“Let’s take this to the bed,” Marty said.
The ladies took off each other’s clothes, kissed and embraced. Lacy went back to sucking Marty’s penis while he knelt on the bed. Jennifer penetrated Lacy with her fingers and then her tongue until Marty came in Lacy’s mouth.
“That was sensational! I could really feel every pulse,” Lacy said.
Marty and Jennifer made love to Lacy. First Marty and Jennifer shared kisses with Lacy, placing both their tongues in her mouth. They next licked Lacy’s nipples together followed by slowing making their way to her vagina with their tongues trading locations between inside the vagina to the clit.
“I want to be fucked,” Lacy said on a sigh.
“Sure, Lacy,” Marty said.
Marty got Lacy on her side from the back and entered her as Jennifer lifted her leg up into the air. Jennifer licked her clit to bring her to climax with Marty’s penis inside her. Lacy came with a scream that Jennifer felt on her tongue.
Marty penetrated Jennifer as Lacy’s tongue and mouth worked Jennifer’s clit and vaginal opening. Marty and Jennifer experienced simultaneous orgasm. The three cuddled and fell asleep together.
The alarm rang early the next morning. Jennifer got up, groggy from the night before, and showered. “Jennifer, our love is a beautiful thing that cannot be described by the best poets or even the best artists,” Lacy said with a brimming smile. “My orgasms are still reverberating in the slivers of my mind. I feel satiated and ecstatic.”
“This morning we say goodbye,” Marty noted, “but there are no words for me to express what special love we have. I feel when we make love we are as one in mind and spirit.”
“We will stop here on our way back to Honolulu,” Jennifer told Lacy. “Hopefully we can have another night together.”
“We need to find ways to see each other during the year,” Lacy said.
Jennifer and Marty offered to grab a cab but Lacy said, “I can be your cab to the airport.”
They both hugged and kissed Lacy before she left the hotel.
“We don’t want to advertise that we had a threesome last night,” Marty said.
“I admire your ex-wife, Anne, for coming out in the current society,” Jennifer said.
“You know; this is the first time I’ve looked at it that way. Thank you for opening my eyes. I’ll show her proper respect for her openness in the future. Now I can see it was harder for her than for me.”
Later that day, Lacy dropped them off at the airport, where they were meeting with the research team. Mike and Alice came out and welcomed Jennifer and Marty back with hugs and kisses of the cheeks.
The student team consisted of Bill Kiaomoku, Kai Smith, Ken Morikawa and Jennifer Heros. The only person missing from their original crew was Lacy, whose place Becky filled until she was injured and replaced by Jennifer as a temp. The others peppered her with questions about how she was fitting in at U of H and whether her memories had returned. Kai kept flitting glances between Jennifer and Marty and smirking, clearly aware of their relationship. Ken seemed subdued and she wondered if he was still hurt over breaking up with Lacy. Jennifer was reminded how very young and inexperienced these students were.
Marty briefed the team on the dive plans for the remainder of the trip. He conducted a safety meeting and appointed Bill as the safety officer responsible for dive safety. Jennifer had never dived with the team collecting data, so she would be paired with Bill for her first team dive.
She had time to talk a little with Alice once Marty had finished.
“Jennifer, I’ve missed you,” Alice said. “Cooking for these guys by myself is much harder but I enjoy cooking and I signed up for it.”
Jennifer grabbed Alice’s right hand in hers. “I will be happy to help you cook.”
“This is your acting captain speaking,” Mike announced over the intercom. “Welcome to the nonstop flight to the Gambier Islands. Please stow your luggage and fasten your seatbelts. Marty will be acting as flight engineer and Alice as my co-pilot during the first portion of this flight. We’ll land in the Gambier lagoon as our first stop. Please be careful, as we have only three treatment kits for ciguatera poisoning.”
They were going to test fish in the area for ciguatera poisoning and try to find a way to combat it. Jennifer was interested in the study as it meant cleaner oceans and making sure the fish that locals ate was safe.
She slept during the first two hours of the flight before waking with a jolt. For a moment, Jennifer forgot where she was and panicked that she’d been kidnapped and brought aboard one of the Syndos ships. She looked above her head and sighed in relief.
She got up to stretch her legs before starting her in-flight workout with elastic bands, pull-ups on the bars above the door, and the stationary bike. She then made cappuccino and brought it to Marty, Mike, and Alice in the cockpit.
“Let’s go back in the lab so we can talk,” Alice said, peeling off her headset.
Jennifer followed her back to the galley, next to the lab. As soon as the door closed, Alice spun her around and kissed her, open-mouthed.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t wait. I overheard Marty telling Mike about his threesome with you and Lacy. It really turned me on. I would like a threesome with you and Mike. We want Marty to join. Just to be clear, Mike doesn’t want to have anal sex with him, or indeed any touching if they can help it. Are you willing?”
“Yes, I am willing if Marty will be there.” Jennifer’s heart skipped a beat at the exciting idea.
Alice kissed her again. “When we go back to Tahiti we can invite Lacy to join us as a group sex activity. Do you think she’ll join?”
“I will ask her if she wants to try something new with a double threesome. I know she loves to feel a man come in her mouth.”
“Maybe she can try two. I imagine that, and it turns me on.” Alice bit her bottom lip with a wicked grin.
“Let’s invite Lacy to dinner,” Jennifer suggested. “We can talk with her about what she would be comfortable with—outside the bedroom first.”
“Good idea! If Lacy wants just the usual threesome, Mike and I will wait until you are through for our special treat,” Alice said. “Let’s go out and serve the pilots some food. The students have box lunches but we can serve them cold drinks with ice.”
“Roger that. You always think of others first.” Jennifer hugged Alice tightly.
After lunch was served and eaten, Marty asked, “Alice, can you take the right seat so I can take a nap?”
“Sure, Marty.”
“We plan to set the Albatross down on the lagoon near Mangareva leeward side,” Marty said.
“Roger that.”
Mike set the plane down in a protected area not far from Rikitea, the main town. Marty got up and addressed the students.
“We have the first dive scheduled this afternoon. Bill will direct you in making videos and photos. Alice will remain on the surface in the large Zodiac just in case she is needed for any emergency. Any questions?”
Everyone shook their heads and Marty motioned to Bill.
“Okay, team, let’s gets ready to dive,” Bill said. “Check your equipment, and if you have any questions or problems, raise your hand. Jennifer, you are new to the dive team so I will assist you with Becky’s equipment.”
Seagulls and other sea birds were diving nearby. The smell of seaweed prevailed and the lagoon was calm. After Bill dropped the other students into the water, he left the large Zodiac tied to a mooring with Alice in it. Bill moved to the small Zodiac with Jennifer and motored closer to the island until they were in about fifteen feet of water. There they would do a preliminary check of her ability and to get her used to the equipment. After the check was completed to his satisfaction, they swam on the surface with snorkels to the large Zodiac and descended beneath the waves.
The visibility on this reef was spectacularly clear. Jennifer felt at home in the water with her scuba tank and equipment. She performed her data collection f
or Becky without a single problem. This was an easy dive, admittedly, but Bill was impressed.
Jennifer collected sediment samples. A subsurface current device was also deployed, which was anchored to the bottom, to measure currents about one to two meters off the bottom. The device could collect data for about one year.
Soon it was time for Bill to do his work and Jennifer assisted him with samples of algae, living coral, fish, and other sea creatures in the one-hundred-meter-square sample area. After Bill completed his work, Jennifer got out of the water and removed her tank and buoyancy compensator.
“Bill, do you need any further assistance?” Jennifer asked.
“No, I need to take notes on these samples and next I’ll assist others in getting out.”
“Can I have permission to snorkel for a while?”
“Yes, but stay close to this Zodiac.”
Jennifer dove down to the bottom at about forty feet and snapped photos with her underwater camera of various coral and reef fish. About every minute or so she surfaced, took a few deep breaths, and returned to take more pictures.
“Can I look at your photos?” Bill asked once she was back in the Zodiac. He reached for the camera.
“This is a new species discovered in 2011 by the research vessel Tara, which is part of the French organization Ocean Tara,” Jennifer said, showing Bill one of the pictures. “We should see if the high rate of ciguatera has any relation to the newly discovered species of coral.”
“I think the high rate of toxins in fish in French Polynesia is due to something unusual about these reefs here,” Bill said as he peered again at Jennifer’s picture of the unique species.
Marty climbed into the Zodiac and was briefed on the new coral species. “That is one factor which has not yet been correlated,” he noted.
“Could you collect coral in all stage of life and analyze the coral for the toxins and its precursors?” Jennifer asked.
“That would be a great plan if we could afford all the analysis time,” Marty said, lifting his hand to rub the center of his forehead.
The team packed up and got ready to go to the next location. The Albatross was taxiing on the ocean to the next site on the islands.
“We need more data,” Marty told Mike, “if we have a chance to figure out why ciguatera incidences are so much higher in the Gambier Islands and other parts of French Polynesia than elsewhere in the world. The more remote the location the higher is the risk of ciguatera.” Marty shrugged. “It does not correlate with pollution.”
After twenty minutes Marty signaled Mike to stop. The engine was shut down. “This will be our base for the next two sites,” Marty said, examining the bottom as he dropped the anchor.
* * *
After some extensive research in the lagoon near the high islands, Marty and Mike flew the Albatross to Matureivavao, Vahanga, and Tenararo, collecting samples of various fish and coral both inside and outside the small atoll lagoons. In addition, Jennifer collected data on currents, waves, salinity and temperature as a function of depth, pH, dissolved oxygen, sediments and mineral content of seawater samples. The forms were straightforward with boxes for the data, and anyone could measure these items once shown how; Jennifer was happy to be able to help. The team was almost ready to return to Tahiti but Marty wanted to make one more stop because of a friend who wanted information from Vahanga.
He took off from Tenararo and set the plane down in the lagoon of Vahanga Atoll just seven kilometers away. He was headed southeast into the prevailing winds as he splashed down in the lagoon.
Jennifer said, “Alice, let’s take our snorkeling equipment and look for lobster after I collect the physical parameters for Becky.”
“Roger that. Just let me know when you’re ready and then we can take the small Zodiac.”
Addressing the team, Bill said, “Let’s get ready to dive, team. I’ll dive with Jennifer and you pair up as usual. We’ll only dive in the lagoon today, so let’s make the air last by swimming slowly.” He then motioned to his neck with his hand.
“Can I come along and watch?” Alice asked with a smile.
“Sure,” Bill said. “This is our last dive of the season so by all means suit up and I will assist you with your gear. Just stay close to me.”
The other divers got into the water first. Bill tied off the large Zodiac on a buoy he deployed with an anchor and a dive flag. The three of them slipped over the side of the Zodiac and entered the clear lagoon. Jennifer went right to work; she collected samples from the bottom and made measurements and set out the four current buoys. Bill took video as well as still images. After an hour, Bill gave the hand signal to return and the group headed for the Zodiac. Bill went back to check on the other divers. Marty was already surfacing with Mike.
The students were all waiting on the dive line for their turn to hand over their samples and equipment. Soon the large Zodiac was on its way back to the Albatross, which was anchored in the southeastern corner of the lagoon. Bill followed them from a distance. Bill helped everyone off the small Zodiac. Jennifer and Alice drank water and rested.
“Can you photograph this species of clam if you see them when you’re outside the reef?” Marty asked.
“Yes, I will be happy to look for them. How can I identify them?”
“They are an iridescent blue as shown in this photograph,” Marty explained.
He turned and spoke to both women. “Did you know these giant clams use the sun to capture energy for food? They have a symbiotic relationship with some algae that converts sunlight to sugar to feed the clam and that is why they can grow four feet long.”
“How does that work?” Alice asked.
“The blue clam’s iridescent sheen captures sunlight within its interior, providing light for algae that live inside. In a symbiotic return, the algae use that solar energy to conduct photosynthesis, which provides most of the energy for the iridescent giant clam.”
“Shall we go?” Jennifer nudged.
“Ready!” Alice said. They took their lobster bags, masks, flippers, and buoyancy compensators into the small Zodiac, adding fuel to the engine before heading for the southwestern beach. They beached the Zodiac on the lagoon side.
They crossed the sand bar and entered the ocean. The surge was very strong and the two swimmers worked hard to get away from the shallow reef area through a narrow but circuitous route to the outer reef. They spotted a couple of the giant clams and Jennifer photographed them, measuring their size with her tape measure.
After about twenty minutes of looking for a lobster hole, they located a beauty. Alice took five large lobsters and Jennifer photographed her. They switched roles and Alice photographed Jennifer pulling out five more large lobsters. They headed back toward the reef opening; however, the surf was now much larger, creating a serious danger for the snorkelers. Therefore, they decided to head around the circular atoll, moving to the northwest to look for a better opening, which they knew was there.
They kept going while the surf slamming the outer reef kept growing to more than twenty-five feet. The rip current pulled them out to sea and they had to swim parallel to the shore to get out of the current.
“I’m getting tired!” Alice gasped.
“Inflate your vest.”
Once Alice had inflated her vest, Jennifer pulled her friend through the water. Their best bet was to swim to the north side, to the lee of the large southern swells and surf. She set a pace and kept it up.
“I feel rested now, so I’ll swim next to you,” Alice said after a while.
“Okay, but we have another kilometer to go to get to the north side of the island.”
Jennifer kept up a quick pace. Her Symbiotes repelled the effects of lactic acid, extending her endurance, but Alice did not have this advantage and had to do the same work. Jennifer worried whether she was up to the feat but they had little choice. She could see that Alice was tiring again but she didn’t call attention to it. She looked ahead and saw they were on the north s
ide where there was a large break in the shallow outer reef.
“Good news! Alice!” Jennifer exclaimed. “I think we can make it in safely just ahead.” She held Alice’s hand and squeezed it to encourage her. “Just use your flippers and go slow. We are tired, as we have been in the water for over three hours.” Jennifer tried to project calm and sound confident.
Jennifer and Alice both felt the surge move them in and out but the effect was net zero so they slowly progressed until they were inside the reef.
“I need rest,” Alice said.
“Just stand up!”
Alice did but the surge knocked her off her feet. Jennifer grabbed her and pulled her to shore. Even with the Symbiotes she was exhausted. After lying on the sand for about ten minutes, Jennifer saw Marty and Mike in the Zodiac coming toward them.
“I’m not used to this kind of strenuous physical activity,” Alice said. Her hands were shaking.
Marty ran over to them. “Is everyone okay?”
“Alice just needs water, sugar, and rest,” Jennifer responded. “We were in the water for over three hours and the waves would not let us in on the south side so we swam around to the north side.”
Mike stroked Alice’s hair away from her face. “Do you want water or juice first?”
“Water.” Alice reached up as Mike passed her a bottle.
“I am so happy you guys finally came after us,” Jennifer said.
“Me too!” Alice agreed.
“Mike, take Alice back first in the large Zodiac,” Marty directed. “I’ll call Bill to await your arrival and assist Alice. Jennifer and I will take the small Zodiac and the lobster back with us. I want to check out the island for any trace of rats.” He turned to Jennifer. “Please lie down in the small Zodiac and rest while I conduct a survey and set up cameras for monitoring.”
After about two hours, Marty came back to find Jennifer asleep. He woke her and hugged her tight. “Please eat and drink something so you don’t pass out,” he said with his usual cheerful smile.
30th Century: Escape (30th Century Trilogy Book 1) Page 32