Page 68 of Tempted by Celestial Bodies

ratchet and clanked

Kristin Jacques

chapterone

kori

One final twist totighten a rusted-out bolt on this meteor-ridden undercarriage and Kori would be done for the night. A fine tremor had settled into her arm muscles, aching after wrestling with the damned personal craft for hours. Sweat plastered her grease-stained tunic to her back, the heat in the shop stifling after so many hours of gritty labor despite the filtered air blasting through the vents. Flecks of oxidized metal coated her gloves as she coaxed the worn threads on the ancient junker to cinch completely shut. The rust was a problem. She’d have to talk to the reluctant owner about properly sealing the outer hull before it ruptured on them and made the small craft into a crumpled metal coffin. But that was a problem for future Kori.

The stubborn bolt squealed with the sound of metal on metal that made her back teeth grind. It was as tight as she could make it. Kori draped her quivering arms over the top of the craft, the metal a fraction cooler than the repair bay air and a welcome relief. Her sonic wrench would have shaved hours off this job if the hull paneling wasn’t held together with rust and a prayer. Damn Vox—he knew that and still dumped it in her bay before he and the entire crew fucked off for shore leave.

Groaning, she hooked her fingers over the craft’s stabilizing fins and straightened up. Through the starboard viewing panel, she caught a glimpse of the massive cerulean planet surrounded by swirls of glittering gold dust that moved through the outer atmosphere like a shifting veil. Vega Surong, the premier vacation destination for the discerning galactic tourist, and an ideal shore leave planet for any overworked waystation mechanic. Which is exactly what her entire crew did, drawing lots over who would stay behind to man the emergency bay while their waystation set up temporary orbit in the planet’s outer atmosphere.

Kori sighed, stripping off her gloves. Right now, she could be lounging on one of Vega Surong’s sapphire sand beaches, soaking up the sun. Maybe having her clit sucked by one of the natives, who were notoriously receptive to trysts with tourists. An underappreciated highlight of the planet in her opinion, if the rumor about their split tongues was true.

“Fucking short straw,” she muttered.

After vacuuming down her work area, Kori stepped into the cleansing pod and let the steam lift the rust stains from her skin.

Freshly scrubbed, she pulled on a clean shirt and shorts before crawling onto the cot set up at the back of the emergency bay. Kori missed her private bunk, but as the lone mechanic on call for the next sixty-nine rotations, the accommodations were necessary. Exhaustion and the thorough cleanse left her limbs pleasantly sluggish, yet sleep hovered just out of reach. She glanced out the viewing panel, lulled by the undulating golden mists that surrounded the planet.

Her lazy fingers drifted down her stomach, slipping beneath the waistline of her shorts to carelessly play between her legs. Her half-hearted movements weren’t enough to climax, but she let her mind float on the sensations, shedding the tension her muscles still carried. Her thoughts spiraled out, sinking into an unconscious blank slate, until the incessant chime of the intercom scratched through her groggy brain.

Kori sat up so fast her head spun, tipping sideways off the cot before her body registered the scant hours she’d slept. She tapped the intercom, mumbling a sleepyHello?A disconnected click answered her. Squinting, she finally registered the source of the ongoing chime. Not the intercom, but the proximity alert. Clumsily slapping at the controls, she shifted the viewing panel to the opposite wall, revealing the object that tripped the alarm.

She gaped. “What in Sagan’s black hole is that?”

A sleek craft sped toward the waystation’s upper decks in an uncontrolled tumble. Her mind registered the diminutive size of the ship as its trajectory curved, caught in the planet’s gravitational pull. Not a craft, but an escape pod. And this close, she could see the faint buckling of the pod’s hull against Vega Surong’s outer atmosphere.

“Fuck!” Kori flung herself across the controls, holding her breath as the emergency retrieval bot burst out of the rear bay. Her gaze fastened to the pod, counting the vital seconds in her head as the bot drew near it. Retrieval nets burst forth in a silvery bloom that enveloped the ship.

Relief rolled through her when the bot slowly pulled back toward the station, the pod firmly snared in its nets. The moment both were safely within the confines of the rear repair bay, she took off. Her bare feet slapped across the patterned metal floor, but she ignored the discomfort as she reached the damaged pod. The bot had already extracted the craft from its netting, revealing the extent of the damage. Dread pooled in her belly. Chances were slim to none the occupant was still alive, but she had to be sure.

The brush with the planet’s atmosphere had distorted the outer hull of the pod, trapping whoever or whatever occupied the craft. Snagging a laser cutter from the tool rack, Kori dropped to her knees, the corrugated metal flooring biting her exposed kneecaps. She paid no attention to the sharp sting of pain, her hands steady despite the fluttering panic in her chest as she carefully cut into the crumpled paneling until the pressurized interior released with a pop. The warped metal cracked, made brittle and fragile by the extreme heat. Kori winced, fearing the worst as she gently pried the panels away to reveal the pod’s lone occupant.

She froze in mid thought, caught off guard by the most beautiful person she’d ever seen. Like the cursed royalty of old Earth fairy tales, they lay locked in stasis, pale hands clasped over a flat stomach. Their features were nearly Elverin in appearance, with all the sharp, smooth angles of androgynous beauty the race was famous for, except this person had a lush mouth and cleft tipped nose. Human features, both highlighted by simple golden piercings, caught her eye: a small septum hoop and lip stud that drew the eye to their full bottom lip. Metal caps tipped their ears, connected by delicate chains to a daith piercing. Tousled white-blond hair framed that stunning face, like threads of tangled silk that darkened to lavender at the ends and brushed up and over their bare shoulders. A black sleeveless tunic drew attention to the paleness of their skin, molding over a lean masculine-presenting chest. Her gaze caught on the golden rings that adorned their long, elegant fingers and manicured nails painted an iridescent pearl white.

She absorbed all these details in seconds, her rapt gaze drifting back to the stranger’s still features to snag on the tell-tale metallic plating embedded in their right cheek, tracing their jawline. An altered being, a seamless creation of biological and mechanical; the integrated technology alone was enough to make her mouth water.

Kori sucked in a sharp breath. The outer hull panel slipped from her slack fingers, landing with a loud clang that made the passenger flinch, a single crease marring their smooth brow. Their eyelids fluttered open. Silver eyes peered up at her. Despite the lack of visible pupils or sclera, she could feel their gaze tracking over her face. Their brows drew together, a subtle tensing of muscles rolling through their frame that she noticed a moment too late. Their body moved far faster than her frazzled mind could follow, tackling her.

“Shit!” Kori barked. The laser cutter skittered across the floor as she slammed back hard on the unforgiving floor. She hissed in pain, her wrists caught in a crushing grip. Velvet clad thighs bracketed her waist, the soft fabric rubbing against her skin where her nightshirt had ridden up. The stranger loomed over her, ombre hair falling in a tangled curtain while their silver eyes gleamed down at her. No pupils or irises to break up the metallic gleam that seemed to exude malice.

“Whatever the Consortium is paying you, I assure you it’s not worth your life.” Their voice washed over her, far deeper than expected and laced with a hollow echo that hinted at the cybernetic enhancements hidden beneath their skin. Their thighs squeezed around her waist with a strength that made her wheeze. Kori made the unfortunate discovery her body enjoyed the sensation to a startling degree.

Heat washed over her, flushing through her cheeks and lips as her nipples pebbled, a reaction made blatantly obvious by her thin shirt. “I—I don’t know whotheyare,” she sputtered. Was shepanting?

Those silver eyes roved her form before something shifted behind their imperious expression, flaring with calculated interest. Their thighs shifted lower, settling directly over her hips while they effortlessly shifted their hold to clasp her wrists in one hand, the other trailing lazy fingers down her side.

“Then tell me who you work for, pet. Perhaps I can make a better offer.” The octaves of their voice modulated into a throaty purr that scrambled her thoughts. They grinned down at her, all perfect teeth and panty-melting charm. Who the hell was she dealing with here? Enhanced or not, they handled her with frightening strength, and the sudden flip from aggression to suggestion should have sent her screaming, but Kori felt the insane urge to shimmy her hips into better alignment with her captor.

She’d been on this station too damned long.

Her fingers spasmed, arm muscles straining against that relentless hold. Kori licked her lips and swallowed; keenly aware those silver eyes observed every reaction. “I work for Vox, and he doesn’t work for anybody. Though, I guess, he kind of works for the Alliance like everyone else in the quadrant. Listen, we’re above board and certified here?—”

“What are you talking about?” The sultry expression faltered. A frown knotted their brow. “Who are you?”

“K-Kori,” she stuttered. “The on-duty mechanic.”

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