Pushing Iron

"Let's fuck," I said.

"What! We just did that an hour ago, twice," she said, incredulous.

"I'm highly sexed," I explained.

"Then how did you get into this business?"

How, indeed.

My Dad was a belt miner all his life. He'd flown an old singleship out of Phobos, and stayed with the family down on Mars between flights. He made a pretty good digit, enough to retire on when he was just 80 and take Mom to live on Luna. My sister was much older than I was and doing well in real estate in Marineris, so Dad left the business to me. I guess it seemed natural to him that I'd fly professionally like he had, because I'd taken a degree in Nucleonics and served my UN term piloting polar ice freighters. Dad was convinced there was a good future in mining the asteroid belt. He pointed to the cities building up rapidly all over the system. They all needed steel that was too expensive to lift from Mars. His argument made sense, and I'd agreed to give mining an honest try, though I wasn't sure I was cut out for that life.

Seven years later I'd had three profitable expeditions out of four, pushing iron twice and ice once. The money was good, but it was maddening living alone for eighteen months at a time. I was only thirty six years old, and the self-service sex life was driving me crazy. I was ready to quit. Then my webAgent found an open command position with Mitsashi TransCorporate. Mitsashi T.C. was a gigantic multiworld company that ran a modern fleet of deepships. They hauled twenty times as much as my old four-banger could, faster too. They also had the latest total immersion holographics and massively parallel Artificial Intelligence systems. But the perk that attracted me the most was the roomy lifesystem that supported two people. I figured I could net a lot of digit in a few years in relative comfort, then kiss the belt goodbye forever and teach.

So I leased Dads ship to a belter friend and booked passage to Mitsashi Planetary Operations on Vesta. The transfer out was uneventful, all the women were attached and their partners were vigilant. I used the time to study systems manuals the company had lasered me. Then I spent 4 busy weeks on Vesta getting oriented in the deepship simulator and having neural inducers implanted to interface with the total immersion subsystem. I'd tried the public domain versions of this at the arcades, of course, but the implant version has to be experienced to be believed. The 360-degree holo projection suite, combined with five-sense direct nerve induction, resulted in an incredibly realistic sensory experience. Used in navigation, mining operations, and entertainment, it was an important development for space travel.

They gave me ten days in drydock to familiarize myself with my new ship and introduced me to Audra. The company wanted her to accompany me on my first run, though I could refuse if we didn't hit it off. Audra was in her early forties, with deep, dark blue eyes, a slightly heavy but curvaceous figure, and a quick smile. Her hair was black and worn very short; most belters found it was easier to care for in low gee. I found myself attracted to her strongly, the company had researched my preferences well. She had training in compsci and graphics arts and she was a pilot too. It clicked at once. I had ten days before launch to see if we were compatible, in ten minutes we were in the bunk together.

Three months and 110 million klicks later, Audra and I cruised at 0.05 gee on a star-hot hydrogen exhaust. Our hull had been peppered with high speed gravel twice, with no damage as far as I could tell. Scary, though. The target was H19345, a low grade pallasite orbiting two degrees above the ecliptic plane that had been charted earlier by a company saildrone. It was only 40% metal, and wouldn’t net us high digit, but it was a sure thing. The plan was to run a standard crack and stack, unless we found something heavier on the way out. To that end Audra had the radar and lidar cycling at maximum output off the capacitor banks, while I lounged eating a handmeal.

"There's nothing up here," she said, changing the subject, "not even dust."

"Relax,” I replied, “we’re guaranteed a rock on this trip. That’s much better than prospecting, like I used to. Besides, the newbies never get the juicy runs, you know that." I killed the electronics journal I had been reading. She was sitting at ops, scowling into the holodisplay and running her hands over her naked thighs. We had agreed to dispense with clothes while onboard, and she was looking quite delectable. "If you don't close your legs, this fritter isn't the only thing that’s going to get eaten," I ventured.

"A growing boy needs his vitamins," she said, smiling at me in seductive surrender. We released our belts and pushed towards each other, meeting in a floating kiss at the center of the cabin. I filled my right hand with her mound, slipping my middle finger into her slit. She moaned into my mouth, putting one hand on my back and reaching for my growing cock with the other. We masturbated each other for a dozen rotations, slowly falling to the deck in the light gee.

“I want to show you some redecorating ideas I've been considering,” she said, “Computer, execute sim Audra six.” Instantly we were on a log platform built onto a massive tree, high above a fragrant tropical rain forrest. Waterfalls roared in the misty distance, their white spray clouds spanning half the horizon. Large pink birds wheeled and screamed by the hundreds through the endless blue sky above us. I was wearing a shimmering black silk kimono. She wore yellow and brown body paint only, her eyes cat green. The holos had painted her into a magnificent human jaguar, her muscles rippled under my hands. She laughed and bared her teeth, raking her fingernails down my chest. She had outdone herself this time. I was astonished at her skill.

“Can I decorate, or what,” she purred.

Screwing in low gravity requires new skills, which we had been eagerly acquiring for the last three months. I burrowed into her sex with my mouth, and discovered that her body paint was flavored with spice. I clutched her ass tightly, my fingers probing her scented crack, and she shook with delight as I hungrily devoured her. She came quickly, moaning and gasping for breath, exciting me beyond all control. I spun her around and she tucked into a fetal position as I took her violently from behind. I gripped her at her center of mass, and pulled her velvety pussy roughly onto me, grunting with the impact of her weight against my groin. Then I pushed her away until my member was fully exposed without breaking contact, cockhead just touching her buttery lips. With a steady pull I forced her open around my glistening rod again, and completely sheathed myself in her heat. My only physical contact with her were my hands and genitals, and it focused my attention on my cock, but strangely slowed my progresion toward climax. Over and over, faster and faster, harder and harder, I raged into her. She spit and screeched helplessly as I fucked myself with her body. When we orgasmed together, her interior muscles clamped so tightly onto my cock that I could ejaculate very little, and it caused my spasms to last for what felt like minutes.

I liked the forest, so we kept it running, living on edible flowers and fruit and rainwater in the perfumed heights. She sang old pre-atomic songs for me when the frogs and birds were quiet. On hot nights we gave each other gentle sponge baths, laughing and batting the floating water globs at each other. We made languid, orange love at sunset, and fired white-hot fucks into each other at noon. It was wonderful. When the proximity alarm sounded I didn’t remember what it was.

“Radar contact," the computer warned.

“Computer, standard cabin, prepare for emergency maneuvering,” I barked. The jungle blinked out and the holos were already showing the main engine powering up. I read the range, bearing, and relative velocity figures and my breathing slowed when I saw that we weren’t going to be hit by anything. It wasn’t H19345, it was too close. The computer searched the databases and classified the contact as an unknown. The radar had caught it before the optical sensors, so there was a good chance it wasn’t a stone. Audra and I stared at each other, afraid to say anything, afraid to jinx it somehow.

Can we rendezvous?” she asked, finally.

My fingers were dancing on the holopad and I summarized the projections for her, “Assuming we return fully loaded with iron, we’ll reach Mars parking orbit with eight to ten percent reserve propellant.” This was getting better and better. I keyed in more commands. “I’m going to alter our vector to intercept, but we won’t decelerate until we get a reflectance spectra,” I said. Company policy required that I act conservatively until we had more data on the unknown. A day later the spectrometer was integrating a curve indicative of a metallic surface, so we turned off the cruise drives and fired up the big boy, enjoying a little weight for the first time in months. As we slowed, our target became big enough to show a disk in the telescope. We hit it with the laser and the assay was pure nickel-iron. Audra screamed hysterically and wrapped her arms and legs around me. We had been unbelievably lucky. We were rich.

I lasered Mitsashi with the claim after we grappled, and set a buoy to broadcast the orbital parameters of our find. Then I got busy with the preparations for cracking off some cargo. Audra seemed really turned on, she couldn't keep her hands off me, but I ignored her, this was business. An hour later the Comm chimed and Pieter Jagr appeared in the display.

"Hi, Cap," he said happily, "we intercepted your broadcast. Congratulations!"

"He's an old friend of mine," I explained at Audra's questioning expression. Pieter and I hadn't seen each other in a couple of years. He was a belter, too, and hauled hydrogen for the refueling stations. We'd tomcatted around together on Mars in the past.

"We're about 20 light minutes away,” the radio continued, “You're above the ecliptic, I know your Dad's old jammer can't do that. You must be moving up in the system." He seemed genuinely pleased. Suddenly he was shouldered out of view by a stunning blonde with a red heart tattoo on one of her naked breasts. It was Pieters sometimes girlfriend, and mine, Carla Johansen.

"Hello, baby, it's been a while," she pouted in her sultry Germanic accent, "We're empty and driving for Phobos, give me a call when you come in and I'll help you unload." I smiled at the double entendre, but out of the corner of my eye I caught Audra shooting her an absolutely poisonous look, which seemed odd.

“I'll wait for you. Bye, darling.” Carla said. God, it was good to see her, I’d forgotten how much. She and I had been casual lovers when we chanced to meet, but we'd never gone out of our way to see each other. Of course the fact that I'd just staked a claim on some valuable iron may have had something to do with her heightened interest in me. There was no denying I had a thing for Carla, though, my erecting cock betrayed me at once. Audra noticed my excitement, looked at the woman in the holo, then glared back at me. When I keyed in the commands to charge the transmitter capacitors and slew the antenna, she stormed off into the head. What the hell was this?

"Hope to see you soon, Cap. Gotta go," Pieter said, "End it." I had the computer locate the signal source and sent my thanks into the void, adding to Carla that I hoped we'd catch each other back at the barn. Then I went back to find out what was going on with Audra. I thought I heard her crying behind the curtain, and it scared the hell out of me. I didn't say anything to her, and went back to work. She returned to her station a little while later, very quiet.

"Is everything OK?" I asked.

"Do you love her?" she whispered.

"No, we just have some laughs when we're docked," I said, trying to keep it light.

"Liar. I thought we were…" and she refused to speak anymore, lips quivering. I don't mind saying that I was deeply frightened by this development. I didn't sleep much, thinking about the ramifications.

The next day she seemed normal, so I didn't bring it up again. We mag-grabbed all the loose stuff off the surface; then I did a few EVAs to locate the crystal planes, and set some low-brisance explosives in just the right places. With the surface fractured the remotes did most of the heavy lifting. When they needed help I took control using total immersion teleoperation. It was equivalent to being outside, but with no suits and no sweat. It really was a pleasure to work like this. The hold filled rapidly, and within a week we were cracked and stacked. I did a calibration burn to weigh the loot and, holy shit, it massed 18 million kilos! Counting the new claim bonus, my share of this cargo would triple my personal wealth. I could afford to quit working the belt after this trip. I confided my plans to Audra to get my doctorate in NandE and teach on Mars. She didn’t seem too pleased by the news, so I let it drop. Within hours the ion drives were on line and I relaxed. We were pushing iron and heading home.

"This calls for a celebration," I said to Audra with a grin. Maybe I could get things back on track. "Come on over here, sexy." She unbuckled and pushed gently over to me. I left my belt on and opened my arms, and she swarmed into my lap, legs open, facing me. She swabbed my throat with her tongue, then reached down to enclose me with her hands. Squeezing and moving my cock gently in circles, first touching my stomach and then her bush, she had me fully hard in seconds.

"Computer, execute sim Audra seven," she said, and we were in my apartment on Mars. Candles and incense were burning, and soft music played over the drone of the air unit.

"Mmmm, nice," I said appreciatively. I had my hands on her waist, and I helped her to position her pussy over my cock. I pulled her down onto my hardness, and the sudden wet heat enclosing me fired an electric-like shock up my spine. She sat on top of me motionless, clutching my erection with her pussy, milking me with a delicious, undulating grip that I've only felt with her. We kissed as I climbed.

"Oh, baby, I'm close," I moaned, and suddenly she was floating in the middle of the room. "What's wrong?" I said, shocked.

"Maybe you would prefer this," she said, and the image of Carla replaced her. "Isn't this where you bring her to fuck?" she asked, viciously, waving at the apartment.

Uh-oh. I'd better be careful. I tried to unbuckle my belt but my arms were spasming. This was not good.

"What does she do for you that I can't, Cap?" Louder now, threatening.

It was becoming difficult to breathe, the implants must be overloading my nervous system. I tried to speak calmly, "Computer, stop execution of the entertainment program."

"No!" she cried, her eyes wild, "I love you." She was overriding my command, somehow. The room wavered, my arms and legs convulsed and I grunted in fear and pain.

"Computer, command priority Cap one,” I gasped, “reboot the entertainment processor," and she blinked out, the cabin suddenly empty to the walls, the holo projectors gone dark.

I removed the memchips for the sim programs and opened all the neural interface circuit breakers. That was enough of that, I thought, regulations be damned. It was going to be a long, lonely trip home, but I'd done it before and I knew I would be OK. I was surprised at how calm I was. Space travel was a dangerous career, I reasoned, and malfunctioning equipment had nearly killed me before. But it made me sad. I knew Mitsashi would erase her personality overlay when I got home, and I was fond of Audra v1.01.