What Happens in Orbit Pt. 03

She dropped from the arch and stepped into the light. Like Mar's species, she had four arms, but the upper ones were as long as her. At the point where her hands should be, her arms stretched thin for several feet and ended in a barbed end suited for climbing. Her legs were the same way, digitigrade with the feet ending in barbed ends that she balanced on. Her second set of arms, though, were just like his, only her hands each had four long fingers. [Foshar aren't colony species. But last you were here, you traveled with a convoy of theirs.]

Mar understood what she was getting at. [This time, I was assigned to one of my planet's missions, for repopulation. I'm sure you've heard about them. But- I was lied to about the terms of the mission, and now they want us to-] He found himself choking up, becoming sick at the thought. [Things didn't go as planned. Our Engineer heard a member of the royal family tell our mission leader to dispose of the eggs. And that the human would go into the breeding program. And-] He raked his hands over his head.

Amola watched, eyes wide. [I understand. I'm departing when the sun touches the third mark. Bring them before it gets busy. I want no attention for this.]

Mar took off back to the ship, sending Tor a message.

<Ready>

It was still dark in the ship when he came back. Mar didn't bother shutting the door behind him. A whisper came from above him. [I disconnected all video feeds in the ship. And the power. Here's your bag.]

Just as Mar looked up, a bag hit him in his face. He stifled a swear. [Thanks.]

Tor dropped out of the ceiling with a bag on his back, carrying a crate. [Human food.]

This was one of those days that Mar found himself grateful for four arms. He ducked into Cora's quarters and gently picked her up. She stirred, but didn't wake. Tor latched the box with the eggs, picking it up. Three bags, a crate of food, a crate of eggs, and a human. [That's everything. Let's go.]

As they latched the ship door behind them, Mar made sure to cover Cora well with her blanket. The two moved with a focused haste.

[She's departing when the sun hits the third mark,] Mar called out to Tor, pointing up. An enormous, polarized ring slowly rotated around the spaceport, lining up with the position of the sun. There were a series of dark lines along it, easily visible from the walkway. It was halfway to the second mark, and hawkers were already setting up tables. Tor picked up his pace, falling in step with the Officer. When they arrived at the ship, the door was open and Amola was waiting. She had already started the engines, judging by the heavy vibrations filling the air.

[Hurry, hurry.]

Lit by yellow-tinged spotlights, the ship felt smaller when they were inside. Shadows crept in from every corner. When the hall opened up, they found themselves in an expansive, spherical room. Equally-sized cupboards covered every wall, spiraling up to the ceiling. Columns stretched up to the ceiling, their supports neatly tapering into the floors, the ceilings, and each other.

When Cora blinked her eyes open, the fractal-esque nature of the room made her horribly dizzy. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to will away the nausea. This isn't the ship. She could vaguely remember being put down on the soft, bowl-shaped surface she now found herself on. The box was next to her, its lid removed. Plenty of heat was still radiating from it, and the eggs glittered in the soft light. They're all okay. Cora could hear a chittering noise from behind her, getting louder. Turning, she immediately came face-to-face with a giant spider. Cora took a moment to breathe and blink, assessing the situation. Okay, not really a spider. It had a face shaped like hers, with way more eyes than she was used to. It was the size of her, with human-like hands clutching the edge of the surface Cora was sitting on. One, two, three, oh wait. It's definitely not a spider, it only has four legs and... two hands. "Hello?" The creature tilted its head at her, clicking quietly before speaking in a whisper-soft voice.

"Mitri."

Cora started to ask her a question, but a door across the room clicked open.

"Oh, you're awake." Mar entered the room, followed by an even bigger spider-like creature, then Tor. "There was a problem. Also, this is Amola, this is her ship." He sat next to her, reaching out to brush a finger against her hand. "We had to leave the ship on really short notice." Cora looked around. "I mean, obviously. But why? Where's Ray?" Tor grimaced, turning away. Mar had the same expression.

Cora didn't like that. "Someone needs to start talking, please." Amola was standing to their right, holding a Roshak tablet. After Cora spoke, it played a series of clicks, causing the larger creature to tilt her head. Tor turned back to her. "Some hours before we arrived, Ray received a command to dispose of the eggs when we got to the spaceport. And then told him that you were bound for the breeding program."

Cora felt sick. "I- Breeding program?"

Amola sat curled up in another bowl-shaped seat, listening to the clicks and muttering to herself.

Mar made a sickened expression, opening his mouth to speak, but Tor interrupted him. "I don't know how much you know about our kind, but before our cities were built, there was a mass killing of the adult females in our population. The only colonies left were in remote areas. The eldest of the murderers decided that the best way to maintain our population was to lock fertile women in little rooms, artificially fertilize them, then take their eggs. That is the breeding program." His expression was dark.

Cora took a shaky breath, her eyes darting back to the crate. "They never saw them again?"

He shook his head. "No. A large portion of our females now do something called 'adapting'. They willingly become infertile. I don't blame them."

She had a lot more questions, but she'd never seen Tor this angry. Sure, he'd been hostile before, but never genuinely angry.

"I remember the person from the other day, saying that you grew up in a colony."

Tor sat on the other side of her and sighed. Cora could tell that he didn't want to talk anymore. Instead, she leaned against him and closed her eyes.

Amola spoke. [If you're tired, I have a room ready.]

The room she had prepared was about twenty feet up the spherical wall, requiring climbing. While Tor and Mar were able to take the bags and crates up, Amola had to bring up the box of eggs. Cora watched, nervous, but her fear was unfounded. She handled the box like it was her own, setting it down so gently that the box didn't even make a noise against the hard floor. The room was cozy, just barely larger than Cora's quarters. Most of it was taken up by a knee-high pile of multicolored cloth. Upon inspection, Cora realized that it was clean, worn pieces of fabric. Some were as big as a blanket, while others were only the size of a t-shirt. They were all different kinds of fabric, some coarsely woven, some knitted, some as fine as silk. Mar flopped face down into the pile, groaning.

[I don't know how the fuck I stayed awake for ten hours.]

Amola shook her head.

"What happened?" Cora tilted her head at Tor.

"He's complaining about missing his naps."

"You sleep every four hours, too, asshole." Mar's voice was muffled and faintly indignant.

Amola made a huffing noise that sounded like a laugh before backing out of the room and shutting the door.

Mar rolled over, already asleep. Tor sat on the other side of the pile, patting a particularly soft patch next to him. Cora joined him, laying on her back. She stared at the ceiling of the dim room for a while, trying to process the day. Sighing quietly, she shifted to get more comfortable.

"Hey, Cora?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you hate us?"

She rolled over to face Tor, concerned. "What?"

"I didn't study humans as intensely as Ray did, but I'm not an idiot. We took you from your life on Earth, changed your DNA without your consent, risked your life over and over. If someone did that to me, I would hate them. I'd spend my time making their lives miserable. How have you stayed calm this entire time?"

Cora chewed at her thumbnail, thinking. She hadn't really stopped to consider this before. "Well, what's the point? It won't take me home. Besides, you three were just following orders."

"That's not an excuse."

Cora pursed her lips. "Yes it is. I would do the same. It would take a lot for me to destroy my entire career for a weird little creature I'd just met. And don't you dare blame hormones."

Tor had opened his mouth to argue, but quickly shut it. He shifted closer, his hushed voice dropping to a murmur.

"I was looking for an escape. Because of my history, I wasn't allowed a lot of freedom. And Mar hasn't kept the same job for longer than a year. I don't think his career is a priority."

Cora couldn't help smiling. "So, what I'm hearing is that it's a really fucked up win-win for everyone."

Tor looked confused, so she continued. "I wasn't going anywhere back on Earth. My mother was so disappointed in me for not finding a better career. I was actually really relieved once I realized I wouldn't have to worry about being behind on rent. Which I was. I was maybe a month from being homeless." She hadn't admitted this to anyone yet. Those problems felt so far away now. Startling her, Tor pulled her onto his chest, holding her. Oh, he's really warm. This is nice. Even though she'd only been awake for a few hours, she found herself drifting off again.

When Ray opened his eyes, the ship was still dark. Too dark, in fact. Not even the night lights were on. He checked his tablet. No messages, but the local time was well after the meeting was supposed to happen. Ray thought back to the silent tension of yesterday. He breathed a sigh of relief. [That's my crew.] He tapped at his tablet, making a call.

[Hey, Zomari- I, uh, I have some bad news.]

When the sun hit the highest mark in the sky, about two hours later, the small Roshak ship disconnected from the port and drifted a distance away. As its exhaust ports glowed to life, the ship exploded. The shockwave buffeted against the port as hundreds of onlookers watched. The pieces coasted across the dark expanse and were pulled into orbit, turning to ash in the atmosphere.

Mar and Tor were down in the main hub of the ship with Amola, sorting out pieces of scavenged weapons into various boxes. Amola made a quiet click, then looked up at the two.

[I'd recommend that you keep your human close. I caught Mitri nesting earlier and I'm not sure how territorial you two are.]

Tor looked over at Mar, confused. He shook his head in response.

[I don't think you ever got formally introduced, but Mitri is her daughter. She was here before, with Cora.]

[That didn't answer my question.] Tor was getting hostile, but Mar just waved him off.

[Well, uh, it's not really anything to worry about, let's just make sure she doesn't wander off when she wakes up.]

Cora, unfortunately, was already wandering. If there was one thing she'd learned from being in space, it was that maintenance tunnels were prime areas for quiet walks. It helped that she had a much better heat tolerance and needed less oxygen. She came upon a crossroad and stopped when she heard chittering. Oh- "Hello?" Mitri poked her head around the corner, her many gray eyes fixing on Cora. With the tunnel's dim lighting, the situation should have been terrifying. But she'd gotten used to the spidery humanoid hanging around every time she went down to the main room. Unlike her mother's sharp whispers, Mitri had a soft, pleasant voice. "Cora."

"Oh- hi, Mitri."

She tapped up to Cora, lowering to her height before reaching out. Her hands were smooth and warm as she cradled Cora's face in them. Her expression was unreadable.

Abruptly, she turned and spoke. "Follow me."

Cora didn't see any reason for concern, so she obeyed. Mitri led her to a warmer part of the ship, likely near the engines. Then, she turned back to Cora and pressed a small, blue-black hand against her chest, pushing her against the wall. Her other hand tugged at the hem of Cora's shirt. "Off."

What? Maybe... Does she have something against clothes? Puzzled, she pulled her sweatshirt off, and when Mitri was clearly still waiting, she stepped out of her sweatpants. "Mitri, what's-" All of her eyes watched Cora's reaction as she trailed a finger down her neck. Oh. She vaguely understood. Hope this doesn't get me in trouble. One hand went lower, tracing her collarbone. She shivered. I don't remember being this sensitive. Cora managed to remain cool until one of Mitri's hands began drawing faint circles on an area just below her waist. It wasn't a particularly sensitive area, but something about the way she touched it drew a whimper from Cora. Mitri seemed to be avoiding touching anything specific, instead finding clusters of nerves on her inner thighs and groin. If Cora weren't already so aroused, it probably would have tickled. She pressed her hips into her hand, letting out an impatient whine as Mitri leaned closer, rubbing her palm in firm circles just above her clit. As her hand crept closer, Cora's breath caught in her throat. There's no way. She had barely been touching her, but Cora was still about to cum. "Oh, I- I'm-" Without warning, Mitri placed a hand behind Cora's head and sank needle-sharp fangs into her neck, just before she came. Normally, the shock and pain would have shut her orgasm down completely, but the venom flowing into her had other plans. She couldn't come down. The spasms just kept going, quickly pushing her into delirium. Now, Mitri held her up as something slipped into her twitching pussy. Not fingers. Cora fought against her blurred vision to see that what she'd thought was a tail was... definitely not a tail. Its surface was rippling, several evenly-spaced bumps traveling towards the end that was buried inside her. Mitri watched, sighing again as Cora's eyes rolled back in her head. Something was pushing into her, slipping in with a faint pop each time. She still hadn't stopped cumming, and the world was beginning to take on a funny shade of blue. She was vaguely aware of being laid down against a soft, squishy surface, one that resembled cotton candy.

Amola had spent most of the hour looking towards the front of the ship. After Mar realized that she was concerned, he tilted his head at her. [What's wrong?]

She let out a series of harsh clicks as her daughter dropped from a nearby access panel. Mitri responded with a single, quiet click and skittered away.

[Your human.]

Tor didn't wait for her to be specific, instead launching himself up to the door to their quarters and peeking in. He turned, slowly. [Mar?]

The Officer looked up at him. [Yes?]

[She's not in here.]

Mar made a choked sound, hiding his face in his hands. He was turning purple. [Fuck.] He could practically feel Tor panicking. [Look, look. She's not really in danger, she's just-] Amola was looking away from the both of them, embarrassed.

[Just come on. Amola, where was Mitri nesting?]

After a short walk, they found Cora curled up, naked, in a massive, matted pile of gray-white web. Amola immediately stalked off. Tor wasn't saying anything, so Mar knelt down and squeezed her shoulder. "Cora."

She opened one eye, which hazily focused on him. "Ugh. I don't ever wanna cum that hard again."

"You've got eggs."

She stretched out, looking at her faintly distended stomach. "Damn. Again?"

He looked up at Tor, who was still refusing to react. "They're not dangerous, just really... squishy. You've only got a few, they'll come out easy in a few hours. Do you want to stay there?" Cora weakly waved a hand at him. "I'm fine. Actually," she giggled, "I'm trying to set a record for most eggs laid by a human." Mar started to laugh, turning back to Tor, whose expression was grim. "It's not like before. Unless you're just being-" Tor snapped at him, swatting a hand in his direction. "I'm not being territorial. It just can't be good for her. There are teeth marks on her." He went from angry to dismayed, kneeling next to her.

Mar snickered. [You're just mad that they're not from you.]

After assuring Tor that Cora was safe, the two returned to the main room, to their task. Cora slept lightly, stirring every so often when something would wake her. Eventually, she felt a hand on her stomach. Mitri was beside her, watching her face with bright, excited eyes. The haze over her vision still hadn't gone away, and Cora was pretty sure that the venom was still taking effect. A finger brushed against her lip.

"Hmm?"

Mitri put a hand under her, encouraging her to sit up onto her knees. As the ship's gravity shifted the eggs downward, something started. It was like when Mitri had bit her, making her heart rate spike. It knocked the wind out of her chest. She tried to swear, but it came out as a wheeze. Mitri began touching her like she had before, but with purpose. As the tension in Cora's stomach peaked, the spider pressed a hand into her, gently. There was a mild stretching sensation, but nothing Cora could focus on, thanks to the unrelenting orgasm. She shuddered, unable to even swear. It was incredibly overwhelming, and black crept in on the edges of her already blurred vision.

"Good," Mitri whispered, releasing Cora back to the floor as her consciousness faded.

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Cora woke to see Mitri placing the eggs into what seemed to be a bag made of the same web she was resting on. An egg sac! Oh, ew. She grimaced, then stopped herself. That's rude. Stop being judgmental, those came out of you.

She sat up, surprised to feel no soreness. "Hey, Mitri?"

Mitri turned to her. Cora wasn't sure how she could tell, but there was kindness in the way Mitri looked at her.

"Is it okay if I go-" Cora pointed down the tunnel. "Is it okay if I go see them? Tor was upset." She wasn't sure if Mitri understood her, but the spider turned to look where she was pointing before nodding. Slowly, Cora got up. She had more energy than she thought, and set off down the tunnel.