Gateway to the Stars

"There we go!" She claps her hands. "Now, nothing else will come in."

"Come in from where?" You ask.

"Still not entirely sure. From what I can determine, this anomaly is actually a tiny gateway into some adjacent universe. Somewhere like this but where maybe you made different choices and in doing so, an alternate chain of events unfolded."

"A parallel universe?" You offer.

"Yes! I like that term. A parallel universe." Lia nods. "Or maybe several. It seems to be very unstable - you see it pulsing like that? I think it is cycling through other dimensions, that's why the readings are all over the map." Lia pushes buttons on her diagnostic panel irritably.

"But is it intentional?"

Lia turns towards you, an odd glimmer in her eyes.

"Yes - now what would that say about that giant OCC battlestar we saw earlier?" She gives you a lopsided grin.

"Okay, so the other Brenna..."

"Right, sorry." Lia apologizes. "Tell me something to prove that you are the real Brenna." You try your best not to roll your eyes.

"I'm an artist from the planet Earth, you found me while escaping a remote data center and even though you don't want to admit it, you really miss your ex-girlfriend from your academy days." Lia looks a little startled at the last accusation but let's it pass.

"Well, yes, that seems thorough enough. Okay, best warn the others."

Lia punches the comm speaker and is greeted with a belch of static followed by the loud ringing of feedback.

"Shit - the comms are scrambled."

You turn towards the ladder, starting to climb down.

"I don't know what this NotBrenna wants but I need to warn the others." you say.

"Wait! If we run into each other again, we need a code word so I'll know it is you."

You pause, your mind suddenly blanking on any possible ideas.

"How about Elias?" Lia says softly.

"Who is Elias?" You ask.

"Elias Soren. My ex-girlfriend." Lia picks up her tools and starts prying off one of the blasted panels.

"Warn the others, I'll see if I can learn more about the accident and what has happened here so we can fix it."

Facing a clear dismissal from your captain, you climb down the ladder and head into the bowels of the ship.

###

You quickly sweep by the crew quarters to find them all closed up. No, with a big explosion shaking the ship, there's no way Arven would have stayed in his room. And if he didn't come to the bridge, he must have gone to engineering.

Retracing your steps through the roughed up galley, you come to the big blast doors connecting engineering to the ship - sealed shut. Standing on tip-toes, you peek in the porthole.

There is only the central light near the gyrosphere, casting a single spotlight in the large space. Chet is holding on to a railing on the upper ring of the gyrosphere, his head thrown back in ecstasy as the other you kneels before him, sucking his cock.

"Goddamn it! That was, like, five minutes!" You grumble to yourself as Chet grabs a fistful of your hair, thrusting deep into your doppelganger's throat. She seems to take it with enthusiasm, fisting him until you can hear his moans of pleasure through the blast door.

"Evil sex clone?" Esiar says next to you. You jump, immediately pitching off your toes and on to the floor.

"Fuck, Esiar, make some noise or something." You brush yourself off as Esiar peeks through the porthole.

"If it helps, I think her butt is bigger than yours." Esiar says.

"How can you see her butt from here?" You ask angrily and then you hear a chorus of moans from inside. So strange to hear your own voice muffled through the door but you push that aside. "Wait, are they..."

Esiar nods. "She's riding him like a racing Caleq. He is not going to last long like that." You perch up on your tippy toes. Not Brenna is crouching down on top of Chet, her back to you. You watch her hips thrust, butt tensing as rocked his hips with a fierce rhythm. Chet reaches up, squeezing her tits as she does little figure eights with her hips. You see him buck off the floor, his toes beginning to curl.

Next to you, Esiar punches the keypad but the door refuses to budge. "This is locked solid. I can get through it but it is going to take a little time."

"Hold up." You touch her arm. "How did you know it was an evil sex clone?" Esiar laughs.

"I saw her earlier - the other you, that is. She was in the galley talking to Arven. She was whispering in his ear, all sorts of sexy talk about safewords, and doing the dirty and all that. She was all over him, stroking him through his pants. Whatever she promised him must have sounded good, he looked like he was in seventh heaven and immediately rushed off."

"But how did you know..."

Esiar rolls her eyes. "Have you seen you? You are gorgeous, you wouldn't need to throw yourself at anyone, much less Arven who you've already started sleeping with." Her raised eyebrow gave you just the hint of accusation. "Your body double? She was all over him. That was the dead giveaway."

She punches you in the arm. "Don't worry about it, it happens. You travel space enough and there's always some shapeshifter or cloned daughter aged to be you waiting for you around the corner. When you find another you running around, you have basically three options."

She starts ticking them off on her gloved fingers.

"You can fuck them, you can kill them, or you can lock them up and try and science yourself back together." She pulls out a small laser tool from her belt and goes to work on the keypad mechanism. "And personally, I'm a fan of #1 and #2."

"You mean or?"

She grins. "And."

You hear a strangled moan of pleasure from beyond the door and then a clatter of machinery.

You peer through the porthole but the light has been extinguished and you can't make anything out in the darkened chamber.

"Fuck, she killed the lights." You say.

"I'm working on it." Esiar snaps, prying off the panel and cranking a small lever inside.

You unhook your ReelNet and bend your knees. With a strained hiss, the blast doors pry open in the middle, enough for you to step through.

"Go!" Esiar calls, drawing a laser pistol from her boot. The two of you jog into the space. You hear a groan from somewhere near your feet.

Esiar thumbs the overhead lights on and you see Chet, completely naked, moaning on the floor, clutching a bloody head wound on his brow.

"Oh Chet!" You rush over to help him. Dimly, his unfocused eyes find yours and he scrambles back, struggling to balance before slipping on his own sweat and falling back on the floor.

"Stay away!' He shouts, fumbling for some sort of tool or weapon from his tool bench.

"I'm on it." Esiar says, sweeping past you to grab Chet. "Hey you bolthead, it's me. It's Esiar, I got you." She takes him in her arms and then talks to you over his shoulder.

"Go find her!" She says. "Now!" You glance towards the back door of engineering, the only other way out, and race through the door, ReelNet at the ready.

You race through the narrow access corridor connecting engineering, the cargo bay and the myriad of crawl spaces throughout the ship. You peer into the darkness, using the glowing of your ReelNet as a spotlight as best you can but no crouching Brenna threatens to jump at you from the access panels.

Cautiously, you step into the darkened cargo bay, sweeping your weapon from the left to right methodically looking for trouble.

BOWwowowowhissss. A glowing net descends from above, wrapping up your arms and pinning you to the floor of the cargo bay. BOWwowowowhisss. A second net secures your legs, wide spread, as the paralytic effect keeps your body stuck in place.

The Brenna That is Not slowly descends from the vaulted ceiling, the WHOOSH of her chrome boots filling the air with an ominous hiss.

"Well well, about time we had a talk." Your double says, a cruel smile twisting your all too familiar features.

"What do you want?" You ask, struggling futilely against your restraints.

"Lots of things really." She answers. "A better fucking house. The respect due to a professional of my experience and talents." Her hands begin patting down your body, feeling around your chest and hips. "The exact coordinates of the Lost Ones home world. Damnit, you don't have it."

She stands up, scratching her head in irritation.

"Don't have what?" You ask.

"The bracelet, the fucking bracelet. It is a Bravidian transceiver - it has the coordinates for their world, we can't find it without. Fuck. Quilp is going to be so fucking pissed."

"What does Daniel Quilp have to do with this?" You ask. She gives you an irritated look.

"He's our boss. And if I get this right, my new business partner. Goodbye boring broke Brenna, hello billionaire witch."

She looks at a wrist mounted device.

"Okay, since I disabled the thrusters and the gyrosphere offline, we should have about thirty minutes before our orbit decays and we fall into the star. That should keep my shipmates off my back for a while. Plenty of time to search your quarters and catch my ride out of here."

She glances down at you. "You are probably wondering why I'm monologuing here - we've both seen the Incredibles," she gives a short, barking laugh. "That's because you will have your hands full while I'm gone. In fact," she turns her head. "I think that I hear Arven now."

You open your mouth to call out but she is there in a flash, pushing a thick clothing into your mouth and tying it behind your head, gagging you.

You give a frustrated scream but your doppelganger shrugs her perfect shoulders and WHOOSHes up into the rafters, killing the lights on her way out, leaving you only illuminated by the glowing nets restraining your feet and hands.

You are pinned solid.

"Brenna?" You hear Arven's voice carrying through the dark cargo bay. "I have made myself ready."

You give a muffled cry through your gag. He turns, rushing to your side, drinking in your predicament with his eyes - his metal arm gleaming in the flickering light of the nets.

He grins, a hungry sort of look, and tears your shirt open, baring your breasts to the air. You cry out in fear and alarm as he roughly pulls at your chest, rubbing the nipples till they stand tall and proud in the air.

"Yes! Just like taking a maid on the field of battle!" His touch is rough but never cruel.

You writhe, trying to twist away from his touch but he keeps going. Brandishing some attachment from his metal arm, he slices away your shirt and leggings and then with his human hand, he rips the garments from your body.

You scream, in anger and frustration and yes, arousal. He licks a finger and slides it in and out of your sopping wet pussy. Skillfully, he starts working your clit, as you twist this way and that, helpless and restrained. He's already undoing his pants, holding himself up with his metal arm and lining up his throbbing cock with his human arm.

Your breath is coming in gasps through the gag. He rubs his cock up and down your slit and your whole body convulses - you tug helplessly at your restraints. He gives you a smug grin and pushes himself inside.

You groan as his thick head wedges itself inside your tight pussy. Thank god you were already so excited. By the time he pushes the rest of his cock inside you, you are already well on your way to your first mini-orgasm.

He thrusts deep inside you, relishing the sensations as you struggle against him. SMACK! He slaps the side of your breasts, pulling at your hips urgently.

You moan, loud and lewd, as he fucks you and you fuck him right back, grinding agianst him as much as your restraints will allow.

The pressure builds and builds. He leans in and sucks greedily at your breasts before arching back. His chest flush with excitement, eyes blazing You gasp -as the electric charge of an orgasm jolts through you - rare without direct stimulation but with the situation you were almost there before he entered you.

SLAP SLAP SLAP. Your hips bounce on the floor of the deck as he's thrusts become more and more urgent and then he cries out, eyes screwed tight, and unloads a hot throbbing load deep inside you

After a moment, he slides out of you, content. He gives you a warm smile and gently pulls aside your gag, leaning in for a kiss.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" You shout in his face.

###

"... I should have checked, but my passion for you..." Arven is talking but you are already racing through the bowels of the ship.

"If, in my lust, I have caused you injury..." Arven begins again but you wave him off.

"Talk later, we need to find my evil clone..."

"Your evil SEX clone," Esiar interjects, joining you as the three of you stride through the ship. You give her an irritated glare.

"Did you find Chet?" You ask. "Is he okay?"

"Well, he's got the stupidest grin on his face and a big lump on his head, but he'll be fine when he wakes up."

CREEEEANNCH. The whole ship lurches to the right and for a moment, the three of you are weightless for a moment, floating for a single, clenching moment before your feet slam back to the deck.

"Fuck." You mutter. "She sabotaged our engines - said we've got thirty minutes before we fall into the star." Esiar shakes her head.

"That doesn't make any sense. Even without the thrusters or Gyrodrive, we've still got the planetary stabilizers or hell, venting some air through the side ports. Lia should be able to keep us safe from the bridge."

Arven grimaces.

"If Lia's still alive." He says grimly. He punches the intercom button on the nearby panel.

"Lia. Lia, come in."

"... "

There's a crackle of static and then a click.

"Hey Arven." Your voice pours out of the speaker box, oily and strange. "Sorry I missed our date in the cargo bay. I'd make it up to you, personally, but I am on a tight schedule here, so we are all going to need to work together."

You leap over to the intercom.

"I don't know who or what you are, but you have taken my face and are hurting people..."

"Cut the bullshit Brenna. You aren't pissed I roughed up Chet, you are pissed that I fucked him first. Don't worry, babe, he moaned your name when he came." You are seething but Esiar jumps in.

"What is your name?" Esiar asks, her hand on your arm, soothing and supportive.

"Oh you can call me Brenna, just like your shipmate. Except more daring." There's a hiss and a clang somewhere echoing behind notBrenna's voice.

"She's sealed the bridge blast door." Esiar whispers.

"Listen up," notBrenna begins. "In 17 minutes, this ship and everyone inside of it is going to crash into thie star and die a horrible flaming death. Every single one of us - burnt to a crisp unless someone brings me the Bravidian Transceiver. Once activated, I can confirm the coordinates for my husband Daniel, and then adios. You go your way, I go mine. No funny business, no double-cross."

Esiar looks troubled and vaguely guilty. Arven punches the intercom button.

"We understand - talking about it now." and then with a click, shuts it off.

"With those blast doors closed, we aren't going to be able to shoot our way in." Arven says.

"I could hotwire the door - or maybe cut my way in with a photon slicer." Esiar offers, "But both of those would take time."

"We don't have time." You say.

"We could give her what she wants..." Esiar begins but Arven interrupts.

"Spacewalk." He says.

Esiar's eyes light up. "Yes!" And she takes off down the corridor, the two of you running to keep up.

"What do you mean spacewalk?" You ask but Arven and Esiar are already arguing.

"If she sees you, you would be a sitting duck." Esiar begins.

"That's why we've got to keep her occupied. We could start breaking down the blastdoor to create a distraction."

"It would need to look good - she's got the cameras in there, she would see us working."

The three of you arrive in the space locker as Esiar begins pulling a spacesuit out.

"So we go outside the ship to get to the cockpit?" You ask. Esiar nods.

"With the blast bolts, Arven should be able to crack open the main hatch and drop down on her." She pauses suddenly.

"Except, if she sees you and I outside the blast door, she's going to know that Arven is trying to get to her. And I'm going to need to be there to hotwire the door..."

She hands you the helmet. Your heart is pounding in your ears.

"Well, fuck." You say.

###

zzzzKACHUNK. zzzzKACHUNK. The magnetic boots stick and unstick from the hull in a steady rhythm as Esiar's words echo in your ears.

"Thirty paces straight from the airlock. When you reach the curve of the ship, turn left 90 degrees. You will need to climb over the main thruster and then go until you see the cockpit on your right. And whatever you do, just keep your eyes on the ship."

The metal hull stretches out before you, a pockmarked field of pipes and interconnected plating, forming a surreal landscape. Behind you, the star blazes, too bright to look at but even through your spacesuit, you can feel the heat.

zzzzKACHUNK. zzzzKACHUNK. Steady. One foot in front of the other. Right now, Esiar and Arven are unleashing holy hell on the blast door outside the cockpit. Arven had stopped by the armory and was set to make it look good. The notBrenna needed to be entirely focused on that door and not looking up.

Looking up, your eyes flit up to the endless expanse of stars, a yawning dark abyss. In that moment, the vastness grabs you, lifting your weightless body and threatening to pull you off into the darkness but you jerk your eyes back to the ship's hull - your heart pounding in your ears.

zzzKACHUNK. zzzzKACHUNK. You try to steady your breathing, but it comes in ragged heaves. Your gloved hands twist around the blastbolt launcher - a long thin tube, not unlike a caulk gun. Steady as it goes, just one foot in front of the other.

The Silent Leopard stretches out in front of you - seeming both mammoth and small at the same time. The only sound is your boots and your own heavy breathing in your ears.

Finally, you reach the curve of the ship and turn left. The main thruster bulges out from the deck of the ship, obscuring the view of your path. You take a deep breath and set your foot on the surface of the thruster.

zzzzzzzzzzzKACHUNK. The boot magnitizes and you make your way up the incline. You crest the hill and gasp.

To your right, you can see the cockpit, it's polarized windows glittering in the starlight. To your left, the writhing black ichor, wet and filled with needle-like protrusions, eating away at the hull of the ship.

"Shit." It looks like a pretty decent-sized patch of the ship, and as you approach, it seemed to stretch out towards you, inching along the hull towards your boot. You take a cautious step back.

RIPPP sssssssssss. There's a sharp pain in your thigh, right above the knee on your right leg and all sorts of green warning lights start blaring inside your helmet. You've been struck! Some flying bit of space debris has ripped through your suit. You look down in horror at the air leaking out into space, wafting up around you like smoke.

"Oxygen at 78%." Your helmet announces in a suspiciously cheering voice. "Please return to the ship for repairs."

You fumble to try and hold the hole closed but it continues to leak. Shit shit shit. You feel wet dripping down your knee and hope that it is a superficial wound. You look back towards the cockpit. Your only hope.

zzzKACHUNK. zzzKACHUNK. zzzKACHUNK. You are hobbling as fast as you can away from the ichor and towards the cockpit. Your leg is wobbly, sending jolts of pain through to your hip at every step but you push on.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see movement and you glance up to see something - yes a ship - moving towards the Silent Leopard.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... shit! You miss your step, the magnetic boot does not connect with the hull and you flail your limbs wildly, letting go of the blastbolt launcher.