Love at First Bight

Chapter Fourteen

As their time on Earth shortened, Emi had dinner with Donna and a few other friends one evening. Then it was back to the ship to immerse herself in last-minute details.

Her job, after ensuring the sick bay and hydro lab were all set, was to help the men as needed. Mostly with last-minute inventory, loading some equipment and supplies, and running through pre-departure checklists. She still wasn’t clear on the sequence of events. Ford filled her in one afternoon as she helped him go through an engineering electrical panel, checking circuits one final time.

“They use hover lifts to move us out of the dry dock to the launch pad. From there, the heavy lifts, we call them tug boats, take us up.

We can’t use a jump engine here, it’s too populated. A ship like this isn’t designed to land and take off unassisted on a planet like Earth, we’d use up too much energy against the gravity trying to lift ourselves. Once we’re up about five kilometers, the orbital docking station takes over with a tractor beam and does the heavy lifting for us. Then we can negotiate our way to the designated berth.”

“But how does the grav-plate system work? I still don’t understand that, and I watched the stupid vid at least three times.” He paused and thought about it. “It keeps us and everything else on this boat from floating around once we’re in zero G. We won’t be at full gravity, so it’ll feel like you lost about fifteen pounds all of a sudden. It’s enough to keep stuff in place. It’s designed to run off either the gennies or the solar arrays on the ship’s skin. If we’re close enough to a star, it’ll feed off that. If not, the ship’s engines run it. I don’t know the exact details of why it works, something to do with creating an artificial gravitational field.” While Aaron spent a lot of time in engineering, one of Ford’s primary duties was engineering and defense, while Caph oversaw life support and weaponry systems. The three men overlapped in most areas, vital with a crew as small as theirs. They gave her small reading assignments every day to help her learn the ship’s systems, afraid of overwhelming her.

The morning they were scheduled to leave, Dr. Graymard met with them in his office and gave them a final briefing and well-wishes. “I’m sure you’ll all do well.” He leveled his gaze at Emi.

“Relax. You have a lot to learn, but you know your job inside and out, and that’s all we can ask of you at this time. Give yourself a break.” She forced a nervous smile. “Thank you.” She stood on the bridge and watched the men work, going through final checklists as the dry dock crew prepared to disconnect their utility umbilicals from the facility. While fully loaded with basics such as food, fuel, water, and other essentials, they still didn’t have a complete payload for their expedition. They would pick some of that up from the orbital hub, the rest from the Mars station once the shakedown cruise was a success. The men were focused, professional, business-like.

After a half-hour, Aaron looked up from his station and nodded to Caph. “Looks like we’re ready.” He signaled the dry dock crew. Emi watched as they slowly moved out of their berth. She’d been standing behind Aaron’s chair, her fingers wrapped around the back. They tightened, her knuckles white, as the cavernous facility was slowly left behind.

The tedious process took over four hours just to clear the building.

She tried to keep herself busy but kept returning to stand behind Aaron’s chair. Once outside on the tarmac, they progressed a little faster until she saw the launch pad ahead, heat waves shimmering off the asphalt in the bright afternoon sun.

Aaron reached back and squeezed her hand. “This is it, baby girl.

You okay?”

She nodded, unable to move or take her eyes from the front ports.

Ford and Caph called readings back and forth to each other and Aaron as they set up the systems for the lift and ran through final status checks. Then, the last order.

“Close front plates,” Aaron said.

Ford nodded, and the plates slid into place over the front ports.

Almost immediately the built-in vid screens came to life, nearly duplicating the view without the real light shining in.

Emi saw the tugs waiting for them on the launch pad, six of them.

Aaron pointed. “The lift process takes about ten hours, and they’ll stay with us as back-up when the tractor beam takes over.” Going into space. It didn’t seem real.

Emi didn’t feel it when the lifts loaded them onto the tugs.

The com link signaled. “Tamora Bight, this is lead tug, Desert Sun. Captain, are you ready?”

Aaron looked at Ford and Caph, who nodded. Then he turned to Emi, and the smile lighting his face washed all her fears away like water down a drain. The emotion she felt from him, a different kind of almost pure joy, easily overcame any hesitation on her part.

All of the men were happy to be going back to space. This was why, even after the horrors they lived through, they returned to their job.

Because it was their life, and they loved it.

“I’m ready,” she whispered.

He pulled her into his lap and flicked the com link. “Desert Sun, this is Tamora Bight. Take us up.”

“Roger, Captain. Have a safe journey.” Caph and Ford sat back and watched the front vid screens as the ground slowly disappeared beneath them. Emi thought it might feel like flying in traditional air transports, but it wasn’t. It was smooth, as if the Earth fell away, not that they were climbing.

Aaron patted her on the thigh. “Now, we wait. Caph, you want first watch?”

“Yeah, I’ll take it. I’m assuming you want to be on deck when we’re in docking range.”

“Right. Do short watches. You, then Ford, and I’ll be here.” He squeezed Emi’s hand. “Not trying to leave you out, babe, but this isn’t like a normal night watch.”

“I understand.” Her stomach growled. It would be dinner time soon. “I’ll go make supper.”

He helped her out of his lap. Twenty minutes later, Aaron and Ford joined her in the galley. They helped her finish preparations, and she took Caph’s dinner to him, then slid into Ford’s seat while he ate.

“Aren’t you going to eat, babe?”

“Yeah, in a little bit. I wanted to sit with you for a while.” He pointed at the vid screens, where purple dusk had overtaken the western landscape beneath them. “Amazing, isn’t it? I never get sick of this.”

“How many of these have you done?”

“Four like this. We’ve had other ships, smaller ones, that could lift on their own, or that could be tractored from lower. We’ve also had ships where we took command at a hub or space-side somewhere else.

This is the biggest, though, the Tamora Bight.”

“Do you miss it? When you’re in space, do you miss being on Earth?”

He shrugged. “Not so much. I’m usually too busy. It’s easy for me. My family’s scattered all over, so it’s not like I’m leaving a bunch of people behind.”

The men rarely talked about their families. Aaron was almost as alone as she was, with only a cousin who worked on a space station near Saturn. Ford had a brother and sister on a Jupiter outpost, he wasn’t close to his father, and his mother was deceased. Caph’s parents were colonists in a different solar system¯she couldn’t even begin to pronounce the name¯and his three siblings were split around the known universe.

This truly was a ready-made family they’d become.

“What about after?” she asked.

He shook his head in mock disgust. “We’re not having this conversation again, are we?”

“No, I meant if we decide to settle on Earth later, not take another mission, would you be okay not being in space?” He finished his dinner and handed her the plate, playfully pulling her in for a long, passionate kiss. “Honey, it doesn’t matter if I’m on Earth or in space or in some distant rat-hole spaceport as long as it’s the four of us there together. My home is with you three, not any place or ship or planet.”

She could agree with that—she felt it too.

“Go eat your dinner before it gets cold, sweetie.” Emi took his plate back to the galley and ate her dinner.

She thought she’d be too excited to sleep, but started yawning an hour later.

“Nerves,” Ford said with a smile. “Go to bed, watch the vid or something.”

She did, thinking she wouldn’t sleep. She awoke to find Aaron stretched out next to her, fully dressed, watching the vid screen.

“Little formal for bed, aren’t we?” she joked.

He shrugged. “Just a precaution. In case the twins need me on deck.”

“Thought they were going to trade off?”

“They are. Caph will be along in a little while.” Cuddled against Aaron’s side, she drifted again. When she awoke, Caph was stretched out next to her, dressed, and Aaron was gone.

This was one of the very few nights she didn’t sleep all the way through since joining her boys.

He pulled her to him, tightly snuggled. “Go back to sleep,” he whispered. “It’s late for you. You’ll need to get used to sleeping without a set sunrise and sunset.”

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

“I’m used to it.” He pressed his lips to her temple in a sweet, chaste kiss. “You’ll have plenty of time to settle in on the docking hub.”

“I want to see it when we get there, before we dock,” she mumbled, already falling asleep again.

“I promise, we’ll wake you up.”

“Okay…”

Ford gently nudged her awake. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. We’re close to the hub.”

She rolled over. The window sim looked like early dawn. “What time is it?”

“Almost six a.m.”

She sat up and he kissed her. “I’ll have your coffee waiting.”

“Thanks.”

She grabbed a quick sonic shower and dressed. Ford had her bagel toasting and her coffee ready, perfectly prepared. Emi hugged him from behind. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Keep talking.” He grinned, playfully bumping her with his hip.

Emi helped him make breakfast for Caph and Aaron and they carried it to the bridge. Outside, the sky looked black, punctuated by pinpoints of stars, clearer and more breathtaking and in far greater quantities than she ever remembered seeing from on Earth. Ahead of them lay the large orbital hub facility, several dozen ships berthed on each side and a flurry of traffic at one end, where the smaller transport and passenger vessel terminal was located.

Caph chuckled. “It’s neat, isn’t it?” Dumbly nodding, she stared.

Space. She was in space.

Was this how her parents felt the first time they traveled to the moon? She wondered if they’d ever passed through this same orbital hub. There were fifteen of the large ones and twelve smaller, passenger-only hubs.

She jumped when Aaron touched her shoulder. “We’ll be docking in about an hour, just waiting for an available pilot tug to come get us.” He looked at her. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Big.” Pictures and vids had not prepared her for the reality.

“Not the biggest. Third biggest. They had an open berth, otherwise we’d have to wait three more days for one of the other hubs to be in the right position for us to lift.” There wasn’t anything she could do but watch. The pilot tug hooked onto them and slowly guided them into their berth. Once they were secured, a docking crew hooked up utility umbilicals and a portable gangway to their front hatch.

The com signaled. “Tamora Bight, welcome to Orbital Hub 0-7-Alpha. Captain, your hook-ups are complete. You and your crew have permission to debark as needed. A dock foreman will get with you on your schedule.”

“Thank you.” Aaron looked at Emi. “And that’s all there is to it.” He smiled. “They’ve got a great restaurant here.” Ford lit up. “Oh yeah! I forgot about Charlie Tacos. I’ll make a reservation.”

Barring any unforeseen issues, they’d be at the orbital hub for two weeks. The first night there the boys took Emi out for dinner and she was amazed at the view of Earth from the hub’s huge observation room. Staring down at the planet slammed home the finality of her decision. She’d never give up these men or what she’d chosen, not for that hunk of rock and water beneath them.

Two weeks at the hub seemed to fly by. She learned more about the ship’s systems and took her turn at solo night watches. When the pilot tug guided them away from their hub berth, Emi watched the orbiter slip away in the front vid screens.

Two ISNC cruisers accompanied them and three other ships¯freighters¯to Mars. They had to test their jump engine, something Emi didn’t even try to understand. It almost frightened her to contemplate how fast it transported them from one side of the solar system to the other, but in their case they were only using it to jump short distances to check the power loads on the various systems.

The Mars trip took six weeks. Emi settled into a comfortable routine with the men. As they closed in on the red planet her eyes widened, fascinated, at the sight.

Ford laughed as he watched her. “Amazing, huh?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t feel real.”

“We’ve seen it plenty of times,” Caph said. He turned. “Hey, Aar, do you think that karaoke bar will let us back in yet?” He grinned. “Not a chance. They were pretty pissed at you guys.” Another story Emi knew she’d need to hear. For now she was content to sit and watch the planet grow in their front vid screens.

Lots of work had been done to introduce ice and water to the Martian surface in hopes of stimulating an atmosphere. Several large residential and research settlements had been built in addition to the station they were en route to. Experts believed Mars might have a self-sustaining, natural ecosystem within three hundred years, but the atmosphere was still extremely thin compared to Earth.

Because Mars didn’t have much of one yet, and because of the reduced gravity, it was easier for the Tamora Bight to take off and land from the planet under her own power. More pilot tugs arrived to assist their drop, as they called it, to their station berth. Once safely docked and their cargo and main hatches were connected to the gangway, Aaron ordered the front plates raised.

Caph flicked the switch. The plates retracted, leaving a natural view as the vid screens deactivated.

Emi sucked in a sharp breath. It was daylight, giving her a perfect view of the Martian landscape.

“Wow!” she breathed, walking to the front ports.

The men gathered behind her. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ford asked.

Unable to form a coherent word, she simply nodded.

“Much of the base is underground,” Caph explained. “Protects it, helps regulate the temperature.”

Pictures never prepared you for the first-hand sight. She stared for over an hour, amazed.

Eventually she was aware of Aaron slipping his arm around her waist. “You want to stand here all day, sweetie?” She leaned into his warm body, shaking her head, pulling his other arm around her. “Just trying to take it all in, that’s all.” His lips brushed the back of her neck, sweet and tender. “I have something else you could take in, you know.” He rubbed his hips against her ass, his cock firmly pressing against her.

She slid one of his hands lower, between her legs. “You do, hmm?”

“Yes, I do.”

Emi writhed against him, encouraging. “You don’t have something to do now that we’re here?”

“Not for a few hours.” He slid his other hand up to her breast, running his thumb over her nipple through her shirt. “I could do you, if you’re in the mood.”

She closed her eyes and threw her head back against his shoulder.

“That sounds great.”

He scooped her into his arms and carried her to their cabin.

“Where’s the twins?” she asked as he lifted her shirt.

“I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t care right now. I’ve got you all to myself for a little bit.” He sucked one nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over the hard peak.

Emi squirmed under the firm attention from his eager mouth. “So what are you going to do with our time?” He sat up and yanked his shirt off, then stood and dropped his pants. His stiff cock sprang free, the action sending a flood of moisture straight to her sex. The sight of one¯or all¯of their ready members wanting her always did that to her.

“I’m going to fuck you until you beg me to make you come.”

It took her only a second to shimmy out of her pants. He knelt in front of her and grabbed her arm, pulling her to him, thrusting his tongue into her mouth.

Sometimes he was like this, forceful, almost aggressive¯and she loved it. Emi squirmed against him and he flipped her over, his hands skimming down her body to her hips, positioning her.

“Do it,” she begged, wiggling her ass at him.

“Oh, baby, I’m going to do you, all right.” He dipped his fingers into her, making sure she was wet and taking a moment to tease her, thrusting them into her. “I’m going to do you real good, baby girl.” He pressed his cockhead against her pussy, not entering, his fingers gripping her hips. “What do you want? Tell me.”

“Fuck me good, Aar.”

He slammed home with a growl, forcing her to hold still and not grind against him like she wanted. “You want it, baby? I don’t think you want it that much.”

Gripping her pillow, she tried to thrust backward against him, but he held her too tightly. “I do, I want it.” He chuckled and leaned over her, one arm wrapped around her waist. “No you don’t. I don’t think you want it at all.” Playful didn’t begin to describe his mood. All the men had been happier since leaving the orbital hub, eager to be on their way.

“Please fuck me. I want you to fuck me with that sweet cock.”

“Mmm.” He flipped them onto their side, still inside her, and hooked one leg around hers. “I’m going to fuck you good and slow, sweetie.” His hand found her clit. She groaned as he stroked it, slowly fucking her at the same time. “Gonna keep you right on the edge.” He ran his lips across her shoulder, gently nipping her, sending shivers through her.

“Oh, nice!” At the sound of Caph’s voice, Emi and Aaron looked up. Caph stood in the cabin doorway, his pants tented.

“I guess I don’t have you all to myself anymore,” Aaron murmured in her ear. “How you feeling, baby?”

“Horny,” she gasped.

Caph laughed and shook his head. “Is this an open party, or should I come back later?”

Emi thought Aaron might ask for more alone time, but he lifted his head. “I think she needs a little assistance.” Caph crossed the room in two strides, and was naked by the time he dropped to the bed. Aaron moved his hands to her breasts, rolling her nipples in his fingers and sending spasms straight to her pussy.

Caph spread her legs wider, cool air brushing against her throbbing clit.

“Are we keeping her begging for a while or going for a fast explosion?” Caph asked.

“Ah, let’s keep her begging for a while,” Aaron said.

Emi whimpered, closing her eyes and loving the sensation of them taking control.

“Cool,” Caph said, his lips closing around her clit.

Heaven. She’d died and gone to Heaven.

Aaron groaned. “Jesus, you should feel the way her pussy throbs when you do that.” He fucked her agonizingly slow, taking his time.

She moaned, squirming, wanting release. “Fuck me, please!”

“I am, baby. What’s your rush?” He kissed her jaw, nuzzling her.

Caph lifted his head and met Aaron’s eyes. “She’s awfully chatty today.”

“Yeah, why don’t you give her something else to do.” Caph snickered and changed position. Emi sucked his cock into her mouth with a greedy moan.

“Oh, yeah,” Caph said with a growl. “That’s it, honey. You know what I like.” He licked her clit, flicking his tongue over her, making her moan around his shaft.

“Jeez, I’m down in engineering working, and you three are up here fucking around.” Ford’s good-natured ribbing startled them.

Aaron looked up. “Then get your ass over here.” Ford stripped and stood over them. “This is like one of those friggin’ puzzles,” he said with a grin.

Aaron reached over and patted Caph’s ass. “Right here, buddy.”

“Mmm. Good idea.” He grabbed the bottle of lube and slid into position behind Caph, nudging his cock against his rim.

Caph lifted his head for just a moment. “Do it, goddammit. Don’t tease me.”

“Such a romantic,” Ford joked, thrusting his hips. Both men moaned as Ford sank his full length into him. “Like that?”

“Yeah.”

Emi wanted to explode, but all the men had learned how to keep her hovering, enjoyed prolonging her pleasure. She wiggled her hips against Caph’s mouth, trying to get more pressure on her clit to send her over the edge.

He laughed and lifted his mouth. “Baby, you don’t get off that easy.”

It was hard for her to vent her frustration with her mouth full of man-meat, but she groaned.

“Take your time, Caph,” Aaron grunted, keeping his thrusts slow.

“I’m having fun.”

“You ain’t the only one,” Ford said.

Every stroke Ford took brought another low moan from Caph, and his cock throbbed in her mouth.

After a few minutes, Ford grabbed Caph’s hips. “Someone better do something soon, or I’m gonna go off.”

“Gotta love that sweet ass of his,” Aaron said.

“Yeah, man, you know I do,” Ford agreed.

Emi neared desperation, dying for release. She whined and wiggled her hips, trying to get them to let her come.

Aaron kissed the nape of her neck. “Maybe you should let her come, Caph. I can’t hold out much longer.” His voice had dropped, husky with passion.

She moaned in agreement.

Caph’s gifted tongue and lips worked her clit. The familiar fireworks started, sending her over. She sucked Caph’s dick deep into her throat, triggering his climax.

The chain reaction set off Ford and Aaron, and a few minutes later they were all panting, breathless, trying to recover.

“Welcome to Mars, sweetie,” Ford snarked from somewhere behind Caph.

They all laughed.