From the Journals of Rachael M. Blist

Chapter 5 – Vax

So that’s how I became the senior drive technician on the Clipper Skies, a sleek little cargo vessel that shipped independently from any of the large corporations, which is a pretty hard thing to do. They were actually making a pretty good profit when their drive went out of calibration a mere one system away from Telios. Lucky for them. Luckier for me.

Not that fixing their ship’s Hyperspace drive was a piece of cake mind you. In fact, it was nothing short of a miracle that it hadn’t blown them all to pieces. A misaligned drive can either send you to the wrong location, or turn the molecules of your vessel (and anything within it) inside out. The rest is up to your imagination.

It took me two days to recalibrate their drive, one day ahead of their drop dead liftoff date in order to make it to Anteries on time. The captain was so pleased that he gave the crew the remaining day as shore leave once we had safely docked. Hector (who turned out to be the Chief Engineer) was so relieved that he took me out with the rest of his team for drinks at one of the local spaceport bars and we celebrated. I needed to get good and sloshed, and I did. I matched drinks with most of the crew, and then went on to bigger things. There’s a large span of time I still to this day can’t quite put together I was so wasted. But even still, you can understand my surprise when I woke up the next day, in bed and naked as a jay, next to a man that was so blue he looked as though someone had dipped him in paint. I was also in space, and it wasn’t aboard the Clipper Skies…

I sat up and immediately looked around for my Chaarka blades. If anything had happened to them while I was out of it, I would never forgive myself. I found them stuck into the wall above my head. I guess I wanted them to be close at hand. I wondered what my bedmate thought of my decorating.

The blue man stirred and rolled over, still asleep. I thought hard, trying to decide whether or not we had been intimate, and if so, what I missed. My honey had a warm tingly feel to it that I usually get after a night of sex, so I figured that I had indeed at least had a good time. From the way Mr. Blue was sawing wood, I figured he had too.

I got out of bed, found my clothes and had just about finished strapping on my beloved weapons when my assumed-lover awoke.

“Going so soon?” He asked in smooth galactic seven.

“Uh… I don’t mean to be rude, but… Who are you?”

He looked hurt, or at least playfully so.

“You mean you have no recollection of our night together?”

“Sorry…”

“Too bad,” He said grinning. “I, for one, won’t forget for a very long time.”

I tried again to remember. There were vague images, but nothing more.

“You don’t recall the sauna? How about what you did in front of that Belonieze Ambassador?”

I shook my head.

“I haven’t started any wars or anything, have I?”

He laughed. “Not to my knowledge, although I know several individuals who would probably follow you anywhere in the galaxy should you want to…”

“Oh no…”

“Hey, it’s not so bad. But you look awfully uncomfortable in all those clothes. Why don’t you slip out of those silly things and come back to bed. Maybe I could give you a shortened version of last night…”

“Who did you say you were again…” I stood there with my hands on my hips, a whopper of a headache starting to form.

“Oh, sorry… My name is Vax Milden. I’m a sales representative for Marhead Space Drives, Inc…”

The corporate name struck me. They were all over the manuals I had just spent the last two years of my life ingesting. MSD, as they were referred, was by far the biggest manufacturer of, well… everything! They of course, made Hyperspacial Translators (space drives), but they also had a hand in everything from ground cars to intergalactic toys. It was a given that almost anything you picked up, piloted, or programmed, was built by the MSD, or a subsidiary there of. On Earth, at least in the States, a corporation of such size would never be tolerated because of the power they could have over pricing. But this wasn’t the good ol’ U S of A… In galactic society, a corporation of MSD’s size is not only beneficial, it’s essential. Think about it. Suppose you happen to break down in your SG11 Multi-phased Transport somewhere along the Gelaris Cluster. Thanks to the MSD, you can probably find a local service department and get the parts you need in a few bleems. Hardly any time at all. But without the MSD, you might as well be asking a snake to build you the Empire State Building… with parts that are forty billion miles away. It just won’t happen.

I was still groggy, and needed more answers.

“Well…” I said, eyeing him.

“Come on, I promise to be good.” He patted the bed. I pondered over his words. Good at what?

I waited a moment longer, even though I had made up my mind minutes ago. Coyly, I sat on the edge of the bed. Without a sound, Vax took my hand and began stroking it gently. He was obviously trying to seduce me, which was silly considering that I had apparently just spent an entire night in his bed. Still, he was the perfect gentleman, never moving faster than he knew I would object to.

“I suppose I could wait a while…”

“Of course! No sense in starting off your day without letting yourself wake up a bit first.”

I knew what he had in mind to “wake me up.” I leaned forward and kissed him. I had meant it to be a simple buss on the lips, but it ended up being a rolling, mashing tongue orgy that left me breathless and on the verge of orgasm.

“Oh my!…” I understated.

“Oh my, indeed!” He replied, reaching for me.

“Vax?” I said a few moments later as he was peeling me out of my clothing. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

He smiled and popped the last clasp on my coverall. “Not at all,” he replied, his hands sliding in to cup my breasts. I noticed that he was slightly warmer than an average human would have been. But then again, so was I at the moment… “I have to warn you though,” he continued. “You might find yourself a little distracted shortly.”

I was already distracted. Very. I flopped down on the bed and let him strip me, helping him a little when he reached my weapons. I set them on the floor this time.

“Vax, what ship is this?”

He paused for a moment, as if trying to remember. “It’s the Anteraneze Princess, I believe.” He then dropped his head down between my thighs.

“UGHmmmmm…. That f-feels g-good…” I commented, rolling my eyes. “And w-where are we currently? Mmmmmm…”

“Somewhere near the Motarie Cluster I think,” he answered, coming up for air. “I would have to ask the Captain to be sure.” He sat up and snuggled his legs under mine while he played with my nipples.

“Oh! You know the Captain? Ummm… Don’t stop just yet…”

“Of course. I’d be happy to introduce you if you like. Here, lift…” He pulled me up into his lap and I started to remember a bit about the previous night. His shaft was pressing erotically against my sex, sending warmth up my entire belly. I could recall that he was quite warm inside me. I also remembered how much it turned me on.

“That’s alright, but you must be pretty high up in the company to have that kind of privilege… OH! Oh god! UGHHH! MMMMmmmmm!” He had lifted me enough to get himself under me, then with great skill and patience, he brought me back down, impaling me atop his firey tower. My heart was already pounding in my chest, and he hadn’t even started moving yet.

“Let’s just say I’m happy in my current position.” He was smiling, and I couldn’t decide if he meant his work or our coupling.

For the next thirty-seven minutes, I was too busy to talk about anything… Not that I wasn’t vocal mind you, just not in a conversational way. I gasped and clucked and growled and screamed in wonderful ecstasy until I was nearly dizzy, and so did Vax, though he was remarkably controlled. When we finally did get dressed, I was more relaxed than if I had spent another three hours sleeping. He was right, and I wished I could start every day like that.

Vax said that he had to go to a sales meeting, or he would have escorted me personally to wherever I wanted to go. I said that he could have a rain check, and he tilted his head in confusion and then handed me a plastic card. It was a standard business job, save for a hand written code on the back.

“Call that number if you ever find yourself in need of a friend, or even just to say hello. Not the company number, that would only get you lost in our voice-mail labyrinth. The one on the back is my personal box.”

“Thank you, uh… for everything.” I didn’t know what else to say. I really didn’t know much about the guy. We had talked in bed between boughts, but it was always on generic topics, not personal stuff. Which was fine by me. In my profession… oops, former profession, it was a relief to talk about the weather or the outrageous acts of the cultural elite. Unfortunately, most of my clients wanted to know all about humans and what aroused them. Even Maryanne, my former tutor, always wanted to know the details of my life. To me it was boring stuff, and it kinda made me homesick. But she already knew everything that came out in the news. She could follow a hundred different journals an hour and hardly work up a sweat. But my life was like an ancient lost tribe. She couldn’t get enough.

So taking with Vax about mundane interstellar gossip was more than refreshing, it was just what I needed. But it left me with almost nothing to remember him by. Save for the warmth in my belly and the tingle between my thighs. But that would fade with time. We hugged and kissed (gentle and loving) then parted. He left to go to his meeting and I had run of the ship. We probably would never see each other again, as the Anteraneze Princess was scheduled to dock on Fullier’s World that morning. I left the ship and tried to think what to do next. I still had a safe level of credits to my name but no job. I was wondering if I had broken any contracts with the Clipper Skies when it occurred to me that the Princess was a cruise ship… an expensive cruise ship.

You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you realize that something horrible has happened? If you have ever had a car stolen, then you know just what I’m talking about. Those cruise ships don’t allow freebie passengers, and generally eject stowaways out the trash shutes. I sat down on a public bench outside of the space port and thought hard. How had I gotten on board the Princess? I could fuzzily remember a ticket, so I assumed that I must have paid for it. I doubted that I had that kind of cash, but if I had completely cleaned out my account, I probably could have pulled it off.

“Oh shit…” I mumbled as I looked around for a bank terminal. I was so nervous as I presented my thumb to the sensor that the terminal had me do the identification tests three times before it decided I was me and let me have access to my account. It was all there. I sighed with relief and left the bank with a happy smile. Then it hit me again. If not I, then who had paid my fare?… Vax.

I was going to have to call him up and thank him, if for nothing else, not leaving me pennyless on a strange planet. I wasn’t out of trouble, but at least I had a few more options now.

I found the equivalent of an Earth hotel and booked a room for the night. Then I placed an interstellar call that cost me more than the room. I phoned the only place I knew might have a job for me… The Prostitutes Guild.

There really wasn’t any point in waiting. I knew that the sooner I got myself out there, the longer I could last while I tried to figure out a long-term plan. The secretary at the main office burped and oozed an assortment of colored liquids upon seeing me. For her it was a smile, and I felt like I was home. I quickly explained that I was on interstellar credits and had to rush. She understood and started to do something on her computer even while we talked. Business had been booming, what with Senthix and all. She still had calls for humans, but people weren’t willing to pay the kinds of prices they had before. Most people that was. My own terminal beeped and a list appeared in the air. I could have cried. It was a listing of possible clients right here on Fullier’s World and what they were willing to pay. I thanked the secretary for her efficiency and promised to throw in an extra percentage point for her. She wished me luck and we signed off.

I scanned the list of about twenty names. Most offers were horridly low, obviously swingers who wanted to compare Senthix to the real thing. A few more were higher, but still on the low side – humanoids who preferred something a little more like themselves. The final entry was one that surprised me. It was almost as high as my usual rate before the advent of chemically enhanced sex, and called for at least a full night. The entry was in red and had a note attached. It was a personal message from the secretary at the guild.

“NO REFERENCES – WATCH YOURSELF.” Was all it said.

I thought about it. No references meant that the client hadn’t listed the species type. I checked the record and he (or she) hadn’t listed much of anything. It was a “ghost” as we called them in the guild. Someone who wished to remain anonymous. Not that there was anything necessarily wrong with taking on a client like that, but it was a risk. I had even done it before on occasion. I looked at the rest of the list again. Even if I took every other client on the list, all together, they wouldn’t even make up half of the fee the last one was willing to pay. It was an easy decision.

I agreed to meet him (he used a male tense in galactic six) at the very space port that I had come in on. He gave me a port number and a time for that night. Before we disconnected, I asked him why he wanted a human so badly? Especially when the rest of the galaxy was paying a fraction of what he was. He explained that Senthix had no effect on his race, which was rare to begin with. I didn’t push.

Port 371G was where I was to meet him. Only the really big ships docked at that end of the complex, and I wondered what my client did for a living. I found the port with no problem, but when I got there I was alone. I checked my timer to see if perhaps the transport had rushed a bit. I was right on time. Oh well. I decided to wait. Anyone who was willing to pay what he was for my services deserved a bit of patience. After about a bleem, I noticed a glowing red message at the port door. At the top was my name.

SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION. I’M INSIDE. DECK TWO.

I grumbled, but kept my cool. I didn’t like the idea, but he did say he was rare. The port might not have adequate environmental systems for his race to exit the ship. I had seen stranger.

The ship was eerie right from the start. The walls reminded me a little bit of Halfe’s type of dwelling, only darker. I felt as though I was in the belly of a giant whale. I was just telling myself that this might not be such a great idea and that the other clients might have been the better way to go when there was a low rumble from all around me and a slight pressure change.

I tried to ignore the butterflies I was feeling and looked around for an elevator or sign that might lead me to deck two… or back out to the space port. There were no signs, there were no doors, there weren’t even any air ducts. I started to sweat. I had heard of some races living in liquid environments that traveled in filled ships, but even that didn’t fit here. Something was wrong.

Instinctively I turned around and started to retrace my tracks. It was quickly obvious that the whole hall system had changed. In fact, I rounded one corner, only to find myself in a ball-shaped room with no exits… not even the one I had just entered.

“This isn’t funny!” I yelled into the air. The room was illuminated by thin strips of a glowing material that encircled the equator of my new prison. I was scared, both by the trapped feeling and by the whole alienness of it all.

“Forgive me.” Said a deep male voice that seemed to come from all around me.

“Where are you?” I asked, taking a closer look at those glowing strips.

“I am here.” It replied.

“Here where?!”

“I am all around you…”

“Say what? Are you telling me that you are the ship?”

“Yes.” It answered flatly.

“Shit… Um… Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…”

“Are you afraid you won’t enjoy yourself?” Asked the living vessel around me. I wondered how much air I had.

“Look,” I said, grasping one of my Chaarka blades. “I think you better open up. You can have your money back.”

“I’m afraid that’s no longer possible,” It answered.

“Why?! Just open your doors…”

“And you would be sucked into space to die.” It finished. Things were going from bad to worse quickly. If what he had just said was true, then that rumble I felt earlier was a liftoff. Either way, I was in big trouble.

“My guild will never stand for this. They will know I’m missing and will report you…”

“No. By the time they realize that you are missing, you and I will be VERY far away. And when they check their records to report me, they will find that they have the listing for a small freighter assigned to carry drive parts to Vega Four.”

“Shit…” I muttered. “But why? You paid me the credits. You can have me. Why kidnap me away like this?”

“I can have you all I wish…” It said. I noticed that the walls were changing… moving. The floor under me felt unstable, like I was standing on a waterbed or something. “…in any way I wish…” It continued. “For as long as I wish. I’m going to experiment, see what really arouses you. I’m going to make you scream with pleasure. I’m going to find the limits of your passion and surpass them.”

“Not on your life pal!” I said, sweating. I had no idea what this thing was capable of, but I had no intention of finding out. I raised my Chaarka blade up as menacingly as possible. “Take me back right now or I’ll start slicing chunks out of your hide!”

I’m sure I looked pissed, but I was really fooling myself. My kidnapper might decide to call my bluff and open an airlock right away. As it was, the point was moot. I just barely saw the three black tentacles before they whipped around my wrist from above and started to draw me upward. My training taught me to ignore what I couldn’t fix and go for what I could, so I reached for my other blade… Only to find that the floor reached back and snagged me long before I could get to my weapon.

It was a loosing battle. I couldn’t even put up a good fight. All around me were dozens of long black tentacles, each completely featureless and smooth. They snagged me, kicking and screaming obscenities until I started to grow tired. Then they pulled my hands up above my head, secured my ankles, and started to strip me.

“Noooo…” I moaned as I watched helplessly while my coveralls were slowly removed. My captor took his time, drawing out the striptease, no doubt to rub in the fact that I was powerless to stop it. Only when I was hanging there naked, did the voice return.

“So how shall I take you first, Rachael? Slowly, from behind? Hungerly from below? Or maybe I should just experiment and see what arouses you, yes?”

“Go fuck yourself!!” I protested.

“You are the one who is going to get fucked, my dear. And I’m going to do it to you in ways that you can’t even imagine.” I felt myself being drawn backward. “I have studied the anatomy of your species, and although the publicly available texts don’t really say much, there are… other sources which are much more descriptive. Did you know that through the underground networks, anyone with enough credits can obtain a detailed account on what arouses a human female? It has diagrams and complete accounts from the first Zongar abductions. Have to hand it to those Zongar, they were certainly thorough.” My body came up against the “wall” behind me. More tentacles wrapped around my body from all sides, holding me firmly in what was roughly a seat of sorts. My thighs were parted wide and my arms drawn up over my head as the seat leaned back a bit. I was breathing so hard out of fear, that I almost missed the change in the wall in front of me.

At first, I thought that perhaps the wall had opened to reveal another room. Then I realized that the occupant bound-up in front of me was me. The ship-thing was mirroring the wall in front of me. I had a perfect view of my own rape.

The ship started to caress me with a dozen or so slightly slick tentacles, playing me like a master violinist plays a finely tuned instrument… He knew exactly how to push my buttons. I was squirming in minutes. My body was reacting, not out of my will, but out of pure animalistic lust. The way the ship caressed every inch of my skin was nothing short of merciless. All the while I found that I couldn’t look away… Even knowing that it aroused me greatly. I watched several thin tendrils start at my hips and slowly reach inward and down into my lap. I knew where they were headed, and my heart-rate doubled. I pulled and struggled to no avail and could only stare in growing apprehension as they slipped into the folds of my flower. Once again, they only teased me, lightly, softly sliding just inside, drawing out my passions, but never giving me enough to hold on to. It was foreplay.

“Ughnnnnn… MMMMMmmmmmm!” I moaned.

“Yes. You see,” said the ship all around me. “You can’t resist. The Zongar spent quite a long time figuring out just how to arouse you. Hundreds of human females tried to resist their methods, and hundreds failed… And so shall you. In a few minutes you will be screaming in ecstasy. And I’m not going to stop… not for a very, very long time. I’m going to keep making you come, over and over and over…”

“Ummmm… N–n-nooo…. UGH!” I was helpless to stop the slow torture that was driving my body insane. In a few minutes my legs were shaking with adrenalin, my heart racing with passion. The thin tendrils continued to gently probe me, gradually venturing deeper within my flower. But since the ship could feel everything that I did, it knew just how much would send me over the edge into bliss… and kept me just shy of orgasm.

To my surprise, my hips started to pump back and forth of their own accord. In fact, I found that my whole body began to undulate in that slow rocking motion of sex. It was the primal part of my mind taking over. No matter how hard I resisted, my body knew that it was being fucked, and it was pure instinct that drove my pelvis forward now. It was strange to see myself so out of control. I was being seduced by the vision of myself pumping away right there in front of me. Helplessly… Lustfully… It was the pure motion of intercourse and it aroused me more than anything else the ship could have done. My breath started to come in gasps as the pleasure built up within my loins. I felt the fire of orgasm start from my toes and rapidly engulf me, consuming me with such ecstasy that I nearly passed out right there. My vision blurred as my orgasm hit home and my cry of delight would have made even Jaled turn in surprise.

The intensity of pleasure never even slowed before I was gasping in yet another orgasm, then another, and another… The ship was no longer just teasing me. Now the tendrils were reaching deep within my honey, some diving in to touch my cervix, others curling around the tiny bud of my clit. Hundreds of the tantalizing tentacles reached around my body from all directions, some joining the ones inside me, others finding my nipples, belly, and neck. It was a full-on sexual attack, and it was quickly obvious that I had lost the battle. My mouth opened in shock, but it was all I could do to simply get air to breath. I felt myself start to pass into oblivion, and welcomed the relief that unconsciousness would bring. Then to my horror, the tentacles slowed a bit. Not much, but just enough to bring me back. The ship wasn’t going to let me pass out…