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"Amphitrite?" John said out loud. A series of beeps emitted from the speakers inside the cockpit, and then an animated female face appeared on the main screen.
"Yes, Captain?" she asked.
"Turn the heaters on and scan the Poseidon. Let me know if anything is wrong," he ordered.
"Understood, Captain. Would you like me to play some music?" she asked. The animated face smiled at John.
"No, access my files and load Babylon 5, Season One, Episode One," he replied.
"Loading Babylon 5, Season One, Episode One. Activating cockpit heaters, initiating a full scan of Poseidon," the animated face smiled at John once more, and then the main screen switched to an animated B5 logo.
*****
Walking along the light grey corridors of the Cruiser, with Lieutenant Ena by her side, Captain Ema greeted crew members as she headed towards the bridge. "I see you're finally awake," came a familiar voice.
"Morning, Doctor Mizta," Captain Ema said with a smile, turning to face the Doctor.
Standing behind them was the ship's Chief Medical Officer. Unlike the rest of the crew, Doctor Mizta was an albino. Most albinos had scales of pure white, but in Mizta's case, she had random patterns of bright red scales dotted about her body. Looking at the Doctor, Ema noticed that she was wearing her Medical uniform, an off-white Nanosuit with various medical devices attached to the waist and a scanner fixed to her right wrist. Like her Nanosuit, Mizta's rank and insignia were above her left breast.
"You can report to the bridge Lieutenant," Mizta said, looking at Ena, "I need to have a word with the Captain," she finished and looked over to where Ema was standing.
"Very well, Doctor," the Lieutenant replied. She bowed to the Doctor and Captain, turned about, and headed down the corridor.
"What can I do for you, Doctor?"Ema inquired.
"I wanted to check you were okay," she replied, "I've heard some of the crew mention your mood has changed recently," Mizta finished and tapped at her scanner.
"I think most females would be upset when a promised male failed to appear?" Ema replied. Mizta lifted her right arm and pointed the scanner at Ema. "What are you doing?" she asked, trying not to recoil.
"Scanning you, obviously," Mizta replied.
"I can see that, but why are you scanning me?" Ema asked. She stepped back, trying to get out of the scanner's range.
"Just as I thought," Mizta said, looking at the screen, "you're still in heat," she finished and deactivated the scanner.
"What? Are you sure?" Ema asked.
"One hundred per cent," Mizta replied matter-of-factly, "After hearing how your behaviour has changed since we had to divert from Border Outpost Five, I suspected you might have stayed in heat. This scan confirms it," she lifted her arm and tilted the screen, showing it to the Captain. "As you can see," she said while pressing a few buttons, "your hormone levels have yet to normalise," Ema placed a hand on the scanner and looked closer. It displayed her new scan next to her medical records. "I'll have to report this to the Matriarch," Mizta said.
"Do you have to?" Ema asked. She unconsciously shifted on the spot.
"Don't worry," Mizta replied, placing a hand on Ema's shoulder, "Theka was the one who suggested I scan you. I got the impression she suspected this would be the result," Mizta removed her hand and smiled at her Captain.
"I don't think I'll get used to her doing things like that," Ema said.
Mizta smiled, "Well, the Matriarchs are different from the rest of us. Shall we continue?" she finished and gestured to Ema for them to head off towards the bridge. Arriving at the guardpost outside the bridge, she noticed the twins were on duty.
Twins were rare, and identical twins were almost impossible. Taki and Zoki were the latter. Apart from their piercing turquoise eyes glowing as they approached, the twins were also eight-foot-five, much taller than most of the crew. The primary colours for their scales were a light grey covering most of their bodies and a warm black, almost dark grey. These scales covered most of the front of their torso, down past their intimate areas and along their inner thighs, ending at the soles of their feet, on the top half of their heads and the underside of their tales. Ema could tell that Taki and Zoki had just started their shift as the inside part of their hoods had a soft turquoise glow similar to that of their eyes.
Taki smiled at the Captain, revealing the turquoise glow of her mouth and tongue, as she and the Doctor arrived, "Hello, Captain," she said with a salute. Zoki's movements were in perfect unison with her sister. "You just missed the Lieutenant," Zoki said while tapping her pad. Ema liked watching Taki and Zoki talk, as they usually finished each other's sentences.
"Hello to you both," Ema replied and smiled at them, "I saw the Lieutenant shortly before my shift started," she finished and pressed her right thumb against Zoki's pad when she offered it. Mizta did the same with Taki's pad. There was an audible beep from both pads as the two Officers were signed in. The large doors to the bridge made a mechanical clunk as they slowly began to unlock and swing open automatically.
"The Matriarch is inside," Zoki said, "She asked to speak to the Lieutenant, and you'll be seeing her afterwards," Toki finished, and the twins returned to their posts.
Smiling again at the guards, Ema stepped through the doors and onto the bridge with Mizta in tow.
*****
"Sixty seconds until the burn is complete," Amphitrite said as John held onto his harness. He had gotten bored of the vibrations travelling through Poseidon ten minutes into the burn. The g-forces were also not to his liking, those he hated after five minutes. John accepted that he had to increase the speed at set points along the route. However, he didn't have to enjoy it. Twenty minutes in, he decided that spending three hundred days in the stasis pod until the next scheduled burn or manoeuvre was something to look forward to.
As suddenly as it had started, Poseidon's engines cut out. With a groan, John unfastened his harness and pushed himself out of his chair. "Amphitrite?" he said.
"Yes, Captain," the animated face on the main screen smiled.
"Remind me why I had to be awake for that?" John asked while stretching.
"As per mission guidelines, all burns and manoeuvres require Captain John Lawrence to be awake in case of any emergency," she replied.
John sighed as he started to inspect the cockpit, just in case anything had come loose. Ten minutes later, after finding nothing out of the ordinary, he began preparations for returning to stasis.
"Amphitrite, perform a final check on Poseidon's systems and then schedule yourself to go back into standby five minutes after my pod activates," John said while injecting himself with the stasis compound.
"Yes, Captain," she replied, "performing a scan of Poseidon's systems and scheduling standby mode for Ship's Companion five minutes after stasis pod activation," the animated face on the main screen smiled again.
Twenty minutes later, with Amphitrite reporting that the scan had not found any errors, John climbed inside his stasis pod and pulled the door shut. Activating the stasis sequence, he wondered if he might dream this time.
*****
"Enter," Captain Ema opened the door when she heard the Matriarch's voice. She had been summoned by her shortly after entering the bridge.
Like all Matriarchy vessels of Cruiser size and above, a private viewing room was built into the back of the bridge. The Matriarch assigned to the ship often watched bridge operations from the viewing room when not resting in their quarters. While there was a command chair set behind and above the captain's chair, most of the time, a Matriarch would leave command duties to the ship's captain and her crew.
Closing the door behind her, the Captain bowed when she made eye contact with the glowing emerald eyes of Matriarch Theka. As Matriarch of the ship and representative of the Matriarchy, Theka was a picture of naked perfection. Her scales had a lovely shine, a mixture of deep crimson and cream. While the crimson scales occupied the majority of her body, the cream scales started from her lower jaw, travelled down her neck, and covered the entirety of her torso, which included her breasts (much larger than the impressive ones Ema had herself, she thought), down past her most private of areas, and continued along her inner thighs, ending with the soles of her feet. A glowing emerald diamond pattern lined with black scales was visible from Theka's back.
Panting on the raised nest to the right of her was Theka's Steward. Ema knew straight away what they had been doing, from the smell of the room to the way his twin cocks were still erect and glistening in the light of the room. Noticing who the Captain was looking at, Theka smiled. "Sorry, Ema, but he's all mine," she said, "However, I wear the poor thing out each time," she said as she sat down on the edge of the raised nest and placed her right hand on his chest. "Even now, his heart is still racing," she moved her hand down his torso.
Laying there panting, Uszu could do nothing as his Matriarch traced the contours of his muscles. He twitched involuntarily at her gentle touch, his body full of endorphins Uszu tried to stifle a moan with his hands as his body twitched once more, and cum spurted out from both of his cocks. "Sorry, Theka," he said while trying to hide his face. She reached over, pulled his arm away, and smiled at him.
"What are you sorry for?" she asked, "I chose you to be my Steward. You fulfil your duties to a high standard, and you help me each morning," Theka held his hand, "You make sure I get the correct amount of heat in the morning so that I can perform my duties as Matriarch, and you buff my scales to a perfect shine." She smiled and fluttered her eyes at him, "Not once have you damaged my scales, and you perform well when we share a nest," Theka leaned over and picked up a nearby towel, carefully wiping away the mess Uszu had made.
"But Matriarch, I'm always exhausted," Uszu complained, "I should be able to keep up with you. To be chosen to serve you is a great honour, but this?" he waved his arms about in protest.
"Enough!" Theka said with a commanding tone, "I won't have you feeling sorry for yourself. You know full well that males do not have the same stamina as females. Besides," she leaned in and kissed his blunt nose, "I love how sensitive you get after we have sex. Now, lay there and recover. Once I have finished talking to our dear Captain, I'll want to go again," Theka stood as she finished talking and giggled when she saw Uszu's expression.
Turning her head to look back at Ema, the Captain could see the emerald glow of her mouth and tongue as she spoke. "Please sit, Ema," Theka ordered, then walked over to a nearby chair. Slotting her tail through the hole at the bottom, she crossed her legs and sat down. She watched the ship's Captain approach a nearby chair, stopping just before she sat. There was a squelching sound as the Captain's left foot stepped on something. "I do apologise, Ema," the Matriarch said while trying not to laugh, "Uszu fills them up so quickly," she looked over to where he was still laying, "I just toss them on the floor and put another one on," as she finished, Theka picked one up with the end of her tail. "I just wish they came in boxes of twenty or more," she said while examining one in her hand, "Don't you think it would be more economical?" Theka asked.
Before Ema could reply, both she and the Matriarch heard Uszu laugh as he sat up from the raised nest, "Please don't indulge her," he said, the light from the room shining off his cobalt blue scales, "she says this to me every time we have sex," Uszu swung his legs around and hopped off the nest, "I'm going to have a wash and then get some food," he finished and walked towards the door near to where the Matriarch was sitting.
Matriarch Theka sighed, "It's all her fault, you know?" she said, looking at Ema.
"Who?" She asked.
"Matriarch Suztlu," Theka said with a hiss.
"The Border War Incident?" Ema inquired, and Theka nodded.
The Border War Incident occurred ten years ago. A minor skirmish on the edge of Matriarchy space against the neighbouring Lupine Empire, which would later escalate and be called 'The Border War'. Matriarch Suztlu, assigned aboard the Grand Cruiser - The Matriarch's Wrath, had allowed herself to become pregnant. Usually, a pregnant Matriarch would be a cause for celebration. However, in this instance, it caused a scandal. While the Matriarchy had no issue with its citizens having sex, especially amongst the military, where it was actively encouraged to help form bonds and lower stress, specific bloodlines had to be maintained. A Matriarch was only allowed to become pregnant once matched with a male from a suitable Matriarch family.
After a formal investigation, they found that Suztlu had not been using any medical or physical protection while sleeping with her male Steward. Thankfully, medical science within The Matriarchy is so advanced that for the last thousand years, sexually transmitted diseases have been practically non-existent. However, physical protection has always been the best defence against pregnancy. There were outcries when someone suggested that all male Stewards should be sterilised. It is a well-known and unspoken fact that part of a Steward's job was to see to the sexual needs of the females they were assigned. However, given how few males were born, on average, a clutch of ten eggs, only one male would be born. Sterilisation was not the answer.
"She just had to spoil it for the rest of us?" Theka said while looking at what her tail had picked up, "I know why she did it," she said, throwing it back onto the floor with obvious contempt, "the way it feels as a male erupts inside of you, how your body warms up," the Matriarch sighed, "now I have to spend my own money buying physical protection," Theka rolled her eyes as she finished. Both of them could hear Uszu having a shower. The Matriarch then made direct eye contact with the Captain, "I'm sorry about your Steward," she said with a hint of sadness, "but orders are orders," she said with a sigh.
"No need to apologise, Matriarch," Ema replied, bowing her head, "Protecting our borders from unwanted aggression is more important," she lied. Ema had been waiting for three years to be assigned a male Steward.
Males were not rare in the military, far from it. They had a right to join if they could keep up with their female counterparts. With an average height of five-foot-eight, a lower muscle mass and less physical stamina, there were not as many males serving in the military as females. Those who could pass the stringent tests were usually assigned Steward or Intelligence Officer positions. Studies showed that males who failed to pass or chose not to serve often decided to become teachers, engineers or scientists. Unlike the military, there were fewer females within these professions.
For Captain Ema, after a three-year wait, a message informed her that a male Steward had been selected and he would be waiting to board the Pride of the Matriarchy when it arrived at Border Outpost Five. Unfortunately, just days before their scheduled stop at the outpost, a satellite at the edge of Matriarchy space, near the borders of the Lupine Empire, had detected a Vortex opening, along with an unidentified ship. Orders were given, and the Cruiser was now travelling to investigate before Ema could see her new Steward.
"What did the Doctor's scan reveal?" the Matriarch asked.
The question broke Ema's current train of thought, "I'm still in heat," she replied, "Mizta says it explains my current mood swings," Ema looked past the Matriarch as the door behind her opened. In his Steward uniform of dark green was Uszu, the light above him reflecting off his cobalt scales. A simple line of white crisscrossed up his blunt nose and down the back of his hood.
"Matriarch, Captain," he said with a bow to them both and headed towards the door. Uszu looked back at them after the door had finished opening, "I'll bring you something to eat, Matriarch," he said as he stepped through.
"I'm glad he washed," Theka said, watching the door close, "having a male walk around the ship covered in pheromones and stinking of sex would only annoy the crew," she smirked while standing up, "now I have to collect these little bundles of joy," Theka said while looking at the floor.
"I can guess where most of your money goes," the Captain said with a smile. She watched the Matriarch as she moved around the room.
"Haha, very funny," Theka replied and looked over to where Ema was sitting, "if you're not careful, I'll order you to pick these up." She was using both her hands and tail to collect them.
"How many have you used?" Ema inquired, "There's so many of them," she laughed as the Matriarch stood on one and recognised the squelch. Theka frowned at the Captain as she pulled it off her foot. "I'm surprised Uszu has lasted this long," Ema said as she stood up, "You've gotten quite the reputation for spoiling males since you joined the Seventh Fleet," the Captain reached down and picked up the one she had squashed.
"What was it they called me?" Theka asked while turning to face her, "The Devourer of..." she paused, holding her hand out and waited for Ema's reply.
"Males," she replied, "you went through so many Stewards within the first year," Captain Ema finished as she handed it to Theka.
"To be honest, Uszu should have left thirty days ago," the Matriarch admitted. "I think he's fallen in love with me," she said while dropping what she had collected into a nearby bin.
"Really?" With a surprised look, Ema said, "He knows you can't reciprocate?" While the Matriarch was distracted, she quickly rubbed her left foot on the floor.
"He knows. I've told him several times," she replied and turned to look at the Captain, "he said that he doesn't care. He'll stay with me for as long as he can," Theka walked back to her chair and sat down, "Once we've investigated the unknown ship and returned from the border, I think I'll go on leave, take him with me," she stretched her arms out as she finished talking.
"He'll love that," Ema replied with a smile, "do you know which Matriarch will take over?" she inquired.
"Probably Zashee. Her recovery from the pirate attack should be complete when we return," Theka replied while looking up at the Ema, "Now, do you need me to give you the order to get up on time?" She asked with a smile.
Ema shook her head as she bowed before Matriarch Theka, "No, I'm sure Mizta can give me something. If not, I'll just have to manage," she finished and made for the door, turning around and bowing again before opening it.
Once the door had closed, Theka clapped her hands together, "Now, where's that other box of ten?" she asked herself.
*****
"Well, this is weird," John said while eating his breakfast, "Amphitrite?" he called out.
"Yes, Captain?" the animated face on the main screen appeared and smiled.
"Add to the ship's log that after three hundred days in stasis, my sense of taste and smell has gone," John finished his breakfast and wiped the tray clean before storing it away.
"Adding to the ship's log, Captain John Lawrence lost his sense of taste and smell after the three hundred day stasis," came the reply for the Ship's Companion.
"Why do you always say it like that, Amphitrite?" John asked.
The animated face on the main screen smiled again, "I was programmed to speak this way," came her reply.
"Hmm, fair enough," he shrugged, "Amphitrite, access my files and play Babylon 5, Season Two, Episode One," John pulled down a chair near the Life Support monitor, "Send it to the Life Support monitor," he finished and strapped himself in.
