The Marilona

"Fine," huffed Aoada, an exaggerated pout on her full lips. She untangled herself and pushed gently away, sticking her tongue out at Noala as she drifted past.

"If you're not careful I'll give you something to do with that," Noala shot at her.

"Promises, promises," Aoada lilted before pushing off hard for the first of her assignments.

I arched an eyebrow at my ship girl, a smiling question on my face.

"What? Ship life gets boring if you don't have a little fun," she said, grinning back at me.

"You'll have to tell me about that sometime," I said with a laugh.

(If you don't bang your head on a bulkhead,) she shot back.

We got a surprising amount of work done. Well, SHE got a surprising amount of work done. We toyed with each other the whole time, teasing glances and wandering hands, stolen kisses whenever she wasn't buried in a console or checking behind some hidden panel.

(What is the Grid like?) she asked at one point, her long legs and perfect ass hanging tantalizingly out from a section of bulkhead that she had deftly removed. I didn't know what she was doing in there, but I was more than happy to let her position work to my advantage. My hands gently roamed over her thighs, squeezing her firm, round butt.

(It is insane and wonderful and beautiful,) I said. Shippercant was coming back to me quickly, and I enjoyed the practice. She made me want to get it down. (The people are hardy and loud, living out their lives under the constant threat of getting lost in the clouds. They dive into things as surely as they dive into the storm. They don't overthink, but they plan, and you can see that in everything from the families to the design of the Grid itself. It will keep growing until it's a solid shell around Jupiter, I think.)

(It sounds like a beautiful place,) she said quietly.

(It is, but I didn't always see that.) I answered her implied question easily. (I don't think I could live there again, but I will always remember it as a wonderful, wild place. I know I don't want to be a hydrogen farmer ever again, and there isn't much room for a guy who just hangs around. I'll visit, I think, but I'm not looking to move back.)

She didn't ask what I planned to do instead. Maybe she wasn't ready to, maybe I wasn't ready for her to. It didn't matter. We had long trip to figure out whether or not to ask that question.

(Were you born here?) I asked. She grinned back at me from inside the bulkhead and I smiled, giving her ass another gentle squeeze.

(No, Marilona is my second ship. I was born on Finestra, actually.)

(Cargo girl,) I muttered as my hands retraced the backs of her thighs.

(You know her?) she asked.

(Never been on board, but I've seen her in Armstrong a time or two. She's a fine ship.)

(Thank you,) she said warmly. (She was a wonderful place to grow up. My father is the chief engineer, and my mother is one of the senior medics. I spent my childhood learning about computer systems and tori balancing and patching wounds and administering meds. I am very close with my parents, even though we seldom see each other.)

(That's an admirable thing.) I hadn't seen my mother in a little over eighty years, and my father had been lost in the storm when I was pretty young.

(I would have been more than welcome to stay, but I was too curious about rootstocks and wanted to meet new people. They understood. Neither of them was born on Finestra. My father had met the XO of Marilona when he was still on his first ship, and he got me this job about twenty years ago.)

She backed out of the bulkhead and pushed the panel back into place, taking my hand and leading the way to the next panel. I didn't ask her if she planned to stay or move on again, just as she hadn't asked me what I planned to do instead of staying on the Grid.

We finished up our half of the checks and met Aoada at the airlock, she and Noala going through first, me squeezing myself through after them. I walked hand-in-hand with Noala, my gaze alternating between the stars and her, enjoying the warmth of her hand in the coldness of space.

When we got back inside, we thanked Aoada for her help, my ship girl teasing her gently that maybe she would have better luck on the next bet as I blushed. Aoada laughed and gave Noala a kiss on the cheek before pushing up to me and planting her lips on mine, her tongue sliding into my mouth and finding mine.

I spluttered a bit when she pulled away and shot a glance at Noala, who I found laughing at my confusion, only joy and a little bit of naughtiness in her eyes. She took my hand as Aoada pushed off for the crew section and we made our way to my cabin.

"She's going to make another bet, you know," she said, her smile light and ornery.

"Are you going to take it?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation.

"Interesting," I replied. "What if she wins?"

"Oh, she'll win eventually," Noala whispered. "And I expect you to fuck her almost as good as you fuck me."

"Really?"

"Of course. She is my cabinmate, my friend, and I love her. I want her to know the things that make me happy, and to experience them too. I don't want you to feel the same way about her as I hope you feel about me, at least not for a long time, but I want her to share the way you make my body feel."

"I don't think I'll be feeling the same way about her that I feel about you any time soon, if ever," I said slowly. "And if it won't hurt you, and it won't make things awkward between us, I have no problem with being shared."

"Mmmm, I thought not," she said slyly. "And it won't hurt me. I want it to happen, but I'm going to make her work for it a little bit. Once she gets it, I want to hear all about it while I ride you."

My cock had started to thicken when it became clear to me that my ship girl wanted me to take her friend to bed at some point, but what she said next made it pulse to full attention.

"And then I want you to take us both together."

I grabbed a passing handhold, stopping myself, and pulled her to me with my free hand. She gasped, her mound coming into contact with my hardness through our suits. My lips found hers and she moaned, her tongue slipping between my lips, my hands finding the release on her suit as hers found the same on mine. I hit the button and pulled the suit down and away, shoving it off of her to drift in the passageway as she yanked the release of mine and dragged it down just low enough to free my arms and my cock.

Her incredible legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me close, guiding her floating body to mine as her long fingers wrapped around my cock, aiming me. My cock pressed against her, the incredible wetness of her proving that she had been as affected by the conversation as I. I felt her rub my head back and forth across her lips, coating me, before she set me in place and pulled hard with her legs.

She hissed as I sank into her, a groan escaping my lips as every inch slowly slid into the perfect heat of her tight, long body. We moved together, using the handholds and the bulkhead for leverage, her legs pulling and pushing against me as we ground and thrust in zero gee. She moaned against my lips, her tongue dancing in and out of my mouth, her breasts pressed hard against my chest, nipples tiny points dragging across my skin.

Noala buried her face in the side of my neck, her hands grasping my shoulders, the back of my head. Her gasping moans were muffled in my skin, her breath hot against me, her body tight and wet, gripping my cock as we moved together. Her orgasm erupted, soft moans turning to muffled cries, her cunt milking me, rippling along the length of my shaft.

I held her tight against me as she rode through it, her hips grinding against me, her fingers clenching, grasping, clawing at my back. Every muscle in her body spasmed and rolled, my cock the one thing anchoring her in reality. Her wetness grew and flowed, what should have been dripping wetness instead breaking free and floating away in the lack of gravity.

As she came down her body returned to her a few muscles at a time until finally she stopped shaking and her lips found mine. She clung to me, her tongue brushing against mine, legs squeezing tightly to my waist.

"We should probably get out of the passageway," I whispered.

"I'd be reassigned in a heartbeat," she murmured, her lips brushing mine. She rolled her hips, grinding my cock deeper into her before releasing her legs and flexing, literally using the strength of her inner muscles to squeeze me. Her incredible wetness and the tightness of her pushed her away from me, an incredible, wet friction that squeezed us apart and I slipped free of her.

She giggled and kicked away, gliding down the passageway to retrieve her shipsuit, gracefully performing a sort of rolling, acrobatic flip into it. I managed to tuck myself back into my own suit as I watched, pulling it back up and closing the seam, my cock now an uncomfortable, hard bar across the front, obvious and obscene to anyone who happened by. Luckily for me, the only other person in the area was not only alright with the sight, but in a hurry to get it back out.

We shoved off together, racing each other to the stairs once again and sprinting to my door. We burst through and attacked each other, pawing our clothes off, pushing one another to the bed and collapsing into it, her atop me, her long legs straddling my waist, her hand seizing my cock, pointing it and dropping onto it in one smooth motion.

She ground down on me hard, my own hips rising and grinding back against her, my hands trailing across her cheek, her chest, teasing and pinching her hard nipples as she began to cum for me again. Her entire body worked into her orgasm, trembling and shaking, her eyes fluttering as she moaned my name, her hands clenching and unclenching against my chest.

Noala never stopped moving, her hips rolling sexily, my cock buried as deeply as it could go inside her incredible heat. She moaned again, her eyes locking to mine as she began to move with purpose, rising and falling, pulling her perfect pussy all the way to the very tip before dropping back onto me with her full weight and grinding her hips forward at the bottom of each wonderful stroke.

(You're going to make me cum again, Asger. Cum with me. Cum inside of me, fill me up with your beautiful cock!)

I clasped my hands around her slender hips, feeling myself get closer and closer, her incredible body, her words, the lust and need in her eyes driving me to the edge and the shoving me over. My cock exploded inside her, flooding into her as she threw her head back and cried out, her own orgasm washing over her. Her perfect pussy milked my cock, coaxing, sucking, demanding every drop of my cum.

She lowered herself slowly, her arms shaking. I wrapped my arms around her and held her to me, my breath coming in a deep, steady rhythm. Noala's slight frame rose and fell with my chest, her head nestled under my chin, her long fingers tracing absent patterns on my chest.

I was content, and tired, and happy. I'd never known that sort of happiness, nor that sort of sense of being exactly where I belonged. I'd been with other women, of course, but Noala was the first that made me feel as though I SHOULD be with her. It was a new feeling, not unwelcome, but potentially confusing and maybe painful. Or maybe not.

I chose not to dwell on it, and instead rolled, taking her with me, smiling as she spun in my arms and snuggled back against me, her round little ass pressed against my lower belly. I kissed her softly just below her ear, and she arched, giving a soft sigh and returning the kiss on my forearm.

We made love twice more that night, sleeping for a few hours in between. The first time, I woke her with soft kisses and gentle bites on the back of her neck. The second time I awoke with my cock in her mouth, pushed as deep into her throat and she could take it, her hands gripping my hips.

We awoke an hour before the midden meal, tangled in each other, her long limbs wrapped over and between my own. We kissed lazily, happily letting ourselves enjoy the warmth and comfort of each other before shifting at all.

"I have to go soon. Assignments are given to night shift then, and we're given time to do personal tasks. I'm normally not allowed to come back to the passenger section until my shift actually starts." She finished a little sadly, her eyes dropping down to stare at my chest.

(I understand,) I whispered back. "Fleet was pretty much the same way. We didn't get many passengers, obviously, but if we did have a VIP or something we weren't supposed to go near them when we were off duty. Or on duty, really, unless they were part of our duty. And being Offship, they were only part of my duty if something went really, really fucking wrong."

Noala smiled, her eyes coming back up to mine.

"I don't know why I keep forgetting you were Fleet," she admitted. "But I'm glad you were, and I hope it makes having to work around my duties easier."

"You are without a doubt the most exciting part of this ship, and if getting to spend time with you means I have to wait for a few hours every day, that's a small price to pay," I replied honestly.

She grinned and kissed me, her lips hungry and soft and wonderful. I grew against her leg, my cock hardening and lengthening as my tongue slipped between her lips. A soft moan filled my mouth before she pulled back, her smile teasing and happy.

(I want you to fuck me,) she whispered. (I want you to make me scream and drive your cock into my wet little pussy until I can't take it anymore and I have to have your cum in me.)

I groaned, my cock hard as iron, my hand slipping low to find the intense heat, the incredible wetness of her.

(But I have to go to work,) she whispered with a laugh, kissing me quickly and rolling away, springing to her feet before I could bury my fingers inside her. (So we'll have to wait until tonight.)

I growled low in my throat, not angry but teasing, springing toward her as she laughed, a high and happy and musical sound. I caught her in my arms as she tried halfheartedly to dodge, wrapping her up and lifting her, kissing her and cupping her perfect ass, one thick finger curling under and slipping into her. She gasped against my lips and ground on the offender, a smile of shocked and happy lust lighting up her eyes.

(You are a mean man,) she whispered. (A fantastic, wonderful mean man.)

I laughed and kissed her, shoving the finger deep inside her before slowly pulling it out and brining it to my lips, tasting the unbelievably sexy flavor of her.

(You didn't say I had to make waiting easy,) I said with a grin.

"Mmhmm," she intoned, a teasingly scolding look on her face.

I lowered her to the ground, playfully swatting her lovely ass as she found her shipsuit and pulled it on. She kissed me sweetly at the door, her hands trailing down my chest, and then she was gone, the promise of meeting again at 0035 and the happy smile she gave me when I said yes giving me something to look forward to.

That became my life for the next two weeks. I whiled the day away in my cabin, reading and watching movies until a few hours before meeting Noala and Aoada, doing my workout, showering, then spending a few hours following the girls around as they did their rounds. We walked the grid each night, my hand in Noala's, Aoada teasing us with Voidsigna.

Each night Noala and I would politely and teasingly send her away before going back to my cabin. I got used to her goodbyes, even as they grew more risqué. The quick kiss evolved into longer and deeper kisses, then groping, then grinding against my cock. I started fighting back, letting my hands wander to the delight of both Aoada and Noala.

We were four and a half weeks into our run, maybe two days into the first of what Fleet calls Dead Zones, when it happened.

Most ships are equipped with enough sensors to detect the odd bolide or stray asteroid enough in advance to execute an emergency correction in plenty of time. Avoiding them is a pretty simple matter, actually. A second or so burn of the right small attitude thruster is enough to vastly change course if done early enough. Asteroids and bolides are easy to dodge. They aren't aiming for you.

We were walking the hull, mostly done with the grid that had become so familiar, my hand comfortably in Noala's and my eyes doing their usual alternating between her ass and the stars. I would squeeze her hand occasionally, and she would squeeze mine back, her mask moving with the gentle smile she would favor me with.

The stars were endless, uncountable. The insane vastness of space was almost as captivating to me as the woman beside me, infinite, mysterious, the stars motionless, hanging in blackness that never ends. All except for one.

(We're moving,) I signed.

Noala stopped and stared at me, her eyes a little incredulous.

(We have been the whole time,) she signed back, her eyes a little concerned as they studied my face. I wasn't looking back at her.

(No, I mean I can TELL that we're moving.)

My eyes had locked on the moving star, watching it crawl across the void of space, looking so very slow, but I knew that it wasn't. And I knew that it wasn't a star.

Noala's hand pulled from mine and I turned to see her plucking her comm from her belt. I assumed it was vibrating. Probably a text. I started moving toward the airlock, not waiting for her to tell me what I had already guessed.

I waited for them just outside of it, motioning the girls through first. They dove in and cycled it quickly, polite enough in their haste to start the process of venting it for me. I went through as quickly as possible, but they were gone when I got through.

I shoved off hard, using handholds and bulkheads to speed myself along, rocketing down the passageway toward the ramp and my cabin. I sprinted to my door, managing to fire off a text to Noala on the way. Trying to text and speed in zero gravity is a fool's errand. Doing it while running is a little less stupid.

-I can help. This was my job, and I was VERY good at it.-

I slapped the console outside my door and burst in, going straight to my luggage. I tore off my Fleet shipsuit and dug to the bottom of the case, coming up with a nearly identical suit. It was the same in every visible way. It was twice as heavy, though, and the feel of the fabric was much more rough on the outside. I kicked my boots and the last of the other suit off and pulled the new one on, the sensation familiar and calming, my mind shifting to the place it always went in times like these. I pulled the boots on quickly just as my comm chimed.

-Hatch A4, five minutes.-

It wasn't from Noala. Probably her superior. It didn't matter. I knew what I'd be doing.

I went back to the trunk and delved deep, all the way to the bottom.

My fingers closed around the rough, weathered handle of my combat knife, pulling it out in its sheath. I drew it quickly and checked the edge, sharp as ever. The blade was half a meter long, double edged, straight, two centimeters thick in the center, a wide blood groove dipping down the center of its 6 centimeter wide blade. The last decimeter or so flowed and tapered into a sharp, sturdy point. The handle was specially sized, thick and round, roughened and shaped to fit my massive hand.

I slipped the blade quickly back into the sheath and slapped it against my thigh, the material flowing and licking around it, a combination of smart fabric and magnets ensuring that it wouldn't move unless I wanted it to. I grabbed the belt from the ground and slipped it around my waist as I strode to the door, clicking it in place and breaking into a sprint as I entered the passageway.

I found A4 in under three minutes, grabbing the handhold beside it and giving it three sharp raps with my knuckles.