Transport Ship Arrowhead Ch. 04

As much as he tried, as much as he really wanted to, James Barret couldn't tear his eyes away from what was right in front of him; the battered and scorched hull of the Arrowhead. Barret had more than seven years experience as a star pilot and had been in more than a few dogfights. He had been one of the Earth Space Force's top pilots during his time there, and had a reputation for creative flying even now, several years after his honorable discharge. But in all that time he'd never been caught unawares like this. He'd never been blind sided before.

Barret looked at what was left of the port deflector array. His ship's entire defensive system, the navigational shields included, had been taken out by the first shot from a lurking Geddryn warship. In all his years in space, Barret never thought he'd be attacked in his home system during peace time. Unfortunately, there was a first time for everything.

Barret and his wife/bond mate Endira Vas were making their first trip to the Sol System in months. The last time they were here, they went only as far as Neptune to rendezvous with the system patrol ship Aquarius. That ship's commanding officer, Admiral Janice Hu, performed Barret and Vas's wedding. After the reception they were on their way again to the next delivery.

This time they were heading to the Artemis Station on Earth's moon so the Arrowhead could get a much needed refit. Barret decided to enter the solar system at the orbit of Saturn so he could show Vas what he called the crown jewel of the Sol System.

Barret had been to countless star systems and had seen many planets, but he still thought that the rings of Saturn were the most wondrous sight in the known universe. Upon seeing the rings in all their splendor, Vas had to agree. They left Saturnian orbit without incident, and proceeded towards Earth. All was well until they reached the midpoint of the asteroid belt.

Two Geddryn warships and a Verokk cruiser came out from behind a particularly large asteroid and opened fire. The defense systems were disabled, and then life support. Barret and Vas barely had enough time to put their space suits on before the air was vented into space. Right after that, the Arrowhead's artificial gravity failed.

Fortunately for the Arrowhead and her crew, the system patrol ship Libra, the ship that was now taking them the rest of the way to the Moon, was in the vicinity and could come to the rescue before they were destroyed or captured. Now here he was, looking at the damage to his ship.

Barret wouldn't know how bad it was until Charlie Ross's people at Artemis could take a look, but Barret knew it was going to be more expensive than a simple refit and a few interior modifications. The Arrowhead's weapons were gone, the containment fields for the antimatter in the engine core were barely holding on, and the hull was breached in more places than he could count.

These were not small holes, either; these were large tears in the metal, as well as entire pieces of the hull plating that were just gone. Barret looked at the power conduit cables snaking into a breach by the engine core; the Libra's power systems were keeping his ship's engine core from going critical. Barret knew this was going to be very, very bad.

Endira Vas, on the other hand, was enjoying her time on Libra's bridge. Since she had learned the Terran language from Barret, she could easily converse with any member of the crew in their native tongue. Vas always had a knack with learning new languages, and Terran proved to be easy to pick up.

At that moment, though, she wasn't talking. No, she was watching a blue orb grow bigger and bigger on the forward view screen. At first glance, she could swear she saw Muldax Prime and not Earth, but the closer they got, the more she could tell that this was not her home planet.

The white clouds and blue oceans were right, but the presence of several continents instead of a large central land mass proved to her that Earth was indeed different. Then of course, there was their destination. Coming up from behind the Earth was a grey, cratered sphere.

Earth was a bit of an oddball in that it had a naturally occurring satellite. The last planet other than a gas giant she saw with a moon was the water world Epsis Major, but its moon, Epsis Minor, was nothing more than a large asteroid that had been caught by the planet's gravity and pulled into orbit.

Docking the Libra and offloading the damaged Arrowhead went smooth as clockwork, as did the removal and disposal of the disabled ship's dying drive core. Charlie Ross, the head engineer of Artemis, was not at all what Vas expected.

Charlie was actually Charlene Ross; a dark skinned woman with waist length black hair that she wore in dreadlocks, and who was about a head shorter than Vas was. Charlie's loose fitting coveralls hid a well muscled physique; a physique that was the result of years of hard labor building and repairing ships. A physique that currently had Vas mesmerized.

Instead of looking the Arrowhead over when it was offloaded, Charlie took Vas and Barret to her office. The usual greetings had turned to comforting Barret over what happened to his ship. That comforting lead to heavy flirting; not a surprise since Barret and Charlie had been intimate in the past.

The flirting took them to Charlie's quarters, where Vas was now watching a very naked Charlie riding the cock of an equally naked Barret. Vas was sitting in a chair by the bed, her own clothes discarded, rubbing her dripping green slit while she watched the human woman fuck her bond mate.

Vas had watched Barret with other women before, as he had watched her with other men, but this time she desperately wanted to join in. Since having sex with a Birran woman named Larik'Ni just a week prior, Vas had discovered that her attraction to women was more than just curiosity; she liked pussy.

Vas couldn't take her eyes off Charlie's body. Her perky tits with their hard brown nipples, and the thin strip of hair above the slit that was currently engulfing Barret's cock were calling to Vas. She was torn between watching Barret cum all over this other woman, or taking his cock in her mouth when he fired his load so she could taste them both. All the purple skinned beauty knew for sure is that she wanted a piece of Charlie Ross, and she wanted it bad.

Vas decided to take a chance. She got up off the chair and sauntered over to the bed, lying down beside her mate. She kissed him gently at first, them with more passion; their tongues exploring each other's mouths.

Barret released his grip on Charlie's hip and started pinching one of Vas's erect green nipples. She was pleasantly surprised to feel one of Charlie's hands exploring her leg, inching ever closer to her naturally hairless pussy, and she gladly opened her legs to allow access. Vas let out a whimper of pleasure into Barret's mouth when Charlie's finger found her clit.

"I've never played with a Muldaxian before," Charlie said playfully.

"And I've never played with a human female before," Vas replied. She sat up; Charlie's finger was still rubbing her clit. Vas cupped Charlie's face and kissed her deeply. Charlie moaned both from the kiss, and the feeling of Barret's cock getting harder.

Barret had never seen Vas kiss another woman before; he was being held prisoner by the Verokk when Vas had her first time with Larik'Ni, so he never got to witness his mate explore another woman's body. "I can't believe we haven't done this before now," he said.

Vas pulled her lips away from Charlie and smiled at her mate. "Then we have to make this good. Scoot down a little. I want to sit on your face." As soon as Vas's pussy was above Barret's mouth, he went for it, burying his tongue in her wet folds. Vas fell forward into Charlie's embrace, kissing her hungrily.

Vas started to gently massage Charlie's clit as she rode Barret's cock. Charlie had been right in the edge before, and this sent her over it. Her cunt pulsed around Barret's cock as she held on to Vas for dear life while an intense orgasm ripped through her. Barret and Vas never relented in their efforts, making sure that Charlie enjoyed it to the fullest. Vas's free hand found one of Charlie's tits, and she gently pinched the erect nipple. She then cupped Charlie's breast, and marveled how well the small mound of flesh fit in the palm of her hand.

The pleasure continued to surge through her, and Charlie moaned and whimpered as she came; the feeling of a big cock sliding into her and dexterous fingers massaging her clit and tits at the same time was more than she could take. This wasn't her first threesome, nor was it her first threesome with Barret, but this was hotter for some reason. Maybe it was because this was her first time with a very eager Muldaxian. She fell into Vas's arms and sighed with satisfaction.

"I think she liked it," Vas chuckled.

"I did," Charlie replied. "But now I think it's time I got a taste of you." She dismounted Barret's cock and motioned for him to move. Vas took his place, and Charlie buried her face between Vas's legs. Barret entered Charlie from behind and fucked her eagerly, picking up where he left off.

Vas looked down at the crown of dark hair between her legs, and then up at the determined face of her mate as he fucked another woman. Vas closed her silver eyes and enjoyed the feeling of this woman nibbling her clit and poking her tongue into her wet green hole.

Vas pinched her own nipples as Charlie pleasured her, feeling the orgasm getting closer. "Yes, Charlie," she groaned. "I'm really close. I'm...." Vas's back arched and her skin changed to lavender. She hissed as the pleasure overtook her. Charlie did her best to hold Vas's trembling body still, lest Vas's pussy leave the vicinity of her tongue.

"What the hell was that?" Charlie asked when Vas's color returned to normal and she stopped squirming. "With your skin, I mean."

"Never seen a Muldaxian cum, have you, Charlie?" Barret asked as he continued fucking her.

"Never," Charlie panted. "You mean that's normal?"

"It is," Vas happily said.

"Guess you folks can't fake orgasms, can you?"

"With James, who needs to?" Vas asked with a wink.

"Speaking of orgasms," Barret grunted as he started fucking Charlie faster, "how are we handling the......ejaculatory arrangements?"

"Sounds like someone's getting close," Charlie said with a devious glint in her eyes.

"Very."

"I have an idea," Vas said. "I want to lick Charlie's pussy for a while, so why don't you just finish in me?" She had wanted to taste Barret and Charlie together, but this would do.

Charlie and Vas switched places, and Vas immediately dove into Charlie's snatch. She had less pubic hair than Larik'Ni did, and her clit was almost red with arousal. She was about to lick Charlie's slit when she felt Barret's cock slide into her. "Don't be gentle," she begged. "Just give it to me. Fuck me like you mean it."

That was all the invitation Barret needed, and he started pumping into her like there was no tomorrow. While Vas was getting pounded, she was savoring Charlie's musky scent and tangy flavor.

Charlie grabbed hold of Vas's head, and the look she had on her face told Vas that she was almost at the point of no return. Vas redoubled her efforts, poking her tongue in Charlie's hole, then running it in circles around her swollen clit. "Vas," Charlie moaned. That made Vas suck Charlie's clit into her mouth and gently bite it.

That was all Charlie could take and her body convulsed in orgasmic bliss. All the while she was moaning Vas's name and begging her not to stop. That set off a domino effect. Within a few seconds of Charlie climaxing, Vas's skin again changed to lavender and she moaned her pleasure into Charlie's pussy, making her orgasm even more intense.

Vas's own pussy had clamped down on Barret's cock when her orgasm hit, causing him to shoot his load deep inside of her. He was practically roaring like a wild animal as he came.

After what seemed like an eternity of frenzied pleasure, all three of them regained control of themselves. Barret pulled his softening cock from Vas's snatch and sat back on the bed, breathing heavily.

Charlie wasn't done, though. She quickly repositioned herself so her head was between Vas's legs and she started to eagerly lick Vas's slit and lap up the cum that was now oozing from the Muldaxian woman's still wet pussy. She knew of the Muldaxian tradition that said only a woman's bond mate could cum inside of her, but she had never heard anything about cleaning up the aftermath.

Vas wasn't about to stop her. "Yeah, baby," she moaned. "Don't stop. Lick the cum out of me."

"You two taste great together," Charlie grinned.

Before long Barret was hard again, and he had Charlie on her back with his cock buried to the hilt in her pussy. Vas was sitting on her face, still being cleaned up, and she was watching her man's cock plunge into Charlie's snatch again and again. When Barret came this time, Vas took his cock in her mouth and swallowed his load; exactly as she had planned to do from the beginning.

The high Vas and Barret felt after their tryst with Charlie quickly faded when they received the Arrowhead's damage report. It was worse than either of them had anticipated. Damaged beyond recovery.

"I'm sorry, guys," Charlie said. "But the navigation, defense, life support, and propulsion systems are shot, the hull is thrashed, and the underlying superstructure is ruined. Over eighty percent of the ship has been effectively destroyed. There's a reason some energy weapons are called 'disruptors.' They disrupt matter on a molecular level. That's what you were hit with."

"But disruptors are illegal," Vas pointed out.

"Tell that to the Geddryn," Charlie replied. "You were hit by a Type 688-T disruptor. The particle residue is unmistakable."

Barret walked over and gently laid a hand on a section of his ruined ship's hull. It crumbled under his touch. "The hull is still breaking down," he said to himself.

"It'll continue until the damaged sections are nothing but dust. I'm sorry, James. I know what she meant to you."

"There's no way to rebuild her?" Vas asked, clearly upset.

"I'm afraid not, Vas," Charlie said. "The effects of the disruptor will continue until there's nothing left. They just don't make Hyperion class ships anymore. We would have to build a new one from the ground up; fabricating all the components ourselves. Because I knew you'd ask, James, I had my people crunch the numbers. If we were to rebuild the Arrowhead, it would take thirty one months, and cost well over a million credits. Buying a new ship would be a hell of a lot cheaper."

"Why so much?" Vas asked.

"Because the Arrowhead is a Hyperion class ship, and that class was discontinued over a decade ago. No one even makes parts for them anymore." Charlie set the readout with the damage report down. "If I was to design a whole new ship and build it, I could buy parts form any warehouse in the Solar System, or any of our colony systems. I wouldn't have to make them all. A custom built ship would only take about a year to design, build and get out into space, depending on the design specs. But to completely recreate the Arrowhead piece by piece.... I'm sorry, Vas. There's just no feasible way to do it. I can put out feelers for another Hyperion class ship, but I wouldn't hold my breath."

Barret closed his eyes. "I want a copy of the damage report," he said solemnly.

"Of course. And I already sent a copy off to the System Defense Force, and to Interstellar Relations. If you want, I can send one off to the Freighters' Guild."

"We'd appreciate that, Charlie," Vas said. "Thank you."

"I did salvage the memory bank from the main computer, in case you want it." Barret simply nodded. "I'll leave you two alone then." Before Charlie left, she gave Barret a quick peck on the lips. "When you feel better, maybe the three of us can get together again."

"You'll forgive me if sex is the last thing on my mind right now," Barret said with a weak grin.

Charlie gave Vas a quick kiss, and left them alone with the husk that had been their ship, their home, and their livelihood.

Vas had never actually set foot on Earth before, but there was no excitement for her of coming to a new world. Instead there was an intense sadness about the loss of the Arrowhead. She was severely unimpressed with it the first time she saw it, but it quickly became her home. It was her ship, too, and now it had been taken from her by the Verokk like her home planet had been.

Nevertheless, there she was on Earth for the first time. The lunar transport had taken her to a region of the North American continent called California. Specifically, to a spaceport outside of a city called San Francisco. There she would meet her mate's twin sister, with whom they would be staying.

"Vas! Over here!" a voice called as Vas stepped off the transport vessel. Two women, one human with hair the same shade of brown as Barret's, and a grey skinned Korulam woman, were approaching her.

Vas smiled her first genuine smile since she heard the damage report. "Hi, Jackie. Corva. Thanks for meeting me." The message was spoken in Terran, something that surprised Jackie Barret and her Korulam wife.

"That's a new trick," Jackie said to her sister-in-law before hugging her. "Jimmy was right that you pick up languages fast. Speaking of that brother of mine, where is he?"

Vas sighed. "He's on his way to the Interstellar Relations Center to lodge a formal protest against the Verokk Imperium. We were attacked in the asteroid belt."

"We heard about that," Corva said. As with all Korulam, she had two stripes going down her face; one over each eye that extended down to the jaw line. These stripes changed color depending on the Korulam's emotional state. Right now they were a dark green, indicating that she was very concerned. "How bad is it?"

"The Arrowhead's been destroyed."

"Shit," Jackie muttered. "He loved that ship."

"I know," Vas said with a tear in her eye. "So did I. She was our home."

Jackie took the Muldaxian woman in her arms again. "Well, now our home is your home, and you can stay with us for as long as you want."

"Thank you for your kindness, Jackie."

Jackie pulled away and looked Vas right in her silver eyes. "You're family, Vas. You don't have to thank family for being there when you need us. Now come on, let's get you home so you can get settled in. "

Barret's meeting with the IRC representatives went a lot longer than he anticipated. The fact that he was the victim of an unprovoked attack in the home system by a race that had invaded the home planet of a longtime ally was a bigger deal that Barret had initially thought. But then again, he wasn't thinking clearly after the loss of his ship.

The meeting was quite productive; he turned over the damage report from Artemis, as well as the salvaged sensor logs leading up to the attack. The IRC rep, a man named Paul Kirsch, was certain that the evidence Barret provided would be more than enough to at least let the Earth government impose more sanctions against the Imperium. That was little consolation to James Barret, though; it wouldn't rebuild his ship or keep him from going out of business.

It was nearly midnight when he walked through his sister's front door. "Look what the cat dragged in," he heard a voice say. Barret was greeted by a warm hug from Corva.

"Hey, Cor," he said. "Good to see you."

"You, too. Vas is in the den with Jackie going through your books."

"They're what?" Barret hated when anyone went poking through his fiances.

"Come on, James, you know your sister is a genius when it comes to numbers," Corva said. "Besides, she's worried. She wanted to make sure you had enough funds to last you until you could find, well, something." Corva leaned over and kissed her brother-in-law's cheek. "I'm sorry about your ship."