Page 34 of Clan and Command

He finished his preparations and looked around with satisfaction. He looked forward to his visitor. He tried not to think how Piras had refused to answer coms the night before. How he’d taken the day off from Fleet Command without warning. What was that infernally frustrating man up to? He was determined to get some answers – but first, there was pleasanter business to attend to.

The door announce went off, and Kila’s heart drummed harder in anticipation. “Yes?”

“Chief Engineer reporting as ordered, Captain.”

A grin spread across Kila’s face. Pleasant business, indeed. “Enter.”

The door opened and Lokmi walked in. The handsome Imdiko wore loose-fitting civilian clothing, as Kila had ordered. Lokmi’s eyes widened to see his captain in nothing but a tiny pair of skin-tight workout shorts.

Kila had hoped to make Lokmi off-balance. For the moment, it seemed that he had. The man yanked his gaze from the bulging crotch of the Nobek’s shorts to pretend casual interest in Kila’s personal quarters. “Are we still fighting, or did you change your mind, sir? The floor space in here is rather cramped.”

You wish. “Oh, we’re having it out, Chief. Make no mistake about that.”

Lokmi’s studied attempt to not look at his nearly-nude captain shifted. Rabid fascination replaced the uncomfortable expression he wore. He took an instinctive step forward, his gaze locked on one of Kila’s shelves. The Nobek glanced to see what had caught his interest. A wave of nostalgia distracted him from his purpose. It was one of Kila’s favorite mementos, something he’d claimed ownership of while still a member of his parent clan’s racing crew.

Lokmi’s hushed tone betrayed his awe. “Is that—?”

“Nobek Orthek’s glove. Snatched off his hand by my father after we won the championship from his cheating ass,” Kila confirmed. He went to the shelf and lifted the padded racing glove. It was impossible not to gloat as he had that wonderful day when right had prevailed. He sneered at the glove, thinking of the man who had once worn it. He tossed it to Lokmi.

The chief engineer handled it like a religious relic. His eyes lit with fervor. “No one could beat that bastard until your father and his team blasted past his racer in the last stretch of the championship. Orthek’s shuttle literally fell apart! Weren’t you working on the crew at that time?”

Kila nodded, his chest swelling with pride. “I’m the one who figured out the dampening frequency Orthek’s craft emitted to knock all his competitors out. I fitted my father’s shuttle with a counter-frequency that rebounded onto Orthek’s vessel. Not only did it cancel the effects on surrounding shuttles, but it strengthened when it came back at him and tore his craft to pieces. That glove was my trophy for the contribution.”

He was bragging, but he couldn’t help it. Nobek Orthek had gamed the races for five years before Kila had discovered how he did it. No one else had guessed the ruse.

“Amazing. Truly.”

The admiration in Lokmi’s voice stirred Kila’s senses. The Imdiko was an ace engineer, someone capable of appreciating the accomplishment. To receive accolades from a man who matched – if not surpassed – Kila’s mechanical abilities meant something. The captain liked hearing the note of approval in Lokmi’s tone.

Kila studied his crewman as Lokmi, still holding the glove, looked at the other tokens and vid pictures of triumphs past. In his way, the Imdiko was as interesting as Piras. Lokmi was half-Dramok, and he had fighting skills to boot. He was more than fascinating. He was downright arousing.

Being erect during a battle or a fight was as normal to Kila as the surge of adrenaline pumping his muscles. The throbbing of his cocks as he readied for the coming struggle fed his desire to win…because if he bested Lokmi in their match, he could claim a trophy far more delectable than a racer’s glove. He would be well within his rights as disciplinarian and superior officer to fuck his disobedient chief engineer.

A prize Kila had every intention of winning.

“Tour’s over, Chief. Are you ready to do this?”

“Sure.” Lokmi turned and tossed the glove to Kila.

Even as Kila reached instinctively to catch, stepping forward to snag the glove before it could hit the floor, he knew the mistake he was making. Before he could check the unfortunate error, Lokmi rushed forward, ducking under the Nobek’s outstretched arm to drive his shoulder into his unprotected belly. Kila woofed out a breath as they collided, bending over Lokmi’s back. The Imdiko straightened, lifting the captain off the floor and flipping him over.

Kila landed halfway on his sleeping mat and bounced off. He already curled his body to spring at his opponent, who was setting to defend himself. Lokmi moved fast. Kila was faster.

For several minutes, the air filled with breathless grunts and the thuds of hard bodies making violent contact against each other and the walls. Kila’s mementos pattered to the floor from their shaken shelves, but he’d prepared by putting away all the breakable items before Lokmi’s arrival.

As he’d foreseen, it was he who carried most of the fight to the engineer. Lokmi’s use of odikan meant he used Kila’s own momentum and force against the Nobek. The man was damned good at it too. The struggle was evenly matched, with neither getting the upper hand. Kila’s respect for his opponent grew with each instance of his attacks turned aside, especially when Lokmi took advantage of putting his captain off balance and landing a solid punch or kick.

They pounded and deflected and parried and jabbed for what felt like forever to Kila. Their skin was sheened with sweat, and their chests worked like bellows. Kila noted the crotch of Lokmi’s loose-fitting trousers were as tented as his own tight shorts.

Had Kila chosen to fight fair, they might have battled until one or both collapsed from sheer exhaustion. However, playing by the rules during the confrontation had never been the Nobek’s intention. He’d wanted to test Lokmi, to get the man’s true measure as a combatant, as well as deal out a little of the punishment due. Having satisfied that portion of his curiosity about the chief, he was ready to bring on the real discipline.

Kila came at Lokmi yet again, opening himself to being tossed against the desk that usually held his computer. The Imdiko complied beautifully, and Kila went flying over the furniture.

He hit the floor. Ignoring a brief flash of pain, Kila put on a burst of speed, more than he’d used during the entire combat. It had been a tactical ploy, in the hope that Lokmi would think his captain was a hell of a lot slower than he actually was. In a flash, Kila snagged one of the hover cuffs he’d secured beneath the desk. Still zipping as fast as he could go, he flew at Lokmi, knocking the other man off balance for an instant.

Had Kila tried to press his advantage and take the Imdiko off his feet, he would have failed, as he had several times during their contest. Instead, the captain dropped to the ground and slapped the cuff on his opponent’s ankle. Kila jerked back, out of the way of a kick aimed at his head.

“Cuff, elevate subject ten feet!”

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