Space Cherry Pt. 07

By the time she got back to the hotel, Cherry didn't have much time for sleep, it was already tomorrow. She took some Regenerons of various colors before joining her shipmates for breakfast.

There was general agreement that they had all had an enjoyable evening. Cherry felt a bit strange that she was somehow uncomfortable discussing the particulars of her 'party' with Natalie and Velasy. Instead, her shipmates gave her a good-natured hard time for getting back so late, noting that it must have been 'one hell of a party' and other suggestive remarks.

And though it was all good-natured and fun, and everybody was smiling and laughing throughout, Cherry still felt a bit odd.

"Fuck off!" Tor said happily, when Cherry brought up her appointment with Xexx. The others chuckled, and Heb clarified.

"Ah, I think what Tor meant to say Cherry was, that's really terrific, well done. We'll add shipping agent to your long list of job titles aboard E16!"

"Thanks Skip. I guess we shouldn't count our chickens just yet, I've never done anything like this before and I didn't exactly discuss any particulars with Xexx last night." She was ready to laugh again if somebody chimed in with another suggestive remark here, but she was grateful when there was none.

"You're absolutely right Cherry, but don't worry, I'll tag along with you. I'm sure everything will be fine," Heb said, kindly.

And it was fine. As is turned out, Heb's presence wasn't really necessary. The deal Xexx had to offer was lucrative enough without the need for any negotiation.

Over dinner that night they made their plans to check out the next morning.

"Just damn lucky, I guess," Heb was saying, explaining the job to Tor and Fem. "Not that we weren't due some damn luck!" he went on, to the general agreement of the others.

"So, Cherry's Holdarian friend, when he heard about our cancelled cargo contract -- and more importantly what our cargo was -- remembered a diplomatic cable he'd read from their embassy on Matryll that said the Matrylla are literally crying out for as much composium as they can get their hands on and as a gesture of friendship to Cherry, and by association to her friend Velasy -- with whom he has some business dealings I gather -- he was willing to waive the usual finders fees and whatnot and set up the contract for us for free. So, because our original outbound contractor has formally condemned the cargo and written off the loss, we're gonna pocket the full value of the composium!"

"Holy shit Skip, that's awesome!" Tor said, and Cherry could see his mind spending his share of such a significant score already. Fem, however, seemed to her less enthusiastic and Cherry had an idea why.

"Skip, did you say Matryll? The Matrylla are looking for composium?" he asked. Heb pursed his lips and nodded. Tor cocked his head.

"So what's the deal with the Matrylla? Never heard of them."

It was Fem who took the job of explaining the problem for Tor, in the same way Xexx and Heb had for Cherry at their earlier meeting.

"The Matrylla are a matriarchal society -- like totally matriarchal. That might not even be the right word even. It's not just that the women are in charge, the males of the species are not on the same level cognitively as the females and they generally don't deal with males of other species either. As far as I know, the few diplomatic relations they have with other races are always conducted exclusively through females. They've been known to get pretty shooty with any ships that come their way with male crews about."

"Shooty?" Tor asked, looking at Heb now, "I don't like the sound of that Skip."

"Don't worry guys," Heb replied, "Xexx understood the problem when he thought of giving us the contract," he went on, and nodded at Cherry, "and he came up with a plan based on Cherry. It will hardly surprise you to learn that it seems she made quite the impression on him."

Cherry smiled but felt herself blush as Fem and Tor now also looked at her, both still confused.

"So," Tor asked finally, "what's the plan?"

"Well," Heb said grandly, getting out of his chair, standing behind Cherry and putting his hands on her shoulders, "crew of the Cargo Freighter Emperor 16, meet your new Skipper!"

*

The plan was simple enough really. For the duration of their time in space controlled by the Matrylla, they would essentially pretend that E16 was Cherry's ship and that Heb, Tor and Fem worked for her. Xexx had made it clear that the Matrylla would tolerate male crew aboard a ship, as long as the ship's Captain was female.

Obviously, it was genuinely dangerous. The Matrylla were well known for getting annoyed at seemingly innocuous perceived sleights or faux pas and giving expression to their annoyance by completely destroying whoever annoyed them.

Nevertheless, Cherry was incredibly excited by it.

Ever since she had first started taking her space readiness courses, the dream she had longed for was to have a ship of her own. To take command. She understood this wasn't the real thing, but in the circumstances, after only a few weeks in space, it was as good as she was going to get for a long time.

There were some practical changes that had to be made. For example, Fem had to alter the ship's universal transponder signal, which included information about ships' Captains, and Xexx had used his diplomatic connections to temporarily change the name filed under Captain on E16's entry in the Interstellar Cargo and Freight Registry from Heb's to Cherry's, just in case the Matrylla got nosey.

Cherry had suggested, only half-playfully, that they go the whole hog and that she and Heb should switch quarters. Heb told her not to get ahead of herself.

It was a four day journey from Crem to Matryll. This gave Cherry some time both to research what she would need to know about the Matrylla to pull their planned subterfuge, while also putting what she had learned into practice.

She learned much in those four days.

Fem had been right when he said matriarchy was the wrong word for Matryllan society. There were distinct biological differences between the female and males of the species that caused that word -- implying perhaps an unjustified dominance of one sex over another based on social norms -- as a misnomer in the case of the Matrylla.

In appearance at least, the two Matryllan sexes were about as different as most other species: the male had a penis, the female a vagina and breasts. Both had skin of a deep crimson color, with hair and eyes generally in various shades of green for females and white for males.

Their brains, however, were very different. Males were more or less incapable of advanced cognition of any kind and as far as Matryllan history recorded, always had been thus. The Matrylla had tried various scientific and social experiments over the centuries but all had shown clearly that the males of the species simply didn't have anything like the neurological capacity of the females and couldn't be induced to develop it.

As such, Matryllan society had women in all positions of power, authority and leadership. Formal education was generally only open to women, with males of the species put through vocational and technical training commensurate with their cognitive abilities to allow them to act essentially as a worker-bee type class in Matryllan society.

Many who visited Matryll -- and only females of any other species are recorded as having visited -- found the relationship between the sexes uncomfortable to witness, with some suggesting Matryllan women treated males cruelly. Others noted that it was difficult, or even unfair, to make such judgements about the Matrylla given their unique biology.

When Cherry start to delve into Matryllan social norms -- so that she might better put on a show pleasing to their hosts during their interactions -- she had to check multiple sources to make sure what she found was true such was its strangeness.

The accepted understanding was that Matryllan society had a very liberal attitude to sex and sexuality, even by the generally liberal attitude that pervaded in most galactic cultures at that time.

For example, on Matryll, a person wouldn't think anything odd if they walked through a hotel restaurant and came across two Matryllan women being orally pleasured by two males and another being fucked from behind, whereas if this had happened in, say, the hotel E16's crew had recently stayed in on Crem, people would definitely have thought it odd, to say the least.

Sex and sexuality pervaded Matyllan culture completely, at all levels, and sex was as common a sight in public as it was in private.

Indeed, Cherry discovered that one of the most high-profile positions males could achieve in Matryllan society was that of what they termed Jolhan. These were essentially 'studs', revered and rewarded both for their ability to produce strong, healthy offspring and, just as importantly, for their capabilities in the realm of delivering sexual pleasure to their female partners.

The concept of monogamy was completely alien to the Matrylla. An average female could expect to have many hundreds if not thousands of sexual partners in her lifetime and the higher echelons of Matryllan society often maintained harems of up to dozens of Jolhan for their personal use and that of their family, friends and entourages.

Cherry was just finishing a particularly vivid passage describing this when Tor knocked on her door.

"Hey Cherry, how's the research going?"

"Ah...," she hesitated, not sure where to start, "Good. This is definitely going to be... interesting."

"Well alright then, always better that way," Tor said, looking a little puzzled at her coy reply, "Come on, you can fill us in, Skip wants us all in the galley to go over the plan."

It didn't take Cherry long to get across the gist of what she had learned. When she had finished, Tor laughed aloud.

"I see what you mean Cherry. This will definitely be interesting!"

"You can say that again. So Cherry, what about transferring the cargo? I've never done any business on Matryll," Heb asked.

"OK -- cargo transfer," Cherry was pleased to move on to the more technical elements of their job. She enjoyed the opportunity to show her shipmates that she was learning to be just as much a spacer as they were.

"The Matrylla use a space elevator for almost all coming and going from the planet's surface, passengers and cargo," she went on, transferring an image she'd prepared of it from her Biohud to the galley's screen. Heb, Tor and Fem eyed the impossibly long elevator and it's huge orbital terminal absently. All were quite familiar with the concept and had made use of them many times on many worlds, though it was another first for Cherry.

"We'll dock at the orbital terminal here," she zoomed the image in to show the terminal's docking ports, "unload using the drones and be on our way without having to set foot on the planet, hopefully anyway."

"I don't know Cherry," Tor chimed in playfully, "seems a shame to come all this way and not take a look."

"That is does Tor," Heb agreed, "but in this case, I don't want to take any chances with people who are known to get -- what was it you called them Fem?"

"Shooty."

"Shooty," Heb said sternly. "No, Cherry's right, we let the drones do their work and if all goes well we never actually have to meet any Matrylla in person, male or female."

"I agree Skip," Fem added, "best not take any chances. Cherry, based on what you've learned, is there anything we need to know about communications? I'm guessing we're going to have to interact with them remotely at least."

"Yeah, good point Fem," Cherry replied. She had been looking forward to dealing with this point. "Based on what I've learned, we're going to have to behave a little... differently when we have any open communications with them."

"What do you mean differently?" Tor asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well," Cherry went on, "the dynamic between Matryllan females and males is quite... dominant I guess, the way they interact I mean. The males are totally subservient to the females. From the various accounts I've read, to keep on their good side it's going to be important that they see not only that I'm the Captain, but that you all treat me with great respect and deference... kind of like, I guess... that you're afraid of me."

She was smiling as she said this and the others smiled too.

"Well," Heb said finally, "interesting seems to be the word alright. Let's make final preparations, orbital acquisition should be in about two hours. And so that we avoid any mistakes, from now on we're in character, OK? Cherry -- you're the Captain, you give the orders. Everyone on board?"

"Aye, aye Skip," they said together and made for the door.

On the bridge, Cherry absent-mindedly made for her usual station along the left hand bulkhead but was stopped by a suggestive clearing of the throat from Heb. When she looked up at him, he motioned with his eyes toward the Captain's chair in the center.

"Right, sorry Skip," Cherry said a little sheepishly, but Heb only glared at her. "Oh, ah, I mean, what the hell do you think you're looking at Sundras?!" she went on, trying to use her most authoritative voice and moving forward so she was toe to toe with him. "Take your damn station!"

"Yes ma'am," Heb replied, smirking a little, "that's more like it."

"And wipe that smile off your face," Cherry thundered at him, really getting into the role now, "or I will give you something to smile about." She definitely smiled to herself as she settled into the Captain's chair.

She'd taken a few night watches on her own before now and had tried it on for size, but this felt different. Taking the ship into a potentially dangerous situation, and maybe most importantly, the need for her to command the others, made it so.

"Laudson," she bellowed at Tor, occupying his usual station aft of her, "report engine status and performance."

"Engines at 120% efficiency Captain, speed is mark 7," Tor replied. His tone was workmanlike and professional and Cherry was glad he was taking their performance seriously.

Over the next couple of hours as they approached Matryll, Cherry led them through the series of checks and diagnostics that made sure they would enter orbit correctly and, once there, be ready to quickly and efficiently offload their cargo of composium.

Finally, they were interrupted by a noise they had been expecting.

"Ah, Captain?" Fem said from his station at the rear of the bridge, after Cherry had heard the communication notification signal she recognized. "Communication signal from Matryll Orbital Control, requesting visual and audio connection."

Cherry swiveled the chair to look at Fem and all four of E16's crew shared serious glances before, with a deep breath, she began the dangerous part of their plan.

"Very well Fem, but them on screen," she said, sitting up in the chair and resisting the urge to fix her hair.

The large viewscreen in the bridge's forward bulkhead flickered momentarily before a sharp image of a Matryllan female replaced it. She was visible from about the waist up but Cherry was incredibly focused on her face and head. Though in her research she had seen many images of Matrylla, she wasn't quite prepared for just how human this one appeared, crimson skin notwithstanding.

It was almost possible to ignore the slight differences confined as they were to the sides of the head and the top of the forehead. Everything else -- eyes, nose, mouth, the shape and proportion of the face and upper body -- were all practically identical to those of a human.

To the sides of her head, and just visible at her hairline, Cherry could see that there were unusually and irregularly shaped formations. From where she sat, they looked to be more like cartilage than bone, like over-developed ears. The Matrylla's body, that they could see, was covered with what almost looked like armor rather than clothing, though it moved with her as if it were made of rubber or vinyl. It split in a V from her waist, giving them a clear view of much of her torso and it barely covered her breasts.

"Attention cargo freighter Emperor 16," the woman began. Her voice had an instant sultry quality that Cherry couldn't quite quantify, "I am Zolja Ka'an, Planetary Orbit Controller. State your business."

Cherry focused furiously, desperate to appear as if she had done this many times. She concentrated to avoid shifting in her chair or clearing her throat.

"Controller Ka'an, I am Captain Cherry Rosso, master of the Emperor 16. We are to deliver our cargo of composium under contract with the office of Governor Lin'ma. I respectfully request docking clearance."

To her own surprise, Cherry found she was able to control her breathing and she felt sure her voice had not wavered as she spoke.

"Ah, another delivery of composium for the Governor," Ka'an replied, a strange smile on her face, "transmit your cargo delivery authorization and please stand by while I request confirmation from the Governor's office," she went on and the image abruptly cut off. Cherry let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

"You're doing great, Cherry," Heb said, nodding encouragingly at her.

"Just great Cherry," Tor chimed in, "I'd swear you've been skippering for years." Cherry turned in her chair to smile at them and Fem reported.

"Captain, I've sent the authorization as instructed but there's a new request for contact. Not orbital control this time, from the planet's surface. Looks like the Governor's office."

This was an unexpected development. Xexx had arranged the contract for them directly with Governor Lin'ma. They hadn't expected to have any direct contact with her office, merely to drop their cargo off at the station and be on their way. Cherry looked to Heb, a little perturbed.

"You got this," he said, looking straight at her and nodding again. She nodded back.

"OK Fem, put it on screen."

The screen flickered again and a new Matrylla appeared. She was as strikingly beautiful as Ka'an. Her bright hair hung loosely around her shoulders. She wore a bizarre item, something Cherry had never seen before. It was black, with gold details on it. It consisted of two half-cups under her ample breasts that were barely high enough to cover her nipples which then tapered away in an ark underneath her breasts and around her side. Looking at it, Cherry couldn't see how it was possible it stayed in place.

"Captain Cherry Rosso, welcome to Matryll," she began and Cherry noted the sultry tone again, thinking that must just be the way Matryllan females sounded, "I am Litra Fan'hir, chief of staff to Governor Lin'ma," she went on, with a smile that made Cherry a little nervous. "The governor was so pleased to find your shipment available to us and is most grateful for your expedient arrival."

"It was my pleasure... ah... Miss Fan'hir, and I am anxious to complete my delivery as soon as possible."

"All in good time Captain, all in good time. The Governor wishes to extend to you an invitation to join her here in the capital for dinner this evening," Fan'hir replied, and Cherry had to concentrate to keep her eyes from going wide with shock. "The governor is anxious to begin cultivating improved relations with some of the more... enlightened species in this sector of the galaxy and is always delighted to come across female leaders such as yourself to further this goal."

Cherry's heart was racing. She knew any trip to the planet's surface, any more interaction than necessary, only increased their danger. She was also conscious, in those few moments, that refusing the invitation of a senior government official might also be a bad idea. It occurred to her that, perhaps, the invitation didn't include 'her' male crew.