F6: The Marlborough Man in the Moon

"Cassie? How are things looking down there?"

"Odd, Captain. I've got a positive visual on the phenomenon down here when I look out the window. I'm going to to suit up and do an OM, see if I can figure what's going on. It could be significant. I had a thought. It might be some underground disturbance, heat being expelled from unknown pockets of air. Something like that would have bearings on my soil and rock analysis."

"I don't know, Doctor. The air is very cool, how could that be possible?"

"If we're dealing with unknown gasses, anything is possible. I've got to go out there."

"Copy that, Doctor. Proceed with caution. Make sure to test your suit's com, so I can sync in."

"Copy, Captain."

Cassie got busy collecting the instruments and tools she would need to do a quick analysis of the soil and air composition in a gig bag. She suited up in her lightweight Outside Maneuver gear and entered the small chamber that separated the habitat from the front door. Once proper pressure was reached, she slid open the front door and stepped outside.

Once outside Cassie click on the com to checked in with the Captain.

"Captain, it's Cassie, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Cassie. I've got a visual on you, too, so as long as you stay in camera range I've got eyes on."

"Clear. Any sign in the feed of the air phenomenon?"

"Negative. You?"

"Yes, I can see them. Heading that way now."

Cassie walked towards the six air shimmers, toting her bag with her. She ticked off the possible explanations in her head, but couldn't make anything jive. Why could she see them here, but not on the cameras? And why could Captain Avery see them on her video feed once, and then not again? Equipment malfunction seemed the obvious answer, but she didn't want to rule out some foreign ions or even metal in the atmosphere having an effect, which would seriously impact her studies.

After only a few minutes Cassie reached the area in question. Close up, the air shimmers looked more like mini tornadoes, swirling air of some kind, but with no source that she could see. There were no holes in the ground visible to the naked eye.

Cassie reached out her heavily gloved hand, to test the pressure of the air. The moment her hand passed through one of the swirling funnels of air, everything changed. The air flickered like a glitch on a computer screen, and six images appeared before her, where the shimmers of air had been. At first her brain could not even process what she was seeing, it was so unexpected, so out of context.

It was her. Six images of Cassie Portman, as if she were standing in front of a mirror. Well, that wasn't right. She was wearing her OM gear. Ok, then, six images of Cassie Portman standing completely nude in front of a full length mirror. She stared at herself while it registered in her brain. Her short cropped blonde hair that make her look bald. Light eyebrows. Blue eyes. Her familiar naked body; small, upturned breasts, slender waist, long legs.

"Hunh." It was all she could think to say, she was so taken aback. What was this? Was the Captain messing with her?

"What is it, Cassie, what do you see? All I've got is you standing there." Captain Avery's voiced concern.

"How many of me do you see?" Cassie asked.

"What the hell do you mean, how many? You! I see you standing there. What's going on?"

So unless she was lying, this bizarre display was only for Cassie's eyes. Her initial shock was beginning to wear off and alarm was quickly setting in. The six images of herself stood unmoving, staring forward. She reached out her hand again and passed it right through the nearest image. The moment she did she felt pressure on her hand, and the heads of all six images whipped around to look directly at her. Six mouths in six Cassie faces dropped open and emitted an ear-splitting sound. An indescribable sound. A ululation of such high frequency it echoed in her helmet and hurt her ears. Like six yodelers from hell, these nude images of herself stood and stared at her, producing a sound that could break glass.

Cassie ran. She didn't scream, she didn't think, she just dropped her gig bag and ran, without looking back.

"Jesus fucking christ what the hell ..." she muttered to herself as she slid open the habitat door, fell inside and slid it closed again. It was only then, as she waited to pressurize so she could get back into the habitat, that she finally heard Captain Avery yelling into her helmet's microphone.

"Goddammit Cassie! Answer me! What happened? What the hell is going on?"

"I'm fine, Roz. I think. Did you see anything?"

"No! It was like I said, just you in your OM gear, standing there, and then you dropped your bag and ran like a bat out of hell."

"And you swear on both of our lives that you aren't messing with me? That you or someone else didn't set this up as some horrifying practical joke?"

"God damn it! No! Set what up?"

Cassie was breathing heavily when she stepped back into the habitat. Her hands shook as she tried to quickly extricate herself from her OM gear.

"Cassie, don't make me give you a direct order, you know I outrank you."

"It was me, ok? I saw myself. Six images of myself where the air shimmers were. Like I was looking into a mirror."

"What? That's impossible. Was it a reflection? You said there might be metal in the atmosphere ..."

"Well, no. Not unless I went out there nude."

"Nude? Cassie, please. You're not making any sense."

"I didn't see me in my OM suit, standing out there. I saw me totally nude. Six of me, actually. And then these images uttered this horrible sound, a ululation, like yodeling, only much higher pitched. They looked right at me. It completely freaked me out. So I ran."

For a moment there was silence from Avery. Cassie imagined how she must sound. How her account would jive next to Roz's visual of her standing out there alone. But what else could she say?

"Ok. Here's what we're going to do. First, download the audio and video from your helmet camera. You had that activated, yes?"

"Yes," Cassie replied.

"Ok, good. Then, you are going to do a full med workup on yourself. Check for something toxic related to the atmosphere. Maybe there was a minuscule leak in your suit. Maybe that phenomena was made up of an undetected toxin and it got into your suit, you got exposed somehow. Then we will talk."

Cassie thought these were very good ideas. Except for the sinking feeling she had that Roz did not believe a word she said.

"Yes, Captain," she replied.

"Get back to me as soon as you can. I've got to check something out on my end."

"Fine. Cassie out."

Cassie did as she was told. Downloaded the recorded audio and video from her helmet cam. Set up an impromptu med session and drew some blood. Put it in the analyzer. Shaved a small patch of hair and set that to analyze as well. Plugged in her suit and ran diagnostics. Kept her hands and mind busy to keep away the thought that she had imagined the whole thing. That maybe she was going quietly batshit, no matter how she had guarded against it.

Avery's voice cut into the silence of the humming machinery.

"Cassie? How are you doing? Where are you on the med test and diagnostics?"

Cassie read the results from the computer readout for the 5th time.

"Everything checks out, Roz. I'm fine, the suit is fine, no leaks or contamination. The tox screen is negative, I've not been poisoned or exposed to any toxins, foreign or otherwise."

"And the helmet video? Tell me you've got something on that."

Cassie had watched her helmet video several times. Stared at it until her eyes teared up. There was nothing. No air shimmer. No yodeling Cassie images. Just her hand reaching out to nothing, and her mad dash back to the habitat. Nothing on audio either, except her labored breath and unprofessional cursing. She tried to think of some way not to tell Roz, but there were no other options.

"I'm sending it to you now. But Roz ... there's nothing."

"Copy that, Doctor Portman."

The silence was deafening.

"Listen Cassie. Why don't you get some rest. Maybe go visit Brock. I can tell you're unsettled by this, and I'd be lying if I said I felt any different. But let's not jump to any conclusions. Let's both brainstorm some logical explanations and talk again in a couple of hours."

Cassie felt coddled. Pandered to. But would she react any different if she were Roz?"

"Understood, Captain Avery."

"If you start to feel unwell, in any way at all, do not hesitate to contact me."

"Copy that, Captain. Dr. Portman out."

The fact that she and Roz had suddenly gotten very professional with each other was not lost on Cassie. Protocols would have to be followed if a crew member was in danger ... of losing her mind.

No. She and Roz would figure it out. They were adaptable, brilliant women. Astronauts. She was a Doctor, a scientist, at the top of her field. She was not crazy.

She had to de-stress so she could think. She pondered Roz's suggestions and thought a visit to Brock might not be a bad idea. All of those endorphins would help her relax, clear her head, open her mind to new ideas.

Once inside the relaxation dome, Cassie called up her Brock file. Just thinking of her imaginary cowboy, with his muscles and stubble and musky scent started to help her feel more herself. She would figure this out.

Many minutes later, Cassie moaned and rolled over onto her stomach. Brock moved with her, over her. His muscular thigh parted her legs and pressed into her throbbing, wet hot sex. She moaned, grabbed at the slick material of the sleeping bag, balled it up in her fists. She rose up on her hands and knees, pressed her backside to Brock, desperately wanting him inside her. For one moment she let herself break from the program. She yearned for someone's warm touch, an actual living, breathing body to hold her, to tell her everything was going to be ok. The wash of stars visible above her, the vastness of the universe, made her feel insignificant. Alone, with only her impressive imagination for company. Is that what had happened this afternoon? Had her ability to imagine things that weren't real compromised her mission here on EP-274?

Brock pressed himself against her ass, let his large, rough hands run down her back. He caressed the soft skin of her breasts, flicked her pink nipples until they were hard, until she was gasping and shivering, desire blooming in her with a warm glow.

The wind picked up in a sudden gust, blew sparks from their bright burning fire. A coyote yipped in the distance, sending the horses to stamp and blow with unease. The valley where they camped was dark beyond the light of the fire, and Cassie, despite her growing arousal, felt an uncharacteristic sense of unease. She focused herself back to the heat she and Brock created together. The passion she felt for him was real, her handsome cowboy from an Earth long past.

Brock's hands left hot trails down her sides, slow inch by slow agonizing inch. The wind gusted a second time, carrying bits of grit that stuck to her sweat-streaked skin. The coyote called again, and was answered by a another, closer.

"Are we safe out here, Brock?" Cassie gasped out, and this time, her question was sincere, and she wished Brock could answer truthfully, not as he was programmed to.

Brock's hand traced a lazy trail down the curve of her hip, the smooth skin of her behind, and found the sweet, hot spot between her legs. With one strong finger he began stroking her engorged pussy lips. "You don't have to be afraid Cassie. I won't hurt you."

"Mmmmm ... hmmm?" She must have called up an older Brock file, she didn't remember that part of their conversation. She pushed her hips harder against him, wanting more, but the cowboy would not be rushed. He dragged his finger slowly up her damp slit, then back down again, then penetrated her quickly, one finger, than two slipping easily inside her, pulling out, pushing back in, knowing exactly how to stroke her insides to spark her g-spot.

"Oh ..." Cassie gasped. "That feels so good. God, I want you inside me, Brock."

He laughed softly, in her ear and kept on with the teasing torture, his long strong fingers pushing into her with a delicious, insistent rhythm.

Cassie pumped her hips back against his hand. Why hadn't she brought in her favorite, perfectly sized silicone phallus? She needed it right now, she needed to feel something warm and hard inside her.

She threw her head up and moaned, and the stars again commanded her brief attention. They seemed cold and far away.

"The stars, Brock, how many worlds are out there?"

"More than you or I could ever visit, but gosh, it would be nice to try." Brock murmured as he slow-kissed his way down the back of her neck, over her shoulder blades, fingering her rhythmically until her whole body shook and she had to lower herself onto her elbows. Without slowing his fingers he worked his thumb to engage her clit, and her body started spasming as it spiraled up to orgasm. Her arousal-fevered brain barely registered his response, one that she never programmed — she was so focused on how warm and real his hands felt on her ... in her ... how much of a presence he seemed to have behind her.

Brock withdrew his hand just before she could collapse into an impressive orgasm, and she cried out with frustration. His tireless fingers were quickly replaced by something she had not felt in a long time; the smooth head of a rock hard cock.

Brock grasped her hips tightly in his hands and pushed himself smoothly, deeply into her throbbing pussy, all the way in, in one long stroke, then pulled out and pushed back in, more quickly, but just as deeply.

"Oh my god, Brock, oh god!" Cassie cried out in ecstasy. Brock fucked her with his hard cowboy cock, and even as she knew it wasn't possible for him to feel this real, she reveled in how warm he felt throbbing inside her, and she didn't care. She wanted him. She needed him.

Cassie raised herself back up on her hands so she could push back against Brock and his thrusting cock. She felt his warm calloused hand slide up her back and grasp the nape of her neck. With one hand holding to her neck and one hand on her hip, he thrust into her hard, with a relentless rhythm that left her breathless and moaning with unintelligible, animal sounds.

Cassie once again was brought to the edge of orgasm. She hovered there, mindlessly lost in the intense pleasure of the first real fuck she had had in what felt like forever. Brock took his hand from her neck, reached around to tightly pinch her erect nipple, then found his way again to her aching clit. Without interrupting the rhythm of his cock he stroked and pinched her clit, sent her over the edge of orgasm, screaming out her body's climactic release.

"Cassie!"

"Ohmygod, ohmygod," Cassie moaned. Brock released her and she collapsed to her stomach, rolled over to face him. The orgasmic glow started to fade and fear and wonder set in.

"Cassie!" Avery's voice called to her, but she sounded so far away.

"Cassie, it could be like this, always, me and you. For real. Not just in your imagination." Brock stared down at her, his beautifully, amazingly real cock still semi hard jutting out from his lean, muscled body.

"Who are you?" Cassie gazed at him, transfixed.

"I could spin you some yarn, some ol' cowboy tale from the lonely range, and it wouldn't even begin to explain who I am. I just simply ... am."

"How are you here? I created Brock. He didn't exist before I programmed him."

"Cassie! Get out of the dome! Now!" Avery's alarmed voice was still distant and muddled, like Cassie was hearing it through an old tin can.

The firelight glistened off of Brock's chiseled body. He ran his large calloused though his dark hair.

"I'm using your program to appear to you in a form you recognize, so as not to ... alarm you. It's nothing for me to manipulate any form of electrical energy you brought with you. I am mostly energy myself."

Cassie should have been afraid. She should have run screaming from the dome. But she was mesmerized by this Brock being in front of her.

"Cassie, please respond! Are you alright?" Roz sounded desperate over the muted com, but Cassie had no idea what to tell her.

"And those images of me, the yodelers, who are they?" Cassie realized part of her surprising calm was that, if this was a real living entity she was speaking to, it meant she wasn't crazy. Didn't it?

"That was me, as well. I am all energy here, it was all me. I was trying to contact you. I ... miscalculated. It then occurred to me to come to you here. You spend a lot of time here. You are happy, here. It was a most pleasurable experience."

Cassie blushed furiously. Angrily. This ... being had been watching her this whole time, and then used her passion for Brock to fuck her? That's a hell of a way to engage in a close encounter.

"So, you make first contact with a cowboy's cock, was that your plan?" The conversation was becoming so ridiculous Cassie began to reassess her theory that it proved she wasn't crazy. She was sitting on a sleeping bag in a dark valley, coyotes in the distance, horses stomping on the other side of the fire, talking to her computer generated lover taken over by ... what?

"I would not call it first contact, I have interacted with your kind before. Although, not exactly in this manner. I apologize if it was not pleasing to you." There was a hint of smugness in Brock's voice that she would have never programmed in. As if he knew differently.

"You've made contact with people from Earth before? When? How? We've never been here."

"Oh, but you have. I'm afraid I miscalculated then, too. But I've learned much from that experience, and from watching, listening to you and your Captain. Take me with you, Cassie. Think of how much we could learn from one another."

Cassie's instinct turned to suspicion. She reached for the remote that controlled the dome and her Brock program and shut it down with the press of one button. If she was crazy, if this were all her imagination, he would disappear when she broke the connection.

The valley, the fire, the mountain sounds went out and the bright lights of the dome came up. And there was Brock, in his jeans, tight white t-shirt and cowboy hat, standing in the middle of the white dome floor. He flickered for a moment, but then the dome lights dimmed slightly and he reappeared, looking to be as real as he had seemed when he was fucking her five minutes before.

Cassie felt woefully underdressed and quickly pulled her jumpsuit back on as Brock watched, a playful smile teasing his lips.

"How are you still here? I turned off the Brock file." Cassie circled him slowly. Everything was exactly as she had programmed, but absolutely real, all the way down to his creased, worn brown boots.

"I'm still using the energy of your habitat to take this form. I like being Brock. You like Brock, too, don't you, Cassie? It was you who drew me out, after all, just as your people did before. You called to me. Take me with you. Nights like this one could be ours, forever."

"Why do you keep saying that? I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are. I've muted the com in here, but your Captain has already started the protocol to abort the mission. I should have contacted you sooner. I heard the call before you even landed, but I thought we would have more time. Your people are much more advanced technologically than the last time we met. That worries me. I hadn't expected your Captain to be able to keep such close tabs on you."

Now Cassie felt alarm. He blocked Avery's com? Avery was aborting the mission? She had to get out, she had to talk to Roz.

Cassie slammed her palm into the button that opened the door and fled the relaxation dome. She made sure the door closed behind her, realizing how futile it was as she did it. The minute she was out she heard Roz yelling over the com in the main room of the habitat.