by Kerri Sharpe
‘You’ll love him. And besides, you’ve got chocolate and gum coming. It’s your lucky day, Miss Kasparova.’
Usually, Nadia enjoyed Brigitte’s jovial company. Men made up the majority of the team in Florida, so conversing with Brigitte fulfilled a small requirement in her psyche for female company. She was precise and strict about satisfying basic requisites during a mission but resisted the more obvious and urgent human desires. Nadia considered herself as polished and intricate as the equipment that maintained their orbit. She was a faultless machine.
‘I don’t eat candy and I don’t need company when I’m working.’ Nadia retrieved her trainers from a locker and put on her crew zip-up jacket, every languorous movement a fight against freedom, a struggle against the precision of Nadia’s mind. Her body wanted to drift aimlessly around the cabin while her brain was eager to get to work.
Brigitte briefed Nadia on various routine duties before tentatively mentioning Operation EROSS. ‘It really is your lucky day, then, don’t you think?’
Nadia recognised the overzealous banter for what it was. In her head, she thought in Russian but, when she spoke, her words were clipped and brisk English.
‘My contract does not state that I must copulate with fellow crew members. I object strongly to the nature of this experiment.’ Nadia waited impatiently beside the communication panel. She wanted to get to the lab.
‘I don’t think you’re expected to copulate, Nadia. It’s merely a simulation and apparatus evaluation for future missions. In years to come, as the space station grows and develops, married couples will live up there for months at a time. We can hardly expect them to, well, abstain.’ More static interfered with the transmission. Nadia sighed, preventing herself from floating upside down in relation to the panel by gripping a strap. ‘Nadia, are you still there?’
As mission specialist in charge of the laboratory, Nadia knew she would have to comply with orders. As she mentally scanned the fine print of her contract, she realised that several clauses bound her to fulfil her duties unless severe psychological deficiencies made such work impossible. For Nadia, the admission that she was not mentally fit for her work was worse than having to test the sexual apparatus with the newcomer.
‘I’m still here.’ She paused again, suddenly aware of the language and culture barrier as she attempted to put her feelings into words. ‘I would have preferred to know this several weeks ago, so that I can prepare myself for this sexual activity.’
‘Nadia, no, repeat, no.’ The stern voice of the chief mission controller suddenly resounded through the beeps and static. ‘Your orders do not include sexual intercourse. Repeat, do not have sexual intercourse aboard Ventura.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Nadia replied, dazed by the notion that anyone would consider her capable of such an activity. She couldn’t recall the chief ever being so fervent, except when she successfully fixed one of the solar panels that hung like giant wasp wings from Ventura’s cylindrical body. ‘Kasparova out.’
She left the cabin and steered her weightless, unusually irrepressible body to the laboratory. For the first time ever, Nadia wasn’t sure that she was entirely in control of her actions. For the first time ever, Nadia’s thoughts weren’t completely focused on work.
Captain Drew Masters emerged from the transfer compartment of the axial docking port at 04.00 hours Florida time. The Evolution spacecraft had executed a flawless deposit of food supplies, clothing, technical equipment and one or two personal supplies, the last of which Nadia had not requested. Comfort, she believed, was for life on Earth.
‘Welcome.’ Commander Brigson assisted Masters as he emerged through the hatch. The two men attempted a brief embrace but settled for a handshake when their bodies refused to combine in the weightless surroundings. Nadia smiled. She didn’t expect Operation EROSS to get much further than their clumsy attempts at bodily contact.
‘Captain Masters.’ Nadia nodded as she was introduced to the American. ‘I hope you will find your time aboard pleasurable and productive.’ The two men grinned and exchanged lewd glances.
‘I don’t envy you, Drew. You have a heavy schedule, I believe.’ Commander Brigson studied his associate. ‘Although, having read your mission brief last month, I gather that several enjoyable activities will ensue.’ Brigson allowed himself a laugh, even though he knew Nadia would disapprove. It was tough working alongside the most perfect human being in the universe.
Nadia gasped. ‘You knew?’ She forced her hand to connect with her mouth, something that should have taken place with a short, precise movement but lost its impact with a slow-motion attempt at surprise. ‘You knew that I would be testing this … this … apparatus with a stranger and you didn’t warn me?’ Eyes as deep as space bored into Commander Brigson. He raised his hands slowly in defence.
‘The chief and I thought it best not to tell you too soon. We knew you’d fret. It’s a very unusual experiment and highly classified. The world must not know about these investigations.’ He paused for a moment, reading the Russian woman’s stunning, angular features. He wouldn’t have minded a go at trying out the apparatus with her himself, although couldn’t imagine what contraptions the scientists back in Florida had come up with. ‘It’s not like you really have to do it, Nadia. You can keep your clothes on.’
‘You two do it, then,’ she snapped. ‘If it’s that casual, then be my guest and experiment until your heart is of the content.’
‘Heart’s content,’ Drew Masters chipped in, bemused by Nadia’s reluctance. ‘We say heart’s content where I come from.’
Nadia resisted informing the newcomer that they were nowhere near where he came from so she could use whatever turn of phrase she wished, and, in her usual calm and professional manner, she breathed deeply and took a heart-slowing look at the giant blue ball that six and a half billion people called home. Nadia wasn’t sure if she did any more. The sight of it reduced everything to its correct proportions. Within the frame of the porthole was the soup of all life, human or otherwise, bubbling and burning, simmering and steaming, loving and hating, breathing and dying – and reproducing, she thought, every single one of them. Suddenly, she felt godlike, as if she would be serving mankind by conducting the experiments.
A thin line of smile, as much as she could bear to allow, seeped from Nadia’s lips as she realised the implications. ‘I’ll do it,’ Nadia said quietly. ‘All in the name of science, you understand, and my continued commitment to Ventura.’
The two men nodded and commenced stowing the fresh supplies. Nadia wondered whether they had ever really doubted her dedication, assuming that because she was a woman she would comply with whatever orders were issued. To a certain extent, that was true, but only Nadia herself knew how tough she was and how much she would oppose anything that went against her morals. Trained and sharpened to the limits of human capabilities, Nadia’s mind was as tight and lean and finely bound as the muscles that wrapped around her long bones.
Later, Commander Brigson suggested that they eat beef goulash and peas followed by butterscotch pudding in celebration of the new astronaut’s arrival. Drew watched as Nadia typed the meal request into the computer to locate the correct stowage locker. In the cramped galley, she skilfully manoeuvred herself from the food compartments to the small oven, opening and arranging the foil packets. Drew admired her self-control. He admired, too, the way her mind obviously latched on to every task, whether it be simple food preparation or an intricate experiment. Nadia’s cool reputation reverberated around Mission Control like an ice-hockey puck.
‘I suggest we waste no time in testing the prototypes. They’re keen to get initial results both visually and via written reports.’ Drew caught a stray piece of foil as it aimlessly drifted towards the air-filtration duct. He placed it in the trash compactor.
‘You mean they’re going to watch us?’ Nadia kept her eyes on the food, incredulous that not only would she have to entangle herself with a stranger but also that any number of people
on Earth would be watching.
‘Of course, but you must understand that we’re simply checking the viability of certain methods.’ Drew turned away before half coughing, half speaking, ‘Testing positions.’
‘We must make this over with as soon as possible.’ Nadia fastened the food containers to trays with Velcro strips and issued their rations.
‘Get this over with,’ Drew corrected but Nadia pretended not to hear.
Commander Brigson was attending to routine maintenance and knew Nadia well enough to allow her privacy while in the laboratory. As Drew grappled and unwrapped various contraptions, Nadia reluctantly set up the communication cameras from five different locations in preparation for the broadcast to Earth. Quick-fire Russian pounded through her head, trying to convince herself that, by performing the sensitive experiments, she would not compromise her professionalism.
‘Christ, what are they thinking we should do with this?’ Drew laughed and waved it around. The web of grey nylon strapping broke free from his grip and somersaulted through the laboratory. Nadia arrested it and studied it disdainfully.
‘It looks like a complicated chastity belt, not something that would make you want to …’ Nadia found herself unable to finish.
‘You can say “have sex” or “fuck”, you know. I won’t be shocked and it won’t make me think any less of you.’
Nadia’s cheeks coloured and, to her horror, she realised the blush was not completely derived from Drew’s comment. She turned as quickly as microgravity would allow and zipped up her crew jacket. She wanted to make sure that there was as little of her flesh showing as possible and also the greatest thickness of fabric between them.
‘Right, let’s get cracking, then.’ Drew then made their intentions clear to Mission Control and Nadia made a point of completely ignoring the cameras. She didn’t want anyone to see the fear in her eyes.
‘Slip your legs in here.’ Drew assisted Nadia as she threaded her long, slim legs through what she discovered was an elastic contraption designed to pin the two participants together face to face.
‘Of course, this works the other way around, too.’ Drew winked at Nadia as he inserted his legs through the holes and pulled the straps tight, locking their groins together in an uncomfortable clinch.
‘Ouch!’ Nadia pushed on Drew’s shoulders. It was bad enough having their legs entangled but for their faces to be at such an intimate distance was intolerable. ‘What do you mean, the other way around?’ They floated helplessly around the laboratory. All protruding instruments and dangerous objects had been stowed at Drew’s request and Nadia had scowled when he implied things could get pretty wild.
‘I can take you from behind if I strap myself to your back, if that’s what madam would prefer.’ Drew grinned but then recoiled in slow motion as Nadia’s hand buffeted the side of his head.
‘That would have been a sharp slap on Earth. Just get on and do what you have to and then let’s get out of this stupid thing.’ She turned her face sideways and screwed up her eyes, refusing to wrap her arms around Drew’s back as he was doing to her. She couldn’t help but notice the citrus tang of real shampoo and the laundry freshness of his clothing, leftovers from regular Earth life and likely to haunt her understimulated nose for days to come.
‘What on Earth are you doing?’ Nadia felt her body being bumped as they tumbled around the lab.
Drew laughed, risking another slap. ‘On Earth, Miss Kasparova, we call this making love.’ He thrust his strapped-up hips even faster, grinding against Nadia’s sweatpants, feeling the V-shape and gentle mound at the top of her legs. ‘What do you call it?’
Nadia tried to shut down all of her senses, but the breathy words that left Drew’s mouth in time to the pulsing delivered by his hips refused to allow such an escape. ‘I don’t call being strapped to a stranger against my will making love, Captain Masters, on Earth or anywhere else.’
At that moment, Nadia was ashamed of her body. Not for the toned lines and feminine shape it presented to her pseudo-mate but for the way that it responded to the situation. Nadia could barely accept the internal system error that she was diagnosing and was grateful at least that her mind prevented reciprocal thrusts that the surge of warmth in her belly was urging her to try.
Communication from Florida slowed Drew’s thrusting hips. Instinctively, he rotated his pelvis in an experienced way – the way a man would hold himself on the brink of orgasm while nursing his lover’s nipples or reaching down to trace a figure of eight at the top of her sex.
‘How does that feel?’ The chief’s voice quivered through the miles, distorted by distance and interference.
‘Somewhat awkward, and I suspect in practice this traditional position would be completely impossible,’ Drew replied. ‘With each forward movement I make to simulate copulation, Nadia’s pelvis is shunted away with such a force that even the harness isn’t enough to hold her steady. I would float right out of her.’
‘Do you feel you are being … er … pushed beyond the limits of realistic sexual activity, Miss Kasparova?’
Silence and several beeps as Nadia floated through the laboratory with Drew Masters attached to her groin. She was quite unable to speak.
‘I’ll take that as an affirmative, Miss Kasparova. Perhaps you could try the harness in reverse. The experts say that a better purchase on the pelvic region can be obtained by securing the female around the upper body with the arms.’
‘Copy, chief. Give us a few minutes.’ Drew unhitched the harness and Nadia floated away, although she was soon retrieved by a firm grip around her wrist. ‘We have work to do. Put this on again but backwards.’ Drew leaned in and whispered through Nadia’s neat blonde hair. ‘Then I have to grip your tits.’ He grinned as she recoiled but, unable to escape the impending connection, Nadia sighed and allowed the fullness of her bottom cheeks to be bound against Drew’s groin.
‘Where’s the fifth camera?’
‘Below the work station,’ Nadia snapped. Her words were followed by a sharp gasp as foreign sensations wound around her body. It took several seconds to realise that Drew’s hands were cupping her weightless breasts, his fingers teasing her forgotten nipples into gravity-defying peaks even through the thickness of her jacket. It took several more seconds to realise that Drew had positioned them where his advances would go unnoticed by the cameras.
Nadia mentally kicked herself for the moan that escaped her throat as Drew continued to tease her breasts. If she told him to get off, then Mission Control would know that something was going on and, if she tried to ignore him, well, she wasn’t sure how long she could hold back the second gasp that was begging to leave her chest.
‘Do you have to do that?’ She twisted her head around so she could speak in a whisper, but her mouth was met by Drew’s open lips. It was as close to a kiss as Nadia had come in several years.
‘Just trying to make the simulation realistic.’ Drew grinned and wrapped his legs firmly around the outside of Nadia’s thighs so that his now virtually erect cock was nestled in the groove between her fleshy cheeks. Embarrassed by his sudden reaction to Nadia’s proximity, he was hoping to conceal his hardness.
‘It feels too realistic for my liking.’ Nadia wriggled away from the bulge pressed into her bottom but it followed her, growing firmer and more invasive through the soft fabric of her jogging bottoms. ‘Can’t we try something else? I’m beginning to sweat with this much exertion.’
‘You’re just not used to it.’ Drew growled the words in her ear before pushing his cock into her buttocks as far as he could while tweaking both nipples.
‘Exactly what do you mean by that, Captain Masters?’ Nadia almost squealed his name as she felt her wretched and faithless body responding.
‘That you haven’t had it for years, have you, Miss Kasparaova?’
‘Get off my back. Now!’ Nadia struggled and kicked, and finally Drew unhitched them and they drifted apart. Nadia lifted the hem of her T-shirt, exposing her fla
t stomach, and wiped her face before the perspiration had a chance to bead and float off her skin. She hated the buzzing inside her jogging bottoms and, so foreign was the sensation, she wondered if a bee had stowed away and found its way into her knickers. She wanted to press her fingers down there to arrest the tingling, but touching herself in front of Drew would be tantamount to admitting she had enjoyed their simulated sex. Nadia forced her mind to overcome her body. These feelings – this arousal – simply would not do.
‘Ventura to Mission Control,’ Drew called out. ‘Harness proved more promising from rear docking position but unwilling subject made simulation difficult.’ Drew grinned at Nadia.
‘I am not a piece of space junk. Do you think you can dock me?’ She flushed and wiped her face on her T-shirt again, allowing Drew a delicious view of the lower portion of her breasts. He didn’t realise that military-issue bras could be so alluring.
‘What do you propose is the answer, Captain? The research department are keen for solutions.’ The chief’s voice rattled through the static.
‘Personally, I’d suggest dinner, wine, soft lighting, more wine, a bit of dirty talk, even more wine and then tying her up and giving her one. But, like I said, subject unwilling, so results are unreliable.’ Drew laughed and began to pack away the harness. ‘Allow me to lavish some of my charm on the subject and we’ll see what we can do later. There’s still the inflatable tube to try. Ventura out.’
Nadia watched as Drew left the laboratory. Was that it? she wondered. She felt empty, somehow cheated. He hadn’t even offered a parting kiss. And she was so consumed with thoughts of Drew’s body shunting them around the lab that she completely forgot to shut down the audio and visual connection with Mission Control. It wouldn’t be until later that she realised her mistake.