Page 21 of Starfighter Command, Game 2 (Starfighter Training Academy 2)

Grabbing her upper arms, I tugged her close, fused my mouth to hers. She was surprised for a split second, then opened for me. Our tongues tangled, heads slanted to take the kiss deeper. More. More. My cock throbbed with the need for more.

Instead I pulled back. Grinned when she blinked her eyes open.

“This is it, my pair bond. Let’s go.”

Mia licked her lips and I groaned. She left me behind to run her hand over the outer shell of our ship as she made her way to the ramp. “She’s beautiful. I can’t believe this is real. It’s like I’m in an episode of Star Trek or something. No red shirt, either.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but after I adjusted my cock so it was more comfortable in my uniform pants, I led the way inside. “Let us begin our trek to the stars, my Mia.”

“Glad you hacked your way here?” she asked.

I grinned. “Hell, yeah.”

With a leap covering the final few steps, Mia smashed her hand down on the portal controls to retract the ramp and close the doors. I wondered for a second how she knew to do that, then realized we’d both watched this sequence of events hundreds of times in the training program. She walked inside and craned her neck, looked in every direction.

“This is exactly like the game. Even the flat bolts on the floor paneling. This is unreal.”

I grabbed her hips, pulled her close for a quick kiss, and forced myself to step back. “I can’t wait to fly her. Come on.”

We jogged to the cockpit, which took all of ten steps, and I slipped into the pilot’s seat as she took up position in the copilot’s chair. Once we reached our target, her seat would slide into the direction facing opposite mine where she would have access to a large array of surveillance and hacking equipment and the more advanced mission control systems while I flew the ship and handled shielding and weapons. Which, if we were good at our job, we would rarely need.

Ensuring we were both wearing our flight harnesses, I started the engines and requested clearance for takeoff.

Mia rubbed her hands together and stared at the display screen. “Let’s go, Kass. I can’t wait to see one of the Dark Fleet ships up close.”

“They’re dangerous, Mia. This isn’t a game. The ones we’re going after are real.”

Was she going to take risks she shouldn’t because of the way she’d been trained? I hadn’t considered that possibility until this moment. She was a touch reckless. Wild. Just like me. Together, it could be a problem if we weren’t careful.

“Oh, I know,” she commented. “But that bitch queen tried to kill my best friend and wipe out your entire planet. If what General Jennix said is true, if they wipe out Velerion, Earth will be next on their list of conquests just because Jamie came from there. Me, too. I am not going to let that happen.” She shifted in her seat and tilted her head to look at me. Her eyes narrowed, and I was aroused by her vehemence. No one fucked with my pair bond or anyone she cared about. “Not happening. Got it? That bitch is going down.”

“So, bonded one, you are not reckless, simply bloodthirsty?” I asked as our ship shot out of the launch area and into open space.

My words made her laugh. “Exactly. Wahooooooo!” she shouted as the G’s pushed us into our seats.

She was magnificent. Perfect. Mine. Bloodthirsty, I could work with.

We flew at near top speed on a wide arc toward our target coordinates. Surveillance had tracked a Dark Fleet vessel passing through this area at regular intervals for several days. We would proceed with caution. The regularity of the ship’s appearance reeked of a trap. Today, if we were lucky, we’d be close by when they flew through Velerion-controlled space and manage to remain undetected. We would discover what this Dark Fleet ship was doing out here and gather the data General Jennix needed with the Dark Fleet none the wiser.

Mia stared at distant stars, at the darkness of space, and we’d sat in companionable silence for long minutes when she broke the quiet with an unexpected question.

“What’s the purpose behind the pair-bonding thing? In the game I thought it was romantic and fun. But I had no idea other people on Velerion pair bonded as well. Like the mechanics—or mechs, you called them? Vintis and Arria? They’re a pair bond, too, right? What does that mean on Velerion? Are we married? Engaged? Do we have some kind of work contract?” Mia’s hands flew over her control panel as if she were purposely avoiding eye contact. How she could talk and work proved her insane abilities and complex mind.

I covered her hand with my own and stopped her movement. “Mia, you are mine and I am yours. We worked together, trained together, learned together. We fit one another in skills and temperament. We have common goals and shared work. Pair-bonded Velerion teams are stronger than those who struggle to work alone. Do you not have bonded mates on Earth?”

Mia shrugged. “We do, but it’s not like that.”

“Then what is your pair bonding like?”

We drifted close to a slowly rotating asteroid, and I placed us in a matching roll so we would look like we were part of the rock.

“Well, humans go out on dates to get to know each other. If they get along and have good chemistry—”

“Chemistry? Between humans? How does this occur? Can you shed your skin? Exchange fluids?”

Mia burst into laughter, but I was serious.

“This is not a joke, Mia. If humans have these types of biological needs for survival, our science and medical teams must be notified. Interpersonal chemical reactions are not in your species reports.”

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