ANV Tempest

Armory


Good.

God.

Almighty.

...She was going to collapse.

Probably, at least. There was a powerful buckling that was hitting both her knees- the whole length of both her legs, actually. The sheer strength of the adrenaline rush that was about to burst every vein she had was doing its job so well, that it was actually crippling...

But, the good kind..

..Now, that was something entirely different. As much of a different universe as Andromeda vs The Milky Way.

Because, along with it, came an absolutely staggering flood of endorphins . The likes of which she hadn't ever experienced before, but by God, was she feeling it now. Every last square milligram of it, and each seemed to have gotten cranked to 11.

She was actually getting genuinely dizzy from it all. Kinda of lightheaded , actually. As if that wasn't hard-hitting enough...the entire rest of the known universe, from the exact spot where she was " standing " ( it was closer to her just mostly getting held from falling by Scott's tight embrace ) on the deck of this ship to as distant as the nearest star, and beyond...seemed to just disappear like a desert mirage, and fade away...like smoke from a campfire.

Subconscious or otherwise , her mind couldn't get ahold of, or focus even remotely on, anything else. It was just smothered and buried under all that euphoria...as well as the jarring sensation of her mouth getting clamped down over by that of the man she knew that she loved...

It was only the automatics, that she was aware of. What was happening without her having to give it a millisecond of conscious thought. It was just a collection of raw, high-octane chemical reactions that were overloading her nervous system, and shutting out almost all of her awareness...save for the sliver it she needed to appreciate all of it.

But even that was nearly too much. The force and strength of their shared kiss was just too strong, and it'd been something that she had craved and yearned for so hard, and for so long, that now that it was finally happening, it was like a avalanche sweeping down the side of the mountain against a chain link fence- a overwhelming force that couldn't be stopped..

The kiss that was their first...

Ever.

"Hmm..mmmmph.."

Yep...that was a moan from her. Deep, heavy, and heavily vulnerable, and she knew all of it was true. Especially that last one- it wasn't a pained moan, or an annoyed one, or a frustrated one..

It was vulnerable...borderline submissive. It was a side of Cora that she had always sought to keep as locked tightly away as the gold of the ancient fortress known as Knox, but...after meeting Scott, and after she had fist begun to notice the first few sparks of her feelings for him, she'd realized how much she'd actually wanted to surrender to it. But, then again, how could she have ? The discipline of the SAMC, and the serenity of the Huntress life had both united to bury that side of her under layers of steel.

Said steel, though...had finally been melted.

Finally, though, at long last...

Something had.


" MMmmpph...hhh ! "

Eventually, though...

The burning of the amassing of CO2 filling her lungs forced Cora to pull back, and finally breathe. Air shot out, and then more than came back, as reflex-triggered motions activated. Her whole chest burned, and heaved from the burden of absorbing fresh oxygen...

...But, it didn't stop the rest of the rest of her wonderful pace of her pulse was still surging, exploding through every millimeter of her sensory system like the charging conduits of a dreadnought's MAC ( Mass Accelerator Cannon ). Her breathing, as well, definitely wasn't back to normal, because although she could finally breathe properly again, it was still going with a bustling, and even borerline-ache-causing hff, hff, hff tempo. Her skin was hot, and she knew her face had gotten the most of that , well above the rest.

Basically, she was well and fully turned on. Plus some serious supercharging...

For sure.

"Hhhhh...hh..."

Bit by bit, one milligram at once...her breathing began to slow. Heat began to fade, pulse began to slow...everything was slowly returning to normal..

Psychically, at least. Mentally, and emotionally, though ? It'd been thoroughly changed, like Old Earth after the meteor struck.

Of that, she was certain.

"...Been waiting a while to do that, honestly ", whispered a clearly like-minded Scott.

...Was he deliberately dropping his voice to such a husky timber, or was he as out of air as she was ?, Cora' subconscious briefly wondered. It couldn't resist- it had to at least ask...

...And then just as quickly, realized that it didn't matter. At all. She just didn't care if he was doing it on purpose or not- it was working wonders on her right now. Actually...it was the kind of thing that women naturally wanted anyway- but she hadn't realized till this exact moment that it'd be this strong.

My God...

...This is perfect.

This is absolutely perfect

Actually saying so would've been much better, needless to say, but Cora's head was still spinning like a tornado from what's just happened, and it was kinda obstructing her ability to form a coherent thought. Standing still, and letting the good feeling of sharing the rock solid embrace with Scott just wash over her like a heated wave was just second nature by now, but actually saying anything ?

...She was drawing a gap on that right now. Couldn't really think of anything-

" Ditto..."

...You are just on a roll today, aren't you ?!

A roll of dumb stuff that's so beneath a Huntress, they're scolding you all the way from the Milky Way, that is !

Ugh..!

" ..Ah...I mean...". Floundering, she frantically sought something that actually sounded even halfway decent to follow that lame line with. It just wouldn't be enough to leave it at that- and certainly after sharing a kiss that'd nearly melted through the deck plates ! It absolutely didn't, as every voice from the back of her mind was howling at her...

But...what could she-

" I- I mean..."

A hand- a strongly weathered, larger than her own- hand suddenly placed itself on her jawline...and was soon followed by another.

With a blink, Cora lifted her gaze , and found Scott was looking right at her, gently cupping her head with both hands...and sporting the most genuine, soothing smile she'd ever spotting him with. Ever...and that was saying something.

He didn't even say anything-just looked at her , with that wonderful smile. With...

...With love, coming from that smile. Coming from how he was looking at her...

He wanted her. He wanted her, as much as she wanted him. Best of all, though...he clearly had for, well...God knew how long. It wasn't spontaneous from him, no. He'd had these feelings for her stored away, and ultimately-

Just had needed her to show, that she had the same for him.


" This is...man, this is unmapped territory for me, I got to say..."

The confession from the Human Huntress came with a quick laugh at the end that sounded kind of school girl-ish, even to her. Almost as if it could've come out of a rom-com vid, even ! It was so cheesy, and sappy, and...

...Actually, what did she care ? What did she care ?!

She didn't ,frankly. Cora couldn't have cared less how it sounded. Why should she ? She was alone...with the one man out of the billions God had ever given life over the millennia, amid the security and privacy of his personal quarters- right next door to hers. The doors were sealed, and nobody could walk through them without permission. Nobody could surprise them here, and nobody could disrupt the moment they were cherishing here.

But, even if this had been where the ship's mess hall was, and even if there had been onlookers...it still wouldn't have mattered. They could look and gawk all they wanted, chatter about it and even sling corny jokes, and it wouldn't have mattered at all.

Not to Cora, and not to Scott, either.

That alone, even aside from any other reason, was the reason why Cora's mood- honestly, her whole outlook on life- was so much sunnier and brighter than it'd been even a day earlier. Even as recently as that, she hadn't been 100 percent sure of the one thing that she had left confirm about her life...and that was if this man beside her here loved her as much as she loved him.

They'd been sitting here for...at least an hour, if their OT ( Omni-Tool ) clocks were accurate. More or less. It'd been a well-spent hour, though- of that, there wasn't any doubt. They'd poured out their true feelings, at long last, and hadn't spared any detail or secrets, either. Cora had divulged the conversation she'd had with Dr. T'Parro, and how she'd been struck by Scott's Alec-esque leadership during the Shipyard raid, and had been rewarded with Scott unveiling the fact that he'd...had dreams about her ! Actual, honest to God dreams ! As well as avoiding all the public gymns on the Nexus...and other such places where attractive females might be found.

Such killed several birds with a single stone: it answered the questions Cora had been contemplating about all that, and delivered the message loud and clear ( as if the kiss hadn't been enough to do so, which it had ) that Scott had that same high-octane love for her as she did vice versa.

She knew now. Cora had confirmation and a clinch on that. Now, she had 0 doubts on that, whatsoever...

" The same could get said for this whole venture-bringing tens of thousands of colonists to an entirely new galaxy ", observed Scott, with a hint of bemusement- and directed affection.

" ... But look how its going for us "

He leaned over, and softly kissed the side of Cora's face. " Still here, by the grace of God, and paid our dues. Now we're flourishing. "

Another girly laugh came from Cora at that- well, more of a giggle, really, but it wasn't any less wholesome than what came earlier. It was such a new thing for her to do , and something she hardly had even thought about- but, it also seemed so right, and so normal as well . How that could be, she didn't bother to question.

Scott wouldn't judge her. He liked it, and that's all the reason Cora needed to go for it. She might've restrained herself otherwise, had there been others around to listen, but there weren't . Nor would there be.

...Always had a drive to just let loose, and laugh. But I perpetually sound like a 16 year old, so I couldn't

..Before, anyway. Things've changed

For the better, though

For the better

"...You talking about us, or this whole crazy experiment of the late , and dearly missed Gien Garson ? ", the Huntress queried . " Because it sound like it could go either way- and that's fine with me . "

" The colonization efforts ? Overall...yeah, I'd say they're getting some real traction now. As for you and I ? Still a new thing, for sure, but, you know...every Oak tree was once an acorn. "

Cora sighed- a nostalgic, emotion-ridden sigh, though, and not one of frustration- because there wasn't anything to get annoyed about. " Oh my God...when did we last even come across a real oak, though ? I knew even before coming here they wouldn't be found here, go figure, but...still. You just reminded me of the stuff we had to leave behind... "

" Ohhh..."

Scott grasped one of her forearms ( gently, of course ) , and held firmly. " That wasn't the plan, Cora. Trust me..."

Trust you ? You boarded a derelict Ark under attack by the Kett, and led us through it. And then you repeated it- thrice

Of course I trust you...

Another truth, though, that they were both so familiar with , that there wasn't any point to saying so. That was history- they both knew it. Then again, though...history, the present, and ultimately the future, were all linked.

After all, why else would Cora still harbor that longing for something she hadn't laid eyes on for 600 years ? It was something that was still following her around- and a striking contrast to this brand, sparkling new...

...Relationship ? Is that what she had with Scott now ?

So soon ?

Well...it seemed like it, if they were ( or at least if she was ) sharing such personal thoughts like this...

Perfect.

" Its ok...Scott.. "

That's...that's new. Haven't called him that often, have I...?

Like he said, though: Got to get going from..somewhere

Here seems perfect, I'd say. And him.

Sliding around a bit, Cora re-positioned herself to face him fully- which had the added benefit of letting her get a view of his own face, which she still found disarmingly handsome. Not the fleeting kind that some women drooled over on magazine covers- this went deeper.

The reverse was true as well, she knew. That was fine- even more reason to keep using that exfoliating skin cream she'd been using.

Only two reason to stay pretty- to get other girls jealous, and to show the guys what's on offer..

It did, granted, kind of distract her ( pleasantly, and she was sure that would always be the case ), but she managed to keep things on track, and confessed another truth- accompanied by a smile of her own : " All the more reason to prioritize the Arborculture. They're doubling down on bringing those wooden giant back.."

" Well, let's stay on it- because one day, I want to built you a tree house ", revealed the Pathfinder.

His tone had shifted then- but the good kind. It was...serious, and deep, but still affectionate. Cora couldn't remember him speaking that way to her before...

...and she absolutely loved it. It was magnetic, and like a magnetic filtration system, it cleaned away the last, stubborn, lingering doubts that might've been lurking around her headspace about this bond she'd just forged-

No...that they had forged...together now. One with Scott at the head, rightly so, but with her as the one he trusted the most, and the one that he wanted at his side for all things that life would throw at him- both on and off the clock. She was truly his Second, and on more levels than one...

" Hmmm..."

With a contented hum, Cora leaned over, and let herself come to rest on Scott's shoulder. It was, yes, still early for their body contact to get like that...but...it wasn't too much too soon. If she was confident of anything when it came to that, Cora was confident of this.

And, it was well founded, for Scott's reaction was pretty much exactly what she expected it'd be: He slid closer, and pressed himself against her touch.

Still raw, and still new it all was, so Cora still got some pretty strong ( mostly figurative ) electric shocks from it, but by now, she couldn't shy away even if she wanted to. Which she didn't. The exact, polar, staggering opposite, truthfully.

" Sounds good, Pathfinder..."

" Heh. Don't get all formal on me now, Lt ", admonished the aforementioned Pathfinder. " I thought we were finally getting to know each other..."

" Consider that extra motivation to stick by me. Oh, and the rare honor of calling me by my first name... "

An easy, relaxed vibe began to flow back and forth between them now, and they were both keenly aware. It was dizzying, which applied to everything related to the whole universe of " them " that'd they'd both just entered...but, as unfamiliar as it was...it was overwhelmingly a draw for both.

Just like the whole idea of going to a brand new galaxy. The catalyst for their presence here...and , as it now turned out, their rapidly budding romance.

Tightly, vibrantly, and powerful. If it was like that now...what would it be like a year from now ? Or more ?

Tantalizing, at a bare minimum. Worth pursuing, though...

Just like how Cora had pursued Scott, and how he'd let her catch him.

Speaking of which...those exact thoughts sparked a spur-of-the-moment action from the Human Huntress: she twisted slightly around, leaned forward, fiercely clamped her lips down over Scott's...and slowly slipped her hands around to rest at the back of his neck. She pulled, exerting all the force she could- go big, or go home, so to speak.

Without missing a beat ( and despite having gotten kind of left behind , as it were ), Scott didn't stay so for long. A millisecond or so later, he was kissing her right back, and embracing her that way as well.

Everything that they had experienced during their first kiss-all of, and just as strongly- came rushing back, as if it was doing so first, ever. Which it wasn't...but it seemed like it was.

Truly...a gift.

Cora couldn't have been more grateful.

Selected by an alpha is the goal...and I pray I can keep the one who got me

As goals went, that was as long-term as you could get...and it'd barley even begun. Yet...

..Despite that...

With the kind of surety that could only come from above..

Cora was certain she could.

But, more importantly...

She knew Scott thought the same way.