Spark the Runner Ch. 04

Erliss gave him what Spark recognized as a smile.

Would you care that we find some private space, Professor? she asked. And I will try to explain...

* * * * *

The Professor lay next to Okami, breathing softly. He had just had his entire existence rearranged and was feeling izmotanny... rather knackered. Erliss had explained to him, intimately, just how the hormonal attraction and manipulation worked in Cresco-Human relations. The Professor's penis, which hadn't seen an erection in a decade, did Yeoman's work filling her with both it and his cum a half-dozen times or so, while giving him the opportunity to become closely -- very closely -- familiar with her breasts, vulva and other accoutrements.

The Professor had seemed a bit shy at the idea of Spark, Tonya and Okami accompanying Erliss and him to the private room, but Tonya had worked her meta-magic on the man and blew right through any inhibitions he was harboring. Erliss took care of the rest when he had pointed out that sexual reactions in a man his age were highly unlikely.

You are aged, not deceased, she had told him. Your human physiology falls victim to poor endocrinal communications as the glands age. That does not mean your body does not work anymore. It is simply, the triggering mechanisms have deteriorated. What I can show you is that we Crescians exude exactly the types of hormonal messengers that your body needs to respond. Will you trust me to demonstrate?

Although skeptical, the Professor decided to trust her, and that pretty much did him in. Starting with exposure to her "Land of Milk and Honey", as Spark liked to call it. Her breast milk and the "honey" of her natural vaginal lubrication was overpowering. Spark, Tonya and Okami were treated to the vision of an elderly man having his clock wound back.

Later, as Spark and Tonya looked in on the Professor sleeping blissfully, curled up with Okami, Spark thought to Tonya over their microband transceivers, can you do something to him like Erliss did?

With some preparation, she acknowledged. Although, Erliss has a strong advantage in that she is naturally stimulating to humanoids. She does not need to adjust... she just is.

So... Spark looked pensive, if we wanted to reward a bunch of geriatric subversives who will be working with us to fuck up the Blood Alliance...

Yes, any of the Crescians could give them what you refer to as a religious experience, Tonya finished for him. Provided they had an interest in sex, at some point in their lives.

I think this is one we want to keep in our hip pocket, Spark told her. Just in case.

Keep what in your hip pocket, husband? Tonya asked, looking confused. I have been doing an analysis of the milk and honey, but I have not yet been able to synthesize any.

It's slang, Lizzie, he answered. We're keeping this information available for future use.

Okay, she shrugged. Would you like me to make us some dinner?

I think the Professor is going to be hungry when he surfaces, so yes, Spark decided. I think he's found Okami comfortable, so let's leave them be.

After what Erliss did, Tonya smiled as she headed for the kitchenette, Okami might be able to interest him in some creative fellatio and anilingus, even if he does not reach orgasm.

Spark just smiled and shook his head, closing the door and heading after Tonya to see if he could be of help.

* * * * *

"I will be returning to Earth, soon," the Professor was telling the Solarian Trade Team -- Spark, Tonya and Okami -- at dinner a few days later. He seemed quite a bit more spry, and chipper, than when he arrived. "I will be stowing away on a Diplomatic Courier. They are going to Osaka, but don't mind dropping me near home on the way."

That evening's meal was another stew concoction Spark had cobbled together from foodstuffs he could glean from the embassy. Regardless of what was in it, it was better than synthesized. He always made sure it was savory and that it would pass the Okami test... if she was licking it off her muzzle, it was good.

"Girl, if you don't stop that, you are going to put me in cardiac arrest," the Professor commented, noticing Okami using her very prehensile tongue to clean up.

"I don't think so, Professor," she smiled in return. "You are healthy enough to make me pass out. That takes some doing."

"That, my dear, is hands and mouth... and requires significantly less energy."

"Don't kid yourself," Okami continued to smile. "You're pretty excellent down my throat, up my cunt and in my ass." The Professor coughed slightly, and Spark smiled, realizing the Prof was feeling a little embarrassed.

"Hey," he had to tease the old man, "Erliss says she'd like to fuck goodbye before you leave. I mean, say goodbye..." The momentary flicker of lust and terror on the Professor's face was worth it.

"We will be having our own 'leaving soon', husband," Tonya put in. "As soon as Leeanni is done with some kind of special training, we are going to be boarding one of their starships for Recensere. Saelass is sending us a manual to review... in English -- you do not have to panic... with which we should be familiar before we leave."

Spark nodded, turning to finish his meal. Shit was about to get serious. It was his understanding that even folding space and time, it would take the equivalent of an Earth week to get to the Crescian home planet. Leeanni had asked for at least a further week to acclimate the Solarians to life on Recensere, if she could get it. Back-timing it, they were going to have to leave sometime in the next few days.

"With us incommunicado," Spark turned to the Professor, "you're going to need to keep in contact with Krisslum and Saelass. They'll keep you posted on what is happening with us."

"And I will keep them posted on how our little insurgency is going," the Professor agreed. "If things go well, we will be ready long before you execute the first seawater extraction contract. You still need to decide if aliens will be doing the harvesting, or if we will be hiring humans to do it."

"That will be pretty much up to the Crescians," Spark answered.

"I would think that forming a human corporation to do the extraction, processing and packaging would be best," Tonya opined. "Paychecks go a long way to acquiring loyalty... and mitigating xenophobia."

"We will certainly take it under advisement," the Professor nodded. "Now... not to be too crass, and... is there any dessert?" Okami turned and gave him a broad Canilupe grin.

"Before that," the Professor amended. "As in, edible and probably sweet."

"Edible and sweet?" Tonya asked as she and Okami smiled at each other.

"Food," the Professor amended again.

"Of course," Tonya told him. "Coming right up."

* * * * *

The 240,000 word manual would have been a real pain in the ass if Spark and Tonya hadn't been able to access a dataplex copy of it, courtesy of the ambassadors, and store it in toto. Okami was having to review the information through jacking sessions with the other two, usually in the afternoons and after dinner. What they discovered along the way was that unless there was some sort of emergency, they didn't need to know most of it. They were going to be, essentially, freight.

Freight with a stateroom, that is. The Crescian starship was basically a big globe. Atmosphere and gravity were artificially kept Recensere-normal, but could be varied as needed, depending on the race of the passengers. In comparison to the interplanetary freighter Aquila, the one used by Spark, Tonya and Okami to get to Mars, the Ta'ara Pa'akshee was modern elegance. Smooth surfaces, neutral colors, soft automatic lighting, plush sleeping and lounging appointments... all designed for traveling in comfort.

Some of the furniture, dining ware and so forth varied depending on who was traveling, but for this run, the Crescians and Solarians were close enough in their humanoid physiology that it wasn't particularly strange. After some consultation, the Crescians assigned a stateroom to the Solarians which was like a small one-bedroom apartment, in that it had a parlor, kitchen, dinette, lavatory and bedroom all set up for human use. The single bedroom had a monster bed in it, large enough that Spark, Tonya and Okami could all sleep in it without crowding each other at all. They had all been good with sharing and hadn't seen any need for individual privacy.

They found out later that it was originally designed for Rigelians, from the star system Rigel in the constellation Orion. They were fairly large, flattened ovoids, sort of like discs with central humps. They had the ability to levitate in order to move around. The Crescian engineers, when told they'd be having human passengers who didn't mind sharing a single bedroom, had converted one of the Rigelian ones.

Leeanni met them at Hellas Planitia spaceport. In the company of two rather burly male Crescians. Unusually, she was in a long, almost burqa-like dress and her companions were in the equivalent of kilts.

Greetings, esteemed Solarians, she thought as she approached them. Spark got the feeling the formality was for the benefit of her bodyguards. We will not be leaving for a couple of days, she went on. I asked for this first trip to acquaint you with your lodgings and to handle any questions prior to departure. Our ship is in high orbit, and therefore we must take a shuttle to her. If you would follow me, we will get underway.

Spark shrugged, as did Tonya and Okami. Leeanni was running this show. They followed her, flanked by her guards, to the "diplomatic" line where the Customs and SEX people had their checkpoint. SEX was the Security Executive eXtraterrestrial, the people theoretically in charge of monitoring the comings and goings of non-humans. It was the opinion of the general populace that they didn't know their ass from a hole in the ground and were less than useful. They were, however, established bureaucracy and their game had to be played.

Leeanni showed her credentials to the Customs guy and explained her entourage. The entire group was summarily passed through, without ID checks.

Must be nice to be the Ambassadors' daughter, Spark thought.

Leeanni led them through several used-to-be-white corridors until they reached the loading ramp for one of the orbital shuttles. This one appeared to be dedicated to Crescian use because there were no other passengers aboard. The party of six was easily seated in a craft designed to ferry a couple of dozen humans and they strapped in as the whine of the Carleton generators began.

The generators powered the ship's thrusters, as well as most of the life support and gravitic systems. An orbital shuttle like this could only get to about 50% Earth-normal gravity, but it was better than weightless. It was a few minutes later that the Captain came on the intercom, introduced herself and her First Officer, and indicated they were in the queue for liftoff. Minutes after that, the shuttle eased clear of the hangar doors and began a slow ascent, steadily increasing in velocity.

It took about two hours for the shuttle to achieve high orbit and then rendezvous with the Ta'ara Pa'akshee, which Spark was informed meant Star Fish... a swimmer between stars, essentially. After they were docked and the airlock cycled, Leeanni led them along a narrow corridor to a larger space, where a couple of Crescian males were waiting for them.

This is our central mustering point, or Foyer, Leeanni explained. May I introduce Captain Shruulum and First Officer Jerralann? Captain, these are our Solarian guests... Jamie McLeod and his wife Lizzie -- Solarian Humans -- and their friend Okami, a Solarian Canilupe. The group nodded to each other in acknowledgement and the Captain reached out to their minds.

We have been informed you are comfortable with telepathy, he told them. Welcome to my ship. Leeanni will be your primary contact while aboard. We will introduce other staff when it becomes necessary. You will understand that any order from me or my First Officer will be considered absolute. We have an unblemished safety record and we will be keeping it that way. You are the first humans I have encountered, so please let us know if there are any special requirements we need to address before liftoff.

We are certain we will be safe and comfortable in your hands, Captain, Tonya thought back. Spark noted that she had managed to get that little purr that the Crescians liked into her telepathic communications as well as her oral ones. He decided to let her lead.

The Captain gave one of those strange Crescian smiles and turned to Jerralann. Take Leeanni and party to the Purser and get them ID'd, he told his First Officer. Then meet me on the bridge.

Aye, Sir, Jerralann thought back, then turned to Leeanni. If you and your party would please follow me? He didn't wait for a response, but simply turned and began walking off.

Leeanni turned and followed him, expecting the others to follow... so they did. They walked through pristine hallways with occasional hatches until Spark figured they were near the center of the ship. A pair of large clear tubes sat dead center in a large circular atrium. Looking up was dizzying. Spark could see several balconies which he presumed must be decks. The tubes disappeared into some kind of ceiling at the top, some 40 to 50 meters up, by Spark's reckoning. He knew the ship was a giant sphere with a diameter of about 150 meters and therefore a total volume of about 1.75 million cubic meters.

Big.

We use the same arrow symbols as you for Up and Down, Leeanni explained as they walked towards the tubes. These work similarly to the Levitators you use in Hellas Planitia. We will be going Up to Blue. So saying, she followed Jerralann as he led the group into the Up tube and each began to rise as they entered. Basically, the tube was a buffered gravity well where you just floated in the direction you'd picked and had the opportunity at several levels to step off.

Spark knew that the level they had entered on, Red, was the lowest of the color-coded ones. Rising, they went through the spectrum -- Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. The top deck was White and below Red was Black. Black contained both the primary cargo area and the Warp Drives which made the magic of folding time and space work. White held a large Commons area which functioned as a lounge; the ship's Mess; the Library; and the public Communications center. The top deck, above White, was the Bridge and Operational areas.

Blue, it turned out as they stepped off onto its balcony, had several Services, including a Cleaners, the Sick Bay and Pharmacy, a small Grocery for specialized items, and most importantly, the Offices of the Purser, responsible for most of the administrivia on the ship. Spark knew from the voluminous manual that second to the Captain, the Purser was the most important person onboard. The Purser's staff handled all the cargo and passenger manifests, all money related functions, all supplies and oversaw most safety checks as well. In this case, they were getting photo ID's.

Jerralann took them to the main entrance of the Purser's Office and told the clerk what was needed. Then he bowed out.

Leeanni, you can conduct our guests to their quarters when you are done, he told her. If you need anything, the Captain and I will be on the Bridge. Leeanni nodded her understanding and watched him go.

It was relatively painless to get photographed and their ID's issued. The ID contained the digital key to their stateroom, as well as access to passenger-approved areas in the ship. When everyone but Leeanni's guards had their official badge, Leeanni took them up to White. Spark noted that probably meant the guards weren't coming with her.

I want to swing through here first, she told them, and show you what we've got. It can get boring in flight, and you may wish to do something other than fuck your brains out.

Spark felt Tonya and Okami chuckling at Leeanni's rather straightforward assessment. He tended to agree with them.

Leeanni gave them the 5cr tour, including the self-serve bar in the lounge; where the vid and music controls were; where the Mess was, and so forth. You have most of this available in your stateroom, she told them. I usually only come here when I'm bored. I am hoping that with you along, I won't get bored. She didn't explain herself and the others didn't ask.

When they finished with the tour of the White Deck, Leeanni led them down to Indigo Deck, where their stateroom was. It was exactly as advertised, only more so. The furnishings were plush and comfortable, the kitchen came pre-stocked with a variety of Earth-based foods and beverages, including alcoholic, and the massive bed had an equally massive number of pillows.

I believe we will be very comfortable on the trip, Tonya told Leeanni. Will there be a lot of passengers?

Not a lot, Leeanni answered. Many of the non-Crescian trade partners currently on Mars will be going. I think at most there will be twenty to twenty-five, including yourselves. That would be considered sparse.

Is there anything else with which we need to be familiar? Tonya asked, and getting a negative, suggested they return to their apartment to pack up and be ready to go, to which Leeanni agreed.

* * * * *

"She is playing something close to the vest," Spark commented as they started getting their duffels in order.

"I think, husband, that we may have misjudged her level of maturity in social interactions," Tonya told him. "There have been several indications that she is maneuvering for some sort of physical relations."

"Just because she can't reproduce, doesn't make her some kind of asexual, inert mass of flesh," Okami pointed out. "From what Erliss said about them maturing, she's been getting indoctrinated into their sexually based culture since birth. Overlooking that could give some surprising results."

"Okay, glad I'm not the only one feeling it," Spark nodded. "If we get a chance to check with Saelass, we should ask what kind of minefield we are walking into. And if she's as psychically sensitive as her parents, that could put a whole different spin on things. And we're going to be on that ship for a week."

The group had traveled to Mars light and now they were getting ready to do the same for Recensere. Necessary commodities got packed... unnecessary ones got used or tossed. It was no surprise, then, when they received a message to report to the Embassy in two days, early morning Mars Time. Their limo was waiting for them at 0500 and Spark logged in to check out of the apartment. There'd been some discussion about keeping it just in case, but Tonya had rightly pointed out that if they needed to come back to Mars for anything, it was a good bet they could stay at the Crescian embassy. At approximately 0530, they were meeting with Krisslum, Saelass and Leeanni.

Most passengers are in the process of boarding the ship, Krisslum was telling them. You can catch the shuttle whenever you wish. The ship will leave whenever everyone going is on board. We are not on a fixed schedule.

And, Saelass added, you may be interested to know that Maya is going along this trip. She has expressed a strong interest in getting to know you.