Lost Ark Ch. 03

At the edge of his vision Danton spotted Lissa seating herself at the room's one terminal. Did it bother her that her ex-boyfriend was in the middle of sex just a few meters away? Was she just making best use of the time available? One of the vending machines made a beep. Had Lissa done something?

"Kyle," Jade said softly, bringing Danton's attention back. She had taken him fully now, and was leaning closer. Her hips began to gyrate, but she kept her face pressed near his. "This feels so good right now. Your cock is so deep."

Again, they kissed. Jade pressed her full lips against his, greeted his tongue, then kissed down his neck. A wave of delicate sensations passed over Kyle - tongue, lips, a teasing nibble, a lick, another kiss. When she reached his ear she whispered, "take me however you want. I'm yours, your toy. My body is just for you. My wet pussy." Her hips were merciless, twisting and sliding on top of him, driving him ever closer to release.

Her breasts were perfect. With Jade doing all the work of moving their bodies together, Danton was free to explore her. He found a heavy breast and tugged at it, eliciting a moan. Her skin was warm and silken, her nipples firm. When he tugged harder she moaned again. Her hair spun in a cloud around him.

Orgasm loomed. It had been much like this with Amber. Danton had laid back in the tub, letting the blonde mount and ride him. The clone had assessed him carefully, observing his reaction, how close he was to release. Only at the very end had she eased up, drawing out the final moments, riding him as he came. He easily could allow himself to be led through the same script. In less than a minute he would cum, with Jade dutifully seeing him through to completion. This time Danton craved more control.

"I want to take you from behind."

"Yes," Jade whispered. She dismounted and offered herself to him on her hands and knees. "Whatever you want."

Danton entered her, marveling at the compact and inviting landscape of Jade's body. Perfectly round hips, the furrow of her tight back, slim arms, and the careless spray of jet hair around her face, spilling across the sheets. He picked up his rhythm, savoring her deliciously slick and snug slit.

"Oh Kyle," Jade moaned. "I want to cum with you."

It wasn't something Amber would have said. Jade had been programmed for sex, but just like Li had hinted, her own desires and drives weren't subservient. Nor was Kyle content merely to pump her until he unloaded. Without pulling out, he guided Jade to her side and spooned her from behind.

"Yeah," he panted into her ear, "lose yourself with me. Squeeze my cock when you cum." He brushed her hair out of the way and kissed the back of her neck, then her ear.

"Kyle, oh please." Jade's eyes had closed, her lips were parted. "Yes, your body against me, your hands."

The two couldn't have been closer. Danton's face was buried in Jade's hair, tickled and caressed by her scent. His cock, which had been lazily shifting between stiff and merely firm, was now at peak hardness. As he pumped her, Danton also fondled and tugged on Jade's breasts, teasing and gently pinching her nipples.

Jade wriggled back against him. "Harder," she whispered. "Do that harder while you fuck me."

His breath hot in Jade's ear, Danton happily complied. From his position behind her, he watched Jade's reaction to his touch. The brunette was whispering a string of soft sighs, her brow wrinkling when he took her especially deep, or pinched her nipples hard. Her body was trembling.

"You're so gorgeous," Danton whispered. He meant it; in the grip of ecstasy Jade's face was lit with a beautiful glow.

"I'm yours, Kyle. Cum with me, please. I need it."

"I'm so close, Jade." His thrusts had become slower as Danton stretched out the moment, trying to align his own orgasm with Jade's. When he felt her pussy clenching around his cock, he knew she was on the brink.

They came together. Kyle let out a protracted groan as he went rigid. He held her sweet, soft body against his while the Asian beauty let out a series of ecstatic cries. He buried his face in her hair, pressing his lips against her neck and cheek. Jade must have felt his every gasp just as Danton felt every little spasm that shook her body. One pulse of cum after another saturated her tight slit as she writhed in his arms.

"Kyle, oh god," Jade moaned. "You're... I love..." she began before pausing, then finishing the thought, "I love your cock."

She had certainly experienced a powerful orgasm. As Danton's own ecstasy subsided he remained hard long enough to savor Jade's insides for another half minute. The young woman's pussy was drenched not just with his cum but also the slickness of her own arousal. Still, for a moment he wondered if Jade had almost said she loved him, not just his cock. Lissa had spoken of feeling a spark of something beyond sexual chemistry with Skye. What had he just experienced with Jade?

Remembering Lissa, Danton looked up to find her staring at him. Her eyes swept over the panting couple, their limbs still entwined. She didn't look angry. Rather Lissa appeared lost in thought.

Finally, with his cock softening, Danton pulled out of Jade. Immediately she turned to face him, wrapping him in her arms. She kissed his mouth and neck, while her pillowy breasts pressed against him insistently. For a moment he wondered if the clone planned to release him, then the vending machine emitted another beep. It made a sharp mechanical sound, followed by a hollow rattle.

"Vitamin!" Jade said suddenly. In the space of a single heartbeat the young woman who had been embracing him so urgently sprung to her feet and dashed toward the vending machine. Danton watched in confusion as she clawed at the dispenser tray, pulling forth a capsule which she immediately began to chew. "Ooooh," she moaned, sagging onto the floor. Danton was forgotten.

"Juice," Lissa said flatly. "That was Juice."

She was right, Danton realized. Jade had answered the vending machine's call. It hadn't been enough for Bauer, Ford, and Nkosi to produce the narcotic and hormonal drug, they had clearly programmed Jade to seek it out when she heard the chime.

"Fuck," Danton muttered. He was still groggy from his session with Jade, but Lissa was trying to get his attention.

"Kyle," she hissed, "get your shit, get dressed." Lissa shot a nervous glance first at Jade then back at Lance. "We have to go."

Still perplexed, but alarmed by Lissa's remark, Danton tugged on his flight suit and shoes. As soon as he stood up, Lissa dragged him back the way they had come. "Look!"

Behind them, Lance had ambled over to the vending machine, exploring the dispenser slot first with hope, then disappointment.

"Here," Lissa said, again with urgency. She led him back through the door to the kitchen, closing it behind them. Her face was lit with concern.

"What?"

"Look," Lissa said. She set her datapad on one of the tables and brought up its video library. "I was able to copy several files while you were with Jade. Kyle, this didn't exactly end well."

If Lissa was at all bothered by Danton's blissful, emotional session with Jade she didn't show it. "Didn't end well, how?" he asked.

"Watch for yourself." Lissa pressed play on one of the videos.

The setting was Bauer's quarters in the second segment. Danton recognized the more compact conference table in the background. The man himself was hunched awkwardly close to the camera, a haggard expression on his face. The light was even but dim, washing the color out of his skin and eyes. Bauer drew in a deep breath as if trying to compose himself before speaking.

"Nkosi is dead," he began. It was obvious from his pained expression that Bauer was still grieving. "He was using Juice, which is partly my fault. Ford designed it for the clones, but Mason and I had a competition going, how many times could you fuck in twenty four hours." Here Bauer's expression became even more twisted by grief. "With Juice it's easy to keep an Amber along for the ride. I had done ten in a day. Mason topped it at eleven, then I leapfrogged him with twelve. But beyond twelve it's almost impossible. Even with Ford's supplements there's just a limit to how many times a man can perform. Then Mason got the idea that Juice might help. He took the male version and reached fourteen."

Bauer paused, leaning away from the camera and casting his eyes about the room as if he expected someone else to join him. He looked more lost and defeated than Danton could remember from any previous video. "Well," he began again, "a week later he took it again and fucked sixteen times in twenty-four hours. It was all he did. Each time it took him longer to get off. He had to use two Ambers, and when it was over he could barely speak. I have no idea how many doses of Juice he had taken." Bauer shook his head sadly at the recollection. "The next day he was already talking about trying again. I tried to tell him he had won, not to do it, but he was obsessed. He had become addicted and I didn't even realize it."

At this point Bauer stood and paced restlessly, sometimes disappearing from the shot. Eventually he reappeared with a drink in hand. "I found him," Bauer said, seating himself once more. "He was in bed, unresponsive, and hard. His last words were 'Twenty, Tobias!'" Bauer shook his head, allowing a hint of a smile to reach his lips. "Here's to you," he said, raising his glass. "Here's to Mason 'Twenty' Nkosi."

The video faded to black.

Lissa gawked at the screen before at last blurting out, "Was there ever a more hedonistic and doomed group?"

"Bauer, Nkosi, and Ford were destined to find each other," Danton said. "And I suppose we should throw in Li, too. He may have suffered a crisis of conscience, but only after he helped build a collection of cloned sex slaves."

"Only Bauer and Ford were left, then," Lissa muttered.

"An odd duo. Ford had all the personality of a test tube compared to Bauer."

"She liked dick, though," Lissa reminded him.

Danton recalled the video of Ford offering herself to the two Rods for a three-way. "That she did. I wonder if Bauer knew that, if that's one of the inducements he offered her to come on this mission."

"Continue your illegal pharmacology research while getting unlimited dick."

"You can't argue that you didn't get a hell of a story, Liss'."

Lissa nodded, but remained curiously silent.

"What?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking... how much time do we have?"

Danton had a feeling he knew where the conversation was leading, but checked anyway. "Eight hours give or take."

Lissa bit her lip while running her fingers through spiked hair. "That's more than enough time, Kyle! Let's check out the third segment."

"Faaawk, Liss', I knew you were going to say that. Don't you already have enough? Hours of video, personal logs, data..."

"All of which is great," Lissa admitted, "but we don't know how it ended, what happened to Bauer and Ford. The answer is so close!"

He could have shut it down. Danton had more than adequately demonstrated his willingness to pursue the mysteries of Ark I, several of which had proven dangerous. She wouldn't have been happy about it, but Lissa would have let him take her back to the first segment to wait for the shuttle. Instead, he found himself saying, "Okay, but let's make it quick."

Knowing better than to make an overt show of excitement, Lissa simply said, "Thank you, Kyle," before repacking her kit.

Danton watched her as he mulled over the confusing emotional journey that had paralleled their exploration of the habitat ring. When he had learned that he would be paired with Lissa on the mission his initial reaction had been one of dread, an emotion that had been reinforced by feelings of loss and loneliness early in the mission. Later, Lissa's session with the Rods followed swiftly by her scene with Skye had torn him between jealousy and arousal. The confusion had only been punctuated by his own intense encounter with Jade. What turmoil would the mission lead him to next?

"Ready," Lissa said, tearing Danton from his reverie. "The next segment is pretty small anyway, right?"

"Yes, by far. Less than half the size of this one. But like the others, we don't know what's in there yet. We'll have to crawl through the reclamation farm again." The reclamation farm was the thin outer band that circled the entire habitat ring, collecting solar power and running sewage through algae farms to recover the water and organics.

"Let's do it. We'll get in, collect any remaining data, and get out with plenty of time to reach the original airlock."

As with the first segment, the second had an airlock in the kitchen. Danton verified the atmosphere, dragged their gear inside, then signaled for Lissa to join him. Soon the pair was once again crawling through the near-freezing passageway.

"Why would Bauer have done this?" Lissa wondered aloud. "Why break up the habitat into three separate segments.

"I've wondered about that, too," Danton admitted. He took another awkward crawl forward, dragging his kit along the perforated floor. "It's a modular design. My best guess is that having three separate segments allowed him to disguise their purpose. A single habitat might have aroused suspicions, but three separate segments could have been passed off as different research packages."

"That makes sense," Lissa huffed. Like Danton, she was struggling to remain comfortable while crawling along the chilled metal floor and dragging her kit. "But I was also wondering if maybe Bauer wanted to keep a certain degree of control, make it difficult for his team to move around without his permission. Plus he mentioned possibly having a second research team."

"So, we should add 'controlling' to arrogant, ambitious, amoral, and charismatic?"

Lissa chuckled. "There's one more segment. We'll see what else we learn about the man shortly."

A surprise awaited them just before they should have reached the next airlock. The band came to an abrupt halt at a heavy, airtight door. Ductwork, pipes, and wire bundles performed U turns, heading back the way they had come. The band didn't continue into the next segment.

"You thought it went all the way through, right?"

"Yes. It would be strange for it not to. Even if whatever is in the next segment doesn't use water, it would have been beneficial for the reclamation farm to be as large as possible. Plus, the solar array could be larger, too."

"Intrigued?"

"Yeah, let's give it a look," Danton said. He used the remote sensor to confirm the air quality before he and Lissa took turns going through. "Did you notice that?" he asked once they were both safely in a cramped stairwell on the other side.

"Notice what?"

"The interior of that airlock wasn't particularly solid. Reminded me of flex duct. It's sometimes used in construction when thermal variation might break less resilient materials, or when other forces like wind are at play."

Lissa nodded politely but didn't seem especially intrigued by the lesson in construction materials. "I wasn't expecting a stairwell. Wonder what's up there."

Getting the hint, Danton plugged in the interface kit and was able to display the status for the segment's systems. For the most part the systems were the same as they had been in the previous two segments, with status indicators for atmosphere, water, lighting, and power. There were also indicators for surveillance, propulsion, and navigation.

He wasn't the only one to notice the disparity. "Was Bauer able to control Ark I from here?" Lissa asked.

"It makes sense. Remember that when it reached Kaybe, Ark I went into a planetary orbit and stayed there long enough for it to be unloaded. At some point it entered a stellar orbit. That had to have been Bauer's work, but why?"

Lissa was already climbing the stairs. "Let's find out."

The final segment was unlike its peers in other ways. In those segments the two outer rings contained residential and lab space, as well as storage and most of the segment's systems. In contrast, most of the level they had entered into on the final segment couldn't be accessed at all. There was the stairwell up, but no doorways or hatches until they reached the top.

Here the layout of the segment became even more bizarre. The door they had crawled through was at one end of a room roughly three meters wide and stretching to a distance of at least fifty meters, long enough to exhibit the curvature of the habitat ring. At its center the ceiling opened up to form a shaft five meters wide, soaring a preposterous distance into the gloom. A curious mesh-enclosed ladder extended straight up, essentially a vertical cage. At several spots along its imposing length, the cage branched to one side or the other.

"What in all the world?" Lissa whispered.

To Danton it defied explanation. The mesh enclosing the ladder appeared to be a safety measure, but why use a ladder at all? A mechanical lift or even a stairwell would have been safer and more convenient. Whatever purpose this segment had, it hadn't been designed as a long-term habitat.

With a significant look over his shoulder at Lissa, Danton began to climb. Lissa followed, and soon the pair neared the first side exit from the cage, a narrow walkway enclosed in the same protective mesh. The square door it led to, just two meters away, was labeled 'Programming'. Danton scooted along the walkway to inspect it, but the door was sealed.

Lissa shrugged and this time took the lead up the ladder. The next door, also sealed, read 'Compute 1'. After that they encountered doors labeled 'Tanks 1', 'Fluid Fab', 'Tanks 2', 'Nutrient', 'Pharma 1', and others which hinted at the core of the team's research. All were sealed, and nowhere could Danton find a port for his interface kit.

Only as they neared the top of the ladder did they come upon an unsealed door. One of the vertigo-inducing walkways led to a door marked 'Office' which slid open at Danton's touch. The room revealed itself to be no less confusing than the central shaft. Three highly contoured chairs with safety harnesses rested on rails which curved toward the opposite wall. Each contained a compact terminal mounted to the chair's side.

"Finally," Lissa said. She climbed into the second chair, waited for Danton to settle himself into the first, then brought up the menu. She took a deep breath. "If the videos are as odd as this segment, I'm willing to bet Bauer and Ford had a wild ride."

***

-Lissa-

It was as if Bauer himself had led Sloane through his journey on Ark I. His early journal entries had been filled with boasting, sexual exploits, and overconfidence about the future of the project. As he and the team had experienced setbacks and disappointments Bauer had withdrawn but still pushed ahead. The video journal entries she now pulled up must be the final chapters. She pushed play.

The scene was an entirely new one. Bauer, in his earlier videos, had worn smartly-tailored clothes, or had been naked. In the latest video he was wearing a utilitarian flight suit. And perhaps of even greater note, he was seated in a room more visibly cramped than his spacious quarters.

"I've taken us into a stellar orbit," he said. To Sloane he looked even more fatigued than he had when speaking of Nkosi's death, with dark eyes and a slouched demeanor. "It took the rest of the ship's fuel, but the orbit is stable. We aren't ready yet, and there's no way I'm delivering anything less than a perfect product. We'll rendezvous with Kaybe in another two years. If we aren't ready by then I'll wait another two. The Bauer name will mean something!"

"Holy shit," Kyle gasped. "Another two years? On purpose?"

Sloane was just as stunned, but let the video continue.