Titans Ch. 01

When they were finally done, the pair got dressed and left to find breakfast. Thrak had stewed something resembling tea over a small cooking fire, and he and the dwarves sat sipping it from pewter mugs.

"Good to see you two are finally up," he said jovially, handing them each a mug, "Busy morning, Alex?"

Borren sprayed out the contents of his mouth as he tried to laugh mid-swig, which caused Daine to crack up beside him. Talia tried to sink into the shadows behind Alex, her ears twitched in embarrassment.

"You could say that," he replied straight faced as Daine thumped Borren on the back to try and stop him from choking.

Thrak smiled knowingly and they each took a sip of their mug. It tasted herbal, and strong, but it was good.

"Gelb got very excited this morning when he worked out what had happened," he turned and faced the tent, speaking loudly, "Almost excited enough for him to get up and say hello."

"Alright, alright. I get it," came the squeaky reply.

The bottom of the tent flap flicked open and the little gnome marched out.

"Good to see you're doing well Miss Talia," he gave a short bow, then pointed a gnarled finger at Alex, "If you don't look after her, I'll put a curse on you!"

"I promise, I will treat her right," he smiled, and Talia smiled with him, peering out over the rim of her mug as she attempted to hide her face.

An open cart, drawn by a donkey, approached down the path towards the camp. When it reached them, it stopped. The driver got out and fetched a small cauldron of something steaming out of the back. He unceremoniously plonked it on the floor right behind the cart, and then spat in it.

"Grubs up," he sneered.

The cart driver climbed back into the driver's seat and cracked the reins until the donkey trotted away.

Thrak waited until he was out of sight, then walked over to fetch the cauldron, carrying it easily. He drew out a small spoon, and scooped the offending gobbet of spit out of the porridge, flicking it into the fire.

"Why do you put up with this?" Alex asked, shaking his head in disgust.

It was Daine who answered him.

"All of us're here because it's worse back home. We ain't exactly accepted any other place. An elven artificer, an orcish intellectual, a gnomish mystic; we're all here because the folks back home don't want nothin' to do wi' us."

"What about you two?" Alex queried, "Why are you here?"

The camp went silent, even Thrak froze where he crouched ladling the porridge out into bowls. Alex looked around.

"Forget I asked," he waved it off.

"Nay lad, it's alright," said Borren, "Let's jus' say that dwarves are big on traditional family values."

He reached out and took Daine's hand, squeezing lightly. Alex nodded.

"You can't choose who you love," he said sagely.

"Aye lad," said Borren, sadly, "That's right."

Talia hugged him from behind, and Thrak smiled approvingly. They ate breakfast and chatted as a group. Far too quickly, it was time for them to part ways and work to earn their keep in the campsite. Thrak worked in the food stores, hauling grain and working the mill: Daine and Borren assisted the blacksmiths: Gelb was too small for manual labor, so he worked as a scribe for the quartermaster. Talia, of course, worked in the armory, storing and repairing weapons. They hadn't yet worked out why she was so fast at sharpening swords, she told Alex with a wink.

The two lovers walked with the dwarves most of the way, since the armory was near the forges. As the dwarves continued walking, Talia and Alex turned off into a large, white tent with a dark interior. A bald, greasy, blob of a man was standing in among racks of weapons, shouting at a teenage boy who was struggling to hold an armful of swords. Talia waited patiently by the entrance and Alex followed her example.

Eventually, the greasy man wandered over. He took one look at Alex and spat in displeasure.

"Figures I'd be the one to end up stuck with you," he looked the captain up and down, taking in his heavy frame, "You look strong, spaceman," he said.

Alex returned the analytical stare.

"Stronger than you, fatman," he retorted.

There was a brief snort as Talia stifled a laugh. The fat man nearly started at Captain Murray, before realising he could probably beat him senseless even with an arm in a sling. Instead, he rounded on Talia.

"Something funny, elf?" he growled, Alex saw him clench his fist.

"What did you want me to do today, sir?" he interrupted.

"Huh?" the fat man turned, "Oh, you'll be taking the blunt blades from the drop-off barrels to the grinders."

"And where's that sir?" he asked with excruciating politeness.

The armorer swore under his breath.

"This way, idiot," he gestured and Alex followed.

Behind them, Talia shot Alex a look of silent thanks and went about her work.

After exaggeratedly showing Alex how to awkwardly pick up a bundle of swords and carry it to where the grindstones were, awkwardly distributing them among the workers who were busy sharpening the blades, the armorer left him in order to go and shout at some other poor kid. Captain Murray rolled his eyes at his retreating backside, and then tilted the barrel to a shallow angle and rolled all the swords over to the grindstones in one trip. Though he would have preferred to just pick it up, with one arm in a sling he couldn't get a proper grip on the rim. He emptied the dull and broken blades onto the pile, and then rolled the barrel back to where it sat ready to accept more swords. Job done, Alex wandered over to the corner of the tent where Talia was theatrically running a whetstone down the edge of an axe.

"Was that the guy who hit you?" he asked her quietly, keeping one eye on where the armorer was looking.

Talia nodded silently, fear in her golden eyes. Beneath her hands, the metal of the axe rippled and formed a sharp edge, regardless of the ineffectual whetstone. She lay it down in the pile beside her.

"If you need my help..." he thought quickly, "Drop a weapon noisily, I'll come running."

She nodded again, and her lips twitched into an all too brief smile of thanks. Alex quickly looked around, and then kissed her. The fear and anxiety melted out of her, and she gave him a genuine smile. He smiled back, and went over to the barrel again.

The rest of the day came and went. Alex quickly worked out that if he left some swords in the barrel on the way back to the drop off point then he could grab an armful and pretend to be working if the armorer came looking. At one point he saw Major Swift walk towards the armory. She saw him, but scowled and turned away. Twice he heard the noisy clatter of a weapon, and interrupted the armorer with a stupid question to redirect his ire. His reputation as an imbecile was working out in his favour it seemed. Eventually no more new weapons came in, and when they had nothing left to do the armorer shooed them away.

They left together, and Talia lead them in a different direction, away from the non-human camp. Alex noticed that several other laborers were walking in the same direction.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To the training grounds," Talia smiled, "I usually go and watch Elizabeth."

There was a line of people surrounding the open field, watching the soldiers drilling within. Knights on horseback jousted with targets, and archers fired down a range. What drew the largest crowd however, was the melee. Soldiers clashed in one on one bouts using various weapons, and people cheered for their favourites. Talia lead them to one corner of the field, where the green and brown scouts trained. They seemed much more skilled than the other regiments, moving faster and striking surer, but standing out even from them was a shock of red hair.

Elizabeth was brawling in unarmed combat with one of her soldiers, unlike the other officers, who didn't deign to get involved. She was good, dodging blows and countering with ease, and before long she shoved him and the scout landed on his backside. Whipping her head to clear the hair from her eyes, she scanned the crowd. When she spotted Talia and Alex, her scowl deepened. Talia looked saddened at the major's reaction. Alex sighed; that was going to need dealing with, she was his only ally with any pull in the military hierarchy.

"Can anyone join in?" he asked Talia.

She looked at him strangely.

"It's up to the officer, are you going to go and fight her?"

"That depends," he said, "Will you try and talk me out of it?"

Talia thought for a moment.

"No, I trust you."

This threw Alex slightly. It was a bit bewildering to have someone trust you so completely after knowing them for a day. Elven magic apparently did strange things to relationship dynamics.

Alex picked his way through the crowd, forcing his way to the front and striding out onto the field. He took up a position off to one side of the major's current fight. She pointedly didn't look at him as she somewhat brutally beat the younger soldier until he submitted. She waved him off dismissively, and Alex took his place.

"Care for a bout?" he asked her, and Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're injured," she stated blankly.

"And you're not a mech pilot," he responded, "Let's see whose handicap is worse."

She shrugged, as if she didn't care, and took up a fighting stance.

"What makes you think you can beat me?" she asked dryly.

"We are the best of the best," he grinned and limbered up, "The toughest part of a mech is the pilot."

Elizabeth came at him hard and fast, raining down blow after blow from as many angles as she could manage. Alex had the advantage in size, strength and reach, but he was down a limb compared to her and she was taking full advantage. He kept one side towards her, jabbing like a fencer when her guard was down and absorbing her punches with his mass. She threw a wide punch that he saw coming a mile away and he caught her wrist.

"What exactly is your problem with me being with Talia," he asked her.

Elizabeth used his grip on her to force his arm out of the way and used her other hand to hit him about the near side of his ribs.

"You fell from the sky and inserted yourself into our lives, I think I have every reason to be concerned."

Alex grunted beneath the assault, then twisted her wrist around to force her to stop and try and free herself.

"This isn't concern," he strained against her attempts, "If you were concerned you'd be doing something about it, not avoiding us."

She gave up trying to force her way out, and instead made him regret holding onto her. With his only hand holding her wrist, he had no way to defend himself and no way to attack. She kicked and punched at his vulnerabilities and he had to let go of her.

"Maybe I wanted to talk to her alone," she muttered through gritted teeth as she backed away.

"You had chances for that," Alex shook his head, "And you could have asked."

He went on the offensive, forcing her back with wide swings and quick kicks. She ducked under his arm and came at him in a rage.

"Fuck you!" she screamed, hitting him again and again, "You had no. Right. To. Take her AWAY FROM ME!"

Time froze as they both realised what she had just said, then the major screamed again and lashed out with a kick that was far too high and left her exposed to any number of counters he could think of. Alex took the kick, and let himself fall. Without the familiar layer of force-reactive armor to cushion the blow he hit the ground hard, and the breath was knocked out of him. His nearly healed ribs throbbed in pain. Elizabeth stood over him, panting and heaving. Around them all the scouts had stopped their combats to watch the two veterans fight. She glared at them.

"Dismissed!" she shouted, and they all filed off.

Alex hauled himself to his feet and spat blood from his split lip. That had hurt, but it didn't seem to have made his existing injuries any worse.

"That was a good fight," he smiled.

The major mumbled something in agreement, staring off into the distance.

"I think you'd better come talk to Talia," he said pointedly.

Elizabeth sighed. Entertainment over, all the spectators had wandered off. Only Talia remained, looking on with worry at her lover and her friend.

"I suppose you're right," she said in the tone of someone just sentenced to death, still not meeting his eyes.

Talia greeted Elizabeth with a hug, which the major accepted limply. There was a silent plea in the elf's eyes, which Alex immediately understood. He left the two women to what he suspected would be a very private talk, and made his way back to the tent. There were a few mutters and pointed fingers as he crossed the campsite, but he ignored them.

If the other residents of the sub-camp had returned, they must have been in their tents, because all was quiet when he arrived back. Alex automatically made his way over to the pile of weapons on the floor and began stripping them, starting with the pistol. They hadn't been fired since he had last serviced them, but the activity - and the challenge of doing it one handed - kept him occupied. Besides, as long as his implant kept him alive, he could be here for many times the recommended service life of the guns, so he couldn't be too careful with them.

His mind began to wander; it had been a hell of a day.

Magic.

The thought came to him. It hadn't even occurred to him before, but he had been oddly accepting of it. Maybe something about it stopped you from questioning it? But then why was he being allowed to question it now? He stopped himself; that's a quick way to lose your sanity.

There were people who could do things that would have once been considered magic in his universe; the navigators were able to control the motion of a ship through slipspace in a way no computer could. He vaguely recalled it being something to do with manipulating energy. It was possible then, that since this planet was within slipspace the energy manipulation could apply to real objects rather than unreal space. He began to put the pistol back together. In the end, it didn't really matter how it worked, though he made a mental note to have someone explain the rules of it to him. He didn't want to be caught off guard after all.

Alex was just putting the casing back on the assault rifle when Talia slipped back into the tent. She watched curiously over his shoulder, trying to link the parts she saw with the names he had given them yesterday. He snapped the last cover into position, then looked up at her.

"She'll be alright, I think," she said, "You should talk to her though. For some reason she took you letting her win kind of personally."

"You noticed?" he asked.

"No, but she did."

Alex sighed.

"Tomorrow I can take the sling and bandages off, though the cast should probably stay. I'll give her a rematch then if she wants it."

"So soon?" Talia asked, "They've only been on since yesterday."

"I heal quickly, and I've got some help at the moment," he tapped the back of his head where the medical spike still controlled the nanobots that were knitting his bones back together.

This of course launched into an explanation of nanotechnology, and they passed the time until the evening meal deep in discussion. Talia was a quick learner, and it helped that she had an intuitive grasp of how metals worked from her magic. She even managed to teach Alex a couple of things, and gave him new perspectives on what he already knew. When the meal arrived they ate outside with the others and made small talk. Thrak had managed to slip out some toffee from the stores - Gelb's favourite apparently - and the gnome sat there sucking on it with a beaming smile on his wizened face. Alex and the orc shared a laugh at how easy it was to get away with things when people thought you were stupid.

Alex looked out at the camp around them, military banners waving merrily in the breeze and the sound of clashing steel filling the air. A question occurred to him, and he felt like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner.

"Who exactly is this army fighting?"

Thrak chuckled, "That's right, you haven't really had an opportunity to find out."

"Yeah..." Alex rubbed the back of his neck, "It's hard to believe I only landed the day before yesterday."

Daine took over the conversation.

"The Wildings, we call 'em. A bunch o' creatures from the North who've been trying to force their way into Empire territory. Giants and beastmen and goblins and the like."

"They're tough," scoffed Borren, "But nay match for dwarven steel."

"You guys fight?" Alex cocked his head.

"Aye," responded the dwarf, "All of us. They stick us on the front line 'cos we're "expendable" but we keep coming back for more."

The captain looked at Talia and Gelb.

"Gelb rides on my back," said Thrak by way of an explanation, "But Talia fights alongside us."

"The lass is a demon wi' a rapier," boasted Daine, "Quicker 'n sin and twice as deadly. Not half bad wi' a bow either."

Talia blushed at the compliment, and Alex looked at her with newfound respect.

When they had their fill, the couple bade everyone farewell and retired to the tent. Talia lead Alex over to the lone chair and pushed him down so he was sitting in it. She began to massage his shoulders, rubbing her fingers deep into his tense back. He groaned.

"You're really good at that," he commented.

She smiled proudly.

"Never done it before in my life, I'm just doing what I think would feel good."

"Right," Alex shook his head and chuckled, "The magic thing. I'm still getting used to it."

"Don't try and get your head around it," she kissed him softly on the top of the head, "Just relax and don't overthink things, it will all work out."

"Overthinking is what I do," he leaned back into her bosom, her firm breasts cradled his head.

He hands travelled down his chest, managing to avoid the sore spots from his fight while finding all the knots in his muscles. When she had reached as far as she could from behind him, she moved to straddle his lap, lifting his shirt over his head. She chewed on her bottom lip as her approving eyes roamed over his bare figure. Like her, not a single hair grew anywhere but his head, and no scars or blemishes marred his smooth skin. She began from the top again, but this time she was able to reach lower. She ran soft fingers over his abs, and slid backwards off his lap to kneel on the floor in front of him.

Talia's hands ran inwards from his hips around his belt-line, fingertips just slipping beneath the armor. They met in the middle and swiftly undid his buckle. He lifted his hips from the chair and she exposed his cock, which was twitching in anticipation. Her left hand lightly held his shaft, lifting it upright, while her right caressed his balls. She kissed it just below the head, smiling with her lips pressed to him, a twinkle in her eye. The tingling sensation came back, oh sweet lord the tingling. He dimly wondered if it was an elvish thing, or something to do with the matchmaker magic.

Don't overthink things, he reminded himself.

A long tongue slowly licked from base to tip, spreading the sweet sensation everywhere it touched. When the elf's mouth reached the top, she took him between her lips. Looking Alex in the eye, she began to lower her head again. Talia's mouth felt incredible: soft, hot and wet, and that tongue dancing about and caressing every inch it could reach. When she was about halfway down, he felt himself bump into the back of her mouth. She moaned and he had to stop himself from bucking his hips so he didn't choke her. She began to bob up and down, applying an excruciatingly pleasurable suction, and Alex just lay back and let the feeling wash over him.