“Even so.” Beringer hesitated. “It’s not my job to advise you, Jeremy. You’re the captain, but I don’t feel right about this. Why would both colonies experience the same thing? I took the liberty to study the types of people who make up the colonists. One thing struck me as a little odd, there are a large number of religious people who make up Beta Colony.”
“I’m aware of that fact.” The Captain touched his computer screen. It expanded, changed position to give the Commander a better view. Beringer looked at a list of names. “As you can see,” Cunningham said, “most of them come from the Southern Americas. We’ve tried to keep them together. Alpha Colony is made up of people who have a more diverse background.”
“Don’t you find it peculiar that all those religious people would engage in sexual depravities? In my experience, religious people usually have many taboos and hang-ups when it comes to sex. They don’t have orgies.”
“Usually,” Cunningham agreed. “I guess, you’re right. I should have it investigated.”
Chapter Four
Space Station
When Commander Beringer left the Captain’s quarters, he walked out with mixed feelings. He’s getting old, Beringer thought. I would not treat those incidents so lightly. Being a military man made him naturally more aware of hidden dangers, made him more suspicious of things that might look harmless to the ordinary private citizen.
He took the elevator down to the fourth floor where his men were training under the sharp eyes of Sergeant Stasnowski. When he entered the gym, most of the marines were engaged in physical combat. He didn’t see Lieutenant Striker and Raymond Chu, but he knew they were busy getting ready for their mission.
Sergeant Stasnowski let go of the man he held pinned to the mat. The Sergeant was a big man. Many had been fooled by his great bulk, expecting him to be slow, but he was as agile as any one of them, and stronger. He saluted when Beringer walked up to him.
“At ease, Sergeant.” Beringer kept a tight ship, but he preferred a relaxed atmosphere when talking to his men. He knew he kept their respect, mainly because of that attitude. He handpicked each one, and he knew their strengths and weaknesses. They were the best that the Academy produced. “I see you’re still beating your opponents,” Beringer commented, smiling.
Stasnowski grinned. “They’re keeping me on my toes, especially Lieutenant Wang. He’s the best.”
“But not as good as you?”
The Sergeant lowered his voice, still grinning. “Actually, he’s better, but don’t tell him that I know. I think he lets me beat him, because he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings.”
“I didn’t know you had any.” Beringer laughed. “Tell the men to take the rest of the day off, and I’ll meet you in an hour on the observation deck. I’ll buy you a drink.”
There were a couple of people in the elevator when Beringer entered it. A man and a woman. He nodded politely, but didn’t say anything. They were strangers to him. He and his men didn’t fraternize with the civilians, he felt it was better that way.
He did see the woman on occasion. She was not the type a man could easily forget, with her red hair and green eyes, but he never spoke to her.
“So, when are you leaving,” the man asked the woman.
“Day after tomorrow,” she answered.
“For how long?”
“I might stay the full year.” She laughed softly. “Unless I like it so much. I just may decide to settle there.”
The man shook himself. “I hear it’s a rugged world. Nothing but snow and ice. And the weather is unpredictable, lots of thunderstorms in the summer and severe snowstorms in the winter.”
The woman brushed a strand of hair out of her face and chuckled. “It’s not as bad as all that. It’ll be nice to breathe some natural air again. The air on the station is becoming stale.”
“But it’s clean and sterilized, free of germs and bacteria. You don’t know what kind of stuff you’ll breathe down there.”
“Professor Tennenboum has been planet side now for a couple of months. All the members on his team are fine.” She touched the man’s cheek. “Are you trying to talk me out of it, Bret?”
“I worry about you, Breanna. I wish you wouldn’t go. I’ll miss you. Besides, who’s going to look after you?”
“I’m not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself.” Breanna smiled at Beringer, who studied her with interest, but tried not to be too obvious about it. “He’s my big brother,” she said. “It’s time I get away from him for awhile.”
Beringer smiled politely. “Older siblings tend to be overprotective of their younger ones, sometimes.” He thought of his own brother, almost twice his age now, who tried to talk him out of joining the military. A long time ago. They hadn’t spoken since.
“I’m not overprotective,” Bret defended himself. “It’s just, Breanna can be so impulsive.”
“This is not an impulsive decision, Bret. I joined this mission to discover alien life forms, intelligent life forms. I won’t find them here on the station.”
“This station itself is alien.”
“An artifact, interesting to an archeologist. Maybe. I’m looking for the people who built it.” Breanna sighed. “You wouldn’t understand.” She looked at Beringer. “All he’s interested in are the caskets.”
“Caskets?” Beringer asked.
“I’m a technician,” Bret explained. “I’m looking after the cryogenic chambers.”
The doors to the elevator opened before Beringer could comment.
“Would you mind joining us at our table?” Breanna asked him. “Unless you’re meeting someone?”
“Not for an hour.”
“Good.” Breanna flashed him a smile. “Come on, then.”
Beringer followed the couple. The transparent ceiling above them gave the illusion that he could just launch himself into the air and float into the emptiness of space. Even for one who had spent most of his life in outer space, it took some time to get used to it.
There were not many people in the observatory, since it was daytime on the station. Most of the crewmembers were performing their assigned duties and the scientists were busy working on their research projects.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Breanna lifted her arms, reached toward the stars. The bright globe of Nu-Eden hung motionless to one side. She looked at it. “Did you know that I’ve only spent a couple of weeks on Nu-Eden?” she asked Beringer.
He smiled. “That’s two weeks longer than I have.”
“Oh. Aren’t you wondering what’s it’s like down there?”
“Sometimes.” He shrugged. “My job is here on the station.”
“So what do you do all day?” she asked.
“He’s a military man, Bren, can’t you see that.” Bret sank into a chair. “Come, sit down.”
Breanna’s green eyes flashed when she glared at him. “I’m not stupid. I can see he’s a military man.” Sitting down, she clenched her fists and looked at Beringer. “This is why I have to get away. I feel I’m being smothered.”
Bret snorted, but didn’t comment.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Beringer took the seat across from her. She must have sensed his discomfort and reached across the table to touch his hand. “Forgive me. It’s not your problem.” She smiled. “You never told me who you actually are.”
“Sorry.” Beringer cleared his throat. “Les Beringer. Commander Les Beringer.”
“Oh, you’re the famous commander. I finally meet you.”
“Famous?” Beringer chuckled. “Why would you say that?”
“Your Lieutenant Striker told me about you. He respects you a lot.”
“You know the lieutenant?”
She shook her head. “Not intimately. But we’ve bumped into each other a couple of times. I just saw him yesterday. He’s part of our exploration team. But you know that, of course.”
“Of course.” Beringer nodded, looked at Brent. “I’ve wondered. Why did they put the cryog
enic chambers on the 21st and 22nd floor? Wouldn’t it have been easier to keep them on the lower floors?”
Bret smiled. He seemed relieved and happy to talk about something else than the problem he had with his sister. “Accessibility,” he explained. There is an exit on the 21st floor, probably originally designed as an emergency exit. The engineers attached a large pressure chamber on the outside of the tower, large enough for a shuttle to dock.”
“Interesting.”
“Both of the floors have an independent power plant. It is located on the 23rd floor.” Bret was eager to explain it to Beringer. There probably wasn’t anyone else around who would be interested in his work. “There are always four security guards on duty. We don’t take any chances. After all, we’re responsible for 1,000 human lives.”
Breanna touched her brother’s arm. “I don’t think the Commander is interested in all the details, Bret. You don’t want to bore him.”
Bret shook away her hand. “He asked,” he said, angrily. “Nobody seems to appreciate my work. I know, I’m just a technician, but I have a responsible job.” He looked at the timepiece on his wrist and rose. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my shift. A pleasure to meet you, Commander.” He stalked away, his shoulders stiff and straight.
“Your brother is an angry man,” Beringer said, after Bret disappeared into the elevator.
“That he is.” Breanna let out a deep sigh. “Our parents were killed when I was quite young. He’s been my guardian and protector ever since. Now I’m grown up, and he can’t get used to it. As far as he’s concerned, I’m still his little kid-sister. He never married, doesn’t have any friends. I’m the only person he feels close to. And now I’m abandoning him.”
“Maybe it’s good if he’s alone for awhile. Have you ever thought that it may be you who’s smothering him?”
Her eyebrows arched delicately when she looked at him. “Are you also a psychiatrist?” she asked, almost sharply, but then she smiled. “You may be right. I’ve been leaning on him for much too long. I don’t make friends easily, either.”
“I can’t believe that. A beautiful woman like you?” He looked into her eyes. She sure is a beauty, and damn attractive, he thought, a gentle flutter suddenly took life in his loins.
A bright smile smoothed out the frown on her forehead, made her look even more beautiful. The pounding in his loins became almost unbearable.
“You really think I’m beautiful?” she asked, her eyes partially covered by lowered lashes.
She’s playing me, he thought. Damn it, I’m getting an erection. “You want something to drink?” he asked, trying to cover his embarrassment. He had been much too long without a woman.
“Sure.” She smiled again. He became aware of the way her breasts moved under her thin sweater. “It’s warm in here, makes a person thirsty,” she said softly.
He grinned foolishly, nodded, and got up to walk over to the bar to order a couple of drinks. He’d never asked her what she wanted, so he ordered double scotch on the rocks for both of them.
After she downed her second one, she waggled a finger at him. “You’re a sly one, Commander,” she said, her speech a little slurred. “I think you’re trying to get me drunk. I can get quite naughty after a few drinks.”
After her fourth, she asked him to take her back to her room. “I think I need someone to tuck me into bed,” she slurred.
Beringer looked at his watch. Sergeant Stasnowski should make his appearance any time now. Then he thought, What the hell, he can wait.
Breanna’s room was on the tenth floor. She shared it with two other women. Both were at work now. Breanna assured him that they wouldn’t be home for at least a couple of hours.
The alcohol hit her fully, and she was quite drunk by the time they arrived in her room. Beringer started feeling the effects of the alcohol also, and he didn’t object when Breanna tugged on his pants to free his erection. When her mouth closed over his hard member he was almost ready to explode inside her hot mouth, but he still had enough self-control. He reached down to pull off her sweater. Her breasts tumbled out, large and round, with nipples as thick as her small finger.
With feverish haste, he took off his own clothes, and then he lay between her spread thighs. When he entered her moist sheath she cried out sharply, thrust up against him with the ferocity of a wild beast. The alcohol slowed his reflexes, kept him from coming too soon. When it finally happened, he exploded like an erupting volcano inside her hot interior.
“Don’t pull out yet,” she sobbed, still in the throes of an orgasm. He waited until she calmed down. Her legs fell open and released him. He rolled onto his back. “I guess I better leave,” he said after catching his breath. “Wouldn’t want your roommates to find me here, in your bed.”
She laughed softly. “They would just be jealous.” She climbed on top of him, wiggled her bottom. “Don’t worry,” she said and chuckled. “I’m as exhausted as you are.” She slipped off the bed, padded over to a small cabinet and took out a bottle. “I’m thirsty. Want some water?”
“No, thank you. Did anybody ever tell you that you have a perfect body?”
She struck a pose, smiled. “Hundreds. I sleep with a lot of men.”
“Really?”
Pouting, she said, “You don’t actually believe that, do you? I don’t make it a habit to fuck every guy I meet.”
“Why me, then?” Beringer kept staring at her, smitten by her beauty.
She shrugged. “I found you attractive. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe I just wanted to be loved by someone. Or maybe I was just horny. Does it matter?”
“No, it doesn’t. I don’t jump into bed with every woman I talk to, either. I’m not sorry it happened.” He swung his feet off the bed, began dressing. “I better go before I drag you back to bed.”
She came closer. Her naked, soft breasts pressed against his chest as she leaned against him. Lifting up, she kissed him on the lips. “Thank you, Les Beringer. I hope to see you again when I come back.”
Chapter Five
Alpha Colony
He was awakened by a gentle kiss. Opening his eyes, he looked into Anina’s smiling face.
“Good morning,” she said brightly. “Time to get up.” She was already dressed in her usual colorless robe. Most women in the colony wore similar robes, they were practical, easy to maintain, warm on chilly nights and cool on hot days. Unfortunately, they were not very attractive.
“You sound chipper,” he said and sat up.
“I feel great this morning.” She laughed and stretched. Even the coarse material of her robe couldn’t hide the swell of her breasts. “Did you ever have a dream that seemed so real you didn’t know if you were awake or just dreaming?” she asked.
He studied her face; it seemed a little flushed. He shrugged. “I guess I have.” Images of her kneeling in front of Stephan Tilus flashed into his mind. Her cries of ecstasy echoed in his head, the memory of her writhing on top of the other man made his blood boil. Then he saw himself kneeling behind Orona. He could still feel the pounding in his loins and the ecstatic feeling when he slid his penis into the young woman’s sex-organ. Had it been just a dream?
“Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” she said, color creeping into her cheeks. “It was just a silly dream.”
“Maybe it’s the air,” he said.
“Or maybe the moons. Did you see those moons last night?” She pulled her hair out of her face, bunched it together behind her head. “I think I’ll wear my hair a little looser from now on. That bun makes me look older, don’t you think so?”
He smiled. “You look fine to me either way.”
She pulled her mouth into a pout. “Just fine? I want to look beautiful for you. It’s been quite some time since you told me I was beautiful.”
He got off the bed and walked up to her. Taking her into his arms he said, “You are beautiful, and I love you.”
“Do you, Thomas?” She looked into his eyes
. “So why do we hardly make love anymore.” It was not a question, but a statement.
He let go of her, turned away. “Not that again, Anina. You know how hard I’ve worked ever since we landed. I’m just tired.”
“Everybody works hard,” she said in a low voice. She kissed him on the shoulder and put her arms around him from the back. He could feel her soft breasts pressing against him, felt her warm breath in his neck. Between his legs, his penis stirred. When he turned, his hard penis touched her hips.
She smiled and put her hand on his hardness. “Thomas,” she breathed, “it’s early in the morning, but if you insist.” She stepped back, pulled the robe over her head. She was naked underneath. He stared at her coppery triangle, at the slit visible underneath the sparse pubic hair.
She put her hand on his stiff penis, pulled him gently toward her. Groaning, he put his arms around her, kissed her hungrily. She fell backward onto the bed, her legs parted and then he found himself sliding into her creamy moistness. She cried out, wrapped her legs around his torso and lifted off the bed to meet his thrusts. She writhed beneath him, whimpering and clawing at his back.
He moved between her soft clutching thighs with ever-increasing speed. When he erupted inside her, he felt the all-consuming fire rage in his veins. His whole body seemed to burn with a passion he never felt before. He pulled out of her, still stiff.
“Turn around,” he said, images of Orona’s pale buttocks flashing through his mind.
Anina turned onto her belly. He straddled her, put his hands on her hips and pulled her up. Her buttocks were fleshy, but round and full; he pulled them apart, pushed his finger into the slit beneath, felt her inner muscle contract around his finger. He mounted her then, sank his erect member deep into her.
“Oh, Thomas,” she moaned, “what is happening? We’ve never done it like this before.”
He didn’t say anything, just stared at her arching back, held her smooth hips in his strong hands. She began to rotate her hips, milking him fiercely. He slammed into her soft buttocks until he felt the wave of pleasure rise inside him. When it became impossible to hold back any longer he let go, and roaring, he emptied his discharge into his wife’s hot interior, dimly aware of her cries of pleasure and her own gushing eruption.
The Xandra (Book 1): Daughter of the Dark Page 3