by Isaac Hooke
He pushed her back to the rooftop, and mounted her, sliding his member inside.
So much for being able to control his urges.
She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut and biting her lower lip as if it hurt, but then she began repeatedly, almost frantically, pressing her hips against his. He thrust in and out, pounding the hell out of her. Those small breasts jiggled sensually with each motion, turning him on all the more.
He leaned forward, kissing her once more. Images of Shaw leaped into his mind, but he dismissed them, concentrating on all the pleasurable sensations he felt. He refused to feel guilt. Shaw had no business intruding on his thoughts here, not when he was never going to see her again.
He felt a pressure behind him—she had bent her knees, wrapping her legs around his midsection so that her toes dug into his buttocks. It was sexy as hell.
He continued thrusting away until his seed exploded inside of her. She climaxed at almost the same time, arching her back, and squeezing her toes into his glutes. He constricted the muscles in the area at the same time, wanting to press himself inside her as deep as possible. She groaned with pleasure, and then slumped beneath him.
Spent, Rade collapsed on top of her. Realizing he was probably crushing her with his weight, he slid off of her to lay on the rooftop, staring at the alien sky through the glass dome.
“That was incredible,” she said. “Everything I ever dreamed of.”
“Glad I could live up to your high expectations,” he told her.
“Oh, my expectations were low,” she joked.
“Well, glad I could blow them out of the water then,” he said.
She pushed up onto one elbow, leaning her head into her palm. The movement wobbled her breasts, drawing his eyes.
“You keep looking at my chest,” she said.
“I know,” he said. “Hopefully it makes you uncomfortable.”
She giggled. “Silly.” She reached out, and ran her fingers through his thick beard. She became serious. Thoughtful. “Were you really taken? Before coming to this world?”
“Sort of,” he said. After a moment, he admitted. “No.”
“Then why such hesitation?” she said.
“I guess, I thought I was going to wait for someone,” he said. “I didn’t account for meeting you.”
“So sweet again,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him a few times before pulling away and giving him a half tender, half seductive smile. She let her hand drop from his beard.
“By the way, I thought you were sleeping with Pyro?” Rade asked.
“I slept with him once, yes,” she answered. “But that was only because I didn’t have you. You’re who I want.”
“Oh.” He smiled, unable to offer similar words. His mind had been drifting to Shaw again, but he forced himself to dismiss her.
Jiang rolled onto her back and gazed at the sky. She reached out with one hand and gripped his. “At first I didn’t think I could do this. I mean living here, so far away from everything I’ve ever known. But now I know I can do it. With you at my side.”
“We’ll do this together,” Rade agreed. He should have been happy, but he couldn’t help the vague sadness he felt deep inside.
Blue dots appeared on Rade’s overhead map—the others had returned to comm range.
“They’re climbing the ramps!” Rade said. “Get dressed!”
Jiang giggled nervously, and pulled on her cooling and ventilation undergarment. Rade watched her dress, and felt himself getting aroused all over again as he donned his own undergarments. Because of his distraction, he snagged the pants portion on one of the hard points in his leg, and got stuck. He worked at it frantically, but couldn’t unhitch the fabric. All he could think of was the embarrassment of being caught in a compromising position like this.
Jiang laughed more as she came to him; she helped him free the pants, and pulled them on for him. She grabbed his member at the last moment, causing it to harden once more, and then gave him a taunting kiss before pulling away.
“How are you going to hide that?” she said, nodding between his legs.
“With difficulty, no thanks to you,” he muttered, pulling the pants over his throbbing center. Thankfully, his arousal subsided so that by the time he slid on the upper portion of the undergarment, he was almost back to normal.
The two of them resumed their previous lounge spots on the rooftop, and pretended to be having an innocent conversation when the others arrived, debarking their mechs.
“Yo, how was the sex?” Bender joked.
Rade frowned, and was about to chew out his friend, when Bender added: “Just kidding! I know you’re both too puritanical for that.”
Pyro pretended not to care as he went to sulk on the far side of the rooftop. Chow was all smiles, and Tahoe, well, he wore a big grin, too. He gave Rade a knowing wink, and made his way across the rooftop toward Pyro, perhaps to console the man.
Rade sighed. Hopefully he hadn’t caused a rift between himself and Pyro. He was going to have to have a talk with Pyro at some point.
He wasn’t looking forward to it…
19
Rade made love to Jiang frequently thereafter. The pair often contrived reasons to stay behind together when the others went off to explore. Though Rade never told any of them, and never showed her affection in front of anyone else, the rest of the platoon obviously knew. If it wasn’t clear from the number of times the pair stayed behind, then their body language, and the way they talked to each other, was a dead giveaway. Bender and Chow were also an obvious item.
This caused some tension between those who were coupled, and those who were not: Tahoe and Pyro often butted heads with Bender. While such behavior might have been expected from Tahoe, who had a crush on Chow, Rade had expected Pyro to similarly clash with himself. Instead, Pyro always showed Rade deference. Rade knew it was only because he was chief; Pyro probably hated Rade, but took out his frustrations on Bender.
One night, they were gathered in a circle around the latest delivery of that sludge known as MREs, when things came to a head.
Bender scooped up a handful of the food mass in front of him and bit into the gelatinous substance. He curled his lips in disgust. “I know Waldo is trying to make these things taste better, but damn, this has the flavor of freeze-dried ass.”
“You would know what that tastes like,” Tahoe commented.
“I suppose I would.” Bender flashed his golden grill and laid a possessive arm around Chow’s shoulders. “Given, I taste it every night.”
Tahoe snarled, but said nothing.
“You don’t have to flaunt it,” Pyro said softly.
“What’s that, Bitch?” Bender taunted. “I couldn’t hear you.”
Pyro straightened, obviously simmering. “I said, you don’t have to flaunt it.”
“Easy, you two,” Rade said.
Bender dropped his arm, and shrugged. “I am being easy. Bitch is the one who’s getting all riled up.”
“Stop calling me bitch,” Pyro growled.
Bender licked the remaining portion of the food mass from his palm and fingers, and then shrugged nonchalantly. “You’re just angry because I’m getting some, and you’re not.”
“You should share,” Pyro said. “We need to get as much genetic diversity among our offspring as possible, if we want to start a human colony here.”
“I ain’t sharing,” Bender told him. “And who says we’re starting some colony?”
“He’s right,” Chow said. “We’re not even trying to get pregnant.” She glanced at Jiang. “Each night, when we put on our suits, we have the arm assemblies inject fertility suppressors.”
“There you go, Bitch,” Bender said.
“I told you not to call me that!” Pyro said.
Bender smiled. “Why, what are you going to do? Bitch?”
Pyro threw himself at Bender.
Rade and Tahoe were forced to intervene, and they pulled Pyro off of Bender before he could get
in too many punches. Bender was laughing the whole time.
“No, let him loose!” Bender mocked. “He punches like a little girl!”
Rade and Tahoe were still hanging onto Pyro, who had stopped resisting at that point, but those words caused him to nearly rip free.
Rade and Tahoe tightened their grip.
“Bender, enough,” Rade said.
“Sorry, Chief,” Bender said.
“Same goes for you, Pyro,” Rade said.
Pyro struggled a moment longer, then slumped. He looked down. “Sorry. Chief.” That latter word seemed to come with difficulty for him.
Rade decided it was time to have that talk with Pyro. “Let’s take a walk.”
He led Pyro to the far side of the rooftop, well out of earshot of the others. He turned his back on them so they wouldn’t be able to read his lips with their implants, and said: “Pyro, I just wanted you to know…”
“Don’t say anything,” Pyro said. “She’s yours. She already told me that what we had was only sex. That she always wanted you, and only you. The best man won. She’s yours, brother. I hold no grudges.”
“If that’s true, then why do you act so aggressively toward Bender?” Rade said.
Pyro didn’t answer.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Rade said. “In fact, I was happy to let you have her. I just… I guess things got out of my control, and—”
Pyro raised a hand. “Chief. Brother. As I said, she’s yours. Enjoy it.”
“But how can I enjoy it, when you seem so angry about it?” Rade said. “I could share…” He cringed as he said that; offering something like that was difficult for him. But if it meant easing tensions among the team…
“I don’t think she’d be into that,” Pyro said. “Listen, I’m not angry at you. Or even Bender. Just angry at my circumstances. I’m at the height of my prime. I have all this sexual energy with nowhere to put it. So, of course it’s going to get funneled into aggression. Especially toward those who are getting laid, like Bender.”
“And myself,” Rade said.
“Yeah,” Pyro said. “I’m thinking maybe, for the benefit of the team, I should go my own way. Head out into the vast alien wilderness.”
“Not alone,” Rade said. “It’s not safe.”
“So far we haven’t encountered any alien aggressors,” Pyro said. “And if Waldo is to be believed, there isn’t any. Besides, I won’t be alone. I’ll have my Falcon mech. Chief, I want to do this. Need to do this. Just me and my mech, heading out into the great unknown. And never coming back. Maybe I’ll settle someday, far away. All I know is I can’t stay here. If I do, the rage will take over, and I won’t be able to control myself. I originally joined the Teams as a way to funnel my aggression, sexual or otherwise. I was an angry young man, but the military brought me discipline. I’ve lost that funnel here, and without a mission, I’m beginning to lose my discipline as well. If you force me to stay, I’ll become like a powder keg waiting to go off. So you have to let me go. You don’t need me anymore. We’re not at war. We have no mission. At this point, we’re like ronin. Masterless, without direction. At least out in the wilderness I’ll have something to distract my mind.”
“But you go out daily with the exploration parties,” Rade said.
“Those sorties only get my mind off her so much,” Pyro said. “Considering that we’re basically treading over the same territory now, over and over. We’ve explored almost everything nearby, and there isn’t much else to see. Also, even worse, Yuan often joins the party. And even when she doesn’t, I always have to return. It’s like a torture for me, to continue to be in her presence. To see her, so enamored with you.”
Rade sighed. “I can’t make you stay.”
“Thank you, Chief, I appreciate this,” Pyro said. “Tomorrow morning, if it’s okay with you, I’ll take my leave with my Falcon.”
Rade nodded. “I won’t stop you, Brother. But I will miss you.”
The next day, Rade got up early. He couldn’t sleep.
Pyro hadn’t yet gone. According to his vitals, as relayed on Rade’s HUD, he was fast asleep.
Rade was wearing his jumpsuit—they all were. It was one of his standing orders, which required the team to suit up before they went to sleep. It just felt safer that way. Also, the mechs stood watch, spread out between the floors below. Although Rade thought he knew the alien fairly well by now, he still didn’t entirely trust the creature.
But speaking of that alien, he needed someone to talk to. Someone who wasn’t part of his team.
So he walked to the airlock, where Valjean waited.
“Good morning, Chief,” Valjean said over a private channel.
“Open up, my friend,” Rade told his mech.
The cockpit fell open, and Rade clambered up the leg rungs until he pulled himself inside. Then the hatch closed, and he took control of the mech.
He approached the inner door of the airlock, which promptly slid aside. He entered, the door sealed behind him, and the atmosphere vented out; a moment later the alien atmosphere filled the unit via several vents in the floor, and the outer hatch rescinded.
Rade took the ramp down to the level dominated by the mist-suffused tubes; on the far side of the room, the alien was already at work, recording notes by touching the glass wall of one such tube. Sparkles appeared each time in the mist before vanishing an instant later.
“Can you read what it’s doing?” Rade asked Valjean.
“Somewhat,” the AI replied. “It appears to be entering a series of numbers. Part of a mathematical formula, perhaps.”
Rade waited politely for the alien to stop what it was doing. Finally, Waldo looked up, and tapped a greeting into the glass.
Valjean translated the resultant glimmers that appeared in the mist. “Good morning, Leader of the Humans.”
“Morning, Alien,” Rade said, and Valjean pressed the necessary areas on the tube to issue the appropriate sparkles in reply.
Waldo waited.
“Tensions are running high among my men,” Rade said.
“The mate problem,” Waldo said.
Rade nodded. He’d already told the alien a while ago that there weren’t enough women to go around.
“One of my men has decided to leave, because of that,” Rade said.
“I still believe you should share these mates of yours,” Waldo said. “Families should be made of groups of four mates, not two.”
“Yes, well, even if we followed your traditional family structure, that would mean two of my men were left out,” Rade said.
“Then rotate in these men every now and then,” Waldo said. “You humans have such a strange social structure. So very rigid. Brittle. It leads to division. This is why your men are leaving.”
“I suppose so,” Rade said. “How’s your cloning operation going?”
“I’ve almost finished the initial designs,” Waldo said. “As soon as the construction of the Printers is complete, I plan to engage in a few test runs.” Printer was the word Valjean had come up with to describe the rough equivalent of a human 3D printer.
“I don’t suppose we could use this contraption to clone a human?” Rade asked.
“Ah, that is your solution,” Waldo said. “You do not have enough women, so you wish to clone more. It’s possible it would work, however you would still have to raise the resultant broods to adulthood. This takes twenty years, for humans?”
“Around that, yes,” Rade said.
“Therefore, I’m not sure this is the solution for you,” Waldo said. “It would take just as long to raise your own offspring from your existing mates.”
“Yes,” Rade said. “But if we’re planning on starting a human colony here, four males and two females isn’t going to cut it.”
“Ah, this is not something we have discussed,” Waldo said. “I have considered it, but I am uncertain I will allow a human colony to coexist alongside my people. I fear tensions will be too high between us, and we w
ill eventually war. I am willing to allow children among you and your mates, and the offspring from those children, and your children’s children. That is a growth rate I can manage. But to give you an entire colony of humans immediately, via clones? I don’t think so.”
“I suppose it’s your world,” Rade said. “And we’re merely the guests.”
“Correct,” Waldo said. “It is my world now. And I am its dictator. A good one, I hope.”
Rade scratched his beard. “But a dictator nonetheless.”
The alien didn’t reply.
“You know, on Earth, we have a few dictators as well,” Rade said. “Entire competing space navies are ruled by them.”
“You speak of that faction of humans known as the Sino Koreans?” Waldo asked.
“That’s one of them,” Rade replied.
“Their rule is fairly efficient?” Waldo said.
“Well, I suppose,” Rade said. “Though at the cost of social freedoms.”
“There is cost to living in any society,” Waldo said. “Even this one.”
Rade nodded. “Do your people believe in life after death?”
“What do you mean?” the alien said.
“Do you believe all of your ancestors who once lived on this world have gone somewhere after they died?” Rade pressed. “That they live on in some afterlife?”
“I believe this,” Waldo said. “I have no choice. If I didn’t, I would go mad. However, I also believe this so-called ‘afterlife’ is not something I can comprehend. I won’t have the senses I have here. Likely, I will not even have thoughts. I will merely exist. Perhaps to be reborn into another body elsewhere in the universe. Maybe one of your insects. Or a plant. You know, there were many among my people who believed this existence was merely a simulation, running in the AI of some advanced, alien machine. These ‘consciousness explorers’ used various drugs to remove themselves from this simulation, so that they could experience the ‘real world.’ They claimed doing so brought them closer to their brethren, and eliminated the fear of death in the process.
“I have never tried these drugs myself. And I can’t now… I have no access to them. Perhaps if I did, I would believe this was all some simulation as well. Though whether that simulation was being run by an AI, or the intelligence formed by the universe itself, I doubt I would be able to grasp.” The alien paused. “What do you believe?”
