grate's about halfway up the wall. My pistol's out in a flash, but the room is quiet, and I hear nothing through the door in the hallway. I turn just in time to see the end of Jensen's tumble, which while even less graceful than mine at least makes sure he doesn't get hurt. He lies on the floor, panting and looking up, his face trembling in exhaustion.

  “We rest here,” I whisper, sitting down next to him and stroking a stray hair out of his face. Even at the edge of total exhaustion he's handsome, and my heart warms looking at him. “I get to protect you this time.”

  “We seem to be quite a good pair that way,” Jensen whispers. He reaches up and lays a hand on my leg, his grip warm but trembling. “How'd you know what to do so quickly back there?”

  “The drug?” I ask, and he nods. “Because I know a little more about that than you do. He dosed with Cascade, that's my best guess.”

  “What's Cascade? I know Cassell hit me with a libido enhancer, but it was different than what I'd tried before.”

  I nod, rubbing his chest and humming. “Cascade is a little different than what you tried, I'm guessing you used Neyton's formula, Mogar told me a little about your experiments. Cascade works differently, on the purely physical level, like his pain drugs it skips the brain. It loops on your physical arousal systems, the only way it can be broken is with orgasmic hormones. The more you fight it, the harder the loop is. It's not over for you though, Jensen. You're going to have to relieve yourself pretty regularly for another couple of days.”

  “I'm too exhausted to even think of that,” Jensen whispers, his voice quivering. “Kelbara, what I did...”

  “I asked you to do because of two reasons,” I reply, cutting him off. “First, it'd help you get off faster, I know you like me. Second.... because I... I....”

  “I don't like you.... I love you,” Jensen whispers, stroking my thigh. I stop, shocked, looking into his eyes, and Jensen swallows. “Kelbara, I knew about your crush for months. It was a joke between Audra and me, because she saw something that I kept trying to refuse. I was too worried about the fact that you're eighteen, and I'm thirty. I kept refusing to see that it didn't matter. What matters is you.”

  “I love you too,” I whisper, smiling. “I wasn't sure if you really knew.”

  “I knew. You maybe didn't realize it, but you said it when we were in bed together.”

  I chuckle, smirking. “I know I did. I wasn't sure if you understood me, but it helped me feel so... Jensen, I thought you said that you didn't want me to tell you until we were safe.”

  “Then I guess I'll just have to keep my other secret then,” Jensen says, smiling. “Other things I want to say to you, back in the capital when we can have some privacy, say.... after another wonderful dinner?”

  I smile, nodding. “I like that. So does that mean we're dating now?”

  “I'd say we're at least dating,” Jensen says with a chuckle. “Am I your first boyfriend too?”

  “You're my first everything,” I reply, leaning over and giving him a kiss. It quickly deepens, and I realize what's happening. “Jensen.... are you feeling....”

  “Like I want to take your clothes off?” he asks, and I nod, swallowing. The desire hits so hard, I didn't realize just how hard it would take hold. “Yes, but I can hold off. Why?”

  “I need you now,” I whisper back, tugging at my belt. “I forgot... you got hit with an aerosol powder....”

  “And some of it was on my face when we've kissed,” Jensen finishes. I nod, my pussy already aching, and I struggle to get my pants down quickly enough. It must be a tiny amount each time, or maybe the drug mixed with his sweat and just now was where I kissed, I don't know, it doesn't matter. “I understand. How?”

  “I got a small dose, I think.... oh heaven and stars Jensen, I need you to fuck me somehow... I know you're exhausted but please....”

  My head swirls, my pussy is aching, and I know I'm demanding something that we don't have the time or the energy for, but Jensen pushes himself up beside me, reaching around and caressing my ass. I thought he might try to fuck me doggy style again, but his cock's too exhausted, and instead his hand slides between my legs, his fingers rubbing in quick circles as he kisses me. “Jensen.... please, I need it fast to break the cycle.”

  Jensen nods, his eyes looking at me carefully as he rubs faster, his middle finger sliding inside me and curling, finding a place I've never felt before and stroking while he leans in and kisses me again, harder, my tongue desperate on his mouth as he grinds the heel of his palm on my clit and he adds another finger to my pussy. “I know just how to do this, my love. Trust me.”

  I nod, whining I need release so badly, and Jensen pushes himself back until he's sitting up next to me, his leg underneath my stomach and his breath whispering on my ass. His fingers don't stop, they're helping but it feels so slow, the orgasm building inside me isn't enough to stop the drug. Jensen's other hand rubs my ass which helps and I push back, going with my instincts, and suddenly I feel something I never thought I'd ever feel. His tongue presses, wet and strong against my asshole, licking daintily even as his hand continues to wiggle inside me, his thumb replacing his hand and moving fast, flickering over the nub. I'm being pleasured in every way, and I reach down, rubbing my nipples through my tunic madly, twisting them hard under the fabric to add to it. Oh heaven and stars this is good, it's climbing fast now, racing the drug, and oh... oh...

  “Jensen!” I whine, my voice almost failing me as my body is rocked by the ripples of my orgasm. It's fast, it's hard, but it's what I need, and Jensen's tired body still gives me strength, gives me the support I need to be able to ride this out. I feel the ecstasy of coming, and I know that I was right to tell him I love him, and it feels even better knowing that he loves me too. It adds to the feeling, making it more than just fucking, or masturbating, or whatever you want to call this. It makes it special.

  When my body relaxes, I sigh happily, getting to my feet and pulling my pants back up. I look down at him in amazement as he smiles in satisfaction, wiping his fingers clean on his pants. “Where did you learn to do that?”

  “I have more sexual history than you, remember? Just think, now all those things I've learned get to be put to a good use, and not just getting my rocks off,”
Jensen says, tired but still smiling. “And I was right, I told you I only needed a few minutes.”

  “That you did,” I laugh softly, helping him up. I kiss him, wrapping my arms around his waist and giving him a hug. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. I think we've recovered enough, I can move from here,” Jensen says, stroking my hair. “I swear to you, we'll get through this.”

  I nod, going over to the door, Jensen taking out his pistol and covering me while I lead us out. I get about halfway down before I stop, holding up my hand. “Shit.”

  “What?” Jensen asks, his eyes following me in the dimness. “I don't see anything.”

  “That glimmer in the corner, it's a laser detector. Uses an X-ray beam, we walk past it and Ambaris knows where we are.”

  Jensen grumbles, looking around. “Glad someone might know. You have any fucking clue what floor this is?”

  I shake my head, pointing back the other way. After coming, my senses are on point, everything looks sharp and in focus even in the dim light. I lead Jensen past another trap, a weight sensor, then down another corridor where we find an access tube down. “How far?”

  “As far as we can,” Jensen whispers. “We're running out of time.”

  I nod, and we start sliding, but halfway down I hear footsteps and I freeze, Jensen's boots hitting my wrists painfully before he puts his boots on the rungs of the ladder. “What?”

  “Shh....” I whisper, holding up a hand. Down below, the steps get closer.

  “Oh Kelbaraaaaa.....” I hear below us. Ambaris. Shit. “Kelbara, I'm coming for you....”

  I point, and Jensen understands, climbing quickly to the level we just passed, me on his heels and we run down the corridor, ducking around the corner just in case Ambaris raced up the tube after us. “How'd he get here?”

  “We must be close to one of the levels we've already been on,” I reply, sighing. “We're going in circles.”

  “That's fine,” Jensen says, taking a deep breath before chuckling. “So... what's our next date going to be? I'll be honest, it's gotta be hard to top this one.”

  I know what he's doing, trying to distract me before I can get down about our chances, but he's so earnest about it, it works. “Well, so far we've been alternating. Our first date was trying to get ourselves killed. Our second was dinner and me seeing your estate. This is topping the first one.”

  “Well, that means the next one gets to be extra relaxing and luxurious,” Jensen says softly. “Although I do like the increase in intimacy. Not sure how we'll top that.”

  “I bet you have plenty of ways,” I chuckle, taking a deep breath. “Okay, so the air vents are out, you're too tired, that shaft is out...”

  “Fuck it, take the stairs,” Jensen says, lifting his pistol. “If anything, we can at least shoot someone there more easily.”

  He's right. We've tried every other method, and whether it's sensors, gravity, or Ambaris, we haven't made progress. “Okay. How many rounds do you have in that thing?”

  Jensen checks his pistol, humming. “Twenty. You?”

  I check mine, nodding happily. “Twenty-five. Mine's bigger.”

  “That's what they all say,” Jensen mock complains, smiling. “I'll lead on the stairs. You keep an eye on the communicator as soon as we get outside.”

  We get to the stairwell, which is still lit in the dim white lights there were before, it makes sense. Instead of running though Jensen hops up on the central railing and slides, his pistol out in front of him the whole time. I follow suit, making sure not to land too hard on the duracrete below, and we repeat the process for ten floors, my left hand aching from being used as a brake when we finally reach the bottom.

  “Not much time left,” I comment, checking the communicator. “Still no signal.”

  “We've got to get outside. You said that Ambaris will most likely have men here,” Jensen comments, checking his Gauss pistol again quickly. “We might need to go shooting.”

  “If so, there's nobody I'd rather have at my side,” I whisper back, offering him my hand not as his lover, but as Jensen's fellow warrior and equal. He takes my hand and we meet as brothers in arms, if that term can even apply here. It's heady, knowing that our relationship is built on so many different levels of connection, but at the same time it's amazing. “Sir.”

  Jensen smiles, nodding. “Kelbara. Come on, let's see what we can do to get out of here.”

  Chapter 24

  Jensen

  The door to the stairwell is unguarded, and I'm confused for a moment, checking left and right as we emerge into a short hallway. “I thought you said he'd have men on guard!”

  “Apparently not. Maybe they're too short handed with preparations the rocket launch and the attack they have to know is coming,” Kelbara replies, her eyes scanning the corridor. It's barely ten meters long, and there isn't anyone in sight as we make our way towards the door. Just as we reach it, we hear talking on the other side, and I stop, holding up a hand. Kelbara nods, letting us listen to the guards on the other side.

  “Think he's caught 'em yet?” one guard asks the other, and I can just see half of his profile through the small window inset in the door itself. “The alarm's been going off for a while.”

  “I don't know. Ambaris is good, but Jensen.... you ever watch him in the Arena for the Blood Moon Games?”

  I roll my eyes, am I going to have to live with what I did on those sands forever? I didn't even want to fight, I fought because someone had to do it, and I wasn't going to let the other humans working with Mogar get themselves killed when I was better than they were. We had important things to handle, like trying to figure out how to get humans their rights. Kelbara notices my expression and smirks, mouthing a comment. You're famous. Deal with it.

  Fuck fame! I mouth back, Kelbara laughing silently. The guards outside continue their conversation.

  “Of course I watched him in the Blood Moon Games! I'll be honest, I'm glad I've got a Gauss rifle and armor right now, there's no way I'd let that motherfucker within five meters of me. You remember his fight four years ago? The video announcers never said anything, but I was working for one of the nobles that sent someone up against Jensen in the main event four-way fight. They'd pumped that boy up with everything from steroids to the hypnotics, that motherfucker felt no pain at all. He comes out, and in like, ten seconds the other two guys were dead, and it was just this huge fucked up slave for my boss and Jensen. They....”

  “I remember that fight,” the other guard says, and I do too. I went toe to toe with that poor man for nearly fifteen minutes, and by the end it was hard to tell where the sweat stopped and the blood began. The problem was, I didn't recognize my opponent's drug conditioning until he'd gotten some blows in, and I was slowed down. If I'd seen it, I could have countered him quickly, but instead it turned into a battle of wills, and in the end... “I wasn't sure either of them were going to get off the sand there at the end. I mean, I knew the other guy sure as the stars wasn't.”

  “Considering he was missing his head, yeah,” the storytelling guard comments. “I lost my job because of that shit, too. Noble I was working for at the time had bet a ton of money on his boy, and when Jensen got up off the sand, there went my paycheck for the rest of the year.”

  “Yeah well, maybe you'll get a chance to get your paycheck back,” his companion laughs. “You bring Tauria Jensen's head, she might just make your ugly ass a noble.”

  I lower my pistol to fire through the wall and take out at least one of the guards, but Kelbara waves her hand, stopping me. Pointing behind her, she reveals what looks like a miniature door, and she opens it, revealing a maintenance corridor. I follow her, slipping inside and closing the door behind us. “Glad I didn't have to shoot my fan club.”

  “Well, not yet,” Kelbara chuckles, taking the lead. It might be a maintenance corridor, but that means it's almost pathetically tiny, and I find it faster to just side shuffle, my Gauss pistol held vertically as we make our wa
y around. “This has got to lead somewhere.”

  “Hopefully not into the guards' cafeteria,” I joke, and Kelbara laughs quietly. There's another door up ahead and Kelbara opens it while I cover her. It's quiet, and we step out into an area of the first floor that's deserted. Through the door, we can see the same massive space that we circled, the motor pool that we were brought through the first time. We turn left though, heading in the other direction, trying to find another way out.

  Kelbara points, and I see it, another door around the corner. It obviously a side door built into the mesa to allow troops to go in and out another way without exposing the whole motor pool to the frigid polar winds. There's a guard there, but he's looking bored, and more importantly he's by himself. “Play it totally cool,” I whisper. “In this red light....”

  “Your skin looks Tamarian,” Kelbara notes, smirking. “Knew you were cuter all of a sudden somehow.”

  I roll my eyes, whispering in her ear. “Stay right behind me, I want to see how close we can get before he reacts.”

  Kelbara nods, and I stand up, making sure the lab coat we took from the electronics techs on the fifth level looks as professional and clean as possible. I can't do anything about my boots or my jumpsuit, but I button the coat up as high as I can, my Gauss pistol thrust into one of the front pockets. I come around the corner, plastering a tired look on my face that isn't as hard as it sounds. I am exhausted.

  “Hey buddy, you got an extra ten credits?” I ask as I approach the guard, who looks up bewildered. He's got a Gauss rifle, but he doesn't raise it, not sure what's going on. “I was trying to get a drink from the machine and...”

  Whoever this poor schmuck is, he's not well trained, and I get within two meters of him before he realizes something's not right and tries to bring his rifle up to defend himself. I lower my shoulder and charge, inside of two meters trying to use a firearm that's not already raised is useless, and my shoulder catches him in the stomach, driving him into the door and we go tumbling through onto the frozen tundra ground. The impact jars the rifle from his grip and knocks the wind out of him, although he tries to fight back. Still, I won't have it, and I turn him quickly, wrapping my arm around his neck and rearing back until I hear the brittle snap, and he sags, the tension already coming out of his body.