7469 Words, uploaded 12/5/23. Be sure to check my profile for status updates on chapters, it can be found in the little list that shows the order of my stories written.
Chapter 5.
The rest of the walk back to the tower was uneventful, the company not being met by anymore Chimeran dropships, or any ambushes.
As the company got ever closer to the tower the soldiers got more and more light into their eyes, and when they made it around the final corner and the tower entrance came into sight they were greeted by several allied Hybrids, the creatures running forward and covering the rear as the weary soldiers slowly made their way forward.
Signs of combat could be seen, more Chimera had fought here in the time the company had been gone, but it appeared the defenders had won, the bodies of several more Chimera around the area indicating that it had been a fierce fight.
The entrance they had come from had two elevators, one massive one for heavy equipment to be hoisted up, and another smaller one meant for infantry. X-Ray 4 watched as several Chimera waved for the Sabertooth tanks to move onto the elevator platform, X-Ray 4 noting that the Stalker stayed at the entrance.
He looked around more, seeing that several of the other Chimera that had been with them were also staying behind to defend the entrance, only fifteen or so still staying with the company, the soldier feeling relieved to see that the Type-2 was still staying close to him.
The elevator was too small to hoist up the entire company at once, so most of the American company went with the tanks, X-Ray 4 noticing that the Captain and the other wounded had finally woken up.
He also noticed that the Hardfang was among them, and she seemed to be interacting with one of the Rangers she had saved earlier, Osborne, if he recalled correctly. A call from the Type-2 had the Hardfang turn and start making her way back, but she turned back when one of the Rangers yelled for her, the Hardfang promptly catching a small can thrown by the Ranger.
She turned around and quickly made her way back to the elevator that X-Ray 4 and the Type-2 Hybrid were in, along with the rest of X-Ray team, Sergeant Hale, and the British soldiers.
As the Hardfang got into the elevator X-Ray 4 could see what she was carrying, a C-Ration metal can, and it looked to be a meat ration, based on what X-Ray 4 could skim off the writing. With the Hardfang now in the elevator the Hybrid at the controls activated them, the lift lurching up.
The room below quickly disappeared from view, along with the rest of the American company. As X-Ray 4 watched them disappear he realized he should have gone to some of the soldiers to ask for some rations.
He had already eaten most of his rations, along with the rest of his squad, and he wasn't sure if the option to resupply was going to come any time soon.
His squadmates seemed to also have the same thoughts in their mind, X-Ray 6 speaking up. "Sir, are we able to hook back up with that Ranger company? We could use some more ammo and supplies."
X-Ray 1 looked over his squad, taking stock of their situation, and the British could be seen doing the same, and they seemed to be in even worse shape, the months long conflict draining their resources down to almost nothing, some of the men greedily wolfing down some food offered by their comrades.
He then turned to X-Ray 4. "Well, Corporal, are we able to get back to that company?"
X-Ray 4 was not expecting the question, turning to look at the soldier in confusion. "Sir?"
"You've had more contact with these creatures than anyone else here, that Type-2 especially seems to have taken a liking to you. We're in uncharted territory, and you're the only one here who has any understanding of what's going on. So, are we able to get back?"
X-Ray 4 turned towards the Type-2, silently asking the question.
"Yes, we can take you back to your company. You will have time to rest and regain your strength, the tower is locked down and there are guards stationed at every entrance."
X-Ray 4 leaned up against the wall of the elevator upon hearing that, the constant alertness and adrenaline from the combat slowly fading away, leaving him tired and weary.
The other soldiers could also be seen relaxing, the men grateful to still be alive after all the combat they'd been through.
The Type-2 even seemed to be relaxing too, X-Ray 4 opening his eyes and looking over when he felt her move closer. He watched her turn around and slowly lean back towards the wall, letting her heatstacks slowly lean up against it.
X-Ray 4 had seen how the enemy Steelhead from earlier had recoiled when it landed on its heatstacks, the devices seemed to be a weakpoint for the Chimera, and when he thought about it it wasn't very surprising, it probably didn't feel very good to have massive implants in your back get shoved around.
He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the Hybrid slowly push her arm closer to his. He could feel the Hybrid's body heat bleeding through his suit, slowly warming up his arm, and it was then he realized just how cold he was. A shiver went through him and he looked up to see that the Type-2 had been watching him.
She moved to get up off the wall, pushing her arm past his to push herself off the wall, but just then the elevator slowed down, jolting to a stop. She looked at the door for a second then back to X-Ray 4, staring at him, then drooping her head and letting out a grown, proceeding to push herself off the wall and head towards the exit.
The rest of the group was also leaving the elevator, and X-Ray 4 found himself at the head of the group, standing next to the Type-2.
They were greeted by a group of Advanced Hybrids, the creatures standing guard over the entrance. They shared a quick conversation with the Type-2 before parting to let them pass.
The elevator had taken them to an area with three passageways, and the Type-2 made her way to the one furthest to the right, the group quickly following along.
As they walked down the hall, it didn't escape their attention that a small group of Advanced Hybrids had formed up behind them, and just before they came up to another intersection another group came up from the side, proceeding to turn in the direction they were going.
X-Ray 4 was keeping pace with the Type-2, or, more accurately, she was slowing herself down so that the soldier didn't have to jog to keep up. He looked ahead at the Advanced Hybrids, then behind, seeing that the other soldiers were also glancing around at the Hybrids.
He turned to the Type-2, speaking in a low voice so the group wouldn't overhear them. "Are they following us?"
She glanced at him for a second, perhaps wondering why he was speaking in a low voice, before she turned around and looked at the humans behind her. She thought for a second before she turned back around, speaking in a whisper too. "We are near the Queen... the Angel is what you call her I believe. The defenders are here as a precaution."
X-Ray 4 nodded. He knew there were likely none in their little group, or in the American company they'd rescued who would want to try to harm the Angel, but the Angel did not know that. He wondered if he would even see the creature again, considering he'd almost ended its life earlier.
He grimaced a bit as he thought about it, knowing that if he hadn't missed his shot he would have doomed everyone, the Chimera in the tower, the Americans and British attacking it, and this Type-2 that had saved him countless times now.
So much had happened in so little time, he was barely able to wrap his head around it, and he had a feeling it was the same for the rest of the soldiers in the tower, likely several of the Chimera too. Command likely had no idea what to make of it either.
His thoughts were confirmed as their walk brought them to a massive hanger, the group seeing the American company, most of the Rangers were just milling about, but X-Ray 4 was able to see the Ranger captain along with several other officers standing off to the side, with three radio operators near them.
He could tell they were frustrated, and as they got closer, he could hear the radio operators constantly asking for information to be repeated, and getting grainy, distorted audio in return. The thick shell of the tower appeared to be very good at blocking radio signals, and it was making coordination hell for the human soldiers inside it.
The Ranger captain noticed them coming closer and he gave his radio to a nearby officer. "Wasn't expecting to see you guys again, what're you here for?"
X-Ray 1 walked towards the captain, nodding at him. "Our unit is low on rations and equipment, do you have anything to spare?"
The Ranger captain pointed back towards where the Sabertooth tanks were idling. "Those tanks are crammed full of food and ammo, feel free to help yourself. You Brits can go along too."
The soldiers began to head towards the tanks and Rangers, X-Ray 4 looking back behind him to see that X-Ray 1 and Lieutenant Cartwright were staying back with the officers, likely trying to coordinate and get in touch with command.
The American company already appeared to be settling down, many of the soldiers were getting supplies off of the tanks, or setting up defenses in the area. Some Hybrids were mingling in with them too, and X-Ray 4 could even see that a few of them were given some food rations.
The group was quickly spotted by Osborne, and he made his way over to them. After a quick greeting and being told what they were here for the Ranger led them over to a nearby tank where boxes were being taken off.
"We loaded these tanks up heavy before we shipped out, we've got plenty to spare. There's ammo off in the boxes on the right, I believe you Brits use the same caliber our Carbines do so you won't have a problem with ammo. The boxes on the left have got a shit ton of C-Rations, canned crap it is, but it's better than nothing."
X-Ray 4 had no need for ammo, he still had several magazines of ammo for his Fareye, not that they had any Fareye ammo anyway, so he went for the food instead. The Type-2 was still following along with him, and he could see she was eyeing the boxes eagerly.
None of the boxes had been opened yet, and when he looked at them he could see they were nailed shut. He sighed and pulled out his knife, preparing to wedge it into the lid of the box, but he was stopped by the Type-2.
She lightly laughed as she stood next to him, and the soldier watched as she shoved her claw tipped fingers in between the lid and the box, effortlessly wrenching the lid off, letting it fall to the ground.
"It always surprises me how lacking in strength you humans are."
X-Ray 4 laughed at that as he looked into the box. "Ya, we don't got much going for us on that front."
The box was crammed full of cans, forty eight total, and there were three types in there, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all arranged randomly. As he looked at the cans his hunger began to kick in, and he pulled out two cans, putting them in his pocket.
He looked over at the Type-2, seeing her staring at the cans, unsure what they were. She looked up to him, wondering what to grab.
He nodded, looking down into the crate, pulling out some cans and looking at them. "Hmm, I'm guessing meat is the main thing you eat, no vegetables?"
She cocked her head to the side, looking at the cans. "I wouldn't know, I don't think I've ever eaten... vegetables."
"Guess we'll find out." He slung his rifle behind him then took two cans in his hands and turned around, looking around the area. A lot of the soldiers were just sitting around, chatting and opening their rations. Many in his group were rearming themselves, X-Ray 4 watching several refilling their magazines.
He wanted to relax and eat his food in relative silence, but there was activity all around the hanger. He turned towards the Type-2 and he saw her gesture to follow, and she began to walk to one of the pathways out of the hanger.
X-Ray 4 quickly followed along, and the Hybrid led him down the hallway, turning down the first corner they came across, X-Ray 4 seeing that it was a storage area, weapons and ammo lying around, along with several canisters of Sym-Bac.
The Type-2 let out a heavy groan, and X-Ray 4 watched as she dropped her rifle on the ground, the Hybrid quickly following. She rested her heatstacks up against the side of the wall, and X-Ray 4 followed, sitting next to her left side.
He set the two food cans down next to the Type-2, then he put his rifle down towards his left, proceeding to pull out the two cans he'd put in his pocket for himself. The Type-2 picked up one of the cans and stared at it, studying the words on it.
"What do these say?" She handed one of the cans back to him.
"Oh, you're not able to read? Let's see..." He turned the can to look at what its contents were. "This one is meat stew with beans, and I believe the other one I grabbed is chicken and vegetables. Let's get these opened up for you." He flipped the can over, grabbing a little pin that was attached under it.
"I'm sure I can open them perfectly fine on my own." She picked up the other can, examining it for a bit. She flipped it over and took the pin off as she'd seen the human do, but she soon sighed in defeat as she didn't know what else to do with the can.
X-Ray 4 smiled and took the pin to a small tab on the side of the can, making sure it was angled so the Hybrid could see. He stuck the tab through a little notch in the key and started twisting, the can slowly opening as a metal strip attached to the tab began to get peeled back, opening the can.
The Hybrid followed along, and soon her own can was opened up, the creature looking down at its contents curiously.
X-Ray 4 set the other can down next to the Hybrid and then grabbed the other two cans he'd taken for himself.
"Haven't eaten in a little bit, it's not the most appetizing stuff, but it's better than starving. Let's get this crap off first though." He set the cans down and he began to take his gloves off, the Type-2 shifting her attention to him.
He slipped his gloves off, revealing light, pale skin, the Hybrid slumping a little when she saw the blood staining his hands, a reminder of how close he'd come to dying. He noted the blood too, rubbing his hands for a few seconds, trying to get it off. He soon gave up, and he then reached up towards his helmet, the Type-2 perking up, waiting to get her first real look at the person she'd saved.
He slowly took the helmet off his head, feeling relieved to finally have the stuffy thing off, and he turned to see the Type-2 taking in his features.
His skin was pale, and he had some light stubble and a thin mustache around his lips. His eyes were a light blue and his hair was black, beginning to grow out a bit due to lack of time to keep himself in regulation.
He set his helmet down and looked back at the Type-2, finally having some time to also take in her features. She was a head taller than him, and he was already just short of 6 feet tall. Her face was completely alien, a sensor device taking up the entire front of her face, and a wicked set of fangs just below that.
She had three eyes on each side of her head, but they were also completely alien compared to his own. He could see the heatstacks jutting out from behind her back, the device having a pulsing glow as it slowly pumped coolant into her body, helping to keep her cool and stop her body from rapidly overheating.
As he thought about that he shivered. The tower was kept at a frigid temperature to help keep the Chimeran creatures from overheating. The American Rangers and British had uniforms capable of tolerating the cold, but his uniform was woefully inadequate, designed more to keep Crawlers out than to keep heat in.
The Hybrid saw him shiver and she moved closer to him, pushing her shoulder up against his, the soldier shivering again as he could feel her body heat slowly warming him back up.
"You feel so cold compared to me. What I wouldn't give to be able to have the natural temperature you humans do. To me the temperature of this tower is almost perfect, it seems like you're in danger of freezing to death though."
"Ya, it's a bit colder than I'd like it to be. I'm glad for the extra heat though." He leaned back and sighed, relaxing for a few seconds before he looked down at his two food cans. He picked up the first one, quickly opening it, eager to get some food in him.
"What's that?" The Hybrid was looking at the can too, and at the top was a small, dark brown object wrapped in plastic.
"Ohhh, nice. It's a dessert. It's some fudge... Though I guess you wouldn't know what that is." He pulled the thing of fudge out, then he pulled out three wrapped sugar cubes, and a small tin can with coffee grounds in it. He looked at the two latter things for a few seconds before grumbling and pushing them off to the side, not wanting to turn his entire canteen to coffee.
The last items in the can were three decently sized biscuits, and he upended the can, dumping them out onto his lap. He picked up one of the biscuits, taking a bite out of it, happy to get some food in him.
"Surely you plan on eating more than that?"
"Oh ya, if this was all the military gave us to eat there'd be riots, the main portion of the meal is right here." He grabbed the other can, opening it up, revealing his own meal, chopped ham, egg, and potato.
"There's not really very much to choose from, but I grabbed the best stuff there was for us. A typical ration is supposed to be one meat ration and then the crackers there, I figured you'd appreciate two meat rations a bit more though. Speaking of which, how are they?" He looked over to her, seeing that she hadn't touched her food yet.
She looked at the first can, raising it up. She brought it above her head, opening her jaws wide, giving the human a good view of her intimidating set of fangs as she let half of the can's contents fall.
He watched her eyes go wide as she quickly swallowed the portion, quickly going for the rest of the can. "I've not eaten anything in two days, this tastes absolutely amazing right now."
The soldier grimaced upon hearing that, and the Hybrid decided to elaborate.
"The Queen would try her best, she would have parties sent out to recover food from the buildings, but there's a lot of Hybrids in the tower, and food production wasn't something the towers were ever intended to do, so we had to make do."
The soldier nodded, turning back to his food. "Well, if we win this fight, I guarantee you, a lot of things are going to change for the better."
She let out a low, pur-like growl and she pushed herself closer to him, pressing her leg against his, leaning her head back and closing her eyes as she listened to what he said. "You have no idea just how happy I am to hear those words. I cannot wait to see those changes."
She opened her eyes and turned her head when she felt him moving, seeing him reaching into his pocket. She watched as he grabbed the other food can, revealing the main meal. He then pulled out a small metal spoon, setting in to his meal.
"A shame we can't heat these up, they're a hell of a lot more tolerable when they're warm."
The Hybrid looked at his food can, then back to hers. "Hmm..."
The human jolted when the Hybrid's hand shot out, grabbing his can out of his hands. Before he could utter a word of protest he saw the Hybrid drop the can down between her legs, the Hybrid then grabbing her own food can and doing the same thing.
"There."
As he looked at the Hybrid, he could swear that if she had lips she would have been smiling.
"They won't get hot, but eventually they'll warm up enough to be a bit better. One of the few benefits we have with our body temperature." She leaned back, slowly relaxing, but she turned her attention back to the human when she saw him bring his now free hands up to his chest, rubbing them together.
"Oh, you're even colder than I thought, here." She reached towards him, grabbing his hand. She pulled his right hand closer, her hand and fingers long enough to encompass it entirely. Despite her alien appearance, her skin actually felt remarkably similar to human skin, with the notable exception her body temperature.
It reminded him of some of the electronics he worked with, the heat they put off similar to that of the Hybrid. As he thought on that he watched the Hybrid basically massage his hand, the creature's claws lightly raking his skin as she warmed his hand back up.
It didn't escape his attention that she seemed to be taking the opportunity to examine him a bit more too, the soldier noting how she seemed to be testing his fingernails against her skin, along with lightly pinching his skin, feeling it give and move around.
It brought his mind back to their first encounter, how handsy the Hybrid had been then, and it seemed her curiosity of him had still not been sated.
"It still surprises me how helpless you are when deprived of your tools. You don't have any claws, just thin nails." He watched as she slowly undid the clasps securing the steel bracer to his forearm, sliding it off. She then slipped two of her fingers under his sleeve, slowly peeling it back, and when he looked up to the Hybrid he saw one eye tracking him, perhaps waiting for a sign that he wanted her to stop.
He didn't make any motion for her to stop, and she finished pulling his sleeve up past his elbow. His hand shook a bit, his arm now completely vulnerable to the biting cold of the tower. The Hybrid then took the bracers on her arms off, setting them off to the side before returning to the human, pressing her left arm against his right, pushing his arm down against her leg. She then grabbed his hand, locking their fingers together, the human hesitating for a second before letting his fingers relax.
She let out a low growl, tightening her grip on his hand, using her other hand to examine his now bare arm. She traced her fingers along his arm, pausing to feel some of the hairs on his arm before stopping at his elbow. She then wrapped her fingers around his arm, lightly squeezing.
She cocked her head. "Huh." She moved past his elbow towards his bicep, pressing down there too. "Our entire bodies are made up almost entirely of muscle, but it's different for you, there's a lot more give, it's interesting."
Her attention was drawn back to his hand, the Hybrid bring her hand back to his wrist, tracing the imprint of one of his veins, following it to his hand. "Oh, this is interesting."
"Those are some of the veins leading up to my wrist, they tend to pop out like that every now and then." She seemed very curious of them, using all of her fingers to push down on them, feeling them give.
"This is the first time I've been able to interact with a human, I wasn't expecting you to be so... soft."
"Is it different for you guys? I've looked at Hybrids before, given them a kick to see if they're still alive, but I never stopped to really examine one." The Hybrid had stopped examining his veins and was now just running her fingers along his forearm, feeling the hairs move around.
"Our skin is much more rough, it doesn't give as much, and we have a bit more muscle than you do... you can feel if you want." She kept her grip on his hand but did move her arm a bit closer to him, silently urging him on.
He looked at her, seeing her staring at him, then making a quick glance towards his free hand before looking back up at him.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't as curious about her as she was of him, so he slowly reached his hand out towards her arm, starting at her hand.
Her entire body was patterned somewhat like that of a lizard, the tops of her hands and arms were colored a dark brown, while the underside was a light tan in color. The dark brown extended to her back, up to her head and down to her legs, the chest and belly colored a light tan. The inner portion of her legs were also colored a light tan, but he didn't focus his attention there for obvious reasons.
As he set his hand on top of her hand he could immediately notice the difference in texture. The tan skin seemed to be soft and equivalent to that of human skin, but the darker skin was much more abrasive and tough.
He brought his fingers to the tip of one of her claws, lightly putting pressure on it. The claws weren't insanely sharp but he could tell that if she were to put any force into her grip that she could easily rend flesh from the bone.
As he moved his hand up past her wrist he noticed the marks that her bracer had left on her wrist. "How often do you take those things off?" He slowly put his hands over where the indent was, waiting to see if the Hybrid felt any pain, but she didn't indicate anything so he slowly put his hand over where the bracer had been constricting her arm.
"It has been awhile since I've taken them off, but they're tolerable and they don't affect me much."
He rubbed his hand over the indent, but she didn't seem to be affected by it at all so he moved past her forearm, towards her bicep. It was clear she was leagues stronger than him, even in her relaxed state he could feel and see the muscles bulging through her skin.
"Christ, remind me not to get in a fight with you." He started lightly scratching her skin, the human feeling her muscles flex as she let out a low sigh.
She turned her head to look down at his hand. "You're able to do so much more with your fingers than I can. I can't do any of that without flaying my skin off." Her arm flexed again and she let out a low growl as he dragged his fingers across one of the dark patches on her arm.
She let go of his hand and moved her arm closer to him, setting her hand down on his leg. "Keep focusing on the darker skin, it feels a lot better there."
He moved his hand back down to her forearm, making sure to focus his attention at the brown patches of skin on top of her arm, which she seemed to appreciate. She had set her hand down on his upper leg, and he could feel her fingers lightly pinching down on the soft skin, the Hybrid eventually relaxing her hand on his leg.
"You know, I think I wouldn't mind seeing how a little fight between me and you would go, might be fun." She let out a low, drawn out purr, slowly leaning more of her weight onto the human as she drew her hand up his leg, stopping just before his hip.
The soldier coughed when he heard that, the Hybrid letting out a huff of amusement when his hand froze on her arm, the soldier watching her hand slowly travel up his leg. Of all the things he expected to happen to him when he took this job, being hit on by an alien creature was not one of those things.
There was no way this was anything else either, she had to know what she was doing, and as he looked up to her face he could tell she did, the Hybrid's stare piercing into him as she let out a low growl, beginning to move.
Though as he thought about he supposed it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. She had been interested in him pretty much from the first time they'd met, with the way she had acted after he'd been wounded, and how she shadowed him the entire time, and now she had gotten him to a quiet area with no one around, with time to actually interact.
The more he thought about it the more he realized he had been looking forward to having time to spend with the Hybrid too, the soldier enjoying her company. The Hybrid obviously enjoyed his company and wanted to learn more about him too, and the human had not resisted in any way at all, so now she seemed to be taking it even further, though how further the human had no idea.
"Oh my, your mind's all over the place, isn't it? Hmm. There's something I want to do, I think you'll like it, but if you don't, let me know." She pulled her arm away from him, reaching down to the two food cans and setting them off to the side, turning back towards him, the soldier seeing a hungry look in her eyes, her chest rising and falling a bit more than before.
She advanced on him, the man's hands resting on his sides as she moved closer, setting her left hand on his shoulder, using it as a brace as she pulled herself closer, the soldier soon finding himself pinned down, the Hybrid sitting on top of him, one hand planted on his shoulder, firmly holding him in place, the other reaching down towards his chest, the questing fingers slipping into the holes in his uniform.
One of the holes was big enough for her to fit her hand into, and she quickly did, her hand sliding across his chest until it stopped where his heart was, the Hybrid feeling the rapid beating. She seemed to be pleased about that, pulling herself a bit closer.
The human hadn't ever felt like this before, but he soon overcame his shock, bringing one hand up to rest on the Hybrid's thigh, the other hand reaching up to the creature's midriff, the Hybrid's muscles tensing as grazed her chest.
Her chest was overall flat, but as he dragged his hand over her stomach he could feel the muscle throughout, the Hybrid's muscles constantly tensing as he slowly dragged his nails across the soft skin. Her legs too were full of muscle, the soldier once again feeling almost no give underneath the tough skin.
The Hybrid let him explore for a few seconds, content to feel the cool hands running over her, but she soon started to move, leaning closer to him.
The soldier moved his back down, setting it on the side of her hip as she leaned in close to him, her fanged mouth just a few inches from his face, her eyes scanning over his entire body, before he noticed them settle on his neck.
The Hybrid glanced back up at him, pulling her hand out from his vest and reaching towards his neck, pulling the clothing down until it had gone as far as it could. She then set her hand on his shoulder, putting enough force on him to let him know not to move, and then she leaned forward, the man still sucking in a gasp despite knowing what she was going to do, and he watched, slightly tilting his head away as she tilted her head, her jaws opened wide as she set her fangs down on his neck.
He pulled his hands away from the Hybrid, letting them hang for a second before slowly setting them back to where they were, relaxing in the creature's grasp. He looked down at the Hybrid, seeing her eyes focusing on him as she let out a low, content growl.
Unlike her claws, which were at least a bit dull, her teeth were wicked sharp, the human feeling the pointed tips resting on his neck, the Hybrid's mouth wide enough to reach half way around his throat. It was clear she liked being the dominant one, he was just thankful she wasn't putting any force into her bite.
He tensed up as he felt her tongue graze his neck. It was long and thin, maybe half the size of a typical human tongue, and he tensed as he felt her drag it over one of the veins on his neck, following it all the way up his neck.
With the Hybrid now closer to him he was able to bring his arm around to its back, the man feeling his fingers touch its reinforced spine. He guessed that it did have a regular spine like a human, but Hybrids seemed to have theirs reinforced by metal discs. The discs were segmented just like a regular spine, still affording her maximum flexibility, but making a break next to impossible to happen.
He followed the discs up, soon coming upon the lower set of cooling towers on her back. He quickly tested his finger on the one closest, finding that it was cool to the touch, but he soon moved on, bringing his hand up to her neck, where the reinforced spine ended.
He moved his hand towards the back of her head, the Hybrid letting out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes. He traced the top of the sensor device embedded into her head, feeling the cool metal contrast with the heat of her body.
Meanwhile the Hybrid was still tracing the vulnerable anatomy on his neck, his entire throat covered in her saliva. With her lack of lips, and insane amount of saliva she produced he soon felt warm droplets fall down onto his uniform, the Hybrid reluctantly pulling away.
The soldier pulled his arm away, reaching up towards his neck, feeling the little imprints her teeth had left, and dragging his hand down his neck, wiping away everything stuck to it.
He looked back up at the Hybrid, seeing her breathing heavily, and she wordlessly moved back in, the man swallowing as he knew what she wanted to do next.
She leaned in closer, but just when she was a few inches away from him she hesitated. "Are... Are you sure you're ok with this?"
He hadn't been expecting the question, but now that he looked closer, he could tell that she seemed nervous. Her eyes were wide, her grip on his shoulders was rough, as if she was afraid she might fly away, and he could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest, worried about what his answer would be.
He knew what she was asking, so he brought his hand up, setting it down on her neck, lightly massaging it. "I am." He had a light smile on his face as he watched the Hybrid's jaw go slack, along with her arms going weak.
Her shock did not last long though, and she quickly sprang into action, pulling themselves closer together as she wrapped her arms around him, a heavy purring coming from her.
He froze for a second, but quickly wrapped his arms around her too, setting a hand on the back of her head as he pulled her close.
She hugged him tighter as she set her head alongside his neck, lightly rubbing herself on it. "Thank you."
They sat like that for what felt like ages, both of them just enjoying the closeness, but eventually he felt the Hybrid start to lightly nibble at his neck as she let out a low growl, pulling away and staring at him with half lidded eyes.
She drew her tongue across the top row of her teeth, letting out a heavy breath and then moving forward. She tilted her head sideways, opening her jaws wide as she moved closer, the man closing his eyes as he soon felt the sharp points of her teeth resting on the sides of his face.
Her wiry tongue soon made its appearance, the man feeling it drag across his lips, the Hybrid soon granted access as he opened his mouth. It dragged over his teeth, the Hybrid testing the sharpness of each and every one of them, the man shivering as she did her explorations.
While she was doing this she pulled her hands away, setting one of them down on his lap, the other reaching for his own, pulling it away from the hug he was still in, then wrapping her fingers around his own, pulling his hand to the ground.
The Hybrid let out another low purr, leaning in closer. He also felt her hand shift towards the side of his hip, splaying her hand wide as she gripped down.
X-Ray 4 took a heavy breath, thankful that the Hybrid hadn't covered his nose. The Hybrid had been reserved earlier, but now that the barriers had been taken down she was revealing a side that X-Ray 4 would never have thought a creature like her could possibly have.
Her explorations were unreserved and assertive. She was curious, mapping out everything of him she could possibly reach. She seemed especially curious of his hair, the Hybrid letting go of his hand as she brought her own up to his head, lightly running her claws through his hair, stopping to feel its softness.
Despite her appearance and her assertiveness, she was still being cautious, always mindful of his body language, taking great care to make sure she didn't accidently harm him, and he noticed how she went slow whenever she was doing something new, waiting for the slightest hint that he didn't like what she was doing.
So he didn't care as he felt that hand on his hip slowly snake its way over his thigh, gradually moving closer to the conspicious bulge in his pants, which he had seen her eyeing for several minutes now.
Her tongue slowed down as she paid more attention to her hand now, the organ now just lightly dragging across his own. Her breathing came to a stop as she set her hand over the one bit of his anatomy she was still dying to examine.
She finally let out a breath, her tongue receeding out of his mouth as she pulled away, loose strands of saliva falling down on his uniform below. She stared at him, breathing heavily for a few seconds before she finally looked down, seemingly pleased by what little she could see.
Her breathing stopped short though as he brought both of his hands to her hips, quickly running one of them across her belly, feeling her muscles spasm as he lightly dragged his nails across.
Ha had not wanted to be rude earlier so he hadn't ever looked, but now he found himself admiring the lower half of her body. Every part of her was full of muscle, including her thighs. And on the outside of her thighs was the typical dark, abrasive skin, but on the inside, seemingly designed to draw the eye to her more intimate reaches, was the soft, lighter skin, starting from the lower point of her leg and traveling all the way up to her groin, where his hand was now sliding down to.
His hand hovered there, resting on her lower belly, and he looked up to her, seeing her staring down at his hand, breathing heavily. Her hands were frozen, but then she slowly pulled them away, setting them back down on his thighs.
She was still breathing heavily, but as he looked back up at her he saw her look away, the Hybrid now unsure.
He pulled his hand away from her belly, setting it down on her own hand and bringing his other hand up to her face, setting it on her cheek. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She looked up at him, still unsure, averting her eyes as she let out a low growl before turning back to him. "Oh... You have no idea how badly I want to have this happen... But..." She averted her eyes from him again, now too nervous to look him in the eye. "Let's... Let's wait until we're not under threat of attack... Is... that ok?" She hesitantly turned her head back towards him, worriedly waiting for his answer.
He let out a heavy sigh, glad to know that he hadn't caused this change in her attitude, a smirk quickly coming to him, soon morphing into a laugh as a sudden thought came to his mind, the Hybrid tilting her head at him in confusion.
"Ya, ya, I think that is a good idea." Another chuckle came from him as he tried to form his words. "Ya, I think us being caught by the enemy with our pants literally around our ankles wouldn't be very good."
The Hybrid let out a heavy sigh as she heard his words, a light huff coming from her too. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you. I would love to do this now, the Queen even approves of it, but like you said, I don't want to be caught with our... Hmm..." She leaned away from him, looking over herself before giving him a sly look. "Well... with your pants down."
He laughed at that, but then her words suddenly hit him. "Wait... the Queen? The Angel?" He had a wide look in his eyes as the Hybrid stared at him, once again tilting her head.
She didn't really understand what had him shocked until he asked how the Angel knew about what was going on. "Oh, it's our hive mind. You do know about it, don't you? Well, I suppose you wouldn't know just how powerful it is. The Queen can see everything we see, she knows our thoughts, what we feel, she could even directly control us if she wanted to."
The man stared at her for a second, silently processing this information. "Well, I guess there won't be any privacy in this relationship." He watched the Hybrid slide off of him, sitting down next to him, grabbing the food cans before handing his over.
"No, she knows everything that goes on with her own soldiers, she's even able to detect Hybrids outside of her control, though that ability isn't as effective now that all the other Angels have tightened their grip. She doesn't mind what we're doing though, she actually supports it, the more humans on her side the better the chance we have of surviving whatever comes afterwards."
She rested her head on his shoulder, X-Ray 4 hearing a light purr coming from her as she set her hand on his leg. "Thank you, for everything."
Massive cockblock, isn't it? Ya, that bit isn't coming until the end of the story.