Tales from the Stream Ch. 04

Author's Note

Space pirates. Lesbian space pirates. That's really all you need to know. Well, that and not a lot of overt sex. Sexiness yes, but story first and no lurid details.

This is a series. Starting with chapter one will help avoid confusion.

Tales from the Stream 4: Into the Stream

"Oh, Emily? Emily, dear... This is your captain speaking." Jade spoke into the headset mic as her voice echoed through the ship. "Your Captain could really use a hand deploying the sails... Em-i-lyyy? Oh, Emily..."

"One of these days!" Amaliya hollered from somewhere in the belly of the ship. Jade grinned.

"Reporting as ordered, Cap'n." Emily shot a crisp salute, paused for a beat, and leaned in to kiss Jade on the cheek.

"I'd ask what the kiss was for," said Jade, "but then you might get all self-conscious and not want to do it again."

"Just 'cause." Emily grinned. "I dunno. This is like, so much better than my last gig."

"Well in that case..." Jade presented her cheek to Emily again. "Captain's privilege?"

Emily hooked Jade's chin with her thumb and turned her for a kiss straight on. It was a full minute before their lips parted.

"Sometimes it's good to be the captain," Jade said.

"Mmm," said Emily, sighing.

The two looked awkwardly at each other for while in the small space of the ship's conn. It was Emily who broke the silence.

"So, the um, sails?"

"Right." Jade turned to the pilot's console. "How do they work?"

"Well, these tiny particles that are all around us in space. It's like energy from the sun and the tachyons flowing in the stream. They're microscopic, subatomic really, but there's a lot of them, and the sails are big enough that they catch some fraction of those particles. And when they do, the force of the particles banging into the sails is what pushes the ship along. It's slow at first, but since there's no wind resistance in space, there's nothing causing drag and pretty soon..." Emily looked at Jade. "What?"

"You're so cute when you get all sciency." Jade tapped Emily on the nose. "I meant which one of these control menus do I need to access to get them deployed."

"Oh." Emily stared at the floor.

"Come 'ere." Jade slipped her hand behind Emily's neck and pressed her lips up tight. Two minutes had ticked off the ship's chronometer before they came up for air.

"So, um," said Emily. "Where were we?"

"Which part?" Jade smirked.

"The um... sails."

"Oh that." Jade smirked. "How do we deploy them?"

"Propulsion systems?" Emily leaned into the small space to swipe her finger across the console. "Seems logical."

"You'd think. But, nah. Checked there already. Thruster directional, reactor status, reserve steam pressure... it's all there. Just no sails."

"Hmm..." Emily tapped and swiped.

"Oh," she said a minute later, "Oh, here it is. Switch the propulsion view to main drive." Emily swiped at part of the screen and the console image changed. "I guess they don't expect you to use thrusters and sails at the same time. Makes sense. Thrusters would be pretty ineffectual at those speeds. Better to trim the...

"What?"

"That's it," said Captain Jade, "I'm appointing you Science Officer. Or Chief of the Helm. Or something like that. Whatever sounds good to you."

Emily beamed.

"Come 'ere, you."

Several more minutes ticked off the ship's chronometer. Toward the end, Emily's backside was pressed firmly against the pilot's console and her jumpsuit hung loosely off her right shoulder as Jade sent her mouth exploring new territory.

An urgent beeping sound filled the conn.

"Shit, what did I do?" Emily pushed Jade to the side and stood bolt upright. "Did I lean on something bad?"

"I dunno."

"Oh. Oh, there," said Emily, pointing to the navigation screen.

"What's that? It's purple."

"We're getting close to the stream. The purple stuff. The computer's just telling us to get our shit together or steer clear. For a second there, I thought—"

"How come it's not all purple out the viewport?"

"That's the false colorization to make it stand out on the monitor."

"Very sciency. I like that. I like you." Jade picked up the headset microphone again. "Attention crewmates, this is your captain speaking. Captain Jade. Dread Captain Jade, Captain of the Black Prince and queen of all she surveys..."

Emily slapped Jade on the shoulder.

"Right, then. Uh, science officer Emily says we're coming up on the tachyon stream, so you might want to come up here and check 'er out. There's really nothing to see out the viewport, but the monitor's got some pretty fabulous purple shit on it. Anyway, I was just thinking... as your captain... it would be nice if we could all take part in this rather momentous—"

"Your Captainship," grumbled Amaliya, "We've been standing here for like a good thirty seconds. Maybe you could put that mic away before somebody—"

"Whoa, simmer down XO. This is history in the making." Jade surveyed the faces around her. "Raise your hand if you've ever sailed into the stream. Besides your first trip out from Earth. That doesn't count. Anyone? Anyone? That's what I thought. This is good stuff here. Momentous."

"Okay," said Amaliya.

"Okay," said Jade, puffing her chest.

Again, Jade looked around at the faces of her crew.

"Lúcia, honey, no napping," she said. "This is historic."

"I am praying to Saint Christopher. Asking that, if at all possible, our tiny ship not be separated into individual atoms as we cross into the high-energy particle flow."

"He's in charge of that?" Jade asked. "Atoms and particles and stuff?"

"Saint Christopher is the patron saint of travelers."

"Hm," Jade said. "Perhaps we should all take a moment."

"The sails, Captain?" It was Emily who spoke up.

"Shh," Jade said, pressing her finger to her lips. "Saint Christopher."

Lúcia looked up. "Saint Christopher suggests we all strap into our safety harnesses before you deploy the sails, Captain. It will help ensure we ourselves are not separated into individual atoms. Or at least smaller parts than we are in now."

"Right. Good idea. Thanks, Chris," said Jade, sitting down and reaching for the pilot's console. "Everybody grab a seat. Buckle up."

Jade tapped at the console.

"Oh cool, it looks like one of those lizard thingies." Amaliya pointed to the monitor where a 3D projection of the ship's exterior was displayed. The solar sails were beginning to emerge from the area just behind the front of the ship, the area where the crew was seated in the conn.

"Like in the desert?" Emily asked.

"Hmm? No, like on the Discovery Channel. One of those Gila Monsters."

The ship began to vibrate. As the image on the screen showed the sails deploying further, the vibration turned into a noticeable shuddering.

"Chlamydosaurus," said Lúcia.

"Honey, that's a venereal disease," said Amaliya, "and definitely not something I would have expected a nun to know anything about.

"It's a frill-necked lizard from Northern Australia," said Lúcia. "Sometimes called a frilled dragon. I can see why you might mistake it for a monster lizard."

"Lots of things in Australia want to kill you," Emily put in.

"Is it supposed to be this bouncy?" Jade asked. "I feel a little—"

"No shit?" Amaliya said to Lúcia. "You used to live in Australia?"

"Discovery Channel."

"Oh. Oh, right."

"Well, I hope you all got your urge to binge nature documentaries out of your system," said Emily. "There's no internet in the stream."

"Wait. No internet?" Amaliya frowned. "Someone could have mentioned... I might have downloaded some... what's girl supposed to do without internet?"

Jade caught Emily's eye from across the room. They both grinned, though Jade looked a bit pale.

The ship's shuddering began to subside when the image on the monitor showed them fully within the stream of purple. Numbers on the velocity indicator, labeled in kilometers per second, continued to climb. The indicator eventually rolled over to display a sixth digit.

"Cool," said Amaliya. "What do we do now?"

Several hours later.

"Captain Jade, are you cold?" Lúcia peered around the doorway to the stateroom.

Jade was propped with a pile of three pillows separating her back from the headboard. The room was dimly lit, but even so, it was easy to see a large portion of the comforter below her waist was moving.

"Oh," said Jade. Her eyes fluttered.

"Sometimes when the nights are chilly—"

"Ohh..." said Jade.

"Do you already know what I am about to ask?" said Lúcia.

"Ohh... Oh, that's nice."

"Captain Jade?"

"Ohh... Oh... Ohh..." Jade sat up straight, squeezing her eyes tight and silently gulping at the air in front of her face. "Ahh."

Lúcia's eyes went wide as she watched the bed covers fly off to the side. Emily popped her head up, grinning, and gave a little wave. The area around her mouth and chin was slick and glistening.

"I'm sorry, I..." Lúcia took a step back.

"Nonsense, hon," said Jade, now slumped back into the pillows.

"Plenty of ways to stay warm in here," said Emily, still grinning.

"So that's where everybody went," said Amaliya. Lúcia turned her head around to see.

"Come on, Sister Lúcia." Amaliya took Lúcia's hand, weaving their fingers together. "I've been looking for you. It's getting late. I was wondering if you were ready to turn in."

"Do you... are you feeling chilly as well?"

"Yeah. A little." Amaliya began lowering the zipper on her jumpsuit. "Only one cure for that."

"I see," said Lúcia, bringing her hand up to unsnap the collar of her own jumpsuit.

"Need any help?" Amaliya asked.

"Perhaps," said Lúcia. "In the interest of time..."

"Mm-hmm," said Amaliya, touching her hand to Lúcia's cheek. "Gets us to the getting warmer part that much quicker, don't you think?"

"I do."

Amaliya gripped Lúcia's zipper in one hand and placed her other behind Lúcia's head. "This okay?" she asked.

Lúcia nodded. Amaliya leaned forward, taking Lúcia's lower lip between her teeth. "Stop me if you feel uncomfortable," she whispered.

"I think I am feeling warmer already," Lúcia said as Amaliya tugged the zipper slowly toward Lúcia's navel.

Amaliya release Lúcia's lip and maneuvered to just under her left ear. "I'm glad I can do that for you."

"Yours is a gentle soul, Amaliya." Lúcia leaned her head back and sighed. "I trust you like any of my sisters."

"I'm pleased to hear that." Amaliya traced over Lúcia's neck with her tongue and finally settled on wrapping her lips around the skin of the young woman's shoulder. "I like you, Lúcia."

Lúcia answer with a low moan.

A couple meters away, Emily hugged Jade around the waist while resting her head on Jade's quivering stomach. "Wanna go for number three," Emily asked.

"I think somebody else needs a turn," Jade mumbled.

"I think somebody's too worn out to do anything about that right now." Emily slid her body down, grabbed Jade by the hips, and proceeded to lick her inner thigh starting at the knee.

"Ohh..." said Jade, quivering.

"That's what I thought." Emily made her way a little higher.

"Ohh..."

"Lúcia?" Amaliya lifted her head. "How far do you want to take this?"

"Mmm, I do enjoy the spooning. Do you call it spooning?"

"Oh, that's it! Right there!" Jade exclaimed, slapping the mattress.

"I do," said Amaliya, "and I enjoy it very much."

"You will not be disappointed if we do not do the other things?" Lúcia tilted her head toward the commotion on the bed.

"There's lots of ways to stay warm. Shall we see if there's room for us or would you rather go somewhere private?"

"Yes! Yes! Oh, that tongue..." Jade babbled as she thrashed.

Lúcia averted her eyes, looking down at her feet. There was a pause before she spoke. "I do enjoy... watching. Do you think they will mind?"

"Have you been listening to them? I doubt they'll raise much fuss."

Lúcia grinned. She raised her head to meet Amaliya's gaze while holding out her hand.

"You can be the little spoon," Amaliya said. "Then you'll have a front row seat."

"That is most kind."

The two women left their jumpsuits as puddles on the floor. Hand in hand, they made their way to the empty side of the bed.

"Oh, Emily." Jade thrashed. "Em-i-lyyyyy! Don't. Ever. Stop. Licking me!"

The next morning.

"Everybody sleep okay last night?" Jade asked, stirring her instant coffee.

"I was very warm," Lúcia said. "Like the spoon in your coffee, Captain Jade."

"Not too warm I hope," said Amaliya.

Lúcia shook her head. "Just right."

"Enjoy the show?" asked Emily, with a bowl of instant oatmeal in her hand.

"I did." Lúcia looked away. "I hope you did not mind that I—"

"Heavens no, dear. Knowing you were over there with Amaliya painting all those lovely little kisses on the back of your neck made it that much better."

"You were very enthusiastic." Amaliya picked up a granola bar from the galley table, looked it over, and set it back down. "Particularly the reverse cowgirl thing over Jade's face. That was very... well, let's just say, yee-haw!"

"Reverse cowgirl?" Lúcia said.

"You know." Amaliya raised her hand in the air with one laid out flat and the other twisted around on top. Amaliya held that position and rubbed her hands together while she panted.

"Oh. Reverse cowgirl. Yes, very enthusiastic."

"Glad you liked it." Emily smiled. "Captain Jade was as stimulating as she was delicious."

"Next time I'm charging admission." Jade looked up from behind her coffee cup and grinned.

"So does that settle the sleeping arrangements?" Amaliya looked around at the faces in front of her. "Stateroom when you want company, crew quarters when you don't? Unless the captain has plans—"

"The captain thinks that's a grand idea," said Jade. "All those in favor, say 'aye.'"

"Aye," was the chorus from around the room.

"So, no internet." Amaliya said. "Anybody want to play cards?"

"I was going to work on the galley access controls," said Emily. "See if I can override the lockout."

"I should tend to my plants," said Lúcia.

"I should probably be in the conn," said Jade. "I know we've got autopilot and all, but it's an older model and I'm not entirely sure I trust it at high speed."

"Oh, okay." Amaliya said. "If you need me to—"

"Take the next watch?" said Jade. "Thanks XO. I'll let you know."

"Um, okay."

Jade marched toward the conn. Amaliya wandered over to a viewport. For a long while, Amaliya stood alone with her arms crossed, leaning up against the portal, staring.

"Not much to look at is it?" said Emily, a digital meter held loosely in her hand with probe wires dangling.

"I expected something with a little more pizzazz." Amaliya sighed, still looking out the viewport. "Coupla blue stars in the distance, that's it. And now there's this fog rolling in and it's blocking all the good stuff. I mean, I know it's not fog, 'cause we're in space, but still... space fog or something."

"Background radiation," said Emily, standing two meters behind Amaliya. "At these speeds, it starts to become visible while the light from the stars shifts to the x-ray spectrum that we can't see."

"You're a smart gal, Emily. I can see why Jade made you science officer."

Emily set her digital meter on a side table and approached the viewport. "You're not upset about me and Jade are you?"

"No."

"You sure?" Emily maneuvered around, trying to catch Amaliya's gaze. "I mean, I know you two are close and all. And well, last night just sort of happened. And now..."

"It's cool. I'm just watching the view for a while."

"Still, it's not like that... I'm not trying to—"

Amaliya turned and pressed her finger to Emily's lips.

"What? Steal my girlfriend?" Amaliya looked Emily in the eye. "She's not mine to give or take."

Amaliya went back to looking out the viewport. Emily stood in silence, staring at the floor.

Amaliya looked over her shoulder. "Come 'ere," she said. Emily stepped forward.

"Look, I know you're not being underhanded. And I know Jade's got a certain... magnetism."

"That she does."

"Did you know she wasn't... she's not exclusively... well, I think she might be bisexual at best."

"That's a shame," Emily shook her head. "A stunning butch like her? To think she could be lost to the other team. We should do our best to ensure that never happens."

"You should see her roll out from underneath a shuttle engine with a smudge of grease on her collar."

Emily and Amaliya looked at each other and sighed.

"But it doesn't matter. She's her own person," Amaliya said. "I feel lucky to know her. Being intimate is just the icing on the cake."

"You've known each other for a while."

"Yeah. But mostly we've been friends. Met her in the market one day. She was there for lunch or buying parts or something, I don't really remember. I was trying to by a book. For myself, not for my client. I was a domestic at the time."

Emily nodded.

"My account came up short. Of course. And just like that, Jade swooped in and handed her card to the cashier. Didn't say a word. Just paid for my book.

"I spent the next hour following her around the market telling her how I was going to pay her back come payday. We got all the way back to the hangar where she worked before I figured out she wasn't having any of it. So, I just kinda hung out and watched her work on shuttles for a while."

"I imagine there were a few grease smudged collars to keep you entertained."

"Yeah, but... I don't know, we mostly hung out and talked about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I mean, not like we weren't already grown up, but—"

"I know what you mean."

"It got to be a regular thing. I'd spend my free time watching her work and telling her all about how someday I was gonna get off Kepler and be free from my indenture. And she'd tell me about how she was going to have her own ship and sail the stars. But it was just dreams, you know?"

Emily nodded.

"It wasn't 'til my contract expired and my current client, a rather nice if somewhat distant woman, decided not to re-up that I got serious about leaving town. I got kind of frisky with Jade after that. Like, I don't know, everything was going to shit, so why not take a chance. If it ruined our friendship, it was just one more thing added to the heap.

"To my surprise, she was agreeable. Pretty soon, I had her screaming my name in the backseat of that ratty shuttle she was working on. I'm not trying to brag or compare notes, I'm just saying how it was. I was actually a little surprised myself. But I think I might have pushed her to do something she'd thought about, but never had the courage for.

"As we were crammed together in the shuttle and I was straightening out her bedhead with my fingers, that's when she really began to open up. She talked for hours about sailing the stars. And I was so enticed by those dreams. Her enthusiasm. But after my string of bad luck and my own pessimistic mood, I thought those dreams were just hers with no room for me.

"I kind of avoided coming around the hangar as much after that. I don't know if she noticed. I was half afraid she might ask me to sail off with her and probably more afraid she might not. So I broke contact for a while."

"But you're here," said Emily. "Obviously, she asked and you said yes."

"Yes. Yes, I am. And I wouldn't change it for anything," Amaliya said. "I also wouldn't say that Jade owes me anything for that or that I owe her anything. We both made up our own minds to do it. And out here, we're free... And I love it."

Amaliya sighed. "Wanted criminals, perhaps, but free. Not like planetside on Kepler or on Earth. Down there, everyone owns somebody whether they want to admit it or not. Up here, it's just us."