Alien Desires

Alien Desires

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~~ All characters in this book are over 18. ~~

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The Artemis mission grew out of the collapse of the former United States, an event that historians believe marks the start of the period which we now call 'The Crazy Years.'

In 2034 the State of Alabama elected as governor a charismatic but extremist bible-school dropout named Obadiah Scunner, who seemed determined to repeal the entire twenty-first century, and as much of the twentieth as he could. Obsessed with gay marriage, women's rights, the role of religion in an increasingly secular society, grooming and what he called the 'mongrelization of the races,' he declared Alabama an independent republic shortly after taking office, and in so doing, set off the Second American Civil War.

The states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Tennessee soon followed. The federal government, rotted from within by decades of partisan bickering and gridlock, beset by external forces intent on its destruction, was unable to respond in a coherent fashion, and in fact nearly collapsed. Sensing weakness, Alaska, which had long chafed under federal authority, also declared itself independent, while the liberal west coast states of California, Oregon, Hawaii and Washington split off as the Republic of the Pacific. It seemed that the great American experiment had finally died, poisoned by its enemies and helpless to defend itself.

Two years later, in 2036, the tottering remainder of the country elected as president a young, intelligent man from Duluth, Minnesota, who had previously served three terms in the United States House of Representatives. President Steven Johnson, with the help of the military, which had stayed loyal throughout the entire crisis, crushed the rebellion of the southern states in less than six months. Overweight militia members with dreams of martial glory found that their jealously hoarded firearms and looted federal arsenals were no match for armored tanks, artillery, or modern fighter planes. Cowed by the ferocity of President Johnson's reaction, which included the public execution of 'President' Scunner, Alaska appealed for readmittance to the union, as did the Republic of the Pacific.

At the Third Constitutional Convention, held in 2039, President Johnson, with the overwhelming support of the American people, invited Canada and the Republic of Mexico to join America in a new nation. The North American Federation came into being on March 25, 2041, after three simultaneous referenda were passed by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. A new, huge, optimistic nation, with incredible natural resources and a long history of friendship, the initial birthing pains of the NAF were easily overcome.

And when incontrovertible proof surfaced that Russia was seeking to undermine the new democracy through misinformation, covert ops, and cyberwarfare, much as it had done a decade before, its fury could not be contained. Prime Minister Wheaton asked for and received a Declaration of Wat on October 6, 2043. Volunteers came forward by the thousands, eager to avenge years of Russian meddling. The other nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which had watched helplessly as America staggered towards collapse, followed as well. The brute force of the Russian Army, which had already been exposed as a paper tiger in numerous previous conflicts, was no match for the overwhelming technology of the west. The oligarchs of Russia were forced to surrender and sue for peace.

With Russia defeated, China sitting out the conflict, and other major nations, such as India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Japan either neutral or firm allies of the NAF, the world was able to turn its eyes once again to the stars. Resources which had been spent on the military were given civilian applications. By 2049, the moon had been reached and colonized. With a low-gravity base in place, exploration of the other planets rapidly followed. Mars was visited in the 2050's, and humans orbited (but did not land on) Venus and Mercury in the following years.

Following the successful orbit and exploration of Jupiter and the Galilean moons of Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto in the Jovian Missions of 2063-2066, the next logical step was Saturn. The ringed jewel of the solar system had been beckoning mankind for centuries. And on April 3, 2073, the Artemis broke lunar orbit, heading farther and deeper into space than any humans had ever gone before...

*****

Crew of the North American Space Agency ship Artemis:

Captain: Helen Sandusky

Julia Garcia: Engineering, EVA, electronics

Dr. Alexandra McCoy: Medical, communications

Kumiko Akira: Computers, navigation, piloting

Rebecca Moreau: Astrocartography, geology, botany

*****

"Oh, Becky! Fuck me harder, you incredible fucking slut!"

Julia Garcia sighed, putting down her handreader. For a moment she considered thumping her fist against the bulkhead in an effort to get her crewmates to quiet down, but decided against it.

All I'd get is a bruised hand. When Becky and Kumiko are screwing, it would take a hull breach to get their attention. Especially when Becky is using the strap-on.

And who could blame them, anyway, for making their own fun? The Artemis was a lovely ship, the largest moving object ever constructed by mankind and a miracle of human technology, but when you were young, horny, and in love, any time you had to yourself was something to be enjoyed. Almost all of their waking hours were spent making sure the mission to Saturn was a success, whether that be conducting experiments, doing maintenance on the Artemis itself, sending the daily updates to mission control in Houston, or simply observing the ringed giant and its moons. No matter how many unmanned probes were sent out into space, the scientists back home still valued human minds over computers, and wanted to know what the women of the Artemis saw with their own two eyes.

Still, Julia thought, it would be nice if I was on the receiving end of a good, old-fashioned fucking for a change, instead of being an unwilling voyeur. She looked at the picture of her boyfriend, taped to the wall of her cabin, and her eyes blurred with tears. Julia hadn't seen him since the day before the mission started, when she had said goodbye to him at the airlock on Luna Base. Zach had hugged her, his strong arms tight around her body, and kissed her goodbye.

That was eighteen months ago. For a while, they had been able to cybersex with each other, engaging in mutual masturbation over a video link while exchanging whispered words of desire. But as the Artemis plunged deeper and deeper into the void, even that became impossible. Their communications gear was the best humanity had to offer, but it couldn't escape the merciless laws of physics. Communication was limited by one of physics' most intractable, most inconvenient laws. The speed of light was finite. They were over seventy light-minutes apart, and even something as simple as a conversation was completely out of the question. Video messages, sent with the rest of their updates from NASA, were the best they could do until they were on the return trip home.

"Looks like it's you and me again," she muttered, looking up at her vibrator, which was fastened to the wall over her head, held in place by a tiny patch of velcro. For the first few months of the mission, she had kept it stowed invisibly away, somewhat embarrassed to have proof of her body's needs left out on the open. But now, when masturbation was becoming more and more a physical need, rather than a way to pass an idle half-hour, she kept it within reach. She had long since passed the point where she cared what her crewmates thought.

Not that Becky or Kumiko would have been at all unwilling, if she had invited herself into their cabin for some playtime, she thought with a rueful smile. Both of them had hinted more than once that she would be welcome, if she wanted to join. And the psychologists who had studied their profiles and who had ultimately decided whether they would be able to live together for over three years without murdering each other had made sure that none of them were the sort who would let petty jealousies destroy the mission.

But no. Julia was not a lesbian. Or even, somewhat unfortunately, bisexual. There had never been that period in her life when she had doubted her orientation and experimented with other girls her age, though she had been told that many other women did.

But God, I would love to get laid, she thought, her fingers inching under the waistband of the light cotton shorts which were all she wore to bed these days. I would trade five years of my life if I could have two hours with Zach.

Her fingers found her lips, wet under her touch. She had been reading a steamy romance, which, when combined with the sounds from next door, had left her frustratingly horny. Impatient, unwilling to spend time building up her own arousal, she aimed for her clit. A good quick cum was what she wanted, and then a good night's sleep. She bit her lip, engaging in a favorite memory, of the time she and Zach went backpacking through Yosemite and found that spring-fed pool. The one that, she recalled with a fond smile, Zach insisted was responsible for his shrinkage. And then what they had done afterwards, alone under the stars, their only bedding a sleeping bag, with a campfire painting their bodies red and orange. How he had rose above her, his cock hot and hard and aiming right for her center...

"Garcia?"

The captain's voice broke Julia out of her sensual reverie, snapping her back to full awareness. Automatically, her finger flew to her communicator. "Yes, Captain?"

"Can you come up to the bridge? I think we have a problem with one of the solar panels, and I want your opinion."

"On my way."

It took only seconds for her to unzip her cocoon-like sleeping bag and float free. With one hand she clipped her black hair into a tail. With the other, she grabbed a sleeveless shirt and pulled it down over her chest. Months together had rubbed away most of their rough edges, and Captain Sandusky wasn't one to insist on full uniform when there was no good reason, especially when she was off duty.

She pushed away from the wall with her feet, using her arm to pivot around the open doorway of her cabin and float down the hall. As she passed Akira's cabin, she could hear a constant flow of dirty talk, and muffled thumps and bangs. Despite herself she blushed. It always stunned her how the seemingly delicate Japanese woman descended into the foulest sort of language when she was having sex.

Suddenly irritated, she thumped on the door with her hand, which sent her sailing to one side of the corridor. "Pipe down!" she snapped.

Silence, then muffled giggles, were her only answer.

The crew's quarters were in a zero-gee section of the Artemis. Other sections, like the bridge and the common areas, as well as the galley and medbay, were located in the circular hub which spun slowly around the longitudinal axis of the ship, centrifugal force giving the illusion of gravity to the areas on the outer rim. Julia turned into one of the arms of the hub, her hands gripping the handholds set along the walls to propel herself forward, her inner ear protesting only slightly as gravity slowly returned. By the time she was halfway to the bridge, she had alighted to her feet and was walking with the careful steps that low gravity made necessary.

"Captain," she said, entering the bridge.

"Garcia," Captain Sandusky replied, giving her a nod. "Come and take a look at this."

"Where's the problem?"

"Solar array seventeen. Starboard side. I was doing a routine check and its output is down by over ten percent."

Garcia nodded. One member of the crew was always on duty, even during their sleep periods. The job changed hands on a weekly basis, and this week it was the captain's turn in the barrel, keeping an eye on the ship while the rest of the crew slept. "Can we get a camera on it?"

"Already done." Sandusky tapped a monitor.

Garcia leaned close. "Yeah. That's a problem." The damage to one of the panels in the array was obvious. A starry spiderweb of cracks encompassed the entire upper-right quadrant, and she was pretty sure she could see a hole. "Micrometeorite, I'm guessing."

"Not a stray from the rings?"

Julia shook her head. "This far above the ecliptic? I doubt it. Anything that gets too far from the ring system gets sucked down that gravity well outside. Saturn eats it."

She glanced out the observation window, stunned as always by the view. Right now, the Artemis was in orbit above the north pole of the gas giant, the planet striped by bands of yellow, beige, and ocher. Looking down, she could see the entire ring system spread out below them, split in half by the terminator line which divided the sunlit portion from the parts which were in Saturn's shadow. Millions upon millions of pieces of ice, dust, and rock spun below them, like the grooves in an ancient vinyl record. Some were fine as grains of sand, others the size of boulders. Others, tiny moonlets, were bigger than houses.

It's a damn long way from Laredo. But the view is worth it. There were times when Julia wanted nothing more than to simply sit and watch the rings, for hours on end, fascinated by their endless dance.

"Garcia?"

"Sorry, Captain." She shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate. "It'll have to be replaced."

Captain Sandusky nodded, unsurprised. "Very well. You're our EVA expert. And, happily enough, you're also the engineering and electronics expert. I'd like you go out and replace the panel."

She yawned. "Now?"

The captain snorted. "With you half asleep? If I wanted to kill you, Garcia, I'd simply shove you out the airlock in your jammies. Tomorrow's soon enough."

"All right. Anything else?"

"Yes." Halfway to the exit, she turned. The captain looked worried. "You getting along all right? No trouble with Akira? Or Moreau?"

She shook her head. "Not...trouble. I just wish Becky and Kumiko would use a different cabin for playtime once in a while. They're very...enthusiastic."

Sandusky nodded. "I'll have a word with them. We all know what it's like to be in love, and not be able to keep our hands off each other, but they should think about the other members of the crew as well. I'll tell them to use my cabin. I'll be on the night-shift for four more nights. By the time they've worn each other out, you'll be able to get some shut-eye."

Julia felt a surge of relief. "Thank you."

The woman who was responsible for all five women on the ship nodded, her gray eyes understanding. "Good night, Julia."

"Good night, Helen."

*****

"Morning, Julia,"

"Hey, Doc."

It was the following morning. Or as close to morning as one got when you were nearly a billion miles from home and an honest sunrise. Julia sat in the galley, hunched over a mug of coffee. She breathed in the aromatic steam greedily, waiting for the morning jolt to hit her bloodstream. As she told her crewmates, she wasn't actually addicted to caffeine.

She'd just die without it.

Alexandra McCoy looked at her, her fair brow wrinkled in concern. "You look tired."

She waved a vague hand. "It's nothing. Just had a hard time falling asleep last night."

"Kumiko and Becky keeping you up again?"

She sighed. "Yeah. I know I shouldn't be resentful, but..."

Alex grimaced her agreement as she put her breakfast in the microwave. "I understand. Part of me wishes they'd have one of their spats, just so I could get some action." A bisexual, Alexandra was usually the recipient of the sexual overflow when Becky and Kumiko were on the downside of their relationship. Inevitably, the pair made up, and the ship's physician went on, as calm as ever. Julia envied the doctor's even-keeled serenity.

The microwave beeped, and McCoy pulled her bowl of oatmeal out, sitting down across from Julia. In the warm galley, she wore nothing but a pair of briefs and a faded t-shirt with 'Army' stenciled across the front. "What's the plan for today?"

Julia smiled. "I've got some EVA action. One of the solar panels caught a meteorite last night, so I have to replace it. It's about time I actually got to put all that training I did in lunar orbit to use. I was afraid I'd made one hell of a long trip and would never see the outside of the ship."

"A solar panel, huh?"

"Yeah. The captain called me up to the bridge around twenty-three hundred last night. Something must have hit it going pretty damn fast, because it's busted all to hell. I already hauled a replacement down to airlock B." She rotated her shoulders. "Damn, but those things mass a lot. Makes me wish we had a couple of big, strong men on the mission. And not for the reason that I usually do."

Alexandra smiled, which made crow's feet briefly appear at the corners of her eyes. At forty-two, she was the oldest member of the crew. Older even than Captain Sandusky, who was only thirty-seven. "I know what you mean. God knows I'm grateful when Becky and Kumiko are on the outs. Damn, the things those girls can do with their tongues! But I wouldn't mind a little something between my legs for a change."

"Or a big something," Julia agreed, smiling wistfully. Zach was a big man in more ways than one.

"Well, you know the reasons," Alexandra said with a sigh. "Women are better in space, especially when you get into a micro-gravity environment. We don't suffer as much bone loss, we tolerate zero-gee better, we have better reflexes and quicker reaction time.

"And I'm sure I don't need to remind you about the Ceres fiasco."

Julia shuddered. Every astronaut studied the ill-fated mission to the largest asteroid in the belt. The mixed-sex crew, despite the assurances of the psych officers, had suffered an irremediable breakdown. The four women had paired off with three men, leaving two other men out in the cold, companionless for nearly two years. Halfway back to Earth, one of the men in question had attempted to take a woman by force. The result had been the woman's death when he tried to cover up the rape, and the execution of Lieutenant Mead once the Fortuna returned to lunar orbit.

Since that time, the suits at the North American Space Agency had tightened the psychiatric protocols in an effort to make sure nothing of the sort ever happened again. And long exploration flights had been crewed exclusively by women.

"Yeah. I know." Julia drained her mug and set it on the table with a thump. "It doesn't mean I can't dream, does it?"

"Of course not. I dream about my spouses." Alex eyed the rings on her hands pensively. A silver ring for her husband, on her right hand. A gold one for her wife, on the left. "Almost every night."

"So do I." Of course, Julia groused internally, I only have one boyfriend, instead of a husband and a wife like Alex. Some people are just plain greedy.

"Garcia? Are you there?"

She touched her communicator. "Here, Captain."

"I don't want to rush you, but I'd like to observe your EVA. Are you almost ready?"

She smiled to herself. Trust the captain to gently remind her that she had a job to do this morning, while at the same time making sure she knew that Sandusky couldn't go off-shift until it was completed. "I'm going down to the airlock to suit up now, Captain."

"Roger that."

*****

"Radio check. One...two...three."

"Loud and clear, Garcia. You copy?"

"Copy, Captain. Opening inner airlock door now."