Supernova on Twine (7 page)

Much to
Zane’s relief, the warrior’s aim left a lot to be desired,
considering his point-blank range. Then again, Zane soon understood
why the energy bolt had blasted above his head instead of inside
him to splatter him to the four winds.

Tink had
jumped from a gantry above, claws slashing at the Banshan’s back.
As Zane noticed, there was a moment of sheer agony as the warrior
turned to face his attacker, but thankfully, Tink was prepared. The
reptilian alien was soon a scratched up mess on the steel grating,
seconds after the initial strike. Tink wasted no time sinking his
claws into the Banshan’s flesh to pierce his chest and puncture
something vital.

Zane’s
heart was lodged in his mouth, he was sure. Witnessing Tink fight
was like watching deadly grace incarnate. He was amazing, and one
thing was certain, Zane never wanted to get on Tink’s bad
side.

As soon
as Tink had dispensed with the Banshan, Zane ran to embrace him.
They held each other tight. Zane loved the feeling of being in his
man’s arms once more, the feel of his skin and their intimate
contact when their dicks touched. “I’m glad you’re all right,” he
said.

“
Tink can look after himself.”

So we saw,
Motac added.

“
I know you can, Tinkles. But it doesn’t stop me from worryin’
about you, does it?”

Tink
kissed Zane.

Their
kiss lasted for what seemed an eternity, yet was only as long as
needed, considering their situation. The last thing they would want
right now was any more Banshan entering the induction flow room
while they were still in it. Yes, their tongues danced, and Zane
felt elated, light on his feet and thankful he was being held, but
he was also aware of their urgency. Time for love could
wait.

They
parted their kiss.

Zane
said, “Let’s blow this place and get to Mirko and Zoltan before our
ugly friends return.”

Tink
nodded. “Tink hears that loud and clear.”

With his
lips tingling from the attention of his lover, Zane helped remove
safety panels so they could do their sabotage work properly. Motac
guided him as to what he needed to do. From what he could work out,
they were basically shorting out the system, crossing the flow back
onto itself to blow it up.

After
about ten minutes of working, and with alarms now blaring because
they were obviously on the right track, Tink said, “It’s done. Now
the fun really begins.”

The
panels sparked.

Zane’s hand caught one of the sparks. He was burned. With a
yelp, but also sucking in his pain, he let Tink escort him out of
the induction flow room. Their goal
—
the escape pods where Mirko and
Zoltan waited. Their only option was to get off Parenthesis as
quickly as possible. Sure, disturbing the induction flow wouldn’t
destroy the planet, but it would mean the shadow eternals wouldn’t
be able to travel in time or in space. Not until their damage could
be repaired.

That was
good enough for Zane.

Chapter
Seven

Emergency
entry, Zane’s implanted data storage device. Ship time, 1015.
Location, Hangar bay Access Area. Date, Feb 18, 2586. Internal
input.

Wow, we showed them shadow eternals who’s the boss. We cross
wired their induction flow thingy and man, did the sparks fly or
what? The whole place was plunged into darkness and all hell broke
loose. Tink and me and Motac then had to make our way to Mirko and
Zoltan as best we could with a whole army of Banshan’s running
around in a blind panic as Parenthesis entered normal space,
nothing more than a useless rock like every other rock out here in
space
.

“
Shh, my Zane.”

Zane was
taken aback. He was certain he was entering his diary mentally. “I
didn’t say anything.”

You were mumbling
, Motac
complained.

I was not.

You were.

“
I wasn’t.” Zane said.

“
Shh,” Tink reiterated. “Tink needs to think.”

They had
come to the hangar bay access area, whether through a miracle or
sheer luck, it didn’t matter. They had reached their goal. Before
them were three Banshan guards, uneasy because of recent events and
the fact the klaxons were still sounding. The warriors were
probably trigger happy because they’d been ordered to shoot
anything that so much as moved. No wonder Tink needed to think. He
had to try and come up with a way of defeating not one or two, but
three warriors bent on their destruction without injury to either
of them.

Zane was
certain he would be of no use. The sexual fuel he’d given Motac
would have run dry by now and he was back to just being a normal
naked human. Then again, he could rush out like a berserker of old
and slap those Banshan bastards silly with his cock. That would
make them laugh so hard Tink would have plenty of time to do his
worst before they recovered.

You could cock dock with me again, beautiful. That will give
you the edge you may require to conquer this obstacle.

He was
about to suggest such a strategy, because not only would blowing
his load into Motac’s hungry eternal cock relieve some stress, but
it would certainly give Tink something to admire. Which in turn
would make his cat being boyfriend horny, resulting in even harder
and sweatier loving between them all when they got off this
God-forsaken place.

Perhaps not now. Look
, Zane
said.

Beyond
the guards they were about to decide whether to pummel or not, and
inside the hangar proper, Zane could see Mirko coming toward them.
His cute ears were poking up so he could listen with intent for any
danger. He was holding a blaster.

Within a
heartbeat, many shots were fired.

Tink
screamed, “Now, my Zane.” He then sprang into action, going from a
dead standstill to a run as fast as lightening within a
millisecond. Zane was amazed.

Between
Mirko’s blaster, Tink’s razor sharp claws and the element of
surprise, the three guards were fried sushi by the time Zane
arrived at the scene. “They smell like rotten chicken even when
they’re dead,” he said.

Tink
patted Zane on his backside. “We must get to the pods.”

Mirko
kissed Zane. “Good to see you are well.” He looked at the burn on
Zane’s hand. “Although, that will need treatment very
soon.”

“
And just where would I get such a treatment? Our ship is long
gone and I don’t think the shadow eternals would appreciate me
using their medical facilities,” Zane said.

“
On Supernova on Twine, of course,” Mirko replied. “We have
arrived.”

We’re too late
, Motac
interjected.
The shadow eternals can soon
strike at humanity’s only defence before they take control from the
damage we have done. We failed, beautiful. We
failed
.

We’ll think of something
, Zane said,
not really believing his own words, but unable to think of anything
else to keep his spirits high. They had gotten out of worse
situations before. Trouble was, now the whole of humanity rested on
them getting it right instead of surviving an incident by the skin
of their teeth or through sheer luck.

As if to
reiterate Zane’s thoughts, Tink said, “We worry about all that
later. For now, we must get out of here before the eternals attack
the human defence station. Quick, my Zane, you’re with me. We only
have two pods, so we must travel together.”

Zane
didn’t wait to be told again. He scrambled inside the first pod he
came across. Tink squeezed in next to him. The lid was sealed. From
the light up touch display, they lifted off and left
Parenthesis.

He
crossed his fingers.

Being inside a pod again was both a relief and a worry. A
relief because it meant that he was getting off the crystalline
planet, his body pressed close to the one man he loved with all his
heart. The worry
—
escape pods weren’t exactly battle cruisers equipped with the
latest defences or any sort of weapons to attack. An escape pod was
basically clay for a clay pigeon shooter.

Let’s just hope the eternals are still preoccupied with fixing
the induction flow so we can warn the people on Supernova that
they’re about to get a pounding, and not in a good way,
Zane said.

There may be one more chance for us to do such a
thing
.

“
What is it?” Zane said out loud, not realising he had done so
until the words rang in his ears.

“
What does my Zane mean? What’s what?” Tink asked.

“
Um, Motac may have a plan.”

“
Let’s hear it.” Tink ran his hand over Zane’s skin, pulling
him even closer. Their heat was intoxicating, but unlike before
when he was stuck in a pod with Mirko, Zane couldn’t think of
anything else but what they were going to do to get out of this
mess. Strange, he knew, not to be thinking of his dick at all, but
then again, if they did get out of this, he would certainly make up
for lost time. He’d fuck Tink and Mirko and Zoltan and Motac in
equal measure, and all night long, too.

Motac said,
We give the humans phasing
technology
.

Zane
repeated what Motac said. Tink was silent for the longest time.
Finally, he said, “The only phasing technology we have is inside
us, my Zane.”

Zane swallowed hard. It made sense to give the humans of the
here and now such a means to defend themselves
—
after all, eternals couldn’t use
humans as hosts or as food if they were phased. But getting the
device out of him would probably mean something really unpleasant
had to be done.

As soon as Motac said his next words, Zane’s fears came
true.
Beautiful, I will have to dislodge
the phasing device from your stomach wall so you can pass it. It’s
the only way
.

Tink
said, “The only way to get the device out of you is to—”

“
I know, I know. I have to shit the fucker out,
right?”

Tink
nodded, cuddling up to Zane, lavishing kisses on him. He whispered,
“If you thought swallowing it was difficult…forcing to leave you
will be…unpleasant to say the least.”

Tink is right. I can get the process started, but only you can
do the rest.

I know how to shit, Motac. I’ve been doing it all my life. I
get a good book, sit on the crapper and wait. Simple as
that,
Zane said.

“
And to make matters worse, we don’t have much time. The pods
are coming into the gravitational orbit of Supernova on Twine
now.”

Tink
pressed a few touch controls. A flight control officer came on
screen, a man with a stern uninteresting face. “State your
intention, spirit folk pods. Do you plan to land here on
Super?”

Zane’s
boyfriend began their landing protocol conversation. Zane didn’t
catch most of what was said, because Motac had begun the process of
dislodging his phase shifter.

Why can’t Tink pass his out? Why me?
Zane asked.

Because we still need one working one, that’s why. Besides,
it’s far easier for a human to pass the object
.

Why’s that?

Because when a spirit folk ingest their own technology it
becomes a part of them. For Tink to remove it from his body, he’d
need to remove a large part of his intestines as well.

Ouch!

Yes, ouch indeed. But never fear, you’ll be in excruciating
pain as well. As a reminder of your brave action that will not only
save us, but save all of humanity past, present and
future.

You’re all heart
.

The
conversation with the flight controller had finished. Tink was
guiding their pod to the tracking signal, a beam that would guide
them to their designated landing platform. Zane felt pangs of pain
shoot though him, a sensation not unlike his stomach being pulled
from within. Motac must have succeeded, having fully removed the
device from his stomach wall.

Tink
kissed him some more. “It will be over shortly. The phase shifter,
once dislodged, will naturally make its way out of your
body.”

“
Great. We’re facing certain death by an eternal threat here at
the edge of human controlled space in the far future, and the only
view of it I’ll get will be from a men’s room stall.”

Motac said,
You won’t have time to sit
anywhere. The phase shifter will emerge soon. Probably right after
we land, if not sooner
.

As soon as Motac said those words, Zane’s guts churned
violently. He let out a deep groan, his eyesight blurring. He held
his stomach, certain the phase shifter was wriggling about
deliberately to make it hurt even more. Tink did the best to
comfort him, but all Zane could think of was that scene in
Alien
where the thing
burst out of the poor bloke’s chest
—
the only difference being, Zane’s
alien would be coming out his back passage. What’s more, as soon as
it did, they’d have to present it to the future humans to help save
their lives.