The most likely chance of rescue would come from a random ship stumbling across us as they searched the planet for themselves. The chance of that happening varied quite a bit depending on how many people knew about what was actually to be found here. If the classification was a cover up, more ships from that commercial company would come to obtain what this world had to offer. They would probably not be happy about our presence. So, there was a risk with that scenario. However, if there was no cover up, we could be here for quite a while.
"Any way that you look at it," I told them. "No one here will be following Sage's orders after the rescue. Is that correct?"
"What are you getting at?" Vanilla asked as she eyeballed me suspiciously.
"I'm not trying to stir up trouble, doctor. But don't you all have a choice of what to do now? I mean, if most of the girls would rather follow you, couldn't they just vote you to be the leader here?"
"That's a great idea," Honeysuckle said with an ornery grin. "Mutiny! I like it!"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
I watched curiously as Vanilla applied the manufactured soil-colored paste to Cinnamon's exposed skin with a brush. To avoid raising concern over my hidden perversion, I refrained from offering to do it myself by hand. Placing my hands on the pleasing young woman may have created another insurgence in my pants. I would already have to focus on preventing that as the hot doctor moved on to apply the treatment to my very own skin. Though my natural scent was not near as strong, the girls encouraged me to take the extra precaution.
We would each take two containers for retrieving drinking water to run through the ship's filters. I estimated that each of the four units could hold maybe seven gallons. If my math was correct, that would have one container weighing more than sixty pounds. It would be a real chore for me to haul two of them back to the ship from any significant distance. With Cinnamon's petite frame, I couldn't imagine that she'd be able to drag even one container.
The closest stream was reported to be more than a thousand feet away. I figured it would be an all-day project until my lovely brunette coworker showed me the anti-gravity lifters. As cargo manager Cinnamon was an expert on moving things easily from one place to another. She selected the smallest version of the device claiming that they were designed for floating two-hundred-pound pieces of cargo as if they were in water.
The empty barrels only weighed a few pounds, but it was still amazing to watch as she demonstrated the technique. Three small devices were placed slightly above the middle of the unit, evenly around the outside. My girl stressed the importance of proper placement quoting some equation from her training courses. Pressing the lone button on any of the three activated them all at once.
I expected the water barrel to jump into the air. Instead, it raised roughly three inches off the ground before settling at a hover just barely off the surface. I anticipated there would still be some dragging involved until she grabbed it by the handle and raised it up effortlessly to shoulder height. It only dropped a few inches before leveling off again, its bottom remaining more than two feet off the ground.
The handle stuck out horizontally a few inches past the width of the barrel. I thought that it was a bad design until she demonstrated how to carry it on her back with her hand grasping that handle over her shoulder. This task was going to be incredibly easier than I had first anticipated. I had a lot to learn about advanced technology and its benefits.
The containers were made of a shiny metal, something that could draw attention from a mile away. Instead of wasting Vanilla's health-safe skin paste we used some actual mud just beyond the back of the ship to coat them over, diminishing the reflection even where the surface didn't convert completely to the varied shades of green and brown.
We had approached the ship from the north when I was guided to it the first time. The stream that I had waded through while tracking down Cinnamon was nearly a mile away. A closer source of water was off to the west. That was where we were heading.
The ground was flatter in that region, right up until the cliff where the ship was lodged. We stayed a safe distance from that drop as we moved through some tall yellow grass while squatting. The huge red trees that were home to dragons were scarce in that section. So were the olive-green sticky bushes that provided us cover before. However, there were small groves of the dancing yellow trees at random intervals. We stealthily moved from one bunch to the next until reaching the stream.
The water was green as I expected, but it flowed a little faster than the one I tread through. There were a series of tiny drops over rock formations that contributed to the speed. The narrow river traveled in a straight line directly to the cliff before becoming a noisier waterfall. The sound of that natural formation and the babbling brook made the place seem relatively peaceful. Cinnamon warned me not to let it lull me into a false sense of security.
The strange snake-like fish stayed in the bigger pool sections of the river, paying no attention to us when we got close. Since the water looked clearer just after some mini rapids, we tilted our containers into the drink there. It only took a couple minutes of coordination to fill all four units and return them to a stable upright position.
"Have any of you caught a fish yet?" I asked.
"No," Cinnamon replied, confused by the sentence. "Why would we?"
"To eat it, of course."
"They look gross. I have no intention of eating one of those things." She made some minor adjustments to the lifter units to steady the heavy load acquired in each.
"What if I cut it into little cubes to look like the rest of your food?"
"I don't know," Cinnamon replied, bewildered by my suggestion. "Vanilla would have to run a scan and approve the meat before we could eat it anyway."
I felt the fine mist on my exposed skin of my fingers around the same time as I noticed the thin mustard yellow trees dancing. It was raining, or the closest thing to it that happened on this planet. My friend confirmed that it was the heaviest form of precipitation that they had witnessed as well. Their ships sensors recorded that the natural occurrence repeated three to five times every day, rarely lasting more than thirty minutes.
We didn't spot any Wofurs along our route, but there were a few of the red goats that sounded like human infant laughter. They ignored us as their legs bounced them around in what appeared to be a very jovial state. It was entertaining to watch. A video of what I was seeing could have easily gone viral back in my time.
There were also plenty of jumpers and crawlers in the tall grass. If we walked slowly, they would clear the path ahead of us. We were over halfway back to the ship when we saw large dark forms in the air approaching us.
Dragons.
We quickly darted for the closest cropping of trees, which were still swaying merrily in the drizzle. I placed the water barrels in a straight line to form a short wall between us and the open field. Then the two of us knelt down on the ground behind them, huddled close.
We silently watched the flying creatures from that cover as they darted this way and that, playing with each other. We had gone unnoticed so far. When I placed my arm around Cinnamon, she leaned toward me to help us stay hidden. That close, her scent was strong and inviting, her silky brown hair tickling my face.
There were four dragons out there, much smaller than the big green lizard that I first experienced in the tree, but still seven to eight feet tall long from head to tail. These were mostly black with some red striping near the limbs, and a dark gray underbelly. Long snouts snapped at each other like dogs playing. Their wings were used to increase their mobility in their games more so than to take flight. I had yet to see one of these creatures look natural in the air like a coasting bird.
We had brought the same weapons from before, my machete and her blue light cutter. Hopefully, we wouldn't need to use them. The poor protection provided by the narrow, breakable trees and metal water barrels would not serve us well enough if all four of them decided to attack. Fortunately for us, they were moving
away as they continued their antics, playing a fierce version of cat-and-mouse.
With the predators venturing farther from us my stress reduced considerably. They weren't gone yet, though. We had to stay behind cover still. I took the opportunity to study Cinnamon's beautiful face, blowing her stray strands of hair out of the way to get a better look.
"What are you doing?" she asked, still focusing on the dragons.
Cinnamon's face was a girlish round with nice bone structure covered well with fleshy cheeks. Soft brown eyes and full salmon pink lips, she could have been the girl next door if it wasn't for her modifications. Her expression told me that she was not all that disagreeable to my continued proximity.
"I'm just looking at you."
"Why?" she asked, again not turning to face me. If she had, it would place our mouths just a few inches from each other. I was already feeling frisky. I needed to be careful, but I didn't want to miss this chance to advance our relationship to a more personal level.
"Because you are so beautiful," I replied. She closed her eyes as she blushed, but still did not turn. I seized the opportunity, as any scoundrel like me would, to look down into the top of her uniform shirt. She was the smallest breasted of the three women, but the clear skin of her cleavage beyond the dirt line made them just as appealing. I recalled when she told me that some parts of her body had a stronger taste than others. Surely her nipples would be one of those locations. I felt my disobedient tongue drag across my bottom lip. Her hand then went to her chest, pulling the material against her flesh to block my view.
"Stop looking at my tits," she demanded, only with a slight irritation in her young, high pitched voice. I took it as a playing-hard-to-get tactic.
"Okay," I said as I leaned back to check out her fine round ass instead.
"Kash, you are a bad boy!" she scolded me in a whisper. "Now stop it before we give ourselves away. Those dragons can still hear and smell us at this range."
"Alright," I replied, bringing my face back beside hers. She glanced at me quickly, then turned away. I liked what I saw briefly in her sensuous eyes. I pressed my nose into her silky locks and sniffed. Despite all this dirt covering her body she smelled very clean. I needed to kiss her. Anywhere on her face would be fine, but I didn't want to get the camo paste on my mouth. Her clean lips did not yet appear to be an option just yet, so I pressed my puckered mouth against her hair.
I leaned back enough to see recognition on her face. She clearly understood that she had just been kissed. The smile was fading from her face, but she didn't appear to be angry. Just more serious. Sometimes that was a good thing. This was my chance.
I kissed her head through the brown strands two more times, pulling her closer to me. Then I waited. We were at a pivotal point. Patience could pay off big time.
Eventually, she turned to me, her eyes huge with comprehension of our circumstances. I glanced to her slightly parted lips, hoping that she would do the same. Instead, she spoke softly.
"They're gone," she told me, referring to the dragons. I hadn't even been paying attention. This girl had me so caught up in the moment. It was good that at least one of us was focused, though my heart wished that she was as distracted as me. "We should go." My favorite dirty girl then lifted two of the water barrels and rotated them around to her back. Without a backyard glance she started walking toward the ship.
Even though my romantic advance was not received as I had envisioned, it wasn't completely rejected either. I hung my hopes on that thought. The remainder of our trip back was eerily quiet. No threats. No conversation. Getting concerned about how she was reacting, I stopped her when she reached for the keypad.
"Cinn," I said, hoping that the abbreviated name told her how close I was feeling toward her. "I'm sorry if I offended you."
"No, you're fine," she replied, giving me that indifferent expression that told me that she didn't want to talk about it.
"I feel like I crossed a line," I told her. "Please, forgive me. I don't want a barrier to form between us."
She took a deep breath and said, "You don't need forgiveness, Kash. You are attracted to me, and that is very flattering. You are just moving too fast for my taste. I do like you. And maybe one day we can be more than friends. But right now, I'm a little stressed about my missing crew mates and being stranded on this planet. Can you put this feeling that you have for me on the shelf for a couple days?"
Put my feelings on a shelf? Though not initially appealing, that sounded like I had a chance. I just needed to wait. She could have told me to throw my feelings for her in the trash can, instead.
After I nodded, she opened the exterior door to the ship. Instead of going to the top level, she guided me around the stairwell to a well-maintained storage area. We sat all four containers there. I watched carefully as she fastened a hose to the top of the first one. She explained that the questionable liquid would be pulled through the filters to become flush water first. After a second pass through an elaborate filtering system, it would be considered drinkable. An alarm would go off if the system deemed it unusable. That would require flushing the entire system and obtaining a fresh new source. That was more likely to happen if we consistently injected dirty water into the hose, reducing the life span of the filters.
Vanilla met us on the steps as we were headed toward the top level. She had gotten the alert from the ship that someone had entered and was making sure that it was us. I imagined that every time they heard the doorbell they would wonder if it was Sage and the others returning.
"How did everything go?" the angelic physician asked. As she was getting more comfortable with me, I could clearly see that she was not naturally inclined to a position of authority.
"Smoothly," Cinnamon replied formally. "We didn't have any issues."
"Thank you both for your service," Vanilla told us. “Cinnamon, are you comfortable working with Kash again? Or should I send Honeysuckle on the next mission?"
When Cinnamon looked my way, I couldn't really tell what she was thinking. Did my assertiveness make her prefer not to work with me again? Did I lose her trust? Was it a big mistake on my part, possibly standing in the way of my future with these women?
After a brief moment, she smiled and said to her superior, "No, we're fine. Kash and I can go looking for the other girls."
"Excellent," Vanilla replied. "The two of us have already eaten lunch. Why don't both of you get cleaned up and have a meal before we assemble your supplies for the next run. Will you need my assistance?"
"No," my mild-mannered slender friend replied. "We can help each other get clean. Come on, Kash."
I followed Cinnamon up the steps and to the left. When the shower room door opened upon her approach, she stepped inside and motioned for me to join her. Were we going to bathe together? Or did I completely misread the situation?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
"So, are we going to shower together?" I asked with a toothy grin after the door slid shut behind us.
"Cool your boosters," Cinnamon told me. "We can clean ourselves for the most part. I thought that it would be safe to let you check me over, even clean some hard to reach places. Can I trust you with that?"
As much as her words sounded like a playful invitation, her expression said otherwise. She was being completely serious. This was not an exciting chance to get naked with the hot chick. Instead, it was an opportunity to earn her trust.
I was handed an object that was a cross between a sponge, a loofah and a porous rock. I watched intently as Cinnamon demonstrated how to get the thing wet then drag it slowly across her soft tan flesh, even though the process was self-explanatory. I was able to copy the procedure easily on myself.
Focusing on my own body instead of hers, I was able to clear most of the mud from my skin. Naughtily, I left a little between my thighs for her to clean, claiming that I didn't see it. Unfortunately, she told me that I could reach that area for myself. She did, however, take care of some smudges on my neck and triceps that
I couldn't see.
Once she cleared me as spotless, I was permitted to examine her body. As much as I wanted to do a detailed search, I focused on gaining her confidence as the primary achievement of the exercise. I cleaned her neck and shoulders without issue as she held her hair out of the way. When I spotted some of the smeared dirt on the back of her left thigh, I took the cautious approach. Her pants were so short that they almost revealed the bottom of her ass cheeks. I would nearly be touching her lovely butt.
When I mentioned it to her, she said, "Go ahead and wipe it for me. It's okay."
She then leaned forward poking out that tight little ass like she wanted spanked. The temptation to oblige was difficult to resist. So was the urge to grab her by the waist and rub myself against her. If she had known that I had been an inmate, deprived of sex for months, she would certainly not have given me this exquisite view of her seductive booty. Her ankles were only about six inches apart, but the pose still gave the impression that she was ready for some rear entry sex.
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