Minx Ep. 03: The Sphere, Cenozoic Zone

"Uhm, Captain?" Dragon surveyed the group. The men were all staring at Alice. The women were all staring at him.

"Yes. What have you to report?"

"We've almost arrived. We'll be at the planet in about four hours."

"Very good." Dragon put his hand under Alice's chin and lifted her face. His erection fell from her mouth. "You'll have to go a little faster this morning, First Mate. Go deep."

"Yes, Captain."

Alice bent back to her work, resolved that since her Captain did not want her to be embarrassed at this public display she would not allow herself to be. She reminded herself that all the women watching wanted to be in her place at that exact moment. The crew watched her head bob on the Captain's lap. The odd slurping sound was heard from her busy mouth.

"Sorry to disturb you, Captain," said the first speaker.

"No, that's okay Rod. You're not disturbing us. Is he, Alice?"

"Hmm-mmm," she agreed, with her lips wrapped around his erection. She remembered his last instructions and pushed her face down, taking the length of him into her mouth and throat until her lips touched his pubic hair. She held that position for as long as she could and then pulled away. She coughed a little and turned to the assembled bridge crew, with precum and saliva dripping from her chin. "It's no disturbance at all."

As Alice turned back to her assigned task, Dragon "ahemmed".

"Well, Captain," said Rod, clearly nervous. It was evident to Dragon that the men were all aroused by the wantonness of the First Mate, while the women were taking in deep breaths full of his pheromones.

"Go on, Rod. What do you wish to say?' Dragon glanced down at Alice and gave her head a pat as a particularly good thrill of pleasure ran through him. She hummed in response.

"We were sort of wondering what the plan was, Captain. I mean where we should land and such."

Alice had taken him deep again. Her tongue was running along the underside of his erection as she slowly pulled back. Then she took him deep again, bobbing her head over his lap in a steady rhythm that was bringing Dragon closer to orgasm.

"Well, I uh," he turned back to Alice.

She was withdrawing her head when he exploded, his balls lifting and falling as his cum sprayed from his cock. The first burst caught her cheek. Alice corrected that mistake by putting her lips over the head of Dragon's erection and sucking him into her. She swallowed after each small, involuntary thrust from the hyperman, his cock going more deeply into her mouth each time.

"Wow," said one of the women watching.

Several seconds after he finished, he turned to the crew. "I apologize. Now, find the entry portal and place the ship in a geosynchronous orbit over it. The First Mate and I will be on the bridge shortly."

The crew filed out. Alice licked and sucked on Dragon's softening erection repeatedly until it was clean. Then she licked her lips, wiped her face with her fingers and then slowly sucked the cum off each finger as she stared up into the hyperman's eyes.

"That was very well done, Alice. I am impressed by your enthusiasm and obedience."

Alice's face lit up. "Thank you, Captain. It's my pleasure to serve you. Although..."

"One of them chuckled when they saw you kneeling before me," Dragon finished. "Go ahead and use my refresher and washroom. When you get to the bridge mention it and we'll deal with the problem."

"Yes, Captain!" Alice's eyes flashed eagerly as she leapt to her feet and skipped to the washroom. "Thank you, Captain," she called out as water begun to run.

XX

Dragon watched the viewscreen as the King Midas passed over the surface of the apparently lifeless planet. The crew called out everything the sensors detected, until at last the enormous airlock came into view. The ship was put directly above it.

"In place, just as you ordered Captain," declared the brown-skinned Moumark.

"Very good."

The door to the bridge opened and the First Mate stepped in. The crew turned to look at her, and she momentarily dropped her eyes.

"Ah, my First Mate," noted Dragon. "We're above the airlock. It won't be long now."

She gave him a smile. "Captain, someone laughed at me while I was attending you in your room."

The bridge went silent. Everyone tried to look very busy, but Dragon could see no-one was actually doing any real work.

"So they did. Moumark, was it you?" He sat at the edge of his chair and leaned toward the crewman.

"No, sir! I would never laugh at the First Mate, sir!" Dragon chuckled at the tremor in the man's voice.

"No, wait a minute. I recall. It was," the hyperman paused and looked around the room, "MacSweeny."

"No, it wasn't me, Captain!" The burly, blond-haired man turned to Dragon, and then pointed a finger at Alice. "She's lying!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Dragon. "You're going to have to be punished for laughing at the First Mate and for lying to me, MacSweeny. What do you suggest, First Mate?"

"Got any of those killer nanobots handy?" Alice said through clenched teeth.

"Tsk. Tsk. Waste one on him?" Dragon had no intention of revealing that the nanobots had limited lifetimes and were now non-functional.

"Airlock then, Captain."

"You're such a bloodthirsty bitch, First Mate. You really think there's no other option?"

"He can get down on the floor and lick my boots clean," she suggested.

MacSweeny dropped to the floor and crawled over to her. Some of the crew laughed as their fellow pirate debased himself rather then risk being killed. Dragon watched the scene thoughtfully, while Alice smiled gleefully.

Just as MacSweeny finished, the airlock on the sphere began to open. Dragon eyed the sensor readouts on his command chair.

"Relax everyone! We're being pulled in. Keep to your stations and stay calm." The hyperman waved the First Mate over to him. MacSweeny jumped up and skulked over to this duty station.

"Yes, Captain?" she asked, running her fingers through her red waves. She felt so horny at that moment and was hoping that Dragon intended to take a break before exploring this world.

"Check the escape pods. Make sure they're all in working order and ready to go at a moment's notice. Escape pod three has some extra equipment in it and is locked. The security code is the number of times I spanked you that first day."

"Yes, Captain. I'll be back as soon as I can." Dragon watched her leave the bridge.

A large tunnel leading deeper into the planet was before them. The metal walls of the passage were clearly manufactured, and each pirate's eyes glazed over as they thought of the possible riches soon to be had.

The King Midas coasted down the tunnel for two and a half hours. Dragon harangued the crew over their inability to get good sensor readings. He knew it wasn't their fault, but he wanted to project the image of the angry captain to keep them on their toes.

As they drew closer to the end of the tunnel, the First Mate came over and stood beside his chair. "We're accelerating," she observed.

"I know."

Suddenly the screen went dead. The lights on the bridge winked out and the crew shouted out in alarm.

"To the escape pods!" Dragon ordered.

Artificial gravity cut out. Alice started to float off the floor. The hyperman grabbed her, then performed a twist and a push, launching the two of them to the bridge door. He reached for the control by memory and opened the door.

"Captain!" called out a frightened Alice.

"Everyone shut up! Listen to my voice. If you can reach a surface, launch yourself to the exit and head for an escape pod. The ship may survive this, but anyone still inside will likely be plastered all over the walls."

Alice wrapped her arms and legs around his torso. Dragon gave another shove and flew down the pitch-black passage at a reckless speed. He calculated their trajectory based on their centre of mass. Near the end of the passage he twisted and turned so that he'd land on his feet. Just in time he cushioned the landing. Alice whimpered. Then there was a left, then a ninety-degree twist, and then a turn to the right immediately after a ventilation shaft.

Dragon landed on his hands and feet, perfectly in position. He felt the edges of the security lock, silently cursing the fact that the escape pod in the best condition was the one farthest from the bridge. The ship vibrated.

"What was that?" Alice asked.

"We've hit pressure, just as I expected. It caused a change in course as the King Midas has lost all power and has been thrown through some sort of energy field which prevents air from escaping into vacuum."

"Are we going to live through this?"

The ship began to fall, and Dragon knew this because his position was shifting in relation to what he was touching. He quickly punched in the code and listened, but no sound came except for the crew struggling down the tunnels after him. He remembered a manual control for the hatch, reached for it and then pulled it.

"Use the manual controls and good luck!" Dragon shouted into the blackness.

He shoved Alice in and followed her. A quick search revealed the manual release and he pulled it as hard as he could.

They were thrown to the just-closed hatch. Light flashed in through a window, and the pod began to rotate. Alice and Dragon were thrown against each other and the walls of the escape pod. The hyperman grabbed a belt and pulled himself into a seat. His arm shot out, catching the front of Alice's shirt. He threw her against the seat beside his. He made sure she was belted in properly, threw a bag over her mouth as she went green, then secured his own harness.

The pod flipped end over end. The sound of the First Mate retching and groaning was easy to put out of his mind. Dragon's bigger concern was would the instrumentation used to safely land the pod be working or would he have to operate it manually?

Then the interior went dark and there was a bone-jarring impact. The pod bounced, rolled and finally stopped.

"Well, that could have been worse," Dragon said. He wondered how many of the crew might have survived.

"Ohhhhh," Alice groaned through the drooping plastic bag over her mouth. "I don't want to ever do that again, Captain. Please don't make me do that again."

XXI

Minx burst to the surface and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The water was satisfyingly cool, and her bath had been absolutely luxurious after her long trek across the parched savannah. She swam to shore, where Arachne hissed impatiently from under a large bush.

"Hush! The water was perfectly safe. And now that I've had a good bath I won't stink so much." Minx lifted herself onto the rock shelves that lined this side of the pool. Light filtered in through the thin foliage directly above the calm water. A small waterfall fed the surprisingly deep pond on one side, and a small stream emptied it on the other. Rock walls and thick tree trunks concealed the water from any casual observers.

The bounty hunter squeezed and twisted her hair. She usually preferred to keep it shorter, but it now fell to well below her shoulders even with its curl.

The sound of branches being pushed aside made her crouch and reach out for her spear. She and Arachne waited in silence. A deer-like animal nimbly hopped over a bush and looked over the scene. Minx kept perfectly still. The animal looked at her and then turned away. It spread its front legs and stretched its neck down for a drink.

The woman's muscles tensed. Her fist clenched around the shaft of the spear. Arachne let out a soft click, which told Minx that her spider-friend was as hungry as she was. The bounty hunter braced her feet, then rose and launched the spear with all of her strength. The deer raised its head and then was thrown back as the point stabbed through its ribs. It flexed its legs three times before going limp.

"Dinner, Arachne."

As they ate, Minx let the fire dry her skin and hair. The deer meat was tender and delicious, especially after roasting over the fire for a short while. She was glad that she hadn't lost all of her belongings, but all she now had left were her lighter, her compass, and her binoculars. The spider mouthed and sucked on her portion nearby, and after a glance at her friend Minx reminded herself that she'd been lucky to encounter Arachne. Or she'd been lucky that Arachne had found and followed her.

"Whump!"

Minx and Arachne froze at the unusual sound. A shadow passed over the pool, and the bounty hunter heard multiple hisses that reminded her of airlocks.

She ran to a nearby tree and began climbing. Arachne gave a worried hiss below, but Minx clambered up branch after branch heedless of her safety. She heard the distant sound of a crash before she reached the uppermost branches.

"Ship!"

"Yes, boss?" came the reply that only she could hear.

"I think a ship just came into this hollow world and crashed. Was it Hephaestus?" Minx surprised herself at how eager she was to hear her vessel confirm that the hyperman and his spaceship had joined them.

"No, boss. It wasn't Hephaestus. He would have responded to me by now."

"What if the impact badly damaged him? Can you pinpoint the location of the crash site?"

"My metal guy is the toughest ship in the galaxy!" her vessel responded with pride. "Anything I could survive would barely scratch him. If Hephaestus had arrived then he'd be talking to me right now and coming to my rescue."

"Oh." Minx began her descent.

"Sorry to disappoint you. No Hephaestus, and no Dragon. I don't know what's taking them so long to rescue us."

"I don't need..."

"...Dragon," finished her vessel. "I know, boss. It's almost like you're programmed to keep saying that. I don't think you really mean it."

"I know what I mean or maybe I just mean exactly what I said," said Minx, more emphatically than she had wanted to. "Why don't you get some more rest?"

"You're the boss." Ship sounded petulant.

"I am sorry it wasn't Hephaestus, Ship. I'm sure if that damned hyperman wasn't keeping him a slave your guy would have broken this world in two searching for you."

"I understand, boss."

As Minx dropped through the branches she spotted her campfire, no Arachne, and a strange humanoid form hunched over the cooked deer meat. The bounty hunter froze and surveyed the scene. There was no evidence that her friend had been slain; she was just gone. The stranger, roughly human shaped and covered in thick hair or fur, was concentrating on eating his fill and seemed oblivious to Minx's presence.

The bounty hunter made her way down the tree very slowly, almost leopard-like, only putting her weight on the strongest of branches and taking care to prevent any vibration from ruffling the greenery. She paused directly over the creature. It was slightly thinner than a well-built human male, but taller. Minx estimated it was well over two metres tall and about twice her weight. She could see her spear, lying on the ground within easy reach of the hominid. A glimpse of Arachne's carapace between the branches of a bush made the bounty hunter relax a little.

The woman dropped to the ground, startling the ape-like man, then she grabbed her spear and aimed its point at the stranger. He dropped the meat he'd been chewing on and backed away, cowering. The bushes nearby rustled and Arachne came out to stand beside Minx.

"Who are you? Can you understand me?" asked the bounty hunter.

The creature had a face with a mix of human and simian features. He had all the body parts and portions of a human male, but was almost entirely fur-covered. There was a very human fear in the hominid's eyes that touched Minx. She relaxed and lowered the point of her spear.

"It's all right, Arachne. He's not going to hurt us. So, skraeling, what should I call you?"

The creature reached down and picked up the dropped portion of deer meat. It kept its eyes on Minx as it lifted the haunch and offered it to the woman.

She took the offered meat, burned some of the dirt from it in the fire and took a bite. "I think I'll call you Butler." She point at her own chest. "Minx." She pointed at the spider. "Arachne." She pointed at the ape-man. "Butler."

When he didn't respond, she repeated the actions. After she patiently repeated them a third time Butler copied her. She handed the meat back to him and he bit into it hungrily. While he ate, she grabbed her clothes and put them on. Then she and Arachne finished their own meal.

Once they were done the ape-man laid himself down and was soon snoring.

"Well, isn't that just like a man!" exclaimed Minx to her arachnid friend. She stretched out on the ground, on the far side of the fire from Butler. "Keep an eye out for trouble, will you Arachne?" Minx willed her pheromones to stop emitting, just in case, and then she fell asleep.

XXII

Alice climbed out of the pod and, quite clumsily, fell to the ground. Dragon was standing nearby, his pack slung over his back and he was scanning the horizon with binoculars. That was when Alice first realized that she was in an immense bowl and the entire world was about to fall onto her.

The hyperman turned to face her. "Everything's fine, Alice. This world is a hollow world and it just appears that you're standing at the bottom of a great bowl. You're going to be fine. Now if you'll be so good as to get the emergency gear that I stowed away in the escape pod we'll be on our way."

"Where are we?"

The hyperman turned away and continued scanning the interior of the hollow world. "The sphere was hollow. We've been drawn inside and the King Midas has crashed. There's some type of advanced technology that saps energy from technological items..."

The First Mate watched her captain draw his laser pistol and fire it at the ground. He put it back in his holster, and then hopped and jumped about for a few seconds. Finally he stood still and resumed his examination of the world.

"Very interesting. This technology steals energy but in a very discriminatory fashion. I suspect an intelligence is in control, and I don't think it's the original builders of this world. I don't think it means we're actually being observed, but one can never be too careful."

Alice continued to sit on the ground beside the crashed pod, wondering if her captain had gone mad. Dragon turned to her and put away his binoculars.

"Really, First Mate? And you'd been doing so well..."

"Sorry, Captain!" She quickly climbed to her feet. A couple of seconds later she was in the pod and tossing everything she could find out the hatch.

Dragon ignored her. He was memorizing landmarks so the two could make their way to where he'd seen Minx's vessel. He had an implant similar to the one Minx had, yet Minx's vessel had not responded to any of his messages. That worried him.

XXIII

"I thought this was going to be different, Captain."

Dragon rolled his eyes. "Look, no-one could predict what this world would be like just from looking at the outside. I had thought it would be a ship-building facility. As it turns out," he broke a branch off a maple tree as they walked by it, "someone or something built a nature preserve. It's very strange that it seems to be populated with Terran vegetation and fauna."

"Fauna?" asked Alice. She shifted the heavy backpack, wondering again why the much stronger hyperman had burdened her with the heavier load.

"I mean animals, Alice."

Her cheeks burned. "I know what the word means..." an angry glance from Dragon made her change her tone, "...Captain. I meant how do you know the animals are Terran? We haven't seen any."

The hyperman sighed. "You haven't been looking, my dear. We've passed many tracks, and even some spoor. There've been birds in the sky and small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects all along the trail we've been walking. They've all been Terran. Which means the builders visited old Terra and collected things, or they've been to the human populated worlds."