The First Starfighter

well. “Welcome, Starfighter, to Velerion.”
Huh?
The screen made a popping noise and went black.
I frowned.
“What happened? That was one hell of a kiss,” Lily complained.
“I don’t know.” I climbed from my chair and turned the game system off and on again. Checked the screen’s power chord. “That’s weird. It’s like my entire system shorted out.”
“That’s okay,” Mia said. “I have to get some sleep. Lily, I’ll see you in chat tomorrow to start a new game where it’s my turn to finish my training. Okay?”
“Can’t wait!” Lily called to her, but we both knew Mia had already disconnected.
I sighed. Relieved and a little bit wistful. “Well, we did it.”
“We did.” I could hear the smile in Lily’s voice. “Like Mia said, new game next weekend? We should all be official Velerion Starfighters by then.”
“Sounds good. Can’t wait to see if Alex is still my wingman.”
“Lucky you! Maybe you’ll get some on-screen sexy times now that you married an alien.”
“I did not marry an alien.”
“Bonded? Recorded in the Hall of Records? Sounds like you’re married to me.”
“You’re crazy. You know that?”
She laughed. We said good-bye, and I grabbed my empty soda can, chips, and the water bottle I kept next to my gaming chair.
Now that the adrenaline rush of that last battle was wearing off, the long workday was taking its toll. My feet and shoulders ached, my hands were still shaking, and I couldn’t stop thinking about that on-screen kiss.
If only.
I made quick work of my bedtime routine and was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. I was usually a light sleeper, and I wasn’t sure how long I was out when something loud woke me.
Was someone at my door?
I rolled over and blinked at my alarm clock. Three freaking thirty in the morning?
I must have been dreaming.
The pounding repeated, louder.
No one came to my door this late. Ever. Hell, no one came to my door at all unless I had a delivery or one of my neighbors needed something. I threw off my covers and slipped my toes into cold slippers.
“Coming!” Was my apartment building on fire? Was it the police? Had the neighbors been screaming at each other again? She really needed to kick that deadbeat boyfriend of hers to the curb.
The pounding intensified, and it was obvious that whoever was on the other side of the door had no problem waking up the entire building.
“I said, I’m coming!” I opened the door and stopped dead in my tracks. A huge man stood in the hallway wearing a helmet of some kind, as if he’d been riding a motorcycle. Which was crazy because it was cold and wet and not motorcycle weather.
He removed the helmet, and I stepped back. My eyes widened in recognition. Black hair, those familiar sparkling green eyes. Perfect olive skin. Full lips. Square jaw. A familiar uniform with a crest on his chest, the one I’d just seen on my gaming screen.
“Jamie.”
I stared, my throat and mouth frozen. Holy shit. That voice. I knew that voice.
He was as big as I’d imagined. No, bigger. Broader. More intense. That gaze, it bored into me, past my flannel pj’s and to a place that left me speechless. My heart pounded, and I feared I was losing my mind. Hallucinating. This had to be a dream.
“Jamie Miller, you must come with me.”
“Um… what?” I finally said.
“You are the first Starfighter. And you are mine. Queen Raya has mobilized the Dark Fleet, and together we must save Velerion.”

2
Alexius of Velerion, Jamie Miller’s personal quarters, Earth
I’d been following Jamie Miller’s progress for weeks. Months. Ever since I received word from training academy officials that I’d been chosen by an Earth recruit in the new Elite Starfighter otherworlds virtual battle program. Then I became obsessed with her because, while she’d been across the galaxy, every day we were paired, the more she became mine.
Based on her stunned expression, I was not the only one suffering the shock of being chosen, of realizing our bonding was finally real. Standing before her was much more intense than interacting with her in the training program. She had been nothing but a possibility, a digital fantasy. Now I could see her, feel her. Touch her.
My first glimpse… she was everything I’d imagined. And even more perfect.
“Excuse me? I’m what?” She lifted her hand and rubbed both of her eyes. Blinked. Looked at me again. “You’re still here. Why are you still here?”
“I am not leaving. I must speak with you, Jamie.”
She stared, her gaze disoriented and confused. I fought back a smile. She was more beautiful in person. Her voice wrapped around my cock that much tighter. She looked… flummoxed. The feeling was mutual.
The new training simulations had been distributed to Earth and multiple other worlds months ago, with no results. Until now. The few surviving Starfighters on Velerion had been fighting and struggling to defend my home world. And they were faltering. Dying. Being picked off one by one as exhaustion or the relentless attacks of Queen Raya’s Scythe fighters wore them down. The truth was, we were losing the war. Queen Raya’s surprise attack on the Elite Starfighter moon base had wiped out eighty-five percent of our forces. Time and merciless small skirmishes had nearly decimated the few we had left.
Velerion was in trouble. We needed new Elite Starfighters. Without them, our entire civilization, our planet would fall to the evil queen’s invaders and her Dark Fleet allies.
If we lost this war, we’d be rounded up, slaughtered, or enslaved. Our planet would be gutted for resources. Our children taken. Our history and culture would vanish from existence after eons of peaceful prosperity. But the Dark Fleet would not stop at Velerion. There were other worlds ripe for the taking. Many with far fewer defenses. Including Earth.
Every planet chosen for the Elite Starfighter Training Program was in danger, even if they didn’t know it. We needed help now, but the training would benefit every single