4 comments/ 12561 views/ 4 favorites Dulling the Pain Ch. 01 By: Feotakahari I intend to spend the next year or so writing stories for this setting and Eternal's setting, plus a few one-shots. (When I'm more confident in my skill, I'll start rewriting Cold Steel--I know some people liked it, but I feel like it could have been so much better.) As for this particular story, it'll take a while to get to proper sex , but there's going to be a lot of sensuality, and if you care about plot, I'm doing something here that I haven't seen anywhere else. Also, if you recognize where I'm getting the chapter descriptions from, don't spoil it in the comments. I'll reveal it at the beginning of the final chapter. (Figure it out, and you'll get a bit of foreshadowing--I didn't initially intend the parallels, but I was amused at how well it fit.) "Are we there yet?" Maria asked in her best little-kid voice. "Not for another two hours, no matter how much you whine." Captain Davison was not amused. He rarely was, and he was not the target of her question. "What'll you do if she keeps whining, Cap? Put her in charge of scrubbing the toilets? I thought that was my job." Manuel--he was the target of the question. Repairman, handyman, and general odd-jobs man, he was by far the lowest-ranking of the crew. But it was nice to see another brown face in the sea of pink that was the space program, and he was not without a certain irreverent charm. They'd both taken well to the news that they'd be spending two months with each other on an isolated planet. Of course, that was before spending a week in a ship that was cramped even by the space program's standards, all four crew members drinking each other's recycled fluids and fighting over the only movie player. A sufficiently skilled captain could maintain the chain of command in such circumstances, but Maria had yet to see any demonstration of whatever qualities had gotten Davison appointed to the position. In this case, he merely glared at Manuel before clomping off to the furthest point of the ship, not quite out of earshot. Isaac was the eldest among them, and the absence of a proper leader, he did his best to keep order. "You have nothing to complain about, Maria. The higher-ups agreed that the rarity of life this advanced outweighed any questions about the planet's geology. Never mind that we've never once seen a planet with this distribution of metals--the strangest phenomena are concentrated in the lifeless zones, so you get to watch your plants grow, and I have to do my research by satellite. Besides, I've seen the eyes you make at Manuel." Maria pretended to be indignant. "I do not 'make eyes!'" Manuel switched languages to remark that she'd graduated to making faces. For about half a minute, the two bantered back and forth--but then they noticed that Isaac had one hand on his cross necklace. "You understood that, didn't you?" Manuel asked. Isaac was clearly embarrassed. "I've been studying Spanish since shortly after we last met. I wanted to surprise you once my accent got better. The problem was that the more I heard you two say, the less I wanted to admit I understood it." Maria and Manuel reddened in turn. "Don't worry too much about it," Isaac assured them. "I know you two think of me as a good little church boy, but I, too, was in love once. Watching you two brings back good memories for me. These days, of course, I'd be at a disadvantage trying to make eyes at anyone." He gestured at the silvery orb where his right eye had once been, and Maria suppressed a shudder. Manuel, too, had a metal souvenir from the Procne incident, but it was inside his head, and she consciously avoided wondering what his face had looked like before reconstructive surgery. "To be honest," Maria told them, "there's a lot going through my head. This could make all of our reputations, but you've always got to be a little afraid of an inhabited world. I mean . . ." She broke off, but she was well aware that the other two knew what she would have said. "I just feel like we should eat, drink, and be merry, you know?" "It'll be fine," Isaac told her. "You'll spend the days looking at flowers under a microscope, and maybe you'll give one to Manuel. I'll become engrossed in soil composition, and I'll become quite boring to anyone who converses with me. And then we'll be home again. I, for one, have already made plans for when we get back." Their conversation turned to other subjects, and Maria forgot any tension. She was thrilled to be studying a new planet, thrilled to be present at what might be the decade's greatest find. If anything, she underestimated its importance--and overestimated the odds that any of them would return. Dulling the Pain Ch. 02 Manuel followed the trail of crushed flowers, and halfway up a steep hill, he found Maria. "Off exploring?" he asked. Her tone was neutral, but he somehow knew that she was inwardly cursing. "The types of plants found vary quite a bit with even a small change in altitude." "Did you know that your suit radio wasn't working? The plants you stepped on were starting to stand back up, so I thought I ought to come check on you while I could still find the trail. It seems to be working fine now, though--I'm not sure what the problem was." "You don't need to worry. There's nothing dangerous here." She spoke with absolute certainty. "By the way, did you see another of the bird things? I thought I saw a big one when I was walking here. From a distance, it looked almost like . . ." "Like what?" "I'm not sure," he said, and he knew he'd spoken a little too quickly. She gazed at his eyes through the faceplate of his suit, and he could swear he felt her fingers reaching into his skull. "I have a headache," she said at last, and together they walked silently back to camp. He did not tell her what he had seen--what he knew he could not have seen. Dulling the Pain Ch. 03 Violence warning for this chapter. "Rise and shine, Captain!" Maria called out, and though her suit muffled her somewhat, her voice echoed over the intercom. Davison rolled over on his narrow mattress and nearly toppled out of bed. Not even he was sure of the exact content of his grumble, but his tone contained everything he needed to say. Maria didn't even slow down. "We had a deal, remember? For a week, me and Manuel would only wear the suits inside, and if we didn't catch anything, you'd take off your suit, too. Once we finally get Isaac to stick to the deal, we'll all be able to go without the suits, inside as well as outside. Now get up, get out there, and show everyone that the captain of this ship isn't afraid of germs." Davison considered it a low blow to remind him of his leadership duties, but he still had some remnants of pride left. Within five minutes, he was on the other side of the airlock. He was surprised to find himself rejuvenated in the fresh air. Within the span of a few breaths, he was no longer weary. "I feel like I could take on the world," he said. "Well, you'll have to take on Isaac first," Maria responded. "And my guess is that you'll want to do it soon." "It's his loss if he doesn't want to feel like this. I'll be spending all day out here, just as soon as I brush my teeth and . . . go to the bathroom . . ." "You never asked how we handled that. Isaac's letting us borrow his trowel." He doubted that Maria had previously heard all the profanities he used, but all she did was listen in silence and smirk. Dulling the Pain Ch. 04 The first sex scene of the story, and it's gay. If you're not interested, skip the italicized section. (And if you just want to fap, skip ahead to the next chapter.) "Making any progress?" Maria asked, and Isaac shook his head. "Not as such," he replied. He'd spent the past ten minutes sitting in front of the ship's computer, staring at satellite input. "There's clearly a pattern at work here, but I think my initial suspicions were unfounded." Maria tried to hide her curiosity under levity. "What were your 'initial suspicions?' Did you think little green men made the mounds?" "Perhaps. Every metal that's been found to interfere with FTL devices can be found in at least one of the mounds. I suspect that the other mounded metals cause interference to a lesser degree--not that we'd know it, given how little experimentation has been allowed on the technology we've scavenged from alien ruins. The catch is, there's no other sign of intelligent life on this planet, and certainly no signs of technology. Nor is there any other pattern as to the metals that have mounded--most of them are highly electroconductive, but titanium is less conductive than lead, so why is there titanium but no lead in the mounds? I do have a few hypotheses left . . ." "You're losing me." Isaac sighed. "I've lost a lot of people. I keep thinking that the Procne team could have figured this out." That Robert could have figured this out, he thought but did not say, and he felt a familiar pang at the memory of a suntanned face. Maria got as far as "I'm--" before he interrupted. "No need to say you're sorry. I'm the one who brought it up." He tried to lighten the mood. "Speaking of losing people, do you have any idea where Davison ran off to?" "He left camp last night," Maria replied. "I was planning to check on him soon." "I'll go with you. I'm starting to worry about him." "There's no need," Maria said, a little too quickly, and that was when Isaac finally grew suspicious. -- -- -- -- "How's he doing?" Maria called out into thin air, sitting on the edge of the cliff. I cannot understand him at all, Flora replied. Perhaps it's because he only thinks in one language, while the rest of you switch between two. "That's not all, is it?" Maria asked. Maria was learning to detect the tones of Flora's thoughts, and this one was tinged with something very much like sorrow. He destroys and destroys, shredding my creations, and still he is not satisfied. I have never encountered another mind so full of suffering. "I'm just glad he no longer cares about the mission. It would be really, really bad if he decided to set off the alert beacon. Speaking of which, I'm working on Isaac--I still haven't figured out how to get him to trust us." Flora was confused. If you don't trust him, why did you let him follow you? Before Maria could respond to that in words, Flora had already realized her error. A short ways down the slope, a dozen flowers grew high into the air, tangling and hoisting a very panicked geologist. "Let me go!" Isaac screamed. "I've got to get back--" And then he shuddered, overcome by a sudden vision. -- -- -- -- "Wake up, buddy." Isaac opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying in a patch of flowers, naked--more than naked, because his cross was gone. He could see clearly in a small area around him, but the darkness beyond was absolute, and no sun or stars shone overhead. At the edge of the circle . . . "Robert?" "I'd say 'in the flesh,' but that would be a bit misleading." "You're dead. I saw it. The zombies ripped your head open." Isaac tried to pinch himself, but there was no pain. The ground under him didn't feel quite solid. "Think of me as an echo. Our souls were very close, and a bit of me was left in you when I died. The mind here can't bring me back, but she can give you one last chance to talk to me." So patient, just like he'd always been. "You always said there was a life after this one. The real me's probably looking down on us now. This is your chance to tell him what you never got to say before. So start talking." "This is a trick, isn't it?" Isaac asked. "I remember something like this, when I caught the Procne virus. Not many of us survived it--even Manuel was lucky enough not to get infected. I heard the voices, whispering in my head, day after day . . ." Suddenly, Robert was kneeling beside him, kissing his cheek. His beard scratched against Isaac's face. "This isn't a trick," he whispered into Isaac's ear. "Yeah, it was the only way to knock you out--that metal eye of yours protects you against a lot of things--but this is your greatest wish, and I'm here to grant it. If anything, it's a peace offering." He ran his fingers through Isaac's hair. "So, now that you've got me here, what are you going to do with me?" "I'll never be able to explain this in confession, will I?" "You always talked like that. 'We mustn't, Robert--it's a sin.' Because of that, all we did was kiss. And then I died, and you would have given anything to have me back. Don't waste this." He brought his tongue lower to lick Isaac's nipples, and Isaac shuddered despite himself. He wasn't quite sure how Robert wound up on top of him, but the feeling was far more real than anything else in the dream, and given the situation, he had no choice but to enjoy it--the grasping hands, the probing tongue, the warm firmness poking up against him . . . At last, Robert rolled off him--but not for long. "Roll over, and we'll make this even more fun." "I--I've never done it like this--" "This is a dream, remember? There's no pain here, and no fear." Isaac turned facedown, and let Robert mount him. The feeling of a shaft spreading his hole was alien to him, but it wasn't some stranger atop him, it was Robert, and it was Robert whispering gently into his ear as he worked his way in. Robert came first, but the feeling was enough for Isaac to follow, and when it was over, they lay quietly together, warming each other in the cold darkness. And then Robert made his mistake. "Do you still want revenge?" he asked. "Robert wouldn't have asked me that," Isaac replied. "He'd have known that this isn't about revenge. You're the virus, aren't you? I don't know if you're a disease or a demon, but there's nothing of Robert in you." The voice that responded took on an echoing quality, all ruses dropped. "I don't know what I am, but I'm nothing like the Procne virus. All I want to do is survive, and end the pain if I can. You're a good man, Isaac. As strange as it may sound, I liked doing this with you. Promise me that you won't activate the alert beacon. Promise me that you'll let me live." Isaac struck out wildly, but he hit only empty air, and suddenly, there was no longer a body atop him. Yet a voice echoed in the darkness. "Promise me. Please! Promise that you won't kill me!" Isaac kicked and screamed, sinking down into the darkness, and the voice only grew louder and louder . . . Dulling the Pain Ch. 05 Twenty minutes' walk from camp, Manuel addressed thin air. "You hear everything, don't you, Flora? Maybe not in the ship, but if you really are this world, you must be able to hear me right now." No response. He didn't expect one. "When Cap vanished, all Maria would tell me was that something went wrong. She hasn't said anything about what happened to Isaac. Flora, what happened to them? Where are they?" A now-familiar feeling ran through his head. "I'm not letting you into my mind again. Bring back Isaac! I need to know what's going on!" He didn't know if it was a mistake, showing emotion to a creature like Flora, but at this moment, he didn't care. "I just need to know if Isaac's okay." He did not know it, but at that moment, Flora was preoccupied with another matter. Dulling the Pain Ch. 06 The angel was in heaven. Maria held Manuel close as she kissed his lips, and she felt like she never wanted to let go-- "I can tell your mind's elsewhere," Ida told her, drawing back from her kiss. "I'm sorry," Maria replied, "but you know this would be so much better if Manuel was here." "You and your young love--or before-middle-aged love, at least. Us old farts see this stuff more clearly. Manuel's afraid of all of us, and especially of me." For the fifth time that day, her tone turned questioning. "Why does he react so strongly to me? Did he love me before he loved you?" "You know Flora won't let me tell you that. There's too much pain in your memories." Something of Isaac had clearly survived--Ida hadn't reacted well when Manuel fled from her. Only through Flora's influence had she and Maria found solace in each other. Maria had never loved a woman before, but neither had she held with her church's teachings against the act. She had come to understand that Ida was better off this way, and she was nothing but thankful to Flora for giving her such a soft and tender lover. But Ida had no playfulness in her, and little humor, and Maria couldn't help but miss Manuel's casual wit. Ida suddenly smiled as she caught sight of something behind Maria. Before Maria could react, she felt a furry tail playing at her naked slit. "Caught you!" Cat yelled out. "If I was hunting, you'd be dead now." Here, at least, there was playfulness to be found--an excess of it, in fact. But as Maria took Cat's tail in her hand, and guided it inside her, she thought again of the boy she'd once said she loved. Dulling the Pain Ch. 07 Sorry, no detailed sex in this one. This is where I wrap up the plot. (Please tell me you care about the plot.) Also, the chapter descriptions are from the Disney movie The Little Mermaid--specifically the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls." On the day before the supply ship was scheduled to land, Manuel finally opened the door. "I've been alone for a month and a half," he told Maria, who'd been sitting amidst the flowers not far from the ship. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm crazy." "You were crazy to lock yourself away like that," Maria told him. "And for a while, I was crazy for you. I'd almost given up hope." She stood, and she reached out to him . . . "Please, not now. Not yet." Maria glared at him. "Damn you, do you have any idea how much you've hurt me? You told me you loved me, and then you treated me like a monster! So I waited and waited for you to come around, and now . . ." Manuel's voice stayed soft, neither accepting nor rejecting her words. "I don't know you any more, but I want to. Not in that way--I mean--I just want to talk to you." From the tone of Maria's voice, it was clear that she considered that an apology--and that she'd rejected it. "Talk, then." "How's Cat doing?" "She's the happiest of us three. She doesn't think much about past or the future--she just wants to make everything a little more chaotic." From there, she unfolded an anecdote about Ida's attempts to study the effects of metal shears on the local plant life, and about how Cat had ruined the study without even trying. This reminded Manuel of something he'd tried to relieve the boredom inside the ship, and in an hour's time, the two had begun to remember how they'd fallen in love.