Chapter 08.3
"She had a sweet body," said Edinburg, reminiscing as he saw it in his mind's eye. "Not the best I've had, mind you. That redhead from two trips ago is still vivid in my memory. But Marsha had a kind of sweetness, an innocence, I enjoyed sampling."
"Only not so innocent anymore," Mr. Zulu grinned. "Julian, how did you make out with Janet King?"
"So-so," said McCallister. "All of our action was above the belt. Unfortunately. She said she felt she had to be faithful to her husband. Evidently letting me kiss her, and squeeze her titties through her uniform, wasn't being unfaithful to him. Only doing the other thing was. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow."
"Keep trying!" said Captain Tiberias. "Just remember, you only have four days left before we get to Fuck Town!"
The following morning, Jennifer reflected on her experiences of the night before. At first, she had been terribly excited when Captain Tiberias had pulled off her miniskirt and Spacefleet issue bra and panties. She had excitedly run her hands under his shirt, eager to feel him naked even while he was taking off his clothes. After they were both finally naked and they pressed their bodies together, Jennifer felt a surge of excitement. That chest! That manly, manly chest! Jennifer couldn't get enough of it. They kissed, they fondled, they petted, they touched.
It was wonderful.
And then the inevitable happened when Jason, giving her a cocky smile, mounted her in a wonderfully dominant way. Jennifer spread her legs and her heart hammered with great excitement as she realized the momentous event that was about to happen: Captain Jason K. Tiberius, the very manly Captain of the USS Yorktown, was about to have the most intimate physical relations with her. She smiled broadly and inhaled suddenly as she felt the Captain's penis slide into her vagina.
Ooooh! That was so good!
Jason smiled as she moaned, all the more enjoying his latest conquest. But as the Captain thrust into her, however, he began to change.
Jason's face turned into Anson.
She couldn't get him out of her mind. The expression of horror, and pain on his face, when she had taunted him in the arboretum. It was that face now that made love to her. It was her guilt, guilt at what she had done to Anson, that was now punishing her. Jason thrust into her faster and faster, coming closer and closer to that less and less elusive ending, but Jennifer's guilt sabotaged her own efforts. So even as Jason went higher and higher, yelling "Ahhh... ahhhh.... ahhhh!" as he stiffened and suddenly grew still, squirting his semen into Yeoman Jennifer's receptive vagina, she was robbed of nearly all the pleasure of it, as Anson's horrified face was still projected on Tiberius's face until the deed was done.
After he came, always the gentleman, the Captain started to thrust again, trying to see to her needs. But after a time, Jason got a puzzled look on his face as he moved in and out of Jennifer without result. Jennifer had to resort to moaning and faking an orgasm to satisfy him. It was only after he left, when she could rub her clitoris and cry in the darkness, that she was finally able to get some measure of relief.
"Anson, you fucking bastard!"
Why did he always have to ruin everything for her?
The following day, the fourth of the mission, the USS Yorktown came into orbit around Omicron Theta. Omicron Theta was a swirly red planet filled with mystery. The readings indicated it could support human life. Captain Tiberius called for a landing party. This would be their first extraplanetary mission!
For the away team, Tiberius chose Jennifer, Anson, Lieutenant Uahu, Leonard King, Marsha Moore, and Mr. Sammock to accompany him.
They stepped onto the Conveyor platform. When everyone was ready, Tiberius, swaggering like a peacock, nodded and said, "Electronize, Paddy."
"Aye, sirre," said the Chief Engineer, who seemed to also have double duty operating the Conveyor controls as well as the ship's engines.
One minute they were in the Conveyor room, and then there was a sparkle in front of their eyes, and then they were on an alien planet!
They found themselves in the middle of a series of rock outcroppings.
Mr. Sammock started to take readings; his scanner gave off a noticeable whine. "Interesting!" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Mr. Sammock?" said Captain Tiberius, posing in front of Sammock with his chest thrust forward.
"I am detecting life readings... of a decidedly amorphous nature," said Sammock.
"Amorphous?" said Tiberius, jerking his head in an exaggerated way. "Explain, Sammock."
Sammock raised an eyebrow (again). "I cannot, Captain."
"Let's fan out and explore," said Captain Tiberius. "Be cautious, but set your blasters to stun."
They had all been given standard issue Spacefleet blasters.
They walked around the landscape. The ground underneath their feet looked like sand. The rock croppings looked odd, though. They appeared soft, almost hollow, as if they were of an incredibly light weight material.
Lieutenant Uahu smiled. "If not for the boulder fields, this would remind me of my native Somalia."
"I thought you said you were from Uganda," said Leonard King.
"Oh, yes, I said that, didn't I?" said Uahu. "Well, I was born in Somalia, but grew up in Uganda. Yes. Anyway, this lovely desert makes me want to sing." And sing she did.
"The desert sands call to meeeee... the desert sands call to meeeee... they say they want me to be carefree... all so adventurous and carefree...."
As Uahu sang, they suddenly felt a breeze whipping around them.
"Oooh! What a breeze!" said Uahu, as the flap of her red miniskirt flapped upwards, momentarily revealing her red panties.
"Captain," said Sammock urgently, checking his scanner. "The life reading is here."
"The breeze, Sammock?" said Tiberius.
"I believe the Lieutenant's singing attracted it," said Sammock.
The breeze, which was slightly cloudy, started to move away from them.
"No, come back," said Jennifer.
But in a moment, it was gone.
"Uahu, sing again," said Tiberius.
Uahu started to sing. As she sang, they saw the cloudy breeze in the distance, swirling. But whenever they moved towards it, it pulled away.
"Sammock, if it's attracted to singing, could it also be attracted to music?" Captain Tiberius asked.
"Indeed," said Sammock, raising an eyebrow. "Music is the basics of mathematics for many sentient races. It could be a vital form of communication."
"Captain, you should know that I'm a classically trained pianist," said Jennifer, stepping forward.
"Really?" said Tiberius.
"And I'm a professional oboeflute player," said Marsha Moore.
"What an excellent stroke of luck!" said Tiberius.
Indeed, Anson thought. Captain Tiberius had just happened to include the two professional musicians on his landing party. What were the odds of that?
"Let's get back to the Yorktown. We'll Fabricate instruments, and then return here, in one hour!"
Anson watched the exchange without commenting. Everyone else seemed very excited.
They returned to the ship and reconvened in an hour.
The ship's Fabricator couldn't make a full sized piano, of course. But it could produce a credible minikeyboard which sounded just like it. Marsha Moore got her oboeflute, and Mr. Sammock returned with his Valtrexian square guitar.
They sat on chairs they brought with them and started to play. At first, they had to practice a little to coordinate between them, but soon they were producing a harmonious tune.
As they played, they heard a gust of wind as they felt the lifeform return; several miniskirt flaps brushed upwards as the women alike made "Oooh and Aaaaah" sounds at the wondrous sight before them.
As they played, the gust of wind started to assume colors... red... yellow... green... like the rings of the planet they had observed the day before.
Jennifer played with as much passion as she could and smiled at Sammock. She thought she saw the vaguest hint of a response as Sammock seemed to smile back at her! It excited Jennifer. She started to play more intensely, hitting high notes more rapidly. Sammock matched her. Then she started playing low notes. Sammock matched her as well. He was quite an accomplished musician.
As they played together, everyone else started to disappear from Jennifer's perspective, even Marsha Moore, who was playing the oboeflute right besides them. It was only her and Sammock. They stared into each other's eyes as they played. His dark Valtrexian eyes were full of mystery. Jennifer put all her passion into the music as she stole stares at him. Meanwhile the gust of wind was now turning gold and bright silver. Everyone gasped when it started to sing to them, in a high pitched, alien voice.
Jennifer gave a triumphant grin, and looked over at Sammock, who gave her a very pleased look. They were attempting to make contact with an alien race, but in actuality, the most important connection which had been established was between Jennifer and Sammock.
At dinner that night, Captain Tiberias gave a toast to their fine musicians. "Great work, people," he said, smiling. But inside he was more than a little worried.
Jennifer seemed to be cozying up to Sammock a little too much. The two were talking and whispering together during dinner, and after dinner it was Sammock, and not Tiberius, who Jennifer took for a lazy tour of the hydroponics deck.
Later that night, in the officer's recreation room, Tiberias asked him about it.
"What are you up to?" he asked Sammock.
"What do you mean?" Sammock asked.
"Jennifer. She's mine."
"I don't see her name written on you, Captain," said Sammock, giving a wide grin.
"He's got you there, Captain," said Lieutenant Uahu. She pointed a wand to her face and depolarized her skin color. In moments, she was white.
"Hey, change back!" said Tiberias. "You know your contract. You're supposed to be black the entire trip."
"But I'm tired of being black," Uahu whined.
"Susan," said Tiberias with a warning tone.
"Oh, all right," said Uahu, and she reapplied the polarizer wand to her face.
"So, did you take her?" Gorsky asked.
"Not yet," said Sammock.
"No balls, Mr. Sammock?" Tiberias asked.
"As I've said, Captain, I prefer the slow but steady approach. You took Jennifer almost immediately, and yet I fail to see her sniffing around you anymore," said Sammock. "No, first I must give her the illusion of chase. I must make her desire me. Only then will I give her-"
"What you most desire," Zulu grinned.
"Precisely," said Sammock, raising an eyebrow.
Two days later, the USS Yorktown arrived at the planet Charon, in the Ceti Alpha Minor Cloud.
"This is a diplomatic mission," Captain Tiberias announced. "We recently established contact with the natives, just a few months ago."
"What are they like, Captain?" Jennifer asked.
"They are a peaceful people, dedicated to art, humanity, and happiness. You'll like them, trust me," said Tiberias. "Your mission is to build cultural bridges, to get to know them, to establish a better understanding between Earth and their society."
They had finally arrived at Fuck Town.
Tiberias made sure to bring all the guests down for this one--Marsha and Walter Moore, Janet and Leonard King, Anson, Jessica, and Jennifer. They found themselves on a lush world filled with small ponds of water surrounded by green lawns. There were people all around, all fair haired, all blonde, all in excellent shape, and all barely dressed. The men wore a kind of wraparound shorts that were so tight that their balls stuck out.
The women wore what looked like two stripes of cloth, one that wrapped around each breast and then went down to almost cover a buttock.
They were greeted by a man with perfect white teeth, and a woman with large breasts. They were both incredibly blonde.
"We greet you once again, Captain Tiberias," said the man. He introduced himself as Klorax. His companion was named Claressa.
Claressa came forward and hugged Captain Tiberias. "All that is ours is yours," she said, looking into his eyes deeply.
Captain Tiberias smirked. "That's very... generous." He turned to Klorax. "Would you mind if our people wander around and interact with yours?"
"Of course. You are all very welcome here. Stay, meet our people, and then gather in the Great Hall where there will be a feast, in your honor."
"Thank you," said Tiberias.
The crew started to disperse. Anson noticed that male Charonites seemed attracted to the women like flies to honey, and that women Charonites seemed to make a bee-line to the men. A very attractive alien blonde bimbo somehow materialized on Anson's arm. "I am Shanna. Tell me of your explorations," she breathed.
"Perhaps later," said Anson. He noticed Jessica heading off arm and arm with a big Charonite man. Her grin was as wide as the Milky Way. He turned to Jennifer. She was also immediately engaged with one of the locals.
Everyone seemed happy. Everyone except Marsha Moore. She shook off her would-be male companion, and started walking on her own. Something about this place seemed odd to her. Oddly familiar....
As Anson walked about, one woman after another approached him. It was if they were programmed, like robots, to seek out his company. Finally, getting annoyed with dismissing each one of them, he allowed one to follow in his wake.
"I am Moxine," she said, with doe-like eyes.
"I am Anson," said Anson, looking around, without even being sure what he was looking at. He looked upwards. Suddenly, he saw what looked like a castle... floating in the sky!
"What is that?" Anson asked.
"That is Altos," said Moxine. "Our city in the sky. Some of us live there."
Altos. The city in the sky. Something about this was increasingly familiar.
Moxine took Anson's face in her hands and aimed it at her. "Would you not rather look at me?"
She was exceedingly beautiful, with fine hair, firm breasts, a slender waist, and a nicely curved ass.
"You're very... beautiful," said Anson grudgingly, almost exactly the same way Captain Tiberias might have said it, when he was pretending not to show undue interest in a woman.
"Am I?" Moxine smiled. "My father says I am a work of art."
A work of art.
Suddenly, like a jigsaw puzzle, it all came together.
Altos. Stratos. The sky city. The city in the clouds. Moxine. Droxine. The work of art.
Anson's mouth was suddenly dry as he uncovered the truth.
This wasn't a mission of space exploration.
This was a rehash of an episode of a drama serial that was several hundred years old.
Marsha Moore frowned as she looked at the environment around her. The settlement was ringed by hills on either side. It had a rectangular shape. A rectangular shape that was stunningly familiar to her.
On a hunch, she picked up a rock. And then, with all her strength, she threw it at the cliff face above her.
The rock caused the cliff face to blur, and shimmer, before falling back to the ground.
"I knew it," she breathed.
"How did you know it?" a new voice asked.
Marsha turned to find Anson Ford behind her.
"I used to work in holography. In training exercises, for members of the military. I was a civilian contractor. The holographic rooms... they can be built to custom sizes, you understand, but most of them are the standard 9 by 16 dimensions," said Marsha. "When I was on the other planet, the one with the singing wind, I kind of noticed it, subconsciously. But here, with the cliff faces on either side of the settlement, it just leapt out at me." She turned to Anson. "This isn't real."
"I know," said Anson.
"I'd like to get some answers," said Marsha.
"Me too," said Anson.
The crew was relaxing in the officer's rec lounge. "The Fuckbots are probably having their way with them even as we speak," said Captain Tiberias, as the others laughed.
"Not all of them," said a new voice.
He turned to see Anson Ford and Marsha Moore step through the door.
"How did you get in here?" Captain Tiberias asked.
"A quick word of advice, Captain Tiberias... if that is your real name," said Anson. "1-2-3-4-5 is hardly the most secure password."
"This area is restricted," said Captain Tiberias.
"We know," said Anson.
"Know what?" said the Captain.
"That this is all a fake," said Marsha.
"What do you mean?" said Tiberias, sticking out his chest.
"You can stop pretending. We know we're in a holographic chamber."
Tiberias sighed. "How did you find out?"
"I worked in holography, once upon a time," said Marsha.
"And I was a fan of ancient dramas," said Anson. "Everything here, your names, this ship, these events... they are all jumbled versions of an ancient drama serial. Star Walks. Star Talks. Something like that. Written around the time of Shakespeare, I think."
"Really?" said Captain Tiberias. He looked surprised.
"You didn't know?" Anson asked.
"No, we're just actors," said Tiberias. "We're paid to do a script. We didn't write it."
"Oh my god!" said Marsha Moore. She looked at Chief Edinburg. "I thought you were a dashing space engineer. I slept with you!"
"All part of the service, ma'am," said Edinberg, tipping an imaginary hat.
"Why all the make believe? Why all the pretend?" Anson asked. "There are places like Amadiroland which are open about providing holographic adventures."
"Pretending is not exciting," said Captain Tiberias. "If people knew that this was a merely a holoshow, they wouldn't feel the wonder or the thrill, of meeting a new alien species."
"Well, they're going to lose that thrill now," said Anson grimly.
"No, you can't," said Tiberias.
"Can't?" said Anson, raising an eyebrow.
"No, he's right," said Marsha, putting a hand on his arm.
Anson turned on her, surprised.
"It's my husband, Walter," said Marsha. "He came here for this experience. If you tell him the truth, you will ruin it for him."
"Not just for him," said Captain Tiberias. "For everyone."
"But it's a lie," said Anson.
"But he's enjoying himself so much," Marsha.
"He's probably being worked on by a Fuckbot right now," said Ensign Gorsky.
"Fuckbot?" said Marsha. "You mean.... all these sexy blonde people....?"
"Welcome to Fuck Town, lady," said Gorsky, giving a cruel chuckle.
Marsha whimpered for a moment. But then she looked up at Anson again. "Please, Anson."
Anson nodded. "All right. But Jessica and I are leaving right now."
"No, your absence will leave unexplained questions," said Tiberias.
"I'm not staying another week or more in this fantasy," said Anson.
"Just stay until the morning. You can take a shuttlecraft back to Starbase, I promise."
"All right," said Anson, shaking his head slowly.
"Thank you," said Marsha sincerely.
That night, happy revelers returned to the ship, full of stories of friendly natives. Jennifer looked as happy as the rest. "Sklar was a big blonde hunk, and he gave me the most incredible massage!" she was telling Janet King.
Anson briefly wondered if he should tell her. But he realized it would do more harm than good. She wouldn't believe anything he said. If Jennifer wanted to enjoy herself having sex with robots and actors, who was he to interfere?
That night, Jennifer and Mr. Sammock were snuggling in his quarters. The Valtrexian continued to fascinate her. He obvious had feelings, buried deep down. But could she be the woman who could bring his passions to the surface?
They were in bed, gently touching and kissing. But Sammock didn't seem prepared to go farther than that. She tried to squeeze him between his legs, but he stopped her.
"What's wrong, Mr. Sammock?" Having sex with someone she called "Mister" was somehow powerfully erotic to her.
"My mating cycle will not be trigged for another four years," said Sammock.
"But isn't there anything that can trigger the cycle... prematurely?" said Jennifer, kissing him passionately on the lips. "Isn't there, Mr. Sammock?" Her tone was almost pleading.
Sammock, feeling her need, her sex drive, decided the time was right to stop playing hard to get and to let her catch him. He kissed her back with equal fervor. "Maybe there is a way," he said huskily. He opened his pants. "Maybe if you put your hands in here, you might be able to... stimulate my mating cycle..."
Several minutes later, Sammock and Jennifer were completely nude. Sammock loved the feeling of Jennifer's firm C cup breasts against his chest. She had wanked him expertly and now he was completely hard. They kissed and fondled each other some more, and when Sammock thought she was ready, he got between her legs with his large Valtrexian penis.
Jennifer looked at it and gasped. "I've never had sex with an alien before."
"That's what Spacefleet is all about," said Sammock. "Contact and greater understanding between species."
Jennifer nodded and smiled, and then Sammock put his Valtrexian penis inside of her earth woman vagina. It was history in the making.
In moments, he was thrusting joyfully inside of her. Earth girls felt so good!
Jennifer started to moan his name, at the same time she rubbing her fingers through his hair.
"Not the head," Sammock instructed. Jennifer started to ask why, but figured it was an alien custom, and so she put her hands on his back. Sammock smiled and resumed thrusting within her.
But as Jennifer became excited her hands unconsciously moved up, and this time, Sammock, who was getting close to orgasm, wasn't focused enough to pay attention on it.
"Ooooh ooooh," he murmured, his thrusts becoming more intense..
Jennifer's hands slipped down to his ears, his oval shaped Valtrexian ears.
"Ooooh ooooh!" Sammock groaned, thrusting faster and faster now. He was getting close. Very close.
Jennifer grabbed onto his ears like handles.
"Aaaaaah! Sammock cried, jerking his head up as he climaxed, filling Jennifer's vagina with his Valtrexian sperm.
Jennifer, her eyes closed in pure self-enjoyment, smiled as she felt him pulse deep inside of her. But when she suddenly felt something was wrong, she opened her eyes and she screamed.
She was holding Sammock's Valtrexian ears, one in each hand, separate from his head.
Anson made his goodbyes, the next morning at breakfast,. He explained that he and Jessica had to return to Earth early for personal reasons. Jessica, as usual, was enraged, even after Anson explained his reasons the night before.
"You mean for four hours this afternoon I was fucked by three different robots?" Jessica said.
"You were fucked by an Egyptian slave robot in Amadiroland and it didn't seem to bother you much," said Anson.
"Yeah, but... "
"But what?"
"But I knew that was a robot," said Jessica. "So... Jioto. Not really a security officer?"
"Not really."
"A pity. He was much more fully developed than my Survey Service boyfriend."
And so they made their goodbyes. Anson saw a mixture of gratitude, relief, and sadness in Marsha Moore's eyes. But she was right; Walter looked so happy, discussing his experiences in Fuck Town (which is what Anson thought of it now), that she had made the right decision. The decision of a loving spouse.
But there was one person Anson didn't see.
"Where is she?" said Anson, when he cornered Captain Tiberias after breakfast.
"Jennifer took an early morning shuttle back to Starbase 69," said Captain Tiberias.
69? Was that supposed to be some kind of sexual joke?
Anson grabbed Tiberias by the shirt. Amazingly, the man's machisimo seemed to evaporate before Anson's very eyes. "Don't hurt me, please!" Tiberias cried.
"What happened to her?" Anson growled.
"She... had an experience with Mr. Sammock last night."
"What kind of... experience?"
Tiberias was very much aware that Anson was the ex-husband, the very jealous ex-husband of Jennifer. "The... sexual kind."
"Did Sammock hurt her? I'll kill him if-"
"No, no no no," said Tiberias. "She wasn't hurt." He lowered his voice. "It's just... she discovered, at an inconvenient moment, that he wasn't exactly what he appeared to be." And then he gestured to his ears.
Anson looked at Tiberias, as he pictured in his mind what must have happened. Then Anson did something totally unexpected.
He laughed, and laughed and laughed.
Poor Jennifer!
And then Anson laughed again.
"Only not so innocent anymore," Mr. Zulu grinned. "Julian, how did you make out with Janet King?"
"So-so," said McCallister. "All of our action was above the belt. Unfortunately. She said she felt she had to be faithful to her husband. Evidently letting me kiss her, and squeeze her titties through her uniform, wasn't being unfaithful to him. Only doing the other thing was. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow."
"Keep trying!" said Captain Tiberias. "Just remember, you only have four days left before we get to Fuck Town!"
The following morning, Jennifer reflected on her experiences of the night before. At first, she had been terribly excited when Captain Tiberias had pulled off her miniskirt and Spacefleet issue bra and panties. She had excitedly run her hands under his shirt, eager to feel him naked even while he was taking off his clothes. After they were both finally naked and they pressed their bodies together, Jennifer felt a surge of excitement. That chest! That manly, manly chest! Jennifer couldn't get enough of it. They kissed, they fondled, they petted, they touched.
It was wonderful.
And then the inevitable happened when Jason, giving her a cocky smile, mounted her in a wonderfully dominant way. Jennifer spread her legs and her heart hammered with great excitement as she realized the momentous event that was about to happen: Captain Jason K. Tiberius, the very manly Captain of the USS Yorktown, was about to have the most intimate physical relations with her. She smiled broadly and inhaled suddenly as she felt the Captain's penis slide into her vagina.
Ooooh! That was so good!
Jason smiled as she moaned, all the more enjoying his latest conquest. But as the Captain thrust into her, however, he began to change.
Jason's face turned into Anson.
She couldn't get him out of her mind. The expression of horror, and pain on his face, when she had taunted him in the arboretum. It was that face now that made love to her. It was her guilt, guilt at what she had done to Anson, that was now punishing her. Jason thrust into her faster and faster, coming closer and closer to that less and less elusive ending, but Jennifer's guilt sabotaged her own efforts. So even as Jason went higher and higher, yelling "Ahhh... ahhhh.... ahhhh!" as he stiffened and suddenly grew still, squirting his semen into Yeoman Jennifer's receptive vagina, she was robbed of nearly all the pleasure of it, as Anson's horrified face was still projected on Tiberius's face until the deed was done.
After he came, always the gentleman, the Captain started to thrust again, trying to see to her needs. But after a time, Jason got a puzzled look on his face as he moved in and out of Jennifer without result. Jennifer had to resort to moaning and faking an orgasm to satisfy him. It was only after he left, when she could rub her clitoris and cry in the darkness, that she was finally able to get some measure of relief.
"Anson, you fucking bastard!"
Why did he always have to ruin everything for her?
The following day, the fourth of the mission, the USS Yorktown came into orbit around Omicron Theta. Omicron Theta was a swirly red planet filled with mystery. The readings indicated it could support human life. Captain Tiberius called for a landing party. This would be their first extraplanetary mission!
For the away team, Tiberius chose Jennifer, Anson, Lieutenant Uahu, Leonard King, Marsha Moore, and Mr. Sammock to accompany him.
They stepped onto the Conveyor platform. When everyone was ready, Tiberius, swaggering like a peacock, nodded and said, "Electronize, Paddy."
"Aye, sirre," said the Chief Engineer, who seemed to also have double duty operating the Conveyor controls as well as the ship's engines.
One minute they were in the Conveyor room, and then there was a sparkle in front of their eyes, and then they were on an alien planet!
They found themselves in the middle of a series of rock outcroppings.
Mr. Sammock started to take readings; his scanner gave off a noticeable whine. "Interesting!" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Mr. Sammock?" said Captain Tiberius, posing in front of Sammock with his chest thrust forward.
"I am detecting life readings... of a decidedly amorphous nature," said Sammock.
"Amorphous?" said Tiberius, jerking his head in an exaggerated way. "Explain, Sammock."
Sammock raised an eyebrow (again). "I cannot, Captain."
"Let's fan out and explore," said Captain Tiberius. "Be cautious, but set your blasters to stun."
They had all been given standard issue Spacefleet blasters.
They walked around the landscape. The ground underneath their feet looked like sand. The rock croppings looked odd, though. They appeared soft, almost hollow, as if they were of an incredibly light weight material.
Lieutenant Uahu smiled. "If not for the boulder fields, this would remind me of my native Somalia."
"I thought you said you were from Uganda," said Leonard King.
"Oh, yes, I said that, didn't I?" said Uahu. "Well, I was born in Somalia, but grew up in Uganda. Yes. Anyway, this lovely desert makes me want to sing." And sing she did.
"The desert sands call to meeeee... the desert sands call to meeeee... they say they want me to be carefree... all so adventurous and carefree...."
As Uahu sang, they suddenly felt a breeze whipping around them.
"Oooh! What a breeze!" said Uahu, as the flap of her red miniskirt flapped upwards, momentarily revealing her red panties.
"Captain," said Sammock urgently, checking his scanner. "The life reading is here."
"The breeze, Sammock?" said Tiberius.
"I believe the Lieutenant's singing attracted it," said Sammock.
The breeze, which was slightly cloudy, started to move away from them.
"No, come back," said Jennifer.
But in a moment, it was gone.
"Uahu, sing again," said Tiberius.
Uahu started to sing. As she sang, they saw the cloudy breeze in the distance, swirling. But whenever they moved towards it, it pulled away.
"Sammock, if it's attracted to singing, could it also be attracted to music?" Captain Tiberius asked.
"Indeed," said Sammock, raising an eyebrow. "Music is the basics of mathematics for many sentient races. It could be a vital form of communication."
"Captain, you should know that I'm a classically trained pianist," said Jennifer, stepping forward.
"Really?" said Tiberius.
"And I'm a professional oboeflute player," said Marsha Moore.
"What an excellent stroke of luck!" said Tiberius.
Indeed, Anson thought. Captain Tiberius had just happened to include the two professional musicians on his landing party. What were the odds of that?
"Let's get back to the Yorktown. We'll Fabricate instruments, and then return here, in one hour!"
Anson watched the exchange without commenting. Everyone else seemed very excited.
They returned to the ship and reconvened in an hour.
The ship's Fabricator couldn't make a full sized piano, of course. But it could produce a credible minikeyboard which sounded just like it. Marsha Moore got her oboeflute, and Mr. Sammock returned with his Valtrexian square guitar.
They sat on chairs they brought with them and started to play. At first, they had to practice a little to coordinate between them, but soon they were producing a harmonious tune.
As they played, they heard a gust of wind as they felt the lifeform return; several miniskirt flaps brushed upwards as the women alike made "Oooh and Aaaaah" sounds at the wondrous sight before them.
As they played, the gust of wind started to assume colors... red... yellow... green... like the rings of the planet they had observed the day before.
Jennifer played with as much passion as she could and smiled at Sammock. She thought she saw the vaguest hint of a response as Sammock seemed to smile back at her! It excited Jennifer. She started to play more intensely, hitting high notes more rapidly. Sammock matched her. Then she started playing low notes. Sammock matched her as well. He was quite an accomplished musician.
As they played together, everyone else started to disappear from Jennifer's perspective, even Marsha Moore, who was playing the oboeflute right besides them. It was only her and Sammock. They stared into each other's eyes as they played. His dark Valtrexian eyes were full of mystery. Jennifer put all her passion into the music as she stole stares at him. Meanwhile the gust of wind was now turning gold and bright silver. Everyone gasped when it started to sing to them, in a high pitched, alien voice.
Jennifer gave a triumphant grin, and looked over at Sammock, who gave her a very pleased look. They were attempting to make contact with an alien race, but in actuality, the most important connection which had been established was between Jennifer and Sammock.
At dinner that night, Captain Tiberias gave a toast to their fine musicians. "Great work, people," he said, smiling. But inside he was more than a little worried.
Jennifer seemed to be cozying up to Sammock a little too much. The two were talking and whispering together during dinner, and after dinner it was Sammock, and not Tiberius, who Jennifer took for a lazy tour of the hydroponics deck.
Later that night, in the officer's recreation room, Tiberias asked him about it.
"What are you up to?" he asked Sammock.
"What do you mean?" Sammock asked.
"Jennifer. She's mine."
"I don't see her name written on you, Captain," said Sammock, giving a wide grin.
"He's got you there, Captain," said Lieutenant Uahu. She pointed a wand to her face and depolarized her skin color. In moments, she was white.
"Hey, change back!" said Tiberias. "You know your contract. You're supposed to be black the entire trip."
"But I'm tired of being black," Uahu whined.
"Susan," said Tiberias with a warning tone.
"Oh, all right," said Uahu, and she reapplied the polarizer wand to her face.
"So, did you take her?" Gorsky asked.
"Not yet," said Sammock.
"No balls, Mr. Sammock?" Tiberias asked.
"As I've said, Captain, I prefer the slow but steady approach. You took Jennifer almost immediately, and yet I fail to see her sniffing around you anymore," said Sammock. "No, first I must give her the illusion of chase. I must make her desire me. Only then will I give her-"
"What you most desire," Zulu grinned.
"Precisely," said Sammock, raising an eyebrow.
Two days later, the USS Yorktown arrived at the planet Charon, in the Ceti Alpha Minor Cloud.
"This is a diplomatic mission," Captain Tiberias announced. "We recently established contact with the natives, just a few months ago."
"What are they like, Captain?" Jennifer asked.
"They are a peaceful people, dedicated to art, humanity, and happiness. You'll like them, trust me," said Tiberias. "Your mission is to build cultural bridges, to get to know them, to establish a better understanding between Earth and their society."
They had finally arrived at Fuck Town.
Tiberias made sure to bring all the guests down for this one--Marsha and Walter Moore, Janet and Leonard King, Anson, Jessica, and Jennifer. They found themselves on a lush world filled with small ponds of water surrounded by green lawns. There were people all around, all fair haired, all blonde, all in excellent shape, and all barely dressed. The men wore a kind of wraparound shorts that were so tight that their balls stuck out.
The women wore what looked like two stripes of cloth, one that wrapped around each breast and then went down to almost cover a buttock.
They were greeted by a man with perfect white teeth, and a woman with large breasts. They were both incredibly blonde.
"We greet you once again, Captain Tiberias," said the man. He introduced himself as Klorax. His companion was named Claressa.
Claressa came forward and hugged Captain Tiberias. "All that is ours is yours," she said, looking into his eyes deeply.
Captain Tiberias smirked. "That's very... generous." He turned to Klorax. "Would you mind if our people wander around and interact with yours?"
"Of course. You are all very welcome here. Stay, meet our people, and then gather in the Great Hall where there will be a feast, in your honor."
"Thank you," said Tiberias.
The crew started to disperse. Anson noticed that male Charonites seemed attracted to the women like flies to honey, and that women Charonites seemed to make a bee-line to the men. A very attractive alien blonde bimbo somehow materialized on Anson's arm. "I am Shanna. Tell me of your explorations," she breathed.
"Perhaps later," said Anson. He noticed Jessica heading off arm and arm with a big Charonite man. Her grin was as wide as the Milky Way. He turned to Jennifer. She was also immediately engaged with one of the locals.
Everyone seemed happy. Everyone except Marsha Moore. She shook off her would-be male companion, and started walking on her own. Something about this place seemed odd to her. Oddly familiar....
As Anson walked about, one woman after another approached him. It was if they were programmed, like robots, to seek out his company. Finally, getting annoyed with dismissing each one of them, he allowed one to follow in his wake.
"I am Moxine," she said, with doe-like eyes.
"I am Anson," said Anson, looking around, without even being sure what he was looking at. He looked upwards. Suddenly, he saw what looked like a castle... floating in the sky!
"What is that?" Anson asked.
"That is Altos," said Moxine. "Our city in the sky. Some of us live there."
Altos. The city in the sky. Something about this was increasingly familiar.
Moxine took Anson's face in her hands and aimed it at her. "Would you not rather look at me?"
She was exceedingly beautiful, with fine hair, firm breasts, a slender waist, and a nicely curved ass.
"You're very... beautiful," said Anson grudgingly, almost exactly the same way Captain Tiberias might have said it, when he was pretending not to show undue interest in a woman.
"Am I?" Moxine smiled. "My father says I am a work of art."
A work of art.
Suddenly, like a jigsaw puzzle, it all came together.
Altos. Stratos. The sky city. The city in the clouds. Moxine. Droxine. The work of art.
Anson's mouth was suddenly dry as he uncovered the truth.
This wasn't a mission of space exploration.
This was a rehash of an episode of a drama serial that was several hundred years old.
Marsha Moore frowned as she looked at the environment around her. The settlement was ringed by hills on either side. It had a rectangular shape. A rectangular shape that was stunningly familiar to her.
On a hunch, she picked up a rock. And then, with all her strength, she threw it at the cliff face above her.
The rock caused the cliff face to blur, and shimmer, before falling back to the ground.
"I knew it," she breathed.
"How did you know it?" a new voice asked.
Marsha turned to find Anson Ford behind her.
"I used to work in holography. In training exercises, for members of the military. I was a civilian contractor. The holographic rooms... they can be built to custom sizes, you understand, but most of them are the standard 9 by 16 dimensions," said Marsha. "When I was on the other planet, the one with the singing wind, I kind of noticed it, subconsciously. But here, with the cliff faces on either side of the settlement, it just leapt out at me." She turned to Anson. "This isn't real."
"I know," said Anson.
"I'd like to get some answers," said Marsha.
"Me too," said Anson.
The crew was relaxing in the officer's rec lounge. "The Fuckbots are probably having their way with them even as we speak," said Captain Tiberias, as the others laughed.
"Not all of them," said a new voice.
He turned to see Anson Ford and Marsha Moore step through the door.
"How did you get in here?" Captain Tiberias asked.
"A quick word of advice, Captain Tiberias... if that is your real name," said Anson. "1-2-3-4-5 is hardly the most secure password."
"This area is restricted," said Captain Tiberias.
"We know," said Anson.
"Know what?" said the Captain.
"That this is all a fake," said Marsha.
"What do you mean?" said Tiberias, sticking out his chest.
"You can stop pretending. We know we're in a holographic chamber."
Tiberias sighed. "How did you find out?"
"I worked in holography, once upon a time," said Marsha.
"And I was a fan of ancient dramas," said Anson. "Everything here, your names, this ship, these events... they are all jumbled versions of an ancient drama serial. Star Walks. Star Talks. Something like that. Written around the time of Shakespeare, I think."
"Really?" said Captain Tiberias. He looked surprised.
"You didn't know?" Anson asked.
"No, we're just actors," said Tiberias. "We're paid to do a script. We didn't write it."
"Oh my god!" said Marsha Moore. She looked at Chief Edinburg. "I thought you were a dashing space engineer. I slept with you!"
"All part of the service, ma'am," said Edinberg, tipping an imaginary hat.
"Why all the make believe? Why all the pretend?" Anson asked. "There are places like Amadiroland which are open about providing holographic adventures."
"Pretending is not exciting," said Captain Tiberias. "If people knew that this was a merely a holoshow, they wouldn't feel the wonder or the thrill, of meeting a new alien species."
"Well, they're going to lose that thrill now," said Anson grimly.
"No, you can't," said Tiberias.
"Can't?" said Anson, raising an eyebrow.
"No, he's right," said Marsha, putting a hand on his arm.
Anson turned on her, surprised.
"It's my husband, Walter," said Marsha. "He came here for this experience. If you tell him the truth, you will ruin it for him."
"Not just for him," said Captain Tiberias. "For everyone."
"But it's a lie," said Anson.
"But he's enjoying himself so much," Marsha.
"He's probably being worked on by a Fuckbot right now," said Ensign Gorsky.
"Fuckbot?" said Marsha. "You mean.... all these sexy blonde people....?"
"Welcome to Fuck Town, lady," said Gorsky, giving a cruel chuckle.
Marsha whimpered for a moment. But then she looked up at Anson again. "Please, Anson."
Anson nodded. "All right. But Jessica and I are leaving right now."
"No, your absence will leave unexplained questions," said Tiberias.
"I'm not staying another week or more in this fantasy," said Anson.
"Just stay until the morning. You can take a shuttlecraft back to Starbase, I promise."
"All right," said Anson, shaking his head slowly.
"Thank you," said Marsha sincerely.
That night, happy revelers returned to the ship, full of stories of friendly natives. Jennifer looked as happy as the rest. "Sklar was a big blonde hunk, and he gave me the most incredible massage!" she was telling Janet King.
Anson briefly wondered if he should tell her. But he realized it would do more harm than good. She wouldn't believe anything he said. If Jennifer wanted to enjoy herself having sex with robots and actors, who was he to interfere?
That night, Jennifer and Mr. Sammock were snuggling in his quarters. The Valtrexian continued to fascinate her. He obvious had feelings, buried deep down. But could she be the woman who could bring his passions to the surface?
They were in bed, gently touching and kissing. But Sammock didn't seem prepared to go farther than that. She tried to squeeze him between his legs, but he stopped her.
"What's wrong, Mr. Sammock?" Having sex with someone she called "Mister" was somehow powerfully erotic to her.
"My mating cycle will not be trigged for another four years," said Sammock.
"But isn't there anything that can trigger the cycle... prematurely?" said Jennifer, kissing him passionately on the lips. "Isn't there, Mr. Sammock?" Her tone was almost pleading.
Sammock, feeling her need, her sex drive, decided the time was right to stop playing hard to get and to let her catch him. He kissed her back with equal fervor. "Maybe there is a way," he said huskily. He opened his pants. "Maybe if you put your hands in here, you might be able to... stimulate my mating cycle..."
Several minutes later, Sammock and Jennifer were completely nude. Sammock loved the feeling of Jennifer's firm C cup breasts against his chest. She had wanked him expertly and now he was completely hard. They kissed and fondled each other some more, and when Sammock thought she was ready, he got between her legs with his large Valtrexian penis.
Jennifer looked at it and gasped. "I've never had sex with an alien before."
"That's what Spacefleet is all about," said Sammock. "Contact and greater understanding between species."
Jennifer nodded and smiled, and then Sammock put his Valtrexian penis inside of her earth woman vagina. It was history in the making.
In moments, he was thrusting joyfully inside of her. Earth girls felt so good!
Jennifer started to moan his name, at the same time she rubbing her fingers through his hair.
"Not the head," Sammock instructed. Jennifer started to ask why, but figured it was an alien custom, and so she put her hands on his back. Sammock smiled and resumed thrusting within her.
But as Jennifer became excited her hands unconsciously moved up, and this time, Sammock, who was getting close to orgasm, wasn't focused enough to pay attention on it.
"Ooooh ooooh," he murmured, his thrusts becoming more intense..
Jennifer's hands slipped down to his ears, his oval shaped Valtrexian ears.
"Ooooh ooooh!" Sammock groaned, thrusting faster and faster now. He was getting close. Very close.
Jennifer grabbed onto his ears like handles.
"Aaaaaah! Sammock cried, jerking his head up as he climaxed, filling Jennifer's vagina with his Valtrexian sperm.
Jennifer, her eyes closed in pure self-enjoyment, smiled as she felt him pulse deep inside of her. But when she suddenly felt something was wrong, she opened her eyes and she screamed.
She was holding Sammock's Valtrexian ears, one in each hand, separate from his head.
Anson made his goodbyes, the next morning at breakfast,. He explained that he and Jessica had to return to Earth early for personal reasons. Jessica, as usual, was enraged, even after Anson explained his reasons the night before.
"You mean for four hours this afternoon I was fucked by three different robots?" Jessica said.
"You were fucked by an Egyptian slave robot in Amadiroland and it didn't seem to bother you much," said Anson.
"Yeah, but... "
"But what?"
"But I knew that was a robot," said Jessica. "So... Jioto. Not really a security officer?"
"Not really."
"A pity. He was much more fully developed than my Survey Service boyfriend."
And so they made their goodbyes. Anson saw a mixture of gratitude, relief, and sadness in Marsha Moore's eyes. But she was right; Walter looked so happy, discussing his experiences in Fuck Town (which is what Anson thought of it now), that she had made the right decision. The decision of a loving spouse.
But there was one person Anson didn't see.
"Where is she?" said Anson, when he cornered Captain Tiberias after breakfast.
"Jennifer took an early morning shuttle back to Starbase 69," said Captain Tiberias.
69? Was that supposed to be some kind of sexual joke?
Anson grabbed Tiberias by the shirt. Amazingly, the man's machisimo seemed to evaporate before Anson's very eyes. "Don't hurt me, please!" Tiberias cried.
"What happened to her?" Anson growled.
"She... had an experience with Mr. Sammock last night."
"What kind of... experience?"
Tiberias was very much aware that Anson was the ex-husband, the very jealous ex-husband of Jennifer. "The... sexual kind."
"Did Sammock hurt her? I'll kill him if-"
"No, no no no," said Tiberias. "She wasn't hurt." He lowered his voice. "It's just... she discovered, at an inconvenient moment, that he wasn't exactly what he appeared to be." And then he gestured to his ears.
Anson looked at Tiberias, as he pictured in his mind what must have happened. Then Anson did something totally unexpected.
He laughed, and laughed and laughed.
Poor Jennifer!
And then Anson laughed again.