Space Relations Pt. 25

Fame, fortune and politics, thought Washington. As above, so below. The same motivations that drove most people on Earth were still prevalent out in space, because human nature was the same in both dimensions. Those were some of the reasons he'd wanted to gain the helm of his own ship, so he could leave all of that political garbage behind. The fame wasn't so bad, as the Space Relations seemed to make the Galactic Web more frequently than most other spaceships. The fortune part he wasn't concerned about, but it was the politics that he really abhorred.

"So how can we improvise?" Alice giggled. "So we can make it look like we went all the way?"

It was all transient, Washington thought. He felt that Alice was genuine with him when it came to her emotions, at least when she confided in him. She was smart enough to know it wouldn't last, however, and so she was setting things up so the publicity from their encounter would live on long after the event was over. Cruz sometimes thought in the same terms, when he also insisted that the crew do things that would keep spectators talking about them in the future. This would guarantee that the Space Relations and her crew would always be remembered. The Vamps were simply trying to ride their celebrity coattails while trying to put their gang name into the spotlight.

"We've got some time." Washington decided. "Let's just try a couple of things and see what works best."

It was a few hours later when the entire crew of the Space Relations could be found gathered together in the same luxury suite. Commander Brody had comped the hotel room after the humongous orgy at the amphitheater, and the strange mess that had taken place on the side involving the Vamps. At the moment, the tech savvy Thor was using a remote control to scan channels on the Galactic Web, trying to find the latest news to explain recent events, and comparing the reports to what had actually happened. Several networks were putting their own spin on things, by sensationalizing events or even by outright lying.

One of the uncensored and independent news networks went as far as showing video from the actual raid, provided by the body-cams the Neptune's security detail wore. In the footage, security burst through the hatch of the Vamps' hideout. To the viewers at home, or at work even, it looked like Lieutenant Washington and his wife were being held captive and forced to copulate with the gang girls.

"This isn't a conspiracy theory, folks." The newscaster reported. "You can see with you own eyes that Captain Washington and his voluptuous babe were taken against their wills and raped, basically, by a vicious gang of lesbian data entry clerks..."

"Did you hear that?" Barbie chimed in. "He called me a voluptuous babe!"

The reporter droned on. "And what do we have as an official statement, but that the Captain and his wife were invited to have a friendly chat with some of their most ardent fans. I don't know about you, folks, but having a gang of vicious lesbians rip off my clothes and jump on me and my wife does not sound like my idea of a friendly chat..."

Thor muted the volume when several of the crew started laughing.

"What really happened there, Captain?" Cruz wondered. "And why didn't you invite Mary and I to join you? You know I'm still on my crusade to cure lesbianitis from any afflicted lesbians and bring that scourge disease to its final, glorious end. I could have been a shining knight like Sir Lancelot, and I could have used my lance a lot? Get it, Lancelot, use my lance a lot?"

Sitting beside him, Mary started giggling.

"Yeah, Cappy, you should have told us ahead of time." Margo added. "I wouldn't have minded having a romp with the Vamps. I'm an honorary member, aren't I? Now all those bitches are under arrest!"

"Not for long." Washington explained. "And they're not under arrest. They were simply taken in for questioning while voluntarily being cuffed. It is all part of the game plan Alice, Barbie and I came up with. The Vamps wanted to be a big hit on the Neptune and my wife and I were able to help them out."

"So that last reporter was right about a conspiracy existing to cover things up?" Thor asked.

"Not entirely." Washington corrected. "What I'm about to say cannot leave this room. First of all, the Vamps did kidnap Barbie and myself. They hadn't thought their plan out very well, and so when they had us, they didn't know quite what to do with us. As things progressed, Barbie and I made an agreement with that little lesbian Alice to work with them instead of against them."

On the screen, Thor put up a still image of the Vamp Alice riding Washington on a couch. That image was making the rounds on the uncensored channels.

"Did that freaky little woman really take your massive shlong, Captain?" Mary asked, incredulous. "Because I know for a fact your shlong is as big as she is!"

"It isn't that big, Mary." Washington modestly replied. "And no, she did not take my shlong, as you so crudely put it."

"It sure looks like she did, Cappy." Margo commented.

Washington sighed. "I asked Alice to masturbate me to a climax before everyone found us. So I had gone limp by the time the Vamps arrived, and the security detail came in only a couple of minutes after they did. It was easy enough for Alice to pretend to be riding me the entire time, but it was really a cunning deception."

"Most of the Vamps don't even know." Barbie took over the talk. "To an outside eye, it did look like we were kidnapped and sexually assaulted. The truth is that it was mostly staged. Hubby, Alice and I were communicating telepathically the entire time. We came up with the plan that for the next twenty-four hours, it would really look as if hubby and I were taken against our wills. The Vamps will get that infamy they want, and all the attention will be focused on them for the time being. The problem is that a lot of people got pissed off at the Vamps for doing this. They want throw the law book at them, pretty much. So, we're having the security people issue misleading statements to kind of confuse the issue."

"In the meantime, the spotlight will be on the Vamps." Washington said. "The news cameras will be following them around and peppering them with a million questions, and the Vamps will try to further their own plans and agendas. Most importantly, they want to be recognized as a social group, and not categorized as a street gang. They want funding to purchase and maintain their own clubhouse. They want to wear their gang colors out in public and other things like that. I made a suggestion to them. While Alice was leading us through the various passages in the warehouse section, I noticed how dreary and dark those tunnels were. I told Alice that as a way to clear the record, the Vamps could paint landscapes on the bleak walls, such as city or nature scenes. One of the things I enjoyed the most while on Earth was that I could jump into my car and have a drive around town. It would be nice to see colorful scenery instead of the metallic walls we're accustomed to staring at, and there are a lot of vehicle passages all over the Neptune."

"That's a nice idea, Captain." Mary smiled. "You always think of everyone else. So that means that the people on the inside will know the kidnapping was fake, but the people on the outside won't."

"For the time being, yes." Washington nodded. "The way these things usually go, I'm sure we'll have a leak sooner or later."

"You should be ashamed of yourself." Cammie said. "I never thought you were the kind of man who would stoop to deception to further some social cause."

"We didn't have a choice!" Barbie laughed. "They did take us against our wills, but we managed to turn the tables on them."

"The Vamps will be released after twenty-four hours, with no charges filed against them." Washington concluded. He glanced at the video screen with the frozen image of little Alice riding him still on display. "Thor, will you please change that?"

"Right away, Captain."

"Anyway, that is enough of that." Washington said. "Let's talk about other matters. Cruz, how did the transfer of the cat-women go?"

"Excellent, Captain. The cat-babes made a very good initial impression. The people here on the Neptune were glad to take them, and hump them of course. They will undergo thorough physical and DNA analysis here on this ship, before the results are sent back to Earth to a cloning management facility. We're all optimistic that cat-men will be created for them, or at the very least cat-children."

"Those women are very happy to be here." Mary nodded. "They think everything they're looking at is new and exciting. I'm sure the novelty will wear off somewhere down the line, but for the time being they have no inclination to go back to their home planet."

"Very good." The captain nodded. "Now that we've delivered the cat-women and have Barbie and Cammie back, we have an open schedule ahead of us. If anyone has any ideas of which direction we should explore next, I will gladly listen to them."

"I've taken the liberty of downloading the latest star maps and a listing of planets within Goldilocks zones." Thor informed his superior.

"We'll go over them before departure." Washington nodded. "Cammie, I understand that you've been given a choice over whether to remain here on the Neptune or staying with us. Have you made a decision yet?"

"Captain, I have a lot of friends of this ship, but also a lot of enemies." The older woman admitted. "If I stay here, undoubtedly they will start using me as a pawn for whatever plots they're hatching up, just as the Vamps used you and Barbie. With all due respect, I like the Space Relations and I especially like its Captain."

Several of the crew started hooting all at once, hinting at what might happen between those two once they'd gone back to their ship. It was almost enough to make a black man blush.

"Enough." Washington held his hands out to quiet his crew. "I hope you've all gotten your social interaction and your boredom out of the way, because we will soon be exploring the galaxy again. All I still need to do is to post an opening for a new systems analyst before we head out."

"No, you don't!" Barbie scolded him. "Take a good look at me, hubby! I've got all this and brains, too! Systems analyst is a low-level post, while I was a high-level logistics expert. If I can manage resources on a ship the size of the Neptune, I sure as hell can run routines and sub-routines on the Space Relations!"

"Can you do the programming?" Washington asked.

"Captain, I know that Willow was your second wife and everything," Thor revealed. "But don't get offended when I say that she was not that good when it came to computer programming."

"I created all sorts of algorithms for maintaining supplies on the Neptune." Barbie added. "Systems analyst, pffft!"

"Captain, I highly recommend her for the post." Cammie asked. "I can assure you that I did not have to worry about running out of anything while Barbie was in charge of our supplies."

Barbie pointed at the older woman. "See, she knows what's up. The guy I took over from, he could barely keep up with toothpaste and toilet paper. I redid the entire system so that I could predict when we needed to re-supply down to three to five days max."

Washington wondered what things would be like, if he had his own wife under his command, performing her duties only a few feet away from him. He'd never really gotten into a fight with Barbie, but then again, she'd never been part of his official flight crew.

"Uh, Captain, you should take a look at this." Thor caught his attention, and that of the rest of the people in the suite. "This story just broke on the Galactic Web."

On the screen, a video was playing of a nude Commander Brody humping an equally nude former Commander Cammie. Apparently, the video was taken by one of the bystanders during the mass orgy at the amphitheater.

"That's what I call a juicy scandal, baby!" Cruz said, excitedly.

"High-five, Cammie!" Mary said, reaching over to slap the older woman's hand. "Woo-hoo!"

"So much for the Vamps getting all the headlines." Margo added.

"Captain, I recommend that we leave the Neptune right away, before the blowback reaches us." Cammie calmly told her superior.

Washington could just imagine the repercussions of what he was witnessing, and especially when that video reached Earth. He glanced around at the faces of his crew. "How fast can all of you make it to the ship?"