Genesis or Exodus

Chapter Five.

"Wow! She handles like a dream. Thanks for letting me pilot this beautiful piece of engineering. Well, one of many that you have docked in the hangar of Genesis. Do you think I will get a chance to take any of the others out while we are here on this protection detail?" Vex continued to run his hands over the array of buttons while he waited for the Antrax control centre to give him clearance to dock.

Lauren smiled and found Vex's excitement and childlike awe endearing. "You can take us down to Old Earth in the cruiser that I have outfitted for my exploration missions if you like. Hale usually stays with Genesis when I go off collecting samples and seeking relics and lost histories. Just in case something goes wrong."

"Like what happened on your last exploration mission?" Mackenzie ruffled Vex's hair, knowing how much it annoyed him, while focusing her curiosity at The Matriarch sitting beside him.

"Quit it! You know it takes ages to get my hair to look this perfect in its chaotic, no gravity style," Vex exclaimed as he swatted at his comrades' hands.

"Is the commander still in the Secure Comms Room?" Lauren asked, trying to change the subject, but the young soldier wasn't easily thrown off course it seemed.

"Yeah, she is still in there briefing the council. Bunch of Blowhards! This is our first time off the Genesis and you are insisting that we won't need to guard you. What is there possibly to report for it to take this long! But you are trying to change the subject, Madam Matriarch!" Lauren rolled her eyes at Mackenzie as she continued to chatter. Hurry with the docking permissions already, she thought to herself.

" I mean, that's the reason we were sent here in the first place, right? Something seriously went wrong on your last mission and the Bigwigs don't want to risk you killing yourself on the next one."

"You should probably just tell us or she'll follow you around for the next three days until you do," Bruce said coming up behind Mackenzie and resting his huge hands upon her tiny shoulders.

Lauren looked over at Hale, who just grinned and sat back with his hands behind his head. "A little help?"

Her friend just shook his head and continued to smile, "Nah. You got this. It's story time, Lauren. Let them hear it. There is a huge line up of ships wanting to dock so it could be a while."

"I have PRIORITY clearance!," she griped back.

Hale shrugged, "They've had some kind of breach in one of the sectors. A few crates of Fire Skitterer's got loose and they are having trouble putting out the fires they are causing as they try to round them up."

Lauren shook her head in disbelief, "That's one of the problems having so many mercenaries, merchants and smugglers all in one place. Fucking chaos! Every single time!"

"But it's such a fun place to visit and let loose while getting all the supplies that we can't get through the regulated channels," Hale responded with a chuckle and a wink.

Lauren just grunted in response. She really couldn't wait to be docked and free to walk around the station that could cater to all her needs. She was wound so damned tight from being around Bo and her soldiers since they had come aboard the Genesis. She was also so wet and aching from being on the smaller cruiser with Bo sitting across from her for most of it.

The commander had laughed and joked with the rest of her team, but the brunette's gaze rarely left Lauren. There was heat and intensity in that gaze and through sheer stubbornness Lauren had met that gaze with equal intent. Lauren had licked her lips every so often to draw Bo's attention to her mouth and she had joined in the banter ensuring that she left a lot of comments holding double meanings and sexual undertones. She had noticed Bo shifting in her seat before she had shot up and declared that she was going to make a call to her superiors and scurrying away. The whole encounter had been calculated to show Bo that she could give as good as she got. Bo had been flirting and teasing her for weeks whenever she was in her presence and Lauren had finally decided to return the favour. It had taken Bo by surprise and she hoped that the Commander was as wet and aching as she was and that she was struggling in her conference with The Alliance Council.

Mackenzie waved a hand in front of The Matriarch's face. "You gonna give us story time while we're waiting or not? Come on! I'm right, aren't I. You almost died out there. In some old tomb or jungle..."

Just get it over with. They are here for the long haul, you may as well get used to all the extra company and the questions that they bring with them. Lauren listened to her inner voice and decided to finally reveal why The Council had sent Bo and her select team to protect her and Genesis. Lauren didn't notice the hiss of the Comm Room open and Bo step out of it, because she was already lost in her memories. "I didn't almost die. I did. It's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last, even with a group of bodyguards looking after my ass."

"I don't understand," Vex said.

"Yeah. What he said," Mackenzie added, even more curious than before.

"I have a symbiotic link with Genesis and through that link my living consciousness can be maintained for a short period of time even if my body is dead. Within that time window, my proximity to the Genesis is important. If my bodily vessel is close enough to the Genesis it can transfer my essence into a new waiting cloned body aboard the ship. On the last mission I was stalked, attacked, mauled and killed by a wild Scar Beast and an electrical storm in the upper atmosphere made getting me back to Genesis impossible. The cruiser that myself and a few Orai had landed on the planet with would never have made it through that storm."

"Holy Shit! How did you get body snatched into your new body then?"

Lauren turned to Hale and noticed Bo for the first time. Her body reacted from the intensity of Bo's gaze. The woman was magnetic and Lauren was drawn to her like a tractor beam, unable to escape her enticing pull. Lauren forced her eyes to look at Hale instead as she finished her story. "Hale risked Genesis to get to me. He flew into the storm and managed to pinpoint and beam me on board. Genesis had to stay within the storm until it had completed my transference into my new body and suffered a lot of damage to her systems through the ordeal. It took several weeks to mend the damage and that is why The Council enrolled an elite team of soldiers to ensure that it doesn't happen again." Lauren was back to looking at Bo as she finished her recollection. She couldn't read The Commander's face and she looked away before she started reading something that wasn't there. Pity. Sadness. Happiness that Hale had managed to save her. Lauren shook her head and looked anywhere but at the woman that had put her entire life in a tailspin by doing absolutely nothing at all.

The crackling of the radio followed by a voice allowing them to finally dock gave Lauren the reprieve she needed. She didn't like to dwell on what could have been her final death and that of Genesis, her family's legacy, dying right along with her. "Put this bird down, Vex. I have places I need to be!"

"Yes, Matriarch, ma'am," Vex responded and instantly engaged the engines and headed towards their assigned docking wharf.

"Okay, so you all know when you need to be back aboard this ship?" Lauren looked at each and every person ensuring she got a nod or verbal acknowledgment from each and every one of them. "Good, because when I am ready to go, we go and I have no problem whatsoever in leaving anyone behind." She gave the group a smile to lighten the mood a little. "Have fun and ensure you pick up any luxury items you require before departure. There will be no more stops between here and Old Earth and trust me when I say that there won't be markets like this on that planet." The Matriarch turned towards the Promenade before realising that she had forgotten to caution Bo and her team about Antrax and its inhabitants.

Lauren grabbed Mackenzie by the arm as she walked by, forcing her to stop, turn and frown at her. "You forget something?"

"Yes. As you already know Antrax is not a part of the Galactic Alliance. I suggest..."

Lauren was cut off by Bo, who let out a snort and a snarky, "You got that right! This place if filled with mercenaries, criminals and bottom feeders. I can almost smell them from here. I don't understand why the alliance hasn't cleaned this cesspool up yet."

The Matriarch shot the Commander a look that had made many people shrink back and bow to her in the past, but not her, Bo just met her gaze with her usual arrogance and superiority. "It is comments like that that could get you killed!," Lauren shot back in frustration. The woman infuriated her on so many levels and she truly didn't understand why she continued to find her so damned attractive. Because no one has ever challenged you and met you head on without backing down before, was her internal response. Lauren ignored the thought and turned towards the other members of Bo's team. The ones that she actually liked and said, "I recommend that you do not mention your status with the alliance to anyone. There is still a sector of law enforcement on Antrax, so if you end up getting into an altercation that gets you arrested or dead, I will not come to your aid. I have very important contacts at this station and I do not want people to know that I have been saddled with a team of Alliance bodyguards. Please respect and comply with my wishes or I will send you back to the council and you can explain to them why you failed in your mission to protect me and their interests. Is that understood."

"Yeah."

"No problem."

"Lay low. Got it. Can we go now?"

Lauren nodded to Bruce, Vex and Mackenzie respectively, and allowed them to walk away. Hale followed them and Lauren turned to Bo, who was seemingly pissed off with her warning and was furiously clenching her jaw trying to reel her anger in. "Do we have a problem? Please tell me that my instructions for how I want you to act while here on Antrax has gotten through to you or I will request that you just stay aboard the cruiser for the next three days so that I can ensure that you don't fuck my life up any more than you being here already has."

This woman is un-fucking-believable! Bo thought to herself. "Look, Lady!" Lauren stepped forward and poked Bo in the chest. She's bloody crazy too! The Commander wasn't used to people getting in her face like this. She was practically at the top of the food chain with the alliance. People followed her orders and not the other way around, but Bo's belly did a flip flop as The Matriarch came toe to toe with her, matching the look of defiance that she was shooting at the blonde.

"Don't 'look lady' me! I need the connections I have here. I can't have your patriotic pride and devotion for the gospel of the Galactic Alliance sullying up my reputation." Bo watched as Lauren's face softened just a little and she didn't miss the fact that both of them seemed to be breathing a little faster and shallower with the closeness between them. "I know that it must be a bitter pill to swallow having to take my orders, but I really need you to behave yourself and be careful who you talk to and what you say to them."

Bo was transfixed on Lauren's mouth as she spoke and the soldier inhaled sharply when Lauren's tongue flicked out and licked her lips, making them glisten and become even more inviting. Bo was almost disappointed when Lauren took a step back and effectively cut off the heat that had been building between them from standing so close. "Tell you what, why don't we both just stay together on the cruiser and work off this obvious sexual tension that has been building between us before we both spontaneously combust." Bo found herself disappointed when her comment backfired and the blonde's face closed down any other emotions besides denial.

"I have no idea what you are talking about! Can you just promise me that you will behave so that I can actually be somewhere that I want to be instead of standing here arguing with you?" Lauren ignored the stab of regret that burst forth from her gut when she saw the fleeting look of pain in Bo's eyes at her harsh words. She fought the urge to apologise.

"Just go, Matriarch. I will be a good little bodyguard and watch what I say about my precious Aliiance."

Fuck! I took it too far, Lauren thought, the regret growing exponentially. She opened her mouth to say something, anything to take away the damage she had caused with her stubborn, bullheadedness and pride.

"Just go, Lauren. I will do as you ask. Just go."

Lauren closed her mouth and just gave her a small nod before turning and walking away. She barely registered the greetings from several high ranking officials from the upper levels of Antrax's trading and commerce division. Bo had said the words out loud and acknowledged the sexual awareness between them. It was too real now and she was left feeling frustrated and so incredibly horny that she decided to skip the shopping and head straight for the Den and the unearthly delights within that would rid her of her needs and hopefully have her thinking more clearly after several hours of sexual therapy.

Bo watched Lauren walk away with purpose, allowing a certain amount of distance to come between them before she followed her. Bo had discussed her fulfilling the alliances directives while the rest of them got to unwind and have a little fun outside the confines of Genesis. The Genesis was an enormous ship, easily as big as the space station, but it still became a little claustrophobic when there were only six people that they could actually communicate with. Lauren was the only one that could communicate with the Orai and she didn't seem to mind the solitude like her and her team did.

Duty was important to Bo and even though Lauren had insisted that she would be perfectly safe over their three day stay on Antrax, she had decided that she would do the job she was sent to do regardless. The Matriarch travelled through the busy market place and though small alley ways like a pro, knowing exactly where she was going. Bo followed her discreetly, her eyes watchful for any danger and her hand resting casually next to her holstered pistol concealed under her jacket. Bo ducked into a dark alcove in the wall as Lauren stopped and glanced back down the alley, before turning and disappearing into one of the doors that were scattered along either side. Bo waited a moment to ensure that The Matriarch wasn't just having a quick pit stop before continuing to another destination. When Lauren didn't reemerge into the alley Bo left her shadowed hiding place and approached the establishment that Lauren had entered.

Apart from the blinking sign above the door there were no other advertisements for what lay beyond. But Bo didn't need anything else but the sign to know what lay beyond the door. She couldn't help but smile as she waited for the door to open as she stepped directly in front of it. A soft pink light barely lit the small darkened hallway beyond the entrance of the Pleasure Den, the rest of the establishment hidden by a shimmering semitransparent curtain. Bo stepped into the hallway allowed the door to close behind her. Perhaps I'm not the only one whose body reacts to our confrontations as if it is a form of foreplay, Bo thought as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Lauren greeted Madam Josephine with a kiss to both of her flushed cheeks. "Matriarch! How wonderful to see you again. It's been too long!"

Lauren gave the slightly heavy and curvacious proprietor a genuine smile in return for her emphatic greeting. "I know I have come without an appointment, but please tell me that Octavia is available. You know how much she pleases me." Lauren had no doubt that if Octavia was booked for clients, and she had no doubt in her mind that she was, Madam Josephine would wipe those booking away in an instant for her.

Just as predicted Josephine opened the book and put lines through several names. "Not a problem, Matriarch. I will have this sorted for you momentarily and Octavia will be here for your pleasure before you have finished the drink that Sophia is going to get for you." Josephine snapped her fingers and a young, petite woman with shoulder length auburn hair and only a few thin strips of material covering her breasts and genitalia stepped out from behind one of the wispy coloured curtains with her preferred drink in hand. "Be right back!," Josephine's husky voice said as she disappeared through another curtain that led to her office so that she could reschedule or rearrange the appointments that Octavia was going to miss because of her unscheduled appearance.

Lauren took the drink offered and took a sip as she leaned leisurely against the counter waiting for Octavia to appear and sweep her away. Lauren almost dropped her glass when an unexpected and unwelcome voice broke through her racing thoughts of the things Octavia would be doing to her within the hour and all night long.

"Wow! Great minds think alike. I knew that I sensed the same proclivities within you that I have. Would you like to share? Or perhaps you should just take me up on my offer and we could get a room and you can let me rock your world. I knew you protested too much when I pointed out your undeniable attraction to me. Our foreplay sent you right into a whore house instead of my arms."

Lauren tried to ignore Bo. She closed her eyes and prayed that the soldier would just disappear and stop torturing her for the urges that she had no control over. When Lauren felt Bo press herself against her ass and felt Bo's breasts against her back, she was unable to ignore her anymore. "You followed me?"

Bo's hot breath brushed against her ear, "I was following my orders. I take my duty seriously. You are a very valuable and important asset remember, and I am here to ensure that you are taken care of."

Lauren bit her lip and suppressed a moan as Bo pushed her pelvis against her ass when she whispered the word asset to her. Lauren was incredibly turned on. Her core was hot, aching and incredibly wet, but she was also incredibly pissed off that Bo was treating this entire encounter as a joke. She felt exposed and vulnerable that Bo showed such disregard for her privacy. This was her sanctuary and Bo had barged her way in and made it uncomfortable for her.

Bo squeezed Lauren's ass, making the blonde fight the urge to turn around and either slap the soldier or kiss her till their lips were bruised and swollen. "You are a cork just itching to be popped and I will do it for free. What do you say?," Bo's breathy, sultry voice whispered in her ear.

"Eat me, Bo and fuck you for not just turning around and walking away when you saw where I went."

"I would love to feast on you, Lauren. Why are you continuing to fight this?"

Josephine came out from behind the curtain with a flourish and clapped her hands twice and both Lauren and Bo watched as one of the other curtains was pushed aside and a tall, athletic woman with generous breasts and short red hair, set against almost translucent skin stepped out from behind it. "Matriarch. I am at your service," Octavia said with a voice like liquid silk.

Lauren shivered and clenched her thighs together. The anticipation of what Octavia promised was almost too much for Lauren with Bo pressed up against her back and for a split second she almost invited Bo to join them before remembering how angry she was at Bo for following her and leaving her exposed and raw with need.

She had lost too many people that she had loved in her many lifetimes and Lauren had promised herself that she would not love anymore because she didn't think she could handle the loss of another lover. That is why she fought Bo and that is why she had to crush this inherent charisma and confidence that exuded from the Commader in waves.

Bo's hot breath against her ear once more brought her out of her turmoil, "Well she is breathtakingly beautiful, Matriarch. You have great taste, but I am sure that I can do anything that she can do and more."

Lauren steeled herself for what she had to do to preserve her own heart from the inevitable heartbreak that pursuing Bo would bring her. No connections. No real emotions. All they bring is pain, Lauren chanted to herself.

Madam Joshephine seemed to notice Bo for the first time when Lauren just stood there not approaching Octavia as she stood stunning, naked and statuesque before her. "I'm sorry we do not accept walk ins from the street. Pleasure bestowed by appointment only."

"She is a colleague of mine and I would appreciate if you could accommodate her as you do for me if that isn't too much trouble."

"Of course, Matriarch! I am at your service," Madam Josephine responded, eager to please.

Lauren was relieved to feel Bo step back as shock and the first signs of seriousness replaced her teasing tone. "But I want you!"

Lauren took a breath and turned to face Bo. The Commander was intense and beautiful and Lauran had to repeat her mantra before being able to refuse her. No connections. No real emotions. All they bring is pain. "I don't want you."

Bo crossed her arms and held her ground, "I don't believe you. I know you are as attracted and turned on by me as I am you. I can practically smell it!"

"It's not going to happen. I can't allow it to happen. I am going to get what I need from Octavia and you are free to choose a companion to ease you of your own need to find release, but it will not be me. Madam Josephine will take care of you."

"What are you afraid of?"

Lauren lashed out. Bo was hitting too close to home. "I am afraid of nothing! Octavia knows what I like and how I like it."

"I can please you just as well as she can and I don't charge by the hour! It doesn't have to mean anything. A fuck can just be a fuck!"

Lauren's laugh was brittle and angry once more. She knew herself to know that sleeping with Bo would lead to more, no matter how much Bo wanted to convince her otherwise. "I always choose Octavia for a reason, Bo." Lauren held out her hand and Octavia instantly came to her side. "Show her what makes you so special, Octavia."

Bo's mouth fell open as Octavia parted her lips and her tongue slid out and flicked her own hardened nipple, before retreating back into her mouth. "Please accept my decision, Bo. I have nothing to offer you." Octavia reached out and turned Lauren's faced toward her and kissed her long and deep. She then took The Matriarch's hand and led her towards the billowing, flimsy curtain and away from Bo.

"At least tell me that I wasn't imagining it. That the desire and need I felt from you was real. Can you give me that?"

Don't do it! She can read you like a data crystal, Lauren's inner voice implored, but she ignored it and looked back at Bo. "It was real. It is why I am here," she said, before turning and walking away.

Bo watched Lauren disappear out of sight. She was angry and sad at being rejected. Bo looked over at Josephine, "Get me two of your best and put me in the room right next to the Matriarch."

"At once!" The madam clapped her hands and two equally stunning women wearing next to nothing emerged from behind the curtains, but Bo didn't even acknowledge them as they guided her in the same direction that Lauren had disappeared. "And don't forget to put it on The Matriarch's tab," Bo said as she walked past Josephine.

Bo watched the two women as they pleasured each other on the large round bed. She ignored them when they beckoned for her to join them. There was only one woman that Bo wanted to touch and explore her body and she was in the next room. Bo had talked a lot with Hale over the last few weeks while Lauren actively avoided her whenever possible. Bo felt that she understood The Matriarch a little more. About why she isolates herself and stays stoic, distrustful and professional. Genesis had many secrets and she was the one that protected them. Bo had a feeling that if the Alliance thought that they could gain first hand access to these secrets by cutting out the middle man, they would. Bo had also wondered if Lauren's distrust of why the Counsil sent her and her team wasn't completely unfounded either. Bo decided she would be cautious with the Matriarch and back off a little if it meant she could get given the chance to get to know her better. Bo would protect Lauren with her life and she would pursue a friendship with the complex and unpredictable woman.

She admitted it was real. This connection we have. There is hope for something more. I will not give up. I will dismantle the shields that she has erected around her heart. I will make her see beyond the alliance soldier, that I am more. I will make her see that she is worthy of loving me and being loved in return, Bo vowed to herself as she imagined that it was her and Lauren making love in front of her.

Author's Note: If you haven't noticed I decided to change the rating of this story to M just to be safe as the content certainly went up a little in maturity. ;)

I hope you enjoyed reading this installment and that you will give me the honour of reading a little sunshine from you all. Thank you each and every one of you for sticking with me and my stories. It means the world to me. Take care..

Doccubus21

xoxo