Rotation

© Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. All characters depicted are 18 years and over.

***

I had been awake for a few weeks, from the big sleep that is. While asleep, we had traveled about twenty light years to service a colony in the newly named Simpar system. We were in orbit around the second planet, Simpar II, of the seven planet system. The star itself was a K-type star which is a little less bright than Sol which is a G-type star. The colony had been established about three years ago and so far was doing pretty well on its own. This was the second resupply mission for them.

My job on the ship was Senior cargo clerk. I oversaw loading of the resupply vessels to be sent to the planet's surface. The colony was resupplied with just about everything needed to keep them viable for another two years. We would be in orbit until all the supplies were shuttled to the planet's surface, about three weeks. Currently we were in to the third week and had just about everything scheduled on the surface, just a few odds and ends left. Usually we would be preparing to leave to the next scheduled system but we were to be rotated and we were waiting for the personnel ship to catch up with us.

I had already been out a year so I was to stay with the ship. About half the crew would be rotated back to earth for leave but I still had a year to go in my rotation. That was the way it was supposed to work, half the crew rotated home every year and a new bunch joined us for their two year stay aboard. The idea was that we would always have half the crew with ship experience on board at all times.

The ship was the Wanderer and she had a crew of 250. We moved from star system to system resupplying colonies. A typical run from the Sol system was five legs, meaning we made five stops to colony systems and then returned to the Sol system for resupply ourselves. But a crew member always stayed on for a year and then was rotated home no matter where we were when their time was up. The Simpar system just happened to be during rotation time.

The one problem with this setup is that you could lose friends, or even lovers, during rotation. I fell into the latter group. I was losing Ginger. Although we were not in love, we were very close and we did have sex pretty often when we were awake. I was going to miss her a lot, especially the sex. She was great in bed and she was a really good friend.

The day's work was almost done. I had all the remaining supplies moved into Cargo Bay 3 and it was all going to fit in the next shuttle. The next shuttle was due to arrive in two hours so it would fall to the next shift to load and inspect it. I dismissed the cargo clerks and waited in the bay until the shift was over. There was no use going back to my compartment as Ginger would not be there for another hour. Then she would pack and be gone from my life, probably forever.

I went over to the nearest port hole and looked out. The rotation ship was due to arrive any minute. I looked out the port for a few minutes and then I spotted the rotation ship. It was small compared to the Wanderer as it only contained the relief crew and a small crew of its own. It maneuvered close and then moved forward of my position and was docked. From my vantage point it disappeared but I knew it was in the process of docking up forward.

Jeff, the Chief cargo clerk, came in and we exchanged information. He formally relieved me and I went back to my compartment. When I arrived Ginger was already packing.

"Hello, Ben. I am almost packed."

"I am going to miss you, Ginger."

She turned to face me. "I will miss you, too. But we knew this day would come."

"Yeah, I know. I just want you to know that I have enjoyed our time together."

"Me, too. You are a really nice person and I will miss our love making. The year went by too fast."

"That it did."

We came together and hugged each other. She kissed me goodbye.

"Goodbye, Ben. Be good to whoever your new room mate is."

"I will try. And you be good, too."

She pecked me on the lips again and then she was gone. I sat down on my bunk and waited for the next rotation person to join me. I had no idea who it would be, male, female, tall, short, who knows since room slots were picked at random. In any case it would be an hour before they showed up as they would have to go through ship's orientation first. So I sat back with a book and waited.

A little over an hour passed when the door opened and a very nice looking woman strode in.

"Hello, I'm Stewart. You must be Ben."

I got up from my bunk and went to meet her. "That's right. Do you need help?"

"No, I just have the one bag. They are keeping our personal stuff down to a minimum these days."

"Tell me about it. My bag was no bigger than yours is."

Stewart threw her bag on her bunk and proceeded to start unpacking.

"Are you a new-bee, Stewart?"

"Oh, no. This is my third rotation out. I am almost an old hand."

"This is my second rotation out. What position do you hold?"

"Astrogator second class. What class are you?"

"Senior cargo clerk. I was just promoted before I shipped on this rotation."

Stewart's back was to me and the view was very nice from my perspective. She was maybe one hundred sixty two centimeters with nice curves. Her legs were covered by long pants but she seemed to be nicely shaped. Her hair was a ruddy red/brown mix which hung to shoulder length, no longer than permitted by the regs. Her face was nice to look at with high cheek bones and medium sized lips. Her breasts seemed to be average in size but it was hard to tell in her uniform. If this was her third trip out she was probably five years older than me which would make her about thirty to my twenty five.

When she finished unpacking she turned to me and asked "When do we eat around here? I'm starved."

"Dinner just started. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"That would be nice. My scheduled shift is 0800 to 1700 so I have some time until I go on duty. How about you?"

"I have the same shift. So I guess we will see a lot of each other. Follow me to the dining hall."

The dining hall was forward and outboard of the crew quarters. One thing about the service is they feed us well. And there was a lot of variety. We filled our trays and sat down together. She was not a big eater and neither was I. I left all the heavy cargo lifting to the underlings and was just a supervisor so exercise was something I had to get by lifting weights and running the track. I would bet she was the same being a part of the bridge crew.

In reality, we did not have a lot in common. Just the difference in rank was going to be a problem as it might be difficult during working hours. But with her on the bridge and me in the cargo bays we probably would never cross paths during work hours, which would make it a little easier.

We made some small talk during dinner, just getting to know each other. Even though the difference in rank was rather substantial, she did not make a big deal of it. She was open, casual, and a good conversationalist.

When we finished dinner she wanted me to show her the gym. It was just ahead of cargo storage so it was not far. The gym was pretty large with a half basketball court, a weight lifting area, some exercise machines, and a running track that went around the perimeter. I usually worked out here every other day to keep in shape. Today was my day off but I volunteered to work out with her if she wanted. She surprised me by offering to match my workout schedule. She said it was more fun for her if she had someone she knew to exercise with. She did not know many people yet so I guess I was a convenient partner.

From there we went back to our room. The room had two of everything, two desks, two chairs, two beds, two clothes racks, two sinks, etc. The only thing it did not have two of was the shower. Instead it was a larger shower with two heads, one at each end. There also was a single shared toilet facility. With this setup, privacy was at a premium. However, the Service made it perfectly clear what the setup was. If you had modesty issues then this was not the job for you. In other words, you would be seeing a lot of your room mate, so get used to it. Space on a starship was mostly for cargo, people space was restricted in the quarters but was a little bigger in shared spaces.

We both sat down at our desks. Stewart got out her Personal Storage Unit and inserted it into the computer system contained in the desk. Each person on a starship had a PSU and the computer in the desk was only really useful if it had one inserted into it. The PSU actually not only contained personal data, but also the basic programs needed by each person. So it essentially made the desktop system different for each person. And it also contained a security system on it as well that required a fingerprint to gain access to anything on the unit, and system interfaces to secured systems on the ship. Each person was responsible for their PSU and losing it could get you dismissed from the Service. Which was why the desktop system also locked the PSU into place once inserted.

My PSU was loaded with cargo manifests, programs for weight and balancing on a shuttle, cargo storage locations, and many other useful programs to manage cargo offloading. It also had a lot of personal data such as books, music, movies, games, and a lot of other entertainment. The ship also had an extensive library of entertainment that could be downloaded to your PSU. I only did that on special things I really liked and kept space open for other things that might come up during the voyage.

The ship had to be self contained because we would be out for a three year period. But, it did not contain three years of food. That would have taken up too much space. So when we were in transit from one colony to another we slept. Even traveling faster than light on a leg of the voyage it took a month or more to reach the next destination. By sleeping we reduced the amount of food needed by the crew by 75%. That meant we could carry more cargo for the colonies.

Sleep during a transit was accomplished by some pretty intricate machinery. Each crew member was monitored during the sleep period but the entire crew was contained in a single sleep chamber to save space. This was probably the most armored chamber on the ship because a single meteor breach on it might kill the entire crew. To further ensure the crew's safety there were robots that could repair a hole in a very short time in case of a breach. But a breach larger than 40 centimeters would be catastrophic. It was just the chance you took as a crew member.

Stewart was still setting up her PSU for the Wanderer when I was done with my work for the evening. It was looking like tomorrow would be a light day for me but I would bet that was not the case for her. She was still working while I got ready to bunk down for the night. I decided to read a little before bed so I brought up a book to read.

"Whew, finally."

"Get yourself all squared away?" I asked.

"Yeah. This is a little bigger ship than my last assignment so there are a few more systems to get access to. At least I think I am ready for tomorrow. By the way, thanks for showing me around, it was a big help."

"Think nothing of it. The layout is logical so you should not have a problem with finding things in the rest of the ship. If you want a tour of the cargo facilities sometime just let me know."

"Thanks, Ben. I appreciate it."

She went to the head and got ready for bed. She stripped out of her uniform to reveal an even better body than what I imagined. Her hour-class figure was supported by nicely shaped legs and topped by shapely breasts. A lot of women in the service never wore a bra because we were in zero-gee a lot of the time during our long sleep sessions. Her hips were nicely proportioned for her height and her rear was beautifully heart-shaped. Overall she was a nice package. I did not get much reading done while she was in the head.

She came out in just her panties and crawled into her bunk. Almost everyone comes out of artificial sleep requiring more real sleep to recover fully. I read for a little while and then crawled into my own bunk.

My alarm went off at 0600 the next morning. I noticed that Stewart was already up and was preparing to shower. I used the head and prepared to shower with her.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, there is plenty of room."

I got in and shaved first and then got ready to soap up.

"Would you wash my back for me, Ben?"

"Sure."

I took the cloth, added some soap, and washed her back.

"Want me to wash yours?"

"Thanks."

She took the cloth from me and washed my back, including my butt and the back of my legs.

"Nice ass, Ben. I can tell you work out."

"I try to keep up a good regime. But it is hard with all the weightlessness during our legs between stops."

"Yeah, I know that from experience, so I try to keep in shape as well. But it is hard."

We finished showering and then dried off. One thing nice about the service is that our uniforms are serviceable for any rank and are designed for work, not show. They are nice looking without requiring anything but what is absolutely necessary. They can be cleaned easily and do not require any pressing. Stewart's uniform was identical to mine except for the rank insignia.

We left for a leisurely breakfast. We both ate a good meal in preparation for a day of work. Then we said goodbye so we could report to our duty stations. When I got to Cargo Bay 3 to pick up my work assignments for the day I was told that all cargo had been dropped dirt side so we would clean up the bay and prepare for our next leg. I had a crew of three that day and I actually helped them with the cleanup tasks. There was a lot of packing and strapping material that needed to be trashed, or burned up from orbit. I made sure it was properly stored in the container and then we sealed it. Another crew picked it up and delivered it to Cargo Bat 1 where it would be launched into a burn orbit.

Next we swept the floors and cleaned the restrooms and office space. I also inspected the bay doors and performed some light maintenance on them. By lunch everything was in good shape so I checked in to make sure we had done everything expected of us. We were done with everything on the list so we were dismissed for the day with a reminder that we should report to our sleep stations at 0900 tomorrow. I went to lunch with the idea I would come back and take care of some things that could use a recheck before we started the next leg.

After I got through the line I saw Jeff, my boss, and went to sit with him. He was with a bunch of other cargo clerks and everyone seemed in a good mood.

"What's up, Jeff?"

"Just got news that after the next stop we are heading back to the Sol system."

"But we are only half way through our scheduled trip."

"I know. Seems there is an emergency in the Centauri systems. A reactor went down and needs to be replaced so we have to pick one up and take it to them. They can use the backup until we get there but without the primary reactor it puts them in a bad spot. So we get to see Earth from orbit but that's about all. At least mail will catch up to us."

Mail is the thing that keeps us connected to our homes. The rotation ship always bring us mail as well as new crew members, but sometimes that mail is a year old. Getting to Earth orbit will mean the mail will get to us right away. It also meant we could converse with family and friends while in orbit. All of that was really good news for the crew.

It was a happy mealtime for everyone. Afterwards I went back to the cargo bay and started inspecting everything. My crew had done a good job. All the cargo lifters were tied down properly, all the tools were stored and accounted for, and the area was as clean as we could make it. I reinspected all the doors, lifters, and other moving equipment and could not find anything of any concern. By 1500 I was done so I went back to my cabin to fill out the off loading report, the equipment and tool report, and the crew report. All in all it had been an uneventful offload. Nice.

Stewart was not back yet so I waited for her so we could hit the gym together. She finally showed up about 1730.

"Sorry to be a little late. We had to make some adjustments to accommodate the leg back to the Sol system."

"No problem. So we really are going back to Earth orbit?"

"Yes. Seems weird to be headed back to Sol after just arriving from there."

"I agree. Let's get changed and hit the gym."

We both changed into work out clothes and headed for the gym. We both stretched and then hit the running track to warm up. We ran for thirty minutes and then I went to the weight area to do some lifting. The gym was getting crowded but there was still enough room to do what I wanted. Stewart was on the weight machines and I watched her as I did my routines. She was no slouch because she was pushing a nice amount of weight around. I lifted for an hour and then hit the weight machines for more work. After a half hour on them I got back on the running track and ran for another thirty minutes. A good workout. Stewart was ready to go when I was so we headed back to the cabin.

We both stripped out of our workout gear and headed for the shower. I spent some time just enjoying the warm shower. We recycled all our water so it was never rationed. I was about to start washing when Stewart spoke up.

"Would you do my back side again? And don't be shy about where you wash."

"Fine, but I want the same treatment."

I took the cloth and started at her shoulders and worked down. When I got to her butt I washed it and then the back of her legs. She spread them a little so I could get to the inside them. When I went higher up her thighs she spoke up.

"You can clean my crotch as well."

I moved further up until I was washing her crotch. She moaned a little as I did. When I had it clean I removed my hand from her and she turned around to face me.

"Want to wash my front, too?"

I answered by starting at her shoulders again and then moving down. When I reached her breasts I washed them gently using a lot of soap. She was smiling at me as I did this. I then washed her stomach area. She had a smooth but taught stomach. As I moved down to her pussy she moaned again. I got it clean and then did the front of her legs and her feet.

"Now me."

She smiled and took the cloth from me. She started high and worked her way down my back. It felt really good, like a massage. She had me turn around and started high again and worked down. She got to my pubic area and washed it thoroughly giving me a slight hard on. Then she moved down my legs to my feet. When she finished I felt really relaxed.

"Would you like me to wash your hair, Stewart?"

"That would be really nice."

I used the shampoo and lathered up her hair. Then I rubbed her scalp with my fingertips. She had a nice head of hair. I had her rinse the soap off and then I applied the conditioner to her hair. I made sure it got to all her hair and then she rinsed it.

"Now you."

She washed my hair. It was not as big a job as her hair was since I keep it short.

When we were done we dried off and she dried her hair. When we returned to the main part of the cabin she turned to me.

"Ben, would you like to have sex with me?"

"Yes, very much."

She came to me and we embraced each other. She felt very nice, warm and soft. I was a little surprised by her as usually it took a while for a new room mate to warm up to their partner. In Stewart's case, she knew what she wanted and was not afraid to ask for it. That was a relief because in the past it seemed to take a new room mate a while to get used to me.