Kira flicked the auto-pilot on after beaming for the Tower and stepped into the back of the ship where her pod waited for her. Unlike the others, this one was spread horizontal-wise—reminding her a tanning bed she once saw in a magazine she'd salvaged from the Cosmodrome. She preferred sleeping on her back rather than standing up. The latter always gave her a feeling like sea legs, which often resulted in her retching over the side of her aircraft. Not a very good image on her part for those who had to witness it.

She pressed a red button on the pod, and the air-tight casing slid open with a hiss. She'd changed out of her armor into a plain black zip up suit earlier and now situated herself inside the pod. She punched in the number of days for stasis it would take to reach the Tower, and the casing slid back and locked in place. Then a haze of gas filtered inside, but Kira remained neutral and breathed it in slowly.

It took the drug only seconds to enter her bloodstream, as she could start to feel her limbs grow heavy and numb. Before she fell asleep, she mumbled, "Wake me up when we get there, Ghost."

It took only a moment for Kira to realize that something was wrong.

Her eyes popped open, and instead of seeing a wall of glass with a depiction of Earth on the horizon, letting her know they'd reached their destination, she found Variks positioned over her. Her initial reaction was to grab her gun, which she'd taken off beforehand, leaving her weaponless. That didn't stop her hand from moving, though.

She did not expect Variks to be so quick, and strong. In an instant, he had both of her arms pinned above her head, his grip bruising and forceful. His masked face dangled only inches from her own. His eyes glowed like twin blue luminescent coals in the darkness, hypnotizing, and bright. She could look at nothing else, but she could feel his other two arms sliding up her torso, toward her zipper.

Kira couldn't move her lips to speak, too dazed to think of what to say or even believe if this was really happening or not. She hoped not, or so she told herself.

Her body tensed beneath his curious touches as he lowered the zipper inch by inch, but his eyes never left hers. She had a small glimpse at what lay beneath his mask, and she quickly looked away. She'd forgotten that Fallen had no mouths, not like humans or her own: Awoken. and then she wondered just what he planned to do with her.

She tilted her head away from him as he leaned in toward her; she could feel his mandibles graze the side of her cheek, and it shamed her to know it made her flush with arousal. She closed her eyes tight and tried to imagine anything else.

"Do I frighten you?" he asked, his breath hot against the side of her neck. It took all her remaining willpower not to arch toward him. Instead, she just told herself she was hallucinating, and it would all be over with soon…hopefully.

Realizing he was expecting an answer, dream or no dream, she lied and said, "No."

"Gooooood," he said.

She became painstakingly aware of the fact that she was now naked and at his mercy. Kira fought back a shocked cry when she felt his hot, wet tongue glide between her heaving breasts and find a nipple. His tongue wasn't like any she'd ever felt before; it was rough and long and each lick brought her closer to crying out. She bit her bottom lip instead, hoping this dream would end; she didn't know how much more of this she could take before…She tried not to think of it, least she lose all self-control and give in. While her mind might agree, she found her body undulating beneath his gentle caresses as rough hands glided over every curve she owned. But she still kept her eyes closed, ashamed at herself.

"This feels good, yes?" Variks asked. When she didn't say anything, one hand moved lower and brushed the inside of her thigh. Only then did she realize how wet she was, and the movement sent a shock like lightning between her legs that caused her to moan.

"Does this please you?" he asked as a finger dipped inside the moisture between her folds. Kira tried to break loose, but his grip was like iron; however, she wasn't trying to escape, she was trying to bring herself closer to him, wanted him deeper.

Suddenly, he brought his finger out of her, and she moaned in protest. But then he brought the slick finger to her lips, and she drew it into her mouth and tasted her own warm, sweet juices, making sure to swirl her tongue for extra emphasis, hoping Variks would understand the gesture.

"More?" he asked.

Kira opened her eyes for the first time since this had started and nodded eagerly. To hell with her dignity. She needed this. Now.

She bent her head back as his tongue trailed her throat, then dipping lower until he was positioned between her legs. His hot breath on her sex made her throw her head back and clutch the sides of the pod they were trapped in together. Just as his tongue grazed the inside of her thigh where she wanted it to, Kira sat up with a lurch and a gasp.

Kira opened her eyes. The pod was open, she was still dressed, and her body was coated in a sheen of sweat. That's when it dawned on her…It was a dream. A very wet dream.

"Should I even ask?" said Ghost over the mic.

Kira ignored him and fell flat on her back inside the pod as the spacecraft orbited toward Earth. And here she'd thought losing sight of Skolas had been bad…she couldn't have been more wrong. There was nothing worse than waking up from a wet dream, unfulfilled.