Into the Deep

Maya was laughing with joy. I watched her, smiling, as she floated effortlessly in the deep turquoise liquid, her arms and legs spread wide. I had been hesitant to receive my company's gift of a holiday to this secluded, luxurious planet, but now I was happy we'd accepted.

The planet Oasis had been discovered ages ago, its transformation to a high end resort was a more recent development. The planet had no land masses, it was wholly covered by turquoise, opaque liquid, which couldn't quite be called water. Scans hadn't revealed any lifeforms in its unmeasurable depths. The liquid itself contained multitudes of minerals that supposedly did wonders to one's skin. It was salty enough to easily float a person, like it did to Maya now - I could see the front of her body arching above the surface, the smooth islands of her breasts, tummy and thighs glistening in the evening light. Her dark hair formed a morphing halo around her head, flowing like seaweed. She looked at me and I felt my heart twitch.

"Come on in!" She said. "It's wonderful!"

Who could turn down an invitation like that? I stripped, hesitated for a while and decided to leave my underwear on. On a rational level I knew there were no threats here, but I still didn't feel comfortable exposing my dick to the unknown depths. I had read an unsettling article about how one of the early explorers of the planet had disappeared. I had shown it to Maya, but she just laughed and told me I was too gullible and shouldn't believe everything I read.

Maya had jumped right in, squealing with joy when she had almost bounced back from the viscous liquid, but I descended more gingerly via the stairs at the edge of our raft's terrace. Our quarters were quite comfortable; there was a standard sustenance module for food assembly and hygiene, sizable bedroom and living area with big windows and selection of entertainment both sexually and otherwise, and absolutely nothing else. I hadn't lived this spaciously in all my life, and I suspected the same was true for Maya. Space stations and colonies tended to be scant in that regard.

Our "Love Shack" was but one of many, scattered along the surface of the planet to maximise privacy. We were told the raft would follow our identity chips, so we could float freely or even swim, and the raft would follow our movements. For the weak of faith there were "panic ropes" attached to the edge of the platform, and I grabbed one before sliding over to where Maya was.

She smiled, her deep blue eyes twinking, echoing the hue of the water and sky without quite matching with either of them. Setting sun made her skin glow golden. She didn't mock me for grabbing the rope, for which I was grateful.

"Come on, try it," she urged. "Just float, here, let me show you."

Her slim hands felt slick on my skin as she gently guided me to lay down. She cradled the back of my head, sliding her other hand along my back, persuading my body to relax. Her fingers lingered at the small of my back, on the triangle plateau before the arch of my glutes, and I remembered how she had said she loved that spot.

She eased her hand from my head slowly, slid it down the side of my arm and settled to float beside me, her fingers crossing with mine. I held her on one hand and the panic rope the other, closed my eyes and tried to relax.

Liquid was warm, almost exactly body warmth, and felt pleasantly smooth against my skin. There wasn't much difference between water and air, just enough for me to feel the line along my body. There was no sound; rafts were motorized but ours wasn't moving, and the other ones were far, far away.

The Oasis was a popular honeymoon destination for the wealthier part of the population all across the galaxy. The less wealthy favored the space spa on the planet's orbit. When The Oasis Company had begun to experiment with love shacks, they had realized they needed to compensate for the added mass they introduced to the planet to maintain it's delicate balance. They had withdrawn the corresponding mass of water to their orbiting establishment, providing access to the planet's rejuvenating waters to those who couldn't afford this level of luxury. There were medical appliances, rumors of incurable conditions being cured by soaking in planet's water, but mostly it was used for decadent indulgence.

I couldn't have afforded this luxury, and neither did Maya. My employer had been most gracious to reward my recent project's success with a standard week in this paradise.

I hadn't often been on the surface of planets as open as this. I was used to the confined spaces of space ships, stations on more hostile planets, my quarters on my home station; my work took me on long stretches of stays on different environments, depending on where my skills were most required, and on some I'd had the privilege of getting somewhat used to open spaces. Still, I felt better with my eyes closed, when I could imagine walls surrounding me.

Time lost its relevance. Universe narrowed down to Maya's hand holding mine, with a side note of my hand holding the rope, then expanded again to the vast and complex ensemble it was, with a strong feeling of us being in the center of it. When I couldn't take any more, I opened my eyes to see the system's star was setting, bathing the vast mass of liquid in gentle pink and gold hues.

I turned to Maya, she turned to me, and slowly we wove around each other, kissing.

I had known about Maya for a long time. With as few genetically functional individuals as there was, and as much data and match markers, I'd always had a short list of possible partners. After we'd both reached adulthood we had contacted each other, gotten to know each other, even made love transmitted by sex bots. None of that came even close to this, her slick naked skin against mine, her breath on the wet skin on my shoulder.

"Yuck," she said and spat into the sea, laughing. "That tastes horrible!"

I laughed with her. "Maybe we should take this inside?"

"Oh we definitely should," she said and towed me inside.

We made slow, sweet love for most of the night. Afterwards, she slept and I held her. She was strong, witty, independent, but in her sleep she curled close to me and felt small and vulnerable. I breathed in the scent of her skin and felt deep contentment.

-#-#-#-#-#-

The days blended into each other instantly. Everything stayed the same, feeling like the most wonderful dream I'd ever had. Me and Maya mapped each other, perpetually winding up for sex or winding down from it, making discoveries and sometimes surprising even ourselves. I was really falling in love with her, something I'd anticipated from the very early days of our communication, and my mind envisioned a shiny, glimmering future for us. Maya's assignment was coming to an end, and we had agreed she would accompany me from now on. We would be together for real.

We talked about children. Not many could get pregnant naturally, but by all medical indications we had an actual chance, and of the many available medical aids many produced offspring almost as vital as the natural way. We shared memories from our childhoods, imagined what our kids would look like, who they would grow up to be. We laughed a lot.

One night I woke up in an empty bed. I went from drowsiness to full-blown panic in five seconds, the time it took me to check Maya wasn't in the toilet. Even when I stormed outside and found her alive and well, peacefully floating in the water, I couldn't shake the dread.

Sky was ablaze with stars. With zero light pollution they were almost as bright and dazzling as in outer space, and the still, calm surface reflected the vast blackness and the glimmering lights faithfully. In the middle of it was Maya, her form a lighter entity amongst the inky black, the islands of her body bobbing gently up and down, in sync with her breathing.

She didn't notice me for a long time. She turned on her tummy and swam further, with long, languid strokes. Our shack followed her quietly, keeping a respectful distance, just as advertised. She tried to dive, but came up like a cork again because the water was so salty. Her laugh echoed over the waters, tingling and happy.

She hadn't acknowledged me, but didn't seem surprised when I glided to her, bashfully holding the panic rope. She just wrapped herself around me and we looked at each other, starlight glimmering in our eyes.

"Listen," she whispered and guided me to a floating position, my ears in the water, taking my free hand like every time we floated together.

The night sky was stunning, absolutely breathtaking. We were immersed in the wonderful, soothing waters of this mystery planet. I heard faint swishing, supposedly the blood in my ears, and small movement noises from Maya beside me, and absolutely nothing else. This planet was so quiet it was unnerving, and we often put on ambient space station sounds when we slept, so that we could truly relax.

"Do you hear it?" She whispered, when we got upright again, her eyes shining with elation.

"I don't hear anything," I said. "What do you mean?"

"You're shitting me!"

"Am not. What are you hearing?"

"That... that... singing! Like a choir, rising and diminishing. Seriously, are you pulling my leg?"

She didn't seem to be joking. I went down again and strained my hearing. According to our medical data, our sense of hearing was virtually identical. I heard absolutely nothing.

I came upright, shaking my head, sprinkling droplets around me. Maya's wet hair glimmered with the first rays of the rising sun, and we floated, watching each other, as the light gradually grew around us, dimming the stars.

She didn't say another word. We went inside, through the shower, into the living area. She pushed me to sit on the couch, beside the floor-to-ceiling window, and straddled my legs. I wrapped my arms around her and we kissed, urgently. She pressed her soft breasts against my chest, and my dick grew hard, stretching between us. She pressed against it, grinding, and I could feel her wetness, sweeter than all the magical water surrounding us.

She broke the kiss, gripping my shoulders and pressing her head against mine. Her breath was hot against my ear, as she gasped, moving her hips, searching. She was ready, she was wet and eager, and when she started to lower herself on my equally hot and ready organ, she held her breath and I could feel her fluttering around my head. She halted for a second, then breathed out in a huff and pressed all the way down, grinding against me in small circles, still quivering.

"Did you just come?" I asked, astonished.

"Mm-mh," she admitted. She still held her head close to mine, keeping up the grind.

She was wonderful. There were times she got herself so worked up it would happen like this, she would orgasm from the smallest stimulus. In all honesty, I could take no credit for it, but it made my heart swell with pride and tenderness. I held her tighter, as she tensed and came again, this time slowly pulsing along the length of my shaft.

That's the way I would always remember her. Her warm body close in my arms, undulating on my hard cock, her fingers gripping my hair, her gasping breath on my neck.

"Oh, darling," I whispered and lowered her to the couch, keeping inside her. "Oh, my darling."

I started to move, her legs around me, guiding me, encouraging me. I wanted to keep doing this forever, make her come again and again. I angled my entry a little differently, taking a hold under one of her knees to keep her pelvis in position, and felt my consciousness falling into her eyes. She stared at me, the deep blue ponds of her eyes wide and unscrutinable, and she whispered, "Do you love me? Will you always love me?"

"I do," I breathed. "I will."

We joked a lot, her humor was dry and witty as was mine, but this was as far from humor as anything I've ever been a part of. I managed to hit her favorite spot, I could see it from her tortured, agonizingly blissful expression, hear it in the small breaths she left out. I grew harder, poking her ever deeper. She arched her back and moaned, breaking the eye contact - she was deep in herself now. I watched her, fueling her sensations the best I could. Her neck and chest blushed brilliant red, and she came once more, in earthquake-like spasms.

I had planned on drawing this out, changing positions, but now I could not. I fucked her through her orgasm, mine hurrying to catch hers. I don't think I've ever been as turned on in my life, before or after. My movement fit her pulsing exactly, and when I came, I felt her tunnel milking my cum, insistent rhythmical movements ensuring I got as deep into her as anything ever had.

She reached for my head with both hands, pulling me by the hair to push my forehead in the pillow, my temple against her head.

"Do you think that got me pregnant?" She whispered into my ear.

My cock twitched, deep inside her. Love flooded my mind and my body. It was the single most perfect moment of my life.

-#-#-#-#-#-

The next morning, on a day that was to be the day of our departure, I woke up alone. Maya wasn't anywhere in the shack, she wasn't in the water around the shack, and despite the ensuing massive investigation, she was never found.

The Oasis Company insisted it wasn't possible for anyone to get away from the shack, that the raft was always going to follow the chips it had been paired up with; that if the couple decided to swim in different directions, the shack would follow one and herd them towards the other. Extensive field tests were done on the AI controlling the shacks by an impartial party, and this was found to be true. The water was so salty it wasn't possible for her body to sink under. There was no trace of an aircraft, not physical residue nor entries in any of the flight control system's logs. Identity chips were supposedly failproof, but hers was never tracked again, anywhere in the known universe.

I was briefly under the suspicion of having done something to her myself. I suspect my heartbreak was genuine enough to free me of charges, in addition to the fact that I had no more means to hide her body, or disable her chip, than any hostile party.

Soon after returning home I received results for Maya's last physical, showing early signs of the slowly progressing, incurable disease her bloodline was prone to, and I wondered if she had known.

Eventually, there was no choice but to sign off the investigation as unresolved. A mystery.

I moved on, in a fashion. I mourned for the longest time, but eventually I paired again. Molly was nice, and after politely courting each other for a few years, we married. Despite the meticulously calculated genetic match we didn't succeed in having children, even with the assisted ways we were willing to try, but we shared our lives for many years, quite content.

Times grew harder after the war started. The Oasis Company, which had recovered amiably enough from the scandal of displacing Maya, went bankrupt when customers could no longer afford their services. The spa fared a bit longer, then closed as well. My company flourished in supporting the war effort, but assignments grew steadily less satisfying and more dangerous, and there was no more talk of compensation such as our honeymoon had been. My skills were appreciated, and the company offered to treat me to anti-aging procedures, generally unattainable to the public now that war depleted all resources. I considered, but after Molly got killed in a shuttle accident, I didn't really have the motivation.

Eventually, I retired. My company was reluctant to let me go, reluctant to the extent of trying to stop me from leaving. By that time I was so tired of them I simply escaped. I arranged to be smuggled out of the station, even when I knew I would have to keep running for the rest of my life. I invested most of my life savings on my flight, and while negotiating the details a destination came to me, clear as day. The deep space scoundrel shook his head in disbelief, but my money was good and he was a man of his word, however crooked. So it was that I came back to Oasis.

They convinced me to take a communicator, and promised to wait for me on the orbit for two weeks. I suppose they didn't believe me, when I said I wasn't leaving.

The abandoned love shacks still float around the mild, strandless oceans of the Oasis, and now the whole planet has the population count of one.

Me.

-#-#-#-#-#-

I sit on the edge of the terrace, my feet in the warm, smooth water. The shacks aren't fueled anymore, so there's no food synthesizing and the sanitation section is inoperational. No matter, I won't be here long enough to need them. I sigh, letting my eyes sweep the endless horizon. I guess I should feel something; dread, regret, maybe anticipation.

I feel old and disillusioned. Nothing else.

When it is finally completely dark, I get up and remove my clothes. I leave them in a graceless pile on the terrace, next to the unused communicator. I consider the stairs leading into the water, then decide to do something differently, for the first and last time of my life. I take a few hurried steps, not quite running, my heartbeat accelerating in frightened delight, and jump into the water. It bounces me back way more quickly than what I've used to in different swimming facilities, and I laugh, alone in the darkness.

I swim farther, away from the shack. I don't turn to check, but I'm certain it stays where it is. There's no fuel for it to follow me, AI has been long turned off; it's just a buoyant, lifeless object now.

I swim until it feels like enough. I turn to float, letting my body relax and my mind fill with the multitude of stars above me. I dissolve, I fill with the space, I'm completely still. I close my eyes.

I can hear music. Faint echoes of voices, rising and descending, singing in harmony. It gets closer, or louder, I can't tell which; it fills my mind with wonder and admiration.

She takes my hand, her slim fingers gently interleaving with mine.