The Aliens Beyond Antares 5

Thanks to Tex Beethoven for his editing.

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All characters in this work of fiction are over the age of 18.

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Sheena walked along the silent plas-steel corridor toward the lab, wondering if anything would please break up the monotony of her upcoming shift. For six months she'd been carrying out research on this space station orbiting Antura 15, just she and her lab partner Jake. She'd been uncertain whether to accept the assignment. Twelve months was a long time to spend with only one other person, especially when there wasn't supposed to be any 'hanky panky', as her superior had put it. The fact that she'd have virtually no expenses and be able to bank most of her pay check helped with the decision. She might even be able to save enough deposit for a pad of her own back on Antares 5.

The abstinence would still be a challenge. Sure, other people blatantly ignored the rule, but Sheena was new, junior, and didn't want to lose her job. That didn't mean the temptation wasn't real, though. None of her colleagues had been able to explain why their standard issue lab suits were so form fitting, they just accepted that although they were completely opaque, they fit like a second skin. Sheena was uncomfortably conscious of how obvious it was whenever her nipples got hard. Of course, in Jake's case the suits were sometimes even more embarrassing in that whenever he got an erection, it was as apparent as if he'd just flopped his dick out. She'd noticed his package when they'd been introduced just before their assignment; it was kind of hard not to. It hadn't helped that her friend Vera had been present, took note of it and commented afterward. Her suggested uses for that package were both lewd and out of the question. There was no way Sheena wanted to return home pregnant. Nothing would give away a breach of the rules like a pregnancy.

"Hey Sheena," Jake called out as she pressed a button and the lab door slid aside silently. Sheena blushed, knowing her recent train of thought had hardened her nipples. She saw Jake's gaze drop to them as it always seemed to do.

"Hey Jake," she greeted him. "Anything new today?" She returned the favour by checking out his package. Not hard, she noted. But nice and big.

"Nope, same old same old."

"What are we up to?"

"Culture 6823," Jake replied.

Sheena moved automatically to assume her duties in the lab. Like a well-oiled machine, she and Jake worked together, running a series of tests to try and green light new accelerated organic cultures for off-world food production.

In the hundreds of years since humanity had left the Earth behind, food production was still mostly conducted planet-side (on all the viable planets that had been found) but research continued to improve on off-world production to aid in the further exploration of the universe. Faster growth meant quicker life-cycles for the plants and thus greater production. That meant larger crews could be fed from smaller production facilities, improving mankind's range of travel.

Lost in her work, Sheena screamed when the entire station unexpectedly shook violently for a moment.

"What the fuck was that?" Jake exclaimed, his wild eyes matching the fear coursing through Sheena.

"Felt like something hit us," Sheena gasped, rushing over to the control display to see if there was any problem. Just as she was deciding they were okay, an alarm sounded.

Hull Breach Sector 4, the station's computer announced.

"Oh Fuck!" Jake screamed. They both ran for the emergency containment helmets and urgently sealed them in place as the computer updated them. It sealed off the breached section (their sleeping quarters) to preserve the station's overall integrity. It was a small station, so any loss of usable space would severely impact their ability to continue the mission. The worst-case scenario would require them to return to Antura 5, hoping to arrive before their life support systems failed. Fortunately, the computer announced stable containment and nil equipment failure only moments later. They made their way through to their living quarters and then to the section where their sleeping quarters were sealed off.

"Computer: status," Jake ordered.

Breach contained; hull integrity restored, the computer announced.

"Wow, that was quick," Sheena thought aloud.

"Fucking lucky is what it was," Jake replied, relief evident in his voice. "Let's see what we've got."

They kept their containment helmets on just to be sure, and progressed through the doorway once the computer had unsealed it. They each went to their own section of the quarters and looked around for indications of what might have happened.

"In here," Jake called out. Sheena went through to his quarters, realising it was the first time she'd been in there since before he'd moved his belongings in at the start of the mission. A circle of plas-foam filled a small breach in the hull that would be only an inch in diameter, but enough to be catastrophic if it hadn't been dealt with instantly.

"What's this?" Sheena asked, squatting to inspect a cylindrical object a foot long and an inch in diameter. Each end of the cylinder was hemispherical and at first glance it seemed to be some kind of ceramic. She held her hand nearby to check whether it radiated heat, or perhaps extreme cold, unwilling to take a chance on touching something that may have been injurious.

"Not mine," Jake replied. "Could that have caused the breach?"

"Must have done if it's not yours," Sheena suggested, not seeing anywhere else it could have come from.

"Well that's a bloody mystery then," Jake suggested. "Maybe we should take it to the lab."

"We definitely should. We need to apply quarantine protocols." Sheena left Jake watching the object and went to collect a pair of tongs and a sealable container for the long cylinder. She returned, used the tongs to pick up the object and drop it into a flexible plas bag. Jake then followed her back to the lab, where she shut the bagged object in a quarantine locker.

Once it was secure, they had the computer scan the station's atmosphere to confirm it hadn't been contaminated in any way. When it was confirmed the air was clean, Sheena and Jake removed their containment helmets. They moved to the quarantine locker and spent a good hour gazing at something that neither moved nor gave any indication of its origin or purpose.

Eventually boredom trumped curiosity, and they went back to their usual routine of testing Culture 6823, while only occasionally glancing in the direction of the mysterious object. They discussed it over their mid shift meal and again at the end of the day. They each had a strong temptation to start doing tests on it, to try and understand what it was. They resolved to sleep on it and see how they felt in their arbitrarily determined morning.

It turned out their sleep time had done nothing to lessen their curiosity, so they decided over their morning meal to try and learn what the material was.

Jake set up a quarantined test area where he could use remotely controlled implements to try and detach test samples of the material. It took time to set up and it wasn't immediately successful, but after some trial and error Jake managed to chip a small piece from the shell for testing. It proved to be composed of a complex metallic structure, even the elements of which (five or six of them, it was unclear so far) had never before been encountered by humankind. And amazingly, although these elements all had atomic numbers above 150, they all appeared to be stable, e.g. they weren't giving off radiation and transmuting into other elements. The discovery was exciting. Sheena and Jake knew they'd achieve all sorts of celebrity amongst the scientific community for it, but there was also a significant risk they'd be allowed no further role in investigating its origin. For that reason, they decided to press ahead with running whatever tests they could manage before reporting to Ground Control.

By the time they were due for their next sleep cycle, they'd learned a lot about what it wasn't, but very little about what it actually was. They returned it remotely to the quarantine locker and returned to their quarters to sleep.

The following morning Sheena woke and headed straight to the lab to check on their discovery before sitting down to eat her first meal of the day. She peered through the clear plas-steel front of the locker and gasped. Nestled against the plas-steel at the front of the locker was a pale grey creature that if standing would be about six inches tall and a couple inches in diameter. It looked very like a tiny octopus, though its eight tentacles emerged from two levels of its body, four at the bottom and four partway up. It was obviously alive, not because it was moving, but one could just tell. The foot-long hollow cylinder still lay on the bottom of the locker, but it was now split cleanly along its longitudinal axis into two separate halves.

Sheena rushed from the lab to fetch Jake, knowing he wouldn't want to wait a moment before witnessing this development. She barged into his room, in her excitement not even considering what his state of dress might be. Neither of them bothered locking their doors with even courtesy locks, in case an emergency demanded a need for the other to enter. They had made a practice of respecting each other's privacy enough not to take advantage of their free access. Sheena was so excited about the alien species that she nearly didn't notice that Jake was standing there naked when she entered so abruptly. It was almost an afterthought for her to glance down at the package she'd seen so much of, even though she hadn't yet seen it naked. She wasn't disappointed.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted out, "But you have to come see this. There's an alien life form in the quarantine locker!"

"Are you serious?" Jake asked in shock before reaching for his lab suit. They didn't wear underwear, it wasn't allowed because of some bio interface the suit employed, so he simply pulled it on. Sheena watched, trying not to stare as he stuffed his package inside and carefully zipped the suit up past it and then up to his neck. Sheena led the way from his room to the lab. Crossing the lab to the locker, she gasped for the second time that morning when she discovered a round hole an inch in diameter in the plas-steel and no life form. The creature must be loose in the lab!

"What the fuck?" she exclaimed as Jake came to stand beside her. They both urgently cast their gazes around the lab, seeking the creature.

"There!" Sheena exclaimed and pointed. The small creature, now several inches in diameter, (clearly able to adjust its shape if it had squeezed itself through a one-inch hole) was perched on top of the dish containing the Culture 6823 that had been the subject of their testing for the last forty eight hours. Even as they spotted it, the transparent cover of the dish dissolved beneath the creature and it dropped onto the culture itself. Within moments the entire culture had been consumed.

"What the hell can we do with it?" Jake asked. "The damn thing ate through plas-steel! That shouldn't even be possible."

"Fucked if I know," Sheena said worriedly, inching toward the lab's door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jake asked nervously, turning his back on the alien.

"Just keeping my options open; if that thing moves, I want to be able to close this ...Jake!"

Jake reflexively turned back to look at the alien. Unfortunately, Sheena had shouted because it had suddenly propelled itself through the air. She hadn't seen how it had launched itself, she just saw it soaring towards Jake. Jake's turning back caused it to land on his forehead, whereupon it latched on to him. Sheena squealed in shock. Jake went to grab it, then stopped with his hands halfway to their goal. The creature slithered quickly around behind him until it was resting at the nape of his neck. Sheena watched in shock, too surprised to react, until she saw a tentacle extend from Jake's neck and up to his temple. She unobtrusively stepped backwards through the door and hit the button to seal the lab. The door silently closed. It didn't make her feel safe at all.

She stood watching and worrying, all thoughts of how she might respond driven from her mind. As she watched, the alien grew at an astounding rate until its torso was about three feet in length. Its tentacles appeared to be fluid in both thickness and length from moment to moment. Within minutes, she saw the tips of two narrow tentacles affix themselves to his temples. Small trickles of blood ran down each side of his face from their apparent insertion points while larger tentacles wrapped around each arm.

The situation had exploded way out of control, she needed to call it in. Decision made, she turned away from the lab and headed for the command module. Even though she was certain her life was in danger, she needed to word the message carefully, knowing that clarity would be vital for any hope of rescue (extremely faint, she assessed with a sinking heart) and for how the situation would be viewed historically.

Little did she know that behind her, two smaller creatures had split from the original that had attached itself to Jake. One slithered surprisingly quickly across the floor in pursuit of Sheena, pausing for less than a second to dissolve a small hole through the supposedly impenetrable door. The other scuttled its way to the computer terminal in the corner of the lab. She wouldn't realise until much later that the creature had taken control of the station's computers and disabled all the alarm, security and guidance functions.

Sheena was hurrying, but she didn't run because she wasn't aware anything was in pursuit. No alarm sounded to indicate the door she'd closed and locked behind her had been breached.

The first hint she had that something new was wrong was when she felt something slither up her ankle, forcing its way beneath her lab suit. She screamed and tried to run, but her left leg, the one the creature had begun climbing, didn't respond. She fell to the floor.

Sheena lost the next five minutes. Afterwards she wasn't sure if she'd blacked out, but she could never quite remember anything other than coming to consciousness back in the lab, sitting on one of the stools. Jake was sitting opposite her, staring vacantly. There was a faint pain coming from each of her temples.

Interesting physiological differences between the two subjects, Sheena heard in her thoughts. It was like someone was speaking, but nothing was said aloud. The words just went directly into her mind.

Indeed, Xu, she (kind of) heard in reply. The name she heard wasn't Xu, but it was something so inconceivable that it seemed to translate as that name in her mind.

They appear to be an unnecessarily complicated lifeform, Jein. Again, the name was a simplified translation of something that was more of a concept than an actual name.

Agreed. However, they warrant studying. I am eager as always to see how such a species sustains itself, derives pleasure and reproduces.

I would be disappointed if you weren't, Jein.

It would seem they are not due for sustenance for some time, Xu. What can you tell me of their reproductive process?

Sheena couldn't move a single voluntary muscle, although fortunately her breathing and heart continued, and her eyes blinked periodically. Her mind on the other hand was alert and she had no difficulty in tracking the conversation between the two aliens. Xu appeared to be the alien creature attached to her, with tentacles latched to her temples, doing who knew what to exercise its total control over her, and other tentacles clinging to her arms and wrapped around her legs. Jein was similarly attached to Jake. She'd originally thought she was sitting on a stool, but soon realised she was being supported by Xu in a seated position, just as was Jake by Jein.

Images flashed through her mind of a man and a woman having sex, of the medical terminology for the body parts and acts involved, and of a woman experiencing a pregnancy cycle and giving birth.

By Holy Inklx, that is messy! Xu exclaimed.

Indeed, but did you note the pleasure spikes in the initial process? The way both parties took pleasure in the pairings?

I did. It would seem to be a motivator to continue the species, yes? Such pleasure levels would no doubt lead to these beings engaging in this activity many times, often for the pleasure alone.

I believe your theory has merit, Xu. Perhaps we should explore this process. I see on the surface of my being's mind a desire to interact with yours. Watch closely.

Sheena felt her eyes drawn to Jake's crotch as if Jake's alien was using them (presumably with Xu's facilitation) to perceive what Jein was urging them to see. As she watched, unable to look away, Jake's cock hardened within his pants, elongating and fattening, stretching out his skin-tight lab suit.

Interesting, Xu noted. There are reactions occurring in my specimen's body to that sight. I sense a tightening in the offspring feeding points, a moistening within the insertion sheath and a range of other physiological reactions, including moistening within the nourishment intake orifice.

Interesting, Jein replied, just the consideration of those locations within its mind has my subject reacting even more than from just the view of the two feeding points. Apparently this one interacting with that one in certain ways would serve to raise the pleasure levels in this one.

I detect a desire in this one to observe that one without the outer covering. It particularly wishes to monitor the stiffening of the mating rod, replied Xu.

Sheena would have widened her eyes in shock if she'd been able, but she had no control at all over her body. She watched as Jake stood erectly (in both meanings) and his body awkwardly undid his lab suit, sliding the zipper down until his cock sprang free. It was almost amusing to watch, because it was as if Jake had never done it before. The release of his erect cock however, was intoxicating. In six months, it wasn't as if she hadn't occasionally considered how pleasant it would be to see it, but her imagination hadn't been as stimulating as seeing the real thing.

I am confused, Jein, Xu said. Although it is clear from the mating procedure we have analysed that the rod must enter the insertion sheath, this one desires to receive it in the nourishment orifice, though I can see no resulting benefit to the propagation of the species.

I sense similar incongruities with this one, Xu. It appears it contemplates receiving pleasure from inserting the mating rod into the disposal orifice, and clearly there is no way for that activity to result in propagation.

Perhaps we should have them engage in some of these practices and measure the pleasure levels? Xu suggested.

An excellent suggestion, Xu. Exactly what I was thinking. Let's have them remove these outer skins; they seem to be impediments unnecessary to sustaining their lives, or even their comfort.

Sheena found herself rising to a standing position and her hands fumbling at the zipper running down the front of her own lab suit. Jake's eyes stared at her as she ran it down, the two sides immediately parting from the pressure of her large breasts. Her movements were jerky and awkward, clearly controlled by the being attached to her, and it was clear that the being had no cognisance of her muscle memory. It removed her suit and then struggled even more awkwardly with her form-fitting bra. In the end she found herself turning around so Jake could release the fastening across her back. As he did so, the tip of his hard cock nudged against her buttocks and she recalled Jein mentioning that Jake wished to put it in her 'disposal orifice'. Who would have thought Jake would be that kinky? She'd certainly never thought about taking him in the ass, and now having seen his rampant cock in all its glory, she found the thought a little intimidating. She was turned back around to stand naked before Jake, and the alien controlling him had him remove his suit as well, so they were facing each other as unclothed as they had originally entered the world.