“Sandi? Is that you?” The young orc said. He seemed rather skinny compared to others of his race, and Sandi couldn’t help but think he’d be a poor, bony meal. She wasn’t hungry anyway, Garth had treated her to a Jindari mega-grub the day before.

It was rather squishy, but the meat had an interesting texture that- Sandi shook off her wandering thoughts and refocused

What was his name again? Guldar?

“Oh, Guldar, I just had to see you again.” Sandi said, her Lure forcibly dragging Guldar away from the center of the warehouse where he might spot Garth.

“My name’s Guntar, Sandi.” The orc said, bemused at suddenly being dragged into a dark corner of the warehouse by a perfect specimen of orc femininity. Sandi knew from experience that her Lure looked like it was in heat, so this particular orc would be hard pressed to turn her down.

“Guntar, I just knew when I saw you that you were the one.”

Sandi threw her Lure into the orc’s arms, plastering him with kisses. She’d never dated an orc before, but they seemed easy enough. There were a few species out there that her lure didn’t work on so well, but orcs were definitely not on that list.

Now Sandi, you have to always remember the effect you have on men, and the effect they have on you. Your Lure was made to be irresistible, and if you get addicted to using it to influence them, bad things can happen. You don’t want to end up like your sister, do you? Her mother’s words echoed faintly in her mind.

Sandi watched from above as the orc gasped for breath, smothered under her Lure’s cleavage. The orc’s sudden spike in arousal sent pleasurable tingles up her spine and made her drool. She had eaten yesterday, but she was strangely hungry again already. Maybe no one would miss- No! Sandi cut off that train of thought with a white hot knife.

The orc panting in her Lure’s embrace was not an animal, nor was he a threat, so eating him was wrong. Maybe she could knock him out? Sandi wasn’t confident in her ability to hold back and hit the orc just hard enough to knock him unconscious. She had to find a way to keep him busy long enough for Garth to finish in the main hall.

And she wasn’t going to do that.

Sandi’s concerns proved pointless when the orc suddenly pushed her face away from his, pausing to catch his breath.

“I can’t. I’ve got a gravid female at home who needs my support. I don’t know what you see in me, but I can’t…I can’t do that to her.”

Aww…Sandi thought, bumping her impression of Guntar up a few steps.

“Well, for being such a gentleman…” Sandi gave him a hug and a gentle peck on the cheek.

“Would you show me out?” Sandi asked. It should take him a couple minutes to see her off. Should be plenty of time for Garth and Cass to sneak around.

“I’m sorry to shame you this way.”

“I’ll live.” She responded as he guided her toward the rear exit. It might be embarrassing for an orc woman to be turned down, but Sandi was simply relieved she didn’t have to get creative in order to distract him.

If she remembered correctly this aisle was a straight shot to the back and wouldn’t let Guntar see what Garth was doing. Just to be safe, she walked on his right side, and made her neckline just a bit lower.

As it turned out, there was a small gap that allowed a glimpse all the way to the middle of the warehouse where Garth was desperately stacking scrolls on a cart while replacing others into an odd machine, but Guntar was too busy consoling her to notice.

At the exit, Guntar apologized profusely for not breeding with her, giving Sandi a fair amount of amusement as she looked down at him bowing to her Lure. She could probably fit the whole orc in her mouth, he was so skinny. Not much more than a snack…

Why am I thinking about food again? Sandi thought, her Lure’s brows furrowing. Guntar took it as her being upset, so he doubled down on the apologies.

“I’m sorry, any other time and I would have claimed you in a heartbeat, but my wife, she’s eating enough for three, and my income isn’t that great and...” The orc ran out of excuses. “And I love her above all others.”

“You’re cute for an orc. Of course I’m not mad, women do eat a lot when they’re pregnant. My mother would eat a whole Banta every…” Sandi’s words trailed off, and her jaw dropped as the words she spoke started to sink in like icy claws in her stomach. She was very hungry, recently.

Sandi sucked in a steadying breath. It was just one time, and it had felt so good to surreptitiously put her real body’s entrance in the same place as her lure. Well, maybe it was more than one time. Garth knew she was doing it, right? He said he could see her. Barely.

Sandi’s breathing started to speed up as the armored plates of cartilage under her skin began to stiffen reflexively. I’ve got to talk to Mom and Dad.

‘make sure you never let a boy you don’t love climax inside your real body. It’s very important.’ In retrospect, Sandi should have asked why, but she was never a very inquisitive person.

Am I going to be a mommy? Sandi thought, hyperventilating as her Lure grasped it’s own head.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes!” Sandi said, putting her arms down and standing straight like a soldier in formation, trying to control her breathing.

“Well, I’m sorry again, I’m sure you’ll find a strong male who will breed you.” He still thinks he’s talking to a six and a half foot three-hundred-pound orc woman in heat.

“Hahahah.” Sandi laughed nervously. That might already be taken care of. Why the hell didn’t you tell me it was because I could get knocked up, Mom!?

“Guntar, where are you you lazy tusker? We’ve got to get this list together right now! come help me look!”

“I’ve got to go, Jines doesn’t know where anything is because he never actually does any work in here.” Guntar rolled his eye as he closed the door.

“Byyyee.” Sandi said halfheartedly as the door closed. Once Guntar was fully gone, she began sprinting toward the post office, knocking over the occasional pedestrian with the blunt edge of her long, scythelike legs

Mom will know what to do!

***

“Guntar, where are you you lazy tusker? We’ve got to get this list together right now! come help me look!”

Garth was beginning to haul the cart of scrolls away from it’s position in the line when a man’s voice echoed through the warehouse from in front of him, where the lobby’s entrance was.

“Coming!” came the young orc’s voice from behind him on the opposite side of the warehouse. He was flanked.

Crap! Garth thought, dragging the cart he’d just finished reloading back to its spot and springing to the side of the Deployer, dragging Cass by his collar up against the side of the machine.

The two of them were spooning like lovers, tucked tight against the cold steel of the Deployer when Garth put up the illusion of a person-less spot of floor over top of them. There was plenty of space around the Deployer, so they shouldn’t get stepped on. Probably.

Did he say he needed to get the list together? Did Itet actually pull it off, or is he gathering them to report for trying to run away, or is it something else entirely?

Garth waited, keeping his breathing quiet as two sets of footsteps converged in the center of the warehouse, just around the corner, in the front of the machine. Garth didn’t dare move to get a better look.

“Guntar, find the people on this list as quickly as you can, it’s important.” A voice said, presumably the corio boss.”

“I thought you had to have a general sign in person along with a badge of office to allow an unscheduled transfer.” The orc said. “This is just a list, with a signature.”

Garth closed his eyes and summoned the Floating Eye, a little invisible sensory organ that was great for spying on…anyone, really. His proficiency was low, so the spell couldn’t make anything better than a human eye and it couldn’t get much more than twenty feet away from him, but it was great for peering around corners.

“Guntar my boy,” The corio said, clapping Guntar on the shoulder. “you’re going to learn that not everything is black and white in the world, and that if you don’t find those scrolls right now, you’re going to feel the full brunt of my ire, understood?”

“Got it…” Guntar said, scrolling down the list. “Ah, they’re right there.” He pointed at the cart. “They’re scheduled to be deployed at three P.M. tomorrow afternoon.”

“Balls to that.” Jine said, grabbing the cart. “We got lucky. You’re sure they’re all here?”

Guntar gave the cart a quick glance. “Yep.”

“Brilliant, I’ll be in the top six for sure.”

“What?”

“Shaddap.” Jines said, pushing the cart away, followed closely by his orc assistant.

Once they were out of sight, Garth let out a long exhale before sending the floating eye to follow them to the lobby.

Sure enough, Itet was walking back into the lobby, wiping her mandibles with her uniformed sleeve. She seemed shaky and her antennae drooped in a way that spelled Bad/Wrong but the corio didn’t seem to notice.

“Here you go, miss. Tell your general that I was happy to take his offer, and even threw a few extras in. You’ll tell him that, won’t you?” Jines said, pushing the cart her direction.

“Time to go.” Garth whispered to Cass, who was working his way down the fibrous grass’s stalk.

“Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” the skinny man giggled.

Garth dragged him to his feet and the two of them made a beeline for the rear exit.

“Sandi?” Garth whispered. “Are you still in here?” he swept the floating eye around above the aisles, but he didn’t see anything until they made it outside.

What he saw there was another pair of Sandi tracks in the dirt, leading back to the street. Where the hell did she go? Garth thought as he gently let the door close, trying to keep it as quiet as possible.

Garth walked back around to the front of the building in time to see Itet walk out pushing four large crates on a disposable wooden cart. Itet stopped to wave at them, showing anyone paying attention that they were in cahoots. Garth shook his head. How did a girl that naïve pull it off?

“Have you seen Sandi? Is she with you?” Garth asked as they joined up, heading for the Gate they’d left in an abandoned warehouse.

“No, I haven’t. Did she not leave with you?” Itet said.

“Her tracks go back out into the street, but the paving makes it impossible to tell which direction she went. Hopefully she went back to the Gate.”

“Yeah,” he said, casting a glance around to make sure nobody was following them.

When they arrived at the worn down wooden building, Garth breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sandi was standing next to a glowing portal floating in the center of the building.

“Ready to go back to Earth?” Garth said, kneeling by the frame of the Gate and deactivating it. The gate spawned a duplicate frame wherever it summoned the gate, which could then be deactivated, making the original cease to exist. It was weird tech.

All Garth had to do was dial in Earth outpost 3502 and they would be home free.

He paused when he noticed Sandi standing especially close, practically brushing against his shoulder. She looked like she was angling for a hug.

“Something up?”

“I’ll tell you later,” she said, smooshing herself up against him.

“Okie dokie,” He said, put Sandi’s clinginess out mind and finished entering the coordinates. “Here we go.”