Love and War: Short Story Collection

Cosmo Punk - Sylvaine 8

Bam.

The Lynx004 shakes violently, and one of the space capsules flings open. Hana S finds herself catapulting into a standing position. She’s only wearing a tank top, tight on her large breasts, and a pair of leather short pants that exposes her slim, white thighs. Well, of course, there’s her pair of glasses, which inexplicably rests on her nose perfectly. Meanwhile, it always feels like it’s about to fall off. Well, just like about now.

Hana frowns and looks around, and adjusts her thickly framed glasses. She is also wearing boots, which is weird for someone who has just woken up, but she has insisted on keeping them for hibernation. Her black hair is also wound up in a tight ponytail. She’s like Lara Croft from that classic movie that her cousin George still watches on repeat whenever he gets the time. George is still back on Earth, trying to get the next spacecraft out of the dying planet.

Hana remembers saying that she may need her boots right away, and that yes, she understands that her feet may feel numb if she wears them for long. It does feel that everyone was right about the numbness, but she’s also thankful that she doesn’t need to search for a pair of shoes at this point. The event that releases her from her capsule way too early feels like an emergency.

Hana’s smart and alert enough to realize that she’s the only one who’s awake, at least it seems so for a moment until she sees Finley R who’s walking around dazed. Knowing him, he probably flew off from his capsule and landed on his head.

“Oh, s**t,” she mutters. “Don’t tell me it’s Finley of all people who’s awake aside from me.”

She watches Finley who wears matching clothes, shorts, a tight shirt, and a pair of thickly framed glasses and groans. The man is smart, for sure, but is not the sort who can defend her from any attacks. It also means that she must fix any busted circuits and she must start doing it now. Finley is known for his clumsiness. He can rattle all sorts of solutions without checking any references, but she swears he has two left feet. Sometimes, it feels like his feet are part-octopus, too, the way he moves like he’s undulating but, not in a graceful way. She grimaces and doesn’t even try to hide it. The only thing he’s got going for him is that he’s cute and Hana doesn’t mind eye candy, though one connected to a clumsy but, oh, so strangely muscular body is damn weird. She’s pretty sure he’s a virgin. She smirks. Again, she doesn’t try to hide it. Finley won’t even notice.

Hana checks her watch to see how long they still need before they arrive at their destination. They are 2 days away from New Year’s Day, the day they’re supposed to land on Planet 34XT, their new home. The planet was only discovered about 20 years ago, but the world’s top scientists are confident that it can replace Earth. Heck, it is a better Earth with no pollution, just pure, heavenly oxygen.

“Um, Hana, we woke up too soon.”

Well, duh.

“Yup. So, what do we now? Think we can wake up the Captain or head scientist Burke F?”

Ugh. Not Burke F. He’s even worse. While Finley is just awkward, Burke F is a total jerk who will make everything all about him. When he’s not blabbering numbers and nonsense, he’s quite mean. Hana knows she sounds like a child from the playground but that’s f*****g true. She shudders when she remembers how his warm, sweaty hands would find their way on her shoulders, massaging, or on her arm, squeezing. What the hell was the rule about s****l harassment in space? None, so far, not when they’re supposed to depend on the asshole for a lot of things. Captain Ridley told her that they would have to wait for the spacecraft to arrive at their destination to make a case against the fucker. Of course, she can play fight fire for fire and just shove her boots into his crotch and say it’s an accident. Better yet, she can push Finley at Burke and everyone will think it’s just the poor guy’s standard clumsiness that’s at fault.

But they need Burke F, especially if she and her tools cannot fix whatever problem the spacecraft has.

“f**k, not Burke F,” Finley groans, raising Hana’s level of respect for him.

“Mm. Agreed. Let’s check the Captain first then.”

Reluctantly, the two walk side by side, glancing at each other as if the other will drag the other down. They make a beeline for the Captain’s capsule. They have been traveling for months, and have been asleep for about the same duration, and it feels so strange seeing everything again. It’s not just strange, though. It’s f*****g horrific.

“f**k,” the two exclaim in unison, as they see their Captain’s capsule smashed by a metal column that has fallen on it. The glass is cracked, and there’s visible blood splattered on it. There goes their savior. Hana chokes a sob. She will not have Finley see her crying.

“W-what do we do now?” stammer Finley, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Then, back again.

“I’m not your mother, Finley. You’re also the guy in this situation. What do you think we should do?” Hana shakes her shoulders at him, pushing her breasts closer to him in the process. The poor man finds it difficult to steer his eyes away from Hana’s cleavage.

“Okay, Hana,” he gulps. “I think we should just wait for us to land on Planet 34XT. Anyway, we are now less than 2 days away. We should have enough supplies.”

Hana rages. That’s all this man is going to suggest?

Before she can slap the life out of him, though, the spacecraft experiences another collision.

Bam.

The lights flicker and turn off completely, and Hana finds herself hugging the man she had just wanted to throttle. Oh. She hugs him some more. How can such a total nerd like him feel so good and hard and -.

“Hana, I think we’re being attacked,” he says, cutting off Hana’s little daydream. She quickly shoves him away from her just as the light comes back.

“Who in the hell will attack us?” she asks, annoyed at him once again. The man looks oblivious, pushing his glasses up his nose and scrunching his face in concern.

Then, there’s another thump. This time, it’s much louder and Hana cannot believe that the rest of the passengers do not wake up from the more aggressive collision. Finley the f*****g Virgin may be right. They are being attacked.

Both of them turn to the clear glass right where the control thrusters can be found. Clumsy Finley isn’t so clumsy when he runs toward the controls, his hands claiming them as if he has done it before. Hana gapes at him, but knows that she is needed elsewhere. The hissing sound coming from behind her is bad news. She needs her tools to fix whatever it is - more likely one of the pipes.

When she finds the source of the sizzle, she realizes it’s even worse than she thought it was. It looks like the active thermal control system has been shot. There’s a hole that melts part of the metal, and she knows that at least one being has been firing shots at them.

However, she can’t help with the fighting if it breaks out at that very moment. She needs to seal the ATC or risk having the spacecraft interior descend into utter freezing coldness.

They will all die.

“Hana, I see them now!”

“Finley, goddamit, grow some balls and find the weapons under the controllers. Captain Ridley hides some there. I’m pretty sure.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know,” she grumbles, trying to get rid of the pain bubbling in her chest. It’s not the time to tell Finley that the Captain is her father, one she has always hated for bringing her, his bastard daughter, into this world. She doesn’t want Finley to know that it’s part of the reason a girl with only two years of experience under her belt is in charge of a lot of things in the spacecraft. She’s only twenty-four, but she is good at what she does, her father’s identity be damned.

“You can’t come over here? They’re here,” he says, his voice going lower as he strains to find the weapons in the compartment under the controllers.

“I’m fixing the ATC, you i***t!”

“They’re um -,” he hesitates.

Then, all that Hana could hear while she fixes the ATC with hands that know their way around were the shots fired. She glances to see that Finley at least remembers to push the weapon through the tiny emergency hole made especially for fighting without having to break the glass. The tip of the radiation gun pushes out into space. Hana flushes as she sees Finley powering through with the heavy weapon as if he does it in his sleep. She could kiss him, but she must fix the ATC first.

Sweat beads on her forehead, though the broken ATC has the temperature dipping lower. She thinks of the destination planet and the only thing that it has going against it. It has the proper atmosphere, but it’s going to be freaking cold.

“Argh,” Finley screams.

Damn. He’s quite a screamer. Hana turns her head in concern to see his arm is bleeding, but if she leaves the ATC, they will all die. So, she fumbles for the hole plugs and the extra-strong epoxy. Almost there. It’s a temporary solution, but it will keep the metal sealed for the less than 48 hours they have left before landing on Planet 34XT.

There!

It’s time to help Finley with his little war with -.

Damn.

Finley is fighting round fur balls. The green critters have large, reddish eyes and soft fur that makes her think of stuffed animals. How in the hell do they end up fighting what looks like a rejected group of toys from a questionable toy company?

As one smashes on the glass, Hana changes her mind quickly. These critters look vicious and disgusting, with thick, green liquid oozing from one of them as its flattened body slides down the glass into space forever.

She runs toward the compartment, and ducks to take a weapon. When she rises to engage the gun into the glass, she widens her eyes in a blend of horror and amazement.

“What in the holy sh-,” she exclaims, her jaw dropping.

“Holy s**t is just about right,” Finley agrees, her respect for him rising a few more notches as they watch the floating angel in the midst of the bouncing critter heaven in front of them.

“Damn right,” a voice drips in awe behind them.

After seeing the floating dark avenging angel, protector of all green space critters, who else can be adding to the mad brew? Of course. f*****g Burke F.

“Why are you awake, Burke?”

“Why are the two of you awake?”

“Well, we’re being attacked and our capsules disengaged. But you, what about you?” Hana persists.

“Er - well, maybe my capsule is also damaged.”

“Asshole. Did you schedule yourself to wake up before everybody else?” Hana asks, moving away from Finley and the controllers at his helm.

“Hana, I’m dying over here!” screams Finley, but he keeps on firing his laser gun, anyway. Hana suspects he is secretly having a great time. Nerds like pushing buttons. She wonders if he can push hers. She glances back at him just to be sure. He’s definitely killing it. Literally. His laser gun rattles against the glass as he fires it continuously. The laser hits the critters one after the other, but the floating angel is still there. It’s ominous, but hasn’t done anything so far.

“You’ll be fine, Finley!”

“And you are fine, Hana. I’m glad that it’s only you and, well, Finley who’s awake,” Burke says in a way that the techno geek does not like. She shudders as he comes closer. When his thumb reaches her lower lip, she opens her jaw and bites.

“Oh, I like that, Hana,” he groans obscenely.

“We f*****g did it, Hana!” rejoices Finley, oblivious to the little matter of s****l harassment underway a few feet away from him. When he turns, he sees Hana and Burke only inches from each other and he utters a deflated, “Oh.”

He doesn’t see what’s going on between the two as Burke traces a finger down to Hana’s cleavage and presses on the flesh there.

“I think you know why I woke up earlier than the others. I was planning on sampling this, but I guess it’s better to have you awake the whole time. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Don’t mind Finley. He’s a little weakling.”

There’s nothing weak about Finley, and there’s definitely nothing weak about Hana. She can no longer take it and delivers the slap she was planning to give Finley on Burke’s cheek.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Finley strides toward the other two, finally catching on.

“This fucker has been sexually assaulting me since we’ve met. Now, he’s admitted to waking up early so that he can do more.”

“Finley, stand aside so that you won’t get hurt. She wants it. Believe me. You can even watch, touch yourself, or whatever. Isn’t that what you nerdy virgin boys do?”

“I’m not a virgin,” Finley begins, and realizing his response is inappropriate continues with, “…and I don’t like it when men hurt women.”

Hana’s ears perk up due to both statements. She also spies on the floating angel, who isn’t doing anything but just sticking around there. It seems Finley has decided it’s harmless, and maybe it is. Perhaps it’s not the mastermind of the critters, but just someone who likes to watch. A lot, it seems.

“What can you do about it, then, Finley?” booms Burke.

Burke is not an unattractive man. Yes, his blond hair is thinning and his nose is a little sharp, but some women may have found him handsome. At this point, though, with his lecherous ways confirmed, there is no way in hell Hana will sleep with him.

There’s no more time to observe Burke’s looks, though, because soon, Finley’s fist slams on it. There’s a crack. Then, the geek god launches his fist once more, and connects with the lecher’s nose. Of course, Burke won’t have it. Both are large men. The asshole head butts Finley, hitting the other man’s cheek. It smarts by the looks of it. Finley raises his hand to rub his face, but he knows that he shouldn’t stop. Both men are now bloody, and the metallic tang even reaches Hana’s nose.

Finley staggers but Hana feels like she needs to let him fight his own battle. He needs it, and he feels it, too. So, he moves back a few more steps. Then, he flings his whole weight on Burke. The older scientist falls on his back. Hard. The thin sheet of metal that covers the bulkier part of the flooring rattles. Then, Finley throws himself elbow first on his stomach. Burke gurgles as blood sputters out of his mouth. Then, he stills.

“Did I kill him?” Finley panics, rising as quickly as he just slammed on the other man.

“No. Men like him don’t die easily,” is Hana’s acerbic reply.

The two wakeful passengers lock eyes and know exactly what to do. They find a rope and tie up the man around a column. Hana even places him in handcuffs.

“Where the hell did you get that from?” asks Finley.

Before Hana could reply, a whoosh of cold wind enters the spacecraft. She almost thinks that it’s the ATC gone bust forever, but it’s the angel or whatever the hell has wings and floats in space is. It goes for Burke, who’s unconscious and strapped. It seems to enter his body. When it leaves the body, it’s cold and grey. Burke has apparently died.

“So, that’s what he’s there for.”

“The angel of death in space,” Finley shakes his head in amusement, thankfully forgetting about Hana’s handcuffs. “What do we do now?”

For some reason, it is clear to Hana what they should do now. She jumps to reach Finley’s neck, pulling him down to her for a long, lingering kiss.

“Whoa. What’s that, Hana?”

“Are you really not a virgin, Finley?”

“What in the world? Why does everyone think that?”

She narrows her eyes at him, but doesn’t let go. She notices that he presses her body closer to his and somehow his clinical smell, thanks to Lynx004’s sterile environment, combined with the tang of blood has become arousing. s**t. It’s simply him. He’s aggravatingly cute, if that’s even a thing.

“You just shuffle around as if you’d fall anytime on your face.”

“Did I do that today, huh?” he asks, looking more confident with that lopsided grin on his face and the way his fingers splay on her hip, so close to her buttocks.

“Nope,” she admits. “You’re awesome at killing fur ball toys.”

“They’re not toys, and you know it,” as his hard length presses on her belly.

“That there is, um, not a toy. For sure,” she moans. “Drop down, Finley R!”

He obeys, lying down on the metal flooring so gracefully Hana wonders if it’s the same man. He spreads himself only a few feet away from the expired Burke F, as he pushes down his short pants and releases his hard c**k. He doesn’t seem to care about his own appendage but is more focused on the sexy bespectacled goddess standing astride him. She shimmies out of her leather shorts over him, giving him an eyeful. Then, she lowers herself on him, being the confident woman she is. Wet and hot and ready for no other than clumsy Finley R.

“Can you ride that well, Miss S?”

“Of course,” she purrs, as she rocks her hips over him, taking him in deeper. The whole skirmish with space aliens, a lecherous scientist, a busted ATC, and the Angel of Death has been a strange series of events that serve as foreplay for both of them. She wonders if this would have happened if not for all the craziness. She doesn’t care. Right now, she feels him as she rides him hard and fast. He isn’t just going to lie down there, either. He pulls her down to him, and pushes down her tank top.

“I always wanted to see them fully,” he groans into her breasts.

“You can’t just admire them, Finley. Prove us all wrong and show me what to do with them.”

And he does. He f*****g does. He licks a tip and swirls his tongue round and round. Then, he sucks it deep in his warm mouth, with his hips still pistoning under her. Who said this man was clumsy? Damn hot.

“I don’t have a condom on. f**k,” he grumbles, almost breaking the spell and not quite.

“We’ve all been tested before we went aboard, didn’t we?” Hana pants, not letting go. A morning-after pill is buried somewhere in the supplies room. She’ll get there, but she’s not stopping now because the pressure has built to an almost unbearable peak.

Finley rolls her so that she’s underneath. Hana loves that he’s taken over as he drives himself into her with a few more thrusts. Then, she feels it - that little death - and clenches around his expanding c**k. She feels hot. Then, cold. Her body shudders and stills. He follows and slumps on her, his nose smelling her neck. His breath is hot and ticklish, and she pulls him closer.

They lay like that for awhile, until they realize they must get ready for when the other passengers wake up.

More than twenty-four hours later, the rest of the passengers wake up. Hana and Finley innocently sit by the controller, ready to give everyone the bad news. Captain Ridley is dead, and there’s a little twinge in Hana’s chest but she knows that at least they have reconnected before he dies - before she sees him as an asshole deadbeat forever.

“We’re landing in a few hours!” a woman cries out in glee. “Do we get fireworks there for the New Year?”

“Celebration!” a man exclaims. “We need to prepare for the countdown. It’s New Year’s Eve! New beginnings for all of us!”

Hana and Finley eye each other. Nobody knows that they have already had their share of fireworks the day before and they both know they’re not going to be the last. He reaches for her hand, squeezing gently, and she realizes that they also have a new beginning waiting for them on Planet 34XT.

“I’m so glad you’re not a virgin,” Hana whispers.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he says.

Author Page: Sylvaine Eight Writer

Author Group (with 7 other writers): Scribble Nook

Author Works:

Dreame

The Royal Witch

The Royal Flower

The Royal Wolf and Hades’ Daughter

Tourniquet (heading for a*****n after completion)

Judgment in Glass

Scent of a Rogue

Dance of the Mermaids

Fairy Tale Junction (heading for a*****n after completion)

Sea Myths

Figure eight

Ama.zon

Firebird

Lullaby

A Kingdom of the Senses (December 2022 or January 2023)