Every Man's Fantasy Ch. 18

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One of the rituals that Ezra prized during his visits to the Mariners was handing his laser pen-knife to Juniel for safe-keeping. Now twelve and delighted with her little sister, which was her reward for giving Ezra the laser-knife, Juniel still loved to play with the tool, making pretty lights on its lowest setting.

Another ritual was to admire Odette's latest sculptures, which got better with every piece. This one was of Juniel as an Oceanid or sea-nymph, lying on the sea-floor among oysters and sea-weed, her long hair covering her naked body.

On this visit, Odette asked Ezra to pose for her next work. He agreed, but disappointed her by refusing to pose naked. None the less, she set to work making charcoal sketches on a flat stone. She had a large piece of drift-wood to work on but not much time to carve because everyone was busy, replenishing the tribe's stores.

Gerta was a good fisherman and happy to do her share of the work, now she no longer needed to nurse her daughter. Soon the stores of fish and salt were re-filled. It was sponges that were currently in short supply. This was because Calliope forbade the older women, pregnant women and nursing mothers to dive for sponges. Gerta volunteered for the potentially risky and harmful work. With Kalyndra, Gerta, Odette, who was only sixteen but keen to perform adult work, and Ezra, there were now four divers.

They used the under-water breathing apparatus and even though Calliope allowed only a couple of hours diving at a time, they harvested a week's supply every day. It was easy work, in fact, because the animals had grown so vigorously while their harvesting had been neglected in the last few months.

While he posed one afternoon for Odette's sculpture, Ezra described a special task he had for her. Next day, they found a large flat stone on the sea-floor and Odette used the laser-knife to make its surface perfectly level and smooth. Then she carved a shallow circle on its face. They copied Wildchild's trick of melting clean sand into the mold to make a large flat round piece of glass.

Ezra had kept some of the silver-bearing minerals he found in the Southern Mountains. He extracted the silver, heated it until it was malleable and then bashed it flat between leather-covered wooden mallets. He laid the strips onto one side of the glass and sealed them with fish-bone glue and, finally, attached a wooden handle to the glass. Now the Mariners had one of the luxuries that Calliope so fervently desired but had been unable to persuade the Cloners to sell: a hand-mirror.

Calliope's joy was indescribable when Odette presented it to her.

"Sponges be damned!" she exclaimed. "Make us fifty more of these!"

Ezra didn't have enough silver but he promised that he and Odette would make more after he had visited the mountains again.

It wasn't a very good mirror but it worked, so that, slowly and by piecemeal steps, Ezra was adding to the comforts of life on Samothea.

The monthly trade-meeting of the three tribes was an abundant one. Half the Woodlanders carried baskets of roasted pigeons, piled high on top with bags of feathers. Mirselene had warned the girls that taking too many pigeons to market would suppress the price and they'd end up giving them away rather than carry them home again; but so avid had been the hunting that there was little else for them to trade.

It turned out well. The Mariners had an over-supply of sponges and the Herders had an over-supply of cheese and sacks of corn they had just bought from the Farmers. The tribes simply swapped their surpluses, basket-for-basket.

At the end of a satisfying trade-meeting, Ezra kissed all the Mariners goodbye and joined the Herders for a month. Galatea led them to the Midway Camp, where Solange and Ash were staying.

5 With the cow-girls

Ezra spent his first night at the Midway Camp with Solange, their daughter, whom she'd named Tahney, and her bedmate, Ash. Like all his daughters, Ezra adored Tahney and wanted to hold her all night; but Solange gave her to Ash, so he could do his first-night duty to her, which was to fuck her as hard as he could.

Afterward, he persuaded Solange and Ash to ride with him to the salvage site. So, early next morning, they rode twenty miles across the plain to check on the status of the emergency escape pod. Solange took Tahney with her, wrapped in a papoose on her back.

It was a bright sunny day. The veldt was a sea of green under a clear blue sky. Ezra felt the majesty of the landscape sink in, filling him with an profound serenity.

Solange took a deep breath and scanned the horizon, from the hazy brown mountains to the south, to the endless grassy plain to the north, with a shimmering blue haze ahead. She exhaled with satisfaction.

"You feel it too, I know," she said.

"Yes, I do," he said. "All we need now are the eagles."

She smiled. He'd remembered their first meeting, when she'd described a perfect day as riding over the plain, with eagles as her only companion.

"Be patient," she said, nodding toward the southern sky.

Five minutes later, as if summoned by her, an eagle wheeled high above them, screeching to her mate a mile away toward the forest.

"Now nature obeys your commands!" Ezra said.

She laughed again.

"I saw her an hour ago and was wondering when she'd come and investigate us," she said.

At mid-morning, they stopped by a shallow stream to water their horses and let them graze for a while; after which it was a short ride to the Salvage Camp.

The watering-hole was still there and clean again. The women hobbled the horses while Ezra made straight for the escape pods. He had seen a flashing amber light.

He approached the pod in a state of wonder. The signal indicated a message had been received. How was that possible? Who was it from? When did it arrive?

He pressed the button to reveal the message and sighed in disbelief. It was a message from his sister, Danielle. It said:

"To the people of Samothea from Doctor Danielle Goldrick of the Celetaris Institute for Science."

"The communications probe that transmitted this message is in orbit about Samothea, recharging its fuel cell. It is programmed to wait a month for your reply and then return to us."

"We would like to know the status of your colony and also if you have any news on two missing people: Yumi Takahashi and my brother, Ezra Goldrick."

"If you are in contact with Ezra, please pass on this message:"

"Ezra, I know you're alive. I'm sorry, I can't rescue you."

The miracle of getting a message from Earth stunned him. The even greater miracle of the message coming from Danielle was completely overwhelming. He leapt up, clapping his hands.

Solange and Ash ran to see what so excited him.

"Is this message really from your sister?" Solange asked, full of amazement. "All the way from Earth?"

"Yes, though it seems Danielle is no longer on Earth."

"What's a communications probe?"

"A satellite that sends and receives electronic messages."

"I see."

Then Ash said: "... yet."

"What do you mean?" Solange asked.

"Ezra's sister said 'I'm sorry, I cannot rescue you ... yet.' She didn't finish the message. What else was she going to say?"

"Of course," Ezra said, properly thinking about the message. "She must have a plan to follow the comms probe with a robot or human-crewed mission. So the question is, why was the message truncated?"

The answer was obvious.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" he exclaimed. "The meteorite!"

"Do you mean that shooting star last year just before the Cloner Fair?" Solange asked.

"Yes. I think it was the comms probe. It probably bounced out of hyperspace, like I did, too close to Samothea; but it would have been travelling many times faster than me, with no means of stopping; so it burned up in the atmosphere. It had time to transmit only the first part of her message."

"The message says the communications probe will wait for a reply and then return," Solange said, "but we know it won't. So, will your sister assume we're all dead?"

"No, not Danielle. There's no one in the galaxy more persistent. If the probe doesn't return, she'll send another and another until one comes back."

However, Ezra was not perfectly sure that Danielle could afford to send another mission. His own trip to Samothea had used up all his savings, plus loans from parents, friends and investors; and he was a seasoned and successful prospector. He had no idea, of course, that Danielle had invented a cheap and quick method of long-distance hyperspace travel.

However, he was hopeful, willing to trust to his sister's genius and her indomitable will to see through anything she started.

They rode back to the Midway Camp and arrived in time for the feast, though they weren't very hungry and were anxious to tell everyone what they had found. While Ezra spread amazement to the tribe, Solange and Galatea had a conference; then Solange commandeered Ezra again for the night, saying he had a duty to perform for Ash.

Ash had failed to conceive so far, despite Ezra's valiant efforts.

It had been convenient for a while, because Ash helped look after Tahney, but now she was feeling broody and Solange encouraged her. She bought herbs from the Woodlanders that were supposed to promote fertility.

Solange also insisted that Ash do exercises to strengthen her pelvic wall muscles, giving her stronger orgasms and a firm pulsating squeeze on Ezra's cock at his moment of climax. There was a theory that a woman's orgasm helped draw the semen in.

She didn't believe that a woman was more likely to conceive if she had an orgasm at the same time as the man, but Solange wasn't going to dismiss an idea that made Ash happy and gratified Ezra, who sincerely believed that the best pleasure a man could have from sex was giving pleasure to a woman.

They counted the days of Ash's period with computer-like precision. Tonight was an excellent time for her.

It was another myth that a woman was more likely to conceive if the man was on top but Ash didn't want to take any chances. She lay on her back and spread her legs wide.

They took turns to kiss her, stroking and fondling, to get her warm and ready, then Solange went down on her bedmate's pussy with a loving tongue while Ezra knelt by Ash's head and fed his cock into her mouth.

She loved sucking cock and bobbed her head or swivelled it side-to-side, twirling her tongue around or making a firm suction.

Solange sucked on Ash's clit, twiddling it with her tongue, giving it a vibration by humming in her throat. Ash squirmed under the attention.

Solange put a finger into Ash's pussy and pulled down, giving her a stretch. That really got the girl going. She put another finger into her pussy, pushing in and out.

Hot and horny, hard nipples aching, pussy lips wide and yearning for something deeper inside, Ash arched her back and twisted her head, letting his cock out of her mouth with a pop. Strongly turned on, she wailed plaintively. Ezra was also ready, his cock nice and hard.

"I'm close, I'm close. Oh God!" Ash cried, writhing from side to side.

Solange felt the walls of Ash's pussy begin closing in a pulsating rhythm.

"Now, Ezra," Solange said and she swapped places with him, crouching at Ash's head, pulling her legs up almost to her ears, while he lay on the hot eager girl and sank his stiff rod into her soaking pussy.

Ash moaned happily and got as much purchase as she could to buck against Ezra's thrusts. She was on the plateau and warming nicely to a big climax. She wanted Solange nearer and pulled on her waist. Solange knelt astride Ash's shoulders and lowered her pussy to her bedmate's face. She sat up and Ezra held her. They met mouth-to-mouth.

Now there was a triangle, with Ash tonguing Solange's pussy, Ezra pounding into Ash and Solange and Ezra kissing.

He quickly felt the spasm as Ash convulsed with her first orgasm. Her head went back, and she neglected Solange's pussy, making a long whining high-pitched cry of happiness.

Smiling, Solange pulled back and leant over her girlfriend to suck on one of her small tits. Ezra did the same, bending over to lick and suck at the other tit, all the while thrusting full-length into Ash's tight twat.

The girl was in heaven. Everything erotic that could happen to her was happening or was soon going to happen. She was in a special place and wallowed in the sensual excitement. She loved the stretch on her legs, held back by Solange, and the stretch in her pussy, hot, wet and squelching, as Ezra thrust and thrust.

The sucking on her tits increased in pressure and Ezra sped up his thrusts. Ash moaned loud enough to keep the whole tribe awake. She convulsed, the strong rhythm of her vagina squeezing on his cock. It was almost his time. He groaned, struggling to hold off his ejaculation, until Ash was ready again.

It wasn't long before she gave a tell-tale whine. The orgasm slammed through her, shaking her whole body, trapped though she was under the other two. Now Solange released Ash's legs, so the girl could writhe around, bucking in her ecstasy, goading herself on through the shuddering climax.

There was a strain in the arch of her back, a strain in the stretch of her pussy, a strain in her tits, hard-sucked by two keen mouths; and a strain in Ezra's cock. None of these would last long. With a low groan from him and a high-pitched wail from her, they reached the final peak together. The spasm overwhelmed them. They pulsed together in simultaneous orgasms. He spurted his living juice deep inside her as her contractions drew him in.

Ash gave a long moan of delight as he made his few final thrusts, the tension waning with a drawn-out nervous shudder. Then he lay heavily on her, recovering. Solange held the two of them tightly, keeping Ash in place on her back, giving his semen (according to another myth) the best chance to do its job.

After he rested, Ezra fucked Ash again and, later that night, he woke Solange up to fuck her as well, invigorated by the amazing discovery, celebrating his belief they were sure to be rescued some day.

Next morning, Solange and Ezra rode to the Forest Camp. Visitors to the Woodlanders were so rare that everyone came running to see what the occasion was. Ezra left Solange in the meadow with the horses, letting them graze, mobbed by the inquisitive women, while he went to speak to Mirselene.

6 The Life-Pod

Mirselene was disturbed, even angry, when he told the story of how he and Yumi set up the spare escape pod to broadcast a message into space.

She couldn't understand why he kept the secret from her but was too insulted to make a protest, until he explained what he planned for Annela and her anger vanished as quickly as it had come. She understood and, more importantly, approved.

"I will do anything to save Annela, you know that," she said, "but you should have trusted me."

"I'm sorry, but I thought you disapproved my wanting us to be rescued."

"I do. I'm unhappy with you, Ezra, but we'll discuss it later. Annela is our priority. Go and fetch her."

Annela hadn't fainted again since the Cloner Fair but she endured some dizzy spells. Dark rings around her eyes showed that she fought headaches so painful they stopped her sleeping. Sometimes she didn't hear what people said to her because she was combating the ringing in her ears or the throbbing in her head.

The medicinal herbs prepared by Parvinder had a soporific effect, knocking her out for hours. As she wanted to spend every waking moment she could with her daughter, some days Annela didn't take the medicine but led Freya into the forest to run around and explore. Then she would sit against a tree, resting her head against the trunk, trying to send the pain somewhere else.

She did this today.

Ezra gently spoke her name but Annela's brain was fuzzed and her answer was incoherent. He knelt down by her a minute while her head cleared and she could show how pleased she was by his unexpected visit.

He picked up Freya and the pine-cones she'd been playing with and took Annela to Mirselene's hut, where she sat down to listen to what her chief had to say.

"Annela," Mirselene said, "you're to attend to Ezra and obey him. Do you understand?"

She nodded, though it was a peculiar order. She always listened to Ezra and, like all his bedmates, enjoyed doing what he wanted, so long as his requests coincided with her own desires.

After Mirselene left them alone, Ezra said:

"Annela, your headaches are coming more frequently, they last longer and they hurt you more. No one here can cure you but I may have a solution."

He told her about Danielle's message and his belief in a rescue plan, about the spare emergency pod salvaged from his ship and how they could use it to keep her alive in the same way that Yumi was kept alive.

"You'll go to sleep," he said, "and when you wake up, there'll be doctors and a hospital."

There was a lot to take in and Annela at first heard him in a kind of daze, her mind whirring at all the information; but she caught up quickly and understood.

"What do you say, Darling?" he asked.

"I don't want to leave Freya or you or the tribe."

"I'm sorry, Darling, but you must. It's the only way to save you."

"Don't make me, Ezra," she pleaded. "I don't want to go!"

"I don't want you to go but I don't want to lose you, either. You're more precious to me than anything else. I won't let you die."

Then Annela's eyes lost focus and she cried out in pain. She was having one of the biting headaches. She slumped forward in her chair, holding her head in her hands. He knelt to hold her.

"Don't touch me!" she cried. "It's your fault! You gave me this headache!"

It was so unlike Annela that he hesitated a moment; then he pulled her to him and held her.

"Shush, Darling. It'll be all right. Shush! I won't make you go into the pod."

He stroked her hair as she wept from pain and frustration.

"I'm sorry, Ezra," she said between sobs. "I didn't mean it."

"I know, Darling. I know."

Annela had never snapped at anyone in her life. She rarely told anyone off and she'd never even argued with him. Angrily to blame him for her headache was a sign of how hard she must be fighting the pain. He knew he had to persuade her to go into the pod but, for now, he couldn't do it. He couldn't add to the pain she already felt. He let her rest and would try again later.

Mirselene thought they'd had long enough. She came back in.

"Well, Ezra," she asked. "When do you leave?"

"I'm sorry, Mirselene. Not yet."

She looked at Annela crying and Ezra comforting her.

"Are all men so bloody soft?" she asked, exasperation in her voice. "All right, girl, you can stop blubbing. As your chief, I command you to go into the pod."

Annela looked up at her, tears streaming down her cheeks. She turned to Ezra.

"Mirselene! Please?" he implored.

"Tears may work on a soft-hearted man," she said to Annela, ignoring him, "but I'm a woman myself. They don't work on me. Come on, Annela. You know this is the only way to save your life."

"But Ezra said ..."

"Ezra's your lover. He'll never hurt your feelings. I'm your chief. I couldn't care less about your feelings."

"But, Freya ..."

"I know. You want to see her growing up. How much of her growth will you see before you leave her an orphan? No, Annela. The tribe will raise Freya for you and you'll be her mother again when you're cured."

"When?" Annela wailed.

"Who cares when? One year, two years, ten years? Just so long as you live. ... Now, no more nonsense."

Annela knew her chief was right. She may protest that it was too hard to leave them all; but she knew she must live, for Freya's sake. She recognised Mirselene's authority and meekly accepted her orders, though she couldn't help weeping.