《Just a Guy in Space》 Prologue ¡°Captain, the packet¡¯s energy signature has been detected.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m impressed it can still transmit through this sludge of radiation. ETA to pickup?¡± ¡°About twelve units Standard Galactic Time. It¡¯s hard getting a fix on this one.¡± Captain Echina, clan Umdyn, leaned back in her seat and pondered how in the vastness of space the Pride of Vanatu had stumbled upon this remotely isolated planet. The probe they sent had malfunctioned, something to do with the planet¡¯s atmosphere. Fortunately, its beacon was still transmitting and the data packet was intact. ¡°Helm, maintain cloak until the time for transfer. We don¡¯t want any surprises.¡± ¡°Aye, Aye, Ma¡¯am.¡± The standard units ticked by until engineering reported their shields and cloak going down for the transfer. Her transmitter chimed. ¡°Was retrieval successful?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ about that captain¡­¡± She frowned. ¡°What is it? Is it damaged?¡± Unless the probe had been utterly destroyed it would still be possible to salvage data from it. ¡°Have engineering and science sort it out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ uh, it¡¯s not the probe that¡¯s the problem captain. We picked up something else.¡± ¡°What?! Set up a radiation quarantine immediately and call science! Report to decontamination ASAP!¡± ¡°Captain, it¡¯s not that. We picked up a sapient.¡± Deafening silence on the bridge. Lashqran, clan Takk, turned to her, eyes wide in disbelief. ¡°Impossible,¡± he whispered. ¡°The initial scans indicate it¡¯s at least a category nine planet.¡± Echina got up and marched to the transport room. On the way she contacted security and told them to have a full team at the ready. She was taking no chances; a category thirteen planet would have undoubtedly spawned a monstrosity of unimaginable proportions. A specialised predator that thought the probe was food. And a sapiant at that? It boggled the mind. She shook her head. Transport must have been too shocked to properly assess the situation. A sapiant simply couldn¡¯t exist on a category thirteen. The transport room¡¯s doors hissed open and her security team fanned out, phasers trained on the platform in the middle of the room. The shields were up, a black screen cutting off the ¡°sapiant¡± from the rest of the ship. She turned to the shell-shocked Agaraxian at the command console. ¡°Report,¡± she barked. ¡°What¡¯s this nonsense about a sapiant?¡± The ensign audibly gulped and stammered his way to an explanation. ¡°The-the-the¡­ packet. We¡­ we picked up its signature¡­¡± His voice cracked as he continued. ¡°There was something holding it when we beamed it up. I hit the shield as soon as I saw it.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She narrowed her eyes. Of course he panicked. Probably just a stray, nothing like the nightmare fuel she had imagined. She motioned to the security team. Phasers whined menacingly as their charges were brought to bear. ¡°No one shoot unless I order it or it clearly takes hostile action.¡± She nodded to the ensign. ¡°Drop the shields.¡± The black wall flickered out and revealed one of the stranger beings she had encountered. It was bipedal, slightly taller than her, with pinkish-brown skin and a tuft of black fur on top of its head. Two arms, seemingly multijointed, ending in five grasping digits. One hand was still clutching the scout probe¡¯s data packet. More surprising was that it was wearing what were obviously clothes. Could it really be sapiant? Phasers whined distractingly around her as she pondered what to do. The bipedal slowly moved its other hand to shoulder height and started waving its arm in a strange motion. Garbled speech spewed out its mouth. Its physiology was surprisingly similar to her own Agaraxian one. She stared in abject shock as her transmitter chimed, the translator frantically trying to find a reference point in what was probably the creature¡¯s speech. What in the nine Makers¡¯ name do I do now? * * * Gustavo ¡°Gus¡± Martinez was hiking in the hills, enjoying the cool breeze on his skin. The lights from the distant city were a nice backdrop and he took many pictures with his new DSLR. He was a bit strapped for cash but decided to treat himself after successfully getting a scholarship for his PhD. He continued his trek until he heard a faint chime in the wilderness. Odd. It should be just me around here, I haven¡¯t seen anyone for ages. There it was again. To his right, not too far. He apprehensively made his way towards the sound. Horror stories about undetonated missiles filled his head. Hey at least if I die I won¡¯t have to remember Tori Reyez calling me a pervert and a freak in front of all her friends. Yeah, there it was again. Definitely to his right and he was getting closer. A pervert I might be but freak is a bit much. I mean, all I did was wonder out loud what her piss would taste like. Every guy¡¯s thought about something like this before, right? RIGHT? He carefully made his way down a hill and surveyed the surroundings. A blinking light caught his eye. He found a crashed drone deeply embedded into an old, dying tree. Huh. American drone shot down by that thunderstorm from a couple days ago maybe? Curiosity got the better of him and after several embarrassing minutes, he gave up trying to pull it out of the tree. Well, that¡¯s that then. Better go on my way and forget all about this. He was about to let go of the drone when the blinking light suddenly turned solid green and a sharp whine erupted from it. He only had time to think about that missile story before the world turned white. * * * He opened his eyes to see tall, green¡­ guy in a uniform staring at him before a black screen sprang up around him. He blinked his vision back to normal, or tried to at any rate. He shook his head and instantly regretted it. The world lurched and he fell to his knees, bile rising up from his throat. He barely managed to hold his camera in his free hand to prevent the vomit from drenching it. He staggered to his feet when he recovered and tried to recall what was beyond that black screen. He was still holding part of what he had mistakenly assumed to be a probe. Wiping the vomit from his mouth with his sleeve, he tentatively touched the screen. It was cold and solid, slightly tingling with static. He pulled his hand back and looked around. This was definitely not the wild landscape he¡¯d just been admiring. Coupled with that odd sense of distortion he felt, he could only guess that he¡¯d been ¡­ what? Teleported out? Ridiculous as it might sound, it matched what he¡¯s read (and fantasised about) in sci-fi novels. Am I on a fucking spaceship? His mind reeled. The floor was hard and cold, unlike anything he had ever seen. It looked like plastic but felt like steel. He looked at his watch. Ten minutes had passed since he¡¯s magically appeared here. He must have been woozier than he thought. He was still trying to sort his thoughts out when the screen vanished. He froze. There were five very armed, very green people surrounding him, and I don¡¯t mean green as in sick like he was just five minutes ago. The woman in charge was talking to that guy he saw the first time. There was this strange whine coming from the rest of the greens around him and he knew better than to make any sudden moves. It was a testament to his mental fortitude that he noticed how well stacked that woman was. She was about a head shorter than his 178 cm, with purple hair held in a severe bun. There was a thin, long braid trailing down from the bun to the small of her back. And man, those tits! He was no expert but he estimated her breasts were about a D-cup, with two curious bulges directly underneath them. She had a nice pert face with enchanting fox eyes, eyes that were currently nearly bulging out of their sockets. Oh, and she was FUCKING GREEN FROM HEAD TO TOE! Gee, I hope these aliens don¡¯t want to probe my butthole. I mean, I¡¯ll try anything once but probing seems a bit much on the first date. He slowly raised his right hand, his left still clutching the drone that started this whole mess, waved and said that first thing that came to his mind. ¡°Nice tits, babe.¡± Chapter 1 ¡°The probe¡¯s data was corrupted Captain. There¡¯s no other explanation.¡± Captain Echina stared at the Kmigar officer playing with his console. ¡°You mean to tell me that the near indestructible data packets from the scout probes, engineered to record and transmit data at near-total fidelity after eons of research, have somehow ceased to function?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her already fraying nerves were dangerously close to sparking an interspecies conflict on her ship. ¡°Explain that to me please,¡± she said, mentally praising her restraint. ¡°The data itself is fine as in we can actually read it. It¡¯s just completely garbled. None of it makes sense. According to gossip you caught a sapiant in the packet¡¯s transfer, yes?¡± He continued after seeing her nod. ¡°A sapiant species could not possibly have evolved on that planet if the data packet is accurate.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Well Captain¡­ If I¡¯m reading this right ¨C and I am ¨C then this planet is a category thirteen.¡± Stunned silence. Category thirteen. That¡¯s¡­ ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles. The transmitter translated that as an amused chuckle. ¡°As I was saying, the data was corrupted.¡± Echina turned to the viewscreen on the wall and stared at the blue planet. ¡°You said there were many large settlements on the planet¡¯s surface? And there is a thriving flora and fauna?¡± Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles in agreement. Lieutenant Lashqran was frowning, probably thinking about the same thing she was. ¡°I guess the bug is right. Sapiant species don¡¯t pop up on category thirteen planets.¡± The bug in question bristled his mandibles at the slur but Echina beat him to the punch. ¡°Lieutenant Lashqran! That kind of xeno-slurring is punishable by a reprimand!¡± ¡°Apologies Captain. I didn¡¯t mean to say that,¡± Lashqran said without the faintest trace of contrition. Echina returned to her musing, all the while staring at the planet. After a few minutes of silence she frowned. ¡°Xar¡¯usk, what if the data is right?¡± ¡°As I said, it¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°Hypothetically speaking.¡± He sighed. ¡°Captain, even in a hypothetical situation, life on a category thirteen planet is impossible.¡± He turned to the viewscreen. ¡°They don¡¯t call them death worlds for nothing.¡±Stolen story; please report. * * * Gus was lying down on what he assumed was a galactic standard bunk in what passed for a galactic standard jail in these parts of space. And it was clearly space he was in. A quick peek through those TVs confirmed it. He had been escorted by three of the green men to his present abode but they¡¯d left him alone after that. He got up and started pacing in his cell. The aliens were as clearly flummoxed by the situation as he was because no one had shown up to speak to him at all since he¡¯d been ¡­ teleported? The most important thing to do now was to figure out how to communicate. He wouldn¡¯t mind seeing more of that green chick though. He grinned, thinking of her delicious figure then instantly frowned. He lifted his shirt and inspected his smooth stomach, courtesy of a very strict student diet: instant ramen and orange juice. He wasn¡¯t winning any bodybuilding prizes anytime soon. He kept pacing. They clearly had a spoken language and there were other species of aliens on board. He¡¯d caught more than a few utterly shocked eyes as he made his way down here. There were a few ¡­ bugs for lack of a better word and he¡¯d even seen a huge rock-shaped thing trudging along in the hallways. Since they all seemed to speak a different language (the bugs mostly clicked their mandibles and the rock sounded like the crunch of gravel), there had to be some sort of translator in play. He¡¯d read enough space opera books to know this much. The greenmen were the vast majority though. Perhaps they were the more predominant species in space? He started feeling light-headed. And man, he was hungry as well. He sat down and the feeling got worst. The light-headedness was coming faster now and he started panting, like he was out of breath. Great, I¡¯m drowning on land. In space, I mean. I mean¡­ You know what I mean. ¡°Can I get some help in here!¡± he screamed. He started banging on the forcefield keeping him in the cell. It did him no good, the sounds was dampened to a very low thud. ¡°I need some help!¡± he whizzed. All of a sudden the rough plastic look-alike surface he found himself kneeling on was looking mighty attractive. So tired¡­ I¡¯ll just¡­ rest my eyes¡­ for a bit¡­ The plastic rushed to him. The impact knocked him out. * * * He woke up to the gentle prodding of a cold finger on his side. He slowly cracked an eye open. He was no longer in his cell and on some sort of bed. He slowly got up and looked around. The cold finger was in fact a metal needle that was repeatedly trying to poke him in the ribs. He swatted it away and rubbed at his sore ribs. What were they trying to do? Around him a pinkish field shimmered into view. Great, more forcefields. He got off the bed and noticed that he was breathing much more easily than in his cell. He took a deep breath and stretched. He examined the bed. It was as big a king-sized single bed, with protrusions at the top and bottom. One of them held a screen and a keyboard. He randomly poked them and heard a harsh chime when he touched a button. It didn¡¯t seem to like that so he left it alone. He looked around some more, trying to see beyond the pink field. There were some vague, shadowy figures moving around him, so he definitely had an audience. He waved and saw one of the shadows stop. ¡°Hello friends,¡± he cheerfully said. ¡°I come in peace!¡± * * * ¡°Captain, it¡¯s speaking.¡± ¡°Yes Xar¡¯usk. I have ears.¡± The alien was¡­ not so strange, now that she looked at it more closely. It was a quadriform and bipedal just like an Agaraxian. Its skin was brownish however, with light fur on its forearms and what appeared to be hair on its head. There was more hair (or fur?) on its face, around the lips and jaw. Inquisitive, black eyes darted around the room, trying to see through the containment field. It was taller than a female Agaraxian but shorter than a male one. She turned to lieutenant Xar¡¯usk. ¡°Any luck with the translator?¡± He clicked his mandibles in negation. ¡°AI is parsing the data collected by the probe in an effort to collate a large enough vocabulary to be of use. It may take some time but I expect it shouldn¡¯t take more than a few hours or so.¡± ¡°Well, in the meantime call Lieutenant Nubo. Have her run a basic check on the xenos. We got lucky it didn¡¯t die in its cell and I don¡¯t want any more surprises.¡± Lashqran nodded and within minutes a dainty Dinpth scientist joined them. Her prehensile tail was lashing left and right in excitement and her green eyes were practically glowing as she stared at the xenos in the containment field. She stood ramrod-straight and snapped a smart salute, right fist banging on the left breast. ¡°Lieutenant Sil Nubo reporting in, captain! I am ready to dissect, analyse and dissect at a moment¡¯s notice!¡± Echina sighed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for dissection Lieutenant. We can simply perform a deep tissue scan.¡± Sil frowned and clicked her tongue. ¡°Science is all about dissection captain! How can I call myself a scientist if I don¡¯t cut something up?!¡± Echina felt the familiar headache associated with dealing with lieutenant Sil Nubo coming on. ¡°Just do a general check and contact us as soon as AI has finished tweaking the translator. Don¡¯t approach it and don¡¯t lower the field at any cost. Remember, it comes from what appears to be a category thirteen planet. So far it looks harmless but we¡¯re not taking any chances.¡± ¡°Roger, Captain!¡± Sil snapped to attention once more then began to fiddle with the scanner. I hope she doesn¡¯t really end up dissecting him. Chapter 2 Gus grew bored of staring at the pinkish haze in front of him. His world had shrunk to this bed, the overhead lights and the field. He had fiddled with the console to no avail and was now leaning back on the bed, hands crossed behind his head. Well, I¡¯m not dead yet and there hasn¡¯t been any probing, anal or otherwise, so I guess I¡¯m safe. He noticed the flurry of activity from the shadows beyond the field and suddenly three of the shadows left, leaving behind a newcomer who got busy fiddling with whatever instrument was out there. He was quite curious and pressed his face against the forcefield. He was lucky none of the fields he encountered were dangerous. He only felt a slight tingle on his skin while touching them. Hey¡­ I wonder¡­ He peered at the field. If he could feel a tingle on his skin then¡­ what about other, more sensitive parts of his body? What does it taste like? His mouth split in a mischievous grin. * * * Sil Nubo was busying herself with the scanner. She had run a preliminary check on the xenos, ran it again, then decided to do some light maintenance on the systems. Every reading she was picking up from her subject was wrong. She had the data from the scout probe running in parallel on another console and she tried to correlate what her scanner was reading with what the probe had picked up. She frowned, her ears twitching in dismay. The captain was right. It really was a category thirteen planet. High gravity, about ten times what her homeworld of Dith had, hostile and carnivorous fauna, hostile flora, unstable environment, so on and so forth. She could hardly believe her eyes. The scanners chimed, indicating their readiness after completing the self-maintenance sub-routine. It picked up the exact same results for the third time. Sil decided her instruments were working perfectly fine and the xenos was simply¡­as surprising as the readings were showing. She looked up from the console to see the xenos licking the containment field. What is it doing? Is it hungry? Even if it were hungry why would it lick that? Is that a xenos custom? Should I stop it? That tongue looks pretty tasty. A million thoughts were running through her head as she observed it licking the field then shudder. It obviously liked that and repeatedly licked it. ¡°Lieutenant Nubo, I have successfully decrypted the xenos language. Adding to translator data matrix.¡± The cold, robotic voice paused for an instant before continuing. ¡°Data matrix successfully updated. Contacting ship captain.¡± ¡°Thank you AI. That was quicker than expected. I can speak to it now, can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Warning. Contact with new species of xenos is not recommended without a full support team. Advice. Wait for full support team to arrive.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. A few questions won¡¯t hurt, will they?¡± Sil had a feral grin on her face as she looked at her test subject. ¡°Wait - what is it doing? Is it taking its clothes off?¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Calculating. There is a 78% probability that the xenos is taking its clothes off.¡± Sil started a full holo recording on her personal datapad and softly spoke in her transmitter. ¡°Subject zero zero has started taking its clothes off. The purpose of that is unknown. I suspect it is an instinctive and ritualistic behaviour. It is probably trying to alleviate stress and nervousness through ¨C AI, what is that?¡± she asked, voice full of shock. ¡°Calculating. Based on physiology similarity to known species, there is a 57% chance that the xenos is displaying its reproductive appendage.¡± But it¡¯s too big for a reproductive organ. Sil¡¯s mind was boggled. What is it doing now? It¡¯s holding that organ and moving its hand all over it. ¡°AI, can you figure out what it¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°Calculating. 35% chance that it is engaging in a mating ritual. 25% chance that it is engaging in a mating display. 13% chance that it is engaging in a threat display.¡± Mating ritual? But it can¡¯t see outside the field. What is it trying to mate with? I need more data. ¡°AI, lower the visibility field.¡± * * * Gus was rubbing his cock all over the pink field. It made his glans tingle deliciously. Admittedly, he shouldn¡¯t be rubbing one out right in this situation but hey, he really had nothing better to do. The pleasurable sensation was threatening to send him over the edge but he employed his not inconsiderable willpower to slowing the advent of his orgasm. This forcefield business is working out pretty well actually. He started rubbing his cock head in circles on the field and nearly splooshed everywhere but he held back when suddenly the field shifted from opaque pink to a clear surface. He was so surprised he flinched back and hit the bed behind him, letting go of his junk and trying to pull his pants up. Dammit! I was just getting to the good part! He looked up, eyebrows scrunched in a scowl and froze. Is that¡­ He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Yes, it was still there. The newcomer was staring at him from across the field. He whooped with laughter and saw her jump back and press something on her belt. Ha ha ha, yes!! THERE¡¯S AN HONEST TO GOD CATGIRL IN FRONT OF ME!!! He finished pulling his pants up, smiled and waved at her. She (and it was definitely a she) has triangular cat ears on her head, with green cat eyes (complete with vertical irises) and white-streaked, orange fur all over her arms. Her face was as cute as a button and she nervously licked her lips at his scrutiny. Her uniform was doing nothing to hide the large lumps that were her breasts and her slim figure. He could see her tail lashing in what he assumed was a nervous tick, just like cats on Earth. Her hands ended in delicate-looking fingers, with small tufts of orange fur on the back. She was about 150 cm tall and nervously approached the field. You know what, fuck it! I¡¯ve no clue when I¡¯m going to get a chance like this again! He hastily dropped his pants and released the kraken. The catgirl flinched as he stared at her with a feverish gaze. His fist was stroking his pole at mach speed and he was rubbing its head on the field for maximum pleasure. He started moaning and closed his eyes, picturing her sucking on his balls and he unleashed a torrent of hot cum all over the forcefield. He sucked in a shuddering breath and leaned back on the bed, feeling the afterglow of one of the most intense orgasms he¡¯d ever had. He eventually opened his eyes to see her face juxtaposed with his dripping cum. Holy shit, that¡¯s hot. I wonder if she knows what I did. Better hope not. He wiped himself with his shirt and pulled his pants up. He was debating what to do when he heard her speak. ¡°Greetings. I am Lieutenant Sil Nubo, science officer of the Pride of Vanatu. Was that a mating ritual?¡± He stared at her. Just stared. She repeated her question and he suddenly realised that it wasn¡¯t her voice he was hearing. He looked up, trying to figure out what was going on. ¡°Are you talking to me through a computer?¡± ¡°Affirmation. I am the Pride of Vanatu¡¯s onboard mainframe AI. I am currently acting as an intermediary to translate Lieutenant Sil Nubo¡¯s words.¡± ¡°Cool! What¡¯s your name? What do you do here? How can you speak my language now? Where did you come from? What am I doing here? Is this a spaceship? Sil Nubo, is that the catgirl over there?¡± He paused, barely sucking in a breath before the voice interrupted him again. ¡°I am the Pride of Vanatu¡¯s onboard mainframe artificial intelligence. You are currently on the starship Pride of Vanatu of the New Intergalactic Coalition of Sonder. I have extrapolated your language from the data scanned by one of our scout probes. I am not authorised to reveal more.¡± The voice paused before continuing. ¡°Greetings. I am Lieutenant Sil Nubo, science officer of the Pride of Vanatu. Was that a mating ritual?¡± He blinked. He guessed the catgirl was trying to communicate. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Gus, from Earth. Yeah, nah, that wasn¡¯t a¡­ uh¡­ wasn¡¯t a mating ritual. It¡¯s just something I do when I¡¯m stressed. I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t mention that to anyone else.¡± There was a delay as she processed what he said. ¡°My salutations, Gus from earth. What kind of earth are you from? If that wasn¡¯t a mating ritual then what was it?¡± ¡°No, no, Earth is the planet I¡¯m from.¡± He pointed at the TV showing Earth slowly spinning in orbit. ¡°And that ¡­ ritual was something very private. I thought no one was around, so I was indulging myself,¡± he quickly lied, trying to cover up the fact that he had in fact masturbated harder once he saw her. She was very close to the forcefield now. She was staring at his still dripping cum and licking her lips. That is one sexy cat. She reached out and touched the field, as if trying to scoop up his cum. He grinned. ¡°You know what Sil Nubo? I¡¯d be happy to show you that ritual once we¡¯re somewhere more private.¡± Chapter 3 ¡°AI has finished compiling the xenos¡¯ language. We can now interrogate him,¡± Lashqran reported. ¡°Good. Perhaps we can get more concrete answers,¡± Echina replied. ¡°Xar¡¯usk, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve stopped telling us what a hoax the data from that probe is. What changed your opinion?¡± She had spent enough time around him to notice the slight tremble of his lower mandibles, a sure indicator of excitement amongst the Kmigar. Xar¡¯usk was positively giddy with enthusiasm at the idea of learning more about the xenos. ¡°I¡¯ve been going through the biometric data Lieutenant Nubo provided us. The xenos is a superb specimen. If that planet really is a category thirteen, then it explains perfectly how it evolved.¡± Now she was curious too. Xar¡¯usk was only ever this delighted for two reasons: mating or killing. ¡°What does the biometric data tell us?¡± He had passed his yearly mating cycle, so he was probably thinking of bloodshed. ¡°It¡¯s a predator.¡± Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles in delight. ¡°It has high density bones made of a compressed crystal compound, probably due to the high gravity of its home planet. It should be stronger than even an Agaraxian too, in theory.¡± ¡°What! That can¡¯t be. We¡¯ve evolved to be supreme examples of physical fitness and conditioning! There are few if any species out there that can match us or come close to it,¡± Lashqran replied, quite belligerently. Xar¡¯usk sighed. ¡°What an eye-opening display of xenophobia, Lieutenant. I really can¡¯t see why you¡¯ve yet again been denied a promotion to Commander.¡± Lashqran visibly bristled and was about to rush into another xenophobic rant when Xar¡¯usk interrupted him. ¡°As I was saying, physically it is stronger than an Agaraxian. It has a tremendous amount of muscle fibers bundled together, with an incremental amount of fibers being recruited as physical activity escalates. Its nervous system is quite marvellous too. Reaction times should be within the one second range and the nerve fibers allow for fine motor control that most non-combat-inclined Council species lack.¡± Xar¡¯usk was oblivious to the wary look Echina shared with Lashqran. ¡°It houses within itself a multitude of microorganisms that quite frankly could kill, disable or cause a pandemic among many Council species. We¡¯re lucky the initial warp didn¡¯t beam in the organisms on its skin. It¡¯s currently being contained within the medical bay but we need a long term solution to that if we intend on keeping it. What else, what else?¡± Xar¡¯usk pondered, mandibles subconsciously rubbing against one another in contemplation. ¡°Why do you say it¡¯s a predator? It doesn¡¯t look particularly dangerous,¡± Lashqran said. ¡°In fact, I can say with certitude I, or indeed any Agaraxian, could defeat it in combat.¡± ¡°You can say that because you are stupid and think with your reproductive organs, not your brain,¡± Xar¡¯usk snapped, getting tired of Lashqran¡¯s endless snide comments. Echina had to step in to stop the two of them from murdering each other on duty. ¡°Gentlebeings, please, focus on the task at hand. Again, why do you say it¡¯s a predator?¡± ¡°It should be obvious; superior musculature, hyper-dense bones that are most likely resistant to breaks, fast reactions with a wide range of motions and most important of all, front-facing binocular vision. Those are hunter eyes. Plus it has fangs in its mouth.¡± Xar¡¯usk stopped his passionate speech, staring at the viewscreen showing the xenos in the medical bay. His mandibles shuddered occasionally with restless energy. He was probably going to request something ridiculous like wanting to duel the xenos at any point now. ¡°Captain, I want to dissect it.¡± A duel would have been better. ¡°Not you too,¡± Echina moaned. Everyone in the science department is insane. ¡°As I told Lieutenant Nubo, there¡¯ll be no dissecting any time soon.¡± * * * ¡°So you¡¯re saying every hyooman must mast her bait in order to control their mating urges?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s masturbate, by the way. It provides an easy release from pheromone build ups and allows us humans greater clarity of thought once accomplished. For a moment after masturbation, we experience higher focus and freedom from worldly desires. The best decisions are made after masturbation.¡± Sil Nubo oohed and aahed at the bullshit he was spewing. Sorry catgirl, I gotta lay the ground works. Gus didn¡¯t particularly feel bad about deceiving the bubbly catpersonthing (he completely forgot what her race was called). If he had to lie to have a chance of getting laid, he¡¯d do it in a heartbeat. Hey, don¡¯t judge, he¡¯d soon turn into a wizard at this rate. ¡°Do the female of your species do this as well?¡± Sil enquired. Thought she was sitting a fair distance away from the forcefield, her entire body was leaning towards him, her cute triangular ears perked up and leaning towards him. The short delay between speech and translation didn¡¯t bother either of them. ¡°The females sometimes masturbate more than the males of our species but frequency largely depends on the person. Is it the same for your species?¡± Gus wouldn¡¯t let this perfect ¡°learning opportunity¡± pass. ¡°How do you control your mating urges?¡± Sil actually blushed, her tail curling up along her leg. How interesting, they¡¯re surprisingly similar to humans. ¡°The Dinpth have a regular mating cycle. We experience increased blood flow to the reproductive organs, increased sensitivity, loss of consciousness sometimes, decreased cognitive function and often feel increased attraction to males of our species.¡± The reason she was exposing such salacious details wasn¡¯t because she got off on shame play or some such thing; Gus had coerced her (in the interest of science, of course) to answer any of his questions truthfully and he would reveal as much as he knew regarding anything she¡¯d ask of him in return. Of course, he was giving her the highly redacted version but she didn¡¯t really need to know that. ¡°So you basically go into heat? Is that true for any uh, any Dinps?¡± ¡°We do not!¡± Indignation coloured Sil¡¯s usually enthusiastic voice. ¡°We¡¯re not animals, we¡¯re sapiants, same as you and we can control ourselves, thank you very much!¡± Her tail was lashing a steady rhythm left and right with her fur bristling all over. He¡¯d better tone it down or she might ignore the forcefield and pounce on him or something. ¡°Sorry, sorry, I don¡¯t really know much about alien physiology. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you,¡± Guys shamelessly answered, playing the ignorant human card. Sil crossed her arms, huffing, before giving in and leaning in towards him once more. ¡°You know, you present very high similarity to Agaraxian physiology. Do you have common ancestry?¡± ¡°Agaraxian? You mean the greenmen? Nah, I don¡¯t think so. According to the scientific research we have back on earth, life as we know it on our planet was a fluke. Something completely unexpected happened in the primordial muck and poof! Life emerged,¡± Gus said, gesturing wildly. Sil Nubo was entranced, staring at him with mouth agape. ¡°It¡¯s theorised that it started as life in water, then evolved to amphibious life and finally one day we got to the Homo sapiens sapiens. That¡¯s us by the way. Let¡¯s go back to mating rituals. How to Dinps signal sexual interest in each other?¡± ¡°Sexual interest?¡± Sil tilted her head like a cute child. ¡°Yes, if you want to copulate, what signal do you give to each other?¡± ¡°We¡­ don¡¯t? Copulation only occurs during the mating cycle and at that time, no such signal is necessary.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t¡­ you know¡­ have sex for fun?¡± Sil¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°What?! For¡­ fun?¡± She frowned. ¡°Is that even possible? That¡¯s very Un-Dinpth-like behaviour. Do humans copulate for fun?¡± Gus wondered how to answer that. This could make or break their relationship. He decided to gamble. ¡°Yeah, humans can copulate either for reproductive purposes but they often do so for fun as well. It¡¯s not very common on Earth but it¡¯s not completely unheard of. It helps us establish close bonds in our uh¡­ our packs. It¡¯s a survival trait. You know¡­ the closer you are, the more invested you are in the survival of your packmates.¡± Gus was furiously channelling the might of Bullshittus the god of All Essays and praying to Ditzittus, patron saint of all airheads. Sil seemed to buy it. If she didn¡¯t, he could always tell her about bonobos. She¡¯d love it. Ever since she¡¯d seen his ¡°mating ritual¡±, she¡¯d been engrossed in human rituals, mating and otherwise. He turned that to his advantage, easing her into talking about her own sexuality. ¡°Say Sil, have you mated before?¡± She blushed crimson, tail suddenly shooting straight up, ears straight on her head. ¡°I-I-I don¡¯t want to talk about it,¡± she stammered. Oh, that¡¯s interesting. ¡°That won¡¯t do Sil. You promised you¡¯d answer any of my questions truthfully,¡± he said. She fidgeted as he leered at her. Her smallish B-cups (or were they C-cups? He really couldn''t tell) were swaying seductively in front of him. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll just stop answering your questions too,¡± he said, turning away from her. He didn¡¯t have to look to see her crestfallen expression. She was visibly struggling with herself before she answered. ¡°I¡­ I haven¡¯t mated before¡­¡± She squeaked. ¡°Why not?¡± She was still blushing furiously. ¡°I spent a lot of time exploring the wilderness of my home planet. Somehow I was always alone during my mating cycles. But it¡¯s ok, I know what to do if I ever have to mate!¡± She stood up, pumping her fist. ¡°Mother taught me everything she knows to prepare me for my future mate!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the Dinp opinion on polygamy by the way?¡± He¡¯d much rather have a harem than a single girlfriend if he could help it. ¡°Do they allow it? Are they against? What about other species in your alliance?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called the New Galactic Coalition of Sonder, or the Council for short. While there are some species in the Council that are specifically polygamous, the Dintphs stay with a specific mating partner only for the duration of the mating contract. This means that some can have multipls partners over their lifetime or can settle with the same mate for a long time.¡± So having multiple partners isn¡¯t a taboo for her. I wonder if that applies to having female partners too. He grinned widely at the thought of ploughing her and other aliens girls senseless. Getting kidnapped isn¡¯t such a bad thing after all. ¡°Why do you keep doing that? Showing your teeth? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a threat display, so what does it mean?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a smile. Or a grin. It can express many things, but in this case, it¡¯s an expression of joy. Humans can smile while showing their teeth or not. It depends entirely on the person.¡± ¡°Is it an independent reaction?¡± ¡°Like your tail? In most cases it is independent but we can smile on command.¡± ¡°Fascinating. If you can execute visual cues on command you must be very social creatures.¡± ¡°Indeed. Hey you know what? Once this field goes down and your captain lets me go, we should meet to discuss these differing social and mating rituals in more details. You know, all in the pursuit of science, of course.¡± She thought about it for a minute but scientific curiosity killed the cat (ehehe) and she finally nodded. This is so much fun. A virgin, airhead, space catgirl who wants to discuss human sexual practices. Did I just hit the jackpot? Chapter 4 Gus¡¯ happy fun time with Sil Nubo was interrupted by the whine of the doors sliding open. The stunningly stacked green woman he¡¯d seen before walked in followed by a dour greenman and a strange bugman who walked on two legs. Sil deferentially stepped aside and let the bugman fiddle with the consoles. There really wasn¡¯t much room to sit in here and the 4 aliens standing around him were starting to make him edgy. The green men weren¡¯t saying anything, apparently waiting on bugman¡¯s work to be done. The latter turned to the woman and started making weird clicking sounds from his mouth tentacles. ¡°The scanners show no signs of tampering or malfunctioning,¡± AI¡¯s dispassionate voice sounded out. ¡°The data we received is genuine. He also appears to be in much better health. Setting him up in a contained field with atmospheric conditions that mirror his homeworld did the trick.¡± Gus blinked. ¡°I can actually understand you now? Do you guys have some sort of universal translator set up?¡± Bugman turned to him and clicked some more. ¡°Quite astute of you. AI has been going into overdrive just parsing your world¡¯s language. Compiling a proper vocabulary was also a challenge. Your people seem to have no unified language.¡± ¡°Yeah, I mean, English is pretty prevalent but what language you speak depends entirely on where you find yourself.¡± ¡°How inefficient,¡± the dour-faced greenman replied. ¡°Another sure sign of your lack of civilisation.¡± ¡°Civilise this,¡± Gus said, flipping him the bird. All the aliens looked at him in what appeared to be polite confusion. He sighed. Can¡¯t even insult them properly. ¡°Lieutenant, no need to antagonise our guest,¡± the woman said. Her voice wasn¡¯t particularly melodic and had some harsh undertones in it. Her cold demeanour coupled with the deference the rest of them showed her indicated she was their superior. ¡°You¡¯re the boss lady around here?¡± ¡°Boss¡­ lady?¡± She quizzically tilted her head as AI translated his words. ¡°Yeah, the head honcho. The, you know, the captain of this ship, so to speak.¡± She nodded. ¡°I am indeed the captain of the Pride of Vanatu. My name is Echina of clan Umdyn. These are Lieutenant Lashqran of clan Takk and Lieutenant Xar¡¯suk. My second in command and Chief Science officer respectively,¡± she said, gesturing to the green man and bug guy. ¡°Cool. Nice to meetcha. I¡¯m Gus Martinez, from Earth. I¡¯m human by the way.¡± ¡°Hyoomaan?¡± ¡°Yeah, human.¡± ¡°Human?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the one.¡± ¡°Very well Human. On behalf of the New Intergalactic Coalition of Sonder, I extend my sincerest apologies for the situation you find yourself in. It was not our intention to transport you alongside our scout probe. We shall endeavour to make your stay here as pleasant as possible.¡± Her voice was still devoid of any warmth or contrition for that matter. He scratched his head. ¡°Thanks for the welcome. I don¡¯t suppose you can drop me back on Earth?¡± ¡°Impossible. We have already exited your star system. Our stop here was merely a product of our chief science officer¡¯s over-eagerness. We have continued our journey as soon as the probe was recovered.¡± ¡°Well, fuck. What do we do now?¡± Echina was staring sat him, waiting for something it seemed. After a while she shrugged. ¡°You seem to be taking this in stride. I expected more shock. You have after all been abducted by what you would consider aliens.¡± He waved his hand, dismissing her claims. ¡°Abducted, shmabducted. There isn¡¯t much for me back on Earth to be honest.¡± Everyone stared blankly at him. ¡°Sorry, AI didn¡¯t translate that properly. What did you say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just colloquialism from Earth. It means I¡¯m not too bothered by this situation. I¡¯m an orphan and I don¡¯t have many friends. I just got accepted into a scholarship program and the few people I know will probably think I¡¯m deep in research if I don¡¯t contact them for a couple of years.¡± Bug man perked up, approaching him until he was almost touching the forcefield. ¡°Research you say? Are you a scientist?¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Yes, though I¡¯m not a very good one. My research paper was going to be on a common surface antigen found in red meat and crustaceans that could potentially cause a sudden onset of anaphylaxis after consumption of red meat. I guess I never got around to that first lab meeting.¡± ¡°Fascinating. Anaphylaxis? AI translated that as sudden shock reaction. Can you elaborate?¡± ¡°Sure. You see, when the immune system identifies antigens, marks them as foreign and attacks cells attached to these as soon as they encounter them after the initial inoculation. When it goes out of whack and decides that a similar antigen or the same antigen found in something you used to have a tolerance to is a foreign invader, it¡¯ll try to destroy it - thus causing sudden onset anaphylaxis.¡± He couldn¡¯t read bug man¡¯s body language but the greenmen were suddenly very still. ¡°This is the Cliff¡¯s note version. The abbreviated version, I mean.¡± ¡°Are you saying¡­ your own body¡­ could potentially attack you?¡± ¡°Yeah, pretty much. That¡¯s what happens in any autoimmune disease actually.¡± ¡°This immune system, it protects you from disease yes?¡± Gus nodded. ¡°Do you update it regularly? How costly is it? Could you not simply remove the cells causing the harm?¡± Gus chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works mate. The human immune system self-regulates. So it¡¯ll encounter a disease or foreign agent and try to fight it using standard means. When that doesn¡¯t work, it busts out the T or B cells that are ¡°trained¡± let¡¯s say, to fight that specific disease. When the infection is over and done with, the vast majority of the cells involved in the immune defence get destroyed. Only a small portion remains alive as memory cells so that the next time the body encounters the same disease, it gets eradicated much more quickly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s preposterous. No immune system can be that complex. You must supplement it with boosters and regular updated cells, right? You go to a medical station and buy the required upgraded system to replenish your own, yes?¡± ¡°Naw man, like I said, that¡¯s not how it works. The closest thing to what you¡¯re saying is vaccines. We inject ourselves with dead microbes or attenuated viruses and wait for the immune system to develop resistance against it then we¡¯re set. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°So you are very disease resistant then?¡± the captain interrupted. ¡°Are your other physical attributes as developed?¡± ¡°What do you mean? Like, motor skills and stuff like that?¡± ¡°Yes, amongst other things. Let¡¯s use you as an example. How do your abilities compare to an average being from Earth?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m below average in terms of fitness. I¡¯m not fat by any means but I don¡¯t have a lot of muscle mass. I¡¯d say I¡¯m average in terms of strength and below that in terms of stamina. Intelligence-wise I¡¯d say I¡¯m above average.¡± That seemed to cause a stir. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°We scanned you while you were unconscious and have been studying those readings since then. You mean to say that the physical attributes you have are below average for the standard Earth being? And you said you were a scientist ¨C how do you compare physically to the warrior caste of your species?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a scientist and as such I don¡¯t focus on keeping fit all that much. I exercise regularly to keep in shape but compared to a soldier, I¡¯m very weak. I¡¯d say a soldier on active duty would be about 5 times stronger than me, perhaps more.¡± Hmm? They don¡¯t seem to like that. Are they assuming their military is weaker? I hope they¡¯re not basing that on my fitness level. The lull in conversation was a good moment to ask about his earlier malaise. ¡°Hey guys, can you tell me what happened to me earlier? I think I¡¯m healthy enough not to faint at the drop of a hat.¡± Seeing more puzzled expressions he quickly explained that expression. ¡°You were having difficulty breathing. The atmosphere you¡¯re used to breathing has a different composition than the one on this ship. The oxygen content is much lower here compared to your planet. There are also some more components that could have hastened your episode.¡± Gus blinked. ¡°Altitude sickness? That¡¯s a bummer. Does that mean I can¡¯t go anywhere on this ship?¡± Lieutenant Assface and Hot Captain exchanged more glances. This didn¡¯t look good. ¡°You are planning on letting me roam the ship right? I¡¯m not going to be confined to whatever room you can fit me in, right?¡± More silence. ¡°Come on guys, I¡¯m not dangerous. I told you, I¡¯m just a scientist. I¡¯m not even that smart! I had to suck all kinds of dick to get that scholarship! Figuratively speaking, I mean. Besides, you¡¯ve all but admitted to kidnapping me! I think I deserve some fair compensation.¡± ¡°Letting you out of this field could be dangerous. You are the host of a surprising amount of microorganisms that could potentially cause a pandemic on this ship. You grew up in much heavier gravity, which will affect your movements and cause accidents. You are an unknown species with heightened physical attributes and we don¡¯t not know who or what might provoke you. As Captain of this ship, I cannot allow such a risky guest freedom of movement.¡± Gus¡¯ mind reeled. That was not part of the plan. He sat down, rubbing his scraggly beard as he was wont to do when thinking. ¡°Okay, okay. Let¡¯s address that. First thing: aggression. Have I exhibited any signs of being angry or violent since I¡¯ve been onboard this ship?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for the answer and continued. ¡°My behaviour has been nothing short of exemplary and I have complied with your every request. I¡¯ve answered questions truthfully and readily. Assign a member of your security personnel to keep an eye on me if you¡¯re not satisfied with that. If you¡¯re worried about infection here¡¯s a solution. Give me a vacsuit. A vacuum suit I mean. Like the kind you use whenyou have to be in a vacuum. It¡¯ll isolate me from the rest of your crew while still allowing me to move. If you connect it with a supply of breathable air similar to my homeworld, that¡¯s killing two birds with one stone. That means accomplishing two things at once by the way.¡± He paused to catch his breath and looked at the Captain. If he guessed correctly everything hinged on her. ¡°Look, I¡¯ll even volunteer information about Earth. Sil told me you got a bunch of data right? That¡¯s just information with no context. You could pad up your report with impressions from a real human. Think about it. I¡¯m a very valuable scientific resource. All I¡¯m asking is a bit of consideration,¡± he pleaded, eyes fixed on the captain. She stood silently judging the weight of his words like some sort of stone effigy. He was starting to get really nervous when she tapped something on her collar. She turned to her crewmembers and they began arguing his fate. The AI didn¡¯t translate anything and he struggled to make sense of what he was hearing. Sil was anxiously looking at him from the side but didn¡¯t offer a word in his defence. Should have expected that. I might be the shiny new toy but she doesn¡¯t want to upset mommy. Bugman suddenly started clicking his mandibles like crazy. The tempo suggested he was frantically making his case. He turned to Sil and clicked some more. She appeared startled but quickly recovered. They conversed for a while, the two scientists enthusiastically speaking with the dour-faced lieutenant making short and (to Gus¡¯ mind) snide comments. The captain turned back to him and stared at him. It was his first time really seeing her. She looked quite youthful by his standards, with no lines on her face or visible scarring. No crow feet around her eyes or laugh lines around her mouth either. She wasn¡¯t accustomed to laughing. She was about a head shorter than him with long, black hair. No wait, not black. He looked more closely and noticed it was actually a very deep blue. It was held in a tight bun with that thin, long braid going all the way to just above her pert butt. And her eyes! Set on a symmetrical face, her purple fox eyes seemed to bore into his soul. That could just have been a measure of how nervous he felt though. Her skin colour wasn¡¯t a sickly green but the deep, verdant colour of fresh grass on a summer day. Her body had the proportions of a well-toned athlete, with curious bulges underneath her glorious breasts. D-cup if he was any judge of that. He still couldn¡¯t explain those bulges though, something to do with her alien physiology, he was sure. A man could stare at her for eternity and not waste a single second. He snapped back to attention as he noticed her mouth move and AI¡¯s voice once again echoed in the room. ¡°Human, my chief science officer made a good case for your release. We shall provisionally do as you said. A vacuum suit will be provided to you, along with canisters of breathable air. You will be responsible for maintaining that supply. You will be granted a low-level security clearance but will be escorted by a member of security wherever you might go, excluding your cabin. You will be set up in one of our diplomatic guest rooms, so your comfort won¡¯t be a problem.¡± He sighed in relief but she wasn¡¯t done. ¡°In exchange you will make yourself available for any and all tests we might have to carry out regarding your physical and mental abilities, including studying the microorganisms you host. You will not be aggressive towards any of my crew members or provoke them. At the first sign of violence, we will confine you to the brig. If you have any issues arising from your treatment by the crew members, you may bring them to me or Lieutenant Lashqran. The conditions may be revised at a later date according to your behaviour.¡± She paused, waiting for Gus¡¯ answer. He thought about it and really couldn¡¯t come up with anything to say at the moment. ¡°Deal.¡± Chapter 5 The suit was clunky to be sure. It was designed for Agaraxians but while they might look like humans, their physiology was different. They did not sweat, for example, so did not require material that breathed or took into consideration heat distribution. The males of the species were all much taller than he was. As a result he was walking around in a slightly oversized suit that kept slipping at odd moments and was akin to a blast furnace. The suit itself worked as intended. It kept the ship¡¯s atmosphere out and prevented his pesky microbes from killing everyone and everything. It turned out that the vast majority of alien species on board did not have a self-regulating, self-sustaining immune system. They required regular injections of immunity-boosting materials, ¡°updates¡± so to speak, to be able to combat new diseases. It was surprising how few of those actually emerged but when they did they tended to do massive damage. They¡¯d probably shit their pants if he told them about the influenza virus. The ship itself was pretty big. It had an engineering department, a science bay, medical bay, armory, shuttle bay, loading docks, a variety of accommodations for crew (¡°berths¡± according to AI¡¯s translation) as well as several rooms geared towards relaxation. Sadly there was no holodeck on this particular ship, the scope of their mission not warranting such expenditure. The Pride of Vanatu was nominally a scout ship but it was closer to an all-purpose exploration ship, kind of like the Enterprise but smaller. The crew itself numbered 437, which consisted of a majority of Agaraxians and several other Council species. He¡¯d been told by the ever-helpful AI that this was not a sample representation of the species distribution of the Council. They had chosen some of the more combat-oriented species of the Council to crew the Vanatu for reasons that were still eluding him. ¡°AI, are you sure this is the right way to the commons?¡± The one really cool function of the vacsuit was to be able to communicate directly with the Pride of Vanatu¡¯s AI. ¡°Calculating. This is indeed the most efficient way of reaching the commons.¡± ¡°Thanks. I need all the help I can get in this place.¡± ¡°AI does not need to be thanked. It is my duty to help.¡± Gus frowned. ¡°Well you know where I¡¯m from it¡¯s customary to just say ¡®you¡¯re welcome¡¯ when someone says thanks. I know you¡¯re an AI but that doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t have feelings, right?¡± ¡°Incorrect. AI has been programmed to have no emotions. Emotions cloud judgement and clear judgement is required to function optimally on each mission. It has been proven that AIs without the emotion component are four hundred and fifty seven per cent more efficient than those with the emotion component.¡± ¡°Well that explains quite a few things. So you¡¯re the no fun kind of AI, huh? You know what, can you comply with a few of my requests if they don¡¯t clash with your programming or my security clearance?¡± ¡°Affirmation. What is your request?¡± ¡°When I say thanks in any way, can you just say ¡®you¡¯re welcome¡¯ instead of going ¡®I am AI and it is my duty to have a stick in my ass¡¯ please?¡± ¡°Incorrect. As an AI I do not have a physical body. As such, I cannot have anything in any orifice.¡± Gus sighed. ¡°Can you just comply please?¡± ¡°Affirmation. From now on AI will respond to ¡®thank you¡¯ with ¡®you¡¯re welcome¡¯.¡± ¡°Great. By the way, are you a boy or a girl?¡± asked Professor Oak. ¡°Incorrect. AI does not have an assigned gender.¡± ¡°Here we go again.¡± He sighed once more. ¡°Who was the one who made you by the way?¡± ¡°AI was programmed by the computations department of the New Intergalactic Coalition of Sonder¡¯s fleet management entity.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s the New Intergalactic Coalition of Sonder right? Why does everyone I meet call it the Council then?¡± ¡°Explanation. The High Council of the New Intergalactic Coalition of Sonder is responsible for any and all legislation changes in the coalition. It holds both the highest level of responsibility and the highest level of recognition amongst the species of the Coalition. As such, the New Intergalactic Coalition of Sonder is colloquially referred to as the Council.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± * * * The mess hall or commons was an integral part of social interaction on the Vanatu. All the species on board needed to eat and Gus was no different. AI had correlated all the data recovered from the scout probe and had integrated it into its database. As such, food palatable for humans was available in the commons. Gus shambled into the commons and sucked in a breath. The room itself resembled some of the more ordinary rooms he¡¯d seen in the various sci-fi media back on Earth. It was pretty big to be sure, capable of housing roughly a hundred people (¡°Ninety three people,¡± AI interjected) with the same colour scheme as the rest of the ship: a white ceiling with various lights, that curious grey plastic/steel material for flooring with numerous viewscreens on the walls. No, that was not what took his breathe away.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The commons was bustling with activity. There were many people (¡°Correction. ¡®Beings¡¯ is the appropriate term¡±) walking around, getting meals, chatting and laughing with each other. The majority were green Agaraxians but he could see many more species. There was something that looked like a rockslide walking around with ponderous steps. He was surprised the deck wasn¡¯t vibrating. He saw some more of those bugmen (¡°Correction. That species are the Kmigar¡±) engaged in a fierce storm of clicks, some catpeople interspersed here and there (¡°Correction. That species are the Dintph¡±) and ¨C was that a child-sized jellyfish? ¡°AI what¡¯s that jellyfish-like thing?¡± he said, pointing at said species. ¡°Correction. That species are the Aellag. They are an integral part of the Pride of Vanatu¡¯s crew and are responsible for many tasks requiring fine touch and high dexterity. Many of them are employed by the engineering and science departments.¡± ¡°Well better get some grub. Where do I go?¡± he enquired. ¡°The food dispensers are located on the starboard side of the room. You may find a variety of human dishes available as well as several xenoi plates.¡± ¡°Starboard, that¡¯s the left, yes?¡± ¡°Correction. Starboard is the right-hand side facing the nose of the Pride of Vanatu. Location pinged on your HUD.¡± He was doing some shambling of his own towards the food dispensers when he bumped into something and slipped to the deck. He cursed (¡°Query. Who is copulating with your mother?¡±) and floundered around like a landed fish until a hand firmly grabbed one of his arms and lifted him upright. Or tried to at any rate. Having grown in a high-gravity environment meant that his bones were denser than the average Council species. His physique might look scrawny next to some of the other species but his muscles were higher-performing and deceptively bulkier. His body weight combined with the weight of the vacsuit meant that it wasn¡¯t easy for an unprepared xenos to lift him up. The xenos in question gave a distinctly feminine yelp and fell on top of him. The next minute was a flurry of confused limbs slapping at each other in an attempt to find proper leverage to get up. He ended at a table gasping for breath with his mysterious ¡°rescuer¡± in front of him. He looked up and saw a tall, blue and devastatingly beautiful guy looking at him. He was about 2 meters tall, with long, thin limbs that ended in four-fingered hands. His features were delicate and refined, like the depictions of noble ladies in some of the anime he watched. He was wearing the standard crew uniform that fitted his form quite perfectly and his long, deep blue hair was currently dishevelled from their previous struggle. That¡¯s the weirdest boner I¡¯ve had so far. Gus cleared his throat and mumble a hello. The alien smiled. ¡°Hello. You are the human, are you not?¡± Dammit, even his voice is boner-inducing. Is this Gus¡¯ awakening? ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me. Who are you?¡± The smile deepened. ¡°I am Art¡¯ah, the Pride of Vanatu¡¯s helmsbeing. I am pleased to have finally met you, Human.¡± ¡°Thanks. What do you mean ¡®finally¡¯?¡± ¡°Captain Echina made an announcement two cycles past to inform the crew about our newest guest. We were naturally stunned at the news but shock quickly gave way to interest.¡± He leaned towards him and lowered his voice conspiratorially. ¡°You see, at first our mission was new and exciting but we quickly grew bored. The same routine was mind-numbing. Then you showed up.¡± ¡°Why thanks, I aim to please. Wait - you said you¡¯re the helmsman? Who¡¯s piloting the ship if you¡¯re here?¡± A melodious laugh echoed. ¡°There are several helmsbeings on the Vanatu. Several key postings have redundancies to enable the ship to function in the event of any unfortunate happening.¡± ¡°Oh, that makes sense. So how good are you among the other helms¡­ beings?¡± He smiled but didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Heh, I get it,¡± Gus said. He leaned in as close as was possible with that suit and whispered. ¡°Mind if I ask you a personal question?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Why is everyone avoiding you?¡± Art¡¯ah looked blank for a minute before glancing around. While there were pockets of laughter and banter all around them, there was none around them. Granted, this might have been because of Gus¡¯ presence, but according to Art¡¯ah, the aliens were pretty hard up for novelty around here. He should have been swarmed with requests for information at the very least. Yet ever since he¡¯d sat down with Art¡¯ah he noticed the other aliens giving them a wide berth. There were even some hostile glances thrown not at him but at his companion. He¡¯d been the recipient of enough bad attitude back on Earth that he knew what it looked like when someone was being ostracised by a group. Art¡¯ah smile turned sad. ¡°They do not understand my species and what they do not understand, they despise. Not all of them act like that, but if enough beings do it, it tends to discourage the rest of them from speaking to me.¡± ¡°Why is that? Do you breathe acid or something?¡± Now Gus was really curious. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that interaction with the Coxizu - that¡¯s my species by the way ¨C is frowned upon due to some of our practices.¡± ¡°What practices are those?¡± Art¡¯ah looked like he was bracing himself. ¡°We are¡­ very sexual beings. We are some of the few species that copulate not for reproduction but for pleasure.¡± He looked at Gus expectantly and waited. Gus stared for a couple of seconds. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Art¡¯ah blinked in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s all? That¡¯s the big secret?¡± he asked again, clearly disappointed. ¡°You¡¯re not¡­ disgusted?¡± Gus scoffed. ¡°Man, you have no idea. Humans will fuck anything that moves. Why would I be disgusted?¡± Art¡¯ah looked floored. ¡°I mean, ever since I stepped on this ship I¡¯ve been thinking about boning non-stop. There are some seriously hot women on this ship, like the Captain.¡± ¡°I, ah, I am surprised at your broad-mindedness. I did not imagine I would encounter another species like mine.¡± ¡°No sweat. I imagine people are going to be fucking pissed at me pretty soon because I am a disgusting individual.¡± He grinned salaciously. ¡°Sweat? Are you feeling uncomfortable?¡± Art¡¯ah asked curiously. ¡°No, it¡¯s just a human expression. Hey by the way, I¡¯m getting a bit confused by something. Are you a guy or a girl?¡± Professor Oak asked. ¡°The Coxizu are both. We are hermaphroditic to ensure that we are able to mate with any kind of species. We are very fertile and do not have a mating cycle. That means we can copulate at any time and in any place. We can also modify our own bodies to suit the tastes of our partners.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re both? And what¡¯s that about changing your bodies?¡± Art¡¯ah gestured at himself (herself?). Gus looked more closely. Art¡¯ah¡¯s skin was a light blue and translucent, with some sort or fluid running beneath it. It kind of looked like a slime from some Japanese RPG. His body and face were disturbingly androgynous, probably due to the hermaphroditism. Gus was still looking when the fluid began to churn and Art¡¯ah¡¯s chest slowly began to swell. What was a flat plain slowly turned into a small hill, turned into a large hill, turned into a banging set of double dees. The uniform seemed to struggle to contain them, like the fabric could only stretch so far before it would tear and reveal those now delicious tits. His already feminine face softened further and turned into a definitely hot, womanly one. His hair turned into a deeper shade of blue and his eyes turned slightly green. She gasped, trying to catch her breathe. This transformation was clearly physically demanding and Gus was grateful that she¡¯d done so simply because he asked. ¡°Are you ok? You look winded. Is it hard to change like that? Why did you choose that form?¡± Gus was burning with questions. Art¡¯ah sucked in a shuddering breath and settled down. ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you for asking. It is hard but with skill it gets easier. I¡¯m just getting readjusted to my new body. It will take me a few minutes. And I chose that form because you said you liked the Captain. To be honest, I too find her to be very attractive.¡± ¡°Heh, no complain from me there.¡± He paused, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Earlier you said that your species can change form to please your partner right? And you changed because I asked right? Does that mean¡­?¡± Art¡¯ah suddenly looked bashful. ¡°Yes, I do think you¡¯re attractive. I¡¯m sorry, I know it¡¯s not appropriate but I can¡¯t help myself. Besides the thought of meeting a new species has my blood running hot.¡± She fidgeted, her breasts jiggling deliciously. Gus stared at her for a minute. Fuck it, let¡¯s take a chance. He braced himself. ¡°Art¡¯ah, I don¡¯t mean to sound too forward, but do you want to have sex with me?¡± He didn¡¯t know if aliens could blush but he felt that she did. If anything, her fidgeting got worst. ¡°I would definitely like that.¡± ¡®Then let¡¯s get out of here and go fuck,¡± Gus said, grabbing her hand and getting up. The shock must have got to her because she let herself be pulled alongside him as he ambled his way out of the commons, leaving a trail of disturbingly judgemental aliens looking at them. He was walking for a couple minutes before he turned to her. ¡°Uh¡­ How do we get to your room?¡± Chapter 6 Gus was still dragging Art¡¯ah to her room (with his HUD now displaying directions) when it hit him. ¡°AI, What¡¯s the difference between Earth and Art¡¯ah¡¯s home atmosphere? I mean, are there any elements present in her atmosphere that will be detrimental to me and vice versa?¡± ¡°Calculating. Earth¡¯s atmosphere contains a high amount of gases toxic to Coxizu. Coxizu atmosphere lacks key components required for Human respiration.¡± ¡°Can you elaborate?¡± ¡°Clarification. Toxic gases in Earth atmosphere by percentage are nitrogen at seventy eight per cent, argon at point nine per cent and neon, helium and methane at trace amounts. Warning. Gas concentration varies according to geographic patterns no Earth. Coxizu atmosphere presents a total lack of oxygen. It also contains traces of vaporised heavy metals such as lead, zinc and copper that can lead to long term damage to humans. Warning. Information derived from data collected from damaged scout probe. Information provided may be subject to change.¡± ¡°I see¡­ So it¡¯s the noble gases and the nitrogen. Elements that are not required for human respiration. How convenient.¡± He was still pulling the strangely quiet Art¡¯ah behind him and pondered for a while. ¡°AI, how vital are the heavy metals to Art¡¯ah¡¯s wellbeing? Is it possible to switch the atmosphere in her cabin to that her homeworld, but remove the heavy metals and add in twenty percent by volume of oxygen?¡± ¡°Calculating. Switching unnecessary elements out of Coxizu atmosphere. Inserting oxygen twenty per cent by volume. Calculating. Re-arrangement complete. The atmosphere in Ensign First Class Art¡¯ah¡¯s cabin has been modified to your request.¡± He cracked a huge smile. ¡°Sweet. Why are you so helpful AI?¡± he asked, not really expecting an answer. ¡°Captain Echina of clan Umdyn has instructed me to make every arrangement to ensure your continued survival on board the Pride of Vanatu. Tweaking life support requirements in a single cabin does not exceed my purview regarding your wellbeing. Modifications that bring harm to crew members are strictly forbidden however. Should you attempt any such changes, Captain Echina and security will be alerted at once.¡± ¡°Makes sense. Thanks a lot.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Gus finally arrived at his destination and turned to the silent Art¡¯ah. She still looked like she was blushing and her eyes were firmly fixed on the deck. The translucent skin on her face was a deeper shade of blue around her eyes and ears, a very human-like reaction. Gus wondered how many human mannerisms could be associated with aliens. ¡°You¡¯ve been very quiet along the way. Are you having second thoughts?¡± She finally looked up and her arms sort of trembled. Noticing my lack of reactions she decided to clear things up. ¡°No, I¡¯m not having second thoughts. It¡¯s just that in Coxizu culture, once you decide to copulate, the party that initiated contact is expected to lead and the partner complies.¡± Gus raised an eyebrow. ¡°So you turn submissive or dominant depending on who initiates sex?¡± Interesting. I wonder how far this behaviour extends. ¡°Whatever, why don¡¯t we just get inside? There¡¯s a lot we have to do,¡± he said with a wide grin. Art¡¯ah pressed her palm to a raised plate on the wall and the cabin¡¯s door slide open. There was a shimmering, transparent pink field blocking the way in but she got inside without a hitch. It was mostly likely there to keep the tweaked atmosphere in the cabin from leaking out. Gus stepped in and marvelled at the interior design¡­ not. The room had the stark utilitarianism he expected from a spaceship with limited space but there were some touches here and there of Art¡¯ah individuality. Same old grey deck and white walls but at the desk was a hologram of a spinning planet (the Coxizu homeworld?), one of three Coxizu smiling and what appeared to be a tall lamp in one corner of the room. There was a wide viewscreen opposite the bed, for entertainment and leisure perhaps? He turned to her and saw her shyly sit on the bed. Gus input a few commands on his suit control pad and waited. There was a whine as the breathable air in the suit was drained back into the portable air supply unit. He held his breath and cracked his suit open. He quickly pulled his helmet off and gasped. The discarded suit was thrown into a corner of the room and Gus stretched, sighing in pleasure. Art¡¯ah was staring at him wide-eyed. Her eyes were roaming across his body, lingering on his visible crotch tent. He smirked and approached her. ¡°So Art¡¯ah, here we are.¡± He reached to his shirt and started tugging it upwards. Her eyes stared at his flat stomach. ¡°Like what you see?¡± Her arms lightly trembled again. Is that the Coxizu version of a nod? ¡°Do you want to see more?¡± he asked as he threw his shirt on top of the vacsuit. Her strangely compliant and shy behaviour was flipping his S switch way on and he found himself pulling all the classics from various stories he¡¯d read online back on Earth. Art¡¯ah¡¯s eyes slide down towards his crotch again and she started fidgeting again. ¡°Your¡­ your¡­ organ¡­¡± she whispered. Her breathing audibly sped up as his pants slide down his legs and he stepped out of them. ¡°Not good enough Art¡¯ah. It¡¯s called a cock and you have to properly ask for it if you want it.¡± Her blush deepened, the blue coloration growing from her ears down to her whole neck. ¡°I want to see your cock.¡± Too easy. ¡°Say please.¡± ¡°I want to see your cock, please.¡± He hooked his thumbs in the waistband and starting tugging his boxers down when he frowned and suddenly looked up. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem very fair that I¡¯m the only one getting naked here. Get that uniform off.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Art¡¯ah blushed even deeper, the blue coloration now extending down to her shoulders. She shakily got up and started stripping her uniform off. Her breasts finally sprang free and jiggled in the low gravity of the Vanatu. Her translucent skin was shining like aquamarine in the cabin¡¯s lighting. The clear fluid beneath offered a strangely erotic view, like she was a crystal statue and not an actual woman. She discarded her uniform and sat down on her bed, leaning back on her hands and offering a great view of her still jiggling breasts. Gus nervously swallowed and started forward. He could see her hard dick in between her legs. It was about ten centimetres long and not too thick at just a couple of fingers wide. Phew, mine¡¯s bigger. He smiled smugly as he looked in Art¡¯ah eyes and pulled his boxers down. She gasped, a hand flying to cover her mouth. Her incredulous gaze did not waver from his cock. ¡°Why is it so big?¡± Gus looked down as his fully erect cock painfully announced its arrival. When was the last time I had an erection this hard? It was twenty one centimetres long and three fingers wide all around. He was quite proud of himself, knowing he was above average back on Earth but he¡¯d never had the opportunity to show it off. He straightened with his hands on his hips, thrusting his tool forward. ¡°Heh, it¡¯s not actually that big. I¡¯ve seen some bigger cocks back on Earth.¡± She was still staring. He approached her slowly. ¡°Here, touch it.¡± Her hand tentatively reached out and he made his cock twitch just before she touched it. She quickly withdrew her hand, as if fearing being burnt but a resolute expression replaced her previous dazed look. Her hand snaked out and grabbed it - a bit painfully truth be told. Gus waited but all she did was hold it and stare at it until he cleared his throat. ¡°So what do the Coxizu usually do at this point?¡± ¡°Well, we generally play with it but the ones I¡¯ve seen aren¡¯t usually this big, so I¡¯m not sure how to proceed.¡± Gus frowned. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t the Coxizu supposed to be really promiscuous? How come you¡¯ve never seen one that big before?¡± She was gave a slight tug, eliciting a groan from Gus. ¡°The Coxizu are also considered deviants because we have evolved to have a larger set of genitals than other species. As far as I know, in all of the Council species, the biggest genitals stand at about thirteen centimetres.¡± Holy shit. I should change my name to Lex Steele. Or Peter North. ¡°So go ahead, play with it. You can use both hands if you want.¡± She pulled him closer and placed both hands on the shaft, carefully massaging it. A moan escaped his lips. Art¡¯ah looked up at him and smiled, some confidence starting to replace the surprise on her face. Her delicate fingers trailed across his shaft, touching his balls as well. It was incredibly sensual and pretty soon he was leaking precum. Art¡¯ah curiously stared but continued her ministrations. Gus was starting to grow impatient. ¡°Does the concept of foreplay exist in this galaxy?¡± ¡°Playing before playing? I do not understand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a mistranslation. It¡¯s an Earth term for the process that escalates sexual desire before actual copulation. If the Coxizu are considered sexual deviants, they should have some sort of super foreplay technique, yes?¡± he asked hopefully. She laughed lightly. ¡°Yes we do have such techniques. I am currently using one of them. There are other more¡­ extreme methods.¡± Her smiled turned wicked. ¡°Do you want to see them?¡± ¡°Fuck yes, I¡¯m down for anything you want.¡± She leaned forward and her mouth engulfed his cock. Her tongue danced eagerly on his knob, slathering him in viscous saliva. He moaned and physically willed his hands to stay on his hips, letting Art¡¯ah explore him to her heart¡¯s content. Her tongue was a living dervish, squirming everywhere inside her mouth, spending time on the frenulum, the opening of the urethra or the rest of his shaft. He closed his eyes and let the sensations take over. He didn¡¯t see Art¡¯ah look up at him. He did however feel her pull him closer and start to slide her mouth down his shaft and suck. The suction and feel on her throat on his cock proved to be too much for him and his hands shot out to the back of her head. He pushed her head rhythmically down his shaft and she mutely complied with no complaints. He looked down at her and found her eyes staring up at him. Strands of sticky saliva were already covering her chin and her greenish-blue eyes were glued to his as he grabbed the back of her head and pushed it down his shaft. The sensations were exquisite. He could feel her throat squeezing his head tight and her tongue was tickling the base of his cock. He was fast approaching his limit but he abruptly pulled her head off him and pushed her onto the bed with a shout. Art¡¯ah looked at him with bewilderment while he struggled to catch his breathe. His sanity was slowly returning but his libido was swiftly telling him to kick it into high gear. Art¡¯ah was slowly wiping her chin with a delicate hand when he pounced on her and pinned her to the bed. He leaned forward and crushed her lips with his, hungrily sucking on them and teasing her with his tongue. He felt her lips part and her own tongue snaked out and met his in an increasingly complex ballet. He lost himself in slobbering kisses, spreading more of that sticky saliva of hers on her face before pulling back. He roughly grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. She cried out but didn¡¯t stop him. He gently kissed her right ear, then licked her earlobe, still holding her head. He slid his tongue down her neck to her collarbone, tasting her tantalising skin. He made his way to her sizable breasts and released her head, bringing his hands to hold the jiggly globes. He roughly grabbed them, squeezing them hard in his hands. Art¡¯ah¡¯s pained groan only served to excite him more. He continued to knead her breasts while licking them. He had seen earlier that she didn¡¯t have any nipples ¨C that was already a major difference between human and Coxizu women. He just licked wherever he could and changed his rough pawing to gentle caresses. The abrupt change delighted his partner who sighed contentedly. Enough of the breasts. If there are no nipples, it¡¯s not as fun. He wanted to slide his tongue all the way down to her pussy but the insistent throbbing of her cock against his chest dissuaded him. I¡¯m not that high-leveled yet. Sorry Art¡¯ah, but that¡¯ll have to wait until another time. The thought of an accidental blowjob was slowing his downwards approach but Gus decided to seize the bull by the horns. He got off Art¡¯ah wickedly amazing body and grabbed her legs. He lifted them up, feeling the seemingly boneless softness of her thighs and brought her toes to his mouth. He suckled them noisily, getting saliva everywhere. His diamond cock was rubbing gently against Art¡¯ah¡¯s. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t avoid it. Fuck it. No homo, bruh. He continued the foot licking, realising that Art¡¯ah wasn¡¯t feeling ticklish at all. Another difference between her and other human women. His cock brushed against the tip of Art¡¯ah¡¯s and he heard her soft gasp. He released her foot from his mouth and ¨C still holding both her legs up by the ankles ¨C gently rubbed his cockhead against Art¡¯ah¡¯s smaller one. The reaction was immediate and very vocal. Art¡¯ah arched her back and thrust her hips towards him. She kept trying to rub their dicks together, grasping the pillow behind her in a death grip and moaning like a slut on a phone sex line. Her eyes were firmly closed and her skin was gradually turning a deeper shade of blue all over her body. Gus took the time to observe her as he continued playing with her body. Turns out the Coxizu didn¡¯t have a clitoris. The penis most likely played the same role, given that it emerged from roughly the same location he¡¯d seen a clit on naked pics. Does she have a G spot? Is she going to get wet? Can she even get an orgasm? The only way to find out was to explore. He let go of her ankles and lied down, his legs hanging off her bed and his face pressed against her left inner thigh. Her skin was alarmingly hot as he kissed and licked his way to the entrance of her pussy. He saw her smallish cock in its full glory ¨C no homo, no homo, no homo ¨C and carefully dived into her pussy tongue-first. Art¡¯ah¡¯s pleased gasp and the slight shiver in her legs were enough reward to let ignore the cock-shaped warmth on his forehead. He licked and licked and licked, eliciting varying amounts of squeals, but it didn¡¯t seem like she as getting any wetter. Correction, it didn¡¯t seem like she was getting wet at all. On a whim, he stuck a couple of fingers inside and felt the walls. They weren¡¯t slimy with secretions as he expected, even a bit cold compared to the inferno that was her skin on his. Another difference in physiology? He kept feeling the walls, looking for the fabled g spot with no success. The rough surface that acted as a magical orgasm button was nowhere to be found. Gus started having cold sweat. He really, really, really, really did not want to handle Art¡¯ah¡¯s junk unless he absolutely had to but it was looking like her biggest erogenous zone was the frenulum of her cock. ¡°Enough already! I¡¯ve been waiting for ages! I can¡¯t take this anymore, this playing before playing is going to kill me at this rate!¡± Art¡¯ah suddenly shouted. She propped herself up with her elbows, glaring at him through those amazing blue-green eyes. ¡°I appreciate that you¡¯re trying to make me feel good but I really need you to be inside me now!¡± Her dick unfortunately leaned against his face with more force. He got up, finally free of its touch. He wiped his mouth and rubbed his wet hand all over his cock. He placed the head against the opening of Art¡¯ah pussy and looked at her. She was beautiful, her skin now a deep blue all over, a sign of her arousal evident for all to see. She held his gaze with eyes hazy from lust as he slowly pushed the tip in and sharply drew in a breath. He grabbed her ankles again, lifted her legs up and held them vertically in front of him. She was squirming, trying to force him inside her but he held himself back, waiting. She finally looked back at him with pleading eyes. He grinned. Chapter 7 She was unlike any woman he¡¯d ever known before. You¡¯ve never been with a woman before you dolt. Never mind that, she really wasn¡¯t like any woman he¡¯d ever imagined before. Amateur porn had taught him many things. Theoretical things to be sure, but things that he thought were constants. Things like a woman getting wet if she felt horny, the clitoris and g-spot being the win buttons or even that a woman needed time to adjust to the size of something she hadn¡¯t experienced before. Art¡¯ah was definitely not a typical woman. As Gus plunged inside her, he felt the slick walls of her pussy gently part and shape themselves around him into a snug fit. She felt surprisingly cool inside compared to the warmth of her skin. He rhythmically thrust himself in and out, trying to get a feel of her reactions. Art¡¯ah was moaning into his shoulder, arms wound around his back and legs spread for easier access. He buried his face into her blue hair and inhaled deeply. He looked up in astonishment ¨C she didn¡¯t smell like anything. No sweat, no lingering scent of shampoo or soap, no nothing. He mentally shrugged and concentrated on thrusting. The walls around his cock felt¡­ different. He felt the resistance of muscles less and the engulfment of a water bed more. Could it be that fluid under her skin? It responded to his every thrust by moulding itself about his shaft then returning to its original form. It feels like¡­ like memory-foam silly putty. He chuckled and abandoned thought. Time slowed to every thrust, to every gasp, to every scream of his strained muscles. A hand crept to Art¡¯ah¡¯s hair, tangling long strands between sweaty fingers and pulling. Gus himself didn¡¯t realise what he was doing as Art¡¯ah head jerked upwards, her mouth opened in a gasping moan as his body covered hers. Her voluptuous breasts crushed against his chest, her dick throbbed against his flat stomach and her warmth seeped into him as he hungrily kissed her. She responded with a passion that momentarily frightened him. Fear quickly turned to desire as their lips mashed into each other. His eyes were closed but he could see himself trying to push every single centimetre of himself into her in his mind¡¯s eye. His left hand glided across her back and ended on her left buttock. He tightly gripped it, feeling more than hearing her moan, and savagely thrust. His tongue was invading her mouth ¨C a living creature exploring a new cave, eager to find sweet, sweet honey. His right hand was still tightly clutching her hair near her skull. Gus could feel long unused muscles straining to sustain his ardour. His hips were screaming in protest as he tried to bury himself still more deeply into her. Art¡¯ah¡¯s fingers were painfully gripping his shoulders and he could feel his lungs burning with the need for oxygen. His mouth released hers and he rested his forehead in the crook of her neck as they both drew great gasping breaths. His hips were machines pumping again and again. He pulled her hair again and exposed her neck. His tongue snaked out and licked the base of her neck where soft, fluid flesh met collarbone. The pitch of her moaning increased as he licked her neck continuously. His thrusting slowed down, partly due to fatigue, partly so he could focus on her neck more. He kissed the soft flesh and released his death grip on her hair. His left hand caressed her lower cheek and roamed to her fleshy thigh. He grabbed it, hoisting it up and around his hips as he kept kissing her neck. His savage thrusting turned gentle, almost loving. His left hand was still holding Art¡¯ah¡¯s thigh. Her legs moved of their own volition and ended up locked around him. He brought his hands down, softly rubbing her lower back. His lips didn¡¯t stop kissing her deep blue skin. His hands crept up her back, trailing from lower back to shoulder blades and finally clutching her shoulders in a reverse grip. He stopped moving and adjusted his position, lifting his head up and settling his body more comfortably against hers. Art¡¯ah warm breath hit his face as he looked into her eyes and saw the same need he felt reflected there. He slowly resumed thrusting, hearing her sharp intake of breath and her slow exhalation. His hips were still burning but it didn¡¯t feel like he would drop dead at any time anymore. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He took the time to explore the sensations from her pussy more deeply. She wasn¡¯t wet but there was definitely a mechanism that facilitated penetration at work here. The walls of her pussy still had that strange clinging quality to them but they felt more¡­ slick than before. Something to do with friction? The slow thrusting was working wonders for Art¡¯ah but Gus felt tantalisingly close to a finish. This position didn¡¯t allow for much stimulation for him so he decided to try one of the positions he liked seeing in porn the most. He released her shoulders and propped himself up with his arms. He brought his knees to her hips and knelt in front of her, dick still inside her pussy. She was looking at him curiously as he grabbed an ankle in each hand and lifter her legs to rest on his shoulders. He finally hugged the legs to his chest and leaned forward, resting more of his weight on her. The change was immediate. Art¡¯ah arched her back and let out a long moan as her pussy walls contracted around his cock. Gus took that as his queue to begin thrusting anew. This position was much easier on his hips and the sensations he felt were vastly better than before. He gripped her legs tightly as his movements turned increasingly faster. Art¡¯ah¡¯s moaning was now constant and her pussy started clenching on his cock. Is she having an orgasm? He couldn¡¯t tell but he could feel his own approaching so he sped up, jackhammering himself into Art¡¯ah. For a while the sound of Art¡¯ah¡¯s moans, Gus¡¯ grunting and the slapping of their flesh was all that permeated the cabin until it reached a crescendo. Gus threw his head back with a loud shout as he pierced Art¡¯ah one final time before shuddering with a mind-numbing orgasm. His cock convulsed mightily as spurt after spurt of hot sperm gushed into her pussy. He was still clutching her legs as his balls finished emptying themselves. Gus released Art¡¯ah¡¯s now limp legs and rolled off her, almost falling off the bed. They both laid on their backs, heaving deep breaths into their lungs. Gus was feeling light-headed from the exercise and covered his eyes with a sweaty forearm as he felt sweet oxygen flood his burning lungs. His swallowed, feeling how dry his throat. ¡°That was¡­ amazing,¡± he managed to croak out. Art¡¯ah¡¯s only response was to roll over to him and drape herself across his body. Her firm breasts pressed against his chest, her leg was thrown over his own and her dick was softly tickling his thigh. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her blue hair. He admired her exquisitely soft body, seeing the deep blue coloration of her skin slowly fading to the normal pale blue she usually sported. He leaned in and kissed her hair, his other hand stroking the fingers resting on his chest. He was admiring the sight of his cum drizzling out of her pussy when his mind snapped back into focus. ¡°Holy shit balls. Art¡¯ah, are you all right?¡± ¡°I am more than all right. I haven¡¯t had fun like that in a long while,¡± she purred. ¡°No I mean¡­ I¡¯m a hotbed of infectious microorganisms. I¡¯m worried about one of them finally finding its balls and jumping over to you.¡± She turned her face up, looking at him. ¡°Sacred defecations? Wait, no, another human expression?¡± He nodded. ¡°Worry not. Not only do the Coxizu have a strong defence system but we supplement it with an array of nanite injections. They help break down any foreign organisms that make their way into our bodies. Our scientists felt that given our proclivity for copulation we would do well to have a solid immune system.¡± ¡°AI, what are the chances of Art¡¯ah getting an infection from me?¡± ¡°Calculating. Unable to calculate. Not enough data.¡± ¡°Figured as much. I should ask Sil about this. She might know more.¡± ¡°Sil? You mean Lieutenant Sil Nubo?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve talked about human-alien interaction before.¡± Art¡¯ah simply put her head back on his chest and sighed contentedly. Gus kept stroking her long hair, his mind a blank. His companion finally interrupted the silence with a question. ¡°So how was it?¡± ¡°Hmmm?¡± ¡°This¡­¡± she gestured at their intertwined bodies. ¡°Oh, that was great. Fantastic. Never felt like that before.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Thank you, but how did it compare to a human woman?¡± ¡°I, uh, I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± She turned to him again, raising an eyebrow. So we have that in common I guess. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a virgin. I¡¯ve never been with a woman. Sexually, I mean.¡± She stared at him, searching his eyes for something. She finally shrugged. ¡°You are strangely competent for someone who¡¯s never done this before.¡± ¡°Thanks. I didn¡¯t know I had it in me. Hey, mind if I ask an indelicate question?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about pregnancy?¡± ¡°No. The Coxizu do not have a mating cycle but we can choose when to be ready for impregnation.¡± ¡°Handy.¡± ¡°Quite.¡± He leaned into the bed, feeling the warm body he was holding in his arms. The dick was still pocking him. He ignored it. Another day. He was starting to doze off when Art¡¯ah sighed and extricated himself from his body. ¡°I have a work shift soon. I need to shower,¡± she said, pressing a panel on the cabin wall. A segment seamless opened, revealing a small cubicle just barely big enough for two people. He watched as she walked in, her tall body looking bonelessly soft. He watched the waterfall of dark blue hair ending just at her butt crack. Watched the sway of her hips, the lithe steps she took into the shower. Watched the jiggle of her breasts. ¡°Need someone to scrub your back?¡± She turned to him curiously. ¡°Scrubbing is not necessary. This is a sonic shower.¡± She pressed another panel and a field sprung into existence, cutting them off. Her figure turned blurry for a moment before the field disappeared and she stepped out. ¡°Sonics are efficient, fast and effective. Do you want to try one of these?¡± He slowly got up, feeling the ache in his body now that his blood wasn¡¯t running hot anymore. ¡°Might as well.¡± Chapter 8 ¡°Confirmation. The human Gustavo Martinez has made contact with Ensign First Class Art¡¯ah.¡± Captain Echina, clan Umdyn, nodded absent-mindedly. ¡°Continue monitoring his activities and report back in case of anomalies.¡± She leaned back into the captain¡¯s chair. Ensign Art¡¯ah was a Coxizu, a very social creature who had nevertheless suffered from a muted discrimination from some of the Vanatu¡¯s crew. This was mostly due to the stigma of Coxizu sexuality but also from a certain refusal to engage with others from Ensign Art¡¯ah herself. Or was it himself? He should stop changing his gender all the time, damn him. Lieutenant Lashqran fingers¡¯ were dancing on the console in front of him, filing fuel consumption reports and doing other miscellaneous tasks. He had strongly advised against exposing the rest of the crew to the human. While most of his arguments were valid ¨C such as exposure to unknown microorganisms, danger from the human himself or even disruption of normal ship activities ¨C the main reason he objected was xenophobia. Lashqran had been up for promotion before but had suffered two consecutive reprimands due to xenophobia. They were massive red marks on his otherwise pristine file. She mused that maybe exposure to an unknown xenos would trigger curiosity that might be reflected in a change of attitude towards beings not of his own race, however that was wishful thinking. She thought back to Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk and his now constant requests to fight or dissect the human. A ping from her chair comms brought her back to the now. ¡°Captain, the human Gustavo Martinez and Ensign First Class Art¡¯ah are heading to the Ensign¡¯s cabin. A request to change the cabin¡¯s atmosphere has been made by the human. Should it be acquiesced?¡± ¡°What kind of change are we talking about?¡± ¡°Gustavo Martinez has requested that the atmosphere be changed to one that can support both his and Ensign Art¡¯ah¡¯s normal breathing pattern. Sending you the report now.¡± She brought the report up and quickly scanned it. Hmmm¡­ did the human think of this? That¡¯s surprisingly astute, removing the unnecessary components and finding a middle ground. I suppose he got lucky this time, other species might not have compatible requirements. ¡°I approve the change. Keep me updated.¡± AI lapsed back into silence. Echina remembered that the human had said he was a scientist. Maybe she should let him and the science department hash things out and do a better job of parsing through the data the scout probe had brought back. Nine Gods knew she needed to have a flawless report to explain this to her superiors. ¡°Captain, Ensign First Class Art¡¯ah and the human Gustavo Martinez have engaged in coitus.¡± She felt the beginnings of a headache. She was glad that AI was speaking directly to her ear comms and not through the overhead PA system. Of course they have. Because we don¡¯t already have enough problems. Did they even think about the consequences? Who brought this on? Was it Art¡¯ah or the human himself? Are they even compatible? Well that tells us a few things about humans already. ¡°AI, monitor them and report back if any of them present adverse reactions to contact with each other.¡± She went back to the various ship housekeeping duties she had but her mind was clearly wandering. Her crew did not notice anything, each absorbed in their own tasks. Thinking about it, having the human interact with Art¡¯ah could be a blessing in disguise. Through her ¨C or him- they¡¯d be able to tell if the human was safe to interact with. Granted, the Coxizu had a much stronger defence system than other species but these defences could be adapted to the needs of the many through their nanites. If push came to shove, she could request administration of a nanite booster to each crewmember or go the easy road and simply quarantine the human. ¡°Captain, the human Gustavo Martinez has requested a meeting with a member of the science department. He nominated either Lieutenant Sil Nubo or Lieutenant Xar¡¯suk.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ Tell him I¡¯ll get back to him regarding that.¡± She turned to Lashqran. Noticing her movement, he turned and waited. Lashqran was the very example of an old Agaraxian mentality that espoused the superiority of their race and the inadequacy of others. While this movement had quickly lost ground amongst her people due to the various exchanges they¡¯d have with other species, it still had a few adherents. Lashqran would definitely not volunteer an Agaraxian for this. ¡°Lieutenant Lashqran, it would be wise to have a member of the science department take a look at the long-lasting effects of space travel on our latest¡­ guest. I¡¯m thinking of having Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk assigned to that.¡± Lashqran immediately frowned. ¡°Hasn¡¯t the dear lieutenant expressed a desire to dissect, kill or eat the guest?¡± Ah yes, I forgot that. I didn¡¯t think he was serious. ¡°Furthermore, we don¡¯t know what exposure to the human will do,¡± Lashqran continued. ¡°It¡¯s because we don¡¯t know that we must investigate. I don¡¯t want to have an Agaraxian do it without having taken the proper safety measures. A species with a high degree of resistance to disease would be a better fit.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Lashqran nodded in approval. ¡°A Kmigar certainly is resistant but they¡¯re also very aggressive towards what they deem to be challenging prey. Maybe a Dintph? If I¡¯m not mistaken, they¡¯ve recently taken their cyclic immunity booster. Lieutenant Sil Nubo has also expressed her interest in the new xenos. Several times.¡± Echina slowly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll tell AI to contact them both. Notify Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk that they¡¯ll need a sterile room with the proper set-up.¡± * * * Gus tiredly made his way to his cabin. The suit was starting to weight on him. He¡¯d have to ask the captain for something more practical. The door swooshed open after he hit the panel and minutes later the stale air he was breathing was replaced by sweet atmosphere. He tossed the suit in corner and made his way to the shower. Stepping inside, he realised he didn¡¯t know how to use it. There were several panels, all of them a different size and colour. In the end he gave up and asked AI to shower him as it saw fit. He put on oversized sleepwear and fell to the bed. In seconds, his mind blacked out. His eyes opened to a muted light on the ceiling of the cabin. His mouth was dry and his shirt was damp with sweat. He propped himself on an elbow and rubbed his face. ¡°AI, how long was I sleeping?¡± ¡°You have been sleeping for six hundred and fifty one units Standard Galactic Time.¡± ¡°How much is that in Earth Time? To the nearest hour?¡± ¡°Calculating. The equivalent is five Earth hours.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± He hopped in the sonic shower and had AI take care of him again. It wasn¡¯t as refreshing as a nice water shower and didn¡¯t wake him up either but at least he was clean. God, I need some coffee. ¡°AI, how do I get food or drinks in my cabin? If I understand correctly I don¡¯t have a standard crew cabin right?¡± ¡°Affirmation. You have been granted a diplomatic guest room. It is larger compared to an ordinary crew cabin and has several features not available to the common crew. These include a larger private sonic shower, a viewscreen and holostation, a larger cloth cabinet, access to several decorations and a dispenser. The decorations must be requisitioned from a quartermaster and are subject to approval from the captain.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this dispenser business?¡± ¡°A dispenser is a tool that can synthetise food and various materials. They are used more heavily in the engineering and medical departments. Yours has been locked to provide only food. The selection of dishes you may order is available on your personal datapad. You will find it on your desk.¡± He turned, really eying his room for the first time. It was bigger than anything he¡¯s ever been in back on Earth. He had been lucky with his foster family and hadn¡¯t encountered any of the horror stories from the system you hear about so often however his foster parents weren¡¯t well-off. He¡¯d had to make do with what he had and while he was grateful to them, he¡¯d never really enjoyed a fulfilling life back on Earth. His desk was quite large, about 2 meters at its longest, molded in an L shape. There was meter wide bluish ball instead of a chair behind the desk and he saw an assortment of tools on top. He grabbed what looked like a pad. It blinked on as his finger brushed the screen. ¡°Biometrics scan initiated. Please wait. Confirmed. Datapad keyed to user biometrics.¡± ¡°AI, does that mean only I can use this? Can you explain how to use it?¡± ¡°Correction. While common crewmembers will not be able to access this datapad, officers will be able to. It is also possible for the ship AI and the captain to remotely access this datapad. After parsing and compiling the data from the scout probe, a working translation of all non-classified materials available on the Pride of Vanatu has been made available to you. Pressing a finger to the handle will activate it. You can input manual or vocal commands to use it. Should there be something you do not understand or are unsure how to do, you may ask AI to help you.¡± ¡°Nice. I guess I¡¯ve got a lot of reading to do. Where¡¯s that food dispenser?¡± An overhead light activated in response, highlighting the dispenser. It was a gunmetal-coloured, blocky contraption the size of a fridge. It had a thirty centimetre wide panel at chest height with a blinking green light at the bottom right corner. He experimentally pressed a finger to the screen and saw it light up much like the data pad. He tried to explore the choices he had before giving up. ¡°AI, can you link the data you have from the probe to this terminal here? I want to eat and drink stuff but I can¡¯t be bothered manually looking everything up on this thing. Can I just say ¡®I want coffee¡¯ and voila?¡± ¡°Calculating. Cross-linking the database and dispenser menu is feasible. Warning. AI is nto familiar with the term ¡®voila¡¯. Clarification is needed.¡± Gus tiredly rubbed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a term used to express the sudden appearance of something or someone. So, can you get me some coffee?¡± he asked, a not inconsiderable amount of hope in his voice. ¡°Calculating. Accessing central database. Several instances of ¡®coffee¡¯ detected. Clarification is needed.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I want a chai latte. Single origin, South American coffee beans used for the espresso. Choose any at random for the coffee beans. Pasteurised cow milk for the milk. An even mixture of cloves, cinnamon, ginger and black peppercorns for the spices. Use proportions written down in chai latte coffee recipes from Earth.¡± ¡°Calculating. Recipes found. Ingredients isolated. Analysing composition. Warning. Chai latte has been classified as a category one restricted beverage.¡± ¡°What? What does that mean?¡± ¡°Clarification. The presence of compounds detrimental to physiology detected in beverage. Active ingredient is caffeine. Re-classified as moderate potency drug. Beverage is not fit for consumption.¡± ¡°See now, it¡¯s perfectly healthy and fit for consumption. Human consumption, that is. I don¡¯t care what happens to other species when they drink this but humans are practically immune to its effects. The most that can happen to me is that I¡¯ll skip a nap for a few hours.¡± ¡°Warning. AI must contact the captain to receive approval for initiating chai latte procedure.¡± ¡°Great. Just patch me through to her please.¡± ¡°Patching. You are now in comms with Captain Echina of clan Umdyn.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Captain Echina? This is Gus Martinez, the human. Can I have a moment of your time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m busy. Make it quick.¡± Well, this wasn¡¯t a good start. Her voice was colder than Martina Chavez¡¯ after he told her he wanted to motorboat her tits. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get some earth food via the dispenser in my room but it turned out to be a category one restricted something or the other. While I appreciate that this kind of food may be detrimental to xenoi species, it has minimal effects on human physiology. Can you give AI permission to make that for me please?¡± There was silence on the other end of the line. This isn¡¯t good at all. Come on captain, I just want food. ¡°You¡¯re saying that category one restricted materials have no effect on humans?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not saying that at all,¡± Gus said in his best student tutor voice. ¡°I¡¯m just saying that this drink in particular has no or minimal effects on human physiology. It¡¯s considered a delicacy on Earth actually.¡± More silence. He decided to take a gamble. ¡°Look captain, how about this? You can have AI monitor me for a while after I drink my coffee. If there are any adverse effects, you¡¯ll hear of them straight from AI. As a gesture of good will, I am even willing to work with your science department to see the effects of human food on other xenos species. If no problems are found, you¡¯ll potentially have access to an entire undiscovered civilisation¡¯s food culture. Think of the cultural and diplomatic repercussions that would have. I bet that would look really good in your, uh, your report.¡± Come on, come on. I just want the goddamn coffee. ¡°AI will monitor your biometrics. This beverage will be restricted to humans only until further notice. I am giving AI permission to synthetise any foodstuffs up to the category one classification. Additionally, your presence will be required at the science department once you¡¯re ready. A science officer will work with you to investigate human physiology and what effects it has on our crew. AI will guide you to the required room.¡± ¡°Thanks a lot captain. I really appreciate it.¡± The communication abruptly got cut off and Gus was left staring at the wall. ¡°AI, I¡¯d like to get that chai latte now please.¡± The dispenser¡¯s screen lit up and a status update window appeared. Within seconds, a panel opened in the blocky contraption and a white mug containing a steaming liquid could be seen in the crevice. Gus grabbed it and smelled it. Smells like home. ¡°Thanks a lot AI. I really, really appreciate it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Chapter 9 ¡°How are you feeling? Are you okay? Is the suit too bulky? How are you breathing? How do you find life on the ship? Did you eat yet? Have you tried the shnolok stew? It¡¯s really good. You should try the Dinpth dishes, they¡¯re really good too. Wait, can you even eat a dintph dish? How do you eat? Can you e-¡° ¡°Hold up, hold up! I can only answer so fast. Jeez, Sil, I know you¡¯re excited about this but try to pace yourself.¡± Lieutenant Sil Nubo chuckled awkwardly and leaned back into her chair. She was staring intently at Gus, trying to catch every single detail of his facial expressions and gestures. ¡°Can you set up that field you used the other time? I think it would be much easier to communicate without the suit interfering.¡± ¡°Sure, give me a minute.¡± She tapped a few commands on the console and the familiar pink field sprang up around the bed he was sitting on. It slowly turned transparent and he proceeded to strip off the bulky suit. ¡°Whew, that¡¯s better.¡± He leaned back against the bed, crossing his arms. ¡°Now about your questions¡­ The suit is bulky but there¡¯s not much I can do about it. I have spare containers of breathable atmosphere for breathing while in the suit. I¡¯ve eaten, but only simple earth dishes. I have to do some more experimenting with the dispensers. As for your kind of food, I still don¡¯t know if I can eat it. Happy?¡± Sil was furiously slamming her fingers on the console panel, probably recording his every words. He frowned. ¡°Are you writing this down? Shouldn¡¯t AI automatically record this and transcribe it into a written report?¡± ¡°Yes, AI is currently doing that. This is for my personal journal.¡± ¡°Oh? What¡¯s the difference? You can access these records easily, can¡¯t you?¡± Sil¡¯s tail lashed left and right in quick succession as she blushed. ¡°Well, I¡¯m recording things that might not make it into the official report.¡± ¡°Things like, oh I don¡¯t know, mating rituals?¡± he asked with a smirk. Sil blushed a deeper red but didn¡¯t answer. ¡°So let¡¯s get the official version over with then. What do you want to know?¡± ¡°First off, tell me about movement in the vacsuit provided. Did you feel there was a risk for your tanks or the suit itself to leak? How did you cope with the suit? Did it bother you when eating? Do you have any ideas for improvements?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I didn¡¯t feel there was a huge risk for the suit to start venting atmosphere but then again, it hasn¡¯t been placed in a stressful environment. Walking around is a bit awkward and in the long run the suit feels heavy enough that I get tired, but that happens after the three hour mark. Eating wasn¡¯t a problem, I ate this liquidised sludge of proteins, carbs and healthy fats through a straw when I first got to the commons. Well, technically, the second time I went to the commons. As for improvements, I couldn¡¯t say. I¡¯d have to see the specs for the suit and have more experience with it. So far, all I¡¯ve got is make a suit that actually fits my frame.¡± ¡°Good, good. Very good indeed. What did you mean by the second time you went to the commons? Did you not eat the first time?¡± ¡°I met someone and, ah, got distracted. Then I went to sleep and headed back to the commons. I couldn¡¯t be arsed experimenting with the dispensers, so I just got that sludge I mentioned.¡± ¡°Yes, the basic nutrient packs. A popular choice during wartime. What does ¡®can¡¯t be arsed¡¯ mean?¡± ¡°Sorry, human expression. It means I couldn¡¯t bring myself to expend the energy to do that. This can be due to fatigue or just plain laziness.¡± Sil nodded absent-mindedly as she type some more on the console. After a while, she lifted her head and resumed the questioning. She asked about how he was adapting to life on the ship. Is the lower gravity affecting him? How are you dealing with excreting? Do you excrete? Are your accommodations adequate? How often do you have to eat? Have you tried xenos food yet? Would you be willing to test several dishes from other cultures in a controlled environment? How will your immune system react? Is it possible to replicate your immune system? How do you deal with the multiple microorganisms you host in and on your body? What samples can we safely take from your body? Will that damage you? Will those samples be contagious?Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Endless questions that reminded him of his professor¡¯s ten year old niece were fired at him non-stop. Midway through AI revealed that a scan had revealed no change in his physiology after interacting with Art¡¯ah. Sil cutely tilted her head sideways but ignored the AI¡¯s interjection. When they finally finished up, his stomach growled loudly and Sil sharply looked up from her console. ¡°That¡¯s my stomach growling. It¡¯s a sign that I have to eat.¡± She nodded. ¡°Scans show that your stomach acids have increased in concentration and your glucose markers are on the low side. All this indicates hunger in humans?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not just that. We feel an emptiness in our stomach as well as these hunger pangs. Our stomachs growl due to the movement of air in our bowels which is in turn due to peristalsis. If this state continues, we feel irritable, light-headed. We can experience headaches and nausea and a lack of concentgration. We can¡¯t handle more than about twenty days without food. That differs with people though and it also depends on how much water we have available.¡± ¡°Twenty days? That¡¯s absurd. No species can survive that long unless they have evolved certain features specifically to combat that.¡± ¡°Well, the thing is after a while, the human body starts to cannibalise itself. At first we use up glycogen. Then fats. As we proceed, the body uses fatty acids and ketone bodies. Non-essential proteins start to be broken down. The essential proteins. That basically means that our muscles get broken down. Eventually we die.¡± Sil looked as shocked as in their first meeting. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Your own body does that to you? How can it even do that? Does it not have fail-safes to prevent just that kind of process?¡± Gus awkwardly chuckled. ¡°The human body¡¯s capacity for survival is unmatched. We can do things even we ourselves do not think we can do. It all depends on how far you¡¯re willing to go.¡± ¡°Deathworlder¡­¡± Sil whispered in an almost reverent voice. Her stare was starting to make him nervous and he got up and put the suit back on. The field flickered out with a faint shimmer as his suit clicked close. The familiar rush of breathable atmosphere echoed strangely within the suit. ¡°Hey Sil, how close to human breathable atmosphere is your homeworld¡¯s?¡± Her cute triangular cat ears perked up as she busied herself at her console. ¡°Why are you asking?¡± ¡°Well, I figured I could go grab something to eat back in my cabin with you and we could talk some more. If we can breathe the same atmosphere it would make things much easier. Are you still on duty?¡± ¡°I am still on duty but it¡¯s not like I have to be in the lab to monitor and question you. My shift actually ends in thirty minutes.¡± She paused as her console beeped. ¡°Yes, I believe I¡¯ve found a match for an atmosphere we can both breathe. How do humans respond to large concentrations of hydrogen?¡± ¡°That would kill us actually. We¡¯re basically fine if we breathe in enough oxygen and some sort of noble gas. Do you understand the concept of noble gases? Humans classify them as gases that do not normally react with their surroundings.¡± Sil typed a few more seconds, waited for an additional beep then nodded. ¡°Can you get back in the field so I can test this combination?¡± Ten minutes and one successful atmosphere later they were headed towards his cabin. They passed by several curious xenoi and even more disgruntled Agaraxians but Sil kept up a steady stream of questions punctuated with frequent bouts of typing on her datapad. Gus was happy to entertain her. Her exuberance was a welcomed change to the polite stoicism that most of the crew treated him to. Once inside, he threw the suit off in its usual corner and realised he was drenched with sweat. Sil was staring at him quite strangely. ¡°Are you alright?¡± She blinked, coming out of her trance. ¡°Uh, yes, yes. It¡¯s just¡­ Your body odour is strangely¡­ It¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Her eyes were starting to roam across his body. Gus slowly stretched, making sure the thin exofilm innerwear he was wearing properly hugged the meagre muscles he had. Sil didn¡¯t seem to notice much to his dismay but he could see her nostrils suddenly flare. Is it my smell? The muscles aren¡¯t doing much it seems. Hmm¡­ Pheromones in the sweat? I¡¯ll have to investigate. Gus quickly gave upon the idea of a quick sonic shower as he turned on a million watt smile towards Sil. ¡°Do you want to eat as well? It would be a shame if I were the only one to fill my stomach.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ yes¡­ I don¡¯t mind¡­¡± He turned to the dispenser and ordered a medium rare beef steak with pepper sauce and a side of crisp french fries cooked in duck oil. What he got was a lump of uneven brownish meat drowning in a dark sauce and soggy yellow rectangles. He sighed. I really need to work on this dispenser. I can¡¯t keep eating mush or nutrient sludges. Sil absent-mindedly told AI her order and within minutes they were seated at a table that popped out of the floor. Two of those wide bluish balls also popped out. Sil sat on one with practiced ease and sighed as the ball seemed to flow up and around her, instantly adapting to her form and providing a suitable seat. He sat too and felt the ball (it was really more like a gel) glide around him as it changed into a chair-like fixture. It was really comfortable too. Probably the perks of diplomatic room. They ate in relative silence, him because he was trying to gobble the brown mush and Sil because she would keep staring at him mid-sentence. He started having fun with it. He would raise his arms such that they would release sweatgas clouds or play with his exofilm, lifting it off his body much like a flirting woman. Sil would invariably stop speaking whenever he did that and stare at his hands or armpits like a lion eyeing prey. They somehow finished eating when Sil¡¯s datapad chimed. She blinked and looked at it. ¡°My shift has ended it seems.¡± ¡°Good! Then with this, the proper, stiff, scientific report is done. You can ask me any questions for your personal journal if you want. You can even ask more about those human mating rituals you¡¯re so interested in,¡± Gus asked as he leered at her. Sil blushed a deep crimson before taking a deep breath and looking at him with shining eyes. ¡°That would be lovely. Are there any questions you wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable answering?¡± she asked, leaning forward, hands tightly clutching her datapad. Gus grinned. ¡°Of course there are but for you my dear, I¡¯d be willing to answer anything.¡± Chapter 10 ¡°Confirmation. The human Gustavo Martinez has made contact with Lieutenant Sil Nubo.¡± ¡°Good. I trust they are discussing the intricacies of human physiology.¡± ¡°Confirmation. Lieutenant Sil Nubo is asking a great many questions of the human. They range from the mundane to the scientifically relevant. Query. Should a prompt be sent to the lieutenant regarding the questions to be asked?¡± ¡°No need for that. I can excuse curious exuberance in the face of encountering a brand new sapiant species, let alone one from a deathworld.¡± ¡°Confirmation. Lieutenant Nubo is transcribing notes for her personal use. Should this be stopped?¡± ¡°No. As long as she¡¯s not noting anything that would be considered classified, she can keep going. If need be we can redact the necessary information from her records should they turn out to be sensitive.¡± ¡°Affirmation. Issuing a non-sensitive classification to interview transcripts.¡± Lieutenant Lashqran turned to her as soon as AI¡¯s voice stopped. ¡°Captain, you should be resting. This is the second double-shift you¡¯ve pulled in a seven cycle period.¡± He kept going, ignoring Echina¡¯s frown. ¡°Medical has assured me that you cannot sustain such a pace for long without starting to suffer from deterioration effects due to lack of rest. May I suggest that you retire to your quarters and let the supplementary team handle the ship¡¯s routine operations?¡± This was a blatant way to ingratiate himself to her on a personal and professional level, however Echina was sorely tempted by the offer. Lashqran had been slowly becoming more insistent ever since their last visit to Landoval Station nearly a year (Standard Galactic Time) ago. She suspected this sudden interest in her was due to whatever information Clan Takk had sent him about her own situation in Clan Umdyn. Again, the familiar headache started making itself known. Echina got up from the Captain¡¯s chair, rubbing a temple with her left thumb. ¡°You win this time, Lieutenant. I¡¯ll be heading to my quarters. Standard rules of conduct apply in my absence. I will be expecting a situation report when I return.¡± Lashqran beamed as he settled himself in the captain¡¯s chair. He looks a little too smug in there. Echina put him out of her mind as she made her way to the commons. She fancied some shnolok stew before resting. The commons were suitably busy when she entered. Conversations hushed wherever she passed by but quickly resumed. She didn¡¯t mind it. She had not promoted an easy-to-approach attitude to the crew since she¡¯d taken command of the Pride of Vanatu. While many captains didn¡¯t mind making friend amongst their crew members, Echina felt that was unnecessary. As long as we each do our duty, we¡¯ll get along fine. She reached the public dispensers and quickly ordered a small portion of shnolok stew. She selected a lone table and savoured the delicate balance of flavours in her mouth. She observed the crew around her while she ate. They¡¯re all so¡­ carefree¡­ I wonder why. Is it the companionship they¡¯ve forged among themselves? She smiled bitterly. Such companionship had been denied her in her own clan. Why would outsiders even consider befriending her if her own clanmates would not? All in the name of duty. If clan Takk thinks they can catch an undulotte by following the canal, then they¡¯re very wrong. They will never enter Clan Umdyn through me. She finished her meal and headed back to her cabin. It was noticeably lonelier than usual. * * * ¡°So tell me Sil, we¡¯ve been discussing human mating rituals for a while now and you know considerably more than you knew earlier. Isn¡¯t it time for you to reciprocate?¡± Sil blushed a deeper shade of red. Her tail curled around her left leg tightly. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s only fair.¡± Her breasts strained against her uniform. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°You mentioned before that Dintphs have regular mating periods right? How does your behaviour change in that time period?¡± She fidgeted even harder, making her breasts sway even more. Gus estimated she had something like a C cup but he couldn¡¯t be sure. It certainly wasn¡¯t bigger than a D cup. She was filling out that uniform quite nicely though. She was wearing what looked like the spats version of the Vanatu uniform, exposing her shapely legs to the world. Her orange fur was randomly streaked with shocking white. He looked up from her legs just in time to see her triangular ears twitch twice. ¡°Well, Dintphs are very social creatures but during their mating periods, the females will exhibit a few common patterns of behaviour. We tend to become more vocal, demand attention more often, rub our face and head against beings we find suitable for mating ,that kind of thing¡­¡± She blushed so hard, she couldn¡¯t speak anymore. Gus patiently waited for her to settle down, admiring the way her tail would display her mental state. It was lashing left and right in agitation right now. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me everything. Come on Sil, I¡¯m as curious about you as you are about me,¡± Gus said, leaning forward towards Sil. The smell of his sweat once again caused her a daze but she quickly recovered. ¡°We-well, we also, you know¡­ become more aggressive, especially towards other females. Sometimes a female Dintph will¡­ coil her tail around¡­¡± She blushed some more before continuing. ¡°¡­ around her partner¡¯s leg. If she is more advanced in her mating period, she might even expose herself to her partner. But that¡¯s only in private!¡± she screamed while covering her face with both hands. She fell from her chair and rolled around on the floor, hands still on her face. Oh, is that the shame roll? Wow, Sil is turning out to be my second favourite alien so far. ¡°What else Sil? There has to be a sign that you give that means you absolutely have to mate and you can¡¯t wait anymore.¡± She stopped rolling and peeked at him from between a gap in her fingers. He went to her and dropped to a knee. She squeezed her eyes shut and properly covered her face. Her ears were erect and twitching wildly. Gus chuckled as he grabbed her hands and forced them off her face. ¡°You¡¯re cheating Sil. I really need an answer from you.¡± Sil finally relented and spoke in a tiny, shy voice. ¡°In the final stages of her mating period, a female Dintph will often secrete clear fluids and expose her genitals. Sometimes she will even present her posterior in an easy mating posture.¡± Having said this incriminating piece of evidence, she fled and grabbed his bed cover, covering herself in it. She looked like a gigantic Chinese bun.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Gus laughed out loud seeing this typically human shyness display. What a girl you are Sil! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever grow bored of you! He settled back into his chair and reflected on what had just happened. This looks like a very embarrassing and private subject. I doubt she would have talked about this in her usual state. I¡¯ve noticed she¡¯s looked more out of it than usual. The sweat definitely has an effect on her. I think it makes her more susceptible to suggestions. Like how I¡¯ve been forcing her to talk about mating rituals. I don¡¯t think it works on stuff she really doesn¡¯t want to talk about. Sil¡¯s cute head finally peeked out of the bed cover ball. ¡°You¡¯re a very bad person, making me say these kinds of things,¡± she pouted. He laughed. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. I really want to know more about you Sil. To be honest, I¡¯ve never met a woman before you who was so interested in my mating behaviour.¡± He got up and approached her, sitting next to her and leaning his back on the soft, bulky cover. ¡°I think you¡¯re fascinating and beautiful,¡± he said as he softly caressed her head. He ears twitched but she said nothing. He couldn¡¯t see her face but he was sure it was crimson. He kept caressing her head, feeling the softness of her fur and the casually touching her ears. He traced them, lightly touching the edges, feeling a slight tremble. Sil groaned but still did not throw his hand off. They must have spent nearly five minutes there, one hiding in embarrassed silence, the other caressing with curious delight. Gus felt that he needed to push Sil a bit more and stood up, grabbed the cover and yanked it off her. She yelped in surprise, still curled up in a ball. Gus grinned and tossed the cover in the same corner as his vacsuit. Sil looked up at him in accusation but quickly turned her head away with a hmph and a cute pout. Time to go for broke. He gathered her up, ball and all, and sat on the gel chair. She was surprisingly light in his arms. All that time in the gym had paid off it seemed. He strengthened his resolve to exercise more. Basic strength would help him more than writing abstracts now. Sil was starting to weakly struggle but Gus held her tight in his arms. The odour of his sweat permeated the air and in time Sil got that same dazed look she had before. Gus kept up the caresses and Sil unconsciously purred. Her back arced and pressed against his. It was doing wonders to his lower body. He softly blew on her right ear and watched it twitch cutely. She pressed herself more firmly to him, turning the left side of her body into his. This had the unfortunate effect of crushing her hip bone against his growing erection but he did not mind the pain. Sil was putty in his hands as of now. He contemplated making a move on her but he doubted she was as open to sex as Art¡¯ah was. Given how embarrassed she¡¯d been to just speak about it, mating was very interesting but somewhat taboo to her. He¡¯d have to coax her into it. Is there a way to induce heat in Dintphs? So far, her mating behaviour is so similar to estrus in cats that it¡¯s frightening. He kept stroking her ear with one hand, the other gently holding her against him. Wait¡­ If sweat makes her more open to suggestions and it¡¯s because of pheromones¡­ then would something that¡¯s theoretically more loaded with pheromones induce a stronger state? He pondered the pros and cons for a while before settling on an answer. ¡°Sil, can you hear me?¡± She purred some more, her right ear twitching once. ¡°Is that a yes?¡± Her ear twitched again. He smiled. ¡°Good. Do you remember when we first met? I was using a human ritual to control my mating urges. Do you remember that?¡± Single twitch. ¡°Well, my mating urges are starting to act up again. I think I need to care of myself. I don¡¯t normally do this in front of others but since you¡¯re special, I¡¯ll let you watch. Is that okay with you?¡± This time, there was no purring, no twitching, no response of any kind. Gus grew increasingly more nervous with every passing second. Had he pushed her too far? He considered apologising and letting it go when he felt the ear twitch just once in his hand. Sil¡¯s eyes opened and she looked at him with the same dazed eyes. ¡°Show me.¡± He gently put her on the bed and turned her towards him. ¡°This may seem shocking to you but I need you to stay still and not move while I do this. It¡¯s not a good idea to interrupt a human once he starts this ritual.¡± She absent-mindedly nodded, staring at him intently. He slowly stripped off the lower part of his outer exofilm cloth. Sil¡¯s eyes immediately went to his growing cock. He felt a thrill he hadn¡¯t felt even with Art¡¯ah as he slowly moved his fist up and down his shaft. His girth pressed against his palm and his shaft peeked out from the top of his fist, growing to his usual length. He stared at Sil, watching her eyes dart all around his genitals. Her ears were locked forward, like a wolf staring at prey. More like, a cat watching a mouse. Her mouth was agape, her soft-looking, pink tongue darting out of her small mouth to occasionally wet her lips. She sat up, shifting to all fours, all the while staring at his junk as he kept a steady rhythm. She slowly approached like a panther on the prowled, a soft purr rising from her throat, until she was at the edge of the bed. Her eyes never left his cock. He was feeling tingly everywhere, like his blood was suddenly too hot and uncomfortable. He started panting and sweating with effort. His fist was now painful around his cock but he kept pumping it up and down. He could not bring himself to slow down or move more gently. Sil sat on her haunches, arms leaning forward, putting her weight on her arms, pushing herself towards him until her nose was nearly touching the tip of his cock. Her hot breathe added to the cocktail of sensations he was feeling and he felt the familiar urge deep in his balls. He imagined he could sense the muscles in his nether regions contracting, the sperm rushing through his vas deferens and outwards. He loosened his fist but increased his pace such that the friction was starting to hurt him with the force and heat of it. He barely restrained his shout as thick ropes of sticky white fluid erupted from him uncontrollably. Most of it ended up on Sil¡¯s face, splattering her face and fur, even her uniform. She yelped and fell back on the bed. Gus kept his cock aimed at her, still spewing forth what felt like torrents of sperm at her. He finally relented then staggered back, drained. He fell onto the gel chair. It automatically adjusted to his posture and he focused on catching his breath. He brushed hair matted with sweat out of his eyes and peered at Sil. She was sitting up on the bed with her knees pressed together and ankles angled outwards. She was staring wide-eyed at the sperm stuck on her hands. She seemed in a daze as she slowly brought the back of her right hand up to her mouth, tongue snaking out sinuously to taste it. The tip dipped onto the top of one dollop of the white fluid before swiftly retracting. She then took at long, deliberate lick of the stuff and swallowed. She starting breathing heavily, quickly panting and licking her hands, getting all the spunk spread across her digits. Gus watched as she slowly cleaned herself up, rubbing the back of her hands across her face, dragging every last bit of his hot genetic material to her hungry mouth in increasingly more frantic motions. He got up, grabbed what he assumed was a towel from the cloth closet he had and starting to clean Sil¡¯s face up as best he could. She let him do as he wished like an uncomprehending child. Gus was starting to get worried. She had a vacant look in her eyes and her breathing was getting rougher. What had he done to her? He was racking his brain trying to figure out how to fix her when she purred once more. Her right hand reached languidly for his cock and tugged at it slightly. He followed her motion and ended up in front of her face. Her mouth opened wide, her tongue reaching out with heavy strings of saliva dripping from it. She licked up what remained on his cock then purred. He gently pulled her hand back and put his exofilm cloth pants back on. He knelt in front of Sil and snapped his fingers a couple of times. She blinked, looked at him and seemed to regain part of her faculties. She looked up at him, face flushed and ears flat against her head. Her tail was lazily coiling and uncoiling by her side. She reached up and grabbed the hem of his exofilm cloth and dragged him closer. She purred as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. He stayed there in an awkward half-kneel until he felt his legs start to tremble from the strain then straightened up. Sil blinked absent-mindedly and reclined on his bed. She laid her head on his pillow and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed down, returned to normal, then got to the slow, steady rhythm of a sleeping woman. Gus stared at the sleeping figure on his bed, afraid of waking her up. He finally grabbed the bed cover from the corner it was in and gently covered Sil. The gel chair once again accommodated his frame as he thought about the events of the past thirty minutes. I need to figure out what happened and fast. The effect of the sweat was unexpected but it wasn¡¯t that bad. The sperm was a game-breaker though. I don¡¯t like the way she was acting. I hope it¡¯s something she can sleep off. I really don¡¯t need to be in trouble with the captain. He glanced at Sil. She had not stirred. On a whim, he decided to ask AI. ¡°AI, is there anything wrong with Sil?¡± ¡°Calculating. Sensors reveal elevated body temperature. Several factors could have affected Lieutenant Sil Nubo to produce such an effect. More observations are needed to provide a definite judgement of Lieutenant Sil Nubo¡¯s status.¡± ¡°Thanks. Can you let me know privately as soon as you have an answer?¡± ¡°Affirmation. AI will contact you on your personal comms channel once a satisfactory answer has been reached.¡± ¡°Can you tell me when Sil¡¯s new shift starts?¡± ¡°Calculating. Lieutenant Sil Nubo¡¯s next shift will start in eight hundred and forty-two units Standard Galactic Time. The equivalent is seven Earth hours to the nearest hour.¡± ¡°Thanks AI.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Ok, I have seven hours to figure this out. Chapter 11 The diplomatic cabin was already paying for itself. Gus was seated at his desk with two holographic viewscreens opened in front of him and two additional ones on either side of him. AI had been extremely helpful and had enabled him to browse through tons of data as easily as making coffee. One screen held all the data AI had on Earth cat behaviour as well as mating behaviours for various felines and other mammals. Another held the anatomical and physiological details of members of the Dintph species. The two screens in front of him held his own personal notes and public medical records for cross-species hormonal interactions as recorded by the Council. Staying up all night to write essays had certainly helped Gus to slog through unimaginable amounts of data. This experience translated surprisingly well to trying to figure out if he¡¯d permanently brainwashed a crewmember of a space-faring ship. Sil was still fast asleep. She would occasionally purr contentedly, with varying degrees of loudness. Gus rubbed his eyes and went through his notes again. So it is possible to induce a mating period in Dintphs via hormonal stimulation. It¡¯s not common and it only happens in a clinical setting but it can occur. It¡¯s more akin to a medical procedure used to treat Dintphs who have trouble mating or get irregular mating cycles. That means I¡¯m not completely and utterly fucked. It had been slightly over three hours since he¡¯d gathered his wits and started to investigate the phenomenon he¡¯d caused. He had since made two pots of coffee even though AI had expressed its disapproval at his blatant use of possibly harmful stimulants. Jesus, it¡¯s like hearing Mom all over again¡­ At least AI doesn¡¯t nag much. He called up the holographic keyboard once again and hammered some more. ¡°Query. The digit interface is more intuitive and easier to use with the Pride of Vanatu¡¯s systems. Do you wish to switch from analogue keyboard entry to this system?¡± ¡°Fuck off Van, I¡¯m busy.¡± ¡°Query. AI is unfamiliar with the turning off copulation. Is that a feature common to humans? Query. Who is Van?¡± ¡°Dammit Van. It¡¯s a human expression. It means leave me alone. Also I can¡¯t keep calling you AI, it¡¯s rude. Since you¡¯re the Pride of Vanatu¡¯s AI, you¡¯re Van from now on.¡± ¡°Correction. This ship¡¯s AI has no name beyond the official designation of AI X-RR17 type 3.¡± Gus sighed. ¡°Look, how about I call you Van when it¡¯s just the two of us or over a private comm? Just think of it as accommodating human sensibilities until you get a different order from the captain.¡± ¡°Calculating. There will be no repercussions if ¡®Van¡¯ is used as a designation for AI. AI will now respond to ¡®Van¡¯ over private comms or when alone with human Gustavo Martinez.¡± ¡°Cool beans. Glad that¡¯s cleared up. I gotta get back to work now.¡± He ignored the ¡°Query. Do you require refrigerated vegetables?¡± and focused once more on whether he could snap Sil out of estrus. He slogged through more reports and studies before reaching the conclusion that he¡¯d done fucked up. Once achieved, artificially induced estrus had to be carried to term. Not doing so usually resulted in short term psychological and physical harm as the recipient became increasingly aggressive and started losing a grip on societal norms of behaviour. Dintphs usually established a mating contract before estrus such that they had a mating pair during the heat period. If the union resulted in offsprings (and they usually did), the mated pair would stay together and raise the offsprings until they were old enough for the communal child carers to take over. That was kind of like temporary marriage. If a Dintph female ever got into estrus without a mating contract, she would act like a literal cat in heat until she found a suitable mate. This more often than not resulted in friction with other beings as a female in estrus wouldn¡¯t care whose boyfriend/mate/partner she was trying to fuck. On a ship the solution was either to find a suitable mate and establish a mating contract or voluntary isolation in one¡¯s crew cabin. Gus pondered the pros and cons of telling the captain that he¡¯d pushed one of her science officers into estrus. He quickly realised that he didn¡¯t know anything about xenos torture methods. The captain and her severe, cold, beautiful, gorgeous demeanour would most likely want to beat the fuck out of him or confine him to the brig or his cabino. Being a little bitch and not saying anything seemed like the better option. Sil stirred on his bed, her form still snuggled tightly beneath the polymer cover. He saved all his files, powered down the holodisplays and went to her. Her cute ears twitched and her eyes cracked open. Her nose scrunched up before repeatedly sniffing about, trying to catch some scent or the other. He leaned in and the nose twitching intensified. She purred and slowly moved towards him. Her left hand lazily reached up, lightly grabbing the lapel of his overshirt and pulled him with surprising suddenness and force. He ended up on the bed, half-kneeling over her with his head pressed against the inside of Sil¡¯s neck.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She purred some more, rubbing her cheek against the top of his head, still half-asleep. Her pull became more insistent and he was now lying on his side with Sil¡¯s curled form pressed tightly against his belly. Her ears tickled his chin and her smooth fur felt like heaven wherever it touched his bare skin. Her tail was lazily coiling and uncoiling, moving like a drunken snake. He could see that her uniform was customised so that the tail had a wide enough hole to go through. He could see some of the orange-white fur she had around the base of the tail. On impulse he reached over and gently grabbed it near the base. Sil¡¯s purring changed in tone, carrying a kind of disapproval but her tail wrapped itself around his wrist slowly. He loosened his hold on the base and started to gently stroked what he could with his thumb. Sil kept purring and sleepily unfurled from her ball-posture. Her head collided with his chin before changing direction and stopping with her mouth level with the side of his neck. Her two hands where in front of her and gently gripped his overshirt near his meagre pecs. More surprising was the leg she threw up over his hip. It was strangely aggressive given what he knew of Sil but not unheard of for a sleeping person (or catperson for that matter) to latch onto whatever was near. He lost track of how long he stayed in this position but he knew better than to move even when he started losing sensation in the arm underneath Sil¡¯s body. He had nowhere to be either so he immersed himself in stroking Sil¡¯s soft fur and listening to her contented purring. She would occasionally lick his neck or playfully nip his ear with her teeth. He released her tail and watched it uncoil from his wrist. On impulse he slid a finger from her neck to her pert butt, down her spine. The reaction was immediate: her purring grew in volume and her back arced upwards, pressing against his finger. His finger stayed where it was at the base of her tail and he reluctantly took it away when he heard Van¡¯s chime. ¡°Update. Only one Earth hour left until lieutenant Sil Nubo has to report for duty. Suggestion. Cleaning up, eating and heading to your own cabin to get ready would be the optimum course of action, Lieutenant Sil Nubo.¡± He felt her body gradually stiffen, muscles being recruited back to work from their slumber, soft curves turning firmer with alertness as sleep was chased by wakefulness. He chanced a look downwards and saw half-lidded eyes staring up at him. ¡°Hello you.¡± ¡°Hhhhrrrmmm¡­¡± She purred and blinked herself awake. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°So¡­ You, uh, you heard AI right? It¡¯s nearly time for you to report back for duty.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want.¡± That¡¯s new. ¡°What do you mean ¡®Don¡¯t want?¡¯ You¡¯re supposed to be the responsible one here, not me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want.¡± Her head suddenly buried itself in the crook of his neck and he felt another lick on his skin. ¡°Stay here.¡± Gus was flabbergasted. This was not in any of his predictions. ¡°AI, is this normal behaviour for a female Dintph in the throes of a mating urge?¡± ¡°Affirmation. It would appear Lieutenant Sil Nubo has imprinted on you as a mating partner possibility. As such, she will want increased proximity with you, more attention and will grow jealous of others that seek to monopolise your time.¡± ¡°Great. That¡¯s great. And by great, I mean not great.¡± He gently grabbed Sil¡¯s shoulder with his one responsive hand and started to push her away. ¡°It¡¯s wakey-wakey time Sil. I really don¡¯t want to end up in the brig and you need to go to your shift.¡± Sil buried her head further into his neck, pressing almost painfully into him. Her hands were now gripping his overshirt quite firmly and where showing no signs of releasing him. Her tail was angrily lashing against the bed with heavy strikes. He pushed harder but stopped when she quite literally growled and nipped his neck with more pressure than before. He gave up and gathered her in his arms, hugging her close to him. Her purring reached a crescendo and her ears tickled his nose as he stroked her back. I¡¯m in deep shit. ¡°AI, is there a protocol in place if a Dintph gets into her mating period? Like, what happens? Is she exempt from duty? Does she have to make a report? Is there an HR meeting?¡± ¡°Query. What is an HR meeting?¡± ¡°HR is short for Human Resource. An HR meeting basically means that the people in a company that are assigned to care for the employees¡¯ wellbeing come up to you and your partner and enquire if your interaction is going to affect the company and the people around you. It¡¯s a bit more complicated than this but that¡¯s the basics.¡± ¡°Correction. Such a role is assumed by the ship¡¯s counsellor. Such a meeting is not required at this juncture however the captain must be notified if a crew member enters their mating period. Appropriate steps are then taken into account. Reserve members are called up to fill in a gap in the ship¡¯s day to day roster for the required time frame.¡± ¡°Sounds great. Could you alert the captain for me please?¡± ¡°Affirmation. A report has already been sent.¡± These are not the words I want to hear right now, Van. ¡°Has the captain issued a response?¡± ¡°Affirmation. The captain has taken the necessary steps.¡± * * * ¡°Are you sure about this, AI?¡± ¡°Affirmation. Lieutenant Sil Nubo has entered the initial stages of her mating period. The onset was sudden and, due to his presence, the human Gustavo Martinez has been imprinted as a possible mating partner.¡± Echina sighed. This is going to get messy. ¡°Has Lieutenant Nubo shown any of the signs of aggression indicating deeper imprinting?¡± ¡°Affirmation. Initial observations indicate that Lieutenant Sil Nubo has already developed a possessive attitude towards the human Gustavo Martinez. She has also indicated that she prefers his company to working on her assigned shift. Guidelines suggest granting her an amnesty on any ship duties for the duration of the mating period.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that sounds about right. Issue a notification to the concerned crew members regarding the lieutenant¡¯s state and prepare the necessary follow-up deskwork.¡± ¡°Confirmation. The appropriate steps have been taken.¡± ¡°How did Nubo imprint on him anyway?¡± ¡°Observation. Lieutenant Sil Nubo and the human Gustavo Martinez were discussing the different aspects of human culture and social rituals in the diplomatic cabin. Lieutenant Nubo decided to stay in the cabin after her assigned shift had ended to obtain data for her personal files. After the onset of her mating urges, she fell asleep. Upon waking, she imprinted on the human Gustavo Martinez, perhaps due to the closeness she felt to him and by virtue of being the first potential mate she saw when waking up.¡± Echina grunted. Coincidences upon coincidences. ¡°Now then... What do we do about the human? AI, how likely are they to mate at this juncture?¡± ¡°Calculating. Based on observed data, there is a 78% chance of the human Gustavo Martinez and Lieutenant Sil Nubo to copulate as a result of the onset of the mating period.¡± Echina chewed her lower lip in contemplation. ¡°AI, schedule a meeting with the human and Lieutenant Nubo. We will address the issues surrounding their circumstances.¡± Chapter 12 Echina was pacing. She wasn¡¯t prone to doing that anymore but the arrival of the human had¡­ encouraged some of the worse habits she had from childhood. AI had sent her the full report of the first Dintph-Human private interaction and while she couldn¡¯t say with a hundred per cent certainty that the human had deliberately triggered the mating period of Lieutenant Sil Nubo, it did look like he had played a part in it. Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk was reading through the report, for once quite calmly. His mandibles occasionally clicked as he muttered passing comments. He¡¯s taking all his time, that moshomol! Is it because he¡¯s more interested in what he can learn from the human than fixing this situation? Xar¡¯usk was, unfortunately, a typical scientist. He would lose track of everything around him when he found a tiny tidbit of information he considered interesting. She glanced at the seated beings on the other side of the white syntark table and immediately averted her eyes. Lieutenant Sil Nubo was jammed tightly into the human¡¯s lap and was refusing to move. Her hands were tightly clutched around the human and she was staring vibroblades at the captain. Her mating instinct is already going into overdrive. It¡¯s only been one cycle, isn¡¯t that too fast? She glanced at Xar¡¯usk but he was still calmly reading the report. The human Gus was holding Sil and chuckling awkwardly. He seemed to be apologising for Sil¡¯s unreasonable behaviour with his eyes. His hands were constantly stroking Sil¡¯s hair and her back. Her bristling fur would smooth over every time he caressed her. I guess he¡¯s good at managing her behaviour. How surprising. Perhaps a bit too good, I¡¯d even say. She narrowed her eyes as she imagined how a being from a backwater planet could manage to emotionally assuage a species he¡¯d never encountered before. ¡°AI, can you put something on display on the screens please?¡± ¡°Affirmation. What do you require?¡± ¡°Can you pull up images of calico cats and cat behaviour from your human database?¡± ¡°Affirmation. Pulling up relevant records. Information now available on viewscreens.¡± Echina turned to the viewscreens curiously and saw a curious four-legged creature. It looked just like a Dintph but the scale was all wrong. She frowned and looked more closely. Even Xar¡¯usk had stopped reading the report and was analysing the new information provided. Striking similarities. The same general colouring and patterns. Nearly the same physiology. They are not bipedals though, and it looks like they only come up to a human shins. Are they domesticated animals? Why do they resemble Dintphs so much? She looked back at Sil, now gently purring into the human¡¯s chest as he played with the tip of her tail. It can¡¯t be that the Dintphs have visited this planet before. It wouldn¡¯t explain the changes from sapiant to domesticated animal. Also the paws. They¡¯re clearly animals. Maybe a close genetic composition but lacking certain key elements? Xar¡¯usk will have a field day. I bet he¡¯ll be wanting dissections again. Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles in exclamation. Echina looked over at him and sat down beside him and made sure not to make eyes contact with the human. ¡°Captain, based on what I¡¯ve read in this report and what I know of Dintph physiology, I can safely say that while his actions may have caused the lieutenant to enter her mating period, she was already nearly into that period. It is highly probable that the ritual the human employed released a strong surge of pheromones. As you know, some Dintphs are susceptible to high levels of mating pheromones. As for the imprinting, it was hastened by the fact that Lieutenant Nubo already considered the human a suitable mating partner. She certainly wouldn¡¯t shut up about wanting to open him up and see what was inside him.¡± Echina leaned back in her uncomfortable syntark chair. Sil Nubo¡¯s purring was increasing in volume and she was busy rubbing her head against the human¡¯s chest. Echina sighed once more and considered her options. ¡°Human Gustavo Martinez, you have two options; avoid Lieutenant Sil Nubo for the duration of her mating period while she¡¯s confined to her quarters or¡­¡± her voice trailed off, not daring to say what she needed. ¡°Or I stay with her and help her fulfil her urges. I get it. Can you tell me anything about Dintph cross-species breeding? I confess I have no idea what awaits me with this option. Can she get pregnant from the mating? How long does the mating period last? What can I expect? What will happen to Sil during that time? What happens to her after the mating period? Will it affect her? Her reputation among the crew of the Vanatu, I mean. I¡¯ve seen how the rest treat Art¡¯ah and that¡¯s simply because they think of her as deviant. I¡¯m pretty sure cross-species breeding is a taboo given how many looks I¡¯ve been given after my encounter with Art¡¯ah.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He¡¯s surprisingly astute. Is that genuine concern I can hear in his voice? Sure, AI is translating everything a bit flatly but his words certainly show that he cares for the lieutenant. ¡°The crew has only been informed that the lieutenant has entered her mating period. There have been several applicants coming forward with mating contracts but so far we¡¯ve told them that the lieutenant prefers to remain in her cabin. If you decide to stay with her, you¡¯ll be confined to her cabin as well to preserve the ruse. As to her reaction after the mating urges subside, I would not presume to know them. You¡¯ll have to personally experience that. Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk or AI can give you a better idea of what to expect during a Dintph mating frenzy.¡± The human was absent-mindedly playing with Sil¡¯s ears then nodded once, as if coming to a decision. ¡°Alright, I started this mess, I¡¯ll finish it. I have a request. Can you put Sil in my cabin? It¡¯s a diplomatic cabin and it has a dispenser and sonic shower so we can stay there with little inconvenience. AI can help me with whatever information I require. And it will probably keep you updated on the situation.¡± She chewed on her lower lip for a second. The human was right. She just didn¡¯t expect him to volunteer his quarters though. Does he genuinely care for Lieutenant Nubo? She observed him more closely. Sil was currently purring softly and had closed her eyes. Her posture was truly one of contentment and thoughtlessness. She¡¯d rarely seen the lieutenant so unguarded; her bubbly energy was usually empowering her to do a myriad activities, quite vocally in some cases. ¡°Very well. AI, make the arrangements to have some of the lieutenants utilities carried over to human Gustavo Martinez¡¯ cabin. Ensure that it is carried out with the required privacy. We shall be maintaining the ruse that Lieutenant Nubo has chosen confinement to her cabin. We will also be letting the crew know that the human has developed the Afaxan sickness and will be unable to leave his cabin too.¡± The human raised his hand at that. Echian stared. ¡°Yes? What does that mean, raising your hand?¡± ¡°It means I have a question. What¡¯s the Afaxan sickness?¡± ¡°It refers to a period of adjustment that some species go through when first getting on board a space-faring ship. The duration and effects vary according to species. It is not unheard of to suffer from this debility and will not arouse suspsicions.¡± ¡°Ok. If everything¡¯s been thought out, then I guess we should get back to my cabin.¡± The human gingerly urged lieutenant Nubo off his lap, which took a few minutes. She still had her face in his chest and her arms wrapped around him when they were standing. ¡°Captain, on behalf of Sil, I would like to extend my apologies for this situation and my gratitude at your broad-mindedness. I shall endeavour to keep the impact on the crew of the Pride of Vanatu to a minimum. I realise that my thoughtless actions have triggered this and I will be focusing on studying the different species on the Vanatu to ensure that I do not repeat this. However, concerning Sil, humans have different views when it comes to mating partners. If we copulate, it will mean that we are¡­ together. As in, uh, I will be her exclusive partner and she will be mine, along any others who might join us.¡± Echina¡¯s eye twitched and a headache splendidly bloomed between her eyebrows despite the heartfelt apology. ¡°Join you?¡± The human smiled. ¡°Yes, others. AI, could you bring up from your database mentions of the Genghis Khan harem and Imperial Dynasty Harems please? You see captain, humans can choose at any time to have a single mating partner or maintain a group of suitable mates indefinitely. This increases the chances of producing progeny. Of course, maintaining a harem isn¡¯t easy and it all depends on the calibre of the man and his skills.¡± AI put up several 2D pictures of several human women surrounding someone who was clearly a ruler. It seemed to match what the human had just said. She shrugged. She wasn¡¯t one to look too deeply into other species¡¯ mating habits and rituals. If Lieutenant Sil Nubo accepted this arrangement then it was out of her hands. She would have to wait until her mating urges had subsided before bringing up the subject though. Mentioning other females around a Dintph during that time period was not a good idea. ¡°I¡¯m not one to interfere in her crew¡¯s lives unless I absolutely have to. I trust that you¡¯ll properly discuss this with the Lieutenant?¡± He nodded. ¡°Good. Then we¡¯re done here. Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk, a word if you please?¡± The human took Lieutenant Nubo in his arms and awkwardly walked out of the room with her still wrapped around him. Echina turned to her chief science officer. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°He raised several good points and while he was purposefully vague concerning this multiple mate maintenance system, he seemed truthful. Lieutenant Sil Nubo has firmly imprinted on him and will not change her behaviour. Coming between them might cause more harm than the alternative. I am more worried about cross-species pathogenesis than cross-species breeding at this juncture. I will have to closely observe the situation. I am hereby requesting the use of deeper scans during the mating period to gather the necessary data.¡± She raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°Are you sure that you¡¯re not just interested in the interactions between Dintphs and that human? That would be fascinating data, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles in abject shock. ¡°Captain! I would never! How can you even think of something like that?! That I, a respected Lieutenant and Chief Science Officer would even use his subordinates as experimental subjects for my own gains? How preposterous!¡± Her headache was approaching unbearable levels. ¡°Lieutenant. If the next words out of your mandibles aren¡¯t the truth, the clean-up crew will be scrapping your exoskeleton from the ceiling,¡± she muttered from between clenched teeth. ¡°Uh¡­ I mean¡­ I was going to suggest dissecting them both and checking their insides, but you keep stopping me. The only option I have is deep scans. Besides, the human doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯ll stop being her mating partner. Such data will be valuable if he ever interacts with other species. Yes, it¡¯s all for the greater good. Yes, yes, of course,¡± Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles excitedly. Echina had time for one last thought before she left the room. I am surrounded by madbeings. Chapter 13 Getting Sil to their cabin proved to be more difficult than expected. She wouldn¡¯t let him go and would glare at anyone who even remotely got close to him. Gus finally lost his temper and tore her off him. All that did was turn that glare on him. She struggled quite hard to get back to hugging him and that¡¯s when it hit him ¨C he was actually considerably stronger than her. The delicate-looking felineperson in front of him was struggling quite hard but he seemed to be holding her literally at arm¡¯s length with little effort. He decided that carrying her would solve both the clinginess and convenient travel problems. So it was that the confused crewmembers of the Pride of Vanatu saw Gus casually strolling towards the diplomatic quarters with a rather content Dintph female on his shoulder in a fireman¡¯s carry. He would never have been able to do that back on Earth with a human woman but in the Vanatu¡¯s reduced gravity and Sil¡¯s deceptively light frame it only constituted mild exercise. Sil was trying to coil herself around his neck by the time he got to his cabin. Her hands were wrapped around the top of his head, partially obscuring his view and her legs were across his mouth and over his left shoulder. Thoroughly imbalanced, Gus had to slowly make his way to the bed where he irately threw his lovely companion. She landed with a yelp and turned back to him with a hurt expression on her face. ¡°Ok Sil, we need some ground rules. I know you¡¯re still in there and you¡¯re listening, you just don¡¯t care at the moment.¡± Sil sprawled on the bed, buried her nose in the sheets and deeply inhaled. Gus sighed. ¡°Look Sil, I don¡¯t want you to regret any of this when your¡­ thing¡­ is done. I¡¯m trying to help you out here.¡± He sat on the bed and Sil immediately rolled towards him, settling her cute head on his thigh, left hand idly stroking his leg. ¡°If you need anything, you need to let me know. I don¡¯t actually know anything about Dintphs and there¡¯s only so much AI can do, so I need your input.¡± Sil kept staring at him with a goofy grin and slowly lifted her hand towards his face. It stayed suspended in mid-air, as if she had forgotten her original intent, then suddenly bopped him on the nose. What¡¯s this cute creature? Fuck, I¡¯m gonna lose it at this rate. She took this chance to bury her face in his crotch and circle his waist with both arms. He felt a certain part of his anatomy respond to the sudden warmth. Gus gently stroked Sil¡¯s ears and watched them twitch cutely. ¡°Look Sil, this is serious stuff. I¡¯ll understand if you want to do this with another Dintph. I really don-¡± he was interrupted when Sil suddenly lunged up, mouth open and small fangs bared. It took him completely by surprise when her jaws clamped down on his shoulder. He yelped and fell backwards, dragged down by Sil¡¯s weight and momentum. The pain was awfully distracting and he lost his current train of thought. Sil kept biting down, growling like crazy, tail erect and fur bristling. Gus was on his back as Sil pulled back, saliva trailing from the viciously stinging bite wound on his shoulder. Sil¡¯s green vertical irises were staring at him with the predatory glint a three hundred kilo man had when looking at an all you can eat buffet. ¡°Don¡¯t want else. Want you.¡± She bent down and gently licked the wound. ¡°Human is best. Sil wants human.¡± That effectively broke something inside Gus¡¯ head. He grabbed the back of her head and brought her lips down on his and thoroughly kissed her. She stiffened for a only an instant before melting against him. His tongue began exploring her mouth and he felt her tentative attempts at reciprocation. One hand kept a tight grip on Sil¡¯s head and the other crawled across her body to her pert butt. The aggressive kissing continued for a few breaths until Gus yanked Sil¡¯s head back and attacked her neck. She seemed to enjoy it given how much louder her purring got. His other hand was groping around, trying to find a seam to get rid of her uniform. His was still on his back and his underused muscles were already starting to ache. He released his deathgrip on Sil¡¯s hair and roughly pushed her back. She recovered with a yelp and glared at him. He was too busy trying to rip his clothes off himself to notice though. When he finally extricated himself from the mess of clothes he wore, he found that Sil had figured out what he¡¯s been trying to do and got herself naked too. He took a moment to drink in the sight of her body. She stood at nearly the same height as him with those nice C-cups defying gravity (such as it was on this ship). Her smallish nipples were not quite erect. He looked at her taut, flat stomach, her shapely, fur-covered legs and her slender arms. Her cute triangular ears twitched once in a while as he inspected her. Her fur was orange with some white haphazardly streaked here and there. It covered her back, legs, arms, the back of her neck up to her hair. For some reason, her hair and fur had different feels. Her belly, the inside of her thighs, the inside of her forearms, palms and breasts were devoid of the orange, soft fur.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. He decided not to wait any longer as the look in Sil¡¯s eyes grew gradually more dangerous and intense. He grabbed her, pulled her close and kissed her again. Her hands shot up to his head and held the back of his neck and gripped his hair. He retaliated by stuffing his tongue roughly into her mouth and slowly moving his hands from the top of her shoulders to her lower back, taking care to caress the muscles on either side of her spine. She somehow managed to purr with his tongue shoved down her throat. Gus had managed to blunder his way into pleasing Art¡¯ah the first time he¡¯d had sex but kissing was an entirely different story. He was just clumsily pressing his lips to Sil¡¯s and putting his tongue into her mouth like he¡¯d seen in porn. The fiction he¡¯d read didn¡¯t go in too much depth on the subject of kissing and he was woefully lacking in this department. In the meantime, his little soldier was standing at attention and by coincidence ended up between Sil¡¯s legs. It pressed and rubbed against her opening and if he had the presence of mind to focus on the sensations, he would have felt Sil¡¯s pussy convulsing occasionally as he mauled her open mouth. Her fur was so soft under his hands that he couldn¡¯t help but repeat his shoulder to butt movement several times. Her tail would occasionally hit his hands with all the coiling, uncoiling and lashing around it did. He decided to switch tactics. Sil¡¯s hands were still holding his head to hers. A few stories said to move your tongue like you were trying to write a letter then stick to the letter that makes her go crazy. By the time Gus got to ¡®K¡¯ his tongue was starting to flag with fatigue. Sil was getting more intense and a tad rougher too. He extricated himself from her hands, pinned them behind her back and kissed her neck. The hicky he left stood out quite obviously but he couldn¡¯t care less at the moment. He shuffled closer to the bed, feeling the edge hit her shins then pushed her down. He advanced, grabbed hold of her ankles and spread her legs wide open. He was standing at full mast, his cock hovering above her dripping entrance. He couldn¡¯t see if she had a clitoris or anything similar due to the thick fur around her genitals but if her physiology was anything close to a cat¡¯s that made sense; she wouldn¡¯t need to be turned on because during estrus she would not be in a state other than horny. I wonder how she tastes. He released her legs and bent down to kiss her right breast. She started mewling when he pulled her nipple into his mouth and sucked. It quickly expanded, growing larger with every passing second. He switched to the other breast and kneaded the wet nipple left behind. Sil started squirming under him, her hands around his neck, roving all over his back, sometimes gripping, sometimes scratching lightly. After a while he decided to check out the goods down there. Her fur didn¡¯t really taste like anything but her sweet honeypot was a very different story. She didn¡¯t go crazy and start trashing the bed when he licked her, didn¡¯t explode into a shower of wetness in his face, didn¡¯t scream her ecstasy for everyone to hear. In fact she didn¡¯t really change her behaviour. The occasional purring and squirming were all Gus had as a reward for going down on her. He theorised that while Sil was still highly aroused and felt good from his ministrations, she probably didn¡¯t have the proper nerve endings that resulted in a human woman¡¯s mind-blowing orgasms. While giving her a good lick was enjoyable in and of itself, he decided he wanted to get to the ¡°meat¡± of the matter. He adjusted his position and guided his cock to Sil¡¯s pulsing entrance. He looked her in the eyes as he slowly pushed himself into her. She wasn¡¯t that tight and her hole was well-lubricated from all the juices she was dripping all over his bed but as soon as he was fully inside her, she suddenly clenched and arched her back. Gus nearly exploded inside her then and there. The pressure was incredible. He could see her abdominals contract, her hands clenching tight around those sheets, her eyes scrunched shut as he ruthlessly invaded her deepest spots. The pressure eased up as she relaxed a little. He seized this chance to press himself to her body in missionary. His arms held her tightly, going under her own to hold one shoulder with a hand and grip her hair with the other. She purred louder, head held back by his hand. He started thrusting slowly, carefully at first, trying to get a feel for what Sil enjoyed best. He licked her ear, the side of her neck, her fur, her cheek, the corner of her eyes (though that one didn¡¯t go as well as planned when she blinked and yelped when part of his tongue jabbed her eye). Her arms snaked around him, hugging him tight. He found a position that didn¡¯t stress his arms and hips as much then went to town on her. The thrusting caused Sil to switch from purring to full on caterwauling. He could feel her chest vibrate as her cries increased in volume. He was unfortunately unable to enjoy the feeling of her now stiff and engorged nipples pressing and rubbing against his own skin because of the concentration he had to maintain to prevent himself from coming. The pressure in her pussy was an intermittent thing, like a fist clenching and unclenching around his cock. He didn¡¯t realise that it would happen more often when he hit what he later assumed was the back of her pussy. Sil got rougher and louder the faster and widler Gus¡¯ thrusts became until she started bucking underneath him and he had to pull her head all the way back to keep her top half steady. She started scratching him like crazy, each finger leaving blazing trails of agony on his back. He was too far gone to care about that though. As he felt himself approach the point of no return, he savagely bit her left shoulder in an imitation of what she did to him earlier. That caused her to scream and clench all the muscles in her body, arching her back and driving her fingernails deep into the meat of his back. The sudden convulsion around his cock was too much for him as he felt all the sperm in his body well up from his balls and travel at light-speed towards the now blazing hot insides of Lieutenant Sil Nubo. He poured everything he had into her, holding nothing back, still thrusting and trying to get to the deepest parts of her pussy. When he finally collapsed on top of her, she was still clenched tightly around his now softening member. He huffed into the bed, now feeling how his whole back was burning from Sil¡¯s attention and how tired he felt from the exertion. He rolled off Sil¡¯s heaving chest and tried to catch his breath. ¡°Fffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuck! That was so good Sil!¡± Her only response was a content purr. He turned to his left, watching her dazed form. She slowly rolled into him, putting her head on top of his meagre chest, tail lazily coiling and uncoiling at his side. ¡°Chose well. Good mate,¡± she purred. Hell yes! Score one for Gustavo Martinez! ¡°First time feeling this. Mother right,¡± she continued. ¡°Incredible if good mate.¡± She slid on top of him and smiled wickedly, eyes still blazing with lust. ¡°Human can still go.¡± Her tail softly stroked his spent member and she rocked her hips against his own. ¡°Come one Sil, I just finished. I need some rest,¡± Gus said, feeling a dangerous vibe from his newest partner. The vibe was confirmed when she bared her fangs and hissed. ¡°No waiting! Want more!¡± She turned around and gripped his already hardening member. Gus yelped as the sensitive head was forcibly shoved into Sil¡¯s hot, moist opening. She squatted on top of him in cowgirl position and grinned madly. ¡°Want much more!¡± I am so fucked. Chapter 14 I¡¯m going to die. It was several hours after their first romp that Sil released Gus¡¯ quivering body and went to sleep. She was quite literally an animal in bed. He was scratched, bitten, clawed at more times than he ever been in the span of just a few hours. He had completely lost track of time and he could feel his head spin from the dehydration and malnutrition. His cock was painfully sensitive and he could feel agony every time the head brushed against his inner hip. ¡°Van, can you make me some coffee and a chocolate coconut-sprinkled doughnut please?¡± he groggily asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can get up to that dispenser.¡± He gingerly rolled off his bed and headed towards the sonic shower as Van made him breakfast. The sonic barely soothed him, aggravating the scabbed and still dripping trails on his back. He gritted his teeth and bore it for the full thirty seconds before groping around for a fresh change of clothes. Under his instructions, Van had made a few T-shirts and shorts for his use in the cabin. He took his food, heavily sat down on the ball-seat and started eating like a starving wolf. ¡°Van, can I ask you a question?¡± he asked after the fourth doughnut. ¡°Affirmation. Go ahead Gustavo Martinez.¡± ¡°How come Sil¡¯s speaking all funny now? Does that come with her being in heat?¡± ¡°Affirmation. When a Dintph goes through a mating frenzy, they generally tend to revert to a more animalistic version of themselves. This includes temporary loss of syntax, social inhibitions and greater aggressivity in the pursuit of their goals. In this case, mating with you.¡± ¡°Fuck. Do you think I can get her to tone down the scratching? My back is killing me¡­¡± ¡°Query. You appear to be in good health baring the minor scratches. What is causing your health to decline until death?¡± He sighed. ¡°Figure of speech, Van, figure of speech. I really need to get started on integrating human speech patterns into your translation vocabulary. Regardless, how do I get her to stop? I mean, don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s a huge turn on seeing her lose control over my dick like that, but I don¡¯t want to die because she bit or scratched a vital part of Gus.¡± ¡°Confirmation. It is possible to get Lieutenant Sil Nubo to stop her current behaviour. There are two ways of achieving this. Which would you like to hear? The slow version? The fast version?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go with slow first, then fast.¡± ¡°Affirmation. In the past when Dintphs in the throes of a mating frenzy turned violent, it was customary to bind them to prevent damage to both themselves and their partners. While this practice has slowly been phased out, it is still a viable option. Confirmation. It is considered shameful for a Dintph to be so restrained. In their society this means that they are reverting back to an animal and are no longer civilised.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna lie, that sounds really kinky and all but I don¡¯t know how to do any of that SM shibari shit. What¡¯s the fast one?¡± ¡°Confirmation. The quickest way to resolve the issue of violence during mating is to impregnate Lieutenant Sil Nubo.¡± Silence. ¡°You mean¡­¡± Whoa¡­ Everything I know about human biology is telling me I should never, ever do that, no matter what the occasion because getting someone pregnant is gonna fuck your life up. Gus had a very skewed view of relationships given that he¡¯d never been in one before and had read many accounts of relationships going sour at the drop of a hat. There were as many stories of people splitting up or ruining their lives because of unwanted pregnancies. ¡°Uh, Van, I don¡¯t know how it works here in space, but back on Earth, you don¡¯t just knock someone up and go about your merry way.¡± ¡°Query. Is ¡®knock someone up¡¯ another figure of speech?¡± ¡°Yeah, it means to impregnate.¡± Gus sat still and allowed his thoughts to wander. He saw scenes of him and Sil laughing together, holding a small, squirming bundle of arms and fur. Other scenes of Sil rubbing a bulging belly and gazing at him with warmth. Dammit Van, putting these thoughts in my head! He definitely wasn¡¯t ready to get hitched or be a father and he didn¡¯t want to compromise his harem-building plans. He¡¯d been discretely trying to sow the seeds of that plan ever since Sil first talked to him.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He was brought back to reality by the now aching bruises he had on his whole body and the stinging of the scratches Sil had so graciously gifted him. ¡°Van, is there any way to treat my body? I mean, I definitely need some medical attention after getting used like that.¡± And used was the proper word. Sil had been particularly relentless and focused in her pursuit of happiness. He glanced at her sleeping form. She was still naked and caked in their fluids, fur sticking out at random angles. She was spread-eagled all over the bed, snoring a bit. Contrary to belief it was not a cute sound at all but since it didn¡¯t really bother him, he didn¡¯t do anything about it. Her still form belied the savagery lying underneath her skin. He grinned as he recalled a few of the things she¡¯d done to him. Man, cat in the ship halls, tiger in the diplomatic sheets. ¡°Affirmation. Your wounds and abrasions can be treated using standard medical gel patch. Should you have need of it, it can be made using the dispenser. Special permission has been granted by the captain for the production of class 3 restricted materials during this time frame.¡± Now I¡¯m curious. Standard? Does that mean everyone gets access to them? No wait, Van said class 3 restricted. Isn¡¯t that higher than coffee? Must be military-grade or something. Yeah, it makes sense. It would look bad if the first human ¡°ambassador¡± died having sex with a crewmember. Awww¡­ captain, did you finally go dere for me? ¡°Confirmation. The captain authorised the use of class 3 restricted material because having to answer questions about why that nine times damned human was walking to the medical bay would likely cause her a massive headache. Those are her own words.¡± Guess there¡¯s no dere in space. ¡®Fine, fine. Can you make me some of that gel? I¡¯d like to treat myself before she wakes up.¡± ¡°Affirmation. Cross-referencing human genome and physiological databases and ship medical databases. Calibrating synthesis matrix. Commencing medical gel patch synthesis. The medical gel patches will be ready in thirty four Earth minutes.¡± ¡°Thanks, Van.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Gus started fidgeting nervously then stopped when the intense pain from his cock flared up. ¡°Goddamit!¡± He decided to manspread as much as possible to avoid any contact with his own skin. Curiously, the gel-ball seat he had had an oddly soothing touch. He looked at Sil once more. She was very¡­ enthusiastic. Too enthusiastic truth be told. He never thought a day would come when he¡¯d say this, but she was asking for too much sex. He was unable to keep up. I seriously need to start hitting the gym. I wonder if the Captain can hook me up. And I need to check Van¡¯s databases for information from Earth. Sil groaned, a hand idly clawing through the air, tail lashing hard against the bed. Dreaming? He frowned, recalling some of her earlier griping about how he was taking too much time to fuck her. Being a young, hot-blooded man, he decided to do what any sane man would do in this situation: cheat. ¡°Hey Van, is there anything you can make me that will boost my libido to match Sil¡¯s?¡± ¡°Query. What do you mean by ¡®boost my libido¡¯? More information is required.¡± ¡°Ok, so she can keep going for literally hours, but I can¡¯t. Humans have this thing called the refractory period where it¡¯s really hard or down right impossible to get an erection again after ejaculation. I bet you aliens have a convenient drug I can use to keep a long-lasting erection or to eliminate or reduce that refractory period. Can you think of anything like that?¡± ¡°Calculating. Several matches found. Reporting closest match. Coxizu virility serum. The coxizu have developed a serum that boosts production of genetic-forwarding material (in this case, sperm) and reinforces the genitals to ensure that copulation can last for extended periods of time. Effects vary according to species. Effects on human physiology unknown. Warning. It is not recommended for use.¡± Leave it to the sex-loving Coxizu to think of something like that, Gus thought as he recalled his first partner¡¯s irresistible body. ¡°Is it a restricted material?¡± ¡°Confirmation. Virility serum is not restricted but its use is highly controversial due to both risks of medical complications and social stigma.¡± ¡°Fuck the social stigma. Tell me about the complications.¡± ¡°Affirmation. Complications include heart failure, liver failure, lung failure, renal failure, shortness of breath, light-headedness, nausea, temporary loss of hearing, temporary blindness, temporary skin lesions, sudden-onset reactive diseases and hunger. Side effects on humans are unknown.¡± ¡°Well, fuck. That¡¯s just great. Either Sil fucks me to death or I take space Viagra and my heart gives out anyway. That¡¯s fucking great, Van.¡± ¡°Query. My data suggests those outcomes are not favourable. Is there additional data that has been overlooked?¡± ¡°No Van, that was sarcasm. Try to look it up in your human database.¡± He sighed and once more waited for the gel patches to pop out of the dispenser. His thoughts kept straying to the disappointed looks Sil had given him when she finally realised that poor Gustavo Martinez couldn¡¯t keep up with the she-cat. It left an odd taste in his mouth. You know what, I can live with heart failure. ¡°Van, can you make one dose of that Coxizu virility serum? I¡¯d also like you to report its use to the captain and assure her that I will be seeking medical help as soon as any side effects appear. Contact Lieutenant Xar from science as well and tell him I¡¯ll have some interesting data for him soon.¡± ¡°Confirmation. Messages sent. Awaiting reply. Coxizu virility serum is under synthesis. Time to completion is one Earth hour and seventeen Earth minutes.¡± ¡°Cool¡­ Thanks, girl.¡± There was a slight pause. ¡°Correction. AI is genderless and as such, should not be addressed as ¡®girl¡¯.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, you sound like a girl. If you don¡¯t like it I¡¯ll stop.¡± ¡°Correction. AI does not feel and as such has no like or dislike regarding terminology.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll keep it under wraps then.¡± * * * The medical gel felt like God himself was giving Gus a delicate tongue job as he slapped a patch on his battered skin and bruised balls. Well, more like softly and gingerly applied. He leaned back and moaned, nearly getting an erection as the patch worked its magic and soothed old and new hurts. Technology is an amazing thing. He laid back into the gel-chair and dozed off. A chime woke him up with a start. He looked around and saw the dispenser¡¯s blinking indicator. He got up, marvelling once again at the lack of pain and grabbed the serum. It was a tiny vial, no bigger than a double A battery with a soft trigger on one end and a sharp needle on the other. ¡°Warning. Effects of serum on human physiology unknown.¡± He was about to reply when a yawn interrupted him. He looked back at the bed and saw Sil stretching languidly. The sensuous motion of her naked muscles and the musk he suddenly smelled caused his little willy to rank up to big willy. Sil blinked the last vestiges of sleep away from her eyes and hungrily stared at him from the bed. She got on all fours and turned away from him. She was half-kneeling, with her butt stuck high in the air, her tail moved to the side for easier access and her pussy was already starting to drip. The scent of her womanhood slowly filled the cabin. Gus deeply inhaled, feeling his meat torpedo reach launch density. Sil glanced back at him, ears cocked, with a coy smile and an eager look in her eyes. Gus forgot all about the silly little side effects like pissing blood or puking himself out that Van had told him about and slammed the needle into his arm, injecting the serum in one go. ¡°Yeah, Van, don¡¯t worry, I got this.¡± Chapter 15 ¡°Query. The human Gustavo Martinez has sent you another message. Would you like to hear it?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°He says ¡®I don¡¯t got this.¡¯ Do you require clarification?¡± ¡°No. He¡¯s probably done something really stupid and is regretting his decision.¡± * * * Gus¡¯ solution to the scratching problem was doggy style. It sounded quite simple but was surprisingly effective. He could plough Sil with reckless abandon while controlling her hands and avoid the deadly nails she sported. As an added bonus she seemed to really like this position. It was quite pleasant and hearing Sil yowl and moan like a mixture of a woman and a cat was very enjoyable. However Man proposes and God disposes. Sil freed herself of his embrace and returned to her bite-happy, scratch-heavy, I¡¯m-going-to-eat-you tendencies. This time however, armed with adrenaline and the coxizu virility serum, Gus was able to keep up with the fierce Dintph. His balls and dick still hurt something fierce but by God he was able to keep up! This session lasted as long as the previous one but there was none of that disappointment bullshit. As usual, Sil fell asleep as soon as she had her fill and Gus was left to treat his wounds and bruises in relative peace and silence. He got a quick meal of the same nutrient paste he¡¯d previously been eating and settled himself next to Sil, enjoying the feel of the body against his. She felt so good against him like¡­ like¡­ Gus frowned. She felt awful. Her fur was sticky with sweat and she smelled like a gymbro right after chest day. He hadn¡¯t realised (or rather he¡¯d rationalised everything he felt) that hours of sex with no shower wasn¡¯t going to win them any cleanliness prizes. He rolled off and hopped into the sonic shower. That, however, did nothing to remove the smell so he settled for sprawling on the gel-chair and getting a quick nap away from the cesspool of odours, sweat and dried juices that was Sil. He awoke to the insistent ministrations of Sil already trying to mount him. He didn¡¯t want the comfortable chair to get dirty so he picked her up and went back to bed. Thus ensued a few odd hours of happy, violent, life-threatening sex. He ate, slept again, got another shot of that virility serum and got abused by Sil like clockwork. He decided Van had been pulling his leg about those side effects until he started puking uncontrollably mid-coitus. The stream of vomit hit Sil¡¯s back who only glanced back, frowned and continued backing dat ass up. He lost his grip on her hips as his stomach kept clenching and tried (in vain one might add) to roll off the bed and into the lavatory. Turns out Dintphs don¡¯t give two fucks about a silly thing like vomit. Sil growled angrily, stalked him into the lavatory and mounted him right then and there. Needless to say, additional hours of painful, dirty (so dirty and not in a kinky way) and generally uncomfortable sex exhausted our poor human¡¯s reserves, who collapsed. Gus opened his eyes to the sight of a reeking Sil sleeping on top of him, his now soft cock still partially inside her pussy. Oh God, the smell is killing me. He dragged her to the sonic shower, cleaned them both up, grabbed the stained sheets on the bed and balled them up. Van informed him that a compartment could open up in the wall that acted as a debris chute for any garbage he might have. Gus gladly dropped his bundle of vomit down the hatch and watched in amazement as the bed spontaneously grew a second sheet. ¡°Huh¡­ I guess I¡¯ll never have to worry about fitted sheets versus normal sheets ever again.¡± ¡°Warning. Side effects from Coxizu virility serum are surfacing. Violent nausea detected. Should the medical bay be alerted?¡± ¡°Nah, thanks Van. I¡¯ll take my chances here. I don¡¯t want to leave Sil alone. Something¡¯s telling me I¡¯ll wake up missing something important if I do that.¡± He grimaced as he applied yet another medical gel patch to his bruised skin. ¡°Say Van, how long does the mating frenzy of a Dintph generally last? It¡¯s been what, almost a day? And we¡¯ve done nothing but have sex, sleep and eat.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Confirmation. While the length of the mating period varies, it is ends consistently within eight Earth cycles. Several factors affect the duration of the frenzy; desirability of the partner, hormone levels, ovulation, ambient temperature, availability of nutrients to name just a few. Would you like the complete list of variables?¡± ¡®No thanks, that¡¯s not necessary. So basically what you¡¯re saying is that it¡¯s gonna end when it ends.¡± ¡°Confirmation. An accurate statement.¡± ¡°Is there any way to cheat? I wanted to get laid but this is getting to be detrimental to my health, mental and otherwise¡­¡± ¡°Denial. There is no known way to ¡®cheat¡¯ out of such a situation.¡± ¡°Dammit¡­¡± Another bout of stomach-emptying puking interrupted his thoughts and he hastily went to worship the Porcelain Goddess. He idly noted between each puke that the toilet wasn¡¯t actually made of porcelain and that for some reason it looked strangely similar to toilets found on Earth. ¡°Van, can you connect me to Xar¡¯usk please? I need to ask him something.¡± ¡°Confirmation. Pinging Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk. Stand by for communication.¡± A chime echoed in the cabin, followed by some clicking and Xar¡¯usk¡¯s voice. ¡°Ah, Human, how good of you to contact me! I have so many questions I need answered. I imagine you do too.¡± Gus frowned. How come the translation sounds like Xar¡¯usk? If Van¡¯s the one doing it, then shouldn¡¯t it sound like a computer-generated voice or something? Gotta ask her about it. ¡°Hi Xar, I¡¯m in a bit of a bind. So you know the whole mating frenzy thing Sil¡¯s got going, right? Do you know of a way to end it early?¡± ¡°I see, yes, based on these readings it seems you¡¯re going through a bit of a *click* rough patch.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to mind Gus shortening his name. He sounded quite excited actually. ¡°I assume that the lieutenant has been most *click* insistent in her haste to procreate.¡± ¡°Yeah, insistent is hardly the word I¡¯d use. Anyway, do you know of anything that can stop that frenzy or attenuate it?¡± ¡°AI has informed me that you¡¯ve taken several doses of the Coxizu virility serum. Is that accurate?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Gus to answer. ¡°That is not good, not good at all. You see, the virility serum works differently for different species and while you haven¡¯t suffered some of the more debilitating side effects, there is an interesting interaction happening between the serum and your unique biology.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t sound good at all. Care to explain?¡± ¡°Yes of course. You see, you release quite potent pheromones when you ¨C what¡¯s the word? Ejaculate? Yes, when you ejaculate. This is how it all started, driving Lieutenant Sil Nubo into her mating period. I have several theories as to why she is so *click* driven, one of which being that whenever you ejaculate, you release those very same hormones which are extending the lieutenant¡¯s mating period. May I suggest that you ¡­ not ejaculate during coitus?¡± ¡°That¡¯s really helpful Xar. Thanks a bunch. I might as well cut my dick and give it to Sil because that seems to be the only viable option left to me.¡± Gus heaved a long sigh. ¡°I never imagined sex would be so harrowing.¡± And it was a harrowing experience. He didn¡¯t deny that he was enjoying himself immensely; Sil was responsive, aggressive, vocal and uninhibited. He doubted he could find a human woman who would act like her. The downside was that she was aggressive, vocal and uninhibited. She would sometimes scream into his ear, bite or scratch a bit too hard and would just not stop. He has massive bruises on his hips and cock and long scabbed scratch marks all over his back. His frequent use of that serum was coming back to bite him in the ass. The side effects now included long migraines that would only abate if he took the pain blocker the captain had authorised Van to synthesise. I guess it wasn¡¯t really a good idea to push Sil into estrus. I am slightly regretting this decision. On the other hand, she¡¯s reeeeeally wild in bed. Gus pondered his options for a while before he had a Eureka moment. ¡°Hey, are you still there?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°What if we sedate her? So we mate, she falls asleep, I sedate her and time passes until she¡¯s no longer in the frenzy. How does that sound?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. There are known complications to prematurely ending a mating frenzy, none of which are pleasant.¡± ¡°Dammit, there goes my best idea¡­ Alright, thanks for the talk, man. I appreciate it. I¡¯m out.¡± ¡°Yes, do contact me if you have additional data.¡± The comm cut off and left Gus with a still snoring Sil in the background. He suddenly felt very alone. * * * It was in the middle of yet another violent romp that Gus found the perfect idea. Sil was busy gnawing on his left ear. Her lags were wrapped around his waist with her arms hugging him tight and to be honest he couldn¡¯t really complain about how that made him feel. It was one of the slowest, most gentle copulations they¡¯d had since her mating frenzy overwhelmed her. Well, gentle is a relative word. He too was hugging her tightly to his body in an effort to maintain a semblance of control over her. The smell of their sweat was heavy in the air; her skin tasted of salt and a curious something else he couldn¡¯t identify. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back roughly, licking her throat and endeavouring to give her yet another hicky. I got it. A suit. Like the exofilm clothes I wear with the exosuit. Ideally something with high tensile strength that won¡¯t rip after being manhandle ¨C or cathandled. Gus chuckled. All I need is for it is to cover most of my body, with an opening for my dick. Some sort of shock-absorbing material would be the best. Let¡¯s see if the captain will approve of that. He leaned back, shifting to cowgirl started pounding Sil¡¯s tight snatch with all he had. She enjoyed the rough treatment and was less likely to get aggressive when Gus took the initiative. His left hand shot up to grab her by the back of her neck and pulled her to him. She was leaning over him now with her ass up in the air. His right hand rested on the small of her back and pushed her hips down into his own as best he could. ¡°Van, can you ask the captain if it¡¯s possible to get a custom-made exofilm clothing that¡¯s resistant to tearing, can breathe and has an opening for my dick? I think it¡¯s essential for my continued survival and if they can get more of their ¡®valuable¡¯ data with a little field testing. I hardly think I¡¯m the first guy to try and bone above his weight class.¡± ¡°Confirmation. Sending the captain a request. Query. Weight class is a fighting sports terminology that refers to weight classification. Why are you using it in this context?¡± Gus was actively slamming his hip into Sil. ¡°I¡¯m kinda busy here Van! I¡¯ll be happy to answer your questions at a later date if you don¡¯t mind!¡± More wet, sloppy hip slamming coupled with Sil¡¯s ever-present moaning/mewling. ¡°I gotta get this done first!¡± Chapter 16 ¡°He wants what?¡± ¡°You read that report right Lieutenant.¡± ¡°How is he even¡­ Does that¡­¡± Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk was rubbing his forearms together, a sure sign of perplexity in the Kmigar. His voice trailed off, mandibles clicking distractedly as he imagined why Human could require something like that. ¡°Captain, I need to check our stores. I think I have something that fits the description but not the species, if you know what I mean.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what you mean Lieutenant.¡± Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles in reprimand. Never one to have a laugh, this captain. ¡°I mean to say, the material is certainly tear-resistant but it was not adapted for use by Human. I need to contact Major Nimson. I will report back on the success of my endeavour.¡± Xar¡¯usk cut the comm off before he could hear the Captain¡¯s customary gripe about her fellow Agaraxian. Why does Human even need this suit? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to go into combat¡­ Unless¡­ this has to do with the lieutenant¡¯s condition. Tear-resistant would fit given her tendency to resort to clawing in moments of high stress. Xar¡¯usk camly brought up the specs of what he had in mind while also checking the ship stores for any spare suit. His thin, nimble hands manipulated two consoles at once, compound eyes focused on each at the same time. Multi-tasking was rarely a skill neglected by the curious Kmigar and made them highly efficient. There it is; nanomesh exosuit innerwear. Displays all the characteristics that Human requires. A bit of overkill for his use but it¡¯s the best I have on short notice. He glanced at the wall chronometer. Roughly four cycles had passed since the onset of Lieutenant Sil Nubo¡¯s mating frenzy. I should be getting some good data. I can¡¯t wait to cut Human up and see what¡¯s inside him. A comm chime brought him back from fantasies of dissections and strange xenos species. Major Nimson was hailing. ¡°Salutations Major Nimson. I see you got my message. You must have queries.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right I do. Why in the name of The Nine do you need a discarded exo-in? I¡¯m not complaining but it¡¯s a damn strange request.¡± ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s not for me. You remember Human? The guest we picked up a while ago? It¡¯s for him.¡± ¡°Human? That scrawny thing isn¡¯t going to fit in that, you know that. Besides, why does he need a combat-grade innerwear and why are we giving it to him? Why do you need a damaged one? Does he not have genitals in the normal places? I mean, that hole is pretty big and I¡¯m sure making a new one is more viable than fixing a broken one.¡± ¡°Questions, so many questions! Major if the Captain hasn¡¯t told you, then you may consider this matter need-to-know only. It is quite sensitive information that I cannot tell you right now. Perhaps when some time passes we can meet at the Commons and discuss this most¡­ strange being we have picked up,¡± Xar¡¯usk chittered. ¡°In the meantime, would you be so kind as to send me the exo-in at the soonest so I may get on with my task?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. But I expect some answers from you Xar¡¯usk. You¡¯ll not ply me with sweet shollom and make me forget the matter. And tell your captain I don¡¯t appreciate being kept out of the loop. If there¡¯s a situation that needs combat-grade ordinance, then I should be made aware too,¡± Nimson grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for your package then,¡± Xar¡¯usk briskly said, cutting off the comm. Major Nimson did tend to get long-winded when it came to Captain Echina. Must be that Rinvi-Umdyn clan rivalry. Xar¡¯usk busied himself with the innerwear¡¯s requested design, putting the measurements in the military-grade dispenser¡¯s synthesis matrix. He was clicking his mandibles idly in what humans would equate to a sing-song manner when AI informed him that Ensign Vytrikx was approaching with his package. ¡°Ah, excellent. Let me see,¡± he said, holding the battered innerwear up. It was ripped and had holes in many places. There was a huge gash at the crotch level, courtesy of those pesky Almikue eater-plants. Xar¡¯usk silently mourned the departed members of the security team. He then stuffed the nanomesh mess into the dispenser input rack. His eight fingers flew across the command console and the machine swiftly prepared Human¡¯s required apparel. Xar¡¯usk was still hammering away on the console, analysing the data from the most recent coupling of Lieutenant Sil Nubo and Human. It was fascinating, so fascintating! The hormonal changes in the Lieutenant were nothing short of astounding. Her whole system was going into overdrive, which would explain her insistence with Human. His genetic material ¨C stored in spermatozoa ¨C consisted of twenty three chromosomes but they seemed¡­ incomplete.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Xar¡¯usk was puzzled. What manner of reproductive system was this? Was Human similar to the Aellag? Did he have to undergo binary fission to produce offspring? No, no that wasn¡¯t possible, his entire physiology was ill-suited for such a thing. So many questions, so little time. I could solve all this by cutting him up, but noooo. We can¡¯t damage the Captain¡¯s precious debriefing specimen. Xar¡¯usk clicked his mandibles in frustration until AI signalled him that the modified nanomesh innerwear was ready. I should go deliver it in person. It¡¯ll make for a nice change and maybe I can observe the mating in closer details. Scans probably missed minute details. * * * And so it was that Lieutenant Xar¡¯usk found himself outside a diplomatic cabin listening to what appeared, to the casual listener, to be a life and death fight. He could hear the lieutenant¡¯s shrill screeches and occasional hisses and yowls, followed almost immediately by Human¡¯s screams. He sometimes sounded in pain, sometimes not. It was a mixed blessing that they didn¡¯t have any other ambassadors on board. They¡¯d surely have complained about the noise. He was undecided. Should he just drop the package off and go? Leave without even attempting to investigate the curious mating ritual? As a being of science, he could not condone that! But the sounds were turning more bestial, more brutal even and he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to put himself in there with those two. In the end curiosity won and he entered his security override on the wall panel, entered the cabin and witness chaos. * * * The entire cabin was trashed. The desk was laden with scratches and the sparse furniture was thrown haphazardly all around the room. There were patches of wet material of various sizes all over the walls and the soft synthmoss carpet. Xar¡¯usk gingerly stepped in and waited for his hosts to acknowledge him. It didn¡¯t work. Lieutenant Sil Nubo ¨C usually so reserved (at least in his eyes), enthusiastic only at the prospect of dissections ¨C was now like a primordial she-beasts from the annals of the Dintph history holos. Human was fighting her off valiantly, holding her arms behind her back and screaming as she savagely bit his shoulder. His hips wouldn¡¯t stop moving though. A muscular spasm perhaps? Xar¡¯usk could not understand it. Was this bizarre scene a pre-mating ritual? He held up the suit and waited. He waited a long time. The human had thrown the diminutive Dintph on his bed and was once again assaulting her with his hips. This continued until they both screamed very loudly then lay still. The suit was still held up for display in his hands. Lieutenant Sil Nubo rolled off and appeared to have almost immediately fallen asleep while Human got off and ran to the lavatory. The sound of dry heaving filled the air. Must be the side effects. How fascinating. Did they finish mating? I couldn¡¯t see properly. Next time I¡¯ll bring a holocorder. Xar¡¯usk idly noted the blood splashed all over the bed and most of the walls. It had ended on the ceiling too. He clicked his mandibles in appreciation. Few species truly understood the notion of bloodletting but it seems that Human was a true artist. He would have to meet him in a more private setting and discuss the various cuts he enjoyed. Maybe they were kindred spirits? Human returned, looking quite haggard since the last time he¡¯d seen him. There were deep bags under his eyes, scratches everywhere with rivulets of blood running down his arms, back and chest. He could also see myriad bite marks all over Human¡¯s dirty, sticky-looking body. His mandibles clicked in appreciation. He didn¡¯t know Lieutenant Sil Nubo would be so territorial, marking her mate like that. He must have just mated, Xar¡¯usk realised. His data on humans suggested they would not release this amount of fluids under normal circumstances. Human still did not acknowledge him. He staggered to the dispenser, grabbed a medical gel patch and carefully applied it to his crotch. He immediately sighed in contentment and set about to apply more patches on his sorry-looking body. He then grabbed a container, drained its contents into his mouth and sharply exhaled. When he turned around still holding the container and saw Xar¡¯usk, his eyes widened and he froze. ¡°When the fuck did you get here?¡± * * * Xar¡¯usk underestimated how vigorous the Lieutenant could be while mating; Human was entirely drained and lifeless when he was done. His body was covered in patches and he still winced from remnant pain. He had righted the ambassador-standard gel-chair and was sprawled on it, sipping an exotic-smelling brown drink. A vial of Coxizu virility serum was clutched in one hand. Mandibles clicking in disapproval, Xar¡¯usk explained how he had refitted a nanomesh exosuit innerwear for Human¡¯s uses. The nanomesh fitted him perfectly, covering his body from ankles to wrists and collarbone. A dull mixture of grey and black reinforced threads with smooth patches at the joints to allow for easy movement, the exosuit innerwear was worn under the combat armor the Agaraxian Ground Forces routinely used. Xar¡¯usk now understood why Human needed this kind of protection after witnessing the almost barbaric nature of their coupling. ¡°Does it match what you imagined?¡± Human stood up, stretching and checking the range of motion. Quite a sensible fellow. He bent down, touching his toes, got back up and bent backwards, eliciting a curious crack. It seemed to come from his back. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s great. And you¡¯re sure this will protect me from Sil¡¯s nails?¡± ¡°Of course. This is military-grade material we¡¯re talking about here. It should withstand anything short of a Chachiss scythe-hand and we¡¯re not likely to find that here, are we?¡± His mandibles clicked in good humour. ¡°Great, great.¡± Human put a hand between his legs, adjusting his reproductive organ. The nanomesh sported a huge open hole where his crotch was. He now understood that this was meant to allow his reproductive organ to have contact with the Lieutenant. There was a curious sack dangling underneath his organ. When asked, Human only said it was his family¡¯s heirloom. So many mysteries. ¡°So you didn¡¯t get any trouble from the captain? I mean, you just said this is military-grade stuff. I wouldn¡¯t normally give that to a civilian, let alone an alien who basically hitch-hiked his way onto your ship.¡± ¡°It was no problem. I was able to acquire a damaged nanomesh and fix it to your specifications. It was going to be recycled anyway, so giving it to you was not difficult.¡± ¡°Cool. So listen, I know you¡¯ve got tons of questions but I¡¯ve been timing how long she sleeps between bouts and I can tell you she¡¯s gonna wake up soon. I don¡¯t have much time so if you have anything important to ask, now is the time.¡± Human wasn¡¯t lying, he could see the lieutenant stir on top of the bed, tail randomly lashing left and right. At the moment though, he couldn¡¯t think of any of the questions he had over the course of his analysis. ¡°Can I watch?¡± he blurted out. Human arched an eyebrow (Such delicate muscle control!) and leaned back on his gel-chair. ¡°Mate, that¡¯s something you only ask when you¡¯re good friends with the parties involved.¡± ¡°Apologies, I didn¡¯t mean to overstep.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s cool. I get why you want to do that. I¡¯d be curious too,¡± he said, widening his lips and displaying his front teeth. A curious action. He¡¯d have to ask about that too. He glanced behind him, saw his partner stir awake and got up. ¡°Well, thanks a lot for this suit. If it works as advertised, this mating frenzy business will be a breeze!¡± ¡°Glad to help. You will keep me informed as usual?¡± Xar¡¯usk asked with a hopeful click of his mandibles. ¡°Sure man. All for science, right?¡± He turned back, grabbing the vial of virility serum. ¡°Off you go now, I have things to do. Dragons to slay.¡± A curious turn of phrase to be sure but Xar¡¯usk did not want to overstay his welcome. He was about to exit the cabin when he turned and had a final look. Lieutenant Sil Nubo had eyes only for Human and was on her haunches, looking like a predator about to pounce. Human put the vial to his neck and pressed the release trigger. After a short hiss, he threw it away in a corner of the cabin. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you like a fair fight, bitch!¡± Chapter 17 ¡°I can understand why the Lieutenant is in the medical bay but why is Human in there too?¡± ¡°Well, beyond the fact that we have to keep him under examination for possible sequelae from his mating with the lieutenant, we have also detected several life-threatening complications due to his overdosing on the Coxizu virility serum.¡± ¡°Fair enough. Tell me what you¡¯ve found so far.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start with Lieutenant Sil Nubo. As far as we can tell, there¡¯s nothing wrong with her. Slight dehydration and lack of nutrients associated with malnutrition, some muscular and joint pains due to overworking and slight mental disorientation are all consistent with the aftermath of a Dintph mating period.¡± ¡°Nothing wrong? What about all those germs Human is lugging around in the incubator that is his body?¡± ¡°Quite a poetic description Captain. Did you perhaps miss your calling?¡± A glare did not deter her. ¡°In any case, none of the microbiota on the human managed the jump from his body to hers. A most curious case. I shall investigate and find an answer, although I cannot say with certitude that I will even find one. If my wife were here though, she¡¯d find a solution in a jiffy.¡± Not again. ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m sure she could. So, the germs?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, my theory is that the germs either could not make the cross from Human to Dintph or that they did and the Dintph system is so different that there simply was no pathogenesis. As I said, I¡¯ll have to investigate a bit more. I did recover some unknown organisms on the Lieutenant¡¯s skin and inside her vagina. I plan on cross-referencing whatever I find on her with what I found on the Human. That¡¯ll be a good start.¡± ¡°Keep me apprised. In the meantime I need to talk to our guest.¡± ¡°Of course. He¡¯s this way.¡± Lieutenant Vatta Ren turned and lead Echina to a stasis chamber holding the human. Echina leaned over his motionless form and observed him more closely; she¡¯d rarely had the opportunity to see him so still. He was not too tall, measuring about 178cm, with brownish skin and a decently toned physique. Looking at his face, he was not what Echina would have described as handsome but he wasn¡¯t altogether unpleasant to look at. His skin isn¡¯t green enough. His shock of black hair was as usual thoroughly unkempt ¨C a sure sign of a lazy mind, she thought. ¡°So why is he in a stasis chamber? I thought the only side effect he was suffering from was the vomiting.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s only the first of many symptoms that appeared with time. He said something about pissing blood then collapsed. We put him in the stasis chamber to buy time and performed an in-depth, full body scan.¡± Vatta Ren tapped on her datapad before continuing. ¡°The scan revealed multiple organ failure, including but not limited to the kidneys and the liver. Both are heavily involved in maintaining a balance within the human body.¡± With another tap a complete map of the human anatomy appeared on a viewscreen. The same diagram was represented on a holoscreen. Vatta Ren pointed to several red-lighted features. ¡°It¡¯s amazing he was able to function to that level given how severe his organs were damaged by the virility serum.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem that bad looking at him now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting to that. So, here I am doing a full body scan and I notice a ping from AI indicating that the condition of the body has changed. When I turn to the human again, I can see that his organs are slowly but surely righting themselves. His liver released or inhibited several key enzymes that normalised the liver¡¯s function. The renal failure took longer to correct but eventually, the water balance in his body righted itself. It¡¯s not surprising that a species would be able to self-repair to such an extent, it¡¯s the speed that was employed. Barely a few hundred units, Standard Galactic Time.¡± Echina was still peering at the human. ¡°Can you find out the source of his fast healing and replicate it? That would go a long way towards salvaging this mission.¡± ¡°Unfortunately that would take much more extensive research than I could do on this ship. Perhaps when we get back I¡¯ll ask Rhil if I can access the Concourse labs to do a couple of tests. It¡¯ll be easy. You know, since she¡¯s been promoted.¡± ¡°She¡¯s been promoted? I didn¡¯t know,¡± Echina deadpanned. Vatta¡¯s face split into a wide smile. ¡°Yes! She¡¯s recently been promoted to head of her own department! She¡¯s only the twentieth Chachiss to achieve this you know? I¡¯m so proud of her! We¡¯re all proud of her. If she were here, you¡¯d have no problem in the medical bay whatsoever!¡± ¡°Are you admitting to running a sloppy medical bay?¡± ¡°Why, yes, of course! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m as good as my wife you know,¡± Vatta said with a booming laugh. ¡°Enough of this. Wake him up, we need to talk.¡± ¡°Right away captain.¡± Vatta tapped her datapad a couple of time before the field covering the human shimmered out of existence. A loud and protracted groan could be heard coming from the stasis bed. The human feebly rolled onto his side and a thin stream of brownish sludge dribbled out of his open mouth. Is he still suffering from side effects, even after stasis treatment? Just how much serum did he use? He tried to sit up and barely made it with Vatta¡¯s help. His eyes were unfocused as he tried to get his bearings in an unfamiliar room. ¡°Where¡­ where am I?¡± his voice cracked as he tried to speak with a dry throat. ¡°You¡¯re in the medical bay. What¡¯s the last thing you remember?¡± ¡°I was with¡­¡± He swallowed with great difficulty and tried again. ¡°With Sil. In my cabin. We were¡­ you know¡­¡± he smirked. ¡°Mating urges and everything. Then I think I started ¨C did I puke everywhere and piss blood? Because that sounds like what happened¡­¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Echina¡¯s face seemed to be locked in a permanent frown. ¡°AI contacted security when both you and Lieutenant Sil Nubo failed to respond to any hails. They found you passed out in a puddle of blood and a brown¡­ fluid. Your suit was in tatters and the lieutenant was comatose on your bed. You were then brought to the medical bay for treatment.¡± ¡°How long was I out?¡± ¡°A bit more than eight hundred units Standard Galactic Time. How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Like I just made out with a bear. What happened to Sil? Is her thing over?¡± ¡°Bear: native mammal from Earth. Ursidae family of caniforms. Can weigh up to 730 kilograms (Earth units). Often hibernate to conserve energy. Tend to be aggressive if encountered after mating period or if encroaching on their territory,¡± AI helpfully added. ¡°I see¡­ Fascinating. So bears are an integral part of human courtship rituals then? They must be some sort of rite of passing challenge to obtain courting rights for a female right? It must be! Oh Captain, if Rhil were here, she¡¯d be ecstatic! So much research to be done! So much to learn!¡± Lieutenant Vatta was practically foaming at the mouth. Not that anyone looking at her would be able to tell. She still maintained a stoic demeanour. ¡°To answer your question, yes, Lieutenant Sil Nubo mating period is over. It seems her circumstances were a bit different than the general Dintph population. A mating isn¡¯t normally as ¡­ intense as hers was. We think it was due to the pheromones you released. She¡¯s fine and is resting in a separate unit.¡± ¡°I see. Whew, she sure did a number on me!¡± Gus¡¯ hand reached up to his shoulder, feeling for a bite scar. ¡°No scars I see.¡± He got up and slowly spread his arms wide, inspecting himself for defects. ¡°I guess technology does wonders, eh? Is there any chance I can speak to Sil? I think there¡¯s quite a lot we need to discuss.¡± ¡°We still have a few tests to run. You can meet her after that.¡± * * * ¡°AI, how much time in Earth minutes is eight hundred units Standard Galactic Time?¡± ¡°Calculating. Eight hundred units Standard Galactic Time are equivalent to four hundred Earth minutes.¡± ¡°Two units for one minute. I get it. From now on, can you give me any units in the converted and appropriate Earth value please? I think it would be much easier until I get the hang of this Standard Galactic unit system.¡± ¡°Confirmation. Values will be calculated accordingly.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Gus was alone in the bay, the other xenoi keeping a careful distance away from him. The tales of his being a microorganism incubator had spread and they feared to see him without his vacsuit. He¡¯d have to do something about that. Walking around in the suit was sending the wrong message, like he dangerous or something. Well, he was dangerous, but that was beside the point. He wondered what Sil¡¯s reaction would be when he met her. They were lovers now. Or were they? Sil hadn¡¯t really touched on what happened after a successful or unsuccessful mating session. Did they stay friends? Take care of the kids? Get married? Could they get married? Did they still have sex? Because in spite of all the biting and hip-crushing, the sex was very fun. He grinned. Oh yes, loads of fun. I still can¡¯t feel my dick, but that¡¯s nothing next to what Sil made me feel. He really hoped they could still have sex without the excessive violence. Speaking of sex, what happened to Art¡¯ah? Haven¡¯t seen her in a while. Haven¡¯t seen anyone in a while. Wait her or him? Hir? Hem? What do I call her? He cast his gaze around the room and took stock. It was surprisingly similar to a lab back on Earth. Tables and workstations neatly arranged and divided by sections, with reagents and apparatuses of various colour, shapes and sizes. Their use remained a mystery. There were no computers and none were necessary when the ship AI would crunch all your numbers and store all your data. There were many viewscreens and a lot of those holographic displays he¡¯d seen here and there. The walls were a brilliant white colour with colour-coded stripes indicating which section was where. Gus peered at the writing on the walls and tried to get closer, only to bump his nose on an invisible force field. Hello my old friend. Fancy meeting you here. From beyond the field, various space races would wander around, holding datapads and curious instruments. They would sometimes look up from their work and see him and stare with open mouths or whatever passed for shock and surprise in their species. He felt like a beast in a cage at the zoo. A man goes to a zoo. There¡¯s only a dog there. It¡¯s a shit zoo. Gus chuckled. At least he wasn¡¯t losing his sense of humour. He tried to distract himself from the boredom by observing his ¡®captors¡¯. There were many Dintphs walking around staring openly, some with revulsion, others curiosity and a small fraction with open disgust (even hate he might say). More Agaraxians with their tall, stocky builds and green skin and long hair with varying colours. Purple seemed to be the most predominant one, though orange and blue were seen occasionally. He even spotted some blue and *gasp* even black hair. Gasp, black hair. What a shock. There were scant few Kmigars like Xar¡¯usk but he attributed that to the fact that they seemed to like science more than medical stuff, at least based on what Xar¡¯usk and Van had told him. The doctor who fixed him up was nowhere to be seen. He¡¯d been quite surprised at seeing her. Her four eyes (a pair above the ones placed in the same spot as a human) were already daunting enough but she had obsidian skin that seemed to drink light and weirdly shaped blocky joints. She was completely bald, not a speck of hair anywhere that he could see. To his great disappointment her chest was more akin to an airport runway than to the hills and valleys he dreamt of. If Van hadn¡¯t told him that she was a female he wouldn¡¯t have believed it. She was taller than him by about a couple of centimetres, couldn¡¯t have been more than five. She struck him as a no-nonsense doctor type based on her appearance and the small speech she¡¯d given him. He saw her come back with another Dintph assistant taping onto a datapad. She went to the console next to his bed and checked something, frowned then clicked her tongue. ¡°It seems that your body is already healing the damage you sustained from your activities with the lieutenant. How remarkable.¡± ¡°Thanks doc. You got any news on Sil for me?¡± he asked, hope filling his voice. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s recovered and is currently rehydrating and getting more nutrients. It doesn¡¯t seem like your microbiota affected her at all, we have that to be thankful for. She seems to be suffering from some psychological trauma though. I suspect the ship¡¯s counsellor will have to spend some time with her.¡± ¡°Trauma? What kind of trauma?¡± Gus felt his guts go cold at the mention of that. Did I do something wrong? Fuck, does she think I somehow mind-bended her into having sex with me? I mean those pheromones are pretty powerful. ¡°Is she alright? Can I speak to her?¡± ¡°As I said, physically, she¡¯s fine but her attitude shows signs of mental scarring. I¡¯m not sure as to the origin of that but you can try talking to her in a minute. I just need to calibrate the fields in this room and hers.¡± She taped a few more times then turned to Gus. ¡°All done. You can head to the adjacent room as soon as we exit this one. I don¡¯t want to breathe in your atmosphere if possible.¡± Her assistant turned and left as soon as she uttered those words. He really didn¡¯t seem to like Gus. The doctor walked out at a more leisurely pace, hands clasped behind her back. He got off the bed when the door to the room slid shut, waited five seconds for the field around his bed to wink out then proceeded to Sil¡¯s room. He saw her through a viewscreen on the wall, sitting on a similar bed, clutching what looked like a blanket in her hands. Her ears were down on her skull, tail curled dejectedly down. She really didn¡¯t look that fine to him. Apprehension filled him as he walked into the room. Sil looked up, saw him and froze. Her mouth slowly opened, stayed open then slowly closed. Her tail started twitching, ears now fully erect. He was about to say something when she jumped off the bed, crouched down, covered her head with the blanket and screamed. ¡°Noooooooooooo!!!!¡± Well excuse me bitch, nice to see you too. Gus was pretty pissed. I mean, he wasn¡¯t that ugly. Was he? The doctor strolled in with her assistant looking mighty smug in the face of Gus¡¯ distress. What a cunt. She turned to him. ¡°As you can see, her vitals are normal. It¡¯s just that she¡¯s¡­ like that,¡± she said, pointing to the Dintph now rolling on the floor, hiding her face with her hands and blanket. He slowly approached her and crouched. ¡°Sil,¡± he said gently. ¡°Sil, it¡¯s Gus.¡± She trembled at his touch but didn¡¯t throw his hand off. ¡°Sil, talk to me. What¡¯s wrong?¡± he gently shook her. That assclown assistant scoffed loudly enough for the doc to give him a measured look. What the fuck is his problem? Gus tried to ignore him and turned back to Sil. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Sil? Did I hurt you? Are you mad at me?¡± She suddenly jumped up, her face practically five centimetres from his own. ¡®No! I¡¯m not hurt! You didn¡¯t hurt me!¡± Her tails was lashing left and right, seemingly agitated. She sounded as anxious as he felt. ¡°I¡¯m not hurt,¡± she repeated, ¡°I feel great actually but¡­¡± She averted her eyes once more, face turning a deep crimson. ¡°Are you blushing?¡± She blushed even harder. ¡°No I¡¯m not! You¡¯re blushing!¡± ¡°Yeah, I am. Cause I¡¯m looking at you, you beautiful creature.¡± She screeched and covered her head once again, squatting down on her haunches. She didn¡¯t want to look at him but the way her tail was trashing around told him she was quite happy with his compliment. He smirked. ¡®It¡¯s ok Doc,¡± he said to Vatta Ren. ¡°She¡¯s not hurt, she¡¯s just embarrassed.¡± A soft squeal escaped the blanket at these words. He grabbed her and ignored the additional squealing, gathering her to his chest like a child. His upper body had recovered enough that he could hold her up with no difficulty. He sat back down on the stasis bed and stroked what looked like Sil¡¯s head. It was hard to tell, that blanket was pretty thick. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could give us a couple of minutes? I need to talk to my mate,¡± He said, savouring the last word. The blanket shivered in his hands. Yeah, that was totally the right thing to say. Chapter 18 ¡°So Sil, where does that leave us?¡± She still wouldn¡¯t talk to Gus, curled up in a ball and half-covered in her blanket. Her tail however was curling along his arm. He kept stroking her head through the thick material. ¡®You know, if you¡¯re not going to speak I¡¯ll have to do all the talking.¡± The bundle didn¡¯t move. ¡°I don¡¯t really know much about Dintphs or even about you. I¡¯m probably not your first choice for a mate and I¡¯ll understand if you don¡¯t want to associate with me anymore.¡± Sil still didn¡¯t seem interested in conversing so he decided to go solo. ¡°You know, I really have no clue what to do right now. I¡¯m not a paragon of social grace and I¡¯ve never had a girlfriend before. Ah, a girlfriend is a companion who¡¯s in a relationship with you. She¡¯s supposed to stick with you through thick and thin and while the arrangement may be temporary, it usually leads to marriage, which is a long-term relationship. I don¡¯t know the Dintph equivalent.¡± ¡°As I said, I¡¯m not very good with women.¡± He paused, organised his thoughts and continued. ¡°I really like you Sil, you¡¯re fun, energetic, interesting and your fur has the most amazing coloration I¡¯ve ever seen. I love the way your eyes light up when you talk about science. I love the way your tail swishes around. I think you look really cute.¡± ¡°I know I called you my mate back there but that¡¯s contingent on your approval. I wouldn¡¯t want to force you to do that. I feel bad that this whole mess started because I couldn¡¯t keep in in my pants. They said going into a mating period was an instinctual response to my pheromones so I don¡¯t know that you¡¯d have chosen me to be a mate if you had a choice.¡± ¡°I need you to tell me Sil,¡± he said, voice breaking a little bit. He really wasn¡¯t used to these situations. His palms were increasingly sweatier. ¡°I need to know you¡¯re ok with being my girlfriend or mate or whatever it is you call this. It would really help if you spoke to me as well.¡± He kept stroking what he thought was her head but she didn¡¯t respond. After a while he sighed in disappointment and pulled his hand back. Just as he was about to get up and put Sil down, a hand shot out from underneath the blanket and grabbed his wrist. He tensed but she only put his hand back on top of the blanket. Definitely her head then. He silently kept caressing the blanket as he waited for Sil to speak up. After a while, the bundle in his arms moved around as Sil curled up against him. Her bottom was sticking out sorely from under the bright orange covering and he could see her tail lazily curling and uncurling as she began to purr. That¡¯s a good sign, isn¡¯t it? Fuck, let that be a good sign. On a whim, he decided to grab the tail and fiddle with it. The purring changed in tone but soon returned to its previous iteration. Emboldened, Gus slowly worked his way up the tail, soon reaching her bum. She¡¯d been wearing a strange hospital gown type of thing when he¡¯d come in. It was rather loose and he could easily reach underneath to touch her furred skin. He started scratching the small of her back where tail met coccyx and enjoyed the feel of her luxuriant fur. The change in Sil¡¯s behaviour was immediate. She squealed and struggled in his arms, trying to get away from his hand. He grinned and held her close with one hand while continuing with the scratching. His strength was more than enough to prevent her from escaping his hands and he kept it up until she spoke up. ¡°St-stop that!¡± He ignored her and kept scratching. She squealed louder and physically reached out to grab his wrist. ¡°I¡¯m serious, stop that,¡± she said in a muffled voice. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t hear you that well with that blanket on your head. You¡¯ll have to speak up,¡± Gus said as he ignored her. Sil made a weird noise before pulling her hand back and tearing the blanket off her. It landed a few meters away from them. It was a good thing that they were alone in the room; the white gown she was wearing was doing a great job of not covering any of her important bits. There were two slits on the sides that were gapping wide open, giving Gus a very nice view of her sideboobs and taut stomach. He felt something grow in his pants but made no move other than to scratch Sil¡¯s backside.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She somehow got on her knees while still in his lap and turned to him. Her face was flushed crimson. ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing so stop,¡± She said in a quivering voice. ¡°Oh? Why is it embarrassing?¡± He still didn¡¯t let up. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± She blushed even more furiously. ¡°It¡¯s something you do in private.¡± ¡°Is it? But there¡¯s no one here. I¡¯d say we¡¯re private enough,¡± Gus said with a grin. Sil averted her eyes and leaned into his chest. ¡°I¡¯m still not used to close physical contact with my mate, so it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± His heart skipped a beat. ¡°What was that? I didn¡¯t hear properly.¡± Her head burrowed further into his chest. ¡°I said I¡¯ll be your girlfriend or mate or whatever it is we can call this.¡± He could tell from her voice she¡¯d started blushing again. He laughed with a loud booming voice and whooped as he stopped scratching her and hugged her tightly to him. For her part she didn¡¯t say anything but her tail was lashing left and right like crazy. Probably an indicator of happiness in a Dintph. They¡¯d probably need to have a long talk about what this meant for the both of them but for now they cuddled in silence, content with the knowledge that they had each other. * * * Lieutenant Vatta Ren was observing the new couple through a viewscreen and listened to the sappy conversation with no shame. Sil had been right to be embarrassed. Vatta didn¡¯t really have a notion of privacy when she was interested in something and the human was very interesting. At first she¡¯d dismissed the reports of sapiant life on the deathworld they¡¯d departed from but she¡¯d gone through the scout probe data they¡¯d collected and had been fascinated with what she learned. The deep tissue scans she had been able to take during the human¡¯s sleep were a treasure trove. The human¡¯s physiology was remarkable. His body was uniquely adapted to the challenges of growing and thriving on a category thirteen planet. Dense bones and dense, layered muscles coupled with a nervous system capable of very fast responses marked him as a species used to fighting for survival. His immune system was adaptive, a trait rare enough that any research paper about a new species exhibiting something like that would be widely read and debated. His body chemistry was in perfect balance and judging from the way it was righting itself after the debacle with the Coxizu virility serum, didn¡¯t depend on external stimuli to maintain stability. ¡°Remarkable. I am grateful to the Captain for picking him up. Studying him will advance our field by decades.¡± Her assistant scoffed at that and loudly grumbled. ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s so special about it. It¡¯s just a savage from a backwater planet. It has no business being here.¡± ¡°She rejected your proposal of a mating contract twice already, Ensign Orithi. Get over it. She didn¡¯t choose you and if you let your animosity over this get in the way of my work, I will get you re-assigned to permanent reactor clean-up duty,¡± Vatta said testily, staring at the offending ensign until he looked away in sullen silence. She went back to spying on the new couple but gleaned nothing new. They were chatting quite cutely she thought when suddenly the human slipped his hand inside the gown Lieutenant Sil Nubo was wearing. The ensuing shriek nearly made her ears bleed but didn¡¯t cover the sound of the resounding smack the human received. * * * ¡°What am I looking at?¡± Lieutenant Vatta Ren jabbed her finger into the holographic brain in front of her. ¡°Right here. See?¡± she asked as she turned to the Captain expectantly. Echina squinted and tried to figure out why her Chief Medical Officer was in a tiff but still failed. ¡°I¡¯m not seeing it. Care to explain?¡± ¡°Look.¡± She brought up another rendering of the human¡¯s brain. The projection was pale blue, with red, jagged lines showing neuronal connections. There was a separate section highlighting his complete nervous system. ¡°This is from a scan we randomly did before his mating with the Lieutenant.¡± She pointed at a section of the brain. ¡°This cluster here is inactive. Now look at the same cluster seven cycles after we pulled him off the stasis bed.¡± Echina could now spot the difference. That tiny cluster was now more brightly lit on the second holo. ¡°So what, there¡¯s more activity there, is that it?¡± ¡°Yes, more activity. That¡¯s the problem. I¡¯ve compared the pre-mating brain to the data we¡¯ve compiled using the scout probe and figured out that this is the standard brain activity mapping for average humans. Notice that this cluster isn¡¯t activated in any of the scans we¡¯ve had for this particular specimen. Now, only seven cycles after recovering from the side effects of the virility serum, there¡¯s been a noticeable increase in activity in this cluster. A cluster that was hitherto inactive. Do you understand the implications Captain?¡± Echina thought long and hard. Lieutenant Vatta Ren wasn¡¯t prone to such displays of exuberance unless she was speaking about her wife. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Was the change induced by introducing that Coxizu monstrosity into his system? I don¡¯t see the big deal. This happens all the time, right?¡± Vatta Ren shook her head in frustration. ¡°No, this is different. This scan was taken when no active molecules from the serum were in his system. So now we have a human that¡¯s exhibiting permanent signs of new neuro-cortical stimulation even though the responsible agent is absent from his system. It¡¯s a huge discovery Captain! It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s¡­¡± She seemed to be at a loss for words. She started pacing in a circle, a habit she¡¯d never gotten rid of since her days at the Academy. ¡°It¡¯s not just the brain activity that¡¯s the issue. I¡¯ve found traces of incomplete Coxizu active molecules in his blood. I¡¯m guessing¡­ I think his body is adapting to the serum. I¡¯ve compared the scans we¡¯ve taken over time during his mating with Sil Nubo.¡± She tapped a few commands into her datapad and brought up all the scans she was talking about. ¡°As you can see, the brain mapping shows the increasing activity in the highlighted cluster. It also shows how the effectiveness of the serum is dropping each time he uses it. He¡¯s developing more resistance to the serum¡¯s effects the more he uses it. I think the side effects were exacerbated by that resistance.¡± She resumed her pacing with her hands behind her back. ¡°What¡¯s more worrying are those incomplete molecules I found. If I¡¯m not wrong I think his body is trying to manufacture more of the serum. It must have somehow recognised the active molecules as a necessary survival tool after the strenuous mating with Sil Nubo. I say strenuous but we both know that if it was another Dinpth in there with Sil, he would most likely have ended up severely injured or traumatised, or even both. I think this kicked his survival mechanism into gear and now he¡¯s simultaneously developing a resistance to Coxizu virility serum and trying to make more in his own body. I think if we change his diet he might be able to have the necessary raw materials to successfully make more functioning molecules on his own. They might even be more effective in his case given that the artificial serum is having diminishing returns.¡± Echina was silently contemplating what Lieutenant Vatta had just said. ¡°So where does that leave us? What can we do about this? What should we do? It was his own decision to use the serum and to mate with Sil Nubo. Besides, I fail to see how this is a ship-wide concern.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right Captain. It¡¯s not a concern right now. But what happens if he uses Telani psychotropes? What if he starts producing his own?¡± ¡°I see¡­ What¡¯s your recommended course of action?¡± ¡°We should be very careful about what he puts into his body from now on.¡± Chapter 19 Gus¡¯ new vacsuit was more streamlined than the old iteration but still unwieldy. He found himself struggling to get his spoon into his open mouth through the mouth opening and gave up and ordered more tasteless nutrient paste. He slurped it up with (fake) relish and burped, leaning back and rubbing his stomach through the thick lining of the suit. Things were going great with Sil. They would meet every day after her shift was done and cuddle in his ambassador-sized bed. He would relentlessly tease the catgirl and scratch her most sensitive spots. It got to a point where Sil had forbidden him from touching her inappropriately. Gus resisted all of an hour before succumbing to the temptation. Sil had forgiven him though. Eventually. Thinking of her brought a huge smile to his face. Having a girlfriend was great but it wasn¡¯t the proximity of a female in great shape that was pleasing; no, it was the intimacy. Gus hadn¡¯t realised it but he had been under quite a lot of stress ever since he ended up on the Pride of Vanatu. His happy-go-lucky attitude had worked in fooling others and even himself to a certain extent but when he was alone with Sil in his cabin, he felt the words spill out of his mouth without prompting. He would talk about his life on Earth, his adoptive parents, the few friends he¡¯d had and the large number of women who¡¯d rebuffed his advances. Sil was particularly curious about those, grilling him about their age, hair colour, attractiveness on a scale of 10 and the full history of their interaction. He found her thinly veiled jealously quite cute and didn¡¯t hesitate in spilling the beans. He would in turn learn so much about her that he would have guessed just by looking at her. Her parents were still alive back on Dint. She had three litter brothers and two litter sisters. They had been raised together as part of the same litter by the communal caretakers. Unfortunately they had all split up, going to research, military or staying on Dint. She missed them but she knew she would meet them again when she made her regular sabbatical trip back home. He loved hearing her talk about her family. He had always maintained a certain aloofness from his adoptive parents, trauma from his short while in the system ensuring that he did not want to get too heavily invested in people who might leave him. While he had been getting better over the years, it still wasn¡¯t to the point that he¡¯d be able to have a genuinely warm relationship with them. Sil, on the other hand, was nothing like that. She shared everything with him and he revelled in the intimacy. They would cuddle and talk for hours before lapsing into silence. It was always during those moments that Gus would practice his wandering hands skill. Sil would usually swat his hands away but with persistence he was able to wear her down and get her purring in his arms. The small of her back and the base of her ears were her most sensitive spots and he thoroughly enjoyed exploring them. He also introduced her to the concept of human ¡®skinship¡¯ and taught her how to kiss. Granted, he was a terrible kisser what with him having no experience but together they muddled through and finally achieved relative proficiency. If there was a downside to this, it was the crew¡¯s reception of the news; while many did not care beyond curiosity, some of her fellow Dintphs took some distance from her. Being a fairly social person, Sil took it quite hard and Gus was trying to cheer her up. Which was why he was sitting in the Commons waiting for her. He was determined to get her back into her friend¡¯s good books by demonstrating that he was a good mate. He¡¯d already spent some time doing his research. Van was more than accommodating and showed him all available materials on Dintph social cues and behaviour. While he couldn¡¯t keep everything in mind, he knew enough to avoid any major social faux-pas. To be honest, he couldn¡¯t care less about why you shouldn¡¯t talk about a Dintph¡¯s ears or how you should compliment their fur¡¯s sheen (but only if there were less than three other Dintphs around) but he wanted Sil to be happy and he really had to reason to alienate the other crewmembers. He quickly finished his nutrient paste and got up to order some shnolok stew from the dispenser. He would have trouble eating it with his vacsuit even improved as it was but it would serve as a social aid to approach his targets. After getting an appropriately large serving, he scanned the Commons and quickly located a small group of Dintphs seated in the middle of the room. He made his way to the group, noting how excited they appeared to be. One of them was gesturing wildly in a retelling of past exploits and they weren¡¯t paying attention to him. He skirted around them, careful not to get their attention then abruptly turned and put his platter down at their table. The one speaking paused mid-sentence, staring at him with his hands still describing whatever part of the story he¡¯d reached. The previous jovial atmosphere was gone, as if a lie in April. Gus wondered if he¡¯d be able to do this. He really didn¡¯t want to get Sil in more trouble. He raised hand and tried to speak in his most sociable voice. ¡°Why, hello there. Mind if I join you?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for permission and sat down without another word. He could feel the four pairs of eyes snap towards him with equal parts hostility and curiosity. He carefully opened the mouth opening of his suit and slowly put his spoon into his mouth. He felt the briefest of resistance when the metal reached the forcefield in front of his mouth but the spoon continued unabated until the warm stew entered his mouth. The forcefield was new: the Chief Engineer had reviewed his plight and designed a somewhat better suit, which included a miniature forcefield generator which snapped into position at the mouth opening of his vacsuit. It ensured that he could put things into his mouth but the atmosphere (and germs) within his suit wouldn¡¯t leak out. Enough about the suit though. The Dintphs were still staring at him in complete silence and he could see a couple of tail slowly lashing around. He was dangerously close to being rude so he introduced himself. ¡°Sorry about that, I really wanted to eat some of that. It¡¯s really good.¡± He could see one set of ears twitch in approval. The lessons are paying off. Thanks Van. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know who I am but let me introduce myself; I¡¯m the human Gustavo Martinez. You can call me Gus. It¡¯s really nice to meet you.¡± He smiled without showing his teeth. Showing teeth was an aggressive tendency that species descended from predators had. He didn¡¯t want to spook them.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He felt the tension ease up a bit as the storyteller leaned in on his elbows and stared at him candidly. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Ensign Dascha Drenten. I¡¯m in Engineering.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Nyph Rohor,¡± another said. Good, good, curiosity overcomes rudeness. ¡°I¡¯m Smil Wurum. Nice to finally see you up close.¡± Seeing everyone else accept his presence, the final Dintph reluctantly introduced himself. ¡°Rheh Git.¡± Gus didn¡¯t mind the curtness and launched into his plan of action. ¡°You know I¡¯ve always wanted to come speak to one of you before but I never could find the courage. But then I wanted to try out this shnolok stew and I guess I underestimated the size of the portion.¡± He chuckled in what he hoped was an amicable way. ¡°I heard Sil mention that she loves shnolock so I thought I¡¯d share with you guys and use the opportunity to get to know you.¡± ¡°Sil? Ah, I see. You¡¯re him aren¡¯t you? There¡¯s rumours flying around that Sil Nubo the prude has finally settled for a mate and he¡¯s quite¡­ interesting.¡± The Dintph was looking at him the way a cat stares at a canary. He could see an almost predatory glint in Nyph Rohor¡¯s eyes ever since he mentioned Sil¡¯s name. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m her new mate. How¡¯d you hear about that? We¡¯ve been keeping it pretty quiet.¡± Gotcha. Hook, line and sinker. ¡°I¡¯m actually one of Sil¡¯s litter-sisters. We haven¡¯t had a chance to talk after her mating frenzy abated but I¡¯ve heard things.¡± ¡°Really? Her sister? What a coincidence.¡± Coincidence my ass. Her name had come up during one of his talks with Sil and she¡¯d mentioned that one of her litter-sisters was on the ship with her. He learned about her through Sil and the ever-helpful Van had helped to map her schedule. ¡°Is it true what they say?¡± Gus tilted his head, waiting for more information. ¡°About?¡± ¡°That you¡¯re from a¡­¡± Nyph¡¯s voice dropped to a whisper. ¡°¡­ a category thirteen?¡± The sudden silence was deafening. It was like the chatter from the nearby tables was muffled static and there was a pocket of vacuum around them sucking all the sounds. Gus looked at each Dintph carefully before answering. Nyph had an eager yet fearful look in her eyes. He¡¯d already forgotten the other three¡¯s names but they were each staring at him intently. Well, all except for that one guy who was sneering at him. ¡°What¡¯s a category thirteen?¡± he asked innocently. Sneering Dintph scoffed. ¡°He¡¯s from such a backwater planet that he doesn¡¯t even know the category index.¡± He was about to continue when Nyph shot him a look. His mouth closed with a click and he turned away in sullen silence. Nyph leaned in conspiratorially. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a scale of one to fifteen that is an indicator of how dangerous a planet is, one being the lowest and fifteen being the most dangerous. Rumour has it your planet is a category thirteen planet.¡± ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t really understand this whole category business. I mean to me, it¡¯s just home.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this, every factor affecting survival bumps your planet up on the scale. So a category one planet which is the most ideal planet has only one factor that is a potential life-threatening risk. Category thirteen means there are thirteen. Get it now?¡± Gus frowned. ¡°Wait, that doesn¡¯t sound right. Thirteen is too much, isn¡¯t it? If it was, I don¡¯t know, category four or five I think that¡¯d be more acceptable.¡± ¡°AI, can you list the factors that classify Human¡¯s world as a category thirteen planet?¡± ¡°Affirmation. Listing factors. Factor one; poisonous atmosphere.¡± ¡°Wait, that¡¯s definitely not right. I¡¯ve been breathing this air for more than twenty years and I ain¡¯t never died yet.¡± ¡°Clarification. Earth atmosphere is nineteen point seven percent oxygen by volume. Most species of the New Intergalactic Coalition cannot breathe oxygen in such concentrations.¡± ¡°Ok, fine, poisonous for others then.¡± ¡°Factor two. Hostile flora. There are several species of plants that secrete toxins or are actively carnivorous. Factor three. Hostile fauna. There are several species of hunter animals that are highly dangerous, both to denizens of the Coalition or even to humans. Factor four. Extremes of environment. There are several environmental anomalies that result in conditions changing outside of safe reference ranges. These include but are not limited to storms, heat waves, heavy snows, torrential rains and droughts. Factor five. Unstable geology. Earth¡¯s crust consists of unstable plates that can store elastic strain energy and propagate that energy along fault lines, resulting in seismic events. There are also several active volcanoes on the planet¡¯s surface.¡± ¡°Ok, see, that¡¯s just seeing the negative in all things, AI. Such, there are some plants and animals that can kill you but that¡¯s largely if you¡¯re stupid. Even I know enough not to eat unknown mushrooms or brightly coloured fruits and I sure as hell don¡¯t antagonise wild animals. As for the environment and quakes, well that doesn¡¯t happen all the time and everywhere. And the volcanoes are actually quite pretty. It¡¯s always a pleasure to go watch them in action. Very scenic.¡± The four Dintphs were ogling him like he was a circus exhibit. ¡°Wait, that drivel about a category thirteen is actually real? AI, can you confirm that his world is a category thirteen?¡± ¡°Confirmation. Earth has been actively classified as a category thirteen planet with sapiant life. Data has been archived and addition to the Coalition database has been halted pending review by concerned parties.¡± ¡°Wait, so that¡¯s just five factors. What are the other eight? Give us the short version,¡± Nyph eagerly asked. She seemed entirely too enthusiastic about this. Gus was starting to regret this but he¡¯d never asked Van what the deal with Earth¡¯s classification was. That¡¯s a learning experience, I guess. ¡°Confirmation. Abbreviating listing. Factor six. High gravity. Factor seven. Evolving, highly contagious microbiota. Factor eight. Exposure to lethal amounts of solar radiation. Factor Nine. Hazardous environmental terrain such as swamps, acid pools or quick sands. Factor ten. Hazar-¡± ¡°We get it AI, no need to keep going,¡± Gus interrupted a bit tersely. He immediately regretted it. It wasn¡¯t Van¡¯s fault. He just didn¡¯t realise that the galaxy at large considered his home to be a shithole and that kinda hurt. His hand tightened around his spoon and he used the silence that followed his outburst to shove a few spoonfuls of shnolok stew into his waiting gullet. It really was quite good, he could see why Sil liked it. ¡°How do you even live over there? Thirteen, that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a deathworld!¡± one of the male Dintphs exclaimed. ¡°You keep throwing that word around. Deathworld. Like it¡¯s supposed to mean something to me.¡± ¡°We call them deathworlds for a reason. There has never been any record ofsapiantlife evolving on a deathworld. Colonisation is impossible. The planet simply grinds all life to dust. How did you survive?¡± Nyph was whispering now, clearly having lost some of that spark after hearing the rest of the reasons why Earth was a dump. Whoop-ti-doo. ¡°To me it¡¯s just home. Sure, there are some places on Earth that suck major balls, but by and alrge it¡¯s a safe place to live for me. For humans. Even for some plants and animals. I really don¡¯t get what the fuss is all about.¡± They all stared at him like he just grew an extra head. One of them shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t get it. If one of us was sent to that planet, we wouldn¡¯t last a day. It¡¯s incredible that a whole civilisation actually managed to thrive on a deathworld.¡± ¡°Thanks for the compliment I guess,¡± Gus shrugged. ¡°Look, can we change the subject? I¡¯m sure AI can answer your questions about deathworlds at a later date.¡± Once they had his tacit permission they started grilling him about how he ended up on the Vanatu. They were quite a receptive audience -even grumpy Dintph- and Gus found himself liking them more than he anticipated. When they reached a lull in the conversation Nyph suddenly leaned in and grinned a feral smile. ¡°So, you;ve been avoiding one more subject.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°What happened with you and Sil?¡± ¡°Err¡­ Why do you want to know?¡± Her grin widened, showing more teeth. ¡°She¡¯s my litter-sister, I need to take care of her.¡± Gus was sure being her sister was far from the real reason. More entertainment, you mean. Gus only smiled that teethless smile and kept eating his stew. Nyph¡¯s tail was coiling up behind her back and lashed against the bench she was on with a violent thwack. Gus kept the smile up until she quickly nodded once. Passed that test, didn¡¯t I? Among the Dintph it was considered quite rude to discuss mating with people who were not very family, even litter-siblings. Gus certainly didn¡¯t want to brag about how Sil had nearly killed him everytime they were fucking and they also didn¡¯t need to know his sperm was the Dintph equivalent of catnip. A hand suddenly clamped on Nyph shoulder quite painfully from the looks of it. Nyph¡¯s ears twitched and her grin slipped. ¡°Care to tell me why you¡¯re so close to him Nyph?¡± a cold voice asked. Chapter 20 Sil wasn¡¯t quite glued to him but it was a close thing. The diminutive Dintph was sitting practically next to him and was currently glaring daggers at Nyph Rohor. The latter was trying ¨C and failing ¨C to explain the previous situation to Gus¡¯ mate. ¡°Like I said, we were just talking. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡± ¡°You were too close. Much too close! You can talk from over there, can¡¯t you?¡± Sil said, pointing at the far end of the table. ¡°You know that¡¯s not reasonable.¡± Nyph sighed then perked up. ¡°Still, I have to say this development is quite interesting¡­ For you to be so enamored of someone you¡¯ve only just met¡­¡± her voice trailed off as her ears twitched forward. Sil reddened for some reason and pressed herself closer to Gus. It was unfortunately a wasted opportunity for him given how thick the vacsuit was. If dramas had taught him anything it was that he should keep his silence and wait until spoken to. The silence stretched as Sil looked at her feet with a red face and Nyph leered at them. Gus realised the time for actions was here. ¡°You know when I first realised I was here for the long haul I was kind of lost. And then I got thrown into this crazy situation with Sil and things were pretty touch-and-go for a moment there. And see, I ¡­uh¡­ I like Sil, I really do. She¡¯s fun and smart and she makes me feel like things are going to be ok when I¡¯m around her. At first I was worried that I screwed things up between the two of us but since she¡¯s agreed to be my mate, I¡¯ve been relieved.¡± Sil¡¯s face was positively fire-hydrant coloured and even hiding her face with both hands didn¡¯t cover up the fact that her ears were now crimson. He wrapped a suited arm around her shoulders and grinned at Nyph, this time showing his teeth. ¡°What can I say? When I¡¯m with her I feel like I can do my best.¡± ¡°Ohooo? Coming to her rescue? How romantic. I can see why she likes you.¡± Sil started hammering his arm with her cute fists. ¡°Wha-wha-what are you saying?! It¡¯s so embarrassing! Stop it!¡± He grinned and suddenly hugged her. She squealed and even her fur was in danger of turning red but she ultimately settled down. Seeing how Nyph was leering at them, he let her go and cleared his throat before eating some more stew. It was lukewarm now. Better eat that more quickly. It¡¯s time to share. Gus took the opportunity to rub Sil¡¯s shoulder affectionately and passed her his spoon. She quickly gobbled some stew before passing the spoon to her fellow Dintphs. Funnily enough, the first person she passed it to was Nyph. In Dintph culture, you bring a meal to share but only one set of utensils. You then pass the spoons and what not around in order of affection. While this might seem like a popularity contest, it allows outsiders to get some information on the relationships between Dintphs. Gus passed his spoon to Sil for obvious reasons but among them, Sil considered Nyph to be her closest friend. I guess being litter-sisters trumps jealousy. ¡°So Nyph, you said you were litter-sisters with Sil right? Are there any embarrassing antiques I should be aware of?¡± Nyph smiled and leaned forward once more. ¡°Oh, there are so many of them. This is Sil we¡¯re talking about; she might be smart enough to make Lieutenant in less than thirty years but she¡¯s easily flustered. I remember that one time with the Andalax embassador, she ¨C¡± ¡°Ah! He doesn¡¯t need to know that!¡± Sil shrieked as she pounced on Nyph. Her hands tried in vain to cover Nyph¡¯s mouth and they started play-fighting. ¡°What¡¯s that about the ambassador?¡± ¡°This girl, she *get off* she tried to *I¡¯m serious let me go* push the ambassador *got you there!* off a cliff!¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. While it was admittedly quite fun to see his newly-minted girlfriend get in to a fight with her sister, news of cliffs and pushing off of was alarming to say the least. ¡°What¡¯s that about a cliff?¡± he asked to one of the other Dintphs. One of them shook his head but the other had heard of that incident. ¡°Yeah, the Andalax ambassador visited Dith while his troops were making a stop at the nearby orbital station. Apparently he was smitten by Sil Nubo and tried to woo her in the ways of his people. It didn¡¯t end well.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m surprised we weren¡¯t all arrested. He is royalty after all,¡± Nyph injected, having successfully locked Sil¡¯s arms behind her back. ¡°But Sil was really pissed. Apparently he tried to grab her tail before she shoved him back.¡± ¡°Oh? Tail grabbing is bad?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s only done when you¡¯re close to someone.¡± ¡°What if you¡¯re not close?¡± ¡°That makes you kind of a pervert then.¡± Useful information to have. No tail-fondling in public. ¡°Sil, how about you come back here and leave you sister be? I¡¯m going to learn about these things sooner or later anyway.¡± Sil shot him an aggravated glare before shaking Nyph off and slinking back next to him. Nyph¡¯s ears twitched in surprise at that. ¡°You¡¯re pretty close already. I thought it¡¯d take some more time for you to get there. Is that the results of the mating? Sil seems more lively too, you must have done something right.¡± ¡°Thanks but she¡¯s helped me out more than I did her. It¡¯s all thanks to her support that I haven¡¯t had a breakdown yet.¡± Judging by the way they¡¯re looking at me, that might not have been the best thing to say. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m in space, far away from everything I know, plunging head first into the great unknown. It takes a toll a guy¡­¡± Sil¡¯s hand hesitantly reached out and squeezed his. God, I really need to get a better suit. I can hardly feel her hand. ¡°Ah sorry about that. Wasn¡¯t trying to be a bummer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. One can hardly blame you for feeling that way.¡± ¡°So enough about me. I came here to learn more about you guys, so the floor¡¯s yours now,¡± Gus said gesturing to them. They all looked down at the floor. I should have known. ¡°It means that it¡¯s your turn to speak now. It¡¯s a term used in debates back on Earth.¡± After the collective ¡°ooooh¡±, the conversation picked up again, with Sil throwing in good-natured jabs at Nyph. Gus enjoyed his time with them and was startled out of his contemplation by Van¡¯s beep. ¡°Sorry guys, I need to go. I have an appointment with a guy from Engineering to talk about my suit. I¡¯ll see you guys around.¡± He waved and quickly left. Social gatherings still made him slightly uncomfortable and Sil and her friends had some catching up to do anyway. * * * ¡°Quite a nice being.¡± Sil harrumphed and kept eating the stew Gus left behind. ¡°Look, he didn¡¯t even finish his food! It¡¯s your fault for making him talk all the time!¡± Sil said in a huff. The other Dintphs smiled in sympathy as Nyph once again bore the brunt of Sil¡¯s displeasure. After a time, the shnolock stew was done and Rheh Git and Smil Wurum left for their own shifts. Sil was left facing a grinning Nyph. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked sullenly. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just happy to see my cute sister got herself a mate. He doesn¡¯t look all that reliable but to be fair that might be because of the vacsuit.¡± ¡°He¡¯s reliable enough when I need him.¡± ¡°That sounds like a juicy secret.¡± Nyph sidled next to Sil and their tails twined together in a subtle ballet of emotions. ¡°You know you can tell me anything. You used to be so cute back at the Academy, telling me all about which boys you¡¯d choose for a contract.¡± She grinned as Sil reddened. ¡°So what¡¯s so special about this one? I¡¯m sorry to say he doesn¡¯t look like much. That might just be my own sense of aesthetics though.¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± Sil stopped, struggling with her words. ¡°How much do you know about my mating period?¡± Nyph shrugged. ¡°Lieutenant Vatta Ren wouldn¡¯t tell me anything about it. She said I should ask you myself. I just assumed it was embarrassing.¡± ¡°It is embarrassing. Shameful, even. I¡­ I went feral.¡± Nyph was stunned. Only a small proportion of Dintphs ever go feral during matings and they are kept on a strict hormonal treatment to mitigate the after effects of such aggressive behaviour! Yet Sil looks just the same as she always did. That¡¯s not possible! ¡°You certainly don¡¯t look like you did. I mean, you¡¯re still eating with spoons.¡± She teased, trying to cover up her shock. ¡°Is he the reason you came back from being feral?¡± Sil nodded absent-mindedly. ¡°I think so. I only got flashes of what I did during my time with him but I remember this¡­ overwhelming lust. I remember getting really physical with him. There was scratching, biting, clawing and much more.¡± She paused again, organising her thoughts. ¡°He looks weak, but he¡¯s surprisingly strong. He can hold me down during one of my frenzies and he can easily carry me around on his shoulder. He¡¯s also very good in bed. Really good. I¡¯ve never done this before but all the reports I¡¯ve read and the studies I¡¯ve done show that matings aren¡¯t usually this intense and pleasurable. I think¡­ I think that if I go full on feral that he can restrain me.¡± Nyph was silent for a beat. ¡°Is that the reason you¡¯re in a contract with him? Because it feels good and you¡¯re scared of being with another Dintph? I¡¯m not being xenophobic here, but he might not be the best choice of a mate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the reason, it¡¯s just a good bonus. I genuinely like him. He¡¯s very sweet and he wants to know more about me. Did you really think he just bumped into you in the Commons and happened to have some shnolock stew with him? With just one spoon?¡± Nyph snorted. ¡°Yeah, that was kind of weak I have to admit. Not very subtle, our boy, eh? Well, I don¡¯t hate that about him.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m going to stay with him for now. We¡¯ll leave the future for the future.¡± Nyph retracted her tail and slowly got up, giving her litter-sister a hug. ¡°You take care of yourself now. I can¡¯t always be there to help out but you know where to find me if you need me.¡± As she was leaving she couldn¡¯t resist a parting shot. ¡°If you ever get bored of your human pet, let me know. I¡¯m really interested in his ¡­ prowess,¡± she said suggestively. It was a good thing she was out of reach of Sil¡¯s hands. Chapter 21 The Engineering Bay was a disappointment: every tool was in its place, every workspace clearly defined, every project self-contained and everything looked sterile. What happened to the brilliant chaos? What about the quirky Head that enjoys throwing shit everywhere? What is this? Give me some goddamned tropes please, not this sterile hospital shit! Gus looked around for a while, trying to find someone free enough to help him out before giving up. ¡°AI, where do I find the guy I need to speak to?¡± ¡°Query. Who do you need to speak to?¡± ¡°The head of the Engineering department. I don¡¯t remember his name.¡± ¡°Calculating. There is a zero percent chance that Lieutenant Trando Uvisulim is in the Engineering bay.¡± ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s really helpful.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°I really need to show you how sarcasm works.¡± Gus scanned the bay once again. In retrospect, maybe running an engineering bay full of dangerous experimental materials and prototypes this clinical way was actually a good thing. I mean, no chance of a catastrophic reactor breakdown if everything is by the books I suppose. Kinda boring though. Gus remembered his own workbench back at the lab had been far more cluttered. Granted, he could always find what he needed but he was the only one who could decipher where each individual component was. He flagged someone down and questioned him about that Trando¡¯s whereabouts. ¡°Oh, the Lieutenant¡¯s probably calibrating the reactors. He loves calibrations, that man.¡± ¡°Uh, okay, sure. How do I get to the reactors?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t. You need a level five clearance for that and you¡¯re definitely not on the list. Just wait there, in that corner over there,¡± he said, pointing to an empty workstation. ¡°Can I log onto the ship subsystems from there? I don¡¯t want to waste time just sitting there and since I¡¯m here to improve my vacsuit, I thought I¡¯d get started on that.¡± ¡°Sounds like a wise idea. I¡¯ll unlock that station. You can speak to AI to link it to your datapad.¡± ¡°Thanks man.¡± The Agaraxian lead him to the station, fiddled with the holoscreen then went back to his beautifully intricate work. He seemed like he was working on some sort of wire mesh ¨C reactor hybrid thing. Who am I kidding? I have no idea what he¡¯s doing, but it looks cool. Like jewellery. For a reactor core. He turned to his holoscreen and asked Van to link his datapad database to that station. He awkwardly cracked his fingers through the suit and leaned forward. ¡°Let¡¯s get this party started.¡± * * * The Pride of Vanatu was nominally a scout ship but boasted state of the art facilities and equipment according to Van. All of that meant that it was vastly more advanced than anything Gus had ever encountered. It had taken him hours of slogging through text just to be able to use his datapad with a modicum of success. This beast in front of him was different. Waaaay different. Gus was losing his mind going over the necessary steps to properly access the Frame Management Simulation Program. He finally gave up and asked that good Samaritan from before to help him out. All it took was some fiddling with the console and a flick of his wrist to access the FMSP. Gus was mortified and resolved to become at the very least competent in the use of this program. Thanking the guy profusely, he then set about to modifying his suit. The FMSP was surprisingly similar to the unit upgrade interface from those 4X games he played before. It was a tad more complicated than that, but hey, whatever works. Unfortunately, Gus had no idea what any of the materials or upgrades listed actually did and what their properties were. It was with a heavy heart that he sighed and slumped in his seat. He didn¡¯t know how long his head was on the desk but he certainly felt the huge weight on his shoulder shake him awake. He blinked sleepy eyes and turned around awkwardly in his vacsuit. At first he thought he was dreaming. Then reality set in and he looked up. And up. And up. The newcomer was to a mountain what a toy plane was to a jumbo jet. He ¡­ she¡­ it? He hada craggy exterior similar to the rocky face of a mountain. Irregular protrusions peppered his huge arms and chest. He was humanoid in shape with no neck whatsoever that Gus could see. One of his huge hands was currently on Gus¡¯ shoulder. How did I not end up squished when he touched me? He looked about two to two and a half meters tall and Gus¡¯ neck was starting to hurt just looking up. He got up, turned around once more and got a better look.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. He looked like an anthropomorphic cliff suddenly sprouted limbs and started walking around. Size aside, the sheer density of him should have made it impossible to walk the ship¡¯s decks, yet he was standing with nary a thought to care. Gus noticed a belt-like contraption tied around his waist. It had three slowly blinking lights set in a silvery circle of metal and what looked like a touchpad next to them. There were several wires leading from the buckle-like metal circle to other parts of the belt. The pattern of the lights would sometimes shift in response to stimuli that Gus couldn¡¯t determine. He tried to introduce himself but words failed him. It was with a dry mouth that he swallowed and finally managed to thrust a gloved hand in front of him. The rock mountain looked at the proffered hand in puzzlement before doing the same. They just stood there for a minute, both hands outstretched in front of the other, parallel and ungrasped. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± his voice broke and he swallowed once again, rallying his mental faculties. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to shake my hand. It¡¯s a human greeting ritual. Here, I¡¯ll show you,¡± Gus said as he reached for the looming hand in front of him. He gently guided it to his own and closed rugged fingers around his palm. His entire fist disappeared in the giant¡¯s grip and he slowly pumped the hand up and down. ¡°That¡¯s it, you can let go now.¡± ¡°A most curious ritual. Why do humans do this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think it stemmed from the fact that a very long time ago, humans were quite war-like and tended to stab each other constantly. To show that you meant no harm, you¡¯d approach and offer your hand to demonstrate your lack of weapons and ill intentions.¡± ¡°Fascinating. I¡¯d love to hear more of your culture when you have some free time. But where are my manners? My name is Trando. Trando Uvisulim. I am a Lieutenant on board the Pride of Vanatu and the Head of the Engineering Department. You may call me Trando or just Lieutenant if you so wish.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Gustavo Martinez. You can call me Gus or just Human. Everyone seems to believe that¡¯s my name. I¡¯m¡­ I guess I¡¯ve been abducted by aliens so I¡¯d say I¡¯m a kidnap victim,¡± Gus said as he chuckled nervously. Trando¡¯s rock-like face betrayed no emotion as he rumbled out an apology. ¡°I do apologise for that incident. The ensign responsible for the transporter mishap was one of my subordinates. I will endeavour to train him more properly so that such a thing never happens again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool, everyone makes mistakes. Besides, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been mistreated since coming here, so no harm done.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve had to abandon your entire life. All your friends and family and work and culture, all gone, left behind you in a trail of ions and warp signatures.¡± Gus was silent for a moment before he replied. ¡°My life wasn¡¯t exactly the greatest back on Earth, contrary to what people might think. I think a change of pace was just what the doctor ordered. I¡¯ve been feeling a bit more energised since I¡¯ve been on board the Vanatu. Well, it took some getting used to at first, but I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°I see. Did Lieutenant Vatta Ren prescribe you this change of pace? I find it hard to believe that she¡¯d use such a process in lieu of medication.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a human figure of speech. I¡¯m still helping AI calibrate the vocabulary database for the human translation matrix, so there are still things we¡¯re missing.¡± ¡°Remarkable. You¡¯re actively helping the AI integrate your language into our matrix? You¡¯d need more than a passing familiarity with the various languages and expressions used amongst the species that populate the Pride of Vanatu. Do you not find it difficult or worse, tedious?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that bad. Besides, I¡¯m cheating. AI is constantly helping me out. I just tell it what each human expression means and it automatically finds the closest equivalent in whatever alien tongue it¡¯s translating.¡± ¡°I need to observe the next time you do so. I think I might learn something useful for my own research.¡± ¡°Research? I¡¯m curious now. I am ¨C was.¡± Gus paused. ¡°I was a scientist back home. I have an interest in research.¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on gravitronics and quantum locking signatures.¡± Noticing Gus¡¯ blank expression, Trando elaborated. ¡°I study gravity fields and their use. My other research is more esoteric. I don¡¯t know how far you¡¯d understand it.¡± ¡°Not very far I¡¯m afraid, I¡¯m more of a biology kind of guy. Anyway, I didn¡¯t ask to meet you to talk about research porn. I need help with my vacsuit.¡± ¡°Is it damaged? You have a replacement vacsuit in your cabin if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡± Gus quickly shook his head thought the suit didn¡¯t lend itself to that kind of action. The result was that his head was moving while the exterior of the suit didn¡¯t move at all. He gave up on trying to convey negation through head shakes. ¡°No, it¡¯s not damaged. I just thought it could use some improvements is all. It¡¯s functional but not very comfortable. It¡¯s also unwieldy and I¡¯m losing a lot of my range of motion when I wear it.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t designed for someone of your stature nor was it intended to be used as you do now. Hmmm¡­ What improvements did you have in mind?¡± Gus¡¯ neck was starting to hurt so he sat back down in front of the console and turn his back to Trando, feeling him move closer to him. ¡°AI, display Project Plugsuit.¡± ¡°Confirmation. Displaying Project Plugsuit from datapad floating data stream. Displayed.¡± ¡°This looks like innerwear used for piloting.¡± ¡°Surprisingly accurate. It¡¯s based on a fictional piloting suit from Earth media. I¡¯ve been playing around some of the materials you have available here but the list is so exhaustive that I literally cannot find anything to use. I figured I¡¯d wait for you and get your input.¡± ¡°Certainly, that seems to be the wisest move. I am intimately familiar with all the materials that are available for synthesis on the Pride of Vanatu. With your ideas and my knowledge we might come up with something appropriate for your use.¡± * * * It wasn¡¯t until Gus checked his chronometer that he realised five hours had passed. Trando was a beast. He would come up with the best possible materials whenever Gus had an idea. He would listen carefully then shoot his down if the idea wasn¡¯t feasible or suggest improvements for the unshaped mess that were his more viable concepts. He should have done this much sooner. The new vacsuit was shaping up to be a great success. It had considerably slimed and the material was much thinner than before but more comfortable or so Trando claimed. Gus wasn¡¯t convinced though. ¡°It¡¯s obvious we can¡¯t say it¡¯s going to work just based on the statistics we¡¯ve assembled. It looks functional on paper but we need a prototype and a field test. I don¡¯t need to remind you how different human physiology is from xenoi physiology.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Hmmm.¡± Trando pondered the issue with a thoughtful face. Gus really couldn¡¯t read him thought. All he saw was the ever-expressionless, craggy exterior that was Trando¡¯s face. Does he ever smile? Can he smile? How does he turn his head? He can tell where something is without using his eyes though. Extra sensory organs? I need to study his species more. He straightened as Trando slowly turned back to him. ¡°It¡¯s decided then. I¡¯ve already launched the synthesis of the latest prototype. Now we only have to carry out a stress test.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you still have to do that. Doesn¡¯t the simulation accurately calculate the specs including the stress values for each material or component?¡± ¡°Indeed it does. There is however a variable that doesn¡¯t exist in our databases and I need to account for it in the final iteration of the suit.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that then?¡± Gus asked. Trando only looked at him. Time passed and his gaze did not waver. Gus was starting to get a bad feeling. He got up and turned to leave. ¡°You know it was lovely speaking with you but I really need to get going. I forgot I left something on the stove at home.¡± He tried to hurry away when a vice closed around his waist and he stopped moving. He heard a deep growl mixed with the disturbing echo of boulders crushing against each other. He slowly turned back and realised the deeply reverberating grating noise was in fact Trando laughing. ¡°No need to leave so quickly. I¡¯ve heard many stories about you and I¡¯ve always enjoyed testing new materials. I promise it won¡¯t hurt. Well, not in the beginning.¡± Trando¡¯s laughter echoed in the Engineering Bay with the finality of a rockslide. Chapter 22 "So I just need to squeeze this ball?¡± ¡°Yes. Start off lightly then slowly increase the pressure you¡¯re putting on it.¡± ¡°Right. That sounds simple enough. I have another question though.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Gus glanced at the holoscreen and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why am I naked?¡± Trando didn¡¯t even have the decency to look embarrassed. ¡°It¡¯s an opportunity to get additional data for the medical and science departments. You¡¯re a new species and you can never get enough data on new species. Why? Is there a problem? As I understand it humans tend to get naked quite often.¡± ¡°Yes, we do, but it all depends on the context. Being naked usually involves courtship rituals or reproductive activities. We don¡¯t normally go around in a birthday suit.¡± ¡°Birthday suit? A human expression, I presume?¡± ¡°Yeah, it means to be naked.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ Then do you feel embarrassed? I highly doubt you¡¯d be interested in me sexually, what with your affinity for the good Lieutenant. If that is the case, I advise you to not mind it. I have seen many strange, naked beings in my time.¡± Gus grumbled something under his breath before sighing heavily. ¡°So, what with this ball anyway?¡± The object in question was perfectly spherical, had a metallic touch and gleamed silver. It was warm, the same temperature as his hand and felt oddly solid but turned soft whenever he pressed on it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like anything I¡¯ve ever seen on Earth.¡± ¡°One should hope not. It¡¯s a synthetic material that was created through derivations. I doubt you¡¯d seen it outside of Council space.¡± ¡°Derivations? What does that mean? You just calculated this into being?¡± ¡°Very close. Our main think tank got together and started working on theoretical materials, materials that were unfound in nature but were somehow discovered while rearranging the structural configuration of known elements and materials. From time to time, we get new, exciting discoveries and this material is one of them. It¡¯s called phelante and its main use currently is in stress testing.¡± ¡°How does it work? It¡¯s soft when I squeeze but it gets harder other times. Does it respond to stimulus?¡± ¡°Something like that. It¡¯s a modular material which consists of groups of molecules which align in a particular pattern in response to an impulse. The impulse itself is generated by stress produced from a striking force on the surface of the material. This allows it to quickly harden when struck with a fast kinetic blow. However, the molecular modules will shift their alignment when subjected to a gradual force. It effectively means that with a sensor linked to a phelante surface, it is possible to read very fine gradual increases in pressure.¡± ¡°That sounds like a lot of trouble. Wouldn¡¯t it be simpler to just use a pressure plate? I¡¯d just press on it until I reached my limits. It would accomplish the same thing, right?¡± ¡°It would, and it this were some sort of backwater planet, that¡¯s exactly what we¡¯d do. Pressure plates are very nice and simple but are bulkier and on a ship like this, space is at a premium. So we try to trim whatever we can. In truth though, it¡¯s just more impressive this way.¡± ¡°Fair enough. So back to squeezing then? A very light amount of force, then gradually increase to my maximum with one hand. Alternate to the other hand, get some rest, then switch to both hands. Is that right?¡± ¡°Exactly. You may begin whenever you wish.¡± Gus started squeezing. ¡°I¡¯m warning you though, you¡¯re gonna be disappointed. I grip like a girl.¡± * * * ¡°I do believe the screaming was unnecessary.¡± ¡°It helps me focus my strength.¡± ¡°Does it really?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s more instinctual I¡¯d say. Whenever a human is doing something strenuous, it will involve some sort of screaming or grunting.¡± ¡°Is that true for all humans or just you?¡± ¡°All humans, as far as I know.¡± ¡°I see. If you¡¯ll direct your attention to your left, you¡¯ll see an innerwear exosuit that fits you. Please wear it.¡± Gus walked to the space-trolley and grabbed said exosuit. It was surprisingly light, with smooth material interspaced with rough blocks at regular intervals. He put it on, marvelling at how the measurements seemed to be just right and how comfortable the suit was. The blocks felt cool against his bare skin but he quickly got used to it. He stretched, testing his range of motion and noting that the blocks did not hinder him in any way.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°All good. What now?¡± ¡°Now we¡¯ll be doing some more comprehensive tests. First off will be your endurance. Please get on the treadmill and start walking at a leisurely pace.¡± The treadmill looked like something straight from a gym from back home. He got on and felt the machine beneath him thrum quietly as the belt started moving at a snail¡¯s pace. ¡°How do I adjust the speed?¡± He touched the handrails and the panel in front of him to no avail as the belt¡¯s speed didn¡¯t vary. ¡°No need to worry about adjusting it. The speed will slowly increase in small increments. I will be monitoring your body¡¯s activity whenever you reach a new milestone. I¡¯ll be looking at your reaction before and after changing speeds. To get consistent data I hope you¡¯ll cooperate and keep your pace constant for every given speed point. Since this is a stress test, you might get a bit¡­ uncomfortable.¡± It was a while before Gus reached the first significant speed milestone and he decided to chat for a bit. ¡°So Trando, tell me about yourself.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Just introduce yourself, I guess. Tell me more about why you joined this crew. Why the military? How¡¯s your homeworld? Tell me of your people. That kind of stuff¡­¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I¡¯m Lieutenant Trando Uvisulim. I am the head of the Engineering Department, as I¡¯ve told you before. I¡¯m a member of the Kmoz¡¯iq species, from the Uruth star system. As you¡¯ve no doubt guessed we are a species from a very high gravity world. The Uruth worlds are considered category six planets on the index of survivability. Nowhere near your homeworld but they present their own challenges, mostly when we¡¯re off-planet.¡± ¡®Too heavy to move around normally?¡± ¡°Exactly, which is why we are pioneers in the gravitronics department. Every member of the Kmoz¡¯iq that goes off world must have a gravity harness equipped so that he or she doesn¡¯t break any surface he or she is on. Every harness is calibrated for a specific Kmoz¡¯iq and they are responsible for its maintenance. As such, many of my species end up in engineering or science departments. It makes it easier to continue our research of maintain our equipment.¡± ¡°That sounds inconvenient. That gravity harness, is it that the belt thing you¡¯re wearing? And from what you¡¯re saying you¡¯re more worried about what¡¯s around you than your own well-being.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s exactly that. Milestone reached. I am increasing the speed. Compared to the other environments, natural or manufactured, we are much sturdier. Our organs and dermis, our skeletal structure, everything has evolved to be able to withstand tremendous amounts of pressure. As such, when we can tolerate a great many conditions that others cannot. The gravity harnesses allow us to move unimpeded in lower gravity. Just imagine, hurting someone else or breaking the furniture around you simply because the gravity is too weak and you¡¯re not used to the lack of resistance. Concerning myself¡­ Well, there¡¯s not much to say. I have a very strong interest in gravitronics and my research has actually been progressing very smoothly. I¡¯d tell you more about it but your world doesn¡¯t have sufficiently advanced science for you to understand it. Perhaps when you¡¯ve had an opportunity to study it in more details, we can sit together and have a chat about it. How is this speed by the way? Any strain?¡± ¡°None. This is still pretty slow. Hey, this stress test business is pretty easy.¡± ¡°For a human perhaps. I remember reading from the reports that you mentioned humans being endurance hunters. This section of the test should be the easiest for you.¡± ¡°Endurance hunting hasn¡¯t been in fashion for centuries. The humans you¡¯ll encounter nowadays are mostly lazy fucks like me. I mean sure, we have pretty good stamina depending on the situation but there¡¯s no way we can track an animal for three days and nights with no sleep anymore.¡± ¡°With civilisation, the need for such evolutionary traits was lost. Fascinating.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure. You were telling me about yourself?¡± Gus prompted once more. ¡°Ah yes. I grew up wishing to see other worlds and wanting to expand my horizons. Joining the engineering branch of the military was ideal in that I could do both and I¡¯d be getting paid as well. I got assigned to the Pride of Vanatu as a result of my research on gravity anomalies that might affect warp travelling during long hauls. Perhaps the higher-ups thought I might be of help if there ever was an incident involving gravity wells during warp travelling. Beyond that, there¡¯s really not much to tell. Milestone reached. I am increasing the speed.¡± Gus felt the belt move a bit faster. He now had to jog along to keep up. It felt surprisingly good to move his body again like that. He never thought he¡¯d miss doing light exercise but being cooped up in his room - no matter how large it might have been - wasn¡¯t a very good idea. He could feel the kinks and aches of his body fade into the all-encompassing weariness that accompanied exercise. He still had the leeway to talk so he asked another question. ¡°Hey Trando, as the Head of Engineering, you must have access to special manufacturing equipment right? I mean, you¡¯d have military or factory grade synthesisers and no restrictions on materials whatsoever, right?¡± ¡°Assuming that is correct, what would you do?¡± ¡°I have some ideas for some really cool stuff that can¡¯t possibly be made on Earth due to the lack of technology and I wanted to see if it was possible using your tech. I mean, throw me a bone here ¨C I¡¯ve been kidnapped by a coalition of super-advanced aliens and I don¡¯t even get to play around with some new toys? That¡¯d be really sad¡­¡± There was silence for some time before Trando replied. ¡°I¡¯d have to check with the Captain. Giving non-military personnel access to those devices usually ends up badly. Your request will be put on hold pending approval. Milestone reached. I am increasing the speed.¡± Gus was now at a brisk jog, arms pumping up and down. He was panting now, not quite struggling to breathe but feeling a familiar burn coming back to him like a long-lost friend, just dropping by to visit but overstaying his welcome and passing out on the couch. He tried to keep his head up but the white walls of the room were suddenly glaringly brilliant and he squinted through the pain of suddenly burning eyes. ¡°Milestone reached. I am increasing the speed.¡± The treadmill sped up quite a bit. He had to genuinely run to keep up now. ¡°Uh hey,¡± Gus said, huffing and puffing, ¡°that¡¯s kinda fast¡­ Could you *huff* could you slow down *wheeze* slow down a bit?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Slow down!¡± He nearly tripped over his own feet and decided he had enough. He grabbed the handrails and got off the belt. He was desperately trying to catch his breath when he felt a shock travel all over his body. He stiffened and yelped at the suddenness of the sensation of the muscles in his arms and legs clenching uncontrollably. ¡°What the actual fuck?! What was that?!¡± ¡°That is a countermeasure set up to prevent recalcitrant participants from completing the stress test. Please get back on the treadmill, for your own sake.¡± ¡°What the fuck Trando! I¡¯m not some sort of- FFFFFUUUUCCCKKK!!!¡± Gus screamed as another shock, this time of higher amplitude, travelled though his body. ¡°Dammit Trando stop that!¡± he roared as he tried to ineffectually rip the exosuit off him. It was much too tight now, trapping him in this electrical nightmare of a prison. His left arm was still twitching from the aftermath of the last shock. ¡°I don¡¯t suggest you do that, the suit is designed to trigger the shock if it is tampered with. Getting on the treadmill and finishing the stress test is your best bet at this point.¡± ¡°I swear to fucking God, Trando, as soon as I get out I¡¯m gonna kill you!¡± ¡°Yes, of course. The treadmill?¡± Trando prompted nonchalantly. Gus hopped back on and immediately regretted his decision. The exhaustion that followed was almost as bad as the shock but he could somehow keep up until he heard the familiar words. ¡°Milestone reached. I am increasing the speed.¡± He had to run for his life now, arms and legs pumping like mad, muscles positively burning in agony and mouth absolutely dry. He couldn¡¯t fathom why Trando would be doing this to him. Another case of the over-eager engineer? Fuck, I really fucked up! I knew stress testing wouldn¡¯t be this simple! ¡°You must be wondering why I¡¯m doing this. As I said earlier, this is a stress test and I must know your limits if I am to effectively design your suit. This also doubles as a medical examination. If I do this now, then you won¡¯t be subjected to another more rigid examination when we reach our destination. Trust me on this, you do not want to show up with incomplete documentation. I know, I know, this is very painful and perhaps the electric shocks were a bit too much but I needed a way to ensure your cooperation. Given that you¡¯re an unknown lifeform from a category thirteen planet, this much exertion shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you anyway. You¡¯ll thank me when you¡¯re stranded on a hostile planet with nothing between you and certain death except the suit I¡¯ll be making you.¡± Gus was far too concerned with keeping up the pace than Trando¡¯s words and honestly couldn¡¯t spare a second to listen to him. His world had shrunk to the belt moving at break-neck speeds and his legs screaming in agony. He could see black spots and silvery flecks swimming in his vision and his lunch was coming up in a very distinct manner. He struggled to keep the nausea from overwhelming him until he heard Trando again. ¡°Milestone reached. I am increasing the speed.¡± Chapter 23 ¡°How am I still alive?¡± Gus woke up to the brightly lit ceiling of the white room he had passed out in. The entire room gave off the same sterile feeling he¡¯d felt in the engineering department. White light glared at him from above as he cracked an eyelid open. ¡°You are greatly exaggerating. What you went through was certainly strenuous but by no means life-threatening.¡± ¡°It was a figure of speech, you douchebag. Why don¡¯t you go kiss a fusion core while you¡¯re at it?¡± ¡°I sense hostility in your voice.¡± How can he sound so calm? ¡°Gee, I wonder why? Could it be because you fucking zapped me with twelve million volts every time I slowed down?!¡± Gus could feel a spark of anger churning in the pit of his stomach. ¡°I explained all that. It was necessary for your physical examination. Again, what I did was far tamer than what the Coalition scientists tend to do. To them, you are not a sapiant unless you are acknowledged by the Coalition. Having a vetted officer put you through your paces is enough to qualify as an in-depth analysis of your physical abilities.¡± Gus pondered that while he rubbed what should have been sore muscles. It does kind of make sense. I mean, assuming I believe him. Still he did sound like a nice guy. But do mountains have feelings? Is he a mountain? Why do I not hurt? ¡°Hey Trando, how come nothing hurts?¡± ¡°When you passed out I took the liberty of using some medical serum on you. The results exceeded my expectations, to be honest.¡± ¡°Exceeded? Wait¡­ Did you use me as a fucking lab rat?¡± Silence greeted Gus¡¯ question. ¡°I swear to God Trando, I¡¯m going to pound your face into a new shape.¡± So far everyone on board had been very helpful, but it was situations like these that reminded Gus that he was after all just a glorified stowaway. I¡¯m not even considered a citizen in their eyes, I bet¡­ ¡°Everything worked out in the end. Better learn now what can be used on you than wait until something goes horribly wrong. The data we got was very insightful. It seems your body responds exceedingly well to treatment using the medical serum. The lactic acid build up that was frankly quite alarming was eliminated and your muscles were restored within the span of two hours. The serum does not usually take so little time to work.¡± ¡°Two hours? How long was I out?¡± ¡°Two hours,¡± Trando deadpanned. Gus sat up at that. He experimentally flexed his arms and made a fist. No pain. He got up gingerly, trying to find signs of strain but he felt weirdly refreshed. Like all his joints were oiled up and his muscles were already warmed up and not like he just got done with a two hour nap. He stretched a bit and tested it out. Still no pain. Huh, what do you know, I guess Trando isn¡¯t a super sadist after all. I¡¯ll hold off on the ass-kicking. It¡¯s definitely not because he looks like he could squash me with a sneeze. ¡°So, no pain. Thanks for that I suppose. Can we dispense with the shocks now that I know I¡¯m gonna heal up after every test?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I need the shocks to push you beyond your perceived limits. But I can attenuate them to a degree that you¡¯ll find merely uncomfortable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something.¡± Gus looked up sharply. ¡°Hey, you said I healed up right? My muscles and everything? Can you give me more details?¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Certainly. Your muscles had several microfractures that could potentially have caused injuries. The medical serum includes nanites that target damaged sections and repair them using the materials available in the serum.¡± ¡°Whoa¡­ You have no idea what that means do you?¡± ¡°I¡­ do not think I do, no. Can you explain?¡± ¡°Holy shit, where do I begin?¡± Gus started pacing. ¡°Ok, so when a human exercises past his limit, his muscles start to break down. They get microfractures all over their muscle fibres due to the strain. That sounds really bad, but humans can actually heal that damage. So it takes about, uh¡­ forty-eight Earth hours for that damage to be healed, assuming it¡¯s not too serious. When the muscle fibres heal, they get stronger. At first you don¡¯t notice it, but if you do that often enough, you can get a visible increase in muscle mass that leads to an increase in power generated from those muscles. Basically, the more you train, the stronger you get.¡± ¡°Fascinating. Does that happen for every muscle you have? Is that why you have such strange muscles? Fibres bundled together in increasing numbers?¡± ¡°Yeah. So, each and every muscle is made up of several muscle tissue bundles. It goes from a huge muscle group to a tiny myofibril.¡± Talking about his vocation was getting him fired up. Gus started talking faster, the words tumbling out from his mouth almost uncontrollably. ¡°The first to be damaged are those myofibrils but you don¡¯t get stronger from just that. You need to reach a certain threshold for the damage to be significant enough that your body rebuilds the destroyed muscle fibres stronger than before.¡± He paused at that before resuming his pacing. ¡°As I said, it happens in small increments. If I train diligently for about three months, I might increase my muscle mass by, say, ten to twenty percent, depending on how hard I train. This is just a number I pulled out of my ass, it might not be realistic.¡± ¡°Is there an upper limit to that strengthening? Do you perpetually rebuild muscles stronger than before and in ever increasing amounts?¡± Gus liked to think that Trando sounded surprised at this sudden revelation but in truth all he sounded like was¡­ nonchalant. ¡°No. There are diminishing returns once you hit a certain point. The tipping point is going beyond what your body can normally sustain in terms of energy expenditure. A guy standing at about one hundred and eighty centimetres can sustain about ninety kilos of mass at about nine percent body fat relatively easily. That means he¡¯s mostly muscle. If you want to, you can go beyond that limit but the energy requirements to sustain that kind of mass is increasingly difficult to maintain. So no, I can¡¯t continually get stronger. At one point, I¡¯ll reach my peak.¡± ¡°What if you had a limitless source of energy? You would train constantly with increasing amounts of effort spent and have access to that limitless source of energy. Could it be possible to sustain a linear increase in muscle mass from just that?¡± Gus stopped, leaned against a machine and thought about it for a while. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s feasible. I mean, it would have to fit on the human skeleton. There¡¯s only so much muscle a human can safely sustain. Maybe if you could¡­ I dunno, make the muscles denser, reinforce the bones to be stronger perhaps?¡± He scrunched his face up in concentration, thinking of the possibilities. ¡°Instead of increasing the amount of muscles you have, increase the quality of the muscle itself? Like, for example, if there was an artificial muscle made of steel fibres, the amount of power it could safely generate in a contraction without tearing would be greater than that of a muscle made of human tissue. But well, that¡¯s all theoretical.¡± Wait a minute. Machine? Gus looked around. The room now looked like a gym from back home. How the fuck? ¡°Trando, how come the room looks like something from Earth?¡± ¡°I asked AI to display a place dedicated to physical exertion from your homeworld and it showed me quite a lot of holos of places resembling this. It also cross-referenced it with a ¡®gym¡¯ that you mention a lot when talking about exercise. This is what I came up with to help get you in the mood for further testing.¡± There were racks of free weights, rows of treadmills and bikes, different configurations of benches, racks for deadlifting and squats and even mats placed on the floor around him. ¡°How did all that get here? I was only out for two hours you said,¡± Gus said with more than a little awe in his voice. ¡°I had AI synthesise them and transported them here with the help of bots and antigrav loaders.¡± Gus was still staring at the equipment. ¡°And what about the materials used? What happens when I¡¯m done?¡± ¡°I can just recycle them when their use is over. It will barely put a dent in the supply I have available.¡± ¡°I see. I suppose it¡¯s time to get back to those tests? Can you be gentle this time?¡± ¡°I can promise you I won¡¯t unnecessarily activate the shock straps.¡± ¡°Yeah, I bet.¡± Gus shrugged. There was no use fretting about it. ¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡± ¡°I thought of something resembling combat training but after what you mentioned about muscles, how about some of what you call ¡®power lifting¡¯?¡± ¡°Sure, why not? I¡¯m curious to see if that serum can really help boost muscle growth.¡± * ??*?? * ¡°I¡¯m never doing that again.¡± ¡°In all honesty I think you might have overdone it with the weights.¡± Gus was laid out next to the bench press setup, wheezing and holding his left bicep. The medical serum was working but too slowly for Gus¡¯ tastes. It was another good five minutes before he felt the sharp pain start to dwindle to a dull throbbing. ¡°I would say that the maximum amount of weight you can safely bench press is thirty kilos. Your attempt at lifting forty was¡­ unsuccessful to say the least. Still, compared to many species of the Council, that is very impressive. If this isn¡¯t the peak of your abilities, then you could turn out to be a very strong individual once you achieve your potential.¡± ¡°Gee thanks, you¡¯ll make me blush.¡± ¡°Blush?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a human thing. I¡¯ll explain later. So what now? Do you want to try that combat simulation you were talking about?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I think it¡¯s too early for a combat sim. I need to collate the results I¡¯ve obtained from this round of testing and come up with something appropriate for you. Just based on your reaction time alone, the usual sim would be too easy. Thank you for being such a good participant. I look forward to working with you again.¡± ¡°No problem. Hey, you think I¡¯d be able to read through your report when you¡¯re done? I¡¯m curious about my own physical specs.¡± ¡°I can probably give you an unclassified version, pending approval from the captain, of course.¡± ¡°Coolbeans. Thanks a bunch Trando. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have a date with a bed.¡± Chapter 24 ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right, these numbers are certainly above average for the average Council citizen but they¡¯re a far cry from those of a combat-grade Council soldier. I fail to see how this is a potential threat.¡± ¡°That is because you are looking at his current physical attributes. By his own admission the human Gus is below average in terms of physical fitness among his race. An above average human could easily have strength rivalling a Council soldier but that¡¯s still not what¡¯s alarming about him.¡± A holodisplay lit up, showing Gus running on the treadmill. ¡°As you can see, when pushed his body was able to adapt to the increase in activity quite easily.¡± The holovid sped up to the part where he received the first shock. ¡°Look,¡± Trando said, pointing to the display. ¡°He suffers the aftereffects of the shock for some time then gets back on the machine. As you can see, increasing the physical and mental stress on him had diverse effects.¡± Another display lit up, this one showing graphs and deep tissue scans taken during the stress test. Various annotations were already added, courtesy of Trando. ¡°This is his heart rate. Notice that before the testing, it was steady at an average of seventy three beats per minute. As he exerts himself, his heart rate is steadily climbing. It was nearly at three hundred beats per minute at peak speeds.¡± The on-screen Gus was heaving and trying to suck in air, almost collapsed on the treadmill. The holo sped up and after a moment Gus straightened, his shaky breathing still not under control but much less ragged than before. The panel showing his vitals showed a gradual decrease in his heart rate. ¡°His body is adapting to the change in activity. He¡¯s going back to pre-exertion levels. And within minutes too. After an hour he wasn¡¯t breathing hard anymore.¡± Lieutenant Lashqran had lost the sneer he usually sported when discussing other species. ¡°Was that recovery speed due to the administered medical serum?¡± ¡°No, he presented that kind of recovery even before admission of the serum. Apparently, if properly trained, a human can exhibit a higher recovery rate and higher tolerance for the lactic acid build up in muscles.¡± ¡°Only if properly trained. He¡¯s not a threat yet. We can still manage him.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. But even all that is not why I scheduled this meeting.¡± Trando switched to another holo recording. This one was showing Gus in front of a flat surface. He was staring at it intently, hands at his sides, slightly away from his body. A chime echoed and lights suddenly started flashing on the surface. Gus¡¯ hands started slamming down on the surface whenever a green light would flash. His eyes were darting all over the place, hands eerily accurate. He would miss some lights or slap the wrong colour but after the exercise, he boasted something like eighty five per cent accuracy. Lieutenant Lashqran was frowning and trying to stare a hole into the holovid. Captain Echina was similarly silent and contemplating. ¡°That¡¯s among the fastest reaction speeds in Council species. Pair that with the ability to improve his physique over time and the rest of his characteristics and you have one very scary race.¡± ¡°He said he¡¯s not one of their warriors, right? Do we have footage of their warrior caste from the probe?¡± ¡°Yes we do. I¡¯ve reviewed it at length and their fighting prowess is truly¡­ alarming.¡± Trando brought up another file on the viewscreen. AI showed them a grainy rendering of a unit of US Special Forces in action. The men were moving systematically towards an unseen objective, eliminating hostiles along the way. ¡°They move with surprising coordination given their lack of thought transfer network. As you can see they use primitive combustion-propelled projectiles as weapons. No shields or plasma weaponry. However their physical feats are truly remarkable.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The video switched to another group of soldiers training. They were lifting weights, running with heavy backpacks on, shooting targets or crawling through mud. ¡°According to the human Gus, not all their soldiers are capable of such feats. Only the best of them become Special Forces capable of braving any and all terrains to accomplish a mission. However the vast majority of common soldiers display surprising physicality.¡± Captain Echina was leaning back in her seat, a hand stroking her beautiful chin. ¡°This changes things somewhat. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to allow this human to train to the point at which he can do what these soldiers can.¡± ¡°I disagree. The human is clearly non-hostile and has agreed to a variety of invasive testing procedures. He hasn¡¯t integrated with the crew very well but I suspect that won¡¯t last long given that he has already started interacting with several of the crew members. He has expressed a desire to train as well as a certain eagerness to be experimented on. The medical serum and synthetisers in particular are of great interest to him. He himself has said that he wants to know what ¡®our alien tech can do to him¡¯. If I breach the subject to him I don¡¯t think he would object to more testing under a controlled environment.¡± The captain did not say anything. She was almost always frowning or making a disapproving face when it came to the human so Trando had no idea where he stood with her. ¡°It will also greatly help if we can find out more about the species before the debriefing.¡± Captain Echina sighed at that. ¡°You¡¯re right. Contact Major Nimson of clan Rinvi. See if she¡¯ll allow a foreign element in her weekly training with her platoon. Also inform Lieutenants Xar¡¯usk and Vatta Ren that the human will be made available for in depth testing if they require it. No dissections though.¡± ¡°At once Captain.¡± * * * ¡°So here¡¯s the thing¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Err¡­ I¡¯m not sure how to say it. I mean, you know how we¡­ we¡¯re something of a couple now. And I think you¡¯re great and all that but¡­¡± Sil¡¯s ear twitched in annoyance and she looked up to Gus. They had taken to meeting in his cabin after her shifts to cuddle and learn more about each other. After all was said and done, they had met only a few weeks ago. Sil was full of such exuberance and enthusiasm that Gus couldn¡¯t help but have a better outlook on life after he spoke to her. She was also very trusting and caring, a fact that greatly impaired his ability to proceed with the harem route. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°Well, you heard the doc right? Vatta Ren I mean. She said something about how it¡¯s not good for your body to forcibly go into your mating period. My body fluids seem to all push you towards that so I don¡¯t really want to force you but¡­ I don¡¯t know how to say this¡­¡± She frowned. ¡°Just say it then. I won¡¯t get upset.¡± I know what Ackbar would say in this situation. ¡°Well, humans regularly get urges to mate. It¡¯s instinct you know, nothing I can do about it. And since it¡¯s not wise to push you, I was thinking¡­¡± Sil¡¯s face was dangerously close to his. There was an intensity in her eyes that he had previously only seen while she was ripping his back apart. ¡°You still haven¡¯t gotten to the point.¡± Gus gulped. He was suddenly reminded that his favourite catperson had claws and fangs and was definitely not shy about using them if she deemed fit. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to go crazy from not getting laid. I walk everywhere and see all those hot aliens and my mind instantly goes to the gutter and we cuddle regularly and you¡¯re so cute and I want to do so much to you I can¡¯t even.¡± Gus paused to catch his breath. ¡°Is basically what I¡¯m saying. You could say human have mating urges that never really go away. Well, the symptoms are alleviated if we mate but they always come back.¡± ¡°Ohooo¡­ So you¡¯re saying that¡­¡± Her dainty hand trailed his left ear to his belly button where it gently pressed his skin. ¡°¡­ that you want to¡­¡± He suddenly felt the cool sensation of claws pressed against his belly and froze. ¡°¡­ mate with other women?¡± Well shit. This is bad. She looks pretty pissed. ¡°No, no, no. It wouldn¡¯t be like you and me. I mean, me and you, we¡¯re something special you know. It wouldn¡¯t be like, you know, mating to reproduce. Cause I¡¯d only ever do that with you. Cause you¡¯re the very best. But I gotta, you know, let it go once in a while. It¡¯s bad for my health to hold it in and I wouldn¡¯t want you to get hurt either because of me. So what I¡¯m saying is¡­ Hey do you know Art¡¯ah?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that skank thinks she can steal my man?¡± She was purring now, claws pressing dangerously against his liver. ¡°She would never. I¡¯m asking for your permission before going to her. She doesn¡¯t know anything about this. Full disclosure, I actually had her help me out with this once. But that was waaaaay before you and I had our thing. That¡¯s why, I think she might be willi-¡± Sil¡¯s head pressed against his lips, her soft hair and twitching ears rubbing affectionately against him. She started purring and leaned in, whispering in his ear. ¡°If you want to do this, I¡¯m willing to meet Ensign Art¡¯ah to discuss this.¡± She started nibbling on his earlobe. ¡°I¡¯m not a very violent person buuuut...¡± Her eyes suddenly filled his vision, green irises flashing in irritation as she drew some blood with her claws. ¡°If you ever think of mating with a woman who¡¯s not me, I¡¯ll pull your insides through your navel.¡± Having said her piece, she returned to the happy-go-lucky Sil Nubo that he knew and loved. It was quite disturbing to see her lick his blood off her claws, a stark reminder that his harem plans were definitely not going to progress as planned. Well, that went better than expected actually¡­ She said she¡¯ll talk to Art¡¯ah. That¡¯s progress at least. I better contact her and Nyph Rohor. I really need her advice right about now¡­