Express Delivery

Suddenly, the flow of Decon fluid stopped.

"Please let the solution soak in for at least two minutes," came Ajura's voice over the speaker.

I exhaled and tried a quick breath. I wish I hadn't. Paint fumes or glue were shit against the stench. I could almost feel the top layer of my skin die under the assault of that stuff. My eyes teared freely.

A moment later, another shower head fired up. This time, it was lukewarm water. I thoroughly rinsed myself down. Another round of warm air was blown into the chamber. Blinders opened and the room was flooded with warm radiance.

"Now what? You let me bake in here for how long?"

"Six hours."

"Oh, great. What about food? Or entertainment?"

"There are food tubes in the drawer underneath the bench. As for entertainment: usually, sisters who have to visit Decon just sleep. But since you are my first male, I would like to run some preliminary tests on you."

"Like what?"

"Nothing egregious. I know you are a guest, as such you will be treated like one, unless Mother decides differently. First, I want you to lay down on the bench, on your back, and let me take a few pictures. If you could stimulate yourself while I'm at it, I would be very grateful."

"How long until you present the anal probes?" Since I didn't have anything better to do, I complied. At least somewhat. I wiped excess fluids off the bench and laid down.

"Anal probes? I don't follow, Mister Rios." There was the frantic clicking of a camera shutter. "Could you please raise your... how is it called? Oh yes, penis? And spread your legs a bit so I can get a good angle on the dangly bits."

"Don't tell me you are oblivious to male anatomy," I muttered, moving my cock out of the way.

"The male body is a mystery to most of us. Like I said, I'm new and have not yet been invited to study the deeper mysteries of our species' lost gender. Tell me, what purpose does this 'penis' serve?"

"You can't be seriously asking this."

"But I just did. Please, enlighten me."

"Well, first, it contains the termination point of the urethra. We pee through it."

"I was wondering about that. Interesting. What else?"

"It goes where your sisters put brush handles or sword hilts when it's time to conceive children."

"Really?" Ajura nearly squealed with excitement. "Is it fun?"

"Yup."

"Do you think I could try it?"

"That's... an unexpected question. Now?"

"Well, I'm forbidden from going anywhere near Decon unless absolutely necessary. But maybe once you're done?"

"I'm flattered. But I was hoping to leave rather soon after Jenala had delivered her cargo. With her, preferably."

There was a heated exchange of words. I recognized Ajura's voice and how her enthusiasm deflated more and more. And I heard another voice. Something immeasurably old, like dry parchment rustling, interspersed by hissing and coughing.

"I'm afraid I have to leave you for the moment, Mister Rios." Ajura suddenly sounded differently, like someone had robbed her of all personality. Gone was her exuberance, replaced with an almost robotic, detached note in her voice. She added: "We will meet face-to-face once your Decon time is up." Then the speaker crackled and fell silent.

What did she say? There were 'food tubes' under the bench? Might as well. I pulled the drawers open. One had my communicator, the next one over had replacement robes in several different sizes and the third indeed had six colorful plastic tubes in it and a slotted box, probably for waste. The tubes were colorful but not really appetizing. They felt squishy to the touch and the colors ranged from sickly green to pale, putrid yellow to a brownish orange to an almost sinister red. I replaced them save for the somewhat orange-ish one.

There was a distinct notch at one end, probably where I could tear it open. I did and a muted, vegetable-like smell wafted from it. Opening the tube must have started some kind of chemical reaction inside, because a moment later, the tube was warm to the touch and the content had liquefied into some kind of soup. I suckled a measure of contents from the tube. It was food in the broadest sense of the word, some kind of astro-paste with a very distinct chemical undertone, probably for the self-heating trick. There were hints of meat taste in there and a lot of veggie-like flavors but none I could identify. No surprise there. I was dealing with alien food after all. Still, the whole experience was unpleasant. No wonder Jenala had been fascinated with the synthesis engine. The worst one could blame on the machines was how food made with them was bland. But this stuff? I shuddered and dropped the half-eaten tube into the trash receptacle.

I checked my comms unit. Whatever else this chamber did, it blocked any signals going out. Well, calling Jenala was out of the question then. At least I could check how the translator was doing. I set it to analyze the speech fragments it had caught and discovered something interesting. The Seeker's language was at least in part, shot through with ancient Gray vocabulary. Most of it had been mangled beyond recognition but some words seemed to have survived, especially those related to simple activities or concepts. According to the etymology database, most of these words were more than twenty thousand years old.

I was by no means a linguist or xenobiologist but these simple facts led me to two conclusions. First, the Seekers and the Gray must have coexisted at some point. Nowadays, the slightly crazy and obsessive Gray existed in ship-sized units, seldom more than a dozen or two at a time because they simply can't work together in bigger units before their eccentric and egotistical nature caused major rifts or outright mutual destruction. To think they had ties to another species long enough for their vocabulary to mix with said species' was fascinating. And second, for these Gray words to remain valid this long, the Seekers must have been on their isolationist journey for what? Twenty-five thousand years? That would at least explain the look of the ship I was on.

I stored my comms unit again and laid down on the bench. Wracking my brain for answers wouldn't get me anywhere. I might as well follow Ajura's suggestion and take a nap.

* * * *

Another sharp beep yanked me from my dreams. Whatever they had been, they had me hard and aching for sex. Probably something involving my most recent partners, San'yas and Jenala.

"Time for another Decon shower?" I asked.

"Yes." The voice was different than before. "I can postpone the Decon fluid if you need to relieve yourself."

"I hope you'll grant me at least a little privacy," I grumbled and used the toilet. It flushed on its own the moment I vacated the seat.

"Ready?" came the new voice again.

"I'm not keen on another mild acid bath but since there's nothing I can do..." I shrugged.

The shower head which had dispensed the gray fluid before fired up again. Holding my breath, I cleansed myself once more. This time, the fluid wasn't quite as bad. Not anywhere near enjoyable but at least I didn't feel like I was melting. Another two minutes of soak time, followed by another lukewarm rinse, then the voice came again. "Please put on one of the robes found in the middle drawer and prepare to be collected."

"What happened to my clothes and gear?"

"They are under inspection by our scientists. You will get them back before leaving the ship."

"Will I see Jenala again? Or be able to talk to her?" I pulled my comms unit from the drawer then I tried the robes. A medium-sized one fit best. I recognized the cut as being similar to the one Jenala had worn when we first had met.

"I am not at leisure to either confirm or deny that," the voice said. Sheesh, get that Armorgrade rod out of your pussy already. "Don't be alarmed."

"Why should I be-"

The door hissed open. Two mask-wearing, baton-wielding Soldier sisters entered the room, cutting it neatly in half. Miss Braid entered next. She was unarmed but I didn't like the cuffs she held in her hand.

"Don't struggle," she said, in surprisingly fluent Galactic Basic.

"You're a quick study," I said. "Are the cuffs really necessary?"

"I'm sorry," Braid said. "Mother's orders."

"And you will get in trouble if you let an almost naked, unarmed man walk beside you and your heavily armored and-"

"Yes. Don't struggle, please."

"Fine."

The cuffs clicked around my hands. They appeared like normal handcuffs, the metal kind, held together by a stout piece of chain. The middle link of the chain was a bulbous -- and slightly humming -- device. Cables led from it to the cuffs themselves and I could feel stubbly protrusions against my skin.

"Come."

Surrounded by the three warrior-sisters, we marched through more corridors. Within a matter of moments, I had lost my bearings. Apart from their diameter, most corridors looked almost the same and apart from the occasional lab coat-wearing Seeker, we barely met anyone.

"You are Xajani, right?" I asked Braid.

She looked at me in surprise. "Yes. How do you know?"

"Ajura mentioned it. Where are you taking me, Xajani?"

"To see her. She's very excited to see you. Was that right?"

"I'm amazed at how quickly you learned Galactic Basic."

The powerful redhead smiled, even though only for a second. "I spent four hours in hypno-training for this to happen."

We turned down a corner into another corridor. This one was much more brightly lit and the omnipresent metal and pipes gave way to yellowed tiles and fake-wood doorways. Xajani used a button next to the door. Beyond was an examination chamber, complete with couch, desk and a glass cabinet filled with tools. Many of them looked archaic, a far cry from the nano-injectors and laser scalpels I was used to. The amount of glinting edges and cutting wheels made my innards squirm.

Instead of shoving me into the room, Xajani took my elbow and guided me inside. Before I could inform her that I was fully capable of walking on my own, she pulled my hands up over my head. I heard the clicking of another lock. She had hooked me onto some cable coming from the ceiling and while my gaze traveled from the hook to Xajani, the cable retracted, putting my body under tension.

"If I hear any struggling, I will hurt you," she said in a tone which brooked no argument. She left me hanging, literally, and left the room. A few moments later, the door hissed open again, revealing another Seeker. She was unlike anything I had seen before on this ship. For starters, she was much smaller, barely clearing the one and a half meter mark. Her body was barely more developed than a teenage girl's, with the barest hint of breasts and almost no curve in her hips. The most striking feature was her head. It seemed slightly out of proportion with the rest of her body. Her features were beautiful like all other Seekers I had met thus far but combined with the thick shock of icy-white hair, it seemed as if her body was two sizes too small for her head. Her eyes were very large and of an incredible ocean blue.

Her face softened as our eyes met. "Mister Rios," she said. In person, she would sound adorable, were it not for the strange, distant note in her voice.

"Would you please explain when I went from 'honored guest' to 'research specimen?'" I asked her. "I'm not into handcuffs."

"I'm sorry. The handcuffs are more for my protection than to inconvenience you. I'm afraid Mother's protocol demands some acts of invasive sample gathering and we'd like to minimize the risk of involuntary injuries."

"How about you ask before you attempt any such... what? Invasive sample gathering?" I tried to rattle the cuffs but, short of going onto tiptoes, there wasn't any give in the cable.

"I'm afraid your compliance is only a secondary concern. You willingly entered our borders and as such, you have to follow the rules Mother set forth." Ajura blinked twice. "We'll start with something fun, all right?" She pulled a scalpel from a pocket of her robe and cut away my robe.

"I'd prefer not to become a research object at all, thank you very much!" My complaint, hanging naked from the ceiling, felt weak even to me.

"It can't be helped. You are the first... human? Yes, according to Jenala, your species is called... 'human.' You're the first member of your kind we've met. We need to learn so many things about you. Corruption level. Enviromental adaption factor. DNA compatibility." Ajura went to the desk and pulled a pair of gloves from a dispenser. Next up came a small tube, an egg-shaped device and a measuring cup which tapered from a wide opening to a dispenser at the bottom.

Ajura went behind me. I heard her unscrew the tube and then there was an icy cold sensation between my butt cheeks.

"Seriously?" I grumbled. "You're doing the anal probe?"

"Not quite." She lubed up my butt crack before massaging my back door until I could take two of her fingers. I gnashed my teeth. I had just learned to loosen up a little and now some big-headed alien scientist was about to ruin it again for me.

"What exactly are you-" I began, only to be stopped by a smooth sensation gliding into my rectum. I understood. The egg-shaped thing was some kind of toy and she just put in my ass. A moment later, soft vibrations emanated from it. I tossed my head back and groaned.

"That wasn't so bad, was it? When we made contact with our first Zuthrians, we learned we could extract male semen more easily when properly stimulating them. Do you like it this way?"

"No comment," I snarled. Fuck, that felt nice!

Ajura claimed the funnel-cup and a swivel stool and sat down, eyes level with my crotch. "Fascinating," she said, her warm breath a gentle sensation against

my skin. "It grows!"

"Usually, in my society, when a doctor needs a sperm sample, they hand me the cup and offer maybe a bit of porn to watch," I snarled. "This is humiliating."

"No, humiliating would be using invasive methods to get to your seed. We have come far in the past thirty years, believe me. I am now going to touch you."

"Well, thanks for the warning, doc."

"My predecessor warned me about males spontaneously erupting the moment one touched them. It would be a shame if the funnel-cup wasn't in position, right? Because then we would have to load you up on aphrodisiac and try all over again."

She closed her delicate fingers around my cock. Her eyes went wide. "Unbelievable. It feels so... alive!"

"You don't say. What did you expect? Rubber?"

"I couldn't say. How does it feel when I stroke it?" Her hand moved up and down my shaft, much more gently than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, I had no intention of cooperating beyond the absolute minimum. I simply sighed. There was a strange sensation, as if ice-cold fingers were caressing down my neck. My whole scalp seemed to tickle.

"Noted," Ajura said. "You like my hand on you. You wouldn't mind my mouth on your... cock as well while I play with your seed glands. Do people really do that?"

"Ask Jenala," I snarled. "And get out of my head, damn you."

"I require your utmost cooperation. Mother put her faith in me to properly test and sample you and the last thing I want is to displease her. My status as psi-adept grants some protection from minor infractions but I don't want to test the limits like Jenala regularly does."

"What?"

Ajura blinked again and shook her head. "Never mind. Mouth. It is not explicitly required but an added note regarding taste and texture of both your penis and seminal fluid might grant further understanding. Please refrain from ejaculating for a moment."

The psionic Seeker shifted her position slightly so that she was directly in front of me. Without any hesitation, she closed her lips around my glans and moved her tongue, exploring every wrinkle, surface and slit. I couldn't move much but rolling my hips forwards was absolutely in the cards. It wouldn't take long for me to cum, not with the vibrating, devilish egg in my butt massaging every nerve ending back there and especially not with Ajura's clumsy but enthusiastic tongue tickling my rather sensitive bell end.

To my dismay, she pulled back just in time, her eyes glinting. "Nice try, Mister Rios. And under different circumstances, I might have played along. But I have read my predecessor's research paper about Precurser species and how to spot imminent ejaculation." She held the funnel-cup in front of my cock, closed her hand around me and stroked, firm and fast. At the same time, the egg in my back door kicked up a few notches. Nothing I could do but unload.

Ajura waited until the last dribble of cum had oozed into the cup then she placed it into a fridge. The egg fell quiet, much to my dismay and she pulled it free with a bit of cord dangling from it. The toy vanished in some kind of cleanser.

I wanted nothing more than to relax, maybe huddle down, but the fucking cable overhead kept me taut and upright.

"I hope you had your fun," I snapped.

"Research is its own reward," Ajura quipped. She vacated the stool and moved it behind me. The cable relented until I crumpled onto the stool. Now could be my chance to get out of here!

Before I could even move a muscle, Ajura furrowed her forehead. My limbs froze in place.

"You shouldn't think so loud, Mister Rios. Or may I call you Salvador?"

I couldn't move my jaw so she never got an answer. With practiced ease, Ajura searched for a vein by my elbow and pulled a sample using a syringe which floated into her hand off the table.

A moment later, the paralysis was gone. I tensed up my muscles for a lunge, only for the damned cable to pull me up again.

"Be sensible, Salvador," Ajura said. "Even if you managed to overpower me, my sisters await outside. How could you, naked, handcuffed and unarmed, hope to beat them? They train for combat the moment they can walk." Our eyes met and she seemed to stare directly into my soul. Memories woke and bubbled up to my consciousness -- my childhood on the farm. School days outwitting bullies. Flying the Maultier. Military service.

"Stop!" I screamed. "Out of my fucking head!"

The constantly accelerating stream of memories fizzled and faded. Ajura shook her head. "Ow," she said. "My ears."

"I would have found a way, probably," I said. "Or at least I would have tried. The last thing to make me compliant is to take away any kind of choice."

"Please don't misunderstand me. If it were only me, we wouldn't be in this situation," Ajura said. "I would have followed Jenala's lead and learned what you had to offer in peaceful cooperation. But right now, I am forced to deliver results." Her eyes seemed even larger than before, like a scared cat's. I had no idea if she used another psi-trick or if she was honest with me.

Maybe offering a bit of honesty would get her off my case. At this point, I wanted nothing more to leave this rat maze and return to Earth. Suddenly being Neira's slave didn't seem too bad. And the idea of Zeeris as partner, co-pilot or lover seemed outright tempting.

"Listen, before you plan on jabbing anything interesting into my back or chest, be aware that I'm carrying a self-destruct device called a Nano-Shot. Tampering with it will kill me." I summoned memories of Neira, how we had fucked and how she had injected me with the Nano-Shot. Fucking Neira. Fucked by Neira. Get the fuck out of my head, you water-headed freak!

Ajura had her hand clamped between her thighs and was caressing herself. "This Neira woman seemed to be very passionate and powerful. I... I envy her. She's so strong and sexy," the psionic muttered, cupping her sex through her robe.

"The explosion will be big enough to destroy everything in a ten-yard radius," I lied. "You really don't want that, with Mother this close by, do you?"