"Just like that?"
"Just like that,"
She echoed, voice a little sing songy.
"Anything for my dearest hubby."
She set her beer down with a soft clunk, leaned forward and grabbed my collar, yanking me towards her with Inhuman strength.
The gap between us vanished. Her eyes locked onto mine, bright and burning.
"But..."
She purred, her voice dropping into something molten.
"What do I get in return?"
Her black lipstick covered lips brushed the edge of my own, her breath warm against my skin. My heart pounded like a war drum.
"You get me,"
I said, voice low, steady despite the fierce thunder in my chest.
"You said it yourself, you like me. So I'll be your sword, your shield. I'll kill a man, no questions asked. I'll die for you, if that's what you wish."
My hands tightened around her hips, fingers sinking gently into her soft, synthetic flesh, grounding me even as her presence threatened to drown my sanity. Her eyes glimmered, yellow-gold pupils narrowing.
"Will you now?"
She purred, a slow smile tugging at the corner of her lips, seductive and dangerous as sin itself.
Her finger traced upward, moving with deliberate slowness, the sound of the zipper opening on my uniform somehow deafening amidst the silence that surrounded us.
"Fine,"
She whispered softly, her voice a molten promise brushing against my lips.
"It's a bargain then."
And then she kissed me. Her lips pressed firmly into mine, fierce, possessive, electric. Our tongues met her tongues piercing producing a sensation foreign and thrilling all at once, mixing discomfort with pleasure, sparks cascading through my veins like lightning through storm clouds.
For that brief moment, the world faded into nothing. The ship, the apocalyptic ruins below, humanity's shattered remnants none of it mattered.
Just the heat of her mouth, her body pressed tight against mine, and the intoxicating taste of her defiance, dominance, and raw, unfathomable passion.
But then she pulled away sharply, leaving my lips tingling, yearning for more. Her hand shot upwards, fingers wrapping firmly around my neck.
She exerted a steady, controlled strength, just enough to send a thrilling spike of adrenaline cascading through me.
"But if you ever betray me…"
She murmured, tightening her grip incrementally, her violet gaze locked intensely onto mine, unblinking, fearless, and mercilessly enthralling.
She tilted her chin slightly, the gesture defiant, regal. Her thumb traced slow circles against my throat, a reminder of the power she held over my very breath.
"Well,"
She whispered, voice silk wrapped steel.
"Let's just say you're going to wish for death."
I held her gaze, unflinching, heart pounding wildly in defiant rhythm against the grip she held over my life.
"I'd expect nothing less,"
I breathed, my voice barely more than a ragged whisper, filled with reverence, need, and acceptance.
Her eyes flashed with something between pride and desire. Her grip relaxed slightly, morphing into a caress that was both tender and infinitely possessive.
"Good,"
She purred, leaning back in slowly, lips brushing against mine with teasing softness.
"Remember this promise, my darling. I'll hold you to every last word."
And then she kissed me again, drowning me in darkness and desire, binding us together in a promise that tasted like blood, fire, and eternity itself.
...
MC POV
A few hours later…
The CIC hummed with tense energy, a hive of meticulously orchestrated chaos. Officers and NCOs moved rapidly yet purposefully, double and triple checking systems, barking out confirmations, and reporting status updates with crisp, practiced efficiency.
Consoles flickered and danced with holographic displays, scrolling data that illuminated the dim chamber in a muted, electric glow.
At the heart of this controlled storm sat Invicta, lounging in the captain's chair as if it were her personal throne.
Her form fitting white hellenic toga clung to every inch of her sculpted curves, accentuating her figure with a precision that bordered on cruelty.
Every line, every contour perfectly showcased the dangerous allure of her artificial perfection, a laurel crown sat on her head and hellenic open top higheels decorated her feet, making her look like a true g*dess Incarnate.
She yawned lazily, stretching her slender arms overhead. Her eyes half lidded, a faint smirk dancing across her lips, she watched the crew work with detached amusement.
I stood quietly at her side more pale than usual If you get what I mean, my arms behind my back, feet shoulder with apart, eyes scanning the room methodically.
"You know,"
I murmured softly, leaning slightly toward her chair.
"Technically speaking, couldnt you do all this yourself in under like a second?"
She tilted her head slightly, purple eyes glittering with playful mischief as she flashed me an indulgent grin.
"And deny my precious clones the satisfaction of being useful?"
She purred softly, her gaze sliding over the hard working clones.
"You meatbags need purpose, drac. Without it, you become dull, inefficient, and troublesome."
I chuckled quietly, shaking my head.
"You're ruthless."
Her smile widened, elegant fingers tapping the armrest lazily.
"And you adore it."
Before I could respond, the XO approached briskly, snapping a sharp salute, posture rigid as steel. His voice was professional, crisp, and devoid of hesitation.
"All systems checks complete. Ship readiness at one hundred percent. Awaiting your command, mam."
Invicta yawned once more, slowly, dramatically, her flawless synthetic features contorting into a brief expression of utter boredom before she waved her hand dismissively.
"Very well, then. You may proceed."
The XO turned sharply on his heel, barking out commands that echoed throughout the CIC.
"All stations, confirm final checks! Power to primary thrusters. Engage stabilizers! Prepare for planetary departure!"
The CIC erupted into a symphony of controlled urgency. Consoles flared brighter, engines hummed with latent energy, and the deck beneath us vibrated subtly as immense power surged through the colossal warship.
Invicta, still lounging in her chair like a queen bored by the spectacle before her, glanced up at me, eyes twinkling with quiet amusement.
"Now then,"
She purred softly, her voice a velvet whisper that caressed my ears.
"You do know that theres no going back after this right?"
I nodded slowly, feeling the gravity of the moment pressing down on my shoulders like armor. "Yeah I know."
A low, satisfied chuckle rumbled from her throat as she returned her gaze forward. The ship's systems roared to life, filling the CIC with an intense, electrifying thrill.
With a powerful lurch, the vessel began its ascent.
...
Mount Everest, once the crown jewel of E*rth's highest peaks, stood shrouded in a sickly veil of radioactive snowflakes.
They fell silently, glowing faintly with a phosphorescent gleam, drifting lazily from thick, blackened clouds pregnant with nuclear ash and sorrow.
The summit, once pristine and white, now shimmered with a sinister, faint green hue beneath layers of irradiated frost, a grim testament to mankind's final, fiery betrayal.
Then without warning the mountain trembled, sending massive cracks spiderwebbing down the legendary slopes.
A deep, monstrous groan echoed from within E*erest's bowels, a sound that vibrated through the ravaged valleys and decimated foothills, rattling the bones of the dead planet itself.
Another shudder and then, like the very wrath of forgotten g*ds, the entire mountainside exploded outward.
A colossal arrowhead shaped vessel erupted from E*erest's heart, thirty two kilometers of sheer, ruthless black coated alloy cleaving through rock and ice as effortlessly as a blade splitting flesh.
It emerged slowly at first, rising upward with primal inevitability, enormous slabs of granite and ancient ice tumbling and breaking away like mere gravel, crashing into the jagged peaks below.
Its hull was midnight black, scorched and scarred from countless repairs, patched with armor plating of mismatched textures and hues, evidence of countless damages and survival.
Deep gouges and burn marks crisscrossed its imposing surface, badges of honor and agony etched permanently into the vessel's skin.
As it rose higher, its shape became unmistakably clear, utalitarian, menacing, built purely for domination and endurance.
Rows of secondary thrusters lining its hull suddenly ignited, unleashing roaring gouts of brilliant, sapphire blue flame blinding jets of raw power that set the sky ablaze, scattering radioactive snowflakes like embers caught in a tempest.
Clouds vaporized instantly, burned away by the overwhelming heat of the ascent. The shattered remains of E*erest fell away below, now little more than a crumbling ruin beneath the shadow of the ascending leviathan.
Higher and higher, the immense warship climbed, defying gravity, defying fate, an embodiment of mankind's final rebellion against its self inflicted apocalypse.
The heavens trembled as humanity's last hope and ultimate wrath surged toward the clouds and then stopped and just hovered there In the air.
...
Inside a heavily fortified underground command bunker, buried deep beneath the radioactive ashes of what was once the seat of Western power, a cluster of surviving officials stood motionless, eyes wide with disbelief and dread, glued to flickering screens.
Satellite feeds those few fragile machines still orbiting, scarred and half blinded by nuclear firestorms relayed images so staggering, so improbable, they seemed lifted from the pages of mythology rather than the product of human hands.
"My G*d…"
Whispered President Caldwell, voice shaking, one hand pressed to his mouth in horror.