The strange woman sat on his lap and straddled him. As she wrapped her fingers around his neck and brought her face to his, he could feel the warmth of her crotch against his pants and moaned, pushing himself against her as they kissed deeply. The kiss seemed to get hotter and hotter until Ted thought he might explode in his pants. When their faces parted after a perfect kiss, the woman stared at him with a meaningful look, then opened her mouth as if to say something. But her mouth continued opening until it filled her face and the darkness of her mouth filled his vision.
“Oh wow”, Krista squirmed. “That just gets me all tingly and hot inside.”
“No shit,” Maggie agreed with a laugh, fanning her reddened face. “That was, wow. I don’t even know what to say.”
Krista laughed, fanning herself as well. “I know right? You got anything else good tucked away in there?”
“Um...Maybe,” Amanda said with a guilty grin.
Krista and Maggie both beamed at each other.
“She’s been holding out on us,” Maggie said.
“I know,” Krista said, her voice heavy with sensual innocence. “She’s been a bad girl.”
“I think she needs to be punished, mistress,” Maggie said, fighting back a giggle. She snorted, then choked on her own breath.
“Oh God, don’t die on me.” Krista patted Maggie on the back. “You aren’t allowed to die. I need help with her punishment. Oh, oh oh, I know! We need jello shots!”
Maggie composed herself, took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “That’s perfect,” she squealed with glee and sprinted around the coffee table to stand in front of Amanda.
“Wait, what?” Amanda looked at the pair in complete confusion.
Maggie put on her best innocent pouty face, hands behind her back while rocking on her heels. “Our mistress, the fair and great green Earthbound Goddess has requested her favorite refreshment. But since you are new to this secret witch’s ritual, you get to have the first six all to yourself.”
“But...,” Amanda thought out loud, “I thought we were supposed to turn in all supplies for inventory?”
“Oh, don’t go and worry yourself about that,” Krista said waving her hand nonchalantly. “What Doug doesn’t know won’t kill him. I’ll get the door, you two get started on the shots!”
Maggie smiled wide then quickly grabbed Amanda by the hands and pulled her out of the chair.
Gamma Draconis system
Eltanin 2 / Alien Starport
Hans Landa / Captains Quarters
July 3rd, 2176 / Afternoon (Betty Time)
“O
ne datapad, locked,” Doug said into a small medical-style micro recorder. “One handwritten notebook containing Captain Dieter’s personal log, one bottle of what looks like a prescription of little blue pills of something spelled out in German,” Doug dropped the items into a small plastic container. He sorted through Captain Dieter’s desk, dividing the personal items from the useful. A knock came from the doorway.
“You busy Cap?” Trae leaned against the thick bulkhead doorway.
“Nope, just finishing up. Did you find anything interesting?”
“Plenty. With a little bit of backache, we could get most of the upper layers cleared of sand and make them usable again. Though the outer areas will need some sort of cover since the glass or whatever they used is long gone. This place is massive once you get into the outer service areas. Looks like there are smaller repair bays, office spaces, and storage areas that we could use as warehouse space or maybe as workshops. Plus, there’s lots of junk to salvage. There’s no telling what we might find under the sand once we start clearing it, but I’d be willing to bet that it’ll be preserved like things back in the Sahara Desert back on Earth.”
Doug leaned back in the uncomfortable station chair and laced his hands behind his head. “Did you run into any new creatures that we should be worried about?
“No, nothing but a few more of those tater squid things, though Cass was cautious the entire time we were out. I don’t think that things like the pups wander in here too often.”
“How’d he do out there with you otherwise?”
“He was fine. We really couldn’t speak as such, but he understood me, and I understood him well enough just with hand signals and body language. He seems to know most of this place like the back of his hand. But he’s extremely cautious in certain areas. My guess is that’s where they’ve run into things like the pups before.”
“It’ll be nice once we can get their language figured out. I’m sure there will be glitches along the way in translating things, but we’ll have a better chance of knowing when there may be something going on.”
“Yeah,” Trae laughed, then looked up quickly, deep in inner thought. “I just remembered. I want to take some samples of the structural metal used in these buildings and from a few of the abandoned ships in the hanger. Our analysis gear is limited. I’d like to dig a little deeper and see what exactly that we have to work with here. Even if we’re just salvaging the material from one of the collapsed buildings to haul back to Earth and sell.”
“That’s not a half-bad idea. Get whatever samples you want, and we’ll get them inspected.”
“Alright. What’s the next thing on the list? I’ve still got a bit of juice left in me.”
“Have you been to see Tiff yet?” Doug asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Not yet,” Cass just left, and I came hunting you as soon as we got back.”
“Then how about you go take a break for a bit. I think you’ve earned it.”
“Are you sure Cap? I mean, there’s still plenty to get done.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I sent Fergus, Rachel, Andy, and Kara with the three new Martian recruits up in the Betty to mine and load out the hold. Should be able to fetch a pretty penny when we get back. I’ve got Wes working up some want ads for new crew that he can spread on the net once we get back into the Sol system. The witches are doing whatever the witches do, Willy is going over the ship’s systems on this heap and everyone else is working on their things. So, I think we’re covered. Go spend some time with your wife, she’s been worried to death about you.”
“Alright. Thanks, Cap,” Trae said as he grabbed an overhead conduit near the door and stretched. “I’ll catch you in the morning.”
cHAPTER 30
Gamma Draconis System
Eltanin 2 / Alien Starport
Base camp
August 8th, 2176 / Late Morning (Betty Time)
“I
wish that you didn’t have to go,” Tiffany said sadly as she gazed up at Trae. Her arms draped around his neck. “It’s bad enough worrying about you when you go off to wander the tunnels. I don’t know what I’m going to do, knowing that you’ll be light-years away.”
“Don’t worry, Tiff, you’ll be fine,” Trae said. He smoothed back her black mohawk. “You have the pups to look out for and there’s plenty still to do around here to get things set up.” He picked her up by the waist with ease and brought her lips to his. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Kissing him deeply she let out a half-moaned gasp.
“Hey, how about you two get a room.” Fergus slapped Trae firmly on the left butt cheek as he brushed past the intertwined couple. Trae grunted. His eyes shot an irritated glance from the corner of his eye toward Fergus, then quickly closed as he returned his attention to Tiffany.
“It’s really no wonder that the Reds were mining in this system when you think about it,” Fergus said to Doug as he approached.
“And why would that be?” Doug looked up from his datapad with a quizzical smile.
“Well, we managed to harvest, smelt and process enough ore to fill the holds of both ships in just a few weeks. Granted, we don’t have an extremely detailed spectral analysis report, but that’s just over thirty-five hundred metric tons of refined titanium, vanadium, nickel, tungsten, and molybdenum. That we know for sure. Then toss in some gold, silver, palladium, iridium and some scandium just for good m
easure. We are fixing to have the biggest payday any of us have seen on a single run. I’m seriously starting to think that you were right about all of this, Cap.”
Doug nodded, “Yeah, but the unfortunate part is that we’ll be spending most of it on new recruits, supplies, and equipment. At least for the time being. There’s no telling what we’ll be able to salvage planetside once we really start to explore this place.”
“Oh hey.” Fergus perked up suddenly. “If we’re getting supplies, does that mean we can pick up about, oh, I don’t know, maybe a hundred or so pounds of fertilizer?”
“Actually, yes,” Doug said grinning wide, “but not a few hundred.” He looked back down at the datapad scrolling through a list of supplies.
Fergus shifted nervously, uncertain how to continue. “Well, how much are we actually talking then? A few bags maybe? I could make a few bags stretch for a little while.”
“More like a few hundred,” Doug said then stopped, thinking. “Well, really more like a metric ton of high-grade fertilizer if I’m figuring right.”
“An actual ton?” Fergus’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
“How else are we going to prep and condition the soil here for crops?”
Fergus snapped back to reality with a hurt look on his face. “Crops? Wait. What?”
Doug held out the datapad for Fergus to see. “How else will we be able to establish a colony if we can’t support our own needs? Most of the credits earned on this run will be reinvested into the project.”
“Wait, what about our pay?”
Rachel dodged around Doug and slipped a kiss onto Fergus’s cheek. “See ya fuck face, wouldn’t want to be ya.”
“What the hell,” Fergus yelled, “that’s all I get?”
“Yup, be grateful you got that much.” She carelessly waved at him as she continued toward the loading ramp of the Martian ship.
“Not even a reach around?”
“Nope, sorry,” she yelled back as she excitedly continued up the loading ramp, a duffle bag slung over one shoulder.
“Love you too,” he shouted back, stretching out on his tiptoes.
Doug curiously stared at Fergus. “You guys alright?”
“Yeah,” Fergus sighed. “She’s just been in a mood lately.”
“Well don’t worry about the money. You’ll each get your cut, but it’ll be at some point down the road. Lizz has been working out exactly how to go about paying everyone since we’re in an entirely different star system.”
“Do you think there’s any chance I could acquire a little bit of that fertilizer for a personal project at some point?”
“Sure,” Doug said. “Just don’t do what I think you plan to do with it inside of the complex. I’d rather not have the roof coming down on top of us.
“Fair enough, Cap.” Fergus quickly stood at attention, holding up two fingers on his right hand. “I solemnly swear to not blow any of us up or to bring the roof down on top of our heads.”
“Okay, good,” Doug said then leaned to the side, peering around Fergus. “Hey, what’s wrong with Rachel?”
Fergus turned and saw that Rachel had stopped and stepped away from the ship. She stared upward; her gaze transfixed on the side of the ship.
“Rachel!” Fergus shouted. “Everything alright?”
“We can’t go,” Rachel said quietly as she stepped backward. “It wouldn’t be right if we did. She’s let me touch her, play with her. I’ve tickled her innards without so much as even a thank you.”
Doug and Fergus turned to each other with looks of confusion then back toward Rachel.
“Um, hon,” Fergus said softly. “You haven’t been eating the lithium grease again, have you?”
“No, you dumb shit,” Rachel retorted. She turned, dropped her duffle bag and sprinted toward Fergus. She gripped him by his flight suit and shook him violently. “We can’t go!” She breathed heavy; a deep feral growl began to rumble deep in her throat.
“Okay, okay, we can’t go, I got ya,” Fergus said. “But why can’t we go?”
Rachel breathed deep; hyperventilation imminent. “She needs a name!”
cHAPTER 31
Gamma Draconis System
Eltanin 2 / Alien Starport
Base camp
August 8th, 2176 /Early Evening (Betty Time)
C asraownan led the way for those of his people that wished to visit the strange tailless ones. They covered their eyes to block the at the bright lights of the base camp as they approached, and their eyes adjusted.
“Whoa,” Jouqon said. “What is that, Father?” The young Chinchanssin sat perched atop Casraownan’s shoulders and excitedly pointed ahead at the scene before them as they entered the outer edges of the base camp.
“That, my son, is some sort of vessel,” Casraownan said. The words rolled oddly off his tongue. “Like the ones told of in the ancient stories of our people and the ancient vessels that I have shown you within these very caverns.”
“So, they fly, like in the stories?”
“Yes son,” Casraownan said. “They float and fly about on their own. I have watched as one of them, the larger of the two, lifted from the ground amid a great fiery windstorm.”
“And you say that they come from the stars? They are not from the above?” Mapharye, the young gray and white female clung closely to Casraownan’s arm.
“From what I can gather, yes,” Casraownan replied. “They are the same stars that our ancestors once visited, long ago. The one that I have been speaking with, Lizz, has said that they are travelers and their home is a very very long way away.”
“What are they doing now, Father? Why is the vessel covered like it is?” Jouqon pointed toward the nose of the gray vessel. A wide section of material draped over a section of the nose of the ship, concealing it from view.
“I do not know,” Casraownan said. “Perhaps it is a custom of their people?”
“Didn’t you say that some of them were returning to their home?” Mapharye looked up at the young hunter.
“Yes, they are,” Casraownan said. “If I understood correctly, they were preparing to go back and gather supplies and workers. But I do not know what this is about.” He motioned at the scene before him. All of the tailless creatures were gathered around and seemed to be impatiently waiting for something.
“You mean they intend to invade,” Ceiwo coughed and stumbled backward.
“Father, are you alright.” Mapharye released Caraownan’s arm and gripped her father’s arm as he regained his balance.
“No, it isn’t an invasion,” Casraownan said. His gaze locked onto the large tailless one and he pointed. “That one is known as Trae. He is the one that killed the Kaowla mother, then took in her litter as if they were his own. And that one,” he pointed at a large-breasted female of their kind that followed behind Trae. “She is his mate, to the best of my knowledge and known as Tiff.”
Behind the pair, the three Kaowla pups hurriedly scrambled across the stone floor of the chamber. The small group of Chinchasan’s cringed and huddled together behind Casraownan as the creatures barreled headlong in their direction.
“You have led us to our deaths, Casraownan,” Ceiwo cried out. “They have unleashed the Kaowla upon us!”
Jouqon began to sob. “Father!” He squalled.
Trae bellowed something that Casraownan didn’t understand. His shouted words echoed throughout the chamber. The pups backpeddled as they slid on the dusty stone floor. With a whimper, all three of the beasts wandered away into the darkness.
Another of the furless creatures yelled into a cupped hand toward the covered section of the vessel.
“Who is that one,” Mapharye asked.
“That is Cap..ee..tan Doug,” Casraownan slurred. “He is their leader, I think.”
“You think?” Ceiwo scoffed.
Casraownan scowled back at Ceiwo, his mate’s father and Jouqon’s grandfather. “I am not completely sure yet. It seems that both he and the one called Lizz sh
are in the duties of leadership.”
“So, they are a mated pair then? That would not be strange, that was once how things were with our people, were they not father,” Mapharye asked toward Ceiwo.
“That is vague memory from a long ago past, Daughter,” Ceiwo replied.
“They are not…,” Casraownan paused. “I am not sure if they are mated or not. I will find out soon, though. I have been working with the one named Lizz,” he said, pointing toward the short blond among the tailless creatures. “That one is known as Wesley,” he said pointing at a large round male among the group. He has also been helping me to learn their language.”
Doug shouted upward once more.
“What do you suppose he is shouting about father?”
“I do not know, son,” Casraownan replied.
“R
achel!” Doug impatiently bellowed. “Are you done or not? Let’s get this show on the road or I’m leaving without you!”
“Keep your pants on Captain pushy,” Rachel shouted in reply. “You can’t rush perfection.”
“Well everyone is waiting. Hell, even the cats are here waiting on you,” he thumbed over his shoulder toward the gathered aliens.
“Okay, okay. One last touch,” Rachel said.
“Cheezy,” Trae shouted through cupped hands. “Get on with it already. I want to go!”
Tiff latched onto Trae, burying her head into his chest. “But I don’t want you to go.”
“Yeah, hon. Hurry the hell up, already,” Fergus said. “We’ve been standing here for over an hour and I gotta go pee. Don’t make me piss on cat boy, again. You know I’ll do it.”
“Fuck it, alright, I’m done,” Krista fussed. “Y’all can just go on and do this without me. I have other shit to get done.” Krista quickly walked away from the ship toward the main base camp area.
“Okay, okay, I’m really done this time.” Rachel appeared from behind the curtain at the top of the motorized scaffolding. “Wait, shit, hold on. One last touch.” She ducked back behind the curtain.
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