by Sue Lyndon
Finally, Erik solved the puzzle and pushed it away. He rose to his feet and headed for the window, growing restless in his solitude. He longed to leave the confines of the building and go exploring in the exotic forest, or soar over the treetops in one of the alien crafts that occasionally zipped by. He remained at the window until another ship flew by, and his chest tightened with worry as he thought about the future and wondered if he’d ever fly again, let alone make it back to human civilization. Whether on Earth or Mars.
Asteroid mining ships had a higher accident rate than regular space shuttles. He’d known the risks before he’d boarded the Dastok 22, but he’d decided to travel to Mars anyway. Pilots were needed to transport scientists back and forth from Mars’ surface to the space station orbiting the red planet, and many former astronauts were being hired to fill the vacancies. Best of all, the US government had asked him to remain for the duration of the terraforming process and assist with the first air base on the planet, once the red planet was no longer red. While that was years away, if all went according to plan, he was still excited.
Earth held nothing for him anymore. Well, nothing but pain and memories he longed to forget. After his fiancée had left him, cleaning out his bank account before disappearing, the idea of putting over thirty million miles between him and Earth seemed like a good plan. He ground his teeth together, thinking about how Heather had used him, and how he’d been stupid enough to ignore all the warning signs. In preparation for their wedding, he’d gone ahead and put her name on all of his accounts. A few days later she’d up and disappeared, leaving him with a mortgage on their new house in the mountains of Colorado and only a few hundred bucks in his checking account.
He’d sold his house and moved into a small apartment in Florida, close to NASA as well as the Manning Flight School that his two younger brothers now ran. Heather had talked him into Colorado, and he’d been willing to take the long air commute to Florida each day, just for her. The fucking love of his life.
Some love. He wasn’t sure he even knew what love was. Obviously he’d read her wrong, and he hadn’t been able to trust another woman since. In his anger, he’d tried to track her down, but to no avail. Even the most expensive private investigator couldn’t locate the thieving witch.
Three sleek, alien crafts suddenly zipped by, one after the other, and Erik stood on his tiptoes as he peered out the window. He longed to get behind the controls of one of their ships. When he was flying, he knew nothing but the exhilaration of the speed. It was a thrill, and the intense concentration flying required helped mute his thoughts.
A noise behind him startled him from his depressive musings, and he turned, half expecting it to be Carmen. If she was behaving herself as she’d promised, perhaps the aliens would allow her to visit him as he’d visited her yesterday.
It wasn’t Carmen though, nor was it Spike or Blue or any of the other aliens who’d come to observe him since he’d awoken. Instead, a tall male alien with shoulder-length black hair stood in the center of the room with his hands clasped behind his back. Compared to the other aliens Erik had seen, this one had more character. His hair was mussed and frizzy, and his eyes, the same light blue as his counterparts, danced with unabashed curiosity.
Erik smiled and nodded, ready to play more of their games and follow more of their orders. “Hello,” he said, even though he knew his greeting would fall on deaf ears, literally.
The alien moved to his bed, now devoid of the railing that had been there when he first awoke yesterday morning. A flourish of the tall creature’s hand indicated he wished for Erik to lie down on the bed. As Erik moved closer, the alien nodded and smiled at him, though his smile seemed strange, as if it was forced. Or mimicked. Perhaps the alien was trying to better understand him, or to establish trust. Either way, it was a good sign.
Big Hair, Erik thought with a smile. That’s what he’d call this alien. If Carmen had already met him, she’d probably already given him a similar name.
The moment he lay down on the bed, Big Hair produced a device from his pocket. After pressing a few buttons, the alien held it over Erik’s head, drawing it from side to side.
A brain scan.
Erik gulped, reminding himself to trust the aliens before assuming they meant to harm him. Besides, if they’d wanted to cause him harm, wouldn’t they have strapped him down on the medical unit in the corner of the room again? Or sedated him?
The door opened, a faint whooshing noise, and Blue entered with Carmen by her side. Carmen’s eyes were red-rimmed and she had one hand behind her, trying to rub her bottom. Blue shook her head and drew Carmen’s hand away. She was still wearing the nightie and a diaper, evidence that she hadn’t cooperated enough to earn the privilege of real clothes and unchaperoned trips to the bathroom.
“Have you been a naughty little girl again, Carmen?” He turned his head just far enough to meet her eyes as Big Hair continued with his scan.
“Very funny. Taking a nap, Dr. Manning?”
He winked at her. She only called him Dr. Manning when she was angry, because that’s what she’d called him when they first met when she was an undisciplined teenager and he was her flight instructor. After a few years of running into each other in the research field, he’d invited her to call him Erik. He’d loved hearing his first name on her lips, and he smiled as he recalled how she’d stuttered over it the first time she’d said it. “Er-Er-Erik,” she’d said, blushing.
The door closed, and Blue dragged a chair next to the bed, then guided Carmen to sit on it, leveling a stern look on her before departing the room.
“That’s odd,” Carmen said. “Why do you suppose she brought me here while you were being examined?”
“Big Hair is scanning my brain. Haven’t seen him before, so I bet he’s important. One of their top scientists perhaps. Keep talking. I bet that’s why you’ve been brought here. Because they want to scan my brain while we are communicating.” The actions of the aliens made sense, in his mind. All their steps and observations were logical, exactly what he’d expect human scientists to do if they discovered an alien. Well, perhaps with a little less poking and prodding. So far they’d mostly scanned various parts of his body, only once stripping him naked during an inspection.
“Well, I’m so glad I got stranded on Planet Fuck Me with Mr. Know-it-all. Is there anything you don’t know?” She crossed her arms and sat back in the chair, wincing as her bottom shifted on the surface.
“You’d better watch your mouth, Carmen. Captive or not, I’m still your superior and you will address me with respect. And it’s Dr. Know-it-all, by the way. I didn’t spend a small fortune at MIT getting my PhD in astronautics to be called mister.”
A smile tugged at her lips and she squirmed in her seat. “Okay, Dr. Know-it-all, your royal highness, so I’m supposed to sit here and talk to you? That’s it?”
“Yes. I suspect Big Hair here wants a sample, a baseline of our communications. Maybe this time tomorrow we’ll be talking to the aliens.”
“You really think they’ll be able to devise a way to speak with us based on a little scan?”
“If you’re nice to me, maybe I’ll ask them to stop putting you in diapers, Carmen.”
Red suffused her cheeks and her eyes narrowed. “Blue follows me around, even when I try to go into the bathroom. It’s humiliating and you’re a jerk to bring it up. If we ever get back to Earth and have to give a report on our experiences, you will not under any circumstances mention the diapers. Or the spankings.”
“Spankingssss, with an s? Dare I ask how many you’ve received since yesterday, little girl?” He grinned at her, unable to resist teasing. Carmen was probably the most intelligent woman he’d ever met, but she was also one of the most stubborn and impulsive. He’d noticed her cheeks flushing when he threatened to chastise her aboard the Dastok 22, and he’d tucked that bit of information into the back of his mind. Before he’d had a chance to test the waters further, to see if another spanking threa
t could make her blush prettily, the mining ship had exploded.
“It’s none of your business how many spankings I’ve gotten, Erik. How can you just sit there and let them scan you? What if that’s a weapon of some sort? Maybe Big Hair is trying to scramble your brain.”
“When the aliens device a method of communicating to us after this experiment, you will thank me for remaining calm and allowing Big Hair to do his job.”
Carmen was silent for a while, and his heart contracted when he noticed her blinking back tears. She sniffled and gazed out the window, at the blue sky and billowing clouds. “I don’t want to argue with you, Erik. I just want to escape. For all we know, they might try to cut us open and dissect us like frogs in biology class.”
He reached back and grasped her hand, and Big Hair shifted to give him more room to comfort Carmen, then resumed his scanning. “It’s going to be all right, Carmen. I promise I won’t let them hurt you. Okay?”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she ducked her head and dashed it away. He ached to wrap his arms around her and press her head against his chest while stroking her long, chestnut brown hair. Though normally outspoken and confident when it came to her research, she possessed a vulnerable side few people had glimpsed. After sharing a room with her aboard the mining ship for six weeks, he’d become attached to Carmen, and he missed listening to her soft snores at night, and the little whimpering noises she often made in her sleep. She dreamed of her grandfather many nights, waking up and crying his name, and he’d been heartbroken to learn that he’d been her last living family member. Both her parents had been only children and she had no siblings. She was alone.
“I keep thinking this is a dream,” she said, “and I’ll wake up screaming and you’ll be there, rubbing my back.”
He gave her a sad smile. If only. “Do you want me to see if they’ll let us sleep together?” At her startled look, he continued, “So that you feel safe, Carmen.”
“And how are you going to ask them? I mean, they don’t even seem like they’re capable of speaking. I haven’t heard one of them make the smallest noise in their throat.” Hopefulness filled her gaze, and he took it to heart, took it to mean she did in fact wish to be near him at night, just like on the mining ship.
“I’ll draw a picture on the screen they left on the table over there.”
She followed his gaze to the pile of puzzles and screens, then stared at him with pleading eyes. “Yes. Please. I hate sleeping in that big, empty room by myself.”
He drew circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, all the while trying to ignore the desire hardening his cock at the thought of sleeping next to her. He’d spoon her, mold her body into his while draping an arm around her. Her cute little bottom would be tucked into his center. Perhaps he’d show the aliens he could handle Carmen himself, make her behave. Perhaps then she’d be allowed more adult privileges. Although he did enjoy the sight of her wearing a diaper, the bulk of it sticking out from her flowing nightie.
“I promise I’ll sleep next to you tonight, Carmen. Don’t worry.”
Blue appeared at Carmen’s side, placing a hand on her shoulder and nodding.
“Go with your nurse and behave, little girl. From now on you answer to me too. Every time you earn a spanking from Blue, I’m going to spank you too.”
Her eyes widened as she stood up. She bit her lip and gazed from Blue to him. “You can’t!”
“I can and I will. Now go be good or you’re going to have the sorest little bottom in the galaxy.”
He watched her follow her nurse to the door, and grinned when she stole a quick rub to her right cheek. Blue captured her hand and gave it a swat, then ushered her out of the room. Moments later, Big Hair finished the scan, but as he headed for the door, Erik blocked his exit. Pointing at the table, he beckoned the alien scientist to remain for a while longer. He was relieved when Big Hair trailed him to the table.
Erik searched for the drawing pad, pressed the button that turned on the screen, and called up his artistic talents in hopes that Big Hair might understand. It took a few attempts, a few erasures, but finally the alien was staring at the screen with enthusiasm, nodding so hard his frizzy hair flounced with his quick movements.
With satisfaction and a bit of smugness, Erik stared at the green glowing screen with the black indentations his finger had produced. It showed a man and a woman sleeping together in a bed, the woman wearing a nightie and a diaper.
He hoped the aliens granted his request, because he couldn’t wait to wrap his arms around a certain little astrobiologist tonight.
Chapter Three
Carmen twirled around in her new dress in front of the mirror in the bathroom, running her hands down the waist of the silky garment. She’d had a rough morning and woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and she’d been most offended when Blue once again insisted on accompanying her to the bathroom and helping her eat. As a result, she’d lost her cool and exploded, shoving the tray of breakfast food away so hard that it crashed to the floor. Blue had wasted no time in turning her over her knee and giving her a quick, hard spanking before another alien entered the room, summoning them to go to Erik’s room.
Despite the rough morning though, Blue had just given her a pair of short sheer shorts to wear, the apparent equivalent of panties on this world, as well as a flowing blue dress that shimmered with her movements. Before the wardrobe change, Big Hair had visited her room and stared at Blue for a long while. Judging by their changing facial expressions and how often they glanced in her direction, Carmen assumed they were having a telepathic conversation about her. She suspected the tall alien male with the crazy hair had something to do with her improved circumstances. In any case, she was grateful to have something more modest to wear, and especially grateful she wasn’t required to wear a diaper anymore. Although she’d been annoyed that Blue didn’t give her enough privacy when she was putting on her dress, and when she tossed her nightie on the floor in frustration, Blue bent her over and gave her more than a dozen firm smacks to her bare bottom. Carmen’s face heated as she wondered if Erik would find out she’d misbehaved again.
The hours following the wardrobe change had proved different too. Blue and Big Hair observed her eating lunch and dinner, all by herself without making a move to interfere, and they didn’t follow her into the bathroom either, mercifully. She enjoyed her newfound independence and hoped it was permanent.
Without much to occupy her time, other than stare out the window, her thoughts kept traveling to Erik. Would he really spank her as he’d threatened? Her bottom tingled at the idea of standing between his legs as he scolded her before he took her over his knee, bared her bottom, and spanked her long and hard. A thrill skittered through her, and a steady pulse throbbed between her thighs.
Once, before she’d been officially kicked out of flight school, he’d called her into his office at the school. She’d been whispering to the girl behind her in class, mostly because she had all the textbooks and instruction manuals memorized from front to back and found his lecture boring. “Report to my office after class, young lady,” he’d said in a scolding tone that had made her squirm in her seat and flush with embarrassment. The tongue lashing he’d given her in his office had both angered and aroused her. No one had ever called her out for misbehaving in school. The private schools her grandfather had sent her to catered to the privileged crowd, and though she’d excelled in the sciences through sheer determination to live up to her family name, she’d received no discipline whatsoever. Erik had been the first authority figure in her life who was actually authoritative, and each time she ran into him over the years, the longing he roused within her came rushing back full force.
As the suns disappeared behind the trees and the sky dimmed in a brilliant swirl of fading orange and red, Carmen’s spirits sank. It was almost time for bed, and she was still alone. Erik had promised to sleep with her, but she couldn’t hold him to that promise. Even if he drew a picture and successful
ly communicated his wishes to the aliens, it wasn’t a guarantee that they’d be allowed to share a room.
She eyed her bed, the railing now removed. Another change that had occurred after Big Hair visited. She sighed, turned down the lights to a faint glow, and crawled underneath the blankets, staring in the direction of the door and willing it to open. Willing Erik to appear with a warm smile and open arms. She’d resisted him for years, trying to ignore the tender and submissive feelings he invoked, constantly telling herself that she disliked him. He was too arrogant. Too bossy. Too rigid. Not her type at all.
All lies.
Her interactions with him on the Dastok 22 had only served to deepen her attraction to him. For the first time, she’d glimpsed the playful, teasing side that balanced out his serious side. The tenderness he displayed during her moments of upset moved her heart and surrounded her with a sense of safety she desperately needed. She was used to being strong and doing everything on her own. Holding in her emotions seemed like second nature, but around him her defenses crumbled. She ached to surrender to him, body and soul.
Her last boyfriend had accused her of holding him at an arm’s length. Of being frigid and too focused on her career. She’d watched her friends and colleagues get married and start families while her personal life stood still. She’d become an expert at lying to herself—of telling herself she was happy and all that mattered was succeeding in her profession and reaching for the stars so the sacrifices people like her parents made in name of space exploration weren’t simply in vain.
She’d hoped to discover evidence of a few more alien organisms in the caves on Mars. Now here she was, a captive of living, breathing aliens on a faraway world who looked strikingly human. New potentially habitable planets had been discovered thanks to the many space telescopes that had been launched in the last four decades, but all the Earthlike planets in these so-called habitable zones were so far away that visiting them was a current impossibility. For humans, anyway. The aliens obviously had no trouble traveling far distances in a short time in space, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to rescue her and Erik, so near to Earth and travel back to their home planet in what felt like the blink of an eye.
