The Problem With Immortality Ch. 08

A horned white ape. Tears that were a love potion. This was so... familiar! Where had he heard of these things before?

"A potion of love," said Jennifer, looking into his eyes. "So, did you fall in love with her?"

"Helplessly," said Tiberius, matching her gaze intently as he pulled her towards him more tightly. "She was gorgeous."

"Was she?" Jennifer whispered.

"She was," said Tiberius, moving his mouth towards her. "She had gorgeous brown hair, and the most adorable blue eyes." Like Jennifer. The Captain's mouth moved closer to her lips... closer... closer... closer... and Jennifer helpfully angled her head upwards, getting ready to meet him-

And then Anson leaned against one of the plants, what he thought was one of the plants, and the plant, which looked like a man's arm wearing a mitten, screamed.

Tiberius and Jennifer, startled, both looked up and saw Anson at exactly the same time.

"Oh no. Not again! Not AGAIN!" Jennifer cried. "What the FUCK are you doing here, Anson? Wait, don't tell me! It's more research for your client."

"Do you two know each other?" Tiberius asked.

"Know each other?" Jennifer barely restrained a bitter laugh. "Jason, meet my husband, Anson."

"Your husband?" said Tiberius, sounding confused.

"My ex-husband. Except my ex won't seem to give up. He follows me around the globe, wherever I go. The cliffs of Dover. A bayou in Louisiana. A circus in Kansas City. And now here."

"Why?" Tiberius asked.

"I ask myself the same question," said Jennifer, glaring at Anson. "I think the only answer is that while he doesn't want to be married to me, he does want to watch," said Jennifer.

"To watch?"

"Sure, that's why you're here, isn't it, Anson? To watch. You're always watching. Your eyes have been glued to me every since you came aboard," said Jennifer. Anson found he couldn't speak. "Well, if you've come to watch, let's at least give you a good show." And she turned to the Captain. "Kiss me. Kiss me hard. Make me yours, Jason."

Tiberius, sensing the awkwardness of this, looked at Anson, and gave an irritating "When in Rome, do as Romans do" shrug, and then took Jennifer in his arms, and gave her a strong kiss.

Suddenly the image of Jennifer grew clouded, as if he were looking at her through a foggy lens, as tears flooded his eyes. Anson, holding back a sob, fled the arboretum, to the sounds of caustic feminine laughter. He went back to his quarters and sat in bed, rocking back and forth, with his hands wrapped around his knees.

********

"So how was she?" everyone wanted to know, when Captain Tiberius came into the officer's rec room later that night.

"Who says I slept with her?" Tiberius asked.

"How was she?" Ensign Gorsky asked again.

Captain Tiberius grinned. "She has one hot body. Tits, ass, everything. She's the best I've had in a long time. And a screamer! That part was the most surprising. And you know what--Ford, the Fixer--he's her ex-husband! He caught us in the arboretum. And she goaded him! Jennifer has a real hate-on for him. It made the sex extra special. I could feel her anger, as I was riding her."

"You weren't the only one who had a good ride tonight," said Chief Edinburg.

"Ah, so you sampled the lovely Marsha!" said Tiberius.

"Yes," said Edinburg, grinning from ear to ear. "I took her back to my quarters. She kept protesting, 'But I'm married! My husband is on the bridge! What if he finds out?'"

"And what did you tell her?"

"That Spacefleet was not just about exploration of space. That it was also an exploration of feelings.""

They all laughed. "Good one, I'll have to remember that!" said Ensign Gorsky.

"She had a sweet body," said Edinburg, reminiscing as he saw it in his mind's eye. "Not the best I've had, mind you. That redhead from two trips ago is still vivid in my memory. But Marsha had a kind of sweetness, an innocence, I enjoyed sampling."

"Only not so innocent anymore," Mr. Zulu grinned. "Julian, how did you make out with Janet King?"

"So-so," said McCallister. "All of our action was above the belt. Unfortunately. She said she felt she had to be faithful to her husband. Evidently letting me kiss her, and squeeze her titties through her uniform, wasn't being unfaithful to him. Only doing the other thing was. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow."

"Keep trying!" said Captain Tiberias. "Just remember, you only have four days left before we get to Fuck Town!"

********

The following morning, Jennifer reflected on her experiences of the night before. At first, she had been terribly excited when Captain Tiberias had pulled off her miniskirt and Spacefleet issue bra and panties. She had excitedly run her hands under his shirt, eager to feel him naked even while he was taking off his clothes. After they were both finally naked and they pressed their bodies together, Jennifer felt a surge of excitement. That chest! That manly, manly chest! Jennifer couldn't get enough of it. They kissed, they fondled, they petted, they touched.

It was wonderful.

And then the inevitable happened when Jason, giving her a cocky smile, mounted her in a wonderfully dominant way. Jennifer spread her legs and her heart hammered with great excitement as she realized the momentous event that was about to happen: Captain Jason K. Tiberius, the very manly Captain of the USS Yorktown, was about to have the most intimate physical relations with her. She smiled broadly and inhaled suddenly as she felt the Captain's penis slide into her vagina.

Ooooh! That was so good!

Jason smiled as she moaned, all the more enjoying his latest conquest. But as the Captain thrust into her, however, he began to change.

Jason's face turned into Anson.

She couldn't get him out of her mind. The expression of horror, and pain on his face, when she had taunted him in the arboretum. It was that face now that made love to her. It was her guilt, guilt at what she had done to Anson, that was now punishing her. Jason thrust into her faster and faster, coming closer and closer to that less and less elusive ending, but Jennifer's guilt sabotaged her own efforts. So even as Jason went higher and higher, yelling "Ahhh... ahhhh.... ahhhh!" as he stiffened and suddenly grew still, squirting his semen into Yeoman Jennifer's receptive vagina, she was robbed of nearly all the pleasure of it, as Anson's horrified face was still projected on Tiberius's face until the deed was done.

After he came, always the gentleman, the Captain started to thrust again, trying to see to her needs. But after a time, Jason got a puzzled look on his face as he moved in and out of Jennifer without result. Jennifer had to resort to moaning and faking an orgasm to satisfy him. It was only after he left, when she could rub her clitoris and cry in the darkness, that she was finally able to get some measure of relief.

"Anson, you fucking bastard!"

Why did he always have to ruin everything for her?

********

The following day, the fourth of the mission, the USS Yorktown came into orbit around Omicron Theta. Omicron Theta was a swirly red planet filled with mystery. The readings indicated it could support human life. Captain Tiberius called for a landing party. This would be their first extraplanetary mission!

For the away team, Tiberius chose Jennifer, Anson, Lieutenant Uahu, Leonard King, Marsha Moore, and Mr. Sammock to accompany him.

They stepped onto the Conveyor platform. When everyone was ready, Tiberius, swaggering like a peacock, nodded and said, "Electronize, Paddy."

"Aye, sirre," said the Chief Engineer, who seemed to also have double duty operating the Conveyor controls as well as the ship's engines.

One minute they were in the Conveyor room, and then there was a sparkle in front of their eyes, and then they were on an alien planet!

They found themselves in the middle of a series of rock outcroppings.

Mr. Sammock started to take readings; his scanner gave off a noticeable whine. "Interesting!" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Mr. Sammock?" said Captain Tiberius, posing in front of Sammock with his chest thrust forward.

"I am detecting life readings... of a decidedly amorphous nature," said Sammock.

"Amorphous?" said Tiberius, jerking his head in an exaggerated way. "Explain, Sammock."

Sammock raised an eyebrow (again). "I cannot, Captain."

"Let's fan out and explore," said Captain Tiberius. "Be cautious, but set your blasters to stun."

They had all been given standard issue Spacefleet blasters.

They walked around the landscape. The ground underneath their feet looked like sand. The rock croppings looked odd, though. They appeared soft, almost hollow, as if they were of an incredibly light weight material.

Lieutenant Uahu smiled. "If not for the boulder fields, this would remind me of my native Somalia."

"I thought you said you were from Uganda," said Leonard King.

"Oh, yes, I said that, didn't I?" said Uahu. "Well, I was born in Somalia, but grew up in Uganda. Yes. Anyway, this lovely desert makes me want to sing." And sing she did.

"The desert sands call to meeeee... the desert sands call to meeeee... they say they want me to be carefree... all so adventurous and carefree...."

As Uahu sang, they suddenly felt a breeze whipping around them.

"Oooh! What a breeze!" said Uahu, as the flap of her red miniskirt flapped upwards, momentarily revealing her red panties.

"Captain," said Sammock urgently, checking his scanner. "The life reading is here."

"The breeze, Sammock?" said Tiberius.

"I believe the Lieutenant's singing attracted it," said Sammock.

The breeze, which was slightly cloudy, started to move away from them.

"No, come back," said Jennifer.

But in a moment, it was gone.

"Uahu, sing again," said Tiberius.

Uahu started to sing. As she sang, they saw the cloudy breeze in the distance, swirling. But whenever they moved towards it, it pulled away.

"Sammock, if it's attracted to singing, could it also be attracted to music?" Captain Tiberius asked.

"Indeed," said Sammock, raising an eyebrow. "Music is the basics of mathematics for many sentient races. It could be a vital form of communication."

"Captain, you should know that I'm a classically trained pianist," said Jennifer, stepping forward.

"Really?" said Tiberius.

"And I'm a professional oboeflute player," said Marsha Moore.

"What an excellent stroke of luck!" said Tiberius.

Indeed, Anson thought. Captain Tiberius had just happened to include the two professional musicians on his landing party. What were the odds of that?

"Let's get back to the Yorktown. We'll Fabricate instruments, and then return here, in one hour!"

Anson watched the exchange without commenting. Everyone else seemed very excited.

They returned to the ship and reconvened in an hour.

The ship's Fabricator couldn't make a full sized piano, of course. But it could produce a credible minikeyboard which sounded just like it. Marsha Moore got her oboeflute, and Mr. Sammock returned with his Valtrexian square guitar.

They sat on chairs they brought with them and started to play. At first, they had to practice a little to coordinate between them, but soon they were producing a harmonious tune.

As they played, they heard a gust of wind as they felt the lifeform return; several miniskirt flaps brushed upwards as the women alike made "Oooh and Aaaaah" sounds at the wondrous sight before them.

As they played, the gust of wind started to assume colors... red... yellow... green... like the rings of the planet they had observed the day before.

Jennifer played with as much passion as she could and smiled at Sammock. She thought she saw the vaguest hint of a response as Sammock seemed to smile back at her! It excited Jennifer. She started to play more intensely, hitting high notes more rapidly. Sammock matched her. Then she started playing low notes. Sammock matched her as well. He was quite an accomplished musician.

As they played together, everyone else started to disappear from Jennifer's perspective, even Marsha Moore, who was playing the oboeflute right besides them. It was only her and Sammock. They stared into each other's eyes as they played. His dark Valtrexian eyes were full of mystery. Jennifer put all her passion into the music as she stole stares at him. Meanwhile the gust of wind was now turning gold and bright silver. Everyone gasped when it started to sing to them, in a high pitched, alien voice.

Jennifer gave a triumphant grin, and looked over at Sammock, who gave her a very pleased look. They were attempting to make contact with an alien race, but in actuality, the most important connection which had been established was between Jennifer and Sammock.

********

At dinner that night, Captain Tiberias gave a toast to their fine musicians. "Great work, people," he said, smiling. But inside he was more than a little worried.

Jennifer seemed to be cozying up to Sammock a little too much. The two were talking and whispering together during dinner, and after dinner it was Sammock, and not Tiberius, who Jennifer took for a lazy tour of the hydroponics deck.

Later that night, in the officer's recreation room, Tiberias asked him about it.

"What are you up to?" he asked Sammock.

"What do you mean?" Sammock asked.

"Jennifer. She's mine."

"I don't see her name written on you, Captain," said Sammock, giving a wide grin.

"He's got you there, Captain," said Lieutenant Uahu. She pointed a wand to her face and depolarized her skin color. In moments, she was white.

"Hey, change back!" said Tiberias. "You know your contract. You're supposed to be black the entire trip."

"But I'm tired of being black," Uahu whined.

"Susan," said Tiberias with a warning tone.

"Oh, all right," said Uahu, and she reapplied the polarizer wand to her face.

"So, did you take her?" Gorsky asked.

"Not yet," said Sammock.

"No balls, Mr. Sammock?" Tiberias asked.

"As I've said, Captain, I prefer the slow but steady approach. You took Jennifer almost immediately, and yet I fail to see her sniffing around you anymore," said Sammock. "No, first I must give her the illusion of chase. I must make her desire me. Only then will I give her-"

"What you most desire," Zulu grinned.

"Precisely," said Sammock, raising an eyebrow.

********

Two days later, the USS Yorktown arrived at the planet Charon, in the Ceti Alpha Minor Cloud.

"This is a diplomatic mission," Captain Tiberias announced. "We recently established contact with the natives, just a few months ago."

"What are they like, Captain?" Jennifer asked.

"They are a peaceful people, dedicated to art, humanity, and happiness. You'll like them, trust me," said Tiberias. "Your mission is to build cultural bridges, to get to know them, to establish a better understanding between Earth and their society."

They had finally arrived at Fuck Town.

********

Tiberias made sure to bring all the guests down for this one--Marsha and Walter Moore, Janet and Leonard King, Anson, Jessica, and Jennifer. They found themselves on a lush world filled with small ponds of water surrounded by green lawns. There were people all around, all fair haired, all blonde, all in excellent shape, and all barely dressed. The men wore a kind of wraparound shorts that were so tight that their balls stuck out.

The women wore what looked like two stripes of cloth, one that wrapped around each breast and then went down to almost cover a buttock.

They were greeted by a man with perfect white teeth, and a woman with large breasts. They were both incredibly blonde.

"We greet you once again, Captain Tiberias," said the man. He introduced himself as Klorax. His companion was named Claressa.

Claressa came forward and hugged Captain Tiberias. "All that is ours is yours," she said, looking into his eyes deeply.

Captain Tiberias smirked. "That's very... generous." He turned to Klorax. "Would you mind if our people wander around and interact with yours?"

"Of course. You are all very welcome here. Stay, meet our people, and then gather in the Great Hall where there will be a feast, in your honor."

"Thank you," said Tiberias.

The crew started to disperse. Anson noticed that male Charonites seemed attracted to the women like flies to honey, and that women Charonites seemed to make a bee-line to the men. A very attractive alien blonde bimbo somehow materialized on Anson's arm. "I am Shanna. Tell me of your explorations," she breathed.

"Perhaps later," said Anson. He noticed Jessica heading off arm and arm with a big Charonite man. Her grin was as wide as the Milky Way. He turned to Jennifer. She was also immediately engaged with one of the locals.

Everyone seemed happy. Everyone except Marsha Moore. She shook off her would-be male companion, and started walking on her own. Something about this place seemed odd to her. Oddly familiar....

As Anson walked about, one woman after another approached him. It was if they were programmed, like robots, to seek out his company. Finally, getting annoyed with dismissing each one of them, he allowed one to follow in his wake.

"I am Moxine," she said, with doe-like eyes.

"I am Anson," said Anson, looking around, without even being sure what he was looking at. He looked upwards. Suddenly, he saw what looked like a castle... floating in the sky!

"What is that?" Anson asked.

"That is Altos," said Moxine. "Our city in the sky. Some of us live there."

Altos. The city in the sky. Something about this was increasingly familiar.

Moxine took Anson's face in her hands and aimed it at her. "Would you not rather look at me?"

She was exceedingly beautiful, with fine hair, firm breasts, a slender waist, and a nicely curved ass.

"You're very... beautiful," said Anson grudgingly, almost exactly the same way Captain Tiberias might have said it, when he was pretending not to show undue interest in a woman.

"Am I?" Moxine smiled. "My father says I am a work of art."

A work of art.

Suddenly, like a jigsaw puzzle, it all came together.

Altos. Stratos. The sky city. The city in the clouds. Moxine. Droxine. The work of art.

Anson's mouth was suddenly dry as he uncovered the truth.

This wasn't a mission of space exploration.

This was a rehash of an episode of a drama serial that was several hundred years old.

********

Marsha Moore frowned as she looked at the environment around her. The settlement was ringed by hills on either side. It had a rectangular shape. A rectangular shape that was stunningly familiar to her.

On a hunch, she picked up a rock. And then, with all her strength, she threw it at the cliff face above her.

The rock caused the cliff face to blur, and shimmer, before falling back to the ground.

"I knew it," she breathed.

"How did you know it?" a new voice asked.

Marsha turned to find Anson Ford behind her.

"I used to work in holography. In training exercises, for members of the military. I was a civilian contractor. The holographic rooms... they can be built to custom sizes, you understand, but most of them are the standard 9 by 16 dimensions," said Marsha. "When I was on the other planet, the one with the singing wind, I kind of noticed it, subconsciously. But here, with the cliff faces on either side of the settlement, it just leapt out at me." She turned to Anson. "This isn't real."

"I know," said Anson.

"I'd like to get some answers," said Marsha.

"Me too," said Anson.

********

The crew was relaxing in the officer's rec lounge. "The Fuckbots are probably having their way with them even as we speak," said Captain Tiberias, as the others laughed.

"Not all of them," said a new voice.