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Sexy Space Babes - Mechs, Maidens and Macaroons: Chapter Eighteen
🕑 Added 2025-07-28 13:18:07 +0000 UTC“Hey Vrenal?” Mark asked as he scrubbed the last of the breakfast pans.
The kitchen was filled with the fading scents born of what had once been huevos rancheros. Hardly the most upscale of dining choices under normal circumstances – but given the ingredients for it had been brought from halfway across the galaxy and prepared by a real Human, it had been the height of haute cuisine.
While Mark wasn’t the type to reduce the meticulous preparation that went into fine dining entirely to the cost of the ingredients used… there was no denying that it was a factor.
Of course, the dichotomous nature of food wasn’t truly what he was thinking about right now.
“Yes, Mark?” Vrenal looked up from his datapad, perched precariously on a nearby stool as he leaned on the kitchen counter.
Mark paused as he thought about how best to voice a question that had been bugging him for the last two days. Essentially, the time it had been since he’d last visited the estate and had his brief liaison with Saria.
A move he’d come to, well, regret was too strong a term. Second guess was perhaps more apt. And as a result, the possible consequences of which had lingered in his mind like a pot left simmering too long ever since.
“So, you know I slept with Saria,” he said, finally deciding to be blunt for lack of a better option.
Vrenal’s grin was instantaneous, sharp and knowing, his horns tilting forward as he set the datapad aside.
“Why yes, I do know that. As you’ll recall, I got an eyeful of the pair of you. Though even if I hadn’t caught the two of you ‘in the act’, as it were - well, Saria was the last person you should have slept with if you wanted to keep it secret. She likes to brag.”
And there was just a hint of schadenfreude in that statement from the Nighkru.
Though Mark wasn’t really bothered by the notion that anyone around here thought he was a ‘slut’.
He was a Human. Most people already thought he was a ‘slut’. Which, honestly, he kind of was. So he wasn’t offended by the implication.
“Yeah, that’s not really the issue,” he said with a wave of his hand, before pausing. “At least, not entirely. It’s just, you know I also…”
“Slept with Tenir?” Vrenal finished, his grin widening, though his eyes held a glint of curiosity now. “Saria’s rival and coworker?”
This time, Mark did wince, rubbing the back of his neck as heat crept up his face. “Yeah…”
In retrospect, it had been a dumb move. Mostly because he needed this job. And sleeping with two women who weren’t particularly fond of each other, back to back, was a recipe for friction in the workplace.
And if that friction spilled into Kalia’s business? Well, he was easily the most replaceable part of the dynamic. Kalia had paid a pretty penny to ship him out here and retain his services, but for someone from her background, that meant less than nothing. If she wanted him gone, it’d be beyond easy for her to cut short his contract.
Leaving him at loose ends on a foreign planet with only a small portion of what he’d been promised if he saw the entire work cycle through.
Beyond that, he did have some professional pride.
…Even if it had definitely taken a backseat to his libido a few days ago.
“Do you think it’ll cause a problem? Between the two of them?” Mark asked, leaning against the counter, his voice low.
Vrenal was Kalia’s PR guy, and PR was close enough to HR, right? Close enough to gauge if he’d screwed up too bad by indulging his newfound ‘masculine power’ a little more than was strictly wise.
“That depends,” Vrenal said slowly, his amusement fading into something unusually serious. “Will I need to worry about catching you in a similar position with Kalia at some point?”
Of all the responses Mark might have expected, that most definitely hadn’t been one of them. So much so that he was left a little bluescreened on how to respond.
“Don’t worry, I’m not judging. Part of me even respects the hustle. You’re the first to think to get at her through her friends.” Though Vrenal took the silence as a cue to continue, his tone measured. “Unfortunately for any plans you might have to be Mr. Vorn, our employer is already locked into an ironclad engagement contract.”
Mark just stared, the insinuation sinking in like a slow burn. Was… was Vrenal accusing him of being a gold digger? Him? The concept was too ridiculous for the human to even be offended – even if he was pretty sure that on some level he should have been.
Vrenal eyed him seriously, none of his usual camp on display, his voice dropping. “Again, I’m not judging. But I’m serious when I say, Kalia’s off-limits. Trying to rope her into a harem by pulling in her friends isn’t going to work.”
Mark finally found his voice, practically hissing. “What!? No, why would you even think…” He shook his head. “I think I’ve exchanged all of fifty words with Kalia since coming here. I’ve no interest in her – or her wealth - whatsoever.”
He paused, leaning into whisper. “Hell, I’m not even really interested in a relationship with the others beyond, you know, bumping uglies.”
Not that he couldn’t imagine something more. He could, all too easily. But he’d been burned on a multi-year relationship less than two months ago. He had no intention of leaping into anything serious.
He was just trying to sow his wild oats.
…Though he wasn’t blind to the fact that said desire to live freely and sow said oats was now why he was a little worried he was about to lose his job by stirring up trouble in his new workplace.
Whatever! The sowing oats wasn’t the issue! Merely the time and the place!
And his boss very much was not the correct time or place. Oh, she’d definitely seemed pleasant enough in their brief interactions - professional, focused, with a quiet intensity that either came from her time piloting or her upbringing.
But!
She was his boss.
The boss.
Sure, Tenir and Saria technically had rank on him too, but that was different. They were more like equals under Kalia’s umbrella.
“I don’t even know why you’d think I was making a move on Kalia. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t cause trouble in the stable by being… intimate with both Saria and Tenir,” he continued quickly, eyes shifting to the vague direction of the dining room – where all three women were in a meeting with some kind of big wig. “I mean, between some fun booty calls and losing this job, I’d rather keep my job. So, yeah, I’m just trying not to cause waves.”
Finally straightening up, he looked over at Vrenal – only to see that the smaller male looked baffled. “You’re really not aiming for Kalia? You just… slept with both Tenir and Saria… because you could?”
“Yes?” Mark said. “I mean, they’re nice. They were clearly interested. And they’re not, you know, ugly or anything.”
And he felt more than a little shallow for saying that. But there was a certain amount of truth to the statement. Because when you got right down to it, that had been the criteria.
They weren’t ugly and they were available. The niceness thing was, strictly speaking, pretty well optional.
Hell, in that regard his reticence to sleep with Sabine’s crime boss friend had more to do with the risk inherent in doing so than any real horror at the prospect of the deed itself.
Vrenal’s confusion didn’t abate though. “That’s it? Really? They were nice to you so you slept with them?”
Mark could do little but shrug.
The alien continued to stare, before rubbing his temple. “Right, well first of all… I’m sorry for misjudging you.”
Mark shrugged again, though this time to allow the that had built up to ease slightly. “Sure, apology accepted. Though I’m not entirely sure why you thought I was after Kalia in the first place because I happened to sleep with Tenir and Saria.”
Vrenal opened his mouth to say something, before closing. “I, you know what? Just forget it. I forgot you’re a Human.”
Mark had a feeling he should have been offended by that, but saw little reason to argue.
“As to your first question,” Vrenal continued, clearly happy to put the other part of their earlier conversation behind him. “I don’t think it will be a problem. Despite appearances, both Saria and Tenir are capable of being professional enough not to let their personal feelings affect their work.”
He tapped the data-pad in thought. “Usually at least. Some part of me wonders if you might change that dynamic. Though if it does become a problem, I can promise you we’ll have a proper sit-down conversation long before it reaches the point where your contract might be endangered.”
Mark nodded, a mental sigh of relief escaping him. That was all he’d really wanted to hear. Hell, it seemed he wouldn’t even have to break things off with the two.
Because as shallow as his reasons for going after the pair were at first – that being that they were there – he had come to enjoy both their company in the time they’d spent together.
“S’good to hear,” he said.
Vrenal nodded, still eying him slightly, as if Mark was some kind of alien creature – which Mark supposed wasn’t untrue, but it sometimes seemed that people needed a reminder. “Just… don’t be too surprised if the two get rather intense if you keep going after both.”
“Intense?” Mark echoed, turning to wipe down the counter absently, the towel squeaking against the plasteel. “I told them I wanted to keep things casual.”
“Yes, that’s what you said honey” Vrenal replied, some of his earlier amusement creeping back into his tone as he refound his equilibrium. “What they likely heard was ‘try harder to win me over’.”
“I think that’s your own biases,” Mark scoffed - and he felt secure saying so, given Vrenal’s incorrect assumptions about his own goals just a few moments ago. “They seemed pretty stoked to just be a booty call.”
“I’m sure I know why, and I can safely say it won’t protect you from them trying to one up each other going forward.” Vrenal scoffed as he turned back to his datapad, his fingers tapping the screen. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you a few weeks from now.”
Mark just shook his head as he finished up cleaning.
A few minutes later, after some slightly less charged small-talk, he was getting ready to leave. Indeed, he was partway to the front door when he was intercepted by two very familiar figures.
And it did feel like an interception, Saria practically pounced on him as she stepped out from behind a nearby pillar of the hallway, eyes bright with determination. And she’d barely opened her mouth before Tenir strode into the room, eyes alighting on him like a pair of searchlights as she all-but bared down on him.
“Hey, Mark,” Tenir said, stepping closer with a bright smile. “It’s good I caught you before you left. Do you have any plans for the day? I was thinking-”
“That I was clearly about to ask if he wanted to hang out?” Saria interrupted, her tail lashing as she planted herself between them.
Tenir’s eyes narrowed as she belatedly noticed the other woman. “No, I most definitely wasn’t thinking that.”
“Well you should have,” the Pesrin said as she glided over to Mark, not quite rubbing against him, but certainly getting close. “Because I think he made his preferences when he hooked up with me after you struck out with him.”
Mark saw Tenir’s eyes twitch, the insult clearly finding fertile ground. Which was why he was quick to sort this bullshit out. “I did not strike out you overgrown-”
“Alright,” he said firmly, raising his hands as both women turned to him with widening eyes – as if surprised he hadn’t just sat back and watched the cat-fight play out. “I’m going to cut this off at the pass.”
He aimed a gimlet eye at Saria first. “First of all, I had a lovely evening with Tenir - but that had absolutely no bearing on anything I did with you after, Saria. Please don’t imply otherwise.” He continued, even as Tenir opened her mouth to smugly speak. “And the reverse is also true of you, Tenir. Whatever I did with Saria really shouldn’t have any bearing on anything between us. Because as I recall, I very explicitly said it was a casual thing. Some fun between consenting adults with no strings attached. You both remember that, right?”
The women exchanged tense glances at his words, before nodding hesitantly.
“Now, I get that you two aren’t fans of each other. And it was perhaps a little crude of me to hook up with each of you back to back. Unfortunately, I enjoy both your company,” Mark continued firmly, ignoring the way both women twitched a little at him saying he liked them.
“I was hoping that you’d both be able to deal with the fact that I’m pursuing a… physical relationship with the other.” He wasn’t about to say fuckbuddies, even it was apt. “Again, we agreed on the whole ‘no obligations’ thing. But if you can’t do that, maybe I’d be better served just keeping things professional. Leave both those liaisons as an ill-advised one night stand that-”
“No!” they both blurted, voices overlapping.
Tenir blushed and Saria’s ears twitched, before some unspoken communication passed between the two. Eventually, the Nighkru spoke.
“I mean, what you were saying is fine. Casual is fine. I shouldn’t have gotten worked up. As you said, nothing you did with Saria has any bearing on anything you might do with me,” she confirmed. “There’s no need to end things just because of a little spat.”
Saria nodded afterward. “Yeah. Yeah. No need to ruin a good thing over a little sniping.”
It was abundantly clear neither was happy about the presence of the other, but it seemed that if the alternative was losing out on access to easy sex – well, they’d deal.
He couldn’t say he’d have felt the same if the situations were reversed – but he lived on a planet where there was roughly one man for every woman.
He might have felt differently about the whole thing if he’d lived on a world with seven men for each woman. That level of competition might have had a way of changing his priorities.
“Alright, if you’re both fine with it,” he said, eying each of them for confirmation before continuing. “I was actually planning to go for a quick jog in one of the nearby parks today.”
He’d been looking one up on his data-pad when Saria had practically leapt at him from the shadows. And his search told him the city did have parks despite being in a dome – though he’d not managed to read any further before being ambushed.
Tenir perked up. “Oh, if that’s the case, would you mind me joining you? I must admit, it’s been a while since I got some proper exercise in. Would you mind if I joined you?”
Saria glanced at her ‘friend’, scoffing, before turning back to Mark. “Same here. I wouldn’t mind burning off a few calories. Might even be fun with a little eye-candy on hand.”
Mark had a feeling they were less interested in going for a jog and more in making sure they didn’t get one-upped, but saw little reason to refuse them. If they wanted to hang out, he was down.
Exercising was fun with more people after all, and he’d not really had a chance to do it much since setting down on Krenheim.
Back on Earth he’d been a pretty avid jogger after all.
--------------------
Mark’s sneakers slapped against the cobblestone footpath of the park. At least, it looked like cobblestone. In truth, he was pretty sure it was some kind of synthetic substitute.
It didn’t sound quite right underfoot.
Of course, it was equally possible it really was actual stone, just one he wasn’t familiar with. Either way, it felt real enough for him. There were trees. There was grass. There was even a small river running through the site.
Again, he was pretty sure that last item was also artificial.
The drones floating overhead definitely were. As were the walls ringing the small slice of nature amidst Krenheim’s busy neon skyline.
The parks here weren’t free. Nor were they cheap. Many of the picnicking families, lovers and joggers he’d spotted since entering had servants or bodyguards close at hand. Which looked more than a little comical in the latter’s case, as he watched a woman who was likely a CEO of some kind jogging along in her exercise clothes, huffing and sweating, followed along by another woman in full armor who wasn’t even breathing hard.
Fortunately for him, Kalia had a ‘season’ pass. One that her ‘friends and family’ could tap into as needed.
So, he hadn’t needed to pay a single credit to get in.
Boons of working for the uber-elite I suppose, he thought as another security drone passed overhead – no doubt passively scanning the identities of all within the confines of the park in the name of keeping undesirables out.
And to ensure that no one went beyond their allocated timeslots.
Fortunately, there were cheaper parks elsewhere in the dome, but according to both Saria and Tenir, they were of lesser quality and a lot busier as a rule of thumb. Hence why they’d come here.
And while Mark saw the sense in that decision, he still felt a little like a fraud as he and the other two jogged past another of the city’s ‘elite’.
“I’ll just have to get used to it,” he murmured to himself.
He would only be working for Kalia for a few months. With that in mind, there was nothing wrong with taking advantage of the opportunities presented by being in the incredibly wealthy pilot’s employ. She certainly didn’t mind, otherwise neither Tenir or Saria would have been comfortable making use of her pass.
Though doing so clearly wasn’t a regular occurrence.
“You two doing ok?” he asked, wiping a band of sweat from brow, thankful for the added ventilation provided by the exercise clothes he’d stopped at his apartment to change into.
“F-fine,” Tenir grunted from his right.
Though she didn’t look fine. Or sound it.
Her voice was strained and breathless as she pushed forward, horns bobbing erratically with each labored step. Mark could see sweat glistening on her silver skin, as her own hastily thrown on t-shirt she’d chosen in lieu of proper exercise clothes clung to her torso.
“Saria?” he asked.
“G-great!” The Pesrin gasped.
She, if anything, looked worse than the Nighkru.
Her chest was heaving, breaths coming in sharp gasps as she powered forward. Like Tenir, it seemed she didn’t have any proper exercise clothes, but she did at least have a sports bra under the ratty-looking tanktop she’d thrown on.
Without it… well, Mark could well imagine the bouncing that would have occurred would have been as uncomfortable to witness as it would have been tantalizing. And that was assuming the top heavy cat-woman didn’t end up accidentally flashing one of the nearby families.
Still, neither woman seemed keen to give up as they trooped after him, glances alternating between him, the path and each other. It seemed that at this point, it was more pride and spite that was keeping them moving.
Which might have been inspiring… if they’d been jogging for more than two minutes. As it was, he was thinking that they’d really undersold just how little exercise they tended to engage in.
Which was kind of absurd given one of them lived in a building that had its own personal gym. And the other practically lived there.
Still, if they said they were good to keep going, he wasn’t about to shame either of them by forcing them to stop.
In fact…
“So,” he said casually, easily able to jog and talk. “Tenir, if I hadn’t invited you out here, did you have any plans for the rest of the day you wanted to invite me to?”
The Nighkru’s eyes widened, and some more energy seemed to suffuse her being. “Y-yes! Moonrot! I thought you might like to come round to play your first game!”
In spite of her exhaustion, her nerdy enthusiasm shone through as her eyes glistened with excitement.
“Huh, that does sound like fun,” he admitted freely. And it did. The games at the store had looked interesting. Though he’d admit that his interest was more in getting to spend time with a cute girl than the game itself. “Though now I’m curious as to what Saria wanted?”
“I downloaded some Earth m-movies onto my home-screen in the hangar,” Saria wheezed. “I figured we could chill out and experience some Earth culture together. Though I’ve got other stuff too.”
Even as she spoke, Mark could see the way her eyes were lingering on his rather tight exercise shorts. He had a feeling he knew exactly what bits of ‘Earth culture’ the Persin was interested in.
With that said, that also sounded fun. He could admit to feeling a little homesick, and a Human movie night sounded like a decent method to ameliorate it.
“Well, I can’t deny both of those sound enjoyable,” he hummed, enjoying the way both tired aliens hung on his every word. “How to choose… How to choose… I know.”
Both perked up as he ‘had an idea’.
One he was rather proud of, because after they’d practically pincered him at the mansion, he’d been trying to think of the best way to let one of them down without giving either a perceived feeling of favoritism.
Just spending the evening with both of them definitely wasn’t an option as neither clearly enjoyed the other’s company – and wasn’t about to force them together beyond allowing both to join him on this trip to the park. Alternately, while he had no issue with just heading home for the night alone, that was just pushing the issue further down the road.
Admittedly, this sort of was too, but it was also a good way to form the basis of a loose form of alternating ‘dates’.
More to the point, it took the ‘choosing’ entirely out of his hands and placed it in theirs. If they ‘lost’ here, it wasn’t on him.
All in all, his scheme was an elegant way of avoiding any bad feelings.
“How about we make a game of it?” he said. “You two let me pull ahead for a bit, count to five, and whoever manages to catch me first – well, I’ll do what they want tonight and what the other wants another night.”
And in an instant, it was as if neither were tired at all.
“You’re on,” Tenir said with uncharacteristic vigor, tugging slightly at her sweaty shirt, as she slowed to a stop.
For her part, Saria’s grin had turned practically feral, her tail whipping behind her like a whip, claws extending just a fraction, as if she were about to pounce right there.
She just nodded.
“Alright then,” Mark laughed as he continued jogging, adrenaline surging through him as he pulled ahead. “Ready? Go!”
Both women bolted forward, legs pumping as they sprinted down the path toward him.
Not that he simply waited for them to catch him. He started running too, feeling his heart pound in his chest and the burn in his muscles as he did.
He really needed to get back into the habit of going for a jog each day. Even if it wasn’t in one of the parks, there was nothing stopping him from hitting the pavement.
He didn’t turn around, instead simply listening to the pounding of feet behind him as he simply enjoyed the moment. Though he knew it wouldn’t last. He was keeping an easy that was maybe about seventy percent of what he could maintain for forty minutes or so.
He continued jogging, waiting for the sensation of a hand – or claw – on his back signaling the winner had caught him.
And waited.
And waited.
Yet it didn’t happen. The steady thudding of two separate sets of feet continued to maintain the same measured pace at his back.
Was… was he going too fast? Or were they arguing silently about who got to won? Why were they just… maintaining the same pace about ten feet behind him?
He slowed a fraction, puzzled. Finally, after another thirty seconds or so of the pair maintaining the same pace, he stopped and turned.
To find himself face to face with a pair of very unfamiliar figures.
A… bug woman of some kind, complete with butterfly-like wings, seemed to freeze slightly as he turned to look at her, her bodyguard doing likewise, before glancing away and jogging past.
At a pace slightly faster than the one he’d just been maintaining – and by extension them.
Had she just been jogging a few feet behind him? Why?
…And where were Saria and Tenir.
Of course, it didn’t take him long to spot them. A few dozen meters down the path he’d just come down.
Sprawled out. Panting. Tenir on her back, staring up at the skies above and Saria on her belly, ass pointed gracelessly up to the sky.
Mark stared.
And stared.
Before jogging up to them.
As he got closer, he could hear them talking to each other.
“Ancestor… damned… Humans,” Saria was panting into the dirt, one hand clutching her side. “I… think… I’m… about… to… chuck… up… a… lung…”
“Why’s… he so… fast?” Tenir was mumbling. “He just… kept going… and going…”
Mark didn’t know what to say. Because he really hadn’t been going that fast. Sure, he knew Humans had a bit of a stamina advantage over other races… but they really hadn’t traveled that far and he really hadn’t been going that fast.
As evidenced by the two women who he had thought were his colleagues who had managed to keep up with him.
These two were just… incredibly unfit.
Saria finally rolled onto her side, fur disheveled, a low growl rumbling as she pressed a claw to her ribs and stared up at him. As she did, she caught sight of him – at roughly the same time as Tenir – and both women winced.
Silence reigned.
Finally, Saria spoke. “I… got further than her. That means I win right?”
Mark stared down at her.
“Right?” she echoed.
Finally, he smiled.
She smiled.
He shook his head.
She stopped smiling.
“You know,” he said. “I think… I think I’ll take this as my win.”
“What does that mean?” Tenir asked, finally levering herself up, uncaring of the many grass stains now occupying her shirt. “You don’t want to hang out with either of us?”
There was no missing the wince inherent in that statement. As well as the indignation. Which he couldn’t really blame her for. Getting accidentally destroyed by someone from the fairer sex, well, it had to be a bit of a blow to the old ‘feminine’ ego.
Fortunately, as he thought about what best to do now, he had another idea.
“Nope,” he said, extending hands to help them up, “seeing as neither of you caught me, I have another idea as to what we should do today. If you’re ok with it.”
He’d also need to call to make sure someone else was ok with it too.
--------------
"You have a professional gladiator manager and mech engineer willing to help with this one’s mech?" Jelara said, as if to ensure the words she’d just heard really were real.
"In a strictly non-professional, entirely casual capacity," Mark clarified, almost amused. “From what little I told them, they’re both pretty excited about seeing your machine. Which, I suppose, isn’t too surprising. They’re both mech-heads after all."
Jelara's form quivered, a mix of disbelief and elation rippling through her.
To be honest, when she’d answered the incoming call via her suit, she’d sort of been expecting a booty call.
Which definitely would have been fun.
But this? Access to advice from top-tier professional mech support staff.
That was better.
So much better.
With that said, she would not be averse to a booty call after.
No, focus on the mech right now, she told herself.
"I figured it would be a good way to pay you back for your help with Sabine," Mark continued casually, as if he wasn’t offering her something she’d have chopped her arm off on any other day to have.
"That?” she gurgled. “That was barely anything."
She’d duct-taped some bitch to a chair after giving her a clobbering. The knife had been a nasty surprise, but only for a moment. The damage to her suit moreso than any pain she might have felt.
She’d done more, and worse, for less.
Much less.
She was currently doing more for less.
Yet on the other end, Mark laughed, a rich sound that sent a subtle vibration through her. "Well, it meant a lot to me. So consider this ‘barely anything’ too."
Jelara resisted the urge to shout that the two things weren’t the same. Not even close.
"With that said," he continued, ignorant of her feelings, "I want you to know that I haven’t told them any details about you or the mech. Because you wanted to keep it secret. I just… asked if they’d be ok with a hypothetical scenario.”
There was a brief murmur from the other end of the line, as if someone said something, which made Mark laugh. “But yeah, they’re both very interested. Apparently solo-builds like yours are rare? Apparently that’s interesting from an advertising point of view and a design point of view. So much so that I think they’re going to start pouting if I say we can’t come after all this.”
There was another burst of noise, louder this time, and Mark laughed again.
For her part, Jelara shook her head – even if she knew the human couldn’t see it. “It’s fine. Bring them.”
She certainly wasn’t worried about people from Vorn’s crew – and it had to be them given who Mark’s employer was – seeing her machine. They operated in strata she couldn't touch. Stealing or sabotaging her mech wouldn’t even cross their minds because it wasn’t a threat to them.
No, the reason Jelara kept her mech a secret was to protect it against far more local threats.
“Great,” Mark cheered. “I know you’re at work now, so when do you want to-”
"Now’s fine,” Jelara said, an involuntary gurgle escaping her despite her best attempts to quash it. “This one can request to leave early. This one will meet you at the warehouse.”
“Well, if you’re ok with that, then sure,” Mark said, sounding slightly unsure. “I guess I’ll see you soon.”
Oh yes, he would. He could count on that.
Because as soon as the call ended, she turned to regard the many downed and groaning bodies occupying the alley she was standing in. Or at least, mostly groaning. Some weren’t making any noise at all.
Or moving.
Not through any intent on Jelara’s part, she preferred to rough up rather than kill when the discretion to do so was allowed to her, but the power-armor she was wearing didn’t really allow for much in the way of restraint. Like all Ulnus-built tech from the Contact War, it was more focused on rugged brutality than precision operation.
Even with most of the weapons removed, it was still a singularly lethal bit of tech. Even hundreds of years removed from when it was first built.
Still, the insectile suit had allowed her to make quick work of the band of idiots who’d thought they could extort a business the Boss was ‘protecting’. Sure, they were also extorting the business for said protection, but that was neither here nor there.
Rolling over one of the more lively idiots with her foot – she’d made sure to keep the lieutenant more or less intact - she leaned down, ambivalent to the pained whimpers of the woman as the clawed digits dug into her chest.
“This one hopes that their message has been correctly conveyed, and that the Red Squares will not need another reminder of exactly who this sector belongs to. Any escalation as a result of this little scuffle would be bad for all involved, but mostly for you. Do you agree?”
The nods she got in return were as hasty as they were heartfelt.
Which was good, because with this done, the Boss would likely let her knock-off early for the day. Her weekend jobs tended to be a bit more stressful than her weekday jobs, but they were significantly more flexible.
And generally paid better.
Comments
Dee22
I definitely wouldn't mind that. And thanks for the chapter ^^
MarakEvans
So... do I need to put a vote up for Blue to take a week off every month or so? Instead of being 20% to 30% late doing longer chapters, how about just resting 20% or 25% of the time? Blue, I recall Space: MMM being your... escape from the arduousness of Sect and Steampunk. Are you sure that you are still on that path or would you like to change it up for yourself?
Lurkemancer
Might as well delay it until Friday and make it a double feature.
Blue Fishcake
The beta readers have it and my shame is unending. It's Tuesday by every metric :P On the bright side, the chapter is now one and a half chapters long. Never believe me when I set a date. I'm a lying liar who lies. To myself most of all :P
Dankenobi1
see you Tuesday
Blue Fishcake
I'm calling it for the night. I'll finish the chapter in the morning - which means it will be a late Monday release for the US, but it will still be Monday!
MarakEvans
Quick someone invent a time machine! So we get the long chapters with the musings... the long ones but we get them on tHuRsDaYs, oooh. Edit: Hold up. Wait a minute. Something ain't right. ... So this muse will be ignored ON Friday... Meaning unignored before... and possibly after... Hmmm... So Saturday, hmm? *wink wink nudge nudge*
Blue Fishcake
I'm still chugging along. Should be out on (US) Monday :D Don't go getting all excited for another double length. It's regular length. Which is still longer than the short chapter I'd originally planned to get close to Friday again :P This coming Friday I'm determined to ignore my muse and fire out a short chapter!
MarakEvans
Bro is minmaxing atm. Let's see what's cooking.
Blue Fishcake
Ya'll know the drill. Saturday. Maybe Sunday. Which pretty much guarantees it's going to be Monday :P (Seriously though, I'm aiming for Saturday... again.)
MarakEvans
So... about that PROPHESY...
Trevayne
Looks like the weekend again, although given the way the chapter grew, I can understand if your efforts to do a small chapter by Friday were unsuccessful. The story is certainly worth waiting for.
Richard Anderson
Mark likes to live dangerously, or he has watched too much porn in his youth. Three girls that he is shagging working to together, brave man. I learned when I was a bartender in Vegas that women get territorial even when it was a one night stand, I found out waitresses compare notes.
22junk
This is like when drill sergeants are deliberately assholes to give the recruits a common enemy. You must work together to achieve the sex.
Vlad Cold
Nice one. Although, realistically he should ask them question like "Okay, you might consider some of my actions wrong. How would you BOTH wanted I behaved towards you, then?". Jelara is nice friend as usual. Hope Mark will be as nice to her and recognize her if she comes right in her combat suit😁.
Vlad Cold
Even if not, it's not that hard for her to find out. Apparently, anything on Krenheim is on sale for a reasonable price. She won't find only if she doesn't care. Which she should, actually, because Jelara nearly daily joining her mind with other Ulnus is unpluggable info leak. It's not like they can do anything about it now, though.
MASC
So when do you think Jelara will reveal she is one of Tazek Yutul’s bodyguard? If she did not recognise Sabine & Mark from the nightclub it might mean it was another Ulnas we saw at the nightclub in Contact war armour since it may have been a weekday night? Would be awkward and funny if Mark turns up at Tazek’s estate on a weekend for his rendezvous and Jelara freaks out wondering why he’s there!
Blue Fishcake
Fixed, thanks :D
Jake the L
“Saria finally rolled onto her side, fur disheveled, a low growl rumbling as she pressed a claw to her ribs and stared up at him. As she did, she caught sight of him – at roughly the same time as Saria – and both women winced.” Shouldn’t it be ‘at roughly the same time as Tenir?’ Saria’s mentioned twice here
MarakEvans
... Think Sabine knows about Jelara's... employment situation?
MarakEvans
But he’d been burned on a multi-year relationship less than[] two months ago.
MarakEvans
Suggesting edits *Hey, if you ever find my backseat editing annoying let me know and I'll stop.*
Templar9999
I am curious as to their reactions to human films. Particularly an alien nerds' reaction to LOTR.
Blue Fishcake
Super happy to hear that! This chapter actually went through a big change - originally Mark was watching Kalia's match with Saria and Tenir - but I rewrote it almost entirely because it felt... boring. Glad the change was worth it :D (Also gone through and made a million little formatting error fixes :P)
Jake the L
As a guy who ran cross country and track competitively for 8 years, I’m always pumped to read hfy prose where humanity’s prowess in that sphere is highlighted. Gonna be rereading this chapter a lot this week
Found&Lost
Okay. I've reread the chapter four times and aside from the word/formatting errors it's a VERY good chapter. Thank you
YYEyes
Thanks for the chapter, it had me giggling 😂
Found&Lost
Well, human relationship problems require human relationship solutions.
Baron Von Mott
I liked the little nod to "humans are persistence hunters" idea that is so common in HFY content 😂
Trevayne
Thanks for the chapter. I wonder if this will inspire Saria and Tenir to exercise more to build stamina and try to win any future competitions. It would also help them enjoy him more, or at least for longer.
Testcuentafalsa
Once again, Jelara proving to be best girl. Also love how Mark casually showing a mech is also probably going to be interpreted as a master plan of cunning and hidden interests... Only for everyone to eventually realize that the big reveal is that indeed he is that simple in his motivations
22junk
In retrospect, it had been a dumb move. Mostly because needed this job. *he* needed this job.
Mark
So happy with this resolution… fun times await.
