Gateway to the Stars

With that work done, he excuses himself for a moment, stepping around the partition. You hear a series of mechanical whirs and clicks and when he returns, he has changed his shirt to a soft white cotton and removed his mechanical arm, leaving him with just his human hand for dinner.

"I love what you've done with the space." You offer warmly. "It's beautiful in here. Are most of these pieces from Bolaheld?" You ask, mentally patting yourself on the back for remembering his homeworld.

"Thank you." He says. "Yes, I had actually brought the drum with me when I first went off world, but the masks..." he points to a series of carved wooden animal masks on the opposite wall, "those had been taken by a salvage operation from a neighboring village. I found the merchant and made her an offer."

"Currency or violence?" You ask, pulling up your seat at the table.

"A little of both." He admits with a laugh. He gently ladles a chunky dark soup into a bowl and hands it to you.

"What is it?" You ask, peering cautiously at the meat chunks floating amongst the tubers, beans and other oddities.

"Well, technically speaking, almost a hundred percent BazzyBazzy fruit. But, put through a transmat and then adding a few of my own herbs and spices, you get traditional Velkian Goat

Stew. It goes well with the bread." He offers you a dense, pumpernickel-esque roll. "Also, BazzyBazzy fruit."

You take a tentative slurp of the soup. It is delicious, deep and hearty with warm, rich undertones.

"This is incredible, I love it." He smiles and the evening flows like wine.

###

After the meal, Arven clears the dishes away and returns with a single carved wooden cup and a tall red gourd. You eye it suspiciously.

Over the last hour, he explained how he met Captain Lian Vummai, shared a hilarious tale about nearly getting stranded with a large pack of wolf dogs on a tropical planet, and offered his own thoughts on the most difficult thing about waking up in the morning. For your part, you shared your adventure solving a murder at a jazz club, talked a bit about your kids and mostly, just enjoyed the bass rumble of his voice as he chuckled at your jokes.

On one hand, it was lovely to simply enjoy a date. It had been too long since you had been woo-ed, at least formally, and this was a welcome oasis of normalcy. But now, he was clearly coming to the purpose for the evening.

He returns to his seat and peers into your eyes.

"Brenna. Tonight has been... well... I have not felt like this in a long time. I was worried..." he takes a slow breath and continues. "I had fears that this would be difficult. Unfortunately, I find it too easy."

You give him a coy smile over your wine glass.

"And what is 'this' exactly?" He gives you a little "hmf" under his breath and then continues.

"In my village, when a man wishes to call upon a maiden of another village, he must travel to her doorstep and offer her a sip of his family's best drink." He tips the red gourd, slowly pouring a thick, almost purple, liquid into the cup.

"If she wishes to be pursued by the man, she takes the cup and drinks half. Then the man drinks the remainder and by sharing a glass, they may begin courting."

"Courting, eh?" You say with a bemused smile. You were hoping for a great deal more than courting for tonight.

"If the woman is not interested, she drains the cup dry and returns to him the empty vessel. He then knows his feelings about her are not returned and may move on."

"Brenna, in the last five years, there has been no one that I have wished to share a drink with. This, an Al'Laquarian Brandy, has sat unused and neglected. Like a part of my life, I thought it would stay there forever. Then I met you. No matter the answer, I know more than ever that this is something I must do."

"Will you share a drink with me?" He asks, handing you the cup.

You take the cup, your mind racing with a thousand thoughts at once.

"I think I need to know a little more about this, what this entails..." you grope for the words. "I have a husband, and other partners."

Arven reaches out and takes your hand in his.

"You are an artist. You appreciate beauty in all its forms. I could no more ask a songbird for silence than ask an artist to forsake all others." He gestures to the cup. "This simply means you are willing to accept myself as a potential suitor."

Satisfied, you take a long deep draught from the cup, draining it halfway. The brandy is hot on your throat and floods your limbs with a brave, bold sort of courage. You stand and hand it back to him.

Arven gazes up at you, in wonder and relief, taking the cup and swirling it once or two. Then, in one smooth movement, he drains the cup.

"Thank you." He says, so much emotion packed into those two words - relief, appreciation, embarrassment, You take his hand and lead him over to his own bed.

"Now, tell me, on Bolaheld, what sort of things do men and women do while they are courting?" You playfully swish your dress back and forth. He reaches down and tips your head back and slowly, firmly, your lips meet.

It feels like all first kisses should feel; electric and filled with yearning for more. You reach up, running your hands through his short cropped brown hair. His lips are soft, yet insistent, finding purchase on your mouth, and throat.

"Do they kiss? Is that what they do?"

You gently push him back onto his own bed and then plant a knee on either side of his legs, pinning him beneath you. God damn, you are so horny. It has been too long,and even longer for Arven.

He puts his one arm back for support as you cradle his head, kissing him long and deep, savoring the faint apple-plum taste of the brandy on his lips. He groans softly into you as you grind against his lap. You feel his erection, hot, thick and throbbing, through his pants.

"Oh gods." he moans, and you feel his member jolt beneath you. Five years without any companionship? You want to make sure he lasts. You pull off his shirt, revealing his chiseled chest, covered with a spider-web of thin white scars.

"Lay back." you command, getting off of him and kneeling by the bed. You quickly undo the latch tabs on his pants, freeing his cock.

It stands, easily almost two hands tall, uncut and dribbling pre-com, with a thick angry looking head. You wrap your hand around the base, right above the balls, and they jump with excitement. He definitely would not last long if you put this Orando-sized monster inside of you. Better to save him the disappointment.

You look up, catching his eyes with a merry twinkle and then slip the head of his cock inside your mouth while slowly jacking the shaft.

"Fuuuuuuccckkk!!!" he moans loud enough to wake the whole deck. Some salty pre-cum burbles into your mouth but you pay it no mind, swirling your tongue around the sensitive head and flicking the slit.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" He cries match your fast pumping hand as his cock swells in your grasp. Here it comes. You jack him faster and faster, your hand becoming a blur. You suck with as much suction as you can provide and then POP pull your mouth off just in time.

"UGNNNNGNN!!!" His eyes roll back in his head as his cock erupts cum into the air, splatting your cheeks, shirt and arms. Thick ropes launch into the air, landing everywhere as wave after wave flows out of him. He gives an almost whimper as the last load oozes free and onto your slowly moving hand. At last, he is done, and you release him prompting another loud groan.

Finally, his muscular chest heaving to catch his breath, he looks down at you.

"Oh Brenna, that was incredible." He moans. "I haven't... it has been a very long time. But you..."

"We are nowhere near done." You grin, pulling off your top and wiping your face and arms with it. He gasps at the revealing of your chest. You give him a saucy smile and slowly unlatch your bra, unveiling your breasts with a dramatic flair.

"You are so beautiful." He says.

"You haven't even seen the best part." You slip out of your skirt and panties, running your fingertips up the inside of your thighs as his eyes drink you in, a thirsty man arriving at an oasis. You do a little pirouette, welcoming the attention.

"Well, how do I compare to the EaterLotus?" You tease.

"Far superior." He replies.

"Good answer." You reply. "Lay down, you have some work to do."

He complies, his broad chest stretched out before you like a canvas. You kiss your way up, stomach, to his tight nipples, to the softness of his throat, till you once again capture his lips. Oh the simple pleasure of rubbing your naked bodies together! It sends electric thrills throughout your body, every spot tingling.

After several moments being absolutely lost in his kisses, you finally break free and place your knees on either side of his head, lower your sex to his face.

His licks greedily, his long tongue delving between your folds, drinking in your nectar and massaging your clit. Now it is your turn to moan and gasp as he swirls faster and faster around your sensitive spot - the pleasure building in waves.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oH fUcK!" you shout, bracing yourself against the wall as you grind down onto him. He takes a pause to trace your outer lips - leaving you growling in frustration but he quickly redoubles his assault and you moan lustily, your voice catching in your throat as the orgasm hits you, blinding white and all encompassing. You shake, your whole body tenses, and then whose, all the air out of your lungs in one go as it sweeps through you.

Arven moans beneath you, enthusiastically lapping up your sweetwater that has coated his face. Slightly embarrassed, you step off, flopping down on the bed next to him. Swift as lighting, he rolls over on top of you, pulling at your leg with his one arm.

"Please." He says urgently, his thick cock pressing against your sensitive lips. You reach down and find him, guiding him into your depths. You watch his face, eyes screwed tight, as his engorged head slips inside you. A look of pure bliss washes over him and you nearly cum a second time just seeing that.

Lifting your legs, you urge him deep with your ankles - pressing softly against his butt. Slowly, inch by agonizing inch, he slides inside you. Full, fuller, oh god!

"Fuuuuuccckkkk... " you moan as he fills you completely, stretching you from the inside. You look down, he still has an inch to go but he doesn't mind. Gently, cautiously, he starts to pull out - the thick head rubbing your clit from the inside, causing you to gasp.

"Do it." You command. And he starts to fuck.

His thrusts are long and deep, grinding against you and pulling a lusty moan from your lips every time he bottoms out. With his one hand, he finds your breasts, pulling at your nipples roughly, causing you to arch your back and squirm like a woman in heat.

"Uhn, uhn, uhn, uhn!" He moans in time with his thrusts, a chorus of satisfaction building in tempo and intensity. You clench him from the inside and his whole body goes stiff. He props himself up on the bed with his arm and just begins jackhammering you, your hips bouncing off the bed from the exertion.

He bottoms out completely, grinding his hips into your sex, his wet pubic bone pushing right against your clit.

There's a sound, a high whining sustained scream and then you realize that is your own voice, screaming your pleasure as you cum for the second time this evening. You lock your legs behind his hips and pull him as deep and tight as you can, scratching the fuck out of his back with your nails.

"AHhhhhhhhhhhh!" He cries out and you feel a swelling and then a gush inside you as he erupts, pushing flow and thick sticky flow deep inside your sex.

"Yesssss" you moan, revealing in the sensation as he contines to thrust, the cum ringing his cock and flowing out of you like a river when he finally pulls out. He gives a shuddering breath, and lays out next to you on the bed, both of you struggling to find your breath.

"So courting, something like that?" You ask with a laugh. He grins.

"Yes, something like that." He replies, absent-mindedly fondling your breasts. The two of you lay in bed for another hour, mummering sweet nothings in each other's ears and exploring your bodies with love and care.

You feel his shoulder stump, smooth to the touch and trace his scars across his chest. He caresses your butt, and lovelingly admires your stomach, beautiful and soft.

Finally, reluctantly, you gather your clothes, and with kisses and promises of future courtship, you climb up the ladder and back to the dark hallway of the Silent Leopard.

As you make your way through the ship, you here the tale-tell clatter of someone rummaging in the mess hall. Poking your head in, you find Chet, stirring a pot of something smelling garlicky.

"Hey." He says awkwardly, ladling some of the material - apparently noodles in broth - into a thick mug and sitting at the table,

"What are you eating?" You ask. He holds up the steaming mug.

"This is Tsang Beatle Soup. The asteroid miners that work at the Malkanair shipfields swear by it. Personally, I think it is a little too salty but it reminds me of home." He pauses and gives you an odd glance.

"Would you like some? I imagine you worked up an appetite." You blush furiously.

"Sorry about that." You go to the pot and ladle yourself a cup. The noodles are broad and flat, like fettuccine and amongst the noodles you see pale white mushrooms.

"Hey, I'm glad the big guy is finally getting some. He's been wound a little too tight since the day I met him."

"Well, I can't promise any changes. After all, I'm not his wife or his girlfriend, just someone who spent the night with him." You try to meet Chet's eyes but find yourself swirling the noodles in the mug.

"Sometimes, that's all it takes. Or so I've heard." Chet smiles. You point towards the device Chet had been fiddling with, a flat tablet looking device with orange and green lights.

"What were you working on?"

He thumbs a button on the device and the panel goes blank.

"Just a letter home to my folks. Jessup, my oldest cousin, just built a second dome at their colony on Malkanier 6. He's hoping that they can convince a few more families to move out there. They are farming Latillium Ore - it has to be grown in crystal farms - so it is hard work but honest. No one to tell you what to do, living on a brand new moon." Chet shakes his head.

"I can see the appeal." You offer. "Have you ever thought of joining them?"

"Sure, loads of times." Chet says. "They would set me up doing all the repair work a new colony requires, and then some. But no. I'm a bolthead, my place is on the deck of a ship, not strapped planet side."

He turns sorrowful for a moment.

"But I do miss them. Once we get paid for this gig, I'll send some home to the cousins to make sure all is well." He slurps his noodles.

"Oh! I nearly forgot." He reaches into his jumpsuit pocket and pulls out a thumb drive shaped device. "Here."

"What is it?" You ask.

"It's a holocron - just plug it into your screen in your room. You are going to the Abhaile cluster, right?" You nod.

"Yes, my boyfriend. I think he got sent there and I need to find him."

"Boyfriend. Right." Chet takes a deep breath. "Anyway, I thought I recognized the name. It's not exactly a popular location but it is where they build and maintain solar skiffs. They were all the rage a few years back - rich folks would bring them to low gravity planets for sport but they fell out of style with the galactic cruiser set because they weren't air tight."

He taps the chip. "In there is an old wave advert I had saved on something else about solar skiffs. It's got some information about the Abhaile cluster - I thought it might be helpful."

You give him a warm smile. "Thank you Chet, that's so thoughtful, I..."

BRAANNNKKK. The whole room jerks sideways as you are thrown from your seat, catapulting over the table and crashing into the cabinets on the opposite side of the mess hall. You bang your head, and shoulders and go tumbling through the air.

Fssshhhh POP! All the lights go out plunging the cabin into darkness as you are still tumbling... ricocheting off one wall and whacking into the ceiling bulkhead. You flail your limbs, suddenly aware of your complete weightlessness as you float through the room in darkness.

"Brenna!" You hear Chet somewhere behind and below your right hip. You twist, squinting in the pitch black, trying to make sense of it. Something hot and wet splashes against your cheek. You give an alarmed cry - blood? No, a little got on your lips. The noodle soup.

BRMMMmmmmmmm. Dim purple emergency lights click on, barely illuminating the mess hall. You are slowly rotating in mid-air, about three feet off the table, as pots, pans and soup droplets float around you.

"Are you okay?" Chet gently pushes off, floating to catch you in his arms. You grab him to steady yourself. "The OmniGrav is off, I need to make sure life support is still working."

"Go, I'll be okay." You say, as convincingly as possible. Chet nods and propels himself out of the galley and down towards the engine room, in determined jaunts.

You push off the ceiling and grasp the handle at the entrance to the galley, pulling yourself down a hallway and towards the bridge.

###

Lia is already there on the bridge, working the instruments in the dim purple emergency lights. Outside the cockpit, the stars slowly rotate as the ship pitches head over tail at a steady pace.

"We hit a tangle net." She says before you have a chance to ask. "Right...there." You see something crackling with white electricity spread out between three asteroids but it quickly rotates out of view.

"I thought we were traveling faster than light." You ask. Lia twirls a knob and peers through a view screen.

"We were. Tangle nets were designed to scoop up escape pods just on the edge of Gyrospace. Apparently we were going just slow enough to be caught."

The speaker box squawks and you hear Arven's deep voice come through. You can't help but blush, remembering the sounds that voice was making not two hours earlier.

"I found Esiar, it looks like she crashed into a bulkhead pretty hard. I'm taking her to the infirmary. Any sign of Brenna?" Your heart beats a little faster at the warm way he says your name. Lia gives you a smirk.

"She's here with me. I was just about to give her the bad news. You stay with Esiar, but stop by the armory first, I think we are going to have company real soon."

"What does that mean?" You ask. Lia points out the windows.

"See any dead ships out there?" You peer this way and that through the ever-rotating field of vision but all you can see is the crackling tangle net between three satellites and a distant flickering binary star.

You shake your head.

"We can't have been the first people to be caught... "

"And if the net hit other ships, where did they go." You complete her thought. "Someone must have taken them. Therefore... "

PING. PING. The instruments light up.

"There." Lia points to a spaceship that suddenly materialized directly adjacent to the net.

"I'm having trouble determining the make of the ship." Lia says. She punches the speaker button. "Confirmed, we've got incoming. Chet, talk to me."

The box crackles and Chet's voice comes through clear.

"They fried our subspace attenuator, and a good chunk of our power grid. I can get fancy with the power grid, but unless we have a working attenuator in hand, I'm not going to be able to get us to Gyrospace for several days."

"Fuck." Lia mutters. "We don't have minutes, much less days." The incoming ship is coming perilously close. You peer at their windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the occupants but no luck.

CLANG! You lurch forward as something stops the ship from rotating. A clamp - extending on a robotic arm from the other ship, holds tight to the Silent Leopard's right wing.