Bightmares

Chapter Four

Emi sat in her chair in front of the bridge console as she nervously listened to the three men go through a final pre-flight checklist after their umbilicals and the gangways were retracted. After twenty minutes, Aaron hit the com link button.

“Dockmaster, this is the Tamora Bight. We’re ready to depart.”

“Roger, Captain. The pilot tug will lock on shortly.”

Caph winked at her. “This is it, babe. The real thing.”

She stared at the front vid screens, where Earth slowly rotated beneath them. A Cat 2 hurricane churned in the Gulf of Mexico, clearly visible in the waning light. She felt detached from it, as if she hadn’t spent her entire life on that rock. It held memories, her parents’ ashes, and nothing more. Well, her best friend Donna lived there, but Emi had to live her own life. They would keep in touch through messages and video, that one connection not enough to keep Emi on Earth.

Not when she had three men who loved her.

“This is it,” she softly echoed.

Caph frowned. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why the long face?”

“Is it bad that there’s nothing left for me there? What does it say about me?”

“Home isn’t a place, babe,” Ford chimed in. “Not any one place, at least. It’s a state of mind.”

Aaron pulled himself out of his command chair. He walked to stand behind her and massage her shoulders. “We’re home,” he softly said. “The four of us together. These two guys, and now you.”

“Fuckin’ A,” the twins parroted, then scowled at each other.

Emi smiled. “Please don’t change. I like it when you do that.”

Aaron released her shoulders after a final squeeze. “I warned you, Em. Give it twenty years, you’ll change your mind.”

The journey to Mars would take longer in real life than it did in the simulator because they needed more systems testing. If they were in a hurry they could jump and make it there in less than a week. This trip was their official shakedown cruise, so they had to take their time and thoroughly test all their systems. Breaking down at the far end of the galaxy wasn’t a pleasant option. At the end of their eight-week journey, the red planet came into focus on their front vid screens.

The view sucked the breath out of Emi’s lungs. “Wow!” she softly breathed, stunned, amazed.

Mars.

Busy with her duties on the ship and trying to learn about the systems, she had temporarily lost sight of the fact that they would drop to the surface and moor at a Martian base.

When she turned to Aaron, he winked. “Seems like we welcomed you to Mars in a pretty hot way in the sim.”

Ford laughed. “Oh, hell yeah!”

Caph grinned. “That’s one of the things I wouldn’t mind re-enacting in real life.”

Night had fallen by the time they completed their drop to the Martian surface. The hover lifts moved them into the protective hangar, the ground crew connected their gangways, airlocks, and utility umbilicals, and then the dockmaster declared them securely docked and free to debark. The red planet’s moons, Phobos and Deimos, were both visible in the nearly cloudless sky. From their place in the hangar, Emi could look through the front view ports and stare at the night sky as well as the ruddy dirt visible outside the complex in the pools of light cast by the external lighting. Situated in the Oxia Pauls quadrangle, the DaVinci 2 base was located in Chryse Planitia, or CP for short.

Ford and Caph left the bridge to take care of routine systems checks and docking chores. Emi stood at the front view ports and started at what little was visible of the Martian landscape.

An odd feeling of déjà vu swept over her when Aaron stepped forward and slipped his arms around her waist. He feathered his lips across the back of her neck. “So what kind of mood are you in?” The lightness in his soul had remained ever since their night together before leaving the hub. She hoped they could find other opportunities while here on Mars to maybe help further his recovery.

She pulled his arms tightly around her and rocked her hips. Immediately, she felt his cock stiffen through his pants, where it was pressed along the seam of her ass. “I’m definitely in a playful mood.”

His teeth gently grazed her flesh. “How playful?”

“Why don’t you clarify, Captain?”

He chuckled. “I think Ford and Caph will finish their chores in record time to get their asses back to our quarters. Question is, you looking for some one-on-one or group playtime?”

She wiggled her hips again. “Definitely group. We won’t get enough of that the next few months. I think I’m with Caph in wanting to reenact the sim in this case.”

“Mmm. Good.” He scooped her into his arms and headed toward their cabin. “The more, the merrier.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as he carried her. Once there, he playfully dropped her onto the bed and stood over her as he stripped.

“You are well overdue for a damn good fucking, baby girl.” He dropped his clothes to the floor and climbed onto the bed. “I think I want a doctor sandwich tonight.”

She loved it when he grew playful like this. It was yet another sign of his emotional healing. “Oh, yeah? Well, maybe I want another captain sandwich.” He lifted her shirt and started nuzzling her tummy. “Or maybe I want to see you sitting on Caph’s cock while me and Ford try to suck your balls out.”

He started laughing. When he looked up, his eyes were crinkled with amusement. “Well, regardless of what we end up doing, I would suggest you get naked if you want to do any of them.” He pushed her shirt up her torso, kissing the bared flesh.

She quickly pulled it off while he worked on unfastening her uniform pants. Naked under him, he pushed her legs apart and nuzzled the soft, sensitive flesh inside her thighs. “So you’ve been having dirty thoughts about your captain, hmm?” He gently nipped her, making her moan. “Naughty doctor.”

“Oh, baby, you have no idea how many dirty thoughts I have about all three of you.”

“Really?” He gently nipped her other thigh, followed by a long, hot swipe of his tongue rasping across her flesh. “Like what?”

She was going to answer him when they both heard pounding footsteps racing down the corridor from the direction of the galley. By the time the twins hit the open cabin doorway and pushed their way through together, Caph already had his shirt off, and Ford was working on his.

“What’d we miss?” they parroted as they frantically stripped.

Emi laughed. “Nothing yet.”

The impact of both men’s naked bodies hitting the mattress at the same time bounced Emi and Aaron and made her laugh. Aaron lifted his head. His eyes met hers.

He smirked, that deliciously evil, playful expression that could do her in every time. “Did you decide yet?” he asked her.

“Decide what?” the twins asked.

Emi threw her head back and laughed. Aaron explained. “I was offering the good doctor here her choice of entrees off the crew molestation menu.”

“Ooh,” the twins said, not even bothering to glare at each other. “Fuck yeah!”

Emi laughed even harder and finally sat up. “Calm down, boys, everyone will get a turn.”

“So what’ll it be, Em?” Aaron asked. “Doctor sandwich, crème de la captain, or maybe motormouth à la mode?”

Ford snickered. “Y’all don’t seem to complain too much about how chatty I am in bed normally.”

“Caph, shut him up for a minute, would you, please?” Aaron asked.

Caph grinned and cupped the back of Ford’s head. “Gladly.” He pulled the other man’s face down to his lap, where Ford greedily inhaled Caph’s stiff member.

“Okay, now we can think in peace,” Aaron said.

Caph loudly moaned.

“Maybe not,” Emi countered. She studied Aaron’s playful expression. “What kind of mood is our captain in?”

She felt his comprehension. He sat up and kissed her. “I’m in a mood to do anything you want to do, Em.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Anything?”

His playful smirk melted her core. “Anything.”

“Caph, let go of Ford’s head.”

At Caph’s disappointed moan, Ford laughed as he sat up. “Sorry, big guy. Doc’s orders.”

She reached for the bottle of lube and handed it to Aaron. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m going to take good care of that for you.” She pushed Caph down onto the bed. Then she swung a leg over him and slowly impaled herself on his shaft. Caph was, so far, the only one who’d been able to bring her to orgasm just from fucking her. Not every time, and usually only when it was the two of them alone together, but she loved having that special thing with him.

Aaron knew exactly what she wanted and knelt behind her as Caph’s large hands slipped down to her ass and spread her cheeks. Aaron slicked his cock, applied plenty of lube to her, and gently pressed home.

Emi sighed, filled, content as she felt both men’s shafts inside her, erotically stretching her and sending her nerves into overdrive.

“What about me?” Ford asked, now sounding a little pouty.

Aaron handed him the bottle of lube. “What do you think?”

Ford grinned. “Hell, yeah!”

Aaron stopped his slow thrusts as Ford quickly prepared and slid his cock inside Aaron’s dark hole.

Emi, enjoying the delicious friction of Caph’s body against her clit, let out a happy sigh. “All right, boys. Have fun.”

Caph kissed her as he stroked her back. She knew Aaron and Ford would finish first. They’d already started a rhythm between them she suspected was as old and familiar to them as if they hadn’t missed out on that activity for decades. Ford’s hands rested lightly on Aaron’s ass as Aaron thrust into her, then back onto Ford’s cock.

Emi felt Aaron’s energy strengthen and brighten, his love, his relief, his passion all entwined with that of Ford’s. She was a part of this tableau but not an active part of their activities.

Ford kissed the back of Aaron’s neck. “Jesus, you feel good,” he moaned. “I can’t hold back for long like this. Man, I need you.”

She felt Aaron shiver from pleasant passion. “Goddamn, you’ve got a nice cock,” he hoarsely said.

Caph moaned even as he kissed her, the sound of the other men driving him closer to his own release. She stilled her movements, not wanting him to get off too soon and then leave her hanging.

She felt Ford’s motions slow, then still. “Jesus, Aar, quit fucking teasing me, man. Get your ass moving.”

He did, his thrusts deeper and harder until she knew he hovered at the edge of his climax. Caph reached up and stroked Aaron’s arms. That seemed to be the final cue his body needed to tumble him over the ledge. Aaron thrust home inside her one last time and held still as he moaned.

“Fuck yeah, that’s what I wanted to feel,” Ford cried out, then picked up the pace of his own thrusts. Emi felt the bed shake as he plunged his shaft inside Aaron until he too climaxed.

Ford slipped his arm around Aaron’s waist and held him. “Dammit, I love you, Aar.”

Aaron sat up, turned his head, and kissed Ford. “Me too, buddy.”

When Aaron withdrew, Emi once again started her slow grind against Caph’s hips. Caught in the thick sexual energy from her other two men, she knew it wouldn’t take too much to push her over the edge.

She was vaguely aware of Ford and Aaron stepping out of bed for a moment before they returned and lay on each side of them. Aaron stroked her back while Ford nuzzled Caph’s ear. Her clit throbbed. At the bottom of every stroke, she felt Caph’s hot flesh teasing her, not quite enough to push her over.

Ford lifted her head. “Come on, baby,” he murmured. “Fuck him good. You know you want to fuck his sweet cock.”

Caph’s hands settled on her hips as she sat up and fucked him harder. She felt him straining to hold back, waiting for her to come first. Aaron sat up next to her and played with her nipples. “That’s it,” he coaxed. “Jesus, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

“Now who’s the motormouth?” she quipped.

Ford sat up. She had just enough time to catch a glimpse of his amused smirk before he bent his head to her breast and took her nipple into his hot mouth. Aaron did the same to her other. Then one of Aaron’s hands found its way between her body and Caph’s and started playing with her swollen clit.

As her pussy throbbed around Caph’s cock, he let out another tense moan. “I’m so fucking close, babe.”

Emi closed her eyes and fucked him harder, faster, the pull of the other men’s mouths sending neon-bright passion through her body until it centered on her clit, where Aaron’s skilled fingers finally brought her over the edge.

As she started coming, Caph’s fingers tightened around her hips as he bucked his body up into hers, thrusting hard until she felt his hot juices pumping into her. Drained of energy, her body went limp. Ford and Aaron sat back as she draped herself over Caph’s large frame. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly, not wanting to let her go.

“Jesus, that was good,” he whispered.

“Damn straight,” Ford and Aaron parroted.

Even Aaron laughed that time.

Another difference from the sim, this base wasn’t nearly as large as the massive Galileo base in Utopia Planitia, but the men had already told her they would take her there for a visit. The sim had drawn from the men’s memories for that portion of their experience, and most of their previous trips to Mars had been to the UP complex.

Emi tried to sleep and couldn’t despite her exhaustion. She really couldn’t go exploring or shopping because the base was in sleep mode. After an hour of staring at the ceiling, she carefully untangled herself from the men, slipped on a robe, and padded to the bridge in her bare feet.

Mars.

It was impossible for her mind not to drift, to think about the telltale faint melancholy air her men wore, the collective, sad sigh present in their minds as they’d drawn closer to Mars despite Aaron’s newfound healing.

Kelsey. The woman the men had loved and lost so many years before. The woman Aaron nearly died trying to save and, in the end, couldn’t. The woman he’d grieved doubly, because he felt guilty for not saving her.

The woman who’d brought the three men together as more than friends and crew, but as lovers and lifemates. Until Emi entered their lives, Kels had been the last woman the men had an intimate relationship with.

Her grave was here on Mars, where she’d been born and raised. Where her parents, Markkus and Delaney D’ambroise, still resided.

Despite anticipating their hot night of lovemaking, Caph had gone uncharacteristically quiet and still during their drop and docking. Ford’s nonstop banter had also ceased. And Aaron…

Emi felt a deep ache in his soul, the one she’d sensed at the start of the initial sim session, when they first “met” and she joined their crew. An ache he hadn’t had in real life since she joined them that very afternoon after the sim session ended.

She found out from the detailed report Dr. Graymard gave her about their experience that the sim was a layered algorithm. Just because she experienced one thing with the men didn’t mean they all experienced the same things. The computers seamlessly flowed the time differences together, layering experiences for the various participants while allowing technicians to alter parts of the program to suit their needs, even though the participants’ minds perceived the events happening in a linear fashion.

For the men, when they’d visited Mars in the sim, the three of them had taken a brief side trip to Kelsey’s grave one day while Emi was in a cooking class, even though Emi was not aware of it then. Because the men always visited Kelsey’s grave, without fail, when they went to Mars, the sim techs had to allow it to maintain the illusion.

Emi took a deep breath. She had to be strong for them, for all three of them. They’d need her, her skills, and her love, now more than ever.

She sensed rather than heard the presence behind her.

“You all right, Em?” Aaron.

“Yeah.” She looked and noted the slight droop in his shoulders. “Are you?” She sensed not a relapse back into his previous grief but a healthy dealing with his memories.

He walked over, stood next to her, and draped his arm around her shoulder. “I won’t lie to you,” he quietly said. “Being here always brings back the demons.”

She turned and slipped her arms around him, wishing she could do more than just feel his pain. Despite the cathartic night of lovemaking the night before they left the orbital hub, Aaron had still not opened up to her about the events on the Wayfarer Margo. She couldn’t force him to, either. What she knew about that dark time came from Ford telling her the events and details she gleaned from the incident and hearing reports.

“If you guys want to go, believe me, I understand. It doesn’t bother me. You should go.”

He rubbed his chin in her hair. “I want you to come with us. If you want to,” he quickly added.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re our wife. You should come with us. I don’t want to leave you sitting here alone. She would understand.” She felt him take a deep breath. “We want you to meet Mom and Dad, too.” The men still called Kelsey’s parents that, even this many years later.

“They won’t want to meet me.”

“Yeah, they do. I already told them about you.” He looked down at her. His brown eyes had filled with melancholy. “They were really happy when I told them about you.”

Emi looked out the view port and watched as Phobos prepared to sink over the far horizon. Emi’s own parents had died when she was sixteen and still in school, killed in an accident at their lunar research complex. The men of the Tamora Bight were the only family she’d had in the ten-plus years since then.

“Okay.”