First Contact: Birth of the Phoenix

As we ate, he explained that I had almost landed on top of him when I fell, he had been outside admiring the sandstorm mostly out of boredom. He had noticed that I had survived and, on the small chance that I could be saved, had stripped me from my suit and loaded me into the auto surgeon. I had been in his med bay for three days while it meticulously scanned me, mapped my physiology, and did its best to piece me back together. When it was done, he laid me in his bed and let me sleep, that had been another two days. My physical upgrades were as big a surprise to him as they were to me, my affinity for his native language and my understanding of how his ship worked, was an even bigger mystery.

We toured the ship, starting with the crew quarters where I guessed I would be moving now that I was up and about, When we got to the cockpit, I immediately took the pilots seat and started touching the controls as if they were old friends, at the navigation console, I brought up the map and watched as it continued to reset, trying to find a bearing it understood, that was not good. At the engineering console, I took note of all the systems that were offline and understood that Drell was stranded.

I looked at Drell and he at me," How do I know how to do all this and how long have you been here," I asked?

"I have no idea, and just over two of your years. I have been monitoring your communications and doing short range reconnaissance around my ship, but there's not much here that can help me get home. It's obvious that your people have never had an encounter with another species, so approaching you was a huge risk. I guess it's good luck for us both that you 'fell into my laptop;' that is the proper phrase, I think," he actually said it in Earth Standard, laughing at his own joke as I laughed at the near miss.

We went back to the crew lounge area and just talked, he told me about how he got here, he had been at his father's funeral, as far as he could tell, his uncle had drugged him and put him on this ship with minimal systems active, launching it through what he called a gate into the uncharted sector of the galaxy. It was pure luck, if you could call it that, that he woke up in time to land on Mars without Jupiter catching him and before he was sucked into our sun.

I guess a space accident is easier to explain that an assassination when you're pulling a coup in the family business. He was sure the search was still going on but with the communication system in the shape it was in, there was no chance he would ever be found, especially since there was no reason to look for him in uncharted space.

I told him everything I could remember from the past five days, the intense, overwhelming pain, the light, the thousand voices, in and out of consciousness, and the game; we speculated that the auto surgeon wasn't able to replicate an effective pain medication and had to do everything with me conscious, I had hallucinated and in the throes of that hallucination, had actually managed to link to the ship, which started overloading my brain with information to block out the pain. At some point, it had found a memory of Galactic Conquest and sent me there, where I had selected my new look. I laughed out loud, thinking about how my squad was going to give me hell for making Ta'alia real.

Analyzing the auto surgeon logs confirmed what we speculated and also told us that since human physiology had now been mapped and since there as very little chance of me willingly jumping off a one hundred meter cliff again, I was stuck with what I had, I was not too upset about that. The big question was how did either one of us get out of here? My suit was ruined, Drell's EVA was not suited for long term exposure to the Martian environment and the ship we were on was disabled. The information in my head was a huge bonus, for me and for Drell; with the two of us working together, there was a chance we could get something working again.

I learned about life on Trellis and Drell learned about a woman's life in the Earth Force Marines. We traded anecdotes about our different cultures, laughing at how similar they were in some instances and how vastly different in others, also marveling at potential opportunities should they ever get together; Trellian medical technology and FTL travel was more advanced than anything we were working on in the foreseeable future and things like the material my suit was made of would be groundbreaking technology for his people, he was also fascinated about something we called bacon which, from the conversations he had overheard was the main staple of the human diet.

When we finally ran out of words, Drell gave me a very strange look, "What is the attitude of your people toward what you call sex," I guess the Trellians had a thing for being direct, too?

"It's pretty open," I knew where this was going and my mind was chasing itself in circles trying to figure out what I was going to do, "All of the marines undergo a temporary medical procedure to prevent any pregnancies, and we're in close quarters all the time, so it's not uncommon; hell we fuck like rabbits," I laughed as I admitted it, still nervous at what came next.

He sat up and looked me straight in the eyes, "Case, I have been here by myself for two years and I have no idea how long I was in statis, would you please have sex with me?"

That was the single most polite and yet unconventional request anyone had ever made of me. Most of the time me getting laid had to do with large amounts of alcohol, it didn't help that most of my Marines were afraid I would hurt them; I laughed at the thought.

The memory of the orgasms I had given myself earlier rushed to my mind, I caught myself thinking about how I would feel in his shoes, you can only get so much from masturbation and I wasn't sure if that was something Trellains even did, I wondered if I could actually do what he was asking, not just psychologically, but physically; how different were our two species, anyway? Five minutes later, our clothes littered the floor, a strong musk filled my senses making every inch of my body a heightened erogenous zone, Drell played me like a concert pianist would a Steinway, every touch, every caress, bringing a new and different experience, all of them pleasure, he kissed and nibbled, touched and stroked every inch of my skin. I had climaxed three times before he even addressed my crotch, each orgasm more intense than the previous.

"Are you ready," he actually asked me?

I was not as polite in my reply," goddamit, fuck me already you son of a bitch," I screamed!

He laughed and positioned himself between my legs, sliding slowly into my aching desire filling me completely. The way he moved was amazing, slow, and rhythmic at first, then faster, more aggressive until all I could hear were my own cries of extasy and the grunts and moans of his pleasure. When we finally erupted, it was together, I was pretty sure I blacked out for a second in the intensity of the moment, my entire body shook in a wonderful combination of pleasure, pain, and exhaustion before he slid his softening erection from me, laid down next to me and pulled me close. I nestled under his arm, tracing the flashes of silver on his smooth chest with my finger as we lay in silence for what felt like a small eternity, the rich aroma of our sex filling every pore of my body, every corner of my being.

"So, is that normal for Trellians," I whispered?

"Too much," he asked?

"More than I was expecting," I laughed," I'm not sure a human male could ever come close to what you did to me."

"Trellians secrete a pheromone, I think is your word, it enhances their partner, raising them to an appropriate level of arousal and even performance. We market a synthetic version to other races as an aphrodisiac, it is quite popular."

"No shit," I laughed again.

"Would you like to try again, as I said, it has been a long time for me?"

"Fuck yes," I turned toward him and smiled.

I'm not sure the human language has words for the next few hours, I found that Old Trellain was full of them and Drella and I explored them all, by the time we were finished, he had filled every hole I had, more than once. His semen was not salty and bitter, it was sweet and reminded me of apricots, when he filled my ass, it was like it was always supposed to be that way, and when I woke up in his arms, I decided that maybe the crew's quarters weren't my only option.

We spent the next few days brainstorming ways to get various ships systems working again. We had receptive coms but couldn't broadcast, there were basic maneuvering thrusters which we used to move the ship to a more advantageous orientation should we get the main engines back online, and I managed to get the nav computer to stop resetting long enough to lock onto our current location, unfortunately, we were so far from what it knew as charted space, it couldn't find the path back to Trelllis.

When we weren't doing that, we were fucking, Drell was insatiable and I was finding I didn't mind that at all, in fact, I was initiating sex as often as he was, sometimes waiting until he was underneath a console looking for a possible solution to something and then slowly taking his cock from his pants, sucking and caressing it, listening to him moan, teasing him until I was rewarded with his sweet nectar. He didn't seem to mind.

Day four found me in the cargo bay rummaging through containers looking for anything that might help get the engines back online when someone, or something started banging on the outer door of the airlock, I hit the screen for the exterior camera to find two EF Marines outside with sidearms drawn, one a large male, the other a female. Drell came into the bay with what appeared to be a Trellian weapon of some sort and stood next to me.

"I think I got this," I told him, and he lowered his hand to his side, "Maybe you should wait in the lounge, so they don't overreact," I suggested. He nodded and left the room.

The Marines knocked again, and I hit the button activating the airlock, the door slid open and they stepped inside, weapons drawn and obviously ready for whatever was waiting for them.

The airlock closed behind them and pressurized, making sure I was actually speaking Earth Standard, I told them it was safe to remove their helmets and I would let them in as soon as they holstered their side arms, after a few minutes; I was sure they were discussing their options, they slowly released the catches on their helmets, fuck, it was Granger and Jazz. I Couldn't have picked two people I wanted to see more.

"Wait, I know you from somewhere," It was Jazz.

'Yeah, you do. Now before I let you guys in, I need you to listen, alright, it's important that you understand a couple of things and that you at least try to believe what I'm about to tell you."

"Ok, so go," Granger was wracking his brain trying to figure out where he had seen me.

"Ok, first, Galactic Conquest, that's where you've seen me," I could see the wheels turning, Second, I'm Rider, I fell off the fucking cliff and the med facility on this ship did it's best to put me back together; I guess I got some upgrades, Third there's an alien on board that saved my life, he's stranded here and we need to help him get this ship running so he can go home."

"Rider," Granger was having trouble getting his head around what I had told him?

"Yeah, and I still owe you that beer, more than one now that you came to get my sorry ass," I smiled, " I mean you did tell me not to get lost."

"You're fucking Ta'alia, Riders avatar, what, the fuck? So, some AI on the ship looked in your brain and made you her, shit, that's fucked up man," Jazz was always the one to think outside the box, it's what made her the number two on my squad.

It hit me that they had locked on to me looking like Ta'alia but had totally passed on there being an alien on board.

"How do we know we're not hallucinating, that you're not fucking with our heads or something," Granger wasn't convinced, his skepticism, and his seemingly magical ability with anything mechanical, is what made him my number three.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," I went to the med bay and picked up my suit, carrying it back to the airlock and showing it to them.

"So how do we know you're not a Diridian shape shifter or something," Jazz wasn't convinced either?

"First, this isn't a fucking game you moron, second, Diridians aren't real and neither are shape shifters, Jazz, sometimes you're an idiot, you know that," I laughed, " besides, if I were a Deridian, hasn't it always been your fantasy to get fucked by one, all those tentacles everywhere and everything?"

"How'd you know my name? Shit, Rider," Jazz smiled, "Come on Granger, it's him, or her I guess."

"What about me," Granger asked?

"Well, you've always been more partial to Seltars, they don't exist either but I think you'll like the Trellians, if we ever get this ship in the air," I laughed, Granger had a huge cock and loved to use it.

I could see the resignation, if not recognition, in their faces and opened the inner door.

"I don't suppose you guys brought your toys with you, did you," I asked as we headed for the crew lounge to meet Drell?

"Always, boss, never know what you're going to run into," Granger replied, motioning to the pack on his back; him calling me 'boss' told me he was at least willing to play along until something proved him wrong.

We found Drell in the med bay, he had pulled up the logs from the auto surgeon and had run a translation converting them as best he could into Earth Standard. After an awkward introduction and my assurances that he wasn't going to eat their brains or anything, they relaxed. When he brought them cups of Trellian coffee, they conceded that maybe he wasn't so bad.

The logs were like a moderately redacted official document but the gist of what happened was still clear. I then told them what I remembered, and we were finally all on the same page.

"Fuck Rider, so can this thing change you back," Jazz asked?

"Not an option, and why would I do that, I mean look at me; unless I want to jump of the fucking cliff again and then still, probably not, it's already mapped human physiology and would know how to put me back together, this only happened because it got confused by my memories of Galactic Conquest."

"So, what next," Granger sipped his coffee?

"Not a clue, we're not doing anything until this storm breaks, how did you guys get here anyway, Marshal sure as shit didn't approve you being out here in this crap?"

"We 'borrowed' a crawler, parked at the top of the canyon. Went to your last know and followed the heading you were on, then rappelled down here and just knocked on doors until we found you, have to admit we were surprised as shit when we actually found one. As for the Colonel, I'm guessing he's not very happy with us right now but fuck him; we lost track of you a week ago and he refused to do shit. I'm not leaving my best friend out here for anybody; 'no man left behind,' remember."

"Ditto," Jazz chimed in.

"That kind of loyalty is rare," Drell had a somewhat somber look on his face," perhaps you can teach me a few things." It was a pensive request, and his saying it in Old Trellian gave it a weight I didn't suspect.

"Any time," I reached out and touched his arm.

Drell laid out a small feast for Granger and Jazz, the Trellian flavors were as enticing to them as they had been to me when I first tasted them. We talked mostly about the ship and the seemingly randomness of the problems and their utterly devastating effect on the ship; absolutely nothing made sense. I explained all the things Drell and I had investigated over the past several days, each time coming up empty.

Granger leaned back in his chair, letting out a huge yawn, "I'm stuffed and tired, let's sleep on this and go at it again in the morning. Between the four of us, we'll figure it out."

I showed them to the crew's quarters and joined Drell in his, from the noises I heard, Granger wasn't as tired as he let on, and neither was Jazz. I was pretty sure they had made the same observation about me and Drell.

Something woke me, I couldn't tell what. I lay next to Drell listening for anything out of place in the now familiar darkness of the ship, Drell's soft breathing was the only thing I heard. Sliding out of bed, I made my way through the ship, listening intently for an indication of something out of place, it wasn't there. I found myself in the control center, sliding into the pilots seat, I reached for the console over my head and flipped the switch to depolarize the front view port, as it cleared, the galaxy exposed itself to me in all its glory; there were both of Mars' moons, Earth, Venus, Saturn and the vast expanse of the Milky Way. The storm had finally passed, it wasn't what I heard, but what I no longer heard that woke me. I sat there for a long time, lost in thought, my mom back on earth, what had happened to me, the issues with the ship, and what the future could possibly hold.

"Never gets old does it," Granger had slid into the seat next to me?

"Nope, it's why I came out here, to space. As boring as it gets sometimes, this," I pointed out the window, "this never gets old."

We sat in silence for a while, neither of us really having anything to say.

"OK, Rider, you either stop that or do something about it, I'm going nuts over here," Granger laughed, and I snapped out of my daze. I had been fondling myself, not really masturbating but mindlessly running my fingers through the soft hair on my mons and sliding them in and out of my vagina and he had been watching me intently.

"I figured you would have gotten your fill from Jazz," I laughed.

"I could say the same about you and Drell, jeeze, do you guys ever stop?"

"Trellians are, well um, a passionate people," I knew I was blushing, "and they exude this pheromone; fuck, you'll find out one day," I was horny again just thinking about it.

I looked at my friend, he was as naked as me and hard as a rock," dammit Granger, this is totally messed up, you know that right," I climbed out of my seat and in to his, straddling him.

"You mean totally fucked up, don't you, boss," He stopped laughing when I slid down on top of him, taking him balls deep inside me," oh, shit, Rider" he moaned.

"Yeah, and don't forget I can still kick your ass," we both laughed.

The residue from having been with Drell covered my body, Granger breathed in the scent and licked and sucked my breasts as I rose and fell on his erection chasing our mutual desire. The pheromones were doing their job and Granger got wilder and more intense, thrusting into me like it had been years since his last fuck. I reached my climax just before Granger, shuddering in pleasure, riding the waves of ecstasy, relaxing onto his chest as they slowly subsided only to be thrust back into the throws of our mutual passion when he exploded inside me.

"Gaaawd daaamn, Rider, I have never...," he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Residual pheromones," I smiled and kissed him on the forehead.

"So that was like what fifty percent of the real thing?"

"Ten, maybe twenty," I laughed as I climbed off his lap.

"And you get that every night, how can you still walk, you lucky bitch?"

I just smiled as I reclaimed the pilot seat, "you know I can't go back, right," I changed the subject.

"Been thinking about that since we got here, you don't think you can convince Marshall like you did me and Jazz?"

"Really, if I hadn't known your sexual proclivities for video game characters, would you have believed me?"

"No, probably not, shit."

"Most likely, I get put in jail for breaking into the base and then get sold to a mining consortium for my debts and end up in a ringer brothel. If that asshat Marshall did believe me, I'd spend the rest of my life as a science experiment while the lab coats tried to figure out how it happened, and Drell doesn't even understand it and it's his fucking ship."