2 comments/ 9478 views/ 1 favorites Pilot 02: The Dark Side of the Moon By: past_perfect Author's note: I don't usually submit unedited pieces - but unfortunately my editor is too busy at the mo and I couldn't find a replacement quickly enough, as I wanted to keep them coming as long as the first chapter is still reasonably fresh on your minds. Hope it is an enjoyable read nevertheless. Chapter One - Coming to America My little Emma. Always worried and looking out for me. While we were waiting for our connecting flight to Orlando, she suddenly got up and disappeared into the direction of the restrooms. I had programmed her to be adaptive and play her role as an organic being convincing, but that surprised even me. I learned the real reason upon her return though. "Where have you been sweetie?" "There was a threat, Jon. A man was carrying explosives in his clothing, under his ball-sack." "Fascinating. I hope you have disposed of them?" "I flushed them down the toilet. He needs medical attention and cosmetic surgery, if he wishes to repeat his attempt." "Oops. Did anyone see you get in and out the Gents'?" "No Jon. I used the deflector. He did not see me either and is unconscious now. I sat him down on the toilet, so he bleeds into it." "Good girl. We have to check in within twenty minutes. I suppose we will depart before he is discovered." "I also took out some more currency from my repository and changed it into dollars. Would you like me to take out the diamonds too?" "Good thinking. No, luv, we can do that in the hotel." I had put most of our gadgets and other things that might have caused undesirable questions inside of her. We had booked our hotel already before we left Zinder, so there was nothing else to do but wait and read. I had procured The Times and was now feeling a little homesick for the first time after crashing here on Earth. I wondered what had happened to the real Emma, my Emma, the girl I was certain I would marry should I survive the war. She would have been eighty-five now, if she was still alive. --- Shneet allowed me to witness our departure from Earth from the bridge of his alien craft. He kindly switched to photon diffusion mode, meaning he made the ceiling and floor of the craft translucent, so I could take in everything as we ascended with an incredible speed. Apart from almost pissing my pants and feeling slightly sick to my stomach, I relished the spectacular vistas, saw Earth becoming smaller and smaller, but that picture was soon dwarfed by what we approached. The craft he used to pick us up was but a small exploration shuttle, the real ship awaited us in orbit around Mars. "This is the Ptaln. Standard science vessel, with a diameter of roughly two thousand of your yards, crew of eight thousand, plus about seven hundred recruits from eleven different species thus far. We will pick up another fifty of your kind, before departing to the next system. From there we will proceed to Talagon, where you will be trained and receive your commission." "Goodness gracious me! And with ships of that size you can't resist the Pret?" "The Ptaln is completely unarmed; apart from a few directive energy projectors that could serve as weapons and some passive armaments like energy shields for instance. The ships of the Pret are a lot smaller, but armed to the teeth. Size isn't everything." "I see. Which one of your friends here is the pilot? I don't recognise anything that would look like flight controls, leave alone a pilot's seat..." "This is an automated unit. We instruct it to fly us where we want and it does it by itself -- so no pilot here, only a navigator -- and that would be my colleague in the far right corner there." I realised how alien their technology was and felt lost and overwhelmed when I followed his inaccurate pointers-- the bridge had no corners, but was completely round -- and saw one of the skinny grey figures standing in front of black panel he touched every now and then. Each time he touched it, a different symbol appeared in an amber colour. "Don't worry, we will adapt your vessel to suit your personal predilections and needs. Welcome to the Ptaln." As we spoke a massive hatch underneath the carrier appeared out of nowhere and we were sucked into it with break-neck speed. --- "Jon? This is our flight they are announcing. Is everything all right?" "Yes. Sorry, sweetie, I just took a stroll down memory lane. Let's go, Mrs Nichols and try to refrain from mutilating any more terrorists until we safely land in Orlando." "I do not perceive any further threats at this time, Jon." "Tim. We should stick to our assumed identities from now on, unless we are alone." "Acknowledged, Tim." Shame, a lot of Emma's personality could not be transferred from the ship into her hand before it was destroyed. The ship Emma had been a living being; her hand was a sophisticated android, no more, no less. The flight to Orlando was quiet and uneventful. The cab driver who took us from the airport to the hotel in Downtown Orlando made the ten miles or so seem longer than the actual flight, as he didn't shut up for a second; there were moments when I considered stunning him, throwing him out of the car and driving to the hotel myself. Little Emma cautiously enquired whether she should intercede also, but keeping a low profile ruled out any physical assaults on cab-drivers. The Grand Bohemian Hotel was an impressive little jewel amidst an interesting skyline that glittered and glowed in the early evening hours when we arrived. The hotel had an opulent flair, almost Old World charm sort of thing; the walls were littered with interesting paintings, although I have never been much of an art buff. That had been more Emma's department, the real Emma I mean. We had a very decent meal at the Boheme restaurant; afterwards we went swimming in their outdoor pool, before turning in. Our suite was spacious and could well have belonged to my time, with lush velvet curtains and an apparently timelessly tasteful decor. Well, we didn't have a high speed wireless internet connection in my days, which should prove useful for gathering all the information we required. Of course I didn't need any of your clumsy little computer things, Emma was perfectly capable of extracting every bit of useful information on her own and displaying it as a projection on the wall if necessary. I suppose she would be the ideal travel companion for the modern business man also. I ordered a decent bottle of wine, which I emptied, before turning in. I snuggled up to Emma, who would have all required data and a workable plan in the morning for us. --- The week aboard the Ptaln was absolutely mind-boggling. I had almost got used to the Scnrgsis, though I still found it challenging to pronounce their name without spitting. Some of the other races they had picked up, however, were a little more difficult to get used to. The Scnrgsis had found it wise to break up our groups in order to prepare us for our future working together in teams of diverse species. There was nothing for us to do aboard the Ptaln but wait for the last arrivals and socialise, which not everyone felt overly comfortable with. Like me, most of the species present were coming from less advanced cultures and were sometimes still in deep shock or had their nerves lying blank for any other conceivable reason. My first encounter with a Mondane didn't go overly well for instance. The Mondane are ugly reptilian creatures who stand erect, and look anything but clever and in fact aren't either. However, when a Mondane bumped into me just in front of my quarters, I discovered why they had been chosen. He was a true telepath, who didn't seem to be overly taken by my unspoken remark concerning his questionable descent and nauseating scent -- the Scnrgsis had deemed it wise to provide him with an implant that adapted and translated thought patterns of other species very much like our translator matrices. I found myself pushed against the wall all of a sudden, engulfed by that putrid scent and learned that there were very similar creatures to my kind on his planet that they enjoyed particularly for their second dinner of the day. Apparently those creatures weren't overly impressive fighters, as I managed to make my point that there were distinct differences between me and his common prey quite convincingly, before some Scnrgsis got between us. Most other races were easier to get along with, apart from the Turrans, who were in fact descendents of the human race. There was some sort of recreational common area, where we all met up to pass the time and I was immediately drawn to them, because they looked so similar to us. The major difference was that they were smaller and a lot stronger built than us, due to a higher gravitation on their planet, also their skin had a weird violet hue that made them look really quite exotic. When I said the Turrans were difficult to get along with, than I was referring mainly to their men. I got along with the women just fine. The male Turrans were usually smaller than their women, about four feet tall on average and had a massive chest, which they blew up even more when angry. They got angry easily and although they were really quite intelligent, their culture was far behind our human civilisation that they had been ripped out nearly two thousand years ago. Their planet Turria was not particularly hospitable and quite unforgiving apparently too, so the lack of development might have been due to demands of the incessant struggle for survival. I am glad though that I never got into a brawl with any of them, as I saw them fighting not much later and was more than a little impressed by their speed and physical prowess. Shortly after my little incident with the Mondane, one of the female Turrans approached me in the common area. "You are human. The Scnrgsis told us that we descended from your kind." "Well, we look very much alike, so I suppose that could be true. My name is Jon and I come from an area on Earth we call England." "I am Leela, my planet is called Turria. I don't remember the area where I was born. We do not stay in one place for long. Staying means becoming prey on Turria." I listened to the sound of her language, which reminded me of Italian, even though it didn't sound quite as melodious. The fact that all of them had either black or brownish hair did indeed seem to point to some Mediterranean origins. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Leela. It's a little unnerving to have a history we know so little about, don't you think? Almost as unnerving as all this mind-boggling technology and these weird creatures around us." "None of them seem to pose a threat. I saw you combat the gecko yesterday. You are a little clumsy, but you do have the heart of a warrior." "That is kind of you to say. By the way, you are the first of your kind that actually wants to talk to me. I tried to speak to two or three of your men already, but they didn't even deign to answer." "They don't talk much. They rather act. I haven't had a conversation this long with a man all my life." I couldn't help but grinning. "That must make your marriages a little boring I suppose." "Marriages? I do not recognise this word." "Oh, it's when a man and a woman formalise their relationship and stay together for the rest of their lives." "Their whole life? That is bizarre. We don't spend more time together than absolutely necessary. How do get aroused with someone you know all your life?" "Oh... Well, if you truly love someone, you will still want to... how can I put this, exchange tenderness... although I did hear that it might be a bit more difficult with progressing years..." "Tenderness? Love? I do not comprehend the meaning of these words. I am curious. Don't you fuck? We fuck a lot. It keeps one warm in the nights and relaxes the mind easily, when the earth shakes a lot." I felt the blood rushing into my face. After all, I was still a child of my time. "Of course we do. But we usually refer to it as making love. Love is the feeling you get for a person, like for a family member, your mum and dad, your siblings -- just in a different way..." "We care for our offspring. I think I understand what you mean -- but we don't feel that way for people we fuck. I am curious about the size of your cock; you are much taller than our men. You smiled at me and I accept. Do you want to go to your quarters or mine?" "Pardon?" "I am sufficiently aroused, if that is what you are wondering about. Here. Feel it." Before I knew what was happening to me, she took my right hand and guided it under her short thick dress, right into the heart of her femininity. Undergarments were apparently something else that was uncustomary in her culture. I was more than a little shocked; after all, this was as far as I had got with my beloved Emma after years of courtship and under the cover of a spectacular summer's night on the beaches in Brighton. Now this alien woman rubbed my hand against her wet hot pussy right in the midst of the common room, where a lot of the present aliens and humans watched our exchange with curious eyes. "Oh... I see. Well... There seems to be some sort of cross-cultural misunderstanding..." Her hand released my wrist instantly and a sad expression entered her face. "I don't arouse you?" Actually, nothing could have been further from the truth. Despite the peculiarity and awkwardness of the situation, I felt my cock swell and twitch in my pants, ready to explore my distant cousin in depth, so to speak. She was very pretty also, her long raven-black hair, big dark eyes and lush dark-violet lips would have classified her as a knock-out by human standards as well. I left my hand where it was for the time being, of course to reassure her, as any gentleman would have done. "That's not it... it is just... we don't do this that spontaneously in our culture. We court each other, maybe kiss and after we get married, we do get... oh... more physical." In the meantime she had tried to ascertain the answers to the matters preoccupying her. Her hand was exploring my palpably growing bulge, squeezing and rubbing like there was no tomorrow. "You do feel aroused. It is swollen. I don't understand what you are saying. But that is not important. We talked so much already. Enough of that. Come now, I want to see and feel that thing. You will not regret it." Well, it would have been churlish to refuse her offer. Also, I was more than a little curious about her and her race -- and sex I didn't have to pay or marry for. Of course I had slept with a few whores, after volunteering for the RAF. They needed men and not boys after all, and I didn't want to die a virgin. Leela had said I had the heart of a warrior. A warrior doesn't shirk away from his battles. It was my responsibility to give her at least a decent first impression of her ancestors. "Okay then. Just for future reference though: We don't mean we want to fuck when we smile. Hm... now I understand why your men weren't overly anxious to talk to me as well... I think I might have been smiling too much..." "Enough talk. Let's go fuck." We ended up in her quarters. She peeled off her one piece dress as soon as the wall behind us reconstituted and I hurried to get off my kit too. Her body was extremely muscular and had very few soft lines, only her arse and small tits were curved enough to appear feminine. There were no significant visible differences to Earth women as far as her cunt was concerned though, I noticed when she gave me a quick tour, forcing me onto my knees and pressing my head into her lap. The scent of Turran women is much stronger than Earth women's, sweet as Japanese cherry blossoms and simply irresistible. The taste of her excretions was also quite exotic, and, I might add, pumped all my blood into my cock instantly as a result. "Yes. Good tongue. Keep licking... earth will shake soon." I gathered what she was trying to say, but would have needed neither encouragement nor confirmation. I felt quite distinctly how swollen her clit was, as I slowly lapped up and down her wet cunt. My face was covered in her juices that ran profusely from her insides. She didn't moan or groan, as on her world this would attract predators she later explained to me. "Earth shaking..." I had noticed that, despite the missing noise, but the more pressing matter at hand for me was my ability to breathe, as she pressed my face so hard between her legs that I was completely shut off any air supply. When I was about to pass out, she finally noticed my frantic attempts to alert her to impending demise and opened her legs. "Sorry Jon. You can't hold your breath long I guess? I will be more attentive next time. Do it again. Your tongue is as agile as Sumps." Which were later presented to me as snake-like creatures from her world, Turran women used for solitary pleasures. In any case, the taste and texture of her sex was so incredible and enthralling that I followed her wishes gladly and without further ado. This time I noticed that she actually held her breath until the earth shook for her again, which must have been more than five minutes. She released me quicker this time, also because coming twice from oral stimulation was the customary preamble to fucking in her book. She picked me up like a puppet and threw me two yards through the air onto her bed. Despite her size of perhaps a little under five feet she was as strong as a grizzly. She jumped from where she stood and crashed on top of me and before I knew what was happening she had impaled herself on my rock-hard dick. She hardly moved, but squeezed it with her vaginal muscles, creating sensations that are very difficult to describe, somewhere between being milked and tortured; actually quite painful, but at the same time creating exquisite bliss nevertheless. She licked her own juices off my face that soon mingled with sweat, not only caused by her palpably higher body temperature, but also from me becoming more and more agitated and closer to burst. "Good cock... Big cock... getting bigger still... earth will shake for you soon." "Yes... oh fuck... yes... am going to... come..." I managed to spurt into her, before she released my cock with a lightning fast movement from her cunt, replacing it with her mouth instead, sucking out the last drops of my spunk with obvious delight, then lapping up the few drops that had escaped her manoeuvre and splattered on my belly. "Mmh... good seed, tastes very different from our men's. I want more." "Um... that is probably going to take... uhh... ohh... or maybe not..." This wasn't just blowing what she did to me, it felt more like a massage with her tongue, which she managed to roll around my dick in her mouth. I hadn't noticed before that moment that it was quite a bit longer than ours. She got me hard again in no time and got her second helping of her now favourite protein shake not long after that. I felt spent and delirious when she finally released me. "Good fucking, you enjoyed it too?" "Indeed. That was amazing... incredible. Wow." "Fucking is different on your world?" "Well, yes. It is usually the man that does the work... and pushes his dick in and out..." "Oh? Show me." "I will. But I need a short break before that. You see, we don't really recover that quickly..." "Silly. I simply suck it hard again." I don't know how, but she managed to do just that. And she was very much taken with the human way of fucking also. So much that I almost crawled back to my quarters after what seemed like an eternity of fortifying that new penchant of hers. I decided not to smile at Leela or other Turran women again, before receiving the medical implant Shneet had told me about. Otherwise my life might have found an untimely and highly unusual end, before I could prove myself on the real battlefield. Pilot 02: The Dark Side of the Moon Chapter two -- The only way to say good-bye After a hearty breakfast in bed Emma brought me up to speed with what she had learned about Earth's current space vessels. There was a flight of the shuttle Atlantis scheduled for the end of the following week and she had devised modifications that would allow us to travel to the moon. However, we weren't sure about what to do with the human crew, or how easy or difficult it would be to get on board undetected -- after all, our combined weight for instance would probably show on their monitoring sensors. Emma also wanted to build a bit of extra equipment together with some of the Nanos she had brought along, which would make our journey a little more safe and pleasant. We only had passports, no driver's licences, so we either had to take public transportation or endure another cab ride of fifty miles to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, where we hoped to get a first impression of the problems we had to solve. We opted for using the antigravs and deflectors instead, landing somewhere close by and mingling with the droves of tourists we were told to expect when inquiring with the friendly concierge. We took a closer look at the launch pads and hangars before joining the tourist crowd, testing the security measures as we went along, which were much more sophisticated than expected, but still no match for our technology. I suppose the Americans didn't really have to deal with many invisible guests hovering in their maximum security areas, for just about anything else, they seemed very well prepared. We took the full tour through the Space Center, which was giving me a weird feeling of nostalgia, although I had never been part of that history. I felt proud of what human beings had accomplished; felt a great sympathy and respect for the brave pilots of those crafts we found exhibited as full sized replicas. I inwardly saluted to them and the men and women lost in the course of this truly elevating human endeavour. There was even a replica of the Explorer shuttle, which we studied in more detail. "So what do you think, sweetie?" "I can enhance the primitive technology to safely reach the moon. However, a return to Earth from there would be impossible. This brings up the unresolved issue again: What are we going to do with the crew? Take them along?" "We could drop them at the space station they are scheduled to dock at anyway. Or we could take them along. They might jump at the opportunity, if we explain the situation properly." "I do not know enough about this culture to assess their likely reactions with any degree of accuracy, Jon. But I do know from the memories you shared with me that it had not been an easy transition for you either -- and the Scnrgsis had more than ample evidence to back up their claims. What if they don't believe you and become hostile instead?" "Hm... you are probably right. How about letting them dock at the space station, then letting them disembark, before we steal the shuttle? They could survive long enough up there for another shuttle to be launched to pick them up safely." "I think that would be the best option, Tim." Some British tourists had joined us and took photographs of the shuttle replica just like us, then asking us to photograph them too. They were a really nice couple, and I had a hard time refusing their invitation for some drinks in Orlando later on, but I really didn't fancy making up lengthy stories about our fake identities on the fly. However, they did twist our arms enough to share a cab with them back to Orlando, which was surprisingly entertaining nevertheless. "So, Tim, old chap, are you going to stay long enough to watch the shuttle depart next Friday? I'm pretty certain it is going to be quite spectacular." "Sure, James, we will. I wouldn't want to miss it for the world." "Well then, maybe we will see you there." "You sure will, James, you sure will..." --- Ten days to kill to launch day. Emma busied herself buying materials and putting together bits and pieces in a workshop we rented, away from prying eyes. I however, felt I should enjoy the unexpected shore leave to the fullest strolling around the town and availing myself of the many amenities of the hotel. There were quite a few wedding receptions there and more than once I bumped into giggling bridesmaids and pissed party folk, struggling to find their way back to their rooms. The stunning redhead I met at the pool during the early evening hours of the penultimate day before take-off also belonged to a wedding party; although she was anything but eager to be there, being an old flame of the groom -- which the bride who had invited her apparently wasn't aware of. I saw the bride by coincidence a little later, and concluded that the groom had indeed been an utter fool letting this one slip through his fingers. Emma was busy with the last minute preparations at the workshop on the last night before take-off, so I had the evening free to dine with her and console her a bit, as she appeared a little sad, not really because she missed the boat there, so to speak, but more in a general "why everyone else but me" sort of way. Her name was Sheila, and her ancestry could be traced back not surprisingly to Ireland, although her family had been in America for several generations already. She was bright, charming, headstrong, sultry and untamed -- when she commented on some of the paintings at the Boheme, I suddenly knew why I had felt so drawn to her -- she was the spitting image of my Emma, character-wise at least, but there was also a faint physical resemblance. My android Emma had used the internet to trace her for me. She had passed away a couple of years ago, but from what information was available online, had led a good and fulfilled life, three kids and many grandchildren; even the artist's career she had always dreamt about. It was not just Sheila feeling a little blue during dinner that night. "So you will leave the States tomorrow?" "Yes, I'm afraid so. I have some urgent business to attend to, elsewhere. Pity that. I wish I had more time to spend with you here." "I'm not really looking forward to that damn wedding either, believe me. I shouldn't even be here." "Well, I am glad you are though. Otherwise we would never have met." "I drink to that. How do you say in England? Cheers..?" "...and down the hatch. You shouldn't get too drunk though my dear." "Why?" "Because else you might not recall enough of the amazing night we are going to spend together to tell your grandchildren about." "Oh... slow down there a minute, mister. I am not that drunk yet... what makes you think I want to do that?" "I can see it in your eyes. Unless you significantly differ from the women I know, that is the only thing on your mind right now." "Maybe things are a lot different where you come from?" "You have no idea how right you are about that." "Let's just assume for a minute that you aren't totally wrong. What would your wife or girlfriend I have seen you with feel about that?" "She is neither and a little bit of both nevertheless actually. Long story. She wouldn't mind at all." "Not your wife?" "No, more like a secretary, friend and companion on my long and arduous journeys." I beckoned the waiter to get the check and looked deep into her eyes. "You know, if this was my last night on Earth for a long time, or even forever, you would be the woman I would want to spend it with. And I am not just saying that." "Yikes... that is probably the worst pick-up line I have ever heard." "Naturally. But it is still working, isn't it?" "You Brits... only you can deliver a cheesy line like that and still sound like you really meant it." "I meant and mean it." She shook her head, muttering to herself and quickly downed the last glass of wine, before getting up abruptly. "Okay, now I can always say, I was simply too drunk to resist your Old School charm..." "May I offer you my arm, madam?" "You may indeed, dear sir. Then you will usher me to my room and treat me like a lady." "I will endeavour to do just that." She giggled and struggled to walk as lady-like as she could in her current state. We kept that up until the elevator doors closed and I gave her a sample of how I usually treat my ladies, which was apparently very much what she had in mind as well. "I envy you, you know, for having a queen and all that. And I love that accent. Makes you sound so aristocratic." Yes, I had read that there was no king at present. She managed to open the door to her room with some difficulty and on the spur of the moment I picked her up and carried her inside. "No need for envy there, luv, not only will I treat you like a queen, you will also get royally fucked." "Damn... you do know what a lady wants to hear..." We had arrived at her bed where I let her drop onto the soft mattress. Her snickering ceased when I took my shirt off and opened my trousers. She watched me with a slightly flushed face and then hastened to get her clothes off too. She had freckles all over her arms and shoulders, just like my Emma, small perky breasts and a small landing-strip of pubic hair. Of course that was irresistible for a pilot like me. She opened her legs for me, when I climbed onto the bed. I like foreplay and all that, but that very moment I just wanted to fuck her senseless, fuck the sadness out of her and myself. I watched her face attentively, as my cock went in all the way, finding her well prepared despite the shortness of the warm-up in the elevator. Believe me, I have looked into so many faces of so many races, but this very special moment of receiving one of the greatest gifts of life makes most of them look very much alike; the expression of relieved satisfaction, the unspoken "finally..." being dissolved into the first reverberations of concupiscence. I had promised her a royal treatment, and she got just that. I pounded her leisurely, not driving her, rather making her take off slowly and fly, higher and higher and higher, taking all the time in this world I was about to leave again, taking in her blissed-out expressions as her body shook and trembled beneath me, time and time again, until I felt no reason to hold back any longer and melted gushingly into her too. It was past three o'clock in the morning, when I left the sleeping young woman with a kiss on her forehead, knowing full well that she was probably indeed the last woman on Earth I ever made love to. Chapter three - Hitchin' a ride Having to get up at about six in the morning was still not overly difficult. I needed very little sleep, since I had received the medical implant of the Scnrgsis. My little Emma had been busy during the night also, without feeling the need to inform me -- she had brought the equipment she built on board already, disintegrating a few crates the Russians had asked to be taken along to the new space station. I was glad to see them working together, when following the news in my absence I had had serious qualms about possibly returning to a nuclear winter when eventually coming home. Now even two of the crew of seven were Russian astronauts hitching a ride -- just like us. We arrived and boarded the shuttle on launch pad 39A roughly at the same time they did. The major difference was that we entered the craft invisibly through what the Scnrgsis call a matter sluice, which is basically shifting the matter out of phase with normal space-time; so one can pass through before it reconstitutes on command. It took me a while to warm up to this technology, which is found everywhere on their crafts and installations, once I learned about how it actually worked. In the beginning I always feared not getting through quickly enough and finding myself stuck in a solid wall. After more than sixty years now, it was as common to me as doors. My little Emma and her Nanos had been extremely busy, as I acknowledged with a quick look around the cargo hold of the Atlantis. She had even installed a comfortable seat for me. She had established links to the cockpit and the instruments there, so there wouldn't be any need for me to get used to the controls I only knew from a brief joy ride at the Kennedy Space Center, when we would eventually take over the ship. A small laptop served as the secret control centre of craft. I felt the routine excitement as much as the crew, whom I observed through the cameras my busy little bee had installed everywhere. The countdown had begun, while the pilot in front, a Mr G.C. Johnson, radioed in the results of his last minute checks. "All systems go." "Atlantis, you are cleared for launch in T minus thirty seconds, twenty-nine, twenty-eight..." "They had a problem with a valve earlier on, but my Nanos fixed it." "Good girl. Establish localised antigrav field." "Acknowledged." I had half a mind to forgo that luxury to get the full authentic experience, but I had been spoilt enough by technology already to consider more than four G somewhat undesirable. Emma fished a metallic cylinder out of the backpack she had brought along. "...ignition, six, five..." We didn't feel a thing in our cosy little spot there, but the seven others in front were pressed into their seats whilst the Shuttle lifted off into the morning sky, followed by the eyes of a sizeable tourist crowd. "What's that, sweetie?" She unscrewed the top of the cylinder that turned out to be a cup. "Tea, Jon. I took the liberty of procuring a variety of forty different blends for analysis and sampling. You said I never really synthesized something close enough to the real thing." I kissed her for that, feeling a tad decadent afterwards sipping a good cup of Darjeeling whilst the crew in front still battled the G-force. It would take the shuttle roughly twenty minutes to leave the atmosphere, no comparison to the first time I had left Earth. I listened to the exchange of telemetry data, although I already knew that everything was fine. I only started to feel a little tense when we finally reached the ISS and docked. I had surmised that all seven would leave the shuttle together, but the pilot stayed behind, checking his controls. "What is he doing, Emma?" "I do not know, Jon. I think he must have found something that might have alerted him to our presence, as unlikely as that sounds." I nodded in agreement. As a pilot you develop something like a sixth sense for your craft. You can feel that something is wrong, even when your instruments show you that everything is within accepted tolerances. That chap was a proper pilot. He radioed in that he wanted to do a few more system checks before boarding ISS. "Do you want me to go to the cockpit and hasten his departure?" "Not yet Emma, let's see what he's up to. If need be..." "Houston, this is Atlantis. Our oxygen consumption is a little higher than expected, but all systems read a-okay. Atlantis signing off, will board ISS now. Atlantis out." "Acknowledged Atlantis. We will perform a complete systems check from here also to see what might have caused this. Houston out." I watched the pilot glide through his craft; I've never been particularly fond of zero gravity, although there are occasions when it can actually be fun. From what I knew about the current ISS compliment and the fact that all seven of the Atlantis crew were men, they would not really get a chance to explore that though. The pilot was safely aboard the ISS. "Now, Jon?" "Okay, sweetie. Bring our systems online." Emma disabled the Atlantis' own computer system and took over, essentially becoming the Atlantis. If I had wanted, I could have steered the craft by squeezing her tits. She secured the hatch and released the docking clamps. "Houston to Atlantis. Gregory, do you copy? Houston to ISS. We..." "Houston, this is Atlantis. Sorry chaps, I need your shuttle to get home. Please send my compliments and regrets to Mr Johnson and his crew. I am sorry for any inconvenience caused. Atlantis out." I had to focus on manoeuvring the shuttle away from the space station and didn't really feel like explaining more to them anyway. I wondered if hijacking was part of any of their contingency plans. Probably not, but in any case there were of course protocols for picking up a stranded crew from the ISS. No harm would come to them. Unless the Pret had advanced farther already and what I had witnessed last wasn't just the usual hit and run, but the beginning of the end-game. I sincerely hoped that the latter was not the case. Emma's new and improved thrusters unfolded once we cleared the ISS. She really had been a busy bee. We burned almost all the fuel in the initial burst to get us en route to the moon. There was no way of landing there safely anyway, we would get out before letting the shuttle crash on the moon. Even if there had been a chance for that, we wouldn't have wanted to alert the humans to the station of the Scnrgsis, as I imagined they would try to track us with everything they got. We reached the lunar orbit in just under sixteen hours. Emma had calculated the optimal vector of descent and moment to leave the craft before it would crash on the dark side of the moon. The advanced technology of the Scnrgsis made a cumbersome space suit superfluous for me -- a generator no bigger than a pea would form a protective energy bubble around me, which shielded me from radiation of all kinds and was oxygenated as well. Theoretically it could have provided me with oxygen for more than a month. Emma didn't need any of that of course. We alighted right above the Hertzsprung crater, informing the station located roughly 20 miles south of our impending visit, when our short range communicators came into contact. The shuttle would crash and disintegrate close to Mare Orientale. Even from a distance of less than a few hundred yards you wouldn't have been able to spot the station, as it had been fashioned to look like a regular feature of the moon surface. You actually had to land to see that there was quite a bit of technology on the surface also, but most of the station was extending underground. The station was unmanned; a massive computer and some robotic drones were sufficient to maintain the station, feed and filter the data to be relayed into the galactic network. However, we had muted it two years ago, when the front line got too close for comfort. "Lunar station Snissis welcomes you, Jon. I have powered up living quarters for you and your android. You may access all relevant Earth transmissions concerning your departure in memory bank A-07-14-09. All available tactical data on the Pret's movements are located in memory bank X-01-43-82. Please provide security clearance codes alpha nine and seven to access that information. Did you have a pleasant journey, Jon?" "I can't complain, Snissis. Try to contact the Snay for me, will you? I am transmitting my clearance codes now. What's the story then?" "Codes verified. The Pret's contingent that attacked you has been neutralised. We lost about sixty ships in the process, Jon. The Snay did escape, but it was damaged. Opening communication channel forty-five." The projection screen showed me a hologram of Eyleenois, the Snay's communications officer. "Jon. Still in one piece I see. We received your coded transmission. Sorry about Emma." "Yeah, tough luck. I really miss my little darling. You got away? What is your status?" "We are currently still at the refitting station of the Analon complex. Repairs will be completed in a couple of days. You'd be pleased to hear that four of your kids made it back to us. We are adapting one to suit your special needs as we speak. We will have to replenish their numbers to the full compliment on the next return to base. We can pick you up in three days max." Pilot 02: The Dark Side of the Moon "That is good news. Let's make this brief. I look forward to seeing you again." "Me too. I miss your little cock." "Eylee, I will dream of your pussies until we are re-united again." "Do that Jon. See you soon." "See ya." I retreated to the quarters the Snissis had selected for us and decided to look at the Earth news about our little adventure a little later. A wonderful massage from my little Emma rounded off what had been quite an agreeable day.