EXPOSED AND DISCOVERED

Before Milo could protest, Rivra had removed her boots, and by the time he could grasp the situation, her leotard joined the boots in a pile near the door. No matter how many times he licked his lips, he couldn't seem to conquer the dryness that had settled in his mouth. His stomach twisted in on itself, and Milo wondered if he would throw up.

Rivra sauntered toward him, and each step closer made the heat in Milo's stomach rise. He fiddled with his fingers. (What the hell is she doing?! Why is she naked?)

She stopped just behind him. No doubt she could hear his tiny heart squeezing and pumping in his chest. (Is this part of my training?)

One of her hands settled on Milo's shoulders, and Milo seized up, his breath catching in his throat. Rivra sighed.

"It's okay. Let me take care of you."

(THIS IS NOT OKAY!!! WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING?!)

Her hand traced circles on his shoulders. Some of the tension melted from his back. But his racing pulse and fiery stomach remained. He kept his eyes on the drain in the middle of the shower.

"I'm going to turn on the shower. Do you need help removing your clothes?"

"A-absolutely not!"

Rivra pulled her hand back and straightened up. She turned away and made for the wall. A lone touchscreen protruded from a recess, and she tapped the screen a few times. Milo slowly stripped. His stomach and chest burned so hot, yet a chill had settled in his shoulders and arms. He laid his suit and boots on the floor next to him.

Rivra stooped down and grabbed his uniform.

Milo gasped.

She cocked her head. "Is everything okay?"

(No! Obviously not!)

But he couldn't get his mouth to repeat his thoughts.

She walked toward the entrance and placed his suit right next to her clothes. Milo had turned to watch her. A lump formed in his throat.

(She's completely naked! I'm completely naked!)

Rivra's body rippled with toned muscles. As to be expected of Lucianna's bodyguard, she possessed a grace and power in her walk that made Milo tingle in all the wrong places. She was stunning, but Milo couldn't expel the image of her throat, mere inches from his face. The feel of her teeth in his neck as she had been moments from biting his head off.

She turned around, her chest swaying freely.

Milo ripped his eyes away. The fire spread from his gut and chest to his face. He hadn't even kissed a woman all his life, and now suddenly he had one standing completely exposed behind him. He hugged himself, his leg bouncing up and down.

"You should relax," she said.

She pushed some buttons on the touchscreen again, and water sprayed from the showerheads. A fine mist rose into the air as the smell of rain and chlorine enveloped them. Milo gritted his teeth.

(How can I relax when I'm naked and afraid?!)

She set down a small package next to him.

"Your shampoo and soap."

One of her hands found his shoulders and began rubbing his upper back. Her motion was slow, deliberate. That tingling heat spread to his back and arms, and Milo had to resist moaning in pleasure. Despite his reservations, Milo leaned into her as she upped the intensity.

"I can wash your back."

"U-um, okay…"

(What am I thinking? She's so close…the heat she's putting off is making me sweat all over again!)

She switched from her palm to her index and middle finger, making small circles along his trapezoid muscles. Sometimes she would use her index finger and thumb to massage the back of his neck, loosening some knot Milo hadn't even known about. Her motions were clumsy because of their size difference, but her skills amazed someone like Milo, who'd never had a massage before.

He sighed deeply.

A small grin appeared on Rivra's lips. "You seem more relaxed."

"Yeah, I guess. You, uh, give good massages."

"Thank you."

She reached down and retrieved the package from the floor. As she tore open the plastic wrapping, Milo rubbed his arms.

"This, uh, you definitely seem different. From when we first met, I mean."

Rivra took a small bead and crushed it between her fingers, rubbing them together until a lather formed. A minty perfume drifted into Milo's nose.

She rubbed the soap into Milo's back, her fingers tracing circles into his shoulders, all the way down to his lower back.

"It's just…I get it. My father, he did some horrible things to you all. And…I've always been told I look exactly like him."

Rivra chuckled. "I wouldn't know about that. But if you look like Waylon, then I'm sure you're quite handsome."

(H-handsome? No one's said that before…Not even mom.)

"W-what I'm trying to say is, I don't hate you or anything. I could tell when Lucianna first asked me to join the crew that she was desperate for something, anything related to my father."

She switched to using her palm to massage large circles into his back.

"We've been hunting for Waylon for a while now. And every day we spend chasing him, the more it wears all of us down." She curled her fingers around Milo's shoulders. "Not to mention, there are people in the universe who would see us fall. We've tried to stay under the radar and keep secret that we've lost our gems of power…but it's only a matter of time before someone learns."

"But you have one, right?" Milo raised right wrist. "That has to count for something, right?"

Rivra giggled. "It's definitely a step in the right direction. But…I'm afraid it does nothing about the other gems. Or about Waylon."

Her grip tightened on Milo's shoulders.

"He didn't just take our gems. He took away some people very dear to me."

Milo yelped. Rivra released her grip and pulled back.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, it's fine!"

(I thought she was going to snap my neck in two!!! But I wonder…those empty chairs from dinner…)

"We'll continue your training. I'm not sure if it'll help with that weird fusion thing you pull off, but you should get into better shape, anyway." She rinsed the suds from Milo's back. "All right, your back is washed."

She turned and stepped away from him. He looked over his shoulder and was greeted by an eyeful of Rivra's rear. He whipped his head back around, his heart pounding in his chest.

"D-do you want me to wash your back? It's only fair."

(What am I saying?! She's absolutely naked and…and…!)

Rivra waved her hand. "Don't worry about me. You're taken care of, and that's all that matters."

She said that, but he noticed a slight downturn in her pitch. (Maybe I should offer again?) But Rivra had already begun lathering her hands, spreading suds all along her chiseled, green body. An aromatic mix of leather and vanilla wafted toward him.

***

They finished bathing in silence, and Rivra retrieved their belongings as Milo dried off.

"Are you good to walk? I'm sure breakfast is ready, and I must speak with Lucianna before I eat."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you. You've been…more than helpful."

Rivra grinned. "It was quite refreshing to talk to someone new. Though I hope you didn't take advantage of my blindness and sneak a few peeks."

Milo pursed his lip.

Rivra laughed. "I'm joking. After all, I'm the one who carried you in here. It's as the Captain says…you're kind of cute. Ah, are you okay? Your heart is racing."

"Yup! Just fine! I'll, uh, see you at breakfast!"

Rivra nodded and took her leave. After she'd gone, Milo hung his head. (The women on this crew are scary. So violent one moment, then sweet and motherly the next.) He folded his hands together. (Really makes me wonder if I'll be able to help them at all…)

"You've already been a help, darling~"

Lucianna's breasts squished against the back of his neck. A jolt zipped through his body as a fire stirred in his gut, and his primal instincts told him a predator had cornered him. A pair of black and gold mechanical arms wrapped around him, ensuring he couldn't escape.

"Do you like them? Faith just finished these!"

"W-what exactly are you talking about?!"

She extended her hands, wiggling the fingers. "My new arms! Aren't they nice? Faith even said the right one can fold out of the for our fusion!"

"Oh, oh! Yeah, they're definitely nice. Mmhm!"

Lucianna spun him around, and she froze him in his spot with her glowing violet eyes. "Darling? You're so red!"

(YOUR BOOBS WERE ON MY NECK!!!)

He cleared his throat. "The shower water was hot."

She giggled. "If you say so…Hey! After breakfast, do you wanna see the bridge?"

"The bridge?"

"Y'know! Where we pilot the ship and everything!"

"Oh! Uh, yeah, sure!"

"Good! Let's get going then!"

She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out of the shower. (Thank god I'm already dressed!)

***

Albany had prepared another fine meal for the crew. She took inspiration from Earthbound cuisine yet again and whipped up a veritable breakfast feast that included an egg and spinach quiche, fried sausage, a sweetbread, and many fresh fruits and vegetables. The quiche was perfectly seasoned, eggy, but with enough spice to excite the tongue. Paired with the savory sausage and sweet bread, the meal awakened something in Milo. (I can never go back to eating microwaved breakfast croissants!)

With each moan of satisfaction, Albany nodded and grinned. Her eyes followed Milo's every move as he stuffed himself with her culinary delights. Lucianna cleared her throat more than once, and each time Albany's cheeks would flush and she'd return to eating her own meal. But every so often, she continued watching Milo.

He leaned back in his chair, sighing. "That was so good! Thank you, Albany!"

She beamed. "My pleasure!"

Rivra wiped her mouth with a cloth. "The food was excellent. But I feel it might be too fatty for Milo. He needs to build muscle. Try something more lean next time."

Albany stroked her chin. "More lean? I can definitely do that…it's just that the Captain told me to give food that'd keep Milo chubby…"

Lucianna's eyes widened. "Wwwwwhat??? Me? Want to keep Milo chubby? Never! That's just…no!"

Rivra sighed. "Milo's health is more important than your libido, Captain."

"How rude! To imply such a thing! Anyway!" She grabbed one of Milo's hands between two of hers. "Let's go to the bridge, darling~! We have some things to talk about!"

Lucianna dragged Milo down to the end of the hallway, while Rivra followed them from a distance.

They entered a large, circular room filled with illuminated consoles. A wall of screens displayed images of the ship and what Milo assumed to be diagnostics and stats. A chart of star systems sprawled across a large, spherical pedestal near the front of the bridge. Few of the galaxies were colored green, while most others, including the galaxy they were currently in, were marked red. Lucianna explained these were places they'd looked for Waylon already.

"Obviously, the Milky Way is another bust. Earth was the last place on our list to check."

"So these are the places you haven't checked? What's this large cluster over here?"

That area of space stretched quite a few galaxies, almost three times the size of the Milky Way. Yet Lucianna and her crew had explored none of it, as it glowed in an emerald light.

She crossed her arms. "That's the Federation's space. We don't want to go there unless we've exhausted everything else. Especially since there's a bounty on our heads." She pointed to a small system, closer to the Milky Way. "We need supplies, so we'll be heading to this stop next. I'm hoping we'll get someone to buy the scraps from that robot!"

Milo nodded. "Then what do we do after that?"

"There's some unexplored areas over here. But we'll more than likely head over to this galaxy. I know Waylon had visited there once or twice, so it's a long shot. The other problem is I've heard there's a planet guarded by a giant volcano monster." She shrugged. "But we need to turn every stone. Who knows where we'll find the next clue?"

Milo nodded. "I just hope I can help you."

Lucianna turned and cupped his cheek with one hand. "You saw what we did to Rivra, right? As long as we're together, we're unstoppable, darling~"

Before Milo could return her smile, one screen in the bridge flickered, and Faith appeared on-screen.

"We need to go, now!" she said.

The ground rumbled and shook. Milo stumbled into Lucianna, who caught him in her arms. Rivra strode toward a console and smashed some buttons. A new screen appeared, and it rendered an outside view of the ship. With a few clicks, the screen changed perspectives and revealed another ship, dark and sleek, pursuing them from behind.

"They have found us," Faith said.