Our Place in the Sun

Vicky laughed, this time a hearty laugh full of cheer. "How am I supposed to refuse that?" She took cautiously her shaft, still sensitive, and slowly guided her glans towards her lips; she also quickly topped all the pillows under her neck to make herself comfortable. When she was ready, alongside the jolt of pain that marked the entry of Trisha's fourth finger, Vicky winked and whispered enticingly. "For your eyes only, baby."

Trisha was fascinated by the sight of Vicky's pink dome being slowly engulfed by her own lips creeping forward. Vicky moaned like a connoisseur enjoying a rare vintage. Meanwhile, Trisha's fourth finger was now aligned with its three brethren and she was splitting her focus between gaining elasticity in Vicky's back door and marveling at her autofellatio; Vicky actually had enough length to reach past her glans and smooch her upper shaft.

"Vicky... you're so beautiful... and so smoking HOT! Let's take our time... we'll both get there..."

"Mmmmrmmlmmm."

Those words were prophetic; after some minutes of stretching and prodding, the final threshold was broken through and Trisha suddenly felt as if Vicky's anus had just swallowed her wrist. Vicky's head lurched backwards and she yelled; loudly.

"HAAAAAARGHAAAA!!!" Vicky tried to return her lips to her glans, but Trisha moved her hand and back went her head; this time, it almost whipped. "HAAAAIAAAAA!!! You're... going to... kill meee!!!"

"Nonsense, my crazy hot wife! We will live happily ever; with kids, even. Now, do you need help with your sucking, you poor thing? I could take over if you do..."

---

"How do you feel, Vicky?"

"Tired, hungry, weightless... and you do not get to tell me I-told-you-so."

Trisha laughed discreetly. "Consider this just a rain-check, babe... our honeymoon brunch will take place under the sun, I promise."

"All right... what's the name of our liner, again?"

"The ICV Aquitania..."

"What a weird name..."

"She's named - the eight Interplanetary Colony Vessels are named, in fact - after an early 20th century ocean liner who carried out transatlantic passenger service."

"But there are famous ones amongst those... I HAVE read on the subject, you know: the Titanic, the Lusitania, the..."

"Vicky, almost all the famous ones are famous for sinking..."

"And you're saying the Aquitania..."

"...had a successful 36-years career, even ferrying troops through two world wars, before being decommissioned and sold for scrap." Trisha had her tender smile.

"Oh... good name, then..."

"I agree."

---

"Come on... wake-up, mama bear..."

"Hrrmglbbbm... how can sleeping 18 weeks result in one walking up so TIRED!?!"

"Because our metabolism was quite slowed, darling... and we've had nothing to eat..."

"Hmm... you know what? Now that you mention it: I AM famished! Are you sure you want to stay near me, all plump, like that?"

Trisha mockingly pouted. "I knew it... I have chosen the meanest Valentine in the solar system... bouhouhou!"

Vicky's eyes were now wide open. "Did you say Valentine?"

"Yes, dear, today is February 14th... do you still want to be my Valentine?"

"Today and every day after that, Trish... it's sweet of you to have thought about it..."

Trisha's smile beamed bright once again. "Sweet in more ways than one... here!"

"Oooh, you beautiful fiend... is that chocolate?"

"Mmm mmm... real Lindt chocolate squares... and they seem to have traveled well. Cheers, darling!"

"Cheers, sweetie... I love you." After the chocolate toast followed a delightful silence, wholeheartedly devoted to the sweet delicacy.

Vicky spoke first. "So... huh... are we there yet?"

Trisha silently answered by tapping a key on their cabin notepad. They were now both sitting in a cabin seemingly floating in space, near an immense space construction: two counter-rotating cylinders that were aimed at the Sun and that were linked together by two connected large rectangular blocks at the cylinder's base. Also at the base of each cylinders were six rectangular panels of equal dimension, all opened like a blooming flower and reflecting sunlight. This majestic spectacle was made even more serene and awe-inspiring by the utter silence of deep space.

Trisha now answered with a nervous, hopeful voice. "Honey... we're home."

Vicky had an open mouth and dry throat. "It seems so HUGE... is that really 40 km long?"

"Yes... and the total circumference of each cylinder is 36 km. Considering that half the cylinder is habitat and the other half is transparent greenhouse shielding, we will live in a 72 000 ha surface."

"I hear the words but I don't grasp the notion, babe... that's roomy enough for a sky?"

"Well... yes. The habitat radius is 5,73 km, which is pretty much the altitude of Earth's lower troposphere and some of its higher mountains; we will have a near-standard air pressure, humidity, some clouds even... though I'm not sure at all about weather patterns... I suppose it will be quite balmy..."

"I believe you... look closely, you can see the green even from here!"

"We do need to eat, baby... 84% of that area is rural and we will share the remaining 16% in cityscapes of 40 households per hectare... it's reasonable urban density."

"I'll take your word for it. Still, the rotation doesn't seem right... is it an optical illusion?"

"No babe... it's your orbital experience. You have lived in a 0,95 rpm rotating environment - similar to our liner - because for most people, it's about the fastest speed possible without inducing motion sickness. But, with its radius, our cylinder will generate one gee with a mere 0,395 rpm..."

"OK... I'm sold... almost. How did we... BUILD this?"

Before answering, Trisha tapped some commands and the cabin decoration hologram zoomed out. The space colonies - there were two of them - were neighboring another one under construction and three asteroids of different shapes and color that were obviously being mined for materials.

"This was one of ISA's most ambitious accomplishment: these near-Earth objects were towed here. The Sun-Venus L4 Lagrange point - where we are right now - was initially devoid of Trojans. Here, you see a defunct comet alongside two asteroids, a C-type and an M-type. From these, we mine carbon products, metals, precious metals, water and phosphorus, amongst other things. Most manufacturing is now done in the zero-g industrial complexes you see at the base of the habitat cylinders..."

"That's where you will be working?"

"Yes, managing the rail drivers for departing and arriving space barges. And you, honey... are you still sure about farming?"

"Are you kidding me? My best man took me under his wing and has sent me tons of vids and tips! I will be the greatest, hottest, nude farmer in the solar system..."

"Wrroarrr!" Trisha wetted her lips and propped her mounds with her hands; her face had morphed into pure wantonness. "I agrrreee!"

Vicky felt a stir in her loins. "Any idea about when we'll travel there?"

Trisha zoomed back the cabin hologram. "See the reflectors all opened up? That means it's night on Aeneas. If I understand this shuttle schedule correctly, we will be docking in at early morning. By then, the three greenhouse reflectors will be inclined towards the habitat to beam in sunlight. Anyways, I figure we should have a couple of hours to ourselves..."

Vicky's penis was getting the mother of all morning wood. "Do you think this cabin has a Do-not-disturb function?"

"Why don't we find out, Mrs. Tomlinson?"

---

"Ready, baby? This is it..." Vicky and Trisha were at the edge of the industrial block airlock 1-11b in Aeneas 1. Beyond that door, their living space would be revealed to them for the first time.

"Wait a second..." they were the last of their shuttle contingent to cross, as Trisha and Vicky both wished to let themselves slowly and privately take in each of their home's artificial parameter one by one: its rotation, its gravity, its air pressure and purity, its aroma. Vicky now produced a small music player.

Trisha was intrigued. "What's that for?"

Vicky had a bright beaming smile that, for once, rivaled Trisha's. "I figured this moment deserves Also sprach Zarathustra. So... wait... ready... open!"

The scene was nothing short of epic. Under the rousing brass fanfare, both Mrs. Tomlinsons walked, hand in hand, into a stony pathway lined by lush lawns that led toward a modest city block, whose landscape was dwarfed by the towering green circular horizon curving at their feet. Arc and linear kilometers were meaningless when felt from within this man-made world, carved by three perfectly rectangular continents of greens criss-crossed with blues.

By the time the opening fanfare reached its apex, Vicky raised her head to take in the sight of a scattered cloud layer that swirled over itself, shadowing her continental block and the ones she could see hanging overhead on her left and her right, separated by a sunlit transparent panel - she remembered to shield her eyes - with a sun disk still low on the artificial horizon of the space habitat's huge solar mirror. Lower left and right, just beyond the treescape of her continent and below the other two, she could guess, almost discern, the sunlight beaming in from the other two mirrors.

Vicky's grip on Trisha's hand was now quite strong. "Vicky?"

"Trish... this is on par with seeing you walk up the aisle..." indeed, Vicky was wiping away tears of awe with her free hand. The music was now over and both of them stood there, at the entrance of their new homeland, in reverent silence.

Then Vicky noted something amiss. "Trish... what are all these small grey-green areas we see, when we look sunward?"

"I would guess... the foundation blocks for the future cities. When we will be done populating both cylinders of Aeneas, we should neighbor the three million inhabitants mark."

"That makes sense... you're probably right, you lovable smarty-pants!" Vicky kissed Trisha's almost-crushed hand. "How many islands are there, Trish?"

"Including Aeneas, which is the one most recently opened for settlement, there are 291 islands built in the solar system... we saw number 292, under construction, from our cabin."

Vicky seemed to ponder her emotions and deliberate on an important matter, then blurted out "...naaa! THIS is the most beautiful place in the World, babe..."

Trisha was now using her benevolent voice so often that it was getting second nature... and she liked it: she liked growing out of her angry self. "I quite agree, honey. Are we ready to go home? I remember owing you a honeymoon brunch..."

"Not just yet, love... if you don't mind. Let's watch the sun a little longer."