Voyage

by C. Paul Lockman

  He sat, as did his wife and daughter-in-law, while the audience gradually whooped up a storm of applause. I was stunned. Quite an offer! The end of the dreaded Frejudium cannon, which had terrorized the Outer Rim for generations. The promise of peace between the Elders and their ancestors, at least on paper; these were good intentions. I glanced over at the Jakalzzi table. They were deep in discussion. Good.

  The lights dimmed. Apparently, there would be a several minutes-long commercial break, so that charities, volunteer organizations and Universities could be advertised. I asked for a drink – I was parched – and watched the goings on. Make-up girls busied themselves making us all look even better. The stoical Jakalzzians, in their long brown robes which gave them such a monastic look, brushed them away and continued their talk. Would they accept? Could this be the breakthrough?

  Falik waved from her front-row seat. I felt I was doing OK, and that I had a good handle on things. I would introduce the second trio, they would take the offered agreement, and everything could be settled. And then I could get back to the hotel, fuck my little Falik’s socks off, and get screaming, roaring drunk.

  The lights went up again. Music blared forth. Here we go. “Ladies, gentlemen and other beings, wherever you may be, I’m sure you’re wondering what reaction the Elders’ historic offer will receive. I am pleased to introduce the delegation from Jakalzzi.” I motioned to them, the lights changed to highlight the trio. The middle delegate, a stout, bald man with glasses, began.

  “For centuries, our school children have been taught to regard every last word uttered by our former Elders as a deliberate lie”. Oh shit. Not a good start. Rumblings began in the audience, egged on by the harsh, hateful stares of the Raptors. “I was taught the same. I was taught that these men, and they were all men, note you, were ensnared by the charms and wiles of these She-Devils…” A chorus of hisses from those who had been impressed by the Raptors’ titanic boobs. This was getting ugly.

  “Shall we recall, do we need to be reminded of the destruction they have wrought? The most deadly weapon in existence… oh, who could stand to witness again the loss of life? And as for the promise of dismantling the cursed machine… can we trust such self-interested fools?” He cast a harsh stare at the Elder opposite. He remained reticent, arms folded, while the Raptors seemed to be teetering on the point of combustion.

  “We have a cartoon that I enjoy. It will convey more than adequately our feelings for these people…” His colleagues held up a large placard which featured a cartoon Elder, robes in disarray and body shaped like an unimpressive cock, bowing to a Raptor whose breasts were comically massive balloons. In translation, the caption read, “We who have been pussy-whipped beg for more…”

  There was pandemonium. One of the Raptors leapt from her seat and scythed through the air, smashing the placard with a flailing elbow and landing heavily on the Jakalzzi trio’s desk. It, too, smashed as if made of plywood. The guards had things under control in moments, despite the audience braying for a fight. I stood. This was fucking stupid. They had, indeed, not gotten the memo. I doubted their DNA was any different from a petty warlord on Earth.

  I did my best to intervene. “OK, OK… let’s all just take a breath here.” Not a lot happened. I tried Dumbledore’s trick. Deep breath. “SILENCE!!!!” I bellowed.

  That worked. The audience dropped to a murmur and the two trios brushed themselves off. One guard had taken a vicious upper-cut to the chin and needed to be replaced. The Raptor who had delivered it seemed smugly content with her role thus far. These were confusing creatures.

  “We cannot take seriously promises made by those who have been corrupted so comprehensively, and for so long. We demand that they renounce Hephage, return to Jakalzzi and face trial for crimes against society. They deprived us of a system of leadership which had pertained for millennia, simply in order to fulfil base, despicable cravings. Civil war, revolutions, instability, economic deprivation and social upheaval all followed. None of this can be repaid except by the application of justice!” he finished with a flourish, whizzing his robes around himself and sitting.

  Shit. This wasn’t just hardball, this was stonewalling. I stood, amid the applause of part of the audience. They seemed to be mostly women. That figured. “I suggest that we break for a few moments to allow your moderator time to reflect on these very differing points of view.” Music, lights down, audience applause. I slumped back in my chair and motioned for Falik.

  “You’re doing great!” she beamed.

  “Don’t be daft, honey…these people are fucking crazy. How do I defuse generations of mistrust in the course of one TV show? I mean, the offer seemed good, generous, carefully thought-through.” It was. This was the most either party had offered the other in the history of the dispute. Falik thought for a moment.

  “You need to get the Jakalzzians to offer something, however small, like abandoning the idea of a trial… its silly anyway, trying the great-great-great grandchildren of the alleged criminals, and…”

  A large, firm hand on her shoulder shut her up. “Sorry to intrude”, purred the Raptor, “but may I have a moment alone with our esteemed moderator?” Falik backed off, failing to mask her contempt. I could have sworn she muttered ‘harlot’ under her breath as she went back to her seat. “I do apologise, but you see...” She leaned in close. “I believe we have formulated a way out which might suit everyone.”

  We went backstage where guards found us a private room and guarded the door. It was the younger Raptor of the two, blonde, buxom and beautiful, in a green mini-skirt and superbly tight tube-top, from which her chest did its absolute best to spill forth. I had an erection within seconds.

  “Forgive me that I am unable to offer you sex… it is both unethical at this stage, and we have limited time.” I nodded. Jesus. “Instead, I offer a solution. I have read of the many tests you have undergone since arriving in our system. I am glad to read that you find our medical techniques helpful. I wonder if you would consider giving something back?”

  I watched her prowl around the room. She was stunning. The skirt hid a tight, firm ass, I knew. The feel of the Raptor I had fucked in Storage 14 flooded back and my erection grew even stronger. She sat, legs akimbo, showing skimpy panties. “Oh, how I wish there was more time…” She stroked herself through the thin material, smiling impishly at my obvious arousal. “Perhaps on another occasion… But, to business. You are in possession of a hormonal system which would give back that which was taken.”

  “Taken?” I asked, trying to hide what I had learned from Garlidan.

  She laughed, a heavy, almost throaty sound. It was intimidating. “Don’t play me for a fool, my love… I assure you that we Raptors are never short of information, nor sources prepared to furnish it, for a price… We understand how important you are. And how you could restore peace to the Outer Rim with one simple act.”

  I was befuddled, quite completely. “Look, I’ve been tested on Takanli and they have all the information… once the vaccine is produced there will be plenty for everyone and this could all change….”

  “I’m not talking about the vaccine… at least not at this stage. We Raptors, you see, we have our own interests. I cannot tell you how tiresome these stupid men have become. They fight, they squabble, they reject progress. All we want is to be loved by them, and for them to take a positive part in our society. We want them to have the treatment which Garlidan spread throughout the system. But we won’t give it to them without some promise of redemption in the future. You are that promise.”

  I stared at her once more. Her legs were still spread, and occasionally she would reach down to pull aside the thin material of her panties and show me her cunt. It didn’t do anything for my powers of concentration. “You could keep DNA from your husband and use if to rebuild the hormonal responses later…”

  She waved a long finger at me. “We want you. We have reports, from an unimpeachable source, that you are a special being. You aren’t jealous,
your head isn’t filled with childish fancies. You are a grown man. We want your genes, the ones which gave you this superb body, this fine mind. Only these will satisfy our requirements. Once we have them, we can proceed.”

  “Proceed?” I still wasn’t quite with it.

  “We will secretly give every man on Jakalzzi, and all of our husbands, the original Garlidan vaccine. Their warlike bullshit will cease, the cannon can be dismantled, the Jakalzzi forces stood down. After ten generations of peace, we will begin to reintroduce the kind of responses which got us into this mess. But, in the meantime we will have generations of positive relations. We will have learned how to get along. So, the solution to this dispute is not at the negotiating table, but in every cell in your body.” She went back to playing with her pussy.

  “And how would you like a sample?” I asked, hoping for a quick handjob before returning to the studio. Time must be short now.

  She giggled, almost girlishly. “I am forbidden to touch you, owing to the traditions of Hephage. Besides, have you any idea how much of your semen was recovered from the satisfied womb of my fellow Raptor on the Daedalus?” I laughed myself silly at the intrigue. For some reason, I didn’t mind one bit.

  “Where do I sign?”

  *****

  I hurriedly put together some closing remarks, something positive about more talks, building trust, all that crap. Trillions of people had seen the debate fail dramatically so I couldn’t sound too hopeful. Still, I agreed to continue on to both Jakalzzi and the Raptor home world, Gaspiri, to discuss the matter further. More music, the dancing girls came back out, the lights went insane, and we were out.

  Falik came up and hugged me. “Are you OK? Did that Raptor try anything funny when you were alone? The Jakalzzi team were livid about it.”

  I grinned at her. “Nothing funny, no. But I think we made progress.”

  There was a massive dinner at the Numkli Prime ruins that evening. Marquees were erected to hold 10,000 diners on the plazas between the main temple building and the palace. The preservation of both was excellent, owing to the influence of alien technology on the builders, I was told. I spotted Garlidan in the crowd and waved him over.

  “Congratulations, moderator. That seemed to go very well”.

  I shrugged. “I can’t see how! They still hate each other. Did anything change?” I sipped a very tall glass full of the strongest drink on the menu, a local concoction made from four different hop-like weeds, distilled with a rare spring water.

  “You tell me! I always find that, rather than the discussions inside the hall, these things always swing on what is said behind the scenes. Rumours abound that you spent time alone with one of the Raptors. I trust that was fruitful.”

  I nodded. “They’re going with your original plan. Avoid war by avoiding emotions. They want enough vaccine to treat every male on Jakalzzi and all their Elder husbands.” He was staring at me, open-mouthed. “In a couple of hundred years, they’ll unfreeze what I give them, prepare a new vaccine, and start getting back to normal. The Raptors are convinced the intervening time will be sufficient for good relations to develop”.

  He nearly dropped his drink. “Well…” he began. “I’d never have thought of it… its… beautifully simple, perfect. Really.” He was flabbergasted. “Those Raptors can think of solutions which would elude our finest minds. That’s the beauty of them. True lateral thinkers.”

  Pleased to have seen the cerebral side of these very physical beings, I resolved to enjoy the party and give myself a much-earned pat on the back.

  “Look, Professor, I’m going to tie one on tonight…” he looked confused, “I mean, I’m going to get drunk out of my mind…” he laughed, “but I’d love to talk to you tomorrow. I need your help with something. Can we have lunch?”

  We made the arrangements and went our separate ways. Falik was being heavily courted by a group of young Jakalzzians who had come to see the debate. They were enthusiastic, and surely good-looking guys, but they were a little artless. One thought that preliminary courtship involved grabbing her ass. He found out, at the cost of a sore face, that this wasn’t so. I rescued her.

  “Come, darling. They tell me the view from the top of the temple rivals anything in the system.” Falik made her apologies and we sauntered up the long set of steps together. Silently thanking Carpash for my new lungs, we reached the top and sat down together, clinked glasses and enjoyed the view. The temple complex was huge. Bare piles of rock dotted the skyline, interspersed with large, square plazas where people were now gathering under the marquees, getting drunk and tucking into the local food.

  “So, what did you want to talk about?” she asked, taking another sip of her drink. I put down my glass and looked at her.

  “A couple of things. They’re both really important. The problem is, they work against each other and I have no idea what to do.” She put her arm around me as we gazed out over the ruined city.

  “Tell me. I think I know anyway… I have for weeks, but tell me.”

  I took a deep breath. “I love you. I have known that virtually since the first day I was here. You’re the most amazing women I could ever hope to meet, and I want to be with you.” She cuddled me close.

  “But?”

  She knew already. “But my home is dying and I want to help. That means going back there.” She looked up at me with love and understanding in her eyes.

  “Yes, it does.”

  No radio message would help. The disasters on earth had their roots in the politics of the early 21st century, and it was that which would have to be changed. I would have to travel back in time. I would, in all likelihood, never see Falik again, and we both knew it. The pain was excruciating.

  We let the silence hang in the air for a few minutes. There was no easy way, no combination of words to make this right. Two people who loved each other, but couldn’t be together. Happens every day. But it was happening to us.

  She spoke first. “If we can find a way to get you there, we should. If you can help, you must. And if you can come back to me… I hope you’ll choose to.”

  I kissed her warmly, tenderly. A meteor shower began above us, illuminating the temples on the horizon. She started to cry, almost angrily wiping the tears away.

  “I’ll choose to. I’ll come back. No matter what.”

  Chapter XXIV: Garlidan’s plan

  Our ride back up to the Interstellar Cruiser Daedalus would be by space elevator, so timing wasn’t so crucial. Falik and I had a lazy breakfast in our hotel room and spent much of the morning either talking about the contents of the Red Cube or having long, slow sex in the shower. I loved the feel of her skin under hot water. After we were clean, I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around me, sliding onto my cock and making love under the hot water.

  Cleaning the sticky juices from my cock, Falik smiled and said, “I talked to the Captain again about the journey we need to make”. She was washing me with gentle enthusiasm. “He thinks we’re completely crazy, but he’ll play along for the right price.” She switched to using her mouth.

  “There’s nothing else we can do, babe. We’ve got to get to Holdrian. And anyway, the Captain seems discreet. I’m sure he wouldn’t want the world knowing that his wife is getting into threesomes with passengers…” Falik released my cock, washed off her saliva, and handed me a towel.

  “Let’s get the rest of this trip out of the way. The signing ceremony will reach even more people than the debate. We just need to come up with a convincing agreement.” The Raptor’s actual plan would remain a tightly-guarded secret. Falik nodded agreement. “Look, I’ve agreed to have lunch with Garlidan. Do you want to come along?”

  She shook her head, towelling herself off. “No, I’m going to try again to understand that last section on the Cube. That shit blew my mind last night. I’ll catch up with you this afternoon. If you see the Captain, remember to be really nice to him.”

  I left the hotel room feeling refreshed, loved and wonderful.
Garlidan was at the bar, sipping another of the syrupy fruit drinks we had yesterday. Was it only yesterday? The debate seemed to have occupied a week of my life, with its complexity, and then the bizarre solution formed by the Raptors. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed it might work.

  We shook hands. “A pleasure to see you again. Shall we head straight in? The Gaspirian veal is apparently the best in the solar system. You should try some of their delicacies before we arrive there.”

  The restaurant sat under a huge atrium. Enormously tall trees and towering, leaning ferns decorated the place, which had a crystal clear stream running through the centre. Garlidan and I were taken to our table, over a small, ornate bridge, and got comfortable. The place was almost empty – a little early for lunch on Numkli, apparently – which was so much the better. Fewer prying eyes and curious ears.

  “Congratulations again on the elegant compromise with the Raptors and the Jakalzzians. Although the world won’t know it, you’ve been the linchpin. No-one else would have been neutral enough for either group to confide in.” I thanked him for the praise, scanned the capacious menu, and decided on the veal with a starter of local greens in a sauce which my lectern said was similar to a vinaigrette. More juice was served, and water. Then the waiter left us alone.

  “Garlidan, I need your help.” He leaned in, steepled his hands over the table. “You know how much trouble my planet is in. It’s a fucking disaster.” I looked around, making sure no-one heard the curse. Best to keep my voice down. “I can’t let all the amazing achievements of mankind be ruined like this. I’ve got to do something.”