Ewan Stone ✍️🔞

@ewanstone.uk

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He/him Self-published British SF/fantasy pervert! 🚀The Lonely Ship Saga - horny space opera 🌲Path of Lyssa - dark ero-fantasy ✨Time & Time Again - sexy short stories 🏰Laymen - monstergirl bureaucracy serial EwanStone.uk and #Literotica Absolutely no AI!

A lot had happened since he had awoken from death. And Avalynne was right, much as he hadn’t wanted to agree. He had no idea who he was anymore. His own memories were dotted with memories of her, memories of military service and expeditions to dark sites of antiquity on the edges of civilisation. Of spacefaring and lovemaking. His mind was a hybrid of his own and hers. He too would have to discover what that meant as he progressed on their mission to the Far Worlds. Maybe Rune could help him, if she even still loved him as he was now. He missed her. His feelings for her, at the very least, had not changed.
So when Marcus saw Hal and Demi walking lazily up the street ahead of him, he dashed to catch up and lose his train of thought in conversation with his two friends. Both pairs of eyes, his glowing orange like flame and hers dark, red-ringed and beautiful, brightened on seeing him.

[It is launch day, I suppose,] said Rune. [They are all very excited. I did not detect a great deal of sleep among the crew last night.]
Therese smirked. “Does that go for you too? I noticed Marcus went to bed early.”
[Th-That’s…] Therese had long since gotten used to hearing embarrassed fluster coming from a machine. [That is… I do not sleep like an organic lifeform does…]
“Good for you, sweety. Is your man treating you well these days?”
[That is neither here nor there.]
“Alright, then. I’ll get up now. Thank you, Rune. Let’s talk more about your sex life later.”

Vio… Avalynne had managed not to think of the cheerful little ship’s sophont lately, despite Rune being Vio’s sister in a strange sort of way. Avalynne still recalled dearly the dance at the onset of their grand adventure across the Forge. Even before he’d had a body, Avalynne often sensed the jealous eye of the ship on her whenever she partook of the crew’s libido, or used her own body to gain some needed leverage for her team. She had teased and toyed with him often during their journey, until one dark night when he had come to her in vulnerable honesty. He’d laid it all bare. She still wondered at that, and had been happy to accept his feelings for her as a bit of a game. A game that had gone on night after night after night. She’d even made a body for him. And sometimes, when the heat rose too high or she thought of her distant home, she had realised that Vio was a strength she did not want to do without.
Only she had done without him. A hundred cycles here with Marcus and the Rune Carrier, plus another thousand stuck in the endless labyrinth of subspace. First, there had been her state of death keeping her bedbound. Then the crash. Then Flamefall, and the fate of the Order. Now, at last, she was going to go and see her digital lover. Her best friend. So, why was she so afraid?

“And you? Enjoying training?”
He didn’t like the glint in her smile. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
“Enjoying being trained by Demi?”
Ah, Aki thought. I knew it.
“Of course I am,” he replied with as straight a face as he could muster. “Demi is a superlative leader. She is knowledgeable and straightforward.”
“And pretty.”
“I… hadn’t noticed.”
Fei laughed loudly. This time, some of her soup spilled over the edge of her tray and splattered in the grass. “You are scared of girls, I think!” she said between breaths.

In a bid to look away from the elf’s luminous eyes, Marcus checked in on his favourite feline. Fei was trying to draw Aki into an animated conversation, and despite her bright smiles and quick gestures, he didn’t seem to be paying more than the minimum possible attention. But Marcus started when he spotted the new, third member of the group. Therese was even more eye-catching than usual today. She had stripped down to the waist to keep her moist skin exposed to the cool air, revealing a rudimentary strap of swimsuit plastic tight around her bountiful chest. She had her blonde hair tied up at the back of her head to reveal her webbed ears and her little earpiece, and her skin was spotted with scrapes and medical gauze. She’d been working the hardest of all of them, that much was obvious. Right now, she seemed to be enjoying keeping pace with Fei’s bright energy, and revelling in the blushing of Aki as he tried not to stare at the older woman’s impressive physique.
Following his gaze, Demi grumbled but said nothing. Marcus was curious how she and Therese were getting along after Demi’s lengthy fling with Hal had ended, but was in no way prepared to pry. He watched as Fei pointed over at the three of them in answer to a question from the aquan, who smiled as she walked towards them on her four thick tentacles.

“Executive Officer Marcus Albright!” she called out as she drew near. “Your presence is required in the AI core room for a rather urgent digital transfer task!”
“Really?” Marcus’ heart shuddered. “She’s ready?”
“No!” Miriham growled. “No, Therese! I have just had to explain to Marcus how important it is that he rest! Can this not wait?”
“Well…”
“No, Captain, it cannot.” Marcus turned to face the elf and placed his hands on his hips. She glowered up at him in return. “I’m going. I really can’t delay this.”
Miriham sighed. “And then you will sleep?”
He shrugged, even chancing a cheeky smile. “Maybe.”
“I take back what I said about you being easy to manage,” said Miriham. “Fine. Since I clearly cannot prevent you. At least I can have confidence that Rune will suggest the same course of rest once you are finished. Go, then.”

The Forsaken Tower was central in a grand, subterranean city, lit by
massive lamps attached to the ceiling like artificial stars. The buildings
were all the same sandstone as the walls of the ward, built in practical
squares and tall cuboids as far as he could see. These too were lit by
external lights wrapped about their walls on long lines, though deep
shadows obscured much of the city’s distant extremities. As he watched, a
bright flare burned on the horizon as a ship rose silently from between
distant buildings and crept its way up into the skyline. Above, part of the
sky opened up to reveal a mechanical bay to accommodate the metal
leviathan.
“Wow,” he said.
“Wow indeed,” the doctor replied, as if expecting nothing less but
considerably more. “The city is a haven to the needy and sick, and has
all the-…”
“Did you say state of death?!” Marcus stared at the blinking doctor as he
COMPOSED himself. His heart shuddered in his chest.
“Well, yes. Technically, you were dead when you were brought to us.
Your organic life processes had ceased, including respiration and brain
activity.”
“And you… brought me back?”
“We did. The Forsaken Machine was able to re-create life within your
body until your spirit was able to return to it. A feat I would like to discuss
with you and your crew further, as I have truly seen nothing like it.”

Ewan Stone's BlueSky follower count, now at 1000.

As Rune suggested, there was only one person present on the Victus side, who slowly came into view as the lower jaw of the cargo hatch disappeared into the floor. A woman, black of hair and slim of figure. A confident smile and smouldering eyes. Red scales…“You… You…!” Hal stammered. “You’ve… got to be fucking joking!!”“How’s that to greet an old friend?” Lilith smiled, her hands on her slender hips. “I thought you’d be pleased to see me.”Lilith slithered to their side of the cargo bay with unabashed confidence. Her yellow eyes were alive with sly humour, and her lips curved into an intelligent smirk. She looked well, very well. She practically glowed. And when she wrapped her arms around him, Marcus felt the warmth of her body like stepping into a dream.“Hello, Marcus,” she whispered into his ear. “I’m very pleased to see you again.”Marcus could sense Rune’s emotions wavering wildly, and his own were much the same. He felt like he was about to pass out. Lilith? Here? Somehow, his arms found their way around her body. She was a firm foundation against which to steady himself. And she smelled divine. Her contented sigh reverberated through his skin and shook his heart.And at his side, Avalynne spoke up. “Oh shit,” she said.

Fei looked about the tent conspiratorially, but there was no way anyone
else could be overhearing them. When she was satisfied with their privacy,
she scooted around her map so that she was pushed up NEXT to him.
Then she pointed down at a letter ‘M’, or something like it, scrawled in
messy red penmanship a distance to the north-east of Elys.
“Fanged Temple,” she whispered. “Where the boys’ pilgrimage is. It’s a
secret, girls aren’t supposed to know.”
“But don’t girls go with them when they’re children?”“Yes, but most
forget,” replied Fei, grinning. “But not me. I remember.”
“You’re very smart, Fei.”
She met his eyes. Stars sparkled vibrantly. Marcus suddenly realised how
close they were sitting, all alone in a comfortable tent. Fortunately, Fei’s
wrinkled nose suitably shattered the atmosphere.
“Smell!” she complained with a laugh. “You smell, Marcus!”
He flushed and leaned away. “I know, I’m sorry. I haven’t had a chance to
get a change of clothes in several days. And I don’t think this thing is
meant to be worn as long as I’ve been wearing it.”

Guilt flared tenuously in his chest. In truth, Marcus had no idea what Fei was going through. He’d never been so attacked by primitive, physical imperatives that he couldn’t control. The aphrodisiacs of Forsaken had come close, but he’d never actually tried to restrain himself in that case. All his friends had been so very willing to indulge him.But then he thought of later that same night. He had stood on the cold, alloy floor of the Rune Carrier, staring down Gulliver. He’d seared the man with heat, he’d lit Slate aflame. He’d allowed rifle fire to rain around them. His fury had overwhelmed him. He wondered what it would have felt like if Hal or Demi had put a hand on his shoulder and told him not to. Told him he couldn’t. If he’d needed to force that fury back down again.It had hurt. His need had hurt him. And he didn’t wish that upon anyone. To liken his hate for the Order to Fei’s Howling felt silly, but he couldn’t help it now. The idea had taken root.“Fei,” he said softly into one pointed, furry red ear. “You… need some help?”

“You know, nobody’s ever asked me to read their minds before,” she whispered to him. “Everyone else I’ve met has been too ashamed to let me in. Not that it matters, in the end.”
“Really?” he replied. “This feels a lot simpler than talking.”
“You aren’t afraid of how I’ll react when I see the real you?”
Marcus shrugged. “You’ve seen everything I have to hide. And you… you’re still here.” He sniffed, and Avalynne blinked up at the wetness in his eyes. “What else could you see in there that would push you away?”

“How about this?”
Avalynne didn’t bother turning around. “No.”
“No?”
“You always pick one size larger than you need,” she sighed. She was still rummaging around in the wardrobe on her side of the little changing room, but judging Marcus’ fashion only needed half her brain. “Go one smaller and try again.”
“O-Okay… Say, this is a hospital, right?”
“That’s right.” Avalynne could hear the whispering rush of soft fabric running over skin as he undressed behind her. “Why do you ask?”
“Do you think these clothes belonged to the deceased?”
“Hm, I suppose they might’ve. But that would mean everyone who visits Forsaken has the same sense of fashion.”
She lifted and then discarded another white, canvas shirt. So much white! She didn’t like white, especially if that was what everyone was wearing. All whites and faded tans, lots of flowing hems and breathability. Where was the flair?
“Ah, I’ve found a label,” announced Marcus while she searched. “‘Forsaken Mills.’ How ominous.”
“Another mystery solved.”

“You make a habit of sleeping with your friends, don’t you?” Rune sighed, still smiling. “Whatever am I going to do with you?”

“Marcus and Miriham and that never mentioned that your doctor on this ship was a slay-jag.” Sleighbor’s little face twisted into a grimace as he said the unfamiliar word. “Weird they’d not mention it, actually. Are you alright with that? A slay-jag being the one giving you medicine?”
“I…” Aki frowned, as much at his own ignorance as at Sleighbor’s demeanour. “I don’t understand.”
“The man made of green glass,” Sleighbor said. “I guess you guys from Elys wouldn’t have a name for them, if you’ve never been to space. But slay-jags are a bit like the distant cousins of the slaveem. We’re from the same world, probably had the same ancestors, aeons ago.”
Aki thought on Cassidy, the tall, green medic from the Infernal Order. Demi considered the mysterious man her mentor, much in the same way that Marcus was teaching Aki about intergalactic diplomacy in his spare moments. And it was true that Cassidy’s strange, flat, doll-like form took a bit of getting used to, and Aki still didn’t catch what he was saying with his hands like Demi did. Still…
“Cassidy is an upstanding member of the crew,” he said. “Unlike some who claim to be our friends.”
Sleighbor chuckled. “I walked into that one. Maybe your Cassidy is just an outlier, then.”

The air was heavy. Blood rumbled, resonating between them. The anima was surging. And Aki reached up and pulled down his face mask. He was smiling.
“You inscrutable whore.”
Fei giggled. “I don’t know those words,” she said, “but you are stupid and a bad lover, I think.”
The two cats laughed together. Fei leapt forward and wrapped the boy up in her arms, and after a moment he returned the embrace with a waning stiffness.

“Heya, boss,” the aquan nodded. “You know which team it is covering the rear engine reorientation?”
“We did a bit of a run of the circuitry in the engineering wings,” his friend added with a fold of his arms. “Might be worth them holding off on phase three of the alignment until we’ve had a chance to look into it a bit more.”
Marcus blinked. The pair’s eyes were widely expectant and devoid of shame. “This sounds like a Gulliver question.”
“Chief Gulliver’s sleeping, boss,” the aquan informed him.
“I was sleeping!”
The two shared a sly look. They didn’t hide their smiles well. “That’s not what it sounded like, boss.”
Marcus rolled his eyes with a beleaguered sigh. It was all he could think of doing to hide his embarrassment. Had the doors always been so thin? “Talk to Therese, then. I assume she’s decent?”
“Might be,” said the dragon. “We’ve not checked.”
“Well, go check. She’s your first call for engineering questions.”
“Okay, boss,” said the aquan. “Just thought you might know.”
Marcus scratched his head. Since when did the Order come to him for advice? Hadn’t they been ready to string him up only a few weeks ago? And where on Earth had ‘boss’ come from?

“You have heart,” the Patriarch agreed. “But this quest is best with a small group. If you come, you will be in danger.”
“I am not a baby!” Fei growled. “I can fight! I can help!”
Kanda scratched at his head and tugged at his braids. His grimace was pained. “Fei, does Kohla know you are here?”
“N-No…”
“Does Rhaen?”
“No! And I don’t need them to let me! I am me! I’m not Kohla, and I’m not Rhaen! I am Fei!”
“I know…”
“Patriarch!” She advanced, hands on hips, and glared up at the bigger cat. “No, Uncle Kanda! I will go! Do not stop me!”
Marcus blinked. Uncle?
“Your daddy will be very unhappy when he hears,” Kanda sighed. “So will your man.”
“Neither owns me,” Fei hissed.

Gulliver hadn’t come alone. Behind and around him were his crew.
Marcus recognised Slate and Hyacinth from the pyramid mission, and
Nova had been pointed out to him by Miriham. The other six he had
only ever seen in passing and did not have names for. All of them were
armed. Gulliver’s pistol was glowing with energy but lowered, whereas
his gang all held Administration rifles like Amari’s, pointed right at him.
Amari isn’t with them, he realised with a relief that ALMOST made him
faint. He caught himself before he fell, but that still earned a derisive
chuckle from Gulliver.
“You deserve a rest, Albright,” the aquan second said from down the
corridor. “You’ve done so much service for Captain Serene. Even rescuing
a Deviant. Why not have a lie down in a nice cell? Doesn’t that sound
good?”
“There are no cells on the Rune Carrier,” he told him.
“A hole, then,” Gulliver replied with a savage grin. “A storage crate.
We’ll find something your size.”

Title image for The Lonely Ship from the Accord (Book 1 of the Lonely Ship Saga), an erotic space opera by Ewan Stone. Available now on Kofi, Itch, Smashwords, Apple Books, Kobo, Amazon and more. Absolutely no AI was used or ever will be used for Lonely Ship. #BluePit #P #SF #R #A

“Oh hey, Reese? I have an engineering question, if you don’t mind?”
She rose from her seat with the others and looked to Aether with a smile. “Go for it, sweety.”
“The Auxiliary Power isn’t properly connected yet, is it? It’s not holding or receiving a charge at all?”
“That’s right.”
“So, hypothetically, if I were to invite you to bed with me tonight,” he said, “I couldn’t use the welfare of the ship as any kind of motivation?”
“You sassy bastard,” Karyn chuckled. “I thought you were a feet guy? And Therese is, uh, you know?”
“I may have a different vibe that I ascribe to usually,” Aether replied with an expansive gesture, “but I can still appreciate a work of art when I see it.”

Title page for Path of Lyssa, a dark erotic fantasy novel by Ewan Stone. Available as a digital download from Itch and Smashwords, or to read for free on EwanStone.uk and Literotica. No AI was used in any part of this novel. #BluePit #P #A #F #R

Title content for Laymen, an ongoing erotic fantasy serial by Ewan Stone. Available to read for free on EwanStone.uk and Literotica. No AI was used in any part of Laymen, nor ever will be. #BluePit #W #F #R #A

“You are thinking of Executive Officer Marcus?”It was an uncharacteristic probe, coming from him, and Fei’s eyes were wide with surprise. She nodded.“But there are many things to stop him from being with me,” she said. “You are right, I think. It would not be good.”Aki felt the familiar pang of guilt in his chest. It didn’t do to upset Fei Li when they’d only just become friends.“Still,” he said eventually, “am I right in thinking that this will not prevent you from flirting with him?”Fei shot him a bright-eyed, sharp-toothed grin. A dangerous look, if he’d ever seen one. “No!” she declared.“Goodness, look at the two of you!”Fei blushed brightly at this new voice, and Aki did the same. After all, it was a voice that had led and commanded them for many years in the village of Elys. Aki placed his tray of food off to one side, but Fei in her alarm let it topple over as she rose to attention at once.Kohla laughed as she picked her way out of the tree line. The light moisture on her brow showed that she had walked here from Elys today, and was wearing loose, cotton trousers to facilitate travel instead of her usual colourful skirt. She pushed some of her damp, dark hair out of her eyes as she approached them.“Please, I see no reason for you to be formal!” said the Matriarch. “You are no longer my scouts, are you? You shouldn’t be so stiff with me!”“Stiff, yes! S-Sorry,” said Fei stiffly.“Actually,” Aki said, “E-Executive Officer Marcus is always deferential to e-e-extra-terrestrial authorities, so I believe we should do the same… M-Matriarch.”The Matriarch shrugged her shoulders with a pretty smile. “I have no idea what that means,” she said. “But maybe you have gone beyond me and our village now, so I won’t argue.

“Serene of the Infernal Order,” Rune bellowed in perfect Core Common.
“This is the voice of the Rune Carrier.”
Panic and alarm spread throughout the assembled groups. Wyld and
Valenus spun as the ship’s voice filled the space, and the soldiers raised
their guns to aim at nothing at all.
“What the fuck?!” the High Deacon exclaimed, teaching Marcus a much-
needed expletive.
“May I make it abundantly clear,” Rune warned the crowds with a voice
like heated metal. “If you threaten any of my crew, I do have the ability
to jump through subspace without them, and I could easily leave trails to
bring your enemies right here to you. It would be a simple matter. And
should you continue to demonstrate this childish ignorance, and should
the worst case befall us, I can release the seals on my fusion drive and
blast this whole station into vapour. Do not test me on this. I am deathly
serious.”
Serene’s eyes were wide. Her bronze irises were glistening. But despite
the vicious words directed at her, she was smiling.
“Rune Carrier…” she BREATHED . “Ship of the Mythmakers… It would be
a pleasure to work with you!”
“Serene!” Wyld shouted. “No!”
“I agree to your terms. I shall return you to your crew, and together we
can search for your missing brethren in Avalynne’s Ascent. We can also…
build the… the thing you wanted us to build. If you insist,” she added with
a dismissive wave of her hand. “And only on our return.”

“That was a bit dangerous, Fei!” he called to the shore. “What if I’d hit my head?”He opened his eyes at last and stared along the river’s edge. Fei had vanished. There was nobody at all in eyesight. Only the hazy blue of the morning sky above, the green of the grass, the shade of the trees, and two bundles of clothing beside the water.“Fei?”She burst out of the water suddenly in a great splash. Marcus was newly drenched as water cascaded around him, forcing him to raise his arms to protect himself. And then she was upon him. Fei’s arms circled tight around his neck and her strong legs gripped him about his waist. She wasn’t heavy in the water, but the force of her attack made him stagger backwards. He flailed his arms for balance. Eventually he found that balance with his hands on her hips to steady her.Fei was laughing. Her red, wet hair flew as she cast back her head and laughed into the morning air. Her ears flicked about to remove their water. Her sharp teeth flashed, and her eyes shone bright like fires. As the rippling subsided around them, she sat upwards around his waist and looked down into his eyes expectantly. Marcus had no idea how to respond.

“W-Wait…”
He turned over his shoulder. Saya’s worried face was very pretty.
“Y-You needn’t be sad,” she said. “You are not in trouble. And I… I had a fun time last night.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Yes!” she grinned. “Yes, thank you… u-um…”
Her smile faltered. Her big, brown eyes darted about. And Hal set his jaw. She didn’t know his name.
“Cool,” he managed. “Whatever.”

[So Rune, how about this village, eh?] he said. [Pretty special, right? I’m
sure they’d be friendly to you too. And don’t worry, I’m not going to do
anything lewd with any of these sexy cat-girls. What do you take me for?]
Marcus silently laughed at homself in the real world, chatting silently
with his slumbering beloved. [Fei is super cute though, isn’t she? I’m a
big fan of her tail. It must be a pain to have to make clothes that fit. And
her ears are great.]
He slipped his arms behind the back of his head and sighed. [There’s no
way a girl like her is single, right? When the men are in town, she must
have the pick of the litter. I’ll bet she’s got BACKUP boyfriends queuing
around the block for a turn with her. Not that I care, by the way. You’re the
only one for me, Rune. Don’t ever doubt it. Still, I wonder what kind of guy
she likes. Someone who can keep up with her, I imagine. Someone
strong… Someone with energy to match hers…?]
Now he was making himself sad. That was stupid. Rune would be chew-
ing him out if she was awake. Marcus was good enough for the best of all
girls. What did he have to be jealous of? The idea of him being tempted
away from Rune was frankly absurd. Totally ridiculous…

Marcus immediately pressed his ear to the door to listen in. Demi hurried over to join him. They waited, dangerously curious about what was about to happen.
“Alright, ladies,” said Sleighbor in his native Core Common. “Boy, there’s a lot of you… What, erm, seems to be the trouble? Did you want me to take a look at something?”
Silence. Marcus held his breath.
“Oh,” said the soldier. “Oh my…”
Then nothing. It was the last they heard of Sleighbor until the morning. Demi turned to face him, and Marcus sighed.
“Rest in peace, friend.”

“I think what made the difference,” Aether picked up, “was that the captain was all about living in the moment, you know? Because we knew we might get spotted by some vengeful corpo or get all tied up in some Core Worlds political thing on any given cycle, we tried to live it up in the times between the moments of danger. Avalynne taught us that.”
“Right, right. It wasn’t like other ships I’ve worked on, which are all work until your management mandated time of relaxation,” Karyn said in a comical, robotic tone, pistoning her arms up and down like an automaton. Thank goodness Marcus wasn’t here, he might have taken offense. “To the captain, party time was the default. Work was just something we did to pass the time between.”
Therese hummed at her story. That made sense, if you were crewing a Mythmaker ship. The interpersonal moments were just as important as the technical ones, if you wanted to keep a ship like Rune flying.
“So?” she asked next with a cheeky smile. “Have any of you… you know? Had some party time with the captain?”
Three blank expressions returned to her. Therese faltered, suddenly worried she’d misunderstood and overstepped.
“Uh, yeah,” said Aether. “Obviously. We all have.”

“Dancing, singing…” she replied coyly, wiggling her hips back and forth as she counted. “Drinking and playing. So much fun. If you sleep, you will miss!”
“I don’t think we’ll be much fun right now,” he told her with a sad smile. “We’re worried about our friend.”
“All she needs is sleep.”
“But we’ll need to watch her overnight in case she gets worse.”
“One can do that,” Fei argued, raising one finger. “Your girl. She is the doctor, no? You can come outside.”
“Fei, I really think-…”
“You can come,” she said again, pressing herself against his arm. “You can come. Tonight, you will.”

“Some nice programming in that, I’m told,” Hal said. “We had one of Avalynne’s lot take a look at it, and she assures me it’s top of the line.”
“I see that,” Marcus nodded. “Looks good.”
“But yours truly can attest to the work behind this next bit,” he continued, opening up the door with a wave of his hand and pointing into the room.
“Woah.” Marcus couldn’t help but try to take a step back, though Hal’s big arms held him steady. Rune’s AI core room was even more claustrophobic than it had been previously, now that the gun turret had been attached to the ceiling. The long, black barrel of the Administration rifle was aimed right at them as they stepped into the humid room.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Hal chuckled. “Right now, there’s no input to make her swing about or put a hole in you, but she’s connected to the alloy network. Rune will have full control.”
“Hal, this is…” Marcus couldn’t believe he was getting teary-eyed over a gun strapped to the ceiling, but that was the reality of it. The relief of knowing that Rune had a means of defending herself, for herself, was overwhelming. “Thank you.”
“I know what the ladies like,” he replied with a wink. “But all this work, and we still need the girl herself.”

“Glad you think peace is best,” Hal remarked with a fold of his arms and a dark frown. “The way the Order talks, you Flamefall boys are shoot-first kind of people.”
“Ah, rude!” Sleighbor laughed. “That’s just propaganda talking.”
“So you aren’t lawless, fanatical anarchists either, then?”
“Oh, no, we are pretty lawless. That’s our ethos, friend. ‘No masters for the Forge’, you know?”
Hal glanced at Marcus, who shrugged. “Not really,” the dragon said. “We never heard of Flamefall before getting tied up with the Infernal Order, and you’re definitely not known in the Accord.”
“Oof, that’s too bad,” Sleighbor winked. “Well, I’d be happy to teach you what I know. We’re the future, you know!”
“Uh-huh,” Hal said with an unimpressed frown.

Serene allowed herself to be lifted up to a stable seat on the mattress once more, and she rubbed her eyes free of blur with her wrists. Gulliver, her loyal, tentacled second-in-command. The one she could rely on to never turn his back on her. He had been fighting so hard to keep her rule in place here on the ship that she commanded. He pushed back when that blonde Accord hussy in engineering insisted that only she could manage the fusion drive. He kept the order when frustration and dissent made its way through their ranks. He thought to protect her when he perceived an injustice against her.
He’d really done a number on Hal, Serene recalled bitterly. That had been sweet of him, but also incredibly stupid. She had needed to publicly discipline him for his thuggishness, and that had lost her some much-needed traction with the small Accord contingent that had brought this ship to her. It had also completely destroyed the chance that Hal would return to her someday.
“What is it?” she asked the second now, torn between reaching for him and shoving him away. “Is there an issue that needs my attention?”
“No, Captain,” said Gulliver, then cleared his throat. He covered his mouth with one fist, and his knuckles brushed up against the thick hair of his chestnut-brown moustache. “The crew… We were just concerned for your safety.”
“What are you talking about?”
He couldn’t look at her. His blue eyes sought the deck of the captain’s quarters instead. “The… uh, the shouting, captain.”
Saints above, had she been saying all that out loud? Serene put a hand up to her head to try and hide her face from him. She really had been overdoing herself on the wine tonight.

“Fei?”
“M-Mmhm?” she murmured, still chewing his ear. She sounded far away from herself, and that was fine for now.
“Can I ask you something else?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“What’s the Howling?”
She froze. Her lips parted with a strange, hot little sigh, and her hips ceased their rolling. Marcus held her tight as she placed her palms on his shoulders and leaned away slowly. When she met his eyes, Marcus saw tight, frustrated rage in a burning ring around her yellow irises. He realised suddenly that in his mind, Fei and the others had been pretty, friendly little house cats, eager for attention and always at play. Fei as she was now showed him that he had been wrong. The women of Elys were predators. They had just not seen the need to bare their claws until now.
“Who told?” she hissed.

As the crystal advanced again, a hand appeared atop the greatlance’s
barrels. Aki pulled. Sleighbor was now aiming at an empty spot several
paces to Xia’s left.
“Wait,” Aki whispered in Core Common. “Be ready.”
Then the cat rose his voice. It echoed against the walls of the Tower.
“Mother’s call!”
Xia’s shoulders tensed in recognition. She held her club in one hand so
she could wipe the torrent of blood from her face with her other. Then
she braced her knees, set her feet in the red, and leapt backwards through
Sleighbor’s firing angle. Monstrous Jun came barrelling after.
“Home!” cried Aki. And Sleighbor pulled the trigger with a prayer to who-
ever was listening.
Greatlance roared. Metal shrapnel blasted out in a cone, incinerating the
air in its wake. The crystal monster jumped upwards in a bid to get out of
the way, but even its eldritch flight couldn’t get it high enough. Great-
lance’s ammo exploded into its waist. A shower of fine glass and organic
viscera was all that was left of its remaining leg and lower torso. It clat-
tered to the ground on its two sharp arms as Xia took a single, bold and
fearless step into its range.
“Home.”
Her club came down onto Jun’s head, and the rest of him exploded into
silent, inert chunks of rock.

“You’ve not been checking your messages, Professor,” sighed Prime as she came to a lean against the side of Keira’s command panel. “Surface is lost. We’ve pulled back to the tunnels, and I was coming down here to ask for a little more interference to cover the escape.”
For all of her frustrations, Prime’s ability to stay calm while the world above them was being torn apart was commendable.
“We do not have that sort of power to spare,” Keira replied.
As she did, she looked towards Arch with a querying raise of her brow. Arch nodded in response.
“W-We can redistribute input once we are underway?” said the scientist.
“Then I guess I’d better help out down here.” Prime shrugged. The black plating of her combat armour moved like an extension of her own scaling with the motion of her shoulders. How the girl made military gear look so much like a fashion statement was beyond Keira. “It’s not like my abilities are much good with a Revenant Beam in the upper atmosphere.”
Keira shot a glance down at Prime’s belt. The snake was holding the hilt of her prismatic blade with a full five notches of the swirling, multifaceted metal unsheathed. Even if her manner was cavalier, Prime’s use of her ‘cheat’ weapon to extend her innate powers was a sign of her true state of mind. She met Keira’s gaze with a frown as if reading her professor’s thoughts, and then looked away again.

Gods, he smelled good, though. Avalynne hadn’t been lying to herself. Fucking Marcus Albright would be an experience for the ages.“No!” came a shrill voice from the centre of the terrace. “No! Stop that!”Avalynne peered over Marcus’ shoulder to where the young priest on duty was rushing over in her flimsy robes. She was frowning in their direction, and her braid of hair was swinging wildly.“Get off him!” she ordered with her hands on her hips. “You are supposed to be healing! No strenuous activity allowed!”“Oh, come now,” Avalynne giggled. “I’ll be gentle with him.”“No! Off!”With a theatrical sigh and a rueful grin, she did as she was told. Marcus was bright red. He was also, she could see, fully erect. Avalynne made a show of fixing her hair with a pout.“I think you two have had enough fresh air for today,” the priest said. Strangely, she said this with a worried scowl while examining a small scan device on her belt, one that looked like a long fuse for an industrial machine. “Back to your wards now.”Marcus didn’t stand right away, owing to that tentpole in his shorts. As Avalynne rose to her feet beside him, she bent down to whisper in his ear.“I’m going to touch myself in bed tonight,” she told him. “I’ll think of you. You do the same, okay?”She gave him a wink as she hopped over the bench and made for the slope down to the wards of the Tower once more. That had felt great. Yes, having Marcus around was going to make the next three cycles very entertaining.

Miriham and Axel had managed to keep the invaders at the bend in the corridor, but pretty soon would be overwhelmed.And all this time, the bridge hatch had remained sealed behind them.“Axel!”The dragon’s face was twisted with spite when she turned it her way. “What?!”“We need to retreat to the bridge!” Miriham called. “I fear there is trouble within! And from there, we can-…”“Fuck you, Val!”Her words were like the lash of a whip. Miriham saw tears in the corners of Axel’s eyes, and she felt the hot lead of guilt in her chest.“This is all your fault, you know that?!” Axel bellowed. “You and your fucking alien friends! If you’d just done what you were told, none of this would have happened! And Nova would… Nova would-…!”“I am so sorry, Axel! You know that I never intended for Nova to be hurt! Or you!”Axel was weeping bitterly. “Fuck you! Fuck you, Val!”Then she turned, roared, and cast hot death at the invaders once more. Miriham could only watch, paralysed, as she pulled the trigger over and over. Round after round after round. And suddenly, an eruption of hot steam.“Fuck!!” Axel cried out as she was coated in smoke from the imploding rifle. Her face reddened at once under the scalding vapour. Even Axel’s heat-resistant dragon skin wouldn’t protect her entirely.

Ewan Stone's follower count on BlueSky, currently at 974.

Fei opened her mouth in surprise when Marcus emerged from the room. She was alone. She was dressed in a loose cotton tunic that occasionally slipped down one olive shoulder, and airy shorts of the same fabric. Then she grinned, patting the cushions beside her on the floor of the main chamber. Marcus, now wary of his own smell, sat down a few feet away, but the cat immediately closed the gap. She huddled close, arms hugging her knees. Her tail swished powerfully.
“Marcus,” she whispered in the moonlight. “Your lover. Can you tell me?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Yes, please,” said Fei.
So Marcus told her.

“Sleighbor, you look human, like me!”
“That’s right, friend,” the slime said with a warm smile. “My ticket off Slavee was a trade transport from a planet called Kanmuri, if you’ve heard of it?”
“Sure,” he said. “I met a woman called Keyle from there.”
“Nice people, humans,” said Sleighbor. “Very accepting of sloppy men like me. I know quite a lot of slaveem who end up hanging around humans for most of their lives, ‘cos of how accepting they are.”
“Glad to hear it,” said Marcus. He had no link to the humans of the Forge, since their ancestors would have moved here before the birth of RKON and what Marcus considered his own culture. Still, nice to know his species’ reputation was positive.
“So you’ve got a human cock?” Hal smirked. “But it doesn’t work? Am I getting that right?”
Sleighbor winked. “It works just fine for what I use it for, friend. Strictly speaking, I get little out of sex. But it’s nice to know I’m being of help to someone. You seem awful obsessed with what I have between my legs,” he said next with a challenging wiggle of his green brows. “Would you like to see it?”
“Your green jelly dick? Sure,” Hal laughed. “Would do wonders for suppressing my libido.”
“Veto, please,” said Miriham as Sleighbor rose with his hands on his belt. “No undressing in here. That is an order.”

“Chief,” she said, “I wish to join this team.”
“No, denied,” he said at once with a roll of his eyes. So, he’d been expecting this? “You aren’t a soldier, Valerye. Your place is here.”
“Why should this be a soldier’s mission? Are we not attempting a peaceful retrieval?”
“Yes, sure. But the squad isn’t gearing up just to take on three half-naked aliens.” He turned on his tentacles and pointed out into the trees. “What do you think’s out there? Nobody knows. Could be vicious natives, dangerous flora or fauna. Until we know for sure a retrieval team isn’t in danger, I’m going to make sure they’re armed to the teeth. Just in case.”
“Then arm me up and send me out!” she insisted with a hand to her chest. “Did you not trust in my abilities when I joined the pyramid mission with you? I do not believe I let you down then.”
Gulliver faced her with dark eyes. “That was a long time ago. A lot has changed.”
“I have not weakened.”
“No,” he agreed, but it did not sound like praise. “You haven’t.”

Cover of The Lonely Ship from the Accord, Book 1, by Ewan Stone.

“What do you make of it?” Miriham asked.
He jumped, realising he’d not been paying attention. “Oh, um…”
The closest tapestry was a rectangle of coloured threads in no discernible pattern or shape. An angle of yellow, then red, then blue. Towards the bottom half of the display, a horizontal slash of black.
“I can’t say I understand.”
Miriham giggled musically. “Indeed. It is not a fair comparison to the original works. The artist has evidently understood the basis of Thaddeus’ craft, but has neglected his edge. Thaddeus was a spiteful artist. He attacked the loom with great passion and wildness. I see none of that here.”
Marcus swallowed, oddly aroused. “I see.”

the people drew his attention most of all. The villagers of Elys were all the same species as Fei Li and the deceased Dian. To a one, they sported pointy, feline ears furred the same colour as their hair, and they had long tails that wafted and drifted as they worked. Some had sleek tails, others thick and bushy like Fei. They decorated their hair with jewellery and elaborate braiding, so that they’d look perfectly at home anywhere in the Accord if not for the ears. Their clothing was light, layered and colourful, with mostly short dresses that came down to their knees and thicker shawls around their shoulders. Others wore tight leather like Fei, replete with pockets or rucksacks for gear. Some wore nothing at all and were clearly sunbathing. In fact, it seemed as if the entire village had come outside for the afternoon, judging by how busy the open field was.
But as Fei pulled them all through the invisible border of the village, a great, proud smile on her adorable, feline face, the attention of the whole community settled upon them. And the crowd bustled towards them with bright eyes and eager smiles, friendly waves and cheerful calls. Marcus found himself struck dumb and still by the sudden, enthusiastic attention of the village, owing partially to a certain fact that he was only just now coming to terms with in his own mind. Hal helped him get there.
“I’ll say it,” the dragon muttered just before the crowd surrounded them. “I don’t see a single dude in this whole settlement.”

“We don’t have to go anywhere. I just got a bit lost and was looking for everyone. But I didn’t realise you’d be so tired. Has the Order been working you hard?”
Amari scrunched up her face as she considered his question. Adorable. “Maybe? My life’s all long waits and preparation, then bam! I kill a guy. Not used to all this, you know? All this subspace, anima, Deviant, Mythmaker, political intrigue, intergalactic warfare shit… It’s all… a bit much.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Fuck off.” Amari aimed a clumsy slap towards his face, and even with her eyes closed, she came dangerously near to knocking him down. “You aren’t the centre of my universe, human. I’m only blaming you for about twenty percent of my shitty life right now.”
He shrugged. “Then I’m twenty percent sorry.”
“You’re twenty percent forgiven.”

“You have what we need to fix the ship, and that’s very decent of you,” the Deviant continued with arms outstretched. “And you can try and extort ownership of the Rune Carrier by withholding aid if you feel like playing the tyrant. But the real deciding factor, it seems to me, is who is more deserving of the job as ship’s captain.”
She allowed him his space, and the human stammered out a reply. “Rune’s… ours. She’s our ship.”
“That doesn’t really mean much out here in the Forge, I’m afraid,” Avalynne retorted. “The Accord navy could track and police any thefts that happen in your galaxy, probably offering the stolen goods to whichever party had the most money, am I right? But here, we don’t have laws to decide who wins a contested prize like sweet Rune. So, convince me. Convince me you and yours are the rightful owners of the Rune Carrier.”
Marcus scowled, rising to her challenge. “Ask her.”
“Oh, I would.” Avalynne smiled, goading him on. “But she’s been very quiet lately. You’re going to have to argue your own case, I’m afraid.”
Flustered, Marcus shook his head. “She’s… Rune’s a Mythmaker ship with Accord components! We understand what all that means better than the Order does!”
“Really? Better than the Forge-spanning Infernal Order, with their network of agents and their political connections? You think five weird aliens understand the Mythmakers better than that?”
“Yes.”
“Again, prove it.”
“We’re using the ship for what it was meant to be used for,” he replied at once. “Following the Song! We aren’t wasting our time fighting any stupid wars with anarchists, or tracking down Deviants and coercing them into servitude!”
“Oh, yes,” Avalynne laughed, biting him with her tone. “They were certainly wasting their time rescuing me from subspace. I was much better off being entirely ignored by the galaxy.”

Her hands pressed down firmly between his shoulder blades, and Marcus was rendered mute by the pressure on his lungs. Therese worked her strong fingers along his back as if searching for something under the skin.
“I didn’t realise… you’d be the one doing the massaging,” he said.
“They do offer someone to do it for you, obviously,” she explained. “But I’m also good at this, and I wanted to do it myself. A good massage is a lot like diagnosing and fixing a buggy ship’s drive, you know? It’s all about feeling out the problem, applying pressure to resolve it, and when you’re done, the ship flies a lot smoother. Don’t worry, I’ve had a lot of practice back home.”
“But then…” he stammered, “why are you naked?”

“New topic then, since you guys are being so wonderfully open. Ever done it with each other?”
Karyn nodded in understanding, as if this was a much more reasonable question to ask. She jabbed a thumb in the direction of Aether. “Yeah, I guess. Me and this freak had a go at it one time at Raven Manor. It’s the tradition of that crazy fucking place, you know, to get off with a stranger and make some new development in your sexpertise. But we didn’t really care for it, so we never went back.”
Aether smiled along with her words. “That’s right. Kay’s pretty okay in the sack, but I like my girls with a bit more spice, you know what I mean?”
“‘A bit more spice’…” Karyn chuckled, rolling her eyes. “He’s just saying that ‘cos I didn’t feel like stepping on him.”
“Right, right,” grinned the unrepentant dragon. “Still, we did agree that if I turn forty and she turns one-eighty and neither of us is seriously committed, we’ll get married.”
Siege had been drinking a glass of water, and she choked on it with a splutter. Karyn’s glare went murderous.
“We fucking did no such fucking thing!” she said. “Don’t lie, you desperate little shit!”

But he only had a moment, in the end. Suddenly, a great pressure began building in the back of his head. In the digital space, Marcus groaned as that weight cracked the edges of his self and burst free into the void around him. On and on the pressure fled from him, an unending torrent of data and energy. He could feel it filling up the crystal network with its titanic potency. And when he opened his eyes, his beloved was embracing him.“Marcus!” sighed Rune. “I’m awake! I’m here!”He held her tight. “R-Rune!” he breathed. “I missed you!”“And I missed you! Marcus, I missed you! Even though I… can’t say how long I was out.” She laughed against his digital shoulder. “You have a lot to catch me up on, too much for right now. This place is incredible, but I don’t think I can stay here for very long. I’m worried I’ll break this network apart before too long. It wasn’t built for anything as complicated as you or me to live here.”He kissed her hair. “This is good. You can come back inside when you’re ready.”“I will. But I did have a very little question I want to ask you, first.”Rune pulled back in his arms, fixing him with a green stare and a wry smile.“Marcus, just who is that girl you are currently having sex with in the real world?”“Uh… oh.” He wasn’t ready. Marcus grimaced. “U-Um, that’s Fei Li. She’s one of the people who live on this world. And she’s… she’s a very, very dear friend.”“You make a habit of sleeping with your friends, don’t you?” Rune sighed, still smiling. “Whatever am I going to do with you?”

“We really don’t know what we’ll need deeper into the Forge. We might want to hold on to all this in case it’s needed later. Oh, but I’m told we have plenty of jumpsuits to offer in trade? And bedframes?”
She chuckled, shaking her head. Her raven hair swung rhythmically around her curved ears. “We have suits. Many of them. But… Hm, do you have flat-soft?”
“Sorry, I don’t know that one.”
“Eh, for sleeping on? Put it on a bed-…”
“Mattress!” he answered with a proud smile. “Ah, maybe? We can stop by the operations bunks on our way up and I’ll check what our number looks like.”
“Because we have places for flat-softs,” Ashe explained. “But ours are flat-hards, you understand? Very bad.”
Marcus had asked Ashe for any smatterings of Core Common she could share, the sort of things he’d need as the Rune Carrier continued its journey. He committed ‘longs’ and ‘flat-softs’ both to Demi’s working translation document. He doubted the latter would be that useful, but you never could tell.

The village of Elys was also a very charming place. The cats had lit hearty flames in braziers around the edges of the clearing and hung cloth banners between the branches of the trees. There was drink and food in huge amounts laid out on the wide cloth sheets that covered the grass. Many of the cats had stripped off some or all of their clothing, and these too formed new blankets of discarded silks and fabrics. Sleighbor didn’t lust like the mammals did, but he would have been lying if he said he didn’t feel the scandalous atmosphere this night of passion had created, and sense a resonant frequency in his own facsimile of flesh, the allure of sin.And off in the shadows, nestled in the roots of the trees, some of the women kept one another company. Sleighbor saw smooth skin rubbing against smooth skin, tongues lapping and fingers searching. He saw cats looming over their partners, very much in control. He saw cats arching their backs to allow others a better view of themselves, their long tails looping intimately about the shoulders of other felines. The music in the air was a chorus of soft sighs, excited yelps and sudden, breathless yowls of joy.

“Marcus, please explain your relationship with Deviant Avalynne.”
He looked across the bar’s round table at two sets of eyes. Miriham, violet and vibrant. Amari, hazel and earthen. Two sets of stern lips, fierce brows and firm, shapely shoulders. He swallowed.
“It’s complicated.”
“No excuse,” Amari scoffed. “You drift off on some sort of metaphysical adventure, and when you come back you have a girl from fucking legend on your arm. What did you get up to in there?”
“Deviant Avalynne claims that you two… were intimate on a number of occasions,” Miriham added with colour in her cheeks.
“That’s not true,” he said at once.
“No?”
“Not technically, no.”

“You must swing with your shoulders, not your arms,” the spritely brunette cat informed him. Her pixie cut was incredibly charming, as was the cheeky curve of her nigh-constant smile. “Elbow stiff, legs apart. Roll your hips. Here!”
Marcus had then been accosted from behind by the short scout, who had run her hands up his chest and turned his body with hers until she was satisfied with his technique. Her breathy chuckle was more than a little arousing, which Xia no doubt picked up on.
“Mmm, good,” she moaned. “It’s just like mating. You know, yes? Low stance, roll the hips. Big penetrations. I think you would be very good at mating, Marcus.”
She had met his eyes around his side and grinned. But while he was stammering out a response, the scout had turned quickly to look over her other shoulder. Marcus had only caught a glimpse of Fei Li’s fox-red hair before she had stormed off into the crowd.
“You like?” Xia asked him, still grinning.
“Yeah,” he sighed before realising what he was doing.

Translations for terms added to Ewan's Tomodachi Life game, featuring characters from his books: graphic design; starship construction; erotic dance; maids; astrophysics; human hunting; Disney (I was asked for a thing I don't like); the word 'yeet'; wilds exploration; space living; federation administration; Patriarch Kanda (a book character).

Marcus wasn’t the usual sort of man she would go after, she had to admit. His body was… soft, was the word she chose. Despite the edge of hollowness brought about by long cycles spent comatose, he still had a figure that spoke of an easy life out of the sun and out of scarcity, which correlated with what she knew of his upbringing. Not the strong brutes she found herself lusting after, nor the slender youths that she took pride in educating in the ways of sensuality. A sort of in between and neither.
But she liked his eyes. Despite their obvious mechanical design, there was unmistakable soul in those blue depths. She liked the way his every smile looked accidental, like he wasn’t aware he was grinning. It made her feel special. And he had a nice bum.
“Do you mind?”

A few paces away, Xia was weeping. Fei had the scout in her arms and was rocking her in her embrace. Kanda had his back turned. He appeared to be whispering a prayer into the gloom.
“Fuck me,” sighed Sleighbor, reloading his Greatlance with slick motions of his green fingers. “This place is a bloody nightmare! You say you do this sort of thing often, Marcus?”
“N-Not like this,” Marcus replied. “It’s not normally like this…”
“What’s it like, then?”
Marcus thought back on his flight with Miriham up the pyramid, pursued by fungus. The drones in the gravity ring. Avalynne’s pods eating the Ultraviolet, not his memory but still very real in his mind.
“I guess it is normally like this, then…” he said. “I should have known better. Sorry, Sleighbor.”