“Welcome to the crew, Juliette,” I said.
“My shit is already on board,” the pilot said as she nudged her knee gently into Zea’s shoulder. “Get up, get up, get up, Blondie. I’m gonna teach you how to fly this thing.”
“I’ve already been taking lessons from Nikk--”
“Bah!” Juliette scoffed as she threw her ass in the chair that Zea scurried out of. “I’m talking real flying. Not whatever the Nordar do. I’m talking style, grace, panache, and a little touch of je ne sais quoi that those military folks can’t even touch.”
“Je ne sass huh?” Zea sighed as she took the other pilot’s seat.
“It means something sexy in French. Come on. I thought you were cultured?”
“I grew up eating ramen noodles and playing with computers in the slums,” Zea said with a frown.
“Well, now you know.” Juliette laughed, and then turned to me. “So, we are ready to depart. Just give the signal. Oh, your wives who aren’t coming with us should probably leave.”
“I’ll walk them out,” I said as I turned to Madalena and Sivaha. The two of them nodded, and then they both surprised me by making a quick trip around the bridge to hug my other wives. It only took them a few minutes to hug and whisper goodbyes to each other, but the sight warmed my heart, and I felt quick moment of fear about the outcome of this mission.
If I died, all these wonderful women would probably die with me.
I shook the negative thoughts out of my head when Sivaha and Madalena returned to me, and then I walked them both to the bridge elevator.
As soon as the doors closed, Sivaha was pressing her mouth urgently to mine. She moaned and pushed me against the wall as we kissed, and my hands wrapped around her slender waist as her leg came up to wrap around my hips. She grinded her crotch against my thigh with a moan, and then she gasped as soon as she pulled her mouth away from mine.
“Damn, I want you to fuck me,” she hissed.
“Madalena is standing--” I laughed as I gestured at the Prime Valkyrie.
“She can watch. It will be hotter that way.”
“I would prefer not to,” Madalena said flatly.
“Spoil sport,” Sivaha sighed as she pulled away from my chest. “You could always join in if you want.”
“I still would prefer not to,” Madalena said with her usual shrug, “but if our husband wishes to have us both at the same time for efficiency, then I would--”
“It’s fine,” I said as I pulled away from Sivaha and gestured toward the door. “The sooner I get this done, the sooner I will come back to you both.” I took each woman’s hand in mine, and the three of us walked across the hold of the smaller ship and to the door. It was open to the docking platform, and I paused at the security door.
“I’ll be back in Nordar 13 soon,” I said, “and I will miss you both tremendously.”
“Be safe,” Madalena said with her usual stoic nod, but I could feel her emotions as if they were my own, and her worry, sadness, and fear pulsed from her.
“I’ll be fine,” I said as I pulled the warrior woman into my arms and kissed her soft lips. “This is the best way.”
“I may not die if you pass,” she whispered in my ear, “but I will wish I had. You are a part of me, Adam. I need you like I need air to breathe. May Odin and Freyja watch over you.”
“They will,” I said once we parted. Then I changed my mind, kissed her passionately again, and then turned to Sivaha.
“If you die, by the hand of the Jotnar, and I somehow live through our bond being broken, I will order our armada to scrape the corpses of every last one of them off their planets and cook them in the sun.” The silver-haired woman spat the words, and her brown eyes glowed with malice.
“No,” I said as I reached up to stroke her cheek. “You’ll figure out how to defeat the Draugr and save our galaxy. It is my wish, and your duty to fulfill as my queen. Even if I am dead.”
“Ahhh,” she sighed as she leaned into my fingers. “Of course, husband. I am your kitten. It will pain all of us to be separated for too long. Please complete your mission safely, bring these Jotnar under your heel, and then return to me. My body and soul will yearn for you.”
“I’ll yearn for you too,” I said, and then I kissed Sivaha a final time before I let her go. Her emotions matched Madalena’s, and I gave each of the beautiful women one last look before I stepped back into the corvette.
Then I continued to watch them as the hold doors closed.
I returned to the bridge and found Zea, Paula, Kasta, and Juliette laughing at some joke. Eve was smiling broadly, but Aasne and Elana were sitting at the gunners stations across the small room from each other, and they looked a bit uncomfortable.
“What did I miss?” I asked, and the four women closed their lips and cleared their throats.
“I’m guessing it was a joke about my penis,” I sighed, and they all burst out laughing again.
I looked over to Aasne, and the freckled woman shrugged, but Elana shook her head and looked pensive. I figured it probably wasn’t worth discussing, so I sat in my chair and then buckled my harness. As soon as the straps clicked into place, the four women stopped giggling and everyone turned to me.
“What’s the name of this girl?” I asked as I tapped on my arm rest.
“Gray Horizon names all their ships after numbers,” Juliette said. “So, this fine young lady is named Eighty Six - A.”
“Sounds good, let’s take her out.” I pointed at the screen, and Juliette nodded before wrapping her fingers around the controls.
Five minutes later we were pulling away from Queen’s Hat. My stomach dropped a bit when I thought I saw where Persephone was docked, but then I reminded myself that this was the best way to take out the Jotnar without risking millions or even billions of lives.
It would just risk my life, and the lives of the women I loved.
What would I give up to stop the Draugr? It seemed the question had already been answered since my women were all bound to my life, and I was risking myself for a chance to stop the vampire assholes.
I had to win. There wasn’t any other way. I couldn’t let evil consume our galaxy, and I wouldn’t allow my wives to die.
The beast in my stomach growled in agreement, and I realized that I hadn’t heard much from him since the dream.
“Navigation is loaded,” Paula said.
“Got it,” Juliette replied. “Captain?”
“Engage warpdrive,” I said.
“Engaging warpdrive,” Juliette said. Then she hit a button, and the bridge display screen went dark.
“We’ll have two hours,” Juliette said as she leaned back in her chair and put her boots up on the side of her terminal where there weren’t any buttons. “Then we’ll have ten hours of hyperdrive. Then another hour of warp, and so on until two days have passed.”
“Hmmm,” Kasta said. “I wonder what we could all do for two days in a small ship with a very virile man who just happens to be married to all of us?”
“I’m not married to him,” Juliette pointed out. “But I’m fine being the mistress on the side that he has all the kinky sex with because his wives are too prim and proper.”
“You think I’m ‘prim and proper?’ Kasta gasped.
“I am going to be having dinner with Elana tonight,” I interrupted Juliette before she could respond. “Then tomorrow night I will have dinner with Paula or Kasta, or however you both want to do it.”
“We have decided to cook separately for you,” Paula said. “We are a package deal, but we would like more alone time with you.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
“So, I’m after Elana,” Kasta said as she leaned forward and licked her lips.
“I did not consider that I would be cooking for you during this part of our mission,” the tall brunette admitted. “I don’t know if I’ll have everything that I--”
“It’s fully stocked,” Juliette said with a yawn that she covered with the back of her hand. “You’ll find plenty to cook with. We only needed five days of food, but Sivaha mentioned something about people cooking dinner for Adam, so she bought a bunch of stuff.”