Crisis

Radittsu frowned at his most troublesome hostling, then glanced at the king.
      Zha'haabron inclined his head.
      "A'lestrel has never been there - and I suppose, strictly speaking, it would be useful if he were apprised of the functions of the facility. But," he added, eyes narrowing at the prince's broad grin, "Lutra cannot go with you. This is official corps business."
      A'lestrel's face fell, but only for a moment. He nodded.
      "I understand, maazi. It wouldn't be comfortable for her anyway."
      "Very well. Advise Zyelenyi you'll be travelling to the base with the next shift change."

The moon. That mysterious sister-planet that had such an effect on anyone with Saiya-jin blood. Lutra would have thought her bondmate would have had enough of the moon, after the FullMoon season…
      "It's only for two days - three at most, zk'vissin. And it's important I visit. It's the only area of Vejiitasei's planetary security system I don't know."
      Lutra sighed.
      "But can't you learn about it from here? Surely the corps has floorplans, schematics, all the details?"
      The Zasshu nodded.
      "Yes, but that's not the same as visiting in person." He pulled her into his lap, cuddling her close. "I'm part of that security system, sinam: I really need to have at least some idea of what it's like at the base, to live and work there."
      "You aren't ever going to be stationed there, are you?"
      He shook his head firmly.
      "No. Only nitorine-trained warriors serve there, and I'd never be part of the support staff. But I still want to… get a feel for the way the base operates."
      She rested her head against his shoulder, fingers absently playing with his plait.
      "Is it safe?"
      He chuckled.
      "Perfectly safe, zk'vissin…"

A'lestrel piloted the two-person scoutship from Vejiitasei to the moon, following the larger transport ferrying the new warrior shift and Feeodoreean technical staff up to the defensive base. Radittsu sat beside him, explaining a little of how the station worked, the procedures and protocols used…
      The base had been in existence almost as long as nitorine had been in use as a ki-enhancer, way back in the second year of the Alliance. It sat on the far side of the moon, constantly monitoring nearby space via a network of Ablinian-manufactured satellites, a Feeodoreean sensor array, and a handful of especially ki-sensitive Saiyans: should anything hostile come anywhere near Vejiitasei - near in this case meaning within ten light-years - the special squad would be prepared for action within seconds. The moon's surface was dotted with small outposts containing immensely powerful nitorine-cannons, and a small fleet of scoutships was kept always at battle readiness, the special squad and their Feed partners ready to move at a moment's notice at all times.
      As a first line of defence it was extremely effective. Manning the base, however, was a high-stress post, and the shift was changed every thirty days to ensure the health of the warriors and staff. There were three shifts: the routine of thirty days on the moon and sixty days back on Vejiitasei had worked well for more than twenty years.
      The base itself, A'lestrel found as Radittsu guided him around it, was hardly luxurious, though it was at least fairly spacious, and the personal quarters actually comfortable in a colourless sort of way. But then again, this was a military base, one wouldn't expect luxury here.
      The warriors all knew Radittsu - he'd trained most of them - and greeted the big male with grim cheeriness. A'lestrel they took one look at and either disregarded him completely or tried to flirt - until three hours later when someone thought to check his ki-level…

"It's not that funny!"
      Radittsu chuckled over the rim of his beaker of ale.
      "Yes it is."
      A'lestrel sighed grumpily. Painappuru, a member of the current special squad on duty, had been telling lewd jokes, one brawny arm draped over the Zasshu's shoulder, when Bitsu, the commander of this squad, had growled urgently at the Saiyan warrior. Painappuru frowned and focussed on the Zasshu, stumbling hurriedly backwards and falling over a conduit onto his arse as he realised exactly who he was subjecting to this over-familiarity. (A'lestrel hadn't even questioned it, used as he was to being treated as just another warrior around the barracks.) And now everyone was bowing and keeping their distance and watching what they said…
      It was embarrassing. How was he supposed to get to know the base's operations if they insisted on treating him like royalty?
      The fact that he was had nothing to do with it as far as he was concerned. Just as well they weren't staying for long.

And the time went very quickly, surprisingly so for A'lestrel: even with everyone acting formally towards him he'd managed to learn a great deal, both about the physical operations and the more subtle interpersonal relationships between the warriors and staff. It had been interesting…
      But now he was ready to return home. He missed Lutra, and something about the surroundings - the gravity, the sterile air, the low throbbing ever-present pulse of heavy machinery perhaps - was making him tense, his body ache. Radittsu eyed him from the co-pilot's seat as he stretched in the small space, rolling his shoulders.
      "You all right?"
      A'lestrel nodded.
      "Just want to get home."
      His sire grinned. He'd missed his bondmate too.
      "Ready when you are."
      Pre-flight checks took a couple of minutes - these little craft were relatively simple things - then they lifted off, clearing the curve of the horizon, watching the glowing green and blue and gold bulk of Vejiitasei gradually fill the viewscreen…

Something hit their craft, something that sheared through a power unit and knocked them tumbling off course, heading for open space.

*'lestrel!*
      The Zasshu shook his head to clear it and found himself drifting within the safety harness, the controls dead beneath his hands. He glanced at Radittsu, his sire almost invisible behind the drifting strands of the huge cloud of black mane.
      Fuck it. Whatever it was that hit them had cut off the artificial gravity too.
      *Papa, tie that back before you pull something loose.*
      Radittsu blinked - then tore a strip from his bodysuit and managed to drag his mane into a rough but serviceable tie at the nape of his neck. A'lestrel nodded thanks, then twisted to check the readouts at his sire's side. Navigation was gone, power to the engines, gravity… at least life support was still functional… communications was out too. He hissed to himself and gazed at Radittsu.
      *Going to have to *call* for help, papa.*
      The Saiyan frowned.
      *Anything you can do in the meantime? To stop us moving any further, I mean.*
      A glance out of the viewscreen proved that they were heading away from the homeworld at a fair speed. The prince chewed his lip for a moment, then unclipped his safety harness. He was no engineer, but there were a couple of things he could try.
      His sire watched, helplessly, as the Zasshu floated upside down at the back of the small cockpit, a panel in the wall open as he tried switching a couple of circuits.
      *Anything happen on the board?*
      Radittsu glanced at the instrument panel and shook his head.
      *Not yet.*
      A'lestrel swapped another three circuits.
      *Now?*
      *No… wait. Yes…* The Saiyan peered at the control panel. *Backup power.*
      *Good, that'll help a little.* Afraid to risk any more interference, the prince closed the panel, floated back to his seat and re-snapped the harness, fingers very light on the controls as he tried, very gingerly, to stop the scoutship's motion. The manoeuvring jets were sluggish and cut out intermittently, but after half an hour's breathless nudging he managed to stop both the craft's rolling and its movement away from Vejiitasei. Radittsu let out a huff of breath and stroked his sireling's cheek.
      *Proud of you!*
      'lestrel offered a lop-sided half-smirk.
      *We're still in deep shit, papa. Life support won't last forever, and these craft're only designed for short hops. We've no rations - only a little water. The emergency beacon's out too. Whoever comes to get us is going to have to *home* in on us, visually once they get within range.*
      Radittsu waved a hand.
      *They'll manage.*
      *Also,* the prince continued as though his sire hadn't interrupted, *there may be more of whatever hit us around. We have no shields. We can patch up small holes - fuck, we can protect ourselves against big ones with ki, if we need to - but every hit we take will reduce our life support further…*
      The Saiyan sighed.
      *Better get the *call* put through now then, hadn't I?*
      A'lestrel raised a sardonic eyebrow.
      *It might be a good idea, yes…*
      He fell silent, watching as his sire closed his eyes, frowning, focussing tightly. This was rather different than *speaking* with a mate or lover: Radittsu had to try to give as precise a location as possible. They were a very tiny dot in a very big area of space...
      The Saiyan was sweating by the time he'd finished, opening weary eyes and blinking at his sireling.
      *They're sending a cruiser. But it's going to be a good few hours before they can get here - then they'll *contact* us for a more accurate position.*
      A'lestrel nodded. Well, it could be worse. Perhaps they could sleep for an hour or two…
      Radittsu was frowning at him.
      "Are you all right, brat?"
      The prince blinked.
      "I'm fine. Why are we speaking? We should be conserving oxygen."
      The Saiyan nodded, still frowning, tail twitching agitatedly from side to side.
      "Your scent…"
      A'lestrel frowned.
      "My scent? What about it?"
      "I don't know…" he shook his head impatiently. "Forget it. Shall we try to sleep?"
      "Good idea…"

But he couldn't drop off, and he was aware that his sire couldn't either. He felt… uncomfortable, which was ridiculous! How could he feel uncomfortable in zero gravity?
      He felt hot too…
      And suddenly a surge of absolute craving hit him low in the groin. He whimpered, hands clutching a painfully erect inkei. This felt… felt like… shizun? But he was a year away from his next shizun…
      Not that his body seemed to care. He doubled over as best he could, knees pulled up to his chest, gritting his teeth, shivering despite the heat.
      Not now! Not here!
      "'lestrel!" Radittsu was clutching his shoulder. He dragged his head up to gaze into his sire's worried eyes, his own vast golden-rimmed black pools. Radittsu gasped, his hand tightening painfully.
      "No, you can't be! It's nowhere near the time!"
      The words sank in through the white haze filling his mind, only just making sense. He struggled to answer.
      "… know that… but… papa…" anguished, eyes closing as he pawed at the entrance to his chitsu, desperate to ease the sharp physical pain within. "… help… me…"
      Radittsu unsnapped the harness and pulled his sireling into his arms.
      "Brat, can you hear me? You must wait. It won't be long. Then we can get you to the harem."
      The prince was shaking, tail rubbing over his sire's groin, stroking the erection there: he could scent papa's arousal, and the way he was fighting it… he moaned, hands clumsily ripping off the bodysuit that felt like thorns rasping his too-sensitive skin, then yanked at Radittsu's.
      "… can't… wait… please papa… need…"
      Radittsu was cold… no, that wasn't right, he just felt cold against 'lestrel's own fever hot skin… Sobbing, the prince forced himself down onto his sire's lap, impaling himself deeply on the massive studded inkei and holding still as the Saiyan came almost immediately, unable to hold back in face of his sireling's sheer desperate pain and need… A'lestrel's nails sank into Radittsu's shoulders as the Saiyan managed to get enough control of himself to shift, bringing the prince to a hard double-climax and blunting the barbs, then held tight, pounding as forcefully as he could into the hot slender body as 'lestrel sobbed and whimpered and shook against him.

Six. That was how many times he'd come inside the brat's body before 'lestrel could calm down enough to stop shaking for a few minutes. Radittsu held the Zasshu to him, eyes brimming. Knowing it was necessary didn't make it any easier. 'lestrel was kin for fuck's sake! His own child. He'd fucked his own child…
      And if this was an early, misplaced shizun, did that mean 'lestrel had conceived? Had he made his sireling pregnant? He'd never forgive himself…
      'lestrel was moving again, lifting himself up and slamming back down brutally, adding to the dark blue blood already staining his thighs and his sire's groin. And - gods help him - Radittsu began to respond, helplessly, tail wrapping lean hips to hold the Zasshu in place, hands reaching between their bodies, one to wrap the throbbing, rigid inkei, the other to fondle and pinch and scratch the swollen nub. A'lestrel shrieked and double-climaxed again, head flung back, pearlescent semen drifting in globules around the tiny cockpit.
      It continued for hours, until finally the prince collapsed, semi-conscious, against his sire's shaking body. Radittsu lifted him enough to pull out, wincing as 'lestrel flinched and hissed his pain, then eased his own bodysuit back on. Cursing the lack of even a blanket to wrap around his sireling, Radittsu loosed his mane, wrapping it as securely as he could around the panting, whimpering prince.

*You there, sir?*
      Radittsu closed his eyes thankfully. Ry. It was Ry.
      *Here. Can you *SEE* me?* He concentrated on creating a mental *beacon* to guide the cruiser to their position - more grateful than he thought he'd ever been in his life to see the vessel gliding smoothly towards them.
      *Are you and his highness all right? Any injuries?*
      *Injuries, no. But Ry… he's in shizun…*
      A startled, fraught silence - then -
      *Oh fuck… you've had to…?*
      *… yes…* anguished.
      *But… it's waaaay too early…*
      *I know that! I don't know, maybe it's something to do with FullMoon, but he needs the harem now.*
      *Do my best, sir…*

And Ry was as good as his word, manoeuvring close and raking the little scoutship into the cruiser's cargo-hold then hastening down to meet its occupants - with a fur blanket, Radittsu was infinitely relieved to see. Ry stared at A'lestrel, his own erection obvious through his bodysuit.
      "Fuck. You're right - that's definitely shizun… but how?"
      Radittsu wrapped the blanket around his stirring and newly-aroused sireling, his own erection jumping in response.
      "I don't know… we'll speak with Vinas later. For now - I don't suppose you have any aliens in the crew, do you?"
      Ry shook his head, expression pained.
      "I'm sorry, sir… if I'd known… Will you be all right?"
      Gritting his teeth and heading for one of the cabins, Radittsu nodded reluctantly.
      "No choice. Just make sure his maazi knows what has happened and alerts the harem so they're ready for him. And please get us home as quickly as you can…"

It still took an hour for them to return to Vejiitasei. Radittsu was sore, aching, disgusted with himself and almost completely drained by then, A'lestrel draped over him, still impaled, licking and nipping at his throat and nipples and urging him for "more, papa…"

Zha'haabron pulled his bondmate forcefully into cool strong arms, holding him as he wept, kissing his forehead.
      *'bron… I had no choice…*
      **I know, zk'aida. You did what needed to be done**
      *But… but what if…?*
      **We will deal with it if it has happened. We won't know until after shizun**
      Radittsu clutched at the king's shoulders, expression despairing, filled with self-loathing.
      *I'm so sorry…*
      Zha'haabron rubbed his cheek over the top of Radittsu's head, cradling him close. Such a pity the Saiya-jin found the whole notion so abhorrent.
      **Zkai'da, if you had not been there, by now he would be dangerously ill, close to death. Do not apologise for saving his life**
      Radittsu was silent, holding onto his bondmate as though to let him go would be to lose himself in the black hole of his own emotions. Later, perhaps, he'd be able to think rationally about the whole matter, come to terms with it.
      Perhaps.
      In the meantime… he needed a little time to himself.
      Zha'haabron understood, and watched him take off, heading down towards the beach and the hidden pool he still considered his…
      Time enough for reassurance later.
      He sighed and headed for the comm unit. Vinas needed to know about this. And then he had to try to think of a way to tell Lutra.