Space Relations Pt. 24

The Captain did get a shock a short while later, once the Space Relations had docked in the SCS California, next to the SCS Beagle. He was sitting in the lounge with a purring cat woman on either side, while Mary and Margo danced provocatively with the other felines. Cruz and Thor excitedly cheered them on.

Willow appeared from the hallway door with two Expand-O suitcases. The brunette walked over to the hatch, set her baggage down on the floor, and taped a message to the wall. That done, Willow opened up the hatch, picked her things up and left.

"Willow?" Washington called out, as he got to his feet. "Where are you going, Willow?"

He started through the tangle of writhing bodies in the lounge, but the cats simply thought he wanted to dance with them and surrounded him. Exasperated, the Captain backed up and went around them.

"Willow?" He called out again.

"Captain." Mary said, breaking away from the dancers. "I want to say something."

Impatient to chase after his second wife, Washington glanced behind him. "What is it?"

"You can chase her if you want to, but she's already made up her mind." The blonde psychic told him. "It might be better if you let her go at this point."

"What do you mean, at this point?" Washington snapped, as he went to see what Willow had taped to the wall. It was her letter of resignation. He braced his arms on both sides of the open hatch and yelled out, "Willow, you come back here!"

By then, big Margo had come over. She got between the Captain and the exit and put her arms around him.

"It's okay, Cappy." Margo tried to soothe him. "You've still got me to kick around, and you know I'm two tons of fun even when I'm sober."

"Let me go, Margo." Washington insisted. "I'm going after Willow!"

Thor stepped up beside him. "Captain, some of us knew this was going to happen. I just want you to know, I love you, man."

Suddenly, Washington had the two biggest lugs on the ship holding him back. "Let me go before I drop-kick the both of you. I said I'm going after Willow!"

"Let him go." Mary said.

The moment he was loose, Washington jumped outside. Willow had dropped her bags right there in the dock, and was now running toward the security station. She was in that much of a hurry to get away from the ship. After all they'd been through, the captain was stunned that Willow would do this to him. They'd gotten married on Groombridge 34, for crying out loud!

"It wasn't so much a mistake for Willow, as it was an experience." Mary said, from a few feet behind him. "It was an experience she ended up not liking."

Washington turned to face her. "When did you know, Mary? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"I knew ever since we left Zeus. I didn't tell you because you would have been trying to talk her out of it for the entire trip here. She would have nodded and went along with you. She would have lied and told you that everything was fine. Then, when she got the chance, she would have run off anyway. That's what I meant by letting her go at this point. She doesn't want to be here anymore."

"I'll take her luggage to the security station." Thor said, walking over to retrieve it. "I'll be right back."

As the big Viking strode away, Washington stood there confused. "You're suppressing my anger, aren't you, Mary?"

"Yes. If you really want to get angry, I'll let it go. Your real friends are in the Space Relations, Captain."

Washington watched the pretty blonde step inside his ship. He set his hands on his hips and looked up at the metallic gray dock ceiling. After this, he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Some things he could expect to happen, but not the mutiny of someone on his crew. Willow had been there from the beginning, and now she was about to become a memory for him.

"She was my wife, damn it!" The captain grumbled, but there was no fury behind it. From inside the ship, Mary was still absorbing his harsher emotions. Despite that, the disappointed black man stayed out there, watching and waiting for Thor to drop off the luggage and start his way back.

"You should really have a couple of dances with the cat-girls." Thor said, upon his return to the captain's side. "If we're dropping them off on the Neptune, we probably won't be seeing them anymore."

Washington was left alone then, with dance music drifting out from the open hatch. After a couple of minutes, Mary was seen peeking out at him.

"Are you okay, Captain?"

Washington shrugged. "I didn't expect this. I shouldn't have any turnover at all on a ship the size of this one. I started off with a full crew of seven people. We lost Cummings at Edgeworth Platform, and now Willow just up and quit on me. I've only got five people left including me!"

"Captain, we're picking two of our people up from the Neptune. That will make us seven again. If you don't come in here right now, I'm telling the kittens to go outside and start dancing around you. You know that will be a spectacle and you'll be very embarrassed by it."

Washington could have drawn things out, but he relented and stepped inside. After taking one final look at the mostly empty dock, he shut the hatch behind him.

The last time the crew of the Space Relations had been on the SCS Neptune had been a somber affair. They'd just delivered the two newest members of their crew, former Commander Camelia 'Cammie' Braxton, and Supply Logistics Officer Barbara 'Barbie' Bruxhall, to a military tribunal from Earth. Cammie's fate in Space Corps was to be decided by trial, and Barbie was to be a key witness during the proceedings. The first time the crew had been on the Neptune, they'd basically turned the much bigger ship upside down by informing the highest authority in Space Corps, Admiral Cocksander, of the abuses taking place on Cammie's ship. Not only had Cammie and her second in command been removed immediately, but several other high ranking officers had suffered similar dismissals once an official investigation had started up.

All that was over now. The tribunal was done with and the officials overseeing it had gone back to Earth. The scuttlebutt was that Cammie had been spared time in jail based on her heroic efforts on Groombridge 34 and Edgeworth Platform, the news of which had been broadcast through the Neptune as soon as they were able to receive it. As a result, public sentiment was split over how harsh Cammie's punishment should be. Now that they were no longer yoked by that woman's harsh behavior and restrictions, a large minority of the Neptune's occupants felt she had redeemed herself. Some were even proud that their former commander was now a hero and minor celebrity from the Space Relations. The larger portion of the Neptune's crew, however, still held grudges and spit venom about Cammie every time they recalled how she'd abusively lorded it over them. In their eyes, Cammie had a long way to go before she should be placed anywhere near a ship's command chair, if ever again.

The Starship Neptune was now under the authority of Commander Brody. Unlike when Cammie was in charge, Brody had been brought in to return the Neptune's crew into a happier state of mind so they could function more efficiently on a home so far away from Earth. At Cocksander's instruction, Brody had increased the venues of entertainment on board the large vessel, including finishing construction on a complex that included many of the creature comforts from their home planet, and also by bringing in a steady stream of artists, bands, comedians, gurus in various fields and even sensual courtesans that comforted the men and encouraged the women.

In keeping with this concept of harmony, the crew of the Space Relations did not immediately exit their tiny ship. Instead, they were in a constant communication with the hierarchy from the Neptune while arranging how and where they would make their first public appearance. Even Barbie and Cammie were asked to stay away for the time being, so they would be included in whatever surprises would soon emerge from the now well-known celebrity ship.

"What do you think they're up to?" Shuttle driver Crumly asked his superior. Both men were on the far end of the dock where their higher-ups had stationed them. Behind the pair were three five-passenger shuttles. Each of the small electric vehicles had been covered over with canvas so their ride-alongs would not be seen. "I haven't seen our ship this excited since Braxton got the boot up the ass."

Former Dock Coordinator Mulligan had been promoted to Entertainment Coordinator, a post he liked a thousand times better than the previous one. Mulligan's favorite artist of all-time was Elvis Presley. In keeping with the Neptune's overriding concept of diversity and diversion, Mulligan dressed up like Elvis nearly all the time now. He was the happiest he'd been in years.

"Mulligan, are you even listening to me, you smelly turd?" Crumly asked.

The beaming man shook his head. "I don't know what they're up to. I just know I'm as excited as anyone else on board. Do you know how much better things have been since Bitch Braxton was sent into exile?"

"Of course I do, you nut sack. She used to shit on guys like me the most."

"Well, they're not calling her Braxton anymore, but Cammie. I hear that she avoided brig time by sucking everybody's dick that was on the tribunal."

"I heard that too." Crumly nodded.

"Really? Do you think it is true?"

"Wait a minute. Maybe I heard it from you earlier. I can't remember anymore. I saw the surveillance video from the Edgeworth. I really didn't think that old bag had it in her, but a lot of people think she's a fucking superhero for helping rescue all those people."

"What about Groombridge?" Mulligan reminded his fellow. "Our Cammie seduced the king of that planet. That story is straight out of science fiction! The people on that planet were growing old, and so they needed human lovers from Earth to revitalize their genes to grow young again. Who could have even come up with such a thing? That's what I call having an imagination!"

"Listen, man. When the call went out that volunteers from the Neptune were needed to go hump the population of Groombridge, I almost went."

"I almost went too, but I was so busy with the scheduling here that I couldn't break away from all that. Why didn't you go?"

"Who wants to hump a bunch of old people?"

"They weren't old after the humping."

"Well, the brass very conveniently left that part out at the beginning." Crumly reminded his former boss. "All they told us was that these old people needed to get humped so they could stay alive. They didn't say anything about them turning into young people after the fact. I think they kept that from us on purpose! It was a conspiracy!"

"Of course they did. If they told us the truth, that these Groombridge people were pretty hot to begin with, despite them being old farts, and that they were even hotter once they regained their youth, then everybody on the Neptune would have signed up."

"Would you hump an old lady, if she was going to turn into a young lady later?"

"I would have to see it happen first. What if I humped an old lady and she stayed old? That would have grossed me out!"

"Sounds like a personal problem. If I was told the truth from the start, I would have gone and humped half the planet of Groombridge, just like the Space Relations crew did. Man, that must have been fun!"

Mulligan's hand-held radio chose that precise moment to buzz at his waist. He unclipped it and brought it up to his mouth. "Mulligan here."

"We're ready for pick-up." The voice of Science Officer Cruz came back. "Are the transports covered up as we requested, baby?"

"That's affirmative."

"Excellent. Bring them over, baby. Oh, hold on. Mary would like to say something."

A moment later, the blonde's bubbly voice was heard. "Hi, sweeties! How are you guys? Hey, we want to be sure nobody sees what we're up to until we're ready."

"We have canvas over all three shuttles," Mulligan replied. "I've asked for traffic to be drastically reduced throughout our route, and there will be a back entrance available for you guys to enter the new auditorium."

"Awesome! Are people already waiting for us there?"

"We had to hold a lottery, because near every one on board wanted to attend. This event will be broadcast live all over the Neptune."

"Oh, goodie! Okay, come and get us. We do have some surprises here, so keep that in mind. Knowing you guys the way I do, I think you're going to like these surprises."

Crumly showed off a wide grin when he heard that.

"You're sending us happy thoughts, aren't you, Mary?" Mulligan asked.

"Of course I am. It's like I always say; if you guys are happy, I'm happy. Come and pick us up, you guys."

"We'll be right there, Mary!" Crumly leaned over and shouted into Mulligan's device.

"On our way." The other man confirmed. "Mulligan out." The moment he'd replaced his hand-held on his belt, he walked over to check the magnetic lock holding two of the shuttles together. Two drivers for three shuttles didn't make sense until one took into account that Cruz had a shuttle operator's license.

Not wanting to wait a second longer, Crumly jumped into his shuttle and started off without his companion.

"Hey, Crumly, you shit, wait a minute!" Mulligan called out, jumping into the lead vehicle of the tandem.

The two men raced each other to the Space Relations. The moment they parked, they eagerly jumped out of their seats and ran toward the hatch. They expected either Cruz or Mary to be there to greet them, but instead the men saw several sexy feline faces peering back at them.

Mulligan rubbed his eyes. "Crumly, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"I don't know what I'm seeing," His partner answered. "But I'm liking it!"

Along with the furry, sexy faces, the two men saw the rounded breasts and the wide hips as well. Flabbergasted, they leaned in for a closer look, only to have the cat-women reach out and yank them inside, where... Well, you can imagine what happened next.

Several hours later, things were in a steady, happy uproar in Section F of the Neptune. The crowd was standing room only in the posh amphitheater, and all rose to their feet to clap and cheer when Cruz and Mary first hit the stage. Immediately, the two hams started dancing, rousing up the crowd into a clamor worthy of a rock-star. As they danced, two cat-women went out at a time to dance with them. The belly-dancing and undulating felines were sensual enough to push the noise to levels never heard before.

The dancing stopped, giving Cruz and Mary the opportunity to introduce the cats to the public. The felines did have names, but these were not reproducible with human vocal cords, and so they were introduced simply by the color of their fur. Afterward, Cruz and Mary made like award show hosts, bringing up Washington and Thor. Just after this, Mulligan ran onstage with his own mike, bringing the two crewmembers from the tribunal into the spotlight. Nobody on the Space Relations had seen the two women yet, and were stunned to see they had changed their hair colors. Cammie was the older woman with silver-gray hair, but no more. Now her hair was black with stylish, not to mention sexy, streaks lining both sides. Even more exciting to see was Barbie, who'd changed her hair color from a drab brown to a sensational dark red. While the rest of the crew ran over to greet the two women with bear hugs, their captain could only stand there openmouthed and staring at how gorgeous his first wife looked.

Barbie strode over to embrace her man. "I can read your mind enough to know you like it."

"Like it?" Washington asked. "I love it!"

"So you're saying that my hair color was boring before?"

"I see what you did there." Washington smiled, kissing his wife for the first time in weeks. "Listen, is it still cheating if I did it with a member of another species?"

"You cad!" Barbie looked surprised. She mocked giving her husband a slap across the face. "How many of them did you sleep with? Never mind that, I just read your thoughts. I can't believe you slept with all of them!"

"I did it in..."

"In the name of science." Barbie finished off. "Like you really expect me to believe that! Some excuse, buster!"

"Well, it works when Cruz says it." Washington chuckled. More seriously, he asked, "What do you think about Willow?"

"I read your message." Barbie admitted. "I also read the copy of her resignation letter that you sent over." She shook her head. "I really liked Willow. I tried getting in touch with her, but she refused to answer my transmissions."

"I tried a couple of times myself. It's too bad, isn't it? We can talk about her later. Let's just enjoy the moment for now. We just got here and I'm really glad to see you."

"I'm really glad to see you too!" She admitted.

Barbie's eyes were glowing, Washington noticed, and her smile was radiant. He kissed her again, holding her close.

When the other members of the crew started inviting spectators to dance on the stage with them, or when the crew went into the audience to dance, Barbie and Washington retreated backstage to make out. Thor went to mix things up on the DJ table, with his own cadre of groupies surrounding him. At one point, the former tyrant Cammie was standing alone and timid because she knew so many people still had animosity toward her. This ended when several members of her old security detail, men who'd had the hots for her for some time, went to surround her as well. When Cruz and Mary started losing their clothes, so did a lot of members of the audience. And so the time passed along quite nicely for all involved.

Washington and his woman were still fooling around backstage, when Commander Brody and two of his officers came by. The captain of the Neptune took a quick look at what was happening onstage, discovering that everyone was out there dancing nude.

"You've really started something here, Lieutenant Washington." Brody said.

"I'm sorry about that." Washington replied to the senior man. "I'll put a stop to it if you think we've gone over the line."

Brody held his hand up. "No need. I don't mind that our people are cutting loose out there. I'd join them myself, except undoubtedly someone will put a video of me up on the Galactic Web. I'll have you know that my last assignment was watching over resource acquisition on the Trojan satellite ring. That was a very boring detail for a man with as many years under his belt as I have. Actually, I only have a couple of years to go before I retire. This assignment here on the Neptune is more like an extended vacation than it is a task, so I'm not complaining. Carry on, Lieutenant."

The two men saluted, before Brody and his officers stepped out onto the stage. Washington heard the officious man being greeted with cheers, very much a contrast to the booing that Cammie had gotten in the past.

"He's a good man." Barbie said. "He gave me the same offer that Cocksander did a couple of months ago. All I have to do is say yes and he'll give me my old job back on the Neptune."

This caused some tension in the captain. "And what did you say?"

"Don't worry." She smiled. "I'm not leaving you like Willow did. I was tactful with Commander Brody. I just said that I felt I still needed a break from my old administrative duties. Being on the Space Relations is a lot of fun, hubby, and especially when I'm spending quality time with you." She smacked him on the ass. "I can't believe you did the dirty with all those cat women!"

"They were severely distraught after having lost all of their indigenous males." Washington grinned. "We had no choice except to console them."

"I know that's a lie!" Barbie put her head on her husband's shoulder. "Do you really expect me to believe that after the way they were shaking their butts earlier?"